They wanted me. And so they took me.

I woke up in my room--except that it wasn't. It was...greener. I blinked, rubbed my eyes, tried to focus. What was it that was off?

Something floated by me, speck-small and shimmering gold like a star. A very, very tiny star. I sat up slowly and looked around. They were everywhere, hovering almost motionless in some places and flowing in invisble air currents in others. They looked like dust motes in a bar of sunlight--except that they were visible everywhere. And speaking of light, that was weird too. I squinted. That was the source of the green--the light coming in through the window-that-was-not-mine. It was like the light through leaves of a tree, but there was no tree outside my window. I live in New York City--there's not a whole lot of space for trees.

I opened my mouth, realized there were no words in it, and closed it again.

Where am I?

I closed my eyes, thought back to last night. My head was muddled, memories fleeing and dancing like leaves in a strong wind. Green eyes--like mine, but not mine. A flash of canines bared in a smile. Freckled shoulders and the heavy smell of cinnamon and marjoram.

I remembered, suddenly, like the illumination of lightning in a dark, stormy sky.

They wanted me. And so they took me.

My mouth pulled open like a puppet's, a silent wail, eyes screwed shut and hands clenched to my chest.

I curled into myself and wept.

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Her name is Charlotte, and she is nineteen.

She is a changeling in an in-between city.

updated Aug 25 '09 by ostentatious_milk