Free Last Car to Annwn Station by Michael Merriam Page B

don’t lose it.”
    “What happens if I do?” Jill asked. She tensed, the evening’s pleasantness erased by the impossible, yet obviously real, experience she was having.
    “Bad things,” Mae said, which did nothing to relieve Jill’s fears. She nodded and slipped the transfer into her pocket, mimicking Mae’s actions. “Where are we going?”
    “I don’t know. But we’ll get there.”
    Jill fidgeted in her seat and looked around at the other occupants. She had told Mae she was into weird, and that was not a lie, but this was almost too much.
    There had been hints in her life, things her brother Robert had told her, questions he had asked, as if subtly trying to find out if Jill believed in or had ever experienced anything supernatural. She had missed her last self-defense class with Mae to have drinks with Robert. Over lobster and wine, after extending her an invitation to a Halloween party with a group of his country-club friends and in between working his charm on the cute little college girl waiting on them, he had bluntly asked her if she had ever made something happen that she could not explain. She had shaken her head no, and he had given her a considering look, as if he did not quite believe her.
    It was real, she thought. Magic was real. She had thought once that she had seen a flame appear over her brother’s hand as they had sat around talking after a family dinner. He had peered at her over the flame, as if challenging her to ask him questions, but she had decided it was too much wine on her part.
    The streetcar stopped two blocks further on and the Asian couple climbed off. Mae sat quietly, occasionally peering at Jill to see her reaction. Finally Jill blew out a long breath and said with more bravado than she felt, “Well, I said I was into weird. And this is weird.”
    The car didn’t stop again until the corner of Lake and Lyndale. The rabbit-headed man stood and, giving Mae and Jill a polite nod, stepped off the car. “Our stop is next,” Mae said, dragging Jill toward the back door.
    “How do you know that?” Jill asked.
    “Because you live on Colifax.”
    Jill cocked her head and gave Mae a little smile. “I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this before, but you get weirder at night.”
    “It’s the influence of the moon,” Mae said. They walked the block to the townhouse, shrugging out of their coats as soon as they entered the building.
    “I’m going to go change,” Mae said.
    “You want anything from the kitchen?” Jill asked. “I figured I’d come up and help you finish unpacking, unless you’ve got other plans.”
    “Anything to drink would be fine.”
    By the time Jill climbed the stairs, two steaming cups of cocoa in hand, Mae had changed into a T-shirt and pajama pants. Jill sat next to her on the futon. “So…”
    Mae gave her a crooked little smile. “I just—when I saw the streetcar coming, I really wanted you to see them for yourself.”
    “And now I know.” Jill wondered if she should tell Mae about her brother.
    “Are you okay?” Mae looked pensive, as if letting Jill in on her secret might be a deal-breaker in their budding relationship.
    “I’m glad you showed me.”
    “I wanted someone else to know, I wanted you to see. I know it’s something out of a fantasy story, but it is real.”
    Jill nodded. She would have to tell Mae about Robert and his odd questions. Mae seemed to be a part of the magical world Robert apparently lived in. “It’s kind of like Halloween came early.”
    “That was my first thought,” Mae told her.
    “Speaking of Halloween, do you have any plans for this year?”
    “Halloween?” Mae asked.
    “Yeah, you know, that night every year when little kids dress up as monsters and extort sweets from adults.”
    “I think I’ll lock myself in my room with the lights off, climb into bed with the laptop, and read email and blogs all night.”
    “You can deal with phantom streetcars and impossible creatures, but not