What makes a family
A young man gets a letter that drastically changes his life
I awoke to my alarm ringing. I reached over to my nightstand, and tried in vain to mash the buttons and get it to stop buzzing. I don't know why I bothered because it never worked. I finally drug myself into a sitting position and found the switch to silence the alarm.
I heard my mom calling me from the dining room- "Hunter, hurry up or you are going to be late." Ugh. I hated getting up in the morning. It was half past nine, and I had promised some of my friends that I would go with them to get our books for the next semester of college.
It was a chilly morning, so I hurried into the bathroom to take my shower and get ready for the day. Once I was back in my room, I quickly threw on some boxer briefs, a pair of sweatpants, and a thermal shirt, and headed down to breakfast.
My mother was waiting for me as I came in and started messing with my hair. She had always loved to try and fix my hair, which I had let grow longer and never bothered to brush out.
I had been adopted when I was pretty young. My parents never tried to deny it, and there wasn't much point as I had bright red hair and freckles, and no one else in the family did. I didn't remember much about my birth family, and had never really had an interest in finding out more about them.
My adoptive parents couldn't have loved me any more if had been their own natural child, even fully accepting me when I came out as gay in my freshman year of high school.
After a few minuets she gave up and smiled at me, "Breakfast is on the table, Honey." I looked over and saw a nice plate of freshly cooked scrambled eggs and bacon. They smelled great, and I couldn't wait to dig in. I thanked her between bites as I wolfed the food down. Mom was the best cook I had ever seen.
Tossing my plate in the sink and slipping on my shoes, I grabbed my coat and ran out the door just in time to meet up with my boyfriend, Kevin. I hopped in the car and greeted him warmly, and we were off to the campus bookstore.
It was still early in my college career, so I was still taking those basic courses that always seemed to have the most expensive texts. By the time we were done getting our books, notebooks, and other lab supplies, we had each rung up a total of almost a thousand dollars. My mom was going to faint when she saw the bill.
Kevin and I loaded our purchases into his trunk, and decided to grab something from the food court in the student union. It was fairly empty this time of year, as only a few students stayed on campus between semesters. As we ate we talked about what we were going to do for the rest of break, and what classes we had signed up for. We always tried to have at least one class together so we would have an excuse to get together and uh... study. Yeah, that's it study.
It was late in the afternoon when I got home, and drug all my books up to my room. As I was putting them away, my mom came into my room. I gave her the receipt, and she scanned it with a serious look on her face. "It's going to take you along time to work this off with what I pay you." She joked. I laughed, hoping I could get a couple of semesters use out of the more expensive ones.
After putting everything away, including a few loads of laundry mom had been nice enough to throw in for me, I went down and grabbed a soda. I spent the next few hours playing video games until dinner was ready.
After diner, I went back to my room and texted Kevin while binging a few shows on Netflix. We got really involved in our conversation, and before I knew it several hours had passed.
I don't know exactly when I fell asleep, but it seemed awfully early when my alarm went off in the morning. I looked down at my self and realized I had slept in my clothes.
I peeled off my clothes and headed to the bathroom to do my daily routine. By the time I was dressed and ready for the day, it was almost noon. I went downstairs, and found a note my parents had left, saying they had gone out shopping, and didn't want to bother me, and would be back later. Knowing them, that meant I had the day to myself.
I made myself a sandwich and looked through the mail. I found a hand written envelope addressed to me. I didn't recognize the return address, so I opened it carefully. As I read through the letter, I discovered it was from someone claiming to be my birth parents. I don't know how they found out where I was, since the records were supposed to be sealed, but they wanted to meet me.
I dropped the letter not quite believing it, and unsure of what I wanted to do next. After thinking for a few minuets, I called Kevin and invited him over. He showed up a few minuets later, and I showed him the letter. He read it over a few times and couldn't believe it.
We talked about the letter for a while. Since they were essentially strangers to me, I told Kevin that I didn't really want to meet them. He agreed with me, so we tossed the letter out and thought that would be the end of it.
We spent the day playing games and messing around. My mom sent me a text that they had decided to go out for dinner, so we ordered a pizza. It was late when Kevin finally had to go home, and I spent the rest of the night thinking about the letter, how they learned where I was, and wither or not I really wanted to meet them.
I put the letter out of my mind, and had nearly forgotten about it, when about a week later another one showed up. It was much the same as the last one, but was more adamant about wanting to meet me.
I showed the letter to my mother, and she read it over. She, like me, was baffled how they had gotten our address, but said it was up to me if I wanted to meet them, and she would understand my decision no matter what it was.
Over the next few weeks, I mulled over what I wanted to do, and I even scoured social media looking for more info on the names in the letter. I didn't find a whole lot, but the letters kept coming.
