“Ok, I’m clocking out,” Erica informed Arina, the dinner-time host of the Harlem soul food restaurant where she served three days a week.

She finished her farewells and left quickly, hoping to catch her train before the rush hour hit. Erica hurried down the stairs to the subway station and casually hopped the entrance gate to avoid the toll, casting a furtive glance around for cops.

The train car was mostly full when she boarded, but thankfully not yet obnoxious, though she still had to stand for the long ride back to the Bronx. It was only the third week of May, and the heat already pressed down oppressively. Sweat poured inside her black serving attire as she stood in the musty air of the packed car.

She sighed in relief after climbing the five flights of stairs to her studio apartment. Unlocking the door, she turned on the fan and stripped out of her sweat-soaked work clothes. Erica tossed the damp bundle into her already full hamper and sank onto the chair at her small wooden desk to rest. After a moment, she began opening the mason jars scattered across it—each filled with dried herbs—and loaded their contents into her favorite grinder.

She started with several blue lotus petals, pausing to inhale their scent, then added rosemary, catnip, and damiana before finishing with a generous portion of ganja. Taking a deep breath to clear her mind, she ground it all up and opened the grinder to savor the fragrance of the fresh blend.

Erica grabbed her favorite bong from the top of her bookshelf, filled it with water, and returned to her desk. She scooped the ground herbs with a small apothecary spoon and packed them into the bowl. Life wasn’t so bad, she thought, flicking her lighter and preparing to take her first hit.

Her phone rang suddenly, cutting her off. She glanced over her shoulder to see it lying on her bed, screen down. Erica pursed her lips, tempted to ignore it, but set the bong down with a sigh and rose to check the caller.

She bit her lip when she saw Coco’s name—the friend, turned more-than-friend, she hadn’t spoken to since they’d hooked up.

“Hey, what’s up?” Erica answered after composing herself.

“Hey, Erica,” Coco’s voice came through the phone, uncharacteristically monotone. “I need you to do me a favor.”

“Ok, what’s the favor?” Erica asked.

“Go out onto your fire escape,” Coco instructed.

“Like, actually?” Erica questioned, surprised.

“Yeah,” Coco replied.

Erica sighed, wondering if this was a prank setup. “Umm, ok,” she said into the phone. 

“Gimme a sec.”

She pulled on a pair of harem pants and a loose-fitting button-up shirt before heading to the door that led to the fire escape. Stepping onto the metal landing, she said, “Alright, Coco, why am I here?”

“Look up at the sky,” her friend replied.

Erica gazed into the sky, painted in beautiful shades of red and purple by the summertime sunset. “Yes, it’s very pretty,” she said, irony slipping into her voice.

“Tell me how many moons you see in the sky,” Coco said, ignoring her tone.

“What the fuck, Coco, you’re so—” Erica trailed off mid-sentence. “Umm, I see two moons,” she finished, staring upward.

One moon hung bright and fat, nearly full, on the far side of the sunset; the other, a half-moon, loomed larger than any she’d ever seen. “Wait, what’s going on? Am I dreaming?” Erica asked.

“I don’t know. I mean, I’ve already checked, and I’m definitely not dreaming,” Coco replied.

“I read somewhere you’re supposed to look at your hands because you don’t have them in dreams,” Erica said, inspecting her own carefully.

“I don’t know. I lucid dream by jumping because gravity doesn’t exist,” Coco said.

“Yeah, I remember you telling me that,” Erica replied numbly, still fixated on the sky.

“So, I guess the world’s ending,” Coco said, her seriousness jarring Erica.

“I mean, I don’t know. Did you check the news? The world ending right now would definitely suck,” Erica responded, feeling shock give way to existential anxiety.

“Yeah, I don’t know, but probably not. It just appeared a few minutes ago,” Coco answered.

“Like, what do you mean?” Erica asked, her heart pounding so hard she struggled to hear Coco over it.

“I mean, I was literally looking up at the sky, and it just sort of appeared. I guess I called you to make sure I wasn’t having a stroke or something,” her friend said.

Erica stared at the second moon and gave an experimental hop to test gravity—it held. She pinched herself for good measure and silently confirmed she wasn’t dreaming. “Do you think it’s a comet?” she asked.

