The first sound she heard was laughter without fear. A happy, guttural sound that bubbled up to her left and was quickly reflected around her as it infected others.

Her first breath was filled with the scent of fresh leaves and sweet water punctuated with a heady essence, like cinnamon-soaked paper burning in incense.

There was a thumping in her heart and spine, a deep, gentle rhythm that massaged her into consciousness.

She opened her eyes.

Neon swirls of mist, pulsing and flowing in front of her eyes.

She was lying on her back on a soft glass floor that glowed around the form of her body as it cushioned her.

In front of her, silhouettes of dancing forms in the mist twirled and glided, as those nearest to her slowed down and came over to look at her.

"Are you ok, shimmer?" An airy, feminine voice melted out of the music from the lips of a lady about ten years her senior.

Her bright green hair fell around her face like it was dancing with the mist itself.

She reached out towards her with a hand wrapped in a loose golden chain. It entwined with her fingers as if her palm was being kissed by a snake.

Without thinking, Anna took it, the cool gold playing across her skin as they connected.

“There you go,” the lady said as Anna came to her feet. “Rise with the rings, shimmer.”

Anna looked at her hand again and could see no rings. Just the chain.

She was about to ask what she meant when she saw the woman properly.

Her body was wrapped in a transparent silver mesh, shining in the neon mist as it curled around the swell of her breast.

The light skirt she wore parted so high it almost floated—her skin glowing underneath.

Anna didn’t know where to look. She turned away in a half panic, only to be greeted by a celebration of softness. The bodies that flowed around her to the music were unhidden. The lights moved over skin like water on marbled glass.

Fabrics floated, hips swung, bare feet made the sheer floor glow with every tap and glide.

The bass hummed with them, and neon synths curled a glittering hook around the vocalist's cry.

IN THIS HEAVEN THAT WE COMMAND

EVERY DREAM BLOSSOM BOLD AND GRAND 

NO CHAINS TO BREAK, FOR NONE WERE EVER CAST 

FROM THIS STARSEED BLAST WE BLOOM FREE AT LAST

Anna swallowed and turned back to her helper, afraid of where her gaze might land.

She met her eyes directly. The lady’s pupils, green like her hair, beamed back at her with a pull of acceptance.

“Hello,” her voice lifted happily. “It’s ok, sweet shimmer. You’re safe.”

She laughed happily, joyfully.

“You look like you got slammed in the soul by a solar flare.

Would you let me bring you to the BreathGarden? Get you some water?”

Anna somehow found herself nodding. Her jaw was clenched, her hands sweaty inside those of the lady who lifted her.

“Oh, you dear thing. I don’t know what happened but I can feel your weight.” Her smile softened. “It’s like you haven’t spilled for years shimmer.”

Anna took her first step into the misted disco and felt it: the tug of rain-heavy fabric gripping her thighs, clutching like a frightened child. She looked down at her body for the first time since her eyes opened and saw she was in the same rain-soaked dress she wore to MaryAnne’s showcase. The crumpled folds tightly hiding her frame and pulling at her every step.

“What is happening?” she said. She could feel her heart in her chest, her skin trying to shiver. Was this some crazy part of MaryAnne’s show? No. That was definitely over. Had Nemi dragged her with them to some bizarre exhibitionist club? She scanned the room. Not a sign of them or anyone she recognised, just soft swaying shapes melting into the mist.

Suddenly, a cool swish of air draped over her from above as she was led in through a thin waterfall of scarlet-grey mist.

The world around her felt like it transformed. The beats of the synth were muffled, the air was fuller, cleaner, more open. Smooth arches and alcoves greeted her, with vibrant pools of shining water between them. Women sat, relaxed on glass benches that seemed to mold to their forms, with a slight phosphorescence responding to every bit of skin that touched them.

In front of her, lounging next to a pool, a woman lay completely bare except for a few silver threads that encircled the round of her belly. She fanned herself with her hand while another woman opposite her ripped a chunk off something juicy with her teeth and popped it into her mouth with glee, laughing as the purple juices spilled down her chin and onto her legs.

