"Knock, knock", said Shirley.
The lawyer's secretary looked up disapprovingly.
Shirley just rolled her eyes, hoping the secretary could read between the lines.
She was used to this kind of response from her days back in Los Angeles.
She decided to change her tune, and lay on the charm and friendliness.
"I'm sorry, I don't know how to be charming and friendly", she said sweetly.
The secretary stopped in her tracks and burst out laughing.
Shirley noted the nameplate on the desk; it read Kerian Khurish.
Shirley felt suddenly at ease, as if something that had been blocking her head melted away.
"Hi, I'm Shirley.", she beamed, "Can I call you Kerian?"
"Surely, Shirley", said Kerian, "How about trading places? How about you sit in my chair and I can take a much needed break"
"I'd love to", said Shirley, "I've never had a real job before."
"Ok", said Kerian as she strode out of the office blithely, leaving only the scent of Eternity behind her.
"Wait! Where are you going?!", Shirley yelled in a panic, "You can't leave me here alone!"
Kerian popped her head back in and said, "You're not alone. You must search the books here to find the name of your daemon and call call him - he will guide and protect you. Ciao."
Shirley was bewildered but she gamely picked up the first book she found.
She said to herself out loud, "I'm going to give this a go, but if it doesn't help me and ground me, I'm going to do something drastic!"
Shirley looked down at the book she was holding; the title read "Changing places: finding peace".
She read the title out loud and a bird fluttered down, landed on the desk in front of her and looked at her with kind eyes.
Ever unflappable, Shirley said, "This is great!"
But suddenly, Shirley smelled Eternity - and Eternity didn't smell good. It was Kerian, and she was up to no good.
Simultaneously, Shirley began to feel uneasy and the bird disappeared in a flash of sparkles.
Kerian was furious and advanced towards Shirley, who felt like she was about to be devoured.
Shirley tried to get her bearings but then she remembered that the door was locked; she was stuck.
"Damn bird!", She yelled, "Where are you when I need you?!".
(SNAP!) And just like that, the bird reappeared in a shower of glitter.
But this time he was a raptor, the size of your worst nightmare.
Kerian screamed, while Shirley eyed the raptor with a wry smile.
"I will solve this with one fell swoop!", said the raptor with a powerful voice, "I will transform both of you with one magic act."
In the blink of an eye, Kerian turned into a nylon baseball cap, sporting the legend "Virginia is for lovers".
In the same blink of an eye, (but with a lot of glitter) the nameplate on the office changed to Shirley Jones, Supreme Court Justice of the United States of America.
Shirley put on the cap and pumped her fist, as she said "Success at last".
The end
(flash of sparkles and glitter)
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