The Wisconsin State Fair would leave an indelible mark on the Parker family’s history.

  Sarah and Thomas had finally met the enigmatic Madame Zara, the mysterious seer who had first helped Emily understand that she was not alone—that another consciousness, another soul, shared space within her.

  A presence that had guided her, protected her, and, ultimately, become her family.

  This time, Madame Zara had helped them understand something even greater:

  Daniel was not just a wandering soul from another universe. For the one who had guided Emily, carried wisdom beyond his years—had transformed into a child himself. He was in fact, a boy of twelve, maybe thirteen, his consciousness reshaped to fit alongside Emily’s own.

  As he had given her his knowledge, his experience, his sister had given him something just as precious - a second chance.

  A childhood he never thought he’d have again.

  And for Sarah and Thomas? They learned that the universe had somehow gifted them a second child, a second life to treasure and cherish.

  Realizing they had been raising a second child all along was initially a tad overwhelming, but the Parker family was nothing if not resilient.

  Madame Zara had guided Daniel toward accepting his place, helped him embrace what he had become, removing the final barriers to his and Emily’s evolution. She had also served as a conduit, allowing Sarah and Thomas to step into the Dreamscape—a realm, a plane accessed and molded by their children’s will, a place where their thoughts, emotions, and very essence shaped reality.

  And there, for the first time, they had seen both of their children standing side by side.

  Emily—vibrant, mischievous, bright as the stars themselves.

  Daniel—reserved, thoughtful, warm like a steady flame.

  The moment had been overwhelming, and frankly impossible. Yet it was real.

  And together, as parents, Sarah and Thomas had made a promise.

  A promise to love both of their children. To support them, protect them, and ensure that they—both of them—had the best life they could give.

  —

  The following morning, Emily and Daniel were still sleeping in—exhausted from the previous day’s excursion. Madame Zara had warned Sarah and Thomas that the presence of three additional consciousnesses in the Dreamscape would tire the children, and that they would need time to recover.

  The parents didn’t mind.

  They took the quiet morning as an opportunity to sit together, warm cups of coffee in hand, as sunlight filtered through the kitchen window. The house was still, barring the occasional rustle of residual leaves outside, the ticking of a distant clock deep within the house, and the infrequent creak of wooden floors as the house shifted naturally.

  Just yesterday had been a cool, perfect fall day. Yet today, it was snowing, the falling snow appearing almost ethereal, just like the dreamscape.

  Almost as if symbolizing the fundamental shift in the Parker family - something soft, tender, pure, beautiful.

  Both parents had known Daniel existed—that Emily saw him as her brother. They had accepted him into their family long before they truly understood what that meant but now, knowing they had two children - one body or not - had changed the stakes.

  Sarah traced the rim of her mug, staring at nothing in particular.

  Her fingers curled slightly around the ceramic, her smile faltering momentarily. Her mind drifted back—what seemed like years ago, sitting in a doctor’s office, Thomas holding her as she sobbed, hearing the words she had never expected to hear.

  "I’m sorry, Mrs. Parker. We caught the cancer in time. You will be fine, the treatment is non-invasive, but… I’m afraid a second pregnancy will not be possible for you."

  She had tried not to cry. And failed.

  No, she and Thomas had thanked the doctors, gone home, and grieved, moved on with their lives. They had talked about adoption. It had always been the plan. But life had moved forward, and the idea had remained just that—an idea.

  Across the table, Thomas had been silent for a long time, stirring his coffee absentmindedly. He frowned at the drink, as though suddenly offended him, before setting the spoon down.

  Sarah’s lips twitched a hair. Ever since Emily and Daniel had introduced the family to their custom lattes, Thomas’s palate had been, well, dramatically and irreversibly altered.

  Before she could say a word, Thomas began softly - “…You always wanted a second kid.”

  Sarah blinked, looking up.

  Thomas met her gaze, his expression warm - “You always said you wanted a boy.”

  A quiet breath escaped her—part laugh, part exhale.

  “Yeah,” she murmured.

  She did have two children. Not in the way she had imagined or a way anyone could have predicted.

