Bloom (High School Me): You can’t catch me!

(Bloom dashes through memories as the world quickly shifts around her. Through a forest, down a school hallway, across a field, up a flight of stairs. She slows and comes to a stop in a dark, crowded room.)

Bloom: Hah, they’ll never find me here.

(Bloom pushes her way into the room, the crowd bustling around her as if she wasn’t there. Satisfied with her hiding spot, she peers back at the way she came… right at me, inches from her face.)

Bloom (jumping back): AAAAH!

Mom (Present Me): Caught you.

Bloom: Wh… How did you do that!? I just got here!

Mom: Bloom, you’re hiding in my memories! I can go wherever I want, and I always know where you are.

Bloom (disappointed): Aw, you’re no fun.

Libra (College Me): I know you’re here somewhere!

(Libra pushes her way through the crowd, making her way to us. As with Bloom, the crowd moves about her as if she wasn’t there.)

Libra: Aha, I found you!

Bloom (sulking): Mom already found me. Instantly.

Libra: I told you not to let Mom play.

Mom: You should have listened to your big sister.

Bloom: Ugh, fine.

(Bloom turns to leave, but a random person turns and walks into her, knocking her to the ground.)

Bloom (upset): Ouch, hey!

(The person walks away as though nothing happened.)

Bloom (standing up): What an asshole! Didn’t they see me?

Mom: I don’t think so. From your perspective, this won’t happen for years. You’re both too young to be here, so I don’t think this memory reacts to you.

Libra: Where is here, anyways?

(As Libra asks her question, the room becomes more clear, like a camera being brought into focus. The people in the crowd are wearing a variety of costumes and they’re all socializing in small groups.)

Mom: It’s a Halloween party. A pretty important one… You wouldn’t have stumbled into it otherwise, Bloom. A friend convinced us to meet her here, but she never showed up.

Libra: I’m sorry, Mom. That sucks.

Mom (smiling): It’s okay! This story has a happy ending. Since I didn’t know anyone here, I tried my best to be social. I met all sorts of new people. Some of the people I met this night end up being my closest friends for nearly a decade.

Bloom: Just by chance?

Mom: Pretty much!

Libra: Do you still hang out?

Mom: I keep in touch with a couple, but most of us drifted apart, as people do. You know they were some of the first people I came out to?

Libra: Really? Wait… Is that why you drifted apart?

Mom (smiling): Hah! No no. I told you this story has a happy ending. When I told you that you were a girl, how did you feel?

Bloom: Like I was flying through the air!

Libra: Like all of my dreams came true.

Mom: They understood that. Every last one of them was happy for me. I lucked into a wonderfully affirming group of friends.

Bloom: Awww! That’s a sweet story. I’m glad things are happy for us sometimes.

Mom: They’re happy for us most of the time! We have a lot of emotional baggage to unpack, so we do hard work here. But make no mistake; I’m far happier than I’ve ever been in my life.

(The three of them watch the crowd for a bit together.)

Bloom: Okay Libra, hide and seek again! No following me this time, Mom!

Mom (smiling): Go ahead, I’m going to enjoy this memory a bit longer. Have fun girls.

(Bloom runs off, Libra following after a moment later. I smile and have a seat alongside my old friends.)