Inside the box was another box, this one much smaller and covered with felt, like what jewelry came in. Laura opened it and saw two earrings inside, both of them in the shape of the female gender symbol (a circle with a "plus" sign sticking out from it). Two of them together like that, it made her think of the symbol used for lesbians. A feeling of disgust washed over her. She, like all of her church, was utterly against gays. For a woman to even think of another woman in that way was ... well, it was repulsive and sinful. It made her sick just thinking about it.
But regardless of how the earrings made her feel, she placed them in her earlobes without a second thought. Normally, she didn't wear earrings, but she did have her ears pierced, as she would be expected to wear, at the very least, a pair of pearl earrings at special occasions. But she just couldn't understand what made her want to wear these. She didn't even like them.
She walked to a mirror and looked at herself; then suddenly, the earrings disappeared. Just faded away into thin air. She blinked and felt both shock and confusion. She turned back to the kitchen table and got another shock. The box that the earrings had come in and the package that the box had come in ... they were gone. Were they ever there? Laura shook her head. She must have been more tired than she thought. Maybe when she was done with her meeting with Margaret White, the pastor's wife, she could take a nap and clear her head. Hallucinations were not a good sign.
Oddly, the moment she thought about Margaret, a smile entered her lips. But from where, she had no idea. Sure, they were friends, but ... the feeling of joy that she felt ... well, it felt different. She couldn't explain it.
Shrugging, Laura grabbed her purse and headed out of the house. Margaret would be expecting her soon.
