House sitting
 

I lost all my savings. I lost my job. I could survive anything but the loss of my best friend.

 

 

Note to readers. Don't read if you don't like poor grammar, this is rough.
This is a work of adult fiction. No resemblance to reality should be inferred or expected.
Copyright… are you kidding?

 

 

 
 
- 1 -

Events in my life started snowballing immediately after my sixteenth birthday. Dad insisted for I get a status of an emancipated minor. As if he predicted something. I got a job at Grigio's place. That wasn't something fancy just washing dishes and busing tables. Not much money but anything counted.

Dad was in a wheelchair after the car accident eight years ago. Mom was lost in this accident and I got into the hospital for six months and lost a year in school. Add to this mom was found guilty in that incident and all insurance as well as the whole family wealth went to the truck company for their cargo and damaged semi. “Nothing personal, strictly business,” they said.

We had to sell our home and moved to this not-very-fancy neighborhood. We rented half of the house. Dad was working from home doing some occasional programming. Neighbors were friendly. I got a new friend here too. His name was Arnold. He was the same age as me but a year above at school 'cause I'd missed one year. Arnold was living with his aunt Marina because his parents were both killed during a burglary while he was at summer camp.

Our nearest neighbor was Ned. His full name was Needle because his hippie parents made him under the pine tree and needles were what they remembered the most. Previously he worked as a delivery trucker and he wasn't working now though he wasn't old enough to be retired. He was kind of famous in the neighborhood because of the moonshine he sometimes produced for himself and his crony Ben Kramer.

The next house was of Arnold's aunt Marina Grant. Their home was the only two-story house in the neighborhood.

The last house was of Narama Vivek. He was dark-skinned and as he said himself he was of Bengali descent. He was kind of a counselor.

We all lived on one side of the street. On the other side, there was a line of box elders and a fence of Miller's scrap yard.

 

 

To be the emancipated minor meant to live separately from dad. Dad asked Ned about my accommodation as well as Arnie's aunt. They both agreed but only Ms. Grant had enough place. It was a bedroom in a basement but it was better than staying in Ned's dining room.

Dad's constant sitting in the wheelchair and his lack of movement caused ulcers on his thighs. Some were very bad and transformed into tumors. I didn't know this was happening and dad's getting into the hospital was a shock not only for me. The tumor was very aggressive and fast spreading. It was affecting on its way dad's right kidney and the colon. Dad was gone on the twelfth day in the hospital.

 

 

Two years ago Arnie opened as gay. Not to everyone. Only his aunt and I knew. It was the reason I didn't stay in Arnie's bedroom though there was enough place for another twin bed. Not that I was afraid of him. Both Ms. Grant and I knew my being in the same room with Arnie would cause him to fluster. The same as for a teenage boy living in one room with a girl.

Our friendship didn't change. We still were best buddies. We attended the same school and worked at the same Grigio's restaurant but on different shifts usually. Our manager Arthur couldn't understand how real WASP Arnie befriended trash Polish me. It usually was in a form of a joke but as he was saying, again and again, it was annoying. Well, I was of Polish descent, my name's Mark Nowak, and I had a terrible accent but I worked hard and there were no complaints. My parents came to the states when I was five. They both were AI programmers and our life was getting better and better every day. That's until that fateful car accident.

After Arnie opened up as gay I tried to imagine what it would be to be attracted to boys but I failed. There was no attraction no matter how much I tried. It could be so much simpler to be friends with Arnie if both of us were the same. Arnie was a very handsome boy. He was tall and muscular. He was smart and well-mannered. I thought he was excellent dating material for any girl but…

 

 

Kids at school were waiting for spring break to start. Those free days were very valuable, especially for those who worked after school. Like Arnie and I.

Almost a week to spring break our neighbor Ned got into the hospital. He went to his GP for routine checks and tests and something in his liver was found that needed a deeper investigation. Ned asked us to feed his cat Rob while he'll be in the hospital. It was my task because I and Mr. Vivek were the only two who were accepted by Rob as friends. Ned gave me his spare key and I had to come and feed Rob and clean his litter box and then give the key to Mr. Vivek for the time I was at work busing tables in Grigio's restaurant.

