Envious Souls

Lindsay glanced at the clock on her bedside table and noticed it was 5:49 a.m. She was alone in bed, and the sheets on Mark's side were cold and unwrinkled. He was still with his mistress, she thought. Though Lindsay knew that Mark was cheating on her with his brother's ex-girlfriend, Charlotte, she was hopeful that they would fix things. But, she knew her chances were slim. Not only was he with Charlotte, but she was also pregnant. Unbeknownst to Mark, Lindsay had found an ultrasound image in his jacket pocket. Charlotte was twelve weeks pregnant and six months away from giving Mark the one thing he wanted the most, an heir to his family's empire.

Infuriation was all Lindsay could feel as the image of the ultrasound lingered in her mind. She spent eight years of marriage trying to get pregnant but to no avail. That's when they started to drift apart. Did she only matter to him if she could have a child? As far as Lindsay's friends and family members were concerned, she was living blissfully. She didn’t know what else to do but to keep the ruse going. Little did they know that Mark gave her three weeks to leave his manor with nothing but her clothes and the NutriBullet that her parents had gotten them as a wedding gift. Darn, prenup!

Lindsay glanced at her clock again. It was now 9:13 a.m. Where did the time go? Perhaps that's how it is when you're in despair. She shook the feeling and headed to the shower as she promised her close friend, Skye, that she'd stop by for lunch. Reluctantly, she dragged on her most comfortable pair of mule flats and a blue dress with pink peonies print. It was Mark's favourite dress as it accentuated her curves and complemented the natural year-round glow of her olive skin. She rolled her eyes as she pictured the way he would tap her round perky butt whenever she sauntered by in the dress. Clearly, that wasn't enough to keep him around.

The sound of her Uber pulling into the port cochère brought her back to reality. She glanced around the kitchen before leaving and noticed the bottle of 2010 Teso La Monja on the counter. This wine had a price tag of $1065, an amount that Lindsay could not afford on her own. Regardless, she quickly grabbed the bottle and tossed it in her oversized tote. She may be leaving her marriage empty-handed, but there was nothing in her prenup that said she couldn't milk her last days at the manor.

Skye and Lindsay hadn't seen each other in over six months, so naturally, they spent hours on end catching up. They drank wine and reminisced on the days they went to college together. For the first time in a long time, Lindsay didn't dwell on her problems; she felt slightly happy. Three glasses of wine later, she drunkenly staggered to the washroom to forcefully puke but got lost along the way. This was her first time visiting Skye since she moved into her grandmother's home and the alcohol in her system made remembering Skye's directions a challenge. Instead, she stumbled upon Skye's bedroom, where she saw a black leather notebook in the center of the bed. She inched closer and picked up the book. The pages were tattered but had scribbles of a language she had never seen before and drawings of images that sent chills down her spine.

"I see you found my grandmother's notebook."

Lindsay jumped at the sound of Skye's voice, and the notebook slipped from her hands and fell onto the floor. She turned around and saw Syke standing in the doorframe. Skye stared at her with her piercing eyes and hands folded across her chest. Her Dobermann, Maggie, sat by her side, her head tilted to the left as she peculiarly observed Lindsay's every move. Lindsay didn't notice that the dog was at the house until now. Strange.

"Y-e-e-e-e-s," Lindsay stuttered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

Skye chuckled and responded before Lindsay could finish her sentence.

"Girl, relax! It's no big deal. There's nothing but gibberish in that book anyways. I only kept it because it is the one thing my selfish grandmother left for me in her will."

Lindsay breathed a sigh of relief and giggled. "I was wondering where you got this crap. Of course, it belonged to your witchy nana."

They both laughed uncontrollably until Maggie started to bark.

"She must be hungry," Skye explained. "I'll feed her and meet you here in my room."

She walked towards the pantry, then stopped and shouted, "The bathroom is the next door on the left, by the way."

Lindsay hurriedly used the washroom and returned to Skye's bedroom, where she unexpectedly fell asleep on the queen-sized bed. Skye returned to her room to find her friend passed out. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared down at Linsday's heaving chest.

"Someone had a little too much to drink."

A devilish grin slowly spread across her face as she brushed a lock of brunette hair away from Lindsay's chiseled cheekbone.

"I've waited for this moment for so long," she whispered. "I am tired of playing second fiddle, and I deserve the life that you have. The mansion should have been mine. Mark should have been mine. You know, I saw him first."

Lindsay opened her eyes and mumbled something incoherently. She then slipped into a state of unconsciousness. Skye retrieved her grandmother's notebook of ancient spells from the floor and flipped to the twelfth page of the book. There were six lines written on the page in the same unknown language that Lindsay was unable to decipher. Skye understood the language thoroughly but had never used it or any of the spells in the notebook before. Her grandmother had taught her the Celwitican language but never shared any of the spells with her while still alive. For that reason, Skye was feeling nervous but was also determined to make this spell work. It was a body-switching spell that would allow her to inhabit Lindsay's body and vice versa. She was finally going to get the life she's always wanted. All she had to do was say the chant while having some physical contact with the other being. She laid next to Lindsay, held her hand, and began the chant.

