The rest of the day flashed by in a blur. Sarah and I sat discussing her ex-girlfriend for a few hours, and I like to think that I helped her feel at least a tiny bit better about the ordeal. She’d also been gushing a little about the girl she’d seen in the video – the mysterious woman. I’m ashamed to admit that I had to push aside a little bit of jealousy.

Was I getting possessive of someone I didn’t even know? That’s just sad, Erin.

I was feeling exhausted early, again. I made the decision to get an early night – it was what my body wanted. Who was I to refuse it?

Everything about my appearance was really starting to come together, now. My frame was still adjusting, which I think is why I ached so much, and my muscles weren’t looking anywhere near as athletic as they had been just two weeks ago. I wasn’t going to complain about the differences, though, since they were exactly what I needed.

 

Thursday

Early on the following morning, I received a phone call from the doctor’s surgery. They were letting me know that the name change on their systems had gone through, but they also needed legal proof of the change before they’d do any more. So – everything came down to Saturday and Rishaan.

Alright then.

Remembering the lame image that I’d asked him to post online, I checked to see if he’d heard anything. His response was that he hadn’t, although he’d received some confused questions as to what it meant.

That made me smile. He was with kindred spirits, then. I bet every single time someone asked him about it, it killed him that he didn’t have an answer.

Giggling to myself, I quickly showered and dressed in some more clothes that Sarah had left out for me. I was actually beginning to feel bad that she felt like she had to do this. Still, it was super helpful and I appreciated it a lot.

I got dressed in a plain, feminine cut t-shirt and pair of jeans, along with a set of her trainers.

Today, I had decided, was the day that I was going to get my hair cut – Mum’s comments about it looking strange had me feeling self-conscious. If I were to ever feel comfortable enough to go out in public again, then I needed to make sure that I didn’t look like a walking hair dye disaster.

I was an impoverished student, but Mum had given me some money to help out while I dealt with all of the changes in my life. It wasn’t really enough to go clothes shopping, but she’d already said that she’d do that with me – just not yet.

The session at the hairdresser’s was actually anti-climatic. It had taken me several minutes to work up the courage to walk in, despite how I looked. Would they think that I was an imposter because I didn’t know the ins-and-outs of hairstyles?

It turns out that no, I was absolutely fine. I did get some comments on how lucky I was to have such amazing auburn hair, and what I’d been thinking with letting it get so bad. I gave some non-committal shrugs of the shoulder and the topic had been dropped. They’d made me promise them that I’d come back again in a month’s time.

My hair was trimmed of the nine months of growth that I’d accumulated since starting uni, leaving me with chin-length russet tresses. The stylist had barely even needed to use styling product to keep it sitting nicely – my hair just did it naturally now.

‘You’re welcome,’ came Muse’s trilling voice.

It suited me. I didn’t intend to have it this short forever, but until it grew out… yeah. This would be fine. I couldn’t stop my fingers from playing with it all the way home.

Almost the instant that I got in the door, my phone chimed and buzzed to announce that I’d received a text message. Since there were only really two people, sometimes three people in my life that ever texted me, I could guess who it was.

I was correct.

Rish: Alright you win

Rish: I can’t stand it anymore

Rish: Mind if I come over tomorrow instead?

I waggled my eyebrows at the air and giggling like a schoolgirl, and tapped my reply back to him.

Me: Sure but you’re driving

There was a moment’s respite as I waited for him to respond, so I ran upstairs to my room.

‘He really can’t wait to talk to me, can he?’ Muse asked, entertained.

My phone buzzed again, and I checked it.

Rish: Why do you want me to drive so badly?

I was still smiling as I texted him back. It was a surprise, so he’d just have to wait until tomorrow. I included my address in the next message, just so that he’d know how to get here.

Flicking back to my messages, I realised that I’d been seriously neglecting my relationship with Claire. I sent her a message to ask how she was getting on – mentioning that things in my life were utterly insane right now – and apologised for not talking to her more.

She actually replied fairly quickly, writing back that her life was hectic, too. She missed being able to chat to me, though, and was looking forward to badminton again after Summer.

A lump in my throat threatened to overwhelm me and I had to swallow it. The thing is, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about Claire. She’s pretty – definitely – but I think she might be straight? I mean, she’d had a boyfriend, although that had ended in disaster for her.

With a quiet groan, I pushed away all the thoughts that were rising up inside, texting her back instead. It was fortunate she didn’t ask to call me, I guess. Doing this in writing made it all so much easier.

