"I sooo did not see this coming. You've outdone yourself here, Universe. 11 Universe, 0 Daniella. Fantastic."

These are the words that have been playing in Daniella's head on loop since meeting Luca the Golden Retriever.

Daniella stares at her piece of now wrinkled paper while tapping her foot. With her airline crayon in hand, she reads through the list before adding her new update. She adds a working title that Sweetheart would seem to agree with if he was with her now:

The Happenings so far... ish.

1. Luca basically ghosts me... or we never knew each other? Luca sends his first text although he later seems to not know of it????

2. We can't call or find each other. Luke = Barista at home airport. "Enjoy & Reset" = His Starbucks messenger. I fall asleep at Starbucks. 

3. Flight delayed. I go to Starbucks. Luke = Barista at departure airport. We chat. He has to "reset" the machine. I purposefully fall asleep = reset. I got a text. Luca sends the first text.

4. Upgraded to Business class. two kiddos. i drink a few glasses of champagne (3 or 4ish glasses). I meet Luca. he has giant teddy bear. i fall asleep. teddy bear = sweetheart? L sends first text.

5. I make a run for it and try to switch flights. Everything rewinds. Dragged back. Child with teddy bear. Teddy bear = Sweetheart? Child = creepy. L sends text.

6. Upgraded to business class (again). Stewardess is with the child who scares me. Child is with Sweetheart. Child is also called "Sweetheart"....??? Luke = sexy millionaire (i think) who invented the RESET app. L sends text? Turbulence. I hit my head while trying to tie shoes. knock out/black out.

7. I'm at home. Luca is travelling. I sent the text L usually sends. Roles are completely switched. Room and house are too clean. pepe silvia episode. Lightning strikes the car.

8. Empty airport. Sweetheart = giant talking bear who is very very real (to me) who feeds me. v sensitive. only refers to me as "Daniella Spencer". we fight(ish) a couple of times. nasty flashbacks of bad behavior at airports. We move and travel around the airport. shoves me from the moving walkway. the moving walkway is neverending. lots of fog. we find exit, fog blocks vision, hits head.probably ran into wall or door?

9. Wake up at the airport. red paper plane with hand written note in crayon: "WAKE UP DANIELLA SPENCER" so it has to from Sweetheart?! I freak out, i fall.

10. I wake up at train station. red plane station. agent thinks i have amnesia. i get taxi, traffic on bridge (considered unusual). i leave taxi and sprint. also gets hit by car. kicked in shin by the child at security lines. i swear and fight with everyone. sprint across airport. miss flight. faint.

Daniella takes a deep breathe as she now scribbles next to her marking on #11

11. ...????? Luca is now a Golden Retriever.

That's her new update as she scribbles it down on her piece of paper with a black crayon. One half of her mind is fixated on her paper. The other half is fixated on making sure that Luca does not run off in the middle of a crowded airport... Daniella, who did not travel with a leash, keeps Luca between her legs. Luca affectionately circles himself around her legs in an infinity loop. She writes down another observation:

11. Luca is now a Golden Retriever. He keeps circling around my legs in an infinity loop as i write this sentence down!

To be on the safer side, Daniella adds #12 right below. If she gets to #13, she's going to have to use the other side of the paper. Although she has plenty of pages in her notebook, she is really not in the mood to waste paper just yet.

She folds the piece of paper and places it into one of her jean pockets. She places the crayon back in her purse.

"Hmmm... I can't carry this dog around. If only I had a leash..."

Upon finishing her sentence, she feels a long thick rope inside of her purse. Raising her eyebrow at the sensation, she pulls it out... it's a... a multicolored leash? It looks brand new and sturdy.

Daniella, who has never owned a pet in her life, approaches Luca with caution. Luca, on the other hand, looks at her with an excited expression on his face. As she approaches him, she wonders if the dog is simply named Luca, or if Luca has somehow transformed into a dog. Perhaps somewhere the dog knows it is her... although that might not be obvious right now.

"You're sitting right?" asks Daniella. Luca happily barks. She's going to take that as a "yes." She leans over and quickly clips the leash on him. Daniella stands back up with the leash in her hand. As if the dog could sense her hesitancy, Luca prances around her with the leash on. He nudges her in the direction of the airport exit, he applies grit into his movement, dragging Daniella along. She goes along with it.

"Luca! I don't even know if I have a car."

He leads her to a car. Her car. Daniella looks at her dog, who looks right back at her. "You knew, didn't you?" Luca barks.

"I'll also take that as a yes." replies Daniela.

Daniella unlocks her car and helps Luca into the back of the car. She gets into the driver's seat and looks back at the dog.

Daniella commands, "Sit, Luca. I need you to sit absolutely still. I can't afford to have you distract me over this drive. Last time I was in this car I got struck by lightning, so do not play with me on this one, alright?"

She could swear that the dog just nodded. Can the dog understand her?

She shrugs the thought as she starts the engine and takes off for her home.

Arriving back at her apartment, Luca eagerly scratches at the door as Daniella finds her keys, and opens the door. Luca runs inside and jumps onto her couch and makes himself at home. Daniella, who was too busy locking her door and removing her coat to notice Luca's action, is astounded by his select choice of furniture.

