‘Have we fully merged?’ asked Bill. His voice sounded exactly like Clover's
‘We have. It seems like I’m talking to myself’
‘You are talking to yourself. What happens now?’
‘I finish my make-up and get dressed. Mum will be here in an hour to drive us to the airport’
‘And we are going to be like this for a week?’
‘We sure are. Now do you understand why I told you not to bother packing just yet?’
‘Yes, it makes sense now. It didn’t at the time. So your Mum knows about what we have done? She will know that I am inside you?’
‘She does. She suggested it was time I let you in on our family secret’
‘That you are witches?’
‘Not really witches. I can’t do any other spells. It’s just women of my family have this ability to merge’
‘It seems like witchcraft to me’
‘Well we should be able to do something else now’
‘What’s that?’
‘We will be able to concentrate on two things at once. Let’s try something. You brush my hair while I do my makeup. I’ll give you control of our left hand’
It worked. Bill was able to brush their long brown hair while Clover applied her rouge and lipstick with their right hand.
‘So how does this work?’ asked Bill
‘The merge or how I let you control parts of my body?’
‘Both I suppose’
‘Well I can’t explain the merge. It just does. The secret and the recipes have been passed down for generations. Only us females can do it and you can’t do it until you meet the one’
‘Who’s the one’
‘You of course. The love of my life. It only works if our souls are bonded together. I couldn’t do it with anyone else’
‘Have you tried this with someone else?’
‘Yes, but it didn’t work. That’s when I knew it was time to say goodbye to Charlie’ Bill knew Charlie was Clover’s ex, not that he had ever met the man. They had broken up a year before Bill and Clover had got together.
‘So how did you know I was the one?’
‘This was a bit of a test, well confirmation really. If we had not have been able to merge then we would have to break up. I was pretty confident it would work’
‘What about my other question?’
‘What was that?’
‘How do you let me control parts of your body?’
‘Again, I don’t really know. I sort of just cede you control. I think I can only do one part of my body at a time. Did you notice that as soon as you started talking you ceased brushing my hair? I think it best that for the moment I take control when we walk. Maybe Mum will be able to enlighten us further’
‘But how do we hold a conversation’
‘I cede you control of my vocal chords. I can take it off you. Try talking now’
Bill suddenly found he could no longer talk.
‘Do you understand?’ asked Clover ‘I’ll give you back control’
‘I can talk again’