Chapter 1

I let out a loud and exaggerated groan, which caught the attention of my feline friend, Arthur. He peaks around the corner. “What’s up?” His green eyes flicker around my dorm, small strands of moth fur strewn across the carpet. “The sky.” I can’t help but be sarcastic. Arthur rolls his eyes at me, his orange tail flicking around as he walks in uninvited.

“You know, for the birthday boy, you sure don’t seem happy,” I groaned again, my wings fluttering slightly as my antenna’s twitch. “I’m buried 6 feet deep into work; I'm sorry if I’m not squealing with joy like a toddler.” Arthur rolls his eyes, sitting on my Sage Green couch as he stretches, his padded paws flexing in different directions. “It wouldn’t kill you to take a load off.” Arthur retorts at me before standing up and walking next to me. “No, no, no, you have the mitochondria in the wrong place.” I roll my eyes, or rather lack thereof. "Thanks, captain obvious.”

I shuffle the mitochondria around the simulation, then I get the results. If I had pupils, they would’ve dilated. Arthur was practically squealing, prancing around the room, making a ruckus. I finally fixed what was wrong with the simulation my professor assigned me. For some background information, my name is Mona, short for Morgan. I’m 22 and currently suffering an early mid-life crisis. If I had a time machine, I would go back and shun my younger self for wanting to grow up instead of watching cartoons like a kid. I personally believe my professor in biology has formed a vendetta against me since he’s been continuously giving me these next to impossible assignments with the slightest indifference in them.

Arthur finally stops running around my room, panting. “You can finally be happy again!” Of course it was laced with sarcasm. I’ve been dealing with this assignment for the past week, and needless to say, I haven’t exactly been happy about it. “I’m practically gleaming with joy,” I say in the most monotone voice ever. We both burst out in laughter. “You’re a riot, Mona,” Arthur chokes through the tears. We finally regained our composure. I collapse on my bed, feeling a weight off my shoulders. Before being hit with a brutal train of reality.

“Ah hell,” I grumble, stuffing my furry face into my pillow. “You cannot possibly be ruining this moment right now.” Arthur’s voice drops along with mine. “It’s nothing too serious,” I mumble, stretching my paws. “I have to show the professor this physically,” Arthur sighs out in relief, expecting something worse. "Oh, phew, well, you better hurry; I think after hours are still going on right now.” Arthur scoots me off the bed, “Come on, birthday boy, the sooner you get this done, the sooner we celebrate your birthday. "Alright, alright, I get it,” I groan, grabbing my messenger bag and shoving the university computer into it.

“I’ll round up everyone at the park; see you there!” Arthur saunters off, and I smirk slightly, striding over to the campus. I pass by other furs, a few border collies conversing loudly, a flock of pink flamingos elegantly flaunting their feathers to the ravens across the street, who’re dressed in gothic attire. I make it to the now empty halls of the university, knocking on Professor Callahan’s office door. A low growl escapes through the door, “Come in." I hesitantly opened the door, peeking inside before entering fully.

“I finished the assignment.” I mumble, averting my gaze to the several different trophies he had hanging on his wall. Professor Callahan takes the university computer, scrolling through my report and thoroughly checking the simulations to ensure everything is in place. “Excellent work, Mr. Flores.” I blush slightly; the praise always gets to me. “Return your computer to the lab and enjoy the rest of your break.” He gives me a nod, his long dragontail winding around the room as I leave. I let out a sigh of relief, relieved that he didn’t chew me out on how late I turned it in. I made my way over to the lab, the sun giving its last rays of sunlight as I reached the secluded part of the university.

I swing the lab door open, walking inside. There’s a few chemicals left over in the beakers. I take a specific interest in them; my OCD quickly takes hold, and the need to dispose of the chemicals overtakes me. I gather up the beakers and pour them into the waste disposal. I wash the beakers and my hands before heading out. I shut the door as I made my way back to the dorm parking late to go over to the park for my birthday celebration.

I pass by the now empty streets of my small town, feeling accomplished. I shut my eyes for a bit as I walk. It’s something I always did. I thought about who would be at my party, or, well, get together. I knew for sure Arthur would be there; he was my closest friend, my best friend. I blush slightly, the white fur on my cheeks turning a rosy pink. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel my heart beat harder when he was in the room. I open my eyes; I’m conveniently at the dorm parking lot. I reach into my messenger bag, fumbling around to find my keys. Then I feel a solid object brush up against my fur, confused. I look down into the bag, and my heart practically leaps out of my chest when I see my university computer resting in there.

I guess when I was fussing over the chemicals, I completely forgot about why I was even there. I check the time on my phone; the campus closes in 5 minutes. If I didn’t return my computer by then, I could get into a lot of trouble with the university, whether it was a mistake or not. I start dashing back to campus, fluttering my moth wings to get a gust of wind, hopefully. I fumble with my phone, texting Arthur. “BSY IL B TERENQDQWOI@!E!" I fumble with the small keyboard before shoving my phone back into my messenger bag. I make it to the campus, and even though it’s strictly forbidden to run in the halls, I decide I'd rather take my chances. I reach the lab, bursting in to be met with a pink cloud that smells sweet. “What the-?!” I sniff it a few more times; it doesn’t seem toxic, so I decide to push through the cloud.

The entire lab is engulfed in it. I turned on the ventilation so the air could circulate before placing the computer with the other ones neatly in order. “Phew…” I mumble, the last bits of the cloud waft away as I exit the lab. I feel a churn in my stomach, probably something with the chemicals. I pass it off, and I exit the campus for the second time in one day. I think back to what could’ve caused the gas—maybe the chemicals from the beakers? Yeah, that’s probably it. It doesn’t matter really; I breathe a breath of fresh air, feeling rejuvenated. I make my way back to my car, plopping myself into the driver's seat. My keys jingle, and I can’t help but instinctively giggle, like a toddler being distracted by toys.

