Separated for a month. Four whole weeks, and change. But also a hundred thousand dollars- apparently, that was what a month of Anna's life was worth.

The night before Ameline had taken Anna to the hospital, they had just sat together. Ameline couldn't remember if they had, in actuality, said anything to each other, but in her mind's reconstruction they just sat and held each other, and Ameline didn't cry. The next morning, the two girls got ready, which was strange because Anna had nothing to bring with her even though she'd be gone for a month.

What was even more strange to Ameline was the proximity of her girlfriend. Anna would still be on campus, and they even took one of the university buses over to the research center. It had been more like driving her girlfriend to a doctor's appointment rather than to a month long experiment. The people there had told Ameline that she wouldn't be able to see Anna, but the would call as soon as she was done with the experiment.

And just like that, she was gone. Anna had smiled back at her, likely to try and reassure her girlfriend, and then been whisked away by an attendee to go prepare for the experiment. It was perfectly safe, the receptionist promised her. Just like a dream, only it lasted for a month and the scientists were going to control it. That was all. There was nothing to worry about, Ameline was promised, and she kept thinking that as she returned to their apartment. There was nothing to worry about. There was nothing to worry about. Ameline thought it until it was ingrained into her brain cells, but when she got home she climbed up on to Anna’s side of the bed and wept for the rest of the day.

Life around her was no different, except her friends, and some of Anna’s, came by frequently to remind her that a month wasn’t so long, and hey, do you want to grab something to eat? Other than that, Ameline went to class, came back home, did her work, and waited for Anna to return. She looked at the clock and wondered, where could she be? That’s right. Anna was asleep. Ameline’s Sleeping Beauty was still a long way away. Check another day off the calendar.

When Ameline was home and no one was visiting, she struggled to fill her time. The first week was definitely the hardest: sleeping was almost never an option, because the bed still smelled like Anna. Ameline would look at the pillow and one of her girlfriend’s long, beautiful hairs was there. Seeing it would set the blonde woman off again, make her eyes mist up, and she would have to leave. She slept on the couch, instead, when she could, but even falling asleep was difficult.

Books were the first thing that Ameline tried to use as a distraction, as a way to pass the time, but no cigar. She found herself unable to focus on the words, and would read the same line again and again trying to make sense of the sentence. Alright, next?

Let’s try- cooking. Everyone was trying to get her to eat more, even though she’d lost her appetite, but she did enjoy cooking. Or she had. So Ameline browsed online and chose a recipe, ultimately at random, then went and got the ingredients that she’d needed. The cooking was mindless enough, and a fine way to spend an evening, but when Ameline didn’t have anyone to share it with she found it unsatisfying. She wasn’t going to do that again.

Finally she tried just sitting down and watching a movie. It was the most effective thing that she’d tried so far; it required little effort and gave Ameline something to do for a couple of hours. The first weekend, she did nothing but classwork and watch movies. Blissfully mind numbing.

The second week, Ameline was better. She moved back to the bed. By the middle of the week, she was feeling up to cooking again, but made sure to invite some friends over beforehand. This time, seeing her friends was much more enjoyable, and Ameline didn’t spend the night watching the clock. She was still watching a lot of movies, but had progressed as far as TV shows in between them. Reading was still out of the question, though- the night after the first time Ameline cooked for her friends, she tried that again, but still to no avail. The words still swam in front of her eyes, but things were definitely getting better.

She even went to the gym, one night that week. The building was still unfamiliar to her, despite being a junior in her undergrad, but the exercise was nice. It was too dark and too cold to go for a walk, but the constant lazing on the couch was stiffening the blonde woman’s legs. The variety was also greatly appreciated.

Week three. Ameline was used to Anna being away. And now her dread at how long it would be until she could see her girlfriend again morphed into excitement- the halfway point had passed, and now it was, “I’ll see my girlfriend, soon.” Movies were eliminated from Ameline’s evenings, and even replaced by, yes, books. While the second week still had linger effects of the woman realizing just how much she missed Anna, the third week provided a fully functional Ameline. One friend in class even asked if Anna was back, and while there was a twinge in Ameline’s heart, the effects of the question ended there. Two weeks ago it would have made her cry. Last week it would have ruined the rest of her day.

That was the best week; the fourth one was mostly nerves, as Ameline now expected the call to come get her girlfriend. She waited, and waited, and watched the calendar. Ameline counted the days that Anna had been gone, and counted them again, to make sure that she’d gotten the number right, and sighed. She’d hoped that Anna would be home for Thanksgiving, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, the wait was drawn out into the early days of December, and Ameline fretted the whole time that something had gone wrong.

Finally- finally, the call came. “Ameline Greene?”

“Yes, who-“

“It says here to call you when… Anna Finley is ready to go home,” the man who called told her. “They’re getting her all ready now. You know where we are?”

“Yes, I’ll be right over,” Ameline promised. Her heart pounded. Anna, Anna, Anna! Ameline had tried to ignore it, but missed her girlfriend so.

“Oh, there’s also a note here, to let you know she might be a bit dazed, so try not to overwhelm her,” the man added, nonchalantly.

“Of course,” Ameline promised, and hung up. She grabbed a coat and hat, threw them on, then shoes, before leaving the apartment and rushing to the bus stop. Her stomach flipped and folded on itself as she waited; seeing Anna was enthralling, but her mind churned through an endless series of [i]what if[/i]s until the bus came, and then until she got off at the stop by the research center.

One block of walking. One block, and then the one month would be over, and they would be one hundred thousand dollars richer. Ameline’s heart was in her throat as she found the building in the dimming light, and walked in. There were only two people there; a receptionist, and someone with tufts of short hair that would be beautiful, once it evened out.

“Anna?”