Face your fears

Orion had been awake for a while but still pretended to be unconscious every time that woman glanced his way. He was still trying his hardest to pacify his mind that was in turmoil at the moment but nothing made sense at all. His body felt stiff and weak, his throat parched and the back of his head hurt, but none of that mattered, his focus was on the unfamiliar woman.

'what is that woman doing in my room!' Orion thought in confusion for the hundredth time, his heart still beating frantically.

He took another peek at her, praying to find her magically gone as if she were just a fragment of his imagination, but unfortunately the woman didn't disappear at all no matter how many times he blinked.

When he had just gained consciousness his first thought wasn't his confusion of still being alive like any normal person would, after all he could still vaguely remember that he choked to death. Instead his keen senses had drawn him to the slightly plump woman sitting on the couch across the room, even though she seemed engrossed with her phone, she kept glancing his way every once in a while.

'just what does that woman want ?' a distant memory crossed his mind for a moment then his body visibly trembled.

He really hoped the woman didn't harbour any ill thoughts about him or he will be doomed if he isn't already.

Suddenly he felt his dry throat was itchy again, this time he couldn't suppress it anymore and ended up coughing lightly making his throat and head hurt, but at that moment he didn't care. His body was tense as he slowly gazed at the spot the woman had been sitting on earlier.

' What are the chances that she didn't hear me just now ?' The moment he turned his head he got his answer as their eyes met.

'Zero then' he thought nervously.

"You sure took your sweet time to wake up" the woman spoke softly with a cold smile on her lips as she stood and walked towards his bed side, making him more nervous than before.

"Tell me, did you have such good dreams that you were reluctant to awaken?" She raised her voice slightly

Orion was stunned, the woman before him was very stunning but most importantly, she seemed to be in her thirties! Panic settled in him the moment he glanced around and realised he was in a strange room. He really hoped that he had been captured by a business rival and not by one of those women who fancy younger men.

With this thought in mind he suddenly sat up abruptly but was met with a sharp pain at the back of his head, he subconsciously pulled the hairs on his head as he hissed causing himself even more pain. When it became bearable, he suddenly noticed something out of place.

'Huh? Since when did l have such long hair?' looking at his own hands, he was shocked.

" What the f***? Why do l have such scrawny looking hands?" He accidentally said out loud from shock.

"M-my voice!..What happened to my voice?" He yelped with even greater shock.

His previous voice was very deep and manly that made him proud when he spoke, compared to his current voice the difference was like night and day, it was small and hoarse making his dry throat hurt so much every time he spoke.

"Tsk, did that bump make you lose your mind?" She asked mockingly.

Ignoring her, Orion hurriedly jumped off the bed, the moment he landed on his feet he was met with a sudden influx of memories that he was sure weren't his but they felt so familiar as if he had personally experienced them all. The speed of the flow on memories increased every millisecond along with the pain that came with it.

After enduring the pain for a while, he felt like his brain was splitting and melting at the same time.The pain got so unbearable that he wanted to scream but was held back by his pride as a man. He dug his fingers into his palms then bit down on his lip to resist screaming and curling up on the ground, only letting out a grunt after tasting blood in his mouth. Finally, after what felt like hours later the foreign memories slowed down and the pain receded then gradually stopped.

Orion breathed heavily as beads of sweat rolled down his face. It was unbelievable that the process only took a few seconds but he already looked like he was on the verge of losing consciousness.

When he finally looked up the woman was still looking at him or rather...her, looking at the woman again now, she seemed like a familiar stranger.

According to the memories he had just received, it seemed that the woman before him was his mother and he himself was a...a girl?

Shocked and unable to comprehend what was going on, he quickly got up and scurried to her all familiar bathroom, almost stumbling on her own feet along the way. When she finally arrived before the full length mirror in the bathroom, the cold reality sunk in. Opposite her stood the scrawny figure of a 15 year-old girl who was clearly still developing but also too thin, her brown hair was in disarray and her grey eyes widened the more she saw. She sized herself from head to toe, her sight lingering on her chest a few moments longer. Her body suddenly swayed, her vision getting dimmer and dimmer, she gently leaned on the wall for support as her vision faded.

'How the heck am l a girl ? I've always been a man!' she thought in bewilderment. Then a thought crossed her mind.

'Right...aren't l supposed to be dead?'

"This...is too much shock ...in one day" she said weakly as she lay down.

'What kind of a sick joke are the heavens playing with me? Do they think it would be funny to turn me into the one thing that I am most afraid to face? Is this the famous 'face your fears' phrase? ....how literal' she thought weakly with a self mocking smile on her dry and cracked lips.

Despite slowly losing consciousness, her stomach still growled loudly.

'And am so damn hungry!' she thought as she finally collapsed, losing all her energy.