I was left standing in my kitchen holding an empty coffee mug. I think my brain finally started grinding gears a little more because I started to take a better look at my situation.

Somehow, the only thing I was wearing was the shirt I had on while driving home. On this petite body, you could almost call it a dress, and one side had slipped off my shoulder. Just how small was I now? First things always first. I had to go, bad. Yep, this was the ‘first time’ you always read about. Sorry to disappoint, but I really wasn’t that nervous. It’s not like I hadn’t seen women in different states of undress. I wasn’t a virgin before my ‘accident’ and I could control myself. The biggest reason though? I was TEN now. Get your heads out of the gutter people! Sorry, not sorry.

Luckily the door to my room was mostly closed so I could keep from looking at myself in the full-length mirror that was at the end of my bed. I still needed a few more minutes to let my mind settle before I really took the time to examine myself.

After relieving myself and washing my hands I decided it was time. I still had my doubts. Do I really want to see? I was somewhat handsome as a man, if not a little rugged looking. Do I really want to know what that would equate to as a girl?

“Well, let’s just get it over with. Not like things are going to change just because I’m nervous.”

I slowly opened the door to my bedroom and turned on the light. As I walked up to the mirror my eyes slowly widened. I looked nothing like my old self. Soft facial lines with high cheekbones, a small nose, and light pink lips. I had beautiful emerald green eyes to go along with my dark red hair. I think my hair was a lot thicker than it used to be as well. I always prided myself on my hair. I thought it was one of my most defining features and always took really good care of it. I still had trouble believing it was long enough to reach the back of my knees. I don’t believe that would be possible for someone so young, even if they hadn’t cut it since birth. Jacobus or Methodius must have done that. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it looked good, just not plausible.

I couldn’t see much else except for my legs below mid-thigh because of my way too big and baggy shirt. Remember that I was six foot seven with a large muscular frame before all of this happened? That shirt was huge on me.

It looked like I was somewhere around five foot now, plus or minus an inch or two, maybe around seventy-five pounds. From what I had seen earlier I had a slim waist with slender shoulders and arms. What I could see of my legs was actually somewhat defined for a ten-year-old, making it look like I had led a very active life so far. Even my arms had a little muscle to them, just in a slightly toned way.

I backed up a little to give myself room and started doing a few stretches. Dang. It’s going to take me a while to get used to my new perspective and lightweight body, not to mention my insanely diminished strength, but I don’t think I have ever been this flexible. That’s something I always wanted but couldn’t get due to my muscles. I wasn’t as stiff as a board and could almost do the splits, but even if I stretched daily and did yoga, I still couldn’t get my flexibility where I wanted.

I decided I needed a few more clothes on so I grabbed a pair of sweatpants I really should have gotten rid of a few years ago. They were a gift from someone but were too small. They would be way too big now, but the waist had a drawstring that I could draw tight and the ankles had elastic that would help keep them from getting caught under my feet.

I still didn’t have anything for underneath, but for now, I could at least walk around without feeling a breeze when I moved.

I moved back to my living room and moved the rug I used for yoga to the center. Before the change, I barely had room to do this, but now? I don’t know if I should be happy about this or depressed. Let’s just not think. Empty the mind and just breathe.

About an hour of yoga later my body was feeling pretty good. I started to feel a little more comfortable and in control. I still had a little dysphoria, not feeling like I was in complete control yet, but better. That’s something.

I had worked up a decent sweat already, but I wasn’t done yet. I cautiously opened my door and peeked outside. Good. No one is around. I did live in the middle of nowhere, about forty-five minutes from Rapid City, but my house wasn’t finished yet so I was hoping the construction crew wasn’t here. I know it’s Saturday, but some of the guys would come by and work every now and then on the weekend. I think it’s because I usually had the grill fired up and always made too much if I wasn’t at work.

I moved outside and found a spot a little ways away from my fifth-wheel. One thing I didn’t think about was my feet. They were soft now and the gravel around my driveway wasn’t the easiest to walk through. At least the buffalo grass wasn’t bad.

