The sun was shining brightly through my window and it felt like it was piercing a hole through my pounding skull.  I rolled over and buried my head deep in my pillows and tried to lay as still as humanly possible.  I wished for some pain killers, but that would require moving and talking to other people.  Instead I lay there suffering until I fell back to sleep.

"Dylan.  Wake up, Dylan," I heard Michael say.  I realized he was in my room, and I was glad I had taken the time to put on pajamas.

"Leave me alone to die," I suggested, not moving an inch.

"I've got a better plan.  How about a cure for what ails you?"

"A cure?"  I asked, my ears perking up.

"Yes, I've got the perfect way to make you feel better."

I turned my head and opened one grainy eye.  I could see he was holding some aspirin and a cup.

"Oh, thank you so much," I said gratefully.  I sat up and felt instantly nauseous.

"You look pretty awful."

"Thanks," I groaned.  I grabbed both and then winced.  My finger was aching worse than the day before.  Had I hurt it again?  Whatever. I tossed the pills in my mouth and then took a big swallow.

And almost spit it out.  I forced myself to swallow the liquid, in spite of my nausea.  "Blood?  I feel like I'm going to puke and you give me blood!?"

Michael laughed at me as if my suffering was amusing.  I felt my temper rise.  Fortunately for him I hurt too much to do anything about it.  "Best cure in the world, aspirin and plasma!"

I groaned again, but decided it might just be worth it and gulped the rest down.

"Well, get some rest now, little girl.  You'll feel better later," Michael told me as he shut the door behind him.

"Shut up, old geezer," I muttered.  I snuggled back down into my covers and hid my poor aching head from the loud, bright, and obnoxious world.

Both to my relief and annoyance, Michael had been right.  When I woke up, I did feel much better.  I cautiously opened my eyes and sat up.  Other than a slightly lightheaded feeling, I was back to myself.  My nausea was gone and instead I was ravenous.

I did not feel like getting dressed, so I dug around in the closet and found the housecoat.  I pulled it on and slipped my feet into flip-flops.

I snuck down the stairs and slipped through the dining room.  I peeked outside.  I did not see anyone so I darted across to the kitchen.

I found Pierre sitting at the table.  It looked like he had fallen asleep sitting up propped against the wall, so I dug around in the fridge.  There were leftovers from the night before, so I piled a bunch on a plate.  I sat down and ate while Pierre slept on unperturbed across from me.

When I was finished I slipped back into the house.  I crossed the dining room but my luck failed me.  One of the people I least wanted to catch me in my pajamas was in the hall.  Eggleston did not acknowledge my presence, but by her even more rigid than usual posture and the way she turned up her very straight nose, I knew she had seen me. 

She had exactly the sort of attitude someone who was environmentally conscious might have towards a convicted litterbug.  At least that made sense; she did consider me to be little better than pollution.

I went back to my room in a rather poor mood after seeing the wicked witch of Michael's island.  I tried to read for a while but gave up because I could not concentrate.  I hoped this was not another new facet of my changed nature.

I gave up and decided to head down to the beach.  I put on my swimsuit and some shorts and a t-shirt.  It was getting easier every day since my fingers were noticeably improving.  I threw some items in my beach bag and fetched a bottle of water from the kitchen.  I started walking and jogging intermittently in the direction of the beach.

When I got there, I put my shoes in my bag and walked barefoot through the surf.  The sound of the waves hitting the beach was soothing.  Not as soothing as seeing someone knock Eggleston down a couple of pegs might have by smacking a little break into her very straight nose.  Still, it was nice.

I laughed at the thought, but then a sobering idea hit me.  Was I nastier now?  I could not remember wanting anyone to be hurt before, but perhaps I just was not remembering properly.  Had I ever wanted to hit Claire back at Zach's Cafe?  I had certainly had just cause back then.

Was I a different person?  There were certainly physical changes.  I could see better in dark conditions and I was stronger albeit less coordinated than I had been.  I also had an unprecedented need for blood.

But all those things were physical things, just a part of my body.  Certainly they were a part of who I was, but there were times when I was could think that they were a good thing.

Michael had said I would already have lost my mind if I was going to, but his words could not entirely alleviate my worries.  I had planned to force him to give me more answers, but I had barely been able to bring myself to make a simple silly request.

It seemed my questions were destined to remain unanswered, but that did not mean they were going to leave me in peace.

Was I truly untouched?  My brain was a part of my body and my body had clearly changed.

I sat down on the sand leaned my head on my knees.  I could hear the waves still crashing, and I tried to get control of the fear that was threatening to overtake me.  I sat there as if paralyzed until I was released in a most unexpected way.

I had been so lost in my thoughts that I had not even noticed someone else was on the beach until her voice broke into my mind.  "Hello."

The voice sounded familiar, yet different.  I turned to look at the new arrival.  "Alicia," I asked incredulously.  What could she possibly want with me now?  I could not see Terrence anywhere nearby.  I wondered if she had somehow escaped from his watchful care.  Maybe I should have gone to find him and turn her in.

"Your name is Dylan, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes," I agreed warily.  I was even less in the mood to deal with her now than I usually was.

