"John!” her voice called. “John! Is it really you?” He stopped and turned slowly around. With recognition, he took a deep breath and the butterflies flitted off, his pulse eased and he smiled as he began to walk back to the blue door.

“Hello you,” he responded. He stood now at the entrance, closer than he had been to her in nearly half a lifetime. She still had the trademark long hair, although it seemed darker than he remembered. There was no makeup to hide the fine lines that betrayed her participation in life. He had always pictured her as a teenager, although he knew she had to grow old like all mortals. It was just that, for years after he had last seen her, for no reason his heart would race and his mouth go dry when he caught a glimpse of a young woman with long blonde hair ahead of him in a crowd of people. It happened even now, not often, but it did. Stupid, irrational and a bit sad, but there you are.

“Come in, I’ll make some coffee,” she said, and stood aside. He went in and she closed the door.

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