Shauna stood outside the Bed and Breakfast, looking up and down the main street. She looked for moments frozen in time and tried to capture the memories that she should have. The street looked narrower than in her memories and the buildings smaller. "But that might be the perspective of a child over an adult." She thought.

Down south, a row of small shops that seemed to have evaded time brought back a few memories. Turning north, her memory faded unexpectedly, it was like that part of town didn’t exist for her. "Yes, this is what I need to face." She thought.

Shay’s mind shot back a few months. She found herself in front of a brownstone, an unremarkable building that was the first thing that she could really remember. At that time, she looked down at her hands and saw changes in them that she didn't recognize. The car she was driving was pretty ordinary, but she didn't recognize it. She glanced in the rear mirror and saw a semi-familiar face, but one more reminiscent of her mother than herself. She sat there not sure what to do, or what she was feeling, but the feeling of being awake wouldn't leave her. She just sat there. After a while, a woman came out and approached her car.

The woman was as remarkable as the building was unremarkable, her sheer vitality seemed to make her glow to Shay.

"Do you need some help?"

Shauna stuttered, "I don't know!"

Those three words turned into being ensconced in a very nice furnished apartment on the second floor of the four-story brownstone. Myn's wife, Sally, was cooking, and the contents of her car were spread all over a table. The conversation turned stranger from there.

"This is nuts!" Shay said with feeling.

"Shauna, how old are you?"

"I'm 18, I am due to graduate High School in 8 months."

Sally looked up at that and then went back to what she was doing. Myn looked closely at Shay with a look Sally had only seen once before. It sent a shiver up her back remembering Alicia! Before Sally could think further on that, Myn asked a question that hadn’t occurred to Sally. It reminded her that Myn always seemed a step ahead and aware of things no one else saw.

"What's the date?" Myn asked carefully.

"October 29, 1999, why?" At that, both women looked at her until she couldn't stand it. "What?"

"Sharon, you are driving a 2012 Honda Accord."

"2012? You’re crazy.”

It had got crazier because it was 2019, but it started to add up quickly. Therapy helped, but it still took a while to piece together nearly twenty years, 19 different places, and a bunch of different jobs — that all spiraled to this place once plotted on a map in reverse order. Sally was the first one to spot the pattern, but Myn acted like she was expecting it. The center of the spiral was this small town, the one Shay was now standing in.

Shay was from here, went to high school here, and left suddenly with no explanation and only pieces of memory were slowly coming back. She lived at Myn and Sally’s place for six months, talking to a therapist friend of Myn’s and even shared their bed often. It seemed both strange and thrilling and also one way of stopping the nightmares that plagued her at night.

She walked to a small coffee shop that had been an ice cream parlor. Breakfast was toast and coffee delivered by a harried lady a few years older than herself. She reminded Shay of someone, but the face was also too fuzzy to make out. She also bought a local paper, but it didn't seem like she remembered. It was small, only eighteen pages and loaded with ads. The comics were skimpy, but she clearly remembered reading them with . . . someone else! The date rang a bell, Oct 29th, but why it rang didn’t come to her. It was the same day she had given to Myn before discovering she had . . . misplaced . . . twenty years.

Walking she reached the southern end of Main Street quickly. The parking meters were gone and the traffic lanes wider. Parking was now around the back of the shops. She took a pause and returned to the town center. She looked north and it was unrecognizable, it was like she never went in this direction when she was younger. "How can a whole half of a town not seem to exist?”

Shay opened her phone to a blurry picture Sally found online. It was a younger Shay standing next to someone else. The weirdest thing was the first time Sally showed her the image, she couldn’t even see anyone else in the photo. Both Sally and Myn swore there were two people in the picture and she saw only one. It was a month later when she started seeing the outline of another person. Slowly, over the months, the image resolved to two people, only the face of the other was blurred. Every day she looked at the photo because it seemed very important and every day she could see more. Suddenly Shay realized she could see the other’s eyes. They were sharp, a lovely brown, and round shape, more than Shay’s slight Asian tilt. She knew those eyes, but she had no idea from where.

"One day at a time, one word at a time, and one memory at a time" was a phrase she and Myn had coined to explain what she needed to go through.

Myn's face with a wry grin came into her mind and she calmed down. Their faces always calmed her considerably. For a second she felt the urge to go back to them, but she also knew that she was closer to knowing something! To turn back now would be a mistake. She smiled thinking about Myn heading to her basement workshop, the one part of the brownstone even Sally didn’t venture.

