Chapter 3

She awoke the next day to find the male kangaroo approaching her. He was huge and towered over her. She felt very nervous not knowing what he wanted or planned on doing. She most definitely didn’t want to mate with him. For all she knew, doing so would make returning to humanity impossible. If Tony saw her engaged in such an act, he’d probably assume she wasn’t a changed human.

She stood up as the male kangaroo hopped up to her. He started sniffing her, taking in her scent as she took in his. His scent was a bit stronger then the females and she had to admit the kangaroo part of her mind found him intriguing. However, she wasn’t about to risk doing anything other then petting him.

He seemed very interested in her and circled around her as if trying to ascertain her identity. He started touching her back and sniffing her continuously. Miguel was getting rather uncomfortable with him. She didn’t want him to try anything and feared he was going to. With her mind so confused and the effect of her instincts unknown, she wasn’t about to risk it.

Immediately, she quickly hopped away as fast as she could. She didn’t get far before she heard the male pursuing her. She did her best to increase her speed but knew that with the confines of this habitat, she’d never truly be able to escape him.

The chase lasted until they were halfway across the habitat. Miguel knew running was futile and decided that it was best to get whatever was going to happen over. She feared the worst and readied herself as he caught up to her.

Whatever you’re going to do just get it over. I can’t run from you forever so we might as well be done with whatever you want to do.

It was then that something totally unexpected happened. The roo raised his head and looked her in the eye. There was something about the glimmer in his eyes that projected an aura of intelligence. Something Miguel never would have expected happened. The roo knelt down and wrote a word in the dirt … human.

It was amazing; he was writing just as she had. Was he communicating he knew Miguel used to be human or that he too was changed? The later was an intriguing but somewhat disturbing idea. If this had happened to others, she couldn’t help but wonder how many were out there terrified and trapped in bodies in which they had no idea how to function. For all she knew, all of the kangaroos here used to be human. Miguel pointed to herself and nodded her head. The male shocked her when he pointed to the word and then. Perhaps that explained why he hadn’t of seen her until now, perhaps if he were a changed human, he didn’t want to be ‘with’ a female kangaroo. Miguel guessed he was happy to see another former human.

Several of the other kangaroos had congregated behind the duo, perhaps wondering what was going on. Miguel wondered if they too used to be humans. Much to her surprise, she was relieved when the male shook his head. The male tapped his right foot loudly on the ground and the rest of the kangaroos cleared out, thinking danger was around.

The male pointed in the direction of the far end of the habitat and began hopping.

That’s strange, since when does a kangaroo know what pointing means?

Curious, Miguel joined him, assuming he wanted to be alone with her so they could figure out what to do. When they reached it, Miguel stood beside him; she couldn’t help but enjoy the smell of the fresh morning air. Dew glistened off trees and it was slightly humid. Miguel took in the scents of the area, filling her lungs with fresh, clean and sweet air.

The male touched her left shoulder and she turned to face him. Looking him in the face, she could tell he had been there long enough to give up on ever being human again. Perhaps seeing the humans discussing her sparked something in his mind that restored a long dormant human side of him. With so much she wanted to ask him, Miguel badly wished she could speak. Fortunately, their ability to grunt out words would permit primitive communication.

Miguel lowered her arms to the ground before writing her name in the dirt and pointing to her face. The male roo seemed to understand and attempted to do the equivalent for his name. He had considerable difficulty with writing, which Miguel attributed to having spent so long as an animal.

It took him nearly a minute and he needed to write one letter at a time, but he managed to convey that he used to be a human named Alex.

Was he an Alexander or Alexandra?

Miguel pointed to her pouch, hoping Alex would know if this meant female.

Alex nodded her head; he used to be an Alexandra. The magic had changed his gender as well. She wasn’t sure why this was. Perhaps the magic selected him as a companion for Alex, wanting to give him a female kangaroo that used to be male.

Miguel made a motion around her waist, pointing to her pouch. It seemed Alex understood when he nodded. The two former humans looked at each other, both happy they weren’t alone. Even if they were stuck as kangaroos, at least they didn't have to experience it alone.

Suddenly realising Alex had little way of judging the passage of time while living here, especially if it were weeks or months, Miguel wrote the word when in the dirt to ask when Alex changed.

Alex again struggled to write out the words. Even simple languages were challenging for him. Thinking in terms of dates was something he stopped doing long ago. He needed several seconds to write of the names for months and years. He finally managed to write out he had changed in August of 2001.