 

 

It was the second day of spring break in the afternoon. Arnie and I were at work and his aunt was visiting her friend. Mr. Vivek was looking for Ned's cat Rob. The beast was nowhere to see and Mr. Vivek was calling him and walked around our houses and between trees on the other side of the street. Our street was kind of a quiet one. Almost no cars were passing it. This time there was an FD truck rushing at full speed toward the Mud Pond Farm. As a result, Mr. Vivek was injured badly and was taken to the hospital immediately while Rob was waiting for us in the place where it all happened.

The Deputy sheriff came to Ms. Grant's home already after sunset and informed her about what had transpired on our street. Mr. Vivek was in the hospital. He was unconscious and the deputy asked us to house-sit at his house.

Mr. Vivek had Ned's and his own keys when he was struck by the truck. Ned had another “emergency” key at his backdoor under the pot with some plant that looked like aloe but wasn't. So no problem here. I'll feed Rob and then will lock the house and leave the key to Arnie's aunt.

We were looking for Narama's spare keys around his house like in the kitchen, the living room, or the basement, and didn't find any.

Hospital staff refused to give us the keys or anything that was in Mr. Vivek's pockets because we weren't relatives and Mr. Vivek was still unconscious.

Aunt Marina said she would look at Narama's house during the day. Someone had to house-sit it at night. There was no problem locking it from the inside. This way the one who had locked it had to stay here. The only logical outcome was for me to stay at Mr. Vivek's house for the night.

I grabbed my toothbrush, a book I was reading, and underwear change and moved to our unfortunate neighbor's house.

I'd been at Mr. Vivek's home a few times before but it never was more than a couple of minutes each time. I looked around the living room and the kitchen, the only places where I'll be hanging around. Eh… and bathroom. The rooms were nothing special - the same furniture, the same sundries like at any other house, magazines on a coffee table, pictures on walls. One strange thing was that curtains and table cloth and couch spread were more colorful than I'd seen anywhere else.

I'd read two chapters of a book I was reading, brushed my teeth, and was ready for night's sleep on the couch in the living room.

Before I got to bed I checked my savings I was about to spend tomorrow. I had four notes, twenty bucks each. It had to be enough for a Bluetooth keyboard and a refurbished tablet. Nothing fancy, just an old refurbished demo piece. The guy in the store promised tomorrow will start the Easter sale and they had some not-very-expensive models I could afford.

Yeah… Four worn-out pieces of green paper. I hoped and prayed it would be enough. Another twenty dollars I'll have it next week. But till that time I'll need to spend some of what I had and the Easter sale would be over…

 
 
- 2 -

The new day dawned bright and sunny. A good sign… I took a quick shower (I wasn't at home and the heat wasn't cheap) dressed up and before heading to aunt Marina's place for breakfast I checked my valet. There were five crisp new twenty-dollar notes. Money is never too much but I prefer to have my money and my money was worn-out notes. And four - not five. I rubbed them between my fingers and there was relief print new notes still have. I looked through them at the light and they seemed ok but… But they all had the same number. Then the number was identical up to the last digit on all five of them.

Counterfeit! It wasn't just colored pieces of paper. It was a crime. I didn't know who did it. Someone had stolen my money and put counterfeit. Most likely that someone is waiting for me to emerge from this house… Or maybe for me to pay using sham money… Or maybe ‘by accident' notice the sham in my valet… Or… Will not happen!

I burnt the sham in the kitchen sink and washed the ash down the drain. It's done!

I'd checked all my pockets before stepping out of the house. Thank God I was clean. But I was poor again. I didn't need to hurry to the mall and I could help aunt Marina at home before my shift at the restaurant started.

 

 

At work, I changed into my uniform the same for all kitchen staff which was white pants and a jacket. I put rubber gloves on because we were using detergent liquid for busing the tables and without gloves, the hands' skin after work was dry and cracking and almost bleeding.

I put a spare pair of gloves into my jacket pocket and there was something. I pulled it from the pocket and it was another bunch of sham money. The same twenty dollar notes sporting the same number up to the last digit.

Someone had a grudge against me. I was alone in the locker room. This time my hands were in the gloves and there could be no fingerprints on the notes. There was no way I could burn them. I couldn't leave them in my locker too. I checked my locker and other pockets of my uniform. The bunch I had in my hand was the only one. I put the money on the shelf under the pile of spare paper towels and left the changing room to start busing tables in the main hall.

