Trading Post

@DailyDi that is good news.  Keep us updated.

*I knock on the door to the facility* I want to get booked please 

I'm interested

The little shop sat at the end of a quiet street, tucked between a bakery and an old bookstore. Its windows were filled with stuffed animals of every shape and size, from sleepy bears to floppy-eared bunnies and enormous dinosaurs that looked like they could barely fit through the front door. It was the kind of place that made you slow down without even realizing it. Eli stood outside for several minutes before finally reaching for the door handle. He was a grown man, but that didn't stop his stomach from twisting into nervous little knots. He had been looking for a new stuffie for weeks, and today he'd finally worked up enough courage to come inside. Still, the moment the bell above the door jingled, he suddenly wished he could disappear behind the nearest display. "Take your time, sweetheart," a woman's voice said gently. Eli froze and looked toward the counter. The woman standing behind it smiled at him. She had a warm, calm presence about her, the kind that didn't demand attention but somehow made you feel noticed anyway. She wore a little name tag that simply said Anna. "I'm Anna," she said. "And you don't have to be nervous in here. The stuffies don't judge." Eli glanced toward the shelves before quietly asking, "Even the dinosaurs?" Anna placed a hand dramatically over her heart. "Especially the dinosaurs. They're far too busy plotting their takeover of the bakery next door." A tiny smile appeared on Eli's face. "I like dinosaurs." "I had a feeling you might," Anna replied with a grin. Eli walked farther into the shop, keeping his hands tucked nervously into his sleeves. He tried to look at the shelves without looking too interested, but Anna noticed the way his eyes kept drifting toward a large shelf filled with soft animals. "You looking for someone special?" Anna asked. Eli nodded shyly. "Maybe." "That's okay," Anna said. "Sometimes finding the right stuffie takes a little while." Eli glanced at her. "You understand?" Anna smiled warmly. "Of course I do." Eli hesitated before admitting, "I'm... kind of shy about this." Anna's expression softened. "You don't ever have to be embarrassed about something that brings you comfort." Those words caught him off guard. Eli looked down at the floor, rubbing his thumb nervously against his sleeve before quietly saying, "I've always liked stuffies. Even though I'm an adult." "And?" Anna asked gently. Eli swallowed. "And sometimes I like being little." Anna didn't laugh nor did she mock him.  She simply nodded with a warm smile. "Then sometimes you're little. There's nothing wrong with that." Eli finally looked up. "You're not going to think I'm weird?" Anna leaned against the counter and smiled. "Sweetheart, weird is walking into a bakery and asking for a dozen donuts, then realizing you meant a dozen eggs. Liking stuffies isn't weird." Eli laughed softly. "That sounds oddly specific." "It may or may not have happened to me," Anna admitted shrugging with a giggle. For the first time since he'd walked through the door, Eli relaxed. He wandered toward a shelf of bears. There were brown bears, white bears, tiny bears, enormous bears, and one particularly round bear wearing a blue bow tie, Eli reached out and picked him up. "Oh," he whispered. Anna watched him carefully. "That's the one, isn't it?" Eli hugged the bear against his chest. "I think so." The bear was ridiculously soft, his ears were slightly floppy, his paws were oversized, and his little blue bowtie was crooked. "He looks like he needs someone," Eli said. Anna smiled. "Or maybe he found someone who needs him." Eli looked at her, and for a moment neither of them said anything. Then Anna walked around the counter and crouched slightly so she was closer to his eye level. "You know, being little doesn't mean you have to be brave all the time," Anna said. Eli swallowed. "I don't really know how to explain it." "You don't have to," Anna reassured him. Eli looked down at the bear. "I just sometimes I want someone to tell me it's okay to be little." Anna's expression became even gentler. "Then let me tell you something, it's okay to be little. It's okay to need comfort, it's okay to be playful and silly. And it's okay to want someone who can be firm when you need guidance while still making you feel loved and safe." Eli's eyes grew a little wider. "You're a Mommy, aren't you?" Anna smiled. "I am." He immediately looked down, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean—" "Hey," Anna said gently but firmly. Eli looked up at her. "Never apologize for asking a respectful question." He nodded slowly. "Yes, Mommy," he whispered. Anna smiled, but she didn't tease him. "That's better." Eli hugged the bear a little tighter. "I've never really had anyone I could be like this around." Anna nodded slowly. "Then maybe today isn't just about finding a stuffie." Eli looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?" "Maybe it's about finding a place where you don't have to hide." Anna said warmly.  