The night I met my girlfriend, she had her head on backwards. I'm not making that up. This was shortly after people started coming back from the rift. I'd heard about it on the news, that people were coming out of it, they were changed somehow, they had special powers.

I was at an outdoor bluegrass concert with my friends Rachel and Drew, and saw her dancing by the stage, her head on the wrong way.

That was unusual, I guess. I did was I figured was polite and tried not to stare.

"See that girl?" asked Rachel.

"Yea," I said.

"That's Lisa. She came back from the rift."

"Yea, I can see that."

"She's a shaper."

"What does that mean?"

"She can change things. Like for instance, she can put her head on backwards."

"Even with her head on backwards, I think she's pretty cute," I said.

"You want to meet her?"

A moment later, I was shaking her hand.

"Let me put myself together here," she said. Her head twisted around so it faced forwards.

"I'm Larry," I said.

"Lisa."

She held my hand just a moment longer than she needed to. She smiled.

"You want to dance with me Larry?"

"Yea, I do."

We started dancing.

"I like your arms," she said after a minute.

"Thanks." I thought that was kind of an odd complement.

"Can I try them on?"

"My arms?"

"Yea. I'll give them back in a moment."

"Sure." I shrugged my shoulders and held out my arms she grabbed my wrists and I felt an electric jolt through both arms. Then both my shoulders disconnected and my arms fell off. I wasn't quite ready for that.

But it gets weirder. The next thing she did was put both of them on herself, over her own arms. It was like she was putting on a sleeve, then when she was finished, she flexed them.

"Oh, you're strong," she said, making a muscle. "And they're so long!"

"Thank you," I said. "You're quite disarming you know."

She giggled. "Everyone says that."

"After you take away their arms? Do you do this to everyone you meet?"

"Well, I went through the rift. I don't know how to describe what its like in there. But inside the rift you don't really have a body, at least not like you do here. Your body changes, and sometimes you don't have a body at all, and it's usually very hard to control. But we were all in there for years, so by the time it let me go, I'd learned to control some of the flux. I found I could still do it when I got out. And after that, it's just like — I can't be interested in normal bodies anymore."

"So you just like, think it and it happens?"

"I have to touch it usually. But once I was able to shape, it was like riding a bicycle. It just works. I do it and it happens. I don't know how to explain it, there's no way to explain what I'm doing. I just do it."

"Cool."

We kept dancing for a while. I wasn't yet sure where this was going, but I liked the vibe. And I definitely thought she as attractive — short brown hair, a pretty face, and a nice slender body, even if she did have my lean muscular arms. There was a spark, that was for sure. And that spark, combined with the three beers I'd already had, that was enough to assuage any doubts about losing my arms.

Which come to think of it is a pretty silly line of reasoning.

We danced until the end of the set, the band said thank you to everyone and started packing up their things. I realized that my other friends had already gone to see another show, somewhere else.

"I think they left me here," I said. I shrugged my shoulders.

"They've abandoned you," teased Lisa. "And without any arms to defend yourself."

"I don't plan on putting up any resistance," I said.

"Good. Because I'm taking your legs next."

"You're what?"

"I'm gonna take your legs! But let's go back to my campsite first. I'll tell you what. Give me your legs, I'll give you a beer."

"Two beers," I said. "One for each leg."

"Done," she said. "Follow me!"

I know, I know. The whole thing sounds crazy. I'd just met her, the first thing she did was take away my arms. Now I'd agreed to trade my legs for beer. But there was something I liked about this. First of all, she obviously had intentions beyond simply leaving me as a quadruple amputee. And I was keen to discover what those intentions might be.

I think the second part might have been just the absolute power she projected. I'm neither a true sadist or masochist in the extreme sense, but I can enjoy a bit of power imbalance either way. The thought of going to this girl's campsite where I would lie there helpless for her to do as she pleased… Plus she was a shaper, whatever that meant.

We went up a trail to where everyone was allowed to camp. It was like a tent city back in the woods, we passed by all the other hippies at the festival. The air was thick with the smell of cannabis, and we could hear a drum circle. I was in a good mood.

"Here we are," she said, coming upon a campsite with several folding chairs, a cooler of beer, and a green dome tent big enough for three or four people.

"Who're you camping with?" I asked.

"Oh, just a couple friends of mine."

"Are your friends rift people too?"

"Rifters. We call ourselves rifters. Rift people sounds like … I don't know, nobody likes to be called that."

"Sorry. I didn't know there was a proper word."

"No worries, now you know. And yes, my friends are rifters. There's Drake, well, his real name is Mark but he wants us to call him Drake now. You'll notice him because he's got these two huge wings. And there's also Mary-Beth. She's… well, I'll just say, 'two heads, one body.' She insists she's one person, but when she has arguments with herself it discredits that a bit."

"Well, was she two people before she went in?"

"That's unclear. In either case, she's not too uptight about if you call her a she or a they, but she thinks of herself as one person, just so you know."

