Not that well

When I arrived at the cafe, I spotted Dahlia waiting in the back, reading a book. She still seemed a bit nervous, but tried to hide it when she saw me.

"Hey, Sarah." She calmly said, closing the book.

"Hi." I simply replied, glancing at it.

It was a French novel, the most famous one from Albert Camus, The Stranger.

"So, I learnt that you study French?"

"I do, yes. But only the language class. French is a useful language to know when you study Economics." She looked away and smiled slightly. "Although, I admit that I'm already pretty fluent in it, I mainly took the course for some easy credits and to refresh my memories a bit."

"I see. Were you French before?"

She shook her head. "I've been to France a few times, but no. But I was in close proximity to the language for a long time."

A waiter came and Dahlia ordered a cappuccino, while I ordered a cafe au lait.

"So... How was your day?" Dahlia asked.

"It was a very enjoyable and enlightening experience..." I replied, closing my eyes and smiling.

I couldn't remember the last time I felt that good. Being Sarah... It was like I was living a dream... I felt my smooth thighs rubbing against each other as I crossed my legs a different way, the heels making a small clicking sound as my feet came into contact with the floor. I adjusted my glasses and brushed away some strands of my blonde hair.

The excitement I experienced during the day as I taught Sarah's classes was also still present. I loved teaching, knowing that I was helping the younger generation like this... I wanted to feel this more...

"Ed, it's good that you're enjoying yourself, but don't enjoy it too much. It'll only make it all the more difficult to let go of it."

I opened my eyes and glared at her. "Do you really think you're in a position to lecture me, right now? It's because of you that I'm in this situation in the first place, I never asked for this."

Dahlia sighed. "You're right, I can't lecture you for using the powers I granted you." She then looked back at me. "But I can still give you words of advice. If you really care about Sarah, remove her as soon as you can and wear someone else quickly to try to forget what you just lived today. Find another pretty girl to become and have fun as and let Sarah live her life."

"Why do you care so much?" I asked her.

"Maybe because I don't want you to become like so many other selfish skinwalkers I've met. And because I don't want you to make the mistake I almost commited myself..." She almost whispered this last sentence, the sadness I noticed earlier in her eyes manifesting itself again.

The waiter came back with our drinks, momentarily interrupting our conversation. We thanked him and started to drink. I noticed him observing us, clearly finding us attractive. I let out a small giggle as he left, amused by it. For some reason, even if I wasn't into men, it didn't feel bad to have this effect on people.

After that, I regained my composure and resumed our conversation. "Should I assume that you also wore a person you loved, then?"

Dahlia looked down. "I have, yes... And even to this day, I still remember how it felt... But I knew I couldn't stay... That it wouldn't be right to steal her life..."

"And I know that too, so just let me enjoy it for today." I replied dryly. "I will restore her as soon as I return to her flat. Our meeting only delayed it more."

I finished my drink and got up, dropping a bill on the table for the tab and the tip. "In fact, I'll go do just that, now, before Claire starts worrying about my absence."

"Ed..."

"Listen, I appreciate that you apologised and seem to care, but I still haven't forgiven you for what you did. I'd prefer if you left me alone to cope with all of that."

Dahlia crossed her arms and sighed again, closing her eyes. "Fine. I offered my support and warned you already, I can't do much more than that. I won't **** you to accept my help."

"Thank you. Have a good evening." I simply said, grabbing my bag and walking away.

"Have a good evening... and good luck..." I heard her say as I left the cafe, on my way to Sarah's flat.

I loved this day as her, but I knew I had to let her go... Claire needed me, and Sarah didn't deserve to have her life stolen. As I entered the flat, I was greeted by the happy squawks of the birds. I saw them jumping all around inside the cage as soon as they spotted me.

"I'm back, my babies~" I announced as I got closer.

I slid my finger inside the cage and they quickly went to nibble it. I loved how cute they were. It made me want to get a bird as a pet so much.

It would be hard considering my situation, though...

This thought made me feel a bit depressed. I took a deep breath and went to the bedroom. I plugged in my phone to charge it and laid on the bed, closing my eyes. I tried to focus on Sarah's memories, in order to edit them as Dahlia mentioned yesterday.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a vast park that seemed taken straight out of a fantasy movie, with a rainbow in the sky and strange fauna and flora with vibrant colours everywhere.

That's... Sarah's inner world? It's so beautiful...

I stayed there for a moment, just appreciating my surroundings. Her memories were in the form of bubbles floating all around. I went to the most recent ones, changing last night and today's events. We spent the night together, I slept on the couch, and we parted ways the next morning, promising to stay in touch again. I didn't have to change anything during the morning classes, so I skipped to my first meeting with Dahlia. She came asking about me, Sarah shared some of my likes and dislikes and wished her luck, Michael interrupted the conversation, and they spent time together until the afternoon classes started. I made her forget about the second meeting with Dahlia and instead made her go home earlier, laying on her bed and falling asleep.

Looks good...

I returned to reality right after, noticing that only a few seconds had passed. I undressed, admiring my reflection one more time in the mirror and blushing, and pulled on the back of my neck, removing Sarah's face. It felt so strange to have my own face again after a full day as Sarah, but I didn't have the time to dwell on that for now. I removed the rest of Sarah's skin, moaning as I felt my penis returning.

"Even this way, it's still intense, huh..." I whispered, catching my breath.

I got out of her and laid her skin on the bed, dressing her in the clothes I wore this morning. I changed into my own clothes, grabbed my phone and my bag, made sure that I didn't forget anything, and restored Sarah. I felt almost depressed as her soul left me, but I tried to ignore it. Before she could wake up, I quickly left her flat. A part of me was already missing being her so much, but I just grit my teeth and walked to my place.

Sorry for having used you like this, Sarah...

As I turned on the phone, I saw a lot of missed messages and calls from Dahlia, as she said earlier. I ignored them and focused on two messages Claire sent me. One was from this morning, telling me that she was leaving for work and hoping that I had a good evening with Sarah.

I suppose I did...

The other was from half an hour ago, asking me if I was alright. She was starting to worry, so I quickly sent her a text to reassure her, telling her that I would be home soon.

As I walked, I looked at the sky, thoughtful.

What am I supposed to do from now on...?