My Wife Is a Phase Creature from the Forbidden Zone
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My Wife is a Phase Creature
What I am about to tell you is a true story. And I'm serious. It truly has to to do with my discovering that my wife is a phase creature from the Forbidden Zone. I'm also sure that some of you are wrinkling up your faces doubting me even as you have hardly begun to read this, but I don't care. You sit there judging me, shaking your head thinking I'm crazy, maybe speculating, "Oh, Shadesbreath's been drinking again." But I haven't. Well, I have, but that's not what this is about. So think what you want, but this is true.
However, I should probably slow down and tell you what happened first, and then let you be the judge. See, even me, the typically controlled kind of writer that I like to think I am, am still kind of freaked out. So, let me step back and relate this properly. (Breathe). Ok, calmly, here goes:
The sky is still black when my wife's alarm goes off. At 5:45 every morning, her little clock knifes into our sleep and stabs any happy fantasies we might be having to death. The heartless tone slips bladelike between the ribs of all the super models worshipping at my feet, scattering them into nothingness. It plunges into the breasts of all the turkeys lying on mashed potato beds splashing gravy as my wife dreams of cooking feasts for me. Every weekday morning, both of us have our dreams destroyed. Slumber dead, she gets up and gets ready for work while I paw the snooze button on my own alarm for a few minutes more. She goes downstairs before I am up and usually leaves before I am done with my shower. That is the standard morning at my house.
But not today.
Today I got up early for some reason. Perhaps God was doing me a favor, trying to help me discover this twenty-two-year-old secret my wife has kept hidden from me. The universe was throwing me a bone. I don't know. But I got up and was a good ten minutes ahead of schedule. I heard the garage door going up—the familiar rumble through the floor that announces my wife's departure each and every day.
So, I thought to myself, loving husband that I am, I shall run down there and grab a kiss before she is gone. A treat to start my workday. Still tugging up my pants, zipping on the fly, I trundled down the stairs towards my beloved and her sweet morning lips.
I heard the reliable clank of her Suburban transmission shifting into reverse as my bare feet hit the cold concrete floor of the garage. She saw me come out, her blue eyes flashing up through the window glass.
Surprise. I saw it there in those oh-so-familiar irises.
At first I thought it was surprise to see me this early in the morning, for, as you'll recall, usually I am still upstairs in the shower at this time. But when I opened the passenger side door to lean in for my kiss, that's when I saw the truth. That's when I knew.
The surprise was not in her eyes because I was early; the surprise was because I'd caught her in a phase shift.
Yes, a phase shift. That's what I saw, and it could be nothing else.
Normally my wife is a lovely creature; she's got a famously pretty face and long, luxurious hair that is the envy of every chick we ever meet (not to mention bald guys like me). She's got a fine figure, classic beauty, and each day I count my blessings to have such grace to gaze upon. But this morning I found out it's all a lie.
So as I'm leaning in to kiss her, I realize that pretty face of hers is all distorted. The blue gems of her eyes are no longer perfect spheres but more oblong, even nebulous. Her cheeks are not round and soft, not the clear pale skin I know, but smeared, even blurry. In fact, her whole face was blurred, was blurring. So was her hair. Normally the ghoulish white of the bare bulb in our garage would have reflected from shimmering strands of gold and copper in her hair, would have glistened metallically from threads of the finest strawberry blond. But not today. Today there were no strands at all; the whole cascade was a blended mass, a solid fall of … of what? Is it plastic? Is it some composite semi-organic thing? Perhaps alien armor, or some unnatural polymer, the globulous ooze of corporeal truth from another realm, from, perhaps, the Forbidden Zone.
I gasped and pulled back even as she was leaning into me. The telescopic proximity of our movements made her phase shifting flicker in and out. I squinted, my face pinching with perplexity as I tried to fathom her mid-morph.
She leaned farther towards me. "I'm going to be late," she said. The circle of her mouth was a fog, the dark "O" of it gray at the edges, her lips hazing as she tried to play it off. Tried to pretend. I knew she was trying to shift back, trying to resume human permanence—apparently it's not an instantaneous trick.
