"God taught me how to kiss," Rani said. She tipped her hand back and the silver pills spilled into her mouth.

I wanted to save her. But she was my reflection. She never lied. I couldn't stay. I couldn't help her. Not now.

That knowledge hurt more than anything. I loved her. My deep and ancient sister. My heart.

I couldn't fight her war. The universe was too big, too recursive.

"Will you meet me in Heaven's Hollow?" I asked. "Next month, come back and let's go to the Boogie. I'll talk to that lady with you. Maybe she's real."

Yeah, just maybe. A nameless color spread in my mind as Rani smiled. Crazy woman--she was a monkey wrench in the works of an American milkshake. I scrunched my eyes shut and hugged the color that we'd once dreamed awake. A stray thought regarding the heat death of the sun slipped in then, and I wondered what sacrifice I'd give to keep my life.

"I'll be there, no matter what," she said.

We hugged, her arms like oak saplings around me.