“Valerie,” the man begins. “Tell me the age, sex, and name of your child.”
“Nine. Female. Rachel,” you say robotically.
“Is she your child?”
“Yes, of course...but I did adopt her. I raise her alone.”
The man scratches his chin. “You don’t raise her alone. You are married.”
“Huh? I am...m-married?” You ask. You certainly never ruled out marriage, but you far from needed another hand. You worked as an exec and a mom just fine. Plus, you’ve put the dating scene behind for so many years. You aren’t married and your prospects aren’t very encouraging.
“Yes you are. You’ve been married for ten years.”
“Married...ten years...” you say slowly, shuddering while you speak. As a diamond ring appears on your finger, you think and...of course you married! You met Iris, your wife, when on a business trip, and you two hit it off so well she moved to where you lived and...the rest is history! Marrying a woman wasn’t the most seamless thing for your family, but they got past it. You two were so alike (she too valued beauty like you), you both had careers, and you both were equally ecstatic when adopting Rachel, who loved her moms back. Ten years flew by, didn’t they? You knew you always wanted to marry a woman and Iris came by at the right time.
“Who are you married to?” The man ask.
“Iris Kidd-Richardson,” you say. Kidd-Richardson is your name and her name combined respectively.
The man seems shocked. “No. You are married to a man!”
“A...m-man? But Iris...” you lament. You loved Iris, but part of you always knew that marrying a woman wasn’t what you really wanted for yourself. And while you love Rachel, you partly preferred a man so you could have a child of your own. A child you conceived just felt more...natural. The bottom line was that you always leaned more straight sexually.
“Yes, a man. You and your husband bore a daughter.”
“I married a man...” you say with some confidence. “We have...a daughter.”
“Say it again.”
“I married a man and we have a daughter,” you say cleanly, and you loved your husband and daughter so, so much! Rick was your boss, but you and him decided to try out an office romance and it went the distance! He was so great, but what was so great about Rick was that he let you pursue your career. Right after you two tied the knot in a fairytale wedding, you two conceived what would become Tacy, the light of your life. Tacy was such a ray of sunshine and she was everything you could have wanted in a daughter. You knew she would be just like you when she got older (and wow was she beautiful). You knew that Rick was the one, as you always knew it would be a guy.
“Excellent,” says the man. “I suppose I got lucky none of the new characters in her life appeared in here.”
Done with you for now, he turns to Janine.
“Your name is Alessandra.”
“My name is...what?”
“Alessandra.”
“Whuh? But my name is Ja...Jan-”
“Your name is Alessandra.”
“My...oh...my name...is Alessandra.”
“You love the name Alessandra.”
“I...love the name Alessandra.”
“Good girl. While not entranced, you will remain still.”
“When not entranced, I will remain still.”
“Mhmmm...this one is weak,” whispers the man.
He awakens Alessandra from her sleep, and she remains in the same spot, though very mad.
“What is happening? Why is Valerie standing like that? What happened to her clothes? Why is there a ring on her finger? Answer me!”
“Relax my dear.”
He walks back over to you and starts swinging again.
“Do you see the woman behind me?”
“Yes.”
“Her name is Alessandra. She is your 16-year-old daughter.”
“Alessandra? My d-daughter is...Tacy...” you utter, very perplexed. You didn’t give birth at 20! You never saw that clearly older woman in your life! And your daughter is Tacy, and you love her. But now, for some reason, the name Alessandra seems so...familiar. You suddenly remember you met a girl named Alessandra in 6th grade and immediately thought that name sounded so sexy. You’d love it on your daughter, much more than a name like Tacy.
“What the hell are you doing?” Asks Alessandra. “Answer me!”
“Alessandra is your 16-year-old daughter.”
“Aless...Alessandra is...” you say, your mind getting pretty hazy. Your daughter was named Alessandra, because you insisted she be named a name so sensuous, but she wasn’t 16. However, you glance at the Alessandra behind the man, and while she is a curvy young 20-something (her body starting to change as a result of the pendulum), she looks kind of like what you imagined your Alessandra would look like one day...
“Alessandra is your 16-year-old daughter. You are her mother.
As he says those words, Alessandra’s changes nearly complete. Her body, now almost 16 years younger, looks wonderful and youthful. Her locks are a longer and blonder. Her dress is different, and by different, her dress is now much shorter and more sensual. Perhaps the biggest change is her face. She’s becoming the daughter of you and Rick, so her face now looks like a combination between you and Rick, her old appearance practically unrecognizable. Her DNA is totally different. On top of her altered physical traits, she’s wearing bright red lipstick and a lot of eyeliner (just like you usually do). Alessandra’s memories get a complete overhaul. The louder she shouts, the quicker her old life as Janice fades and her life growing up as your daughter is in place. Alessandra is a soft-spoken, smart, and mature young woman who, like her mother, sees her appearance as a measure of her worth (hence the getup). She’s a cheerleader and loves mostly girly things. She’s also, unlike you, straight. She’s a hot teenager and certainly makes her mother proud as a young woman.
“Ugh...I...feel so...like...weird...” says a now changed Alessandra. “What’s going on with...mom?”
The man ignores her and awaits your response.
“Alessandra is...m-m-my 16-year-old daughter,” you say, loosening up a bit. You tell everyone the story. When you were young and reckless at 20, you and Rick, a guy you had a one-night-stand with, had an accident and you chose to keep it. The two of you embraced Alessandra (you chose the name) with all of your hearts and still managed to carve out successful careers in business and eventually marry after six years of being together. Having a daughter forced you to be mature, and truth be told it excited you having the chance to mold her into a terrific young woman.
The man nods upon you confirming that Alessandra is your daughter and turns back to the changed girl, still looking incredibly dazed.
“Your mother will be just fine,” he says to your daughter.
“Uh...I...don't know what’s going on. This is, totally, like, so...weird...”