And this is freedom?

      Neil couldn't move, couldn't lift his hand, couldn't even open his damn eyes. His eyelids were so heavy, as if a ton of sand had been placed on top of them, the taste of which Neil could still feel in his mouth.       He managed to open his eyes only once, but he closed them faster than he could think about it: the white ceiling seemed so bright after the impenetrable eternal darkness that it blinded his eyes incredibly. As soon as he squinted, chaos began around him: as if through the water, Neil heard screams and a loud, measured squeak.       Beep. Beep. Be-e-ep...       And silence. Nothing more. No voices, no light. Nothing.

***

      After some time, Neil began to feel something that was clearly not what he should have, but he did.       For a very long time, it was a terrible pain in the stomach area, Neil even thought that he was rotting alive. He felt something similar when his father played with him, when he ran a sharp blade along the flesh and left him on the dirty floor, saying:       — The dog is in pain, – he brought the fluffy mess to his face and seemed to smile affectionately.       — The cat is in pain, – the father put a huge kitchen knife in the small child's palm.       — And Nathaniel has never had any pain. – the father cherishingly and tenderly leaned against his son's back, putting his hands on his shoulders and watched with sincere delight as the knife sparkled in the child's trembling hands.       Then the pain went away, accompanied by a cry:       — Yes! It fits perfectly! She took root! We did it...       And Neil would have been glad for the end of the pain, if it had not been replaced by eternal oblivion and deafness. All he heard was the thunder of his own heart.       Knock-knock-knock-knock