“No, a comet would have a tail,” Coco answered. “It might be an asteroid, though.”

“Ok, what’s the difference?” Erica asked, sensing the distinction didn’t matter much in this moment.

“Comets are made of ice, asteroids are made of rock,” Coco explained.

“So the difference is an asteroid’s worse?” Erica pressed, her anxiety spiking to a new peak, her head feeling ready to burst.

“I mean, either way, something that size hitting would be cataclysmic,” Coco replied.

“Like, ‘seek shelter’ cataclysmic?” Erica asked.

“More like, ‘don’t bother’ cataclysmic,” Coco answered.

“Oh.” Erica stared at it. “Do you think it’s going to hit?”

“I’m not an astrophysicist, but I don’t think an asteroid would get close enough to look bigger than the moon unless it was on a collision course,” Coco said dryly.

“So, we’re going to die?” Erica asked.

“Yeah, maybe,” Coco answered.

“Holy shit,” Erica said.

“Yeah,” Coco agreed.

Erica thought of her family, all the things she still wanted to do. “I gotta go,” she told her friend.

“Yeah,” Coco said again.

“Umm, I’m glad you called,” Erica confessed, fighting back tears.

“I’m glad I called too,” Coco replied.

“Bye,” Erica said.

“Bye,” Coco answered.

The call ended, and Erica stared up at the massive second moon. “What the fuck,” she muttered.

She opened her phone and searched for anything about a second moon appearing. Results popped up fast—it was already trending on social media. She clicked a video with over ten thousand views: a group of friends arguing about whether anything was even there.

“What the fuck?” she said to herself.

Polls asked who could see it; conspiracy theories swirled—aliens, government mind control, experimental Israeli or Chinese bioweapons. People worldwide reported seeing it, though more claimed they couldn’t. She checked for unusual weather patterns but found nothing. 

No physical evidence of the second moon existed beyond the fact that so many saw it.

She aimed her phone camera at it. The strange moon loomed high, but her screen showed only empty sky. “What the fuck,” she said again.

Erica returned to her desk and picked up her bong, wondering if a national alert would sound if it were aliens. She figured the government would just focus on saving themselves anyway. When her phone rang again, she glanced over—Coco.

She answered, switching to speaker mode so she could keep smoking. “Hello?” she said.

“So, what do you think’s going on?” Coco asked.

“I think it’s an omen of something,” Erica replied.

“I mean, maybe, but that doesn’t explain what it actually is,” Coco pointed out.

“True,” Erica admitted. Silence stretched between them.

“I miss you,” Coco said finally.

“It’s only been three days,” Erica replied, trying to ignore the butterflies fluttering in her chest.

“You don’t miss me?” Coco challenged.

“I just don’t think I’m emotionally equipped to have the conversation you want right now,” Erica said with a sigh.

“There’s times when you think too much,” Coco told her.

“I disagree,” Erica countered.

“I’m coming over,” Coco declared.

Erica raised a brow, her mind flashing to the last time they’d been alone together. “Yeah, ok,” she said, struggling to steady her voice as the thought of Coco’s presence made her breath catch.

“Are you hungry?” Coco asked.

“Just pick up some bell peppers and yucca—I’ve got everything else here. Oh, and green onions,” Erica said, her anxiety shifting to anticipation, a smile tugging at her lips.

“I’ll be there in a bit,” Coco told her.

“Ok, bye,” Erica replied.

“See you,” Coco said.

Erica stared at the phone screen and bit her lip as the call ended. She headed to the bathroom to shower, then carefully wrapped her hair in a long satin scarf. Slipping into a simple nightgown and throwing a robe over it, she moved to the kitchen to brew tea and tidy her apartment.

She stepped out onto the fire escape again, sipping her tea, and looked up. The second moon seemed to shift through its half-moon phase faster than the normal one. The sight stirred something indescribable in her—unfamiliar yet deeply known.

Her phone buzzed inside. She checked it: Coco had texted that she was in front of the building. Erica smiled, replying as a warm wave of anticipation rolled through her. She descended the stairs to bring Coco up.

