Three Weeks Earlier: Meeting My Friends

I lied in bed, staring at the ceiling, heart pounding in my chest. I had hoped that I would have slept through the meeting. A small part of me had hoped to never wake up.

But it was upon me. The park was only a short walk.

Anxiously, I wore a hoodie, a windbreaker, and oversized sweatpants to hide as much of myself as possible. It was uncomfortable pulling the hoods over my horns, but I persevered.

I tucked my tail away in my pants and tried wrapping it around my right leg. It barely worked.

Lastly, I grabbed a face mask and pair of sunglasses as I hesitantly left the house. Before I got to the sidewalk, my hands were secured in my pocket, and I ungracefully continued down the street.

The midmorning was cool, just below room temperature, but I was still extremely uncomfortable in my anti-gawking getup.

There was plenty for me to gawk at, however. My fellow pedestrians were few but varied. A minotaur and what I could only guess was an elf walked side by side, chatting, seeming without a care in world. A unicorn carried a bag of groceries on its back. A sooty bird glided next to what I’d describe as a fairy.

Not much later, and I was at the park. I was ten minutes late. It wasn’t hard to find them since Gabi’s wings stuck out. I froze, still too afraid to approach. They sat at a wooden park bench, thoroughly shaded.

I hid behind a tree, listening.

Paul’s voice was different, but I knew that it was him. “I just hope he’s alright. Like not in pain or something,” he said.

“Have you seen that happen?” Gabi asked.

“I dunno, I saw someone was like a squid though. I think that must have sucked.”

“Damn, that’s awful. I just wonder why he was so embarrassed.”

“Yeah, I don’t think being a squid would be embarrassing, just sucky.”

I gulped. Their conversation was making me lose confidence, but I had to press on.

I exited from behind the tree, and marched up to them.

They noticed me as I got close.

“Uhm… can we help you?” Gabi asked as I sat down.

“Wait, Noel?” Paul asked.

I nodded with as little effort as I could give.

Gabi mouthed an “O” before considerately asking, “Are you alright?”

I shook my head.

“What’s up? You can tell us. We’ll help as best we can.”

A lump formed in my throat, and I decided to speak. “Please don’t laugh,” I eeped out.

They both looked at me expectantly, and I pulled off all my face coverings, rubbing the hair between my horns.

“Dude, you’re a chick,” Paul blurted out.

Gabi punched him. “Don’t listen to him.”

I sighed. “It’s true,” I croaked.

“You mean you’re actually a woman?” Gabi asked, stunned. But she caught herself. “Sorry, I know this is hard for you. I don’t mean it like that.”

I frowned, visibly upset. “Like what?”

“I don’t know, I just don’t want to make this weird. I’m sorry.”

“Make what weird?” I struggled to get out, my throat aching.

“I—I mean, I don’t want you to feel weird. I’m sorry. I really am,” she apologized sincerely.

“I am too dude, sorry,” Paul added.

I started to calm down. I knew my friends didn’t mean to hurt me.

I sat there with my head in my hands for a long time. No one wanted to say anything. But my thoughts started to flow freely. “Why is it like this? Why is it so weird and confusing?”

“I know what you mean…” Gabi consoled.

“I just—why couldn’t you be the woman, he be the angel, and me the white guy? Wouldn’t that have made the most sense?” I cried in my shriller voice.

“Made the most sense?” Paul asked.

“You know what I mean!” I accused.

“I mean… I guess so. But you could also ask why we changed at all? I don’t think any part of it makes sense at all,” Paul retorted.

“I…” I trailed off, his logic too sound.

I silently tapped my nails against the weathered wood.

“Sooo…” Gabi started awkwardly, “What do you guys think you are?”

“Capricorn. O negative, maybe,” Paul snarked.

“Oh shut up, I mean your… species?”

I sighed, already hating the topic. “I guess I’m a demon or something.”

“It’s kind of strange you became a girl. Like, a girl demon…” Gabi said, before her eyes widened in excitement. “Are you a succubus?!”

I cringed, loathing the thought. “A succubus?”

“Dude, that totally makes sense,” Paul added seriously and unhelpfully.

“I don’t wanna be a succubus,” I whined.

“What did you want to be?” Paul asked, half rhetorically and half earnestly.

“I don’t know…” I said on instinct.

