I Woke Up to a Stranger’s Life – Episode 3: The Choice

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[Sound: Wind howling against a glass building. Soft click of heels on marble. Distant elevator bell.]

They say every decision has weight.

But when you're holding two vials—one that could erase your stolen life, and one that could seal it forever—that weight feels like it might crush you.

Red. Blue.

Reversion. Assimilation.

Mara stood across from me, eyes identical to mine, yet utterly foreign. Her lips curved in that slight, unreadable smile. Like she already knew what I would choose.

"Take your time," she said. "It’s not a choice you’ll get to make twice."

I stared at the vials.

The red one shimmered like molten glass. Reversion. The promise of returning to… what, exactly? A ruined life? A memory of myself, shattered and hidden?

The blue one pulsed with a strange inner glow. Assimilation. The chance to embrace this new life. To become Mara fully. To let go of the person I once was.

“You had no right,” I whispered.

Mara didn’t flinch. “You were dying, Mia. You weren’t living—just surviving. Drinking bad coffee, working a dead-end job, crying yourself to sleep.”

“I still had a choice!”

She nodded. “Now you do. That’s more than most get.”

[Sound: Clock ticking, louder now. Time pressing.]

My fingers hovered over the red vial.

“If I take this,” I asked, “do I go back? Back to being Mia?”

Mara stepped closer, her voice softer. “You go back to what’s left of Mia. But make no mistake—it won’t be clean. Memories… blur. The body resists. Reversion comes at a cost.”

“And the blue?”

“Assimilation finishes the merge. You’ll remember who you were… but you won’t care anymore.”

I blinked. “Why would you even offer me this choice?”

“Because you’re stronger than I was,” she said. “I broke, Mia. I begged them to erase my past. You… you're fighting it. That means you deserve the truth. All of it.”


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[Sound: Elevator door closes. Footsteps in a hallway. A door unlocks.]

We didn’t speak again until we reached the apartment—her apartment. The same one I’d woken up in what felt like years ago.

She handed me a folder.

“The truth file,” she said. “Nexia keeps one on everyone they’re targeting.”

Inside were names.

Dozens. Maybe hundreds.

Each with a photo. A profile. A rating.

One name circled in red: Mia Carson.

“Compatible. Emotionally isolated. Neurologically viable. High adaptability.”

My stomach turned.

“They tracked me for years?” I asked.

Mara nodded. “You weren’t the only one. But you were the best match.”

I sat down slowly. “And you? What happened to your original body?”

She looked away. “Gone. After the merge, they—clean up.”

I stared at her. “So if I go back... I’m disposable?”

“Not if you take the file and run. Disappear. Go public. Burn it all down.”

Her eyes locked onto mine.

“But if you stay—if you choose blue—you inherit everything. Nexia. My network. My power. You could use it to end this, from the inside.”

“And lose myself in the process.”

Mara gave a sad smile. “Or become something more.”


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[Sound: Rain begins to fall. Thunder in the distance.]

That night, I sat in front of the mirror, the vials between my palms.

Mia’s face stared back at me—but it was changing.

I could feel Mara’s influence like an echo in my thoughts. More confident. Colder. Sharper.

The merge wasn’t just physical. It was in my mind.

I needed answers. One last piece of the puzzle.

I opened the Nexia app on her—my—phone. Used facial recognition to log in.

Hidden under layers of encryption was a folder labeled:

“RECON: Cognitive Merging & Subject Viability.”

Inside it: voice memos. Dozens.

From me.

No—her.

From Mara.

[Sound: Glitchy playback, static, then a voice—my voice—comes through.]

> “Day 7. Merge stable. Memories intact. But… I miss her. The old me. She wasn’t powerful. But she was real.”



> “Day 22. Dreams are bleeding together. Sometimes I think I see her… Mia… inside the mirror. Watching. Waiting.”



> “Day 38. I think I’m losing the thread. I don’t know where she ends and I begin.”



> “Day 56. God help me… I think she’s winning.”



[Sound: Sudden silence.]

I dropped the phone.

All this time… Mara hadn’t just stolen my life. I’d been invading hers. Two minds fighting for dominance.

And now, there wasn’t enough space for both.


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[Sound: Heavy breathing. Rain tapping the windows.]

The vials were still on the desk. The rain outside had turned violent, slamming the glass like fists of water.

I held the red vial in one hand, the blue in the other.

Mia.

Mara.

One choice.

One truth.

The front door creaked.

I turned.

Dean was standing in the hallway.

“Time’s up,” he said. “They’re coming.”

Behind him, I saw the glint of guns. Black suits. Nexia’s cleanup crew.

They weren’t here to talk.

I looked down at the vials. Heart racing.

No more time.

I chose.


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[Sound: Glass shattering. Screams. A gunshot. Then static.]

[End of Episode 3]