The Role Exchanger: St. Nicholas' day

 This is requested caption from Magisl

During St. nicholas' day, a group of friends: Patricia-Neil's girlfriend, Neil, Eden-Patricia's sister, Chris-Eden's boyfriend, Jake-Neil's brother, and Brooke-Chris's sister—were sharing gifts when a Role Exchanger suddenly appeared in their house and swapped everyone's bodies. Patricia into Chris, Neil into Jake, Eden into Brooke, Chris into Patricia, Jake into Eden, Brooke into Neil.


When Role Exchanger lights died down, the six friends stared at each other, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. The space between them seemed to widen of the strangeness of who now inhabited which body.

Patricia, now looking at Chris's slim figure with his nice hair, blinked. She could feel his habit of tapping his foot when he was nervous. "What... what happened?" she rasped, her voice deepening and husky.

Neil, in Jake's form, looked at his face, the same ones that had always been his, but now they were not. "I think... I think we've all been switched," he said.

Eden, now seeing her reflection in the glass, in Brooke's face, pressed her hand to her cheek. "I'm... Brooke?" she whispered, confused.

Chris, glancing into the mirror, saw his eyes staring into Patricia's delicate face. "I'm... Patricia?"  he muttered, his usual sarcasm vanishing, replaced by a shiver of genuine fear.

Jake, now staring into Eden’s softer gaze, tried to steady his breathing. “Okay, so I’m… Eden?” He laughed nervously, but his voice didn’t match the tone of his new body.

Brooke, now in Neil’s body, felt the weight of his watch and the familiar weight of a responsibility she would never have to bear. “Neil?” She barely managed to say it, tears welling in her eyes.

A heavy silence fell, broken only by the sound of a fake bonfire. In their new, strange bodies, each friend struggled with the uncanny sensation of living in someone else’s skin.

Patricia now Chris stepped forward, feeling the unfamiliar weight of Chris’s strong arms. “Okay,” she said, trying to sound like the sarcastic Chris she knew. “Who has a present for my… er… new girlfriend?”  She glanced at Neil-in-Jake, whose eyes had just widened, a look of panic spreading across his thin face.

Jake, now Eden, searched for the gift bag with a shaking hand. "I... I think I have yours, honey," he whispered, looking at Patricia's -Chris's-face and trying to reconcile the feeling he felt for Patricia with the body that wasn't his.

Eden, now Brooke, tried to calm her breathing as she picked up Brooke's carefully wrapped book. "Is this for... me?" She turned it over, disoriented, then realized she held what was meant for her inside her, now in this body. She felt the delicate lines of Brooke's fingers, the way they pressed against the cover, and something delicate blossomed within her.

Chris-now Patricia-stared in the mirror, running his fingers through his hairs, his mind whirring with confusion. He was always the one making jokes, never the one worrying about his hair.  "Okay," he said, his voice shaking, "who wants to open presents? I think this is about to get… interesting. Especially since we don't know whether the role exchanger only swapped our bodies or something else about our personalities"

Everyone fell into a restless rhythm. Unwrapping the presents, each one seemed absurdly appropriate for the new bodies they inhabited. The sweater intended for Jake now fell onto Neil's new form. The mixtape, a compilation of '90s rock hits, slipped into Patricia's-now Chris's-hands, and she realized the songs were exactly the kind of music Brooke used to sing.

As the night deepened, laughter began to break the tension. Jake—now Eden—tried to imitate Eden's signature sarcastic smile, but ended up with a goofy grin that made the entire room erupt in laughter. Brooke, in Neil's body, found herself staring into the mirror, admiring her new figure, while Chris, in Patricia's body, admired her face.

Patricia, in Chris's body, confessed that she never truly understood the pressure Chris felt to always be there. Neil, now in Jake's body, admitted that seeing the world through his brother's eyes made him realize how much he took his own spontaneity for granted. Eden, as Brooke, discovered how quiet her resilience was. Chris, as Patricia, finally felt the burden of being perceived as "the girl" and the vulnerability that came with it. Jake, as Eden, learned the patience Eden practiced daily. Brooke, occupying Neil's body, felt the silent responsibility of being the anchor in their relationship.

When the night finally gave way to the pale light of morning, everyone gathered under the Christmas tree, each holding the gift of their new body, ready for the Christmas and new year.