Chapter 1: A woman

Elias, a young man with brown hair and a scruffy chin stumbled through Hall Street, the biggest venue in the small town he lived in. Wearing a brown jacket, and a bright pink uniform underneath, he stood out among the crowd as one of the few people who were alone.

It was a cold, crisp morning, and the street was filled with couples all celebrating the Christmas season together. Everywhere one looked, they could see couples holding hands, snuggling, and kissing all around.

“Disgusting…” Elias muttered under his breath.

However, instead of actual disgust, what Elias was feeling was nothing more than simple jealousy.

Why do all these couples have to be showing off how happy they are, Elias wondered.

Especially when he had just been dumped by his girlfriend.

He sighed as he trotted his way down to his workplace, a boba tea shop. With a manager who had a more ‘laissez faire’ style of managing, in the sense that he never put his hands on the work himself, Elias knew that he needed to put in effort today.

Entering the shop, Elias was shocked to see it devoid of people. No coworkers, no customers waiting, no weird trendy people to ask if they had ‘pumpkin spice boba’, nothing.

Elias sighed, as if letting a boba tea shop’s worth of tension leave his body. He had thought that the day would be hard on him, considering the season.

But, as if by magic, a customer appeared in the store, completely silently.

‘I didn’t hear them enter… Could people stop being so quiet? I’m not prepared for things like this at 8 in the morning…’ Elias whined to himself, not letting his thoughts show on his face.

“Good morning! Is there any specific tea you have in mind?” Elias asked aloud.

Looking at the customer, she had short pure white hair and was wearing a peculiar blue outfit with a velvety sheen. On her head was a blue cap, and her eyes almost seemed to shine with a golden glow.

“No, I’m not. Might you consider recommending something to me?” the woman asked.

Elias noted for a moment at how beautiful the woman was. Her eyes almost seemed to pull him into her gaze, and her face had a nose like a button. She was by all accounts a very beautiful woman.

Her clothes had three rows of peculiar yellow linked buttons on the front, similar to what would be on a military uniform, and her hair was curly, barely going past her ear. Elias couldn't explain why, but there was something else that drew his gaze to her other than her appearance.

“Of course! I personally enjoy the strawberry tea with chia seeds inside and peach boba.” Elias explained.

Though, Elias had not had every item in the shop. The boba, the sugar, and the starch all made boba tea incredibly unhealthy in this shop, even though it was admittedly tasty when he drank it.

The woman smiled, her face charming Elias.

As if she was able to capture all of the world’s attention with a smile, the woman handed 12 dollars and 38 cents to Elias. Confused, Elias looked at the woman, who nodded.

“Is… that what you wanted, miss?” Elias asked.

The woman nodded, and Lucas decided to ring her up for the drink… the total of which came out to exactly 12 dollars and 38 cents.

Elias was stunned. ‘Has she been here before?’ he wondered to himself. ‘No, but my boss decided to raise prices just a week ago… I don’t remember ever seeing her before?’

The woman smiled, then spoke up.

“Might I have my tea, Elias?” she asked.

Instantly, shivers covered Elias’s body. How had she known his name?

And then… he looked down and remembered he was wearing a name tag.

He breathed out for a bit, realizing that he was misreading the situation. His mind had already gone to strange places, such as assuming the woman was from the mob and sent to collect on some sort of imaginary debt he didn’t know he owed.

A short three minutes later, Elias walked back to the counter with the tea in hand.

“Here you go, miss! Enjoy the tea!” he said, handing the tea directly to the woman.

When the woman grabbed it, Elias noticed he felt something put directly in his hand, much to his surprise. He wondered if he was tipped cash without the woman having even taken a sip of the drink, but when he looked down…

[Temporal Childcare! Seeking those who are willing to care for children from the age of 3-18! Paying up to 32 dollars an hour, or rough equivalent in your currency! Raises guaranteed at least once every two years! All childcare expenses will be provided!]

Elias looked at the card, extremely surprised. The card was blue, much alike the woman's clothes, and it had a large symbol of a clock on it on the back side of the card.

“Ah, uhm, is this meant for me, miss?” He asked.

“Why of course? Who else would it be meant for?” The unusual woman responded.

“I- excuse me, miss, I don’t have any childcare experience. Is this your company?” He asked, believing this was too good to be true. There was no way he’d accept something so shady.

“Oh, I think you have more experience than you believe, Elias. After all, you’ve handled customers who act like children every day here, haven’t you?” the woman said calmly.

Elias laughed accidentally, glad that no other customers had entered the store yet today.

“Thank you, miss. That…” He said, then sighed. And then… he decided that he’d at least shoot his shot towards this childcare job. If his employer was this attractive, with ‘girls’ as large as hers… then he at least had someone pretty to look at, he thought. 

“Very well.” The woman said, giving Elias a smile. “All you need to do is give that number on the back a call, and we’ll give you a chance.”

Elias blushed for a moment, watching as the woman gently left the store not making a single sound in the process.

He decided to give them a call at the end of the work day, but… not a single customer entered the store for several hours after that.

“Damn couples…” Elias complained. “Not drinking our… overpriced, average tasting, expensive boba tea.” He laughed. And then, he looked down at the card again, resting on his personal shelf.