Shay went back to the B&B while trying to avoid gazing directly northward of the town center. No, she realized, not just north, but slightly east. It was something on the east side of the road, or at least toward the east that refused to come into focus. She retreated to the B&B to think about this. She opened her laptop and called up a map app. She looked at an aerial view of the small town and saw a discrepancy, no not a discrepancy but a blank spot. “Why hadn’t I looked at the aerial view before? The satellite view looked normal, but the map view showed a blank spot where none should exist. It looked empty, but the satellite view showed a street and large house on a larger property.”

The lady who ran the B&B was re-filling the coffee pot in the common room. Shay smiled at her and asked about the large estate north of town center.

“You’re mistaken, there are no estates north of town. You have to go clean to the next town to hit something you might call an estate.”

Shay thought about arguing, but decided it wasn’t the time. It was like the woman had the same blind spot she had. “I guess so. Thanks, I think I’ll take a walk.”

“You might try the park over one block. They’re getting ready for the town Halloween party,” the lady said helpfully.

Shay left and initially turned south without thinking. She remembered the park was down a block and over one. She deliberately turned north and started walking along the west side of the street. She took her time and several blocks up she realized she was a block past what the satellite view showed her. Coming back, she again was past it without realizing it. She proceeded back toward the center of town. Something felt wrong, not what she was doing, but the timing. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but in the past few months, she trusted her gut more. “Myn’s influence, I’m sure!”

Shay spent the next day exploring the rest of the town. There was a small police station Shay didn’t remember at all. She decided to step in and was faced with a bulletin board. She scanned it briefly and suddenly stopped in her tracks. “The eyes!” She knew those eyes. She pulled out her phone and brought up the picture again. For the first time, it looked complete to her. The girl standing next to her was the same girl in the poster. Her name was right on the tip of Shay’s tongue before she read the poster. “Linda, Linda Huaer”

It was like the name was a floodgate and so much more came back. Shay stood with one hand against the wall steadying herself. A policeman came in and saw her standing there.

“Ma’am, do you need some help?”

Shay turned and nearly fell down. The officer was someone she knew, Tom Hollister, she remembered him from High School.

“No Thanks, just looking at the board. This one looks old.” Shay pointed at Linda’s poster.

He looked, “I don’t know about that one. It was before I became a cop. She looked like a pretty girl. Did you know her?”

“Yes, we went to school together. You didn’t know her?”

“I don’t think so. The name doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Well thanks, Officer. I’ll just be on my way, pretty town you have here.”

He smiled a smile Shay knew well. She should, Tom was Linda’s boyfriend for the last two years of school. Yet like her own spotty memory, Tom didn’t remember Linda, didn’t remember dating her and didn’t remember her disappearing. Shay went back outside and sat on a small bench. She had to sit down. The poster did it, it all came rushing back. She sat there trying to make sense, but it was too jumbled just yet. She had lunch at the small diner and settled back to think.

Halloween Day dawned bright and clear. Shay took one last look at her online map and looking down at the ground she counted her steps, stopping in the middle of the block, trying her best to ignore everything around her. She stood straight up and turned to the right. There was a haze in front of her on the other side of the street. She pulled six small items from her bag and tossed them in a straight line across the street.

Focusing on the small chalk markers, she went across the street without looking up. Luckily it was a small town with little traffic. When she got to the other side, she closed her eyes and stepped up on the curb. Still facing away from the street, she advanced several steps and opened her eyes, there was a large gate right in front of her and a path leading up to a mostly dilapidated house, more of a mansion than just a house.

Shay didn’t smile because she had seen that house before, just once. She remembered everything, including standing here with her best friend, a girl she loved more than she had ever told her. They both looked at the house like it was daring them to enter. They did, but only one left!

She went through the gate. It wasn’t locked, just rusted. It made a horrendous noise, but she ignored it. The path was uneven, but it didn’t stop her from making her way to the massive door. In the center were two handles, a simple turn and push opened the right door wide that first time. This time the handle moved very slowly, almost reluctantly, but it did turn. She opened the door, took a breath and stepped through. Twenty years ago she and Linda stepped into Hell, but this time the entryway was empty and partly in ruins. She stood there waiting for something, something she knew would come soon. She stepped to the center of the entry and waited while remembering. Twenty years ago it was almost like they were drawn in and the door slammed behind them cutting off the setting sun.

