10. The Gorge #2
“Before I can answer that question, I must ask, can you keep a secret? A secret so big that if anyone found out it would be a huge problem for both of us?”
She watched her carefully, rolling her tongue across her teeth, as she thought about how to answer.
“I guess if something good is in it for me, then I can keep it a secret. I can keep whatever secret you want.” Theresa smiled, satisfied with her response. Because based on the woman’s appearance she did have something great to offer.
“I can offer you a life where you never have to wonder where your next meal is going to come from. Fresh clean clothes. A warm and soft bed to sleep in every night. Eventually, you can marry into a wealthy family and live a life of luxury beyond your wildest dreams.” Theresa dropped her hands, waving over herself. “I am offering you my life.”
The woman thought for a moment and then laughed. “And they all call me crazy.”
Theresa sighed. “What is your name?”
“Ellen,” the woman replied as she reopened her bag to resume rummaging.
“That is a very pretty name. Do you know who I am?”
“Yeah, you are the daughter of that factory owner.” Ellen nodded her head in the direction where Theresa lived.
“Yes, that’s right.” Theresa smiled. “I want to switch places with you. I want you to become me and for me to become you.”
“Why would you want to be me?”
“Well, I am going to be honest with you. People I trusted hurt me deeply, and I want to punish them.” Theresa gritted her teeth, anger flaring up anew inside her.
“I guess you came home to find your fiancé married to that other rich gal, huh?” Ellen smiled, seemingly understanding the situation.
Theresa’s posture loosened. “How did you know about that?”
“Your engagement was big news. So, when it was announced he married someone else, it became the source of gossip on the street.” Ellen shrugged. “Plus, people don’t notice me, so I hear all kinds of information.”
Theresa exhaled a breath, and then it turned into full laughter, causing Ellen to join in.
“Why are we laughing?” Ellen asked, out of breath.
“It is going to make my revenge so much sweeter knowing the whole city knows about what happened.” Theresa turned serious again. “So, what do you think? Can we switch? You take my life and I take yours?”
Ellen shook her head. “If this was even a possibility, I would say yes in a heartbeat, but you have to know how crazy this sounds.”
“Let me prove it to you.”
Silence hung in the air as Theresa waited with bated breath for Ellen’s response. Crickets in the alleyway filled the silence as they played out their insect music, indicating nighttime was coming.
“Do I need to do anything?” Ellen finally asked with an edge of nervousness.
“Nope, just stand there, and don’t freak out. Also, if you tell anyone about this, I will switch back with you. I mean it, you cannot tell another person.” Ellen nodded in agreement. Theresa focused back on the tether as it reached out towards Ellen.
It looked like a mist in the shape of a hand to Theresa, though it was invisible to Ellen or anyone else. Luckily it was dark now, and the switch could be done in secret.
Theresa noticed that the shine coming off the tether wasn’t quite as brilliant as it had been on the train, despite being in a dark alley.
She considered for a moment that maybe this wasn’t the best course of action. Maybe she should wait and see what would happen in her life as Theresa.
Am I willing to risk exposing my secret to this complete stranger? I can tell Ellen I was making it up, overcome with the emotions of the day. That there is no possible way I can switch with people.
Theresa thought about all the work she had done to get here and that she wanted to be married and not live with parents all over again. The fact that she was looking forward to having a friend like Margaret to spend time with, and that now that was gone, added an extra sting to her heart.
Richard and Margaret took that from me, and they need to pay. She rolled her shoulders and stretched her head back and forth to reinforce her resolve.
“Okay. Here we go.”
Once the tether reached Ellen, it happened in a flash.
She opened her eyes and was looking back at the face of Theresa.
Her immediate first thought was that she reeked, a smell that could only be described as horse dung and old fish.
She watched old Ellen, now Theresa, as she marveled at herself.
Even in the dark, the woman was stunned that she was actually in a different body.
“Pretty wild feeling, right?” Theresa, now Ellen, asked. She attempted to only breathe through her mouth to avoid the direct assault the smell was making on her nose.
The new Theresa let out a holler and rubbed her smooth hands across her face.
“I was just there; you were just here! How is this possible? I might throw up. How did you do that?” The new Theresa reached down and pulled against the material of her dress. The fabric ruffled under her touch as she drifted her fingers along the seam.
“I honestly thought you were crazy, and that this actually wasn’t going to happen.” New Theresa smiled. “I still can’t believe this is real! Am I dreaming? Is this Heaven?”
New Ellen watched and listened. She focused on taking the smallest breaths possible, because the smell radiating off her new body kept making her stomach churn in a way that threatened to empty its contents.
