Monday Flash Fics - Lost and Found

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!