Linda seemed to move forward eagerly, while Shay hung back. The décor was weird, blacks and reds in constant motion. There seemed to be more people than the entryway could hold, like a party, but silent. One person stood still looking right at them. A tall, raven-haired woman with piercing dark eyes and a mouth in a smile Shay would have never found friendly. She looked at both of them, no, she was looking right at Linda and Linda was looking right back. She kept moving forward and pulled her hand out of Shay’s.

“Linda, what are you doing?”

But Linda wasn’t listening. She went right up to the woman who opened her arms as if Linda was expected. Her mouth came down and those red lips kissed Linda. Shay was scared and also furious. For four years she suffered as Linda dated several different guys, not only never giving a hint she might like a woman, let alone her best friend! At the same time, Shay was confused at this.

The kiss continued, Shay could see Linda was enjoying it, the woman’s arms held her close and then slipped down into the jeans Linda was wearing, deeper and deeper until Shay saw Linda stiffen. The woman broke the kiss and those red lips went to Linda’s ear.

“Come for me, my kitten,” a very ethereal voice said. Linda’s jeans slid down over her ass. The woman’s hand was inside Linda’s panties and rubbing her pussy from behind.

“Come for me, now!”

Shay could only watch as Linda quickly orgasmed. She clung to the woman as she came. The woman smiled another smile that scared Shay. Slowly the woman turned Linda around to face Shay. Her top and bra were pulled up and the woman was cupping Linda’s breasts. Linda kept her head turned, refusing to break eye contact with the woman as she was turned.

“Look at your friend.”

Linda looked back at Shay, but this was a Linda she barely recognized. The orgasm had done something, but Shay couldn’t figure it out.

“Ask her to join you.”

“Shay, come here,” Linda said as she held her hand out. “Please Shay, I need you.”

Shay stood there. Something crossed Linda’s face that looked like confusion. The woman turned Linda’s head and captured her gaze again. Then touched her pussy from the front and the confusion left Linda’s face as that finger touched her clit.

The woman looked at Shay, but Shay only had eyes for Linda. Two other women seemed to come out of the dim hall and moved toward Shay purposefully. Shay started backing up. The woman held up a hand. “Stop!” But her command had little effect on Shay who still looked at Linda.

“Linda, come on, we have to go.”

Linda didn’t seem to hear her. “Linda!” Shay shouted now. The fear in her voice seemed to get through to Linda who looked toward the door.

The woman started fingering Linda again and whispered in her ear.

“Shay, please Shay, I love you. You have to stay with me.”

Linda’s voice wasn’t the one Shay loved to hear, it was more the woman talking through Linda. She had backed up to the door and threw it open, the waning sunlight made the entryway seem small and dirty. As Shay turned, a light flashed from the woman’s hand and struck her in the base of the neck as she ran, ashamed for leaving her best friend, the girl she loved.

Now, twenty years later the entryway felt tiny and dingy, even dirtier than she remembered. Like before the door slammed behind her only it popped partially open, a shaft of the noonday sunlight bisected the entryway like a knife. From the darkness the woman appeared, her face looked exactly how it did 20 years ago. However, the daylight was much less forgiving than the waning sun of that previous meeting. While the face was the same, she looked thinner and actually seemed stretched.

“You shouldn’t be here!” said that same ethereal voice, quiet yet forceful.

Shay looked at her with arms crossed seemingly in disdain. She swallowed her fear knowing this was something she had to do. “I want her back!”

“You? Do you think you have any power here? Your little friend is mine and I don’t give up my toys so easily.” She stepped closer to Shay and a shadow passed over them. Suddenly she looked just like she did back then, very sexy and very dangerous.

The sex was practically dripping off her skin, but Shay wasn’t taken in this time. She reached under her top and made a necklace visible, a Christian cross. Shay shifted, placing the knife of sunlight between them, letting it play over the silver cross.

The woman laughed! “Do you think that has power here either? This is not consecrated ground! Your cross is a nice piece of jewelry, but it won’t save you! You are in my domain and here you will stay.”

Yet through the light, the woman no longer looked sexy but diminished. This time Shay smiled. “I got away from your once, I will do it again, this time with her!”

“You got away because your little friend was trying to fight me. You never knew how much she loved you, but once you left she fell as you will shortly.

Her words cut right to Shay’s heart. “Linda loved me? I had no idea!” Shay dropped her eyes for a second as she thought. At that moment the woman crossed the light. It didn’t hurt her, but for a moment she looked old, very old and fragile. It only lasted an instant, but Shay didn’t see it. Now on the same side as Shay, she wrapped herself around her in a tight hug, her body molding itself against Shay, even Shay’s clothing didn’t stop the skin to skin contact.

