Daydream Believer

This started off as something else, until they knock heads and then this weirdness happened. If anyone can think of any problem I might have missed for either character, get in touch and i'll try and put it in.




I suppose it all began with a daydream. Mandy was new to our office and had been given the desk next to mine. I always found it difficult to talk to girls, and even more difficult to talk to pretty girls. Just passing the time of day with Mandy was nigh on impossible, she was that beautiful. Anyway; the daydream. I was stood here waiting for the tube when I had it, my mind wandering to Mandy. We had actually exchanged more than automatic greetings that day, she had asked me for some help regarding a piece of paperwork. Although it was just work talk it was an improvement on ‘good morning’ and I relished the chance of a conversation with her, even if I couldn’t say what I wanted to say. That was what the daydream was really about; it had made me think. There was nothing sexual involved, such as what she looked like naked. It was simply musing about asking her out for a drink, something I knew I’d never be able to do.
I smiled to myself and opened my eyes.
“Hello Dave. I don’t remember seeing you smile like that before.” It was Mandy, standing next to me on the tube platform with a wry grin on her face.
“M…M…Mandy. W…What are you d…doing here?” I managed to say.
Her grin widened into a smile.
“Catching the tube silly, what else do you do at a tube station?”
I went a bright red.
“S…sorry. S…stupid question.” I was really flustered now.
“Are you always so suave around women?” Mandy laughed, taking pity on my woeful attempts at conversation. I was about to try and make a witty retort when I dropped my briefcase that I had been nervously fiddling with. As I quickly bent to retrieve it so did Mandy. Our heads met with a thud.
“Ow! That hurt.” I said, looking back up and seeing……my own face wearing a puzzled expression!
“What the hell just happened?” The other me said.
Only one thing occurred to me.
“Mandy? Is that you in my body?”
“I think so.”
“Then that must mean…”
“You are in mine. This is surreal, it can’t be happening.”
“But it is. What can we do?”
There was a pause, then the Mandy-me suggested.
“We could try banging our heads together again.”
“Worth a shot I suppose. When you’re ready?”
Mandy nodded my head. We pressed our foreheads against one another, pulled back a little and then smacked into each other.
“Oww!”
“Damn!”
We looked at each other.
“Didn’t work did it?” I said.
“No. Try again, but harder?”
“Okay.”
SMACK!
“Good grief that hurt.” She said. “Anything?”
“Well, I’ve got a splitting headache now, but other than that…” I shrugged.
“No point in me asking for a date now then.” Mandy grinned. Briefly I wondered if I looked like that when I used that face to grin.
“That’s a very boyish thing to say.” I accused instead.
“Well, I am a boy at the moment.” She laughed.
“Well, I wouldn’t say something like that to a pretty girl.” I muttered, forgetting that I was the pretty girl just now. Then suddenly the same thought appeared to occur to both of us. “You’ll see my…” I said, my eyes closing.
“And you’ll see…” Mandy said, her hand going to her/my mouth.
“I think we’d better stay together. Who lives closest, me or you?”
“Fifth stop down the line.” Mandy said.
“Mine is the sixth. So we’ll get off for your place and then have another think. How does that sound?”
“First sensible suggestion I’ve heard from MY mouth.” Mandy smiled. I was sure she was making better use of my face than I ever did.

The tube train arrived, giving me a surprise when a blast of air lifted my/Mandy’s skirt. Luckily I had my hands down already. Mandy silently nodded her thanks. She led me onto the train, grasping my hand amidst the crush of people. We couldn’t afford to lose each other, both having the keys to one flat and the knowledge of the other flats location.
We must have looked like a pair of apprehensive lovers, the way we clung to each others hand as we left the station. Mandy said her flat was only a short distance away, but even that brief walk was giving me problems.
“How do you manage walk in these high-heels?”
“Those? Those aren’t high.” She smiled. “It’s just practice. Relax, that body knows what it’s doing. Try taking shorter steps.”
Grumpily I did as she suggested. It was a little easier.
“This skirt keeps blowing open.”
“That’s the long strides you still keep taking.”
“And these tights…”
“Are you going to criticise my entire outfit?”
“Sorry.” I said shamefacedly. “I’m just not used to girl’s clothes.”
“Do you think it’s any easier for me?”
“Well, you have probably worn jeans or slacks at some point.”
“But not boxers.”
“How did you know about them?”
“I peeked.” She grinned.
“MANDY!”
“Oh come on, face up to it. Sometime soon we are both going to have to get undressed and then we’ll see…well, everything.”
I sighed.
“I suppose I knew that, but I didn’t want to think about it. It’s embarrassing.”
“Why? Got yesterdays boxers on?”
“NO!! And why are you teasing me so much?”
“Must be because I’m the boy.” She gave me another one of those grins that I wanted to try when I got my body back. “Anyway, here we are.” She indicated a front door. Inside was a flight of stairs up to another front door.

It was not a huge flat, but it was a reasonable size, certainly larger than mine.
“Nice.” I said. “Do you think it would be big enough for the two of us, at least in the short term?”
“Why?” She asked suspiciously.
“Because I get the feeling that we both want to keep an eye on what the other is up too with our bodies.”
“Sounds sensible enough I suppose.” She said.
“Plus, I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely going to need some help.”
“With what?”
“Girl things. Make-up for a start; your body can’t go to work looking like some clown is trying out a new face. Same with your clothes; I don’t know what goes with what. And how do you put a bra on? I’ve taken one or two off, but…”
“I see what you mean. How do you go to the lavatory standing up?”
“Well, it’s not actually compulsory.” I smiled. “Just quicker and easier.”
“Oh!” She went red.
“Are we agreed then? We base ourselves here and help each other as best we can? Hopefully we can switch back somehow, but until then we try not to mess up each others life?”
“Yes. That seems to be a plan, for now.”
“Then we’ll need to pop down to my place to get you enough clothes until the weekend at least.”
“Good idea.” She wandered off into the kitchen. “I’m hungry. Do you want a sandwich?”
“I wouldn’t mind. What I’d like most is to get out of these damn shoes and tights and this skirt.”
“There’s a pair of jeans on the chair in the bedroom.” She called out. “Some socks in the top drawer, and trainers in the bottom of the wardrobe.”
“Thanks.” I said, slipping off the shoes before I went into the bedroom. Here I was confronted by a world I’d barely glimpsed; a woman’s boudoir. I took off the skirt and folded it up; it seemed the right thing to do. The tights followed, but other than untangling them I couldn’t work out what to do with them. The other clothes were exactly where Mandy had said. I put them on, thankful for her tidy mind, trying to remember if my flat was anywhere near presentable. In comparison to here, it probably wasn’t, I decided. I picked up the tights and walked back out of the bedroom. “Where should I put these?” I asked Mandy, who was carrying a plate with some sandwiches on.
“Did you ladder them?”
“Err, I don’t think so. I didn’t check.”
“Drop them in the laundry basket for now. I’ll have a proper look later. Have a sandwich.” She offered them to me. I took one, taking a big bite out of it. Mandy nibbled more daintily at hers. I looked at the two of us and couldn’t help smiling at the way we were doing everything back to front. “What are you grinning at?” She asked.
“Just the way we’re eating. You taking little bites and me huge ones. The wrong way round for the bodies we have.”
She stopped for a moment, looking at the sandwich in her hand.
“Old habits I suppose.” She shrugged.

We finished our snack and prepared for the visit to my flat.
“How are we getting there?” Mandy asked.
“I’m not sure which way would be quickest. My place is a bus ride away from the tube station. Perhaps we could get a taxi?”
“Might be expensive.” She cautioned. “The tube and bus might be better.”
“Why not? It’ll give me a bit more practice walking like a girl at any rate.”
“Short strides, remember?”
“I’ll try, I promise. Come on then, before I change my mind.”

My flat wasn’t in quite the state I thought, but it still looked messy compared to Mandy’s. I went and found my suitcase and threw some clothes into it.
“Fold them properly!” Mandy snapped. “I’ve got to wear those.”
“Sorry.” I apologised.
“What else do we need from here?”
“I could use my laptop. And we need my shaver and toothbrush.”
“And some clean boxers.” Mandy grinned. “Why the shaver? I’ve got a razor for my legs and under my arms.”
“Those are specifically for those areas. I don’t think you can shave my face with your leg razor.”
“I could have you grow a beard.”
“I had a beard, but it grows straggly. Clean shaven looks better.”
“You know best.” She shrugged.
“Not always, but in this case I think so.” I smirked. “Anyway, if I’m going to have to shave your legs, you can at least shave my face.”
“Good point.” She giggled. “Got everything?”
“There might be some stuff in the fridge we can use. It’s better than letting it go off anyway.”
“I’ll find a carrier.”

We walked back to the bus stop. Mandy had the case; I had the laptop and the carrier.
“You’re getting the hang of swinging your hips.” Mandy said.
“I’m not overdoing it am I? I wouldn’t want to ruin your image any more than being seen with me will do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on Mandy. Everyone at work knows I’m a hopeless dork when it comes to women.”
“Maybe the guys think that, but from what I’ve heard from the other girls, most of them think you’re cute.”
“They do? You mean all I had to do was ask them out?”
“Well, I can’t say for certain, but most of them seem to be prepared to go out on a date with you.”
“You?”
“Maybe, if you’d asked.” She smiled.
“Bugger!” I swore at my own stupidity.
Mandy laughed.
“Why so down on yourself?”
“Low self-esteem mainly. Bad experiences at school, lack of self confidence. Take your pick.”
“You know people are going to wonder why we’re sticking so close together. We’ll have to give them a reason.”
“Like?”
“Like we’re dating.”
“I told you, no-one will believe that. There’s no way that Dave would be able to get Mandy to date him.” I said flatly.
“Rubbish. It’s what I’m telling everyone anyway.”
“I can try I suppose.”
“I told you, some of the girls will actually be jealous of me. Or you as it stands.”
“The guys won’t believe you.”
“Then we’ll have to convince them.”
“How?”
“Good grief, how do you think? You be nice to me and I’ll be nice to you. What did you think I meant? Make out in the canteen?”
“An interesting thought.” I waggled my/her eyebrows. She burst out laughing.

Back at Mandy’s flat we prepared a meal and then sat down to discuss a few things.
“Do you exercise much?” I asked.
“Not really, a three mile jog every morning before I shower is all.” My eyes widened. “Only kidding.” Mandy laughed. “Just a few stretches now and then.”
“But you are a morning shower person, same as me?”
“Right.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“Other than how to dress? I don’t think so. What about you?”
“Nothing that springs to mind. Oh, watch my chin when you shave it. There’s a little scar that sometimes gets caught by the blades.”
“Scar on chin, careful when shaving. Got it.” She yawned. “Time to turn in I think.”
“Where shall I sleep?” I asked.
“The bed of course. It’s that body’s bed, and I’m the guy at the moment, so I’ll take the couch. There’s a nightdress under the pillow.”
“Are you sure? We could share the bed; keep an eye on what the other is doing with our bodies.”
“Why are you so worried about what I might do with your body?”
“I’m not. I’m worried about what you might think I’d do with yours.”
“Idiot.” She sighed. “If it’ll make you feel better, we can share. But keep your hands to yourself.”
“I’m hardly likely to feel up my own body Mandy.”
“Good point.” She giggled.
“The time has come then. Nakedness.” I said nervously.
“We can’t put it off forever. We have to change clothes sometime.” Mandy shrugged.
We went to the bedroom. By unspoken agreement we split either side of the bed to undress. I took off Mandy’s clothes, folded them neatly and then slipped on the nightie before I turned around. Mandy still had her back to me, having donned my rarely used pyjamas.
“Err, Dave, I seem to have a problem.” She looked around at me. Her face, MY face was bright red.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“A certain part of your body appears to have become…aroused. I didn’t do anything, I swear.”
I nearly laughed out loud at her discomfort.
“Relax. It’s just a natural response to being around a beautiful half-naked body.”
“But it’s my body, I’ve seen it before.”
“My body doesn’t recognise that. That secondary brain blokes keep in their pants just likes what it sees and reacts accordingly. With practice you can out-think it.”
“But I need control now.”
“Just think of something off-putting, it’ll get the message.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know; try the smell of new paint.”
“Does that work for you?” She sounded desperate.
“Most of the time. Just sit on the edge of the bed and think of something horrible.”
She perched on the edge of the bed.
“I’m so sorry.” She said turning around.
“I told you, it’s not your fault. Well, not directly. I always felt that way about this body when I had that body.”
“You did? Always?”
“Not exactly always I suppose. But there were times when I didn’t want to move away from the cover of my desk.” I smiled reassuringly.
“You’re not mad at me?”
“I swear.” I said, crossing my heart.
“And it is controllable?”
“Within reason. I mean, you never noticed me like that before did you?”
“No. I can’t say that I did.”
“See? You’ll find something that works. Now get into bed. We have to get up early so you can show me how to do your make-up.”
“All right.”
We climbed into the bed.
“Goodnight Mandy.”
“Goodnight Dave.”

