W.T.F.

I was happy asleep. Still ok when I woke, before I opened my eyes.

You've overslept before. You know how you know, the moment you wake, you're late.

It's like that. Except it isn't just the light. It's the fabric I'm balled up under. Its feel. Its smell. The... presence behind me.

I freeze another moment, as if this would pass. I open my eyes. It doesn't help. The window's not in the right place, and the light pouring in is wrong.

I'd not been drinking or anything.

I twist round, and almost scream, clamping a hand over my mouth. Who the fuck is that?! He snorts and shifts. I scramble away from him as quietly as possible.

I slip out of bed, pull on a robe from the back of the door and creep out. Onto the landing. Since when do I have a landing?? I trip on some toys. Oh noooo...

It's too spacious. There are stairs. Worse: a gallery of family photos lines them, and I'm in the pictures! I recognise the man from the bed, but the small boys are strangers.

They're in the lounge. Picking their noses. Watching cartoons. They've abandoned half-eaten bowls of cereal on the expensive-looking sofa.

At the kitchen table, I run my fingers over my scalp like gardening tools, pushing them deep into my hair.

What the fuck.

"Muuuum," comes a shout. "Can we-"

I want to snap, "I'm not your mum!" but I swallow it.

He comes into the kitchen. I stare. His Spider-man pyjamas are grubby with coco pops and spilt milk.

Then he... stops. His face looks weird, because he was just about to form a word. It's like someone pressed Pause.

I waggle my hand in front of his face. Partly to check if he reacts, but also to see if I can in fact still waggle it. That's when I catch sight of the suited gentlemen with white hair and a trimmed beard, watching me.

"There appears to have been a mix-up, Ms Welch."

I goggle at him.

"You appear to have developed the ability to take other people's memories," he continues. "Quite alarming, I imagine. We can help you put it right. But first, I want to discuss this with you an Opportunity. Your newfound ability could be very helpful to law enforcement."

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Author's Note:

Word count: 366

(NB. This excludes the title, subtitle, and authors note.)

Submitted on Wednesday 28th August at 23:59

Edited for formatting and to fix links.

A Year of Stories: I'm writing (and submitting, here) a story every day this year. This one continues my 241 day streak since 1st January.

Please consider lending your support to the other creators on this madcap "a story every day" adventure. They're putting out excellent content every day!

Rachel Deeming

Gerard DiLeo

The story behind the story: this is an idea I had for the Epic Beginnings Challenge. I'll try to edit this one and submit a more streamlined version to the challenge.

Thank you

Especially if you are one of the wonderful people who has been staunchly reading these daily scribbles since the start of the year. I see you, and appreciate you very much indeed!

If you enjoyed this one, the very best compliment you can give me is to share it, or read another!

A recent Runner Up placement for one of my Wanky Poems:

Another recent challenge entry:

My look back at July:

My reflections on the recent nonet challenge:

My current Dollar Challenge:

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Thank you again!