I snap out of my daze, shaking my head as I turn on the ignition and make my way to the park, where my friends and family all agreed to go for my birthday. I look at the surrounding scenery, smiling softly as I watch the leaves fall. The park wasn’t far, thankfully, so I got there in a relatively short amount of time. Already there were my friends and my mom and dad. I park the car, sprucing myself up a bit before exiting my vehicle.

“There’s the birthday boy!” My mom shouts in a rather loud tone; it was embarrassing being labeled a birthday boy as an adult, but nonetheless, it’s nothing to get too upset over. My dad gives me a wide hug, his moth wings fluttering. “Why so late, Mona?” I grumble slightly, “Got caught up with school work.” I left out the part where I foolishly forgot to return the campus computer.

My four other friends are here as well, all bearing gifts. There’s Janel; I met her in my senior year of high school. She had pointy bat ears that always blocked my vision during a class. I give her a wide hug. Arthur grumbles in response, a bit peeved that he wasn’t the one I hugged first. “Happy birthday, Mornie!” Janel squeals. She was always so level-headed. Next we’re the Ylgr brothers. I met them when I was a senior, and they were juniors. I didn’t get to talk often with them since they kept to themselves most of the time. Although I always did admire their lion manes, dare I admit I'm kind of jealous. “Happy birthday, Morgan.”

They say in unison, It’s almost kind of creepy. I get trapped in a three-way hug; their manes are so soft as I feel it brush up against my fur. Before I can make my way to my other best friend, Danny, someone else shows up. It’s my dad's co-worker, Felix, although he’s practically like family to me since he spent a lot of time at my house when I was growing up. Felix locks me in a hug. I can feel the warmth of his black jaguar fur that was practically soaking up the warmth. “Happy 22nd birthday, Charles."

I gave a small laugh in response; he always said I looked like a Charles; my friends looked at me and him awkwardly; they’ve never met Felix before, but I'll save introductions for later. “Come onnnnn! I’m practically dying to give you my gift right now!” Arthur groans, being impatient like always. Janel gives a courteous laugh in response, “You’re so impatient, Arthur.” She pokes light fun; they bicker as Felix and my dad converse about boring biology stuff, which was saying something since I'm in the same field as them. Lastly, there’s Danny, my handy badger friend that I met a little bit after Arthur in elementary school. We hug, laughing softly as we depart. "Here.”

He hands me a rather heavy bag with a birthday boy plastered on it, again with the birthday boy. “To 17 years of friendship,” he smiles, leaving me with the gift. My mom, who noticed I was struggling to even pick up the gift, came over to help me out. “Let me get that for you, sweetie.” She picks the bag up with relative ease. I mean, I knew I was puny and sort of weak, but I didn’t realize I was that weak. I blush a bit, feeling embarrassed; a singular tear drops down my cheek. D-did I just cry? Over a gift? I wipe the tear away before anyone can notice. I get back to the party. “Ready for cake, Mornie?” I sigh slightly. "Mom,” I say, the nickname Mornie is a sensitive topic for me. I was a notorious bedwetter in the morning, and so as a cruel joke, my dad called me "Mornie." I never got to live that down. “Right, sorry,” she flashes me a smile before grabbing a knife.

Everyone gathers around the table; I’m sandwiched between Janel and Arthur. My dad pulls out the cake, and to my own surprise, it’s a very childish-looking one, adorned with stars and purple frosting. The cake reads, “Happy birthday, Morgan." I mask my displeasure for the cake with a smile. I can’t help but think how sweet it will taste. I kick my feet slightly, like a child getting dessert. With carefulness, my mom cuts me a slice. “Here you go, Mona.” She smiles, giving me a hefty piece. Arthur slings his arm around me. “Enjoying your birthday?” He asks, raising a brow. “Loving it,” I respond, smiling as I eat my cake.

To my surprise, it's tiramisu, my favorite kind of cake. I scarf down the rest of the cake like a toddler; everyone watches me, wondering what's gotten into me. “You’re making a mess of yourself, Mornie.” My mom says, slightly concerned since I'm so well put together most of the time. “You used to eat like that when we were little,” Arthur chimes in. My mom grabs a napkin and cleans the frosting off my fur like a child. I want to protest, but there’s this feeling in me that stops me. “I remember you used to be such a nuisance on the playground, Mornie,” Danny chimes in. I blush further, the nickname Mornie being used again, even though they don’t know what it meant. “Up until you tripped and fell,” Arthur continues the story. “And you got exposed for wearing pull-ups.”

I narrowed my eyes at Danny. “You were in pull-ups during elementary school?” Janel says, masking her laughter, trying not to make it obvious but failing dismally. “Oh yeah, he used to always find some way to wet his pants on the playground." "Ahem,” I speak out, stepping on Arthur’s foot, to which he yelps in response. "But, uh, yeah,” Danny stops the story, knowing it only got worse. “I didn’t know you were... like that, Mornie,” I groan loudly. "Yes, but that’s the past; this is the present, and right now let’s focus on something else.” I slur my words slightly, sounding like a child desperately trying to not make myself seem like a literal loser.

“I think it’s time for gifts.” Felix weighs in his opinion; he knew better than anyone else about my issues growing up. “Mine first!” Janel shouts, and Arthur groans in response, “Mine second!” He claims second place; the Ylgr twins just laugh, along with Danny and my parents. “I like your enthusiasm." My dad says, grabbing Janel's present first since she laid her claim on me opening her gift first. My dad sets my gift in front of me and takes a seat next to my mom. She sighs, “They grow up too fast. Henry, " There’s an underlying blanket of guilt coating her words; she watches me tear at the gift like an animal. “You notice how strange he’s acting?” My dad asks, “Yeah, usually he’s more...” She chuckles slightly. “I can’t exactly think of what Mornie is.” I get a colorful new sweater with a moth print on the back and a paw print on the front.

