by Karen Klyne
Faz put her arm around Alex’s shoulder. “I am here to sort this out…to square things up, as you say.”
Alex couldn’t understand what was happening. Witches and imps had never figured in her life before.
Winnie Mist stared at Faz through narrowed eyes. “What do you want?”
“A meeting with the other woman, Gemma, whose life you traded.”
Winnie Mist cackled. “No can do.” She bared her yellow fang-like teeth at her with an open-mouthed grin.
“If you don’t, I’ll expose you. You’ll never work again. You’ve crossed a line and broken the rule.”
Alex shook her head. “What rule are you talking about?”
“The one that says she must have permission to make the exchange from both consenting adults. And that all memories have to stay intact for both women, so that one of them doesn’t end up in a mental hospital.” Faz gave her a knowing look. “Isn’t that right, Winnie Mist?”
The witch stared into her lap, flexing her old hands.
“Yes,” she mumbled. “The spell didn’t work. Something went wrong. Everyone’s so pushy about the rules these days. You shouldn’t have known anything was different.”
Faz took several steps forward. “Pardon?”
“Yes,” she barked, “I made a mistake.”
Faz looked at her watch. “Get her here by noon.”
Winnie Mist shook her head. “I can’t. I’ll need longer. Three o’clock at the earliest.”
“Three o’clock on the dot in the woods in front of the well. I want this on neutral territory.”
“All right. Now get out of my house, imp.”
“Remember, you won’t have a house if you fail to bring her.” Faz took Alex’s arm and led her outside.
Alex stumbled outside, her head spinning. What the hell had just happened?
Chapter Twenty
Gemma had been having an amazing time. She met with Marian, the lady who ran the Drifters project, and the group gratefully moved into her big house. It was operational, and they were in the throes of converting the upstairs rooms into dormitories. Her mum had asked to get involved, and most days she was there making tea and coffee for everyone. Gemma was pleased to see how it had given her a new lease of life too.
Mark had taken her at her word and wooed and wowed her until she’d eventually given in to his gentle seduction. He was also impressed with the Drifters project and volunteered his services as a solicitor. It was slow and casual, and that suited both of them just fine.
It was November, but she hardly gave a thought to her old life anymore. Sometimes she felt guilty, but mostly she put it to the back of her mind and got on with the present. She found she loved working, especially when it came to helping other people, and she’d started shifting the business she’d inherited onto more community-oriented ground. She drank only occasionally, never needed sleeping pills, and looked forward to getting up each day. The depression that had plagued her most of her life had gone. Sliding through that door into someone else’s life had been the best thing she’d ever done.
Jasper sat up in his basket and caught her eye. His tail wagged and bumped on the floor. “I suppose you want to go play on the beach?” Jasper leapt up from his basket and bounded over to Gemma. He jumped up and licked her face, and she stroked his head. “Okay, boy. Let’s go.” She put his lead on, picked his ball up, and stuffed it into her pocket. It had taken him a while, but now he trusted her, and she loved the gentle companionship he offered. They walked outside and strolled down to the beach. There was a nip in the air and the wind was blustery, but she found these times on the beach with Jasper quite a tonic. It was a shame she hadn’t let the children have a dog. She’d discouraged them saying it was a massive responsibility…but in actual fact, it was invigorating.
She threw the ball, and every time he ran back and dropped it at her feet. Another dog came onto the beach, and they ran right down to the water’s edge, shifting and turning and chasing each other around.
Gemma sat on a bench and smiled. Her smile turned to a scowl as she saw the elderly woman approaching. Panic welled up in her chest, and she fought the desire to run. This was no chance meeting.
The old woman sat down beside her, lips pursed like she was irritated by something.
Gemma took hold of her arm. “Christ. What’s happened? Is it the children?”
The old woman shook her head.
“Reece? Has she been in an accident?”
The old woman shook her head, again, still saying nothing.
“Then it must be the other woman. Has something happened to her?” She’d committed suicide, that’s what it was. And it was all her fault. Did it mean she had to go back? Did she have to give up this life she’d made her own?
The old woman sighed. “She wants a meeting.”
“What do you mean, ‘she wants a meeting’? That’s not possible, is it? You told me that was it. That I’d never be able to go back. I don’t have to.”
The old woman looked down and dug at the sand with her threadbare sandal. “In theory, no. But she has a friend, a damned imp who’s found a loophole.”
“Imp? Loophole?”
“Listen. As far as I was concerned, the other woman was unhappy. You were a perfect match.”
“But?”
The old woman rubbed a hand across her brow. “I didn’t get her permission. And because of that, the spell went, well, wonky. She’s had a hard time of it.”
Gemma’s stomach churned, and her head started to spin. It was like her lifeblood was escaping her body and running toward the sea. “No. No. I can’t go back. I’ve built a life here. I’m finally happy.” Tears streamed down her face, and she began to sob. “Does she want money? I can send her money…loads of it.” The thought occurred to her it was actually that woman’s money anyway.
“I told you before, you can’t take possessions, or money, or anything. And it’s not about the money.” The old woman shrugged. “She wants to know why? She wants to confront you.”
