10 Years Later: The Truth

 

Part 1

Caitlin waited two days before she got another sight of her body. She watched as this stunning woman emerged from the door. She looked up and down at her amazing body, but she was caught. Her body was looking straight at her.

“Oh, it’s the guy from the other day who seemed to be scared of me. Nice to see you again,” said Caitlin’s body as she went to walk past her.

Out of nowhere, Caitlin said,

“Robert, I know that’s you in there!”

Caitlin’s body stopped and slowly turned around.

“Who are you? Why did you ask me that?” she asked with a concerned voice.

Caitlin knew she was not going mad. It was Robert in her body.

“I’m Caitlin. Robert, it’s me! I don’t know how all this happened, but we need to talk!”

Expecting Robert to say okay or try to defend himself, Caitlin was surprised when her body said,

“I’m not Robert. I’m Hayley. I was Robert’s girlfriend up until the crash all those years ago!”

Caitlin was shocked. She didn’t understand how this was possible. There had only been one person in that car when she stopped to help.

Hayley grabbed Caitlin’s arm and took her to a quiet area to speak.

“This is unbelievable. Have you been in Robert’s body all this time, stuck in a coma?” asked Hayley.

“Yes, until one day I was suddenly in this guy’s body. He’s called Gary Anderson. He is the hospital administrator. You can imagine my shock when I found out I had been in a coma in Robert’s body for ten years, and then to find myself in this body. I always thought Robert was in my body, so where is Robert?”

Caitlin was so confused, but also a little relieved. The idea that a woman had been in her body all this time made things easier for some reason.

“Robert is still in my body. That day I crashed was about a week after we swapped bodies. We awoke one morning in each other’s bodies, and although we were shocked and not sure what to do, we had to try to live as each other the best we could. When I awoke in your body, I was shocked, but after a while, I had to move on. And I have. Now I have this life, this career, and I’m happy. I understand you want your body back, but I don’t know how or why this happened to us.”

Caitlin was still wondering what had happened to Robert. She knew he was in Hayley’s body, but where was he? What was he doing? 

Hayley told Caitlin that after she returned to Robert, now in the body of Caitlin, they tried to make a go of it, but it was a doomed idea. Robert became reckless with Hayley’s body, and after a couple of years, they drifted apart. She had a new career, and Robert found that his new life opened up things he could never have considered in his old life.

Hayley told her how she felt bad about what had happened, and how she and Robert had argued over his lack of compassion for the woman now stuck in his former body.

“Last thing I knew, he was living with some people by the beach. I haven’t spoken to him for years, but if you want to find him, this was the last address I had.”

Caitlin wrote down the address that Hayley gave her, along with her number.

“I have a couple of days left promoting this magazine. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you anymore. This is my life now. I’m sorry!”

Caitlin watched her body disappear. She wasn’t sure if going to find Robert really mattered now. He was probably happy with his new life, just as Hayley was with hers.

What was strange was that, as she sat there talking to Hayley, she realised that the woman sitting opposite her was her, but at the same time, she wasn’t. Somehow, time and Hayley’s adjustments had changed her so much that Caitlin barely recognised the person her old body had become.

She wasn’t sure what to do as she looked down at the address.