If I close my eyes, I can hear them

The quiet mumbling of the crowd

Voices mingling into one loud whisper

Only for me to hear

And the lines repeat in my head

Not wanting to disappoint

But as the blinding lights are revealed

From behind the shrouded mystery of the veil

I know I will not

For the next two hours I am an observer

Carefully watching the moves my body makes as the other person slips into my skin

I am free to float about the ceiling

Feeling her emotions

Knowing her life in complete detail

Yet, I do not have to be there

Once the timer goes off

My veil is let down again

The lines flood back into my mind

My body is mine once more

That is all I need

How can they not understand?

They rip me away from my freedom

Two hours

Every six months

To be released from this cage behind the veil

Too much to ask...

Too much...