Slowly but surely, Joseph was starting to become more accustomed to the fact that he was now a girl. The first few days were rough, as he struggled to get used to his new body and to understand the

Once upon a time, a timid seven-year-old boy named Joseph found himself in the local grocery store alone for the very first time. His 22-year-old mother had given him permission, trusting him to run this small errand. Despite the permission, the vastness of the store and its towering shelves left him more than just a little intimidated. Nevertheless, he scoured the aisles, eventually locating the candy bar he had been sent to fetch. As he exited the store, an unfamiliar character stopped him. Chloe, a 42-year-old homeless woman with dirty brown locks and worn brown eyes, stood before him. Her outfit was peculiar, consisting of a thin tank top, short shorts, and bizarre leather wedges with a purse elegantly thrown over her shoulder. Despite being draped in such clothing, the day was freezing cold, in stark contrast to Joseph who was bundled in a beanie, gloves, scarf, thick coat, sweater, jeans, and thick shoes. "Have anything little man? Sorry, I have to ask you," Chloe's voice was coarse but gentle. Impressed by her state, Joseph, in his innocent voice, responded, "Here you go miss," before abruptly feeling a dizzy spell and losing vision. Once he regained his senses, he noticed an instinctive feeling – he was taller. A strand of long brown hair swaying in his line of sight snapped him back to reality. Surprise washed over him as he realized he was donned in the same thin tank top, short shorts, and strange leather wedges Chloe was wearing earlier. The purse was now resting on his shoulder. "What the heck? I'm tall?" he wondered aloud, clapping a hand over his mouth startled by a mature, female voice replacing his tiny one. Joseph sat on the cold ground, removing those wedges from his bare feet and taking off that purse from his shoulder, feeling they were too girly for him. The cold ground now felt different against his feminine feet. They were Chloe's feet. To confirm this peculiar event, he haphazardly walked over to a broken mirror lying on the footpath. Expecting to see his innocent childish gaze, he was instead met with the image of a woman who has seen unimaginable hardships. His new hands were older, his bare feet weren't his own, and something was different about his torso. He felt a mound upon his chest and with the cold realization hitting, he understood he had become a woman. Retreating into a nearby alley, he sat in silence, staring at the purse and those wedges, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm so scared! It's so dark! I hate the dark! The monsters are gonna get me! Mommy isn't here to kiss me goodnight! I wanna go home! I hate being a girl!" he sobbed in the female voice that felt so unfamiliar. Slipping on the wedges back onto his feet and shouldering the purse, he made desperate attempts to stay at least a bit warmer. But it was unsuccessful. The cold nipped at his skin, now feminine, and the chilling wind took a toll on him. Curling up into a ball, he buried his face in his bare legs, trying to keep his face warm. The tears streaming down his face turned into a waterfall, his body shaking not only from the cold but the fear and confusion that consumed him. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping it was merely a nightmare, but the painful reality of him stuck forever in Chloe's body weighed heavily on him. Now, he was no longer little Joseph but had unwillingly become Chloe.