"I'll try not to say anything dumb."

"Have a seat. Want a beer?"

"You'll have to help me drink it."

I sat down in one of the camping chairs around the fire, smoldering but not burning. Lisa got a Sierra out of the cooler and pried the cap off with a lighter. She held it for me and gave me a sip, then set it in the cupholder of the chair.

"Alright, legs."

"Yea, do I stand up or …"

She picked up my right ankle. I felt the same electric jolt go through my leg, up to my hip. I was wearing shorts, so she just pulled the whole thing right off.

"Well, that seemed easy enough," I said.

"You seem to be rather comfortable with the situation."

"I've had a few drinks already. You might say I was legless."

"That was really terrible."

She removed my other leg and set down beside me with my legs across her lap. She took off her sandals, and, like she was putting on a pair of pants, threaded her feet down my legs and stood up.

"You got taller," I remarked.

"Yea, I think you're too short for me now," she stuck out her tongue. She picked up the bottle of beer and gave me another swig.

"Are you trying to take advantage of me?" I smirked.

"I think I already did."

"Good point," I said. "So what's next?"

"Next?" she tipped more beer into my mouth. "Next I leave you here, helpless and I go rejoin the party. I should tell you, this isn't my beer. I'm not even camping here."

"You…" I wasn't sure what to say. "You're kidding, right?"

"Ha! You should have seen your face."

"I almost believed you for a moment."

"I'm not a very good liar."

"But you sure are good at stealing body parts."

"Oh, you know what? Just for that, I'm taking your hips."

"Go on. I dare you."

"Don't believe me? Here I go."

She got up and put her hands around my waist. She leaned close, until our faces were just a few inches apart. I was considering an opportunity to make a move, but I was distracted by the sudden jolt of my pelvis being separated. Looking down, I saw that my increasingly smaller body now ended just below my belly button.

She unzipped the tent and dropped my hips inside. She came back for the rest of me, tipping the remaining beer into my mouth before carrying me inside the tent. She lay me across a sleeping bag, and leaned over me, grinning.

"You look comfy," she remarked, laying her head on my chest. From a limited angle, I could see her removing my belt and shorts, then her own skirt. She pulled my hips on like she was putting on a pair of underwear. One of her hands went underneath my boxers.

"Mmmm," she said, turning to face me. "I've never worn one of these before."

"Well, it's my first time without one."

She giggled, and finally kissed me.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I'll give it back when I'm done."

"Done with what?"

"First I'm going to take your chest."

"Uh-huh. That leaves me with … my head?"

"Right."

Another jolt went through my neck as she picked up my head and set it aside. I was leaning on my cheek and I had to close one eye to watch, but I caught a glimpse of her taking off our shirts and putting my chest on over her own. By now she had my whole body from the neck down.

"So I saw you, earlier," she said, picking my head up. "And I thought you had a very nice body."

"Well, thanks for saying so."

"Your welcome. And I had two conflicting inclinations, one was that I wanted to get with you. But the other, and I haven't tried this before, was that I liked your body so much I wanted it for myself."

"And how did that work out?"

"Oh, you know. Once I took your arms, I liked them so much I knew I'd have to have it all. But then I got to thinking, you know what I really want to do, I want to do both at once. I want to fuck you and have your body at the same time. So now, you're going to watch me give myself a blowjob."

"I get to watch?"

"If you'd rather be the one giving it, I could be persuaded."

"I like to watch," I said. She picked me up and kissed me.

"Thanks," she said. Then she took off her head and set it beside me. I watched my body, under her control, remove my boxers. She picked her head up and winking at me, started licking before thrusting the whole thing deep into her mouth.
She pumped herself up and down, gasps escaping in between thrusts. I tried to imagine what she would be experiencing. If this was really her first time, which I didn't have a lot of trouble believing given the whole context at play here, it must have been an intensely pleasurable feeling. I almost felt guilty for not taking part, although I didn't like the thought of pleasuring my own body, regardless of who was in control over it.

And she finished. Surprisingly quick, I suppose, but when you're the one in control I guess the whole process doesn't take long. She took a moment to come to, the way it goes right after it happens. I guess that would be a first for her too, the moment where everything clears and your mind goes back to rational.

"Wow," she said, setting her head down next to mind. "I didn't think it would be soo…. different."

"Is it different? What's the other one like?"

"I'll have to … show you sometime… But not yet. I can't focus now. It was nice and I just want to pass out."

"Well here's any idea, why don't you give me back my body and you can pass out cause you'll just be a head."

"No, you're just a head." She closed her eyes.

"No, wait I!!!"

She was already asleep. I had no choice but to join her.

When I woke up again, both of were naked in the tent. I was re-assembled, somehow. She must have woken up and restored us, I reasoned. I put my arm around her and pulled her closer. Down the hill I could hear fiddle music. I smiled.

Everything was right with the world.

We woke up together, slowly, mumbling to one another until it was apparent that we were both fully awake again.