I awoke the next morning, remembering the evening before, hoping that it had all been a dream, or if it wasn’t, then things had returned to normal. I was wrong on both counts; I was still in Mandy’s body. I heard the shower running and realised that Mandy had taken the plunge and decided to wash my body. I got out of the bed and padded into the kitchen to get something to eat. The cupboard was full of healthy eating. I grabbed something and ate it. Mandy came in half-dressed, carrying a shirt for today.
“You didn’t pick up any vests.” She said.
“I don’t own any. If I wear something under my shirt, it’s a t-shirt.”
“Oh! Okay then. I’ll make do.” She suddenly grinned. “Time for you to hit the shower now.”
I looked at her uncomfortably.
“What if I touch something I shouldn’t?”
“It’s all got to be washed Dave. Now go on. And don’t forget to shampoo my hair.”
I went.
To begin with I felt somehow ashamed. Ashamed that I was running my hands over Mandy’s soapy body. Then I realised that they were her hands anyway and that she had already managed to do the same thing with my body without freaking out. After that I relaxed and made sure I did a proper job. It was the least I could do. She was entrusting me with the health of her body, as I was doing with her. I got out of the shower and after drying off, went into the bedroom. Mandy had laid out a set of clothes for me to wear. A white blouse, a trouser suit and simple underwear. Oh, and a pair of socks and some flattish heeled shoes. I picked up the bra and studied it, trying to envision the order you did things to get it on. I thought I could see how it worked and tried it. As it turned out I was right.
“Managed to suss it out then?” Mandy said from the doorway.
“Seemed obvious when I really looked at the thing.” I replied, slipping the matching knickers on.
“It usually is.”
“Why the trouser suit Mandy? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wearing it.”
“I prefer a skirt to be honest, but it’ll be easier for you first time out, not having to worry about skirt problems. We can try a skirt or dress tomorrow if you think you’re ready.” I put on the outfit and then Mandy sat me down in front of the dresser with her make-up spread out on it. “I’m not going to do this for you Dave, but I will tell you how.”
“What if I mess it up?”
“Then we wipe it off and try again.”
“All right I suppose.” I sighed. “Where do I start?”

The end result didn’t look too bad. We’d kept it simple, just lipstick and eye-liner. Mandy’s face was so pretty it didn’t need much enhancement. I certainly seemed to be catching one or two admiring glances on the tube. It made me feel pleased and embarrassed at the same time. This predicament was so difficult to deal with. On the tube we decided on the details of our ‘dating’ story. That was kept simple too. Dave finally mustered the courage to speak to Mandy at the station. Despite his nervousness, perhaps because of it, Mandy agreed to go for a drink. They discovered that they have things in common and agreed to go out again. The elements of truth made it believable and we could add to it as time went on.
From Mandy’s desk I could hear the other guys coming up to Mandy at mine and asking if it was true, had Dave really got Mandy to go out with him? Mandy made a good show of saying all it had taken was the right approach. She kept grinning at me as she said it. The guys kept giving me sidelong glances of disbelief. Most of the girls came and asked me the same question at some point. I copied Mandy’s answer, saying that Dave wasn’t that shy once you got to know him, but warning them off subtly at the same time. I think between us we managed to convince most of them that we were really dating and by the end of the day interest was waning, other gossip pushing this strange new friendship from their minds.

“I can’t believe they bought it.” I said when we got back to Mandy’s flat that evening.
“Why not?” Mandy asked.
“Well, I wouldn’t believe it.”
“Again, why not?”
“I wouldn’t believe that dorky Dave had actually got up the nerve to ask the beautiful Mandy out for a drink, let alone get another date out of the deal.”
“You’re doing yourself a disservice you know? And how do you know how I’d have reacted if you had asked me for a drink.”
“Well, would you have come for a drink with me if I’d asked?”
“I might have, depends how you’d asked.”
“Very diplomatic answer.” I smiled.
“What if I’d asked you?”
“I’d probably have thought it was a trick.” I paused. “But I’d have walked into it anyway, on the off chance it wasn’t.”
“You like me that much?”
“Yes. Yes I do Mandy. I’d have gone stark naked into a bar with you if you’d asked.”
“It’s probably a good job I didn’t then.” She grinned. “How about if I’d asked you to dress up as a woman?”
“That too. Why?”
“I was just looking at these legs of yours. With the right clothes they’d look pretty good.” She said, waving a leg in the air.
“You’re teasing, right?”
“Nope. You have a nice pair of legs.” She couldn’t keep a straight face any longer and burst out laughing. I threw a cushion at her.

We spent the rest of that week practising being each other. I became pretty good at applying make-up and Mandy learnt how to shave with out nicking the skin. I learnt how she sat in a dress or skirt and she was able to listen to a dirty joke without blushing, something she was better at than me. That first weekend we went to my flat and collected some more of my clothing for Mandy. I picked up my i-pod as well; I needed some of my own sort of music to listen to. The stuff Mandy listened to was all right, but not exactly what I liked to hear. We grabbed a few DVD’s as well, film’s she’d not seen, to take our minds off the fact that we had no idea how long this situation would last.
On the Saturday night we were both feeling restless.
“Why don’t we go out for a drink?” I said.
“Do you really want to go to the trouble of dolling yourself up just for a couple of drinks?” Mandy asked.
“It doesn’t take that long in the morning.”
“I suppose if we go somewhere quiet and dark no-one will notice.”
“Are you questioning my skills with a lipstick?” I asked jovially.
“Actually, yes. Just this once, I’ll do it for you.”
She sat me down in front of the dresser again. Within minutes she had transformed my face, her face. It had always been pretty, but now it looked stunning.
“Wow!” I said as she finished.
“Pick out a dress while I get changed.” Mandy said.
“Are you sure?”
“I can always tell you to change it.” Mandy shrugged.
Slightly worried I opened the wardrobe and peeked in. There seemed to be a lot of clothes in there. A green shimmering dress caught my eye; I took it out and looked at it. This was the one, I thought. I slipped into it. It was a tight fit and I wouldn’t be able to take my normal long strides, but that was a good thing. Another outfit grabbed my attention. I couldn’t believe Mandy still had one of these!
“This schoolgirl outfit is just right.” I called out mischievously.
“What! You can’t wear that!!” Mandy came rushing in.
I smirked at her, dangling the uniform from its hanger.
“Why have you got one of these? Is there something you’re not telling me?”
She was reddening with embarrassment.
“It’s my old school uniform. It doesn’t fit anymore, but I don’t want to throw it away. Okay?”
“And there was me hoping you had a secret side.”
“This was because of the make-up crack, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Don’t doubt a man and his make-up skills.” I smiled. “Now let’s go and have a drink.”
“What are you going to do if some guy tries hitting on you?”
“I’ll set my boyfriend on him of course.”
“We meeting someone else then?” She laughed.

The next morning Mandy ran her hand down my leg as we sat at the table. Slightly startled, I asked her why.
“As I thought, they’re getting a bit rough.”
“Rough?”
“Stubbly.”
“I need to shave them then?” I asked.
“I think they need waxing.”
“What!!? Isn’t that painful?”
“Not that much.” She shrugged. “The effects last longer than shaving though, so I find it’s worth a little discomfort.”
“All right.” I sighed. “It’s still your body. What do I have to do?”
“I’ll show you.”

I suppose it wasn’t that painful, if you like having hairs ripped from your legs that is, but worse was to follow. Towards the end of that second week I awoke feeling hot and bothered and unaccountably grumpy. Mandy asked me what was wrong while we ate breakfast.
“What makes you think something’s wrong?” I snapped.
“Ahh!” She said knowingly. “I should have warned you; my period is due, you’re suffering from PMT.”
“What!” I snapped. “As if things aren’t bad enough already?”
“Sorry. It’s a natural function of my body.”
“There’s nothing natural about any of this.” I practically snarled.
“Calm down Dave. If women throughout history can get through this, so can you.”
“It’s easy for you to say.”
“Yes it is; I go through it once a month, remember?”
“Sorry. Of course you do. But it’s a problem I could have done without.” I was calming down. “What do I do?”
“If it’s affecting you that badly, I suggest you ring me in sick today, and stay here out of everyone’s way.”
“On my own? What will I do?”
“Shout at the telly? Tell the kettle it’s slow? I don’t know. Get blind drunk perhaps. Unconscious would be good for me.”
“What do you do Mandy?”
“Put up with it; hold my temper in check and suck it up.”
“You do that every month?”
“It doesn’t seem to affect me as badly as it’s affecting you.” She shrugged. “Stay here; look for solutions on the net. Maybe there’s something there that will help you. But stay out of people’s way, please.”
“All right. I don’t want to annoy your friends at work. I’ll find something. Go to work. I’ll call in sick; say I’ve got a bug or something. How long will I be like this?”
“A couple of days at least. Until the period starts.”
“How will I know?”
“You’ll know. Believe me, we’ll all know.”
I can’t say that it was the most enjoyable week I’ve ever had, but I survived. I reasoned if half the population of the world can put up with it, I could too, but it wasn’t fun for me or Mandy. She managed to keep me reasonably calm and told me what to do when the period started. I just wished I’d paid more attention in health education classes.

We were nearly three weeks into our strange experience when I took the phone call.
“Hello sweetie.” A mans voice said.
“Hi… Dad?” I hazarded.
“Your mother and I were just saying we haven’t seen you in a while. Is it all right if we come over for a visit tomorrow?”
“You want to come and see me dad?” I asked so that Mandy would hear. She just shrugged helplessly. I took a deep breath. “You don’t need an invite dad. You know that.”
“We thought we might this time, what with your new boyfriend and everything.”
“Oh. You heard about me and Dave then?”
“Yes. Do we get to meet him?”
“I can safely say he’ll be here. See you tomorrow dad.” The line went dead. I looked at Mandy. She didn’t seem terribly happy. “What else could I say?” I protested.
“It’s going to be a hell of a test for you Dave. No-one knows me like my parents.”
“Then I’d better get it right hadn’t I?”

