I loved wokka's addition, but that was a slightly different direction than I intended. I'm modifying it a bit to go where I'd intended.
Her hand was sweaty as she gripped her cell phone, but just hearing her husband's voice helped calm her.
"...no, she's gone now. I think she just walked away down the street."
"Are you ok, babe? What did she want?"
"Yeah I'm fine, just a little freaked out. She was looking for someone named John... Gibbons, I think it was. I don't know." She took a breath. "Then she tried to hug me like we were best friends or something. And she had this... this little rock with her, maybe some sort of sculpture. And she stood there and made a wish. Mikey, honey, none of this makes any sense!" Ok, so maybe she needed more calming.
"Baby, it's ok, I know you're freaked out. I would be too. Any idea where she might have come from?"
"No! She said her name was Karen Black. I don't know any Karens other than Mom. She just appeared on the doorstep out of nowhere."
That thought made Kim worry. She and Mike had moved to this neighborhood when they got married because it was quiet and nice; perfect for raising a family. The last thing she expected was some unbalanced vagrant to show up at her door. Especially for what they had paid for the place.
"Well, I'll be home soon, honey." He reassured her. "I'll let the security people in the neighborhood know to keep an eye out for this weirdo. You just try to relax."
"I'm so sorry to bother you while you're on rounds, it's just--"
"No. Stop. This is important. Never hesitate to call me because of that if there's an emergency. You let me worry about the patients; you take care of you and the kids."
Kim smiled and found herself getting a little teary. God, she loved him so. After a few minutes, they said their goodbyes, and hung up.
She took a deep breath and felt noticeably better. Just hearing his reassuring voice calmed her nerves a lot. Of course, that was why she'd married him. He was her rock... in more ways than one.
Double checking the locks on the door, she made her way upstairs to check on the kids. She poked her head into the door of their room, both of them still sleeping soundly. She smiled and quietly shut the door, knowing her angels were safe, then went to her own room.
Kim sighed and laid down on the bed. She had calmed down now, and was starting to realize how tired she was from her workout -- and that little incident hadn't helped any. Well, she could at least close her eyes for a moment, collect her thoughts. See if she could remember meeting anyone named John...
Karyn appeared back in her apartment. She looked around; she was all alone for now. Even though her wish assured her of that, after all these years, she still didn't trust the damned rock not to find some way to twist things around.
She pulled out her iPhone and dialed Zoe. "Hey," she said as the younger woman picked up.
"Any luck?"
"Well, yes and no. This is gonna take a minute. Do you have time?"
"Absolutely."
Karyn took a deep breath. "I've been able to reconstruct a lot of this, but there are still some gaps. But let me tell you what the stone has helped me put together and what I've found out on my own..."
