Anders, a man awakening to the strangest metamorphosis of his life, found himself engulfed in an inexplicable phenomenon as he peered at his once familiar, now profoundly altered skin—a deep, undeniable brown that clashed violently against his usual appearance. This realization dawned upon him in a series of disconcerting moments, gradually creeping in before striking with abrupt clarity.
As dawn’s early light cast an odd hue on his forearm, Anders’ initial perception shifted, momentarily mistaking the altered tone for a foreign presence in his bed. The idea of another, darker individual beside him sparked a wave of terror, swiftly quelled as he recognized the unfamiliar reflection was none other than himself, distorted by an illusion, an apparition conjured by the hazy realm between dreams and wakefulness. Yet, as he fumbled for his phone and reversed the camera, the face that stared back was utterly foreign, a disconcerting betrayal of his own identity.
Rushing to the bathroom, Anders battled conflicting impulses, veering between panic-driven haste and a deliberate, measured stride, unsure if control or sheer terror spurred his cautious pace.
The familiar yet worn-out interior of his bathroom offered no solace, the cracked tiles and stained grouting failing to anchor him in a reality now in disarray. Confronted by the distorted image in the medicine cabinet, Anders was overwhelmed not just by shock or sorrow, but by an unexpected surge of rage— a desperate desire to obliterate the intruder reflected back at him.
His hand collided with the mirror, shattering the illusion, but the emotional tempest within persisted, casting him adrift in a sea of conflicting emotions—anger, sorrow, and a haunting sense of loss that bordered on the edge of madness. Seeking refuge in his bed, Anders trembled, the tremor barely perceptible at first, then growing in intensity like an icy chill, driving him deeper into hiding, yearning for reprieve from this surreal nightmare.
Hours crawled by, each moment a cruel reminder of a stolen identity. Confronted by the relentless theft of self, Anders grappled with the terrifying uncertainty—no longer the person he once was, trapped within a body that no longer felt his own. He tried to deny the theft, to believe in an undoing that never came, but the haunting reflection in every mirror, every digital snapshot, refuted his hopes.
Isolated in his own home, Anders navigated the day in a suffocating atmosphere of tense discomfort, a solitary existence overshadowed by the unwelcome presence within himself. His attempts at normalcy—a futile sandwich, feeble reassurances—only served as reminders of his profound detachment from reality.
In a desperate bid to reclaim his former self, Anders embarked on a harrowing self-examination, scrutinizing every inch of his altered form, each discovery a testament to his estrangement from his own body—a surreal, grotesque unraveling of the familiar into the terrifyingly unknown.
Days passed in a haze of isolation and introspection, Anders fabricating excuses to evade the outside world. His employer’s terse messages echoed his growing unease, highlighting the growing disconnect between the world that had known him and the stranger he had become.
Anders, adrift in a surreal existence, yearned for the undoing that refused to materialize, aching for a return to the reality he once knew, yet increasingly uncertain if that reality would ever welcome him back.
.jpg)
0 Comments