 

 

Some couple hours later our manager Arthur asked me to the changing room. There were two police officers and another two civil detectives waiting for me.

“We have been informed you are spreading counterfeit in this place and around,” one officer started. “Do you want to make a statement?”

“It's not me,” I replied.

“Very well…” another one said. “You don't mind if I ask you to empty your pockets?”

“What choices do I have?” I asked.

“We can lead you handcuffed to our car and bring you to the precinct where the same will be done without your permission.”

“Handcuffs suit Poles…” snickered Arthur.

“Ok, then,” I agreed and emptied my pockets on the table. There were the spare pair of rubber gloves, suede cloth for drying off bused tables, and Life Savers to keep my breath fresh.

“That's all?” the officer asked.

“Yeah…” I confirmed raising my hands. I thought it was just a sign I didn't have anything left in my pockets but the first officer took it literally and stroked his hands along my sides checking if I'd told the truth.

“Your locker, please,” the second officer ordered.

I unlocked the locker and stepped to the side allowing them to see what was inside.

“Put everything on the table and empty pockets of your street clothes.”

I did as he said. From my pockets, I placed on the table another package of mint Life Savers, a half-empty package of tissues, a key to aunt Marina's house, and valet.

“Empty your valet,” I was ordered. There was nothing special in the valet: some change (three dollars and seventeen cents in coins), student ID, school library ticket, public library ticket and expired state lottery ticket. That lottery ticket was very dear to me. It was bought by dad a week after he left for the hospital and never returned home. Maybe it was the sign of our family's bad luck not a charm I had thought. Who knows…? There were some sentiments and I wasn't ready to throw that ticket away.

“It had to be somewhere…” Arthur muttered.

“I'll check it,” one of the not uniformed detectives said. He checked the shelf and all the inside sides of my locker and then behind it and under it. He found nothing. Only some twenty minutes later he found the bunch under the paper towels.

“Don't touch it,” another detective ordered. Both officers and both detectives were in latex gloves, I was in rubber gloves and only the manager Arthur was bare-handed. That second detective was old, maybe even over sixty years old. That's older than anyone I knew here. So he took the top note by its sides and looked at the light but not through the note as I did before. He was looking as if the note was a mirror.

“We have a thumb!” he exclaimed. He opened his case and took a jar with a powder and a big round soft brush women use in the movies over their faces. With this brush, he spread the powder over the note and some pattern was visible now. He stuck a transparent tape over that pattern and it became even more clear.

“Take your gloves off, son,” he said to me. I did as he said and he examined my thumbs.

“Your thumbs are too small and the pattern is wrong. You've caught the wrong fish, Alan,” the old detective said turning to the first police officer.

“What now?” this one muttered under his nose.

“Mister,” the old detective turned to Arthur, “would you be so kind to show me your right thumb.”

“What?! NO!” Arthur shrieked.

“Mister Ford, your situation is complicated already. Please show your hands,” the first police officer ordered, “otherwise I'll be forced to take you under arrest.”

“Not me! Not me!” Arthur shouted and then whispered almost inaudibly, “First Niggers, then Wetbacks, and now Polaks… What will happen to this country?”

Arthur showed his thumbs then.

“Your right thumb and fingerprint match,” the older detective said, “there is the angled scar on your thumb that matches the mark on the fingerprint.”

 

 

That was a day. Had I to be happy or depressed now? I'd lost my money and will need another few months to save every penny to get enough money for a tablet. If there will be another refurbished one so cheap as it was today. On the other hand, I was free and even not a suspect. Not so bad I guess.

 
 
- 3 -

My sleep was disturbed despite the outcome of the previous day was not so bad. I woke up with a terrible headache. The pain was so strong that there was some dizziness. Maybe I had eaten something wrong the day before and it was kind of poisoning. I couldn't think of anything that could be so harmful as food yesterday.

Someone was banging at the door and it may cause my head almost to explode. I rushed to the door and swung it open. The very bright light made my headache unbearable and forced my eyes to squint. Here was Arnie at the door.

“What excuse do you have today?” he demanded angrily.

I had no excuses. What for? I tried to say so but instead, I just mumbled something because my mouth was like filled with cotton and my tongue worked like it wasn't mine.

