Rowan and I decided to both go into our rooms and call our parents to figure out what was going on. Rowan also told me that it would be fine if I told my mom about her being a succubus, which I knew I probably should, but I didn’t want my mom kicking down the door at the chance to meet an actual demon in the flesh. I decided to not let her know yet, but if it felt necessary I would let her know. I dialed Mom and she picked up on the fourth ring.

 

“Hello, this is Eve,” my mom said in her usual chipper tone.

 

“Hi, Mom, it’s me.”

 

“Oh hi, Azazel, how are you?” my mom asked, and I had to stifle a groan at my ridiculous name.

 

“I’m fine; I actually just got a new roommate after my previous one got arrested.”

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry that happened, but at least you found a new roommate quickly. Are you still working at that bakery, what was it called again?”

 

“Yes, I’m still working at Lez Pain and I really like it there, but I did have a reason for calling you, Mom,” I answered, trying to steer the conversation back to what I wanted to talk about.

 

“Oh, okay. What was it you needed to talk to me about? You know I’ll always support you right?”

 

“I know, Mom, thanks. What I wanted to ask about was our family history, specifically the side of our family with the demon ancestry you claim we have.”

 

“Oh, are you finally taking an interest in the interesting side of our family?”

 

“Something like that, I guess.”

 

“Well, the demonic ancestry was on my mother’s side, and her mother before her, and her mother before her, and on and on it goes for about four hundred years or so.”

 

“Wait, is your entire mother’s side of the family women?” 

 

“Yes, and you would have known this if you ever listened to what I told you about our history. In fact you’re the first boy ever born to our family line,” my mom told me, and for some reason that fact made me feel really weird.

 

“Huh, thanks, I guess. Do you know what kind of demon our ancestor was?”

 

“No, I don’t. Sorry, honey.”

 

“It’s no problem, Mom, thanks for your help. I need to get back to what I was doing, talk to you soon.”

 

“Sure thing, I love you and stay safe for me, byyyye,” Mom said and immediately hung up before I could say goodbye back.

 

I made my way back into the living room to find that Rowan was still in her room, talking to her parents. I reflected on what I’d learned from my conversation with my mom; I hadn’t learned that much I didn’t already know. Really the only thing I learned was that my mom came from a long, unbroken line of women and I was the first break in that chain. I was brought out of my pondering on how that would even be possible by Rowan coming out of her room. She looked rather confused herself and possibly a little concerned.

 

“So I take it your conversation didn’t go any better than mine?” I asked, trying not to sound too concerned.

 

“Well, yes and no.”

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“Well, my dad said that it’s nothing to be too concerned over, but he also said that these dreams you’re having could have some sort of significance that you’ll have to figure out for yourself.”

 

“So what, I’m just going to be having these dreams until I figure out what I’m supposed to do about them?”

 

“That’s pretty much what it sounds like, yeah,” Rowan replied and we both sat there in silence for a while before we went on with the rest of our day.

 

The rest of the day was just a lazy Sunday where we didn’t do much. Tonight, however I was prepared for the dream and hopeful I might be able to figure out what was going on. As soon as I fell asleep, I was dreaming. The dream had the same setting as last time, so I started making my way towards the mirror. The image in the mirror was still really blurry, but now a couple spots seemed just a little bit clearer, my hair and hips in particular. Unsure what to make of the increased clarity in the mirror, I looked around to see if I could see anything else in my dreamscape, and sure enough, off in the distance I saw a house. I started to make my way towards it, but woke up about halfway there. 

 

Getting up to prepare for work, I accidentally bumped my hip on my nightstand, which hurt like mad. I was then immediately struck by the fact that I had never done that before, and then I was reminded that my hips appeared slightly clearer in my dream last night. I immediately rushed to the bathroom to look in the mirror, and sure enough, my hair was slightly longer than it had been yesterday. I knew then that whatever was happening in the dream world was starting to happen in real life. I grabbed a quick slice of toast and then headed off to work before Rowan even woke up.

 

Work was boring, but my mind was constantly racing in fear of just what was going on. It wasn’t helped by the fact that whenever I was able to get my mind off it, I would bump into something I didn’t normally bump into. Heading home after a surprisingly tiring day of work, despite it being a slow day, I was greeted by the sight of Rowan in her half-succubus form, lounging on the couch, wearing a set of pink, white, and blue pajamas. 

 

“Hey, Rowan, I’m back from work,” I announced to the room.

 

“Oh hey, Azzy, how was work?”

 

“It was okay, but I was distracted all day.”

 

“Oh? What were you distracted by?”

 

“Well, last night in the dream, the mirror was slightly clearer around my hair and hips, and today my hair was slightly longer and I kept bumping my hips into things.”

 

“Do you think the dreams are changing you somehow?”

 

“That’s what it seems like to me, but I don’t know what it’s changing me into,” I replied, and for just a second, there was a pained, concerned look on Rowan's face, but it was gone so quickly that I might have imagined it.

 

“Well, hopefully it will all work out for the best.”

 

“Yeah, here’s hoping,” I said, and I had to admit the prospect of changing into someone other than my normal ugly self sounded somewhat appealing.

 

The rest of the night passed in silence, with Rowan occasionally stealing worried glances at me when she thought I wasn’t looking. As we headed to bed, I wasn’t concerned anymore about the dreams, I just hoped that whatever they were doing to me would be over with quickly.