Ashore

Her hair flipped across her face, obscuring her features. The sensation of knowing her well swelled in my gut but my head couldn't connect to a time or a place. The ferry's engines churned the water around us, slowing us in order to drift onto the jetty. She pulled back her hair with one hand, and with her free hand brushed the remaining strands from her face.

 I rubbed at the lump on the back of my head, hoping her name might slip out from under the swelling. Only pain came to mind as my lapse in memory became glaringly obvious.

"I'm Angie. We met at your grandfather's store," she said.

The pieces fell slowly but firmly in place. I recalled her admiring Pa's Grandfather clock. I'd backed into her hauling some boxes inside. 

"What are you doing...here?" I asked. I was confused by her presence. How did she get here? I'd fallen through some kind of portal. Of that I was sure, but we had first met on the other side -and now again here in this place that was still foreign to me. She laughed but I was missing the joke, and my face told her so.

"You really don't know, do you?" she said. 

The ferry docked and the gangplank slammed down, bridging the gap between ship and shore. For once,  I was speechless. The crowd shoved from behind, edging me forward. She moved next to me, linking her arm through mine.

"Come on. I'll explain as we go," she said.