(Not sure why/how but Chapter Two sorta fell off the front page of Big Closet. You can read it here: https://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/fiction/97264/metempsychosis-...)

Metempsychosis Apotheosis
Chapter Three
by Raine Monday

Karyn slept all night and long into the next day. I called in sick to the office.

She awoke near noon, and I had long prepared a tray with a breakfast of fruit, poached eggs, and juiced kale/orange/quava tonic.

"I've prepared the Lady and extra-ordinary breakfast." I said, adopting a playful tone.

"You will notice the bread is lightly toasted, the juice is fresh, ah, juiced, and the egg is poached exactly 2.5 minutes. Bon Appetit."

She sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes and frowned. "Oh, thank you."

I held her Macbook Pro to her. "I'm sure you'll want to check in on social media. The world has basically stopped turning while you were away."

She nodded and took it, but set it down without opening.

I watched her carefully, giving her my best smile.

Taking a drink of the juice, she winced, but drank a little anyway. She did eat the egg, and some of the fruit but that was all. Again, odd behavior, my wife was usually ravenous in the mornings.

"So, tell me. What happened?"

"I'm still tired, Robert, I don't want to go into it."

"Robert? Who's Robert?"

She frowned. "Bob?"

I stood up. "I want you to tell me what the fuck is going on. Right now."

She shook her head, not wanting to look at me.

"You don't call me by my name, you barely even register poor Rex, Brandon walks away without a goodbye. What the fuck?"

She stood up and walked to the bathroom, shutting the door.

"Look, honey, I don't care what happened, okay? If you and Brandon fucked or whatever, just tell me and we can put it behind us!"

No response from the door. I turned the knob. It was locked.

"Baby, just tell me what's going on. I don't understand what's gotten into you. What did they do to you on that trip?"

"Leave me alone." She said in a quiet voice.

I bit my lip. Over the course of our time together, Karyn had taught me that when she needed space she got it. No questions asked.

I raised my hand to bang on the door, but realized that would probably be the wrong thing to do. It would ignite her temper and send her into a fury, and that was not how I envisioned the first day back to be.

But she was acting so strange! I still couldn't connect the dots.

I swallowed my temper. "Okay. I'm going to go into the office. If you need anything call me, okay?"

No answer.

I walked out the door and got into the car. I pounded the steering wheel a few times and roared my fury, anger and frustration into the silence.

Turning the key in the ignition, I backed out of our driveway. I wasn't going into the office, I was going to go see Brandon.

***

Brandon Pyle lived in an apartment on the east side of town. It was on the second floor, and I knew where it was because we'd been to several Christmas parties at his apartment.

I could hear thumping bass coming from behind his front door as I approached. I knocked on it, firmly, so he could hear me.

A woman answered. She had disheveled dark hair. "Que?"

"Um, sorry. Is Brandon here?"

She frowned at me. "No comprende."

I heard a voice from inside the apartment. "¿Quién es?"

She spoke back to whoever it was.

"Brandon!" I said, in a loud voice. "I need to speak to you! It's Robbie!"

The door opened wider, and Brandon stood behind the woman, wearing nothing but a bed sheet tied around his waist. "Um...what you want?"

"What's going on?" I said. "Did something happen in the Maldives? Karyn isn't acting like herself."

"Um...she probly...you know, tired, Ese. Very busy in Maldives, that's all."

He wrapped his arms around the woman and kissed her neck. She shivered and grinned, turning in his arms.

"Where's Dalton?"

He looked at me with confusion on his face. Then recognition came. "Oh...uh. We broke up. I'm with Maria now." He ran his hands over the front of her body and she moaned softly.

"Wait, Brandon. What exactly happened down there?" I said, my voice rising.

"She just tired, Ese. Don' you worry, she be right in a few days."

He swung the door closed in my face as he lifted the woman up into his arms. She giggled and I could hear them thumping their way away from the front door.

What the actual fuck? I thought, standing there looking at the peephole in the door. Brandon had been gay, proudly gay. We went to pride parades with him and he volunteered at the young mens' shelter.

***

I returned home to find Karyn sitting on the couch and watching TV. She seemed to be engrossed in a soap opera and I couldn't help but notice she had several discarded food cartons and boxes strewn over the coffee table.

"What are we watching," I said sitting in a chair opposite. She was drinking coke from a can, which meant she must have gone out because we didn't have soda anywhere in the house.

"Day's of Living." She spoke in a quiet voice.

"I didn't know you liked soap operas."

She didn't reply, just continued to watch as she ate potato chips and drank the soda. She hadn't put on any makeup and her hair was caught up in a pony-tail high on her head. It made her look much younger than usual, and I kind of liked the look, it was a much more natural appearance for her being without perfect face, and perfect hair. She sat on the couch eating potato chips and drinking a coke. Under normal circumstances I might have seen this as a gift from the Gods...she spent a LOT of money on self care, so for her to be so...normal, was a bit refreshing actually.

But it wasn't Karyn.

This was completely out of character for her, as if someone had replaced Karyn, or was wearing her appearance somehow.

Just like Brandon.

"So what did you want to do tonight?"

Karyn just looked at me with a somewhat blank expression on her face.

"Want to go out, eat Italian, maybe catch a movie at the Cineplex?"

She shook her head, and returned her gaze to the TV screen.

At least she was out of the bedroom, so progress right?

I sighed and went into the kitchen and made a sandwich. I returned with one for her and set it on a plate in front of her then sat in the chair to watch the inane soap operas. Karyn didn't say anything, didn't move from her position. She ate her sandwich, watched the soap operas, and then when the clock struck 10 PM, she got up and went to bed.

I turned off the lights, locked the doors, then walked down the hall to find her under the covers of the guest bedroom. She was already asleep.

I went into the master bedroom and turned on the light.

Booting up my laptop I completed the days projects that had piled up in my inbox since my mind was occupied on other things. I worked for hours, writing emails, editing documents, sending them up the line, so at least my job wouldn't be in jeopardy.

Near 2 am, I rubbed my eyes and sighed. As I was leaning over to turn off the light, something chimed on my laptop.

J3327i hi are you there?

It was an old chat client I rarely used anymore. I didn't recognize J3327i, and the profile was completely blank. I thought it was probably a prank, or a catfish, but with all the strangeness in my life lately, I thought why not make it stranger still?

RAdamson: yes

RAdamson: Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. Can you get me an address?

She typed in the address and I put it into my phone.

J3327i: Hurry, I think they'll be putting me in another body soon and I don't know where or who I'll be

J3327i: Have to go. Hurry!

And with that the little bloop sounded and the chat app said. J3327i had left the conversation.

I stood up.

My mind was reeling with what I had just discovered. It really seemed to be her.

I wanted to confront "Karyn" but I knew it had to be the truth. Somehow, some way, someone had stolen my wife's body.

And I was going to find her and get it back.

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