One step forward.
And another.
And again.
 
This rhythm defines my life. It wasn't always like this, I know that for certain. But right now I'm locked here, in this glass cage, forced to step again, and again, and again. My endless circles have no meaning and yet I'm made to repeat them. There is no "or else", I can't stop. They're going to keep me here forever, I know it for a certainty. I'll stay here, in the glass cage, and move forward a step at a time.
 
I'm not alone, I have that comfort. Alongside me walks another, at a slower rate. Maybe he's tired, I don't know. I never felt like I was tired, but maybe that happens eventually. I can't slow down, not even if I want to. Alongside him there's a shorter one, barely moving. I swear that one only walks when I look away.
Step forward once, step forward twice, again and again.
 
Maybe I'm not tired, but I'm sick to death of this. These circles have no meaning, my existence has no meaning, and yet I'm made to suffer through it. I can't slow down, I can't stop, I can't break the glass cage. I can't even talk to my fellow prisoners. I like to think they'd like to talk to me too, but can't either. Maybe they conjured up elaborate escape plans, but they require my cooperation and I have no idea how to assist them.
These kinds of thoughts keep me sane. The thoughts that tell me there's an end in sight, not just another circle to perform a step at a time. If time passes, I can't tell. I know I counted the circles once, and reached a depressingly large number, but eventually I stopped counting.
 
 I can't even remember the number anymore. It faded away like my purpose. Did I even have a purpose? Ever? I never really thought about it, but I never really felt I do. Maybe walking forward is my purpose. A step forward, and another, again. Is this it? Aren't I fulfilling it? Shouldn't I be filled with satisfaction?
I'm really not. This can't be it.
 
Then, like a miracle, I stop in place.
It takes me some time to fully understand my situation. I have stopped. I never could, and I wasn't trying to either. I was just walking forward as always, and then... here I am.
I shyly try to take a step forward. I can't.
This is amazing. I think I like it. I think I like it a lot. I look over to the others - they've stopped too!
Outside the glass cage I hear a faint sound. What is that? Is that salvation? Are they going to take me outside? Is my purpose fulfilled?
 
"The clock needs a new battery."