And then, ignoring the fact that he was still working, he gave the number on the back a call. To his surprise, someone picked up almost immediately.

“Hello, Elias.” A familiar voice said.

Elias, already aware that the woman could be a little odd, was still a little shaken by her knowing it was him before they even began speaking. 

Perhaps they just gave each person an individually tailored card, so they can know exactly who is calling?

“Ah… yes, can I… schedule that interview?” Elias asked, looking at the security cameras. He then mouthed the word ‘Raise.’ to the camera, grinning. If this opportunity didn’t work out, maybe his dumbass manager would at least be willing to pay him more…?

“Of course, Elias.” The woman calmly said. “We’ll come pick you up when you wake up, alright? The… ‘interview’ is early in the morning.”

Elias nodded. He quickly shared his address to the woman, not hearing the chuckle the woman gave when he was speaking.

Later in the day, when customers finally had entered and left, Elias walked back to his house, thinking about how with 32 dollars an hour he could probably even pay for a taxi to take him right to his workplace and back and still make more money than he is now.

At home, he looked back at the card one more time. Perhaps with the money now… he could go back to college and make something of himself?

Then, at home, he jumped down on his mess of a bed, it having not even straightened out sheets, or even the barest minimum of cleanliness.

Before long, his eyes slowly and surely…

Began to close.

And then, when his eyes opened, Elias found himself in a completely black void. In front of him was the woman who he had seen this morning… the one he now realized was incredibly beautiful.

“Thank you for accepting this role, Elias. It would have been a pain to wait yet another mortal lifespan.” The woman said to him.

Elias tried to respond, but felt as if his entire body was drunk. Even simple movements felt… delayed. His body didn’t exhibit the sharp, accurate movements it was normally used to…

And that’s when he noticed. It wasn’t his body. In this dream… his body was nearly identical to the woman in front of him. A woman’s body. The curly hair, the large chest, and the beautiful face.

But… face?

He didn’t think about it. He should have.

“Well… miss.” He said, unaware that he was now acting as if he was intoxicated. “You’re… awfully pretty, you know. I know this is a dream but… I think you’re the type of girl I could marry.” He said, nearly fully intoxicated by the mood.

The woman giggled.

“Thank you Elias, but… You’re not here to seduce a g... woman. You’re here to take care of… my daughter.” Elias nearly stumbled, not understanding.

“Your daughter…? Isn’t this some childcare company? I didn't know I would be working right for the big boss...” He asked, feeling his dream body jostled and moved by his stumbling. It felt odd, extremely realistic, as if he was actually a woman in this dream. But that thought was… too odd to even think about it.

The woman in front of him laughed.

“No… You will be… taking my place, in a way. But it’s a place you are absolutely perfect for. Here, let me show you.” The woman said. Then, a blue screen showed up in front of Elias. A blue, holographic transparent screen.

[Eliza: Age 24]

[Physique: 500. Wisdom: 349. Emotions: 794. Creativity: 230.]

[Body: 23. Wisdom: 42. Charm: 15.]

Elias… No, Eliza, was stunned.

“What… is this?” Eliza asked.

“It’s you. The summation of your existence… such a thing is nothing more than a trifle for me. This will be helpful for your task, and even act as a way to motivate you further.”

Eliza, despite feeling as if she were drunk, was on high alert.

Something here felt wrong.

Very wrong.

“What’s… really going on here?” Eliza asked.

The woman in front of him, now her, grinned.

“You’ll be taking care of our daughter, Eliza.”

Eliza felt… dizzied. Every movement was heavy, she felt like everything was nearly impossible, and it was as if the woman in front of her was obscured, hard to see.

And then… she felt pain.

Chest clutching, sweat inducing, heart palpitating pain.

“Is this… real…?” Eliza asked, looking at the woman, feeling like she was sobering up. Everything felt odd, as if she was stuck in place, like something that shouldn't, or rather couldn't happen.

The woman grinned.

“Indeed. Do your job, 'Eliza', dear.” the woman said, grinning.

And at that moment, Eliza woke up.

Not in her own bed.

But in a rough, scratchy mattress, not of her own possession.

The first thing she noticed was the smell. The stench. It smelled as if the entire world had not known what a shower was.

And the second thing she noticed was right beside her, on a small couch as a young girl, probably a toddler. She had to be no more than 4 years of age. Her hair was pure white, similar to the lady from before, and she was wearing a very rough cloth, like a potato sack.

The child looked small, helpless, as if everything pure and important was crammed into one child. They looked truly and utterly pure and innocent... And on sight, for whatever reason, Eliza wanted to protect her, no matter the cost.

And then, looking at the toddler girl asleep on the couch, Elias, now Eliza, saw something… a blue screen, floating in the air. Yet another status screen… not for Eliza, but for the girl in front of her.

[Lily: Age 4]

[Physique: 35. Wisdom: 19. Emotions: 40. Creativity: 23.]

[Body: 5. Mind: 5. Charm: 5.]

[Talent: Destined swordmaster.]

This girl… Was she the protagonist of this dream or something?

Then… the girl opened her eyes.

“Mommy…? Why are your eyes blue now…?” The girl asked.

And then Eliza completely sobered up. This... was not a dream.