Made in Taiwan 08

Day 37 continued

“Oh hey”, Simona said from behind me, “you were really out of it for a while there”.

not that I heard a word with my mind firmly focused on my new look, “what did you do to me”? I muttered, my lips feeling a little rubbery and numb.

Approaching from behind, Simona placed her hands on my shoulders, “what you said you wanted, I’ve made you look a little more like a typical Taiwanese girl, so you can blend in”.

The room started to spin before I looked down only to notice my shiny pink manicure that I had somehow missed the first time, “shit, this is too much, fuck Simona, how am I supposed to look like me again later, I’ve got pink nails and girly looking legs”.

“Oh, calm down, Grant, nail polish is quick and easy to remove, and I’ve just used a tinted moisturiser on your skin, after a couple of showers it will wash away, which is a shame if you ask me, you look good with a little colour”.

“What about the hair”? I asked running my hand down my silky smooth leg and shivering once more.

Simona giggled before smiling at me, “well, yeah, that’s gone, but it’s for the best, in this weather, you’ll be so much more comfortable, besides, I like men who are hairless, and your legs look spectacular”.

“But I don’t want spectacular looking legs, people will think, I’m weird or gay or something, there’s no way I can hide them in this heat”, I stated sounding annoyed and frustrated.

“Hey”, Simona shouted, shaking the chair I was sat on, “who cares what people think, let them think you’re weird or gay or whatever, I just told you I like your look, if that’s not enough for you, perhaps you should just leave”, she added pointing towards the door and looking incredibly angry.

“I’m sorry”, I said bowing my head, the angry outburst, and the threat of being thrown out as I was, making me act uncharacteristically submissive, “I’m just a bit shocked by how extreme you went with this”.

“Extreme”, Simona replied raising an eyebrow, “what’s extreme about it”?

Looking back into the mirror, it was my turn to look surprised, “Well, all this stuff on my face for starters”.

“A little makeup, that will wash straight off”.

“My lips, they look larger than usual and feel weird”.

“That’s just the effect of my lip plumping gloss, that will fade back to normal soon, to be honest, I'm a little jealous, I’ve never seen anyone’s lips react so well to a lip plumper before”.

“Ok, but what about my eyebrows? You’ve definitely done something to them”.

“A little plucking to tidy them up a bit, but listen, Grant, this is all getting a bit tiresome now, this is supposed to be fun remember”, Simona said stepping back, “after a shower, you’ll be back to looking like your boring old self again, minus a few hairs, that I reckon, once you get used to, you’re going to like. So, what’s it to be? Complete my task and get your reward or just give up and go home”?

Through the mirror, I could see her stood with her hands on her hips, waiting for an answer. Examining my reflection once more, I took a deep breath. Ok, this was a bit weird, but If I took a shower before I left and got her to remove the nail polish, I had my clothes outside to put on later.

With a plan of sorts forming, I once again felt in control of the situation. Turning slowly on my chair to face her, I nodded my head and told her I’d complete the task.

In an instant, Simona’s mood changed to be giggly and excitable once more, which looking back should have been a major red flag.

“Goodie, you are fun, after all, now let’s get you finished off, hands up”, She said, bounding towards me.

Doing as she requested, I raised my arms and in a shot, the purple hoodie I had been wearing was being tossed across the room, leaving me looking down at a bright pink spaghetti strap top with two little bumps poking out.

“I’m going out wearing this”? I mumbled in surprise, lifting my hand up to poke one of the protrusions in the front of the top and discovering that I was now wearing a bra stuffed with something soft.

“This is the perfect outfit for a day like today, it’s humid as hell out there, I only put the hoodie on you because you were shivering under the air conditioning in here”, Simona stated, while picking up a long black wig.

She placed it on my head, messed about with the edges for a few seconds to make sure it was straight, before proceeding to brush it through a few times. When finished, I watched as an odd look appeared on her face.

“What is it”? I asked nervously.

“See for yourself”, she replied motioning for me to spin around and look at myself.

Swivelling my legs, which felt heavy and cold, my whole body turned to face the mirror once again. This time there was less of a reaction as I just gazed at the impossible sight in front of me.

“Hang on, watch this”, Simona announced, ducking out of sight before returning a few seconds later, having replaced the blond wig she had been wearing with a black one that looked a lot like the one currently on my head, “look, we could be twins”!

After all the bizarre and frightening things that had happened lately, a simple statement like that shouldn’t have affected me much, but as I gazed at our two heads, side by side, something clicked.

Starting to hyperventilate, I thought back to the time where I first saw her and the strange feeling of familiarity I’d experienced. Then there was the jokey comment Jerome had made while stoned one evening, telling me that chasing Simona was like chasing my own sister, I’d laughed it off at the time, but I wasn’t laughing now, the resemblance was undeniable.