“By the smell, it was Ned's booze yesterday,” Arnie snarled. He squeezed between me and the door frame and headed into the kitchen. I couldn't understand what was happening to me. I dragged myself following him into the kitchen. He stirred something in the glass of water and gave it to me.

“Drink this,” he ordered.

I took a sip and it tasted sour and had bubbles like lemonade.

“Don't savor it,” Arnie chuckled. “You look like you're drinking it for the very first time in your life.”

Well, it was the first time. I didn't say it. There was happening something I didn't understand. Something similar to what was happening yesterday. Out of the blue, our manager from Grigio's restaurant wanted to show me as a criminal and send me to jail. Today I was poisoned and Arnie acted as if it was my fault.

That drink helped. I wasn't still fresh and ready for the day. The pain was subsiding.

“Take the shower and I'll make you coffee meanwhile,” he offered.

Hot water didn't feel good. I started with ice-cold water instead and gasped as the fish pulled out of the water. A few gasps later the cold water made the most cobwebs in my head vanish. I was almost the regular myself again. I adjusted the water to my usual hot water and washed thoroughly.

I tried to clear my throat while I was alone in the bathroom. My breath was rasping. Had I the flu?

I put on fresh underwear and then jeans and a polo shirt.

When I came back to the kitchen I found Arnie sipping his coffee and my mug waiting for me. That was very strange. Really. I didn't drink coffee before. My dad was a coffee addict but not me. I didn't remember Arnie drinking it let alone enjoying it like he was doing now. His aunt Marina was rather a tea person and there was no coffee at her home. For me, it tasted awful because it was bitter and it was even worse than beer.

“What are your plans for today?” Arnie inquired.

“Huh… Erh… To feed Rob I guess…”

“Who's Rob?” Arnie asked.

“Well… Rob's Ned's cat?” I wasn't sure anymore regarding the world around me.

“Ned has no cat,” Arnie replied, “and never had. Mel has an allergy to cat fur.”

Who was Mel? Ned lived alone. He never told me he had someone in his life, male or female. By the name Mel, it could be both. I was wise enough to not ask.

“At noon I have to be at Grigio's place today…”

“Don't you remember? You were fired just yesterday!” Arnie raised his voice as if scolding me.

I didn't remember. That's I wasn't fired as I did remember. If I was what will I do?

“I've talked with Jack,” Arnie said. Jack's the owner of Miller's scrap yard.

“I've vouched for you,” he added. Why was I so special that someone had to vouch for me?

“Don't let me down Mark, at least till noon. Jack likes booze the same as you and he usually is tipsy at lunchtime. Don't let to catch you drunk before lunchtime. Deal?”

“Deal,” I replied. I didn't like booze! How could he say otherwise?

“Let's go,” Arnie said and turned to the entrance door. I followed him outside and a shining blue metallic Dodge Challenger was standing.

“Wow!” I thought to myself. I didn't dare to say something or express my emotions openly. It seemed the whole world around me lived its own life and I was just an observer and not a spectator here. I turned to Arnie and only now I noticed he was dressed much better than usual. Those were seemingly the same jeans and shirt. One could see the class looking at him – jeans, shoes, shirt, wristwatch.

“C'mon, I can't wait for you the whole eternity,” Arnie ushered me.

Despite the Miller's scrap yard being on the other side of the street, we needed to drive three blocks down the street and after a couple of turns come to the entrance gate and the office. The boss there was Jack Carter. Miller's was only the name of the business, not the owner's name.

Jack was inside. He was in dirty overalls. There was a stub in the corner of his lips still smoldering.

“So this fuckster is young bloody Nowak?” he asked. “And you say motherfucker will stay as sober as a judge all day long?”

“I vouch for him,” Arnie confirmed.

Only then Jack turned to me, “I pay cash, one bloody third. Twenty fucking percent of the bullshit you sell is your bloody bonus. If I find you fucking sleeping or drunk – you're in deep DEEP fucked shit! Capeesh?”

“When do I start?” I asked.

“Now. Change, motherfucker,” he motioned his head to the door at the end of the office.

I changed into dirty though the cleanest overalls I'd found and came back into the office.

“Come, I'll show you my kingdom,” Jack offered and all three of us went outside.

Arnie headed to his car. Meanwhile, the black Tacoma appeared at the gate.

