I went home to Cindy, but I still felt as if my insides were rotting and I needed a mental pick me up.

“You seem a million miles away, sweetheart,” Cindy rubbed my stomach near my belly button. Her touch warmed my soul. We were laying on a blanket and some pillows on the floor in front of the wood burning fireplace. Most nights were brutally cold as soon as the sun set, blanketing Cardalph in a frozen darkness.

“I’m fine,” I reached for her free hand and kissed each knuckle.

“You need a distraction.” She pulled down my pants slowly, leaning in between my legs. Her hair fell over her face and I grasped it into my fist and held it to the side.

To my surprise and delight, she took a sip of her warm hot cocoa I had made her just before we laid down. She opened her now even warmer mouth, taking in my already hardened cock. Her tongue was soft and brought a sensual new level of pleasure to the blow job I was thrilled to be on the receiving end of right now.

She teased me with her seasoned licking, sucking, and tugging until I couldn’t contain my climax another second. Grabbing my balls in her hand, she squeezed gently and I went over the edge and came all over her face. I went to bed that night feeling more content than I had since our nights on the island.

* * *

The next day I still felt rough on the inside. I needed a detox from my thoughts and I knew exactly where to find it. I rapped on the heavy wooden door of my Aunt Rosgular’s house. I could smell the aroma of spices in the air outside the house that always made me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.

“Togtulir!” Aunt Rosgular threw open the door and her arms simultaneously. She brought her frail thin hands up to my face, sizing me up and planted a kiss on my cheek. She was wearing an apron and her dark graying hair was pulled up in a bun. I was easily two feet taller than her.

“Hi, Aunt R.”

She beamed at me and led me inside. She lived in a cabin on the outskirts of town. She was my soulful aunt, filled to the brim with the wisdom I was desperate to achieve on my own accord. I knew that if I came here, she would give me the advice I needed in order to succeed in this leader role I was forced into taking.

“Please, come sit, my dear,” she patted her shabby plaid couch and I obeyed, sitting next to her cat named Skirrelo a Siamese breed that I thought had more attitude than Drozalia at times. The cat looked at me in disgust and after a flick of his tail jumped off the couch and out of sight.

The fire burning in her fireplace made crackling sounds, and I immediately felt the ease I had anticipated. “What brings you to my neck of the woods?” She pulled out her knitting and began to work and rock back and forth in her favorite chair.

Not ready to face my problems yet, I tried to change the subject. “What are you cooking, Aunt Rosgular? It smells delicious.” I looked around and admired the paintings she had hanging on the wall.

“Why are you dodging my question, Togtulir? I can see it in your eyes. Something is troubling you. No small talk until we get to the bottom of it.” She pointed a bony finger at me and I flashed her a sheepish smile.

“You’re right, something is bothering me. I recently found a new love.”

“A new love? You don’t say!” Her eyes brightened and I could tell she was over the moon with happiness for me.

“Yes, her name is Cindy. She’s from Earth.”

“Earth?” At that, my aunt’s brow furrowed, her expression became concerned.

“Don’t worry, she’s safe, and I know she cares for me. She may even love me. We have connected on a deep level. She’s actually not the problem, Aunt R.” I looked down at the carpet and shuffled my feet together.

“Well, come out with it then. What’s the matter, dear? Whatever it is, we can work through it.” She winked at me.

I had always respected my Aunt Rosgular, she was the one I turned to the most when I needed help resolving a life problem. She had been around the world more than once. She had visited almost every planet in our galaxy and if anyone knew how to coexist with other people, she was definitely the one.

“Would you like some hot tea, dear?” She raised herself from her chair and started to walk to the kitchen before I even got a chance to answer.

“Tea would be lovely. Thank you,” I called out to her and waited in the living room for her to return.

Once she brought back my drink, I took it and sipped, calming down immensely from the condition I had been in when I first arrived. I was cold and the hot mug in my hands helped warm me. “I’m afraid I’m not good enough to run this planet. I don’t have what it takes; everyone thinks I’m a big joke because of my tumultuous past.” I hung my head in frustration.

“Snap out of it!” Not one to mince words, my aunt shook her head at me. “No nephew of mine is going to speak ill of himself in front of me.” Given that I was her only nephew, I found this statement comical.

“You need to understand something, Togtulir,” Aunt Rosgular leaned in so I could hear her better. “Your father wasn’t so perfect, you know. He made a lot of mistakes, too. But you know what the greatest thing about making mistakes is?”

She paused, waiting for my answer. “You get to learn from them?” I ventured a guess that was evidently correct because she clapped her hands together in a loud clack.

“You are smarter than you give yourself credit for, my boy.” She walked over to a window and placed a hand on her hip. “Your heart is in the right place. You are a Cardalphian through and through. If you step back and open your eyes, you’ll see that you come from a planet of givers, not takers.”

“I know that we have made great efforts and strides to help out other species in the galaxy, but I feel like if the people here had a choice between me and my father, they would still flock to him.” I joined her at the window with my hands in my pockets. She placed a bony hand on my arm, too short to reach to my shoulders.

“My dear, Togtulir. Your father faced many battles as the leader of Cardalph. He was far from perfect and there were times when you were a young boy, that he made the people here very angry. He ruled without thinking, making rash decisions without requesting or taking opinions and advice from his team. I would warn him from time to time that he was getting over his head when it came to power, but he was stubborn and wouldn’t listen. Now he’s lying in the ground—may he rest in peace—but it’s true.” She nodded her head and looked at me as if she were proving her own point.

“What about the prisoners? Why did my father never let them go?” This question still gnawed at me.

Rosgular let out a dragged-out sigh and went to sit back in her favorite chair. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. “Your father thought he was doing the right thing in protecting Cardalph by holding those prisoners in those cells. But he was blind to see who the real enemy was. He didn’t stop to think that maybe he captured the wrong type of Daklin.”

I let this revelation sink in for a minute or two. “So, are you saying that those men and women in the cells deserve to go free?”

“There’s always room for change. I think you should listen to what your heart tells you, my boy. Almost all the time, it’s the right answer.”

“Maybe you’re right Aunt R. Maybe I’m not the only one who needs a makeover. Perhaps the entire planet should change its ways, and I can start as their ruler. I will lead by example and release the prisoners. It will be my first attempt at bringing peace between the two feuding species.”

Aunt Rosgular stood up and gave me a hug. “I think you are moving in the right direction, Togtulir. I’m proud of you, no matter what you do. I never played into all those rumors about you. I knew you’d come around in your own time. You’re a good man, and it’s far time the rest of Cardalph sees it too.”

I left her house feeling in much better spirits. I was ready to conquer the world, but not in a dictatorship kind of way. It was up to me to save a crippled galaxy from unnecessary battles across the universe. It was the time for us to band together, lifting each other up instead of crashing each other down.