“Wow! I love it!” I say enthusiastically; she’s gently surprised by my childlike enthusiasm. "I, uh, knew you’d like it." She pats my back; I become self-aware again and clear my throat. I put on the jacket, leaving it unzipped. “You look so cute~!” My mom says, snapping a picture of me, which I throw my hands up in defense to cover my face, "Ah, c'mon, Mona, don’t be lame,” Arthur says, gently tugging my arms down. I feel hurt. I lower my arms hesitantly so as to not be lame like Arthur said. He sees my hurt expression, conflicted between guilt and genuine surprise. “Uhh, I’m uhh, sorry,” he says, giving me a half hug and stroking my back slightly. I feel a bit better. “Smile Mona!” My mom says, holding up her camera as I muster a weak smile. After that, I go to my next gift.

My mom inspected the picture with my dad. “He looks so cute~!” Mom exclaims, and my dad chuckles in response. “It’s like he’s our little boy again,” Dad says sarcastically, but he secretly does wish I was younger. "Okay, mine next!” Arthur jumps up from his chair, grabbing his gift himself; he takes it over to me, plopping it in front of me. “I know you like that one cartoon with the dogs, so I got you something about it." My cheeks burn up, Danny snickers slightly, as I just got outed for still watching cartoons. I open the gift, and there is a badge that reads “Pawtastic!” I sheepishly smile at the gift, “Dig deeper!” Arthur almost demands, and I do as he requests.

Digging deeper into the gift, I find a green firefighter hat with a recycling symbol on it. He really got me this for my birthday? I don't want to judge, but I fear he’ll think I'm lame again, so I go back to the gift. Pulling out a soft green firefighter suit with hues of orange and yellow. I have a complete outfit now of my favorite cartoon character. I smile, “Thank you, Arthur.” I put on the badge and the helmet. Arthur seems sad that I didn’t put on the rest of the outfit, but he doesn’t say anything. Felix passes me his gift. “I thought really hard about what to get you,” I smile. “Thanks for going through the extra effort.” I take the gift; it’s a bit light, but I tear into it. There are several different items, mostly merchandise, figurines, and badges of my favorite dog from the cartoon Arthur was talking about earlier. “Wow! So cool!” I bring out the figurine of the gray dog, clad in his outfit like the one I have.

Felix is a bit taken aback by my response as I play with the figurine right then and there. Janel furrows her brow as the Ylgr brothers shoot each other a look like “Is he for real?” Arthur and Danny laugh it off: “What’s with the-” Arthur was probably going to make a comment, but thankfully Danny pinched his thigh before he could say anything. I make barking sounds as I play with the figurine, and my mom shoots my dad a look. “Uhh, Mornie.” He snaps me out of my playtime. Realizing what I was doing, I sunk into my seat, or bench. My mom scoots aside Arthur so she can sit next to me; she hands me her present. “Go on, open it, sweetie,” she says. I fumble with the wrapping paper. I try clawing at it, but that doesn’t work.

“Here~ Let me help you, sweetie.” I feel embarrassed as she rips it open for me. Revealing a big stuffy dressed in a lab coat holding beakers that were sewn to his paw. I cuddle the stuffed animal, leaning against my mother as I yawn softly. “Tired? Already?” Janel chimes in “Uhm, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” I mumble, stroking the stuffies fur, “You sounded pretty asleep to me,” Arthur scoffs, feeling skeptical. “Don’t press the birthday boy for details.” My mom comes to my defense. “Alright, mine next.” My dad winks, passing me his gift next with his big, strong arms. Once again, my mom helps me tear at it. She lets me tear the rest off, giving the illusion to myself that I did it as I happily expose the gift.

Inside was my very own lab coat, complete with my initials on it. I run my paw through the fabric of the coat, feeling how thick it is. I snuggle it up against me, like a blanket. “Thank you, dad,” I say. He gives a courteous laugh and pats my shoulders, almost knocking me down with the untapped strength he had. “Your welcome, Mornie.” My mind drifts back to the nickname Mornie; why was I upset about it? Never mind. Danny brings me his gift, plopping it down in front of me as he pats my shoulder. “I think you’ll really like this one.” He winks at me before heading back to his seat. Since it’s a bag, I just reach into it, pulling out a plethora of beakers, chemicals, and a blatantly overpriced book I was begging for two months prior. Although I really wanted this book since it had a lot of different biological purposes for me to study, I can't help but feel disappointed about receiving a book on my birthday instead of a toy.

Why am I thinking about a stupid toy? I go quiet, thinking to myself as my mom nudges me, “What do we say, Mornie?” She asks, insinuating me to hide my disappointment and say thank you. “Thank you, Danny,” I mumble, averting my gaze. Danny falls silent; he spent a lot of money and time searching for those beakers and chemicals. Deciding to break the awkwardness The Ylgr brothers bring me their gift; the smile returns to my face as I happily take it. I tear at the gift while Arthur scoots over to Danny. “You okay?” He asks, noticing his expression and sudden silence. “It’s whatever…” Danny mumbles. Once I'm all done with the gifts, we all gather around on a park bench to share a story about me, which I found uncomfortably awkward.

I took my seat between my mom and dad, snuggling into my dad’s muscular torso. Arthur is genuinely surprised; he’s never seen me this attached to my parents since middle school. Janel goes first with her story. “Well…” She smirks slightly. “I remember we had the same PE class together, and we were sprinting laps around the track, and he crashed straight into me." She’s the only one who finds that story remotely funny. “Okay, I see,” Janel rolls her eyes, slightly annoyed. "Okay, come back to me. I need to think of another story since there’s a tough crowd tonight." Janel mumbles sarcastically. Arthur chimes in, “I got one~!” He says, standing up in front of everyone to put on some sort of act. “So we had the same drama class our junior year, and we decided to do a duet together."

