A Free Use Mystery

David woke to the soft hum of morning light filtering through his bedroom curtains. The familiar scent of coffee and toast wafted up from the kitchen, carried by the gentle clatter of dishes. He stretched, his joints popping faintly, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. It was a Saturday, no work, no plans—just a lazy day at home with his mom, Ellen, and his younger sister, Mia. He swung his legs out of bed, slipped on a t-shirt and sweatpants, and shuffled downstairs, expecting the usual banter over breakfast.

As he entered the kitchen, Ellen was at the stove, flipping pancakes with practiced ease. Her auburn hair was tied back in a loose bun, and she wore her usual weekend attire: a simple blouse and jeans. Mia sat at the table, scrolling on her phone, her blonde ponytail bobbing as she nodded to some unheard beat. Everything seemed normal, until Ellen turned, spatula in hand, and said, “Good morning, Master. Your breakfast is almost ready.”

David froze mid-step, his bare foot hovering above the tile. “Uh… what?” He blinked, certain he’d misheard.

Mia looked up from her phone, her blue eyes bright and unbothered. “Morning, Master. Want me to pour you some coffee?” She slid out of her chair without waiting for an answer, moving to the counter with a casual grace, as if calling him “Master” was as natural as breathing.

David’s mouth opened, then closed. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the weirdness. “Okay, hold on. Why are you guys calling me that?”

Ellen tilted her head, her brow furrowing slightly as she slid a pancake onto a plate. “Calling you what, Master?”

“That! Master!” David’s voice pitched up, a mix of confusion and exasperation. “Why are you calling me Master? And why are you acting like…” He gestured vaguely at Mia, who was now pouring coffee into his favorite mug with a serene smile. “…like this is normal?”

Mia set the mug in front of him, her expression puzzled but calm. “Because you’re our Master,” she said simply, as if explaining that the sky was blue. “You own us. Always have.”

Ellen nodded, placing a stack of pancakes drizzled with syrup in front of him. “It’s just how things are, Master. Would you like bacon with that? I can fry some up if you command it.”

David stared at the pancakes, then at his mom, then at his sister, his brain scrambling to catch up. “Own you? What the hell does that mean? You’re my mom and sister, not… not slaves!”

Ellen’s face softened, but there was a hint of confusion in her green eyes. “Of course we’re your mother and sister, Master. But we belong to you. You can do whatever you want with us, give us any order, and we’ll obey. It’s always been that way.” She said it so matter-of-factly, like she was discussing the weather.

Mia nodded, sitting back down and picking up her phone again. “Yeah, Master, it’s no big deal. Just tell us what you want, and we’ll do it.”

David’s stomach churned, not from hunger but from the sheer absurdity of the situation. He pushed the plate away slightly, his appetite gone. “Okay, this is insane. You guys are acting like I’m some kind of… feudal lord or something. Why? Did I hit my head? Is this a prank?”

Ellen and Mia exchanged a glance, their expressions mirroring each other’s confusion. “A prank?” Ellen asked, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Master, we’re not trying to trick you. This is just… our life. You’re our Master, and we serve you.”

Mia leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. “Are you feeling okay, Master? You seem kinda freaked out. Want me to get you some water or something?”

“No, I don’t want water!” David snapped, then immediately regretted it as Mia flinched slightly. He softened his tone. “Sorry, I just… I need to figure this out. This isn’t normal. Yesterday, you were calling me David, and now you’re acting like I own you. Something’s changed.”

Ellen sat across from him, her hands folded neatly on the table. “Master, we’ve never called you anything but Master. It’s your title, your right. We’re yours to command. If something feels different to you, maybe you had a strange dream?”

David pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off a headache. “A dream. Right. Sure.” He looked around the kitchen, half-expecting to see some clue—a glowing artifact, a mysterious note—that would explain this bizarre shift in reality. But it was just their cozy, slightly cluttered kitchen: magnets on the fridge, a pile of unopened mail on the counter, the faint hum of the dishwasher. Nothing out of place, except the way his family was acting.

