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two crimestories
friend, which I still am
whether you want me to
be or not… As your friend,
I would like to show you
something. Come along.”
I hesitated, still unsettled
by the premonition.
“Where are we going?”
Flann said nothing, simply
turned and walked out of
the house.
I followed him. He
walked silently down the
street to the bus stop at
Lamond Drive. The bus
was already there, as if
it had been waiting for
us. Flann boarded, and I
tried to show the driver
my pass, but he wouldn’t
look at it. We drove off
and turned onto the road
that skirted the coast out
toward Crail. We were
the only passengers until
we reached Kingsbarns.
A thick fog had settled in,
though this was nothing
unusual. The fog often
slipped from the sea onto
the land, where it would
then sit for hours. Flann
got off, and I followed him
all the way to Sam’s house.
I was about to protest,
whenFlann raisedhis hand
to cut me off. He pointed
at the brightly illuminated
kitchen window. I saw
Sam sitting at the table,
her back toward us.
“What’s this?”
Flann turned around and
left, simply fading into
the fog until I could no
longer see him. I called
after him, but he didn’t
answer. As I glanced
back at the window, Sam
was standing there with
someone else. They were
kissing. No, they were
melting into one another.
They fused into one, and
then the other person