I fell asleep to the heavy drumming of a raging thunderstorm. The wind whipped tree branches around, knocked over trash bins, and dragged patio furniture across decks all around our small beachside town. To many, the winds of such a strong storm could be frightening -but here, it was just a usual summer storm. Such was my life.

Until it wasn't.

Until there was a sharp crack outside my window and glass began raining down on me.

Until the roof followed afterward, bringing along a thick tree trunk.

Until I stopped breathing.

Until darkness consumed me.

Until I opened my eyes in an unfamiliar room.

And I remembered.

I immediately shot up from where I was laying, swiveling my head around I absorbed everything with a horrified look on my face. A decent-sized room, big enough to have a blue wooden chest, a small bed, and a mirror propped up against a wall with room to walk in the middle. The walls were made of grey stone, decorated with stars and moons painted in pastel pinks and oranges. The high ceiling had several strands of lights crossing from one section to the other, giving off a pale light. My hands were still gripping the blanket that had been covering me before I had jumped out of the bed, the light blue cloth the only thing preventing my nails from digging into my hands. Something about the room was off. As if everything was slightly too large.

Slowly, I brought my eyes down. I was wearing a white nightdress that fell to my knees, my knees that weren't quite as far from the ground as I remembered. The ground, that must've only been a few feet from my head. My hands, with fingers shorter than I remember and nails wiped clean -a stark difference from the long, artfully painted nails I usually had. It was then that remembered the mirror across the room from me. Snapping my head up, I locked eyes with the little girl in the mirror. Blue eyes met blue eyes, and I brought my hands up to my face. It was *different*.

My eyes... are brown. I thought to myself. Covering my eyes, I blocked out the room, taking a deep breath.

"I'm dreaming." A smile began creeping across my face, "Of course, this is a dream. I must be drea-"

[System Integrating... 2%]

"What is this? Ha..." Feeling pressure in my head, words appeared within a floating pastel pink box. Uncovering my face, I quickly looked around -the box remaining in the center of my field of vision no matter where I focused my eyes.

[Sytem Integrating... 18%]

"System? What..." I paused, a sharp laugh escaping my mouth, "Like a game?"

[System Integrating... 36%]

"A dream. Yeah, a dream could have such a thing."

[System Integrating... 59%]

Pinching my arm, I felt the lingering sting, "I thought you weren't supposed to feel pain in a dream?"

[System Integrating... 70%]

The wavering grin finally fell from my face as I looked around the room again. The room clearly meant for a young girl who was well-loved.

[System Integrating... 83%]

A young girl. But I'm 28. Gripping my arms, I began shaking my head back and forth, "No, no -this isn't possible. It's not-!"

[System Integrating... 98%]

I began gripping the sides of my hair in my hands, curly brown hair coming again into my sight, "No! I have blonde hair. Blonde."

[System Integrated]

[Congratulations! You've experienced an otherwordly phenomenon! Experience accumulated.]

"Otherworldly... phenomenon?" Forcing myself to release my grip, I lowered my hands to my sides, focusing everything on the box in front of me.

[Congratulations! You have experienced intense trauma threatening your mental stability! You've learned the skill: Mental Fortitude.]

"Wha-" Before I even finished, more and more boxes started to appear below the one in my vision. As soon as I read one, the next one flipped up.

[Congratulations! You have memories of another world! You've learned the skill: Otherworldly.]

[Congratulations! You have shown arithmetic skills any Scholar would be proud of! You've learned the skill: Quick Calculations.]

[Congratulations! You have discovered knowledge forbidden by the Gods! You've learned the skill: Tight Lips.]

[Congratulations! You have been noticed by the God of Chaos, Grel! You've learned the skill: Steal Nerves.]

[Congratulations! You have been noticed by the God of Order, Brel! You've learned the skill: Sophism.]

More and more, confusion settled into my mind.

"Grel? Brel? Gods?" I paused, re-reading the boxes again, the meaning lost in translation.

That was when a knock brought me out of my thoughts, and the door across the room began opening. With as much speed my small body could muster, I ran back into the bed and covered myself in the blanket. Forcing my eyes shut, I waited for whoever it was to leave.

"..."

The person took a few steps into the room, making their way to the bedside.

"..."

They were just standing there? Creepy. I held tried to keep my breathing slow, which was easier than when I'd been breaking down reading the boxes earlier.

"What are you doing?" The person, whose voice was distinctly young and male, sounded not quite annoyed, but less than thrilled, "Eunora."

The boy paused for another moment. I could feel him crouching close to me. I could feel his breath on my face. My heart started pounding in my chest.

"Eunora!" With a start my eyes popped open and the boy whacked me on the forehead, "You're such a faker -hurry up, Lina has breakfast ready."

I took in the face of the boy in front of me, he couldn't be older than 8 or 9, but the resemblance was striking. His bright blue eyes matched mine, and his hair was cropped short but the front was just long enough for a single curl to form. He was quite a cute kid.

Theo. The name popped into my head as the boy took a step back and twirled on his heel, heading out of the room.

Who is Theo?

[System Error: Memory damage suffered during integration!]

Memory damage?

[System Error: Memories attached to soul not found!]

"Wha-?"

