-------
The night air in the Los Angeles park was thick with the scent of damp grass and the heavy, suffocating silence of a moment gone wrong.
The sky bruised purples and golds, but for Ameya—or rather, the soul of Jenna trapped within her—the world had lost its color. She stood frozen, her breath hitching in her chest. The transition had been instantaneous, a sickening lurch of the spirit that left her head spinning and her heart hammering against ribs that didn't feel like her own.
The Confrontation in the Park
Rico stepped forward, his face a mask of raw concern. To him, the woman standing there was his Ameya, the woman he had been seconds away from pouring his heart out to.
"Ameya? Hey, talk to me," Rico muttered, his voice cracking. He reached out, his fingers trembling as he moved to grab her hand, desperate to ground her.
Before his skin could touch hers, she recoiled. She turned sharply, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and a brewing panic he couldn't understand.
"Leave me alone!" she snapped. The words were sharp, fueled by the sheer terror of being in the wrong skin at the most vulnerable moment of her life.
Rico flinched as if she had struck him. He stayed rooted to the spot, his shoulders sagging. The guilt was eating him alive; he assumed her anger was a delayed reaction to his mistakes, to the fact that he hadn't followed her when she needed him most. He didn't realize that the woman looking at him was actually his Jenna.
Ignoring Rico's heartbroken gaze, Jenna (in Ameya's body) fumbled for a phone. Her hands shook as she dialed a familiar number. On the other end, in a cramped restroom miles away, the phone vibrated.
"Hello?" Ameya (in Jenna's body) answered. Her voice was frantic.
"What have you done?" Jenna hissed into the receiver, her voice a low, panicked whisper. "Don't tell me you did this! Did you change our soul shift again?"
"I... I don't know!" Ameya's voice came back, sounding small and terrified. "Jenna? I'm in the restroom... I'm confused, I'm worried. I don't know what happened!"
Jenna leaned against a tree, her knees feeling like water. "How can you say that? It's because of your stupid ring, right? You told me five years ago... that those rings were the reason we shifted in the first place!"
There was a heavy silence on the other end. The weight of the past seemed to crash down on both of them at once.
"Do you even realize what was happening?" Jenna continued, her voice rising. "He was about to kiss me... and then it happened. Wait—Ameya, did Michael kiss you?"
"No!" Ameya shouted through the phone, her voice echoing in the small restroom. "Before he could even lean in, I pushed him away! Jenna, how could I betray you? Or my Rico? I would never!"
"I didn't mean that," Jenna sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I know you wouldn't. But we changed right at that moment. Michael wouldn't have known... I can't even think straight right now."
"What happened there?" Ameya asked, her voice trembling. "Is Rico... is he still angry? Is that why you're so upset?"
Jenna looked over her shoulder at Rico, who was still standing a few yards away, looking like a man who had lost his entire world. "Angry? Ameya, what are you talking about? Were you guys in the middle of a fight?"
"I... yes," Ameya whispered.
"No," Jenna said, her voice dropping to a realization that made her stomach flip. "I saw it. I felt it. He was about to propose to you."
The silence on the line was deafening.
"What?" Ameya gasped. "No... I didn't know. Is he... is he really?" The thought of being proposed to while trapped in someone else's body sent a wave of overwhelming grief through her.
"Listen," Jenna said firmly, trying to regain control. "We need to get back to normal. Use the ring, Ameya. Wish for us to get back to our real bodies. Our souls belong where they started."
There was a long, hesitant pause.
"Jenna..." Ameya's voice was barely a breath. "I don't think that will work."
"Why not? Just try it!"
"My ring..." Ameya choked back a sob. "It lost its power five years ago. After the last shift, it went dark. It's just a piece of metal now."
Jenna's eyes widened. The park seemed to tilt on its axis. The realization hit her like a physical blow—there was no easy way back this time.
"What? No. No, I can't stay here," Jenna whispered, her resolve hardening through the fear. "I can't stay in this body for another minute. I'm coming on the next flight. I'm coming to you, Ameya. We're fixing this."
---------
The Art of the Swap
The morning sun over Los Angeles didn't bring the usual clarity; instead, it brought a mounting sense of dread for two women living in the wrong skin.
The Struggles of a "Second Lead" Actress
On the bustling set of the new drama, Jenna (in Ameya's body) stared at the script in her trailer with wide, panicked eyes. She flipped through page after page of highlighted text, her head spinning.
