When Lee arrives, Clay greets her at the door. You told him you'd feel weird doing it with the way you look. One of the other tenants might see you...not that they'd recognize you. You're waiting for her in the living room. She walks in and takes a long look at you.
"You make a pretty nice woman," she says. "What's with the makeup?"
"It's not exactly makeup," you mutter. Lee understands quickly. You shift the subject by calling attention to the backpack she's brought with her.
"Mostly clothes," she says. "If you don't like pink, I have some alternatives." She pulls out a few regular tee-shirts. You pick one with a cute cartoon bear aiming a sniper rifle, with the caption "Who's the Prey Now?".
"I also brought some old sneakers," she says, handing you a worn pair of dirty-white trainers. "And some bras, in case...well...just in case."
You thank her for the clothes and show her into your bedroom. She empties half the backpack onto your bed. Then she notices the red bathing suit that used to be a shirt and throws it into the bag. She gives you a "You never know" sort of look. You notice a pair of faded jeans and grab those to go with your shirt. The forest isn't exactly a good place for skirts and hose.
Lee leaves you alone to change. You're glad to find that the tee-shirt and jeans fit you almost perfectly. The pants are a tad long in the legs, due to your height difference. You pull your lengthy hair through the collar and let it fall behind you. You notice that Lee put a few socks on the bed as well, and you slip a couple of them on.
"Are we ready to go?" you ask as you return to the living room, backpack in hand.
"If you are," Clay responds. "You lead the way."
Lee reaches towards her backpack, and you make an offer to carry it. She smiles but takes it anyway. You shrug and lead the two out of the building and down the road.
Along the way, you make an effort to chat with Lee about innocent stuff. "Glad it's not raining today."
"I bet you are," she remarks. "Although I wouldn't mind so much if all it did was grow hair out." She takes a lock of your hair and strokes it. "Yours is just to die for."
You don't find the compliment particularly comforting, but try to brush it off. "Think I should donate it again?"
"Definitely. I might just make it into a wig for myself."
"No, don't cover up your hair," you say. "It's perfect just the way it is."
"Really? I think it's too curly."
Now that the conversation has shifted to her, you take the advantage. You ask what she does and how long she's lived in the area. She tells you she's been here for three years as an assistant to a publisher that specializes in nonfiction books. She's read all sorts of theoretical essays, autobiographies and historic texts. Soon you're trading ideas about whether or not William Shakespeare existed, if there really are parallel dimensions, and why people constantly forget where they left their keys. (You both agree on gremlins for the latter argument.) Just like last night, you start to forget about your troubles until you finally arrive.
"Now that is a big park," Clay says. "It's, like, three blocks wide. There's supposed to be a group of warehouses here, I think."
"I think you're right, but I haven't been by this way in forever. When were you last here?" you ask him.
Clay shrugs and scratches his head. "Couple weeks ago. The buildings were condemned. Even if they were torn down for a park, there's no way all this could have grown in two weeks."
"See that sign?" Lee says, pointing to a half-rusted plaque on the equally rusty black bars of the entry gate. It says "CITY PARK" with a small row of strange symbols beneath it. They're easy to miss at a casual glance. "I recognize those runes from somewhere."
"You think it's some kind of magic spell?" you ask. "Is that what brought the park here?"
"Brought it here, made it grow so fast, or disguised it as warehouses until the spell got broken. No way to tell what they're for unless you know the right brand of magic," Lee answers. "I've read my share of lore, but never bothered to memorize any of it. I didn't think it'd ever come in handy."
You nod. You proceed through the gate, Clay and Lee falling in line behind you. You spot the path you started out on the other day and head in that direction.