My husband and my father-in-law were in a car crash together, and both of them fell into a coma.
Just as my mother-in-law and I were breaking down with grief, rows of floating subtitles suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.
"Otto Mason and Joel Mason are about to put on a show. They'll pretend their souls got swapped, claim someone else's soul is living in their bodies, so they can go be some other woman's husband without anyone blaming them!"
"There's actually nothing wrong with them at all. They just happened to both be cheating with a mother and daughter, and to avoid being condemned, to be with them out in the open, they staged this whole thing themselves!"
"They also secretly moved the assets, sank all the money into a trust, and named that pair of women as the beneficiaries! And they lied to Lindsay Parsons and Amelia Henson, said the business went under, when in fact these two are loaded."
"Poor Lindsay Parsons and Amelia Henson, crying their eyes out every day. Amelia Henson cries until she goes blind, and by then Lindsay Parsons discovers she's three months pregnant."
"She takes care of her blind mother-in-law while working to make ends meet, and after the baby is born she has to raise it too, until she finally can't hold on and drops dead at home."
"Amelia Henson can't take the blow and jumps off a building, leaving behind a wailing infant. And since Zoe Swanson is in poor health and can't have children, Joel Mason takes the baby in, and the two of them get a grown son for free!"
I forced back the tears that were about to spill over, turned, and asked my mother-in-law beside me.
"Mom, do you believe in fate?"
1
She froze for a moment.
"I believe in fate, but fate can be changed!"
"Lindsay, if I told you I got a warning from heaven, would you believe me?"
I was stunned.
"You saw it too?"
"You saw it too!"
One look between us and it was settled. We had seen the same rows of subtitles.
But she still couldn't quite bring herself to believe it.
"Lindsay, would your dad and Joel really do this to us?"
"I don't know."
Right then, my husband Joel Mason and my father-in-law Otto Mason both stirred.
I hurried forward. "Honey, how are you feeling?"
Joel Mason looked at me like he'd never seen me before. "Who are you?"
I paused, then said, "I'm your wife. I'm Lindsay Parsons!"
"Lindsay Parsons? My wife is Zoe Swanson."
Beside him, my father-in-law was saying the same kind of thing.
"Who are you? Why am I here? Where's my wife?"
My mother-in-law and I exchanged a glance. We both understood now.
"Dad, isn't your wife right here? Who else are you looking for?"
"I don't know her. My wife is Darlene Dickerson!"
Joel Mason struggled up out of the bed. "Dad! Is that you, Dad! It's me, Ryan!"
"Ryan? Why do you look different?"
"Dad, you look different too. Could it be we've been reborn in other people's bodies?"
My mother-in-law and I just watched them perform. We both knew exactly what was going on, and neither of us said a word.
Joel Mason tried his hardest to explain it to me.
"I know what I'm about to tell you is going to sound absurd, but I have to make it clear. My name is Ryan Wilkerson, and my father's name is Brett Swanson. We were already dead, but for some reason we've been reborn in these two bodies."
"The original owners of these bodies are already dead. We're not the same people as them at all. Do you understand?"
My mother-in-law's eyes filled with tears. "Son, what are you talking about! You must have hit your head in the crash. I'll go get a doctor to check you."
Joel Mason stopped her. "There's nothing wrong with me!"
Then he picked up the phone from the nightstand and called Zoe Swanson.
"Honey, Dad and I have been reborn. You and Mom get to the hospital right away and come get us!"
Zoe Swanson and Darlene Dickerson arrived incredibly fast. They must have already been at the hospital.
The moment they walked into the room, they threw themselves into Otto Mason's and Joel Mason's arms.
Watching a strange woman hold my husband, I didn't feel a shred of heartache. I only felt utterly sick.