"Hmmm..." remarks Daniella. "You know, in an alternative universe, you do the same exact thing whenever we get home." Luca barks back at her, almost with a gleeful tone.

"That was a joke, wasn't it?" she asks him. "Every time I remark about you hopping onto the couch, you always crack a joke about it."

Lucas continues to bark back at her. She first tries her best to deduce what he's saying but gives up after a while. She wishes there was a human-dog translator, but she has a feeling that they would have discovered that a while back... or not.

"I can't believe that my boyfriend is my pet dog in this reality. Brings a whole new meaning to the expression 'Man's best friend'". Daniella remarks to herself.

"Oh, come here you!"

Luca excitedly runs to her. Daniella crouches down and runs her finger through his thick mane. He pants heavily with his tongue waving about. "Do. Not. Lick. Me. I. Swear To. G- Ewwww!" she's interrupted by his affectionate licking across her face. 

She looks at his face canine intently and he returns the look with an extremely goofy expression on his face. As she continues to look at his eyes, his iris color seems to match the exact shade of his human counterpart. Daniella shares a warm closed smile with the dog and hugs him. As she embraces the animal, she is careful to not crush his body. He is probably a lot more fragile after all. Luca, who seems into the hug, licks Daniella all over her face. She tries her best to hide her grimace in order to not hurt the feelings of her pet.

"You must be thirsty and hungry, huh?"

The dog appears to nod.

"Alright." acknowledges Daniella. "Let's feed you... Hmmm. I have a feeling you know this house better than I do, huh?"

Luca prances into the kitchen, bites onto a cabinet knob below the sink, walks backward to open the door, and brings out his food and feeding bowls. Daniella watches with sheer amazement. He nudges at his food packet.

"Ah. Right."

Daniella pours some dog food into the food bowl until Luca barks after a certain amount, which she takes as a cue to stop pouring. After putting the food package away and filling up the water bowl, Luca enjoys his meal. Daniella watches the dog ravage through his food. "Hey, so quick question."

Luca raises his head from his bowls and gives Daniella his attention.

"You can understand everything I'm saying right?"

He barks.

"I'll take that as a yes?"

He barks back.

"You don't magically talk like a human or like a giant anthropomorphic teddy bear right?"

Luca stays silent and tries his best to give her what she interprets as a strange look.

"I'll take that as a no???"

Luca barks back.

"Okay cool, cool, cool." Daniella takes a moment to think. Luca intently watches her ponder and comb through a numerous list of questions.

"Oh right. I have another question. You're like a dog-dog right?"

Luca barks while turning his head to the side. For a dog, he sure has a very human way of expressing himself, unless he is simply imitating expressions he's seen from another version of Daniella.

"Like you've always been a dog?"

He barks again.

"You're not like a human that was magically turned into a dog?"

Luca gives her another weird look.

"Um, great. That's all I wanted to ask for now. I'll be right back... I'm just gonna stretch my legs... excuse me."

Luca goes back to his feeding bowls. Daniella looks around the apartment for clues of her current reality.

She starts with the bedroom, specifically the closet. She cautiously opens it and notices that all three panels are filled with her clothes instead of one panel per person and a shared panel for coats and jackets. In the bathroom, both cabinets are filled with her personal items.

"So... no boyfriend, huh? Just a proud mom of a golden retriever? That's pretty cool."

She continues to snoop around her apartment looking through more photos and notes left around. Everything about her life seems about the same except for the noticeable fact that any and all couple photos now consist of pet and owner photos... not that she's complaining. The very fact that Daniella isn't upset over this takes her aback.

Shouldn't she gravely upset about this?

Shouldn't she be heartbroken?

Shouldn't she be actively trying to reverse Luca's predicament?

Why is she comfortable with Luca as a pet rather than her lover?

Why is Daniella happy and comfortable staying in this particular reality rather than trying to reverse all of this? 

Why does she not want to exit this reality?

Why is she preferring to have Luca remain as an animal companion?

Why, despite everything she has gone through so far for the past ten days, does Daniella want to stay exactly like this?

Why is she beginning to make peace with all of this?

Her thoughts are interrupted as she hears a growl and looks in the direction of Luca, who is biting onto a small tan stuffed animal while violently shaking the figure.

"Is that... is that.... is that Sweetheart?" asks Daniella. She has a snapshot flashback of her notes and notes where Sweetheart made his direct or indirect appearances... perhaps he is in this reality as well? That is if it is appropriate to call it "reality"

"Hey!"

Luca is deep in thought as he dedicates himself to his attack.

"Luca? Luca, stop it! No! Let go of the bear! Let go of Sweetheart!" She yells at the dog.

"LET. GO."

Luca refuses to do so.

"NO. THAT BEAR IS VERY SPECIAL TO ME AND IF YOU RIP HIM APART YOU AND I ARE GOING TO HAVE A VERY BIG PROBLEM. LET GO OF THE BEAR."

Halting his violent action, Luca stares at Daniella with Sweetheart in his mouth.

"NOW LUCA!"

Luca unlocks his jaw, and lets go of a punctured and slobbery Sweetheart. Daniella, who is still holding onto Sweetheart, loses her balance, hits the ground, and blacks out. 

To Be Continued... 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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