Chapter Text
There's always been something about that particular place the temperature hovers in Autumn. When that chill is numbing your cheeks bold actions seem possible. It feels dramatic, like anything could happen if you let it.
Classes are done for the day and it's time to head home. The pace I set along my path is leisurely enough to allow me some enjoyment of the season's beauty. Dead leaves crunch between my saddle shoes and the cement. I close my eyes and suck the air into my lungs, holding it in. I want it to suffuse my body with its possibility.
I continue my walk around a corner on the path. It's not until now when I notice how empty the park seems today. Strange, it isn't that cold yet. Oh well, all the more peace and quiet to enjoy. An impulse strikes me and I start humming a tune for a bit before breaking into full song.
There is a castle on a cloud
I like to go there in my sleep
Aren't any floors for me to sweep
Not in my castle on --
"Come here little girl."
I nearly trip over my own feet at the unexpected sound. I turn towards the source of this voice and see a man in a black pinstriped suit sitting on a nearby bench. I hadn't noticed him before and I just stand there dumbfounded. He pats the bench beside him.
"W-who me?" I say, looking around foolishly.
He nods and continues, "Let's you and I palaver for a spell."
"I don't know if I should. I'm supposed to be getting home soon."
The man's smile wavers. "No one likes a girl playing coy. Now come have a seat."
Goosebumps appear, covering my arms. My body must know something I don't because I sit down beside the stranger.
"My father's on his way to walk me home. I don't think he'd like finding me here talking to you," I blurt out from some kind of atavistic place inside me dedicated to self preservation.
"Come come, my dear. We both know that's a lie and it's not ladylike to lie."
Feeling caught, my face flushes and I'm not feeling so chilly anymore. "I've seen you before," I say so softly it's almost a whisper.
He lifts an eyebrow at my claim. "Have you now?" I nod and fold my hands on my lap.
After a moment of silence he utters a sound of frustration and gestures for me to continue. "When I was a kid I went to this birthday party for a girl in my class at the roller rink. I fell in front of everyone and was so embarrassed I ran out the building through the back door without even taking my skates off."
"You were crying and you fell again in your haste," he continues for me.
"Yes, you were there. You spoke kindly to me and picked me up in your arms. I was so distraught and you made me feel so safe that in my sobbing explanation of what happened, I called you Daddy even though I'd never even had a dad before," I pause, blushing deeper. "Then you did something funny. You kissed my forehead and called me kitten."
"Then what did I tell you? Do you remember?"
"You said… you said you'd be back for me. You said not to worry and that one day I'd...know what I was for? You put me down and scooted me towards the building before walking away. My mother came out then, looking for me. I tried going after you but she stopped me," I say, lifting my eyes to his. "I snuck out at night walking around my neighborhood. I hoped that by thinking hard enough that maybe I could conjure you from thin air. I started to think I had imagined you after a while."
"Well, as you can see, I am very much real and very much a man of my word...kitten," he says rising to his feet and holding a hand out to me. I take it and let him lead me off the path.
I don't know what I'm doing but the pull is too strong. I stammer, "This isn't the way home."
"How would you know? Have you been this way before?"
"Well, no, but I…"
"You what?" He glances back without slowing his pace.
"It just seems dark is all."
Turning swiftly he catches my other hand in his and pulls me to him. He's so close I can feel his breath on my face as he says, "Oh, it is, my darling. More than you can possibly dream, but you will learn, yes you will."
"Is where we're going far?"
"Far enough."
"I'm scared."
"There will be things to fear--terrible things. But you'll get used to it and eventually come to love it as you'll love me," he coos cupping my cheek in his hand and I don't flinch. It's as if I'm hypnotized.
"You can't know that," I say, breathless.
"But I do, sweet love. You are soft and warm and wet and forgiving. You are everything that is needed."
"For what?"
"Me, myself, and I."
"You need me? Is that why you've come back? How did you know I was here?"
"I've always known you, precious heart. I want to take you in. Take you home--your new home--and I'll show you how to love and how to fuck like the big girl you'll never quite become."
"What if I want to grow up?"
"Not a choice. Not your option."
"And if I can't love you?"
"Tsk tsk, you've already begun that long ago and as I've said, it's not ladylike to lie."