I thought we’d managed to pull it off. Mandy’s parents seemed more interested in Dave than reminiscing about Mandy’s past. Then her mom suggested she and I go to the kitchen and make some coffee. Helplessly I followed her. She filled the kettle and put it on and then turned to face me.
“It’s Dave in there, isn’t it?” She said.
I went cold, but tried to bluff it out.
“With dad? Yes.” I said, looking towards the other room.
She didn’t buy it, and reached up and tapped my temple.
“No. In there.”
My shoulders dropped.
“Yes.” I said quietly. “How can you tell?”
“Little things really. You’ve got most of her mannerisms down, but, for instance; she holds her cup differently, the result of a childhood accident. And she doesn’t drum her fingers, she uses her thumb.”
“I hadn’t picked up on those. But why aren’t you surprised?”
“Because it always happens sooner or later to women in my family. I should have warned her earlier, but she never seemed serious about any of her boyfriends.”
“But I’m not her boyfriend. We made that up so we could keep an eye on each other. I’d barely considered even asking her out.”
“But you had thought about it. When?”
“I was daydreaming about it about thirty seconds before we clashed heads and switched.”
“That would explain it.” She smiled at me. “It seems to click into action around that point usually.”
“So you and your husband went through this?” She nodded. A thought struck me. “I take it you have swapped back?”
Again she nodded.
“After about four weeks. It’s like you’re given a taste of what it’s like to be the other person, gives you a better understanding of them. It works too. How long have you been switched?”
“Around three weeks now. I’ve known Mandy longer in my body than in hers.”
“Soon be over anyway.” She smiled encouragingly.
“I’ll be glad when it is, but a bit sad too. We won’t need to be together after that.”
“I think you might, but for different reasons.” Mandy’s mom grinned knowingly.
I found out later from Mandy that she was having a similar conversation with her father.
“Mandy? Are you all right sweetie? I know it’s you in there love.”
“How dad? Dave is very good as me. No-one has spotted the difference.”
“He is good at it, but we knew this might happen. We came to warn you and Dave, but saw quite quickly that we were too late. Sorry love.”
“You mean you and mom switched?”
“And back again. It is only temporary. And it only happens with your soulmate.”
“Soulmate? But I barely know Dave. He’s been me for longer than I knew him before the switch.”
“So?”
“He hadn’t even asked me out.”
“But he was thinking about it?”
“Daydreaming about it, he says.”
“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you before, but you never seemed to have found the right boy, so we kept putting it off.”
“This doesn’t happen to everybody does it?”
“No. As far as I know it only happens through the female side of your mother’s family.”
“And she’s telling Dave this now I suppose.”
“Yes.”
At this point Mandy’s mother and I came back in.
“She told me.” I said. “You are sure this is only a temporary thing? I don’t want to forget how to be me.” Both of Mandy’s parents nodded. “Good. I believe we were waiting for coffee?” I heard the kettle begin to boil.
“I’ll help.” Mandy said following me.
“So, they saw through me?” I asked her.
“They were half expecting us to be switched anyway. Dad thought you were very good as me.”
“I hope that’s a compliment?”
“Yes it is.” Unexpectedly, for both of us I think, Mandy gave me a quick hug. It’s a very strange thing to be hugged by what you know is your own body. That’s why we quickly broke apart, but it did set me thinking.

The fourth and hopefully last week of our body-swap seemed to drag for both of us, but at least we knew we would soon swap back. We avoided talking about ‘after’ in case it put a jinx, another jinx, on us, but it didn’t stop us thinking. Something came to me on the (hopefully) last Saturday. Although when I’d first seen her it had been Mandy’s looks that had captured my interest, since the switch I had become more and more preoccupied with her mind, the only bit that was still her. She was actually a bit shy, but a lot helpful. She had helped me through this month a lot more than I had helped her, and not just the clothes and the make-up. She had kept me cheerful and supported me through all my whining and bitching. And all I had done in return was show her how to shave my face with cutting it; at least that’s how it seemed to me. But I knew that I’d fallen in love with her and she seemed to like me too. I made a decision, a weird decision.
“Mandy.” I said quietly, unsure how she’d react. “Mandy, can I ask you something?”
She looked up from the magazine she was reading.
“Okay.”
“C…can we k…kiss?” My hesitancy had returned suddenly.
“Why?”
“I …I d…don’t k…know. It j…just seems t…to be the r…right th…thing to d…do.”
She looked directly at me, considering it.
“We never have kissed have we?” I shook my head. “All right. One kiss. Just to see what it’s like.”
She came over and sat next to me on the sofa. I looked into my face and somehow saw Mandy in there, in my eyes. Our lips met. Not many people can claim to have kissed themselves. And I’m not sure I can. As Mandy and I moved apart we both realised that we were back in our own bodies!
“You were right Dave. It was the right thing to do.” Mandy grinned at me, with her own face, lighting up the room more than I ever had. I hugged her and grinned back, trying to replicate the grin she had used so often in the past four weeks. I was about to kiss her again but I stopped suddenly. “What’s the matter?” She asked.
“What if we swap back?” I said.
“I’m willing to risk it.”
“Me too!” I moved back in for the kiss. I kissed her as me and stayed as me. “Thank you Mandy, you got me through this. Without your help I’d have gone nuts.”
“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have got into this at all.” She looked down sadly.
“I told you before; I’d do anything to be with you for even a short time. Maybe this was a little extreme, but we’ve been together for four whole weeks and I wouldn’t have missed that for the world.”
“You mean that?” She said, a tear in her eye.
“Well there were some things I could have done without, but the good far outweighs the bad I promise.”
She gave a watery smile.
“You are a nice person. All you thought about was protecting my image the whole time. You didn’t once say you wouldn’t do something. You are a special friend.”
“I want to be more than that Mandy. I fell in love with the only part of you I wasn’t, your personality, your mind I suppose. You were kind and helpful, fun to be with and mostly sympathetic. Apparently we’re supposed to be soulmates. I think that’s true. What about you?”
“It’s a strange way of getting to know someone, but you may be right. So what do we do now?”
“There are a few things we could do. But right now that school uniform is calling.” A smirk crossed my face.
“I told you, it doesn’t fit any more.” She laughed.
“How about a couple of beers and a takeaway curry followed by ‘Where Eagles Dare’ instead then.”
“A proposition no girl who’s just spent four weeks as a man could resist. You phone for the curry, I’ll get the beers.”
“But first…” I took her in my arms and we kissed again. A proper kiss with no worries about consequences or what the future might hold. A kiss of a daydreamer and a daydream believer. A kiss of soulmates.

Broken Heart Surgery

Not sure what to say about this one. Had an idea, story twisted itself, this is the result. Not sure about the title. May change it sometime.




It has been exactly four years now since my wife Jennifer passed on. As the anniversary had approached again my depression, never far away, deepened markedly. But yesterday, the anniversary of the day I had lost her, was the worst. Most of the time I could deal with the sense of loss, but yesterday it nearly overwhelmed me. Alison, our thirteen year old daughter, tried her very best to shake me out of it but to no avail. This morning was better, despite a lack of sleep on my part, but Ali still couldn’t cheer me up. She had gone next door to talk to Rachel, our neighbour, a twenty four year old who had recently moved back into her parent’s house. Ali and Ray had always got on despite the difference in their ages, almost as sisters. Ali must have been desperate though to do what she did, I hadn’t realised how my mood had been affecting her.
I was sitting staring at the kitchen wall when they came in, Ali pulling Ray behind her. They both sat opposite me. I could see something was worrying my daughter by the look in her eyes and the way she held tightly onto Ray’s hand.
“What’s the matter sweetie?” I asked.
“Dad.” She faltered immediately. Ray squeezed her hand and nodded encouragingly. “Daddy, I’ve been thinking. I hate it when you’re like this, so I went and asked Ray and she reckons I’m right. You need to cheer up. So I think… I think you need… a girlfriend!”
She was so serious and so obviously sincere that I couldn’t laugh.
“I can’t princess. Your mom…”
“Mom would want you to be happy dad.”
She was right about that. Jenny would have hated seeing me like this, but I was having a hard time letting her go. And what about Ali? She seemed to sense my unasked question.
“I want you to be happy too dad. You need to find someone.” She was in dead earnest about this I could tell. I allowed myself to smile a little.
“All right Alison, I’ll try, but not today. Today is going to be all for my always special girl. Anywhere you want to go. Go get ready.”
She sprang to her feet, a big grin on her face. After a quick hug, kiss and ‘thank you’, she shot off upstairs. I looked across at Rachel who was also grinning.
“Thank you too Rachel.”
“For what?” She shrugged.
“For helping Ali help me. She must trust you a lot to be able to talk about me to you.”
“I suppose. She has always been a bit like a little sister to me.”
“You realise that I may have to ask you to sit with Ali if I actually get a date?”
“S’all right.” She shrugged. “I’m not likely to be doing much for a while anyway.”
“Why’s that?”
“The last break-up with a boyfriend left me feeling a bit raw. I think I might give the dating thing a rest for a while.” She suddenly smiled with a touch of wickedness. “Besides, I can’t see a cutie like you having much trouble getting a date.”
I blushed.
“Just watch yourself young lady. If things don’t go too well I may have to ask YOU out after a statement like that.”
“Promises, promises.” She laughed and I joined in.
Alison came bouncing down the stairs.
“Can we go look at some shops dad?”
“Hmm. I don’t know that I want to spend that much.”
“DADDY!” She squealed and then realised I was pulling her leg and kissed me.
“Come on then princess, but no promises.” I paused. “No promises for you either Rachel.” I said waggling my eyebrows at her. She just laughed. Ali looked from one to the other of us, recognized it was a joke between us and shrugged her shoulders.

For the next few months I dated a few women, but with no real results. That isn’t to say I didn’t cheer up; some of the dates were enjoyable, but none of them felt like they were going to lead to anything more than an interesting evening in enjoyable company. I had the most fun whenever I took Ali somewhere. It was good to see her smiling again. More and more she asked if Ray could come with us. I had no problem saying ‘yes’ and she scampered off next door to ask Rachel. I began to notice that although Ray always came when asked she seemed a little uncomfortable around me. I assumed that it was because I was an older guy and that she was worried about accompanying someone obviously older; either that or her seemingly never-ending boy trouble was bothering her. Ali’s enthusiasm was always enough to overcome that reticence though, Ray enjoying herself after a while.

It was after one of those trips that I asked Rachel about this apparent shyness when we were having a cup of coffee before she went home.
“Is it me?” I asked.
“Sort of.” Ray replied. “But it’s mainly me. I can’t help wondering what people think when they see us out together, even though Ali is with us.”
“I didn’t realise being with such an old man was so worrisome for you.”
“Oh. I worry about lots of things.” She laughed. “I just think I might be hampering you in finding someone you like.”
“Don’t worry about that Ray.” I laughed back. “I’m really only going through the motions for Ali’s sake. It makes her happy.”
“But you might find someone you like.”
“I might I suppose, but Ali is the one who is important. As long as she’s happy, I am too. There are less and less days when I feel down. Soon I suspect there will only be three a year.”
“Three?”
“Jenny’s birthday, our anniversary, and…”
“I think I can guess.” She got up to leave. “Thank you for another trip out. It might be the last for a while though.”
“Why?”
“My parents want to sell up and move abroad, follow the sun. They’re going to look at some properties tomorrow. I’m going to have to find somewhere else to live soon.”
“You could…” I started, but she knew what I was going to say and interrupted.
“I can’t stop with you and Ali, much as I would like too. It would seem wrong to so many people.” She was serious.
“The offer still stands Rachel. Ali wouldn’t want me not to make it, and as I said, Ali comes first for me. She always will. That’s probably why none of the women I’ve been seeing seem right. They would have to accept that.”
“I know and I wish you luck, but a woman like that will be hard to find.”
“I know it.” I smiled as we went to the door. “The offer is always there if you need somewhere to stay Rachel.”
“I know.” She shyly kissed me on the cheek. “And thank you for that.” With that she left. I turned around and spied Alison peering through the stair railings.
“What are you smirking at? You are supposed to be in bed you little minx.”
“I was just thinking you seem to be making progress with Ray at last.” She grinned.
“Just what do you mean by that young lady?”
“Well, you finally got a kiss didn’t you?”
“Are you implying what I think you’re implying?”
“I might be!” She said over her shoulder as she scurried off to bed. I frowned to myself. Did she mean Rachel was sweet on me? I couldn’t believe that, we had been neighbours for so long that I still remembered Ray as a schoolgirl. She couldn’t have feelings for someone as old as me could she?

