As the cold white light faded away, Karyn felt a soothing warmth next to her, and the muscls that had been drawn tight and tense for hours now began to unwind.
She was on a couch. She was on a couch in a small, tasefully-decorated living room, and on the television set on the opposit wall there was a movie playing. It was in a foreign language--French, she thought, though she wasn't sure--and there were a man and a womna arguing heatedly on screen. There were no subtitles, so Karyn wasn't sure precisely what was happening, but it looked to be an artsy drama of some sort.
Huddled next to her, in her arms, leaning gently into her chest, Karyn saw a woman, probably in her mid-twenties, with a funky outfit and a short, androgynous haircut. Her hand was in Karyn's and the woman sighed gently and nuzzled her way a little closer Karyn's head. The woman smelled of lavendar. Karyn liked it.
Karyn's first instinct was to guess that she was a man, but then she caught sight of her clothing. She was wearing a long, colorful, almost hippieish dress. That mean that she was either a crossdresser or a woman, and although anything was possible, she suspected that the one was more likely than the other. Apparently she had jumped into one half of a lesbian couple... that, or this woman was an unusually affectionate friend. In any case, Karyn found the proximity of the woman, the touch of her skin, the warmth of her body, the smell of her hair, to be very, very pleasant... and more than a little confusing.
It was Jon. It was Jon, and that girl he looked like. That was where it had started, these feelings. No, that wasn't true... this went back a lot farther than this afternoon. But seeing Jon as a girl... hearing him as a girl, feeling him as a girl... it had set something off in Karyn, something deep inside her, something she'd spent years trying to avoid. Now it was forcing those hidden feelings to a crisis.
Jon... Jon was her best friend. Karyn had known him for most of her life. And Karyn loved him... as a friend, as a brother. Was there something more to their relationship than that? Maybe. Certainly their friends had always told Karyn that she and Jon should get together that they would make a perfect couple. And for years, in middle school and early high school, Jon had wanted something more from Karyn. It had made things terribly awkward between the two of them for years, until at last Jon, whether from frustation, from disinterest, from surrender, or from a genuine concern over their friendship, had given up and decided that being friends was enough for him. Karyn had been relieved, though Jon always seemed to be a little sadder now. And watching him eye other girls... it made her jealous, though she had no right to be. That was why she'd made her hasty wish for blonde hair and better breasts; although she didn't want Jon's attentions, she wasn't sure she wanted to let them go, either.
On paper, Jon and Karyn should have been perfect together. They had the same interests, similar temperaments, an intimate knowledge and understanding of each other... they never argued, always agreed on everything, always acted as a team, shared all their secrets with each other, trusted each other unquestioningly... they'd already shared a lifetime together. There was nothing more natural than for them to share the rest of it. But Karyn simply wasn't attracted to Jon. At all. And in fact, the thought of being with a guy--kissing a guy, making out with a guy, having sex with a guy--Karyn found it distasteful, even a little unsettling. It wasn't that Karyn was a prude; far from it. Most of her friends were guys, and she could easily keep up with them when it came to dirty talk. Karyn had always told herself--and everyone else--that she simply wasn't ready for a physical relationship. But deep down, she'd always known that there was more to it than that.
Seeing Jon as a woman... as beautiful, beautiful woman... seeing the person she loved more than anyone in the world in a body that... that... she had to admit it to herself now, though she never would have before. A body that she found attractive. Not just attractive... gorgeous. Amazing. Alluring. Irresistible. Seeing Jon in Meagan's shape... it had awoken all the feelings that Karyn had spent he adolescent life trying to ignore and sent Karyn on a path of introspection as wild as the events of the afternoon. She wasn't sure if she was more happy or upset that she had been taken away from Jon and cast through a rapid-fire series of lives for the last couple of hours. On the one hand, it had been good to get away from Jon, good to have some time to think. Being with Jon, in that body, without any time to reflect on the way it made her feel... it had been too much. On the other hand, there was nothing she wanted more than to be back with Jon again.
Karyn looked down at the woman in her arms as the woman stirred restlessly. Karyn leaned down and kissed the woman's hair, causing the woman to smile sleepily up at her. Karyn leaned down again, and this time their lips met. Her hear stirred, her stomach leapt, and a warmth ran through her entire body. She felt... she felt more amazing than she ever had in her entire life. She wished she had the wishing stone in her hands right now; she would wish for this moment to last forever, for nothing to change. No, that wasn't quite right. She would wish for Jon to jump into this woman's body. Then this moment would be absolutely complete. Absolutely perfect.
But then she felt a familiar wave of energy rush over her, and despite her silent, impotent protest, it swept her away.
