Julie the ‘Merciful’

Julie knew there was no way to win this argument with her mother about how many little ones she possessed and if she wasn’t careful, she could actually get herself grounded completely. Frowning, she let out a sigh, “I think I have like four or five,” she said, scanning around the chaotic mess of her bedroom.

“I would like to see them,” Merys instructed, giving Julie a humoring smile.

“God,” Julie protested, grumbling something incoherent under her breath.

“Julie,” Merys snapped, admonishing the girl, displeasure written all over her face.

Sulking, “Fine,” yielded the redhead, moving through the clutter strewn about on her floor and walking to her unkempt bed before plopping down on the edge and sliding out the drawer on her night table. Reaching into the drawer, she removed a small clear bottle with a child proof safety cap, empty save for a tiny figured huddled inside, “One,” she said, shaking it vigorously up and down, bouncing the small form back and forth off the lid and the bottom of the bottle before tossing it near the end of her unmade bed.

“Did you give that one a name?” Merys asked, raising an eyebrow.

Julie snorted, “No, the others called it Mitch,” she said, getting off the bed and down onto her knees, drawing a small covered shoebox. Picking it up, she set it on her bed and removed the lid revealing two little figures stored within, one seated in a corner, arms wrapped around its knees and shivering, the other lying prone and unmoving.

“Hey,” Julie said, reaching into the box and jabbing the still body with the nail of her right index finger to try and goad it into motion. The figure didn’t respond. Picking it up by an arm, she lifted the limp thing out of the box and flicked it back into the palm of her open hand before giving it a bit of a shake. “Hmm,” she noised, scrutinizing the thin a moment then curling her fingers around it and giving it good squeeze, smiling at the screams and crunching sound it made before she quickly sucked it into her mouth and swallowed.

“Jesus!” blurted the remaining figure in the box, tone masculine, coming to its feet and moving forward, eyes huge and round on its tiny face.

Julie grinned, “That makes me so wet,” she purred.

“You just killed him!” accused the lone tiny left in the box.

“Guess he shouldn’t have been trying to fake me out,” she commented, licking her lips before sucking on the fingers of the hand that had just snuffed out the little life.

“Where’s Bohdi?” he asked.

Ignoring the tiny figure, Julie slid the lid of the box back into place

“Bohdi?” Merys asked, wisp of a smile touching her lips as she looked in askance at her daughter. The likelihood of two people with that unusual name being in her home at the same time seemed a little too remote to be coincidental. So it would appear Faith had been dispatching her toys into Julie’s room and swiping her sister’s playthings. She knew without a doubt the girl would not condone an intrusion into her room, which confirmed the notion this one had taken it upon itself to dare. Julian. The one sentenced to spend some time in her younger daughter’s bottom.

Julie shrugged, the name meant nothing to her. “I still don’t think it’s fair I’m getting punished because Faith can’t keep track of her tinies,” she pouted while sliding the box back under the bed and getting to her feet.

“You’re not being punished for that. You are being reprimanded because of your behavior whilst I was redressing your sister’s containment issues,” she clarified.

Julie knelt down next to a heap of dirty clothing, sifting through it feeling for the presence of a little one.

“You know if you kept your room neat,” Merys said, tone reproachful.

Sitting back on her heels, Julie rolled her eyes, “I know mom,” she said, tone borderline insolent but just enough not to warrant reproach. “I thought I had another one of them down here,” she said, leaning forward again and resuming her search. Finding nothing, she got up to her feet and went to the desk, pulling out the pen drawer. There, on a wooden ruler was another tiny figure, head near the zero end and wrapped in binding it to ruler. Picking up the measuring stick, she brought the bound little one in front of her face and smiled. “How many is that?” she inquired, dropping the ruler on top of the desk.

“Three,” Merys answered.

“Oh yeah,” Julie giggled, walking over to the cork tack board on her wall where there was another figure crucified with different colored pushpins. Leaning in close, she blew in its face causing it to rouse.

“Help me,” it croaked, voice barely audible.

“Help me,” mocked Julie, reaching out and squeezing it abruptly by its male genitalia and causing it to shriek in pain. She laughed, withdrawing her hand and licking the tips of her fingers before mashing them against the face of the crucified tiny.

“Four is it then?” Merys asked.

Finished tormenting her plaything, Julie shrugged, “I guess, like I said before I don’t really keep records of my conquests,” she said.

“Well clean this up and then give me an accurate accounting of what you have, otherwise I’ll restrict your access as well,” she threatened.

Julie glowered but had enough sense to restrain her tongue. A week was brutal. A month? Unbearable. She could feel the broken thing inside her stomach move, making her smile

Seeing the expression on her daughter’s face, “I mean it,” Merys warned. She would brook no disobedience.

Julie nodded, not questioning the veracity of her mother’s threat.

“Good. Dirty clothes to the laundry room,” she said, pointing at the soiled pile. “Vacuum, everything.”

“Yes, I’ll make sure it’s properly cleaned,” Julie assured, nodding.

Giving Julie her serious look, Merys nodded and exited the room. How she could have produced two daughters who seemed so completely opposite, she had no idea, whatever, it was thoroughly amusing.