Today’s Prompt: Go to a local café, park, or public place and write a piece inspired by something you see. Get detailed: leave no nuance behind.Today’s twist: write an adverb-free post.

First person to guess where I’ve been for the last couple days (and WHY) wins.

(Yes, this is why I missed a few posts…)

***

I sit, morose, staring at the wall of my cell. The smell of moldering wood and damp stone fills my nostrils. I feel my sinuses flare, building pressure.

This small room, not quite two meters square, does not lend itself to comfort. Hard floor, bare walls. No bed, not even a cot. Just a pile of dirty rags. Stenciled letters on a rough grey background indicate my location. Like I’d forget.

Exposed pipes, dripping water…this place should be condemned, or at least remodeled. The previous occupant managed to leave a small hole in the floor. An attempt to escape? Shawshank Redemption isn’t going to happen here. No one stays that long.

Maybe he was digging a latrine.

I sit in one cramped corner and stare up at the small window, then over through the steel bars, praying for this ordeal to end. Nature calls, but I’m not using the bucket in the corner. Is that even a legally acceptable bathroom facility?

I pick at the crumbling masonry. Dripping water has eroded enough that a chunk falls off in my hands. I dream of simply walking away, then glance at the black and tan guard dog in the hall.

No sleep tonight. I sigh, resigning myself to missing yet another blog post. Shaking out my stiff legs, I lean my head back against the corner and pray for rescue.