20-Minute Prompt (March 5, 2026)

Prompt: The Face of Tomorrow

It wasn’t long ago that I had my own warm bed. I had my own family and my own home. And food that I should have been more grateful for. And now this. I always thought that there would be so much hope for my future … and now, this is my future. The camp. For “re-education” they said. For the Party. For freedom. What the hell happened? How did our world get to this point?

I frantically looked for the spoon I knew I left here somewhere, when a moan came from the wooden planks to my left. From the darkness of the room. I turned to the place from which the sound came. No one was supposed to be here.

“Cathy?” I whispered.

“Ohhhh.” A groan came forth.

“Are you ok?”

“I don’t feel so well.”

“We’re going to be called for check-in soon. And you know you can’t miss that. We’ll all be in trouble if you do.”

“I know. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“Can help you? Can I get you anything?” As if I could get her anything, I thought to myself.

“No, just … just … could you just hold my hand for a bit?”

I came over. The smell almost made me gag. But everything smelled putrid these days. I slowly raised her hand in mine. It was cold. Almost clammy cold.

I suddenly froze. I knew what was about to happen.

“Meg, could you talk to me a bit? Tell me about life before?”

I breathed deep. How do I handle this? “Cathy, remember back to the days before. Remember your warm bed? To the hug of your mom? To when we could go to the mall, and our greatest worry was if Joey would look at us or not?” I thought back to my days before. How I longed for them! How I wished things would be different! But they weren’t.

Cathy’s breathing had begun to slow.

“Remember the sunshine and the rainbows after a soft rain? How everything smelled fresh and new? Cathy, you will soon be there again.” I felt the clutch in my stomach. “I know you are going to find a warm space again. A place that smells like fresh flowers, and you’ll be able to smell the beauty all around you again. Cedar trees. The earthy smell of the ground beneath you.” I took a breath myself.

I felt Cathy’s hand go limp. A final exhale.

She was looking into the face of tomorrow today. But I was still here. I was not there yet.