"I wish I was somebody else, somebody like… Karen…"
You couldn’t believe you thought about it, but… Thinking about it, Karen did have a good life. She was 8 years old, the daughter of your older sister Stacy and her husband Chuck, who had been staying here with your aunt Emily and uncle Peter to attend a prestigious girl’s school… Unlike you, who they didn’t want anything to do with, Karen was their little princess… Spoiled to death with any toy or game she wanted, dressed in the best clothes a middle-class little girl could wear, she was the apple of your aunt and uncle’s eyes. You definitely burned with jealousy watching your aunt and uncle fawn over Karen tonight at dinner.
Not to mention that she was cute as a button! Karen could be a child movie star if she weren’t so busy with ballet and swim classes… Long chestnut brown hair, an adorable face covered in freckles, a petite frame… She even had a few teeth missing, giving her an adorable lisp when she talked! She was practically adored by everyone… And here you were, wanted by no one. She may have been a little girl… But being Karen sounded pretty good!
Ah, like that would ever happen… You were doomed to be your dull male self until the end of days… Yet as you drift off to sleep, you can’t stop thinking about the idea of being Karen…
…
“Come on sleepyhead! It’s time to get up!”
You hear the chipper voice of your Aunt Emily echoing in your ears, a soft hand resting on your shoulder as you give a soft groan… Did it sound… Higher pitched to you? You groaned and tried to push off your Aunt, “Ugh… Pleathe…” you mutter as you keep your eyes closed, a bit confused to hear a few lisped words escape your lips, “Five more minuteth…”
Aunt Emily giggles in her sweet voice, beginning to pull the covers off you, “Come on, Karen, you’ve gotta get up… We’ve got a big day ahead of us!”
Wait… Did she just call you… Karen?!
Your eyes shot open almost instantly… You were clearly in a little girl’s room… No, not just any little girl’s room. This was Karen’s room! You recognized everything in here… The Disney Princess bedspread and sheets, the rows of Barbies and stuffed animals, the little pink TV, the white dresser… But it was what you saw in the massive closet mirror that made you scream.
Staring back at you was the spitting image of your niece Karen, eyes wide with fear and confusion as she sat in bed, wearing a pink nightgown with the smiling face of Hello Kitty on the front… And… Even weirder, she seemed to copy your moves. Every little blink, every little movement… You were afraid to look down but… Well, you had to. And, as pretty long chestnut hair entered your view, you saw the fabric of the nightgown attached to you… You couldn’t help but scream again!
Your aunt gave you a curious look, her eyes wide with confusion, “Karen? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
You took a minute to respond, your little heart beating a mile a minute as you thought of an answer before squeaking out, “U-Um… I… It’s okay, Aunt… Auntie! R-Really! I jutht… Um… Thaw a thpider! I… I think it’th gone now!”
Aunt Emily gave you a concerned look before smiling softly, “Well… Okay… I’m glad it’s gone, sweetheart… Now, stop being silly and get dressed in something pretty for today. You have a big day ahead of you!”
As Auntie Emily left you to your own devices, you couldn’t even try and move… How could you? Last night you were your sad male self… And today, you’ve woken up in the body of your adorable niece Karen!
What the hell was going on?!