CHAPTER NINETEEN

Having your molecules pulled apart and rearranged into a different body isn't actually all that painful.

I felt a tingling sensation all over my body, and my vision blurred. When my eyesight cleared, I was sitting in the mountains, just like before—except I was a human.

I was back where we had eaten lunch. I felt my hands—hands! I had hands! I touched my hair, stroked my cheek, made absolutely sure I was human. I broke into a smile. I really was! I was back where I belonged!

Then I searched for the thing about me that was different. Each time, some part of cat remained—my eyes the first time, claw like fingernails the second. I hoped it wasn't a tail. It wasn't my hair color (thank StarClan—I didn't want white hair while only nineteen!), and my butt was nicely tail-free.

I licked my teeth. They were flat, not pointy like a cat's. Good. But what was it? What was different—or rather, what was the same?

I sniffed the air, then widened my blue eyes. It wasn't visible. It was my sense of smell! I could still smell the air around me, full of cat-scent. I smiled. That could be irritating, but I was already used to it.

I looked around. Beside me sat Ryan, smiling. I smiled back, then hugged him. He smelled good, even with my new heightened senses.

"We're back," he whispered.

"That we are," I said, my voice thick.

"Okay, break it up, you two," Sam's voice called out. "Don't get all lovey-dovey on me."

I laughed, then broke away from my husband. "Maybe someday you'll find someone yourself, Sam."

She raised one eyebrow and curled her lips in a half-smile, fiddling with her ponytail. "Not today."

We all got to our feet. We wandered back down to the mountains, laughing as if nothing had happened. This time things had turned out well, and we'd never have to save the world again.

When we reached the parking lot where we had parked our cars, Ryan bid Sam farewell and got in the passenger's seat. (We had a deal—since we both liked to drive, he drove to places and I drove from places.) I lingered just a little longer with my longtime friend.

"So this it, for a while," I said.

"Yeah," she agreed. "We'll still see each other, though?"

"Of course," I agreed. "If we can."

"We will, don't worry," Sam said. "All right then. I'll see you around."

"See you later!" I called out as she got into her car across the parking lot. I smiled, then got into the driver's seat of our car and drove away.

When I got home, I took a long bath and then a very long nap. When I woke, I felt refreshed and ready to face the normal human world.

As I ate a bowl of cereal, Ryan walked into the kitchen of the apartment we shared.

"Annie, I've been thinking..." he began.

I swallowed. "Thinking what?"

"Maybe you should record our adventures," he suggested. "You know, write them all down."

I gave him an odd look. "Why?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But maybe you should."

"I'll think about it," I told him. Then I went back to shoveling cereal into my mouth. I was famished.

As you can see, I took Ryan's suggestion and wrote it all down. There, now you have it: whether you believe it or not, this is the story of my life.

I look forward to living a normal life as a human. It took me three years to write all this whenever I had free time. I'm in college right now. I'll graduate in about a year. I'm not a hundred percent sure what I'd like to do with my life, but all this writing has given me some ideas.

I might even become a mom. Who knows? The path of life is strange, ruined and helped by luck and fate.

I'm just glad my adventures are over.

At least, I'm pretty sure they're over. You never know. But the Originals promised...

I shouldn't worry you with these thoughts of mine. I'm sure you enjoyed my story—if you didn't, sucks for you—although as I'm just finishing writing this, I've no idea how you read it.

If something else happens, I'll write about, but this part of the chronicles of the chaos that is my life are done. Over.

This is me, Annie Crimsen, signing off...

Thus end the adventures of Annie Eyre Crimsen.

At least, her first-person adventures.

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