I wake up, and find myself in bed. My head hurts, and there's a cold compress on my forehead. I try to sit up, and she's suddenly beside me, pushing me back. "No, lie down. You've been out for a while." She looks seriously worried.

"How long was I out?"

…

"Well, then, Mrs. Sinclair." Her eyes light up at hearing that. "What shall we do, now that your husband is broke and homeless?"

"Well, about that." She gives me an impish grin.

"Should I be scared?"

She looks thoughtful for a moment, then says, "No.…

I eventually settle down. I'm not sure exactly when she got it, but she's suddenly wiping my face with a warm, damp cloth. It feels good. After a few minutes, she stops. "Are you going to be okay?"

I take a deep breathe. "Yeah. Yeah, actually. I think I …

"You brought your briefcase from work along. I think your laptop is in there."

"It should be." I head into the bedroom, and pick up my laptop. I sit back down, and ask "Do you know the hotel WiFi password?"

She winks. "I can do you one better." She touc…

I start thinking. Video game names are cliche, for the most part, appropriate though it may be. And, as much as it may fit the situation, sci-fi and fantasy names are also out. It just bugs me when people name their kids after movie characters.

We sit in…

And back to being perplexed. "You don't have a name?"

"Nope." She says that one word as though it should be painfully obvious. "Because the players can name their companions individually, the developers only gave me a place holder. And [ExComp1] doesn'…

She tenses, starts to pull away, then relaxes. I'm still holding the towel around her injured hand, but I feel her left hand on the back of my neck. I must be doing something right.

Suddenly, there's a soft, warm breeze. We pull back. "What the hell was …

"Hold on. You're not human?" Something about how I say it causes her to pull back. She lowers her head, allowing her long hair to fall forward, hiding her face from me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." I reach out for her, and she draws back even more.

Sh…

A question comes to mind. "How did you find me, by the way?" I'm not sure how much of the question is genuine interest, and how much is to distract me from her revelations about me. What she tells me next has me utterly fascinated, though.

"The security …

"When I first got here, I didn't think as to how. I only knew one thing." She blushes, which only serves to highlight those dimples I so adore. "I had to find you."

"And once you found me?" I ask.

"Things went... quickly from that point." She shrugs. "I…

It takes a moment to realize what is happening, and then I just let myself sink into it. I close my eyes, and let everything else fall away. I let my other senses take the driver's seat. The warm, smooth skin of her hands on my face. The taste of cherry l…

"Before I say anything," she whispers, "how blunt can I be without you hating me?"

I don't think anything could surprise me any more than I already had been, so I say, "Say what you need to say. It's okay."

She turns to me, and, after a brief pause, tel…

"Attached to one... Wait... You mean me?" I'm not always the brightest crayon in the box. This is one of those times.

She rolls her eyes. "No, I mean Tommy Douglas, 8th grade gamer from Tulsa. Yes, you, dummy!" Again, that laugh that, despite the utterly…

It's the question I didn't want to ask, and she didn't want to hear. "I'm... I mean, I know what I was, and I think I know what I will be. Right now, I don't..." I see tears welling up in those brilliant blue eyes.

I put my hand on top of hers. "Let's st…

But then I hear a tiny sound

That stirs my mem’ry, brings me ‘round

To former joys. I used to know.

“Dear Anna? hi, I’ve missed you so!”

And I once more do hear that voice

I’ve loved so long, and I rejoice,

I’d never thought to hear them more,

Outside …

The cellar room I once called home

Far out of sight, a site alone

Cannot remain a haven now:

This mouse’s nest now fears the plough

My life’s disrupted, cleft in twain

Will ever I find home again?

I am uprooted, limbs are pruned

My misery no more entombe…

"Why can't I remember the trip here? Never mind deciding to come here?"

"I don't know?" Her head snaps up. "I didn't drug you or anything, if that's what you're thinking!"

"No!" I have a sudden need to make sure she knows I don't think that. "I don'…

"We'll start with your first question." She's making a point of not looking at me while she talks. I'm not sure if it's nervousness, embarrassment, or something else. "We've been here for 3... No, technically, 2 days, I guess. International date line. Lik…

I step into the living area, and the first thing I hear is, "Oh, good! They fit you. I had to guess your size."

That's the first time I realize I'm wearing new clothes. "Um... Thank you?"

She smiles, but it's a sad smile. "I guess the attitude is unders…

"Pol, take steering."

The man grimaced silently as they switched places. With everyone crowded in the rear of the box, the weight might just be enough to angle the craft using the rudder and air brakes.

"You going fore?"

Hable nodded. "Listen for me."

…

I've stopped looking

At the mirrors in my house.

My wife has to tell me

When my hair is becoming

An awful tangled mess,

Or when my face looks

Like I've never held a razor

A single time in my life.

They just feel offensive,

Reminding me over and over

That…

The pile of rejects on the end of my desk grew with a haste I wasn't quite expecting. This was the first I looked down to see that sometime through the day it spilled down to the floor under my feet. Of course picking it all up meant I sat reading them ag…

It's the heart; the best part. I saved it for you.

I protected it, made sure it stayed whole and as innocent and full of light as possible. I used it only to build you up, to raise you from the darkness. I used it to praise you and to welcome you with op…

I had a dream

Of a familiar face.

An acquaintance? A friend?

I searched for what I knew.

The face gave nothing away.

The friend said nothing.

.

At first, I pleaded,

Then I shouted.

I tried to reach out,

I couldn’t move.

.

The closer I looked

The more that…

“Here.”

I barely caught the stranger's phone as he waded against the crowd flowing past us. “The password's zero five five seven, record everything that happens.” I rolled the phone over in my hands. Top of the line and brand new, it was a beauty, worth …