The school year in Japan flew by, and the original Ichika and I knew everything - well, almost everything - about each other by now. With a little over a month to go, I received a request message from the original Ichika, indicating she wanted to speak to me on a sensitive subject. At a time when we were both "home" and able to communicate freely, I contacted her. After overcoming her shyness, she asked me freely how I had liked being "her". I answered her in all honesty that I absolutely loved being her, living her life. I didn't experience the "monthly discomfort" as a problem either, it's just part of being a woman. Then she threw the bat in the henhouse: she asked if I was willing not to reverse the swap (anymore), but to make it permanent. She told me that my mother had been treated for breast cancer for almost six months (she hadn't mentioned this before during our catch-up sessions), and because "my" parents live near my university, she had decided to support and help, because my father - who was a lot older than my mother - could not do this alone. She had come to love my parents dearly, and conversely, my parents had not only come to love her, but they really considered the "original" Ichika (in my body) their son, they had taken her completely into their hearts. They still loved their "original" son - that is, me -, but indicated that they did not want to miss her. I was a bit overwhelmed by her request and asked for a day to think about it so that I could also ask "my" Japanese parents. - Tom -
She agreed, after which I contacted "my" Japanese parents, told them the whole story and also the request of their "original" daughter. Then they surprised me by doing something unexpected: first "my" mother stood up, hugged me and not only called me her daughter, but used an expression for the word "daughter" reserved exclusively for a child of her own blood. Her father did the exact same thing, but from his fatherhood. Astonished, and moved to the depths of my soul, I embraced them both spontaneously and called them "mother" and "father" in that special way which indicates that I am of their blood. At the appointed time, I contacted my "old" self and told her everything, and also let her "original" parents speak. it turned out that "my" original parents were also present on the other side. Together, and sincerely moved, we confirmed the joint decision. The rest of the month we were quite busy completing the official formalities, but this didn't feel like stress. On the evening of the last day of school, at home, at my Japanese parents' home, I was introduced to the other family members as the "new" original Ichika, and they also confirmed me with that special expression .... . Later, in bed, I thought fondly of everything that had taken place during this special academic year, and I felt an overwhelming gratitude for everything. My first sleep as a definitive Japanese woman was the most blissful sleep I've ever enjoyed, and waking up the next morning felt like being a newborn.... . - Tom -
The school year in Japan flew by, and the original Ichika and I knew everything - well, almost everything - about each other by now. With a little over a month to go, I received a request message from the original Ichika, indicating she wanted to speak to me on a sensitive subject. At a time when we were both "home" and able to communicate freely, I contacted her. After overcoming her shyness, she asked me freely how I had liked being "her". I answered her in all honesty that I absolutely loved being her, living her life. I didn't experience the "monthly discomfort" as a problem either, it's just part of being a woman. Then she threw the bat in the henhouse: she asked if I was willing not to reverse the swap (anymore), but to make it permanent. She told me that my mother had been treated for breast cancer for almost six months (she hadn't mentioned this before during our catch-up sessions), and because "my" parents live near my university, she had decided to support and help, because my father - who was a lot older than my mother - could not do this alone. She had come to love my parents dearly, and conversely, my parents had not only come to love her, but they really considered the "original" Ichika (in my body) their son, they had taken her completely into their hearts. They still loved their "original" son - that is, me -, but indicated that they did not want to miss her. I was a bit overwhelmed by her request and asked for a day to think about it so that I could also ask "my" Japanese parents. - Tom -
ReplyDeleteShe agreed, after which I contacted "my" Japanese parents, told them the whole story and also the request of their "original" daughter. Then they surprised me by doing something unexpected: first "my" mother stood up, hugged me and not only called me her daughter, but used an expression for the word "daughter" reserved exclusively for a child of her own blood. Her father did the exact same thing, but from his fatherhood. Astonished, and moved to the depths of my soul, I embraced them both spontaneously and called them "mother" and "father" in that special way which indicates that I am of their blood. At the appointed time, I contacted my "old" self and told her everything, and also let her "original" parents speak. it turned out that "my" original parents were also present on the other side. Together, and sincerely moved, we confirmed the joint decision. The rest of the month we were quite busy completing the official formalities, but this didn't feel like stress. On the evening of the last day of school, at home, at my Japanese parents' home, I was introduced to the other family members as the "new" original Ichika, and they also confirmed me with that special expression .... . Later, in bed, I thought fondly of everything that had taken place during this special academic year, and I felt an overwhelming gratitude for everything. My first sleep as a definitive Japanese woman was the most blissful sleep I've ever enjoyed, and waking up the next morning felt like being a newborn.... . - Tom -
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