But I didn't want to anger it. Anger her. I was afraid, but realized I'd been with her all these years and she hadn't killed me yet. Yet. So I had to play like I didn't notice. She didn’t seem aware of my dismay. Yet. So I kissed her. I was terrified. What if she decided then to finally destroy my soul, to suck it out of me with the might of vacuous demon lungs? Or whatever it is they have in the Forbidden Zone. But I kissed her. It was too dangerous not to.
Her lips were still soft and warm. Wet like I am used to. She hadn't gone that far over to the other side yet. Not so far as to be absent of the last warmth of her human guise.
I pulled back from the kiss. My mind whirling, my stomach churning as I contemplated what I had done. Kissed an alien. Or a demon. A something. A shiver ran up my spine. She was watching me. Staring at me, right into me. I knew she could read my thoughts. They do that over there. In that other place. That place of darkness and deceit. What plot could she be hatching? What villainous murder or nefarious torment did she have planned? Why was she staring at me?
I saw her blurry lips move; her very edges doubled all around where the fluorescent light limned her hair and body against the backdrop of her truck's interior. She was about to speak. I wondered if the words would be human still, recognizable to my mortal ears.
"You forgot your glasses," she said.
Hah, I thought, the ruse continues. A distraction that I'm not buying. But then, I was like, "Wait, what?"
"Your glasses, silly. You left them upstairs." Then she leaned forward and kissed me again. "Now I have to go to work. I love you."
She straightened and gripped the steering wheel. I, stupefied, completely rattled by my proximity to an alien-demon beast, fell back and closed the passenger side door as if in a dream. I watched her back out and go, my hand absently creeping up to my naked face, touching tentatively at the soft flesh beneath my right eye, feeling the bony socket edge. The places where, normally, my glasses would reside. I sighed and went back upstairs to get them.
Which doesn't change the fact that this story is true.
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This is fantastic! - Better than Twilight Zone.
Hmmmm. How original is this,really? I mean, some guy has already made it known that woman are from Venus. Even the most beautiful ones might have a hard time staying confined in their human meat suits on occasion! :P Funny...very funny.
I am at a lost for words.
Okay, I found my words. I admit that I am new reader to your Hubs, but does your wife know that you are writing about her?
Good stuff, SB. How come you have so many followers and only 79 hubs? Quality counts, I suppose.
Ha! :) Nice way to write about your wife and then turn it back on you. I started off reading this thinking..."she's gonna kill him" and ended up with wanting to high five you for dodging a bullet. LOL!
As a woman, I know for certain where the Forbidden Zone actually is, but because you're a man, it's forbidden that I share that information with you. And, yes, Lady Gaga did indeed wear a meat suit. Silly girl didn't even make an effort to shift phases. Pffffft. I think she shall suffer consequences for revealing forbidden information.
He shoots! He scores! Another great hub, Shades. But I've just made an exciting discovery that is opening up new worlds for me.
(This is probably one of those things that everyone but me already knows . . . bleet) but anyway - dude. Your tags are hilarious. Comic exploitation of the "tags" - priceless. Lemme at 'em.
Yer frend,
L.T.
*kicks you out of character* That's not what I meant goofball.
I tend to agree that she's not among the smartest of our kind. We have to claim her though, if for no other reason than her incredibly high net worth allows to further our plot for eventual world domination.
I never kid about world domination. It's against the Constitution of the Forbidden Zone. :P
Hmph! That's all I have to say...HMPH!
You know, it's really hard to maintain such beauty on an all day basis. You really shouldn't have disturbed your wife during her shift. :) Men wouldn't even suspect any of our secrets if we weren't so darn fond of you.
Awesome hub yet again Shadesbreath. But I applaud your wife more for providing such inspiration.
Of course! That's what the burqa is really for - to allow phase changing to go wholly undetected...
You got me with this one, John. I thought the alarm was going to wake you from your nightmare, but then you pulled out the stops with the glasses bit. Liked that creative ending even more. Thanks for the fun ride.
