"In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true." -Buddha
Back in the car, nothing had changed, except for the fact that Euphoria was absent.
"What happened to her?" My mouth and mind felt sluggish, coated with honey.
"It's night." Felicity shrugged, her eyes fixed on the beach in the distance.
"Will she be alright?" I asked finally.
Felicity nodded carefully. "Of course. And so will I."
However, there were other unanswered questions. What had happened to me on the beach when everything had gone blank? Why couldn't I touch or communicate with anyone but Felicity and Euphoria?
Where had I come from? Maybe that question could explain the rest.
As I wondered idly, observing the landscape flying past us in the dark, I realized that I did know where I'd come from.
I just didn't want myself to know.
A small memory appeared - a laugh, a smell, a sight, foreign to this place - and I would brushed away, like a horse's tail flicking away flies. It was an involuntary response, and the harder I tried to remember, the more my mind blocked me.
"We're here!" Felicity announced. She rose as the car slowed next to a loud restaurant with light streaming through the windows.
"Aren't you coming?" she asked brightly, offering her hand.
Felicity's cheerfulness, no matter how forced, was contagious, and my worries were forcibly ripped from my mind.
I had not known the girls for very long, certainly not a day, but already they felt comfortable to me, sisterly. When I wandered too far from Felicity, my senses were more alert and my questions were commandingly insistent. I was free to worry about Euphoria and wonder about the ghost-people and my past. My overwhelming curiosity made me nauseous.
When Felicity wasn't near, sometimes the city would fall into nothingness, as it had on the beach. These times were the most frightening. I couldn't close my eyes, for I was bodiless then. The only thing that existed then was infinity. I could not think of anything more terrifying.
Despite Felicity's strange words, her blindingly bright attitude, she made me feel completely carefree.
We explored their city that night. It felt like them: confusing and bright and subtly sleepy. We visited stores and mountains and restaurants and lakes, each as incredible and unique as the next. We never bought anything, not even food, for I did not feel hunger here.
The first rays of morning were just glinting off Felicity's hair when she stopped in the middle of the quiet city park. The early-morning visitors moved drowsily around us, keeping their distance, and I wondered if they were only ghost-people, as I'd encountered on the beach. But Felicity interrupted my thoughts.
"We are going to the beach now," she told me, and her eyes were bright and alert.
We got back into the orange vehicle. I sensed Felicity's excitement in her movements.
"Did you enjoy it?" she demanded lightly, fidgeting. I assumed that she meant our trek across the city.
"Yes," I answered truthfully. She beamed and pulled strands of hair, whipped around by the wind, away from her eyes.
The beach came into view on the right side of the car.
Despite the distance, I could again make out the smallest details on the beach. The people of this city were still so remarkable to me; their radiant skin of every shade, their unafraid stares, their varied clothing.
Their offputting lack of the ability to touch.
Euphoria. Of course, How had I forgotten her? Was she still lying at the beach?
I felt as though Felicity wouldn't be happy if she knew what I was doing. I focused on the water, trying to remember where Euphoria had fallen, scanning for a limp body.
Felicity, bracelets jingling, jumped out of the car and began jogging down the beach before I even noticed that the car had reached the sand.
I followed her, of course.
"Would you like to go swimming?" she called as we weaved our way through the crowds of families.
"Yes," I called back.
Euphoria, I reminded myself. You need to find Euphoria.
My eyes darted all around me. The beach was large, and I could not remember exactly where we'd been. Perhaps someone had taken her to a hospital.
I looked back up to find Felicity, and discovered her embracing someone tightly.
Euphoria.
"Sister, you have returned," Felicity said into Euphoria's hair, which had no trace of the sand that had been matted in it earlier.
"As I always do," Euphoria answered quietly.
I stepped closer to see if it really was Euphoria, and they turned to me. Their smiles were real, and I could feel their approval on me like the warm sun.
That was all I needed. Not an explanation; simply their approval.
They began talking; of what, I did not care. They implored me to join the conversation, and I obliged. We began wading into the water. The bottoms of our dresses were wetted, but that did not matter. I had not realized I was barefoot until now.
The sisters had not been this cheerful since I'd first met them; and I had not been so awed since then either. The wonders of this place were countless.
Soon, the clear water reached my stomach. It was inviting. My clothes did not seem to drag me down, and so I dove gracefully under the water.
I was too far from Felicity and Euphoria. I could tell by the way my curiosity refused to go away.
Opening my eyes under water, I could see Euphoria's feet, despite the distance and crowd between us. I could see behind me without even turning my head. I had been under the water for minutes, and I did not need to breathe.
Something was wrong. As soon as I realized that, everything began to fall apart.
This time, I did not plunge instantly into nothingness. This was a gradual change. The water, which had just been body temperature, began to get colder. Salt stung my eyes until I could not keep them open any longer. Waves started forming, softly at first, and then becoming ruthless. I struggled to stay afloat, for the soft sand began sinking and the water level rose.
"Help!"
A coarse voice, sobbing, pleaded for help, and I realized dimly that it was mine. I forced my eyes open. It was so dark that perhaps they were still closed. I didn't know if I was under the water or above it; sky or sea, an endless darkness spread about me. I longed for the beach again, for Felicity and Euphoria, as my limbs grew number and my cries softer.
"Come back!"
That time, the call hadn't come from me. I couldn't answer. Against my will, my eyelids began to fall shut.
The strange voice came again. "We need to bring her back!"
With huge effort, I forced my eyes open for what would be the last time, expecting to see that bare endlessness again. Surely this was worse than the infinite nothingness; there, I didn’t have to struggle for life.
But I saw light. I saw the sun and I saw Euphoria, and for that second, they were the same thing.
The water was warm and shallow, as it had been all along. The sisters smiled at me.
"Stay with us," they pleaded simultaneously.
I nodded. Sitting here in the sand, water lapping smoothly at my crossed legs, in the company of the two most perfect people I'd ever met, I could not consider anything else.
And just like that, the spell was broken, as Felicity collapsed like her sister had.