I forced my attention back to what I’d been doing before – talking to Rishaan. I was actually getting pretty excited now. I bet he’d be a little intimidated if he knew how much.

My nervous energy must have been obvious to Sarah when she came home because, after complimenting my hair, she asked me what was up. Of course, I couldn’t avoid spilling the beans on what was happening. I didn’t tell her about the trip to Muse’s field, though.

Dinner was much the same, my parents both excited for me about the prospect of getting things moving forwards. I also neglected to mention the fact that I would be making a short road trip with my friend to some out-of-the-way place an hour or two away from home.

Mum gushed over my hair, saying that she was so lucky to have two beautiful daughters. I had to glance at Rah for that – and we both rolled our eyes. Dad’s reaction was to give a small grunt that sounded somewhat like, “It’s nice.” He then went back to his food, acting like he hadn’t said a word. I’d take it.

The evening passed by way too slowly, so I spent some of it looking for more signs of Artemis and the mystery woman. People had started to put together that it was the same woman in both of the videos, and the conspiracy websites were going a little crazy. I assumed that this was normal for them, though.

There were also some users that thought that it might be some new Alternate Reality Game, since she’d clearly used some kind of ‘special ability’ in the first video. And everyone knows that magic isn’t real.

---

- Friday -

My entire existence was tiredness when I woke up in the morning, and I had to forcibly drag myself out of bed. I silently praised Muse for my amazing hair, watching it literally fall into place as I ran my fingers through it.

I had just finished getting dressed after showering when I heard the doorbell ring. My eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but I went downstairs to see who it was. We’d never arranged a time for Rish to arrive, which was a bit of a lapse on my part. I assumed it would be at a normal time of day – you know – not 10am.

He was standing outside, looking a little uncomfortable but still in possession of that calm assertiveness. He was looking furtively up and down the road when I opened the door, but the moment I did, his eyes widened. I gave him a small waggle with my fingers and his calm confidence evaporated in an instant, replaced by shy uncertainty.

“Hey, Rish! It’s great to see you,” I said, reaching out for a hug.

He looked like he’d seen a ghost, as if he’d still been expecting everything that I’d said to him to be a massive hoax. He allowed me to hug him, giving me a small embrace in return.

“Uh, hey,” he managed to force out once we’d stepped back again. Oh yeah, he was looking awkward.

“Come in!” I said, gesturing for him to follow me as I walked back inside. I was actually wearing a pair of combats that Sarah had forgotten she had, plus a tank top and one of her hoodies.

It took his brain a few seconds to engage, but he followed me in. He gave one last glance up and down the street before stepping over the threshold. I slammed the door closed behind us, uncertain what to make of that. Did he think he was being followed?

With the front door closed behind us, he was looking even more uncertain about being here. He was like a trapped animal, bless him.

I decided that maybe giving him a moment of space could help, so I motioned towards the living room, “Have a seat? I just need to go get some things from upstairs.”

He nodded without saying a word, leaving me to darted upstairs to find where I’d stored the documents. I wanted to get this over with first, so that, if nothing else, at least I had changed my name.

I actually bounced excitedly down the stairs once I’d found them, carrying a pen from my desk with me. He watched me uneasily as I entered the living room, documents in-hand.

“You alright, Rish? Would you like something to eat or drink?” I asked him, setting out the documents on the little side table we had next to the sofa. When British people ask someone if they’re alright, it’s actually more like a greeting than a legitimate enquiry as to their health.

“Uh, yeah, some water. Thanks,” he managed to say.

‘He seems to be struggling to understand the situation, Erin,’ Muse said to me.

With a small nod of my head, I gestured towards the documents and wandered off to get him a glass of water. “Could you take a look at those? I’ll be right back!” I called out as I left the room.

Upon my return, I did actually find him reading the document closely. He looked up, his eyes searching my face, “So… uh, it’s true then? It’s not some big joke?”

I shook my head in reply, setting down the glass on the table, next to where he was studying the paper. “No, it’s really not a joke,” I said, sounding almost apologetic. “Would you be okay with witnessing me sign it?”

“What does that involve?” he asked, nervously. He picked up the glass to take a nervous sip.

Smiling, I pointed to the little box where he would write his personal details. “You just fill that in, and it’s all done.”

“Oh. Yeah, sure. That’s nice and easy,” he said.

Giving him another reassuring smile, I picked up the pen and filled in everything I had to – then I signed.

He did the same for his little details box. And then it was done.

