The Secretary's Astral Secret

Erik had always believed that astral projection was one of the most underrated forms of entertainment imaginable.

While other people wasted their evenings watching television or playing video games, he had been experimenting with techniques that supposedly allowed the mind to leave the body and travel wherever it pleased. After weeks of practice, he had finally managed to separate himself from his physical form for more than a few seconds.

Naturally, his first thought was to do something useful with his newfound talent.

Naturally, his second thought was to do something stupid.

His father had spent years working for a demanding executive whose office occupied the top floor of a downtown building. The old man was famous for his temper, his obsession with punctuality, and his complete inability to appreciate a joke at his own expense.

Erik decided that an unexpected visit from an invisible spirit might teach the old tyrant a lesson.

He settled comfortably on his bed, closed his eyes, and concentrated on the familiar sensation of drifting free of his body. A moment later, his bedroom lay far below him, and the world had become a strange, silent landscape through which he could travel without opening a single door.

The journey to his father's workplace was surprisingly easy.

He passed through the building's outer walls, floated down the corridors, and eventually arrived at the executive suite. He could already imagine the look on the old man's face when an office chair moved by itself or a stack of papers mysteriously slid across his desk.

Unfortunately, Erik had made one small mistake.

He had aimed for the boss's office but arrived in the secretary's room instead.

And then something went terribly wrong.

A strange vibration rippled through his astral form. The air seemed to fold inward, pulling him toward the woman sitting in the leather chair near the desk. Erik tried to retreat, but an invisible force seized him.

For one terrifying instant, he felt as though he were being squeezed through a keyhole.

Then everything went black.

When consciousness returned, the first thing Erik noticed was that he could feel the chair beneath him.

The second was that his center of balance seemed completely different.

The third was a long strand of blonde hair falling across his face.

He blinked.

"Okay," he whispered. "That's new."

His voice was higher than he expected. Much higher.

He raised a hand to his face and froze. Slender fingers. Manicured nails. A delicate wrist emerging from the cuff of a white blouse.

His heart began to pound.

He scrambled out of the chair and stumbled toward the nearest mirror. The reflection that greeted him was a young blonde woman wearing a white office blouse, a fitted black skirt, and one black stocking that reached above her knee.

Erik stared.

The woman in the mirror stared back.

"No. No, no, no. This is absolutely not happening."

He pinched his arm. The reflection winced.

He closed his eyes, counted to three, and opened them again.

Nothing changed.

He had spent weeks learning how to leave his own body. Apparently, the universe had decided to reward his curiosity by giving him someone else's.

A quick glance around the room suggested that he had arrived at an inconvenient moment. One stocking was still on, while the other lay abandoned near the chair. The blouse was partially unbuttoned, as though its owner had been adjusting her clothes before he appeared. A small handbag rested beside the desk, and a half-finished cup of coffee sat dangerously close to a stack of documents.

Erik looked down at himself, then hurriedly straightened the blouse and pulled the skirt into place.

He had absolutely no intention of being discovered like this.

But a dozen questions were already racing through his mind.

Why had he landed in the secretary's body instead of simply passing through it?

Where was his own body?

Was the real secretary somewhere else, experiencing the same nightmare from the other side?

And, perhaps most urgently, why had his supposedly harmless experiment turned into the most complicated problem of his entire life?

A telephone rang.

Erik nearly jumped out of his skin.

The display showed a call from the executive's office.

He stared at it as though the device were a bomb.

If he answered, he might have to speak to his father's boss in a voice that wasn't his own. If he ignored it, the man might come looking for his secretary. And if the real woman suddenly returned, Erik had no idea what would happen.

The ringing stopped.

A moment later, someone knocked on the door.

"Miss Carter?" a man's voice called from the corridor. "Mr. Bennett needs those files immediately."

Erik swallowed.

Miss Carter. So that was her name.

He took a cautious step toward the desk, hoping the files would offer some clue about what to do next. His eyes landed on a framed photograph beside the computer, showing the secretary smiling beside two friends at what looked like a summer party.

For a second, guilt replaced his panic.

This wasn't a joke anymore. He had come here to embarrass an arrogant executive, and now an innocent woman might be caught in the middle of his reckless experiment.

He needed to get out. Immediately.

Erik closed his eyes and concentrated on the familiar sensation of astral separation. He imagined his bedroom, his own face, and the sound of his mother's voice calling him downstairs for dinner.

Nothing happened.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

The door handle began to turn.

"Miss Carter? Are you all right in there?"

Erik opened his eyes and looked at the mirror one last time. A young secretary stared back at him, frightened but determined to find a way home.

His little prank on his father's boss would have to wait.

First, he had to solve the mystery of the body he had somehow acquired.

And judging by the approaching footsteps, he had very little time to do it.