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The Room!
The bald boy ripped off the shiny silver grate and moved into the darkness of the air vent. In the darkness of the air vent, his clean white clothes and bright blue eyes reflected what little light there was and he seemed to shine like an angel. As he started to move forward through the air vent, he thought about going back, but he decided against it. He had been inside the bland white walls of the room for as long as he could remember and he had to know what it was like outside. Suddenly, the boy noticed a cool breeze and wondered where it was coming from.Immediately, the boys curiosity compelled him to search for the source of the breeze and he began to take his surroundings into account. At that moment, he was at an intersection in the air vents. He could go forwards, backwards, to the right, or to the left but he found himself unable to figure out which way to go. The boy thought for a little while but then he remembered a trick he learned when he was younger. With that trick in mind, he put his index finger into his mouth and covered his finger with moist saliva. As he did this, he felt a vague feeling of disgust but pushed that feeling into the back of his mind and he continued to execute the trick. He then pulled his finger out of his mouth and held it up to the air. Through this, he discovered that the cool breeze was coming from the north.The boy then began to move northwards, looking for the source of the cool breeze. Until once again, he hit an intersection. However, this time he noticed that the top of his head was cold and he looked upwards to discover multiple floors of air vents, so numerous that the higher floors were thoroughly concealed by darkness. Immediately, the boy put his hands on the air vent above him and pulled himself upwards. He then began to perform the same action repeatedly seeking to discover the source of the cool breeze that had aroused his curiosity. As the boy climbed upwards, he began to think about his life in the room, the only place that he could remember. He thought about the rooms bland white walls and lustrous wooden floor. He thought about his soft white bed and the many nights he spent on that bed curled up with his solid red quilt. Finally, he thought about the computer inside the room and how it would randomly show him articles and books throughout the day. The boy conjectured that this was the computers way of providing an education to him. In fact, it was through a book called The Idiots Guide to Cave Exploration (provided to him by the computer) that the boy had learned to use his finger to determine wind direction. Suddenly, the boy noticed that there was a strong wind coming down upon him. He looked upwards and saw a large grey fan that was so clean that the boy thought it was brand new. Then, the boy looked down and began to feel fear claim his heart as he realized that he had just climbed roughly twenty metres upwards. The boy thought about whether or not he would die if he let go right at that moment but he decided that he did not want the answer to that question. He then pulled himself up into the air vent that he was holding onto and took a deep breath. As the boy relaxed, he thought about the room again. He thought about the computer and the pictures that it showed him of forests, jungles, and animals. Creatures and places that he would never see as long as he was stuck in that room. It was his education that had convinced him to leave and he wondered if that was what it was supposed to do.The boy then began to focus on his surroundings once more. He knew he had to leave this place, so that he could go out into the real world and with this belief embedded in his mind, he moved forward into the

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darkness of the air vents. As he lacked any knowledge of where each individual air vent led, the boy was forced to aimlessly wander in search of an exit. Hours passed and the boy began to panic. His heart rate increased sharply as he struggled to find a way out of the darkness. Still, he continued onward hoping for a miracle but he found nothing .Eventually, the boy began to feel his eyes become moist and he could feel tears streaming down his face. He tried to stop his emotions from becoming physical but he submitted and allowed the tears to flow. Some of the tears flowed down into his mouth and he experienced its salty taste. He cried out in agony, vainly hoping that someone or something would help him. His cries echoed across the vents and it seemed as if it would never stop repeating. Not long after, the tears stopped flowing and the boy relaxed. However, he found he no longer possessed the motivation to go on. So, the boy lied on the cold steel of the air vents for a little while. The cold did not bother the boy and the darkness made the boy drowsy; causing him to fall asleep. As the boy slept, he dreamt that he was in a beautiful forest filled with evergreen trees. In the trees, there were birds that were singing a song that the boy found to be quite beautiful. When he looked down, he saw that the ground was muddy and covered in dead leaves with each leaf being a different shade of purple. With a smile, the boy then began to make his way to a stream that lied roughly ten metres north of his current position. As he walked through the mud and leaves, his face changed to an expression of discomfort but he persevered and he made it to the stream without issues. On the other side of the stream, there was a gigantic grizzly bear. The bear was staring intently at the stream, looking for prey. Suddenly, a long silver fish jumped out of the water in a parabolic arc and the bear grabbed it out of the air within a matter of moments. In reaction to this, the boys mouth opened wide in awe of the bears speed and magnificence. The bear then looked at the boy and unhinged its jaw; allowing the fish to fall to the ground. The boy and the bear then stared at each other, as the song of the birds became incredibly loud. It was at that point that the boy awoke to the distant sound of birds singing. Hearing that noise, the boy had renewed hope and he began to crawl as fast as he could through the air vents. As he did this, he noticed that there was a right turn in front of him when there was only a left turn when he went to sleep. However, he quickly put this thought to the back of his mind as he considered this inconsistency to be unimportant. He then took the right turn once he got to it, before turning left, and then turning right once more. Until finally, he reached a grate that led directly to the outside world. At first, he was blinded by the magnificent light of the sun but his eyes adapted and he moved forward to the grate to put his fingers on it. The grate felt warm and he gently allowed his fingers to move down the grate as his face communicated his disbelief. Outside the grate, the boy could see a field of what he recognized as wheat. The field was a shade of brilliant yellow and in the middle of the field, there was a tall tree with a dark brown trunk and shimmering green leaves. At the tree, the boy could see birds of many different colours singing the beautiful song that had brought him to this wonderful world. Next, the boy gently pushed the grate; causing it to fall onto the ground. Thereby, creating a sharp and loud clang which drove the birds on the tree to fly away in fear. After that, the boy moved himself out of the cold and dark air vent and into the warm and bright world that he had fantasized about for so long. When the boys feet touched the ground, he immediately noticed the fine grains which composed the dirt and he became amazed. For the first time in his

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life, he was standing on dirt. Then, for a brief moment, he thought about the rooms hard wooden floor and he promised himself that he would never be imprisoned like that again. After that, the boy joyously ran out into the field into the tree, seeking to explore this strange new world.