Dana was 38 and she listened to a 30 year old. At least I got a hot trainer this time, she thought to herself.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lizzy was sitting (actually hovering in a sitting position) on Alice’s couch, watching Alice’s memories go through her mind. “Weird,” she said to herself. “There’s a couple of years missing.” Lizzy opened her book and read what she had written under Alice’s name. “Reclaim lost love. New York. Two weeks.”

Lizzy got up and started rummaging through Alice’s desk next to the couch. She picked up Alice’s iPod and started messing with it. She became frustrated with it because it wouldn’t work and threw it on the desk. “Ooh, is it supposed to break that easily?” Lizzy looked around and put the iPod remains back in the desk.

Lizzy sat back down on the couch. Ten minutes later, Alice walked out. “Oh God,” she said as she walked into the room. “You are real.” Alice sat down next to her.

“Yes, I am very, very real.” Lizzy looked at Alice. “Did you know that four years are missing from your memory files?”

“Huh?”

“And they’re recent years, too”

Alice closed her eyes and opened them again. “What do you mean?”

“When you jumped through me, which was very painful, your memories transferred to me. All of them.” Alice’s mouth flew open. “And it’s cool because they’re organized by year. So if I want to go back to 1992, I get…” Lizzy smiled. “I get bi-curious Alice. But,” Lizzy frowned, “ 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 are missing.”

“Oh,” Alice said and hung her head.

“Anything happen that I should know ab-”

“No!” Alice’s head shot up.

“You sure? It might help my mis- I haven’t told you how I’m gonna help you, have I?”

“No,” Alice said, raising her brow.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dana walked up the steps to get to the third floor of her apartment complex. “How the fuck did I get all that furniture up these steps?”

Dana was planning on going straight to sleep when she got home, but the stairs were holding her back.

Once at her door, Dana looked for her key on her key chain. “Why do I have so many keys?” When she found the key, she unlocked the door and went inside.

Dana stared at her apartment wide-eyed. It was trashed. “Dammit.” Dana checked to see if anything was missing. She picked up the phone to call the police, when a voice startled her. “Put the phone down. I’m totally harmless. I swear.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Alice couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What? That’s what you have to do?”

“Yes.” And it’s weird because before that four year memory gap, you two where friends. After that, you two weren’t talking anymore. What the hell happened?”

“Nothing,” Alice said while rubbing her temples.

“Obviously, something happened. Lizzy watched Alice rub her temples and finally sighed. “Fine. You don’t have to talk about it. But are you gonna let me do my job? By what I heard, you want this.”

“I do want it. But it’s too difficult.”

“Oh, please Alice, through me, the difficult is easy.”

Alice got up. “What do you get for doing this?”

“Time on Earth. Everyone wants it. But you have to earn it.”

“Why would you want to be here?” Alice started walking towards her kitchen.

“That reminds me. There’s a catch to me helping you.”

“There’s always a catch,” Alice yelled from the kitchen.

“When a neutral spirit is sent to help you, it means you’re gonna die. Um, soon.”

Alice spat out the water she was drinking. “What!”

TBC