Sisterly

Despite everything that happened in the past few years, Michael found it hard to do anything but smile as his ex-girlfriend Hai exchanged her vows with the man she was now marrying. If things had gone according to plan, he’d be the groom at this ceremony; but fate had other ideas.

Michael and Hai had been engaged; they had a venue and scheduled a date. They were discussing it all with Hai’s family on the day no one would forget; the day of the Great Shift. Hai was one of the lucky few who didn’t swap. She was confused as heck when she discovered her mom and dad were in each other’s bodies, but the worst moment was discovering Michael had swapped into the body of her younger sister, Ling.

Both Michael and Hai knew immediately that continuing a romantic relationshionship would be a nonstarter. If Michael had been any other woman, it would’ve been possible to be lesbians or something. But with Michael in Ling’s body, they were now literally blood relatives. It just felt wrong.

And yet they both knew they still loved each other. They remained close, and that love turned into a sisterly love. Even Hai’s parents treated Michael like another daughter (which was probably made easier for them considering he was in their daughter’s body). Eventually, Hai moved on to other relationships and met Lou. And she soon had a favor to ask of Michael; would he consider being a bridesmaid for her?

Michael did feel a fleeting sense of what he had lost, but it was diminished by the pure unbridled happiness he felt for Hai. He did have one condition for agreeing: no heels!

And so as he sat in the front row with the biggest smile of joy on his face, he began to consider his own life. Ling had just started to pursue a medical degree at the time of the Shift, which he was permitted to continue. He had recently started his residency, and looking forward to his career as a doctor. But a love life? He hadn’t even thought about it. He wasn’t even sure if he was still into women or if he should go after men. For now, he was just happy in the moment for his big sister.