Bad mother

"Hi! I came back early today. The supermarket closed early because of... WHAT THE...!?" 

"Hi..."mom"... I wasn't expecting you so soon... Do you remember Emily... my girlfriend?"

Of course I remember her, you bitch! She is MY girlfriend! Or at least she was until two weeks ago! The day when that shaman on the street, hearing us argue, decided to "show us the world through the eyes of the other". That idiot shaman!  

During the quarrel, she criticized me for dropping out of college and coming home, and I called her "loser" for being a supermarket cashier at nearly 50. From what the shaman said, the swap is meant to show us how difficult it is to be the other. But there is a small problem... While I am desperate for this body swap, my mother thinks it is "a funny experience". She is not learning anything! She is just having fun! At this rate I fear that the shaman's spell will never be broken. These two weeks have been terribly frustrating, yet I have done my best. I worked as a cashier, I tried to treat my mother with more respect and above all I agreed to behave like her in front of strangers, so as not to ruin her reputation. In return I just asked my mom to ask my girlfriend for a "pause for reflection" until we were back in our bodies... and now I discover that she was still secretly dating her! What a bitch!

Anger issues

"This is the worst breakfast of my life. Being married to a witch is a nightmare." 

But it's my fault. When I married her I knew she had magical powers. But she promised she would never use them against me! And she knew my flaws... She knew that sometimes I have "violent outbursts"... And then yesterday it was her fault! She kept making me nervous after a terrible day at work! It was her fault that I hit her! I thought she would understand that I was in a bad time and forgive me... but this morning I woke up in her body! On the bed she left a letter. She wrote me that when she gets home tonight we will talk about how to reorganize our relationship, and made it clear that until I prove to her that I can control my "anger issues", I can forget about getting my body back. All this sucks! I don't want to be stuck in my wife's body for who knows how long! And my eye hurts... Damn witch!

One more flower

"I can't believe it. One more flower in front of the house. And one more romantic note from a boy. With this one the count is three flowers and two boxes of chocolates... this week! From three different guys! This town it's full of psychopaths. I'm a boy, damn it!" 

Well, almost. More or less. Well... not physically, but in the heart. 

Up until two months ago I was a regular college student. Then one day I had a very high fever... and boom! The next morning my body had transformed, becoming a female version of myself! I immediately called my parents and after having convinced them of my identity we ran to the hospital. We discovered that I have a very rare genetic disease, of which only 7 other cases are known in the world... I literally had a chance in a billion. My bad luck is literally unbeatable. And there is no cure.

Long story short, I am currently off my studies, at least until I get used to my new body. I went back to live with my parents, and my mother is helping me a lot. I need her help, even if it's embarrassing. Even if at times it seems to me that she is almost happy to finally have a "daughter"... And this thought bothers me a lot. One of the main problems is that the news of my transformation has spread... and apparently it has made me very popular with local guys! I don't know what they find attractive in the hell I'm living in, but it's just making things worse for me. Being the center of attention and feeling observed by men are the last things I need in this complicated phase of stabilization! I hope it's just a fad, and that soon people forget about me and my immense misfortune.

Black hole radiation

Now that I'm back from my mission, I think back to everything I've been through these past 6 months. Being chosen for the first space mission aimed at approaching a black hole to study it has been the greatest honor of my life. We have gathered incredible data, and we have made a huge contribution to increasing human understanding of the universe. But there are still things I don't understand.

We knew that proximity to a black hole could expose me to still unknown radiation. And it's understandable, however strange and unpredictable, that such radiations changed my Y chromosomes, turning them into X chromosomes. But why has my ethnicity changed too? And why did the chromosomal change take place after one month and the racial one after twice as long? There are undoubtedly so many things we have yet to understand about the universe and its mysteries. 

But for now the questions that worry me most are two more. Is this transformation permanent? And above all... How will I tell my wife who I really am? The government has kept secret what happened during the mission, so she doesn't know anything... It will be difficult to accept! And it will be even more difficult to save our relationship...

Lady Eleanor

"Maybe I'd better accept that I'm Eleanor. I can't take this frustration anymore. I have to give up all the thoughts of my old life, or I'll go crazy. If I get my body back one day I'll be happy, but until then I have to stop thinking of myself as Tristan" 

Yes, until four months ago I was Prince Tristan, heir to the throne. But now I am in the body of Eleanor, my cousin. My cousin and I grew up together, due to the death of her parents. My parents have been raising her since she was 9. I was 10 at the time, and I was happy to no longer be "an only child". Playing with Eleanor was a lot of fun - she was a complete tomboy! And she remained a tomboy even growing up. Even after turning 20. She never appreciated the life of a court woman: she enjoyed playing with wooden swords and riding in the woods. 

In a small wood near the castle there was a wishing well, able to grant "wishes coming from the heart". Of course it was just an old peasant legend, but Eleanor has always had a thing for that well. Since she was little she has wanted to go there at least once a month, to make a wish. One day I asked her what she wanted so much, and she replied "I always wish the same thing: to be able to live my life as a noble man, free from the constraints of court women". I hugged her, understanding her pain and pressure. She was like a sister to me, after all. 

One morning, the day after one of my cousin's visits to the well, I woke up in her body! And Eleanor in mine! She too was shocked and scared. Apparently the wishing well had granted my cousin's wish in the end... but in an unexpected way! Instead of turning her into a boy, it gave her my life!

In these four months I have wished in front of the well to have my life back every day... but without results. Eleamor is helping me get used to this new life, and she feels sorry for me. She feels guilty about what happened... but at the same time I see that she is happy to live in my body. And I can understand her... her life is much more boring than mine... 

This situation is driving me crazy: I should be the prince, and I find myself being a lady! I hope the well will help me soon, but until then I can no longer think of myself as "Prince Tristan". It is too painful. For now at least, I'm Lady Eleanor, cousin of the heir to the throne.