I blush a rosy color, burying my face in my father's bicep. He strokes my head a bit. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, bud." My dad reassures me, opening up his arm so I'm not suffocating in there. I missed half the story, which was good, but I noticed everyone was laughing. I blush again. “Moral of the story is, don’t pick Mona to be your duet partner." I stick my tongue out at him, which he doesn’t notice. Seeing no one else go, my mom decides to share her story. "Well, it was Mornie’s first day of 6th grade.” I yelp slightly, knowing this story. “And we just got Mornie to St-" I lean on her, drawing her attention away as I blurt out, "Felix, can you share a story?” Not expecting to be dragged into this Felix coughs, “Well...” He rubs the back of his furry neck. “I remember your parents were out this one time and...” Felix smirks, laughing slightly. “And I was watching you for the week, and one morning your favorite cartoon came on and you started dancing to the theme all silly.” That brings out a couple of “Aw’s” and a couple of laughs. I don’t really remember that, but I just laugh it off, cuddling my mom’s arm like an infant. "Alright, I have another story." Janel exclaims. “I remember we were in our AP history class and Mornie was on his phone, and the teacher walks straight up to him and asks him to put it away politely.” I blush; I wasn’t exactly proud of what happens next. “And I kid you not, Mornie responds with the most sassy tone ever, ‘Go away fossil.'" Arthur bursts out in laughter, while Danny smirks. “You said that?” My dad asks, slightly surprised and a little disappointed. Not wanting to seem bad, I whined, “I’m sorry! I’ll never do it again.” I sniffle into my mom’s arm; she strokes my back gently, soothing my nerves. Everyone is surprised by my outburst once again. “Morgan, are you alright?” My dad asks, and I look at him funny.

"Yeah,” I respond, and my dad shakes his head left and right. “What’s wrong, Morgan?” He says, leaving no room to argue. "Nothing, dad, I'm fine,” I responded, shaking off that energy from earlier. My dad sighs; he knows something’s up; he always has. We all slightly argue for a bit before turning our attention to the beautiful hues of orange and pink in the sky as the sun sets. We stare before packing things up. I promised my parents last week that I'd come over to their house and stay for the duration of my break. After everything's ready, we all disperse, but before Danny can leave, I take his hand. “I'm sorry about how I reacted earlier... That was wrong of me." I look at him, blushing. He smirks awkwardly, “It’s nothing, really." We hug; his fur is all rough from the physical work he does. “I’ll drop by tomorrow,” Danny tells me. We go our separate ways. I made my way to my parents' car since I promised Arthur he could take my car back to the dorm.

My mom’s driving and my dad’s already in the passenger seat, leaving me to sit in the back seat. I open the door, and I'm met with the familiar scent of my past. There lazing about on the seat is my old blue blanket, which I commonly referred to as “Blue Blankie” in my past. I smirk slightly before getting comfortable in the back seat. My mom and dad talk about boring grown-up stuff. I go to check my phone, but it’s dead. I groan slightly, feeling the boredness already surrounding me. I grab my blanket, snuggling with it as I lean my head against the car window. My eyes grow heavy. I try to fight off the feeling, but it’s too much. I pop my thumb into my maw and start sucking as I drift off into a serene nap, unconsciously sucking my thumb. I didn’t dream often, but when I did, it was usually something abstract. This time my dream was glimpses of something, like watching through blurry eyes or a filter that messed with my vision.

I could faintly make out a black hand pouring the contents of a drug into a baby bottle. I see something else; it’s Arthur sitting next to someone I didn’t recognize. Lastly, I'm in the arms of the last person I wanted to see. I promptly am woken up by my dad, “Morgan, wake up." He shakes me a bit, and I groan, waking up my eager eyes. My mom is looking at me generally confused. And my dad has an expression I can’t explain. “What?” I ask, confused thoroughly as to why they’re staring. Something putrid insults my senses, and I feel a warm sensation on my groin. I look down, and I'm thoroughly surprised to notice that there’s a gigantic wet spot on my now loose-fitting jeans. Did I get... shorter? My dad, being the comedian he is, lets out a laugh, “Hope you’re not falling back into that bad habit again."

I blush a rosy color. I always had an incredibly difficult time with bedwetting. “Morgan!” My mom scowls, clearly disappointed. “I just cleaned those seats!” She unbuckles me and tugs on my arm. I leave the car, plopping my thumb back into my thumb as my mom passes me my blue blankie that’s thoroughly soaked with urine. My dad lets out a loud laugh. “At least there’s no real damage to the seats,” he winks. He wasn’t wrong; my blanket and pants took the brunt of it. “Alright, come on stinky, I’ll escort you inside, birthday boy.” He takes my paw, taking my inside. I have to clutch the hem of my pants or else they’ll fall. “Dad, I can walk by myself.” I mumble quietly; he doesn’t seem to react. I think I spoke too low for him to notice. I was going to try and say something else, but before I knew it, I was sucking on my thumb again like a toddler. “That’s a bad habit, Mornie,” my dad sighs, taking my thumb out of my mouth. “But dad…” I say again, this time he heard me. "No but's Mornie; you should know better than anyone else; that’s how bacteria gets to you.” He unlocks the front door, still holding my hand as he takes me upstairs. “I’ll get you a spare change of clothes.”

