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I Woke Up In Another Man's Body
🕑 Added 2020-06-03 17:40:05 +0000 UTCThere was nothing particularly remarkable about the night before. I put the kids to bed and cuddled with my wife on the sofa to watch a bad Hollywood action movie. It was just another perfect night in my perfect life. I didn’t even have any weird dreams worthy of note. Everything was totally normal - until the next morning, that was.
Waking up in a bedroom that wasn’t my own and a body that wasn’t my own… I should have been panicked. No, I should have been totally out of my mind with incredulity and denial. I should have screamed; sworn; searched for answers. That would have been the logical response to such an illogical situation, but it wasn’t what I did. I didn’t feel the torment one might expect from such a chaotic wakeup. Instead, all I felt was a building curiosity as an avalanche of questions bombarded upon my confused brain: how had this happened? Who was I? How long would it last? Why had it happened?
Those for questions were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the maze of thoughts trapped within the confines of my mind, but even then I only happened upon the answer to one of them. A driver’s license in the wallet that was resting upon the small bedside table confirmed my new identity as that of Gabriel Rodriguez, a recent college graduate living in Columbus, Ohio. Between the personal identification and an inspection of what I saw in the mirror I was able to piece together Gabriel’s physical profile: five-foot-seven, one-hundred-thirty pounds, tanned skin, brown eyes, black hair, ears that stuck out just a little too much and a scar underneath his left nostril. Every day since then I’ve wondered about how he got it.
The young man I saw in the mirror was a world away from the reflection I was used to, but still the panic didn’t set in. To the average eye Gabriel was plain but not stunning. To me, his body was nothing short of fascinating. I remained in front of that mirror for hours, closely examining every little detail of Gabriel’s body, from the mole on his left shoulder brain to the slightest cleft in his chin. He didn’t have the hard muscles I was used to and his body was nearly completely hairless to boot. My fingers ran delicately down his smooth slender chest and even curiously reached further below to confirm the changes there too. Any other man would have been furious at the loss of mass and size. I should have been, but I wasn’t. The more I looked, the more I was willing to accept what I saw.
My first day as Gabriel wasn’t just different for the body I awoke in - how I actively spent the hours of day was completely irregular too. I had always been an incredibly active individual, filling my days with jogs around the neighborhood, resistance training in the home gym, keeping my throwing arm busy by tossing around a ball with some of the guys. My meals were always highly nutritious and carefully selected to fit the diet plan I was on that would ensure I was in optimal shape. I had fatherly duties to attend to and did my best to be a good husband. There was none of that during my first day in Gabriel’s shoes. I spent hours in front of the television obsessively playing Xbox games I’d never cared about before and ordered in an extra-large meat-loaded pizza from a local delivery store. Gabriel lived alone in a small box of an apartment so for the first time in a long time I didn’t have to worry about anyone other than myself. It was a freeing sensation and although I had anticipated missing my home and my family, the company of Gabriel’s video games and several greasy slices of delicious meat pizza was surprisingly more than enough to fill that space.
As the morning of my second day in Gabriel’s body dawned I realised that the most sensible choice was to familiarize myself with his life as best as I could. I thanked the Lord above that his work shifts had already been scheduled onto his phone calendar. He was only a store assistant whose shifts I soon discovered mostly consisted of stocking shelves and even though that was a world away from what I was used to, I was a firm believer in working hard under any circumstance and ensured that I performed an admirable job. It made the reward of a few coolers, some Chinese takeaway and another night full of gaming even sweeter, like I’d really earned it for once.
I’ve been living as Gabriel for a month now and truthfully I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so comfortable. There’s no surprise when I see his slender frame or his pouty lips in the mirror anymore, nor do I feel shame when indulging my late-night cravings. An unfathomable weight was lifted from my shoulders that first morning and I was appreciative of the simple life I was living instead. It was a blessing I hadn’t even known that I needed.
Last night I even saw my old face on the television. He was walking the red carpet somewhere in Los Angeles wearing a smart tuxedo and a handsome smile, and his arm was linked with his beautiful wife’s. As I watched his interview I was nothing short of impressed: he spoke exactly like I would and every time his eyes laid on his wife the love was so clearly emoted. Nobody suspected that a thing was different and why would they? He looked happy with his powerful celebrity life and I didn’t feel a single drop of resentment as he pressed a kiss to my wife’s cheek. Everything I had once had now belonged to him and I was surprisingly willing to accept that. Perhaps I’d never know why, but I was happy for the both of us, really.
The longer I spend as Gabriel Rodriguez, the more it feels like I’ve always been him. His memories flood my mind during every absent moment, washing away my own history with the tide. I’ve even begun to hero worship my former self as he had always done towards me, ensuring I see his every public appearance and religiously follow his career progress. Of course, that’s a tough juggling act when I work such long hours and dedicate most of my evenings to video games, but there will always be a special place in my heart for him. In fact, some days I get so wrapped up in my life as Gabriel that I forget that once upon a time I answered to the name Tom Brady.
Hi folks, sorry for the delay in the release of this week's Ryan Tier story! I started this on Monday but couldn't focus yesterday on finishing it up so unfortunately it had to be pushed to today.
I wanted to try something a little different with this story (and yes, I'm aware I say that a lot right now) by not focusing on the pleasurable aspect of a body swap or even try to make my writing 'sexy'. Instead I wanted to try my hand at experimenting with my use of language devices and also having a more internal exploration rather than some sort of narrative conflict. Oh, I also wanted to through in a last sentence twist to boot.
Of course, you're free to believe that Tom's acceptance of his new life is part of whatever Gabriel did to initiate their swap, if that's the route you want to take. Sometimes though, less is more. I hope you agree and enjoy this!
