The City is a place where everything resets after the lights have gone out: relationships, conversations, memories. Everything is inside an irreversible loop and no one knows it. All except for one girl.
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Jule, a resident of the City...
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I sipped iced coffee tentatively, watching Jule shove spoon after spoon of ice cream into her mouth. Mindy fidgeted beside me, her own serving long ago extinguished.
I opened my mouth to say something but my voice died in my throat. What more could I say after explaining everything to Jule on our way here? Surprise, she didn't believe one word I said. The only reason I got her into the Creamery was because I promised I'll pay for the ice cream.
Does she love ice cream that much? I never knew.
"What is the lady doing with us?" Mindy asked, her wide eyes flicking between Jule and I.
I stole another glance at Jule who still had her face to the ice cream. She didn't appear to hear Mindy or me. "She's a friend," I replied flatly. "We're...I'm supposed to be explaining something to her."
"What is there to explain, Rom?" Mindy said, crumpling the wad of tissue I gave her to wipe her mouth with. "The lady isn't interested in you."
Mindy was six.
I shook my head. "No, no," I said. "It's not like that. I'm just...trying to, you know, umm..."
"How do you know my name, Rom?" Jule asked, her voice so cold I imagined ice seeping in my veins.
"I told you yesterday," I replied. "We're friends."
Jule turned her head side to side. "No, Porter and Nicola are my friends," she said. "We're supposed to be hanging out at the Arcade tonight. Now, I can't because I'm here with some stranger and his little kid. Are you a creep?"
I shoved my hand in my hair and groaned. "No, I'm not a creep and don't say that in front of Mindy," I said, casting a quick glance at my sister. She didn't appear to have heard it. "I mean, I'm just a friend asking you how in the world are you able to forget. What do I have to do to make you remember?"
Jule's eyes flicked to the window showing a live montage of cars driving through the setting sun. I've never seen them so empty and so...dark.
"You've been saying weird things all afternoon," she replied, scratching her spoon against the glass of her ice cream cup. "Are you sure you're not high? Should I call the police?"
"No, don't do that," I said a little too loud. A few customers seated in nearby tables whirled to us with bewildered looks on their faces. I ducked my head in supplication and faced Jule again. "They're not weird. You explained everything to me before."
Jule's dark brown eyes narrowed. She's scary. "Pretty sure I didn't," she said. "I don't even know you. Why do you insist on following me around?"
"I know you," I said, my voice suddenly quiet. "And you know me more than anyone."
Jule wagged her head. "No, I don't," she said, casting a glance at the Creamery's door. "Can I go now?"
"Don't you want to see the reset?" I blurted in desperation. "I'll show that I'm not crazy...or high."