My dad winks at me, leaving me at the front of the bathroom. I breathe in and out, walking inside and turning the knob; the water rushes out of the spout as I discard my soggy wet clothes. I toss my blanket on top of the pile as I get myself situated in the shower. The warm water cascades over me; it feels nice. I can feel all that yuckiness wash away from me as I bathe myself. I hear the door creak open, and I glance through the glass and the cloth. I see the outline of my dad through the cloth curtain. “Sorry, this is all I could find.” I wonder what he means; what could he have found?” I rushed the rest of my shower, wondering what awaited me. I step out onto the tile floor, my gaze dropping on the pajamas with a childish design. I blush a rosy color. Is this all they have? I shake my head, drying myself off as I rummage through the jammies and find another surprise. The briefs were even more embarrassing; I haven’t worn these since the twelfth grade.

The briefs were a dark magenta with spaceships and stars on them. They looked more like something a kid would wear, not a senior in high school. With little else left to do, I throw on the jammies. The long white sleeves fit snugly around my arms. To my own dismay, I find the bottoms are slightly too big for me. I hold the hem of the bottoms so they don’t fall as I walk out of the bathroom. My dad was waiting for me, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and everything. “You sure do take a long time,” he mutters, brushing past me to grab my clothes. “Mhm...” I responded. I readjust the bottoms again, trying to be as comfortable as I can as they sag. I walked into the kitchen downstairs; my mom was cooking up something familiar. "Hey, Mornie.” She greets me; she giggles at me and my attire. “I’m making your favorite tomato soup,” she informs me, taking a spoonful out of the pot.

“Mmm!” I respond before taking a mouthful of the soup. I’m thoroughly surprised to admit that it tastes awful. “Blech!” I respond, sticking out my tongue in such a childish manner. “You don’t like it?” My mom asks, no longer surprised since I've been acting weird all day. I shake my head in response. I let go of the hem of the bottoms, and they gradually fell around my hips, revealing my embarrassing briefs. My mom sighs, “Is that all your dad could find?” She grumbles, taking my hand and leading me upstairs. "Mom, it’s fine." I try to tell her, but it’s like talking to a brick wall, utterly useless. She takes me to my old room, where she finally lets go of my hand. Either she’s getting stronger or I'm getting weaker since I couldn’t pull away from her grasp earlier. She rummages through my old stuff; she reaches my jammies from eighth grade; they’re stained with a faded yellow substance, but they don’t stink. Living proof of my problems.

“Do I have too?” I roll my eyes, crossing my arms. My dad walks into the room. "Yes,” he says, coming in at the worst times. "Here,” my mom passes me the new set of jammies. I grit my teeth, furrowing my brow. “No!” I shout, stomping my foot. "Morgan, I’m not going to fight you on this,” my mom responds, calm as always. I just barely recognize how small I am now. I used to at least be an inch taller than her, but now I'm like a foot shorter. What’s going on? I freak out, sucking on my thumb as I don’t respond. My dad walks over to me, bending down on one knee and looking up at me, seeing the tears in my eyes. “Apologize to your mom and go get dressed like a big boy, okay?” He deescalates the situation further. “B-but-” I choke out, now gnawing on my thumb, “Morgan. Now.” He cuts me off, leaving no room for argument. I’m now bursting into tears, snot running down my white fur as I apologize. “It’s not that serious." My mom says, wiping my tears and snot with a handkerchief she always kept handy. “How about we skip dinner just for tonight and go to bed?” My dad asks, already prepping the bed. I wasn’t really hungry, so I comply, nodding my head as I continue to suck my thumb.

“Alright then, goodnight, bud." My dad gives me a hug before leaving the room, waiting in the hallway for my mom. She pats my head. “Get dressed and then go to bed, okay?” She gives me a kiss on the cheek before leaving and closing the door behind her. I drag myself into bed, wondering what’s going on with me. Why didn’t I just get changed? Why did I make such a big fuss over it? I stare at the ceiling for a bit before drifting off to sleep. Mom walks over to dad, “What’s gotten into him?” She whispers, “I don’t know... He hasn’t been like that since he was young.” My dad lets out a heavy sigh. “Whatever it is, I'm sure he’ll be fine tomorrow.” My dad tries to lighten the mood, and my mom nods her head. “Right…” She mumbled.