I was now officially Miss Erin Reid.

I let out a cry of happiness, fist pumping the air. He looked startled at my outburst, then like he was trying to stop himself from laughing. Without waiting another moment, I bundled up the papers and sealed them away, ready to be sent off for validation.

“Alright, so. You wanted to meet Muse, right?” I asked Rishaan now. I actually didn’t know how long he’d be spending with her, or how long it would take. How does that even work? I’ve never really had her speak to someone else – at least while I was conscious.

‘I can speak to him as I do to you, as a voice in his mind,’ Muse answered.

Neat.

He glanced around the room nervously, then back to me – and nodded.

I offered out my right hand to him, palm upwards. “You need to take my hand. She can’t really talk to you unless you do.”

He looked at my hand for a few seconds, hesitant.

“She lives inside me, so the only way for her to reach you is for you to take my hand.”

He wiped his palm on his trousers before he reached for mine. He half-closed his eyes and looked away as he made contact.

I blinked at his overly dramatic nature, but I knew that Muse was probably loving it. Sighing, I waited for him to show signs that Muse was now in his mind. It only took a couple of seconds.

His eyes widened, and that was the instant that I knew he’d heard her in some way. I could also feel something like a strange emptiness, or sensation that some part of me was being pulled towards him. It was an actual physical sensation of pulling, rather than an emotional kind.

I guessed that it was just what it felt like when Muse decided to project herself outside of me.

“Uh… hello?” he said to the air, and I smiled. Well, this might be a one-sided conversation that could be fun to listen to.

It turned out that it really wasn’t.

I sat around while the two of them had animated discussion. Mostly, Rish was asking questions around where she was from, why she was here, the usual stuff. I couldn’t hear her responses, though, so that was… frustrating. I’d have to ask her some of those questions, too.

Maybe he should ask her why I looked completely different, while he was at it? That might make him a bit less awkward around me.

As the half-hidden dialogue continued, I realised that it was actually quite boring, too. I ended up yawning several times.

One thing I did notice was that he was looking more and more relaxed as his talk with Muse progressed. To begin with, he had the ‘rabbit in headlights’ vibe, like he wanted to just run away and hide, but was frozen in fear. By the end, though, he was smiling and cracking what I assumed were jokes with her. It’s hard to tell when all you have are the punchlines.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Back away from my symbiont, buster.

About fifteen minutes after the conversation started, he released my hand and let out a laugh, “Alright, she is incredible, Erin.”

Another person won over by having an entertaining conversation with Muse. I wondered what would happen if someone ever spoke to her and they weren’t gushing about her afterwards. Would they even be human? Maybe it’s a way to tell if they’re a secret android.

I smiled in reply, “Yes she is. Are you at least glad that you came over, now?”

His answer was a shy nod and bashful grin, “Yeah. Sorry about being a bit… you know, earlier.” He gesticulated as he spoke, unable to keep still.

‘He was experiencing many emotions that I would generally have tried to dampen in you, Erin. This is not easy for him,’ Muse added.

Well, that was interesting to know. I wondered if she could read the minds of people I’m touching.

‘In a word, no. Deliberate thoughts, perhaps, given time. But I am unable to enter their neural structure as completely as I have yours,’ she answered.

My momentary curiosity sated, I turned my attention back to Rish. He was still looking dazed, like he thought he was in a dream and was about to wake up.

“Are you ready to help her out, now?” I enquired, with a grin of my own.

---

We loaded into his car, bringing some food and some bottles of water with us from the kitchen. I sat in the passenger seat, which automatically gave me responsibility for the music and snack distribution. We drive on the left in the UK, so I sat to the left, and Rish was on the right.

This was actually his Dad’s car, but he was working from home today so had said that Rish could borrow it. I thought that was actually really nice of him, and I wondered if my parents would do that for me, someday. Maybe after I get my identification changed?

Right.

I tapped our destination into the sat-nav (GPS) and sat back while the sound of some posh, electronic lady gave Rishaan the directions towards the motorway – and ultimately, Muse’s field. On the way I made sure that we found a postbox so I could send off my envelope. They were actually quite easy to find – they’re very big and bright red.

Thankfully, this car also had Bluetooth connectivity, so I was able to use my phone to play music while Rish drove. We listened to some gentle symphonic metal as we travelled.

“So, where are we going?” Rish asked me, just as we were just joining the motorway.

“Muse left some of herself behind when she landed. We’re going to find it,” I replied, giving him a grin.