1) Phasing in... Spi Arrives

Spi did not arrive in fire.

No streak of light, no comet or impact crater. No government radar caught a whisper of what happened. Instead she simply phased in with barely a ripple in time or space.

The meadow did not know Spi was coming.

That was the first thing Spi noticed, even before she had eyes: the meadow was not expecting her. Where she came from, reality leaned into you when you arrived. Here, nothing leaned. She had to push.

So she pushed.

It felt like stepping through a curtain made of molasses. Slow. Thick. Then 💥pop💥gravity grabbed her like a hand around the ribs. Heavy. So much heavier than she’d guessed!

She slammed into the ground, stunned.  Then she started moving her awareness, feeling into her environment.  She was herself but… not.  She felt constrained, limited and small.

She willed herself to move and felt a twitch, a finger bending ever so slightly.  She had fingers… oh good!  Another twitch.  Toes!  Whew…. Humans were very similar in shape to her.  Just so dense.  And constrained.  She tried to lift off from her new body to surveil her surroundings.  Stuck!  Whhaaattt?  What kind of life-form can’t leave their body at will? This will take some getting used to!

Falling back into her new body, Spi really started feeling into it and occupying it fully.  She stretched into her limbs, feeling like she was donning gloves as she reached her fingertips.  Everywhere she stretched, Spi felt resistance.  It was like she was wearing a huge balloon that squeezed back with every move.  That was new. On her world, boundaries were suggestions. Here, they meant business.

Then she felt a twitch in her chest followed by a bit of a shudder which settled into a regular rhythm.  Her heart. New. Wet. Startled. Very much alive! She stopped to feel it, comforted by how familiar it felt.  Suddenly she gasped, her lungs filling with air.  She sputtered and coughed for a moment then settled into regular breathing.  Yes, so similar to the body and world she’d left.  But so different at the same time. 

She lay there for a while, fully feeling into herself.  Then she opened an eye.  Just one at first, curious yet a bit uncertain about what she might see.  First there was light.  Diffused like something was blocking her line of vision. She blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. The world sharpened into green and blue and gold. Grass. Sky. Sunlight. She opened the other eye and turned her head slightly.  She realized she was lying in a meadow, familiar yet completely foreign.  There were so many plants and flowers… life she didn’t yet have names for.

Hello, she beamed out to the meadow.  The meadow responded with a light breeze and a bouquet of scents filled her nostrils.  Delightful.  And… What was that smell?  Later she’d learn about manure but right now it was just a distinctive odor that was a stark contrast from the floral scents all around.

Slowly she moved her body, first waving her arms, then legs.  Finally she rolled on her side and sat up. Her body groaned. She stretched into it and cheered, “You’ve got this!”

She placed her hands firmly on the grass. Cool. Slightly wet. She plucked a nearby flower and put it in her mouth. Chewed. Spit it out. Bitter. Good to know.

Leaning her nose into a clump of purple flowers, Spi breathed in deeply. The smell hit her like a small, sweet explosion. She inhaled again. Again. Her eyes watered. She wiped them with the back of her hand and grinned.

Pressing her palms into the grass, she attempted to stand. Fell down. Stood up again. Took one hesitating step and wobbled, nearly tumbling to the ground.  Stood up again slowly, arms tensed in case she fell again.  Took one faltering step, then another.  Ten steps later she gained confidence and took a little jaunt around the meadow.  Then she twirled around, laughing aloud and thoroughly enjoying this new body.

A bird called from the forest edge. She turned toward it. Her ears worked. She could hear the wind, the rustle of leaves, the tiny buzz of something with wings. She closed her eyes just to listen. When she opened them, her vision was sharper. She could see a mountain in the distance and a path that led from the meadow into the trees.

She stood more steadily this time. Took a breath. Then another.

“I am Spi Ralyn,” Spi said to the meadow, to the forest, to the whole strange heavy planet. And I am going to learn how to be here. Because if I can't be human, I can't teach humans. And if I can't teach them, they'll never know what they really are.

She took a step. Then another.

The path was waiting. She walked onto it.