Chapter 2

My dreams were abstract once more, I was in a room with everyone, seemingly resting. Next thing I see is a lush field of wildflowers. I felt the warmth of the sun surrounding me, then a warmer substance ran down my leg. I woke up abruptly, taking a deep breath as I recuperated. I was drenched in sweat, and my room smelled vile. I looked down and noticed a large wet spot directly in the middle of my sheets. I instinctively started sucking my thumb, my shirt felt loose, I looked down at my free hand, noticing the sleeve draped over it. A-am I smaller?! I drag myself out of bed, my bottoms fall to my ankles and my briefs are falling around my hips. I attempt to dash to the bathroom but fall midway through the hallway, my knees scraped against the wood floor, I yelp, no longer caring about getting to the bathroom but bawling my eyes out. I start crying loudly, hugging my knee against my chest. “Mommy!!!!” I cry out, the tears bursting out in waves. My parents rush out of their room, scanning the area before making their way over to me, “Morgan?! What the-!?” My mom is shocked beyond all comprehension, although my dad isn’t really a thinker, he just does things without thinking twice, and that’s what he did, he scooped me into his big arms, gently stroking my back as I popped my thumb into my mouth. “Henry?! What’s going on?” My mother asks wearily, running up to my dad and checking my face, gently poking and prodding. My dad shakes his head “I don’t know…” Their gaze falls on me, sucking my thumb, I look like I'm back to being 12 years old again. My dad was strong thankfully and kept up my weight, “Look, we’ll discuss this soon” My dad says, brushing past my mom to the bathroom, “Henry!” My mom calls out, frustrated. My dad doesn’t heed her calls, he’s more focused on my well being. My mom scowls, their relationship hasn’t been the best as of recently. My dad sets me aside, turning on the warm water. “Alright bud, I need you to tell daddy everything, okay?” He’s talking down to me like I'm a toddler, which makes me feel even worse. I cry louder, “Hey, hey, hey” My dad strokes my back gently, soothing my nerves. My dad sighs, undressing the last bits of my clothing and plopping me into the tub, I go into a quiet sob, shaking slightly. My mom walks into the bathroom, arms crossed and infuriated with my dad. He doesn’t say anything though, but his silence proves he’s aware she’s there. “Henry.” My mom breaks the silence, my dad doesn’t respond, he continues to scrub my body. She shakes her head in response, “You are just- Ugh!” She angrily leaves, “Daddy…?” I ask, raising my head out of the warm water. “Yeah Mornie?” He sighs in response, draining the water. “Are…You and mom okay…?” He goes silent for a bit, wrapping me in a towel and bringing me out of the tub. He averts his gaze to the left, “Yeah we’re just…Having a difficult time right now.” He kept things vague, knowing I'd probably freak out if he told me the truth. “So” My dad reignited the conversation, taking me over to my old room. “I need you to tell me everything that happened yesterday, okay?” He puts me on the bed, covering me in a blanket. I retrace my steps, “Well…I was doing my assignments when Arthur walked in…” My dad pulls out a few pieces of clothing, “No like something that was unusual” My dad corrects me, “Well…I threw away some chemicals in the lab yesterday and when I came back there was this big pink cloud” My dad is intrigued, he knew Felix was more adept in the field of chemistry, “Why didn’t you say something yesterday?” He asks me, before walking up to me, holding a shirt, shorts, and some thick briefs. “I didn’t think it was that important…” I mumble, he passes me the briefs but I struggle to get them on myself “Here, let me help you” My dad being the gentle giant he is helps me get dressed in my red briefs with rockets plastered on it, my blue shorts with a white paw print on the left, and a bright red shirt with a cute train design on it. I felt like a walking billboard for an overgrown baby. “We’ll get to the bottom of it, mkay?” He gives my bottom a pat, before taking my hand. “Now let’s go downstairs and have some breakfast” He takes me downstairs, the sound of my mom’s voice becomes less faint and more prominent, “He’s undermining my every action, mhm.” My dad walks in, she glares at him, “Let me call you back.” My mom grumbles over the phone. My dad pauses for a moment, thinking about saying something. My stomach grumbles. “Dad…” I bring them both back into reality, “Right, why don’t you go watch some cartoons while we wait okay?” I try to interject but he scoots me to the family room, I sigh as he walks back into the kitchen. The thick briefs make it difficult to walk but I push through. I grab the remote and get comfortable on the couch. There I start watching some innocent cartoons, although I feel out of place, I’m back to being twelve years old and I'm watching these silly cartoons instead of helping my problem… In the kitchen my mom and dad we’re arguing silently, “You can’t just leave me in the dark like that!” My mother whispers at my dad sharply. “What do you want me to do?! Magically learn everything?!” My dad retorts, to which my mother scoffs in response. “You spend all that time doing biology and you don’t even know what’s going on with him?!” Thing’s we’re just getting out of hand, “I’m a biologist! Not a magician!” I peaked at them, watching them argue from behind the refrigerator. They’re arguing…Because of me… They go back and forth before my mom finally notices me watching them. They never fought in front of me, so I was surprised to say the least. My dad noticed my mom stopped arguing and looked behind him, wondering what the fuss was about. His face drops as he notices me sniffling there, practically on the verge of tears. My dad picks me up, holding me close to his chest as my mom gently strokes my cheek fur. “Look…I’m sorry, I'm just…Confused…” My mom admits, she was always a proud individual that always had a hard time admitting she was wrong. “I am too…But that’s not a excuse for us to be turning against each other.” My mom smiles, and I smile back, “So, do you guys have a basic idea of what’s happening?” My dad blows a raspberry on my cheek, which I giggle in response. “The pink clouds got me mom!” I shout in a childish manner. She giggles in response. “Did they now?” She pinches my cheek before turning back to the stove to continue making breakfast. My dad passes her a egg, which she takes and cracks open on the pan. “Apparently he threw some liquid chemicals into the waste bin and they mixed together creating some pink cloud of regression.” She looks over at me, which I nod energetically with a silly grin. “How old do you think he is now?” She asks, frying the eggs. “Judging from how small he is now, I'd place my bet on 12 or 11.” He shakes his head slightly, “I think he took the brunt of the reaction, hopefully his body will start accommodating to the chemicals and reacting properly.” He pushed my tummy playfully, but