Emma.Pro tip: When your toddler starts teaching ancient cosmic beings how to play patty-cake, maybe don't mention it in your parenting blog."Left hand, then right hand," Violet instructed patiently, demonstrating the clapping pattern to a swirling mass of lights that had taken on a vaguely child-sized shape. "See? Easy!"The being – which Violet had dubbed "Sparkles" because of course she had – attempted to follow along, its form rippling with each try. The result was less patty-cake and more abstract light show, but my daughter didn't seem to mind."At least she's not teaching them Baby Shark anymore," Derek muttered from where he sat beside me on our back porch, watching the surreal playdate unfold in our garden.I snorted into my coffee. Yesterday's impromptu musical lesson had resulted in the ancient beings creating harmonies that made reality itself vibrate. We'd had to explain to our neighbors that no, they weren't experiencing earthquakes – just supernatural singing lessons.
Emma.Have you ever had one of those moments where everything hits you at once? When the weight of all your responsibilities crashes down and you can barely breathe?That's how I found myself at 2 AM, sitting on my kitchen floor, surrounded by the soft glow of ancient beings that now regularly drifted through our house, having what I could only describe as a full-blown panic attack.This has become my new reality. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold my phone, where dozens of unanswered messages blinked accusingly. Community leaders demanding guidance. Parents desperate for help with their evolving children. The supernatural world was changing, and somehow, I'd become everyone's anchor in the storm."You should be sleeping," Derek's voice came from the doorway, thick with concern."So should you," I managed, trying to steady my breathing. The lights around me pulsed with worry, responding to my distress. Great. Even cosmic beings were fretting over me now."Emma," he sa
Emma. You know that moment in horror movies where someone says "it's quiet... too quiet"? Yeah, turns out that's not just a cheesy line. Standing in my daughter's bedroom, watching darkness seep through a tear in reality while ancient beings of light swirled in panic around us, I finally understood what that phrase really meant. The silence wasn't just absence of sound – it was absence of everything. Like reality holding its breath. "Violet, honey," I said, forcing my voice to stay calm despite the fear clawing at my throat, "I need you to come to Mommy. Very slowly." But my daughter didn't move. Her small hands still held the edges of that impossible tear, her eyes fixed on whatever lay beyond it. "They're sad, Mommy," she whispered. "So sad it turned into anger. Like when I had my big tantrum at the store, remember?" I did remember. The day my two-year-old's meltdown over a stuffed giraffe had accidentally brought every toy in the store to life. We'd spent three hours corra
Emma.People talk about life-changing moments like they're these big, dramatic events with orchestral soundtracks and slow-motion scenes. Nobody mentions how they can happen in your kid's bedroom at 3 AM, while you're wearing old pajamas and that one sock with a hole in it that you keep meaning to throw away.The moment my hand touched the living shadow, everything stopped. The swirling lights, the creeping darkness, even the sound of Derek's worried breathing from the doorway – all frozen in a single instant of perfect stillness.Then the memories hit.Not mine. Theirs.Pain so ancient it had forgotten its own beginning. Rage so deep it had carved valleys in reality itself. Loneliness that made my worst moments of isolation feel like a casual afternoon alone.I screamed.Or tried to.No sound came out, but power did – raw and uncontrolled, exploding from me in waves that made the house shudder. Picture frames crashed from walls. Windows rattled in their frames. Somewhere downstairs,
Emma.You'd think that after all the transformations I've been through - werewolf, Seal-breaker, supernatural mom extraordinaire - I'd be used to the feeling of reality rearranging itself around me. But this? This was different.The darkness didn't just change me. It *unmade* me.I felt myself dissolving, every atom of my being coming undone like a sweater with a pulled thread. The sensation wasn't painful exactly, but the sheer wrongness of it made me want to scream. Except I didn't have a mouth anymore. Or lungs. Or anything really."Emma!" Derek's voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. "Fight it!"*Don't fight*, whispered another voice, this one made of shadow and starlight. *Remember*.Remember what? I wanted to ask, but communication gets tricky when you're currently existing as scattered bits of consciousness floating in the void."Mommy's doing the sparkly thing again," Violet's calm observation cut through my panic like a lighthouse beam through fog. "Like when she
Emma.The thing that emerged from the tear defied description. It was like trying to look at a black hole wearing a shadow's skin, endless and hungry in ways that made my new senses scream in protest."Get back," I ordered, my voice carrying harmonics that made the windows vibrate. "Mom, get Violet out of here.""No!" Violet protested, even as my mother moved toward her. "I can help! The sad ones trust me-""This isn't like before, sweetheart," I said, trying to keep my voice steady as the entity unfurled itself further into our reality. "These aren't sad ones needing help. These are...""Predators," the thing finished, its voice like frost forming on a grave. "The ones who fed on light and dark alike, until those pitiful families built their walls. Such noble sacrifice, giving up half of existence to keep us out."Reality rippled around it as it moved fully into the room, and I felt my new form responding instinctively, light and shadow swirling protectively around my family."You're
