Remember

Prologue

The dream is too long.It slithers and slips and gurgles deeply into the midnight pools in which i see my own face looking back.It pounds with a scream that crashes into earth-torn caverns and is drowned; it surges with the babble of voices that splash against my ears; it whispers over words I can't understand.

I have cried out in my dream.I have called, and ages ago someone answered.
"Mom? Mama?"
My voice violently shakes the dream.I open my eyes,as with trembling roar the dream rushes from my mind and in my memory.

I'm in bed,but this is not my room.Across the room,is a statue of a nurse.Her pencil is held in midair above her chart;her mouth is open enough that i can see some bubbles of saliva on her tongue;her eyes are stretched and glazed.
"Where's my mother?"

The statue comes to life. "Oh!" She says. "Oh,my,you are awake!"
Fluttering like a moth between too many lights,she pats at my bed,jabs at the controls that rest on the nightstand and trots to the door. "I'll be right back, Jessica," she says.She takes a step towards me with palms up as though she wanted to hold me where i am and repeats, "I will.I'll be back in a minute," then scrambles through the door.

"Where's my mother?" I call to the empty room. I try to sit up but i can't.It makes me dizzy.My mouth is dry,and there's a spot on my left hip that is sore. What is happening to me? The blanket and sheet have slipped to one side,so i pull them up to my chest.

I gasp as my hands feel breasts that are rounded and firm.My shaking fingers slide past my waist, exploring, as the horror grows. I lift my head to look down,down at the toes that lump the blanket near the foot of the bed, and the horror explodes in a scream.I am Jessica Miller.I'm only thirteen years old,and i'm in the wrong body!