"I can see that you know who I am," she commented.  She raised her delicate eyebrow and smiled with wry good humor.

I was confused, especially when she came and sat a few feet away from me in the sand with no additional melodrama whatsoever.  She was not even flouncing at tiny bit.  I looked at her suspiciously and wondered what she was plotting.

"You don't like me, do you?" she asked, but it seemed she already knew the answer.  "I don't blame you; I can certainly be quite the obnoxious little narcissist, can't I?"

I just gaped at her like she had suddenly sprouted a second head.  What was her game this time?  Was she trying to get me to let down my guard so she could attack me?  And where was Terrence?  I had the vague idea Terrence was as much a protector for the innocent people around Alicia as he was for Alicia herself.

"Where is Terrence?" I asked slowly as I watched her face.

She pointed vaguely down the beach with her hand.  "Oh, he's just out of sight.  He's kind enough to give me the illusion of freedom when I am in control of myself."

Then I thought I understood.  This was Alicia.  She was not the egotistical doll Michael had turned her into, but the real Alicia who had somehow dug her way out from underneath all the madness.  It explained the lack of drama, the adult tone.  I wondered how I did not see it sooner and I tried to figure out what words I should speak.  What should one say to a madwoman who is unexpectedly sane?

"I suppose that I am intruding," she said.

"No, you're not," I assured her, still trying to decide how to deal with this new phenomenon.

"I perhaps should have left you alone, but you seemed lonely.  I also thought that perhaps I might apologize for my behavior if you did indeed know me."  She had an apologetic smile on her face.  She was really quite beautiful, perhaps enough to make Michael want her around for an eternity.

I shrugged, "It's not like you are in control normally, right?"

She shook her head sadly, "No, I'm not.  I don't even remember most of what happens.  I have no sense of time, either.  I have no idea what year it even is."

Well, I could help her there.  "It's—"

She held up her hand, "No offense, but I don't even want to know.  It doesn't help."

"Sorry," I said, feeling ashamed of my insensitivity.

"No, you couldn't know that.  I prefer it to be always and never."

We sat in silence for a few minutes.  I poked around the sand with my finger.

"So, what brought you here?" she asked me.

"Michael."  I tried not to sound sour.

"Of course, Michael."  She chuckled, but it sounded accepting, rather than bitter.  "Why did he bring you here?"

"I don't know and it frustrates me," I confessed.  "He said that he was bored and I looked amusing.  He dragged me off and changed me without my permission and then left me.  A couple months later he turned up but so did Paul.  Paul attacked us and he brought me here."  I wondered if I sounded bitter.

She smiled again.  "That's much more exciting than my story."

"Lucky you."  Definitely bitter.

She continued without prompting.  "I met Michael one night at a party at my father's house.  He had invited many important people that night.  Michael came as a friend of one of them.  I thought he was terribly handsome and my head was full of foolish romantic thoughts.  I was sixteen and prone to those things at that time.  I was also very vain and very self interested.  I was a bit like the girl you usually see, although she is tenfold what I was."

"She is pretty vain," I agreed without thinking, then regretted it.

Alicia did not seem to mind, though.  She smiled and said, "You're very kind.  Although I can't remember clearly, I can sense she hated you from the moment she met you."

"Sounds about right," I agreed.

She nodded.  "Now where was I?  Oh yes.  Shortly after that, Michael began to court me.  My family and I were pleased as he was rich and handsome and certainly mature for his apparent age.  He charmed everyone, too.  I thought he would ask me to marry him."

"He didn't?" I wondered.

"No, he did.  He also explained to me what he was, that he did not age, that he would not die.  He asked me if I would like to join him.  He explained the risks and he explained what I would become if everything went well.  We spoke about it often.  He answered all my questions."

She shook her head again and went on in a more wistful voice.  "My head was full of foolish thoughts of eternal youth and beauty and love.  I wanted to never grow old or be sick.  I wanted to cheat death.  I didn't let myself think too long on the consequences if it went wrong."

She paused and looked out at the ocean for a few moments.  She looked melancholy, but at the same time accepting and peaceful.

She sighed and then said, "I suppose I got what my heart desired at that time.  I took a risk and I gained some of those things I desired.  I lost many more.  One can't have everything."

I still did not know what to say, so I remained silent, thinking over all the things she had said.

"You're probably wondering why I told you all this," she said.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"I suppose it's because you looked lonely.  I feel that way, too."

Did I feel lonely?

"I suspected right away when I saw you sitting here I had been truly awful to you.  I seldom get the opportunity to make amends, because often the victims of her reckless vanity are gone before I come back to myself."

I tried to sort out my tangled thoughts.  "I do get angry in the moment but I know it's not your fault," I said and I meant it.  Meeting this real Alicia made all of the childish Alicia's behavior fade into something so terribly sad all of my pent up irritation had melted away.

"Thank you," she said and really smiled.  It was stunning.  "So how are you adjusting to your new nature?" she asked.

"I don't know.  I guess that I've been avoiding it mostly."

"It must have been a shock when you found out, since he changed you so suddenly."

"It was.  I was really weak and then he turned up without warning and made me drink blood."

She smiled, "But you felt better, right?"