Emma.Coming back to consciousness after merging with cosmic forces feels exactly like the worst hangover you've ever had, multiplied by approximately infinity. Every cell in my body felt like it had been run through a cosmic blender and reassembled by a toddler with questionable artistic vision."...still glowing," Derek's worried voice filtered through my haze. "It's been three days, Sara. Three days of... whatever this is."Three days?I tried to open my eyes, but apparently that simple action now required a user manual. My eyelids felt like they were made of stardust and decisions."Mommy's waking up!" Violet's excited voice came from somewhere nearby. "Her colors are getting brighter!"Colors? What colors?I finally managed to crack my eyes open, immediately regretting it as reality assaulted my enhanced senses. The world wasn't just visible anymore – it was *readable*. I could see the story of every atom, the history of every particle of light. The room looked like someone had t
Emma.They say the hardest part of parenting is knowing when to let go. But usually that means watching your kid take their first steps, or ride a bike without training wheels. Not teaching cosmic entities the value of self-restraint while reality unravels around you."You sure about this?" Derek asked, his hand warm on my shoulder as we watched another wave of transformation ripple through the backyard. The grass briefly turned into crystalline memories before snapping back."No," I admitted, my voice still carrying those weird harmonics that made the air shimmer. "But I'm sure about what happens if we don't try."The void beings had paused their game, sensing my attention. They didn't look like holes in reality anymore – now they were more like living kaleidoscopes, constantly shifting between forms as they tried to experience everything at once. The light and dark beings swirled around them, caught up in their enthusiasm, adding their own chaos to the mix."Hey," I called out softl
Emma.Life has a funny way of coming full circle. One moment you're a normal teacher trying to help void beings understand humanity, the next you're standing in front of a classroom filled with every kind of supernatural being imaginable, all eager to learn the art of cosmic evolution."Remember," I said to the diverse group before me, "everyone's path to transformation is unique. What works for a vampire won't necessarily work for a werewolf. What feels natural to a void being might be challenging for a witch."The classroom – now expanded to accommodate our growing community – hummed with excited energy. Through my evolved awareness, I could see each being's potential shimmering just beneath the surface, waiting to be discovered.Derek stood beside me, his vampire-cosmic nature casting beautiful patterns across the walls. "The key is finding your anchor," he demonstrated, shifting between states while maintaining his core essence. "The thing that makes you uniquely you, even as you
Emma."Remember," Derek said to the small group of vampires gathered in our backyard, "it's not about fighting your nature. It's about letting it expand."I watched from the porch as my husband guided the first volunteers through their initial steps into cosmic evolution. Each vampire's shadow was beginning to shimmer with possibility, their immortal essence reaching for something new."Like this?" A younger vampire named Marcus asked, his form flickering between states."Almost," Derek moved closer, his own transformed nature casting constellation patterns across the grass. "Don't try to leave your vampire self behind. Let it be your anchor while you reach for the cosmic."First drifted between the practicing vampires, offering their unique perspective. "Is like learning new language. Still speak old language, but now can speak new one too. Both together make more meaning."From inside the house, I could hear Mom and Sara working with another group of supernatural researchers. The wo
Emma.You'd think that after everything we'd been through, nothing could surprise the supernatural council anymore. But watching a room full of ancient beings literally lose their composure as Derek demonstrated his new abilities?Priceless."Impossible," one of the vampire elders whispered as Derek shifted between shadow and starlight, his vampiric essence now interwoven with cosmic energy in ways that defied their oldest laws. "Our nature is fixed. Unchanging.""Clearly not," Mom interjected, spreading out her research data. "What we're seeing is a natural evolution of supernatural energy. The vampire's immortal essence provides the perfect conduit for cosmic transformation."I watched as Derek moved through states of existence as easily as breathing, his vampire nature not fighting the change but embracing it, enhancing it. He was neither fully vampire nor fully cosmic, but something gloriously in between."Show them the bridge thing," Violet encouraged from where she sat cross-leg
