Imagine you woke up in a different body...

Imagine you woke up in a different body. 

Not just any body, but the body of a creature.

Inspired by the opening of Franz Kafka's 'Metamorphosis', students wrote their own stories.

When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin. He was lying on his back as hard as armor plate, and when he lifted his head a little, he saw his vaulted brown belly, sectioned by arch-shaped ribs, to whose dome the cover, about to slide off completely, could barely cling. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, were waving helplessly before his eyes.

The Caterpillar

“Aaagh!” my mother screams as she enters my room to wake me up.  

 I sit up immediately. Woah! Why is everything so big?   

“Where has our darling daughter gone?”  

 I try to tell her that I'm here, but I can’t speak. Perhaps I am still dreaming. I roll over to get back to sleep. I zone out from the confused shouts of my family that ensue and I feel myself dozing off when suddenly my stomach growls and I am filled with an unrelenting hunger. But unlike usual, I'm not craving chocolate or a packet of cheese and onion crisps, all I want are leaves.   

 

I look at my body and let out a tiny gasp. Six legs line my skinny green body and small spiky hairs line my back. Am I... a caterpillar? This can’t be real. 

 

I twist and turn to try and find a comfortable position to sleep, but as I roll onto my back, I become stuck! I twist and turn, but no matter how hard I try, I just can’t roll over.   

 

  

I carry on, trying my hardest to roll over for what feels like forever and eventually give up. They've stopped shouting now; all I can hear are gentle sobs. But this quiet is quickly broken by a siren, cutting through the air like a blade. The front door opens. I hear someone step inside and a deep, booming voice, but the words are muffled by the walls of my bedroom. Heavy boots stomp up the stairs and as I look up, I see a burly, moustached man clad in a thick black vest covered with a hi-vis jacket: a policeman. Why is he here? I’m not missing. I’m here! He pulls the cover off my bed and flicks me across the room. As I fly through the air, time slows. From his pocket, he pulls out a small fingerprint kit and starts collecting evidence. He is talking to my parents, but I start to zone out. My small, fragile body hits the wall and I feel dizzy. The world fades to black. I hear “There is no sign of your daughter”. A ringing starts in my ears. Then, “I’m afraid there is nothing we can do”. The ringing grows louder and louder until I can't hear it anymore. 

 

But just like that, I'm asleep.   

I wake up, still feeling slightly dazed and confused. It takes me a while to notice that everything is back to normal size again. I breathe a sigh of relief as I realise the whole thing was just a horrible dream.  As I look down to my hands, my jaw drops.  

  

My whole body is covered in fur...   

By Abigail Hawkridge Y8