  A sassy little girl with boundless energy and a borderline acerbic wit.

  A soft-hearted boy, who had been watching over her all along with an even more snarky wit.

  And they were both hers.

  Theirs.

  “I wonder if he’d want to play catch with me someday,” Thomas mused, “I always wanted a son to play catch with. Girl’s body or not, they can swap out right? He still acts like a boy?”

  Sarah did a double take, her jaw falling open for a second.

  “Catch?” she echoed. “Two souls, one body, a boy, a girl, an entirely new plane of existence—and… catch?”

  Thomas merely raised an eyebrow, unbothered.

  “Hey,” Thomas said with a shrug. “This house had a lot of estrogen. I’m just glad to have another guy around.”

  He frowned - “Sort of. I know it is one body and all but I’ll take Dreamscape testosterone!”

  He paused before continuing, his voice soft but firm - “Shared body or not… I don’t care, they’re both my kids.”

  Another pause.

  “My kids too…” he hurriedly added clearly trying to preemptively dodge a swipe from Sarah.

  Sarah’s breath caught for just a moment before she let out a quiet smile. She stretched, rolling her shoulders, before letting out a long sigh.

  “Guess the universe does what the universe does.”

  —

  Quiet settled between them once more as they absorbed the weight of the words.

  “The Dreamscape…” Thomas muttered, his gaze distant and thoughtful.

  Sarah immediately looked up and inhaled sharply.

  The Dreamscape.

  That had been a revelation of its own. She had of course accidentally found her way there once before, but the second time had been just as wondrous. Perhaps, more so - experiencing it alongside her husband had made it feel all the more real.

  A place, a plane that was accessible to, belonged and controlled entirely to their children.

  The grass was velvety, softer than any she had felt, sunlight warming her skin. The air was crisp, rejuvenating, seeming alive. Mountains loomed in the distance, a silver stream cut through the land..

  And at the heart of it all—the tree. Their tree.

  Sarah followed Thomas’s gaze, now looking at the backyard, where a cherry blossom sapling stood, growing slowly, surely - like her children.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Thomas had planted it with Emily.

  Or had it been Daniel? Or both?

  In the real world, the tree was still young, still growing, but in the Dreamscape…

  The tree had been full-grown.

  Towering, majestic, its branches swaying in a wind, shedding glowing blossoms - petals drifting to the ground in spirals before fading in delicate sparks.

  An ethereal symbol of the bond her children shared.

  “It was… incredible,” Thomas murmured, his voice hushed. “That place—it felt so real. And the tree… our tree.” He gestured toward the sapling outside. “Seeing it all grown up - magical.”

  A chuckle - “Words…like incredible, magical, just don’t describe it.”

  He wasn’t wrong.

  “It was real,” Sarah said softly. “Just… different. Another kind of real.”

  Thomas nodded, drumming his fingers on the table. He paused and turned back to face his wife, eyes shining with something indescribable.

  “And seeing him?” he said, a warm smile on his lips.

  “Seeing Danny? Holding him? Holding both of them? Watching him and Emily together, fill in the blanks?” He shook his head - “I didn’t think I could ever be happier.”

  A pause.

  “I hope we can go back soon.”

  Sarah reached across the table and took his hand in hers, squeezing gently.

  “Have faith in our children.”

  She smiled, tilting her head. “Madame Zara said now that Danny isn’t hiding who he is, their bond will keep evolving.”

  A happy sigh left her lips. “I’m sure we’ll be there again—soon.”

  —

  Another memory gently surfaced.

  Danny and Emily standing side by side. He, in a hoodie much too big for him, looking nervous; she, arms on her hips, sassiness and defiance etched into every fiber of her being.

  Sarah’s lips twitched into a reluctant smile.

  Thomas noticed. “What?” he prodded gently.

  She shook her head, the smile broadening. “They’re just so adorable.”

  Thomas blinked, a slow smile spreading across his face as realization dawned. "Oh. Oh, yeah."

  “They’re like those mismatched twins you read about,” Sarah murmured, her voice soft with affection. “One cautious, polite, and the other, well, like they’ve just survived a hurricane.”