Eventually I decided it couldn't hurt to meet with them once if they were so desperate to find me. I sent them an e-mail through the account they provided saying I would meet with them, but I wanted it to be somewhere public, and I wasn't going to commit to anything.
I quickly got a reply back saying simply "agreed" and the address of a nearby restaurant and a time and date.
The next couple of days passed uneventfully, and it was soon time for me to meet my "Parents". I put on some reasonably nice clothes; I wasn't going to get too dressed up for strangers. I was nervous as I walked the block or two to the restaurant.
When I arrived, they had a reservation in my name, and led me to a table that wasn't exactly out in the open, but wasn't really hidden either. I sat down, and ordered a soda while I waited for everyone to arrive.
It wasn't long before a couple that were a few years younger than my mom and dad to arrive. The host led them to the table, and I stood up and shook hands with them as they introduced themselves.
They said their names were Jim and Susan, and I did have to admit I could see a strong family resemblance. Dinner went fairly smoothly, we chatted and they asked a lot of questions about my life, including about my hobbies and boyfriend, and how I was doing in school. By the end of the meal, I was feeling more comfortable, but something was still bothering me about all this. Why the sudden interest in me? I never got a good answer, they just thought it was time to get to know me.
As dinner ended, and the plates were being cleaned away, Jim and Susan got up to leave, and said "We know this must be overwhelming to you, so we wont keep you too long. Hopefully you will see fit to come and join us on our vacation in a few weeks, so we can get to know you better." They started to walk off, but Jim turned back to me and handed me an Envelope. "Here is a little something for you since we missed most of your birthdays and high school graduation." After they left, I sat a few minuets to collect my thoughts. I opened the envelope, and inside was a very generous check made out to me.
When I got home, I showed my mother the check and told her about our meeting. She listened to every word, and asked me how I felt about it. I told here I wasn't sure, and something was weird about it. I know she understood. "Don't worry, you'll always be my mother." I told her. I don't know if I was trying to reassure her or myself.
I didn't waste any time the next day depositing the check. It would go a long way towards covering my tuition for the next few semesters, and still let me have a little left over to spend on some of the other things I had been wanting, like a new tv and some video games.
After being so generous with me, it piqued my interest and I wanted to know more about what they did. When the details came through, I accepted their offer and decided to spend two weeks with them at their vacation home.
The itinerary looked fun, and I convinced myself that I would enjoy the trip no matter what. I quickly packed my suitcases and could hardly wait until the next morning when Jim and Susan would pick me up for the trip. It took forever, but I finally fell asleep.
When I got up the next morning, I didn't allow myself enough time, so I had to rush a little to get dressed and ready, throwing on a long sleeve t and some sweat pants. Mom made sure that I had time for breakfast. When I came down, she looked me over, and couldn't help playing with my hair. "You know I love you." she told me. "I know. I love you too." I replied.
I barely had time to finish my breakfast before the van pulled up. We said our good byes as I rushed out the door. The driver helped me put my luggage in the back, and as I got in and fastened my seatbelt, I couldn't help but wonder if I had made the right choice.
The ride to the airport was uneventful, and I met Jim and Susan outside the terminal. We went it together and they helped me get checked in. Once we made it through security, we found some seats and waited for the flight. We chatted some, but I was more interested in what we would be doing on the trip.
Jim had reserved us first class seats on the plane, and I was amazed. I had never flown before, and I had a widow seat with a great view. Jim and Susan asked me all kinds of questions about my childhood and I answered without really thinking about it, keeping my eyes glued to the scenery outside. If I had been paying a little more attention, I might have seen them taking careful notes of what I said.
Once the plane landed, we retrieved our luggage and set off to the house where we would be spending our vacation. We spent the afternoon walking around the grounds, taking in the sights. By dinner time, I think Jim and Susan had been caught up on everything that had happened to me since I was adopted. We went out to dinner that night, and turned in early as we had a big day planned.
The next morning Susan woke me up early and told me to get ready, as we were going skiing. I had never been and was eager to try. I quickly got dressed and met Jim and Susan in the kitchen where we ate breakfast.
I spent the first few hours in a ski class learning how not to fall on my butt, oh yeah- and how to steer and speed up and slow down. After graduating from that, I moved onto the beginner's slopes. Susan stayed with me, and Jim had to show off by going down the advanced slopes.
I had the time of my life, and by the time we got back to the house, I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. We ate a quick dinner, and then I went to bed. I must have drifted right off to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I woke up the next day with a splitting headache. I new right away something was wrong, as I was trapped in a cage in what looked to be a warehouse or maybe some kind of lab. I could hear the sound of dogs barking in the distance. And of course, looking down at myself, I could see that I was completely naked.
Jim had obviously been waiting for me to wake up, as he walked into my line of sight a few seconds later. "Ah good you're awake. I'm sorry we had to do this to you, but as you can guess we are not really your parents." He told me.
