Chapter 4: I am You (and You are Me)

(Gilbert)

I opened my eyes and even though the light was bright it felt strange, it was like everything was in focus. I wasn't wearing glasses so someone must have put in contacts while I was out, but why? What happened and where was I?

I turned my head to look around. At first I thought that I was looking at a mirror but soon I realised that I was bending over myself. Nothing made sense to me. Was this some kind of out of body experience? Had I been abducted by an UFO? Had I died and come to some afterlife? If I was dead how and why did I die?

The doppelganger above me noticed that I was awake. He didn't look happy and before I could react he had grabbed my shoulders and started to violently shake me. This did not rattle my brain and I was still very confused.

"What have you done to me? I want my body back," the clone said with a perfect impersonation of my voice.

"Huh?" I answered, since it was the best thing I could come up with, at least with such short notice. It was a good reply, because I learnt something from it. The man over me was speaking with my voice, but I was not. My voice sounded different, like I spoke in a higher pitch.

"I said. What have you done to my body? Give it back to me you fucking freak or I'll beat the crap out of you," the other me hissed angrily.

"What?" I answered even more confused than before. What was going on? Was this a nightmare? It had to be. I usually never dreamt and I had no idea that everything could feel so real.

My double seemed startled by my ignorance and released his grip on me. He paused to think for a while, which suited me just fine. Without him shaking me perhaps I could think as well. It seemed like I was in a hospital, okay that's a start. My double said that I had done something to his body, that I had stolen it. He thought I was the culprit of whatever was going on.

"Look, I don't have any idea of how you swapped our bodies, but I want mine back," my doppelganger answered while fighting to keep his tears inside.

What was I, I mean the other I, talking about. Swapped bodies? This dream was getting stranger by the minute. This double of mine must be delirious. Without realising I looked down and saw that I had two large breasts. Last time I looked I was a male, but not anymore. I was not in my own body. That explains a lot, my eyesight, my voice and the strange feelings. It seemed like I had swapped bodies with the person in my body. This dream was starting to look more like a bad Hollywood comedy or old science-fiction movie. I really had to watch less TV.

"Look, I don't get what you are talking about. Who are you?" I asked trying to get a grip on what my dream might mean.

"Stop pretending to be innocent. It is all too obvious that you are not. You did this, the laugh is over, switch our bodies back," she who possessed my body answered.

I did not answer. She still thought I was the mastermind behind all this. I had no idea of what to say. Luckily I didn't have to. My body language must have been screaming that I was innocent because she seemed to calm down, like she no longer considered me the orchestrator of these events.

"I'm Amanda Johnson," she answered to my previous question.

Amanda Johnson? The queen bitch at school? Suddenly it all came back to me. The rain, the oak tree and the loud bang. My god, what if this was not a dream? What if I had gone insane? Or worse, what if this was reality? What if we really had switched bodies? A wave of fear rushed through me. Everything in here felt so real, it had to be. I quickly pinched my arm, well technically it was Amanda's arm, and I didn't wake up. This was reality. I quickly decided to simply accept the fact that we had switched bodies, It was ridiculously absurd, but I liked that explanation a hell of a lot better than being insane. I was just about to ask her what had happened when our conversation was interrupted by a load voice from the other side of their room.

"Wake up honey. He's awake!"

I would have recognised that voice anywhere, it was my mother's voice. I looked that way and saw my mother shaking my sleeping father. They were dressed in the clothes they were preparing for the upcoming sci-fi convention indicating that they had rushed to the hospital in a hurry. My mom and dad may be real geeks, but even they should know better than to rush around in funny costumes.

"My parents," I whispered to Amanda. "Try not to say to much or we'll both end up in an asylum."

Amanda looked like she was about to say some vicious remark but before she had the chance my parents literary threw themselves at Amanda in a big hug. Both of them were crying with joy. Amanda looked terrified and I couldn't help but smile at her discomfort. After a while Amanda seemed to relax but still said nothing. It was my mother Kate that broke the silence.

"We were so worried. We thought you were going to die."

"I better go get the doctor," my dad, Brian, said before he walked out of the room.

"Excuse me Mrs. York but what exactly happened to us?" I asked trying to fish for information.

Mom wiped her tears and released her hold on Amanda before she answered, "You were both struck by lightning. Luckily some boy found you and called an ambulance."

"That explains it. The last thing I remember was this fucking bright light," Amanda said.

"Hey, you better watch your language or I'll..." Mom said but she was interrupted by the door opening. A rather young female doctor with thick glasses entered the room with my dad as her tail.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Becker. I'm the one responsible for your care here, and you should not be out of bed," the woman said and pointed to Amanda.

It was obvious that Amanda was about to argue but she must have realised that it was a bad time for a fight. She restrained herself and without saying a word got back into bed.

"I don't know what you have been told but you were both struck by lightning. You are both very lucky to be alive. There seems to only be minor burns on your bodies and overall only negligible physical damage. The shock to your nervous system was quite large though. It rendered you both unconscious but preliminary test indicate no permanent damage. As a precaution we would still like to keep you both another day for observation," Dr. Becker said. "Any questions?"

"Have you been in contact with my parents?" I asked since I was fairly sure Amanda's parents were still alive and was surprised not to see them.

"I spoke with your mother on the phone and she said they wanted to be here but that they were 'occupied with some prior engagement'," Dr. Becker informed me.

Mom was obviously shocked by the callousness of Amanda's mother this but it seemed Amanda was not. I was a bit shocked as well but tried my best to put on a stone face. I believe I did a pretty good job, because no one seemed to notice my internal turmoil. How could her parents not care enough to show up when her daughter was in the hospital?

"Now I want the two of you to leave here so I can ask my patients some questions in private," Dr. Becker said and indicated that my parents should leave. "You can come back during visiting hours. If something happens we will inform you."