Kim Hayes – Stories

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Chrysalis

My time was running out. Several hours remained before changing. This last change would be it. I would never look this way again.

I knew this day would come. The times between changes had been getting shorter, as I had been told they would. In some ways, I wasn’t ready. I had been thinking a lot about what my life and the life I had built with Max would be like after I changed. And in some ways, I knew I would miss being a human.

Max had to be told. The changes always happened when he wasn’t around. I wanted to tell him while I still looked like this. I should have told him sooner. He was shockproof, but I hoped he would be ok with the news.

I pulled into the driveway behind his car. It didn’t cross my mind on why he was home before me. I hesitated before opening the front door.

Max, in a new not quite human form, opened the door, and greeted me with a smile. “I’ve always known. We should have told each other a while ago. I can’t go back; and I bet you can’t either when you change.”

This made me laugh. “What do we tell the neighbors now?”

Original publication

Epater, Spring 2025

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