I wait quietly in the shadows. He'll come, eventually. He always does, bringing bright smiles and the eyes of the ocean. I am content to wait.
A tiger joins me, clothed in black silk, and blinks chocolate kisses. He wonders why I wait. I tell him that the prince is coming to free the king, and he shakes his head sadly.
"You say that every day, Alice."
I laugh. I do, but only because it's true. He always comes.
The tiger wonders why I hide in the shadows, but he forgets the chain, woven out of the voices and faces I know but don't remember.
I had screamed and raged, at first. The shadows were fearful, and held on tighter.
But I'm safe here. The shadows sing to me while I wait.
I don't have to wait long.
"Hi, Mom. How was your day?"
I don't know what he is saying - the shadows jarble his words - but I smile and hand him a wrapper, and he smiles back.
"I stayed up a little too late last night, so I'm going to take a nap, okay?" He crawls onto my bed and curls into my side.
I braid the ribbons he brought me and watch him drift into the Dream World. His mouth twitches and I know he is slaying the dragons and finding the keys, and soon the chains will be unlocked.
Soon we can go home.
Written for the Tien Len Competition. Go Team One! Also, for "Shadows of this place softly congregate but never show their faces to the other monster races." in the War of the Elemental Song Competition, "Oneirataxia," "Nyctophilia," "Micawber," "Habromania" in Interesting Words, Nala and "chocolate" in the Disney Competition.
