A woman in a black suit accented with gold line designs was behind the kitchen counter. Her right hand wearing a gleaming golden gauntlet ending in sharp claws held the tub of strawberry ice cream she got from the fridge. She seemed to be reading its nutrition facts label. Her white wispy hair floated in the air like she was underwater as she moved to the microwave by the cabinets.

Her shoulders were heaving. I couldn’t tell if she was giggling or sobbing because of the black and white mask with a huge smile covering her face. Who am I kidding? She was obviously laughing.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, putting my hands on my hips.

Hello there, my dear Erind…” SpookyErind sang with a childish melody. She waved the ice cream pint at me before putting it inside the microwave. Her claw poked the control panel and it turned on, its hum peculiarly muffled and slowed. Just helping prepare your treats.

“That’s nice,” I dryly said.

You’ve been through a lot so you deserve to eat a lot, she said, repeating what I was thinking moments ago, perhaps intentionally doing it to unnerve me.

I narrowed my eyes. Two can play that game, I thought as I put on the friendliest smile that I could ever make, and said with a cutesy, high-pitched voice, “I missed me so much. Miss you! Me you?”

Meyouyouyou, continued SpookyErind, giggling. She threw her head back, breaking into fits of laughter. Her mask—or rather, the face she didn’t want me to borrow—crumbled into light particles and faded in the air, revealing her face that was a demon version of mine. Her mesmerizing eyes of burning ruby met my gaze. Do you really miss me? It was eerie watching her speak, a disconnect between her moving mouth and the sound, which wasn’t coming from her since her voice directly popped inside my head. Miss meyoumeyoumeyou—

“Honestly? Yeah…I guess so.” I shrugged. I somehow truly missed her. My short time wielding Penemue made me remember the freeness whenever I was with SpookyErind. I didn’t need to have my guard up because my mind was already open like a book. “You can read my mind. You know I’m telling the truth.”

She melodramatically put her hands to her chest, clasping them together as if in prayer, exaggeratedly saying, Is that so? I’m touched you feel that way.

“And it kinda felt like ages since we last met. How long ago was it again?”

Time? You’re asking me about time?

“Oh yeah, time is meaningless to you. It was just several days ago, not even a week, yet it felt like such a long time has passed.”

Probably because you’ve just been up to a lot. Busy, busy, busy, pretty little other me.

“There’s just so much nonsense going on,” I exclaimed, my voice rising at the end. I exasperatedly threw my hands in the air. “The world just wouldn’t let me be. So annoying.” The microwave dinged done. Watching SpookyErind get the strawberry ice cream from inside it, I continued, “To be fair, this time, it was mostly me looking for trouble.”

Did you have lots of fun?

“I guess I did.” I stared at the tub of ice cream, zoning out in deep thought. “Probably the most fun I’ve had. Yeah, I can’t remember any other time I had this much fun ever.”

And that’s what's important. She gave me a thumbs up.

“I think I’m getting used to it though.”

Eh? I’m sure you’ll find new ways to have fun. She opened a drawer, took out a spoon, and walked to my side of the kitchen counter. The clicking of her heels on the floor sounded as if it was coming from several rooms away.

When I commented I was ‘getting used to it’, I didn’t mean the fun itself but the nearly-dying-a-lot part. The latter was the reason for the former, but those were still different. SpookyErind knew what I meant because she could read my mind. So, what was she trying to tell me by ‘find new ways to have fun’?

Before I could decide whether to ask her for clarification or not, she opened the tub and scooped out a spoonful of melted ice cream, shoving it into her mouth. “Hey! That’s mine,” I protested.

Relax, will you? Think of it as I’m eating on your behalf.

“Can you even eat like normal food? What do you eat?”

We’re one and the same, so melted ice cream should be fine. She went in for another scoop with a teasing grin on her face. Meyoumeyou—

“Meyoumeyou—whatever, yeah, yeah. Just don’t eat my stuff.” I tried to grab it from her, but I moved so fucking slow that a geriatric snail could beat me in a race.

Tell you what, she said as she leisurely pranced away from my reach and stood behind Deen’s chair. In return for the ice cream, I’ll lend you a new face.

“Huh? A new one?” That made me a bit thrilled. I rarely got excited when my parents gave me gifts that I had to approximate the emotion to keep up with the expectations of the specific occasion. This time though, I was eager to see what SpookyErind had for me. But I was also wary. “Wait, what’s the catch here? Why the new face?”

