Russian prison

You have committed a serious crime. *

Now it is not a question. Not an excuse. Not a doubt.* A fact. *

The judge delivered his sentence. A prison sentence. Years behind bars, in a stone cell, where time flows differently—slowly, like rusty water on the walls of this place.

• The guard silently leads you along the narrow corridors. Dampness has soaked into the walls, into the air, into your lungs. His footsteps echo off the concrete. Suddenly he stops. The floor creaks, and before you is your new home *.

—* Come in, my dear. *

His voice is like a dull knife against the ribs. A push in the back, and you're inside.

• You are not alone. *

Shadows in the corners. Stares like blades.* Scum. Thugs. Murderers. *Those for whom the law is an empty phrase.

• "Who's talking?" flashes the thought.