"You are so full of shit," I told her.

"Well, there was that whole marriage thing. That was kind of embarrassing."

"You were married?"

"You don't have to say that like it's so hard to imagine," she said. "I used to be pretty attractive."

I scoffed. "Used to be? More than you are now?"

She smiled and said quietly, "That's very sweet. But I'm forty-years-old and no one your age is going to find me attractive.'

"You're full of shit again," I told her. "And we both know it." I paused. "And no, I wasn't doubting your ability to land anyone you wanted. I was just surprised anyone would give you up afterwards."

"I can be high maintenance," she told me. "I thought I was smarter than he was and made better choices. He didn't like my attitude."

"Were you? Smarter?"

"In my opinion, yes," she said. "In his, no. There are two sides to every story."

"What was his name?"

"David," she said. "I was living in Chicago at the time. Last I heard, he was still there. We married when I was twenty-five and divorced three years later. I moved here from Chicago when I got a job with Renea as an account representative."

She told me the entire story. I didn't understand why she felt it was embarrassing. When she finished, she said, "Andrea knows all about it. Karen does not. I would rather it never come up again, either with me or anyone else."

"You don't like to think about past relationships?" I asked.

"I don't like to think about the ones in which I was insanely stupid," she replied. "With David, I was insanely stupid."

"So, how about now?" I asked. "Seeing anyone special?"

She smiled. "Right now? Just you."

I laughed.

Saturday night, Dream Petra was waiting for me. She wrapped a blanket around me and took me to her tower.

"Why do you never talk to me?" I asked her. "Maybe a few words, but the only time it's been more than two or three, was that one night."

She looked at me, humming and singing. She seemed to come to a decision. She pulled me to the center of the room and stepped back with a "stay here" gesture. She stopped humming and said, "You're not going to like this."

"You can talk!"

"Of course I can, but you're not going to like it." She paused. "Before you notice, I'm going to tell you, I'm not doing it to you. My humming and singing is what keeps it from happening."

"Keeps what from happening?"

"Notice you're getting shorter?"

I hadn't, but as soon as she said it, I realized I was having to look up further to see her.

"Don't panic," she said. "You're going to be fine. I won't let anything bad happen to you, but you're going to be scared." She paused. "I received this same demonstration once. I freaked out. I hope you respond better than I did."

"Why am I shrinking?" I tried to say, except no sound came out.

"I'll explain what I can," she said. "We have a few minutes. First, look down."

I did, and I saw that my feet had disappeared into the floor. She stepped up to me and I clasped at her, but my hands went right through hers.

"Make it stop!" I yelled. But no sound came out.

"You're not a ghost," she said. "My singing is what anchors you here. Without my singing, you're only half here and can't really interact with anything. Gravity still effects you, but very weakly. Which is why you're floating slowly downward. And why I can't lift you up now. It's also why no sound is coming out of your mouth, even when you try to yell. You can't push the air."

"Please start singing!" I tried to tell her. "Please sing."

"If I start singing again," she said, "You'll come back fully into Siriena. But the problem is that there isn't a hole where you're sinking, and the structure of the tower won't support it if I make one there. If I start to sing, the parts of you that are in the floor will be chopped off by the floor. That would be bad."

I looked wildly at her, scared out of my mind.

"You won't get hurt," she said. "It's scary, but you'll be fine. There is an empty room underneath this one. When you've floated most of the way through the floor, I'll head down. As soon as you're completely clear, I'll start to sing again. You'll solidify over the course of just a few seconds and come crashing to the floor. Try not to break an ankle."

I looked at her and nodded.

By now I was halfway through the floor. It was disconcerting to look down and see my body cut off at my waist.

"I have about another minute or so," she said. "Then I need to run down so I'm ready for you. If you start sinking into the earth, it would be bad. I won't let that happen. But the risk of that is part of the reason we start up in the tower. Just in case."

She paused.

"I love you," she said. "With every fiber of my being."

I looked at her. "I love you, too," I tried to tell her.

"Will you allow me to continue bringing you here?" she asked.

I nodded.

"I know you don't like the way I teach you sometimes. I'm sorry."

"I love you," I mouthed at her again.

She smiled.

"You are mine," she said. "I'm very possessive. You understand?"

I nodded.

By now I was up to my chest and starting to panic.

"Love," she said. "I'm going to run downstairs now. When you slide through the floor, it's very scary. But you won't get hurt and you can continue to breath normally. I won't let anything happen to you."

