She stood up, spread her arms out, twirled in a little circle, and in the blink of an eye, shifted into a tall, lithe young woman with straight black hair tied up in a high ponytail. She had the same bright-blue eyes but this time peeking behind a pair of retro-style black-framed glasses. She wore a crisp white blouse tucked into high-waisted tailored black pants and a pair of sky-high heels.
“What the…”
“Try to relax. You of all people know there’s more to this world than meets the eye.”
“Yeah, but…some kind of shape-shifting thing?” Dawn could barely speak because of her throat going dry. “You must be some kind of magician.”
“Oh, it’s magic all right, but not an illusion. What you saw really happened.”
After another shocked hesitation, she had to ask. “You…er…actually have to twirl in order to change…um…forms?”
“Well, it’s a choice. I love Lynda Carter, so I always go for the twirl.”
“Lynda Carter from the Wonder Woman TV show?”
“Yes!” Her eyes glittered with excitement. “She’s my favorite.”
Dawn couldn’t help but smile. “Okaaaay… So what’s your name?”
“Lynda Carter. I had it legally changed.”
“Nice touch.”
“Thank you.”
“So are all the Karma Cleaner caseworkers women?”
“Yup.”
“No men?”
“Nope. And that’s how we like it.” She leaned in again. “Don’t get me wrong. There are different outfits out there that do have men, but we have the highest rate of karmic shifts. And just between you and me, if you wanna get a job done right, you send in a woman.” She lifted her hand for a high five. “Am I right?”
Dawn humored her and slapped her hand. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard of. So what is the protocol?”
“You need to erase your past bad karma and start to rebuild good karma.”
“Aren’t there other people whose karma is worse than mine?” Dawn thought of her own mother. She would never rat on her, despite her mother’s drug-dealing activities. But she had to admit, jail was the best place for her mom right now. At least she was getting the help she needed…or so she’d said.
“Sometimes the choices are not easy, are they?” Lynda said softly.
“I guess you know about my mom too?”
“Yes,” she replied. “We make a point of knowing everything about those we help. And just so you know, she’s doing great. Trust me on this one.”
“Thanks.” Dawn blew out a breath. “So what do I need to do?”
“You need to keep doing what you’re doing. Stay away from that gang, and be of service to those who need your help.”
“I guess I’m on the right track?”
“You most certainly are.” Lynda nodded. “We’re just here to offer you a little guidance.”
“Okay, so do I need to keep written reports on my good deeds or something?”
Lynda laughed. “Well, you can if you want, but we automatically know when you do something good. It gets logged in our system, and we keep excellent records.”
“I guess that’s a good thing? So how do I get in touch with you if I need you? Or do you automatically know that too?”