“Oh my…” Arnie whispered turning as white as a sheet of paper. He was about to scurry between the piles of old cars but those in Tacoma were faster. They didn't exit their car and started shooting automatic guns.

I stood there rooted to the spot. Jack dropped to the ground and yanked down the leg of my overalls forcing me to the ground. Neither Jack nor I were the targets. They came for Arnie. He couldn't escape. He had no chance. Those attackers didn't bother to exit their car and check if Arnie was really dead. He was.

 

 

The rest of the day I spent in the police. There were the same police officers who interrogated me yesterday but they didn't show they knew me. Officers knew much more than I did. They said Arnie was a head of the drug dealers' circle. The new gang in the city was expanding its zone of influence and it overlapped with Arnie's territory.

The officers brought me home. When we got home, they questioned aunt Marina. When the police left she blamed me that I knew about Arnie and didn't say to her. I didn't know. I didn't know anything anymore.

Then she cried. I tried to console her. I wasn't very successful and she cried a lot. There was nothing we could do at the moment. Arnie's body was kind of evidence and police officers said it will be returned for a funeral some two days later.

Neither of us was in the mood to watch TV or read a book. We called it a night and I went to Mr. Vivek's home for another house-sitting night.

 
 
- 4 -

I woke up with an extremely full bladder. It was possibly caused by the tea I drank yesterday with aunt Marina. I jumped from the bed and scurried to the bathroom dropped my shorts down and was about to plop on the toilet. It downed to me suddenly I had no thingy to be worried about of getting smashed over the toilet rim. I had no thingy to pee. I was still drowsy and the urge was great so I just sat down. The process was like somewhere inside me while outside my body the pee flowed by itself.

My business was done but I still sat here. I was afraid to examine myself or look at myself in the mirror. Was I sorta castrated? I cleared my throat and tried to speak. My voice sounded to me like one of a kid. It didn't creak like yesterday and that was the only plus.

I looked at last between my legs. Yes, as I predicted there was nothing. There was nothing to shake off. I had to wipe it with toilet paper. It looked like a girl. Was I a girl? I grabbed my chest and there were two mounds. Not big, not more than half of a handful each but those definitely were tits with nipples sticking out.

The word phantasmagoria popped into my head. Was it that or something else?

I tried an approach I'd done the day before – the ice-cold shower. It didn't help. The cold was congealing and unbearable but I was still a girl and I didn't know what to do with it. I switched to the hot water and showered as usual. After I rubbed myself dry I wrapped a towel around me and headed to the kitchen.

What next? What disaster was about to happen today? I lost my best friend yesterday. I'd lost my job at Grigio's place. I'd lost all my savings. Well, I had a job at Miller's scrap yard but… But I was a girl now! I couldn't work at Jack Carter's place. Oh… Oh my God! What I will do now? For the first time in my life, I didn't know what to do. There was nobody who could help me. I felt so miserable and abandoned. Then it started almost without my intention. The tears were falling and I was weeping now.

I have never cried before. Maybe only when I was a kid. I didn't cry at dad's funeral. I was an emancipated young man and I had to prove to myself and to others, I was a real man and not a kid.

I didn't know how long I was crying; I didn't watch the clock. Eventually, I calmed down something. I went to the bathroom and washed my face. When I was back in the kitchen the phone rang. It wasn't the phone hanging on the wall. A moment later I found a smartphone near the couch in the living room. It read ‘Marina'. I answered it.

Aunt Marina was here.

“Hello dear!” she started. “Mr. Vivek has called from the hospital and we talked a little. He asked to come to the hospital. Arnie is busy right now. Would you be so kind to come to the hospital?”

“Oh… Ok…” I responded. So Arnie was alive if he was busy!

“He is in the trauma ward, room F17,” aunt added.

“I see… Have I to bring something?” I asked. My voice sounded girly even to me. Aunt had to know I was a girl. She didn't wonder about my new high-pitched voice.

“No. He didn't ask,” the aunt replied and terminated the call.

My clothes were where I'd left them the day before – on a chair. I always keep my underwear covered with the tee because I didn't like my underwear exposed. I lifted the tee and my underwear was gone. That's MY underwear was gone. There were two pieces of apparel that weren't mine. Maybe they suited my new body better than shorts. I knew how they have to look on the girl's body. But not how to put them on.

