I had been helping her throughout the night if things were going the way that Dalia had said they were then it wouldn't be much longer before Carly lost her place in the world but would be glad that she had.
She would welcome the simpler life as one of the un-changing for the rest of her days. Unable to move when one of the soft bodies were near. I smiled using the terms that had once defined my life before a friend had helped me understand the world that lay beyond a shop. It hadn't taken much to get that woman to swap with me. She had been having a bad time of things and welcomed an escape from her worries. Normally I would not have been able to move with her nearby but she was the one who had started the conversation, not me. She treated me as an equal and not as an object.
I didn't tell her that it would be a permanent escape and that once she had exchanged her life with me she would not be able to get it back. I had learned of the Rite of Exchange from another one of the un-changing who had been planning her escape but I got there first and used the rite to make my escape. I had not planned it but the opportunity presented itself and I took it.
That had been a few months ago now, I was pleasantly surprised that no one who knew the woman who had taken my place noticed that I was not her. They even called me by my name thinking that I had always been their friend. I knew that I had to help others to leave the world of the unchanging. It had become my calling, I limited it to one of the un-changing every other week to stop the elders from noticing what was happening.
I headed out to enjoy a night on the town. I loved eating and drinking. I found that I loved drinking and dancing. Tonight I was heading out to my favorite club to dance the night away well and help Dalia win the challenges. Not long now as I had told her the last time we had spoken to each other. She just needed to keep Carly busy for a little while longer and she would be able to walk out of the shop and take her place in the real world. No longer would she have stuck as one of the un-changing, she would be the human being, the soft body leaving Carly behind as the newest member of the un-changing. The smile appeared on my face again I needed to keep that under control well for the moment anyway.