He decided to test the waters. “Okay, Mia, if you’re my… ****,” he said, the word feeling alien and wrong on his tongue, “stand on one leg.”

Mia didn’t hesitate. She hopped up, balanced effortlessly on her left foot, and grinned. “Like this, Master?”

David’s jaw tightened. “Yeah. Now… spin around.”

Mia spun in place, her ponytail whipping around, still balancing on one leg. She didn’t question it, didn’t laugh, just obeyed with a cheerful ease that made his skin crawl. “Anything else, Master?”

“Stop. Sit down,” he said quickly, waving his hand. Mia dropped back into her chair, unfazed. David turned to Ellen. “Mom, you too. Do something. I don’t know… sing a song.”

Ellen smiled warmly, as if he’d asked her to pass the salt. She started singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in a soft, clear voice, her eyes fixed on him with an unsettling devotion. David held up a hand after a few lines, and she stopped instantly, waiting for his next command.

“This is messed up,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Okay, let’s try this. Mom, Mia, I order you to call me David from now on. Not Master. David.”

Both women tilted their heads, their expressions almost identical in their confusion. “But… Master, that’s not your name,” Mia said, her voice gentle, like she was correcting a child. “You’re Master. That’s who you are.”

Ellen nodded. “It wouldn’t feel right, Master. It’s not proper. You’re our Master, and we respect that.”

David groaned, slumping back in his chair. “This is a nightmare. I’m stuck in some alternate universe where my family thinks they’re my slaves, and I can’t even get them to stop.”

He tried to think back to the previous night. He’d gone to bed early, exhausted from a long week at his boring data entry job. No weird drinks, no mysterious strangers, no glowing meteors crashing into the backyard. Just a normal Friday night, watching reruns of some sci-fi show and eating leftover pizza. He hadn’t even dreamed, as far as he could remember. So why was this happening?

He decided to test the boundaries further. “Mom, go… I don’t know, clean the living room.”

Ellen stood immediately, smoothing her blouse. “Of course, Master. Should I dust or vacuum first?”

“Uh… dust,” David said, mostly to see what would happen.

Ellen nodded and disappeared into the living room, humming softly as she grabbed a duster from the closet. David turned to Mia, who was watching him with a curious smile. “Mia, what happens if I tell you to do something… ****? Like, I don’t know, jump off the roof?”

Mia laughed, a light, carefree sound. “Master, I’d probably say that’s a bad idea, but if you really wanted me to, I’d figure out a way to do it safely. Or, like, I’d ask if you meant something else. You’re not cruel, so I know you wouldn’t actually want that.”

David frowned. “So you’d still… think about it? You wouldn’t just say no?”

Mia shrugged. “You’re my Master. If you command it, I’d try to make it happen. That’s how it works.”

He felt a knot tighten in his chest. This wasn’t just a weird quirk; his mom and sister genuinely believed they were his property, bound to obey his every whim. The casualness of it—the way they treated it as normal—made it even more unsettling.

He stood, needing to move, to think. “Okay, I’m going for a walk around the house. Don’t… don’t follow me or anything. Just… do whatever you normally do.”

Ellen poked her head back into the kitchen, duster in hand. “As you wish, Master. I’ll finish cleaning the living room. Would you like me to prepare anything for when you return?”

“No, just… keep doing what you’re doing,” David said, his voice strained. Mia gave him a little wave, already back on her phone, as if nothing was amiss.

David wandered into the living room, then out to the small backyard, pacing the grass as his mind raced. The world outside looked normal: the neighbor’s dog barking, the faint hum of a lawnmower a few houses down, the crisp October air. He half-expected to see some cosmic glitch in the sky, but it was just a clear, pale blue. He pulled out his phone, tempted to call someone—maybe his friend Jake—but hesitated. What if Jake called him “Master” too? The thought made his stomach lurch.

