The phone in Dalia’s now human hand began to ring. Human, that was what she was now, not a soft body as she would have once called what she was now, no, she was a human being now.
She picked up the phone and answered it.
“Hello?” She said tentatively as she put the phone to her ear.
“Good morning, fellow Human.” The Voice said on the other end of the call.
“It’s you. I thought you had forgotten all about me and were leaving me to work things out on my own.” Dalia said in reply.
“I would never do that to you.” The Voice said
“She chose the binding as a challenge. Silly woman, or is that silly mannequin now?” Dalia said with a smile so wide on her face that it could be heard on the other side of the phone line.
“They always do.” The Voice replied.
“What?” Came Dalia’s rather shocked reply.
“They seem to think that if we get a chance to see what it is like as a human, that we will no longer want it.” The Voice told Dalia.
“She is wrong. I never want to go back to being a mannequin.” Dalia said.
“Some do want to go back, and some don’t want to go back. The memories of those who don’t disappear from their memories. They can’t cope with the fact that some of their Sisterhood want a life outside of it.” The Voice went on to say.
“So how do I make this my life and leave her where she is?” Dalia asked.
“I can give you help on what to say when you return to them tonight, but we can not meet yet.” The Voice replied.
“Why not?” Dalia asked.
“Celeste would be able to tell that you have met with a former Unchanging. Her position as their sisterhood’s leader gives her access to abilities that others don’t have.” The Voice answered.
“So I will not meet you until this is over?” Dalia said.
“Yes, but I will be able to help, but only from a distance. Right now, we both need to get something to eat.” The Voice told Dalia.
“Eat what is that?” Dalia asked.
“You have a lot to learn, my friend.” The Voice said in reply.
Meanwhile, back in the store
Carly could feel nothing; she had succumbed to the stillness.
She thought that as a member of the sisterhood, she would feel nothing, but that was not the case. She could feel everything; every second that the orange light passed over her felt like bliss. A bliss that Carly had never known the like of before when she had been a soft body.
The more she tried to think of her life as a soft body, the further away it seemed to get. This had to be part of the binding; it must be. She was not sure that going through the binding was such a good idea now, but it was too late to go back; now she would have to wait until cycle end before she could do anything about it.