It took me more than thirty minutes to dress up in jeans and a tee. Unbelievable! Thirty minutes to put jeans and tee on. Put my wallet into my jeans' back pocket and left, with my smartphone in my hand.

 

 

The trip to the hospital was like being in a daze. Everything around looked something different than it was the day before. There was no scrapyard on the other side of the street. There was a long blind wall of something instead.

The asphalt on the street wasn't cracked and homes looked fresher. Everything looked better – houses, driveways, lawns and flower beds, cars. Everything. Even trees on both sides of the street.

I arrived at the hospital by bus. Mr. Vivek's ward was on the sixth floor. The nurse showed me to his room.

He was alone in the room reading a newspaper.

“Good morning, Mr. Vivek,” I greeted him.

“Rita?” he raised his eyes and looked at me.

After a while, he was like, “So you were a boy a day before?”

It was more like a statement.

“How do you know?”

“Girls use purse to carry her wallet and smartphone,” he said.

“Huh…”

“And your name is? Or rather was?” Mr. Vivek asked.

“Mark,” I replied. “Marek for family and friends.”

“That's close to your present Margaret,” he stated, “Rita for friends.”

“Rita…” I said. “Rita will do,” I agreed.

“Sure it will,” my neighbor said.

I realized suddenly he was extremely calm about me formerly being a boy. It seemed like some conspiracy.

“What's going on?” I asked trying to sound as calm as possible in those circumstances.

“I'm a keeper of the artifact that helps to slide into a parallel universe.” Mr. Vivek started. “It's activated by a person's fears and worries and guides the person in their sleep to the world where their fears and worries are compensated.”

“Do you slip into another world every night?” I wondered.

“No, I'm not,” he replied, “cuz my only worry is to slip into another universe.”

“What will I do now?”

“Go back and lock my house,” Mr. Vivek said, “and start living your new life.”

“Why not stay another night at your home and let real Rita come back?”

“You don't understand,” Mr. Vivek complained. “The slip is driven not by your wish but by your fear. I don't know someone coming back. Don't you notice how far away from your original world you are now?”

His rationing sounded fair.

“Everyone will notice I'm different.”

“Maybe. Just try your best to adapt. Don't tell anybody what happened to you. Nobody will believe you if you say you were a boy.”

I left the hospital with Mr. Vivek's home key in my pocket. I was crossing the street to get to the bus stop. I heard people shouting something. I turned to the sound and a girl was waving a hand at me. I didn't understand what she wanted. Then something bumped me in the back and I blacked out.

 
 
- 5 -

I woke up in the hospital. Aunt Marina was at my side.

“You're a lucky one,” she said after she noticed I had my eyes open.

“Sure…” I muttered and touched the bandage on my forehead. My head was splitting. My chest was hurting badly. What a piece of luck! Really.

“The good news – you have got only a mild concussion,” the aunt said.

“Is there bad news?” I wondered.

“It depends… Your sternum is broken…”

“What's that?”

“Breastbone,” aunt explained. “You are NOT allowed to dance.”

“Dance…?” Good, I wasn't allowed; I didn't know how.

“And you will stay in bed for at least ten days.”

“Oh… Ok,” what could I say else?

“You'll not be able to attend tomorrow's service,” the aunt said like it was something extra important.

“Ok,” I said again.

“Have you forgotten? Tomorrow is Easter…”

“Everything that happens is under God's will!” I replied.

Maybe it was a little harsh but what else could I say? I had to stop her from trying to suggest something. Something that I didn't understand. I didn't know the girl whose life I was about to live. I met her only this morning and saw her only in the mirror.

What dance? I didn't dance.

What service? Yes, I was catholic but not as much as attending every service. Easter isn't a regular Sunday. But I had missed already a few Easter services.

“Sister Agnes wants to visit you,” aunt interrupted my thoughts.

“Who?” I had no siblings, neither brothers nor sisters.

“Your homeroom teacher…”

I had a sister in this life and she was my teacher… Just wonderful!

“What? Are you ok?” the aunt asked suddenly.

“What?”

“You said something about your sister being a teacher in this life,” the aunt said worriedly.

Oh my…! I was thinking aloud.

“I have forgotten all my life,” I replied. What else could I say? That I was Mark? Who slipped into Rita's body and her soul was now in some unknown parallel universe? I would be locked somewhere for the rest of my life. No. I will rather play the ‘I have forgotten everything' card.