Shay wanted to scream, but other feelings intruded. The woman started touching her, it felt like she was touching her everywhere. She felt herself being lifted and then held horizontally, like she was laying on a bed, her legs forced open, and the woman laid between them as she tried to kiss her.

Shay kept her head moving as she felt the woman’s fingers enter her pussy and rub firmly.

“Come for me, my kitten.”

Those words, those same words firmed Shay’s resolve. The woman felt her resistance stiffen. Then she changed and it was Linda between her legs. Their eyes met and Shay couldn’t stop herself from reacting, her defenses flagged suddenly.

“You want this more than you want anything else. Please take me, make love with me. You know this is what you need!” She whispered in Shay’s ear. Shay’s most hidden fantasy all through high school was to be like this with Linda. She never dated, she only wanted to spend time with Linda. Even when Linda did date, Shay would be home practically in tears wanting Linda so bad. But this wasn’t Linda!

“More parlor tricks? You aren’t like her, you are a cheap copy, a facsimile, a joke!” Shay cried aloud.

The woman recoiled not just from words, but the tone. “You dare!” She said as she dropped Shay to the floor.

Shay stood, relishing her small victory. Around the two of them, in the shadows, other things waited and watched. She stepped in close to Shay, her own form restored. She knew Shay was attracted to her, everyone who saw her like this was attracted. There was movement from one side, a girl stepped out.

“Linda!” Shay said seeing her friend for the first time in two decades. She looked exactly as Shay remembered, she hadn’t aged a day. Linda looked at Shay with a strange look on her face. Her voice, once bold as brass, was thin, “I don’t know you.”

“Yes, you do Linda, its Shauna.”

“No, you are too old. Shay is my age and the prettiest girl I ever saw. You aren’t Shay, I love Shay. She’s coming back to get me, she wouldn’t send you.” Linda started to move back into the shadows.

“Linda, it really is me, Shay. This witch has kept you here for 20 years.”

Linda shook her head, “No, Shay is coming back with help. I have to wait for her. She’ll be right back.”

Shay wanted to cry. She wasn’t sure what had happened to Linda, but this wasn’t the self-assured girl who she loved. Shay started to cry. The woman moved back to her, a knowing smile on her face when the door exploded inward and the entryway flooded with light.

Myn walked in like she owned the place. Shay knelt in shock and the woman retreated back to the shadows.

Shay looked confused, “Myn, what are you doing here? You’re miles away.”

Myn smiled. “No, I am where I need to be.”

“Can you help me?”

“Only a little. There are rules and I cannot break them.”

“So why are you here?” Shay said looking very confused.

The woman gathered herself and stepped nearer to the edge of sunlight. “You cannot be here! You admit there are rules, they do not allow you here.”

“Asmerelda, you broke the rules when you stole twenty years from this woman. You not only took the love of her life and prevented that one from leaving, but you tried to steal the memory of Linda from the rest of the world. As you said, there are rules and you violated them. ”

There was a crash from the room next door. Shay jumped.

“Don’t worry, that’s Sally tossing a few rocks through the windows, letting in more light,” Myn said looking at a very angry Asmerelda. “Shay, take Linda into the next room. It’s up to you. All I can do is level the playing field and make sure Asmerelda follows the rules. Don’t dawdle.”

“She’s right, kitten, when the sun goes down, I will own the three of you!” Asmerelda’s voice was sweet and seductive and raised the hair on the back of Shay’s neck. The woman turned back to Myn. “It’s been a while since I had a Guardian to play with.”

Myn smiled at her. “You forget. My wife is outside, she knows what to do if we aren’t out before sundown. You won’t like it.”

Shay ignored the interplay and approached the shadows where she had seen Linda go. As she got closer she could make out Linda and several others. She stepped partly into the shadows and grabbed Linda’s hand. It was ice cold and she looked less … substantial, like a shadow of herself, or maybe an echo. She tugged and Linda followed her not willingly, but not fighting it. Several of the shadows clung to her until they passed through the light into the next room. Shay disappeared with Linda as Myn simply stood there. Her presence seemed enough to hold them at bay.

The other room was some sort of sitting room. There was plenty of light due to several recently shattered windows. There was old furniture, some of it was wrecked, and some of it looked recently used. Shay led Linda to a chaise and sat her down. As soon they entered the room, Linda seemed to become more substantial, her hand took on a little warmth.

In the entryway, Asmerelda moved toward the other door and Myn stood in her way. “Not so fast, Milady. You shouldn’t have interfered the first time, you know the signs as well as I.”

