... awoke the beast inside me prematurely. Thinking it was still too early for any “sneaky” plans, I tried my best to keep it under control, and it appeared to be understanding. And yet, the moment it woke, it wreaked havoc on everyone. Its howls were its excruciating speech saying what a thousand wise men couldn’t. It would pierce through my ears, taking over me. I couldn’t hide it. It was visible in my every move. In my step, my gaze, my speech. It demanded its right to freedom, right there and then. How could I silence it? How can you restrain such a will to live? This wild beast plainly refused to kneel before its chains. It forbade me to live a captive man, let alone accept my captivity as a normal condition. It kept me alert, constantly searching for a way out. Willing to dig, to saw bars, to set the walls ablaze, to build a ladder and climb to the stars, until it discovered an exit. It wanted to get rid of this circle dance those human vampires were dancing around it. Until it got out, far away. Until it stood in the forest; until it breathed the fresh mountain air; until it could hear its voice echoing under the starlight.