‘‘Establish a connection and build a bond with the avatar’ – yeah, might be easier said than done, Clarice!’ Dana thinks as the small group heads to the mall for some fun girl time. Joining the group had been easy, even with the last-minute plans. But being so close with the person they searched – not as easy. A part of Dana still wanted to treat Taylor as she deserved to be treated, but that would lead into many questions that she was not comfortable on answering.
So, instead Dana settled on being close, getting to know and seeing the power at work. Like when some ‘Karen’ was being her true self and abusing a minimum wage worker (though the newly changed minimum wage is where it is supposed to be at when it was made – the bare minimum to comfortably live) about some shirts not being in stock – because that is totally what a store clerk has control over /sarcasm – before she started hacking severe coughs and, while trying to stomp away in outrage, became a pigeon that then got chased around by some young kids.
And besides Dana, nobody seemed to remember this lady, as the clerk returned to work, not even a hint of the distress on their face when the lady had still been human – like she had never existed at all. That scared and excited the believer.
There were a few other things – some ruder folk leaving the movie they wanted to see, but had no room for them all, shirts in the exact colors they wanted – small things, but still present. Maggie only seemed to roll her eyes on some of the things happening – telling Dana she was in the know at least.
Dana presumed there had been a protection of sorts placed on Maggie, as the girl had a constant aura around her that seemed to be a part of the goddess’s power. The other explanation would be that somehow the Blessed Stone – a small gemstone on a silver chain Dana and the members of the commune wore – was somehow made part of Maggie.
Dana wonders sometimes how exactly does the stone work – considering that unless actively thought about, changes done would become a norm, while the memory of how it was would vanish to the depths of the mind. Perhaps a sort of ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ protection. It wouldn’t be good at all, if somebody referenced an event pre-change that was removed and ended up looking foolish in front of other people.
“Hey, Dana, what do you think about this shirt? Too much?” Darla took a tie-dye shirt and looked at the older girl.
Dana shook herself from thought – wouldn’t be good if she somehow angered the avatar by not being friendly with her sister, not that it was hard to be friends with Darla – and said, “Maybe a bit too big? Unless you wanted it in that exact size, maybe go for a smaller one.”
“Hmm…good point…I’ll try on both and see what looks best. Wanna try?” A tie-dye Dana’s size was offered, so she took it.
Hey, if someone is offering to pay – and has the power to pay it – you take the chance, alright?