(Birmingham, AL) It was Tuesday afternoon and you arrived at the doctor’s office promptly at 3:00 sharp for your appointment. At the front desk, you were greeted by a nurse and then you waited in the front room for about ten minutes. Then, a nurse came out and called your name, “Clairvoyant Dawn? Clairvoyant Dawn?” ‘That’s me,’ you replied, and speedily made your way through the door. Close to an hour later, you were ushered back out by the very same nurse into a world that was slightly different from the one your had been in before the appointment. Whether to be sad about this or not, only Our Magnificent God may know.

The changes were subtle at first. Actually, they all were subtle, that’s what we mean when we say that everything changed slightly. All that said, the first thing that you noticed was that the trees were a slightly different color. All the green trees were slightly darker green, the pink trees were a lighter shade of red, and the yellow trees were full of blood. On the way home, each of these things did not seem off to you, only new. But you’ve always been good at adapting to new situations, that’s what people love about you!

The next change you noticed was with your love. You came home to discover that they were just slightly changed. You still loved them, obviously, but for new reasons and in new ways. You would talk about different subjects and had different friends due to this, but they weren’t better or worse, just different.

Over the next few weeks you would start to notice more changes. One day you would notice that all of the stop signs were hexagons instead of octagons, the next you would notice that all of the billboards now simply read “GRIMACE” over a cartoon illustration of a goat’s stomach.

As you saw each of these changes, you began to wonder if others were seeing these changes too, or if you were the only person who knew that something was up. In your previous life you had had no idea that this was possible, so why would you assume that these people in this new world would think differently? This was simply their reality, not their alternate one.

One day you came to realize that you had also changed, but whether this was due to your new surroundings or that you had become someone different, you would never know. You would stay up for nights on end thinking on these things, only to realize over time that you didn’t really believe any of it. “Has my life changed that much, or have I just been wrong this whole time?” you would think to yourself.

In the end, you would forget all about the doctor’s office and the way your life changed, but know that it did change. Nothing will ever be the same again, but it never was in the first place, so who cares?

This article was written by Nathan Ellwood, who hasn’t been the same since the dentist. Where has your life crossed over? How many times? Tell me tonight in your vision and tweet it at me @NPEllwood. Thanks.