I sat in my quiet, half-lit living room writing a letter to my family out in California. Only seeing them once a year makes it extremely difficult to proceed with my day-to-day life. Normally I write to them about once a month, but I haven’t written to them in three months. My life has been one big roller coaster that won’t slow down. I dreadfully licked the envelope and sealed the letter away. Hopping in my mini car, I took the letter to the post office. Normally, it takes about a week for the reply letter to travel from California all the way to North Carolina. I thought this time the delivery would be the exact same. 

      Five days had passed, and their reply letter had still not come in the mail! I was beginning to fill with fear as this was not normal. Immediately, I grabbed my phone to call my mom. She picked up the phone before the first full ring, “hello sweetheart.”

“Hi mom, have you received my letter?” I quickly asked. 

“Yes, we dropped our letters off at the post office on Monday.”

“Ugh, why aren’t they here yet?” 

“Just give it time Julie, there may have been a problem at a post office along the way.”

“Okay mom! I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Everytime I would receive a letter in the mail, excitement overflowed my body. This is the only thing I have to look forward to, being 2,648.5 miles away from my family. It was now Monday, officially a week since my family sent out their reply letters. I drove up to my mailbox clenching my fists, hoping the letters had arrived. Slowly opening the door, peeking above the top I saw once again, an empty mailbox. “I wish my mail would just come already.” Frustration filled my face. This is the longest it has even taken for me to receive a letter. The sun began to set behind the mountains, turning the sky a beautiful pink. My legs felt like jello and my vision began to blur. I slowly laid down in my bed and quickly fell asleep. 

Peeking through my curtains was the bright morning sun. While squinting my eyes, I turned over onto my side and grabbed my water bottle. I sat up from my bed where I noticed something strange. Why are my feet sticking out of my blanket?  I screamed at the sight of my hairy feet. But my scream was a deep growl almost. Panic set in as I frantically searched for my phone. I quickly dialed my mom’s phone number. “Hello, mom?” I said with a panicked tone. 

“Yes, Julie. Are you okay?”

“No! I woke up and my blanket didn’t cover my whole body anymore and my feet were extremely hairy.”

“Sweetheart, you might have just had the blanket pulled up further than normal. You may have just grown more hair.”

“Mom! It looks like I have a guy’s feet for crying out loud.”

“I am sorry! Just calm down, you will be okay.”

“Whatever mom.”

I hung up the phone as I felt like my mom did not understand that these changes are not normal for me. As I looked at the clock, I knew it was time for me to get ready for work. I slipped on my work clothes and noticed a huge issue. My pants only went to my mid calf when they used to go all the way to my ankles. Thoughts were racing through my mind, wondering why this was happening to me. I was turning into a male. 

The sun continued to set and rise as a manly change occurred to me each day. By the end of the week, none of my pants fit. My feet were a baby woolly mammoth, and my voice was as deep as the ocean. Suddenly, my phone rang. It was my mom. “Hi Mom.”

“Hi Julie. How is everything?”

“Not great. I am turning into a male.”

“What!?” 

“Each day something new happens that changes me into a male.”

“That is awful and makes no sense!”

“I don’t know what to do, so I guess I will just deal with it.”

“I was calling to see if you got our letter.”

“No, I still have not got it yet.”

“It says it is delivered on our end.”

“That’s weird. Must be delivered at someone else’s house.”

“I hope you get it soon Julie.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Talk to you later darling.”

“Bye mom.”

Seconds after I got off the phone with my mom, there was a knock on my front door. I walked to my front door and slowly opened it a little. There was a fairly young woman standing on my front porch with a letter in her hand. She said innocently, “Hey, Julie! I am the next door neighbor, and I received a letter that was meant for you. I received it on Monday and have been busy and forgot to bring it over to you.” She slowly handed me the envelope. On the envelope it read “Julie Beckham. 124 Shimermine Drive. Charlotte, North Carolina 6754.” 

“Thank you so much Becca! I have been waiting for this letter forever.” She smiled back at me and walked across the street to her home. I picked my phone back up and texted my mom saying I finally got the letter. 

With relief finally circulating through my body, I actually could get a good night’s sleep. I rolled over onto my side and peacefully fell asleep. The next morning I woke up and had immediate happiness. I looked down at my feet which were no longer hairy and my blanket actually covered my entire body. Quickly I jumped out of bed and put a pair of my pants on. “AHHHHHHH! My pants fit again.” Within seconds it felt like my life had been put back together and I could actually continue on as a normal WOMAN.