I woke to the sound of Bach’s “Variation no.13.” I groaned, flipping over onto my stomach and digging my face into my pillow. The familiar scent did its best to lure me back under.

Now if only my alarm would turn off…

….

…My alarm?!

My eyes flew open, and I sat up, scanning the room. The room was dark, and it took my eyes a few seconds to adjust. The impossible sight of my own bedroom greeted me, illuminated by the silver light of a single moon through the window.

It wasn’t the bedroom I’d been given in the palace, but my own bedroom from my own apartment. My queen-sized bed, with Ani curled up on my spare pillows. My hands trailed over the sheets, noting the difference between the silken sheets I’d thought I went to sleep on and the ones on my bed. To my left was the solid oak bedside table my sister had gotten me as a moving-in gift, complete with my cellphone. In the background, my heater whirred as it pumped hot air through the vents.

I blinked stupidly at the phone for a few seconds before snatching it up. Seeing the date, I rubbed my eyes. No change.

Impossible. There’s no way.

I restarted it, waiting patiently for it to power back on.

It was the same: 6 AM, the day after I’d met my sister at Ava’s Coffee and Books.

Were the two weeks just a dream, then?

No– I was still wearing the comfortable-looking sleep clothes I’d found in Sera’s palace. So, not a dream. A reach up to my ears told me that the earrings, too, were still there. My hands dropped back down to my covers.

How was this possible?

I’d been in Sky’s world for weeks. Yet, it had only been one night. In a daze, I climbed out of bed and fell back into my usual routine. It took surprisingly little thought, though it had been weeks since I’d run through it. The process was slow; simple things like hot water and soap were a marvel to me. In a daze, I removed the expensive clothes I’d been sleeping in, letting them drop onto my bathroom floor. Browsing through my closet for the day's sweater vest, I caught a whiff of my underarm and abandoned the process, instead choosing to shower.

With the water turned up as high as I dared, I let the nearly blisteringly hot water pound the stress and dirt off my body. My skin turned tomato red, though whether it was from the heat of the water or the intense scrubbing to remove oil, dirt, and grime with soap, I couldn’t tell. Probably both.

I padded in front of the mirror, stepping onto the gray mat I had in front of the sink and letting my feet sink into the soft memory foam. The shower had fogged up the mirror with steam, and I wiped it away, seeing my face for the first time in weeks.

My new tan and longer hair were the most apparent changes. My face was thinner, my chest and arms more muscular, and cuts and bruises littered my skin. Then, of course, were the pierced ears. Fingering them, I debated removing the earrings. In the end, what would one more unexplainable thing matter?

With a sigh, I ditched the mirror and dressed in my typical work clothes. The plastic-y carpet of my bedroom tickled my feet as I walked past, thinking of real food. Ani stretched and yawned on the bed, leaping off to rub up against my legs. I pried away from his affection and headed to my kitchen, opening the fridge to see what I had. I was meticulous, so I was confident that no matter what I had, it was still safe to eat.

After a quick breakfast, during which I fed Ani the leftover cat food from...did it count as the previous day? Or a few weeks ago? It was confusing to think about. I slipped on my shoes, snatched my keys off their hook on the wall, and left the apartment.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The familiar yet forgotten scent of chemicals and concrete struck my nose as I stepped outside the apartment building. It wasn’t nearly as rancid as the towns in Heirs, but it was an unpleasant, twangy scent that I’d never really noticed before. A slight haze covered the city, distorting far-away objects. That, too, was something else I’d never paid attention to.

Like the cities in Heirs, Chicago was loud. But, it was a different kind of loud. Where in Heirs the noise was from people and animals, here it was from vehicles and electricity as the city woke from its slumber. The early mornings, I’d found, always felt the quietest. I checked my calendar and notes on my way to work, ensuring there was nothing I’d forgotten about. There wasn’t.

At work, my fears regarding comments on my appearance, at least, were unfounded. A few people gave me second looks, and those that cared enough to ask, commented, “You look different. Did you change your hair?”

To which I replied: “I cut it.”