He went on to explain that I was really part of an elaborate experiment, and it was time to gather the data. He said my mom was in on the experiment and knew what was going on. He assured me that she really did love me, and wished this didn't have to happen.
I didn't know what to expect next, but I was only left alone for a few hours, before some techs entered the lab. I was removed from the cage and subjected to a number of tests. I was weighed, and they took blood samples, muscle samples, just about anything they could take a sample of really. None of the techs would talk to me, and they all had a kind of sad look in their eyes.
The next morning I was awaked by the prick of a needle being inserted into my arm. I looked up and saw Jim holding the syringe. "Sorry about this, but we need to reverse what we did to you." He said, looking genuinely sorry. I must have blacked out because the next thing I new it was several hours later.
I started to get up and found some pain in my arms and legs that kept me from getting fully upright. My body felt very itchy and I saw that I was covered with a thin coat of red hair all over my body.
The most interaction I had with people over the next few days was a few more injections, and being fed. The cage was designed to take care of my wastes so I wouldn't have to be moved.
I was in awe as I watched my legs start to change and hands and feet starting to become more and more like paws. It wasn't long before I noticed a growth from the end of my spine that got a little longer each day.
By the end of the first week, my hands and feet were completely paws, and I had a nice long tail. I could now only stand on all fours.
Over the next couple of days my face started to stretch out and became more of a muzzle. My nose widened and turned black. I noticed I has lost the power of speech due to the shape of my mouth, not that it mattered since no one would talk to me anyway.
My ears also started to move and became longer and started to flop over. I could feel the hair on my body getting thicker and thicker until I had a full coat of fur. I felt more and more animal instincts starting to flood my thoughts. It was hard to keep my human personality in control.
It was difficult to keep track of time now, but after what seemed like about two weeks, the final stages of the transformation set in, and I was completely a dog. There was no way to tell that I had ever been human.
Jim and Susan walked into the lab, and opened the cage. They called to me, and something compelled me to run out to them. I was a little unsteady on four legs, but quickly got the hang of it.
Jim looked fairly happy with me, and fastened a collar around my neck. It was a nice leather one, with adorned with a tag with my name. I looked up at them, with a quizzical expression, hoping they would explain what was going on, and how they could do this to me.
Jim looked at Susan, and she said, "Hunter, I am sorry about all this. It's time we introduced you to your real parents." She attached a leash to my collar and led me through a set of doors at the end of the lab.
All I saw was row upon row of cages of dogs. I didn't understand what was going on. As they walked me down an aisle, we stopped in front of a cage that held a pair of Irish Setters.
"You see Hunter, you were born a dog, and we found a way to transform you into a human, but only for a limited time." Jim explained."We sent you to live with your mother and experience life as a human and have been monitoring you for all these years." I could barely believe what I was hearing.
"I'll bet you are wondering what will happen to you now?" Susan said. "We'll the serum we gave you helped ease your transition back into a dog, and you will gradually forget your time as a boy. I'm sorry, but there is no way to stop that."
That last statement hit me hard. I didn't want to forget my parents, friends, or life. I had made so many plans and didn't want them to end this way.
Jim opened the door to the cage and pushed me inside and removed my leash. As the door closed, I knew I was stuck and resigned myself to my fate.
The dogs in the cage moved closer to me, and I could smell something about them that sparked something in my mind. I knew at once that they were telling the truth. These were my parents.
Over the next few days I could feel my human memories slipping. I tried to retain them as long as I could, but each time I went to sleep I would wake up with more holes in my life, and before long I was nothing more than a normal dog.
After I had been there about a month, I was taken from the lab and brought to the front of the facility. As I neared the front I noticed a familiar smell. Rounding the corner, I noticed it was my human mother.
Now that the experiment had been completed, she had asked to adopt me, and I was excited to see her again. It seemed like forever for us to get home, but once we were I was flooded with familiar sights and sounds.
My room had been made into a guest room, with all of my human things removed, and a large dog bed in their place. It was the most comfortable bed I had ever slept in.
Every once in a while one of my former human memories would resurface, thanks to a familiar smell or sound, and I tried to keep as many as I could. Over time, I was able to piece together a substantial portion of my original human personality.
Mom and dad cared just as much for me as a dog as they had when I was human. Every so often I could tell that mom wasn't happy with what had happened, but she had known it was coming and tried to never let me know.
I couldn't have asked for a more caring family, and was content for the most part. I also found out one major side effect of the experiment- for some reason I was able to maintain my human lifespan.
I lived out the rest of my life with my family, playing, doing tricks, and keeping them safe. Kevin would come over every so often to walk me and take care of me whenever my parents were out of town. I don't know if he ever knew that I was his former human boyfriend, but I loved seeing him again.