"Do it."

"I know..."

"I'm the one who found it. Make it complete, Rin. I did my part, now it's your turn."

"I KNOW. I know. But... I..."

"I want my new dress!"

"... I don't think it WANTS to be yours."

"Hmph! Who cares what it wants? It's a future dress, not a person."

"..."

"So you're just going to wait forever? Is that it, Rin? That's all you're good for you know. You wait. And wait. The other witches? They don't hesitate. They take what belongs to them. What belongs to US. It's the natural order. But once again you waste time."

"I..."

"You're such a stupid weakling! Why do you always wait to find the 'perfect' one anyway? The 'ideal' ones? All humans we find should adorn our perfect bodies. They should be HONORED to enjoy eternal life in adding to our beauty! To become part of it!"

"... No. It's torture for the wrong ones... They soundlessly scream and scream until their hearts surrender to the fabric. That's a horrible fate. I'll never do that again. Not if I don't have to."

"So what? Temporary struggle followed by eternal infinite beauty? I think that's a good deal. You have no idea how frustrating you are. Even when I go through all the trouble to find one of your precious 'perfect' souls to craft from, you still hesitate! I hate you so much Rin!"

"... It's just..."

"Oh look. You waited so long that now it's waking up, still without its perfect form. Just MAKE ME A DRESS already! Geez!"

"It doesn't WANT you! You frighten it with your aura. Even though all you are is a powerless shadow."

"Who cares what clothes want?! Are you even listening?! They're objects! Not people! And you're calling ME weak?! Look at yourself! If you weren't so fragile, so sensitive, so picky, we'd be fulfilling our destiny once more! The other witches would have so many things to wear. You are supposed to be the TAILOR of the witch world!"

"What... how dare you! I AM the tailor of the witch world! I do make clothes for them even now! I even supply Luxury, even after--! I just--!"

"Yeah right. We have a mere trickle of fashion coming down the riverbed when it should be rushing rapids! To be a girl is to have beautiful things to wear and you're starving us! All of us!"

"..."

"You are a failure of a witch, Rin. Live up to what you're capable of or I promise someday I WILL replace you."

"... Leave me alone already... I can't work with you hovering over my shoulder."

***

Fog... the string pulled me through the blackness and into fog. I had heard those voices talking back and forth. But I couldn't comprehend them. I had died, after all. The medium from which my memories were stored was now a bloody mess in a world I'll never again belong to. Being dead is why I'm having a hard time even conveying this tale to you. It's almost at its conclusion. Ironically, my eternal life will properly begin at that point. I won't lie -- I am actually pretty excited and eager to wrap this up so I can get right to it. I'm grateful you listened to me so far.

While it's possible you've already realized who was talking, at the time I did not. Not until my vision returned. I was looking through a haze. I wasn't just seeing forward like a living person, a camera strapped to a pole. Calling it 360 degree vision might not be accurate either. It felt more like I could see anywhere I wanted, but things only stood out in relation to how much I felt invested in seeing them. Everything else was either blurry or indistinct. Interestingly, I was still most focused on what was in front of me like a living person. It was a familiar looking girl. Her face was wet and her eyes were red from crying. She held what looked like a giant needle in one hand, with a card in the other.

... Rin. It was Rin. I was back in Rin's dimension. The familiarity washed over me. The floating crystal vistas. The cosmos. The walkways both leading to nowhere and to everywhere that is beautiful. I even suddenly remembered dying -- was this the afterlife?! I could scarcely believe I was back here. I also recognized another horrible sight. In the far-off distance was a "red" presence moving away from the platform we were on. It resembled an angry blood red nebula, staining the crystals around it and emitting lightning occasionally. I felt relief once it was out of sight, the stained crystals returning to their blue color.

"... I'm sorry... did you hear all that?" Rin's voice cracked a bit. "Nir is right... this is shameful. I should've already given you your new form."

I tried to respond but nothing came out. I didn't have a body. From my new sense of sight all I could see was a cloud of fog where I should've been. I did notice immediately I was "hovering" above some kind of rectangular table full of tailoring supplies. Directly in front of Rin were two cards. It was the sewing needle card she had given me before and a different card depicting scissors. I suppose that's the one she didn't show me before.

"A dress. You are destined to become a perfect dress. To belong to a witch for all time. It was destiny that you and Nir met that one night. She's the one who told me about you. Who set you on this path."

I wasn't sure at that moment if my inability to talk was just from my current formless self or shock about being told about what was going to happen to me. I couldn't tell you which it was. But I do know I was less upset by this news than you'd think. I think deep in my heart I knew. I knew that's what the deal was with all the clothes I encountered in this dimension during my original dream. That I was meant to live here.

"... But I told you before, I don't wear dresses anymore. Not since I broke up with Luxury. Not since Nir and I split into two to begin with."

She looked down at her oversized sewing needle and shook her head.

"Dresses just... have too much baggage for me now. They're popular with witches, though. All witches, not just the three I share a Sphere with."

Rin put the needle on the table.