Miguel looked shocked; Alex had been a kangaroo for three years! She wondered why he didn’t try to get help, especially after all this time. On the other hand, perhaps he did but no one had believed him. If he never got the chance to argue his case again, despair may have allowed his kangaroo instincts to take over.

Alex looked at Miguel, her expression indicating compassion. He had a bad feeling it had been a long time. Miguel wrote the word years before three fingers on her right hand.

Alex hung his head, he had been thinking like a natural kangaroo for so long that he didn’t notice the passage of time. He knew he felt older and he seemed to have been a kangaroo for a long time. He had always thought someone would know he was here or think his behaviour atypical for a kangaroo and conclude he used to be human and had concentrated on having fun as a roo until that happened. Now, with so much time having passed since he changed, his ‘condition’ suddenly felt much more permanent. Miguel gently nuzzled the bottom of his snout with her left hand, getting Alex to look her in the eye.

Miguel couldn’t imagine spending three years as an animal; three days was tough enough on her mind; it impressed her that Alex had managed to retain any human mentality after so long. She could sense Alex was slowly losing control, the realisation of how long she had been a roo obviously had a devastating impact on her.

Alex grunted a sound Miguel somehow knew to mean submission, as though he was giving into this fate. Miguel desperately followed watched as he hopped off.

He can’t give up! I can’t handle this alone! Come back Alex, don’t leave me!

She desperately hopped after the male roo. Though he was only seconds ahead of her, Miguel could not catch up to him. The chase lasted for nearly an hour, the two kangaroos hopping wildly around the habitat. Eventually, Alex was tiring and he slowed. Miguel caught up to him, and tried to nuzzle with him. Alex grunted loudly and pushed her away. Feeling terribly hurt; Miguel slowly started to hop away as Alex lay down.

A few minutes later, Miguel felt something touching her left shoulder. She stopped hopping and turned to see Alex standing behind her.

Miguel gently petted Alex between the ears while making a gentle sound that she somehow knew would reassure Alex everything was all right.

Alex nodded in understanding before reaching over and hugging Miguel. Immediately, he had the feeling things would work out. If he and Miguel were stuck like this, they’d be okay. Knowing he now had another former human as companion made this much easier to bear. Knowing the female roo used to be a he considerably dampened the trepidation he experienced around her.

Both of their stomachs were grumbling, so they both hopped back towards the building in hopes of getting something to eat.

***

Weeks passed, Miguel was used to being a kangaroo by now and she felt older, as if she were more mature and experienced in life.

Although she had guessed she had only been a kangaroo for a month or two, it felt more like years. She and Alex were spending a lot of time hopping together. While they couldn’t speak, they did have the ability to write basic words in sand and used body language to communicate. Alex was used to being a male and Miguel was accepting being female. Alex seemed to want Miguel to accept her fate as a female kangaroo. Oddly enough, Miguel’s presence seem to make Alex act more like a normal kangaroo, as though he felt having another changed with him made it okay to accept this fate.

By now, the kangaroo part of Miguel’s mind had settled down and sort of merged with her human part. There was no struggle between the two; they existed as one. Instead of a displaced human struggling for control, she felt more like a very intelligent kangaroo. Her lack of clothing no longer bothered her. In fact, she came to welcome to feel of the air and sun against her body.

She and Alex had grown quite close. It wasn’t long before Miguel wondered how she ever got though life without Alex’s presence. She wondered how Alex looked as a human, but after spending time together as roos, she found herself growing more and more used to the idea of raising a family together as roos rather then having a relationship as humans.

Miguel wondered where Ben and Susie had gone and was starting to wonder if she’d ever be human again.

Over the weeks, other humans had stopped by to investigate them, wanting to find out about the unusually intelligent kangaroos in this habitat. Several visitors wanted to see them as well. Miguel loved the attention, especially from the kids. Attention like this made her wonder if staying this way would be so bad. There was even talk of a documentary about Miguel and Alex and much speculation as to where they came from. While she missed being human, she couldn’t help but love the attention being this way was getting her.

No one suggested either Alex or Miguel used to be human. The interest in the two intelligent kangaroos had eventually culminated in some media attention.

While Miguel had yet to be physically ‘with’ Alex, she suspected he had been so with the other females. This worried her as it felt as though Alex was either losing interest in being human again or had given up on it.