Erica loved cooking, and having someone to share it with filled a deep emptiness inside her. They sat together on the sofa to eat, and she found her eyes lingering on Coco’s small motions—the flex of her arms, the rise and fall of her breath, the deft way her fingers handled chopsticks.

Coco rose to wash the dishes when they finished, and Erica followed her to the sink, captivated by the gentle sway of her hips. They returned to the couch, but just as they were about to sit, Coco grabbed Erica’s hair and pulled her back. Erica gasped, trying to turn, but Coco pressed against her.

She felt the warmth of Coco’s tongue slide along the edge of her ear. Coco’s lips, teeth, and tongue teased their way up Erica’s neck, and then they were kissing.

Erica found herself face down on the couch, Coco’s hands everywhere, kisses trailing down her back. The heat of Coco’s tongue slid over her asshole, then her fingers played with Erica’s pussy.

“Oh fuck,” Erica heard someone say—maybe herself.

They kissed again. Coco’s fingers moved with perfect rhythm, and Erica came.

“Oh fuck,” she said, unsure how many times she’d repeated it.

Coco’s tongue found her clit, two fingers sliding expertly inside. They hit her G-spot, and she came again, squirting this time.

They kissed once more. Coco pinned her arms above her head. Then Coco’s pussy was on her face, dripping wet. Erica tasted it, licked it, sucked gently on her clit.

Her hair was pulled. “Just like that,” Coco begged.

She felt Coco shudder. “Shit, shit, shit,” Coco gasped, then moaned.

Erica was being kissed again and the ravishing continued, and she came more times than she could count. Their juices, sweat, moans, orgasms, and saliva mixed until she couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.

Finally, Coco lay beside her and smiled, her face glazed with sweat and pussy juice. They panted, locked in an embrace, Coco’s gaze making Erica feel vulnerable, safe, whole.

“At the risk of being corny, if the world’s about to end, I’m glad I met you first,” Erica confided.

Coco smiled and kissed her. “I take it that means you’re ready to have the conversation,” she said, stroking Erica’s face.

Erica grabbed her hand and kissed it. “I’m scared about the moon,” she admitted.

“I’m not,” Coco said confidently. “I saw it when it first appeared, and this feeling went through me—I can’t describe it, but ever since, I’ve felt this energy running through me. It feels good.”

“I felt something too, just before you texted,” Erica admitted, her body and mind still reeling from the rush of orgasms.

“I love you, Erica,” Coco said, catching her off guard.

Erica looked down for a moment, then back at Coco, admiring the shape of her lips. “I love you too, Coco,” she admitted.

They kissed again, lips lingering. “I fell in love with you ages ago,” Coco told her.

“I think maybe I did too,” Erica said. “I think I fell in love with you the moment we met.”

They stared into each other’s eyes. Erica felt more at peace with Coco in her arms than she ever had, cherishing the sensation as she drifted into sleep.

She dreamed that night of other worlds with strange life and stranger rules. Strange feelings swirled through her dreams. She drifted in and out of consciousness, distantly aware of Coco squirming and moaning beside her.

Erica woke as Coco stirred and sat up. Blinking her eyes into focus, she saw a strange being with large wings where she’d expected her friend.

“Whoa, what the fuck!” Erica screamed, tumbling out of bed in her haste to gain distance. She scrambled to her feet and backed away, struggling to make sense of it.

It resembled Coco, but with large, pointed ears and a face too perfectly symmetrical to be human. Erica might’ve called it an elf, except for the massive, feathery wings sprouting from its back.

The winged-elf winced, nearly doubling over in pain, covering its ears at Erica’s scream. “Erica, what the fuck is wrong with you?” it said in a voice so soft she could barely hear it.

“Coco?” Erica questioned.

The winged-elf recoiled, a look of barely concealed disgust crossing its delicate features. 

“Fuck, why are you so loud?” Coco admonished quietly, eyeing Erica as if seeing her for the first time, her disgust growing more apparent.

“Coco, what happened to you? Look at your back!” Erica exclaimed.

“Holy fuck, will you stop screaming?” Coco snapped. She turned to look at her back, spotting the wings. “Whoa,” she said in that same soft voice, her large eyes widening in amazement. “What the fuck.”