My deceased father appeared in my dream the night before my birthday and warned, ‘Don’t wear the dress your husband gave you.’ I woke up trembling, because my husband had just given me that dress. And when the seamstress brought it back and I checked the lining, I realized my father hadn’t just visited in a dream, he might have prevented something I hadn’t noticed.

“Iris, you’re scaring me.”

“I don’t mean to scare you,” Iris said, softer now, “but this could be serious. We just need to check. Get dressed quickly and come here.”

Liv hung up, her hands trembling even more. She went to the bathroom, lathered her hands with soap, and scrubbed under hot water. She rinsed, washed again, her skin turning red.

Then she returned to the bedroom, grabbed a small bag, and carefully secured what she needed to show Iris. She hid the dress away in the closet, shut the door, got dressed, and hurried out of the house.

On the drive to the lab, she tried not to think about what was happening. She turned on the radio to drown out the voices in her head, but the music only irritated her, and she soon turned it off. She stared silently at the road, the traffic lights, the pedestrians. It all felt unreal, like she was watching a movie about someone else’s life.

Iris met her at the lab entrance, wearing a white coat, her hair pulled back, face serious.

“Give it here,” she said, taking the bag. “Wait right here. I’ll do a quick preliminary analysis.”

Liv leaned against the cold corridor wall, standing still. Time dragged agonizingly. Ten minutes passed, then twenty, then half an hour. She was about to knock when the lab door opened and Iris stepped out. Her face was pale.

“Let’s go talk in my office,” she said quietly.

They entered a small office at the end of the corridor. Iris closed the door, sat at the table, and motioned for Liv to take the seat across from her.

“Liv, this isn’t something harmless,” she began. “This is an extremely dangerous substance.”

“What?”

“I ran a quick test and it showed toxic compounds. To know exactly what it is, we’ll need a full analysis, but I can tell you with certainty it’s poison.”

The word hung in the room.

Liv stared at her friend, unable to speak.

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