Miguel wondered if she’d end up having to start a family as a kangaroo. Unfortunately, if Alex’s behaviour continued the way it was, she’d knew there’d be nothing in it even close to what humans consider love or closeness. In mating with her, Alex would simply be fulfilling an instinct. He wouldn’t know why he was doing it and she doubted he'd see a baby as his or the result of said act. She definitely didn’t want that. Such an act would feel like a total resignation to her fate. She feared giving into hormones and instinct would only strengthen the kangaroo part of her mind and possibly drive out her human intelligence and thought.

Unfortunately, the longer she spent as a kangaroo, the greater the chance of her finding out and she really didn’t want to.

***

The two of them were out hopping one cool September afternoon when a pair of humans wearing white coats approached them.

Miguel recognised their scents; they were Ben and Susie! Seeing the two felt similar to seeing someone you’d haven’t seen or talked to in years. Ben carried a black briefcase with him.

"Miguel, is that you?" Ben asked.

Miguel nodded. Alex looked a bit panicked but Miguel assured her with body language.

"We’re sorry it took so long for us to get back to you. It’s been nearly six weeks since we last saw you. We know it’s probably been strange and annoying having to spend that much time as a kangaroo. We hear you two have caused quite the stir. Is your friend a former human as well?" Susie asked.

Miguel and Alex nodded.

"Tony told us he’s been here for three years. I’m surprised there’s any human left after so long. Tony always did wonder about him," Susie said.

Alex wrote her name in the dirt before pointing to it. Susie and Ben watched with astonishment.

"Hello Alex, I’m Benjamin and this is Susie. Well, the good news is we’ve finally found the solution to returning you both to humanity!"

Susie released Alex’s paw before facing both kangaroos.

"It wasn’t easy. In fact, it took some major doing. Apparently, thieves pilfered an Australian artefact from a museum fifty years ago. This artefact was originally a talisman that legends say had the power to turn a person into an animal and back again. The species would depend on a specific chant the wearer would chant. They needed someone to recite a different chant to restore them. One of the thieves unfortunately tried it on after getting it on Canadian soil and it worked. Unfortunately, because he recited the spell wrong, which combined with stealing the talisman corrupted the magical ability stored within it," Ben informed them.

"This is where we are now. Once it turned him into a kangaroo, it vanished leaving him trapped as one. We based this story on testimony from his friends that helped to steal it. The authorities captured and jailed them before taking him to a zoo. The officials didn’t really believe that the kangaroo was he. He spent the rest of his life as a kangaroo. We were able to locate two of his friends in a retirement home a week ago. They confirmed this story," Susie said.

"From what we’ve been able to decipher from ancient texts stored within the museum, when the talisman’s power is corrupted, it will do two things. One, anyone that wears it will become the species its last wearer changed him or herself into. Two, after he or she changes, the talisman will vanish. When it re-appears, it will appear in any form. It could be a fanny pack like Miguel found it in or a pendant, or even a shirt. The next person to wear it becomes a kangaroo and then it vanishes, only to start the process all over again," Ben added.

"We aren’t sure why it turned Miguel into a female but suspect that it may have intended to create a companion for Alex, and for Alex it may have wanted a male for these females," Susie said.

"The good news is, we have a way to force it to re-appear right here and repair its magic. The first question I should ask is; do you want to be human again?" Ben asked.

At first, the answer to that question seemed obvious; of course, Miguel wanted to be human again! However, what would her human life be like? Her new job would have come and gone by now and she was used to being a kangaroo! She was used to not wearing clothes and hopping to get around, not to mention simply existing without worrying about getting a job or paying bills. Could she truly go back to her human life after this? Then there was Alex; she had been a kangaroo for three years! She was most likely used to being a male and kangaroo. She probably had come to know all the kangaroos here and should she become human again, she’d need a lot of re-education to get her human life back in order.

On the other hand, if they stayed here, this existence would pretty much be all they would ever have. All they would know was hopping, lying around, playing and eating. A fun existence for sure, but not really something they could call a life. Miguel also knew her friends and family needed her back. Staying this way wouldn’t be fair to them. All of her potential human accomplishments were impossible as a kangaroo. Remaining a kangaroo wouldn’t be fair for her either. She was sceptical anything would ever restore her humanity, but was willing to try.

