The bakery was silent...not a sound..! Quite unusual
The room smells of yeast,sugar and something fishy... something wrong.
But if you stood at the door,you won't notice
No one would!
It pretended to be normal!
On the inside, under the hum of old red and yellow lights,a young man lay inside the oven.
He was unconscious to protest,to scream for help and beg for mercy. Or even regret coming to work when no one was here.
Work was the only thing that can make him sane
The past two months were hellish,his nightmare constant and he can't seem to be in control of his mind anymore.
Only the dough fills him and only the dough will be with him till the end.
His life slowly going over his numb fingertips. The sedative numb him, sinking deep into his every nerve, turning his thoughts into mush.
His slow but rhythmic breathing pace,he couldn't feel the heat creeping in
00:02:14
The timer count down blinked red!
Nothing could stop it
Orion had no idea this would be his end.
If he did he would have preferred death with his family rather than suffer something painful despite his disarray mind
Well he didn't! And there's no escape! No turning back! No regrets!
All he wanted was a stable life
Food on his table, little cash for cotten candy,no disturbance from John or anybody,and more dough to knead, perhaps a promotion!
All he wanted was to fill his meaningless existence with something peaceful... something he can call " MINE!!"
Is there any chance to wallow in pain or regret?
Not a chance!
From below,a cockroach crawled near the oven,it skittered,then paused, before running back to it's hole... running again towards an opening
Trying to save it's life...sensing what humans can't
The temperature climbed... slowly... with so much cruelty
Outside, laughter across the street increases,a lemonade shop seems to be getting customers. A man sighed in satisfaction from the cold refreshing sweet sour taste
No one look over or can guess what's going on inside the oven room
No one knew what was going down
00:01:41
In dim heat, Orion's fingers twitched
Not from will...just muscle resistance
Somewhere in the dark part of his brain,an old voice echoes
"Don't ever think of giving up boy!"
Faint.. possibly real or not
Perhaps a flicker of his memory or not
At this point one can't be sure of anything...the heat is mushing our thoughts
Another image pops in,quite beautiful autumn spring with fine leaves and mid wind blowing
A hand... holding the string and a blue kit flying so free in the sky
It was peace
It was happiness
Something he had wanted that he can only have in his mind
His dreams are fake!
Nothing can never be his
Not even a simple life
Only suffering
Then a laugh..!
Then nothing!...it was all gone
00:01:20
The oven door rattled. Heat wrapped the metal,beads of heat and strings of evaporation flushed off
The time beside the oven pulsed in blinking red lights rhythmically
No alarms. No warning
Time is indeed a cruel judge with no mercy, moving fast and forward.
The new manger passed by...he came back to grab his house keys. Locking himself out is a bit unusual.
He paused..frowned
Something wasn't right!
It doesn't feel right !
He walked around, realizing it's passed time for closing. The bakery hasn't been doing well since the tragic event. Just few workers who choose to come and go.
Seeing the closed sign,so visible across the oven room. He presume no one was there. Orion hadn't been himself which was obvious..and earned him few rest at his disposal.
The manger decided to let it go!
Only if he had knew?
What could have been done?
00:00:54
Inside,the room smells of burning dough,not fully baked but really burnt.
Smells like a bitter accident no one would thought off..
If someone was in..they might have noticed but no one was!
Orion's body shifted slightly with swelling heat
His brows glistened,even in unconsciousness his lips twitched once.
00:00:30
The wires cracked...faint but alive
The small dough sat besides the oven, forgotten, unbaked, untouched,the one thing that keeps him alive and sane is now the one thing that remains with him...
In his memory forever...! That's if he can remember
The light bulb flickered once...twice...then out!
00:00:10
Fire waited..
Outside was cool,a new shop is opening! A cake store, people flooding in and out with happy faces and delicious treat...
00:00:03
00:00:02
00:00:01
Silence...
00:00:00
The blast was like a slit sound..then thunderous
It pulsed and swept the bakery in one full scoop
Windows and glass shattery. Wave of heat collapsed
Fire roared like a lion, swizzled like a snake devouring everything
Inside the oven, Orion ultimately vanished... completely
The place that felt like work, hope,new life,new smile ...
Now a shadow of what it was few minutes ago!
"Where am I?" A voice whispers in the void
"Welcome Orion Lawson!"