Short Ride to Nowhere
“I was twenty minutes late for my appointment at the prison. The screw at the gate didn’t want to let me in because he’d already marked me as a no show. I didn’t argue. I didn’t want to be there. He saw that I wanted to split and it was enough to compel him to let me stay. At the prison door another screw gave me the disgusted once over. I told him my name but the sound of it didn’t feel right anymore. “Terry Rand.” The fake ID I’d been living under the past half decade had become a safe harbor, a slim chance to better myself even though I hadn’t done much yet. I resented being forced to return to the person I’d once been. The screw made me repeat my name. I did. It was like ice on my tongue. Then he made me repeat it again. I caught on.
“Terrier Rand.”
Expressionless, he led me off to a small side room where I was frisked and politely asked if I would voluntarily succumb to a strip search. I asked what would happen if I said no. He said I wouldn’t be allowed to proceed.... It was a good enough reason to turn around. I owed my brother nothing. I could return out west and get back to a life I was still trying to believe in and make real.MoreLess
“Terrier Rand.”
Expressionless, he led me off to a small side room where I was frisked and politely asked if I would voluntarily succumb to a strip search. I asked what would happen if I said no. He said I wouldn’t be allowed to proceed.... It was a good enough reason to turn around. I owed my brother nothing. I could return out west and get back to a life I was still trying to believe in and make real.MoreLess
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