Hana walked up to the front door of the house. It was a small bungalow in a trendy area not far from the school, on a quiet tree lined street. The yard was well maintained and the landscaping was pleasant, showing thought and intentionality. Hana rapped on the door. It was answered by well built Asian woman in her middle thirties. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and she was dressed in an old t-shirt and sweat pants. She was clearly in the middle of her weekend chores.
"Hello?" the woman said pleasantly. "How can I help you?"
"I'm Hana Abed. I'm the principal at Riverview High School..." Hana started to introduce herself.
"Oh!" gasped the woman. "Is this about Paula and Lady? I'm terribly sorry about that. I don't know what happened."
"No." Hana responded. "It is about Emily. Is she here?"
"No. She's out with her friends. Probably getting into trouble. She's quite the handful, but I can't say I was any better when I was a high school senior..."
"May I come in?" Hana asked.
"Please do." The woman held out her hand. "Rachael Nguyen." She ushered Hana into the house. Hana gazed around. It was neat, just like the yard. Well maintained. It was clear the owners had some money.
"What do you do?" Hana asked, making small talk.
"Oh. I'm a stay at home mom. My husband Devon is a software engineer for a firm downtown. He's at work today, though. They had a last minute emergency. Can I get you some coffee?"
"Please," answered Hana. This was going poorly. Neither Emily or the husband were here. That might make it harder to fix this mess. Rachael poured two cups of coffee and led them into the living room. Rachael took a seat on the couch and Hana sat in a chair facing her.
Rachael smiled. "So what has Emily done this time?"
"So many things, it may be hard to explain..." Hana responded, removing the camera from her purse and holding it up.
Rachael gasped loudly. Her eyes narrowed. "That thing is dangerous," she hissed. "Don't use it!"
"I know," responded Hana. "In fact, we have quite the situation on our hands. As far as I can tell, none of us are who we should be. And I don't know if it's going to fix things or make things worse to try to go back."
"Well," replied Rachael with a sigh. "Lay it on me. What's wrong with us."
"With you? I'm not sure who you are. I can take a picture and the camera will show me if you..."
"NO! NO! You WILL NOT photograph me." Rachael stood in a panic. Hana couldn't tell if she was about to attack her or to run. This was not going well.
"I will not. I will not." Hana assured her. Rachael calmed and took another seat.
"Really, Hana, it's Hana, right? I'm happy. I don't know exactly where I've been or who I was, but I know I'm happy now. Life is very good. I don't want to change a thing."
"Ok. Ok." Hana assured her. "But it's not just you."
"My children? My husband? I refuse. I REFUSE!" Rachael was getting agitated.
"No, no. Not them. But the camera may have put others into a worse place. I need to help them, at least, even if nobody else."
"Who?"
"Your dog."
"Lady?"
"Yes. She should be a human, I think. Or as far as I know she was a human."
"And who else?"
"A bra."
"A bra?"
"A purple bra. It was a woman once."
"Let me see what I can do." Rachael exited the room and returned a moment later, holding a bra and leading a dog. She laid the bra on the couch and told the dog to sit. Hana set the camera to display original form. She took a photo of the bra. Sure enough, it displayed a middle aged woman. She took a photo of the dog. She expected a woman. What she saw was a close up photo of a cockroach hiding under some debris at a construction site. She gasped. Was that where all the students and teachers had come from? Insects and such? What would happen to them if she tried to change the construction site back? Hana shivered.
"So what do we do?" Rachael asked, staring at the photos? "It doesn't seem fair to just turn them back to who they were and set them on their way."
"Well, not for the one who was a bug, no. Why not the woman?" Hana asked curiously.
"I... I... look, if I think hard, I think she may have been a mother... I think my children were her family... I don't know. If you change her back what will that do to all of us?"
Hana nodded. She set the camera to the setting that would improve the position of the target and snapped a picture of the bra and the dog. A moment later they were replaced by a redheaded woman, perhaps in her early thirties, and a six year old girl, smiling.
"When does Paula get to come play!?" the child asked. The redhead woman smiled at her. "When her mother says it is okay for her to be off her time out." The woman looked at Rachael and Hana. "I'm sorry we showed up for the play date right in the middle of your meeting," the woman said with a sigh.
"It's no worries," replied Hana. "I'll show myself out."
She turned and walked towards the door. As she did, she heard Rachael whisper "thank you."
Closing the door behind her Hana walked to her car. This thing was immensely powerful. It seemed to warp minds and shift reality like nothing else. Was it responsible for her to keep using it? Was it worth trying to destroy? Could she do good in the world?