Karen is silent for the short walk towards your home.
"How are you handling this?" she asked finally "I freaked out alot when it happened, and didn't think how you were coping. This must be alot harder for you than it is for me."
"I don't think I've fully processed this yet," you admitted "When I woke up in your room, and realized what I looked like, I ran to make sure you were ok. Didn't think about my predicament much after that."
"How did this happen?" Karen asked "This is something out of a fairy story, right? This kind of thing doesn't happen in real life."
"I don't know," you said, as you pulled the pendant out from beneath the blouse you were wearing, identical to the one Karen was wearing next to you "It must have been this, right? When I used it like the old man said, it was blue, but now it's red. I tried using it to change back when I saw you, but it didn't work.
"Can I see it?" Karen asked. You took it off, and handed it over. Karen examined it for a moment, turning it over in her hands
"I think it's recharging," Karen said, as she held it out for you to see. You didn't have to stoop or crane your neck to look at it, you and Karen now being the same height "See here? It's faint, but you can see a tiny speck of sapphire blue here, and it's getting bigger. I don't know how long it will be until it's recharged, but until then, I'm sorry, but you seem to be stuck as you are."
"I guess you might be right, but what do we tell mum and dad when they get home tonight?" you asked
To that, Karen had no answer