I watched him from the shadows. Skin pale with fear, heart flickering like a candle in a storm. Wandering through the dark forest like he didn't belong to the world outside his castle walls

Curiosity. Loneliness. The ache of being unloved

He had grown up behind high stone walls, the kind with golden beds and locked doors. His hands were soft, his eyes wide. He was the kind of child who listened too well. Who never screamed back. Who held in every hunger until it twisted inside him like a knot of thorns

They told him "don’t go there" That something like me lived here They never said my name, but they said monster They said creature They said it'll take him They made me sound so cruel

I waited, and let him decide for himself That night, he ran from the castle Barefoot. Breathless. The sun sinking behind him like a dying promise

I moved through the branches like mist, careful not to snap a twig. You must never rush a moment like this. Trust is a brittle thing, and fear breaks it if it comes too fast

He paused in a clearing

I whispered "Don’t you worry… just follow everywhere I go..."

He didn't run. He should have. But instead, he listened. I could see the war in his eyes: fear pulling him back, longing pulling him forward. I spoke again, softer this time

"Top of all the mountains or valley low… I'll give you everything you've been dreaming of..."

He took a step. Just one. His breath turned white in the cold air I stepped inside his mind I showed him golden things, comfort, power, warmth, a voice that never yelled, hands that never hit. I promised stories where he was the hero, not the mistake

"Everything you want in gold, I'll be the magic story you've been told..."

Didn't he dream of that? A world where he was special Wanted Safe, under my control

"Just let me in" And for a moment, he did For a time, I wrapped around him. Not with claws or chains, but gently, like a lullaby curling around his bones. My voice smoothed his nightmares. I replaced them with dreams of running through forests where nothing could touch him, ever again

But even dreams have rules You can't lie too long You can't hide what's real forever He walked across thin ice, enchanted, under my spell And when the ice cracked, when cold reality stabbed through his skin He woke Eyes wild. Mouth open in a scream

"Is there someone out there? Please help me, come get me!" He ran. Faster than I had ever seen. He left pieces of my dream clinging to him like cobwebs. He would never forget it. The warmth. The safety. The control

I didn't chase him I didn't need to

Because I knew something he didn't

That no one ever comes They never do But that's the beauty of it, isn't it? He remembers my voice now He remembers the almost The next time he's alone He'll come back. They always do When the castle feels colder. When the world says no When no one hears his cries I'll be there And this time, he'll let me in Willingly