“I’m going insane…” Anna whispered.

“It’s ok, lost little…” her green-haired guide said, putting her hand on her shoulder. “We’ve all felt like that. Even stars can get dimmed in a dustflash.”

She took her to a smooth pod, rounded like a dewdrop, soft green and smelling like a forest at dawn.

“Just wait here a moment, shimmer. I’ll be back in a pulse.”

She tried not to watch the woman walk away, the smooth split fabric swaying on her hips. Anna sat back and touched her pulse. It was slow and steady in contrast to how she felt her heart should be pounding.

Where the hell was she?
Why was everyone so joyous?
Why was nobody staring at her, dressed and acting so differently to them?
And then another question cut through the rest:

Where were the men?

Had time passed? It could have just been seconds. Anna shook her head. Why wasn’t she tired? What even was the time?

She needed to find out where she was, she needed to get out, she needed to get home. Wherever home was. She rummaged hopelessly through her pocketless dress and checked in her bra to see if she’d stashed her phone or a card in there. She had to get out of here.

Anna stood up and wobbled, her hips unused to the soft glass she'd been sitting on—she put out her hand to steady herself and the mist caught around it, rippling and wavering. The clouds parted as another hand came into view to catch her.

“There you go.” A voice like sugar-coated diamonds. The woman it belonged to looked about the same age as Anna, the black curls of her hair woven with tiny silver threads that reflected the soft colours of the BreathGarden. She wore a flowing purple gauze wrap that spiraled around her body in the space’s swirling breeze.

Her eyes caught Anna’s and a smile burst onto her face. “It’s a lot, isn’t it?” she said. “It’s only my second time, first since ascension! I don’t know how I’ll handle a Glowfloor. You are beautiful, sister!”

“I am?”

“By the Rings, yes!” she laughed in delight. “You're wrapped so tight you might go supernova, but your heart, your wisdom, it’s burning like Lightspill!”

Anna was at a loss: this woman was showering her with bizarre compliments with the innocence of a child seeing a puppy for the first time.

 “I’m… so confused.”

“Uh huh,” she nodded, still clearly delighted. “I know just what you mean.”

“I really don’t think you do,” Anna said. She didn’t know when it had happened, but her fingers had become interlaced with hers. She couldn’t help herself, she found herself laughing with the girl.

“I’m going to sit by this pool,” she laughed back. “Would you like to join me?”

Anna didn’t know what to say but sat down anyway. The air was even cleaner here, like it was flowing off the surface of the water itself.

 “You haven’t ascended yet, have you…” she asked Anna. “You are still absolutely welcome in the Misthall, you do know that.”

Mist Hall. Anna ran through her mind, trying to find that name in her memory. Was that the new club MaryAnne told her about?

 “There you are, shimmer.”

Anna turned to the voice to see her green-haired helper holding a glass of water that was curved like a flower bud.

 “Oh, Lira,” she said, turning to Anna’s new companion. “What a lovely thing for you two to have met.” She handed the glass to Anna. “You are in very good hands here, shimmer.”

 “I’m Anna,” Anna offered, taking the glass.

“Anna!” Both declared happily.

“Thank you for sharing,” the green-haired woman continued. “I’m Ris. Are you feeling any better, Anna? Would you like me to stay until you find your flow again?”

"I don't think flow is really something I do," Anna said, shaking her head. "I more, sort of, stumble."

Lira and Ris looked at each other, then back to Anna with tenderness in their eyes.

"Stumbling is just flowing with extra honesty," Lira winked. "The rings don't spin straight either."

"Everything that moves has its flow, little star," Ris added. "Your stumble is just as sacred."

Anna looked up at them. She could feel warmth under her eyes. What did these strangers want with her? What were they even saying—and why was it making her so emotional? She should be panicking, she should be worrying, yet she felt like sobbing and unloading onto them.

