Fairy-tale inspired piece written for a theme event on /r/dirtypenpals.
It is true/not true that there was a girl in a tower.
The tower was steel and glass, and stood in the center of the city, which spread itself out and was made modest only by distance. Sometimes she would watch it. Sometimes sounds would come to her: a horn, the buzz of traffic, sirens. Once, through a quirk of the wind, a voice. She fled inside and did not go back out for a week. Most of the time, she heard the wind, and the sounds of her tower.
It is true/not true that she was a prisoner.
The apartment took up the entire floor of her building. There was a pool in one room. The balcony had a lawn, and a garden. There was a bedroom, and a library, and a small theatre, and a kitchen, and a studio, and a small gym. And an office. She had a job. She had a paycheck, and a manager, and worked as part of a team. She sent and received emails and messages, and had one official reprimand on her record. Her colleagues thought her gifted, dedicated, and professional. There was also an elevator and a small dumbwaiter. Food, mail, and packages arrived via the dumbwaiter. Groceries. Take-out. Books. Clothes. She shopped online. She had a croquet set. She had once, as a test, ordered a bow and arrow. It arrived. She decided shooting it wouldn't be wise, and returned it.