Takes One to Know One - Part 7

Anna froze, her hand halfway to the plate of bacon.

"The... remote?" she asked hesitantly.

Her parents exchanged a look.

"Yes, honey," her mother said gently, "The remote that caused the... incident. With you and Anna."

"I... I don't understand," Anna stammered, sinking into a chair at the table, "What are you talking about? Me and …’Anna’?"

Her father leaned forward, concern etched on his face, "Jack, are you feeling alright? You haven't forgotten what happened, have you?"

Jack? Why was her father calling her Jack?

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," she said, her voice shaking. "I'm Anna. Why are you calling me Jack?"

Her parents exchanged worried glances.

"Honey," her mother said gently, "You're not Anna. You're Jack. You've been in Anna's body for the past few days because of an accident with the remote you built. Don't you remember?"

"This isn't possible," she whispered, her voice trembling, "I'm Anna. I know I'm Anna."

Her father reached across the table, grasping her hand gently, "Son, I know this must be confusing. But you're Jack. You've been pretending to be Anna for days now. We've fixed the remote - we can switch you back."

Anna jerked her hand away, standing up so quickly her chair toppled backwards, "No! You're wrong. I'm not pretending. I AM Anna!"

Her father stood slowly, his hands raised in a placating gesture, "Jack... Anna... whoever you feel you are right now, we're not trying to upset you. We just want to help. Can we talk about this?"

Anna shook her head violently, backing up until she hit the wall. "No, no, no. You're wrong. This is some kind of sick joke. Where's Jack? Where's my brother?"

Her mother pulled something from his pocket - a small, sleek remote control, "He's right here, Anna. He's you. And we can bring him back now."

Anna's heart raced as she stared at the remote in her mother’s hand. A part of her wanted to grab it and smash it to pieces.

Her mother approached slowly, tears glistening in her eyes, "Sweetheart, I know this is confusing. But you have to trust us. We love you - both as Jack and as Anna. We just want to set things right."

Anna's eyes widened in panic as her mother's finger hovered over a button on the remote. A primal fear gripped her, and without thinking, she lunged forward, grabbing the remote as her mother pushed the button.