Sweat drips from your body as you lean against the dirty concrete wall. You know that this self-defense course was a good idea, given the things that you've seen in this city. Yet every time you come here, you end up sneaking out early. You are not quite sure why. The instructor is incredibly friendly, if a bit brash, and your classmates seem nice enough. One of them in particular stuck out to you tonight, although you are not sure why. You can barely even remember any details about her, now that you think about it. Only that she too seemed unsure of why she was here.

You sigh, and your breath mists in the winter air. Maybe you'll go back. Maybe tonight will be different.

This is Nimue's Bar.

“All right, everyone,” the instructor calls. “That's it for tonight, go on and get out of here. Remember: If you're attacked by someone with a knife, don't try to fight them. Unless your skin is made of rock or otherwise repels knives, in which case go right ahead.”

Kaia flops down on the mat, which sends a miasma of dust swirling through the air around her. These self-defense courses are lovely, but she wishes that the instructor had chosen a better location. The one they are using is nothing more than a small section of a defunct warehouse, with walls made out of old shipping boxes. The electric lights in here are nearly as harsh as the sun, and the room is absolutely sweltering. The class was much more intense today than she expected, and Kaia is beat. It seems the same is true for the other participants as well, who have collapsed in similar positions to her own.

“So, K, it's your third week here. How do you like it?”

Kaia closes her eyes and allows herself to pretend, just for a moment, that she does not know the instructor, that he is a complete stranger who she has come to know over the past three classes and has begun a friendship with. But when she opens her eyes, Dirk is standing over her, sweaty and exuberant.

“It was great, Dirk,” Kaia says honestly, doing her best to sweep away her unhappiness. “You have a real talent for this kind of stuff. Teaching, I mean.”

“You're just saying that,” Dirk says, helping her to her feet and treating her to a crushing and entirely too warm bear hug. He seems genuinely pleased, though. “I thought it might be nice to put the skills I learned all those years ago to good use.”

“Proud of you, buddy,” she says. A question from one of the other participants draws Dirk away, and Kaia holds her smile until he is gone, then collapses back onto the mat. It will be tough to walk home tonight.

“You feeling it too?” the man on her right asks.

Kaia groans in response. “It's too hot in here for this. We need to convince our wise and benevolent teacher to find a new spot. I don't think self-defense training is supposed to involve defending ourselves from heatstroke.”

The man on her right props himself up on his elbow. He has wavy brown hair, and bright, excitable eyes. “Are you new to this class?”

“Shove off. I've been here for the last three,” Kaia snaps before she can stop herself. “Sorry,” she mutters. “Are you new?”

The man shrugs. “I've been going since this class started. No one seems to remember that though.” He flips his hair back and sighs up at the ceiling.

“I'm K,” Kaia says, offering him her hand.

“Chris,” he responds, a smile breaking out across his features. “Is this what you do in your spare time, then?”

Kaia laughs, and manages to move to her knees. The rest of the class have begun picking themselves up and fleeing, doing their best not to let Dirk engage them in conversation and keep them here in the heat any longer than they have to be. “No,” she says. “I do all kinds of things. It's hard to know what to fill up all my time with.”

“I feel that,” Chris says. “Twenty four hours is a lot of time. I've gotten into knitting, recently.”

“It's painting for me right now,” Kaia responds. “I should try knitting though, it seems like something I could enjoy.”

“Kaia,” Dirk calls, “I'm heading out. You coming?”

Kaia signals at him to go on, and he flashes her a grin and looks significantly at Chris, to which Kaia responds by flipping him off. “Sorry,” she mutters.”

“Don't be,” Chris laughs. “I'm kind of jealous. I still haven't made any friends here.”

“New in town?” Kaia asks.

Chris rubs the back of his head ruefully. “Funny thing, actually. I was in an accident, and thought I had wandered into the Grotto by mistake. It was only after I tried to leave that I realized I was stuck here.”

“Huh,” Kaia says. “That is...” she trails off, then stares at Chris as hard as she can. Something about him is off. A moment later, she realizes that he has no shadow. “You're a shade,” she breathes.

Chris blinks in surprise. “Yeah, I am. How did you...” he trails off as well, staring at the ground beside Kaia, and the lack of darkness around her feet. “Oh. Oh my.”