he poked a little too hard and I sniffled slightly and he apologized with a kiss on the cheek. “Do you think we should call Felix?” She mumbles to my dad slowly, I don’t hear her since I'm playing around with my fork and spoon. “He’s probably our best bet since he messes around with chemicals.” My mom looks over at me, “Mornie, did you happen to notice what chemicals you threw away?” She sounds serious so I mirror her tone, “No mommy” I respond, she smirks at me calling her mommy. I feel a growing urge to pee, I freeze up, crossing my legs as I didn’t want to move in fear of urinating. “Buddy, are you absolutely positive that you don’t remember the chemicals?” I shake my head no, releasing the floodgates. The pee soaks through the specially designed briefs and into my bright blue shorts, it drips down my leg and onto the floor, I'm too embarrassed to mention anything though. “Thankfully we kept all of your childhood stuff, or else we’d be in a lot of trouble right now.” My dad jokes, scruffing up my hair, “B-but, i’m a big boy! I don’t need any of my old stuff!” I retort, my voice pitched higher than I expected. “It’s nothing to be ashamed about Mornie” My mom tries to soothe me back into a good mood. I continue to pee again subconsciously, completely soaking my shorts. “It’s just for the time being bud” my dad sniffs the air, noticing something. My mom, having some sort of sixth sense when it comes to this, knew a minute prior, “Last I remember” She smiles, taking a plate of eggs and setting it in front of me, “Big boys don’t pee under the table.” I frowned slightly, “Buddy, you’re supposed to tell us when you need to use the potty.” My cheeks turn all rosy, “I don’t use the potty! I use the big boy bathroom!” I slam my fists on the table, knocking over a glass of juice. My dad rolls his eyes, “Come on Mornie,” He sighs, taking my arm and tugging me out of the chair. “B-but daddy!” I whine, tugging my hand back. “You’re making this bigger than it needs to be.” My dad sigh’s, picking me up by my armpits and taking me to the bathroom, where I frantically kick my legs in response. “This is just temporary Morgan, there’s no use in crying about it.” I sob furiously, the wave of emotions proven to be too much for me to handle. I stick my thumb in my mouth, sucking and biting on it. My dad shakes his head in disapproval, “You’re gonna get sick Mornie” He takes my thumb out forcefully, which I cry even louder in response. “Trish!” He yells from the bathroom, “Can you check Mornie’s room for his pacifier?!” He yells from the bathroom, “Sure” My mom yells back, I'm slightly taken aback at the suggestion of a pacifier, “I’m a big boy! I don’t need paci’s!” I shout again, kicking my feet as the tears run down my face again, why were they being so mean? “Morgan, just stop.” My dad grits his teeth at me, to which I pipe down in response. My dad sighs heavily, before undressing me and ridding myself of urinated clothes. My mom walks into the bathroom, holding plastic pants and a fresh pair of briefs along with my favorite paci from when I was younger. “I don’t remember him being like this when he was 12” My mom shakes her head as my dad wipes me down. “What’s gotten into you buddy?” My dad asks, I sniffle slightly in response. “I-i don’t know…I just want to be a big boy again.” I whisper. My dad looks at his palm, “Looks like you nicked me when you we’re flailing your arms around.” He shows me the little baby cut on his paw, the tears swell on my face, “I’m sorry daddy!” I shout, throwing my arms around his neck as I repeatedly beg for forgiveness. “Do you wanna know how you can make it up to daddy?” He asks very calmly, I pull back, tears in my eyes as I nod my head yes. “Tell mommy or me when you need to use the potty, mkay?” He pats back as I nod yes again with a determined look. “Atta boy” He smiles, grabbing the briefs and the plastic pants and helping me into them. He gets me situated into a new outfit, a pair of overalls with snaps near the groin for easier changes, even though I don’t wear diapers. The overalls are bright blue; I blush at how noticeable they are. “Now which do you like better?” papa asked me, holding up a red shirt with a fire truck and a white shirt with a black paw print on it. I sit on my bum, chewing on my furry finger as I attempt to decide what to choose. I seriously consider the fire truck, then my mind wanders off about the water in fire trucks. “papa, why does water taste like nothing?” papa sighs profusely. “Fire truck it is,” he mutters, carelessly throwing the other shirt back into my closet. I subconsciously lift my arms up as he helps me into my new shirt. I giggled softly, drawing a bit of blood from how I was consistently chewing my finger. My papa swiftly removes my finger from my mouth. “Mornie, you should know better." His words make me feel bad; tears start to well up in my eyes, but I feel the comforting taste of my paci in my mouth. I immediately start sucking on it. My papa smiles back at me. He takes my hand and leads me downstairs. We’re met with mommy cleaning the chair I was sitting on previously. “How was the big little man?” She asks my dad, “He was a good sport.” papa ruffles my hair, and mom smiles back in response, “Glad to hear it." papa leads me to the living room as my mommy motions for him to come over to her. He leaves me in the living room, not before giving my bottom a playful pat before handing me a few toys. I inspect them a bit closer. They’re the figurines Uncle Felix got me yesterday. I drool a bit, still sucking on my pacifier as I begin playing castles with my favorite figurine. I thought back to Uncle Felix; he’s always so nice, even though he’s not blood related. I feel all warm inside; truth be told, I was just peeing without noticing. My mind stops wandering once I hear a knock at the door, immediately wondering who it is. I get up and toddle all the way out of the living room and into the kitchen, where I hear a familiar voice, low and husky. It brings a pang of sadness to my mood and an overbearing feeling of guilt on my shoulders. “I’m looking for Morgan,” the voice cuts through the air like a needle through fabric. Mom notices me quivering, a hint of empathy on her face as she walks over and picks me up with a slight groan because I'm a little too big to be picked up. “What’s wrong, Mornie?” Mom asks me, and in response, I bury my face in the crook of her neck, throwing my arms around her shoulders as I sob quietly. She strokes my bag gently, walking back towards the front door where my past haunts me. A pale figure stands at the door frame. I hadn’t told anyone since I was afraid of what my friends and family would’ve thought if I was dating a human of all people. My dad stuttered for a bit; he was second-guessing himself, and I knew he, the handsome young man at the door, Miguel, was already suspecting something. Dad finally chokes out, “He’s not here.” He glanced nervously at me in my mom's arms. Miguel shifts his gaze towards me; his intimidating stance is like sensory