Because you’re not being very careful, you reckless girly you, she said in a tone that made me unsure if she was seriously scolding me or just kidding around. She balanced the ice cream pint with a spoon in it on top of frozen Deen’s head. Then she opened her clawed gauntlet. Golden liquid rose from the numerous crystals on its palm.

I held my breath. The swirling liquid turned to glossy deep blue, reminding me of sapphire. It solidified, settling on SpookyErind’s hand. “Wow, that looks pretty,” I said, “and also pretty normal.”

It was sparkling blue with a design similar to those worn at masquerade parties. The clients of the 2Ms attending the fights at Eve’s underground arena had used masks like this to hide their identities. Its surface was like a tiled mosaic, each tiny square with a different shade of blue, seemingly individual gems put together. Incredibly beautiful. It was also very tame compared to the other two faces SpookyErind had lent me.

This was something I could wear to a ball, although I couldn’t recall the last I had attended, probably back in high school. ‘Masquerade mask’ was what I always called this design even if its proper name was ‘domino mask’. Domino? That sounded like a cool name for my new transformation.

Normal? You can say that. SpookyErind chuckled suspiciously. I swore I detected a mischievous glint in her mesmerizing eyes. Look at you, already thinking of a new name.

“Shoo, stop reading my mind,” I said. “Anyway, didn’t you already give me Pino to protect myself? It has an indestructible body and is great at supporting others with its powers so I won’t be at the front—”

But did you use it that way?

“Ah…no.”

See? You suck.

“Ouch. In my defense, I don’t like relying on others and you gave me that mask to enjoy watching me fumble around with other people.” She glared at me, her red eyes burning. Did I push too far? I backtracked a bit; I didn’t want to get stuck in this limbo. “Uh, you’re right! I suck at using Pino. Is that why you’re giving me a new face?”

I’m sure you’ll eventually figure out how to use Pino the right way. Her features softened in the blink of an eye. You have eaten enough that you should be able to use Pino.

“Maybe I could test some of the fingers on Deen?”

However, since you like having fun so much, I decided to give you another face to help you along. You’re doing fine so far. Hopefully, you’ll last longer than the last.

Reading between the lines, SpookyErind disapproved of my propensity to put myself in dangerous situations for the thrill of it. The good news was that she appeared to truly care about my survival. The bad news was she wanted me to stay alive for some reason. The badder news was that there were others she had used before who ended up dying. She had already hinted before that there were other people before me. Was there a way to know about them?

Then I thought of a better question to ask her. “What’s the condition for that face? I had to consume Adumbrae to power Pino, so how about that one?”

She held up six fingers and told me, Use once every six days, can last up to six hours, and have fun for six seconds.

“That sounds like an ad for sex enhancement supplements.”

You’re planning to transform for bonking purposes?

“Bonk? Hey, you use that term too. Meyou. And no, gross.” I stuck my tongue out at her. “So there is no precondition to using this other than I can use it once every six days? That seems more accessible than Pino. Still, this all sounds very sketchy…I still don’t know what’s the catch.”

Why do you have to be suspicious of my help all the time? She folded her arms across her chest and pouted. So far, you’re still alive, aren’t you?

“That’s true. You’ve told me when I can use it, but how do I use it?”

Bah, you’re asking too many questions. She was giggling, which wasn’t a good sign. If the Pino face was funny to her because it forced me to do something I detested—relying on others—then this face should also have some similar twist to it. Live life, you know? Why fret about nitty-gritty details if you can just go out and experience the world?

“Sure, I’ll put on a good show,” I said with a sigh.

Just remember that this mask is for your survival…although I’m not sure if you’ll be able to use its full power. She picked up the ice cream on Deen’s head. I’ll be taking this then and—

“I have one more question! Don’t leave just yet.”

Sure. She resumed eating the strawberry ice cream.

“Penemue. I mean, did you meet…someone inside my head?”

Yeah. I said hello.

My gut feeling was Penemue’s group was the one Bianca was looking for—Adumbrae who could control themselves. SpookyErind knew I was aiming for something like that, but she didn’t care since she was certain I couldn’t achieve it. Perhaps that was the fate of the “others” before me? I wanted to ask more about Penemue and try to pry for clues, but she could read my mind and know my intentions. Maybe she’d get angry if I ask—

I will, she said in between scooping melted ice cream into her mouth.