"I'm just so lost," she whimpered, a tear sliding out of her left eye.

"Do you want a spill hand, Anna?" Lira said, offering her hand towards hers.

"I have no idea what you mean!” she sobbed as she took it. The tears falling fully now.

"Who cares what we mean?" Lira said. "Spill without shame, sister."

"No." Anna said, fighting back the tears. She took her hand out of Lira's and dried her eyes. "I've got to go home. I don't even know how I got here."

The ladies didn’t respond. Just sat by the pool with her.

"Why do you feel so safe?" she asked them.

"Do we?" Lira asked. Her hand was still being offered; it hadn’t moved after Anna had let go.

"You do." Anna nodded, taking it again.

"Then be safe, Shimmer," Ris said.

Anna shook her head. "I don’t know how to get home."

"I'll help you." Lira's smile bubbled up again. "I mean, I can't say much for my own sense of direction, but…"

"I don't have any—"

"Sister," Lira put her other hand on Anna’s. "You're safe. I won't leave you."

"Neither will I if you don’t want, Shimmer," Ris said. "But if you've got this, Lira, I will go fix up refreshments." She took the empty glass from Anna and tilted her head to Lira, who just nodded in response.

Lira turned to Anna again as Ris walked back through the falling mist. "Anna, are you new to RibbonSail?"

"What's RibbonSail?" she asked, shrugging.

Lira looked at her for a moment, then smiled. "Stars, you're not joking, are you?"

Anna shook her head.

"And you don’t know how you got here?"

Anna shook her head again. Lira must think she's insane.

"You are amazing," she grinned. "I want to know everything about you."

"You do?" Anna asked, the openness on Lira's face shined unapologetically.

"I do. If and when you want to share."

Anna laughed again. "I really don’t think I’ve much to share. I study biology. I live with my mother, though I spend a lot of nights at my boyfriend's. I’m massively in debt. I’m constantly fighting my body, and I could really do with a shot of tequila! So I guess the same as every twenty-something girl… You didn’t understand anything I just said, did you?" she said, looking at the marvel in Lira’s eyes.

"Not a word, but I’m fascinated!" she laughed, and Anna laughed too.

"Ugh. Fine. Fuck it. I’m done making sense of any of this." Nothing made sense. Maybe this was a weird bi-panic dream, or maybe she really had finally lost her mind. Either way, she might as well enjoy the madness.

She closed her eyes and nodded, and as she did, she felt the music from the other room switch. The deep pulse of the bass shifting in her ribs. She stood up.

"Come on! Let’s fucking dance!" she said, and Lira bounced up like a Labrador who’d just heard a leash rattle.

"Can I join you?" she asked.

"Hell yes! Who did you think I was talking to?"

Anna grabbed her hand. Together they ran out through the beads of smoke and back to the dance floor.

Lira circled around her, feet moving with catlike grace, her eyes locked on Anna’s, who was doing her best to let herself go and just move. She didn’t want to think about how the other women were dancing so much looser, or how overdressed she was, or what Brandon would think if he saw her surrounded by all these half-naked women. She just wanted to dance to this shining, sugar-fused music that was sweeping through her soul.

Halfway through one dance or the next, Ris found them and, with a gentle kiss on Lira’s forehead, handed them each glasses of water, which the two downed quickly and returned to their dance.

"You're like a moon finding its orbit," Lira said several songs later. "Your gravity is calling to us all, sister."

Anna just laughed at Lira’s nonsense. Her dance did seem to be attracting attention. Around the room, women were glancing her way, not staring, but smiling. Acknowledging her difference with welcoming grace.

And apart from them all—SHE stood.

She seemed impossibly tall the first time Anna saw her. She was standing with her back straight, grounded like stone in sea, a glass of something orange and viscous in her hand. Her hair was styled into black and yellow spikes, and she wore a black robe that fell off her right shoulder as if the storm-dark silk had been told very sternly not to trespass there. 

