Her mind was a cloud of confusion. She wasn't quite awake yet– it was that state between waking and dreaming. She was unable to open her eyes, so she was forced to use her other senses.

People were talking. Addie couldn’t make out the words at the moment, but she could make out that two distinct voices. One sounded like a gruff male, while the other had the air of an elderly woman. 

She felt a pressure on her right hand. It didn’t hurt, but it was like… Yes…Someone was holding her hand. The problem was she didn’t know who…

"…I'm gonna get that bastard." Said the man.

"You will not.” Interjected the old woman. “Getting revenge on him would be a waste of time. Besides, there are more important things to worry about right now."

"But he literally did nothing! He just stood by and let her almost die, and then still expected to get paid!"

This felt familiar. Why did this feel familiar?

"I don't deny that,” said the woman. “But—"

"He lives in town.” The man interrupted. “And do you know how long it took him to get here? He was called for before someone could reach Neeka and you, and arrived long after you two did. It was hours before he could be bothered to leave his house!"

"Be that as it may, you can't go picking fights with men of the Church. Even if you are justified, it would be your word versus his… And you know who they'll likely believe…"

"..."

"You need rest, Darius. I know you're mad – we all are– but you're not thinking straight."

“I am thinking straight! And I think, with some care, I can make it look like he had an accident—”

“Darius Bennett, don’t you dare!”

“What? I wouldn’t kill the man! I’m not that stupid!”

A sigh. “You are not stupid, just sleep-deprived.” A pause, then another sigh. “Darius honey— it’s been two days. You can’t keep going like this — you are going to collapse. Please…” 

Another, heavy sigh, this time from the man. Addie felt the person give her hand a gentle squeeze, then guide it back down beside her. The sound of a chair scooting back, then heavy footsteps as the person rose. 

“It’s only for a few hours, dear.” The woman assured. 

The footsteps stopped.

“What if I—” he started.

“Darius, no.” She was gentle but firm. “You need to lay down. If she wakes while you’re asleep-- Trust me, you'll be the first one to know."

A silence. A shuffle of feet, then the quiet opening and closing of a door. And once again, the room was— for the most part — quiet again. 

Addie cracked open an eye. The room was dimly bathed in an orange light — a nightlight perhaps? Her vision was blurred, but she could see a small figure weaving in and out of her line of sight. 

Her back was to Addie, but she could tell it was the elderly woman. She was busy drawing the curtains, quietly humming as she worked. 

She blinked. Wait, she kinda recognized this elderly woman… 

“…Grandma?” 

The old woman straightened. She turned in surprise. “Sweetheart?”

Hooray— something was finally making sense. It was just a bad dream then! She sat up. Of course it had been a dream! Stuff like that didn’t happen in real life— 

A dull pain zapped through her head. She winced and shut her eyes. She hadn’t imagined the pain though. 

“Bad dream…” She groaned, her words slurring as she waited for her head to stop hurting. “There was this stupid book, and a bunch of weirdos. There was a bear, and a knock-off Exorcist with holy water… and they were all saying I was…was…”

She felt she was falling forward and unable to right herself.

“Whoa now!” her grandmother caught her and eased her back down. “Easy, easy — you’ve had quite an ordeal, Charlie. Just take it easy for now.”

Ah, now she remembered. Her grandma used to stay by her side when she was sick. That’s why it felt familiar! But that had been so long ago, because Grandma had… had… 

Wait a minute…

“Char…lie?” Addie was confused. Who the heck was Charlie? Did she have any family members named ‘Charlie’? “No, Grandma—  my name isn’t…“

Two things clicked for her in that moment. 

One — She currently didn’t live anywhere near her grandmother’s house. She was currently renting a place with her friends. Even if she was home, her grandma wasn’t, having passed away years ago.  

And two….

No…

The languid cloud cleared up as the realization hit. 

Now fully awake, Addie propped herself up to get a look at her surroundings. Yep — still Charlene’s room. She was still there — wherever here was. 

“No…” she buried her face in her hands as she quietly moaned. “So it wasn’t a dream!”

Dammit, and she’d been so hopeful too!   

“Charlene?”

Addie dared to peek up at this newcomer. At a glance, Addie would’ve sworn up and down that this woman was her actual grandmother. The lady in question was dark in complexion, a rich mahogany, and dark brown eyes. It made her silvery hair pop in contrast. 

But what set this woman apart, aside from her voice — which was accented (Addie really should’ve picked up on that)— was the fact this lady had her long, silvery hair dreaded and styled.  Addie’s grandmother would have never dreamed of dreading her hair, claiming “no respectable lady her age would have their hair done up like that”. 

Well — this lady had them, and she looked absolutely regal with them. 

“Charlene?” the lady repeated, alerting Addie that she had been staring. 

Addie adverted her eyes, moving her hands to her lap and fidgeting. “Sorry.” 

“It’s alright, but…” the elderly woman seemed confused as she regarded her. “Do you… well, remember anything?”

Well…‘Remember’ wasn’t quite the right word here. Addie remembered her life just fine, it was Charlene that seemed to be a blank slate! If she was being forced to be this girl, then shouldn’t she get the memories too? Wasn’t that how these stories went?

“…No,” she said. “I’m sorry, but— who are you?” 

She wasn’t exactly afraid, but given the… circumstances, it made sense for her to be a little on guard.  

The regal woman remained confused. “You just…” then stopped herself.  “Well, usually I’m called Granny, or ‘Gran’ for short.”

Ah, so she had been sorta right. Gosh, that had to be awkward. Maybe she could blame it on the apparent “amnesia”?

“Gran,” she repeated, not sure what to say next. “It’s… very nice to meet you.”

That wasn’t a lie. This interaction was definitely way more chill than the other one.

“And what do you want me to call you?” asked Gran. 

Addie blinked in surprise. “Pardon?”

Gran gave a small shrug. “Well,” she said. “Every time I say ‘Charlene’, you seem to flinch, so I can only guess that you don’t like that name.”

It wasn’t that she hated the name. She just hated the character, which sucked because Karma was apparently a witch!

And this lady was testing her, wasn’t she? What was Addie even supposed to say here?  It wasn’t like she was ready to accept this as her fate just yet, but she knew that she had to at least try to blend in. Part of her wanted to know what would happen if she didn’t play along, but something told her that wouldn’t be in her best interest. 

Still…

“…I don’t want to be called ‘Charlene’.” She admitted. 

“Then would you be okay with ‘Charlie’ then?” 

If she said yes, there was no going back. If she told the truth, she didn’t know what would happen. Best case scenario — they’d just think she really was crazy, maybe have her committed. But the worst case scenario… 

“I like ‘Charlie’ better,” she said. “But I don’t think I can be called that either.”

“…Why?”

“…Because I’m —I mean I'm-- No, I mean she’s…”

Slow down. Slow down and collect your thoughts.

“I mean,” she said at last, her voice growing more uncertain. “I don’t think I’ll ever be her.”

Gran's bewilderment melted with empathy. "Aw, darling,” Gran pulled Addie in for a hug. “There’s no need to worry about that. It’s okay. We’re going to figure this all out together.”

Addie bit her lip, but gave no reply.

What was it? Pain? Guilt? Shame? Guilt, she concluded, as she felt her eyes start to sting. 

Charlene was gone, and she didn't think she was coming back.