Read this short story maybe twenty-plus years ago, the story itself may be older. A man wanders into a cave, maybe in Mexico, and when he emerges he's in a parallel world. He's not staying at the hotel where he was and the woman he was married to in his home reality is now merely an ex-girlfriend. Don't think he was able to return home and had to make a life for himself in the new reality.
asked Sep 1, 2020 at 23:55
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2What story format (short story/part of a collection? Novel in its own right?)? What language? Original language or translated?– O. R. MapperCommented Sep 2, 2020 at 5:24
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For sure a short story. Maybe from an anthology. If it were part of a single author collection, I'd probably remember it better because of associated stories. Heck, maybe even from "the pulps", in which case we may never know the answer. But English for sure.– Emsley WyattCommented Sep 2, 2020 at 13:31
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I found it. The timeframe was right, but I got some of the details wrong. It was in Mexico, but it didn't involve a cave but, instead, a visit to a pyramid. He didn't lose a wife, but rather gained one. There was a girlfriend but in his new reality the girlfriend was merely a friend of him and the "new" wife. I did get them most important aspect right, which is that he was stuck in the new reality. The story is "The Changeling" by Robert Silverberg and appeared in his 1984 collection "The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party".
answered Aug 14, 2021 at 22:20