Suncra dolona mavaroti crule jargado loviarsa

Wanga expectra frusch kimple gwaan banye

Insidu cotile yestida lolush quimbu valuri

Tansanjia pluti jubilie alsine goduli nazuzuo

Clupive wesinte pa barhu ving apabra pongbu

Halutius cadoven oystin plubive yadav zanzin gry

She felt her soul leave her body for the first time and trade places with Lindsay's seemingly unwilling soul. After experiencing a five-minute blackout, Skye awoke and looked down at her new body. She was pleasantly surprised to find that she was adorned in a blue dress with pink peonies, Lindsay's dress. She looked across at what was once her body and realized that Lindsay was yet to recover. It seemed her soul had weakened in the transition and needed more time. Regardless, Skye grabbed Maggie, the notebook and Lindsay's handbag then headed to her new home. Victory was hers! At least, that is what she thought.

Four hours later, Lindsay woke up feeling confused. With a sore body and a full bladder, she headed to the washroom. She looked in the mirror in disbelief, trying to process what she was seeing. She was staring at Skye's reflection.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" she screamed.

She slowly started to remember the contents of the strange black notebook as she inspected her body. Many times she had her suspicions that there was something paranormal about Skye and her grandmother but always concluded that she was having silly thoughts. It turned out she was right all along. She rummaged through the house, searching for answers. She found nothing. That is until she went to Grandma Vera's room. She was on the verge of giving up and threw herself on the floor. That’s when she noticed that below the floorboards in that area sounded hollow and they were a tad loose. It may have been the adrenaline, but Lindsay pried the floorboards away from their grooves with her bare hands, not pausing even when a splinter punctured her finger. She was flabbergasted to find a huge pile of cash and gold jewelry below. She counted the cash, which amounted to $20, 000. Lindsay pinched her hand to see if she was still sedated. How was this possible? Grandma Vera must have hidden it before she died; but, why not give it to her family members instead?

Lindsay had two choices. She could either confront Skye and report her to the cops but risk looking crazy, or she could take this treasure, move to a faraway city and start a new life. She thought of her sham of a marriage and the fact that she would soon have nothing. Perhaps Skye did her a favour by switching bodies. She checked her surroundings to ensure that she was alone and then placed the money and jewelry into a small duffel bag. Though she had just experienced a series of unnatural events, she knew this was her chance to start over. A small part of her yearned for Mark, but she wasn't about to sacrifice her fortune for a man that no longer loved her. She called an Uber to take her to the closest bus station and bought a ticket to the farthest city on the schedule.

As Skye laid on the California king bed in Lindsay's body, she flipped through the notebook that made her new life a possibility. Weirdly, Maggie snuggled next to her new form as she repeated the chant, still baffled by its powers. But then something odd happened. Her soul started to leave her body again. Her eyes darted around the room. What’s going on? The spell could only work if she had physical contact with another human being! After the transition was complete, Skye felt herself looking up at Lindsay's body that she had occupied not too long ago. She opened her mouth to speak but was not prepared for what she heard.

"Woof woof woof," she was now in Maggie's body.

The person occupying Lindsay's body spoke.

"Hello, my beautiful granddaughter; it took you long enough to release me from this hell."

Skye began to howl. After all, she couldn't speak.

"You must be wondering how this is all happening. Well, when I died, Maggie was lying next to me, so I was able to occupy her body. I then waited patiently for my notebook to pique your interest so that you would activate the spell allowing me to occupy your body. I must say, Lindsay's body is a much better deal."

Vera chuckled while Skye anxiously ran around the room in her canine host body.

"The thing is, though I was in Maggie's body, my soul was considered a human soul by the gods, so the spell was still possible."

She took a sip of the wine that Skye had been drinking.

"The money and jewelry I left behind plus Mark's billion-dollar empire are enough for me to live my life in luxury as Linsday," she boasted. "Oh, and don't bother trying to switch bodies with me again. It won't work since you can only bark."

Vera ignored Skye's continuous howls and headed to the kitchen to prepare a romantic dinner for Mark. She had heard enough phone conversations between her granddaughter and Lindsay to know that he was a real catch and she was about to find out for herself. Shortly after she finished preparing dinner, she heard Mark pull into the garage. Vera slipped into a red babydoll and stood by the garage door. She couldn't wait to tell him about the dog she had "adopted." Mark looked at her in disdain when he walked in.

"Why are you still here? Haven't you found a place to live as yet?"

Vera looked at Mark through Lindsay's eyes, riddled with sheer confusion.

"Huh?" she said.

“Why. Are. You. Still. Here?”

Vera was speechless. She was about to find out that, like Skye, she wasn't in for a happy ending. It turns out that all that glitters really isn’t gold.