My working days in the bakery are the most normal part of my life. Kneading dough, baking bread, and handling coins are things every bakery employee does. There are days when it all feels genuinely normal. On those days, I feel human, a normal person. Other days, everything seems to remind me that how I feel doesn't matter.

I am not a normal person.

'Good day, Mrs. Kramer, how can I help you?' I ask the older woman who comes every day for a whole wheat bread. There's no need to ask what she wants, but Vonders insists that I do.

The woman pushes her glasses further up her nose, leans forward, and tries to see which breads are available each day with her poor vision. She knows what's there, and I know she knows.

'A whole wheat.' Surprise, surprise.

I grab the lukewarm bread from the counter and wrap it in a piece of newspaper. I place it on the counter and look at the woman. She struggles to grab the bread from the wood before shoving it into her bag.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glance at Vonders, who's a few meters away, pulling a loaf from the oven. There's a grin on his lips, as always. He knows the old woman irritates me.

'Anything else, ma'am?' I ask while already taking her usual change from the box. She pays daily with two coins and always gets a copper in return. She silently takes her brown purse, pulls out the two silver coins, and places them on the counter.

'No, thank you, girl.' I smile briefly and hand her the copper.

'Thanks again, Mrs. Kramer,' Vonders calls from the oven. The woman grabs her walking stick, which was leaning against the counter, raises her hand, and hobbles out of the shop.

I sigh deeply as the bell of the closing door rings, and I turn back to the workbench I was cleaning. As I grab the wet cloth from the bucket, the bell rings again. I want to turn around, irritated, thinking it's Mrs. Kramer who always seems to forget something, but a less pleasant person stands before me.

'Good day,' I say through clenched teeth as Lian and her mother enter. The blonde girl with her perfectly combed hair and slightly more expensive green dress than everyone else's walks towards me with a grin.

'Chea, how nice to see you again. I assume you're feeling better?' she smiles. I squeeze the wet cloth tighter in my hand, causing water to drip onto the floor. Startled, I throw the cloth back into the bucket, knowing Lian only laughs at my clumsiness.

'Yes, just a cold. How can I help you?' I quickly ask to change the subject. Mrs. Walser stands next to her daughter, her equally well-groomed and styled hair in place, looking at the breads. Her even more expensive green dress hangs without a single stain along her body.

'Which bread is the freshest?' the woman asks in her annoyingly high-pitched voice. Without answering, I walk to Vonders to grab the still hot bread from the workbench. With my fireproof fingers, I wrap it in a newspaper and walk back.

'Is that wheat? No, we don't eat that. Which is whole wheat?' I put the warm bread back with Vonders before grabbing the last whole wheat loaf from the counter.

'This one, ma'am.' She looks at the bread as if it's a new green dress she's about to buy. Her two brown eyes dart over the loaf. Lian seems to imitate her mother or has inherited the same annoying trait.

'Is it still warm?'

'No.' She inspects the bread thoroughly again. I feel the urge to shove it up her nose but remain silently irritated.

'Don't you have a warm whole wheat bread?'

'No.' As if she thinks I'm lying, the woman inspects the entire shop, searching for a warm whole wheat bread.

'Is that so, Vonders?' she continues as she walks over to him, completely ignoring me. I stand there, deeply irritated, with Lian watching the whole scene with a smile, as if it's normal.

'Funny that it was a full moon the day you weren't here. It's a shame you missed that school day, but you must be used to it by now, right?' If looks could kill, Lian would be on the floor. With effort, I force a smile while placing the bread back on the counter.

'Well,' is all I manage to say. Vonders has now convinced Mrs. Walser to buy the warm wheat bread because he's bringing it over.

'Aren't you falling behind in school with all your absences? People are starting to think you have some kind of illness, but that's not true, right?' the hypocritical brat continues. That's the moment I can't take it anymore. To contain my aggression, I grip the edge of the counter, my growing nails digging into the wood. Thankfully, the stack of loaves in front of me hides my hand. I blink away my glowing eyes and focus on the floor. My heartbeat pounds in my throat.