Emma.They say evolution is a slow process. Try telling that to a family that just accidentally created an entirely new form of supernatural existence over an evening kiss."So," Sara said, her scientific equipment scattered across our living room while she tried to make sense of readings that kept shifting into impossible patterns, "let me get this straight. You two kissed...""And the universe basically went 'oh, that's a good idea' and decided to upgrade everyone?" Violet finished, still experimenting with her new abilities by making small objects phase between vampire shadow and cosmic light."Not quite everyone," Mom corrected, looking up from her rapidly filling notebook. "Just those with a direct connection to both vampire and cosmic energies. Though the implications for supernatural evolution are fascinating-""Maybe we could focus on the immediate situation?" Derek suggested, his new form casting constellation patterns on the walls every time he moved. "Like figuring out if t
Emma.It started with a kiss.Which, if you think about it, is how a lot of supernatural revelations seem to happen in my life. Though this one was admittedly more spectacular than usual.Derek and I were having a rare quiet moment on the back porch. I was still in my human form, day ten of the "cosmic detox" as everyone had started calling it. He was watching the sunset with that particular intensity that only vampires and artists seem to manage."I miss this," he said softly, his hand finding mine in the growing darkness."Sunsets?""Being able to touch you without worrying about cosmic interference."I smiled, squeezing his hand. "Well, according to Sara, I should be able to start accessing my powers again soon. Though," I looked down at our intertwined fingers, "I'm thinking maybe I'll try to stay human-shaped more often."He turned to me then, and something in his expression made my very human heart skip. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "I've been thinking about what you said a
Emma.Have you ever had to orchestrate a disaster so perfectly that it teaches a lesson without actually destroying reality? It's trickier than you might think, especially when you're working with beings that consider quantum physics a hobby and existence optional."Everything ready?" I asked First as we watched the eager void beings put what they thought were the finishing touches on their transformation machine.They nodded, their form perfectly stable despite the excitement. "Others in position. Remember plan."The plan was beautiful in its simplicity, really. Sometimes the best teaching moments come from carefully controlled failure. And who better to control failure than a group of experienced void beings pretending to be inexperienced void beings?"Sara?" I checked my very human watch – another adjustment I was still getting used to."Containment fields are ready," she confirmed from her position behind the monitoring equipment. "Though I still think this is insane.""Welcome to
Emma.You know what's worse than a supernatural crisis? A supernatural crisis when you're temporarily grounded from your cosmic powers.The call came during what was supposed to be a normal human lunch break – another exciting adventure in remembering how to eat food that existed in only one dimension at a time. Mom's voice had that careful calm that immediately set off every alarm bell in my very human nervous system."So," she said, "don't panic, but we might have a situation at the void being integration center."I put down my sandwich, already reaching for my car keys. "Define 'situation.'""Remember those void beings that tried to speed-run transformation downtown?""Please tell me they're not back.""Not exactly," Mom hedged. "But apparently they told some friends about their experience. Friends who decided that if quick transformation was possible, maybe they could find a way to... streamline the process.""Streamline how?" I asked, though I had a sinking feeling I knew where t
Emma.It was strange, seeing myself as just... me. No cosmic energy rippling beneath my skin, no reality-bending aura, no occasional transparency. Just Emma, with bed hair and yesterday's t-shirt, looking simultaneously more solid and more fragile than I remembered.The smell of coffee drifted up from the kitchen, and my very human stomach growled in response. That was another thing I'd forgotten about – actual hunger, not just the abstract concept of energy needs that I'd been dealing with in my transformed state.Making my way carefully downstairs (after successfully remembering to open the door this time), I found Derek at the stove and Violet at the table, both watching me like I might accidentally try to float through the ceiling."I'm fine," I said, heading for the coffee pot with the determination of a heat-seeking missile. "Just... readjusting.""Uh-huh," Violet said, not even trying to hide her amusement as I missed the coffee mug twice before successfully pouring. "That's wh
Emma.Turns out, downgrading from cosmic entity to regular human is about as graceful as trying to parallel park a spaceship. In the dark. While wearing oven mitts."Focus on your breathing," Sara instructed as we sat in the meditation room she'd set up in her basement lab. The walls were lined with specially designed dampeners to block out cosmic frequencies. "Try to feel your core self.""I'm trying," I muttered, then winced as my voice made the air ripple. "But it's like trying to forget how to read. Once you know what all the letters mean, you can't just... not know.""Then don't try to forget," Mom suggested from where she sat taking notes. "Try to remember instead. Remember what it felt like to be just Emma."Just Emma. The phrase echoed through my being, stirring something deep and familiar. I closed my eyes, thinking back to simpler times. Movie nights with Derek. Teaching Violet to ride a bike. Burning dinner and ordering pizza instead. Normal, human moments.My form flickere