Rachel-proofing

It took me a long time to calm down from the initial shock. After all, who wouldn’t feel on the verge of insanity after such a wake up call?

After giving myself a while to breathe deeply and calm my nerves, I tried to put everything together in my head.

First, I had to consider the possibility that this had all been a psychotic break. I mean, experiencing someone else’s life, then waking up covered in blood and injuries? If someone else told me such a story, I’d assume they’d gone schizo, no doubt.

But that explanation just didn’t seem right to me. Rachel’s life had felt so full, so real. Far too much so far a mere delusion. Add on the convenience of it only lasting between sleep, and the message written in blood that I knew I hadn’t written, I was certain that Rachel was a real person, and that she and I truly had switched bodies.

That also meant I couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t happen again.

If that was the case, there was every chance that Rachel would freak out and hurt my body again. Which meant I had to do everything I could to make sure that wouldn’t happen.

I went around the house and gathered up every sharp object I could find. Knives, forks, even safety pins, anything that could possibly pierce skin. I put the vast majority of them in a box and hid that box in the attic of my house. I kept only a couple that would be strictly necessary, and I found hiding spots for each that I doubted she would check.

I could do little to stop her from slamming my head into walls, but at least this way I wouldn’t wake up with a thousand new cuts and barely enough blood to stay conscious.

I also decided to try and defuse the situation before it could begin. I took out a notepad and pen and wrote a note on the first clean page. The note read:

“Rachel, please stay calm. It seems you and I have swapped bodies for some reason. It should change back by tomorrow so please don’t freak out. I’ll do everything I can to protect your life, so please respect mine as well.”

On the next few pages I wrote a few simple ground rules, such as no self harm and no drinking. I decided I would sleep with the notepad open at the end of the bed so it’d be the first thing she’d see as she woke up. There was little more I could do than that.

I also made sure to memorise my phone number so I could call her if I found myself in her body again. This situation would be a lot more manageable with a direct line of contact.

With all of that done, there was just one thing left for me to do: pray to god that Rachel wouldn’t freak out the next time we swapped.