Nina staggered, an arm on her mother's shoulder, over to the living room sofa and collapsed.
"I'll get you some water, I want you to stay there." Her mother retreated to the kitchen.
The necklace, again, began to glow. There were too many conflicting realities in Nina's head. She needed to consolidate them.
Nina lay on the couch, eyes closed, as her mother returned and put a cup of water in her hand.
"Merci, maman," the words formed instinctively on her mouth.
More confusion. Jon's family wasn't French. Maybe Nina's brain was compensating, bringing back something she knew?
She opened her eyes as she brought the cup to her lips, and saw the face of her mother, surrounded by big blonde hair, her bust constricted by a purple corset. Just like normal.
Water from the cup entered Nina's mouth, but nearly as much water began escaping from her eyes. She didn't know whether she was glad to see Cateline, or upset that somehow Cateline was now in the role of her mother, but in either case the emotions were overwhelming.
"Are you feeling better, ma belle fille?" Cateline spoke an accented English. "That necklace looks heavy, let me take it off."
As the metal chain came off her neck, Nina felt a larger weight removed. Somewhere instinctively she knew the necklace was the source of all of these changes, a subconscious thought from the part of her that was Jon. And that part of her felt relief. But she was still trying to piece together what reality she was living in, trying to reconcile what she was seeing with what she knew.
"Can I take diner here in the living room?" She asked her former-friend, now-mother weakly.
"Absolument! Your job is to relax. If you don't feel better, we will take you to hospital."
Nina closed her eyes again. Things had gotten even worse, but at least she had Cateline to help her.
