Regrets Teaser
Just putting this little snippet of a prologue up to show you that I'm working on something. If I do this right, it'll be my most depressing story yet, but I am excited to finally be working on something again, and I've had this story rolling around in my head for years. Once I get more done on it, I may post more before I finish, as I don't know how long this one's going to be.
The story will be told from the point of view of Jason, a young bull, as he talks about how he got to where he is (and you can probably figure out where that is from this prologue).
Jason sat at the dingy white table, looking up as an older tiger and bear walked through the doors in front of him. It was late, leaving Jason to wonder why someone would visit him now, and not wait until the morning. The tiger stayed back against the wall, next to the guard, as the bear walked up to Jason and sat down across from the bull. The bear smiled politely at him, and Jason could see that his original estimate of 'older' was an understatement. He had to be pushing at least seventy. Jason nodded in response to the smile.
"Hello Jason." The bear said, his voice deep and calm. "Do you know who I am?"
Jason just shook his head. Something about the bear seemed to pique some obscure memory, but he figured it was just because he was a bear. He certainly didn't know anyone that aged personally. The bear's eyebrows furrowed, and he looked down quickly. Should he have recognized him?
"You feeling up to talking?" The bear's eyes were locked on his again.
So. He was a psychologist. That's probably why he looked confused when Jason didn't remember him, and would explain the hint of recognition he felt. Maybe he had talked with the bear before. He had had so many psychologists talk to him that he couldn't keep them straight. He shrugged in response. "I guess. What do you want to talk about?"
The bear leaned back in the chair. "Well, let's talk about you. How long have you been here?"
"Not long." Jason replied. "About a year. Should be leaving in the next couple months."
"How'd you end up here?"
Jason chuckled. "Where should I start?"
"How about at the beginning?"
"Well," Jason chuckled again, "the beginning... That'll make for a lengthy story."
The bear smiled at him again. "I have time. You can take as long as you want."
"Well I guess the true beginning would be while I was in high school..."