overload for me. “Just now, you looked at that kid." Miguel was always one to nitpick everything. I remember how he could tell exactly what my true intentions were whenever I was talking to him. I guess that’s why I was so afraid to tell him I didn’t think we were good together. Miguel tilts his head. “I know for a fact that Morgan has one older brother." He narrows his eyes; my dad starts to sweat; he never was good with confrontation. “I don’t know who you think you are, but Morgan’s life doesn’t concern you, so stay out of it.” My dad slams the door shut; whenever something or someone challenged him on a level he didn’t understand, he usually responded with violence. Miguel strategically placed his boot directly in the way of rapidly closing the door; his hand slithered out from behind the door, gripping the very wood of the door and slowly opening it. His almost dead eyes bore at me, shadowed by the black bangs of his hair. “Tell Morgan I dropped by,” he turns away, walking off before stopping and peering back. “Cute kid.” My dad slams the door shut. “Wh does that miscrinate little-?" My dad is fuming; if this were a cartoon, his face would’ve become comedically red with a steam engine sound as smoke emitted from his head and ears. Unfortunately, this is reality, and I have to face it soon. “Morgan, who was that guy?” I don’t want to answer that question, so I choose my only option. I bawled my eyes out; my pacifier dropped from my mouth and onto the floor. All traces of anger on my dad’s face dissipated as he let his broad shoulder’s sag. He bent over and picked up my pacifier, clutching it like he was about to grind it to dust with just his bare hands. The distant sound of Miguel’s boots pounding against the cement slowly drifts off until all that remains is the whirring of the fridge and other basic kitchen appliances. Eventually my sobs dissipate, and I've come to the disappointing realization that my sobs have only further prolonged the inevitable. My mom carries me back to the living room; she takes her seat on the couch, and I sit on her lap, clutching her shirt. A soft smell of urine escapes my groin as my dad thinks about how to approach the situation. A moment of silence passes by before he speaks up. “Are you ready to talk?” he asks me, sitting on the recliner diagonal from where I am. I sniffle lightly, looking up at my mom before weakly nodding. “Who was that? And why was he so... obsessed?" I feel the heat grow in my cheeks, my furry face turning a bright peach color. “A-a boyfriend.” I speak below a whisper. My dad raises a brow, looking to my mom for confirmation if he heard what he heard. My mom silently nods at him, almost like she knew him telepathically. My dad groans, leaning back into the recliner, pinching the gap between his eyes. “And a human of all people,” he grumbled lowly. I never told him, or anyone, because I knew that this would be their reaction. I feared that things would change and that maybe they wouldn’t like me anymore. “Henry, keep an open mind. This is a delicate time for Morgan right now.” Mom reminds him of his responsibility as a parent. Although it doesn’t seem like he’s happy about it, he masks his disappointing expression. “Look, I won’t pry for specifics; all I need to know right now is if I need to grab my gun next time he comes around." I smile at his playful jab; I'm glad that nothing has changed for now. I nod my head with a big, silly grin. “Shoot the bad guy, Daddy!" I squeal with glee, and my mom giggles lightly. “I guess I'll leave my two little men to go get the bad guys,” she bounces me on her leg before setting me down. Papa immediately made finger guns at me and let loose on the trigger. I squeal again, dashing out of the way and behind the couch. We play for tens of minutes, each of us shooting imaginary bullets at each other. Eventually I go for the flank and have him directly in my line of sight. “I got you, daddy!” I shout, making a bunch of noises as I shoot my hand at him. “Alas! I’ve been slain!” Papa shouts, holding his heart as he falls to the ground in an exaggerated tone, “Tell your mother I-” He fake dies, and I giggle, sauntering over to his corpse and taking a seat next to him, “Daddy! Come on! I’m hungry” I pout, shaking Papa’s arm as he decides to stick to the bit and continue playing dead. I was about to pummel my fists into his arms, which probably would’ve gotten me in trouble now that I think about it, before the abrupt ringing of the front doorbell. With a long, exaggerated groan, my papa sat up. “If it’s that guy again, I'm going to lose it.” I can tell he’d rather be playing with me than answer the door. I frown. “Papa...” I mumble, and he glances back at me. “Come on, we can go see who’s at the door.” That helps my mood slightly. With practiced ease, he picks me up with one arm, which I cling to like a koala on a branch. He shifts me slightly so I’m comfortable. I yawned lightly, resting my head on my papa’s shoulder, subconsciously sucking on nothing. I pout and whine, fussing for a pacifier. “Always so needy,” Papa mutters lowly. He reaches into his pocket and places my pacifier into my mouth. I happily sucked away, as I couldn’t care less who’s at the door now. He bounces me lightly, approaching the door with long, meaningful steps. “Who is it?” Papa shouts through the door. "Felix,” the voice on the other side shouts, “And Danny!” Another voice pipes up, a stark contrast to the deep voice just a millisecond ago. Personally, I don’t care, even though I should. "Uh! One minute!” With swiftness, he takes me upstairs, where Mama is folding clothes on the bed. She glances over at us; my papa looks disheveled, and of course I’m resting on his right arm. Mama furrows her brow. “What’s wrong? Did you answer the door?” She asks, taking over one of Papa’s burdens by taking me into her arms. I squirm a bit, but get comfortable as she lays me down on the bed. “Felix and Danny are outside, and I don’t have a polite way of saying go away." Mama lets out a quiet giggle. “It’s simple, Henry,” she leans on Papa’s chest, an intimate moment that I fail to pick up on. She runs her hand through his chest. “Just say Morgan’s out for the break." Papa rolls his eyes, trying to pry Mama off of him. “And if they see Morgan?” Mama smiles softly. “We’re watching one of Morgan’s cousins.” I yawn again, cutting through my parents' banter. “Are you sure that lie will hold?” Papa has always been the type to worry. “It just gets worse the more you think about it,” Papa lets out a groan. “Alright, alright, just... Keep him up here while I get things situated. Papa leaves the room abruptly. Mama glances at me; laying on the bed beside me, she cuddles me. “You know what would be funny?” Mama asks, to which I respond with a slobbery and muffled “What mommy?” She smiles, grabbing a tissue from a tissue box next to her bed as she wipes off the drool from my face. “If we went downstairs and surprised Daddy,” my eyes sparkled with excitement, but mostly I just wanted to be with Daddy.