Kaia isn't quite sure how it happens, but somehow she and Chris end up with their arms wrapped around one another, their faces buried in one another's necks. They are both warm and covered in dust but Kaia could not care less. She is smelling Chris's aftershave and in this moment he is the most real thing in her world.

They break apart after an interminable amount of time. “Sorry,” Chris says, clearly embarrassed. “I don't know what came over me.”

“No, no, it's fine!” Kaia says hurriedly, brushing back her hair. She vaguely realizes that she is giggling like she did when she was in high school. A few long moments of silence pass between them before Kaia speaks. “Avoiding the sun all right?”

“Yeah, as best I can. I managed to get a night shift working as a security guard, but I'm always having to convince my boss that I work there.”

“Sorry to hear that. I have to go through the same thing with my landlord every month.”

“Eh, don't be sorry, it's entertaining, and I think it makes him happy. Have you tried putting pictures of yourself online, or posting about yourself places?”

“Tried it years ago, and no dice. Text obfuscates itself, and videos distort. Total anonymity.” “Well aren't we lucky.”

The two go back and forth for hours and hours. Kaia feels like she is in heaven. Here is someone who she can talk to about her problems, and who actually understands them. Chris tries to put a positive spin on every piece of being a shade. He seems almost excited at the prospect, which she can't really understand but finds endearing nonetheless. If Kaia could have her way, this conversation would last forever.

#

“Ok, so hear me out,” Chris says, grinning and talking loudly to make himself heard over Kaia's laughter. “What if you become a bank robber? No one could catch you!”

Kaia snickers. “What would I do with the money?”

“Buy a zoo?”

“Why would I need a zoo?”

“Why wouldn't you?” Chris looks at his watch. “Damn it! Sun comes up in half an hour. I have to go. We both do.”

Kaia's heart sinks. She knows by Chris's expression that he is thinking the same thing she is. Will they remember each other when they go out the door? She moves closer to him, until their faces are nearly touching, and his dry, parted lips are mere inches from her own. They are close enough that were they humans, they could feel each other's heartbeats.

“We could go together,” she breathes, gazing into Chris's enormous brown eyes. She leans in, but Chris is already shaking his head.

“I'm sorry, K, but that's not what I'm looking for right now, and I don't think you are either.”

“What do you mean?” Kaia breathes. “We can draw this out a little longer.” She needs to hear him say her name again, but in a gentler tone. She wants him to whisper her name to her so many times that she gets sick of hearing it, and to tell her all about herself.

“You don't want me, K” Chris says. “We both know that.”

“Yes I do!” she says fiercely.

Chris sighs. “K, this has been the best night of my life, but I want to keep it that way. If we take this farther, we're going to ruin it.”

Kaia reluctantly draws back and looks around her at the mountains of storage crates. “I just want an escape. I want an out of this stupid life. Can't you be that for me?”

Chris shakes his head sadly. “See, that's the problem. I'm not an escape. What you see as problems, I see as opportunities. Maybe people not remembering us will be a blessing in disguise. A way to constantly start fresh and make things right.”

This time it is Kaia's turn to shake her head, and she doesn't even have to think about it before doing so. “I'm sorry, but I can never believe that. I'm going to find a way to fix myself if it's the last thing I do.”

“Fix yourself? Are you serious?” Chris says incredulously. “What is there to fix? We don't have to sleep, we're impossibly strong, and basically immortal. Sure, not being able to see the sun or be remembered can be annoying, but isn't it worth it?”

“No!” Kaia's voice echoes through the empty warehouse, and Chris takes a step back. Regret fills Kaia immediately, but this is something she can't apologize for. “Maybe to you, but not to me. I didn't have a very good life before I died. But here's the thing: I could live with being hated. I can't live with being ignored.”

They are quiet for several long minutes, until Chris inclines his head. “Hey, maybe I can convince you of my point of view in the future. Especially if I can remember you.”

Kaia swallows, doing her best to hold back tears. “Oh please,” she says as jauntily as she can manage. “I'll be the one doing the remembering.”

“So, see you next week?” Chris says. His voice is tight, and the smile on his face seems rather forced.

“Yeah,” Kaia manages, raising a hand and waving. “Yeah. That's right. See you next week.”

The two of them turn and walk from the warehouse in opposite directions. Neither one of them look back.