Secrets Revealed

Today’s prompt: “Approach a stranger, introduce yourself, and ask him or her to tell you something he or she has never told anyone else. Record your findings.”

“Something I’ve never told anyone, huh?” the frail old man says. “Okay. I’m actually a 584-year-old sorceror who has to trade bodies with someone every 25 years in order to stay alive.”

“What?” you say.

“Don’t worry, the switch isn’t overly painful. But you will crumple up and die when it happens.”

You find yourself riveted by his gaze, unable to look away. And then you start to feel dizzy. Aches develop in your bones. Your skin slackens around your jaw. Liver spots develop on your arms. You begin to lose consciousness. As you fall to the ground, the last thing you see is a replica of yourself standing where the old man was.