My sarcasm flew over their heads, and they accepted the explanation as fact, probably because they had no better explaination. One person asked me if I’d always had pierced ears. Flatly, I responded, “No,” killing the conversation where it sat.

The event I should have feared occurred shortly before lunchtime as I typed away at my computer. My meticulousness had saved me again, with perfect notes on what I’d already done and what I needed to write next, waiting patiently for me to continue. Soon, I was working productively, fingers flying over the keyboard to the comfortable rhythm and beat of my code. My concentration was broken with by a stinging pain in my leg and an angry “mrrow!” from by my feet.

Dumbfounded, I rolled my chair back, my pant legs catching on the sharp object. Ani retracted his paw, pleased with himself for obtaining my attention. How had–right. Teleportation. My eyes darted to my office door, trying to verify no one had seen my cat. Thankfully, the hallway was empty, and I slammed the door shut before anyone noticed little Ani. As casually as possible, I rolled down the blinds on my windows.

Done, I crouched down to face Ani, who was still sitting under the desk. His tail flicked back and forth. “Go away,” I whisper-ordered.

Instead of doing as I asked, he stood up and started rubbing his face on my knee. I shoved him off. Still whispering, I continued, “You’re going to get me in trouble.”

Ani stumbled before redoubling his efforts for attention. I shoved him back again. He narrowed his eyes at my hands, tail flicking faster.

“I’m serious, Ani. I’ll play with you when I get home.” He crouched, preparing to pounce on the hand resting on my leg.

I gave him my best-disappointed voice, trying to imitate my mother. “Ani.”

His tail paused, but his butt was still wiggling.

“Ani,” I warned again. He glanced up at my face for half a second before pouncing at my hand. With my newfound reflexes, I yanked it out of the way just in time, shifting my knee so he stumbled past me.

Taking advantage of his weakness, I snatched him up, lifting him by the armpits to stare him directly in the eye. “Ani, go home.” He jabbed my cheek with his paw, and I recoiled, nearly dropping him. My head snapped back forward, and I glared. “Ani.”

Tail still flicking, he turned away from me and vanished from my hands, leaving me grasping empty air. “Finally.”

I stood up, knees popping at the movement. As I didn’t trust Ani to stay away, I left the blinds and door as they were, figuring if someone wanted something from me, they could knock.

Shortly before lunch, someone did. With a few sharp raps, my boss let himself in, checking on the progress of my program. The whole time we spoke, I had the terrible sense that we weren’t alone, and my attention wandered the room.

Finally, from by my feet, came the dreaded “mrrow?”

Suspicious, my boss’ eyes narrowed. “What was that?” A menace, I thought.

“No idea,” I said.

Frown lines etched themselves into his already wrinkled face, eyebrows furrowing. “Was that an answer or a question?” Without giving me a chance to answer his newest question, he pulled my chair back and me with it. Under the desk, Ani blinked at my boss before innocently bathing himself.

My boss peered down at my cat, a look of complete and utter disbelief on his face. “Is that your cat?!”

“No.” I lied.

Hands on his hips, my boss asked, “Then how did he get in here?”

“I have no idea.”

He sighed, taking his glasses off to pinch the bridge of his nose. Waiving the glasses around, he said, “Just get it out of here. Don’t let me catch it in here again! You’re one of my best workers; I’d hate for you to get in trouble over this.”

“Yes, sir.”

My boss sneezed, catching it with his elbow. Replacing his glasses, he moved to leave.

“Sir, what about the–”

“Just get rid of the damn cat, Hayden. I’m allergic,” he said as he slammed the door shut behind him, the monitors on my desk shaking in the aftermath.

When the door didn’t burst back open, I breathed a sigh of relief and slumped in my chair, my head dropping to my chest. I then jerked my head over to look at Ani.

“You almost got me in trouble!”

He continued to clean himself, still pulling the innocent act.

“That only makes you look more guilty.”

Ani stopped, walking over to rub against my legs.

“Bribing won’t help you either.”

He paused to look at me with wide, innocent eyes.

“Please go home?” I tried.

I blinked, and he was gone once again. This seemed like it was going to be a problem. I needed to figure out how to keep him out of my office.