The Cage

There is a grimy old cage with a small bed inside of it and a big old rusty lock on the door. Inside of this cage is a small child. She is alone in this cage but not alone in the world. She is surrounded by many people. These people come and go as they please leaving the girl unchecked in her cage.

This girl was actually birthed into this cage. It’s a big cage too. There is plenty of room and space for visitors to come and sit comfortably with the girl. And yes there are visitors. The girl’s family comes to see her and visit her. They unlock the cage and bring in her food and clean clothes. They come every couple of hours to take her to a bathroom so that she doesn’t make a mess of her cage. They sometimes sit in there and talk about their lives with her. She sits and listens well to the family. They tell her about their troubles and their day. They complain about the weather and their jobs. They gripe about the price of gas and the dismal shape that the economy is in. They inform her of politics and how awful the government is. But they never ask the girl about her life. I mean after all what could the girl say? She is in a cage for goodness sakes. How much could she have to offer? What could she possibly bring to the table that would interest this family?

There are also friends. Or at least what the girl thinks are friends. They come in and talk about their lives just like her family does. They are a little different from her family though. These people like to tell jokes. These “friends” of hers enjoy making the little girl laugh. But they have an ulterior motive…they think she sounds funny. They tell things that they think would make the girl laugh just so they can laugh at her. The girl thinks these people are her friends because they come and sit with her and make her laugh, but they do it with selfish motives. They enjoy that fact that this little girl sits there and listens to them and laughs as though nothing in the world could please her more. And honestly nothing could please her more.

This is all she knows; the comings and goings of her family and friends. Life is a never ending circle inside of this cage. The sun always rises in the east and sets in the west. There are always visitors, bathroom breaks, food and clean clothes. The occasional bath is given in order to avoid a stench. But outside of her bathroom breaks the girl never leaves her cage.

There is something that only the little girl knows. The great big lock is broken. Sure a big fat key unlocks it when her friends and family come but a good ole tug does the trick too. The small girl thinks this is funny. When she is alone she sits there and pulls on the lock watching it open and then snapping it back shut tight. With a great big giggle each time, she repeats this over and over again throughout the day, always stopping and making sure it is closed when she hears people drawing near.

So now you must be asking yourself a question. Why doesn’t the girl just escape? Why does she not just run free and never come back to the rusty old cage? The truth of the matter is she is totally and completely unaware that she needs to escape. She is bound by her own ignorance.

One day things change. The girl is sitting there in her cage playing with the lock patiently waiting for someone to come along and talk to her. She lives for the time that people spend with her. It is after all the only pleasure in life she has outside of playing with that great big lock. Suddenly someone new comes into sight. It is a beautiful middle aged woman. She comes along walking smoothly toward the cage. When she gets to the door she goes to unlock it and somehow the lock popped open. The woman is mystified. She puts the key that was in her hand back into her pocket and proceeds to shut the lock. Then she gives the lock a tug and it pops right back open. Her eyes widen and she looks up to meet the small girl’s fearful eyes.

The girl has been caught. She knows she is in trouble now. No one was supposed to ever find out about that broken lock. It was supposed to be her secret, and now it’s out in the open for everyone to see. And surely everyone will see it. Surely this beautiful lady will run and tell the others. The girl knows she is in trouble. She doesn’t know what she is going to do now and her imagination begins to run wild with the possibilities. Will they not give her food for a day…or a week…or maybe even a whole month? Surely she will starve now! What if they stop taking her to the bathroom? Then she will have a smelly mess all over her cage and then no one will want to come and visit. Oh no! What if everyone stops coming all together? She kept this secret and now everyone is going to be mad and no one is going to come and see her anymore! This is the most horrible thing she can imagine. She knows she is doomed now. What will happen to her now that her secret is out?

The lady removes the lock from the door and comes inside and takes her place next to the girl. Neither the woman nor the girl has said anything since this secret was revealed. The girl is terrified and is nervously waiting for the woman’s reaction.

Just when the girl is beginning to wonder if the woman is going to talk at all she extends her hand toward the girl, opens her fist and offers the lock to the girl. The girl’s eyes widen as she stares at the lock. She doesn’t understand. The woman speaks with a bold but gentle voice: “Take it.” But the girl is confused. What exactly is this woman going to gain if she takes the lock from her? What if she takes the lock and this somehow makes matters worse? What if the others don’t want her to have the lock? What then? The girl is at a complete loss as to what to do. Then the woman speaks for a second time. “You can go.” This woman is offering her freedom, total and complete freedom. And the girl has no idea what to do about it.

The girl carefully takes the lock from the woman and holds it close to her heart. What now? The woman rises and leaves from the cage. This woman has just done this small child a tremendous favor and the girl is still sitting in the cage completely unaware of her own freedom.

The girl sits there and ponders her future. She can stay here in the cage. She can put the lock back on the door and pretend that no one ever realized it was broken. She could stay. But she could also go. But there are so many questions if she goes. Where will she go? What will she do? How will she live? Who will bring her food, clean clothes and take her to the bathroom? Even more important, who will talk to her? The child cannot imagine life without the cage.

As she sits there wondering what she should do, she hears a noise. Someone is coming to the cage and suddenly her decision has to be made.

She quickly rises from the bottom of the cage and places the lock back on the door, closes the door and clamps the lock closed. She cannot fathom life without this cage. There is so much unknown outside of these bars. She cannot possibly imagine life without someone to talk to and someone to take care of her.

And so she stays. She sits in that cage today. The beautiful woman does not tell anyone about the lock, and she never returns to the cage. Many years have passed and the small girl is quickly approaching womanhood. She has grown up inside of this cage. She is completely unaware of the freedom she could have if she simply took the lock of the door and left. Life is too comfortable in the cage. She has food, shelter, family and friends in this cage. As far as she is concerned life inside of the cage is freedom.