I smiled rather ruefully.  "Yes, but I hate doing it."

"I did not really like it either, but I was at least prepared."

"I wasn't.  So, how do you feel about it now?" I wondered.

"She loves blood, so I usually don't need to bother."

"Lucky you," I said and then realized how ridiculous it was to imply she was lucky for not being sane most of the time.  "Sorry," I said, feeling much like a fool.

"Not to worry," she said and then she laughed.  She stood up.  "Let's run farther down the beach!  I don't know how much time I have left and I want to enjoy every minute of it!"

"Okay," I agreed, as her happiness seemed to melt away all of the negative things that had plagued me.  I stood up and put my arm through the strap of my bag.

"Terrence!" she called.  "We're heading down the beach!  Come with us, if you want!"  A moment later Terrence emerged from the trees down the beach.  "Terrence, come on!"

"Okay, Alicia," he agreed and his voice sounded different than it was when he was dealing with the mad doll.

We ran, our feet kicking up sand or splashing in the water.  Alicia seemed to run for the pure joy of freedom.  Even Terrence seemed lighter than I had ever seen him.  This was probably why Michael had wanted Alicia with him, because this Alicia was intuitive and gracious.  She had a gift.  Compared to her I could not help but wonder why Michael had been interested in changing me.

Finally Alicia had enough running and we started walking back the way we came.  Alicia picked up a shell.  "Isn't this beautiful?" she asked me.

"Yes, it is," I agreed.

"It seems a shame to let it be destroyed by the elements.  I want to keep it, but she'll throw it out when she comes back.  She doesn't like this sort of thing.  Will you keep it for me?"  She looked at me.

"Okay," I agreed.  What else could I say?  I stuck the shell in my bag.

We reached the road that would take us back to the  house.  There was a jeep parked there.

"When I was a girl, vehicles looked a lot different than that.  Only a few people had them.  My father did, because he could afford it.  We also had horses," she commented.

"Horses?"

"Most people still had wagons then.  Our horses were mostly for pleasure.  I loved to ride."

"I've never tried," I said vaguely.

"I'm sure you would enjoy it.  It's very soothing."

I tried to imagine being soothed on top of a large animal with big teeth.  I could not imagine it.

She turned to Terrence.  "I'm not ready to go back yet, Terrence.  Do you mind if we stay a bit longer?"

"We can stay all night, if you want," he said.

We all sat down again on the beach, but it was not long before Alicia was up again.  She got up and danced around in the surf, like an excited child, but all the while bearing her air of graceful peace.  The sun sunk until it was nearly touching the horizon and all I could see was her silhouette as she played in the waves.

I looked over at Terrence.  He was watching Alicia with an unusual look on his face.  It was different than the calm patience I was used to seeing.  It  was adoration.  I wondered if he loved the real Alicia, if he loved the mind of the mind of the doll.

"How long have you been taking care of her?" I asked him.

"Since she first became like us.  Michael first asked me to as a favor, but now I do it because I want to."

"Will she be this way long?" I wondered.

A sad expression flickered crossed his face so quickly I almost missed it.  He took a deep breath and answered, "I never know.  Sometimes she stays for days, other times it's mere minutes.  I never know until it happens.  The times she is herself have always been erratic."

"It must be hard," I commented, feeling great sympathy for the man beside me.

He shrugged.  "I've got the time to be patient."

At that moment Alicia gracefully sat down between us.  She lay back in the sand and said, "I love this beach!  I love this island!  I'm lucky that Michael keeps me here." 

Terrence chuckled a bit.  I smiled and lay back on the sand just like Alicia.  I never felt comfortable around people easily but for some reason I was in that moment.

The sun disappeared.  The sky above us was an ever deepening blue and I could see the stars above my head beginning to show.  They were beautiful, but the constellations that were peeking out were unfamiliar, reminding me how far I was from home.

Then Alicia pushed herself up abruptly and spoke and I had a sinking feeling.

"Terrence!"  Her tone was whiny.

"Yes, Alicia?" he asked in a carefully calm voice.

"Why am I laying in the dirt?  I've got sand in my hair!"  She looked around again and her gaze fixed on me.  "And why am I associating with this drab girl?  Terrence, why did you let me do this?  You know I don't like this person."

"I simply let you do what you wanted to do, Alicia," he said in the same controlled voice.

She ignored his words.  "I want to go home.  I don't feel very good.  I want some blood!"  Her whine sounded worse than normal, but perhaps it was just because I could now see the contrast of who she once was and may have been.

Terrence stood up and offered Alicia a hand.  Alicia took it and stood.  She cast another disgusted gaze at me, before flouncing off to the waiting vehicle.

Terrence looked at me.  "I was going to offer you a ride home, but..."

"I understand," I said, feeling incredibly sad for both Terrence and Alicia.  I even felt sad for myself, not so much because the childish Alicia was back and I would have to deal with her antics, but because the adult Alicia was gone and I already knew I would miss her.

I remained on my back in the sand while I listened to the sound of the vehicle until it completely faded away.  Then I stood up and stripped to my bathing suit and walked towards the dark ocean.

My face was wet before I even touched the water.