She looked at Alex and gently petted her back. Alex thought this was all silly and pointless. After sending three years as a male kangaroo, she had lost any hope of ever being human again. The idea that anyone could suddenly have a way to restore her humanity was a pipe dream. He wanted to get on with his life, even as it was. Wasting time thinking of being something that in his mind he'd never again be was only setting him up for disappointment. He would have shook his head and hopped off but when he turned and looked at Miguel, he could see a pleading in her eyes. At the very least, Miguel needed to attempt this, even if it likely wouldn’t work. He knew for her sake that he had to go along with it, even if he felt it was a waste of time.

"There is a small chant I must say to force the artifact to reappear in front of me. Once I do that, I need to pick it up. Susie then needs to do another chant in order to reverse its effects before I change. If all goes well, I’ll be fine, the artifact will stay here, and instead of changing humans into kangaroos, it will restore changed humans. If it doesn’t go well, I’ll unfortunately end up like you two. Don’t worry though, I am willing to take that risk."

"Are you two ready?" Ben asked. The two kangaroos nodded in unison.

"Okay, let’s get started then," Susie said. She doubted this was going to work but felt they had to try. She wasn’t too keen on the idea of something going wrong and Ben ending up a kangaroo and knew she'd need to perform her task correctly.

Ben wasn’t sure he really was ready to go through with this. He definitely didn’t want to end up an animal. He couldn’t, however bear the thought of Alex or Miguel living out their lives this way. He knew they had to try.

Ben put the briefcase in the ground and opened it. Inside was a piece of paper with a set of instructions engraved on it.

"I’m ready when you are," Susie said. She doubted this was going to work

Ben held the paper and slowly recited the chant. As he did, a cold wind blew across the habitat. Quickly thereafter, a quiet humming sound manifested itself in front of Ben. A spark of light soon appeared in front of him. When he finished the chant, that light shaped into the size of a pendant. The light soon faded, leaving a silver pendant in its place.

Ben handed Susie the paper before bending down and picking up the pendant.

"Here we go, the moment of truth," he said as he put it around his neck.

Susie, Miguel and Alex watched as fur sprouted on Ben’s neck. Not wanting it to go further, Susie quickly but carefully recited the reversal chant. She stumbled a bit as she saw the fur spreading up Ben’s face and poking through his coat into his hands. Ben was obviously growing uncomfortable. Once Susie was finished, his changes stopped.

All looked at him nervously. Much to their relief, the fur soon started falling off. In a matter of seconds, the pendant had fully restored his humanity.

Taking the pendant off, Ben breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now we just need to put it around each of your necks and let it do its magic," Ben said.

Miguel wanted Alex to go first, he had been a kangaroo for longer and she knew restoring her to humanity was paramount. She pointed to Alex and nodded her head, beckoning her to take the pendant. Alex seemed to understand and took the pendant from Ben’s hand as he removed it from his neck.

As he put it around his neck, everyone watched and waited.

The first sign it was working was Alex’s fur starting to fall off. Ben and Susie beamed; amazed this was starting to work. Soon, Alex’s tail began shrinking, becoming shorter and thinner at the same time. His legs were next, hips slowly started to change as his posture improved with his torso gradually reverting back into a shape more human and less roo.

His legs lost some strength but gained a more familiar appearance as they moved under his torso. With his torso still largely kangaroo, he couldn’t really support himself and ended up falling down, fortunately, Ben was there to catch him and slowly lowered him onto his back.

The trip watched as Alex’s torso grew slightly longer and less round, losing fur quickly. His tail was all but gone as his feet were changing, reverting into a more human form. His legs were nearly hairless and looked almost human and much to his relief, like those of a woman instead of a man. The rest of his features were looking less like those of a he and more of a she. Miguel watched happily, seeing Alex regain not only his humanity but also gender.

Soon, his small kangaroo’ arms started to lengthen as her neck and skull began regaining a form closer to that of a human. Alex closed his eyes from the pain of it and Miguel hopped beside him, gently touching her now almost human belly to comfort her. She knew she was going to have to go through the same thing but also knew it was worth it.

Alex’s face was all but bald little buds of red hair were quickly growing on top of her head, a head shape now much more human then kangaroo. Those buds of hair which grew into strands, which quickly expanded into long luxurious hair, which spread across the ground.

Soon after, it was done, lying on the ground was a naked but very human Alex.

Susie helped her up as Alex looked down at her body.