“Not yourself?” Gabi asked, curious.

“I…. Yes,” I answered halfheartedly.

They could tell I was tiring of the questions, however. They moved on.

“So what do you think you are?” Gabi asked Paul.

“Uh.. a white guy?” he answered.

“I mean what kind of mythic creature.”

“Who said I’m a mythical creature?”

“I don’t know, I saw a video and that was the narrator's idea. I mean, I haven’t seen any normal… plain humans, yet.”

“Maybe I’m just a human.”

“What if you’re a vampire?” Gabi asked, excited.

“What about a werewolf?” I asked, shrugging.

“Man, it’s going to be hard getting used to that voice,” Paul joked.

I gave him a death glare.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “But I don’t know. Wouldn’t I have a tail or something if I was a werewolf?”

“I’m pretty sure they only turn into wolves at night,” I said.

“It’s during a full moon,” Gabi corrected.

“Right, ‘forgot you were the Witchfinder General,” I said sarcastically.

“Werewolves aren’t witches,” Gabi said, deadpan.

“So you do hunt witches?” I teased.

“Nope, just demons,” She smirked.

I felt a smile encroaching. “That’s… kind of a weird thing to say.”

Gabi giggled. “Yeah. Uh… sorry.”

“Dude!” Paul exclaimed, “You guys, dude, okay, you're like a demon, and you're an angel! Angels and demons! We got the whole Bible!” he said proudly.

“What?” I asked, completely lost.

“Wait, are you making a reference to that movie?” Gabi asked.

“Uh… no? What movie?” Paul replied.

“Then… what? What? The whole bible? What?” I asked.

“Yeah dude, it’s like… heaven and hell!”

“Uh… yeah, I guess so,” Gabi said patronizingly.

Paul scoffed. “Dude, come on, you can’t tell me you don’t see it too….”

I grimaced. “I guess I understand…? What, you mean like…”

“Two friends, one becomes a demon, the other an angel. That sounds like… I dunno, kinda… you know!”

“Uh… sure,” Gabi pretended.

“Dude, I’m not the weird one here,” Paul smoldered.

Gabi and I laughed at his expense.

Paul had more to say. "So uh…. Are you really a girl? Or just like…."

"I don't know, okay?" I snarled. "Look, I-I guess, I just don't know."

"Okay, okay, I really won't ask about it anymore, sorry," Paul rescinded.

"Hey, if you ever need someone to talk to about that kind of stuff, I'm here," Gabi offered.

I knew what she meant by "that kind of stuff", but I wished I didn't. I just shrugged defeatedly.

"So uh… on a related note, what do you guys think happened?" asked Paul.

I sat with my elbow on the table, chin in hand.

"I saw one scientist say that it might have always been this way, and the only thing that changed was our perception," Gabi offered.

I raised my brow. It was a nonsensical idea. But so was the idea of everyone on Earth transforming.

"Weird. But I mean no way, right? How do you explain how some people got way bigger than they were before?" Paul interrogated.

"Well, the scientist brought up the fact that no one died from the act of changing."

"Huh. Yeah, that squid dude I saw didn't need to breathe water or anything."

"Exactly," Gabi verified. "But I'm not sure how much stock I put in that theory."

"You think we all just changed?"

"That's my guess. I never felt uncomfortable sleeping on my back until it happened."

"Yeah, but that could still be your perception."

"Hm. I suppose so."

I listened to their discussion intently. I hadn't even considered the physical mechanism before now. I was too busy contemplating much more metaphysical questions.

"But why did it happen?" I finally said out loud.

"My mom said it was God," Gabi offered, shrugging.

"Yeah, mine too," Paul added.

I grimaced. God isn't real, I thought. But that was an argument that had made me a pariah in middle school, and I wasn't about to relight a dead forest fire. "I don't know, I just…." I trailed off. "Ugh. It just sucks."

"Yeah, I'm sorry dude," Paul sympathized. "I don't know, maybe there isn't a reason. I mean, why does there have to be one?"

"Yeah, I know, I know," I brushed it off.

"Hey, it's not all bad, though," Gabi posited. "You're still human enough. I mean, you have hands and feet and can walk upright. That has to count for something, right?"

I nodded. It was something I honestly hadn't considered. "That's true I guess. It definitely could have been worse."