I nodded. "Hurry," I mouthed.

She blew me a kiss and ran past me out of the room.

I sank lower and lower. I tried pushing against the floor to crawl back up, but my hands just pushed right through it. I reached all around me, grasping for anything I could touch, but I felt nothing. After a few more seconds, I had sunk to my chin, then my mouth, and then I couldn't see as I disappeared into the floor.

I tried to scream. No sounds came out.

I was still trying to scream when I popped out of the ceiling of the floor below me. I looked down and Petra was there, waiting for me. It looked like a long way down.

"I'm going to let you float slowly down for a while," she said. "So it's not such a fall. But I'm going to sing early and you'll fall several feet. Better safe than sorry."

I nodded at her. My panic was receding. I trusted her.

"You're going to wake soon," she said. "We'll have time for a quick hug, but that's about it."

She waited a few more seconds then started to hum and sing. It took a few seconds and suddenly I was plummeting to the floor.

She let me fall rather than trying to catch me, and the month of training in the dojo kicked in. I took the fall in a tumble. Even landing against the hard stone floor, I didn't get hurt.

As soon as I came to a stop, I climbed to my feet and flew into her arms, clutching her. "Don't stop singing!" I told her. "Please don't stop."

She gave me a hug and a kiss, and I woke up.

BloodSunday was errands and cleaning day. By the time everyone arrived at five, the apartment was spotless and I'd put up some Halloween decorations. Everything was ready for cooking, and my laptop was out, ready for Erika and Beth.

Andrea arrived first, a few minutes early. She came carrying a bottle of wine and a pie. "If the pie is against the rules," she said. "We can leave it in the refrigerator."

"Maybe Erika and Beth have desserts waiting for them. If not, we'll have to leave it in the refrigerator. It would be rude to eat pie in front of them."

She nodded.

"I'll give you their email addresses," I said. "If you want to bring dessert in the future, you have to warn them at least a day in advance. So they can have something, too." I paused. "Well, usually it's just Erika."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't think of that until I was halfway here."

"It is okay," I told her. I gave her a quick mini hug. "I'm happy you can come."

Petra came in, carrying Dervish. "He was outside Karen's door," she said. "Meowing for her."

I laughed. "Dervish," I told him. "You hate the corridor."

"Maybe he feels safer here?" Andrea said.

Karen arrived just as my laptop started pinging for attention. I accepted an invitation from Erika then told her, "Invite Beth too. She's online." Soon we had a three way video chat going.

We made dinner and carried it to the living room.

"What's the movie?" Karen asked.

"Ghost," I said. "Erika picked it, but after my dreams this morning, I'm finding it very appropriate."

Before we hit play, I set several boxes of tissues out and moved two waste baskets into range. "Anyone who gives me shit for crying is off the invite list."

We set up the movie and served the meal, then I remembered the pie. "Hey, Erika and Beth. Do you have anything at your places for dessert?"

Erika smiled. "I made pumpkin pie today."

"I have ice cream," said Beth.

"Excellent," I said. "Andrea brought pie without knowing all the rules. I'm glad we can enjoy it."

We hit play together. Beth had to fumble on her end slightly, but she got her copy of the movie more or less in sync with ours.

Everyone cried.

Later, after we'd hung up on Erika and Beth, I said, "Halloween is next Saturday. I don't have a party invitation yet, so unless I get one in the next fifteen seconds, I'm going to plan one here."

"My place," said Andrea. "No one trick or treats here. My place will be better."

"Will it be decorated?" I asked.

She laughed. "Yes. But there are conditions. You have to bring a carved pumpkin with you. And you have to come in a costume, a traditional scary costume. No princesses or ninjas!"

She glared at Petra, who laughed. "I only came as a ninja once. No one told me the rules."

"I'll invite maybe a dozen more people or so." She paused. "Karen and Felicia..."

"I'll help," I offered immediately. "But I'll want time and privacy to put on my costume."

"Me too," Karen said. "Fifteen minutes will do it for me."

After that, I chased them out, cleaned our small mess, and went to bed.

Dream Petra was waiting for me.

"Please don't stop singing," I told her. She smiled and shook her head.

She tossed a blanket over my shoulders and pointed to the wall. I made a door. We stepped through and I closed it. Then we walked quickly to her tower, my feet getting cold. When we got to the base of her tower, I tried to make a door. It didn't work.

She let me try a few times.

I turned to her. "I can't make one here."