SUPER BEAST

I woke up feeling… heavy, like something was pressing against my back, my head, and my hands. My legs felt different, too, almost unbalanced. The moment I shifted, I heard the rustling of feathers against my bedsheet. I sat up too quickly and nearly knocked over my lamp with something long and unfamiliar.

I crawled out of bed, rushing to the mirror. My reflection was almost unrecognizable. A pair of wings—large and dark—twitched behind me. Antlers curved from my forehead, rigid and rough as though something was pushing outward from inside my head. As I went on to grab it, I saw my fingers ended in sharp claws, where my nails once were. And about a foot long, covered in sleek fur, was my tail flicking restlessly behind me.

Walking into my college in such a shape was a nightmare. People stopped mid-step, conversations died, and someone even gasped. People whispered, but no one asked me anything directly—rather, they seemed a little scared. Besides, I wasn’t sure how I could respond anyway.

I should have been happy, right? I had wanted this for as long as I could remember. Yet, staring at myself, all I felt was... nothing. Or maybe not nothing, but a strange emptiness; For even with all these new features, it felt incomplete.

Despite receiving all that I wished for, I couldn’t help feeling exhausted and confused about all that was happening.

I was unsure of EVERYTHING.