Patrick at five years old, laughing, running through a field. Patrick with a basketball. Crowds roaring. Shoes squealing on the gym floor. Patrick with his older brother. Patrick arguing with his parents. Doors slamming. Patrick leaving home.

A split second later, she was back, gasping for air as she surfaced from the visions.

“Natalie! I’m sorry! Natalie, are you all right?”

She heard the remorse and concern in Patrick’s voice, but she couldn’t respond just yet. Natalie allowed herself to enjoy the featureless blackness behind her eyelids and used her other senses to get her bearings. She found herself sitting on the ground behind the counter. Her legs must have given out. She was lucky she hadn’t hit her head on anything.

“Does she need a doctor?” The voice was Jin’s. Startled, Natalie opened her eyes.

“No. No, I don’t think so. She’s got a phobia or something,” said Patrick.

Patrick and Jin were both crouched behind the counter with her. Natalie’s face grew hot with embarrassment. She got her feet under her and started to stand. Jin put out a hand to help her up.

“Don’t touch me!”

Jin looked startled at her outburst and withdrew his hand. Natalie heaved herself to her feet and raised her head to find the other man watching her from the other side of the counter. He’d taken his sunglasses off, and Natalie thought she saw concern in his gaze before she got distracted by his eyes. They were blue. A dark, luminous blue. Like the sea at twilight. Natalie hadn’t ever met another Asian with blue eyes. Her own were always the subject of much discussion. She’d gotten in trouble with a few teachers in high school who thought she wore colored contacts and dyed her hair. They’d never believed her when she told them that her eyes were naturally blue and that the coppery red streaks in her wavy black hair were natural too.

Patrick popped up beside her.

“Natalie, I’m so sorry. I forgot. But it won’t happen again. I promise. I’ll be careful.”

Natalie waved his apology aside.

“It’s all right, Patrick. It’s not your fault.”

Patrick looked back at her with an expression like a sad labrador puppy. Natalie smiled kindly, working to hide how shaken she felt.

“Really. I’m all right. Go home, Patrick.”

Patrick gave her one more long, searching look, then nodded, reluctantly.

“Okay. If you’re sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, Patrick.”

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, Nat.”

Patrick kept glancing over his shoulder at Natalie as he left. Natalie kept a pleasant smile on her face and made shooing motions at him. Finally, after he’d left, she turned her attention back to her two customers.

“I’m sorry about that. Where were we?”

She caught Jin looking at her with a decidedly calculating look before his expression smoothed into friendly concern. He’d made his way back around to the other side of the counter while Natalie had been reassuring Patrick.

“You’re sure you don’t need a doctor? Or perhaps a glass of water and a chair?” he inquired solicitously.

“Thank you. I’m perfectly fine. It’s a… condition I’ve had since I was little. It comes and goes. I’m used to it.”

The other man hadn’t put his sunglasses back on. He was still watching her, and the intensity of his gaze was a little unnerving. Natalie thought she now knew how a rabbit felt under the gaze of a hawk. She swallowed nervously, then rallied. They were still customers, after all.

“Was there anything I could help you find?”

Jin smiled. “We hadn’t finished speaking about my friend yet.”

“Oh, right.” Natalie thought a moment, then replied. “I’m sorry. I really don’t remember him.”

“I think you might remember if you saw him again,” said Jin, humor evident in his voice. “The circumstances were rather… unusual.”

Natalie’s brows drew together. Her thoughts were still a little scrambled from the earlier visions. No matter how much she wracked her brain, she honestly had no idea what the man was talking about, but his manner made her feel like she really should remember.

“Maybe they should meet up,” said the other man. Jin turned to him with raised eyebrows.

“Do you think that’s wise?”

The other man shrugged and slipped his sunglasses back on.

“Sure. Why not. She obviously isn’t going to remember anything this way.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and slouched off among the shelves of books. Jin and Natalie watched him go, After a quiet moment, Jin turned back to Natalie

“What do you think?”

“About what?” asked Natalie, startled.

“Meeting my friend. He couldn’t come into the bookstore, but he might meet you elsewhere if you’re willing. Outside somewhere, perhaps?”

Natalie thought. She reached out and took up the business card Jin had given her. It felt oddly heavy in her hand, heavier than any rectangle of paper had any right to be, but it also felt solid, steady, reassuring. Still, intuition told her that the man who had given it to her was hiding something, maybe several somethings. As if sensing her hesitation, Jin spoke.

“What about the park down the street? Nice open area. Lots of other people around in case you need to call for help.” His smile turned the comment into a joke, but Natalie thought it a good point. She tapped the card on the counter as she weighed her options.

“Oh, come on!” exclaimed the other man in an exasperated voice. He stepped out from behind a bookshelf. “If we were going to kill you or something we could have done it a million times by now!”

“Hayato,” snapped Jin, “you’re not helping.”

“What?” challenged Hayato. “It’s true. I don’t see what her problem is. We told her she saved his life. He’s hardly going to want to hurt her for that, is he?”

“Hayato,” Jin took a step toward him, “hush. Let me handle this.”

Hayato slouched petulantly and shoved his hands back in his pockets.

“Whatever,” he said, and leaned back against a bookshelf. Natalie glared at him. She resented his implication that she was being unreasonably cautious. Jin turned back to her with an apologetic smile.

“My associate, Hayato Igarashi. He means well, really. He’s just a little —“

“Okay,” interrupted Natalie.

Jin looked startled. “I’m sorry?”

“Okay.” Natalie repeated, crossing her arms. She gave him a level look. “I still think I’m not the person you’re looking for, but I get the feeling that you’re not giving up unless your friend tells you that himself. So, I’ll meet your friend.”

“Wonderful,” smiled Jin. “May I ask when you might be available?”

“We close at 7 tonight. Is after that all right?”

“Perfect,” Jin assured her. “At the park then?”

Natalie nodded. “There’s a picnic table near the willow by the pond. Let’s meet there.”

“We’ll be looking forward to it.” Jin gave a sort of half bow and left, ushering his friend out in front of him.

Left alone in the silence of the now empty bookstore, Natalie wondered what she had gotten herself into.