The woman turned her head in Anna’s direction and, for a moment, their eyes met. Mist, dancers, and music melted into the periphery as a little, one-sided smirk appeared on the woman's face.

"Of course," Lira said, a mischievous twist to her voice. "Some orbits pull harder than others."

Anna turned back to Lira to see a smirk on her face. "Careful, sister," she said. "I think she might be a Voidwalker."

"Oh, of course," Anna said rapidly. "I wasn’t looking. I have a boy—"

"It's ok Anna! You don’t need to apologise for misting. Especially not here. The first time I visited, I swear I caught at least four crush trails."

Anna shook her head, but glanced back towards where the woman had just been, only to see no sign of her-except for a spiralling staircase leading out into clear light behind where she had been standing.

"Is that the way out?" Anna asked.

"Yes," Lira said. "You need to get Petalside, sister?"

Anna bit her lip. It would be good to find out where she was, she told herself. If she could at least find a street sign, she could roughly triangulate herself - maybe. Yes, this was a sensible, wise thing to do. Then she'd come straight back and plead with Lira to pay for a taxi. Surely she knew what a taxi was.

"I’ll just be a moment, ok?"

"Sure, sister," she winked. "You flow on. I’ll be here."

Anna walked away, the soft glass floor glowing every time it received her bare feet. Just a few seconds, she thought, as she climbed the stairs, just long enough to find out where she was.

But then she saw, and her entire world broke.

She was standing in a wide courtyard between two dome-shaped buildings. They towered above her, built in organic arc shapes like shells of fluid purples and whites. Translucent bridges that glittered like spun sugar connected the petal-shaped space to others, each with its own bizarre dome buildings.

But all of this strangeness paled compared to the one shape that dominated the sky.

Above her, in a nest of the brightest stars, stood a colossal planet: pale, golden yellow, with bands of brown and grey.  Stretching out from either side of the alien city she stood in, colossal concentric rings extended around the giant gaseous orb.

"Saturn…" Anna whispered to herself, her smile tearing at the seams.

Then it all burned away into blackness and was gone.

Anna was apologising before she even knew what she had done wrong. Her ringtone echoed sharply around the stairwell as she fumbled for the green circle on the screen.

"Damnit!" The missed call icon taunted her from the top corner.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she muttered to the screen, finally swiping her thumb up to answer.

"Hey babe. I'm so sorry, I didn't hear the—"

"Are you OK?" Brandon's voice cut across hers, shaky. Had he been crying?

"Yes, of course. I'm having a great time. Are you—"

"You're with your friends?"

"Yes. It was MaryAnne's showcase this afternoon, remember? I'm out with the gang—you said you didn’t want to come."

"They don't like me," Brandon said. "I just bring everyone down."

"Oh no, you'd be really welcome," Anna said, as Katie's iconic laugh drifted through the closed door.

"I'm weird. I don't fit in."

"Babe, MaryAnne just built an entire dance showcase around Neo-Platonic yearning through the lens of deep-fried BLTs. Trust me, you won't be considered weird here."

"I'm lonely."

Anna sighed. She glanced toward the doorway, then down the winding stairs.

"You want me to come over?"

"No. No, you're having fun. Don't worry about me." He said 

"Okay. So I'll see you tomorrow?"

“Tomorrow?” He asked.

"Yeah. I'll be out late and I've got lab early, so I'll stay at mine."

"Your mum's?"

She sighed. "Yes. With Mum. Okay?"

"You're going to be alright? Having such a short night?"

"Yeah." She turned back toward the door. She could hear Nemi cheering, the others joining in a few moments later.

"I'll just load up on a quad espresso and buzz through the day, wheee..."

She waited.

"Okay?" she added, when no reply came—just as the door opened and Ellie peeked in. Ellie tilted her head questioningly.

Anna pointed to the phone.

Ellie rolled her eyes and quietly pulled the door closed again.

"Yeah. Yeah. Don't worry about me." He said

"Okay, babe. See you tomorrow."

"I love you." His voice was quiet. Slow.

