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“Yes. We just closed the deal this morning.” Kelly grabbed her purse and fished out a holo-cube. “Here are the documents. Signed and sealed. Harry Strickland is officially out of your life for good. He can’t harass you anymore.”
“Holy shit. No more Harry Strickland ever. How can I ever thank you?”
“I’m the one who must thank you. You saved my marriage. I thought I was going to lose Andi for sure.”
“Uhm, correction, it’s still officially my marriage. We have to find a way to switch back. Andi made some arrangements this morning. We’re scheduled to fly to Verve Island by the end of this week.”
“I’ve done some research about body switching, and so far, I’ve got nothing. But I have a hunch that it might be because we’re both lynxae. I heard Santa Anna has extensive records about our ancestors dated before the Separation. I was planning to fly to Essex as soon as Durbo had finished finalising the separation of your assets.”
“What if we can’t change back? I’m not a lawyer, Kelly. I can’t do your job.”
“Well, I haven’t really thought about it. When are you supposed to get back to work?”
“Rush gave me a month medical leave.”
“Then we must find a way to switch back before then.”
“But what if we’re stuck like this forever? I mean, there was no indication whatsoever, and bam! One morning we woke up in each other’s body. How freaky was that?”
“We’ll find a way. Think positive.”
They fell into silence, both drowning in their own thoughts. Nicolla sighed and played with her drink. She noticed the rooftop was jam packed with people. “What’s w
ith the crowd tonight? They’re gonna have a band outside or something?”
Kelly looked around. “I think these people came to watch the falling stars. I heard on the news there’s going to be meteorite showers tonight.”
“Falling stars, huh?” Nicolla snorted. “Funny story, that night before we switched, I saw some falling stars too and made a wish. People say if you make a wish to a falling star, your wish will come true. And the wicked thing is—it came true, in a sort of twisted way.”
“You don’t say. I did too. What was your wish?”
“I wished I had a normal life, not living as a smut peddler, and had a nice husband, a great job and a house outside the District, living a boring, steady, normal, suburban life.”
Kelly covered her mouth. “Oh, God. That night was when I found out what Andi’s stalker looked like, and I wished that I was pretty and very good in the sex department so he wouldn’t fall for that bitch.”
“That’s it! Maybe that was what caused us to switch! I wanted a normal life and you wanted to be a super slut. We should make another wish tonight when we see the falling stars.”
“Super slut.” Kelly snorted. “You don’t really believe this superstition, do you?”
“We have nothing to lose.” The crowd became noisier as everyone left their seats and gathered on the patio. Nicolla craned her neck. “Is it time?”
“I don’t know, looks like it.”
“Well, come on.” Nicolla yanked Kelly’s hand and semi-dragged her into the open area. The heavens above were clear of clouds and graced with thousands of stars. From the north, dozens of brilliant lights slashed across the night. “Here we go.”
“How are we going to do it?”
“I don’t know. Just close your eyes and make a wish.”
Kelly grabbed Nicolla’s hands. “On three.”
Nicolla squeezed her eyes shut, her heart drumming wildly. “One, two, three…” She wished hard that they could switch again, getting back in their own bodies. She prayed to whoever was out there, gods, deities or whatever divine cosmic beings had caused them to switch in the first place, hoping they would hear her plea and grant her wish.
The crowd cheered as the meteorite showers made a spectacular sight in the sky. The air was filled with cacophonous noise, but Nicolla could only hear the thundering of her own heart. Never in her life had she wished for something so badly. She felt for a long moment she was being transported to another realm. It has to work. It has to…
She opened her eyes, half-expecting that her wish had come true, even though deep inside, part of her knew it wouldn’t work. She saw her own body. The wish hadn’t worked. Nicolla stormed some curses while the crowd cheered to the heavens.
“Well, what do you expect? It’s only a superstition,” Kelly remarked. She looked disappointed as well.
