The Past That Was the Present

Brook thinks she's just your average girl-normal life, normal family, and, of course, definitely using the right pronouns (sarcasm, anyone?). That is, until one day, she comes home from school to find a stranger waiting for her. Someone she's never seen before. Or so she thinks. Stranger danger? Or... maybe something deeper? This person feels too familiar, like they belong in a forgotten corner of her mind.

With her 'parents' (or whoever they are pretending to be) inside and no way to contact them-Brook hasn't even gotten a phone yet-she has no choice but to approach.

"Bot," the stranger says, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Okay, where do I even start with this..."

Brook freezes. Bot? That's not her name. Is it?

Brook has never really had a clear sense of who she is. One day, she could be in baggy jeans with oversized pockets and a loose shirt, the next, a frilly dress and Mary Janes. She's always shifting, trying on different versions of herself-without ever realizing the one she's searching for has always been there.

The truth is about to shatter everything she thought she knew. But in the end, Brook-or should I say, Bot-will find their true self again. New name, new identity, and the realization that none of it is actually new. It's who they've always been, waiting to be remembered.