Steven carried on talking. Had he noticed anything it would have been the rapid fluttering of his sisters eyelids, or the way she seemed to keel forwards, before Mona caught her and righted themselves.
He didn’t notice she was dying at all.
So. Don’t blame him.
***
It was white. Retina burningly white.
Ramona blinked and found herself looking in a mirror.
“Hello,” her reflection said.
“Shouldn’t you only speak when I do?” She reached her hand out, but her reflection didn’t.
Ramona blinked. A penny dropped.
“OH! You’re Her! Me! The .. Thing!”
Mona laughed. “Yeah. That’s me.”
They shook hands. Fire raged through Ramona’s head.
She blinked. “So…where are we?”
“I’m not sure. I think ‘between.’ It looks like you’re calling me into you, and so – in some way, you’re coming into me.”
Ramona blinked. “It that usual?”
Mona shook her head. “Never been done before.”
Ramona blinked. And looked concerned.
“You know,” said Mona. “You blink a lot. Are you ok?”
“I’m not sure. My head feels like it’s on fire. I’m seeing all these things.” Her nose started bleeding.
Mona nodded. “You’re getting all the ideas that I hold in my head in one go. Your head might not be able to contain it.”
Ramona stumbled.
“But if we don’t sort this out, you’re going to die.”
***
Mona snapped her eyes open.
“What were you saying?” Santa asked. “You just stopped mid sentence.”
“How long have I been gone for?”
“Gone where. You’ve been here all the time.”
Mona opened her mouth to ask something, shook her head. “No time. Santa. How does it work? Idea transplantation.”
Santa shuddered. “That’s what got me here today.”
“Please.” Said Mona. “I may not have much time.”
Santa shook his head and told Mona how he did it with the Idea Bomb.
***
“Ramona. Be me. Take the idea that you have an idea of yourself that’s not where you are. That you can be in two places at once. Do it.”
Ramona’s eyes rolled back in her head.
Her mouth foamed.
“Or…I could try,” Mona muttered.
***
Ramona opened her eyes.
“Steven?”
Steven stopped talking. “Mona? Are you ok?”
“I am. Yes, thank you. At least. I am now.” She tried to stand, thought about it, tried again and, eventually got up. “It’s nice that we get to meet, actually.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The last time we saw each other, you told me…to get my hands off her, I believe.”
Mona stepped from the circle.
“These hands?”
***
“And…you’re from over there? Oh, here. Use my tissue. I think it’s stopped now.”
Ramona took a tissue from a very fat man in a red suit. He had a huge white beard.
And was sitting in a sleigh.
“I…I hate to ask,” she asked, mopping the blood from her nose. “But…who are you?”
The man looked crestfallen. “Forgotten already. That explains everything.”
“Well – you look like…Like Father Christmas but.”
Santa laughed.
“And – you laugh like Father Christmas. But…”
Santa looked at her.
“Oh. Oh. My. God. You..you’re-”
Santa nodded.
***
“What have you done with my sister!” Steven screamed at the woman coming towards him.
“I’ve saved her life. I’ve left her sitting on the lap of one of your biggest ideas. And I’ve come into her body.”
“You stole it?”
Mona laughed. “No. I borrowed it. We’re going to be sharing it from now on. I wanted to know what it felt like.”
***
The white was less blinding now.
“Mona. Are you scaring my brother?”
Mona laughed. “A little?”
“Well, don’t,” Ramona chided. “He spoke to me, remember? This was, after all, what we wanted.”
They smiled.
“I know everything you know. We have to do something.”
Mona nodded. “We do.”
Ramona thought. “I have an idea…”
***
Today’s image was provided by Melissa.
