When Serene got to her house, she looked over at Steve's bedroom window, unsure. The blinds were pulled down, but there was a flicker of movement, one of the shades denting inward and snapping back into place. Seconds later, the front door opened, and Steve stepped out. An energy that Serene couldn't ascertain bristled off of him, his green eyes locking with hers. She wanted to ask what happened. How did she wind up skating into town? Why did he go home? She wanted to ask a lot of things but couldn't seem to figure out how without appearing deranged. She held up her hand to wave, appear casual. He didn't respond at first, his hands crammed into his jean pockets. Finally, he lifted his left hand, gave a curt wave and went back inside.
When Serene stepped into the house, she was confronted by Ramani and a group of women sitting in a circle on the living room floor, meditating. Ramani opened her eyes and gave Serene a look.
"Go around back, please," she said, a steeliness to her tone that belied the tranquil environment she was trying to create.
When did these women arrive? Serene wondered. Turning to go back out and through the driveway, she noticed the Volvo parked for the first time. Making her way into the yard, a cold feeling descended upon her. Kanani lay in the Hammock Serene and Steve shared not long ago. She waved, grinning.
"Where's the ice cream?" The smile faded on her lips when she got a look at Serene's expression. "You alright, sis?"
Serene took a seat at the patio table. Kanani got up and joined her.
"Yo, did something happen?"
"I don't… what day is it?"
"Oh, shit." Kanani took her hand. "It went happen again, didn't it? I thought you seemed different. Sis, your hand is ice cold." She placed Serene's fingers between her palms and rubbed hard, catching her eyes, and that's when the trembling started.
"It's okay," Kanani said quietly. "It's okay. I'm here. Don't worry, I'm here."
"Was I Dora?" Serene whispered. She pinched her nose to stop her eyes from watering.
Kanani glanced over her shoulder. "No," she said, her voice just as low. "No. You never turn into Dora. But you were different. I didn't know because you were always going by Serene."
Serene took a breath. "What happened with Steve and me?"
Kanani shrugged. "I don't know. He got a part-time job and hasn't been around much."
Kanani knew the drill, knew about the chasms of time that went missing for Serene, how to fill her in. Once, she had to fill Serene in on two years. She was the only one who shared Serene's secret. Knew that when she went by Dora, she wasn't pretending to be Dora as Ramani insisted jokingly, patronizingly. She was Dora. When Dora took over, Serene disappeared. Dora was Serene's ghosty, as the girls began calling this interloper when they were small. Dora knew how to do things that Serene couldn't do. Dora was an artist. She was good at math and super limber. Dora was loud and talkative. Dora was entrepreneurial. After Cedar died and Dora took over for two years, she'd do things like buy a bunch of candy at Foodland and then sell it out of her backpack at school during break or lunch. Dora made a good thirty dollars a week doing that. Dora learned how to read tarot cards and started charging money to Ramani's hippy friends for readings. Serene knew none of this––Kanani always had to fill her in. Dora didn't care about skateboarding or surfing, or anything Serene found interesting. And even though Kanani thought Dora was cool, she preferred to hang out with Serene.
It had been years since Dora took over, and Serene thought maybe Dora was gone for good. She hugged her arms close to her chest, thinking. "What's the date?"
"June seventeenth."
A week.
"But I wasn't Dora?"
"I mean, you never asked no one to call you Dora."
Dora.
Would she ever be rid of Dora?
For as long as Serene could remember, Dora had made it a habit to hijack her life. She couldn't remember when Dora didn't exist, just like she couldn't remember a time when she didn't know Kanani. Once, Dora had told Kanani that Serene wasn't real, just an imaginary friend. This had frightened Serene, fucked with her head. The thing about Dora, Kanani explained to Serene, is that she never seemed to care how much time passed. She never seemed confused or upset when she was the one who disappeared for long periods. That was why Kanani knew that Dora must be the ghosty, not Serene.
Kanani kept her eyes on Serene, holding her hand.
"I'm losing my mind, aren't I?" Serene said.
"No. Listen to me. You get these changes that come over you, but it's happening less, right?"
Serene nodded. "I wasn't Dora, though, was I?"
"Maybe Dora knows not to go around calling herself Dora, now that you're