That's frighteningly close to the actual text's preamble....WHY do you know this? It appears that you may already possess too much knowledge about the Forbidden Zone and may need to be eliminated. ;-)
Fantastic work - I never would have guessed that ending. I thought you were going to die or something.
Do you do the drawings? They are very good!
:)
Ha ha and a Winsome chortle and guffaw. You had me hooked to the amiable and satisfying end. Funny you should name it phase because I believe I have the first HP release of the discovery of our 11th planet which is coincidentally a phaseolus giant gas variety. Check it out if you are out hopping. =:)
interesting to say the least, kept me reading...hmm and what use of words
Hahahahaha!!
Yet again you prove yourself a master of your craft! Great tale. Bravo!
Shadesbreath-
Well done...as usual.
Just be thankful you hadn't looked in the mirror, or you would have seen your own amorphous condition...the disturbing results of lying with the shape shifter you married. I think the morning shower must be your "reset" button.
You are a lucky man with her having chosen such an attractive shape to present to the world!
CP
Here I was thinking you just caught her without make-up and she was one of our kind who puts on her make-up in the car on the way to work. Now that's REAL transformation!
A total homerun dude! Very, very cool idea, and well executed. Funnier than hell too. You managed to stay out of trouble even, which is sort of amazing.
Silly husband, you know you can't see squat without your glasses. And that you have an overactive imagination. Let me get you a shot of Tequilla and a chaser and your bad dream will go away.
*Uses her secret Zonian telepathy to apologize to all her female Zonian counterparts.*
LOL!! WIN!! So hilarious...your wife had to love this one. The way it was going I thought it was going to be a "wife without make-up" sort of thing. I love the terror you had for your own life, it lets me know we as women are headed in the right direction. If we can can come off as sweet little angels that have somehow put the fear of God in the men we love...that really is best ;-). One of my friends' husbands recently fell ill, and swore his wife was trying to kill him with the things she wanted him to drink. I told her, "I'd tell that man that you are a 'can-do' kind of a girl. If you want him dead, he will be." The fact that I can think you are a sweetheart after writing a whole hub explaining to the world that your wife is really an alien makes this awesome. UP!
I'm truly impressed at how well you kept your composure in such a terrifying situation!
"What I am about to tell you is a true story. And I'm serious." Are you ever, not? Thoroughly entertaining, as always, Shade!
Your lovely alien-of-a-wife, like many of us, must be a patient woman... deserving of a Big Fat Kiss and a lifetime of devotion for her troubles. Though, I sense that she gleans much happiness from the inner workings of your brain (All due respect intended!).
Thanks for the laugh! (:
Peace and Many more barefoot hustlings to you!
I like your use of the period. I could use it more often. Instead, I rely on the wibbly-wobbly comma far too much to support my stream of consciousness on paper. I do hope it is my bright-eyed enthusiasm, which comes across, rather than that snickering little wretch deep inside of me with the low self-esteem, that just won't shut up. (;
OMG, Shades! I just told my husband the same damn thing. I said writing is WAY more fun than arguing with him because I never get interrupted by logic...lol
Absolutely brilliant!!!! Thank you for a much needed laugh.
Shades, you're too right about that! ;) Logic sucks. How is that you just continue to get funnier and funnier? Or maybe I just get madder and madder and you make more and more sense? Eh, either way, I'm good with it.
Brilliant and as always hilarious. I truly sympathise as I have just found out I am going shortsighted and have to wear bifocals. This will be the first time in my 41 years of life that I have needed glasses, but things around me were getting too blurry to ignore :(
LOL, my Hubby has already started making jokes about the four eyes, so I will keep quiet about the 8 eyes! :D
I guess many men have this feeling sometimes!
LOL, yes, of course you are correct in your maths. It was never my strong point sadly!
I didn't get email about this hub. My pc was in the shop for a week, and maybe that was the problem.
Anyway, I LOVE it! The ending is wonderful and came as a surprise. Your tags and illustrations are delightful.
