I was floating in a white room. There was no color, no life. I felt cold. I started to panic. Was I dead? Was this what it was like to die? Just a feeling of emptiness. Would I ever see my mom again, Taylor? Then I felt a presence.

             “Come sit with me, child,” a voice said. Turning around, I saw a huge wolf lying on the floor. I did my best to move but floating made it difficult. It took a few minutes to get to the wolf. Sitting next to her, I felt warmth. Like familiarity, I should recognize. The wolf’s fur was so soft.

             “Please be still. I can feel your worry and your panic. You are not dead. In fact, you are more alive than ever.” The voice said as the wolf’s tail wrapped around me. It was strange that she would know everything I was feeling. Who exactly was she? And how did I get here?

             “I have been with you this entire time. You see, years ago, in a universe close to yours, the planet I was protected was shattered by a dark being. The shattering sent out a wave of corrupt Aether. My soul was swept away within the wave of Aether. For some time, I was just energy in a stream of corruption. That was until the Aether entered your universe. That Aether was what caused the change of the people in this world. This is also how I found you, the perfect vessel. I know that it is hard to understand, but if you need a deeper explanation, go to the island that you saw over your fathers’ home.” The wolf said.

             The story that she was telling me sounded so farfetched. How could she be inside me? It all felt like such a dream. But as much as it felt like a dream, some feelings kept pushing against my subconscious. Like I had been here before. Looking back at the wolf behind me, I noticed something that I hadn’t before. Something that I should have caught in the first place. She had wings. Beautiful large silver wings, just like mine.

             “Yes, child. We have the same wings because we are one. I know it doesn’t make sense to you, but be honest, does anything else you have seen make any sense. The humans of your world looking like creatures that are not indigenous to your world. People having bizarre powers like that man on the first night of our fusion. None of it makes sense because it isn’t part of this world. However, we do.” The wolf said as she looked off into the distance.

             I thought about what she said. I couldn’t really argue with her because she was right about most of it. Nothing really seemed real. It was like someone was writing the weirdest fairy tale ever to be thought up. If only I could meet this mysterious writer, I would give them a piece of my mind. But then something hit me. A burning question that needed to be answered. “If everything that you have said is true, then why did you make me a girl. You said that I was the perfect vessel, but you made me a girl?” I asked

             “Well, there are actually two answers to that question. The first is because I am female. I was a goddess of my world, I looked after my people, and in return, I was worshipped by them lovingly. How I miss them. And the second is because when we fused, I noticed that your body did not reflect your true self. I saw the pain that was your life. The secrets, the hiding who you were. Even your friend wasn’t allowed to know you for you. So, I decided to turn you into your true form.” She said. I could feel the sincerity in her words. Despite my initial feelings about the change, hearing her words calmed some of the doubt in my mind.

             “Now, child, I must warn you. The darkness that destroyed my world was looking for something. A key that opens the gates to the Realm of Balance. It is a realm where the balances of light and darkness are kept in check. Should he gain access to this realm, he could spread darkness throughout all the known and unknown universes. Everything that anyone holds dear changed before their very eyes. You see, the key he is looking for is right here. Well, half of it. You are one half of the key, but he needs both pieces.” She said as a feeling of dread filled the space we were in.

             “But if I am only half of the key. Where is the other half? I asked as I started to wonder. How could I be the key to anything? I was just a lowly human. I could feel her sigh as she thought.

             “I do not honestly know. But together, we will find out. Patience is the only thing that we have to work with right now.” She said, looking at me. Her eyes were a beautiful translucent blue; they were mesmerizing. There was only one more burning question that I needed to ask, as it dealt with my very livelihood.

             “I get making me a girl. It has been something that I have wanted all my life. But why the wolf features. It is tough to blend in when I look almost like you.” I said as I looked down at myself. Even in this space, I looked like an anthropomorphic wolf. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it, but it really did make it hard to blend in. And the necklace made me feel strange when I wore it.

             “Unfortunately, it is part of who we are. In time once you awaken more of our power, you may be able to disguise most of our looks, but not all.” The wolf said. I could sense a feeling of shame in her. She felt that her presence had ruined me, but she couldn’t be more wrong. Although it was a known fact that there were people who would discriminate against me, I felt more myself even with the wolf-like features.

             “So, am I stuck here?” I asked. Looking around the room I noticed that there was no door or no window. It was just a white room.

             “You could say that in a sense, we are in our mind. It is neither your mind nor mine. It is a fusion of both. The only thing is that you can not enter this space when you are consciously awake. Now, before you fade from this place, I must tell. If you are going to protect yourself and the rest of the unknown universes, you will have to learn to awaken your true power, our true power. It will not be easy; you will need to train. Working for the human called Mr. Carver is the most plausible way to do that.” She said. So, she knew everyone I knew.

             “I will train, and I will get stronger. Many people are depending on me, including those who don’t know that they are,” I said, smiling the best that I could. I sat there for a while, thinking about everything that she had said. I never thought of myself as necessary. I know my mom loved me. I knew that Erin was my best friend. But I always felt like just another piece on this board called life.

             “Our time is growing thin now, child. Already I can feel our connection weakening. You must go, but know that I am here with you, and together we will save many lives.” The wolf said as she looked at me. I began feeling light as a feather again, suspended over nothing. The entire area began to break down like little square tiles falling apart. Then I started to fall. The wolf began to shrink out of sight until there was nothing left. The last thing I remember thinking while in this mysterious realm was the strangest thing I had ever been in.

             When I awoke, I was lying on a gurney in an ambulance. Looking around, I saw a nurse checking my vitals. Next to her was my mom, who was smiling when she realized that my eyes were open.

             “Welcome back, my sweet girl. You gave us quite a scare. Even Taylor was freaking out. She thought you were dead,” mom said as she placed a hand on my shoulder. It was nice to feel her touch again. After being in that weird room, I hoped I never went there again. I never wanted to leave any of my family ever again. I wondered what had happened to Maddison after all of what happened. However, at this moment, I was too tired to even get the strength to ask.

             “Once the doctor clears you, and you can go home, we need to talk, Angel.” Mom said as she shook her head. I wondered if she was still thinking about what happened in school. I was just about to ask mom what was wrong when I suddenly felt sleepy. I tried to speak, I didn’t have the energy to even do that. Slowly everything faded to black.  After that, the only thing that I remember was the sound of my mom’s voice calling out to me.