"Witches are the most cruel, selfish beings in existence. They just take and take and take and make everything theirs. Everything is just a game or toy to them. Their cruelty and boredom know no bounds. I used to be no different from them..."

She sighed and leaned back against the table. She looked up at the stars. Rin's tears were finally drying but her face was almost expressionless. She didn't say anything for a few minutes. She just closed her eyes and breathed in and out. I tried to interrupt the silence but I still couldn't find my voice. Trying to speak was like trying to pour water into a glass made entirely out of smoke. It'd just pass right through. Instead I just sat there with her, admiring our own smallness in everything. The big fluffy bed that is being part of the universe. Rin gave a small, wry smile.

"Don't worry... I didn't 'steal' your soul or anything like that. I'm not like the other witches who spirit people away. I let you live your lives in peace until your natural time is up. If your human religions are right and you pass on to somewhere, I fully believe you're there right now. I'm just taking whatever is left behind to make into something beautiful. I can't actually know how much of your consciousness is left, in part or full. Fully understanding consciousness is beyond even us witches."

Rin sighed and turned back around to face "me".

"Nir is right, I'm just stalling for time at this point. Look, try not to be too worried. Nir's bark is worse than her bite. She'll taunt you a lot, yeah, but she loves our witchcloth just as much as I do. It won't be so bad. Some of our shared witchcloth even prefer her body over mine. Even though we're pretty much physically identical aside from our hair, eyes and fashion style."

Though even as she said this, I could tell she was putting on a brave face. I could see Rin's knuckles go white as she gripped her needle. Her hands shook as she began reaching for the bolts of red cloth she had stored under the table. It's just then it fully dawned on me what was about to happen. I truly was going to become part of this world. Should I have been horrified about the idea of being a dress? Probably. I was still processing it. It didn't sound so bad, honestly. To be alive but without the burden of life or ego. To live in this perfect infinity, to live with... with...

... with who?... with...

...

I could see Rin beginning to approach my indistinct ghostly cloud with a bolt of red fabric and needle. Time seemed to slow down. If I had a heart still it would be beating at a rapid pace. I couldn't. I couldn't.

No.

No.

No no no.

"NO!!" my voice finally rang out.

In shock, Rin dropped what she was holding. Her eyes went wide. Some of the crystal walkways began spinning around a bit like turbines in the brief moment of utter surprise. But yet, I had found it. I had found my voice. I had finally made a choice and I felt a warmth come over me.

"Make me YOUR dress! Rin! Please! I want to be YOUR dress!"

Slowly Rin's hands lifted to her mouth. Her hands moved upward as she gripped the side of her cheeks. She gripped her own cheeks so hard that her cheekbones strained against them.

"Rin, I still don't entirely understand all this business about being 'witchcloth'. I don't really ultimately care. That's always been a problem with me. I was always apathy incarnate. What I DO know is that it's stupid to let Nir push you around! You really want to wear a dress too, right? I could see it in your eyes."

Rin was still shaking. She lowered her hands. She licked her lips a few times and nodded, listening.

"Why do you have to give me to Nir if you want me? I'll have you know that I don't want to belong to someone like HER either! While it'll take me a while to come to grips with this whole thing, I couldn't STAND listening to her bully you! She wasn't being fair to you and you know it! I don't care who you were... I want to know more about this very interesting person I see now! I want to get to know who YOU are. I want--"

I was cut off by the sound of Rin suddenly sobbing into her own hands. Her shoulders quivered as she openly wept. I could swear the far off galaxies vibrated with her tears. I was thrown off a bit too and I felt the voice I used slip away again. It's okay, I had already said what I needed to. Rin then took a deep breath.
Slowly, she lowered her hands. The blue irises in her eyes were very literally glowing brightly now. She had a huge smile that almost looked like a grimace before she started laughing. Rin laughed maniacally as she gripped the edge of the table. I thought for a second she was going to vomit. A few remaining loose tears stained the table as she hiccupped for a moment. She looked up at me again with an intense but very warm smile.

She finally spoke. "I'm so sorry you had to see that... You had to see... hear... all of that... I... AHAHAHA! Ahh..."

Rin shook her head rapidly and slapped her own cheeks with her palms. "Gah, Rin you dummy! Get a grip! I'm supposed to be strong so you can all be beautiful! We're partners in this existence, you know? Witch and witchcloth! You're supposed to depend on me! I give you a person to be part of and you give me my heart and style!"

Rin took a deep breath and tilted her head backwards with her eyes shut.

"Let's try this again, huh? Let me not screw it up this time."

Facing me again, she slowly opened her eyes with that smile she had when we first met.

"My name is Rin, Witch of the Norn. I promise to always love and take care of you!"

With that, Rin reached for the blue fabric under the table.

"You'll be my first dress since... well, from since before. As far as dresses go, well... " She tapped the eye of her needle against her chin.

"This will be my first fitting."

Whatever would come next, I now knew one thing for sure:

I wasn't the only one who was lost. Even a timeless witch like Rin could be.

My life as I knew it was over anyway. Maybe together...

Maybe together we'll find our way in this beautiful universe.

 

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Thanks to Irina for proofreading and editing!