He didn't answer right away, instead, he looked down at the bear in his arms and smiled. "I think his name should be Buttons." "Buttons?" Anna asked. "Because his bowtie has buttons." Eli whispered  Anna considered this very seriously before nodding. "Excellent reasoning." Eli giggled. "Thank you." They walked together toward the counter, with Eli carrying Buttons carefully as if he were carrying something precious. When Anna rang him up, she slipped a tiny paper bag across the counter. Eli looked confused. "What's that?" "A little surprise," Anna said. He opened it and found a small fabric heart. Eli looked at it, then at Anna. "For Buttons?" "For both of you," Anna replied. Eli stared at the little heart for a moment. "Why?" "Because everyone deserves a little reminder that they're cared about." Eli's eyes became watery. Anna noticed but didn't call attention to it. Instead, she simply smiled and said, "You can come back anytime, sweetheart. You don't have to buy anything. You can look at stuffies, sit in the reading corner, tell me about your favorite cartoons, or just have a quiet day." Eli held Buttons against his chest. "You really mean that?" "I do," Anna answered. He smiled shyly. "Thank you, Mommy." Anna smiled back. "You're very welcome, little one." Eli reached the door, then stopped and turned around. "Mommy?" "Yes?" Anna asked.  "Can I come back tomorrow?" Eli whispered nervously.  Anna's smile grew. "Of course you can." Eli nodded happily. "Okay." He walked outside with Buttons tucked safely beneath his arm, the little fabric heart resting in his pocket. For the first time in a very long time, he didn't feel embarrassed about the part of himself that wanted to be small. He didn't feel strange. He didn't feel alone, he simply felt found. Behind him, Anna watched through the shop window as he walked down the street, already imagining the next adventure he and Buttons might have. She couldn't help but smile when she noticed Eli stop halfway down the sidewalk, hold Buttons up in front of his face, and apparently have a very serious conversation with him. Anna laughed softly to herself. "Well, Buttons, I have a feeling you're going to keep that shy boy very busy." Eli couldn't hear her, but if he could, he probably would have turned bright red. When Eli finally got home, he sat on his bed with Buttons beside him and opened the little paper bag Anna had given them. Inside was a soft, homemade cookie wrapped carefully in paper, and underneath it was a tiny folded note. Eli opened it and read Anna's handwriting “You don't have to have your little side hidden. You don't have to be ashamed of what brings you comfort. You are allowed to be exactly who you are, and you are always welcome here. — Mommy Anna.” Eli smiled through the little tears in his eyes, hugged Buttons close, and whispered, “I think we found our Mommy, Buttons.”

Always Read the Smallprint - Chapter 10 3 days before starting university The clock on the side of Joanne’s bedside table read 02:01am. She slowly got out of bed quietly as to not wake up her husband sleeping beside her, and put on her dressing gown and headed down the corridor towards Oscar’s room. As she slowly opened the door and peered through, she could see that Oscar was in a deep sleep, but heard a few murmurings. As she got closer to his bed, she could see that while asleep he had thrown off his duvet and was laying on his back, with his legs spread slightly. “Uhhhh I need mummy… mummy” Oscar moaned quietly as his arms and head and arms fidgeted. She could see his nappy was creased and discoloured, and it was fairly obvious he’d wet himself quite heavily. She stroked his hair and smiled, knowing that the incident yesterday evening was a clear turning point, and now she was in control. As she stroked his arm, she managed to coax him into sitting up and she grabbed his hand and led him slowly out of his bedroom. He was clearly still out of it, but half-awake, he took her lead as she led him out and into the room next door, the room that Joanne had kept secret until now… Oscar’s eyes were almost crusted together and it took quite an effort to actually open them as they were pierced by the light coming through the thin curtains in his bedroom. His body ached and his head was throbbing, and in general didn’t feel very well at all. It took him a good few minutes to actually come back to reality, and as he did he was in for quite a shock. He was no longer in his bedroom, and was now in an incredibly unfamiliar environment. He was laying in a single bed with wooden safety rails running half way along the side of the frame, and the room he was in was somewhat smaller than his own bedroom, with bright pink walls and a unit next to the bed with lots of different toys in. In the other corner of the room was a changing mat not too dissimilar to the one he was introduced to the day before, with a smaller unit next to that. “What is going on?” Oscar asked himself. As he sat up he felt the now completely drenched nappy he was sat in, that was disfigured and discoloured and felt clammy and uncomfortable. He was then interrupted by the door opening. “Morning sweetheart, how are you feeling?” Joanne greeted as she walked in. “Ummm not very well, where am I? What’s going on?” Oscar said as he rubbed his eyes. “Oh do you not remember? You were a bit