Gemma prodded the old woman on the shoulder. “It’s your bloody fault. I didn’t know you needed permission. You never told me anything about how it was all done. It was just a question of handing over the bag and that would be the end of it.” Gemma chewed her nail. “What now?”
“We have to meet this afternoon at three o’clock in the woods.”
“And what if I say no?”
“Bad things could happen. I’m not asking.”
She didn’t want this meeting. She didn’t want to justify her actions or face the woman who had dropped out of a great, affluent life that was totally together and into a world she’d never asked for. Suddenly she could see her new beginnings coming to an end. Fear gripped her, fear of losing everything she’d come to love, and fear of losing the person she’d finally become.
***
Alex couldn’t grasp what was happening. She looked vacantly ahead as Faz drove her home in silence. When they got back, she stormed off and opened the front door. Faz followed her in. Alex brewed some hot strong coffee, poured herself a mug, and slumped into a chair at the table. “Help yourself.”
Faz poured one out and sat across from Alex, who was staring into nowhere. “I know you’re mad with me, but––”
“Mad? Remember, I spent over five weeks in a psychiatric hospital. I thought you were my friend. I thought you had terrible problems of your own. Now I find it was all a set-up of sorts, and that you knew what was going on all along. You could have set me on the right path right from the start. Christ, it’s beyond me. I give up. I really do.”
Faz reached over and touched Alex’s hand but she pulled it away. “I am your friend. I am more…I’m your blood sister.”
“What a farce.”
Faz shook her head. “I volunteered to come to the hospital. I had to put things right and sort out the injustice of it all. But if I’d come out and told you about witches and imps and other worlds, would you have said another word to me? A
nd I had no way to get to the witch. I thought she was probably involved, but she hides between worlds. But when a spell goes wrong like that, it reverberates and magical creatures know. I had to wait for you to get in touch with her, for the magic to try and right itself so I could help. I got involved because I liked you. More than that, you became a friend. And you will always be my blood sister. That is real.”
It was true. At least, probably. There was no way to know how she’d have reacted if Faz had fessed up sooner. “But you won’t be around, not like normal people are. You’ll disappear like some fairy tale creature, right?” She closed her eyes. “Which are, apparently, real. So, it’s not just a sliding door thing. There’s so much more.”
“Oh, I will be here. Here, and there, though not in a traditional sense. I mean, I won’t be living around the corner or anything like that, but I will still be in your life.” She laughed. “And of course, there’s more. The world, the universe…it is so much vaster than humans can conceive.”
“So, tell me how this works. I’ve done the reading, but there’s nothing like hearing it from the horse, right?”
“Too true. It is all rather complicated, really, but I will skip the boring bits.” She got up and got the sugar cannister, then tipped some sugar on the table and made a circle in it. “Here is your world, the one you know.” She made another circle directly next to it so that the sides were touching. “And here is another world that runs right alongside yours. Lots of stuff is the same, some stuff is different. There are, let us call them, versions of people in both. But they live different lives born of different circumstances and choices. And they occupy the same space in each world.” She looked at Alex as to see if she was following.
Alex stared at the sugar circles. “Go on.”
“Right. There are people and creatures who can create sliding doors in these parallel worlds.” She brushed away a bit of the area where the circles touched. “And for a moment, people can cross over.” She tilted her head. “Sometimes people switch places, like you and this other woman, but whoever is making the switch happen has to get permission from both parties. It is a rule, and no one breaks it. But sometimes, that space in one world is unoccupied. Like, that person died or something and left a gap. That means there’s no swap. The other person can just walk into someone else’s life.” She grinned. “A few have even figured out how to regularly go between the worlds, where they live totally different lives in each one. That is pretty impressive, really.”
Alex continued to look at the sugar circles. “And science hasn’t figured out this parallel world, why? If it’s so common, and it happens all the time, why isn’t everyone in the know?”
Faz brushed the sugar into her palm and dumped it in the sink. “You have to want to believe in the extraordinary in order to try and prove it to be true. And scientists want to prove what they already think they know.”
“And witches and imps? Where do you fit in?” It was so fantastical, so absurd. And yet, it kind of made sense, too.
“Stories about us are told in every world, but people think that is all they are. But those stories are out there because we exist, and people know it…deep down.” She tapped her fingertips over her heart. “And we travel freely through all the worlds. This one, the one beside it, the other ones…” She shrugged, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “That is the gist of it, anyway.”
Alex sighed. She desperately wanted to believe Faz, and part of her did. She’d been living it, and she’d met the witch who admitted what she’d done. When she started thinking of the implications, she grew dizzy. She wanted to be angry with Faz, but if it hadn’t been for her, she’d be no closer to the answers she needed. She’d come to her rescue and was fighting her corner. She reached out her hand, and Faz took it and squeezed.
“So, let’s discuss this. When we meet the other woman––”
“She’ll never agree to come. My life was pretty great.”
“Believe me, she will. So be prepared. Write down what you want to say to her.”
“Say? I’d like to throttle her.”
“I dare say. However, that’s not going to happen. By the way, you’d better arrange for the children to be picked up.”