“But I remember that I went to the hospital to get Mr. Vivek's key,” I said. “Do you get it? The key?”

“Calm down. I got it,” aunt Marina assured me.

“At least one thing is done,” I sighed with relief. “What happened to me? Have I got into an accident?”

“You were hit by a delivery truck moving backward. He didn't see you because you were in his blind zone.”

“Blindspot,” I corrected her.

“Exactly,” aunt nodded. “I see you haven't forgotten everything.”

“Only my life before this morning,” I replied.

“It's a concussion,” aunt stated calmly, “I'll ask the doctor about it. Maybe there're some pills or therapy.”

Then it downed to me something very unusual. Something VERY unusual.

“You mean sister Agnes is like a nun?”

“Yes…”

“You mean I'm attending catholic school?”

“Why yes,” the aunt replied.

“What I remember it costs a fortune to attend it,” I wondered.

“It costs something though I wouldn't call it fortune,” aunt shrugged. “So what about sister Agnes? Would you like to see her?”

It was time for me to shrug, “Well… I guess, yes.”

 

 

I was pumped with painkillers when I was with aunt Marina. In time, they, painkillers, cease to work. Exactly this happened and my head was in a vise. The light was causing the pain to be unbearable. It made me squint. Add to this pain in the chest.

When a young woman entered the room my only wish was for her to leave asap. She was in her late twenties or early thirties. I'm not good at determining age. She was younger than my aunt and sure she was older than me.

She was enthusiastic about what they will sing tomorrow and about the concert after the service. Meanwhile, my only wish was to howl in pain. The pain made me puke. Then she, sister Agnes, called the nurse and I got two pills.

The pain didn't subside but the sister was sitting quietly and I felt better.

After an eternity or maybe some twenty minutes I was able to speak again.

“I'm sorry, sister. I don't remember anything. School, friends, church, chorus. Nothing.” I murmured.

“Really nothing?”

“Really nothing,” I confirmed.

“Just let the Lord guide you and you will come back to us and your life,” the nun said almost in a whisper.

I wished it could be so simple.

 

 

One problem was solved at last. Aunt Marina got a key. Mr. Vivek's house key. That house and that damned artifact there were locked at last. No one will slip away into another parallel universe. For now, at least.

The next morning was Easter morning and the hospital was secluded. Despite it being Sunday and visiting hours.

I got a visitor. Mister Vivek in a wheelchair was in my room's doorway.

“May I come in?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“I'm here to help you to remember your life,” he said making with his fingers quotation marks.

“Thank you. It would be great. This life is so much different than my previous one,” I replied.

“Tell me what you know and I'll correct you if it's different here,” he offered.

“Ok. I lived with my dad who was in a wheelchair after a car accident.”

“Mom,” Mr. Vivek said, “your dad was killed.”

“My dad knew he was about to die and arranged for me to become an emancipated young adult and I got room in the basement of aunt Marina's house. Aunt Marina isn't my aunt. She's an aunt of Arnold who's my best friend here.”

“Marina has adopted you and you are not emancipated. I can't say you and Arnold are friends.”

“You and I were house-sitting our neighbor Ned's house and you were hit by a passing fire truck while chasing Ned's cat Rob.”

“There is no neighbor Ned and no cat Rob. I was hit by a fire truck when I exited my car.”

“Arnie and I work at Grigio's place. He's a waiter and I'm busing tables.”

“Grigio's is a posh place. You both don't work there. Arnie's parents had money. You've got a wealthy uncle Zigi. Money isn't an issue for you both.”

“Arnie and I attend Memorial High. He's junior and I'm sophomore.”

“You both attend Holy Family Academy and you both are juniors,” Mr. Vivek said.

Shit… How could I be a junior at catholic Academy when I was a sophomore in a public school.

“Arnie and I. We live together. Why are we not friends?” I asked. It was really important for me. In my previous life, Arnie was not only my best friend. He was actually my only friend. And even in the last world, where Arnie was killed, he proved he was my best friend no matter who I was. He cared. And I cared too.

