Help from Sofia (Patreon)

Following behind him, Sofia was struggling to keep up. Her tall heels and a certain clumsiness from not being used to walking in them made it slightly difficult for her to keep the same pace as Max, who, shrinking in and pretending she wasn’t there, kept walking only where he knew he had to go.

– Hey, will you stop ignoring me already? I’m right here, talking to you and… hey! Fine – she continued, but it felt like she was speaking into emptiness. Max, of course, heard her, but diligently tried to avoid paying attention to her outbursts.

'No, no, no, what the… her again? What does she want from me today?' he cursed silently, annoyed that Sofia had reappeared, wanting to help him with his problems with girls, but for him, it seemed like she was only there to ruin everything. To make it worse, because all her advice always seemed reckless to him.

– I can hear you, you know! And I’m sick of you pretending I’m not here! I’m you, just… um, a little different, you know? – Max stopped, a shiver running through him… She had never said anything like that before. She would just show up from time to time in his life and, as he saw it, only ruin things, preventing him from focusing, making "right" decisions, and living. But his life was hard to call happy, despite all the "right" decisions.

– What… what did you just say? – he slowed down and turned his head. Despite everything, a light, innocent smile appeared on Sofia’s face. Fixing the hem of her dress and flicking her hair back with a quick gesture, she looked at him intently.

– You heard me, dummy, hehe – she said, winking at him, so femininely that for a second Max imagined her next to him… too close, but at that moment he shook his head slightly, trying to throw that thought out of his mind. – Oh, you should’ve seen yourself just now, such a shy boy.

– Stop it! What nonsense did you just say? – his stern voice cut through the air, and his words echoed off the walls of the empty block. He was alone here, no one could see him, and he could freely speak with… with her.

– I knew you were pretending not to see me. – she muttered when the smile faded from her face and a slight shade of sadness appeared instead.

– Let’s get to the point, I… I don’t have time to talk to you, I’ve got… stuff to do, so just answer already – Max grumbled under his breath, but he seemed to have already guessed what she would say, even though the guess felt like nonsense.

– Like I said, I’m you, just your female version, haha.

– Stop this! I don’t–

– Oh, okay, okay! I was joking, but not completely. It’s just… it’s so complicated. You created me yourself, you called me to help you, and then you just started ignoring me! It’s… it’s so… frustrating – her emotions shifted from laughter to sadness and disappointment during the phrase. He looked at her, not understanding how one could even talk like that. Why couldn’t she control herself, why did she change so sharply? It seemed so wrong and unacceptable. 'Stupid girl!' he thought, and suddenly noticed her face, remembering that she could read all his thoughts whenever she appeared like this.

– I’m not stupid! – she said, puffing her cheeks and stomping her foot – I! Ugh! You’re so impossible! But I’ll still get through to you! – she yelled, but then fell silent and calmed down. It happened as abruptly as all her other emotions, which threw him into a kind of stupor again. – I have a suggestion – her tone turned business-like, and all her playfulness and other emotions disappeared. She looked straight into Max’s eyes, making a shiver run down his spine.

– W-what? – he said, stumbling a little for some reason.

– We should switch bodies… – she stammered a bit but then continued – I want you to understand that everything you’re afraid of is just nonsense, so…

– So we should switch bodies? What kind of nonsense are you suggesting? You come into my life, try to give advice that clearly doesn’t work, distract me, and now… this?! What kind of madness is this?

– MADNESS?! God, I just want you to understand… I… I can’t tell you what, you need to understand it yourself! – she pleaded, looking at him with wide, imploring eyes, like a kitten begging for food.

– I… – for a moment, he hesitated, realizing that, overall, he had nothing left to lose. His life, as it was now, hadn’t felt as rich and exciting as he wanted for a long time, and everything he had dreamed of, or almost everything, had passed him by. And now… Now even this crazy suggestion from this insane girl seemed… new? Unusual? He didn’t know why, but he felt drawn to agree and try what she was saying.

– I’m not rushing you, just think about it… – she whispered softly, coming closer and hugging him.