Eric, with the shock of what was happening to him quickly tried to rationalize the situation. “I-I can’t be mom, I’m Eric, I just need to grab my clothes from my sons room and—no that can’t be right!” Eric said again. “I don’t have a son, I’m Eric!...Eric, yes Eric. I forgot to give Eric the pair of pants I recently did for him at home.” He said as a few clean pairs of his favorite pants began to materialize on the passenger’s seat.
Without even noticing, Eric’s eyes began to change color and his eyelashes grew out—looking just like Natalie’s. For a moment Eric had forgotten who he really was and assumed he was Natalie, mother of 2 children who had a son who just started college. As this happened, memories of him being on the football team in high school began to be replaced with staying at home and taking care of children and the house.
Eric got out of the car, grabbed the pairs of pants, and walked up to his dorm. “Eric? Where are you? You forgot these pants...” Eric said as it all rushed back to him, snapping back into reality as he realized his changes into Natalie were progressing. Why was this happening? And more importantly HOW was this happening? Transforming into someone else seemed crazy, let alone into his own mother! Years of arguing over preferences (like that time Eric wanted to watch the baseball game on tv while his mother would rather watch her soaps—so Eric couldn’t use the tv) and difference in lifestyles (his mother being, well a mother, and Eric being an energetic and athletic teen) would change into Natalie’s? Would he no longer want to do the things he liked..and do things that his mother did that usually bore him?
Horrified by the realization of what was happening made Eric grab his head as his hair changed into Natalie’s color and cascaded down his head. It was even in the same hairstyle as hers! As Eric got back to the car he felt more ripples take its coarse throughout his body. Checking in the overhead mirror Eric’s face was getting rounder. With his hand with his mother’s expertly treated and elongated nails, Eric grasped his face as he watched in the mirror as it began to bubble up and contort. After a few painful seconds, the face—no entire head in the mirror that was staring back at him was Natalie—his own mother! Eric suddenly felt a wave in his mind. “Why do I look like mmom?” The feeling then turned into an uncomfortable and odd kind of...pleasure. The new mother grasped her belly and let out a low groan, as if there were enough fragments of Eric’s consciousness left to experience the strange, unknowable pleasure
of becoming a completely different person in mind and body. Then even
those had been swallowed up, and all that was left was...Natalie. “Wait, I’ve always looked like me, by golly where’s Eric? I’ve been looking all over for him..oh well I’m sure he’s off being safe I hope...I better drive back and just call him maybe later.” It seems as if, at least for the time being, that Eric’s mind has been overtaken by Natalie’s—her thoughts, preferences, memories and all. (In this state, since there is no difference between the original and the duplicate well refer to Eric as Natalie). As Natalie drove back around towards home her body was obliviously contorting until it had become an exact copy of Natalie’s—right down to the very birth scars when giving birth to Eric and his sister. During the trip back home, Natalie stopped by a few marts to buy small trinkets—she loved usually doing this, and then finally arrived home.
As the door opened a wave fell over Natalie as Eric (or at least his conscience—the only thing left of him) came back. “What the heck is going on??? Am I..home?” Eric said. The real Natalie was away for the weekend and wouldn’t be back until Monday. As Eric looks into the nearby mirror in the living room he sees a spitting image of his mother, Natalie. “Oh my god...why do I look like Mom? I’m Eric...No I’m...wait what about my son Eric. Oh deary I nearly forgot I was Natalie there, must be my menopause.” Eric said as she began to cook dinner and changed her clothes. The entire weekend went this way: Natalie’s normal routines of cooking, shopping, lounging, and chatting on the phone with her friends. It wasn’t until Monday that....
Behind Eric the door opened up and the real Natalie gasped. “Oh my god! Y-youre me!” Natalie screamed as she felt like she was about to faint. Her lookalike stared back at her in a pleading face as she said, “Mom it’s me Eric, I (he was shaking from fear) ddont know how this happened but I’m scared!” Seeing the expression Natalie knew this imposter was intact her own son. After a brief moment of silence Natalie said, “Well first let’s calm the doctor and try to figure this out,” she said in a hopeful tone. The other soon replied, “Figure what out honey, maybe bring me won’t be so bad for a little bit. I do so much for you anyways so maybe some appreciation would be nice.” As this happened whatever was left of Eric had been wiped from existence—cursed to live the life of his very mother. Natalie turned around to see Natalie doing the pose with her hand on her hip she normally did when nagging. “Eric nnnno!!” She screamed as she placed her hands into her face as she began to sob and weep. The other Natalie just stared in confusion. “Wwait, did you just call me Eric, my son?”
After a moment to recollect herself the original Natalie looked up. “No, not your son, you’re an 18 year old boy, MY 18 year old boy who is supposed to be in college, Eric!” The other simply replied, “But I’m Natalie, 46 year old mother who just said bye the other day to Eric before he left to college? I’m so confused...why do you look like me?” Natalie just replied in an angered state, “No you’re Eric! If you’re me then what shirt is my favorite?” The other replied, in anger as well, “Listen, I don’t know who you are imposter and why you’re asking but of course it’s the pink top with the frills I bought from the discount store—I was going to buy the yellow one but the pink one was too cute.” Natalie realized in horror that only she knew this—these were her own memories being recollected back to her! The other Natalie then said, “Now explain to me what’s going on or I’m calling someone to get you out of here!” She said in the demanding tone she normally did when very angry about something—the tone Eric has heard all too well growing up.
