Wish Upon a Shooting Star

Avery saw the bright light in the sky. It was the second shooting star he had seen in a month. He guessed it wasn’t a coincidence. This was his opportunity to undo his first wish if he so wanted to.

He didn’t want to.

When he saw the first star a month ago, he had wished to become a woman. He almost thought it was silly by how specific he got, as if he knew to take this wish more seriously than any other he had ever made. Waking up the next morning, he was surprised that had been granted.

And since then, he had been enjoying his time in a female body. Was it perfect? Far from it, but everything about it still felt “more right” than it ever had been as a guy. He wondered if everyone got a chance to undo their wish like this.

But just before the star blinked from view, he realized something else. It wasn’t just a chance to undo what he had loved, it was an opportunity he could grant for others. And so he wished that anyone who wanted to change gender could do so just as easily and freely as he had.

A Good Mother

After 10 years of marriage and two kids, Joel and Skye both could feel their relationship was in trouble. The more traditional couple’s therapy they had tried didn’t work, so they both agreed to something more extreme. They sent their kids to the grandparents and underwent a temporary body swap treatment.

The initial swap was both weird for Joel and Skye. Neither felt comfortable in their new skin, but the therapist explained a minor amount of hypnosis would help them adapt. And, sure enough, by the end of the day, Joel felt comfortable as a woman in the wife role, and Skye was fine with being the man and husband. With their roles reversed, they found that they went to bed without an argument for the first time in years.

The next morning wasn’t nearly as quiet.

Skye woke up to an empty bedside next to her. She heard a door slam, and she ran down to follow. Joel was standing there with a doll in his hands.

“What are you doing?” Skye asked.

“Our daughter isn’t well,” Joel said frantically, “I’m taking her to the doctor.”

Skye looked at the doll again before looking at Joel. “That’s not our daughter.”

“Of course it is! I’m a wonderful mother! And I need to take care of her! You wouldn’t understand, Skye! You didn’t give birth to her!”

Skye could only assume this was something off with the hypnosis. She needed to call the center for help, but she also didn’t want Joel to run off like this...especially not while he still had her body.

The Oddest Thing

Luke would have thought that the oddest thing about swapping into someone else’s body would be the actual swapping, but the strangest thing for him after swapping into Brenda’s body was the way people treated him. Despite being in her ditzy, blonde body, he was still acting like the awkward dork he always had been...and people were treating that like it was normal.

When Brenda’s friend, Amy, invited him to the mall, he found himself groaning and begging to go to a video game store instead of all the clothing shops.

“You always act like this,” Amy noted, “Sometimes I think we need to get you out of those cargo shorts and into a cute miniskirt.”

Luke tried to reason, “If I’m such a pain to be around when we come to mall, why did you even ask me to come?”

“Oh, I didn’t say you were a pain! I love our times at the mall! We always have a blast!”

“Do I look like I’m having fun?”

“Of course, come on, I’ll even buy you a dress from H&M. If you wear it out of the store, I’ll even play one of those demos at the game store with you this time.”

Body Swap Bomb

Many in the trans community had hoped the invention of body swapping would bring in a new wave of acceptance. Instead, it brought about laws to restrict the use of the technology and a social backlash that made being trans more difficult than before. A few radical trans groups formed to create body swap bombs using the technology, which often could switch around small groups of people randomly. They argued if they couldn’t transition into a body that felt right, then others would have to be in the wrong bodies as well.

Jenny could understand where they came from, but she certainly objected to their methods. Being born with male parts, she often wished she could use body swapping technology to become a woman; she’d even go through more traditional surgery if they still allowed that. Instead, she just had to deal with being miserable.

However, one day, she might’ve just been in the wrong place at the right time when one of those body swap bombs went off in the park. She soon found herself in the body of a woman -- one with all the parts she longed for.

But before she could get too excited, a man grabbed her from behind. At first, she was worried it was some sort of assault, but she soon realized it was this woman’s boyfriend as he kissed her.

“Thank God you’re okay, Babe,” He said, “I heard those trans freaks were out here.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Jenny said flatly. Based on this man’s language, he certainly didn’t want to tell him the truth about who she really was. She knew the people that were out there in this world who would absolutely hurt her without a second thought. She knew she might get blamed for the bomb, even though she had nothing to do with it. The smart move here was to try to fake it.

Explorer

Chuck had been on a hike when the alien beam zapped him. Most of his body was frozen in place, but he could still move his face. It was an absolute shock to see the blue-skinned alien woman arrive, but he didn’t flinch.

“You’re a brave one, aren’t you?” She asked, “You’re out here all alone, and you aren’t even afraid of something like me. You’ll be the perfect form to explore this planet with.”

“Are you going to steal my appearance?” Chuck asked.

“Darling, I’m going to steal your entire body.”

“Am I going to a husk? Or are we swapping...”

“Oh, you’re curious too! It’s a simple swap.”

“It sounds interesting.”

“It’s also not a choice.” She said as placed fingers on his forehead. They soon felt like knives in his skull, digging out his brain bit by bit.

But then it subsided and he stood there in her body. He felt his new alien form with all his femininity and the strange tail. He spoke now with her voice as he asked, “Should I go back your ship? I mean, you’re totally welcome to explore Earth with my body for a bit, but I think it would be pretty dangerous for me to walk around like this. I think they’d dissect this body on sight for research.”

“This planet is primitive, but I can afford you safety upon my ship.”

“Cool.”