My ear itches. It feels like the itchiness is going as deep as my brain. I want…something. I think I need to go. Dad says to never open the door but I think I need to do that right now. Right now. Right now.

My feet are taking me to the door but my brain is a mess of resistance and acceptance. I open the door and, to my surprise, someone is outside. At the bottom of the stairs stands a woman. She stares at me in what looks like confusion. I feel like I know her but that can’t be true, I don’t know anyone. The woman starts on her way up the stairs and I begin to feel nervous. The closer she gets, the more I realize how freaking tall she is in comparison to me. I think she’s around six feet and three inches or so. Just tall. She steps right up to me and looks down slightly to make eye contact,

“And who might you be?” she asks. Part of me was hurt for some reason. Why am I offended that she needs to ask who I am? It’s not like we know one another,

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“My dad says I’m not supposed to talk to strangers so bye,” I knew I should not be talking this long with a stranger but I was intrigued. The woman was obviously about to say something when dad came up behind me. He was so quiet I might not have noticed him if he hadn’t tapped me on my shoulder. Dad stared at the foreign person a bit too long for my comfort. When he finally spoke, he sounded calm,

“How can I help you ma’am?”

The woman smirked a bit,

“It’s me, I’m here to fulfill my duty”

I watched as my dad’s eyes furrowed before he gasped softly and called out to her. I honestly wasn’t really paying attention after dad seemed to recognize her—boring grown-up stuff. I went back inside to give them some privacy to talk. Who was that woman? Why do I feel like I know her? And what was it she said she was here for? Duty?