"So thanks for restoring me afterwards," I mentioned.

"Oh, you're welcome. I didn't really do that, I mean, any changes I make only last until I fall asleep again."

"Is that how it works?"

"For me, yea it is. Some shapers, their effects last forever. But that's how the rift was, I mean, it was like one really long dream. I'm not sure why, but after my experience in there, I gained control over this world, but when I dream it resets itself."

"So is it like, we just dreamed that you took me apart and stole my body and blew yourself?"

"No, I mean. I don't know. What's the difference between the two realities? Are you dreaming now? Are you sure? The reality you inhabit is just a construct based on certain information your brain is processing. And when you dream, it's as if the dream is 'real' — there's no distinction. And in the rift, it was the same way — there was a total breakdown between the dream reality and the 'real' reality. It was like the two were merged together. Then when I got out, it was like, well even if this is the 'real' reality, a lot of the things I experienced in the rift still apply."

"So, magic. Got it."

"I guess you could look at it like that. I experienced it directly, and I thought it had changed everything."

"But it didn't?"

"Well, I'm still into wiry handsome guys, I know that much."

She kissed me.

"Alright," I said. "I'll play my cards. I think you're fascinating, and I've been fascinated by the rift."

"It's not something I would ever suggest to most other people."

"Sure, but it's… another existence. And did you ever feel — before you went in — that maybe this one was somehow lacking? Like you wanted to escape? I used to think this to myself, that I wanted to just tear a whole in the world and jump out, into the next one. Like if there was a spaceship to send a man to mars for the rest of his life, I was going to be the first one in line."

"That's normal though. And going into the rift is not going to solve that for you. It's no more satisfying a reality than this one, and I'd say it's far less so, because nothing in there is stable. And it is not as though you are the only one who can control it. There is something in there. I don't know how to describe it, but it is terrifying in its power alone. It changes whole landscapes in the blink of an eye, and you have to struggle to place yourself inside its dreams. It's hard to really drive this home, I don't know how to describe it besides to say that it's dream is stronger than anyone else's, and that while we learned, or rather we taught ourselves to adapt, it was always the force the shaped the rift. Maybe it was the rift, I know it's still in there."

"This is kind of mind-blowing for me," I said.

She laughed. "Can I blow up your head?"

My head blew up like a balloon. It made a little pop.

"I didn't even say anything yet!" I protested.

"Sorry," she said. "I'll get you a new one. You want mine?"

"No, I think I'll be okay."

"I'm serious! You can have it, I don't need it."

The next thing I knew, she'd replaced my head with her own.

"This is so crazy, I'm not even sure how to describe it," I said.

"See? That's how the rift is. People go, 'What's it like?' and I'm not sure what to say to them. That through forces beyond my own control I spend at least a month as an oyster? But that also I was fifty feet tall for a week?"

"I think that summarizes everything pretty well," I said.

"Well, you'd think so, but that doesn't even do it justice. It's just … I'm happy that I'm out, and I'm really happy I have this crazy power. And I like that I can share that with you, because you seem interested in having fun instead of just gawping at me."

"Aww, aren't you sweet. Can I just ask one question?" I asked.

"Go ahead."

"How the hell can you talk without a head?"

"I don't know. But you were talking without a head first!"

"Yes, but how?"

"I don't know! I don't know a lot of this stuff. Just like I know I can turn you into a chicken, but not an egg. Believe me, I've tried both. Chicken, no big deal. Egg, somehow impossible. Can't explain it."

"Well, maybe you can only turn people into live things?"

"Presto, you're a brick!"

Suddenly I was a brick.

"Very well," I said. "So just not an egg then. Huh. Weird."

"Very."

She turned me back into myself. What a bizarre moment. She nuzzled closer to be.

"So," she began, after a moment's pause. "I feel a little bad I made you watch."

"Oh? Well, I can think of one means of recompense."

"Right. I think you should give yourself a blowjob and I have to watch."

"I'm… that's one way, I guess…"

"Hehe, if you want to try something else, I do that too."

"Well, I suppose I was hoping for something more co-operative."

"Do go on," she said.

"How specific do you want me to be?"

"As specific as you want! I mean, listen, we can do absolutely anything with our bodies! I'm not going to be offended. So go ahead, where do you want to fuck me? In my ear? My head? Are you into feet?"

"In the head, really?"

"Want to give it a try?"

"Have you ever done it before?"

"No, but it's kind of hot right? You can be like 'Dude, I fucked this chick's brains out last night.'"

I laughed. "Now you made me lose interest."

"Oh c'mon. I'll tell you what. I'll do anything you want as long as both our bodies are not normal. And that's a standing offer."

I tried to come to terms with the possibilities. Given unlimited options, I simply didn't know where to start.

"Alright," I said. "Want to take it in the head?"

"Yes, I do. But what about your body?"

"Um… You're going to replace my tongue with my dick."

And zap. That's what we did. I lasted a full seven minutes before we collapsed again together, dozing off again.