She winces at the thought of being ripped at the limbs, each piece given to a creature as a present. “Yes . . .”
“Yes. And you are mine. Correct?”
“Yes!”
He settles, satisfied, and continues, “So, let’s say I want something that a creature owns. Because you are valuable, they may give me what I want in exchange for you.”
Her face twists in horror, heart pounding hysterically against the inside of her chest. He can feel it; he hopes she truly understands that fear.
“You wouldn’t give me to them, would you, Daddy?! You wouldn’t, you wouldn’t, YOU—”
“No, no, my sweet! It was only an example.” He digs his fingertips into her skin, calming her with his icy touch. “I would never give you away for anything in the world. I am only explaining that you are like money. That you are valuable.”
She can feel his arms constrict around her body. The corners of her mouth still from the trembling and then curl.
They lie in quiet until her fear lessens.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“What’s outside the door?”
His jaw tightens. “The Outside.”
“Yes, I know that,” she whines. “I know it’s the Outside. But what is the Outside?”
He grunts, his voice turning into a low gurgle. “It’s an unsafe place. Especially for valuable things.”
“But . . . I think you’re valuable, Daddy.”
He is caught off guard. A low flow of emotion pours into his stomach—the distant, all too infrequent feeling of love. The affection builds and bursts once in his chest like a dying star, then leaves all too quickly, like a fleeting hit. Self-defeated laughter laces his response:
“Thank you, my sweet. But you are far more valuable than you can ever imagine.”
She blushes, her body suddenly feeling hot where his warmthless skin rests. “So, you can go to the Outside and I can’t?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I can protect myself. You are too vulnerable.”
His tone is curt, but she does not notice.
“Valuable and vulnerable . . .” She hesitates over the words, their consonants uniquely rolling around in her mouth. “Well, what if we went to the Outside together? That way the creatures know I’m yours and they won’t come near us!”
“That is not how the Outside works, Vanilla. The creatures will try to steal you away from me. They may fear me, but the moment they see you, they will hunt you down. Do you want that? Do you want to be taken from me? To never see me again?”
“No . . . no, I don’t!” The realization escalates in her suddenly frantic words. “Daddy . . . Daddy, that’s not what I meant. No! N—”
“Don’t worry, my sweet! As long as you stay safe here with me, those creatures from the Outside won’t get you. You’ll stay safe here with me, right?”
“Right . . . yes, I will,” she whispers, her throat quivering painfully.
“Good.”
“Daddy . . . ?” To speak now feels like injecting a syringe into her esophagus and dragging the needle up and down the flesh. But she clears her throat and speaks up. “Daddy?”