“Four princes.”
The words weren’t spoken but just suddenly popped into my head. It started (night before) yesterday when I was having coffee with some [redacted]. I asked them if they had spoken, verbal or otherwise, but they had not. These folk don’t lie, so I chalked it up to random stray thought and forgot it.
“Four princes.”
The words returned randomly. Carrying a matter of fact tone that implied I knew the context. I don’t. Was someone taking inventory of their family tree? The words were devoid of emotion.
“Four princes.”
The words returned last night, popping in at random moments of dreamless sleep or hypnagogic rest. This time I challenged them. Four princes do what? Host a ball? Divide taxes? Need to be rescued? But no answer followed. Just a strange impetus that I should be aware of the words.
“Four princes.”
(Later…)
“Four princes”
Holy fuck, why did I not see it the moment the phrase was uttered! It’s not a phrase. It’s a name. And it’s not so much a name, as it is a [title]. If you’ll excuse me, I have a very (im)patient entity knocking at my door.