Ben and Susie smiled at the sight of Alex restored to humanity. To say Ben and Susie were shocked was an understatement. Both stood there with their mouths wide open and at a loss for words. They had hoped this would work but had to admit their optimism was mostly for the sake of Miguel and Alex.

"It … worked! This is incredible, it actually worked!" Susie said, her voice nearly trembling from the incredible nature of what had transpired. Looking at Alex, Ben blushed at the sight of the naked human before her.

"You’re human again. This is amazing!" Ben added.

Alex looked down at her body. To her amazement, it had worked, she really didn’t think it would yet there she stood, restored to her human form. It was incredible and unbelievable. She had her form and life back; she didn’t know whether to jump for joy, cry out of happiness or faint out of shock. She gently ran her now human hands down her body, amazed at being not only human but also female again. She really didn’t notice her nudity. Perhaps her time as a kangaroo had all but eliminated any sense of modesty. More likely, she was too shocked at seeing a human body in place of her kangaroo one.

She turned to see Miguel and looked at the female kangaroo before her before turning back to Ben and Susie. Suddenly overcome with joy for what they had done for her, she couldn’t help but jump at both of them, giving them each a huge hug.

"It’s incredible … I’m human again!" she yelled, suddenly shocked at hearing her voice. It had been so long since she was able to speak and being able to do so with such ease shocked her. It surprised her that she still remembered the words. Since she'd been spending quite a bit of time around humans and heard them speak to both each other and herself; remembering at least basic phrases wasn’t too unexpected.

Removing the pendant from her neck, she gracefully put it around Miguel’s neck.

"Your turn now," she quietly said.

Miguel's body went through much the same changes as Alex’s had undergone. As with Alex, her legs changing cause her to fall back. Alex caught her and gently lowered her to the ground. Soon, Miguel was gaining mass and size, the small female kangaroo she was quickly changing into an adult man. Alex’s relief when Miguel regained his gender was extreme. When the reversal spell had completed its work, Miguel was again, human. He lay on the ground looked at up Alex.

Alex helped him up and he looked at her. It felt strange being a little taller then her rather then her towering over him. He too hugged both Ben and Susie, thanking them for restoring him and Alex. Looking down at his body, he felt relieved to see he was indeed a he. He had feared he was going to live out his life as a female kangaroo.

"Alex?" Miguel nervously asked as he turned to her. Alex happily nodded before hugging Miguel. "You’re beautiful," he said, blushing at Alex’s nudity. Ben and Susie quickly handed the two of them their white coats so they’d have something to wear for the time being.

"You two seemed shocked that it worked. I have to admit, I was sceptical but hopeful," Miguel said to Ben.

"As were we. But, we didn’t want to depress you two with thoughts that this may not work," Susie said.

"It’s incredible that it worked. I mean … wow! You’re human again; you really were a kangaroo! I wanted to believe it was possible but I admit I had my doubts," Ben said, clearly shocked.

"I guess I can’t blame you. You had no real reason to think I was anything but a well-trained and smart roo. Thanks for believing in me, " Miguel said.

"You’re welcome. Now, I’m sure you’d both love a shower, shave and haircut as well as some clothes," Ben said.

Miguel and Alex nodded, following Susie and Ben towards the building at the front of the habitat. They both actually tried hopping a few bounds; quickly blushing when they realised it wasn’t necessary anymore. Once they calmed down and reacquired their bearings, they starting walking. As they walked, Miguel and Alex spoke.

"How do you feel?" Miguel asked.

"Amazing," Alex responded, hugging Miguel tightly. As she released him and backed off, she flailed her arms a bit. It still amazed her that she could speak. "I seem to be the same age I was when I became a roo. I was worried I’d be older because kangaroos age faster."

"That’s part of the nature of the reversal spell, it restores you physically to how you were before you changed, so in effect you won’t have aged a day," Ben responded.

"That’s great because I was 26 when I changed," Alex said.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Miguel asked.

"I don’t know, I didn’t really expect this to work. I probably have no where to go." Alex answered, hanging her head; she realised her life, as a human would be a tatter.

Miguel gently petted her right shoulder to comfort her.

"Don’t worry, you can stay with me. We’ll take this a day at a time. We can get our lives back. It might take time but we will get our lives back. I know being human again after so long as a kangaroo will be tough, but I also know you’ll adjust … we’ll both adjust. Our time as roos will be a vacation, these are our real forms."