I have been following your blogs but haven't figured out how to comment on them. Today I sent (I hope) a request for email notification. Especially in your latest one, you have once more proven you are a born teacher.
BTW, I wrote a two-part Jay Shane hub I'd like you to read when you have time.
Thanks for the chuckle. Love the way the story build up to the finale.Turns out to be a case of the missing glasses.Some men are not so lucky.they wake up each day to a creature in rolled up curlers with a green or pale grey face.:)
i happen to have read your wifes blog.she expresses surprise at that you woke up early that day, rushed down tying your pyjamas and zipping up your fly on the run as if something very very urgent needed to be done and just as she stopped the car thinking you had something urgent to say to her you rushed down the driveway and -kissed the neighbours wife who was going to drop the kids to school.
relaxx i have left a comment on her hub that you were not wearing your glasses and so you thought it was her. maybe you will get off this time!! keep us posted.
Brilliant Shadesbreath! Very nice misdirection. Patty Inglish, MS is quite right. This would make an excellent Twilght Zone episode (the old Twilight Zone not the subsequent re-mix series; there were two, I believe).
By the way, good luck with school and your self-publishing venture for your fantasy novel. I had taken a look at your blog, and you are indeed fortunate, as you say, to have that young woman doing the art work for you. What's her name?
Also, I just wanted to let you know I finished answering that question you posed to me, about the middle class bailout. The answer takes the form of a seven-part series called "Why Doesn't The Government Bailout The Middle Class?" As usual, my approach combines philosophy and economics (what little I know about it); I had occasion to talk a good deal about what I think of as our Calvinist legacy.
Anyway, once again, congratulations on another triumphant hub and good look on the novel.
Take it easy.
Hello.. you may have forgotten, but you helped me a year ago with starting my first hub. You know.. you're something..your hub's catchy. Keep writing.
Right.. So much to say, don't know how to get it through. i'm speaking for myself. I'm still trying since I came back this month. I'll get there. You and the others did well. I hope to be like that one day. Thank you again Shadesbreath.
LOOOL, this made my day ... Though glasses correct visions, I hate it to break it to you but there still remains a SHIFTING phase ... Some maintain it so well, you can barely notice but you could totally spot the likes of me -those who shift on weekends- with or without glasses ;-)
Rated it up and will be following you =)
Oh man, you really had me going here. You kept me intrigued throughout and left me with a smile and just the tiniest doubt that your perceptions may have been valid. I am now wondering how many among us are truly what they seem. Stellar!
This is hysterical and the end unexpected. I though it was going to be a nightmare also. Thanks for a great laugh.
I'm rolling around laughing, Shades. Being half-blind, I could fully relate! That is beyond hilarious, though no one else could have created such a masterful picture of how it is!
I just love your style, though I'm sad not to be able to find that wonderful hub on writing a novel which I loved so much. I really wanted to recommend it to someone! sniff, sniff.
YeaHoo! That's it!!! Thank you! :-)
I have been hearing or reading about you...whatever..
Finally! The first time reading you hub and must say, I am your newest bestest fan. Forget the spelling, you know what I mean.
lol @ what came up on Ebay for "Forbidden Zone"
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Forbidden Zone DVD
Current Bid: $3.60
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Dune CCG: Eye of the Storm 5 Forbidden Zone: Arrakis: 60 Cards and Rule Book
Current Bid: $40.00
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SPACEHUNTER ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE New DVD
Current Bid: $8.76
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Spacehunter: Adventures In The Forbidden Zone DVD
Current Bid: $8.69
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SPACEHUNTER - ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE - NEW DVD
Current Bid: $7.77
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SPACEHUNTER: ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE Laserdisc LD MOLLY RINGWALD RARE!
Current Bid: $19.99
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Randy Behavior Level 2 Commenter 13 months ago
OMG, you are the best! My guess was that you found out she did her hair and makeup on the run. So much better that you, instead, are at fault. Sighhhh, MEN! (Big grin)