An Autobiographical Imposture by Camille Daloz

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THE STARTING POINT - It all began one afternoon in the autumn of 2019. I was on a TGV train heading to Montpellier when my computer shut down. No battery. No book. Nothing. Just my phone in hand and...

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Boredom. Total boredom.

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Then I received a notification from the Leboncoin app informing me that Stefany had replied yes to my question asked a few days earlier: "Is your table in good condition?" But instead of sticking to that and moving on to the transaction—deciding on a meeting place, time, and negotiated price—I overstepped by asking if the table was sturdy enough for someone to stand on it. Without hesitation, Stefany said she would confirm very soon by trying it herself.

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This is the starting point of my adventure: the photo of a stranger balancing on an IKEA table. I refer to it as an adventure because this first photo of Stefany propelled me into a universe that was previously unknown to me. A parallel world where I regularly took refuge, frantically developing a double, triple, or even quadruple life through identities varied infinitely according to my whims and moments of wandering. Sometimes I was a man, sometimes a woman, single, divorced, retired, vulgar, deadpan... I blended into these characters of fake buyers to deceive real sellers. Eventually, I realized that this pointless pastime helped break my solitude. That’s when I decided to take action. After acquiring a crucifix handed to me by Mag, I had to respond to Jean-Paul’s injunction expressed one evening post-lockdown: "Florence, enough chatter, I invite you to dinner as soon as you're back on your feet."

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Would I take the plunge?