"Something has to leave a mark so I shape-of-an-X you." -Zachary Schomburg and Emily Kendal Frey, from Ok, Goodnight

Seasons

The prison guards came into my cell and asked me if I was ready to confess. Never, you pigs I said. This hurt the guards’ feelings, so one held me in place, while the other hit me in the stomach with the butt of his rifle. I keeled over. They asked then if I was ready to confess yet. I laughed and spit some blood onto their shiny, black shoes. They told me the warden thought this would be the way I reacted. They told me the warden wanted to see me. They picked me up and dragged me out of my cell, and all the other prisoners hooted and hollered for me, and banged against the bars of their own cells. I was their hero for never confessing, even after every one of them had. We were all in on the same crime. At the warden’s office, I was told to sit down in the nice leather chair in front of the warden’s desk. The warden told the guards to leave us, and they did. Peter, why are you doing this, why won’t you just confess the warden said. Wilson, you know I can never confess to that I said. How did you know my name the warden said. I know all about you, Wilson I said. I know all about you and your confessions. The warden looked at me for a moment. Well, Peter, maybe there’s some sort of agreement we can reach the warden said, your confession for the freedom of you and all your cohorts. That would be the entire prison I said. We sat and stared at each other. The warden’s eyes were glazed over, and he looked as if his mind was in another world, calling for him to join. We were both rabbits down a hole, but the warden didn’t realize this. He thought he was a warden, that we were in a prison, that there were prisoners and guards. We were all just rabbits, cold from the winter and hiding from wolves. I could never confess that to him.