It has been so long since I wore my original face. I’ve been living as someone else for the last ten years. I can’t remember how pointy my nose is, or if I have a thick eyebrow. All I can remember is that I have the same eyes of my father. All I can remember is how my eyes look.
Today I’m living as an old lady. I am slowly walking in a park inside a subdivision for mostly wealthy people. I currently have 6,350 pesos in cash. More than enough for buying the things I need for the day. I sat on a bench just beside the entrance of the park. I stayed here for a while. I like watching the people around me. I like how they just go on with their lives and by how conscious some of them are with their appearances.
“Uhm, excuse me grandma, do you happen to know where the admin office of this park is?”, asked by a man around early 20’s. He’s currently holding a medium sized teddy bear that wears a cute black tie.
“Someone seems to have lost this, it has a name tag so I thought that this is important for someone.”, he explained. I smiled and carefully examined his face.
“It’s located near the fountains. There should be a white building where you can ask for the lost and found office.”
“Thank you so much. Have a great day!”, he said before running to the location where the fountain is.
I have stayed here for more than three weeks. It would be dangerous if I stayed here for too long. Thankfully, that young man’s face is perfect for a place with a corporate vibe.
I left my wallet on the bench and hid behind a huge tree. After a few seconds, I have successfully transformed into the young man’s face. Upon checking his wallet, his name is Nate Santos. He is an office worker in an office near the location I am planning to stay next. He’s not that well-off according to the amount of money he possesses right now. Thankfully, I have left the old lady’s wallet on the bench.
“Ahhh!!!!”, shouted by the young man from before. He is currently holding the old lady’s wallet.
“Wha…Who… How.. Where… I’m so confused right now. I clearly saw the old lady there!”
I giggled as he tried to understand what was happening right now. I can’t stop myself from laughing because his main concern is the old lady rather than me borrowing his looks and identity.
“OMG! You look exactly like me! And we even wear the same cloth…”, after realizing that he is basically looking at himself, he passes out.
I carried him to the bench. Thankfully, he looks like someone who exercises so carrying him is not that tedious. I’ve placed his bag to act as his pillow and gently opened his wallet and added some of the money I have.
“I’m sorry Nate, I promised that I will not use your face for something malicious or wrong.”, I whispered in his right ear before running away.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
***
I decided to stay in a motel that offers a rate of 250 pesos for a night. This is a lot cheaper but offers decent accomodation. I will be only staying here for a night using Nate’s face so this should be fine.
After checking in, I decided to grab dinner. There’s a lot of fast food restaurants near the motel so it’s very convenient to stay around this area. I decided to eat some pizza. I ordered a small box and some fries. I always sit at the most isolated location when I am inside a restaurant. There are a couple of times when someone else recognized my face and those experiences are not that pleasant.
I have mastered everything I can to prevent someone else from getting recognized. I am actually taking a slighter risk by using Nate’s face because he is what normal people call good-looking. I only have one chance to change my appearance per day and being a middle aged woman inside a park of a subdivision will attract more attention than a young man who seems to find himself in that place. Copying a child is also troublesome since everyone will try to protect me or ask where my parents are.
After completing my dinner, I returned to my room to sleep. I only have 950 pesos left. This should be enough for me until tomorrow when I can change my face into someone else.
I woke up in the middle of the night. I was sweating as if I had a nightmare. My heart was beating too fast and I was having trouble breathing. I can’t remember my dream but I am definitely afraid of something.
Since I cannot go back to sleep, I’ve decided to watch something on the television. Upon switching from the default R rated stuff, I stumbled upon a charming movie with talking dogs and cats. It was really calming. I am grateful that I am someone that can enjoy these things. That I can appreciate something even though I am alone most of the time.
After eating some breakfast, I decided to walk around the area and explore. Because of the tall buildings in this corporate center, it was not that hot as they were blocking the sun. Everyone around me is either late for work or has urgent business to attend to. Four out of five people are looking at their smartphones while walking. I tried to stay out of their way and blend in. I have entertained myself with different artworks painted on the walls of the underpass and walk around malls where I judge if something is worthy of its price.
It is almost time to change into someone else. I have enjoyed Nate’s fit body. I didn’t feel tired after walking around so much today. I am actually tailing this girl around Nate’s age. She looks like someone rich as she is holding an expensive looking purse and she has a very beautiful and formal dress. She sat inside a coffee shop while I sneakly snucked glances at her.
She got up and walked out of the mall, so I entered the emergency exit staircase and changed into her. She is wearing an ID and her name is Emily Landly. She is an executive secretary in an insurance company. My heart fell after checking if she had some money in her purse. Her purse only contains makeup and other stuff that cannot be sold for cash.
I even forgot to take Nate's wallet off before turning into Emily because I thought she had a lot of money. I’m really screwed right now. I don’t have any money plus staying outside as a woman is more dangerous than staying outside as a man. I tried to remember everything I can as to how I would deal with this situation.
As I was walking at the back entrance of the mall, I saw Emily in the distance. She’s clearly in distress while talking to the guards. I changed my hairstyle and removed some of my makeup. Hopefully they will not notice me. As I was walking past them, I heard Emily crying about her wallet that contains 50,000 pesos.
I can’t help but curse because I almost had 50,000 pesos to spend in just for a day. I also teared up a bit.
After walking around aimlessly, I found myself at the park and it was dark. I hoped that the guards would not chase me away or that some creepy dude would approach me while trying to sleep here. However, as soon as I wished for peace, someone walked in the direction I was sitting.
“Oh! It’s you!”, said by a familiar voice.
It was Nate and he’s clearly talking to me. “Hello, do I know you?”, I replied in a confused and wary tone.
“How can you not know me?”, he asked. Upon looking at him, he’s still wearing the same clothes from yesterday but they are a lot cleaner as if they are a new pair.
“I’m sorry, I am not good with faces. Do you know me from Hammonds Insurance?”, that is the company where Emily works for.
“What are you talking about grandma?”, he said while looking straight at me. “It is so nice to see you again.”, he smiled at me as I trembled in fear.