A New Body

It was a morning after the rain, with sunlight peeking through the clouds, casting a soft glow through the glass and creating colorful halos. Eulalia’s head was buzzing as her soul and body slowly fused. She suddenly opened her eyes, touched her heart, and heard the “thump thump” of her heartbeat. Wasn’t she burned to death in a fire? Why could she still feel her heartbeat and her hands?

Her nails were intact, and her hands were beautiful with long and delicate fingers. They looked a lot like her old hands but definitely weren’t hers. Eulalia got up from the bed, looked down at her hands, and pinched her thigh in disbelief. It hurt—she wasn’t dreaming.

She took a deep breath, almost passing out from the strong smell of gas around her. Eulalia quickly opened the doors and windows, followed the smell to the kitchen, and turned off the gas stove valve.

Back in the bedroom, she stood in front of the dressing table, looking in the mirror. This wasn’t her face, but it looked about 60% like