“Theresa, you need to calm down. Breathe.” New Theresa was dangerously close to full-blown hysteria, and Ellen was worried she would need to switch back just to calm her down and give her some time to adjust.
“This is important. You are Theresa now. You need to relax and focus on how your new body feels. You can’t let anyone know, and you can’t go home until you fully calm down.”
The new Theresa focused on her breathing and finally calmed down enough to have a more logical conversation.
“Wait, once your plan is done, are you going to make me switch back?” The new Theresa took a step back, a flash of fear crossed her face at the idea it would be taken away.
“No, you will actually have a front row seat to the hysteria that is to come, and I hope it makes you happy knowing you are safe from all the insanity.”
“I don’t know if happy is the right word, but it will be nice to change my life and be able to get off the street.”
Ellen put her bag on the ground. She took a step around it and leaned up against the nearby wall.
Her legs felt heavy and tired, as though she had walked across town, and she hoped that part of the stench was coming from the bag so that she could distance herself from it.
This switch was overwhelming to her senses.
How can someone smell this bad and feel this awful all at the same time? She needed to wrap this conversation up and complete her next switch.
“Do you know where my house is?” Ellen asked. New Theresa nodded. “You should head home before your parents send the law out to find you,” Ellen told her plainly. “I will say this. You left after teatime to clear your head, because you just found out the news about Richard and Margaret today.”
“Right.” Theresa turned to leave. “Thanks for this! It’s really life changing. Wait, is there anything else I need to know? How should I act? You got anything useful?”
This was the part where Ellen would punish Beatrice and Allen. They would have a stranger living in their house, one who acted completely differently from the daughter they knew and loved.
“I want you to act like yourself, as you are now. If they question ‘why’ you are behaving so differently, I want you to look them square in the eyes and say, ‘Maybe if you had prevented my fiancé from marrying someone else, I would still be the daughter you knew,’ and then go about your day.” New Ellen shrugged and continued.
“Eventually, they will marry you off to someone wealthy to rid themselves of the guilt over the pain they caused you.”
“I don’t really understand, but I’ll do it. I guess I’ll see you around?”
“Maybe. Goodbye, Theresa,” Ellen replied with finality.
She stood still, watching as Theresa jogged out of sight. It was strange to see an adult running for no real reason. As soon as she was alone, she turned and headed in the opposite direction.
Her legs grew weaker with every step, and Ellen’s stomach audibly growled.
“What’s wrong with this body?” she said as she walked.
The diary entries came to her mind as she began the trek in the direction of Richard’s mansion, assuming they both lived there now. She thought back to how it was described to her. After going in circles for an hour, she almost gave up.
But then she found it. The front window still glowed with candles as the couple enjoyed a late dinner. She didn’t want to make the switch too close to the house, as that could cause panic and draw more attention to them than she preferred.
Richard sat at the table with his stupid smile, and Margaret’s eyes were still red and puffy from all the crying.
It’s interesting that you took something that didn’t belong to you, and you are the one crying, Ellen thought with a sneer.
The hand shimmered in the dark, slightly less bright than when she’d switched with Ellen. She reached the tether out and made sure she could feel the pulse and surge of power. It was ready to switch on her command. Ellen turned and walked away, towards the back of the house and out into the woods.
The plan was to walk as far as she could while still feeling the tether.
When she was far enough away, she would make the switch.
Being alone in the woods would give her enough time to get settled before crazy, homeless Ellen’s body came banging on the door, claiming her life was stolen.
They would have her arrested, and she would rot in prison while she secretly continued her new life in luxury. It was poetic and perfect.
She had a choice between an easy passage or proceeding through a thicket, and she chose the thicket. She wanted the return trip to be as difficult as possible. The ground became soft underfoot, and Ellen came across a rather large gorge.
Her instincts told her to go around, but instead, she carefully traversed down the side of it. That’s when her foot slipped and she tumbled down.
A sharp object connected with the back of her head, and her arm got caught in some branches from a fallen tree. Ellen heard a snap and felt sharp pain. Her heart raced as the pain radiated through her body, and she continued to fall.
As she rolled, she stopped focusing on the tether. She trusted it to still be there and focused instead on protecting her head and staying awake.
She landed at the bottom of the gorge with a thud. Her body was a broken mess. Fear gripped her as she could feel that she most certainly had several broken bones. The wind was knocked from her lungs as she gasped to refill her air supply.
Panicked, she tested her tether. If she lost the connection, then she was doomed down here. Her magical tether still felt strong, her hold ready for her to do her part. It beckoned her in a way, calling her to make the switch, and she happily obliged the call.