Two days after that little exchange Alison and I were sitting out in the garden, enjoying the evening sun. Ali was doing her homework on the picnic table and I was catching up on some reading. She spoke.
“Daddy, did you know that Rachel was looking for somewhere to live?”
“I did sweetie.”
“Well, can’t she have our spare room?”
I sighed.
“I already offered Ali, but Ray said that she didn’t think it would look right.”
“Why?”
“I’m sure she has her reasons.” I looked across at my daughter. She had a sly look on her face, like she was planning something. “Alison, you are NOT to pester Rachel about this. It’s her life; she can make whatever decisions she wants.”
“How can you tell what I was thinking?”
“Your mother got the same look whenever she was up to something.”
“Oh!” She reddened a little and looked away coyly. “But Ray is wrong about this dad; can’t I ask her to stay with us?”
“No. Promise me here and now that you won’t interfere with Rachel’s choices.”
“DADDY!” She exclaimed.
“Alison, I’m serious about this. You promise me now!”
“Oh, all right. I promise I won’t say anything to her.”
“Good girl.” I went back to my book, hoping that it was settled now, but not believing it. Alison had given in much too easily. Rachel obviously had her reasons for not wanting to move in on a permanent basis and I respected that, but Alison seemed to think otherwise. Maybe she thought she knew something I didn’t. I hoped she kept to her promise.

About ten minutes later Rachel’s head popped above the shared fence.
“Hi! I was wondering if Ali was busy tomorrow evening?”
“Well I haven’t got anything planned.” Alison said. “Why?”
“I’ve managed to get some concert tickets for that boy band you’re so fond of and wondered if you wanted to go.”
Ali looked at me, excitement shining in her eyes.
“Can I daddy? Please? Pretty please?” She batted her eyelids at me, knowing I couldn’t resist.
“It’s not a school night, so I suppose so.” I sighed.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She jumped up and kissed me.
“Don’t thank me, thank Rachel. She’s the one with the tickets.”
“Thank you Rachel.” Ali said dutifully.
Ray laughed at her sincerity.
“Well I can’t go on my own can I? They’re not exactly my sort of band.”
“Fibber!” Ali laughed. “I’ve seen you looking at the pictures in my fan club magazine.” Rachel blushed, unable to deny it. “Come on round and we’ll plan it.”

The concert was due to start at eight so I had dropped the two of them off at seven, telling Ali to call me when they wanted collecting. Rachel thought that would be around half past ten. So I was beginning to worry by eleven that they hadn’t phoned. I began to call Alison’s phone but for some reason it wasn’t on, which was odd as she never turned it off. Worry was replaced by panic when a police car pulled up outside the house at half past eleven. I had the door open before the policeman had reached the door.
“What is it? What’s wrong? Has something happened to Ali?” I blurted out.
“Calm down Mr Kennedy. Your daughter Alison is fine, just a little upset. There was an incident outside the concert and her friend Rachel was injured.”
“Ray’s hurt? How badly?”
“Not too badly, but enough to warrant being kept in hospital overnight for observation.”
“Why didn’t Ali phone me?”
“Her phone was another casualty I’m afraid, which is why she went to the hospital with her friend instead of getting in touch with you. I said I’d come and explain and she calmed down a little. The hospital wanted to know if you could bring Rachel some nightwear when you collect your daughter.”
“Of course.” I said, and then stopped to think. “Except I haven’t got a key to Rachel’s house, and Ali’s things will be too small.” Another thought hit me. “I suppose there might be something of Jenny’s that will do.”
“Jenny?”
“My wife. She died four and a half years ago.”
“And you still have her clothes?”
“Some. I’m having trouble letting her go.”
He smiled in understanding.
“Well, anything will help sir.” He handed me a card. “Show this at reception and they’ll know I sent you.”
“Thank you officer. I’ll get there as quick as I can.”
“Just don’t get stopped for speeding sir.” He smiled as he turned away.
I dashed upstairs to the drawer in the wardrobe where I kept Jenny’s things. Clothes that I just couldn’t bear to throw away, they had been some of her favourite things. I knew that there were a couple of nighties in there. I found them out. One was unsuitable for wearing in a hospital but the second one should be all right. I took a quick look at it, gauging whether it would fit Rachel. She was a different body shape to Jenny, taller for one thing. I thought it would be okay and packed it into a bag. As an afterthought I grabbed the spare towelling robe from the bathroom and packed that too. Briefly I wondered about underclothes, but dismissed the idea for now. I ran down to the car and shot off to the hospital.

Alison was sat in the waiting room looking very sorry for herself.
“Alison, are you all right.”
She looked up, saw me and then ran over.
“Oh daddy! I’m so sorry I didn’t call you, but I thought I’d better stay with Ray.”
“No sweetie. You did the right thing. What happened?”
“It was all my fault daddy.” She began to cry. “I persuaded Ray to take me to the stage door to try and get some autographs. She didn’t want to, but agreed as long as I stayed next to her. There was some pushing and I dropped my phone. When I went to pick it up, there was a surge of people and it got trampled. Ray was trying to keep people from knocking me over and got toppled over me. She hit her head on the ground. Now nobody will tell me how she is. I really messed up daddy.” She was sobbing now. “Please say you forgive me.”
“Of course I forgive you darling. I’m sure Rachel will too. Come on, the hospital asked me to bring some things for her, so we can go and see her.”
Rachel was sat up in bed looking pale. She had a couple of stitches above the corner of her left eye and her left arm was in a sling. She gave us a watery smile as we twitched aside the curtain around her bed.
“Hello you two. Sorry to be such a bother.”
“Absolutely no bother Ray. The hospital asked me to bring you some things. I hope they fit.” I laid the bag on the bed. “Didn’t bring any undies I’m afraid. I thought it best if you give Ali your house key and tell her what to collect.”
“You could do that as well.”
“I’m sure I don’t want to go poking about in your underwear drawer. Who knows what I might find!” I grinned. Rachel just laughed. It was good to see.
Alison had been looking subdued since we came in. She suddenly burst into tears again.
“Oh Ray! I’m so, so sorry. This is all my fault. Please say you forgive me, please.”
Rachel reached over and took her hand, smiling warmly.
“There’s nothing to forgive Ali. What happened was as much my fault as yours. I could have said ‘no’ to you.”
“You did say ‘no’ Ray, but I whined until you gave in.”
“I wanted to go backstage too you know? I just wanted an excuse. Now come and give me a hug and we’ll forget it, okay?”
I left them discussing what Rachel wanted Alison to bring in for her. I was looking for the doctor. I found him checking someone’s chart and introduced myself. Then I asked when I could collect Rachel.
“Tomorrow evening probably, as long as she doesn’t suffer any reaction before then. And only if she has someone to keep an eye on her for four or five days.” He said.
“She lives next door to me, is that close enough?”
“I’d prefer someone in the house with her.” He frowned.
“So I need to persuade her to use our spare room for a week?” I sighed. “That might be tricky.”
“You’ll be surprised what people will do to make sure they get out of here.” He laughed. “I’ll tell her my conditions in the morning.”
“Thanks doctor. It’ll sound better coming from you. I’m not sure how she’d react if it came from me.” I paused and thought. “Not these days anyway.” I looked back at Ali and Ray. “Now I think I’d better collect my daughter and get her home and in bed. It’s been a long night for her.”
“I’ll let the desk know you’ll be in tomorrow, about six would be best.”
“Thanks doctor, for everything.”

I could tell Rachel wasn’t entirely happy to have to use our spare room, but as the doctor had said, people will accept a lot to get out of hospital. Ali still seemed to feel guilty and fussed around Ray when we collected her. Ray had to tell her that she wasn’t an invalid, that Ali didn’t have to do everything for her. After that, the two of them just hung out together like any other weekend. I had organised it so that I was working from home for the next week so that I could be about if Rachel suffered any reaction to the bump on her head. This seemed fine in principle, but it meant that while Alison was at school there was only Ray and me in the house. This appeared to be unsettling to Ray, which in turn was a little worrying for me. The two of us each did our own thing for that first morning; me in my office working, Rachel moodily flicking through some of Alison’s magazines while half watching what passes for daytime TV. Around mid-morning she brought me a cup of coffee. I took the opportunity to ask her about her reticence to be in the same house as me.
“It’s just that you’re a man and I’m a girl and I worry.” She went red.
“About me?” I asked incredulously.
“What!!? NO! Never that.” She said emphatically, catching my inference.
“Then what are you worried about?”
“I worry about what the other people in the street think. Some of them have nasty minds, you know?”
“They do? Well, that’s their problem, not yours Ray.” I put my hand on hers. “The doc says you need an eye kept on you until your parents get back, so the busybodies can go get lost. Okay?”
“Okay.” She nodded, a little more reassured.
Alison called at lunchtime on the replacement phone we’d got on Saturday, wanting to know how Rachel was, and to ask me a favour. She wanted her camera tomorrow, so could I download the pictures on the card and put them on the ‘picture drive’, the external hard drive where we both kept our photos. Sighing, I agreed, wondering why she delighted in leaving things to the last moment, a trait she shared with me. Her mother had been much better organised. I collected the camera from her cluttered dresser, plugged it and the picture drive in and began to download her pictures. She hadn’t done it for a couple of weeks and there were over two hundred on the card. I watched disinterestedly as the images flicked past, questioning why there were so many pictures of me, Rachel and Ali in various combinations. I quickly realised that it was because most of the photos were from our last two trips out. The final three or four pictures had me puzzled though. They were of a girl in a bikini; the fleeting glimpses I got weren’t enough to tell who they were of though, but I recognised the background as Ali’s room. What had my daughter been up to now? I thought I’d better take another look at those last few properly. I opened up the new file, scrolled to the end and clicked on one to open it. As I looked at it, my jaw dropped. It wasn’t Alison in the picture, it was Rachel! I hurriedly closed the picture, wondering what the hell was going on here. What was Ali up too? She knew I’d see those snaps and become intrigued when she’d asked me to download them. And did Ray know about them? I suspected that Ali had some plan, but was Rachel in on it? Young Alison and I were going to have a serious talk when she got home from school. Then something else struck me. I opened the picture again with more than a little trepidation. Looking at it, I realised how stunningly beautiful Rachel had become. I still thought of her as the girl next door, but she had grown into a gorgeous young woman without me noticing. A sudden insight made me understand why she was so worried about what other people might think. A widower and an attractive girl in the same house would be a gift to some of the gossips in the street. I shrugged to myself; stuff what they thought, I’d offered to help and I would.
Alison came bouncing in through the door after school where I was waiting for her.
“Hi dad! How’s Ray doing?”
“Rachel is fine; she’s fixing you a snack at the moment.” I frowned. “While she’s busy in the kitchen you and I need to have a little talk madam. My office, now!” The little minx didn’t look surprised or worried, as if she knew what this was about. “Right Miss, I think you should explain these pictures.” I pointed to the computer monitor with one of the photographs of Rachel on it.
“You found them then?” Ali grinned.
“You mean I was meant too see them?”
“Of course.”
“What about Rachel?”
“Well she knows I took them, but not why. The bikini was her idea.” She thought for a moment. “Maybe she did have an inkling then.” She grinned the same smug grin Jenny had worn whenever I realised that I was being led up the garden path.
“What are you up to you little devil?”
“Well, you saw the pictures, what do you think?”
“What do you mean?”
“About Ray. Don’t you realise she’s hung up on you? No, you don’t. All you see is the girl next door. I was rather hoping you’d see how pretty she is.”
I went bright red. Ali obviously knew me better than I thought.
“Has this been your plan all along you devious child?”
“Actually I just wanted you to find someone to start with, but when I saw how Rachel looked at you I decided to do something for both of you.” The smug grin wavered for a moment, as she gauged if I was really angry with her.
“I ought to tan your hide young lady.” I sighed.
The grin came back.
“Why? My plan worked didn’t it?”
I went red again.
“I think you should go to your room Alison. I need to discuss this with Rachel.”
“See! I knew this would work.”
“ALISON! Your room please.”
“Oh all right, spoilsport.”
I went to find Ray in the kitchen. She had just finished making Ali a sandwich. She turned as I came in.
“I thought I heard Ali come in? Her snack is ready.”
“You did hear her Rachel. She’s up in her room at the moment.”
“I’ll take her the sandwich then.”
I put my hand on her arm.
“It can wait a while. I’ve just had a serious talk with her, before I sent her upstairs. We need to talk. It appears she has been trying to manoeuvre us both, but with the best of intentions I’m sure.” I sighed, not sure how to ask what I knew I had too. “She took some pictures of you last week?”
“Yes. I think she wanted to show them to someone. It was a bit of a dare, posing for someone I didn’t know.”
“I’m afraid you do know them. She tricked me into looking at them.”
“YOU!? But why?”
“She seemed to think that… No, that’s wrong. She knew that I only ever looked at you as the girl next door.”
“I knew that too.”
“Ali wanted me to realise how beautiful you had grown up. I’m desperately sorry I never noticed before, but those snapshots showed me what I had been missing. You are stunningly attractive.”
Rachel blushed deeply.
“Th…thank you.” She stuttered. “But how is that Ali manipulating me? I was happy to do those poses. I’m happier that they were for you.”
“That’s the point. Alison thinks you have a thing for me. I can’t see it myself.” Rachel went an even deeper shade of red and hung her head. Another insight hit me. “You do have a thing for me?” She nodded. “It’s not just because I teased you about having to ask you out if all else failed is it?”
“No. No, it started after Jenny had died. I felt sorry for you, and I wanted to help you and those feelings grew into something more.” There were tears starting to roll down her cheeks now.
“Don’t cry Rachel. It’s not your fault I’ve been living in the past, blinded by grief, unable to see a helping hand when it’s offered. That was all my own doing, nothing at all to do with you.”
“Still, I’m sorry about all this. I think it would be best if I left.” She turned and opened the backdoor.
“Rachel, don’t…” I started to say, but it was too late. She had gone.
“DAD! What are you doing? Get after her you idiot!!” Alison shouted from the next room.
Galvanised by her words, I ran out into the garden after Ray.
“Rachel! Ray! Wait a minute please.” I caught up with her. “Don’t go Rachel, please. I don’t know if Ali is right, and we do need each other, but I’d like to find out. So please, stay. At least until your parents get back.”
Rachel looked up with tear-stained eyes.
“What if she is wrong? I don’t know if I can cope with that.”
“Won’t it be better to try and fail than be left wondering if she was right?”
“What about Jenny?”
“Jenny’s gone and I’ll always love her, but you know that anyway. And one thing Alison was right about was that her mom would want me to be happy too.” I smiled at her. “And I think I would very much like to try and be happy with you.”
Rachel wiped her eyes.
“I think I’d like to try too.”
“Goody. Now kiss each other.” Alison called out from the kitchen door.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in your room young lady?” I said.
“Tell me off later. Just kiss her you idiot.”
“Who..?” I started to say when Rachel smothered my mouth with a kiss. I relaxed and kissed her back. Eventually she pulled away. “How come you could never keep a boy if you can kiss like that?” I asked jokingly.
“Because I never kissed anyone like that before.” She smiled. “Care to try again?”
“I think so.” The second kiss saw us wrap our arms around each other, holding each other close. I saw Alison grinning like a maniac out of the corner of my eye. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten you, Miss.” I said, making my way towards her. She squealed and ran back inside.
“Can I have a word with her first?” Rachel asked.
“Sure. But don’t go easy on her, just because she’s right.” I grinned. Rachel skipped inside after her. I watched her go. She was truly a beauty. I lifted my head skywards and muttered. “I can’t help feeling you had a hand in this Jenny. Thank you.” I followed the girls into the house.