"You too. Bye," she said, and waited.

There was silence for a few moments—then the flat sound of the line cutting out.

Anna slipped the phone back into her pocket and exhaled softly. With a hundred tangled feelings about whatever awful thing her boyfriend was going through, she opened the door and went back to her friends.

Katie was laughing too hard. Her hands were pressed to her chest, her face pushed out into a grin. The music hit Anna full in the face as Nemi grabbed her hand and tugged her back toward their table.

Sweet smile. Bright voice. She told herself—and after a quick breath, she bounced back with her.

The scent of cheap beer spilt out from the centre of the table. MaryAnne, mid-dance, paused just long enough to ruffle Anna’s hair. Nemi put her hands in MaryAnne’s and together they belted out the chorus of "Dancing On My Own,".

Across the table, Ellie caught Anna’s eye and offered a slight smile of solidarity. She placed a hand on Anna’s shoulder. Anna nodded back.
Tonight wasn’t about her and Brandon.

It was about MaryAnne—and the utterly bizarre thing she had just presented after months of work.

Anna pulled her phone from her pocket. A new text floated on the lock screen:

HAVE FUN x

Her finger hovered for a moment over the Flight Mode button. Instead, she typed:

LOVE YOU <3

She hit send and buried the phone deep in her pocket.

Ellie was still watching.  Anna met her gaze for a second, then looked away.

"He just worries about me," Anna said when she looked back. "It’s quite sweet, really."

"Yeah?" Ellie asked simply.

"Yeah. He’s always thinking about me. It’s romantic, when you think about it."

 Ellie nodded briefly. "Drink?"

 "Oh Christ, yes," Anna said

 "Shall I make it a double?"

 Anna opened her mouth, then hesitated.

"Better not," she said. "Want to make sure I get home in one piece.”  She glanced toward the doorway to the stairwell she’d come back through a few minutes ago.

"Fair," Ellie said, and disappeared toward the bar.

MaryAnne bounded over, throwing her arms around Anna’s waist. Anna flinched a little as she felt her belly jiggle under the embrace.

"Fuck! It feels so good to be done with it," MaryAnne hollered, despite being only inches from her. "Woo! Freedom!"

 Anna laughed. "You deserve it. The performance was great."

 "I was garbage!" MaryAnne crowed. "If anyone got one iota of meaning from it, I’ll eat my own ovaries! But fuck it—it was ME, you know?"

 "Was it?" Anna asked, grinning.

 "Probably. I dunno. Who the fuck knows who any of us are?" MaryAnne laughed, blinking rapidly. "Dance with me! Listen! It’s The Killers!"

"I can’t refuse Mr. Brightside," Anna admitted.  She glanced back toward the stairwell, then spun herself into the dance.

Anna almost fell out of the door before she saw the car. She straightened instinctively, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

His car was waiting at the curb, door open, light on, Coldplay drifting through the air from the stereo.

A wide, tight smile flushed onto Brandon’s face the moment he saw her. He wore a clean white hoodie and perfectly crumpled jeans. His hair was messy, several loose locks falling haphazardly where his hairline was still damp.

"Hey!" Anna said, "This is a surprise."

"I was thinking to myself that I missed you," Brandon said, "and then I realised—I can’t join you with your friends, but I can drive you home."

"You're so thoughtful," she said, placing a kiss on his cheek, pleasantly eager to be able to take her heels off.

"You deserve it," he replied, shutting the door as soon as she sat down.

"I’m not sure I do," she said as he put the car into gear.

As the car pulled away, she caught Ellie’s eye among the group outside. Ellie gave a small wave, then disappeared as Brandon turned the car around the corner.

Anna looked at Brandon—his eyes fixed on the road, fingers tapping the steering wheel to the beat of the music.

Anna took a breath and broke the silence.

"Thanks again for picking me up. You didn’t have to."

"I wanted to," he said. "I like seeing you."

"I know. I didn’t mean—thanks," she said, turning back to the window.

