A Little Dialogue, Maybe More

"Who are you?" he asked the man who blocked his way, wondering if he already knew. This entire place had a stink of familiarity.

The man was taller than he, and looked down at him with a steady, unblinking gaze as he answered. "I'm one of the people that you meet on your way to the bottom. I'm what happens when you get lost in thought and don't find your way back."

"You don't seem that different," he said as he furrowed his brow, trying to remember.

"I will, I'm sure." The tall man's sudden smile was like an animal baring its fangs.

"So where do we go from here?" He asked too loudly. The smile had unnerved him.

The tall man closed his eyes at last and did not open them. He began to sing flatly. "The road is long, with twisting paths/ That all the maps have long forgotten."

"Hey, that's a song by Sarah McLachlan...but the words aren't right."

The tall man's eyes snapped open. Had they been grey before? His teeth flashed dully as he spoke through them. "They will be, I'm sure." He began to hum the tune to himself and slowly rock back and forth on his heels.

"I don't think I want to go anywhere with you." Although he was no weakling, the tall man carried about him an air of feral power that made him doubt that he could overcome him easily, if at all.

The tall man laughed dryly. "I see that you still don't grasp the unique situation you have found yourself in. Perhaps we should practice a bit. Try understanding this: Right now, your options could fit inside a thimble. Have you got that?"

"I-"

"Good. Now try this one: If you choose to continue on alone, all that will be left of you will be able to fit snugly into the remaining space of said thimble." The tall man clapped a hand onto his shoulder and squeezed painfully. "And the irony of it all is that thimble size is about the only thing our worlds have the least bit in common."

And that's all. For now, anyway. But some books are written like that, right? You send in the beginning, the publisher sends you an advance...I'm not sure what the next step is, but I think it involves cashing the check and running.

Guardians From The Nation-State of Guillermo Sent To Safeguard Neighboring Kingdom

So basically I'll be apartment sitting for Joey while he's in Las Vegas. Hello, high-speed cable internet connection. I'm looking forward to a very productive weekend.

But it won't be productive if I don't get some sleep. I was just over at Brandon's house and I fell asleep on his couch for half an hour. I was awoken by a kiss on my forehead.

It was his roommate, Katie. I've known her for years. She was coming home from a party and then going out to another, or something.

It was a very pleasant way to be woken up.

I strongly doubt that anyone will wake me up for work tomorrow morning with anything as pleasant as a kiss. I have had the dog thrown on me, which I don't particularly enjoy and I'm pretty sure neither does he.

Oh well. I guess I should just be thankful we don't have a family porcupine.

And I'm going to bed....now.