Where You Need To Be

A follow up story from the extended 'View From A Bridge'. As I was writing that i had some ideas for Kelly. This is the result. Certain historical liberties have been taken, but I'm sure most people will recognise the shipwreck I based this on. I mean no offence to any victims or survivors of that tragedy.



Kelly sat at her desk staring at the wall. Time had dragged since Dave and Susan had left to go back. She had been at her happiest for a long time while they were here, but no-one at the radio station had that same spirit now. Maybe it was her. She sighed; maybe she was the boring one and they were all too polite to tell her. Whatever it was, it was making her feel restless. She didn’t feel she was contributing enough anymore. She let out another big sigh.
There was a knock on her office door.
“Come in.” She called.
“Thank you Miss Kelly.” The guide said, entering and sitting across the desk from her.
“Guide, what are you doing here? The station is still doing its job isn’t it?”
“Yes it is Miss Kelly, quite the best idea you have ever had in your thirty or so years working for me. But you feel there is something wrong. I heard your sigh.”
Kelly smiled to herself, even after all this time she still forgot how extensive the guide’s powers were.
“So you came to see me and find out what my problem was this time. And after all the time I’ve spent here, isn’t time you started calling me ‘Kelly’ like everyone else?”
“As you wish. I suspect, Kelly, that I know what your problem is. It’s the same one you’ve always had; ever since I threw you in at the deep end as a junior guide, when I should have accompanied you on your first multiple collection.”
Kelly reddened and dropped her head.
“I suppose you’re right sir. But it was my mistake more than yours. It was a busy time, that was why you needed juniors, and it was me who lost those souls, not you.”
“Dear Kelly, I suppose it’s pointless for me to tell you that you have more than made up for that mistake.”
“It doesn’t affect the fact that there are a thousand souls lost out in the wilderness of time because of me.”
“Would it surprise you to learn that less than half of those souls are still lost?”
“Yes it would.” Kelly leant forward, her interest piqued. “How?”
“I keep lists of those who are lost. And recently a number of those on your list have been turning up here.”
“Again, how?” Kelly was stunned at this revelation.
“They made their way into the city from the wastelands beyond.” The guide shrugged. “This has caused me to suppose that the rest may also be out there somewhere.”
“Why are you telling me this? It doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“I would like you to complete your mission Kelly. I know you miss your friends Miss Susan and the inestimable Dave, and I think this undertaking will fill the void their departure has left.”
“I don’t know sir.” Kelly answered dubiously. “It has been a long time since I did any guide work.”
“I know my dear.” The guide was patient with her. “That is why I propose to send someone with you, someone who is a little more attuned to this kind of work.”
“Who? Dave and Sue?” She asked hopefully
“No. I have no wish to disrupt their lives further. I have been trying to train a particular junior for quite some time. His name is Brad and he is proving a little…troublesome. I wish you to go with him beyond the city and find those missing souls out there. Will you do it?”
“Well, the station doesn’t really need me any more. Practically anyone can make the decisions I have too these days.” She paused. “Give me a couple of days to find a replacement and I’ll accept.”
“I hoped you would agree, so I have brought you one or two possible temporary replacements.”
“Only temporary?”
“Of course. This is your project and I would never dream of taking it away from you. I will bring Brad here tomorrow and we can sort out what you’ll need and where you’re going.” The guide stood and offered his hand. Kelly shook it, once again astounded by his prescience.
“I have to ask sir. Why me?”
“Mainly because I think you still feel responsible dear Kelly. You still torture yourself over your error. Hopefully this is what you need.” He turned and walked out.

Kelly looked out from the edge of the city and could see nothing but the vast wilderness. Sure, it was filled with vegetation, water, possibly even animals, but no-one knew for certain. The sketchy reports from those who had arrived at the city through it described a landscape full of forests, scrubland and the occasional range of hills with a few mountains thrown in. She sighed, adjusted the pack on her back and then started to walk, calling to her young companion.
“Come on then Brad, let’s go.”
“Okay Miss Kelly. The guide thought we should head for that mountain away in the distance.”
“I doubt we’ll do that in one day. It looks a week away at least.”
“About two and a half days I reckon. It’s about fifty miles away.”
“You really think we can do twenty miles a day?”
“Sure. Unless you’re not as fit as you look.” The youngster grinned cheekily.
Kelly had been a little surprised when the guide had turned up at her flat with Brad. He looked like a fifteen year old boy, which in a way he was. People’s bodies didn’t age from the moment they arrived here. He had been in the city for five years though, and the guide had been training him for the past eighteen months as a junior guide, but was having problems with the lad. Brad for his part didn’t seem put out by his apparent failure, but he was extremely keen to prove himself one way or another. They had planned what they thought they needed for a long journey. They didn’t carry much food, the guide was certain that they would be able to find more as they progressed. Kelly hadn’t been sure about this, but Brad and the guide had convinced her. The guide had never been wrong before, but there was still a niggling worry that there was a first time for everything. The other thing she wasn’t sure about, despite assurances from the guide, was Brad. He seemed a little, well, full of himself. Probably the ignorance of youth she thought.
They had been walking for two hours now, and making good progress. Kelly turned and called over her shoulder.
“Why don’t you take the lead for a while?”
“And miss the opportunity to stare at your bum?” He smiled.
“You can’t say that!” Kelly exclaimed.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not polite. The era I came from was much more…”
“Repressed?” Brad answered. “Miss Kelly, I know you’re from the Edwardian period, and I’m from nearly a hundred years later, but things change, you’ve changed since then.”
“Nevertheless, no-one from my time would come out with a statement like that.”
“What would they say then? ‘ Madam, may I comment on the exquisiteness of your posterior’ or ‘the juxtaposition of your facial features renders you utterly beauteous’?” He asked somewhat facetiously.
“Possibly, but it sounds better than ‘you’ve got a luvverly bum missus.’”
“I never said that!”
“You thought it though.”
“Well, yes, I did. Mainly because you have got a lovely bum.”
“Brad! Can we stop talking about my bottom?” Kelly snapped exasperatedly.
“All right, all right.” Brad grinned evilly. “There’s no need to be so anal about it.”
“Do you really think you should be talking to me like that? I could be your great grand mother or something.”
“As an unmarried Edwardian girl, I doubt it.”
“That’s enough! I can see why the guide was having such a difficult time training you, you are very annoying.”
“That wasn’t the problem.” He smiled that infuriating smile. “All right, let me go in front for a while.”
They trudged on, Brad taking the lead, not as reluctantly as he made out. Kelly had been silent for quite a while, lost in her own thoughts. For some reason she liked Brad, and his words, though a little shocking to her, had seemed complimentary.
“Do you really think I have a nice bottom?” She asked out of the silence.
“Sure. Even in those combat trousers, it looks quite pert and well-rounded.” He said over his shoulder.
Kelly blushed despite herself.
“Then I thank you, but could you please keep your comments on my body to yourself in future, I’m not really used to talking so freely about it.”
“I’ll try Miss Kelly.” He turned and grinned at her. “You know, you didn’t sound so uptight when you were on the radio, especially with Dave.”
“That was different. That was just for the show.” Kelly went an even deeper shade of red. “And I knew Dave didn’t mean it, I knew he was in love with Sue. I can’t be sure if you’re for real or not.”
“So, you don’t know if I mean it or not?” Brad was grinning again.
“No, I don’t.” Kelly shook herself. This boy was so annoying! “In any case, I’m a lot older than you. Even if you do mean it, it isn’t right.”
“Oh come on, you’re only a few years older than me.”
“Only on the outside. I’ve been here over thirty years. And in the real world, there’s an even bigger difference, something like a hundred years between our births.”
“So?” Brad took her arms. “You’re over-thinking things Kelly. Like I said, things change and so have you. You are not the same as when you arrived here, you’ve evolved, adapted. Try to take things at face value, as they are, not as they ‘should’ be.” He seemed very earnest.
Kelly stared into his eyes. He meant it. Maybe that was why the guide sent him with her. She looked down.
“Okay. I’ll try.” She said quietly.
“That’s all I ask.” He turned back around and began to walk forward again. “Come slow coach, we’re falling behind schedule.”
“I told you I thought twenty miles a day was too much.”
“Rubbish. Get those sexy legs moving!”
“BRAD! I warned you…”

