My left is right

My first moment of consciousness that I remembered was an indescribable one. I felt cold. The shimmering metal table I lay on was lacking more heat than my body. My head felt heavy. When my eyes opened, a bright searing light shone into my eyes and I quickly shut them to block it out. They felt as if I just opened them for the first time when a baby first sees light after it is born. I lifted my right hand to rub my eyes to try and soothe them and as I did, something felt off. I immersed my eyes back into the white pain until they adjusted so I could observe my surroundings. There were gadgets and things I could’ve sworn I’d never seen before. All I could say was that I knew I was in�"I guess you could call it�"a lab.

I tried to sit up but when I shifted my right arm so I could start to sit up, my left arm moved. I tried again and looked to see my right arm only was only stagnant. Still lying, I moved what I thought was my left arm and then my right came up. I had no idea what to make of the moment and had no plan of what to do next. I was unplussed. I wasn’t even sure that what had occurred was even real. Before I could think of a reaction, I heard the quiet soft sound of a child walking in the dark house at midnight trying not to wake his parents as he went to go do something mischievous. However, a man in a long brown trench coat that was visibly too large for his size walked in from wherever the entrance was and stood over me with a relieved look. I wanted to speak but found I couldn’t. The man immediately spoke in a whisper,

“I know you’re in a new body but this is for the best. It will take some getting used to but don’t worry. Come on we better hurry before Ahin comes back. Let me help you up.”

He slipped his hands under my back and I struggled because I couldn’t tell my left from my right arm in terms of what was moving. The man’s eyes grew twice the normal size of an average man as he said

“No”

“What’s going on?” I croaked. I felt as if I hadn’t used my voice for years.

“Something happened in the transportation. Move your left arm.”

My right arm went up. The man’s face seemed paler than it had been before but that could have just been the light.

“They said this was only a theory. No one ever thought it would actually happen.” Then his mood completely changed.

“Oh well, just a minor setback”

“A minor setback?! I can hardly move right. I move my right wrist but my left is the one that actually does anything. How do you expect me to walk. I don’t even know who you are!”

“What? You mean�"“

The man had an expression on his face that was filled with confusion and horror. He said with a melancholy voice,

“You don’t know who I am?” it was more of a statement than a question.

At this point I was still lying down, craning my neck to try and look at this strange man. As well as my arms, my neck was hard to move because it was opposing towards what I wanted as well. He quickly jolted towards me and started trying to help me up as he said

“Well better start learning to walk now than later. We’ve got to get you to the apartment quickly.”

Question after question popped into my mind as he helped me up and when I finally got into a sitting position, I saw. I could hardly believe it. My mind felt like it was about to explode. My legs weren’t mine. I lifted my arms and they didn’t look like mine either. The stranger who apparently knew me knew my thoughts as well. Out of his belt came a knife. I didn’t know why he would have a knife but my mind was on other things. I looked into the lustrous blade and saw the face of another man. I starred into bright green eyes that were filled with fear. It was hard for me to realize that those child-like eyes were mine. I also noticed I had more muscle. I was stronger than before which was definitely a plus. Although that didn’t take my mind off the fact that I was in a different body. I lifted my left arm�" but my right arm went up�"and I touched my face just to see if it was true. My head was hurting and I was so perturbed that when my new acquaintance helped me up and tried to get me out of the foreign lab that I didn’t resist. There was nothing I could do. So I me and the man found an exit and I emerged and fell onto the blue-tiled floor of a hallway in a hospital.