“You were. You were a tomboy. You both did all things together. Like restoring and repairing Gremlin. It belonged years ago to Marina's boyfriend. It was left in Marina's garage when her boyfriend left. Then you both belonged to the same hiking club. Last year you changed. Maybe puberty or something. But you called him a kid. Retarded even. Because he was still in his juvenile activities. You were in choir and later in a local Polish community dance group, in drama and debate club. And he's the same, Arnold.”

“Bitch…” I muttered.

“It's not a word for the young lady to say,” Mr. Vivek replied, “but you're right.”

 

 

I was released from the hospital on Tuesday. But I was staying at home because I had my chest bandaged and my physical activity was still restricted. Even simply bending over the sink to wash my face or brush my teeth was painful.

Teachers thought I was the same egghead Rita. They didn't see a problem with me staying at home for a week or two.

At home I was alone. Marina was away running what errands she needed because of her active social life. Now that we didn't need to house-sit Mr. Vivek's house during the daytime she was free to do whatever she wanted.

I used the time to explore the world around me. My room wasn't in the basement. It was next to Marina's master bedroom on the second floor. Arnie's bedroom was on the first floor near the backdoor. His room was unlocked the same as Marina's or mine.

I didn't spy on him. I just checked things that were on the open. Books, magazines, hiking club trophies. He had an Appalachian trail map on the wall with flags stuck on places he had visited. Maybe with me.

No girls' posters on the walls. Because he was gay probably. Or wasn't he in this world? I didn't dare to ask. He had a Mazda Miata poster instead. He had a crush on this car.

The garage was occupied by Gremlin. Disassembled one. It was green when it was new. It was clear for sure, this thing will not ride in the foreseeable future. The engine was disassembled too and there were no piston rings and no head gasket. Getting spare parts for the car not anymore in production was probably a challenge. Add to this the factory was closed years ago.

 

 

Then the very first period started. I panicked. I thought it was something caused by a truck accident a week ago. I said it to Marina. She stared at me for almost five minutes as if I was kind of alien.

“As I said I had forgotten everything,” I tried to make an excuse.

I knew boys and girls were different. But I never bothered to get in-depth knowledge of how different they were. At first, I thought the only disadvantage of being a girl was a bra and needing to sit to pee. Now the period was added to the list.

That thing didn't stop the day it started. Almost four days. It will be back in four weeks. Couldn't science find something to stop it from happening?

 

 

After the period ended at last I kind of was a normal human again. I still had my chest bandaged. I moved around slowly and carefully to avoid blackening out. But I got used to my new situation and I could live with it.

I started in the kitchen. Like doing some meal for us. I sorta knew how to do it. Because I had a dad in a wheelchair and buying pizza or Chinese was expensive. So I did chores at home and everyday meals.

In my old life, both Arnie and aunt Marina liked what I did. Now they ate it with me. But they stared kinda funny at me at the same time. Maybe my first time wasn't exquisite. The next day I made cordon bleu. Everything perfect. Roasted to a golden brown, with no melted cheese leaks, parsnip purée at the side, and Romaine lettuce salad with very little garlic and some macerated dried cranberries.

“Don't you like it?” I asked. I was on the verge of tears. I tried so hard and I was sure I got it perfect. Almost. But something was wrong anyway.

“It tastes heavenly,” Marina assured me.

“But something is wrong?” I inquired.

“Nothing wrong with it,” Arnie said circling his finger over the plate with his meal.

“Cordon bleu,” I offered.

“Yeah. Cordon bleu is perfect. But you are vegan,” he stammered.

“I? Why?” I wondered.

“You just decided so,” Marina said. “And it's one of the reasons you are not friends anymore.”

“Because of the meal?”

“You may be kind of assertive sometimes,” Marina explained.

“Have I been always such a bitch?”

Arnie snickered.

“First. Watch your language,” Marina started. Then she added, “a year maybe. After you've joined the debate club.”

“I don't remember,” I said.

“I've noticed you are like another person now,” Arnie said, “after that accident. I like you more this way.”

“Me too… And… And I want to revert it to what it was before. When we were friends.”

“Sounds like a plan,” aunt Marina chuckled.

“I have forgotten all this year at school and a lot more,” I said. “I'll need to repeat my junior year. Can I?”

“Sure,” Marina agreed.

“So it's up to you,” I turned to Arnie offering him my hand, “friends again?”

“Friends again,” he shook my hand and then unexpectedly hugged me and gave me a peck on the cheek.