Have you ever woken up one morning and asked yourself: "Why? Why do I suddenly have fox ears and a tail?"
"No?"
"Hah… Probably not…."
"Xiaxia, why are you talking to yourself, and why are you calling me so early in the morning? You know I went to the bar last night, yet you still called me at 4 am! I just got home at 3 am and had just fallen asleep!"
"Hah… Yes… You're right… Why would I call you at 4 am… Maybe this is all just a dream… I will go back to sleep, good night Yan'er..." Shen Xia, or Xiaxia, as most of her friends call her, pressed the red hangup button on her phone as she looked in the mirror in a daze. She had gotten up to go to the bathroom earlier, but when she walked past the bathroom mirror, she was met with a set of fox ears on her head, and when she looked down, she found a fluffy tail coming off the very top of her butt.
"Hah!"
"Hahaha!"
"Such a weird dream..."
"I'm going back to sleep..." Shen Xia walked back to her room and to her bed, laid back down, and drifted off to dreamland. As for her friend Fin Yan, nicknamed Yan'er, she stared blankly at her phone for a few minutes before tossing it to the side and pushing her face back into her pillow.
The morning sun shined down through the small window of her room. The room itself was quite small. There was only a single person bed, with a thin mattress, a side table, and a metal rack for her to hang her clothes upon. Although the walls and the ceiling had visible cracks in them and parts of the wallpaper was slowly starting to peel off, the rest of the room was kept very clean.
"Ngh… Time to get up already?" Shen Xia could feel a vibration next to her head as her phone's alarm went off. This phone was an old flip phone, but it was cheap and durable. It has lasted Shen Xia for a few years now. She yawned as she searched around for it on the bed. Once she found her phone and fumbled it open to shut off the alarm, Shen Xia finally lifted her head to get up.
It was just that… When she moved, she felt something soft brush past her leg. Shen Xia lifted her blanket to see something soft and fluffy resting by her leg. Curious as to what it was, she reached down, picked it up, and pulled on it... "Youch! What the hell!?"
Shen Xia suddenly had a really bad feeling when she felt pain after pulling on this fluffy tail looking thing. Just to make sure she was not dreaming, she gave the fluffy tail looking thing another hard yank. "Youch! Tss… Okay! Yes, it is definitely attached to me. Which means..."
Shen Xia's hand trembled as she reached up and touched the top of her head. First, she touched where her ears were supposed to be, but when she felt nothing there, her eyes became watery as she moved her hand up further and felt a soft fox-like ear on the top of her head. Shen Xia shot up from her bed and ran out of her room with tears in her eyes. "Grandma! I've become a monster!"
She had thought it was all a dream last night! But it was not a dream at all! Zi Shu, Shen Xia's grandmother, was in the kitchen making breakfast for her wonderful granddaughter when she heard her yell out. "Grandmother! Look, I have become a monster!"
"Xiaxia, what are you talking about? How can my beautiful granddaughter become a monst… Oh my lord, you have become a monster!" Zi Shu had turned around only to see her precious granddaughter with a pair of fox ears and a tail!
"Grandmother, see! I told you… What should I do!?" Shen Xia's ears drooped down, and her tail sagged as she gazed up at her grandmother with her watery doe eyes. At that moment, Zi Shu felt like her heart was about to burst with how cute her granddaughter looked! She was like a little puppy who you just couldn't say no to.
"Humph! What monster? It's just some ears and a tail. Come here, Grandmother will take a look at you." Zi Shu waved Shen Xia over, completely changing her tune when she realized how much cuter her granddaughter got.
"Umm… Grandma… Why are you petting me?" Shen Xia felt depressed. Her own grandmother was treating her like a pet!
"Ah! Ahem..." Zi Shu blushed after realizing what she was doing. "This… It's nothing to worry about. It runs in the family… Once every few hundred to five hundred years, one of our descendants will turn into a fox girl, something to do with the summer solstice and the purple moon. Anyway, come eat, it's almost time for school. You are graduating this year, so you need to do well on your finals for college. "
Shen Xia stared at her grandmother, who just said something major and then blew off her current situation as if it was nothing! How was she supposed to go to school looking like this!? Shen Xia bit her lip and looked at her grandmother for answers. "What did you mean, by every few hundred years, someone in our family turns fox girl? How can I go to school like this?"
"Just stay home today. You will need to fend for yourself for food, though. Grandmother needs to go out and settle a few things." Zi Shu walked over and patted her granddaughter's head. Then scratched her behind the ear. Completely ignoring the first question Shen Xia asked.
"Grandmother!' Shen Xia pouted. Her grandmother was treating her like a pet again!
"Ah! Sorry. This new look really does suit you… Ahem… Alright, I will go get ready. Don't leave the house if you are staying home. I will get you a few things as well that may help with school. You can't not go to school. You have worked too hard all these years." Zi Shu leaned down and hugged her granddaughter. "Xiaxia, I know this is all new and scary. I promise I will give you a proper explanation later."
"Then I will wait for you here... " Shen Xia could only wait. Luckily she could stay home today to figure out what to do next. But one thing was for sure, Shen Xia had never thought a day would come when she would become a fox girl.