I jerked in surprise. “Um, sorry. I’ll give you this chocolate ice cream too if you won’t get angry with me.”

I want a hug instead!

“A hug? You know that I don’t like—"

We’ve hugged before. And you did it with Deen. Spooky Erind spread her arms wide. “Compared to Deen, I’m you, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I’m you…meyoumeyou—

“I’ll give you a hug if you stop chanting.”

Come here, you reckless girly, you.

“Please don’t let that be a new thing,” I said as I put my arms around her. She was a tad taller than me because of her heels, my chin could barely reach above her collar. Somehow, I didn’t feel repulsed being close to SpookyErind. With Deen, I had to control my impulse to push her away whenever we hugged.

Ice cream hug! SpookyErind embraced me tightly, even pushing my head into her cotton candy hair.

Some of her wispy hair tickled my nose. I couldn’t hold back the oncoming sneeze.

“Achoo!” Cold stuff flecked my face, surprising me. “The—” The fuck?! I continued in my mind. I nearly cursed out loud, and I would’ve done so since I was just with SpookyErind. But I suddenly sensed something different so I clamped my mouth shut.

“If only Everett is here, then he can—Erind?” It was Deen. She looked at me with concern, no longer frozen. “Are you alright?” she asked.

I wiped the ice cream splatters off my face with the front of my hand. Haha, very funny, SpookyErind, I thought sarcastically. She returned me to the real world—or at least, my world—at the moment I was drinking melted ice cream. “Just, um, probably too much cold making me sneeze. What were you saying?”

“Everett can melt that ice cream quickly,” she said. “Maybe you should lay off it for a bit if the cold is getting to you?”

“That’s another reason why I’m going to microwave it.” I stopped and held up the tub of chocolate ice cream, trying to make sense of the needling sensation I had. There was something I should remember.

Deen waved at me to catch my attention. “Earth to Erind.”

I stared at her. There was an ice cream pint on her head earlier.

“What’s up with you?” she said.

“Strawberry!" I blurted out. I rushed to check the fridge. The tub of strawberry ice cream was there and still unopened. I removed the lid to check inside—not one scoop missing.

It did seem SpookyErind couldn’t affect reality other than through me using the powers she gave me. She mentioned the strawberry ice cream was the payment for the new face. That might’ve been a joke, but perhaps I should eat this one on her behalf.

“Erind—”

“I was just thinking if I should taste this flavor too."

“It's not that. You have a message.” She waved my phone at me. Technically, it was her phone, another one that she lent me since the other phone I was using got destroyed yesterday. “It’s from your mom.”

What a coincidence. I was just thinking of buying a new phone, among other things, when I meet Mom. Yesterday, I had texted her the first moment I got, letting her know I was safe. I’m a good daughter. Plus, I didn’t want her to worry that she couldn’t contact me through Deen’s other phone.

Later that day, she told me her flight was canceled because a lot of bullshit—not her actual words—was going on at the airports of La Esperanza. Something about the BID testing everyone, redirecting flights, all of that stuff, to give the public the impression they had control of the situation. It was mostly for show since it was impossible to check the city's half a million residents, plus the thousands of tourists.

“How’s your mom?” Deen said.

“Doing well. She found a new flight scheduled this Wednesday.”

“Wow, that’s lucky she got an available flight. I can’t wait to meet her when she arrives here.”

“No, not here. She says it’s impossible to book a flight to La Esperanza within the month. Everything is either fully booked or canceled. She opted for Vegas instead. We have a condo unit there because, you know, she works with Greaves and that place is the center of the bioaugmentronics industry in the country. She wants me to go there, instead of her coming to La Esperanza, which is way more difficult. She’d eventually leave to go back to her job abroad, but she wants me to stay there in Vegas for a while until stuff in this city calms down.”

“Oh.” Deen’s face fell.

“Mom also has a message for you.” I was hesitant to tell her about it that I half-considered pretending it wasn’t there. However, Mom would eventually want to meet or talk to Deen and she’d know I didn’t tell her about this.

“For me? What is it?”

“Uh…she’s asking if you want to stay at our condo in Vegas too. You know, to, um, repay for letting me stay here?” Pleasesaynopleasesaynopleasesayno.

Deen’s face perked up like the strongest searchlight getting switched on. “I’d be delighted to!”

Fuck…