Danielle felt as if she had no identity, as if she needed to make herself, and thus, she spent all day getting ready, with Kara’s help.

Kara bleached streaks in Danielle’s long, black hair and then died them blue. Kara had gotten an extra medical corset from the doctor and had it modified by a seamstress so that it was attractive. She also bought her sister a dress. It had a skintight, black vinyl bodice and an ankle-length skirt, which was long enough to cover her leg braces and was made of blue crinoline with raised, black swirls.

Danielle’s flesh was a burnt umber color, as if she had stepped from an antique portrait. She had paled her face and decorated one eye with the symbol of Saturn. Her lips, she painted blue. Her dark eyes glimmered behind vintage glasses. She even had new, bright-white false teeth.

She stood, with her forearm crutches attached, at the foot of the stairs at Jithinia’s apartment complex, wondering how in the world she was going to get up them when she could, as of yet, barely walk.

Orchid dashed up the steps. A green luna moth flew around the hall light. Its shadow danced across the door as it flapped its wings in rapid succession. It was out of season for the creature, and its mere presence seemed as some ominous sign Orchid couldn’t understand.

She knocked on the door, and Nathaniel answered. Legendary Pink Dots “Cantas Mientras Puedas” played softly in the background. The smell of cloves and curry wafted out and made her hungry.

“Hey Orchid.”

“Hey Nathaniel. Could you help get Danielle up the steps?”

“Of course.”

He left the door ajar and the glorious smell of dinner followed him down the stairs. Orchid went inside, to see if Jithinia needed any help.

Jithinia opened the oven and inspected the food inside. She had decorated the apartment with black and orange balloons, streamers, and candles, which she had found in a bargain bin for seventy-five percent off. She even scored a black tablecloth adorned with adorable ghosts and wine glasses that were monster heads with no skullcaps.

Danielle recognized the goat-headed boy from when they had met at the hospital. “What are you doing here?” she said.

“Fate makes no mistakes,” Nathaniel said as he scooped her up and carried her, like a virgin bride, up the stairs and over the doorstep, to the sofa where he gently set her down.

“Danielle!” Jithinia cried. She abandoned dinner to Orchid, dropped down on her knees in the floor before Danielle, and laid her head against her queen’s chest. She felt hot all over, certain Danielle’s essence burned into her. “Danielle! Danielle!” Jithinia wept.

Since Danielle knew Jithinia before her tragedy, she could see Jithinia’s face, and she delighted in Jithinia’s bewitching gaze.

“I got you a present,” Jithinia said, taking the CD from the coffee table. She had wrapped it in black and topped it with a black bow.

Danielle ripped into the paper. “Thanks, Jithinia,” she said.

“Look inside.”

“Oh, it’s signed, cool.”

“I missed you, Babette.”

“I missed you, too.”

Orchid put the food -- palak paneer, vegetable curry, basmati rice, and nan -- on the table, while Kara poured wine for all but Danielle.

“Dinner is served,” Orchid said.

Nathaniel scooped up Danielle and set her at the table, and Jithinia sat down next to her.

“Danielle can’t hold a fork, so I need to sit next to her,” Kara said.

“I can, too, hold a fork!” Danielle cried out.

“You can’t turn it to get the food in your mouth, so what’s the point?” Kara said.

“You promised you wouldn’t embarrass me!” Danielle started to cry.

“Don’t do that, Babette,” Jithinia said, gently turning the girl’s face so she could look into her eyes. “I’ll feed you.” Jithinia scooped up a bite of spinach with the bread and fed Danielle with her fingers. Danielle savored the rich taste, the first home cooked meal she had eaten in ages.

“Anyway,” Orchid said, “tomorrow we’ll take you to the herb store. We’ll get you some Bromelain for the inflammation, now that comes in a tablet form. And we’ll get you some Arnica cream for the bruising, my sister swears by it. And we’ll get you some Comfrey for the bones and make you a nice tea. Oh and the Tiger Balm, which is pretty much an herbal Bengay.”

Danielle ignored her sister’s lover and spoke softly to Jithinia, and everyone hushed to hear her story. She said, “Remember when we were kids, how we would play in that graveyard next to the church? Do you remember that day we went to the edge of the woods where the oldest graves were?”

Jithinia said, “Yes, I do. There, tossed out into the woods, were all these discarded flower arrangements, with their colors long faded to brown, and the flowers were all shriveled up, exposing the green foam underneath. We pulled the flowers out of the foam, and there were these sharp, serrated, metal spikes that had been used to hold them in place. We thought they looked like little swords and wanted to take them home for our Ken dolls to use, but you cut yourself.”

