7: Her New Master

It was a girl, whispering from behind me into my ear. Her soft voice resonated with a familiar confidence. When I turned, I saw the familiar form of my now deceased best friend, but she no longer felt like part of some dream—rather, her existence now felt impossible to deny.

She had her hair down and wore a lace dress complete with a beautiful decorative ribbon. She dropped into a short, polite bow, but there was a certain smug air about her smile. She held herself like royalty.

“Hello there,” she said. “What wonderful weather today. Are you doing well?”

“What in the world...?” I uttered.

“Ugh, you’re sovery dense. I’m here to introduce myself, obviously. Surely you can work out at leastthat much with a glance?”

The girl pointed to her feet with the fan in her hand. Below us I saw...me, collapsed upon the floor. Reinald was shaking me gently, but I showed no signs of waking. He was in the midst of calling for help. It was still the garden, but it had changed. All the colorful flowers were now various shades of gray. The whole world had gone black-and-white, as if it were part of an old movie. Only the girl and I retained our color.

The girl opened her fan, and an instant later I heard an almost cartoony “po