Figments
Date Thursday, March 28, 2024 - 10:56 AM PST
Topic Entertainment


I was walking along, minding my own business, not paying much attention to the world around me, as is generally the case. I tend to withdraw into myself on occasion, and this was one of those times. My thoughts were swirling in a miasma of confusion, self-pity, and general despair. I felt I hadn't a friend left in the world. It had been so long since I'd had a friendly touch or word that I'd given up hope of ever feeling... anything.
I was staring at my feet as they were rhythmically pacing the sidewalk, sidestepping other feet I would see approaching mine, when I ran into him with the force of hitting a brick wall. Where he had come from, I've no idea... he was just suddenly there, with his arms curling around me to keep me from falling as my mind adjusted to the shock of returning so abruptly to the real world.

He slipped a long, elegant finger under my chin and lifted my head so my eyes met his. His eyes... they were the most startling cobalt blue I've ever seen, never before had I seen that color in a human being's eyes. They glowed with an inner fire that was eerily disturbing, a cold fire with no warmth or emotion. I shivered and would have looked away, but his eyes held me captive and I couldn't move. I could hardly breathe.

He studied me intently, then as if seeing just what he'd expected in my eyes, the corners of his mouth lifted in a slight smile.

"I've been looking for you." he said, the words rolling over me in his lilting, musical voice. Was that accent British? It didn't matter, from the moment he spoke to me, my heart lurched and began beating so fast I thought I would lose consciousness if he spoke again. I was falling under whatever spell this man was casting over me with a speed and recklessness that was alarming.

I caught my breath, and realized I was standing on the street, in the arms of a complete stranger who was very strange indeed, and instead of feeling danger, I was entranced and filled with a nameless longing. I took a step back, and studied him with the same thoroughness he had used with me.

He was tall, a little over six feet, with a slender build. His hair was shoulder-length, a very light blond, fine and flowing. His face was finely made, with wide eyes and high cheekbones. He was dressed all in black, with a long, heavy coat draped over him like a cloak.

"Do I meet with your approval?" he asked, arching one eyebrow. "Come with me, we need to talk." He took my hand, and pulled me over to a doorway. I followed him, unresisting. I don't think I could have resisted him if I'd tried.

We entered what looked like a musty antique shop, odd things and curios were everywhere and it looked as if it had never been dusted, like an attic that someone had forgotten about for a hundred years had been transported to this little shop in the heart of the city. He guided me through the tangled mess, winding his way to the back of the shop where there was a small table and chairs, and stove on which sat a teapot at boil. He pushed me firmly onto a chair and set a cup of tea before me. I took a hesitant sip as he sat across from me, and leaning over, took my other hand in his.

I smiled at him, feeling calmer and more secure, though I still had the unreal feeling that I was in a waking dream. "Who are you?" I managed to ask him. It didn't seem like an unreasonable question.

"I am the greatest figment of your imagination, darling. I am now your only protector and your only source of comfort." He glanced pityingly at me and went on, to my growing horror... "You collapsed out there, under the weight of your cares and woes. You just couldn't take it anymore. Your body by now is in some institution, attached to tubes because you can't be bothered to live in the real world with real people any more. This shop, with all its clutter... is in fact your mind."

"Are you crazy?!" I shouted, jumping up. I stood there shaking. It couldn't be true. I was standing right here, I was real, he was real. I had felt him touch me. I ran to the front of the shop, knocking knicknacks loose, feeling a sharp pain explode in my head when one of them hit the floor and shattered. I reached the door of the shop and grabbed the handle and pulled it open. Brilliant white light burned my eyes and I heard a voice saying, "She's regained consciousness! Wait, we're losing her..."

The door slammed shut and he pulled me away from it, holding my struggling form tightly against his chest. I kicked and beat at him with my fists but he was much stronger than he'd looked. He gripped my wrists and forced my hands to my sides as we slid to the floor. He laid over me, pinning me to the floor with his body. I screamed in frustration, and he only laughed softly, his breath warm on my cheek. I went still as his lips brushed my temple, then moved slowly along my jawline... his mouth on mine was a fiery brand of possession, stealing my resistance and making me his slave. I struggled weakly against him, half wanting him, and hating him with a fury that threatened to consume me.

"You made this happen, I do not want this, and I could leave and go back to the real world if you didn't hold me back. Why are you doing this?" I cried, tears pooling in my eyes and threatening to spill over.

He raised his head and licked the tears out of the corners of my eyes before gently replying, "Because now that you have made me, I need you. Without you here, I don't exist. I am never going to let you go."

(to be continued...)


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