Past Versus Present

"So, what do you say? One final dance before we part ways?" The girl said to the other, grin widening on her face. She extended her arm, reaching out, offering her hand for the other to take. 

"Sorry, I'm afraid I have to refuse," The other girl said, "As I do not recall who you are." 

The girl's smile did not falter, her hand refusing to drop. 

"Really? What a shame," She said. "Wouldn't it be such a poetic way of parting? The last steps of the ghost of the past?" 

The other girl frowned. "You need to leave. I don't know you, nor would I wish to dance with you." 

Finally, the girl dropped her extended hand with a sigh. 

"I'm sorry, I really am," The other girl said, feeling almost guilty as she rejected the girl's hand. "I don't remember you. You should find someone else to dance with. I need to move on." 

There was no music playing, so it would be rather silly to dance in the swallowing silence, even if they knew each other. 

The girl who had dropped her arm just sighed again, and turned to leave the door. "I really did think we were done hurting each other. At least you've bandaged your scars. Can we still count everyone?" 

"No need to get so dramatic. I really don't know what you're on about, I would never hurt another human," The other wrinkled her nose in confusion. "Now, please leave." 

The other took her advice and began to walk towards the door. She reached for the door, and as she began to open it, she turned back one more time. "You really don't remember being me, do you?"

With those words, the other's eyes widened with recognition and anguish. This time it was her who extended her hand, reaching, but it was too late. 

She had already left. And maybe it was for the better. She didn't need a reminder of the past.