“WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE” my mom screamed before I could even close the door. She was holding a frying pan, but she stood at the entrance of the kitchen. Slowly I raised my hands as if I was about to be arrested by a cop.

            “Mom, it’s me, Michael. I know I don’t look like it, but it really is me.” I said, trying to plead with her. She didn’t look a bit convinced.

            “That’s a lie. Michael is a boy. A human boy who should have been home hours ago. What have you done with him.” She started toward me.

            “Mom, it really is me. Remember when you took me to Worlds of Fun last summer, and I threw up on the roller coaster. Everyone yelled at you as they got off the ride.” I said, trying again to convince her I was who I said I was. She still didn’t look convinced. But she told everyone about it the next day, so of course, anyone knew that.

            “When I was ten, you caught me wearing my sister’s dress and underwear. You told me that even though you thought I was cute if dad found out that I was wearing girls’ clothes that he would disown me.” I said as a shiver spread down my spine. Even though dad was no longer living with us, the thought of him disowning me hurt like hell. This seemed to convince her because I never told anyone this.

            “Michael…. You too?” she asked in disbelief. It wasn’t like she was against the LGBTQ or anything. It was the fact that, like so many others, I had changed into something else in less than a few hours. She went into the kitchen, and I followed. She sat down at the table and patted the seat next to her. As I went to sit down, I remembered that I now had a tail. Luckily mom had those chairs like you would see in a restaurant, so it had a space between the seat and the back.

            “First of all, I am glad that you are safe, but I’m pissed that you didn’t call me. I was sitting here worried sick. Second, I have to say, you look adorable, although I am curious about your hair. Did you dye your hair, or did that happen when you changed?” She asked. Sighing at her calling me cute, I looked at the table for a moment.

            “Mom, I couldn’t call you. I was in jail. It happened while I was at Emily Prescott’s. This weird storm came out of nowhere, and I was hit with lightning.” I began saying. I saw the worry in her eyes. I continued recapping the events that led up to me returning home. I watched as a mixture of emotions shot across her face. I could only imagine what was going through her mind as I told her. When I was finished, I saw a tear roll down her cheek. It was the first time I saw her cry since dad left, and they agreed that I would stay with mom, and my sister would go with dad.

            “I am sorry for what you went through honey, I wish I had been there. I wonder if this is permanent, or maybe it’s some side effect that will wear off.” She said with a sigh of disbelief. I know what she was thinking this time, and unfortunately, there was no way of knowing if it was permanent. There was no way that she could protect me from the looks and judgment that was going to happen. Looking at me, I saw a puzzled look on my moms’ face. It was as if she was looking for something.

            “Where are they.” She asked. It took me a minute to realize what she was asking. She was wondering where my wings were. I stood up, and just like in the jail cell, I thought about my wings and my desire for them to appear, and just like that, they did. My mom gasped. Not only did I have wings, but I also realized as she did that I was completely naked again. With the commotion, I forgot that the dress had ripped off. 

            “Wow, those are some gorgeous wings….and I see that….. you really are a girl.” Was all she could manage to say as I stood there completely exposed. Getting up from her chair, she rushed off down the hallway. When she came back, she was carrying a sheet. She handed it to me, and I did my best to cover myself up. I had to hold it over my boobs because my wings did not allow me to pull the sheet over my shoulders, and I was too lazy to summon them back.

            “Oh, by the way, what do I call you now because Michael isn’t going to work,” Mom asked. It seemed that she was warming up to the fact that this wasn’t going to change. I looked at her and smiled the best that I could.

            “Angel. My name is Angel mom.” I said before sitting back down.

            “It seems fitting with those beautiful silver wings. And look at your eyes. Almost sky blue. I have a winged wolf daughter. So much for having a boy,” she said with a sigh. Even though she knew how I felt, mom had always wanted that dream of having a boy and a girl. Unfortunately, even before that storm, she had given birth to two girls.

            “Mom, I think I’m going to go take a shower and go to bed,” I said, yawning. She nodded, and I left the table and headed for the bathroom. Reaching the door, I realized it would be difficult trying to go through the door with my wings, so with the same thought as before, I banished my wings and walked in, turning on the light. The way our bathroom was set up, the first thing I saw when I walked in the bathroom was a wolf girl with blue hair looking back at me. With every movement I made, she mimicked me perfectly. It was just more confirmation that I had changed.

            After what seemed like hours washing with shampoo, because you know, a fur coat is still hair, I did my best to towel dry. But, all I was really doing was getting towels wet. Sighing, I opened the door to the bathroom.

            “MOM, COULD YOU COME HERE FOR A MINUTE,” I yelled down the hall. I heard her chair move and the sound of her footsteps as she walked down the hallway.

            “Yes, Mi…I mean Angel, what is it?” she asked. I saw a bit of flush cross her face seeing me naked again.

            “I…. need your hairdryer. And help with drying me off.” I said reluctantly. This was going to be the worst part of my change because of what will happen when I am out on my own. I won’t be able to just call my mom when I needed help drying myself off.

            Without saying a word, she went to her bathroom and came back with her hairdryer.

            “It would probably be better if we go to your room so you can sit on the bed. I’ll grab a trash bag that you can sit on.” She said, handing me the hairdryer. Sighing, I padded my room. Mom came in shortly after, placed the trash bag on the edge of the bed, and pointed to it, signaling me to sit. Doing my best to cover my private area, I sat on the ground as she plugged in the hairdryer.

            It seemed like it took hours to get me dry. All this fur was kind of annoying, especially my tail. You would think that of all my fur, my tail would be the easiest to dry, and you would be wrong. I thought mom was never going to get it dry. After taking the hairdryer back to her bathroom, she came back and sat on the bed.

            “Tomorrow, we are going to have to start figuring out how to change your name and get all your school records changed because whether you changed or not, you still need your education. We will also need to find you some new clothes because you can’t run around naked.” She said. I knew she meant business. Yawning, I just nodded at her. She gave me a hug and walked to my doorway.

            “Goodnight, daughter.” She said. I could tell that a part of her was sad, but I could also tell that she meant it. She saw me as her daughter.

            “Goodnight, mom,” I said. She closed the door behind her, and I heard her walk away. Having these ears might come in handy. Smiling that my mom called me daughter, I laid down and turned off the lamp on my nightstand. As I laid there, my body beginning to shut down for the night, a thought crossed my mind. I wondered if Erin was okay, and more importantly, would she still want to be my friend. Sighing at my own discriminating thoughts about myself, I closed my eyes as slowly, the world began to slip away.