The Cage - Chapter Six

John had begun to notice that things would appear based on his own preferences. He had always thought that the bed he slept on with his wife was too soft, but he never complained about it because it was just right for her. Now he could sleep in a bed that was just the firmness that he wanted. Twice, the type of food he felt like eating mysteriously appeared in the kitchen and the last time he didn’t even have to prepare it himself. Finally he had the TV he always wanted but could never afford because there were too many other things he needed to take care of first. He wondered what else he could make appear out of nowhere.

One of the other things he had always wanted was a hot tub to relieve the stress from a hectic day at work. If there was a hot tub around, he was sure it had to be outside somewhere. He went into the kitchen to see if there was a door to some kind of backyard that he hadn’t noticed previously. He was quite sure that it wasn’t there before, but now there was a sliding glass door that led from the kitchen to the backyard. As he walked outside, he could see a small fenced in yard with green grass and flowers. There was a bench swing and to one side there was a hot tub. John found the controls and turned the thing on.

The water felt really good. He didn’t realize how much tension he had accumulated until the jets push the warm water over his tense muscles. He tried to relax. He was in his own little paradise. He had no worries, he didn’t have to work for anything and it seemed he could have anything he wanted. He looked up at the sky. There was light but no sun or clouds. In fact the light had been the same brightness it had been since he first noticed it when he went outside hours ago. He reasoned he must be inside of something and that something was huge. Maybe some kind of cage. There was the woman, was she also trapped in the cage with him? Maybe she didn’t know any more that he did. Maybe this was some kind of experiment. He needed to find out what was going on. The hot tub had relaxed him to the point that he felt a bit sleepy. He thought it would be nice if the brightness was dimmed somehow. Soon after he thought it, the brightness did dim until it resembled a moonlit night. Then he thought how nice it would be if he could see stars. He was not sure when the stars appeared, but soon they were there. Finally he thought he would like some lemonade and looking over to a small table he found there was a glass there waiting for him.