“I’ll ask Val and Keith.” Alex called them and said she wasn’t feeling great. They were delighted to help out and said they’d feed them and drop them off later. She placed her mobile phone on the table and stared at it. “When do I tell Reece?” Of course, she hadn’t mentioned anything to her. Reece knew nothing. Alex didn’t know if a meeting with Gemma was possible, and she didn’t even know if she’d turn up. Until she had that knowledge, she wouldn’t share it.
“Nothing, yet. Best if we meet as planned and then call Reece. You’ll be able to send her directions and meet her by the well.”
“She’ll freak out.”
“Maybe. But she’ll have less time to think about it.” Faz rubbed her tummy. “Anyway, I’m starving. Can we have a sandwich?”
“I can’t even think about food right now.”
“There’s an old saying where I come from. Never confront your doppelganger on an empty stomach.”
Alex laughed half-heartedly. “Liar. You just made that up.” All the same, she made them a sandwich each and took her advice.
At two-thirty they set off in Faz’s car. It only took fifteen minutes, but Alex wanted to be ready and waiting.
They parked and walked into the woods. Faz found a log to sit on whilst Alex paced up and down, mumbling to herself. Would the woman turn up? And when she did, if she did, what then? What if she wanted to swap back? What if she missed her family? Alex pictured her empty house and equally empty calendar. That loneliness would swallow her up this time.
She didn’t see Winnie Mist and Gemma arrive. They seemed to appear from nowhere. Gemma came to halt a few yards away, and the old woman joined Faz on the other end of the log. It was uncanny, coming face to face with her double, and she found it hard to speak. There was no question they looked identical.
Gemma said nothing, though her body looked like it was shaking like jelly in an earthquake. She kept looking behind her as if someone was going to sneak up and kidnap her.
Alex stood with her feet apart and her arms by her side. She clenched and unclenched her fists. “You evil asshole.” She marched forward to face her and jabbed her in the shoulder with her fist. “I’d like to punch your lights out. Do you realise what you’ve put me through? What you’ve put your family through?”
Gemma stepped back and put her hands up to shield her face.
“Don’t worry, you’re not worth it. But bloody say something.”
“I’m sorry. I was at my wits end. She,” she pointed to Winnie Mist, “she said I could swap my life, and no one would get hurt.”
“Bollocks. When you met me, did I look like I knew what was going on?”
“No, but––”
“There are always buts, aren’t there? You were a coward. You knew you’d get a good settlement from Reece. All you had to do was leave and get a divorce. Why would you steal someone else’s life?”
Gemma looked down. “I couldn’t face Reece. I couldn’t face the children, and I was in a really bad place. You’re right. I was a coward.”
“You just thought about yourself. You put your wife and kids through hell.”
“I’ve changed.”
Alex considered that. She’d changed, too. “I’m sure you have. But you still stole my life, and it was a damned good one.”
“It is good, but you weren’t happy, not really, were you?” Gemma sniffed. “Anyway, your mum’s happy now. We’ve got a really good relationship. Mark and I are an item, and I’ve put something back into the community. I’ve given the big house free of rent to a women’s organisation who help women who are in a bad way. I promise I’ll do lots of good in the future.” She frowned. “And you know, your life was only good on the surface. You weren’t connected to anyone. You just had money and work.”
; Alex felt a smidgeon of guilt. It was good to hear her mum was happy. God knows, she could never have achieved that. And the truth of her life being disconnected stung, but there was no denying it either. After the time she’d spent with Reece and the kids, she could see that now.
Gemma sighed, looking genuinely contrite. “What can I do to make things right?”
“I want you to tell Reece the truth.”
Gemma shook her head forcefully. “No, I can’t. She’ll kill me.”
Alex didn’t expect her to comply. Clearly, she hadn’t overcome her cowardice. “In that case, you can stay here and go back to your old life, and I’ll go back to mine.”
Gemma shook her head. “You don’t mean that. Aren’t you happy? It was a good swap. You’re far more on Reece’s wavelength than I ever was. I know because of the way you lived, you know, before.” She stared directly at Alex. “You’re made for each other.”
Alex blinked rapidly. Gemma may be right, but that wasn’t the point, and she wasn’t going to let her get away with it. “You owe me. Big time. I lost everything, and here they think I’m crazy. As in, they put me in a psychiatric institution, because I kept insisting I wasn’t you. If you don’t agree, you’ll have to face the consequences here.” It was a bluff, because there was no way Alex was going to leave Reece and the kids, but she had to be the one calling the shots. There couldn’t be any uncertainty in Reece’s mind if they were going to work.
Gemma wiped her hands on her jeans. She let out a long, low sigh and cleared her throat. “Okay.”
“Excellent!” Faz shouted. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Winnie Mist shrugged. “Get on with it. I have a date with a wizard.”
Faz stood. “Not here. Take her,” she pointed to Gemma, “in the house. Make some hot strong tea with plenty of sugar. We’ll join you soon.” She peered at Winnie Mist. “If you double cross me, I’ll make your life hell. In fact, you’ll be going there. I’ll take you there myself.”
