Finding Peace Above

Nestled in a sea of plastic bottles under the bed, I shifted uncomfortably, trying to find some comfort in the chaos. The bottles dug into my back, and my limbs ached from being twisted in the cramped space. My movements felt strange—clumsy, uncoordinated, like my body wasn't quite mine. A buzzing sensation filled my ears, and dizziness swirled in the background, making everything feel a little blurry.

With some effort, I pushed myself out from under the bed and sat down on the edge of it. My breath was unsteady, and the room seemed to tilt slightly as I looked around. My hands rested in my lap, trembling. The buzzing in my ears grew louder, and my arms felt weak, a strange heaviness settling into my limbs.

I stared down at my hands. They felt smaller, thinner than they should have been, but I couldn't fully focus on that. The room around me felt different, like something had shifted while I was hiding. I blinked, trying to shake off the dizziness, but it clung to me, making my head spin. I took a slow, deep breath, hoping it would steady me.

Pushing myself to my feet, I made my way to the bathroom, my legs shaky beneath me. My mind wandered in a fog. Everything felt off, but I couldn't quite make sense of it. The hallway seemed larger than usual, the bathroom door farther away, but I chalked it up to stress.

Once inside the bathroom, I hesitated. A knot twisted in my stomach as I stood in front of the sink, my hand gripping the cold porcelain. For a moment, I wasn't sure I wanted to look at myself. Something felt wrong, but I didn't know what. I took a deep breath and forced myself to raise my eyes to the mirror.

What I saw wasn't what I expected.

My face… it was familiar, but not. My hair was too long, falling in soft waves around my face. My jawline, once sharp, had softened, curved. My hands flew to my face, trembling as they traced the unfamiliar contours. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at my reflection.

I took a step back, my heart pounding harder with each passing second. This isn't me. The thought echoed in my head, but the reflection wouldn't change. I looked down at my body, and a cold wave of nausea twisted through me. My frame was smaller, my clothes hanging loosely, and there was a soft bump on my chest where there shouldn't have been one.

My hands gripped the sink again, knuckles white, as panic surged through me. No, this isn't happening. I'm Daniel. I have to be Daniel.

But the reflection stared back at me with wide, frightened eyes, and I couldn't deny it any longer. I had transformed into… a girl.

"What the hell..." I mumbled, my voice barely audible, hoarse with disbelief. My thoughts were racing, tumbling over each other as I struggled to piece everything together. I looked down at my hands again, and balled them into fists. My chest tightened as confusion clawed at me.

The buzzing in my ears intensified, and the world around me began to spin. My breath quickened as panic threatened to take over, the walls closing in on me.

Then, out of nowhere, the tension in my chest eased. A strange warmth settled over me, calming the storm raging inside my mind. I blinked, and suddenly I was back in my room, sitting on the bed. Wait... this isn't right. My thoughts cleared just enough for me to remember.

I had seen myself.

The memory was fuzzy, but it was there. When I woke up earlier, I had seen… myself. He had spoken to me—using my voice—and then left for school. I saw him. I saw me. The realization hit me like a punch to the gut, and I sat there in stunned silence.

"What the hell?" I mumbled again, louder this time, the words slipping out before I could stop them. The pieces weren't falling into place—they were scattering in every direction, leaving me more confused than before.

Okay… okay, I need to calm down. I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling the unfamiliar rise and fall of my breath. The panic was still there, lurking just beneath the surface, but I couldn't let it control me. I had to think.

I'm a girl now. The thought seemed surreal, but it was the only explanation. And… he, the version of me that I saw, went to school. I'd have to figure this out, but for now, I needed to keep a low profile. Mom's going to come home eventually... I'll have to hide. Yeah. I could deal with this later. First, I had to stay out of sight.

With a shaky breath, I stood up and made my way out of the bathroom, my feet unsteady as they carried me down the hallway. I descended the stairs slowly, the sound of my footsteps echoing softly on the wooden floor. As I walked, I glanced down at my hands, flexing my fingers. I opened and closed them, feeling the muscles stretch and contract in a way that felt alien.