Rain started to gently fall—patting the windshield with dark drops.

"Good night?" Brandon asked.

"Yes," Anna said, laughing. "MaryAnne’s showcase was ridiculous! Everything was either pink, green, or red like..."

"...It was part of a BLT?"

"Exactly, but unless you knew that, you wouldn’t have known."

"So it was terrible then?" he said with a laugh.

"No," Anna said too quickly. "It was odd and maybe a little pretentious, but it was so her."

“Odd and pretentious?”

"No! That’s not what I meant."

"I know," Brandon laughed. "I was only joking. Was it a belly dance then?"

"What?" Anna raised an eyebrow.

"I only mean that MaryAnne is a bit… y’know'"

She blinked. "Another joke?"

"Of course," he said, finally looking at her. He reached over with his left hand and tickled under her chin. "You know I don’t think about you like that, right? I love you—just as you are."

"Are you saying I’m overweight?"

"No! I’m saying I love you the way you are."

"And what is the way I am? Or the way MaryAnne is, for that matter?"

"Oh don’t be hysterical, you’re nowhere near as fat as she is," he laughed.

Anna didn’t.

"That’s not funny, Brandon. Not at all."

Brandon stopped laughing immediately and looked at her

"Anna, fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I swear."

Anna looked away, her arms folding tight across her stomach.

"I wasn’t thinking. I was being a complete idiot. You’re beautiful. You’re perfect. I love you. You know that, right? I’d never hurt you. Please don’t be upset. Please."

He reached towards her. She tried not to flinch as his fingertips brushed against her knuckles.

"Oh God. What have I done?" he muttered.

"It’s fine," she said. "Watch the road."

"Fuck. I’m such an idiot. I’m so sorry. I just tried to do something nice and I’ve ruined it again. I’m so sorry."

"It’s fine."

"I don’t know why you put up with me. You could do so much better. I’m awful."

"You’re not awful," she said, her voice thin.

"Bullshit."

"You made a mistake. Okay? It’s okay, Brandon.” She sighed. “Look, it’s late, I’ve had a bit to drink. Just drop me home and—"

"Home? Your mum’s?"

"Yes. I’m going back to mine tonight, remember?"

Brandon said nothing but started tapping at the Sat Nav on his phone.

"You were taking me back to yours? I told you on the phone—"

"I just thought that—well... My apartment is closer, so…"

"So what? You pick me up and expect a blowjob in payment?"

"No! That’s not fair! You know I’d never pressure you."

"So what then? Why did you drive out to get me?"

"I just wanted to do something nice for you... I..."

"You know what. Just stop the car, Brandon. I’ll walk from here."

"No! You’ll get cold. I can’t let you."

"Let. Me. Out."

"Just let me drive you back. I promise I’ll be quiet. I’ve been such a terrible boyfriend. I hate myself so much."

"Oh Christ," she groaned, "I can’t. No more. Just let me out."

"I’m sorry. I’ll shut up, I promise." Tears were streaming down his face now.

"Then shut up!!" she shouted.

His mouth quivered. He silenced himself, tears pooling silently into his lap as he drove.

Anna turned her face to the window. Her mind starting to fill with self-flagellation. The wipers smeared the rain across the windshield.

Finally, the car pulled up outside her house.

"I’m sorry," she said as he parked.

"I’ll see you tomorrow," Brandon replied, his voice cracking under the weight of restricted sobs.

Anna’s fingers tightened on the door handle.

"Brandon, really. I’m sorry. You were so kind. I’m just rude. You didn’t deserve me shouting..."

"It’s okay," he whimpered.

She sat there a moment longer, Then she opened the door and stepped into the rain.

"I love you," he said quietly.

She turned — but he was already driving away, the tail-lights blurring into the wet, her heels forgotten on the passenger seat.

Anna let herself into the dark house.

She collapsed onto the bed, still wearing her dress, the fabric clinging damply to her thighs. Her hair stuck to her forehead.

The rain pattered on the window, then bled into nothing.