igh school," Julia said. "I like to read. I
worked in a book store back home."

William shifted uncomfortably. "I don't read much."

Julia frowned. "I read a lot."

"Reading's all right."

"I like to curl up with a good book."

They fell silent.

Julia bit her lip, nipping it into redness with her white, even teeth. I
guess I'm not much of a conversationalist, she thought. For a moment she
felt tiny and afraid.

Dispiritedly she searched in her sandwich bag for an apple. She brought
it out and regarded it intently.

"You want half?"

"No, thanks."

She found a pen knife in her hand bag and began to peel the apple,
wrinkling her forehead in concentration.

The bus was in a state supervised section of the highway. It hit a chuck
hole, and the pen knife slipped, slicing deeply into her finger. Annoyed
and embarrassed, she watched the blood well up in the cut. She put the
apple in her lap. "Oh, dear...." She held the finger away from her.

* * * * *

William bent forward. "Euuuu," he said sympathetically. "Here...." He
reached for his handkerchief. But before the hand got to it, he
reconsidered, perhaps remembering that handkerchiefs are unsanitary.
"Euuuu," he said again, shuddering. He moved his hands helplessly and
stared at the blood trickling from the finger onto the floor. "Euuuu."

Julia decided: No, he certainly won't do.

She glared angrily at her finger.

And the cut closed; the edges came together and joined in a neat, red
line. The blood ceased to flow. The red line vanished as the flesh
knitted. The finger was as scarless as it had been moments before.

"I'll be God damned," the young man said.

"... that's very odd," Julia said. She held up the finger. She put the
pen knife in her lap beside the apple and felt the finger.

"You must have some rare type of blood," William said.

She wiggled the finger. "You mean something like the reverse of
hemophilia?"

"I don't guess I read enough to know big words: just some rare type of
blood."

"Nothing like this ever happened before," Julia said, still watching the
finger suspiciously. "I've never heard of anything like it."

_Hello._

"Hello," she answered.

"What did you say?" the young man asked.

"I said, 'Hello'."

"Hello."

"Didn't you say hello a moment ago?" Julia said, looking at him with an
annoyed little frown on her face.

"No."

"No."

"That's funny...."

_Hello. Where are you?_