Title: Hearts Entwined

Prompt: write a part 3 were only Alyssa remembers she used to be a man, she tries to resist this new reality but is unable to Title: Enigma of Existence Alaric was just another fresh out of the military 22 year old, patrolling the streets of his hometown as a officer of the law. Serving in the military had given him a sense of purpose and pride, but suddenly all of that was about to change. One day, after completing his usual patrol, he started the car to make his way back to the station. But as he glanced in the rearview mirror a stranger looked back at him. The buzz cut was replaced with a polished bun on top of a slender face, with soft luscious lips replacing the square jaw that was once there. His eyes darted down at his slightly shrunken stature, perched on the more cushioned figure. Where muscles once protruded were now curves in their rightful places. The identity card in his pocket now claimed him to be Alyssa, not Alaric. His fellow officers, the people he interacted with, everyone seemed to believe he was always a woman. Even the crisp polyester blouse and polished insignia-wrapped navy blue cravat of his patrol uniform seemed to fit perfectly to the different curves. His head spun as he felt his hand instinctually pulling back her now lengthy hair into the regulation bun, held in place with the department specified hair tie found on his wrist. It was a vision he found both strange and familiar. Her voice was different, too. A soft timbre, nuanced and lilting. Her conversation was filled with mannerisms she had never practiced before; unconsciously tucking strands of hair behind her ear, playing with them when she got nervous, her habitual sitting pose with knees together as per the decorum pursued by female officers. She wanted to resist, to struggle against these changes, but it was an uphill battle. Every attempt was met by an invisible wall and she found herself continuing to exist in her new reality. The most puzzling part was her shifting sexual orientation. As Alaric, he was attracted to women, but as Alyssa, she found men fascinating. She tried desperately to recall her former attraction to women, trying to comprehend how her preferences could have altered with her identity, but what once attracted Alaric now confused Alyssa. She became frantic, trying to evoke those memories, those feelings but all in vain. Each passing moment in the patrol car was a paradoxical nightmare for Alyssa, a dream for Alaric. Each shift from Alaric to Alyssa brought confusion and sometimes terror, enhancing the enigma of her existence. Caught in the middle of an unannounced reality shift, Alyssa - once Alaric, wrestles with the chaos thrown into her once orderly existence. This sudden transformation, these abrupt switches challenge the essence of her being, her identity and face her with the profound question: Who she has become and who she really is? The story of Alyssa is a labyrinth of questions that delves deep into the essence of identity, reality and existence. Chapter 2: Alaric to Alyssa A unique turmoil churned within her as Alyssa continued her patrol duties. It was as if she was treading a dreamland. A dreamland where she was Alyssa, the confident officer, who wore the badge of law enforcement on her crisp blouse. Where the memory of her in a rugged military uniform was replaced by the picture of her carrying out her duties as a woman in uniform. Where she was no longer an ex-military man turned security officer; instead, a dedicated female cop who attended prom in silk gowns, experienced adolescence from a woman’s perspective, even had a first boyfriend. Each memory pristinely replaced the corresponding ones of Alaric. She clutched her head, a piercing headache forming. Memories poured into her mind – having her first period, crying over first heartbreaks, and giggling over girl talks that were unfamiliar yet strangely commonplace. With each passing second, the remainder of Alaric was being evacuated, replaced by Alyssa's memory. Even as she tried to cling onto the vanishing memories of her former life, they slipped through like sand through her fingers. Alyssa recalled her days in the military – though it was no longer the tale of a rugged man put through grueling combat, instead it was feminized. She saw herself in a battlefield, but now in a uniform tailored for women, her hair tied back under a military cap, combat boots hitting the ground with a more delicate grace. She could no longer remember what it felt like to have male genitals or a flat chest. The foreign but familiar feeling of having a feminine body was all that remained. Her senses remembered the discomfort of the bra strap biting into her skin rather than the restriction of male briefs. She knew the feeling of sitting without legs wide apart, of walking with a slightly bouncing gait. Through this chaos, her name chimed in her brain, transforming slowly. Alaric. Alyssa. Alaric. Alyssa. The more she tried to remember the former, the stronger the latter resonated. It was as though she was hearing her own name for the first time, and yet it felt so inevitable. Alyssa. She fought to remember, to grasp the fading threads of her identity as Alaric. But she constantly failed. Her psyche was being restructured, changed for reasons unknown to her. Yet, despite her complete transformation, Alyssa retained a cognizance of once being Alaric. She felt that her history was stolen and replaced with a narrative she didn’t script. It was disconcerting yet utterly fascinating. Alyssa's world was flipped upside down, sent into a tailspin by a quirk she failed to comprehend. Trapped in this mysterious vortex, she grasped desperately to control the chaos as the waves of this new reality threatened to capsize her. The Enigma of Existence continued. As Alaric's past morphed to Alyssa's present, she was left searching for the essence of her identity and a path back to the truth amidst the distorted reflections of her tenuous reality.