It hit me. Only I could see the two women.
Panic mixed with confusion. Were they ghosts? Hallucinations? Or something more sinister?
Stella grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the cab, trying to drag me away, but the chanting continued. The rings glinted in the morning sun. I could feel a strange energy, almost magnetic, pulling me toward them.
— “You must marry us!” they chorused, louder now, voices layered with urgency and desperation.
My heart pounded. What did they want from me? Why me? And why did I feel an inexplicable fear that refusing them might have consequences far worse than embarrassment?
People passing by started to glance at us, sensing my tension, but none could see them. My mind raced. Could it be that my presence, my life, had some unseen connection to these women? Were they bound to me somehow?
Stella’s grip tightened. — “Michael! Come on! Stop standing there!” she demanded, unaware of the invisible storm at my side.
One of the women stretched out her hand, palm glowing faintly, and I felt a pulse of heat surge through me. My knees weakened. The voice in unison boomed again: — “Marry us, or face the madness!”
I couldn’t respond. My lips wouldn’t move. All I could do was stare, trapped between the ordinary world and this other, unexplainable realm.
Then, just as abruptly as it began, the energy lifted. The women vanished in a swirl of dust, leaving only the rings on the ground where they had knelt. My pulse raced, sweat dripping down my temple. I looked at Stella, who frowned at the rings on the ground. — “What is this?” she asked, confusion and suspicion battling in her eyes.
I knelt down, trembling, picking up the rings. They were heavy, cold, and unlike anything I had ever seen. Symbols etched into the metal shimmered faintly, almost alive. I felt a whisper in my mind: “The choice is yours. Time is running out.”
I froze, realizing this was only the beginning.
Who were those women? Why could I see them? And what did they mean when they said I would go mad if I refused? My life had suddenly shifted from ordinary to something beyond comprehension.
The cab honked behind us. Stella tugged my arm again. — “Michael! Are you coming or not?”
