The World Outside

[Man_with_a_killer's_mind]

I am a child of the Earth, fed by its limitless fruits. I am a man among the worms, comforted by their presence. I am a disciple of nature, awed by its stunning beauty and well kept secrets. It wasn’t always this way, though. I used to be a so-called free boy, living in poverty in one of the best kept secrets of the south. My father was a prominent preacher and my mother was a humble housewife, destined to spend her days scrubbing floors and shucking corn. You see, my father was well attuned to the life-styles of the outside world. He escaped from such a lifestyle. Technology, medicine, even modern religion; they were all evil in his eyes.

My mother, too, had roots in the outside world. She never told me about her life outside of Palestine, but I knew that she wasn’t happy with them. I’d heard her many times crying into her pillow, trying not to wake any of the children from their slumber. She’d cursed herself for loosing her innocence to an oil tycoon in some strange place she’d called New York.

Of course, I knew of no such places until I had grown to the ripe old age of seventeen. My father took me outside of the town of Palestine and into the big city; it was the only time I would be allowed out of the confines of my hometown. According to him, he’d wanted to show me the evils of modern society. It was in that civilization built upon evil that I contracted my disease; a disease of sin.

I remember it well as I lay here in the box that I now call home. I remember walking down the paved sidewalk; the smoke from the passing automobiles made me gag for precious air. I saw people talking to boxes that they held up to their ears. What strange practices they had. I held my father tight as we continued down the street and passed a store with flashing lights and signs with words that glowed steadily. My father stopped and told me to look into the window where I would see what major evil this society was built upon. Women of many colors, shapes, and sizes danced around poles wearing absolutely nothing. It was horrible at first. My mind was in confusion. My own father had come from a place like this?

I remember, though, that it was quite entrancing to see those women, dancing for currency, willing to give their bodies in order to make a few dollars. I had never seen a woman naked, and I didn’t think I would until I was married. They were beautiful, the bodies of those women. My father walked away quickly and I had to walk with him, otherwise he’d know that I was staring. I took a few brisk steps and then noticed a small booklet lying on the stone pathway. Its cover was crammed with provocative images of the sins that I now wanted to commit. I’d seen many of the same booklets lining the shelves of the store with the dancing women. I wanted to experience more of that sin, so I picked up the booklet and shoved it into my slacks, silently hoping that my father would not notice the sharp edged bulge.

We walked all the way back to Palestine, my sore feet barely able to take another step. I was eager to get into my room and lock my door so that I could look at my naked beauties.

As soon as I got to the front steps of our old farmhouse, I sprinted through the front door and into my room, locking it behind me. I could not wait any longer; I had to see my ladies once again. Just as I was about to open the glorious book, my father knocked on the door.

“Jacob! Jacob! Come out of there! I know what you’re doing in there!”

He kept calling for me to come out, but I would not. I was desperate for a taste of the outside world. I had experienced life outside the borders of this quiet town stuck in the past. I would not stand for it a moment longer. I opened the booklet and began turning the pages as nude woman after nude woman passed by; their images forever ingrained in my mind. How beautiful they were; so natural and seemingly happy. I wanted to be happy also.

I’d have to face my father sooner or later, so I set the book down on my nightstand and marched to the door, ready for whatever consequence would come. I unlocked the door and stood tall, though I had my eyes closed tight. Nothing. I opened my eyes and saw my entire family staring at me, as if I were a being from another world. In a way, I had become one.

My father placed his meaty hands on my shoulders and grasped them hard. I waited quietly for my imminent punishment.

“Jacob, I know what you’ve done. Don’t you know that I saw the bulge in your slacks? What about the way you ran into your room? It was as if you were running from the devil himself.”

He had seen the bulge. Why didn’t he punish me before we got back to the house? I would soon find out.

“Jacob, you’re still young, but the crime of lust must be punished no matter what age the sinner may be. According to our customs, we must isolate you from ourselves until God deems you clean enough to return to normal life.”

That was my chance. The only way I could convince my father to let me go out into the real world; into reality.

“Father,” I said. “let me venture out into the world where I may repent of my sinful ways.”

“My God, Jacob!” He screamed. “You’ve just lied on top of your crime of lust. You don’t want to go out into the world to repent. You want to go out to sin more. You’re tempted by the flashy lifestyle and brilliant colors of their society. Jacob, we escaped that place so that we could get away from that kind of life. I can’t allow you to leave this town.”

My father knew my true intentions. I had lied. I didn’t want to go out to repent; no, I wanted to go out to experience more of the outside world. Maybe, I could leave this place forever. Unfortunately, my father was a man of his word. He would not let me escape, and he would go to any length to ensure that.

With one quick motion, my father grabbed my arms and held them around my back so I could not move. My two younger brothers quickly moved and grabbed my legs and lifted me into a horizontal position. I knew that it was no use to struggle. They carried me out of the house.

My grandfather was a very talented wood worker; one of his most favorite hobbies was the crafting of sepulchers for the deceased of the town. My father and my brothers carried me out to my grandfather’s workshop. There, my grandfather uncovered one of the coffins and used one of his hand-cranked drills to make a hole in the lid.

I was placed gently inside the coffin and the lid was placed over me. Complete darkness was my only friend in the warm box. The only light was coming from the freshly drilled hole, which created a bright yellow circle on my leg. I heard someone driving nails into the lid of the coffin; the loud banging nearly making me deaf. Then I felt the coffin being lifted and carried out into the wilderness. I knew we were far away from the house when I heard the chirping of birds and the crushing of the dried leaves of autumn. The box was set down onto the ground and the only sounds from then on were the distant sounds of my family’s voices.

Now I lay here, being fed once a day by a mysterious hand that enters the hole that my grandfather drilled, and leaves a plate of bread and a small jar of water from the well. I no longer hear the voices of my family. God has yet to deem me clean; in fact, I doubt he ever will. The darkness and the circle of bright light are my only friends in this sepulcher of loneliness.

I now know, more than ever, that my place is not here in this world of non-sinners and Bible fanatics, but in the world of everyday sinners and the nude women only trying to make a dollar with which to live. If I have to die in this box, I will die knowing that there is a world outside where sin runs rampant, but that sin provides activity and meaning in a life where so much is uncertain. I love that world, and that is where I belong.

What do you think?

[Homicidalheathen]

Very good. Nice description he has of seeing the world for the first time...I would elaberate on that part...kinda like amish people, no?

And the punishment..so severe and all um gothy like!

He gets locked in a coffin for getting a boner after being exposed to stuff like that....sounds like some of the fuck ups in this country.