I open my eyes. The light is harsh and I blink rapidly to try and focus my eyes. My head hurts. I decide to head to the bathroom. At the sink I splash water in my face with the hope that the cold liquid will awaken my mind to some memory of the night before.

That’s when I look into the mirror and freeze

The person looks like me. But it doesn’t. Her hair is the craziest shades of black almost with spots in them but all dark. Her eyes are so green and alight, slanted and have the slit of a cat. Her face is more angular and her teeth are razor sharp with canines protruding.

I touch the mirror wondering if I am still dreaming but her hands touch the mirror and they have long sharp curved nails. My eyes widen as I realize it is not a dream and the person or animal in the mirror isn’t someone else. It’s me. That’s when I scream! A cat-like snarl erupts from my voice and I run back to my bed. I throw the covers over and close my eyes in the hopes that maybe it really is just a dream!

I hear footsteps racing up the stairs of what I first thought was my home.

“Angel, dear, what is it?!”

I peak out of the covers to see the person I hope to see. The voice is right.

“Mom?” I shakily ask in a state of panic.

“Sweetheart, did you have a nightmare?” And I see her, my mom. But not. Everything is the same except the subtle changes to her appearance like mine, and her eyes are a startling hazel-brown color, not the green of mine.

“This is not happening. I want to go home,” I begin to rock back and forth saying the words like a prayer. I try really hard to picture my room back home. To picture myself the way I am supposed to be.

“Angel, honey do I need to call the physician. Are you ill?” The animal-person who looks so like my mom sits on the bed and takes the covers off my head.

She uses her claws and moves the hair from my face. It’s then that I notice her ears are like that of a large cat.

“What are you?” I ask in shocked horror as I reach up and feel my ears the same as hers.

“Angel Pantheras, what in the world has gotten into you?” Now she is starting to sound like mother; irritated and cross with me.

“You were supposed to be up and heading to school. Timothy just left as he couldn’t be late. Please get up and get dressed. Your bag is next to the front door.” She gets up and leaves me, closing the door behind her.

I sit up and look around eyes huge. It’s not a dream. It’s my life, but not.

My new life.