  Thomas let out a quiet chuckle. “Emily’s definitely our little tornado. And Danny, bless him, is more levelheaded, but he does look like a tornado hit him too, doesn’t he?”

  “Yep!,” Sarah agreed, her smile cheeky and warm. “They were so incredibly cute together.”

  The spat about names then floated into her mind—sharp, unpredictable, ridiculous exchanges that had filled the dreamscape with laughter. She bit her lip, struggling not to laugh.

  Thomas leaned in, eyebrows raised. “You’re thinking about something specific, aren’t you?”

  A snort broke through. “I’m thinking about that argument they had, and I—”

  She covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

  “I tried to intervene,” she managed to somehow blurt, shaking her head. “I really did. I tried to be the stern mom, but they just... they wouldn’t have it!”

  Thomas’s laughter rang out, brief, genuine. LOUD. He instinctively covered his hand with his mouth to stifle the laughter, glancing upstairs sheepishly.

  “It was like they were on a sugar rush. The more you tried to calm them, the wilder they got.”

  “And Emily, she’s the ringleader,” Sarah added, her eyes twinkling.

  Thomas nodded, his eyes now twinkling with amusement too. “She’s got a knack for it, doesn’t she? She knows Danny so well—I think it’s her way of breaking the tension. Sometimes”

  He smiled warmly at Sarah - “And she’s inherited that emotional intelligence from someone, hasn’t she?”

  Sarah raised an eyebrow, playing along. “Oh, really? And who might that be?”

  Thomas laughed softly, leaning closer. “Don’t play coy. Remember how you defused it with that baby talk? What was it? ‘My brave boy, my clever girl, always looking out for each other’?”

  Sarah giggled, a hint of pride flickering through. “I couldn’t help myself. It’s my duty as their mom to add a bit of... spice.”

  She leaned back with a contented sigh - “They both completely froze, like I had personally destroyed them. It was beautiful. I have never seen two children so immediately disarmed.”

  Thomas shook his head, still stifling a laugh. “You’re evil.”

  Sarah took another sip of coffee, satisfaction evident - “I’m their mother….comes with the territory."

  —

  A moment passed.

  Sarah, not sure of what more to add, glanced up at Thomas, who seemed lost in thought, staring into his coffee as if it contained the secrets of the universe. Or the Dreamscape.

  "You're thinking too hard," she teased.

  Thomas looked up, and shrugged - "Yes? And what’s new there?"

  "Fair," she snorted, appreciating his self-awareness.

  Then, softly, Thomas added - "How do we do this?"

  Sarah exhaled slowly, mulling the question. Or perhaps a statement?

  "We’ve already been doing it, haven’t we?" she began, absentmindedly tapping the table with her finger. "We’ve been parenting Danny this whole time, without realizing it. Talking to him, listening to him, leaning on him, encouraging him. We just… didn’t see it before."

  Thomas nodded. "It’s a bit different now," he admitted. "Now we know." He let out a slow breath. "And - we can’t just treat him like an adult, or this all-knowing guardian of Emily anymore. That wouldn’t be fair to either of them."

  “Good luck stopping him from being overprotective though” Sarah retorted with a wink.

  She bit her lip, thoughts turning inward.

  For so long, they had seen their daughter as whole, not truly questioning that one half of her may have been carrying burdens and responsibilities that were perhaps a bit too much for him.

  “He still has to keep it a secret,” she said quietly, a sad sigh escaping her.

  "Yeah…” Thomas replied, his own voice heavy. “The world isn’t ready for this."

  That truth hurt more than anything.

  Daniel had spent his entire existence hiding, and even now, even with them, that wouldn’t change. He had them, he had Emily but the world - the world saw and acknowledged just Emily.

  Sarah’s grip tightened around her mug.

  "He's a smart kid, a sweet kid," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

  "Just happy to finally have a family that sees him. But keeping him in the background, making him invisible to the rest of the world... God it stings."

  Thomas reached across the table, covering her hand with his.

  "Hey - it does suck. But you know what? Danny and Emily?" Thomas continued, his voice steady with conviction. "They’re smart. They get it. And they won us over, didn’t they? They knew how and when to trust us. They’ve been doing a damn good job just… living."