Simona was right, we looked a lot alike. Not identical, there were differences, my shoulders and arms were larger, and her face was a little thinner. Her eyelashes and lips were also thicker than mine and her eyebrows thinner and more defined, but no matter how much I wanted to deny it, we definitely could be sisters.

“Wow, I never expected this, I mean, I knew you’d look good, but you actually could pass for me, this is crazy”, Simona announced, wrapping her arm around me, looking rather excited, “ok, time to introduce you to the world”.

Frozen in place, I watched the reflection of her buzzing about the room behind me, transferring the things from the bag I’d brought, over to a newer larger one.

“Ok, let’s go, GG”, she announced, placing the bag over my right shoulder.

“GG”?, I said looking up at her confused.

“Yeah, GG, like short for Grant Gale, but much cuter”, she replied, taking a hold of my hands, and pulling me up to my angled feet.

Grabbing me around the waist, she stabilised and stopped me from falling, the bright pink wedges on my feet not only heavy but also much higher than I’d expected, “Woah, Simona, I’m not sure I…”.

She cut me off, “of course you can, they’re like one of my most comfortable pairs, if I can walk in them, so can you”, she announced taking a few steps back, “now walk to me”.

Feeling my lower leg muscles stretched, I took a wobbly step forward. “stop”, Simona screamed, “you’re walking like a boy”.

She then walked back towards me and placed her hands on my bare shoulders, “loosen up a bit”, she said, “move your arms like this”, she added moving my limp arms to demonstrate.

“Now watch me”, she announced before turning and in slow motion, walked to the other side of the room, rolling her hips, and describing her actions the whole way.

When she reached the other side of the room, she told me to try again. Trying to remember everything she had just said and done, I lifted my right foot, and watched the strange sight of my elevated pink-clad foot, move a few inches in front of me before coming down directly in front of the other.

Remembering to move my arms and roll my hips, I continued on towards the smiling Simona who was shouting advice and words of encouragement.

Stupid as it sounds, arriving on the other side of the room and being rewarded with a smile and a kiss on the lips, I felt a real sense of achievement, even if the words that came out of her mouth straight after made me feel very emasculated.

“You’re a natural, GG, we'll have to try you in a pair of my stilettoes later, but first, do it again but this time at normal walking speed”.

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After another five minutes of practice, Simona had announced me ready. I didn’t feel ready, I felt anything but ready, however, it was too late for thoughts like that now as I stood looking at the thick metal front door to her apartment building.

Stopping for a moment to catch my breath, and rest my already sore legs, after somehow traversing the four flights of stairs in my new ankle-breaking footwear.

I took the opportunity to open the bag Simona had given me and look inside. It was mostly empty, apart from the new wallet I had just bought, my newly cut house keys, and the phone Simona had given me. But that was the idea, more space to fill with drinks. I’d been instructed to buy whatever I wanted, but as I stood there shaking, all I really wanted to do was go home.

The thought was tempting, but with no way to remove the makeup or pink nail varnish, I chose the lesser of two evils, a short stroll to the local seven-eleven.

With my heart in my throat, I pressed the little button on the back of the door and heard a loud click as the metal door popped open an inch. Spreading my legs to get the required leverage, I pulled open the heavy door and instantly regrated not asking for a pair of sunglasses. For a moment, I considered going back up to ask for a pair, but with my legs already sore, I just couldn’t face another trip up and back down.

The heavy thud of the door locking as I pulled it shut, made me jump a little. Still shaking, I looked down at my feminine outfit and disturbingly sexy legs, realising that I was once again out in public dressed as a woman, only this time it was much worse.

With Simona’s vague directions in my head, I turned left and set off mincing through the little alleyways, doing my best to imitate the walk Simona had shown me and trying not to think about what I was doing.

Reaching the end of the alleyways and arriving at a bigger road, I had gained a new appreciation for girls like Simona who constantly walked around in heels and made it look easy. I can tell you, high-heels are no joke, especially after walking continuously for a few minutes along uneven surfaces in almost 100% humidity. After just a short walk, I was already sweating all over and felt as though I’d just run a marathon but suddenly, I had other worries.

Stopping dead on my ramped pink wedges, I caught the eye of a middle-aged Taiwanese woman, walking on the other side of the street, wearing a coat that had no business being worn on a hot day like today. She looked me up and down, with a disgusted look plastered across her face before looking away and continuing on her way.

The experience was terrifying, but at the same time, strangely thrilling. I had just been judged, and although the woman had obviously not taken a liking to the way I was dressed, I was pretty sure, she hadn’t guessed my true gender.

(See image 08)