This is how it started for Frankie. Suddenly and without fanfare. A blackout that tasted so real she almost forgot who she was.

There is a man at the bar. The lights are all gold and silver. Her mind is clouded and troubled. Still she can’t help but let her eyes slide over to him again and again. She lets the amber liquid fill her mouth and lets it stay there burning the roof of her mouth. There is a breeze at her back as the door opens and laughing men and women come in from the chill already unsteady on their feet.

She lets her hand slip into the neck of a thin red dress, the loose collar open and her skin caressing the glow of lights. The locket is in her hand now. It’s clasp loose as always. She lets the coolness of the sphere press against her forehead, releases it and turns to the man at the end of the bar.

Next Chapter: Part III   “My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night; but ah, my foes, and oh, my friends – it gives a lovely light.” ~ Edna St. Vincent Millay   Lyllian, July 2017, Seattle