  His gaze met hers, deep and knowing. "Trust them, Sarah. Just like you told me to. It won’t always be easy, but—they’ll be okay."

  "And don’t ask me how I know this," he added quietly, swirling his mug absently, "but I don’t think we’ll be the last people they trust with this secret. The last people who understand."

  Sarah paused, considering her husband’s words. They were deep, insightful, perhaps a tad unnerving but she didn’t know what more to add, so she steadied herself before meeting his eyes again.

  "So… how do we handle this?"

  Thomas hummed, setting his mug down with a quiet clink.

  "Well," he started, running a hand through his hair, "first off… we stop calling it ‘Emily’s body.’"

  Sarah blinked, caught off guard by the simplicity of the statement.

  "I mean, yes, biologically, obviously," Thomas clarified, "but if we’re going to be better parents to Danny, we need to stop framing it like she’s the only one who exists in it. Like…intentionally."

  Sarah tilted her head, considering his words. "Okay. That’s fair," she admitted.

  She tapped her fingers against the table once again.

  "He needs space. Even if we can’t give it to him physically, he needs to feel like he has a place in this family. That means including him in conversations, letting him make decisions that affect them or the family, engaging more and asking him what he wants."

  Thomas nodded. "And Emily—"

  "Needs to understand that too," Sarah finished.

  They exchanged a look, a silent agreement passing between them.

  Sarah sighed, shaking her head slightly. "What am I saying. She already does. She understands better than anyone. What are we even saying?"

  Emily adored Daniel—there had never been any question about that. Even if she was a pest.

  "This is going to take work," Sarah murmured, but this time, there was no hesitation.

  Thomas gave her a wry smile, his eyes soft. "That’s parenting for you."

  Sarah let out a quiet, knowing laugh. "Yeah."

  Sarah sighed again, the tension breaking for just a moment. Then quietly she asked - “He’s been carrying this for so long, hasn’t he?”

  Thomas didn’t answer, no response was needed - they both knew the truth, and perhaps that was what hurt the most. How long had Danny been holding himself together, pretending he was fine? How many times had he comforted Emily while no one was comforting him?

  Sarah straightened slightly, something solid, resolute, settling into her spine. "We need to do more than just accept him," she said firmly. "We need to give him a childhood. Well, as best as we can with this whole one body situation…"

  Thomas looked up.

  Sarah’s voice was quiet yet unwavering. "He thinks he’s past that stage, but he’s not. He needs to know it’s okay to be a kid. To mess up. To not always be the responsible one."

  A breath.

  “But he also needs guidance. He needs to understand his place in the world—boundaries, choices… what it means to be him."

  Thomas nodded slowly. "We let him have that," he murmured. "We give him what he never got. The best we can."

  His brows furrowed momentarily.

  "And Emily," he added.

  Sarah raised an eyebrow. "What about her?"

  "This is a change for her too. And if we’re not careful, we’ll be so focused on helping Danny that we forget—Emily’s adjusting too. She has honestly handled this whole business with so much - grace, and as sassy as she is - the way she accepted Danny…the way she showed him kindness, accepted him as her brother…"

  Thomas smiled as his words trailed off.

  “It is one of the most beautiful, kind things I have, or will ever see.”

  Both parents simply gazed at each other - the weight, the raw beauty of their life, of their childrens’ existence leave them in a state of awe and reverence.

  “…We’re raising two kids” Thomas finally began, a small smile playing on his face.

  Sarah reached across the table, her fingers squeezing his.

  "Yeah."

  Thomas squeezed her fingers in return - "We’re gonna screw up."

  Sarah chuckled. "Of course."

  "You know they’re smarter than both of us put together, right?"

  Sarah let out a quiet laugh, her eyes twinkling. "Oh, they’re going to run circles around us. But would we have it any other way?"

  Thomas didn’t reply. His gaze lingered on the cherry blossom tree, the morning light catching in its delicate branches. Something thoughtful settled in his expression—an understanding, perhaps, too deep for words.

  He merely smiled.

  Nothing needed to be said.