Lost
and found
I can’t keep my
eyes off him. The way he stands there, leaning against the post that once upon
a time held a door, glaring into the establishment that has recently become my
home away from home, I can’t help being intrigued. His posture and gaze suggest
strength, power, and more than a little menace — all traits which should
frighten me. And yet, I find it impossible to tear my gaze away from him, even
after he’s caught me staring more than once.
I should be used to
creatures like him by now. After all, while I don’t remember how I ended up in
this world, I do know for a fact that I’ve been here for thirty-three days,
eleven hours and forty-nine minutes — but who’s counting? I’ve seen it all, at
least I think so. It’s hard to imagine there could be more creatures. The
giants and the dwarves, the elves and the orcs, the unicorns, centaurs, dragons
and leprechauns are just those I recognised and could put a name to. In fact,
everything I’d be taught didn’t exist has crossed my path here. And I’ve
learned to be weary. Where I came from humans like me ruled the world to the
point of destroying it without care for those we shared it with. Here? In this
new world I’m nothing but an after-thought, an also ran. The only reason I
haven’t been killed yet is that nobody perceives me as a threat.
Take him, whatever
he is — too large to be an elf but nowhere near big enough to be classified as
a giant and too good looking to be in anyway related to orcs — he could snap me
in two with one hand tied behind his back. And still, something draws me to
him. It is as if an invisible thread, some weird form of magnetism, connects us.
I’m all too aware that the only way to stay safe is to remain in the background,
and yet, the urge to close the distance between us and connect with him becomes
harder to resist with every passing moment.
The cat that’s been
my constant companion since I first woke up in this world, abandons its usual
perch on my shoulders, jumps to the floor and casually saunters over to the
creature. It circles his feet a few times, as if sussing him out, before
rubbing its head against his booted calf and staring at me intently. Is it
trying to tell me something?
I resist the demand
in my cat’s gaze for as long as I can, but when I look up in an effort to evade
it I find the creature staring at me with equal intensity. My free will shuts
down and I leave my seat. Putting one foot in front of the other without
knowing why and against my better judgement, I close the distance between us.
As soon as I stand in front of the stranger, who’s even bigger up close, my cat
jumps up and settles on my shoulder again.
“I belong to you.”
His voice is deep and its timbre makes my blood flow faster.
“You do,” I reply
without understanding what’s happening or why. “Let’s go.”
He turns without
another word. When he walks off I follow, while the cat purrs happily into my
ear.
****
554 words.
Okay, the above is
obscure and feels more like the start of a story than anything else, but hey…it’s
what wanted to be written. And who knows, I may actually turn it into something
longer at some point.
More stories based
on the same image will be posted in the Monday
Flash Fics group on Facebook. Go check them out!
