who is Sarah now?

Sarah's paused her excited chatter. She scrunched her face in thought. "I wonder who exactly I am now?" she asked.

Tom shrugged. "What do you mean? you're Sarah."

She gave him a look with one raised eyebrow. "Tom," she said in an explanatory tone, "obviously my life is different now. I'm younger, a different ethnicity, and a different career. "

"Oh, yeah," Tom agreed. "I didn't really think much about it."

Sarah continued. "The coin is really powerful if it can change all that. Make a wish for me to know about my life here."

"Sure, okay." Tom pulled the coin back out. "I wish Sarah knew everything that she would if she actually had this life."

Sarah sat down. "mukheef!..." she said. "That is very much information." Her voice had a new accent.

"What was that?" Tom questioned. "Arabic?"

Sarah nodded. "I am Nia Habib. I kept my name when we married. I am from Lebanon."

She looked at Tom and smirked. "Hah, in this life I married you to secure citizenship. I thought it a practical step to build a stable future in a new country. Though our marriage began with that purpose, over time, genuine affection and mutual respect grew has grown, I think." Her language was almost formal, sounding rather rehearsed.

Tom had a bemused expression. "Interesting. I see what YOU got out of it, you scamp, but why did I - I mean, this Tom - marry you? What was his motive?"

"I know not, I do not read minds," she laughed. "More seriously, I think you like me and were very attracted to me. That makes smart men do dumb things, yes?"

Tom stood up. "Let's look around some more to see what else has changed. You can tell me more about our lives here."

Sarah joined Tom, elaborating on her life and career here as they walked through the house. As they did she had a realization. Her feelings for Tom were changing a great deal with his last wish. The more she started to identify as Nia, the more she saw their relationship in a different light.

While her heart still held deep love and tenderness for Tom - the man she once knew intimately - Nia’s perspective on their relationship is markedly different. To Nia, their marriage was largely pragmatic, a partnership built on mutual benefit rather than romance. In fact, Tom's growing romantic feelings for her since they married was starting to push her away. She still let him have sex with her but her enjoyment lessened each time as it became more of a chore.

The Sarah part of her recoiled, trying to hang on to her feelings for Tom. But the excitement and strength of her new identity had a powerful draw. Nia was independent, powerful, and driven - things Sarah desperately wanted and had missed in her own life.

"No need to trouble Tom with this," she convinced herself both as Nia and Sarah. Neither aspect wanted to hurt his feelings. Nia felt she would continue to ride things out until another opportunity presented itself. Maybe she could gently let Tom down and draw some new boundaries - she preferred to go back to how things were when they first married.

Sarah's concerns were pushed aside by her curiosity about Nia's life and her interest in trying it out. "We'll work it all later," she thought. "This is all temporary anyway. Tom said he'd give me what I want, so if that's distance in our relationship while I'm Nia, it will be fine."