distressed last night you must’ve been having a nightmare. I thought you’d be a bit more comfortable in here” Joanne said as she looked around the room. “Where is here exactly?” Oscar quizzed, still confused. “Why don’t you come down for some breakfast and a drink and I’ll explain okay? Come on up you get” Joanne said as she walked over to him and he shuffled down to the opening in the rails on the bed and she helped him up. “Looks like you need a change, but that can wait until after breakfast. Here put this on for now” Joanne said as she grabbed a beige dressing gown hung up on the back of the door and wrapped it around him, choosing not to tie it around his waist with the drawstring, as she wanted his soggy nappy to be visible. Oscar was helped down the stairs as he was still a bit wobbly on his feet and into the kitchen, where he sat down on at the dining table with a squish. He was then presented with a plate of cut up buttered toast and a big glass of milk. As his brain fog cleared he immediately remembered what happened last night watching the film and became incredibly embarrassed. Joanne soon joined him at the dining table with a cup of tea and some yoghurt. “Where’s John?” Oscar asked as he held up a small square of toast. “Oh he’s gone to play golf with some of his friends, so it’ll just be me and you today” Joanne said. “Ummm, I’m really sorry about what happened last night, I really wasn’t feeling well but I think I’m a bit better today” Oscar explained, alluding to his accident. “Oh sweetheart you have nothing to be sorry about, sometimes when you’re not feeling well these things happen. Bet you’re glad you had a nappy on, I certainly was!” Joanne said with a smile. “Yeah I was. Why was I in a different bedroom when I woke up?” Oscar asked. “Well you were a bit upset in the night and well, I think the new bedroom might help you feel a bit more relaxed and at ease, remember you were telling me about how stressed you were yesterday?” Joanne said. “I was, it was just a bit of a shock that’s all” Oscar replied as he took a big sip of his milk. “It’s okay I understand. Tell you what, let’s go up and I can give you a proper tour of the room and make you feel at home? How does that sound?” Joanne suggested. “Okay, that sounds good” Oscar nodded in agreement. “Gives us a chance to change your bum as well, that nappy looks like it’s ready to burst!” Joanne teased as they both looked down at the bulging nappy poking out of Oscar’s dressing gown. Once they finished breakfast, Oscar was led back into the mysterious new bedroom. “So there’s plenty of toys over there for you to play with when you’re bored, and I’ve set up a changing station in the corner which we’ll test out in a minute. Plus a super comfy bed, that you’ve already tried out” Joanne said as she pointed out the main features of the room. “It’s very, pink” Oscar pointed out as he saw the room in the sunlight. “It’s got character I’ll give you that, but I think you’ll grow to love it. Now, how about we get you into a clean nappy?” Joanne said. “Yes please” Oscar said with excitement. His full nappy was now becoming uncomfortable. Without being prompted Oscar took off his dressing gown and laid on the changing mat. Joanne made light work of the nappy change and she cleaned him up and put him into a nappy he’d not tried before, a Rearz Princess Pink nappy. It was pink at the sides and featured cartoon princesses and unicorns on the front and back. He thought it looked pretty cool. “How does that feel Oscar?” Joanne asked as she stood him up. “Yeah feels better, thank you” Oscar replied. “Great! Let me just go and get you some clothes from next door” Joanne said as she quickly nipped out of the room and into his old bedroom. As Oscar waited, he looked around his new bedroom. He then caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, stood completely naked, his scrawny nearly hairless body exposed apart from a thick pink girly nappy strapped around his waist. A few days ago his brain would be telling him ‘what the fuck are you doing?’, but now those thoughts had become absent, and were rationalised by the thought that Joanne knew what was best, and if he needed to be in a nappy and stay in a girls bedroom, then he was okay with it. “Here we are” Joanne said as she returned and held up a long sleeve blue dress with pink and white hearts all over, that was ribbed at the hem. “Thought you’d prefer something a bit looser today”. She held it open and without hesitation he allowed her to slip it over his head. As she pulled it down he saw that the dress ended just above his knees, so it would hide his nappy if he stood up straight. “How does that feel?” Joanne asked. “Yeah it’s pretty comfy” Oscar said shyly. “You look very cute. Tell you what, why don’t you have a look around the room while I tidy up the kitchen and watch a bit of telly downstairs. Will you be okay up here on your own?” Joanne asked. “I’ll be fine thanks” Oscar replied. “Good job, shout if you need me honey” Joanne said as she ruffled Oscar’s curly hair and left the room, leaving him on his own. He stood in the middle of the room slightly shell shocked. The change in environment had left him a bit overwhelmed, but he felt as though