Shout of Freedom

She held on.
Tightly.

The dust settled at her feet.
She wiped her eyes and squinted at the sun.
The rope had rubbed her wrists raw.
She winced.

For a moment, all she could hear was the beating of her own heart in her ears.
thump thump, thump thump, thump thump

She dropped the rope to the ground--
a coil of oppressive guilt.
It had bound her for too long.
Her hands and feet were scaly and bruised.

The sun illuminated her face and kissed the freckles on her nose.
She glared at the rope.
Lost years.
Years that could never be forgotten as hard as she may try.

As if it were a poisonous snake about to strike,
She jumped up and with audacity and new strength;
Threw the rope as far as she could.

The echo of her own heartbeat faded out of her ears
And gave way to a beautiful sound--
One she had never heard before.

The small soft sound of her own voice.
It broke at first, no louder than a whisper.
Slowly, she pushed through the whisper--
Speaking louder and louder
Until she was able to shout for the first time,

"I'm free!"