After the concert, he found himself shuffling along
the street with all the rest of the exuberant audience,
humming one of the band's big-hit melodies, his eyes still
strobing slightly from the light-show. It was so cool and
digital, like all the alternating tail-lights and headlights.

The sky was starting to get much darker and the air was suddenly
colder and then snowflakes were falling down on everybody. He
pulled his hood up over his head.

It wasn't long before there weren't so many people on the street.
He was surprised to realize that he had been following one
particular girl for some time. There was something strange and yet
familiar about her. By then, enough snow was on the ground to show
footprints and hers were the tracks of very small boots with tiny
pointed heels.

The girl stopped under a street-lamp and lifted her small face to
look up into the night sky. He stopped and stood where he was and
looked up too, perhaps hoping to display a sympathetic attitude.

He watched the millions of snowflakes falling down toward him out of
the blue-black infinity and, also out of the blue, his mind recalled
reading somewhere that reality is structured in octaves, like music.
He allowed himself to laugh with pleasure at the thought and then he
tried to casually meet her questioning eyes.

Her smile was sweet but hesitant. The snow had melted on her face and
looked like cold tears. Its crystals sparkled on her dark hair and
eyelashes and her eyes were shining too, dark and deep.

That was when he heard himself saying, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
As soon as the words were out of his mouth he was uncomfortably aware that
he had used the gnarliest old line in the world. He looked down at his feet,
playing for time. He felt like maybe he had forgotten something somewhere, sometime...

But she just laughed lightly and answered, "Of course you do. We have met
many, many times before, don't you remember? I am Nesia."

05/02/2008