this was the right environment to be in. Joanne made him feel safe in the face of all his anxiety, and his mind was telling him to go with it. Anyway, he felt quite comfortable in the pink nappy and the blue dress. He made his way over to the unit next to the bed to survey the selection of toys. There were lots of stuffed animals including some bears, horses and cats. One section of the unit was full of stacked colouring books and a pot of pens and pencils. Another section had a basket full of dolls. However, the basket full of packets of loom bands caught his attention. He remembered girls at his school making bracelets out of them and one even offered him one as a sign of friendship once. Joanne had asked him to explore his new bedroom, so why not pass the time giving them a go? Oscar grabbed the basket and placed it down on the large rainbow rug on the floor. As he parked himself down on it, he noticed how soft and fluffy it felt on his upper thighs, and noted how weird it felt sitting down in a dress, as it lifted up as he sat cross-legged. Twinned with the thick nappy, it wasn’t at all an unpleasant feeling. He took out the loom band instruction manual and studied the instructions on how to make a bracelet out of them, grabbing a few bands of different colours and getting to work. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but before long he’d managed to make three different bracelets all in different colours, and he’d really enjoyed himself while doing it. “Wow maybe maybe I’ve found my hidden talent!” he said to himself as he slipped two over his hand and onto his wrist. He kept another aside as he decided he’d give it to Joanne as a present for being so kind to him the past few days. Deciding he wanted to do something else, he stood up and took the basket back to the unit, and as he did felt an ache in his bladder. Without hesitation, he lifted up the front of his dress and looked down at his crotch, and relaxed as he watched the lower part of the front of his nappy puff out and change colour as he wet himself. “What am I doing?” he told himself in his head, but then he remembered what Joanne had told him yesterday about not trying to use the toilet, and that instantly validated what he’d just done in his head. Once he was done, he picked out a Disney Princesses colouring book and grabbed a handful of glittery gel pens from the pencil pot. He then returned to the rug and laid down on his stomach, and as he did his dress rode up and his nappied bum was on full display. As he opened the colouring book he was disappointed to see some of the pages had already been doodled on, and was annoyed by the shoddy attempt to colour in the photos. He then saw a signature on one of the pages. It read ‘by Ben’, scribbled untidily in pink. “Who’s Ben?” Oscar said to himself, slightly confused. He had wondered if anyone had stayed in the bedroom before, and didn’t remember Joanne or John mentioning they had a son. He was confused, and continued to flick through the book. However, he was interrupted by a shout from downstairs. “Are you okay up there Oscar? You’re awfully quiet” Joanne shouted. “I’m okay mumm… Joanne! Just playing with some toys” Oscar replied, with a slight stutter. “Actually…” he then added as he grabbed the bracelet he had made. “Can you come up here?” he then added. He heard Joanne’s footsteps get louder as she joined him in the bedroom. “I just made you this” Oscar said as he presented her with the blue and green loom bracelet. “Wow that’s amazing Oscar, did you make that this morning?” Joanne praised as she slipped it onto her wrist. “I did. I remember girls at my school making them and figured that it wouldn’t be that hard” he explained. “Well you certainly made light work of it. You’re a clever girl! Let’s get you a snack, come on” Joanne suggested as she led him out of the room, giving him a tap on the bum as she walked infront of her. As he walked down the hallway Joanne grabbed the colouring book and tidied it away in a box on top of the unit out of sight. Joanne then grabbed an apple and raspberry oat bar from the cupboard and then grabbed a plain yellow sippy cup and filled it with cold squash from the fridge. She then joined Oscar in the living room, sitting in the armchair John would usually sit in. “There you go honey” Joanne cheered as she passed him the oat bar and the sippy cup. Oscar gladly took it without even questioning the sippy cup. She smirked, as it was yet another sign the conditioning was working, and faster than anyone else she’d tried it on previously. She watched as Oscar gladly sipped on the squash as he stared into space, and then took a bite of the oat bar, crumbs falling all over his lap and collecting at the hem of his dress. “Hey Oscar, do you want to help me out this afternoon? The art club I go to is having a party next week and we’ve each been tasked with making some decorations. I’ve been tasked with making some bunting, would you like to help?” Joanne asked. “Yeah okay, that sounds fun!” Oscar replied as he chewed his oat bar. Joanne got out a large plastic box from the cupboard in the hallway and opened it up, revealing a range of art materials. She took out the numerous pages of thick patterned paper