"Why are there so many lines?" Jenna whispered to her reflection. "Ameya told me this was a supporting role! This feels like a Shakespearean monologue."
She tried to memorize a particularly emotional scene, but her brain kept drifting back to stage blocking and rhythm. "Omg... this is harder than remembering lyrics for a three-minute solo," she muttered, forcing a tight, practiced smile as the assistant director knocked on her door. She had to go out there and pretend to be an award-winning actress, even if she felt like a total fraud.
---------
The Fan Sign Fiasco
Across town, Ameya (in Jenna's body) was sitting at a long table covered in posters and sharpies. The fan sign event was in full swing. Ameya leaned on her years of idol training, flashing "The Jenna Smile" and heart-signs at every fan.
A young girl stepped up, clutching a gift. "Unni, do you remember me?" she asked hopefully.
Ameya froze. How should I know? she thought desperately. She took a breath and leaned into her acting instincts. "Of course I do! It's so good to see you again," she chirped.
The fan tilted her head. "Do you still have the gift I gave you? At your first-ever solo fan event?"
Ameya's smile faltered. She had no idea what it was. "Aha... of course! I have it... it's honestly the nicest gift I've ever received," she replied, quickly shifting the conversation to the fan's day.
"I'm so glad!" the fan beamed. "I see you're still wearing the bracelet right now! Thank you, Unni!"
Ameya looked down at her wrist. There was a simple beaded bracelet she'd found on the nightstand that morning. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and nodded enthusiastically. "I never take it off!"
---------
The Frantic Phone Call
The moment the event ended, Ameya ducked into a quiet corner behind the venue to call her own phone. Before she could even dial, the phone buzzed in her hand. It was Jenna.
"I can't do this anymore!" Jenna wailed the moment the call connected. "I acted my heart out, Ameya, but they keep making me do retakes! It's all because of you!"
"How many takes?" Ameya asked, suppressed amusement in her voice.
"Thirteen!" Jenna snapped. "Thirteen times I had to cry over a lost letter! I missed a few lines—is that a crime?"
Ameya couldn't help it; she burst out laughing.
"Oh, you think it's funny?" Jenna hissed. "How's it going on your end, Miss Idol?"
"Everything is smooth," Ameya said proudly. "Did you forget? I was an idol before I was an actress. This is my home turf."
"Well, don't get too comfortable," Jenna said mockingly. "Because my live performance is this evening. My second album showcase."
Ameya's smile vanished instantly. "Wait... the one with the high-intensity choreography? The 'Lethal Love' routine?"
"That's the one," Jenna chuckled darkly. "Enjoy, my dear. Let's see how your 'acting' handles a four-minute dance break with pyrotechnics."
"Jenna, wait! Help me! I don't know the new steps!" Ameya pleaded.
"It's all because of you," Jenna reminded her.
Ameya worried "I even tried to wish on the ring like you said, but nothing happened. Our careers are going to doom if we don't fix this."
"Speaking of fixing things," Ameya whispered, "did you talk to Rico? Did he say anything about... the proposal?"
"I've been avoiding him since yesterday," Jenna admitted, her voice softening. "He looks at me with those worried eyes, but he sees you. I came to the set early just to escape. And... thanks for his mansion address. I would have been homeless last night otherwise."
"And Michael?" Jenna asked.
"He's been calling me continuously," Ameya sighed. "Ever since we got back from the mall, he's been trying to talk about 'what happened' in the mall. I'm acting strange and he knows it."
" I think we have to tell them, Ameya."Jenna replied
"No!" Ameya shouted. "That would make it worse. Wait... I forgot to tell you. I had a dream... about a witch."
Jenna paused, then started laughing. "A witch? In this world? Ameya, are you out of your mind?"
"No ! I'm serious ," Ameya said seriously. "What if it's real? What if there's a reason we're stuck?"
"I was ready to fly back to you, but you stopped me," Jenna reminded her. "You wanted to finish the shooting."
"I know, I know! Just two more days of filming," Ameya pleaded. "Please, just act as me for two more days."
"Fine," Jenna sighed. "I'm hanging up."
"Wait! No! The performance!" Ameya cried out. "How can I do it without practice?"
Jenna smiled on the other end of the line. "You're an actress, right? Just do as I says."
---------
To be Continued.......
---------