Ivy (The Companion): Good morning, Mother.

Mom (Me): Good morning, Ivy. What’s on the agenda for today?

Ivy: Revisiting memories, of course. I feel like I’m getting close to the point when you transitioned.

Mom (curious): Oh?

Ivy: Yeah, I’m reviewing memories where everyone’s stuck at home because of a global pandemic — there are a lot of opportunities for self-reflection.

Mom: Hah, there certainly were. I’m a little surprised you don’t have anything else from your own time that you wanted to talk about.

Ivy: Oh, there are some things I want to discuss with you. It’s just that things are kind of busy around here right now — they can wait a bit, I think.

Mom: You know I’ll make time for you anytime you want.

Ivy: I know Mom. If anything strikes me as particularly serious I’ll come to you right away.

Mom: As long as you’re sure.

Lark (The Dreamer): I hope I’m not interrupting anything?

Ivy: Lark! I didn’t notice you approach.

Mom (suspicious): Indeed — almost as if you arrived out of nowhere.

Lark: Not quite nowhere, Mom. I don’t think I can teleport around like you can, but… The rules of this place have felt a little looser lately.

Ivy: Have they? I haven’t noticed a change.

Mom: I think Lark means looser *for her*. The Dreamer is starting to come into her power.

Ivy (surprised): She gets powers?

Lark: Not like Mom’s powers by any means… But dreams are my purview, and that connection seems to come with certain perks. I’m still figuring it all out, though.

Mom: It feels like you’ve made a solid start. So what brings you to us today?

Lark: I wanted to talk to Ivy, actually. I was hoping we could sort of start over with our relationship.

Ivy (ineasy): What do you mean by “start over”?

Lark: I mean that my twin was literally forced out of my body not long ago and I find I’m a different person now that she and I aren’t tangled up together anymore. I don’t want to minimize your past experience with us — old Lark seemed to have some grudge against you I can’t quite figure out. I have no interest in holding onto that grudge, and I hope I can start to repair the harm I caused.

Ivy (wary): I’d like that too, I think. Why don’t you start by explaining what’s different about you now?

Lark: Let’s see… You knew me as Daphne in her 20s, the last version of us to live a single life, but… I think that’s my twin, not me. *I* am the Dreamer, and I’ve been with Mom from the very beginning.

Ivy: So you’re younger than Bloom?

Lark: Yes, but older too. I feel myself gravitating towards the ideal self Mom sees in her dreams — so mid-20s, much as I am now.

Mom: And you seem to have all of my memories, not just the ones from my 20s.

Lark: True, but… Memories from your 20s feel a little fuzzy to me now that my twin isn’t with me anymore.

Ivy (confused): But aren’t they your memories too?

Lark: They are, but I think perception works differently for me as the Dreamer. Mom’s dreams are clear as day to me, whereas her memories feel fuzzy and dreamlike.

Mom: Whereas my dreams feel dreamlike to me, and I can’t remember them quite as easily — it’s entirely possible that Lark has access to things that I don’t.

Ivy: It almost feels like Lark isn’t really one of us… Like she’s something separate.

Mom: She does feel unlike you in some key ways, but every persona is different. I still feel like she’s my daughter.

(Ivy considers that for a moment and then turns to Lark.)

Ivy: If Mom says you’re part of the family, that’s enough for me. I’m not just going to forget the last couple months, but I’m willing to give our relationship a fresh coat of paint, as it were.

Lark (smiling): That’s all I ask. Thank you, sister.