‘Where am I?’, Jamesha asked as she looked around the building. The building was small and snug; filled with fairy lights, coffee (of course!), bean bags, tables, fuzzy carpets, blankets, music, books, food, and things that make people relaxed. As Jamesha looked around, she noticed that she was sitting on a black bean bag with her favorite drinks and snacks in front of her on a platter. She raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

‘What the… Who puts that there? And how did they know my favorite drinks and snacks? They probably did something to them.’

Jamesha didn’t touch the food as she looked around once more, looking for who put the food there. As she looked around a second time, she noticed there were two other bean bags by her, in the shape of a circle around her, and that two other women were sitting in them as well. One of the women was dressed in a pair of baggy jeans and a baggy white shirt with a red and black checkered flannel over it, and she had long, white hair placed in a bun. She also had a septum piercing and a small heart tattoo on the top right side of her right cheek.

The other woman was dressed in a pair of jean shorts with a white shirt tucked in her shorts, and her long black hair with purple tips was in a low ponytail. She had a ring on her ring finger on her left hand, and she had a small protruding stomach. Jamesha was shocked. Not about the fact the woman had a ring on nor had a presumed baby bump, but that these two women looked just like her!

They had the same dark skin as her, the same hair type, eyes, lips, nose, dimples, and face! Jamesha could see the women react the same way as her as they looked around and at each other. For a while, the three women sat there looking at each other before they simultaneously said, “Who are you?”

The Married Woman jumped in shock while Jamesha and The Piercing Woman giggled in reply to the unison they just did. The piercing woman smiled brightly, “That was so cool! Can we do that again?”

“Why?” Jamesha and The Married Woman asked in unison before looking at each other, laughing in confusion and wonder.

“This is so cool.” The Piercing Woman said in awe, bouncing in her chair happily.

“This is weird.” The Married Woman said breathlessly, one hand holding her stomach and the other holding a cross necklace.

Jamesha looked at them in confusion, wondering how this happened when she remembered a story she read in school. “I’ve read something about this. In school.”

The Married Woman looked confused and scared, “What do you mean?”

“I read a book about a man who went to sleep, and he woke up in some kind of conference room. A woman was waiting for him with a table full of cards, and they all had his name on them.”

“Ok… That’s weird.” The Piercing Woman said quietly.

“Yeah, but that's not even the weirdest thing. The weirdest thing is that a few minutes after he sat at the table, seven other versions of himself appeared there with him. The whole room was filled with different versions of himself.”

The Married Woman had her mouth open in shock, “How?... Is that what’s happening to us? If it is, then why are there only three of us and not a thousand like his situation?”

Jamesha shook her head, “I don’t know, but in the story, there were some empty seats, and the woman said that it was because the people weren’t with us anymore… Maybe that’s what happened to us. Everyone died, except us.”

The Piercing Woman held her knees to her chest, shaking her head in fear and sadness while The Married Woman held her hand to her mouth.

“That’s messed up.” The Piercing Woman whispered with tears in her eyes.

Jamesha nodded sadly, “But it might not be the case. Maybe they only wanted us to meet each other.”

“But why?” The Married Woman asked, “Why only us? Is it because we might live in the same place?”

“As I said, I don’t know. It might even be because the others didn’t want to see us or weren’t ready yet. Who knows? For now, we should try and calm down and talk about something else.”

They all nodded before The Piercing Woman spoke, “I’m an actress… I didn’t go to college, and I’m in a secret relationship. We have been dating for two years now. I’m also a movie director and producer.”

Jamesha and The Married Woman smiled before Jamesha spoke. “That’s amazing! How many movies have you been in?”

“I’ve been in fifteen, mostly horror and the rest adventure. I’ve been in three series, and I am currently in two shows right now. I was on break before I ended up here.”

The Married Woman nodded before speaking about herself. “I’m married to my husband Mark, and we have three kids. I’m currently pregnant with my fourth child. I’m a high school teacher. I teach Drama and Music. Sometimes I teach Creative Writing.”

“How far along are you?” Jamesha asked, smiling gently.

“Four months.”

“My sister is eight months along.” Jamesha and The Piercing Woman replied simultaneously. Jamesha and The Piercing Woman laugh together.

“That’s one thing we all have in common I guess.” The Married Woman said, humor lacing her voice.

They laughed for a while before Jamesha told them about herself. “I’m an author and translator. I go around the world translating for different people. I write horror and adventure books of all kinds. I have published twelve books so far and am in the process of publishing one now. I have made two series.”

“It must be fun being able to travel all over the world and meet different people.” The Married Woman said.

“It is, but it gets lonely when you don’t have anyone to travel with,” Jamesha said sadly. 

“You don’t have a lover?” The Piercing Woman asked, skeptically.

“Nope. It’s just me, myself, and I. I know it seems bad, but it’s good mostly bc we probably wouldn’t have lasted long. With me working all over the place all the time.”

“Yeah, I guess. But you should try to meet someone.” The Married Woman said.

“I’ll try.” Jamesha laughed.

They are all still when they hear a bell chiming. Jamesha looks at the cafe surrounding them as it fades, and she starts to get tired. “I guess it’s time to go.” She said sadly.

The three women hug each other as they say their goodbyes and wish them good luck.

“Goodbye Jamesha’s. It was nice watching you interact.” A soothing voice said as they fell asleep.

When Jamesha wakes up, she doesn’t remember anything and has a bad headache.

‘What happened? Why can’t I remember my dream? What was it about?’