October Halloween Exclusive - "Catching" - Part 2

TWO

Harper dreams of unicorns.

It must be the one in her arms; the little girl in the fuzzy blue onesie. Avery must be inspiring her.

The unicorn in Harper’s dream is pink. It has glassy eyes and a broad, innocent smile that makes Harper want to say, You’re a dumb unicorn. You’re not smart at all.

But she doesn’t say it. Partly, because dream Harper is polite. Harper doesn’t say rude things.

Dream Harper is little. She is just a girl, and she minds her manners and she does as she’s told. This was true in real life, back in the day, and so why shouldn’t her dreamed version act the same way?

Of course, back in the day, when Harper was four, she didn’t have her very own unicorn.

It’s so fluffy, so soft! Harper cuddles the unicorn, looks into its glassy eyes and kisses its idiotic mouth.

“Pretty girl”, the unicorn says. Its mouth doesn’t move, but Harper hears the unicorn all the same. “Pretty girl. Pretty, silly, little girl.”

Harper nods her head. She is all those things. Because this is a dream, and she can be anything she wants.

Why does she want to be little? Harper isn’t sure about that. But when she looks down at the unicorn’s hooves, Harper hears herself giggle, the sweetest of little girl laughs.

“You got gold feets!” she declares, and doesn’t she sound just like Avery. Sounds like her; doesn’t look like her. Red-headed, freckled Avery, is nowhere to be found in Harper’s dream, which is funny, because Avery loves unicorns. She might even love them as much as Harper does.

The unicorn nods, poking playfully at Harper with its matching gold horn, poking her in the belly.

Harper giggles again. “Silly unicorn!” she accuses, and then she puts her arms around her new fluffy friend, and how nice that feels, to cuddle, and Harper imagines her eyes are just as glassy as the unicorn’s, and her smile is just as foolish.

“You’re all full up,” the unicorn whispers, tickling Harper’s ear with its breath. “You should let it out.”

Let what out? Harper doesn’t know, but she relaxes in her dream. 

Harper listens as the unicorn praises her. "Good girl! What a good, silly, pretty girl! You're letting it all out!"

Harper soaks up the praise, sighing happily. She cuddles her fuzzy friend. How warm she feels, how safe and simple.

And then how wet.

How wet and squishy.