Part Seven Unhappy Ending

Forty seven years had passed since that fateful day, all the details were still blurry to Hampton too many emotions morphed into one. He couldn't even precisely remember how the court saw his case other than the fact he was guilty as charged.

Hampton's years of youth were passing him by faster than he could've imagined. He was twenty one when convicted and was now on the verge of turning sixty eight. Where had the years gone?

"Hampton, you have a new cell mate." The guard told him in a dark voice.

Great, Hampton thought, another young guy to badger me about how I ended up here.

Not an hour later a kid—he looked no older than twenty—came into the cell, taking baby steps as he did so. He obviously didn't want to be here—why would he?

"Hello." Hampton said in his aged voice, wanting to polite to the newcomer—he remembered the way he was treated when he was convicted. It wasn't pleasant.

"Hey," the blonde kid nodded to him, his voice shaky and blue eyes examining the small enclosed space he'd be sharing with the old man.

"So, my name's Jerry but they all call me Hampton around here. I'm in charge of the library for the prison—weird, I know—so if you ever want any books I'm the guy.

The blonde looked confused, "What's weird about you being in charge of the library?"

"Ever seen Shaw Shank Redemption?"

"Ugh, no. I've heard of it though—came out when my ma was a kid."

Hampton rolled his eyes at that—where had the years gone?

"Never mind." The prison guard passed them, briefly glancing into the cell. "What's your name, kid?"

"Nicholas."

"So, Nic whatcha' in here for?"

"Nicholas."

"Sorry. Nicholas what are you in here for?"

His eyes kept scanning my face, probably seeing if he could trust me or not. "I was a part of a bank robbery, you?"

"Never trust a beautiful woman, that's all I have to say." His brain still conjuring up beautiful images of Ligeia.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ligeia was her name and I loved her so much I started to lose myself…she was a siren, and I was hers…"

THE END