The two of them sat around a small campfire, drinking coffee and nibbling the hard biscuits they carried, each lost in their own thoughts. To Kelly’s surprise they had made more than the twenty miles on this first day. Brad was wondering how he could get Kelly to open up a little more to him. The guide had suggested he try, saying there was more to her than just a dowdy administrator, but not elaborating. He had been quite pleased when she had responded so forcefully to his teasing about her bottom, and she had let slip more than she realised. He hoped this was the right way to help her, she was a nice person and this was his first assignment.
Kelly suddenly broke the silence.
“Brad, I’m sorry if I sounded snooty or prissy this morning, but I’m not really used to people talking to me as a person. Everyone just sees me as a manager, or some authority figure. It was a bit different with Sue, Sara and Dave, but even they held back slightly.”
Brad sighed.
“I’m sorry too Miss Kelly. I think arriving here so young, so full of myself, made me realise what I’d missed out on. It made me impatient. I just want things to happen straightaway, so I jump in with both feet. It doesn’t always work, and makes me a bit unpopular. So I’m sorry if I offended you, I didn’t mean too.”
“Thank you for that. I know you mean well, but there is a huge gulf between our ways of thinking. I know I need to be more flexible and I am trying, but it is slow progress I’m afraid.”
“I think if you can put up with me it will be a step in the right direction.”
“You might be right.” She smiled sweetly for the first time in a while. “I’m going to turn in now.” She said, opening her sleeping bag.
“You’re not going to sleep in your clothes are you?” Brad asked.
“No. I was going to take off my boots and then undress inside the sleeping bag.”
“That is trickier than you think. I’ll tell you what, seeing as its you, I’ll look away.”
“You promise not to peek?”
“I promise.” He said, turning his back on her and staring into the darkness. There was the rustle of clothing being removed and then the sound of the sleeping bag zipper closing.
“You can turn around now Brad, and thank you.” Kelly called.
“I think that may have been worse than watching.” Brad said turning back around. Kelly’s face was peering out from the tightly zipped sleeping bag.
“How do you mean?”
“I mean my imagination ran riot listening to the rustles and zips.” He grinned once more, seeing the look of discomfort on her face. “By the way, you might want to turn your boots upside down. That way there’s less chance of them being invaded by creepy crawlies.” Kelly shuddered and quickly leaned across to turn her boots over. Brad began to undo his own boots.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m getting undressed as well.”
“Then I’m going to look away.”
“That’s up to you.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me as much as you.” As Kelly hurriedly looked away, Brad could see that she was blushing again. He smiled to himself. She looked really cute when she reddened. He climbed into his bag. “All right, I’m done.”
“You’re not teasing me are you?” She asked with a hint of worry.
“Not this time I swear.”
Kelly sat up and looked at him.
“You’re right about the imagination.” She said, still flushed about the cheeks.
“What! Even you Miss Edwardian Girl.” He said in a mocking voice.
“Yes. It’s your fault for mentioning it.” She rested her head on her knees.
“I’m sorry Miss Kelly. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Kelly isn’t my real name you know, it’s just what I’m known as here.”
“What is your name then?” He asked, genuinely interested.
“Katherine. Katherine Elizabeth Louisa Isobel Chambers.”
“Or ‘Keli’ for short. I get it. Neat.”
“Sort of neat. See you in the morning Brad.”
“Goodnight Kelly.” Brad lay awake for a while, thinking. The guide had been right. Kelly was worth trying to get to know. She wasn’t really the stuffy stuck-up manager she appeared to be in an office. Out here she was less sure of herself, more vulnerable. He liked that about her. He smiled to himself, turned over and went to sleep.

Kelly awoke with a start, the sun already on her face. She groaned softly at her aching leg muscles, massaging them a little to ease the twinges. She sat up and looked around the camp. Brad wasn’t around, but he had re-lit the fire and there was a tantalising smell of fresh coffee wafting over her. She stood and stretched, letting the bag fall down. She bent over to pick up her trousers, and then pulled them on.
“Good morning lazy bones.” Brad’s voice came from behind her. She whirled round. “I found us some fruit for breakfast.” He smiled.
“Brad! How long have you been there?” Kelly asked worriedly.
“Long enough to tell I was right about your bottom.”
“You’re evil!” She snapped.
“No I’m not, I’m honest. Evil would have been having my wicked way with you while you slept. This is merely being mischievous.” He grinned cheekily.
Kelly went bright red, with anger this time. She strode up to him, her eyes flashing, and slapped him hard across the cheek.
“That was for even thinking of me like that.” She said angrily. Brad’s head dropped down. Kelly saw the movement. “And if you’re thinking about saying something about my bosom then forget it right now!”
Brad was genuinely upset about her reaction to his remarks; it wasn’t what he’d intended.
“I’m truly sorry Miss Kelly. I just thought that after our talk last night… No, it doesn’t matter. I have no excuse for what I just said. All I can do is ask for your forgiveness and promise never to speak like that to you again.”
His head was bowed but Kelly could see the distress in his eyes. She calmed down.
“I forgive you, and I’ll hold you to your promise, but I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have slapped you. A mixture of anger and embarrassment I’m afraid. Please accept my apologies.”
“Anything for you Miss Kelly, I mean it.”
“Good. Now, what fruit have you found? I’m surprisingly hungry.”

It took them a little less than the two and a half days to reach the foothills around the mountain, but most of that third day to climb one of them. Now they stood on the top of quite a lofty hill. Beyond they could see the wilderness stretching before them. Kelly turned around and looked back towards the city. She was amazed at exactly how far they had walked in such a relatively short time.
“Any idea which way we should head next Brad? Did the guide say anything?”
“Other than suggesting we head this way to start with, no. All he said was that I should be able to sense where to go next.”
“He got that far with your training?”
“Yes. There was only one thing I couldn’t do, and that was the transporting.”
“Which is why we’re walking?”
“I suppose.” He stared out over the vista before them, concentrating. Finally he pointed. “That way I think. If we follow that river, I think I sense souls in need.” He turned to her. “What about you Miss Kelly? You were a guide once, do you feel anything?”
“I haven’t been a guide for a long time Brad.”
“But you did the training; you should still be able to do it.” He looked worried, in need of a bit of reassurance that he was right.
“I’ll try.” She said. Kelly closed her eyes and let her mind go blank. It had been a long time since she’d done this. She concentrated hard. There was a glimmer of something she hadn’t felt for a long time. She raised her finger and pointed while her eyes were still closed. She opened them and looked where she was indicating. It was roughly the same direction Brad had said they should go. “Well, I think that makes it unanimous Brad.” She smiled, pleased that she hadn’t completely forgotten the guides training.
Brad smiled back, glad that she had corroborated his previously unused skill.
“Good. It seems we’re on the right track then. We’d better start down and find somewhere to camp for the night.”
“I agree. My turn to lead?”
“After you.” He paused. “Junior Guide Kelly.” He smiled at her to show he meant it as a compliment.
“Thank you.” Kelly smiled back. “Junior Guide Brad.” They both laughed and then began their descent.

They hadn’t talked much since the second morning, each of dealing with the anger and embarrassment in their own way. For Brad it seemed the best way to keep his promise, to keep his exuberance in check. And Kelly was upset with herself for the way she had reacted, and she thought that her words had unintentionally encouraged Brad to speak the way he had. If that was the case it was better to say nothing so as not to provoke the boy into an unwanted response. What words they had exchanged was banal stuff about their route or how they were doing.
The discussion on the hilltop earlier had caused the mood between them to lighten and to cause them both to rethink a little. It looked like being a long journey and neither of them was particularly happy walking in silence. With this in mind, when they were making camp part of the way down the hill, Brad spoke.
“Miss Kelly, I’ve been wondering, can you tell me about your time here with the guide?” He thought this should be a safe subject for conversation, but he added. “You don’t have too if you don’t want too.”
“I don’t mind.” She smiled, glad that they seemed to be talking again. The smile made Brad thankful that he had asked the question.
“So, what was it like when you arrived here?”
“Well, the city was fairly new at that point. Up until then people had been arriving in dribs and drabs, easily dealt with on a one to one basis. Their problems were simpler to resolve as well, but the guide could see that all that was going to change quite soon, that a lot of unhappy people would be arriving in large groups within a short while. The city was founded so that there was somewhere for them to stay until their problems could be solved. He also realised that he would need help, so he selected a few new arrivals to train as junior guides.”
“And you were one of them?”
“Yes. He’s always been able to select people who can help him, although I think I am the only one to fail him as a guide.” She looked downcast for a moment.
“I don’t think you failed him. From what I’ve learnt he just had to use you before you were properly ready.” He gave her a sincere look. “Anyway, look at me. I’m not exactly a rip-roaring success. Perhaps he saw something else in both of us?”
“Maybe, I suppose.” Kelly sighed. “Anyway, after I messed up, I found I couldn’t do it any more. So the guide asked if I could help set up some administration to ease the processing, to speed up getting new arrivals to where they needed to be. For some reason I found it incredibly easy. Perhaps that’s what he intended all along.”
“What happened next?”
“Well for a very long time I just ran the administration for him, making the occasional suggestion that I thought would help things.”
“Such as?”
“The children’s home for example. I’d noticed that there were an increasing number of unattached children arriving with problems and nowhere to go. I suggested that it might be good for them to all be together, where there could be someone specifically to help them. Generally they’re not here long, their problems being easier to solve.”
“What about the radio station?”
“Well, I had been thinking for a long time about the restorative qualities of music…”
“I know what you mean! The way a song can make you feel better when you hear it, even if you’ve heard it loads of times before.”
“That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I did notice it happening quite often after we’d started broadcasting. The thing that had actually tipped it for me was the increasing number of new arrivals who asked what sort of music we had here. At that point we had none, so I worked out a proposal for the guide. He could see the benefits at once, so he asked me to set up the station.”
“Why give up the admin job though?”
“To be honest I thought that radio controller would be a more fulfilling job, plus my assistant was champing at the bit to take over, so it wasn’t that hard a decision.”
“How did you settle on the sort of music? There is such a variety.”
“Well, we just played the music that the DJ’s liked really. I didn’t impose any restrictions on them. To be honest, I would have liked some music from my era, but most of the people in the city are from much more recent times than me, so it was better to play tunes that they enjoyed.”
“Why not play some stuff YOU like when you get back? You’re the controller; you could slip in an hour of music you like once a week quite easily.”
“I could I suppose.” Kelly mused. “I’ll think about it, thanks Brad.”
By now they had set up the camp and got a fire going. Coffee was brewing once again and they settled down to drink it.
“Why are you so interested in me Brad?” Kelly asked, sipping from her cup.
“The guide.” He answered, knowing that honesty was best in this case. “He said it would be worth my while getting to know you. He was right, I’m glad I’ve tried.”
“The guide eh?” Kelly mused. “What is he up too now?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean he told me not to take you at face value, that you weren’t the delinquent you appeared to be, that I should get to know you before I made any snap judgements.”
“I think he sees more in us than we do ourselves.”
“You may be right. We’ll see how it goes then shall we?”
“Well, it’s been interesting so far, why not?” The cheeky grin spread over his face again.
“Indeed. Time for me to turn in anyway.”
Brad dutifully turned his back to let her remove her outer clothes and get into her sleeping bag.
“I’m glad we’re coming up to a river.” He said, looking down at the state his own garments were getting in. “Maybe I can wash these clothes.”

