Shapeshifter
Originally published on October 12th, 2012 by Dimitri Bouniol. #FNADNST
The creeping sunlight coming from the window woke me up.
Although I didn't have my glasses on, I could feel that today was going to be a wonderful day.
The temperature coming from outside felt just right, and I even felt more refreshed than usual.
Stretching my arms, I threw the blanket off, and joyfully crawled to the bathroom.
However, to say I was surprised at what I saw when I put on my glasses and looked in the mirror would be an understatement.
My first thought was that someone had replaced the mirror with a window that peered into the adjacent apartment, and what I was looking at was simply a just as confused neighbor that had just woken up as well.
Yeah, that's right, someone just played a prank on us, and did such a silly thing…
The neighbor was quite pretty herself, and the more I stared, the more attracted I became to her.
Embarrassed, I quickly turned away, and noticed she did the same.
But then I noticed: not only did the neighbor wear glasses, she wore the same pair of Ray-Ban's that I wore, and they were noticeably large on her face.
Then I noticed that she was wearing the same orange colored T-shirt that I was wearing.
Completely confused at this bizarre scenario, I lifted my arm to scratch my head, and the moment the girl did the same, I realized the predicament I was in.
Putting my hand in front of my, my fears were realized: gone was the wide hand I knew so well, who's back was full of hairs, replaced with a fragile looking one instead.
Following the arm, I noticed that the once toned and muscular shoulders were much smaller as well.
Looking down was easily the most surprising, and I could only tempt myself to peak under the shirt from above.
My mirror had not been replaced by a window, and my neighbor wasn't looking back at me.
No, I had completely turned into a girl.
Upon comprehending this, I simply fainted.
Upon waking up, my head hurt.
It seems I had hit it on the way down against the wall behind me, but it seemed like there was no bump, so it wasn't of great concern.
Still in the bathroom, I hesitantly looked back at the mirror, and perhaps I was expecting something completely different, but all I saw was myself.
Was what I saw all a dream?
That would definitely make more sense. After all, who would believe me if I told them I woke up one morning in a body that was not my own.
Inspecting myself in the mirror, I imagined one more time the girl from the dream.
As I remember correctly, she had long black hair that flowed behind her… shoul… ers…
And as I imagined that single fact in my mind, I saw it happen in front of me: My light brown hair suddenly lengthened and turned a deep black.
However, it seems like my hair was caught off guard, and immediately returned to its usual length.
Although I was taken aback by this development, I tried to imagine it one more time, and as I predicted, my hair listened to the inner image I was thinking of.
I was able to make it grow and shrink, and as I thought of different hair styles, I was able to even change to color to bright greens and blues.
As I was being entertained by all of this, I seemed to have added more than just hair to my inner imagination, and my face started changing freely as well.
And I soon realized that it wasn't only my face I could change, but every aspect of my body.
Some moments I was short, others I was tall; I could truly be any type of person I wanted.
Perhaps I was having too much fun, but I completely forgot that I had to get to school soon for my classes.
I quickly reverted to my original form, with some minor adjustments of course, put on some proper clothes, and ran out the door to the bus.
As I ran to the bus stop, I noticed a single person sitting who was waiting as well, so I sat next to them.
Truthfully, I was very intrigued to this new found power I just woke up with.
Deep in thought, I started looking at the person next to me. It was an old man in his 60s, but he still looked fit enough to run a marathon.
He was a rather strange looking person in fact, so I continued to observe his subtle traits.
At one point he must have noticed me staring deeply at him, and upon looking back at me, he fainted immediately.
Could it be? I reached up to my face, and I could feel the wrinkles and thinning hair...
I definitely need to be more careful from now on. It seems that I'll transform into any image that shows up in my head if I'm too relaxed.
Shaking my head, the face I wore reverted much like an etch-o-sketch would erase your drawing as you shook it, and I noticed the bus arrive.
Quickly getting on, I wanted to find a good use for this new found power, before if took control of my body all on its own.
In the end, I couldn't think of a single good use, and even after getting off the bus and getting to class, I still had no clue what I could use it for.
Of course, I was able to think of silly pranks I could play on my friends, but decided it would probably be best to not share these powers with others.
I could also probably commit fraud daily easily by faking other's identities, but that just didn't feel right.
And at that moment it hit me.
Maybe I was just limiting myself to thinking of different human roles I could take up.
But then I thought that perhaps I could even become something else, like maybe a dog or a cat.
To try it out, I quickly left class and went to a quiet part of campus where not too many people went, and imagined to the best of my ability a cat.
To my surprise, my point of view quickly approached the ground, and the world around me seemed to grow quite quickly.
Noticing a nearby pond, or should I say puddle, I quickly verified my reflection: I became a cat.
Fascinated my this new discovery, I quickly roamed around the campus with my new-found agility, reaching places I would have never been able to climb.
I easily wasted the whole day doing this, and as I saw the sun starting to set, I knew I should probably return.
So I went back to where I left my clothes and things, but couldn't find anything.
Could someone have taken everything? After all, I just abandoned it...
Unsure of what to do, I knew I couldn't go back naked, so I decided to stay a cat, and simply walk back to my apartment.
As I trotted away, the sun completely set, and the street lamps began to illuminate.
What an odd day I had, I though to myself.
And as I walked, I heard some rustling in the bushes on the edge of the sidewalk.
And with the rustling came the yapping of a group of coyotes.
Realizing that in my current form I was but dinner to them, I ran as fast as I could.
But truthfully, I was not used to this four-legged run thing at all.
Realizing that my options were limited, I tried to think of something that even a coyote would be afraid of.
What I thought of was quite surprising: A great african lion.
With a single roar, all the coyotes were running away with their tails between their legs.
They knew they were no match for the mighty lion I had turned into.
Satisfied, I began to tread back to my place, but upon arriving at my door, I realized I had no key with which to get in.
Making sure no one was looking, I returned to my usual self, just butt naked in front of my door, and suddenly thought of inspector gadget.
I pointed my index finger, and thought hard of what a key looked like,
Surprised this even worked, I stuck my new key finger into the door knob and thought of many different types of teeth combinations.
Eventually, I was able to turn the knob and hurry inside.
Tomorrow, I definitely need to recuperate all my things, I thought to myself.
I could just get a friend to call my cell phone and it should be fine.
With this thought of relief, I put on some pajamas, found my bed and collapsed.
After all, that was quite a day I would have a hard time forgetting.
Melting into my dreams, I woke up the next morning.
Thinking that was all some wacky dream, I went to the bathroom as usual to wash up, and upon putting on my glasses, I saw the same girl in the mirror.
Did I have some deep fascination with her or something?
Closing my eyes and shaking my head, I imagined my usual self, the me I used to be, but for some reason, I couldn't remember what I looked like at all.
When I opened my eyes again, the same girl starred back at me, completely perplexed.
I went through the same exercise I did yesterday, thinking of different hair styles, but no matter which one I thought of, my appearance did not change.
Was I stuck like this?
Would I need to live the rest of my life in this new, unfamiliar body?
Was everything I experienced up until now just a dream?
Perhaps I always looked like this, I thought to myself.
Maybe I was just confused from that crazy dream I had, turning into all sorts of people and animals.
This line of reasoning made much more sense.
I would probably just remember everything by catching some fresh air outside.
And upon going outside, I happened to overhear a conversation my neighbors were having:
Apparently, there was a lion in the neighborhood last night!
THE END
If you would like to support more Friday Night ADN Stories, please consider donating to our open source projects, downloading some of our apps, or sponsoring Mild EleMints! Thank you for your support 😉