'Anything else, ladies?' Vonders asks as he places the bread on the counter. He briefly puts his hand on my shoulder before opening the cash box.

'No, thank you,' the prim-and-proper girl answers as she grabs the coins from her expensive bag. I slowly breathe in through my nose until the warm sensation at my eyes fades.

'Are you alright, Chea?' Lian asks as if she cares.

'Don't blame her. The heat can get to your head when you stand here all day. The ovens are hot,' Vonders replies while exchanging the money. From the corner of my eye, I see Lian nod suspiciously. Her mother takes the bread from the counter before putting it in her other bag. Still staring at the floor, I follow every movement from my peripheral vision.

'Thank you and have a nice day,' is all Vonders says.

'See you at school, Chea.' I dig my nails deeper into the wood to stop any words from escaping my lips.

'See you then.' As soon as the bell rings, I pull my nails from the wood, shake my hand until my nails return to normal, and look away from Vonders in embarrassment. He was never supposed to find out I'm not normal, but sometimes, I'm glad he knows.

When I first started working here, I was stupid enough to come on the day of a full moon. It ended with me losing all control, throwing flour all over the shop, and then locking myself in the bathroom. There was no way he hadn't seen the yellow eyes or long sharp nails. That he didn't fire me is a miracle, though he came close. It took weeks before I dared to apologize, and after a long conversation, he let me back in.

'Breathe,' is all Vonders says before walking back to the oven.

I've tried to find out what I am, but I've never succeeded. Tom is a hardworking farmer but anything but adventurous. At school, we learn the vague history of our world, but it's all focused on humans. I know magical creatures roam our world, but I don't know where or which ones. Despite asking the teachers, they never discuss it for more than a few minutes. We don't talk to those kinds of beings, they always tell me. I should have expected nothing less in this small, narrow-minded village.

The day drags on like any normal workday; baking bread until lunch, cleaning, and helping the daily customers. The routine has its charm, though it quickly becomes boring. My thoughts often drift to the forest or all the unanswered questions.

'Chea, can you get that bag from the top shelf?' I lean the broom against the counter as I walk over to Vonders. The cupboard, as tall as the ceiling, is full of bags of flour and seeds. Whenever a bag is out of the baker's reach, he lets me handle the problem. I hold my dress off the floor as I look up at the bag in question. The top shelf, about two and a half meters from the floor—what else could I expect?

I take one last look around the empty shop to avoid any curious eyes before stepping off the floor. With ease, my right foot lands on the top shelf, and I grab the one above with my hand. My toes just fit on the crowded shelf, but even that's no problem.

'The whole wheat,' Vonders clarifies from the floor. I grab the brown bag of flour and jump back down. The man nods approvingly as he takes the bag and walks over to the workbench where he was working.

'If you're done sweeping, you can go.' I glance at the clock and can't sweep the floor fast enough. Half past four, which means I have half an hour before Tom expects me home. Vonders laughs as he sees me sweeping the floor at lightning speed, grabbing the dustpan and broom to collect all the fallen flour and seeds into the trash.

'See you Wednesday,' I say before placing the broom in its usual spot in the right corner and heading to the door.

'See you Wednesday,' the man replies, laughing. I run through the village streets at first, but the number of surprised looks in my direction tells me I'd better slow down. At times like these, I'm grateful the village isn't more than a few streets. It takes me less than five minutes before I'm on the forest path.

I restrain myself just long enough to walk into the forest where no one can see me from the path. As much as I hate this dress, Tom doesn't appreciate another torn dress. Behind a tree, I undress to my underwear. I still take

one last look around before transforming into the creature that always wants to break free. By now, I'm controlled enough to let my paws hit the grass within seconds. I shake out my golden fur, take the dress between my canines, and run into the forest.