As I was walking I noticed my car. It was sitting beside my pickup like nothing had ever happened to it. Scratch that, it looked even better than it did before. The paint was even changed to how I wanted. That was something I was planning to do once my shop/house was finished. If it was destroyed last night, why was it sitting in my drive, with a different paint job as well? Never mind. I’m not going to think about that right now. I need to move, get used to this body, and clear my mind.

I slowly started to work through the basic forms of Karate, then moved on to Aikido. Trying to keep my movements slow and fluid I noticed my muscle memory was off. Way off. I might know the forms by heart but my body just didn’t. This is gonna be a pain. I’m going to have to work my butt off to get back to any kind of standard. Right now I’m barely a white belt even if I know the forms. Yes, I know everyone starts at white and that’s my point.

I worked for another hour until I started to get tired. Just another thing I was going to have to work on. Well, there was no help for it, it was just going to take time. Something I felt like I was going to have a lot of.

Moving back inside I decided to Shower and clean up. after that, I would make some breakfast and go from there. Short-term goals lead to long-term success as long as you had a long-term goal. I just needed to figure out what that was. For the time being, I figured it would be best to just take it one step at a time until I had more information and could figure out a plan.

Turning on the shower I realized I was kind of at a loss. I might have had long hair for a man, but nowhere near the length I now had. Getting a light bulb moment, I quickly turned off the shower and grabbed my phone. Gotta love view tube. I quickly watched a couple videos and got an idea of what I needed to do.

Twenty minutes later I was drying off and wondering what to wear. I decided to grab an old shirt and a pair of shorts that I might be able to cinch down enough that they wouldn’t constantly fall off. I’m really going to have to figure out some clothes, and soon. How though? I could order some, but they wouldn’t be here for a few days. I could deal with that, but what about food? I hadn’t stocked up because I knew I was going to be out of town for a few days. Something to figure out later. Breakfast first.

I dried my hair with a hair drier that one of my ex’s had left behind. Why I kept it I couldn’t tell you, I just did. After that, I moved into the kitchen and fixed some bacon and eggs along with some sourdough toast. I really wished I had some fruit as well. I had just finished cleaning the dishes when Jacobus and Methodius reappeared.

“That went well.” Jacobus seemed to be in a good mood. Unfortunately, that didn’t make me feel any better. Kinda the opposite really, it gave me a bad feeling. Don’t ask, just a gut feeling something was going to happen that I didn’t like.

“Piece of cake. Even better than I thought it would.” Methodius’ comment just deepened that feeling. Crap, and here I was actually calm and collected after working out.

“Alright, you said it went well. I take it that everything was set up? I have a social security number and all that? You didn’t forget anything right?”

“Nope. We got it all and more. I have your birth certificate, bank account info, social security card, and some other stuff. You should be thankful, we even got a little extra for you. Come here for a minute and let me transfer the information to you.” Jacobus looked like a strutting peacock with how proud of himself he was.

I just looked at him like he was stupid for a moment, but he just rolled his eyes and came over to me. As he placed his right palm on my left temple and I felt a warm energy spread into my brain. It was actually comfortable so why was I nervous about it?

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

After about ten minutes of this, he pulled his hand away and had a huge creepy grin on his face. He didn’t even need to be prompted before he began speaking.

The rundown was that they were able to set me up as Zeke and Valeria’s daughter. Born on the same day as my actual birthday ten years ago. That meant that I had just turned ten a little over a month ago in August. They tweaked it so that my parents died a week ago in a house fire, not a car accident a few months ago. Why a house fire? He explained that they had to switch things up so it wouldn’t cause problems and that would also explain why I didn’t have clothes or toys and other stuff. Total loss of assets. Even the cars were destroyed while in the garage. They both had wills that transferred everything into my name. The house was a rental so I wouldn’t get any money except renters insurance. The life insurance, auto insurance, and 401k were transferred into my name and a bank account was set up at a credit union in Rapid City. It was the same bank I had an account set up because they had great rates and worked with the local operating engineers union.

