So they look incredibly similar to another missing person and are mistakingly identified as the other person and the hospital later finds out they’ve made a mistake after they’re back with the other person’s loved ones / family and they don’t notice the difference
What would happen and has this happened before
I imagine, in the event no one ever knew, found out, or cared about the swap, then life would go on, just a bit more weird than before. I can’t imagine it in a modern society, even briefly. We have too many records of too many things. And beyond that, it’d depend on stuff like who they are and how long it’s been. Maybe on how readily both of them can convince people that they are mentally sound and worthy of respect. Who knows? That’d be wild.
Unrelated, but I think the fair folk used to swap infants out with ugly versions, or dying versions? Am I mixing up fairies and the UNSC again?