A strange sensation settled over me—part confusion, part curiosity. My body wasn't what it used to be. I wasn't who I used to be.

I moved quietly through the kitchen, grabbing what I might need—a few essentials, nothing too specific. My mind was still reeling, trying to process everything that had happened, but I couldn't stop moving. I stuffed the items into a bag and slung it over my shoulder.

I climbed the stairs back to the second floor, my hands gripping the railing as I pulled myself up. My body felt lighter, smaller. Once I reached the attic door, I tossed the bag up first, then climbed into the dark space and shut the door behind me.

I sat down heavily on the floor, letting out a long, shaky breath. Sweat rolled down my back, and I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand, trying to calm my racing heart. The attic was quiet, still. I felt like I could finally breathe, but the weight of everything that had just happened was pressing down on me.

Fumbling along the wall, I found the light switch and flipped it on. A single, dim bulb flickered to life, casting a pale glow over the attic. It was strangely clean and empty, like it had been cleared out recently. The only thing left was an old mattress in the corner, worn and bare but otherwise the only object in the room.

Instinctively, I knelt down and began to pray. I whispered words of gratitude for the strange calm that had washed over me, thanking God for the moment of peace in the midst of this chaos. But as I prayed, the warmth I had felt earlier faded, replaced by a sudden chill that prickled my skin.

A strange sense of unease crept up my spine, as though someone or something was watching me. I stood up quickly, glancing around the empty attic. There was nothing there, but the feeling lingered, pressing down on me like a weight.

Then, without warning, it was like a fog had lifted from my mind. For the first time in what felt like hours, my thoughts weren't clouded. But as my mind sharpened, the strangeness of everything became impossible to ignore. I was in a body that wasn't mine—a girl's body. The version of myself I had seen earlier was out there somewhere, living my life while I was stuck in this unfamiliar skin.

Everything felt wrong. My chest tightened, and a cold wave of realization washed over me.

The room seemed to tilt. My head started spinning, a light dizziness swirling inside me. Am I having a panic attack? The thought buzzed in my mind, but it did little to help. My pulse quickened, and my breaths grew shallow. My fingers curled into fists as the fear built up inside me, faster now.

How am I supposed to live like this? My heart thudded painfully in my chest, and a creeping dread took hold. What if this was permanent? What if I couldn't go back? The questions spiraled, making it harder to breathe.

I stood, or tried to, but my legs wobbled beneath me, barely holding me up. I stumbled forward, unsteady, my mind racing faster than my body could keep up with. I felt like I was going to collapse any second.

The panic crashed over me in waves, stronger with each passing moment. My vision blurred, and my legs finally gave out. I staggered toward the mattress, collapsing onto it, my body shaking uncontrollably. The dizziness overwhelmed me, and my thoughts blurred into a haze of fear and exhaustion.

Before I could process anything else, sleep took over, pulling me into the darkness—sudden and heavy.

In the dream, I was Daniel again.

It was disorienting at first. I felt like I was seeing the world through his eyes, but I wasn't in control—I was just watching. It wasn't like a normal dream. Everything felt vivid and real, but distant, as if I were observing my own life from somewhere outside myself.

Curiosity flickered inside me. It was strange, watching myself like this—seeing Daniel go about his day, unaware of my presence. I could feel his thoughts, his emotions, but they weren't mine. They were muted, distant.

I watched as he interacted with others, moving through his day as if nothing was wrong, as if I wasn't here, trapped in this strange new body. The experience was surreal, but I couldn't look away.

When Daniel finally stepped out of the school gates, I felt a tug in his thoughts. He was thinking about me. The girl he had found in his room that morning. His concern for me—whether I was okay, whether I had enough to eat—flickered in his mind, and I could sense it.

It felt... strange. But not unwelcome. I stayed there, watching, trying to understand what was happening as the dream played out.

As she watched him, her cheeks reddened slightly, and her body curled into itself, warmth spreading through her chest. A small smile appeared on her face, soft and unbidden.