“I was trying to pull some more of them free and somehow jabbed one into my finger, cutting almost through to the other side. I had worn my favorite dress that day. It was white chiffon and purple ribbons and flowers. I had worn it in a wedding just weeks before, when I was the flower girl. I thought it made me look like a princess. I tried to stop the bleeding, but the blood poured from the wound, covering my beautiful dress in blood, ruining it as I ran back to the church crying for my mother.”

Kara said, “Didn’t you have a huge crush on the ring bearer from that wedding? What was his name? Gary?”

“Yes! They had made him kiss me for the pictures! I always stared at him as we grew up. I thought he was the most handsome boy I’d ever seen. I had hoped he would kiss me again sometime, but he never spoke to me, never returned my gaze. I thought it was because I wore glasses. That’s why the other kids picked on me. Later, when we were only thirteen, he blew his head off with a shotgun.”

“Yeah, that was right before you ran away,” Kara said.

“I didn’t run away.”

“Yes you did. Mom found your drugs, and you had a fight!”

“She lied! Liar!”

“Danielle!’

“Mom was a white-trash slut.”

“She died not six-months later of a broken heart because of you. Show some respect for our dead mother.”

“Look at me, Kara! Do you think I did this to myself?”

“No. I never said that. But you ran away. Its not Mom’s fault you took up with a psycho instead of a calling Dad.”

“Mom threw me out and locked the door. It wasn’t over drugs either!”

“Well what, then?”

“She caught me having sex with Jithinia.”

“Bullshit,” Kara said, looking to Jithinia.

“I don’t know,” Jithinia said.

“Think about it Jithinia. Her car was in the driveway when you left,” Danielle said.

“I don’t remember.”

“She came home from work sick. She hid and watched us and waited until you left. Then she beat the shit out of me and threw me out in the street in my fucking underwear. Of course I went with the man. It was the middle of the fucking winter!”

“I think you need to take your pills now, Danielle,” Kara said.

“No! I don’t want to take any fucking pills. I just want you to believe me! After Gary, I didn’t like boys anymore. You’re a rug muncher! Why is it so hard to believe that I was, too? You never told mama the truth, did you?”

Kara said nothing.

“I believe you,” Jithinia said.

Everyone finished eating, and Nathaniel and Eldridge stepped out onto the balcony for a smoke.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, except for the presaging, purple-gray clouds that seemed to hang directly over Nathaniel and Eldridge. At the edge of the western horizon, the blazing orb of orange was ready for bed. The wind gusted and, like some mad musician, conducted the various wind chimes to play a dissonant symphony. The chimes beat like bongo drums and tolled like John Donne’s bells.

Nathaniel put two cigarettes in his mouth. As he lit them, he cupped his hand around the lighter’s little flame, sheltering it from the bitter bite of the wind. He handed a smoke to Eldridge, who still wore Caledonia.

“Can we talk?” Nathaniel asked.

“Sure.”

“How much power do we have? I mean, I’ve been thinking about it. We have telepathy, but it’s not like I can hear anyone else’s thoughts, only yours.”

“We get our telepathy from our mother’s race. We can hear only the thoughts of other Geist Kinder, and then only if he or she wants you too. It’s just like speech. If the speaker chooses not to speak or the listener chooses not to listen, or something interferes and distracts, the message will be lost. Proximity affects the clarity of the inner voice as well. A skilled telepathist can communicate with another skilled telepathist from across the globe or even from another dimension, but the average Geist Kinder is not that powerful. With you and I, however, we share a soul, and our bond is strong. Since I’ve tuned into you again, I haven’t been able to tune you out.”

“We can shape shift.”

“Yes, but only into those we keep inside us. I can take your human shape, I guess because we share such an intimate connection, but that was new to me. Actual shape shifting is a rare gift amongst our father’s race. Most Shatter Kinder are, however, excellent illusionists through the power of suggestion.”

“You hypnotized me that night at Purp’s.”

“Yes.”

“Can I do that?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you try?”

“What should I do?”

“Make someone say something or do something.”

“How?”

“Let your will lie between the sound waves of your voice, in that place that is silent between the words.”

“What do I say?”

“It doesn’t matter, the words themselves are irrelevant. It is the will with which they are spoken.”

“If I consumed the soul of a Geist Kinder and assumed his form, could I fly with his wings?”

“I don’t know, Nathaniel. In Eden, the Kinder go to school to learn and master their individual gifts, and I wasn’t allowed that privilege. Furthermore, we are not Geist or Shatter Kinder. To my knowledge, we are something unique, and our powers are unique.”

Inside, Orchid, Kara, and Jithinia cleared the table.

“Do you need help with the dishes?” Orchid asked.

