Torture By Way Of Limbo

Imagine you’re in a room.

There is nothing of light

Except

for a few candles

Wax and battery-powered

The glare of cell phones

Tablets and computer screens

And Christmas lights

To keep things hopeful.

There are other people there

Some you don’t know

Some you do.

There are enough people

In the room

Such that

There is an almost imperceptible

Level of discomfort.

As if

All are addicts.

Then

You notice the music

Echoing in space.

There’s a record player

Up against a wall.

It’s a familiar song.

Soothing

Hypnotic

Until

The stylus hits that pesky scratch.

The record jumps to the previous groove.

You’ve come to learn

That the record is broken.

A sign above the record player reads

Lift the needle to bypass the scratch.

But in this room, no one lifts the needle.

Bystanders until

One brave soul

Rises

To lift the needle to bypass the scratch.

There is an unusual delay.

The record finishes.

The silence is deadly.

The record is reset.

Back to the beginning.

The needle hits the scratch again.

Another loop.

Rinse, lather, repeat.

Here’s the kicker

There’s only one record

In the room

That the people get to play.