THE LOST GIRL
The dream had seemed so real been so pleasant. She sighed as the the same sinking realization came again. She was still stuck inside the flesh cage of a person who was not herself. She didn't know how it had happened, but she was sure it had happened sometime last week. The room she was in was dark the blinds drawn tightly shut. She had fallen into the mind-numbing routine of this other woman. She went to the lavish closet and dressed in clothing that felt too scratchy; too unfamiliar. The hand that wasn't hers touched the pieces greedily as her heart raced at approaching footsteps a woman rounded the corner of the outside hall and continued on sharpened steps. The click clack rang down the cold floors.
Dressed she peeked out the hall and snuck down the florescent hallway. She passed a man's room. The stranger rolled in his bed, still sleeping. She passed the bubbling water that ran in the lobby and made her way out on her own into the fresh air.
She took a deep breath into the strange woman's lungs and remembered her own feelings of being free. The woman's legs carried her down into the park and the grass reminded her of her own youth.
As she crossed the sunlit pavement of the outdoor pavillion pain lanced through her skull and flickering memories rose to the surface. She rose with a wince clutching her chest as a tear spilled out. She remembered who she was and this stranger who was not a stranger. She was herself, but not herself sent to another reality by the woman who was herself but not. Why had she come?
Oh yes. It had been John. Her true love; he was dead. She sat cold and unfeeling right there in the middle of the park. A boy riding a skateboard gave her a concerned side eye, but she barely saw him. She remembered she had just left the noisy emergency room in a daze and had blinked and been home. No recollection of driving there; when she had appeared. Seeing herself was like a cup of freezing water had been thrown in her face; briefly washing away her terrible grief.
Her world had been perfect. She had achieved everything thing she had ever dreamed of accomplishing and then some. Without John it meant nothing. Apparently this Emilia Gray from this reality was a no one and on top of it she had been cursed by some darkworlder magician, who had, he himself just been on death's doorstep. Her alternate self had fled to escape the curse, and asked to trade realities so that she might stay. Emilia had agreed because in this reality while she may not have ten best selling novels and a fifth element degree in lightworlder majic, among her lesser accomplishments- in this world, John was still alive. That meant everything to her. So when the other Emilia Gray had offered she had agreed without hesitation. She shoved her hands into clothes from another world and found her rintua that allowed her to use her magic and stuffed it back into place; she dug in her other pocket and found what she was looking for. A crumpled piece of paper with an address. The address to a detective the other Emilia knew. She jumped to her feet and ran across the springing grass of the old park until where she found the city bus stop. The bus took an hour to get to her and while she waited she thought through how she would convince the detective to help her find John. When she boarded the bus it turned out her thoughts had been wasted for as she looked down the aisle she saw him. With that brilliant smile; he was laughing and her heart squeezed at the sight of him until he leaned in and kissed a woman. A women who she also knew. Alexis Taylor her best friend whom in the other reality was also deceased. She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned to dry her dewy eyes as swirling emotions began to invade her. Hoping they hadn't noticed her she put on a smile and made her way down the aisle.
"Taylor. John." She held up a hand in greeting as they gave her a confused look.
"Do we know you?" John said putting his arm around Alexis casually.
And then her whole world crumbled.
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