“There comes a time in one’s life when you learn to appreciate dirty dishes because you know that it means precious time spent with precious people, a delicious taste the palette craves. The dishes are a beautiful reminder of a banquet fit for gods. Leave them!” Jithinia said.

“I need a smoke. You comin’ with?” Orchid said to Kara.

“Can that balcony hold four people?” Kara asked.

“Yeah. There’s plenty of room,” Jithinia said.

“I meant our weight. I don’t want to be like one of those people in Bitterhaven.”

“Shut up,” Kara said, and she and Orchid joined Nathaniel and Eldridge out on the balcony.

They all huddled together to knock the wind off each other. I’m going to try to hypnotize Kara, Nathaniel hummed to Eldridge.

What do you have in mind? Eldridge hummed back.

I don’t know, something simple. I’ll make her repeat everything Orchid says.

Go for it.

“Hey Kara,” Nathaniel said, “You can’t steal something that’s free, and you can’t rape the willing, but you can rape a whore and say you’re only stealing.”

“That’s very clever, Nathaniel, did you read that on a bathroom wall?” Orchid said.

“That’s very clever, Nathaniel, did you read that on a bathroom wall?” Kara mimicked.

“I made it up, actually.” He smiled as if pleased with himself.

Inside, Danielle slowly walked to the sofa. Jithinia sat down next to her. She brought a bottle of blush wine with her. After so many years, they didn’t know what to say, so they just stared at each other. Finally, Danielle said, “I really like this music. Who is it?”

“The Dots, well, The Legendary Pink Dots.”

“They’re really good.”

“Yeah, you should see them play live. They’re amazing. Nathaniel and I have seen them play four times. The singer, he always performs barefoot. Last time, he sprinkled the audience with glitter, a baptism in fairy dust. Their saxophone player wears this light on his eyes and he comes out into the audience and plays right up in your face!”

“Cool.”

“Danielle, I need someone to talk to who can keep a secret. Can you do that for me?”

“I don’t know anyone. Who am I gonna tell?”

“I think I’m crazy.”

“Why? You seem okay to me.”

“I took some drugs yesterday, and they should’ve at least started to wear off, but they haven’t. Now, whenever I look at Nathaniel or Caledonia, I see Sabbatic Goats instead of them.”

“Really?”

“Well, they don’t have angel wings, but yeah.”

“Preacher, the man who kidnapped me, he kept me drugged up on some kind of concoction of herbs, and they sort of changed the way I see things.”

“What do you mean?”

“Unless I knew you before, I can’t see your face. It’s just a blur, like someone moved their head real fast while a picture was being taken. But Nathaniel and Caledonia, they are different. I see them as Sabbatic Goats, too.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. Maybe you’re just picking up on my thoughts. You know, like when we were kids, and we’d both call each other at the same time and both pick up the phone before it would ring.”

“That did seem to happen a lot.”

Danielle looked at Jithinia with her big puppy dog eyes, brown like the decaying insides of wet bark and glistening like the backs of the black bugs devouring them. She felt like someone was praying over her grave.

“I forgot just how beautiful you are,” Jithinia said, and she couldn’t not kiss her.

Danielle lay reclined on the couch with Jithinia hovering over her. She clung to Jithinia, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso with desperation. Jithinia felt the girl’s small breast. Then she slipped her hand up Danielle’s skirt. Jithinia pushed aside Danielle’s panties and found the wetness beneath.

Danielle’s pussy mouthed the hand between her legs. Jithinia took a sip of the wine, pink like the inside of Danielle’s flower, and held it inside her mouth. She laid her mouth on top of Danielle’s. She pushed the wine from her own mouth into the girl’s. The cool liquid, its tang tart and sweet, filled Danielle’s mouth and swirled about her tongue. She was forced to swallow as Jithinia’s tongue filled her mouth and pushed the liquid down her throat. Jithinia slid her tongue under Danielle’s tongue, licking and stabbing at the soft, wet, pulsating flesh, their saliva flowing from one to the other.

They stopped when they heard the others coming back inside. They looked guilty, but no one seemed to notice.

“Are you going to Mac’s party, tomorrow night?” Orchid asked.

“Are you going to Mac’s party, tomorrow night?” Kara asked.

“Knock it off, already, Kara.”

“Knock it off, already, Kara.”

How do I make her stop, Nathaniel hummed.

Same way, Eldridge replied.

“I didn’t know he was having a party,” Nathaniel said.

“Yeah. It’s a Shrubs-won-and-now-we’re-all-fucked party,” Orchid said.

“Is Danielle going?” Jithinia asked.

“Absolutely not!” Kara said

“So you’re not going then?” Orchid asked.

“I can’t just leave her.”

“Bring her over. I’ll watch her,” Jithinia said. “She can spend the night.”