You were startled when you saw something strange and misshapen move quickly in your peripheral vision; something obviously not human, and in fact, not like any creature you’ve ever seen before. With a glance, you realize it was some kind of bipedal creature with thick brown fur… and it was coming right at you! “Aaaah!” You scream in surprise, jumping back. Your scream seems to startle the creature, and it freezes in place, staring at you wide-eyed. “What the hell is that!?”
The whole family was looking at you strangely now, as if taken aback by your outburst. They didn’t seem to even notice the furry creature standing in the middle of the dining room. “Hey! S-stay back!” You cried out when the animal took a step closer.
“Jesse, get a hold of yourself!” Your mother demanded. “He’s your brother!” You realize that the creature seemed to be wearing your brother’s uniform. Was this some sort of joke?
“This isn’t funny! Keep it away from me!” You cried. You’d always been nervous around large animals, and at around five feet, this one looks like it could maul you. However, to your surprise, it spoke.
“J-Jesse?” The bipedal animal whimpered, and you were shocked to hear your brother’s voice coming from its mouth. Before you could respond, the shivering animal started sobbing loudly, covering its face with its paws as it turned away from you.
“That’s it, mister!” Your mother stood up, pointing at you angrily. “Out of this kitchen! Out, out, out!” Dazed and confused, you were herded easily out of the kitchen, forced out into the living room. Meanwhile, your mother bent over to soothe the crying animal. “Oh… it’s okay, sweetheart… don’t cry...”
Shellshocked, you walk over and sit on the couch, your mind unable to process what you had just seen. What was that creature? It looked like a human, but… not. Why did it have your brothers voice, and your brother’s uniform? You dwell on these questions for a while until your father stomps into the room. “What has gotten into you!?” He says, barely restraining his anger. “Andy’s bawling his eyes out! He thinks you’re scared of him now!”
“That’s Andy?” You said, your heart sinking. Why would your brother have fur now? Something terrible must’ve happened to him — something disfiguring. “What happened to him?”
“What do you mean, ‘what happened to him’?” He raised a brow.
“He’s an… he’s an…” You insist. “... animal now!”
He freezes, as if in disbelief at what you just said, before narrowing his eyes. “Jesse, I am extremely disappointed in you. I don’t know if you think this is funny or whatever, but the poor boy gets bullied enough as it is,” he said as he rubbed his forehead, with that familiar restrained anger in his voice. “Now, when you get home from school, you are grounded from your electronics, from going out, from everything. You’ll use the free time to make things up to your little brother. Do you understand?”
“Dad…” You stuttered, confused and overwhelmed. Why is he treating this like it’s completely normal? You just want answers. “You don’t… understand…”
“No, I don’t understand why you’re acting this way. But you’re putting a stop to it, right now. There is nothing wrong with your brother, and I don’t want to hear you say a word otherwise,” your father insists, his voice shaking as he tries to subdue his anger. “Now go eat breakfast. You have to be at school in thirty minutes.” Despite your confusion, his tone of voice makes it clear that arguing with him wouldn’t be a good idea, so you slink shamefully back into the kitchen.
You notice your mother comforting Andy in the back. When he sees you, he darts away, as if hiding from you. You almost feel a little guilty, but confusion dominates your mind first and foremost. Even at school that day, the curious condition of your brother still haunted you, distracting you from class completely. You’ve always been a big fan of anthropomorphic animals; perhaps that has something to do with it? Then again, you didn’t think such animals existed, and certainly didn’t think your brother was one of them. In all of your memories, as far back as you can remember, he was human.
In your question for information, you try asking some of your friends and peers. According to everyone you talk to, ‘anthros’ are people who were born with a rare medical condition that gives them animal features, and your brother has always been one. One of your friends even notes off-hand that Andy is an otter, which further intrigues you. Otters had always been your favorite animals. That couldn’t just be a coincidence, could it? Perhaps your wish to meet an anthro in real life had finally come true, in the most unexpected of ways.
Whenever you had a chance, you tried to search online for anything that might explain why you remember Andy so differently from everyone else. In all your searches, a single phrase reappeared; the mandela effect. Most of it didn’t seem applicable to your situation, but one idea intrigued you; the theory that those with these different memories might be travellers from another timeline altogether. If that’s true, then you weren’t misremembering this; it’s just Andy’s always been an anthro in this timeline. Surely, such a theory was ridiculous… but you couldn’t come up with any better explanations.
As you drove back home, you decided to just act natural from here on out. Maybe you’ll just have to get used to the fact that this is the way things are now. Regardless of what his species may be, Andy is still Andy. You return home to find the house strangely hush, your sister on the couch in the living room, giving you a strange look. Your brother seemed cheerful as ever, though, curled up on his bed with a comic book. “Hey, Andy,” you said awkwardly, standing in the doorway.
Now that you have a better look at his new form, he doesn’t look so bad. He looked just like, well, Andy, but with fur and a tail. His face looked different, too, with a black, button nose and big, brown eyes; it was actually kind of adorable. You didn’t know why you were so scared of him earlier. This was your first chance to meet a real anthro! “O-oh, hey, Jesse,” he says, giving you a fake smile, although it was obvious he was nervous. Seeing just how timid he was around you now made you feel like a monster.
“Look, Andy. I’m really, really sorry about how I acted this morning. I’ve just been all messed up lately, and I wasn’t thinking straight,” you say, rubbing the back of your head, “and, uh… I want to make it up to you.”
“S-so… you’re taking me to the pool?” He asks, perking up.
You stare at him, confused. “... what?”
“Oh, well, I just figured… I mean, the pool’s my favorite place, so…” He deflects, looking a little embarrassed to have jumped the gun. You were still confused. Since when did Andy love the pool so much? He hated swimming. Then you realized; he’s an otter now. Of course he likes swimming. You wonder what other things have changed in this timeline.
“... alright, let’s go to the pool,” you sigh.
He instantly leapt into the air in excitement! “Woohoo!” He cheers, his demeanor changing completely. You chuckled, walking off and letting the otter get ready. You never saw human Andy get so excited over something so small. Perhaps this change wasn’t so bad after all...
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
