Morning comes quickly but this time I've been dreaming. It's hard to leave the world my mind has created, or remembered. I was dressed in a gown at a ball. The smell of salt and damp surrounded me as I dance with Haruka, round and round. It was a beautiful dream or forgotten reality. I slip out of the bed and quickly pull the blankets together smoothing out the sheets, I wont be sleeping here again. I take the clothes out of the closet and walk them down the hall to the master bedroom. Haruka is asleep curled to one side of the bed, the other side, my side, is untouched. I pull open the closet and stare for a moment before dropping my clothes. I'm not sure how the closet is set up but all I see are pants and shirts. Haruka moans in her sleep as I sit on the floor staring up at the clothes. All of the bravery I mustered to move back into my room has left me and I feel broken I pull my knees to my chin and being to sob, shouldn't my clothing be with Haruka's, shouldn't this be my closet if it is indeed my room. I being to rock back and forth when I feel Haruka's arms around my shoulders. "I thought I heard you." She says.

"I wanted to put my clothes in here."

"In my closet?"

"No in our closet." I sob.

"Oh honey, we can't fit all of your clothes with all of mine, you have your own closet." She points to a door across the room. I sniff.

"My own?"

"Yes. When we renovated we decided it was for the best, a hers and hers if you will." Haruka helps me up and walks me to my closet. She opens the door and flicks the light. My closet is vast. There are shelves of shoes and hangers of dresses and gowns. There are boxes with hats and hooks with scarves, drawers with gloves and cupboards with lingerie. I sniff again. "Oh, this one is mine." I say walking in. Haruka laughs.

"Yes, this one is yours." She goes to retrieve the pile of dresses I dropped on her closet floor and hangs them in the right place. I touch some of my fabrics, trying to imagine where I would have worn the item.

"Our honeymoon in Italy." Haruka offers as I pull out a sheer blue negligee.

"Honeymoon?"

"Mmm, I wanted to go to motorcross but you insisted on Italy."

"Of course, Italy was beautiful." I say. "Wasn't it?" Haruka laughs.

"I have no idea, but you were, as always, a goddess." I blush. "Sorry." She smiles.

"Don't be."

"Are you moving out of the guest room?" she asks as I close the door to my closet and move to sit on the bed.

"I am."

"Is that a good idea?"

"It is." I nod. "I want to live as if I have my memory Haruka, that means sleeping with you and knowing which closet is mine."

"Alright." Haruka said.

"Alright." I confirm. "Treat me today as if I haven't forgotten everything. Don't start conversations by explaining, just talk to me like I'll know what you mean."

"Ok."

"Good."

"Breakfast?"

"Sure." I smile feeling hungry.

"Oh, that's code for go make some." I pull a face as Haruka laughs, I grab her pillow and toss it at her as she dashes out of the way. I'm already feeling better.

I help Haruka prepare our breakfast, we cut up fruit and pour granola over greek yogurt. We take our spread outside and eat on the large patio I didn't notice is located off of the kitchen. The sun is warm but the air is crisp. "What month is it?" I ask taking a spoonful of yogurt.

"March." Haruka replies sipping her tea.

"Why is Hotaru starting school in March?"

"She was too young to start earlier than that. But because she and Chibi are both." She paused. "Advanced the school finally agreed to start them."

"Right because Hotaru remembers her last lives."

"Yes."

"So if time was happening while I was asleep, how long were we actually separated?"

"Eight weeks." Haruka frowned.

"Oh. That long?"

"Longest eight weeks of my life." She placed a piece of apple in her mouth and chewed. I watched her lips move as she enjoyed the fruit. "It was hardest at first, visiting you in the hospital every day you saying you couldn't remember us, couldn't remember me. At first I tried to hold you, kiss you, force you to remember that you loved me. But it was never any use. The next day you'd have forgotten everything and I got cold inside. I missed you terribly but the doctors kept telling us to be patient. Hotaru was the easiest of us to convince. She made a game of our daily visits. She kept a log of everything we chatted about and for the first three weeks she was sure you'd remember if she read it to you. But you didn't and she began to lose hope too. "

"What changed?"

"I'm not sure, Setsuna and I got into a rhythm. We'd show up at your door and wait for you to tell us we had the wrong room, it played out like a broken disc repeating over and over. Hotaru would climb on your bed and you would come to accept what we were saying was true then we would leave and you would sleep. When you woke up, clean slate. "

"How frustrating."

"There were times we wondered if you knew deep in your subconscious. I wondered if it were like living in a box for you, that you could see us, that you knew us but couldn't tell yourself that you did."

"It never was like that." I frowned. "I wish it were. That first morning that I remember I didn't have any idea who Hotaru was, or you. I thought you had really gotten the wrong room. And the second day, when I did remember it wasn't so much the sight of Hotaru it was the words that triggered. Although the second day, being near Hotaru felt good." I felt my cheeks blush. "Like being near you now."

"Love is hard to forget I guess."

"It must be." Haruka looked away from me. "Did you worry?" I asked.

"Of course. But I tried to remember that we'd been through this already. Only I was the one that didn't remember. I tried to remind myself that you had to push me, and in the end it worked out. I had to believe you'd come around."

"I'm still not there yet." I said.

"No."

"What if I never remember?"

"Then we start over."

"But." Tears filled my eyes. "What about Italy, and those times we had together, the love we made and the life we built?"

"We build a new one. And Italy isn't going anywhere." She moved to sit next to me taking my hands into hers. "Michiru, if we have to make every memory over then we will." My eyes met hers and the tears flowed harder.

"It's not fair for you. I get to experience everything again for the first time. Our first kiss, our first time. You get to lose everything you worked for."

"I never lose if I have you." She held me and I cried.

She held me for a while before we were warm and I was tired, we retreated inside where it was cool and familiar. I got comfortable on the couch while Haruka cleaned up the kitchen. I heard her cell phone ring and the muffled sound of her speaking before she appeared looking concerned.

"What is it?"

"I need to go to the shop for a bit." She said.

"Your car?" I asked.

"Yea, the mechanics have done something to her that my manager is worried about. He wants me to check it before they send it off to be okayed by the racing officials."

"When do you race next?"

"I'm scheduled to race in the May classic providing your health is mended. If not, I'm not going anywhere." I felt a pang of guilt. "I'm really sorry to leave you. Did you want me to take you to Setsuna's?"

"No. You go, I'll stay here and relax."

"You're sure?"

"Haruka." I said standing and joining her. "Go." I kissed her lips quickly before she could protest. She grinned at me before grabbing her keys and heading out the door.

"I wont be long." She shouted. I waved at her as the door closed. I was, alone.