Asmerelda turned on Myn and seemed to expand in size and ferocity. Myn waved a hand and then laughed. “You know better. Start behaving or Sally will not be happy outside and might start early.”

“You can’t do it, it would bring The Council down on you?”

“You aren’t thinking clearly. You broke the rules and kept important lovers apart for two decades. I am fixing the problem you created. If your house gets destroyed during that fixing, The Council won’t object. I’m a little surprised they haven’t been here to … talk to you about it.”

The woman pulled back. “They know?”

“Of course, I had to tell them to get permission to travel here quickly, they are less than happy with you and yours. Your Sire knows as well.”

On that note, Asmerelda deflated quickly. “I still may win this?”

“Yes, but within the rules. It’s not up to you or me, it’s up to Shay and Linda. You shouldn’t have poached.”

“But she was so sweet, so open, and so tempting. The two of them came in willingly.”

“Just stop making excuses. Shay and Linda love each other, which is why both are still here. Shay shook you off and regained herself. Linda’s been fighting you for 20 years and you know it. You fucked up, you failed, and even if the Council doesn’t act, your Sire will. You have very little hope to win this.”

Shay looked at Linda and saw subtle changes. But without 20 years of no sunlight and limited wear and tear, she still looked 18. What worried Shay the most was the mostly blank look on her face.

“Linda,” Shay said, very quiet and careful. Linda’s face came up to look at her. “It is me, Shauna.”

Linda started shaking her head, but Shay stopped it and held her cheeks. “Close your eyes and just listen. Linda complied which kinda made Shay nervous. Her Linda would have done it out of trusting Shay. This Linda was acquiescing as if it was normal for her to obey.

“Linda, we’ve known each other most of our lives. We met in first grade when the teacher made us share the same table. We both hated it because the rest of the class had their own desks. The large class meant brining in a table for the last two students, us. We missed the table the next year and in the third grade, when we were in separate classes, we both decided we hated school because we couldn’t be together.”

Shay reached down and took Linda’s hands in hers. “In Junior High, we got in trouble for beating up that bully, do you remember? She was picking on you again and I had had enough. She might have beaten either of us, but together we were unstoppable. We both took our suspensions. Your Mom gave you grief over it while my Mom and Dad patted me on the back for coming to your rescue. That bully never bothered either of us again.”

There was no recognition in Linda’s face at anything Shay said. Shay sniffed back a tear, not sure how to get through to her. She leaned in close and whispered. Do you remember Jimmy Stallworth, the boy who talked you into given up your virginity? You cried in my arms later because you were afraid of getting pregnant and also you were mad at yourself because you really didn’t like him anyway. It was the first night we spent together cuddled under my blanket. I would have held you there forever if I could. That was the night I realized that I loved you. I stroked your hair, held you close and told you everything would work out. You finally fell asleep about four in the morning, but I stayed awake watching you and watching over you. In some ways, I hoped you were pregnant and we could raise a child together.”

Shay wanted so much to see something in Linda’s eyes, on her face, but the only response she got was a slight tightening of her hands. She did take that as a good sign.

“You dated other boys, including Tommy Hollister, who’s a cop here in town now. I saw him the other day. He doesn’t remember you at all. That witch did something and we all forgot. That’s why it took so long to come back to you. She made me forget you, but I never fully did. I knew there was something, someone for me. It took a long time and a lot of traveling, but I found myself again and now I found you.”

“We were seniors when we were walking down Main and saw this house for the first time. Neither of us ever noticed it before. It was like it came out of the fog just for us. It looked awful and you wanted to see inside. I was afraid, but you pulled me in. Then you saw that witch, or whatever she is, and I lost you.”

Shay leaned down and hugged Linda tight, her words mixed with tears as she told the rest. “I was scared yes, but I was also jealous. You went right up to her and kissed her. She looked so sexy, but I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to be the one you couldn’t stop looking at. I wanted to be with you forever but I was too afraid to tell you.”

Shay took Linda’s face in her hands and pressed her lips to Linda’s. She didn’t relent, she didn’t back down. When Linda’s mouth opened, Shay slipped her tongue in and kissed her as she had always wanted to, needed to. Without warning, Linda’s arms came up and wrapped around Shay. “I love you too!”

Myn smiled as she caught the emotion from the other room, the emotion also made Asmerelda become less substantial. She waited, knowing the two were doing something both wanted but never could tell each other. The first orgasm banished the shadows. Myn just smiled knowing what was to come.