It's difficult, waking each day as a different person, in a different body, even when you have memories of your real self. You don't know if you'll be black or white, sick or healthy, rich or poor. Today, I open my eyes in a tiny room with a low ceiling. I hear the sound of the ocean before I walk to the window. The door is ajar and there's a pounding sound coming for the next room. "Get your arse over here and help me out, Elena," someone yell above the noise. I smile. I'm a girl and I have a brother. Two days ago, I was a boy and an abusive one. I had felt his anger not only in his memories, but also in the way his lips curled into a smirk when I looked in the mirror. He had a girlfriend who became mine for the day. He would walk hand in hand with her in public. He would hold her hand in the car. To a stranger watching them walk or drive past, they were adorable. But inside, they fought. He would hit her when they were alone. I didn't hold her hand that day. Instead, I had taken her to the tallest tower in the city. I made her smile and bask in the beauty of nature. I let her have a life, just for one day. And I crashed his car after I dropped her off, leaving the tyre buried in the soil. I don't usually meddle with the lives of the bodies I inhabit. I was only angry that a human would treat another as such. But today, I'm Elena and I have to do what she will do. I slip out through the back door and take a look around. The house is a tiny one, situated atop a small hill overlooking the beach. I follow a narrow path down and run towards the water. Today, I won't think about the past or the future. All I'll do is bury my feet in the cool soil and watch the waves rush towards me.
This is my entry for Foxtales' One Paragraph Flash Fiction Contest. View original post here @vermillionfox/week-18-fox-tales-announcing-last-week-s-winners-and-a-new-story-image