An actor finds that playing a character doesn't stay on the set. In front of the cameras, his voice, hair, and style change so completely that even family and friends wouldn't know him. Once filming ends, he expects to slip back into himself, but the shift isn't so easy. At home, his wife notices his voice still wavering and a confused look on his face. The character's lines are still stuck in his head.
The speaker's feelings move from detachment to unease to panic. He first describes the change as an out-of-body experience, then says he feels "naked" at home, as if something is missing. When he fails to recognize himself in the mirror, he runs back to the set, puts on the costume, and only then feels like himself again. The ending is unsettling: the costume feels more real than his own life. The mood is anxious and eerie, and the plain, list-like lines make his growing disorientation feel quietly urgent.