The change

When my eyes had adjusted to the light, I squinted. Slit-eyed, I looked around and noted that I was standing to the large television screen. The film had ended now and the credits were being shown. I picked up the remote and switched it off, fumbling a little with the buttons as my fingers were still a little unsteady.

I could feel the beginning of a major migraine and felt as if I was teetering on heels. It was as if there was someone with a hammer, knocking against my temple. I reached out my hands to massage the back of my neck, automatically moving my fingers to flick my hair to the side and I touched skin directly. This had never happened before. Touching the crown of my head, I felt that I had not tied my hair in a bun. And I could feel that I had neither tied a ponytail.

I clenched my fists tight to make my trembling fingers settle and realized that my hands were empty. I did remember having Estena's ring in one of them. Worry started coursing through my bloodstream as I then thought of the bright light that had blinded me when I had touched the ring.

The ring, where was it? It had been in my hand. What about my hair? Why was it no longer coming in my way like it usually did when I moved my head around. Once again, I reached my hand up to try to capture one of my locks next to my ear. It came back empty-handed. I felt my stomach clench in apprehension as I passed my hands through my hair. Could the ring be resonsible for causing my tomboy cut? Was it a laser beam that just cut through my hair?

I needed a mirror to assess the damage. It was not as if I had very long hair, but I liked the way the curls softly framed my face and reached up to just below my shoulder blades. Would I like very short hair? Many people rocked with Pixie hairstyles, but I had never been fond of them.

What about Dave? Where was he? I tried calling him, but my voice wouldn't come out. Apart from a few grunts, nothing would come out, even after clearing my throat.

'Dave?' There was no response.

I took a few steps forward and almost lost my balance when I tripped against a pile of blankets on the floor. But wait, these weren't blankets! It was a body, the body of a woman. There was a woman lying on the floor in foetal position. I couldn't see her face as it was covered by her messy hair, but I knew that apart from Dave and me, there had been no one else in the room when we touched the ring. It definitely wasn't Martha.

The ring. I had the feeling it was a transient locket, so could it be that it brought this woman here when I tried to put the stone back in its place? Maybe that was the mechanism to activate it. Yes, that was the only explanation I could think of. I had brought someone to Bhuvar through the ring. I knew that someone was going to be mad at me. But where was he? I looked around the room but couldn't see him.

But first, I needed to find out who this woman was and then I had to send her back to where she came from. If I could do this before Dave came back, it would be better but I doubted that I would be able to do it as I couldn't even find the ring. It was not that small, but not that apparent as well. Maybe it had rolled below the sofa. I bent down to look beneath the sofa and I felt the thud and pounding in my head increase. But no, there was no ring there. A groan brought my attention to the woman lying on the ground.

As I looked at her, I could see her chest rise up and down and she groaned in pain again. I recalled my own first trip using the locket and how I had been unable to walk on my own for several minutes. She wasn't that tall and was wearing casual jeans and a shirt. She looked to be in her twenties and was slender and lithe. Her shoulder-length hair was tousled and covered her forehead and cheeks. Only her unadorned lips were visible, and at that moment, they were partly open.

I didn't know why but I felt as if I knew her and even my heart seemed to be conveying the same message as it started beating faster. Did I know her?

I bent down on one knee and gently nudged her with my right hand. I merely got a small groan in response. I knew that voice too, having heard it several times. I reached out my index finger and moved a few locks of hair out of her face until I could see her features clearly. I felt as if my heart had stopped. There was a small buzzing sound in my ears and felt the blood rush from my head.

No, it couldn't be! How could she be in front of me? With weak legs, I stood up and had to hold on to the back of the sofa for support. I felt slightly dizzy and I had to take several calming breaths to settle my stomach which had started heaving too. I felt like retching.

I looked at both my hands outstretched in front of me and they were trembling. I could feel a drop of cold sweat roll down my spine and turning to the television screen which was now black after I had switched it off, I saw my reflection. I saw a body which was half-hunched, with very short hair and wide-opened eyes. If I wasn't so shocked, I would have laughed at the image which was reflected back to me.

A shuffling sound brought me back to the woman who was now trying to raise her upper body by leaning on her elbow. With a small hand, she brought her hair back neatly behind her ear and she looked at me with her clear gaze.

As we looked at each other, I could see the questions in her gaze, questions whose answers I definitely did not have.