Supposedly, Jacobus and Methodius even went a step further. Sasha’s ‘family’ had lived in a small rural town and a lot of people had known them. Somehow they also knew of Alex’s relationship with Zeke, Valeria, and Sasha. It was widely known that Alex, being a doting ‘uncle’ loved Sasha and visited whenever possible. She would always brag about him to friends and neighbors. I ended up turning into something like a ‘Knight in shining armor’ for the little girl. My eye started twitching again when I heard that. I understand the need for a back story, but really? That’s just going overboard.

They made it look like the Pastor from the local church was the person taking care of Sasha until the will could be processed and I was able to come and pick her up. That was apparently the reason I had left my parents earlier than was planned instead of the storm. Everything was already finished except for some of the adoption paperwork that needed to be processed yet. The family layer was taking care of that and I didn’t need to get involved until someone from the state would come for a ‘Visit’ to make sure Alex was capable of supporting Sasha.

My head was starting to swim trying to keep track of my old life and my new one. It actually got a little confusing at times. I was starting to process everything when Jacobus dropped a couple more bombs. For some reason, he knew about my dream to open up a restaurant. I know it’s not a huge dream, but I had been wanting to slow down a little. I had been working outside and in all kinds of weather since high school. Owning a restaurant isn’t easy, but at least it’s not hard labor. I had quite a few ideas about how it would look, what it would be named, and many other things like live music. Something like a cross between those Metal Cafes and a sports bar.

I guess that I now own two. Both are still under construction. One is in Rapid City and the other is in Kansas City. The one in Rapid I could understand, but Kansas City? He couldn’t give me a straight answer when I asked so I figured I would leave it alone for now. Everything was set up how I wanted, the name was Alex’s Garage, just like I had wanted. Sounds like a mechanic shop? It’s supposed to. It was based around motorsports after all.

All logistics and employees were already set. They found managers with good experience and as a bonus, a passion for motorsports as well. It sounded too good and made me even more worried. What was that they said about cheating and not getting caught?

“…”

“Don’t give me that Sasha. I told you we would help with everything we could and I figured this was a good chance to make one of your dreams come true, along with giving you a push to change your life a little. Everything is legitimate and properly set up. You don’t have to worry about it. I promise. As a side benefit, it should make it so Alex can spend more time with you so it makes the stuff with the adoption go a little easier.” Jacobus laughed after I glared at him.

“Sasha? You’re calling me Sasha now?”

“Well, you need to get used to it, don’t you? It’s better to start thinking of yourself that way.”

“True, I don’t really have a choice do I?”

“There you go. Now you’re starting to move forward again.” I didn’t really want to hear that from Methodius, but he had a point.

“By the way, what was it that you did before you explained everything?”

“Oh, that. That was just a little something to help you with coping. We were lucky and found Zeke and Valeria before they moved on. It can sometimes take a while. Don’t worry, we didn’t tell them anything and they are perfectly fine and safe. Just waiting on what we call processing. Not like they could really understand yet anyway. While waiting they are kind of in something like stasis. I also got the impression that Valeria would have loved your name.”

“You were right though.” Jacobus continued. “They seemed like a perfect match for each other. We were able to get some memories and information on what they wanted if they ever had children. Mostly stuff like how they wanted to raise them. What I did was to roughly put together the last ten years as if you were raised by them so you would know that information and to help you get accustomed to your new self, that’s all.”

My face paled at those words. Seeing that, Jacobus’ smile finally disappeared.

“What, what’s wrong now Sasha? That should be a good thing.” Methodius asked after looking between the two of us.

This wasn’t good. I know I said Zeke and Valeria were good people, but Valeria was very, and I mean very traditional. I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but I know I heard a little from Zeke about some of her views on how girls and women should act. I’m not one to judge, I’m traditional to an extent as well and I don’t hold value in shaming how other people should act or their values unless they try to force them on me, but it seemed Valeria, her mother and grandmother had certain views on that kind of stuff. I’m kinda scared to think about if that would affect me or not…

Crap. Now that I think about it, I could feel the ‘memories’ seeping into my conscious.

“Jacobus, you just screwed me, not just a little either.”

