You're the caffeine in my coffee cup

He said "I bet you don't remember me"

The house lands with a spectacular crash, all puffed-out curtains, splintering gingerbread trim, and a chimney that pops loose only to bounce once before rolling politely to a stop at the woodsman’s feet. Beneath it, the grandmother-wolf-witch gives one muffled shriek of outrage before the sound is squashed flat, leaving nothing behind but two striped stockings, a pair of buckled shoes, and one furious yellow eye blinking from beneath the foundation until a gumdrop shutter drops over it like a lid.

The woodsman is gone when Kaisel turns, and in his place stands Remi in a dark suit with a waistcoat, a curled old-timey moustache sitting proudly above his mouth and a hat tucked beneath one arm. Confetti begins to drift from the sky in lazy, bright handfuls as he applauds, his expression shining with the sort of congratulatory pride usually reserved for theatre finales and children who have successfully escaped being eaten.

"Your did it!" he declares warmly, as though this has all been an elaborate test Kaisel was meant to solve and not a dream which has been making itself up with increasing enthusiasm.

With a sweep of his hand, Remi gestures to the clearing beside them, where a hot air balloon now waits as if it has been there all along. The silk of it is black and purple, deep and gleaming, with the shape of a dragon curling across one side in darker thread. Beneath the basket, a steady green flame burns without smoke, holding the whole thing ready and restless above the grass. Remi’s moustache twitches with his smile. "Ready to go home?"

and I said "only ever other memory"