Twelve hours later he was regretting those words. It had begun to rain for the first time not long after they had struck camp. That had been a gentle rain. Now as they followed the river it had become an incessant driving rain, soaking through their jackets and trousers, and beating into their faces. It made it difficult to keep their eyes open and watch where they were going. Out of the corner of his eye Brad spotted a protected spot where they could pitch the shelter he had been carrying but hadn’t used yet. The side of the hill and a pair of large trees would keep much of the rain off. Although she hadn’t complained, he could tell Kelly was starting to feel cold, he could hear her teeth chattering, and he thought the sooner they could get undercover the better. With that in mind Brad began to move away from the rivers edge towards the sheltered spot, taking his back pack off to get the small tent out.
What exactly happened next neither of them was sure. Kelly was protecting her face by looking down and didn’t see that Brad wasn’t leading her. Brad thought that Kelly was following him away from the river. As he put down his pack he heard a splash. He span around and couldn’t see Kelly anywhere. Panicking a little he ran back to the riverbank and saw her thrashing about in the muddied waters below the spot where she had slipped off the bank. Without hesitation he jumped into the water and grabbed her unceremoniously under the arms, keeping her head up out of the overflowing river water. He pulled her to the muddy bank and out of the raging torrent. She spluttered and splashed her way soggily to where he had dropped his pack while he fished hers out of the water. Kelly was shivering uncontrollably as Brad came up to her.
“Miss Kelly, you’ve got to keep warm.” He fished a dry blanket out of his pack. “Wrap this around yourself.” She took it and sat down. Brad massaged her arms to get some warmth back into them. She looked at him blankly, but got the hint and continued to rub her hands up and down her arms as Brad erected the tent as quickly as he could. As soon as it was up, he bundled Kelly inside, telling her to get out of her wet things, find something dry in his pack and then get into a sleeping bag. He put his pack into the tent after her, as it contained the only dry sleeping bag and dry clothes they had. As she struggled to do as he ordered, Brad was creating a windbreak with the wet blankets so he could try and light a fire, but it was raining too much for that. His thoughts turned again to Kelly. “Kelly, are you all right?” He asked at the entrance to the tent. When he got no reply he stuck his head in. She had managed to take off her wet clothing and even replace them with his spare underthings, but crawling into the sleeping bag had exhausted her. She was curled up and shivering even worse than before. Brad realised what he was going to have to do to get her body temperature back up, and she was going to hate him for it. Sighing he kicked off his boots and got undercover. Inside he took off his wet outer clothing and then, hoping she would understand that this was the only way, slipped into the sleeping bag with her, wrapping his arms around her, to use his body heat to raise hers.
“W…What are you d…doing?” Kelly asked, through her chattering teeth.
“I have to get you warm Miss Kelly. This is the only way. The blankets are soaked, so are your clothes, I can’t get a fire lit outside and I can’t light one in here.”
“O…okay. I g…get it.” She was still shivering. Brad held her tightly to him, careful where he put his hands. “T…talk t…to me.”
“What should I say?”
“A…anything. H…how d…did you g…get here?”
“I was young and stupid. I thought I could impress some friends by arriving at their party on my brother’s motorbike, but I crashed into a tree going too fast around a bend.”
“W…why d…did you end up h…here th…though?”
“I guess I had some unresolved issues.”
“L…like w…what?”
“I’m not sure, that’s probably why I’m still here.” He could feel Kelly getting warmer. Her shivering was lessening and her teeth no longer chattered. “Are you feeling better?”
“A little.”
“Then I’d better get back outside and try the fire again.”
“No. Hold me, at least until the rain eases.”
“Are you sure Miss Kelly?”
“I’m sure Brad. At least for now.”
“You had me worried for a while, I thought you might die or something.”
“We can’t die, we’re already dead Brad.”
“We can’t die in the city, but out here? Who knows?”
“You’re right.” Kelly smiled. “I’m happy to have proved your worries needless.”
“So am I. Just rest for now.”

Kelly awoke with a start. The sound of the horrendous rain of the day before had gone. The only noise was that of the tent flapping in the breeze. She caught the smell of wood smoke and fresh coffee drifting on the air. She slid out of the sleeping bag and looked around for her clothes. The only things inside the tent were Brad’s pack and his spare set of clothes with a note on them. She picked up the note to read it. It said; Wear these. She shrugged and pulled on the shirt and shorts, noting as she did that she was wearing his spare underwear. Memories of the previous day came rushing back. The sudden terrifying drop into the river. The shock of entering the ice cold water. Brad hauling her out of the swollen torrent. Him bundling her into the hastily erected tent with the command to put on his dry things and get into the sleeping bag. And the careful tender way he had held her close to him to warm her frozen body. Kelly smiled to herself as she opened the tent flap. He wasn’t really the delinquent he tried to be after all.
She popped her head through the tent opening into glorious sunshine. It wasn’t the sun that caused her to gasp though; it was the scene before her. Brad had managed to hang up every wet piece of clothing and equipment to dry out. It was all fluttering merrily in the sun-kissed breeze. With a start she realised that included all her underthings. She quickly scrambled out to see if they at least were dry. To her relief they were, so she hurriedly took them down, away from prying eyes.
“Good morning Miss Kelly.” Brad called out brightly as he came back into the camp carrying some more wood for the drying fire. “Feeling better now?”
“Yes…Yes thank you.” She said, attempting to hide the recently dry undergarments from his view.
“Why are you trying to hide those from me? It was me who hung them up.”
“I…I realise that.” Kelly felt foolish now. “It’s just that I’m embarrassed that you’ve seen them.” That sounded even sillier she thought.
“It’s not like you’re wearing them Miss Kelly.” He smiled as he knelt by the fire with the wood he had collected.
“It’s just…embarrassing.” She tailed off. “Can we just leave it at that?”
“Sure. I won’t mention it again.”
“What about my other clothes?”
“Your spare set should be dry soon.”
“What about the ones I was wearing?”
“I had to wash them properly earlier; they were caked with mud.”
“How long until everything is dry then?”
“I think we’re going to have to stay here today and start afresh in the morning. That way we should have got it all dry. That’s if you agree?” He looked up at her questioningly.
“I don’t mind. I could do with a bit of a rest anyway; I’m afraid I’m not as fit as you.”
“Of course you are. You just don’t realise it.”
“Have it your way Brad. But can we get some of my clothes dry so that I can change?”
“If you like. Any reason for the rush?”
“I just feel strange wearing your clothes.” Kelly shrugged.
“You look okay in them. But you’d rather have your own on?”
“Please Brad. It makes me feel like I’m imposing on you.”
“I’d do anything for you Miss Kelly, even give up my clothes.” He grinned. “But if you want your own back, your wish is my command.” He began to arrange her clothes around the fire so that they dried more quickly. He turned to face her. “I’ll only mention this now, never again, but you do know why I had to get into the bag with you last night don’t you? I wouldn’t want you to think I had any other intent than to keep you warm.” He looked really worried. So worried that Kelly almost laughed.
“Yes, I know why. And it’s sweet of you to worry about me.” She took his hand. “You were right before, I have changed. In fact I think I’m still changing, hopefully for the better.” She smiled to show she meant it. “Now, what is there to eat?”

They broke camp early the next morning, both eager to be on the move again. So eager that all they had to do was pack up the tent, everything else having been stowed the previous evening. As they took down the canvas shelter Kelly spoke.
“Brad, why did we never use the tent before?”
“I didn’t think we needed too Miss Kelly. And you never mentioned it; it was in plain sight on my back pack all the time.” His worried look returned.
“I’m not accusing you of anything Brad, I just thought that things might have been less embarrassing all round if I’d had the tent to change in.” She smiled to show that she genuinely wasn’t upset.
“A good point. I’m deeply sorry that I didn’t think of it. We can put it up every night from now on if you want.”
“I suspect that we’re a bit past that point now Brad. We’ll just use it on cold or wet nights.”
“We? You’re saying I can use the tent with you?”
“Of course, you silly. You’re the one carrying it. Besides, like I said, I think that we, or rather, I, are beyond the embarrassment now.” Her grin broadened to show she meant it.
“If you’re sure Miss Kelly.”
“I am.” She nodded. “And you can leave off the ‘Miss’ now Brad. You’ve had your arms around me while I was nearly undressed.” She reddened shyly.
But not as much as Brad.
“Thank you.” He said. “But please don’t keep reminding me.”
“Brad! You’re not embarrassed are you?”
“To be honest, more than a little.”
“After all that talk about my bottom?”
“I’m all talk Miss Kelly.” He hung his head. “That was the first time I’ve ever been so close to a girl.”
“It was that horrible for you was it?”
“NO! No, it was incredibly nice, but it left me with feelings I don’t know how to handle. Could…could you help me try?”
“Well, I’ll give it a go Brad, but I’m not that experienced myself you know?” She paused, pursing her lips. “It’s a pity Dave and Sue have gone. I’m sure they could have helped both of us.” She sighed.
“We’ll just have to work it out ourselves then.” Brad said as he finished strapping the tent to his backpack. “Are we ready?” They both glanced around the little hollow, making sure they had picked everything up. “Let’s get going then.”

They spent the next day or so talking about their lives as they followed the meandering river. Sometime around the middle of the second day since the long stop Brad, who was leading, halted suddenly Kelly walking into him.
“What’s the matter?” She asked.
He was staring ahead.
“I think.” He said. “That I can see smoke from a campfire beyond that forest.” He pointed.
Kelly looked in the direction he was indicating, and then she saw it too, a thin wisp of smoke rising above the tree tops.
“Brad! We were right!! We’ve found someone!” She said excitedly. “Come on, let’s find out who.” Her eyes were shining with joy.
“It’s at least a day away Kelly.” Brad sounded dubious. “They might be mobile like us.”
“But we should be able to sense them. Come on, concentrate.”
They both closed their eyes and felt for the souls.
“There are only two or three of them.” Brad said slowly.
“That’s what I feel too, but it’s a start.”
They quickened their pace; Brad keeping a fix on their target, Kelly guiding them through the landscape. By that evening both of them felt that they were really close, but elected to halt and approach the camp in the morning. They spent a good deal of that night talking about what they were going to say when they met those lost souls, deciding eventually that the best thing to do was treat it like a normal collection as they had been trained.

The next morning they broke camp early and went to find the other encampment. It only took them ten or so minutes. With a look at each other for reassurance they strode in. By common agreement it was Kelly who spoke.
“Hello! Anybody here? We’ve been looking for you. Hello?”
Three men came out of a hastily erected shelter, looking at Brad and Kelly in a curious way.
“Why would base send a woman and a child to look for us? We were due back in two days.” The tallest one said. He was dressed as an Edwardian sailor.
“We never said we came from your base. You know where the others are? How many?”
“There are about two hundred of us.” The man frowned. “Look, who are you then?”
“We are your guides on this plane of existence.”
“What sort of talk is that?”
“You are dead.” Kelly said matter of factly. “We are to guide you to where you are supposed to be.”
“A boy and a young woman? I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true.” Brad spoke, for the first time.
“Be quiet! Children should be seen and not heard.” The man snapped.
“Yeah, well things have changed since you died.” Brad snapped back.
“Even if I accept that we are dead, I seriously doubt much has altered in three months.”
“Sorry, but your ship sank over one hundred years ago.” Kelly said sadly.
“A hundred years? I don’t believe you. We’ve only been here for three months!”
“It’s the truth, and it’s my fault you were not picked up then. I was supposed to collect you that night, but I made a mess of it. By the time I arrived you had all become lost in the wastes of time.” She hung her head.
“Collected? Like an angel?” One of the other men asked.
“I suppose. We have been given many names throughout time. Valkyries for example as well as angels. But the premise is the same; we guide the souls of the dead to a safe haven.”
“Surely that is not a job for a woman and a child?” The big man asked, beginning to believe them.
“Don’t keep calling me a child.” Brad sounded a little exasperated.
“Everyone is equal in death.” Kelly said, ignoring his outburst.
“You mean..?”
“Yes, both of us have already left the mortal plane. I before you, my young companion more recently.”
For all his apparent bluster, the leader now sagged in despair.
“I knew deep down that we were dead, we all did, but we hoped otherwise.” He straightened up. “What..? What happens next?”
“Well, if you take us to the others, we will guide you to where you are supposed to be, where I should have brought you a long time ago.”
“All right. Base camp is about two days away. We follow the river.” Kelly and Brad smiled at each other: They had been right about the direction then.