“What do you mean? You need that info to help with moving on.”

“You don’t understand. Valeria’s views on raising a girl are… How to put this, strict. What you just did to me made me go through ten years of her raising me to be what she felt was the “Proper” young lady. It’s almost scary how well it’s integrating. I feel like I’m still me, but now I feel like I’m more and less me at the same time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Methodius looked confused.

“Let’s see if I can explain this.”

Valeria would have definitely been an awesome mother. She was sweet and caring, but very strict as well. From her perspective, women should hold themselves in high regard, which is all well and good as a concept and I agreed with that, except for the little things. Well… I don’t know if you could call them ‘little’., except for the little things. What I just went through was years of ‘etiquette’ training. That included the proper way a young lady should dress, act and speak. As I said, her side of the family was hard-core traditional and it all came from the women, not the husbands.

According to them, things like pants and slacks were not appropriate for women unless they were around the house and no company was over, or a few other things like exercise and so on. You should always be ‘put together’ as Valeria’s mother would tell her. That basically meant your hair was always done and not left down except around your own family and was never cut under a certain length. You were always dressed accordingly and that sort of thing. Proper ‘dress’ included skirts or dresses, hose or leggings if you were going out as it wasn’t ‘proper’ without wearing them while in public, and heels. flats or running shoes could be worn at the right times. That was just the start of it. The worst part was I could feel the memories taking root and it made me feel like I was doing something wrong being dressed how I was with “Company” at the house. At least I did learn a little about what I needed to be a girl, along with a few tidbits about caring for my skin, hair, and some other things. Just not enough to make it worth it.

“Thanks, Jacobus. You really helped me out with that one… How am I going to get over this? It feels like that’s normal and how I should be. It’s not normal for me and it’s gonna mess with me. How am I supposed to ‘cope’ and ‘move on’ now? This just made things even harder.”

“Hmm, let me see.” Jacobus placed his hand against my temple and I felt the warmth again. After about five minutes it stopped and he pulled his hand away.

“So, were you able to help?” Methodius asked.

“I think so. Those urges should be lessened now.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but I think you made them worse. Now I’m almost panicking because of what I’m wearing even though I don’t have a choice and you could kinda be considered ‘family’.” Great, that’s all I needed. I worked through a couple of breathing exercises to help calm my mind and some of the nervous energy slowly drifted away. It wasn’t gone, but manageable.

“Huh, that’s weird. Do you want me to try again?”

“NOPE! I don’t want to take the risk of you making it even worse again. I guess I just have to figure this out on my own and hopefully I can work through this.”

“That’s how it should be kiddo. You gotta man up if you want to get anywhere.” Methodius just had to open his mouth.

“Well, considering I’m no longer a Man now thanks to somebody, I still understand what you’re saying. All I can do now is move forward.” I thought my eye would start twitching again, but for some reason, it didn’t. Meh, I can thank about that later as well.

“Hahahaha. That’s true!” Methodius laughed. I swear, he was so simple my retort just went right over his head, or he didn’t care. Whatever.

“So, what about the ‘construct’ you were talking about? what do we need to do for that?”

“No worries, we already have it built and it’s just waiting for you to summon it.”

“What do you mean ‘summon’ it?”

“Just say “Al, come” and it will appear. when you don’t need it, just say “Al, free” and it will disappear. It saves energy and space that way.”

“What, so I’m a dog now? You couldn’t have come up with anything better?”

“Easier is better and it’s not you anymore, Remember?”

“Still feels weird,” I grumbled.

“Better try it out so we know if it works right.”

I ‘summoned’ “Al” and he popped up in the middle of my living room. At least he wasn’t naked, that was a plus. Looking at what used to be me from the view of a ten-year-old gave me goosebumps. I really was kind of scary. I never realized my expression looked like that. I always thought I had somewhat of a gentle expression most of the time, but looking at what I knew was the expression I usually wore, NOPE, I was definitely scary. Couple that with my height and build and I really did look imposing. No wonder people stayed away from me.

This was kinda heartbreaking to figure out.