and placed them all over the floor, and instructed Oscar to join her on the floor and passed him a stencil to cut the paper into triangle shapes. Before long they were both to work on creating the bunting. “Oscar, how are you feeling? Emotionally I mean?” Joanne asked as she began a secret therapy session. She was practicing a therapy technique of asking questions while the subject is distracted with a practical task. “Ummm, I feel, relaxed… calm I guess?” Oscar replied, not looking away from the paper in his hands as he lined it up with the stencil. “That’s good, and did you enjoy making those bracelets this morning?” Joanne continued. “Yeah, I really did” Oscar replied. He looked up at Joanne and smiled. She smiled back at the sight of him sat with his back resting on the armchair and his knees up, exposing his slightly damp nappy. “You do know you can do that all day everyday if you want? You can just play with toys and do basically whatever you want?” Joanne reassured him. “Remember we talked about your dreams yesterday, and about how they were dreams from childhood, well I want you to focus on that, childhood. Doesn’t have to be the childhood you’ve already experienced, but any childhood you want”. “Ummm okay. So you want me to have, like… another childhood?” Oscar asked. “Exactly Oscar. And if that means you want to sit up in your room and make bracelets, draw and colour, play with dolls, that’s okay. You don’t have any responsibilities when you’re hear, I’ll take care of that” Joanne added. “That sounds good, thank you mummy” Oscar replied. “Oh… ummm… I mean Joanne” Oscar murmured as he blushed about what just came out of his mouth. “It’s okay Oscar you know? If you want to call me mummy you can. What made you say that?” Joanne asked him, trying to hide the excitement of being called that she was feeling inside. “I dunno. Just the fact you said I should experience childhood and the fact you’re looking after me, it just made sense in my head” Oscar opened up, and as he did Joanne noticed his nappy darkening at the front as he began to wet himself again. “It’s okay Oscar, let’s decide now shall we. From now on, you can call me mummy, or mum if you prefer? How does that sound?” Joanne suggested. “If that’s okay… mummy?” Oscar asked shyly. “Of course it is sweetheart, come and give me a hug” Joanne said as she stood up and invited Oscar into a hug, which he quickly obliged. As they finished the hug, Joanne moved him away by placing his hands on his shoulders, and then lifted up the front of his dress and cupped the front of his wet nappy. “Looks like mummy has a soggy nappy to change?” she said. Oscar just shrugged his shoulders and he then let her lead him back to the bedroom. Oscar knew the drill, and was happy to go along with it. She laid him down on the changing mat and quickly cleaned him up and he was in a clean nappy within minutes. “Why don’t you find a book and we can both read together downstairs before I begin making tea? I’m just going to get a few of your bits from the other room” Joanne explained. Oscar went over to the small bookcase next to the changing mat and began looking through the books. Most of them were kids books, and nearly all of them were books young girls would read. He chose The Story of Tracey Beaker from the vast collection of Jacqueline Wilson books on the shelf as he’d always wanted to read them as a kid as he loved the TV show. Joanne came back holding the packets of nappies she’d introduced to him a few days ago and a few pieces of clothing and tidied them away, before both heading downstairs and back into the living room. They sat next to eachother and read for an hour or so before she disappeared into the kitchen to go and make tea, and let Oscar watching some television. He decided to put on CBBC and was delighted to see that one of his favourite shows as a kid, Deadly 60, was on. He sat back on the sofa and concentrated on that. He felt so relaxed and happy, and couldn’t wait to go back upstairs and play with some more toys. While watching, he heard John come home but chose to stay focused on the TV. “Hello love” John said as he entered the kitchen to see his wife cooking at the stove. “Oh hello, good day at the golf course?” Joanne asked as she stirred a pot of vegetables in a pot. “Very good thanks, didn’t have my best game but was still lovely. Had a good day?” John replied as he placed his bag of golf clubs at the back door. “It’s been lovely and relaxing, even managed to get Oscar to help me with my bunting!” Joanne explained. “That sounds nice, how has he been after last night?” John asked. Joanne quietly shut the kitchen door slightly in order to block any noise reaching the living room where Oscar was sat. “Honestly John, I think he’s going to be the best one yet. He’s so open to everything I say and he’s progressing so quickly. He’s sat in the living room in a dress as we speak, and he’s even agreed to call me mummy” Joanne said, giddy with excitement. “Wow, okay… that is quick. What are we going to say to Mr McFarlane?” John questioned. “Oh don’t worry about that, I’ll give him a call and confirm Oscar won’t be attending university anymore. I think it’s safe to say he’s ours now” Joanne said with a smile.