They found out that their three new companions were one of a number of foraging parties sent out to collect as much food as they could locate. Kelly wondered why there was such a large group of people together. The guide had said that the others had been arriving in much smaller bands, the largest being about twenty-five. From the sailor she found out that they were all those who were still on the ship when she sank which seemed to make some kind of sense. They had become lost in time in packets and this had been the largest one.
As they walked Brad and Kelly discussed how they were going to get such a large group to the city. Trekking back through the wilderness might be difficult with some many.
“Can’t you transport them Kelly?” Brad asked.
“I don’t think so. That was a worry for me back then too. How about you?”
“The numbers wouldn’t be a problem, but I have problems with materialising in the right place. My spatial awareness seems to be off.”
Kelly thought for a while.
“Maybe we could combine our skills.” She said slowly. “I may be able to show you how to get them to the right place.”
“And I can show you how to cope with more than one person. This could work Kelly.”
“It might. I think we’d better ask them if they are prepared to take the risk of us messing up though.”
“I suppose.”
“It is their future after all.”
“When you put it like that… All right. We’ll give them the choice.”

As they entered the encampment Kelly looked around, appalled at the conditions, even more appalled that it was her error that had led these people to this. Brad tried to reassure her but couldn’t, he himself feeling upset at the scene. It reminded him of the pictures he had seen from refugee camps. They made their way through the rough shelters until they found the ships captain, who had gone down with his ship. One look at his drawn and haggard face told Kelly that his would not be a quick journey to self-redemption. He had the same look in his eyes that she still got when she was feeling bad. He shook their hands.
“Welcome. My seaman tells me you have come to take us to our reward. I suspect mine may be somewhat fiery.”
“Don’t do yourself down sir.” Kelly replied. “If that was the place where you were destined to go, that is where you would be.”
“Thank you for that. However I still feel responsible for these peoples plight.”
“No more than I, I assure you. But it will pass, I assure you of that too, it WILL pass.” She gave a sad smile. “Now, my young associate and I have two ideas for getting you all to our city. Both have risks. The least risky but definitely slower option is simple; we walk. You can see the problems there straight away. It took the two of us ten days to get here. I suspect it would take at least twice as long to get over two hundred people over the same distance.”
“The second option?” The captain asked.
“The second option is instantaneous transport but that involves using skills we have been taught but are not confidant in using. We are happy to try either. We leave the final decision to you and your people.”
“Which option do you recommend?”
“We think the quicker the better.” Brad said. “There is no reason to prolong your waiting. But as Kelly has said, we are not fully confidant of our abilities.”
The captain gave a wane smile.
“I think you would not have been sent if someone did not trust your skills, fully developed or not.” He swept his hand over the camp. “I will speak to those here and give you our decision.”

Brad and Kelly stood before the assembled crowd.
“You are all sure you wish to try this?” Kelly asked.
“We are.” The captain replied.
“Okay then.” Kelly sighed. She turned to Brad. “Ready?”
“Not really.”
“Me neither.” She turned back to the assembly. “If you could all hold hands please. That will help to keep us all together.” She clasped Brad’s hand tightly.
“Where are we aiming for?” He asked.
“The park. It’s big and it’s open.”
“Good choice. Let’s do this.” The two of them concentrated, each feeling the other helping them. The encampment vanished from view.

They materialised closer to the children’s home than Kelly intended, but still in the park, near the playground in fact. She took a quick look around to make sure everyone was safe; they were. She whooped with joy.
“Brad! Brad! We did it!! We did it!!!” She threw her arms around the unsuspecting boy and hugged him, kissing his face repeatedly with joy. A little surprised, Brad let her enthusiasm wash over him until she calmed down. As she pulled away he looked into her flushed and excited face.
“Kelly, you’ve done it. You succeeded.”
“WE succeeded Brad. It was you as well.”
The Captain and the first sailor they had met came over.
“We would all like to thank you for getting us here.” The captain said.
“Yes, thank you.” The sailor added.
“I should have got you here a long time ago.” Kelly said.
“But you did get us here eventually.” The captain held out his hand to each of them in turn. They shook his hand and that of the sailor. The two men went back to the milling crowd as people from the city began to arrive and sort out the new arrivals. As they left Brad turned to look at Kelly once more.
“Kelly, your eyes have gone green.” He said, with a hint of trepidation.
“They have? I don’t feel any different.”
As Brad nodded in confirmation the guide appeared in his usual unobtrusive manner. Kelly was never sure if he materialised out of thin air or just wandered up when no-one was looking.
“Guide, what does this mean?” She asked.
“You know what it means Miss Kelly. It means that the next time you wake up, you will be where you need to be.”
“But I don’t want to go.” It was almost a wail.
“Nevertheless, when next you wake, you will be where you need to be.” The guide gave her a secret smile.
Brad moved to stand in front of Kelly.
“Kelly, I’m really glad for you. You deserve it after all this time.”
“Thank you Brad. You’ve helped me so much, is there anything I can do for you?”
“C…could I have one proper kiss?” He asked tentatively. In answer she took his head in her hands and kissed him hard. Brad was a little shocked at first but soon responded in kind until Kelly broke away.
“That was nice.” She said. “Can I ask something of you now Brad?”
“You know I’ll do anything for you.”
“Then you kiss me now.” Brad gulped hesitantly. “Please Brad.”
Screwing up his nerve he put his arms around her back and pulled her towards him. As she moved forward Kelly reached behind her and moved one of Brad’s hands down onto her bottom. He took the hint and dropped the other hand to the same place. The kiss lasted for a long time. As Brad pulled back he could see devilment in Kelly’s still green eyes.
“Phew! That was worth waiting for.” She smiled a happy smile. “I think I’m going to miss you Brad.”
“I know I’m going to miss you Kelly.”
The guide cleared his throat.
“Brad, could you help get these people to the induction centre?” He asked, indicating the rescued souls now being assisted by several of the junior guides. “And then take the rest of the day off. Meet me here at eight in the morning.” He handed him a card. “I just want a few words with Kelly alone.”
“Of course sir.” Brad bustled off, but not before Kelly caught the hint of tears in his eyes.
“He will be all right won’t he?” Kelly said, reddening for no apparent reason.
“Yes, I hope he will be as right as rain fairly soon.”
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Kelly asked.
“I just want to thank you. You have helped Brad achieve his potential, and you have finally managed to complete your assignment. A good job as ever Miss Kelly. I may really miss your help.”
“Thank you sir. You and Brad have helped me too.” She shook his hand. “What should I do now?”
“That’s entirely up to you my dear. You have the rest of the day to do as you wish. Say farewells, have a party, whatever you want.”
“There are one or two people I’d like to see, but I’m actually quite tired. I might have an early night.”
The guide smiled.
“And get it over with?”
“And get it over with.”

Kelly found the friends she wanted to see and then made her way back to the flat she had occupied for so long. She found her mind was full of thoughts about how improvements could be made to the collections, the admin and the radio station. She sat at her desk and began to write out a few suggestions for the guide to find. The first thing that she wrote down was the idea that Brad should take her place at the station. It had made her happy and she thought it might do the same for him. Without realising it Kelly worked on the list until late into the night when it was quite long. She read through it one last time and then with a sigh began to get ready for bed. As she slipped beneath the covers she started to think again. She was going to miss working for the guide. She was going to miss working at the station even more than she thought possible. And to her own enormous surprise she was really going to miss Brad. Kelly finally drifted off to sleep with thoughts of Brad running through her head.

She awoke slowly, wondering where she was. Only one way to find out, she thought, and snapped her eyes open. To her utter shock she was still in her bedroom! Something must have gone wrong. She looked at the clock and saw that it was after seven in the morning. Whatever had happened, that was the time to get up. She slid out from beneath the sheets and walked over to the window. As she looked out she could see that it was a lovely day out there. There was a whistle from someone passing below. She suddenly realised she was only in her underclothes. She realised that the past few weeks had changed her. Sleeping in just her skimpies had become a habit during the quest, before she would never have even thought about such a shocking thing. And as for letting anyone see her with so few clothes on… Pulling on a dressing gown she found her mind returning to their arrival in the park. She now began to remember little things the guide had said. Or more importantly, how he had said them. She would wake ‘where she needed to be’. He hoped Brad would be all right ‘fairly soon’. He ‘may’ miss her help. And that knowing smile. It seemed that he was hinting that she wasn’t destined to leave here after all! There was a knock at her door. Before she opened it Kelly knew that it would be the guide.
“Hello guide. Come in. You don’t seem to be surprised to see me?” She asked as she opened the door.
“Not surprised, glad actually. I had to leave the choice to you. There was a faint possibility that you wanted to leave.” The guide smiled, following her into the flat. “I believe you may have some suggestions for me?” She pointed to the list on her desk. He picked it up and gave it a quick read. “Sorry about the first one. Brad will have to make do with being your assistant.” He grinned.
“I can accept that.” She grinned back. A thought struck her. “Actually it might be even better. Between us Brad and I can assume the responsibility of selecting candidates for the jobs at the station. It will be one less thing for you to do.”
“You know Kelly.” The guide smiled benignly. “I think one day you might actually be able to take over from me.”
“Oh, I couldn’t do that sir!”
“I think you could, but not for a while yet eh?” He said with a twinkle in his eye. There was another knock at the door. “That should be Brad.”
“How do you know?”
“This was where I asked him to meet me yesterday on that card.” He shrugged. “But I can sense it’s him anyway. Are you going to let him in, or shall I?”
“I think you had better. I should probably put some clothes on.”
“For your sake or his?”
“I’m not too sure. Just let him in please.” She said over her shoulder as she went into her bedroom.

Brad was a little surprised when he realised that the guide wanted to meet him at Kelly’s flat. What had been Kelly’s flat, he corrected himself. He had been here just that once, before they had set out into the wilderness. Perhaps the guide wanted some help to clear it out, but it seemed a bit menial for the chief to be doing that. The guide opened the door to him.
“Ah, Brad. I asked you here to meet your new boss.”
“Someone else has moved in already?” Brad asked a little shocked.
“No! I’m still here.” Kelly said as she came out of the bedroom, zipping up her skirt.
“Kelly! But I thought you got ‘green-eye’?” He stared open-mouthed
“I did. But apparently this is where I’m supposed to be.” She grinned at him. “Close your mouth Brad, it looks silly.”
“Sorry.” He shook himself. “Did you say she was going to be my boss?” He asked the guide. “Doing what?”
“Knowing Kelly, you’ll have some title like ‘personnel procurement officer’, but basically it seems she wants you to help her run the radio station.”
“You do?” He turned back to Kelly, who was now brushing her hair.
“Don’t you want to work with me?” She asked, tugging at a knot.
“More than anything. I… I think I love you Kelly.”
“I think I knew that. Just as well, because I love you too.”
“You do? That makes me really happy.”
“I can tell. Your eyes have just gone green.” Kelly looked across at the guide. “He’s not going to go away now is he?”
“Well, as with you, it is up to him. But I doubt it somehow.” For the first time that Kelly could ever remember, the guide had a cheeky grin on his face. “Kiss him again to make sure.”
“Why not?” She said, walking up to the astonished Brad. They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed. They kissed for so long that the guide had gone by the time they finished.

The guide walked away, smiling to himself. This was what the city was really about; a place where people could find themselves. That was why he called himself ‘The Guide’, not because he guided people to here, but because he guided them to find themselves when they got here. He walked on.