[System Error: Solved! Memories attached to soul located!]

As I read the new box, I felt something in my mind unlock. It felt as if I was waking up in this room all over again. Images flooded my mind -of young boys and girls playing in a garden, of horse riding lessons, of tripping over a rug. Memories of a life I didn't remember. No, memories I did remember. As they ran through my head, the memories fell into place in my mind. There is no other way to describe the sensation but to say that suddenly I became two people at once.

I am Maria Pierce, 28 years old, a successful business professional. I am Eunora, 6 -no, 7 years old, one of six children. I became both an adult passionately in love and a young girl dreaming of a prince. I am both an educated woman and a child who has just learned to read. I am both a human of Earth and a citizen of Maeve.

And then I became one.

Everything began falling into place around me. I knew where I was. I knew who Theo was. I knew why Lina made breakfast.

Throwing myself out of bed once again, sliding my feet into the now-familiar slippers that had been half-hidden underneath a stuffed bunny on the floor. Quickly, I made my way out of the room -pausing as I reached the door frame. I looked back over my shoulder, bit my lip, and then grabbed the bunny before running down the hall.

The hall was lined with wood paneling, a new painting decorating the walls every few feet. I passed by several doors on either side of the hall as I finally reached the stairs, running down as fast as I could without losing a slipper. Passing through the living room downstairs, which held a small piano, a bookshelf, and plenty enough seating for the whole family, I slid into the archway of the dining room.

As I crashed into the table, I caught myself before my head hit the wood. I looked around at the faces seated so far. All seven people were looking at me, the two adults with their eyebrows raised, the five children of varying ages were either just as confused or holding back laughter. I met their eyes, one by one, a look of shock on my face.

"I..." Taking a moment, I leaned away from the table to steady myself and cleared my throat, "I'm here."

"Told you I woke her up!" Theo laughed from across the table.

"Good job, only took you a whole year." A girl, about thirteen laughed from nearby. She had straight brown hair that was tied up, and the same sharp blue gaze as the man at the head of the table. Eve. Dad.

"Sorry," I mumbled as I pulled back one of the heavy wooden chairs and climbed up, "I had a bad dream and it took me a long time to fall back asleep."

As I was settling in, I watched as Theo threw a piece of bread at Eve while pulling a face at her. She barely caught it as it bounced off her chest. The other kids around started laughing and going back to what they were doing, but the adults both looked at me with soft eyes.

"Nora, what was your dream about?" The woman, mom, had thick curly hair that went to her shoulders and a gentle face. Her hair was strawberry blonde and her eyes were a deep brown, "Are you feeling better?"

Pausing, I looked down at the place setting in front of me. Mumbling a response, I picked up a biscuit and began buttering it.

"What was that? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you-" My father chuckled as a rogue chunk of biscuit flew back a Theo, distracting him.

"I died."

Again, the whole table froze and looked towards me, and whatever emotion was on my face must have affected them. A moment later everyone roared to life.

"Sweetie!" "Sissy!" "Eunora." "Nori!" "Nora." "Bug!"

A chorus of worry flowed out of everyone, except for a young boy right next to me. Leonard. Leonard looked like the spitting image of our mother, and he was younger than me. Instead of calling out to me he simply leaned into me and hugged me, tears threatening to fall from his wide eyes.

Putting my hands up, I smiled, "I'm okay! I woke up! It was just a nightmare. But..."

I looked around the table again, my grin a bit sheepish, "It was so lifelike, I actually got a skill from it."

A clatter resounded around the room as my mother dropped her glass on the table, fortunately without spilling anything, "Excuse me?"

"Uhm," I looked down at my plate, trying to keep my smile under control, "I got Mental Fortitude."

At that, Eve stood up, anger contorting her face, "Don't lie Eunora!"

Theo sighed, and father shot Eve a look before looking back to me, "Nora, are you certain?"

"I think... so?" Taking a moment before looking back at my father's eyes, I swallowed, my smile faltering, "It even said 'Congratulations!'."

This time, the boy at the other end of the table cleared his throat. He was about fifteen, the oldest of the siblings, Raphael.

"Bug..." He paused, almost hesitantly, "That's not possible. You haven't unlocked the system."

"But-"

"Gods, Nori, there's no reason to lie- it unlocks on your 7th birthday anyway." Eve shot at me, "That's like a week away."

At that, I felt my face go red and tears form in my eyes. I focused on my food. Everyone was once again silent.

After several moments I found my voice, and asked softly, "What day is today?"

Hearing father clear his throat, I didn't look up, "It's the third week of fall."

"When... when was I born?"

Eve scoffed, "Obviously, you were born the fourth week."

"No," Tears flowed freely despite my will, "I wasn't."

Again, silence. I didn't look up, but I could feel everyone looking frantically at each other.

"I unlocked the system while I was sleeping," I lifted my head, meeting everyone's eyes once again, "And when I woke up I had gained a skill." And more.

Sliding out of the chair, I simply left the room and made my way back upstairs. With a sigh, I opened my door and let myself fall into my bed, "My old family wouldn't treat me like this."

[Congratulations! You have shown your ability to blend into the background! You've learned the skill: Stealth.]

"That's so messed up."