He went back inside, trying to piece together a plan. Maybe this was temporary, some kind of mass delusion or… hell, maybe he was still dreaming. He pinched his arm hard, wincing at the sharp pain. Nope, definitely awake.

Back in the kitchen, Mia was eating a pancake, still scrolling on her phone. Ellen was wiping down the counter, every movement precise and purposeful. David sat down, staring at his untouched breakfast. “Okay, let’s try this again. Why do you think you’re my slaves? Like, when did this start?”

Ellen paused, the rag still in her hand. “Master, it’s always been this way. Since we were born. You’re the Master of the house, and we belong to you. It’s… just the natural order.”

Mia nodded, not looking up from her phone. “Yeah, it’s not like there was a day where we decided it. It’s just how life is. You’re in charge, Master.”

David pressed his fingers to his temples. “But I don’t want to be in charge! I just want you to be my mom and sister, not… this!”

Ellen’s face softened, and she walked over, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Master, we are your mother and sister. That hasn’t changed. We love you, and we serve you because that’s our place. It doesn’t mean we’re less. It’s just… who we are.”

Mia chimed in, finally putting her phone down. “Yeah, Master, it’s not a bad thing. You’re good to us. You don’t, like, **** your power or anything. You’re a great Master.”

David wanted to scream. Instead, he took a deep breath and tried to pivot. “Okay, fine. Let’s just… have a normal day. No more orders, no more ‘Master’ stuff for now. Just… act like we’re a regular family.”

Ellen and Mia exchanged another glance, clearly unsure how to interpret “normal.” But Ellen nodded. “If that’s what you wish, Master. We can try.”

Mia grinned. “Cool, Master. Want to watch a movie or something? I can pick one out.”

David sighed, realizing the “Master” thing wasn’t going away. “Yeah, sure. A movie sounds good.”

They moved to the living room, where Ellen had already finished dusting. Mia scrolled through streaming options, suggesting a comedy she thought “Master would like.” David didn’t argue, just sank into the couch, trying to pretend this was a normal Saturday. But every time they said “Master,” every time they deferred to him with that quiet, absolute obedience, it sent a shiver down his spine.

As the movie played, David’s mind kept wandering. He needed to figure out why this was happening—whether it was a cosmic fluke, a psychological breakdown, or something else entirely. But for now, he was stuck in this house, in this reality, with his mom and sister treating him like some kind of god-king. He glanced at them: Ellen, sitting primly with her hands folded, watching the screen with a faint smile; Mia, sprawled out with a bowl of popcorn, occasionally glancing at him to check if he needed anything. They were still themselves, but not. And he had no idea how to fix it.

The day dragged on. David tried to keep things light, sticking to safe activities like watching TV and eating lunch. But every interaction was tinged with that surreal dynamic. When he casually mentioned he was thirsty, Ellen practically leaped to get him a glass of water. When he asked Mia to pass the remote, she handed it over with a little bow, like she was presenting a scepter. He stopped asking for things after that, but it didn’t matter—they anticipated his needs, hovering just enough to make him feel like he was under a microscope.

By late afternoon, David was exhausted—not physically, but mentally. He retreated to his room, claiming he needed a nap. In truth, he just needed space to think. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying the day in his head. No answers came. Just the same looping questions: Why was this happening? Was it just his family, or was the whole world different? He thought about testing it—going outside, talking to other people—but the idea of hearing “Master” from strangers, especially women, made him hesitate. What if they all acted like this? Or worse, what if they didn’t, but still called him that?

He heard a soft knock at his door. “Master?” Ellen’s voice was gentle but clear. “I’m preparing dinner. Would you like chicken or pasta tonight?”

David closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose again. “Pasta’s fine,” he called back, his voice flat.

“Thank you, Master. I’ll have it ready soon.” Her footsteps retreated, and David let out a long, shaky breath.

He didn’t know what was going on, but he couldn’t keep freaking out. For now, he’d play along, try to have a “normal” day, and hope something—anything—would give him a clue. Because if this was his new reality, he wasn’t sure he could handle it.