"Thank you for everything guys, you’ve given us both our lives back," Miguel said to Ben and Susie.

Alex nodded, thanking Ben and Susie for their efforts.

"You’re both welcome. Come on, let’s go and call your families, I’m sure they’ll be happy to know you two are okay. I’m sure you both have an interesting story to tell them all," Ben said.

When they reached the exit from the habitat, they stopped to say goodbye to the other kangaroos, the roos somehow knowing it was they. They both knew they’d always feel a connection to the creatures and that a part of them would always be kangaroo. Ben turned to Miguel and Alex as they walked into the building.

"So, what was being a kangaroo like?" Ben asked.

"It was very different from being human. While it was free, it was also boring. There isn’t much else to do as a kangaroo besides lying around, hopping and eating. Every day is the same thing. You think it’s going to be free with not having to worry about getting a job or other human responsibilities." Miguel answered.

"But you also lose things like TV, computers, movies and other forms of entertainment," Susie added.

"Exactly! As a kangaroo, you can’t speak or anything. Alex and I could write but the others wouldn’t understand anything. In a way, it was very disturbing. The others often just laid there all day, rather blank expressions on their face. When they’d eat, I don’t think it was a matter of good or bad tasting or knowing it was food. It was more like, their instincts told them to eat it and that was that," Miguel added.

"It looks like the old saying is true, it’s fun to visit but I you wouldn’t want live there," Susie said, giggling and turning to Alex. "What was being a roo for so long like Alex?"

"Was there ever a point you thought you’d be stuck like that forever?" Ben asked.

Alex nodded.

"In all honestly, it’s all a bit vague. I remember it but it’s like waking up from a dream. Everything was so different as a roo, even the way I interpreted and interacted with the world. It really changed the way I thought, not just in general but of myself. I tried thinking of myself as a human trapped within the body of a kangaroo but after a few months, I just didn’t feel that way any more," she responded.

"Sounds awful," Susie said with shock on her face.

"Let’s just say that being a kangaroo made me really appreciate being human. I think the boredom was one of the worst parts of it. Every day it was the same thing, with little hope for more. After a while, I found myself going insane from it and even little things entertained me. It was as if I was a baby or something. When that happened, I felt as though my kangaroo form was permanent. If Miguel hadn’t of come along, I’d still be there as a male kangaroo, thinking I’d never be human again," she said, stopping, she hugged Miguel tightly.

"I’m glad I could help you. If it weren’t for you and the male kangaroo really was a natural one," Miguel started, shuddering a bit. "Let’s just say, I don’t even want to think of what may have happened had my instincts taken over. If it weren’t for you spending time with me, I’d have gone insane with boredom spending time with only natural kangaroos. Who knows how that would have effected me. I’m not sure I want to know," Miguel responded.

Alex realised her hug before gently touching Miguel’s right cheek with her left hand.

"And what kind of relationship could we really have had as a roos? To an animal, it’s just find a mate, go through with the act and that’s it. They don’t have a relationship; it’s all so primal. I’ll take human relationships any day over that," she said.

"Even as difficult as human relationships can sometimes get, I’d take them a million times over the animal equivalent," Miguel added.

"I’m sure both of your experiences would make an interesting story. Would you two be interested in telling it over dinner?" Susie asked

"I could write a book on being a kangaroo. It was a real learning experience. I’m so glad to be human again," Alex answered.

"Dinner sounds great. After six weeks of eating nothing but the same fruits and vegetables, I’d gladly go for some human food," Miguel responded.

"I will wonder if there are other people out there stuck as kangaroos. We need to find them and help them. We got our humanity back, they should too," Alex said.

"If there are, we need to find them and help them," Miguel said.

"Looks like we have something else we can share together. I wonder how my family will react when I tell them I’ve spent the last three years as a male kangaroo."

"Probably similar to the way mine will react when they find out I’ve been a female kangaroo," Miguel answered.

"Well, however they react, I know we’ll have an interesting future together. I look forward to helping others like us and spending time with you."

"As do I," Miguel said beaming.

"We’re very happy for you two and glad we could help. We have a hotel room set up where you two can shower, shave and get some clothes on. They also have a barber that’s a friend of mine whose agreed to help you with your hair," Ben said.

Miguel and Alex nodded. They knew the coming days would be strange and likely difficult but looked forward to telling their story and getting their lives back, especially doing so together.