Often, life's circumstances affect you so much that you end up locking yourself in a prison that doesn't exist. Even if no one puts up barriers, you might put them up yourself. But it's not always like that. Sometimes, due to certain events, one can end up creating that prison. The most complicated part is knowing when to open the door and return to freedom. Forest, whom we'll see in this story, is going through such a situation. You'll see if he manages to open the door of his own imaginary prison or if he'll leave it closed forever.
Forest was born a normal boy, without many worries in life. His childhood was quite happy, and he was very loved by his family. But everything became complicated when he got to high school. There, he suffered a lot of bullying from other classmates because he had some trouble pronouncing certain letters. But little by little, that bullying escalated and became physical abuse. Although his classmates didn't understand at the time, perhaps due to a lack of maturity, they caused him a lot of emotional damage. The young man who was once happy and innocent became a lonely person, fearful of social situations.
Once he left school and graduated, he trained as a programmer. He programmed from home and created good software. That's how he made a living. But this vocation contributed to his becoming a recluse, since he worked remotely. This is how his emotional prison began. He had shut himself out. He completely avoided social gatherings or going to places with large crowds. He also avoided eating out, ordering takeout instead. You could say that at this point he had stopped living, and was only living to work and be consumed by his anguish.
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He spent more than a decade in that dark situation. But it wasn't all wasted time for him. Since he already had programming skills, he created a website to share interesting facts about his favorite musical instrument, the saxophone. His grandfather played it, was very active in jazz, and passed on some knowledge and a love of music to Forest. After finishing work, he would create a new post about the saxophone. He even sometimes uploaded videos of himself playing. But he always disabled comments on his posts; he was afraid of being criticized, as that hurt him deeply. So he only shared what he liked about the saxophone but didn't read any opinions about his hobby.
Since he didn't have much interaction with people in real life, his only friends were his family and his followers on the saxophone trivia page. He only communicated with them by phone, never in person. But as he gained the trust of his fans who enjoyed the music he posted playing the saxophone, he agreed to a small, in-person social gathering. Since they were already comfortable with him, they kept their friends to a minimum, inviting only his closest friends. The days leading up to the gathering were agonizing because he felt they were going to judge or criticize him.
He worried they might want to give him negative feedback on the music he posted on social media. But he had already given his word, so he couldn't turn down the opportunity. The day arrived quickly, and when he got to the gathering, he realized that no one wanted to judge him. Everyone greeted him warmly and let him know how much they enjoyed his music.
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After chatting for a couple of hours and enjoying their company, he felt something he'd never felt before; it was very difficult to explain. It was almost as if he'd cracked open the gate that had kept him locked up. He realized that enjoying time with real people is not the same as enjoying it virtually. He felt like he'd wasted his life. Because you can't let a single event mark you forever, because you only live once, and you have to know how to let go of those bad moments from the past to focus on the future. That's what his friends told him, and what he himself acknowledged.
They told him that, not out of modesty, but he had a bright future as a saxophonist, and that he could be one if he wanted to; he just had to set his mind to it. He already had the talent. But his fear of rejection still held him back. They told him that it's very difficult to please everyone with what you do; there will always be someone who doesn't appreciate your work equally, no matter how hard you try. But the important thing is to focus on those who do appreciate what you do.
That changed Forest's mind about his past. It took many more meetings for him to gradually open the door to the prison he had created for himself. At one point, he even played the saxophone for everyone at one of those meetings. That small hobby he once had is now becoming the key to escaping the cycle. Although he was doing well as a programmer, if something, even just a little, makes you shut yourself away or prevents you from living more freely, then it's not good for you, as he himself acknowledged.
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That's why he decided that from now on he would slowly open up the prison he himself had created. It's true he suffered in the past, but that was over; he wasn't going to let it drag him down until the end. Now he would fully embrace the opportunities life was offering him. He wants to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and be a good saxophonist like him, while also sharing everything he loves about him with others. Happiness awaits him; the door is open.