Waking up was a different experience. For the first time in long time I didn't feel any aches or pain. When I stretched, I noticed that something was definitely different, I felt light, so light that I felt like I had lost a huge amount of weight and I could feel both my feet, not the phantom feeling I used to have after the amputations. I could actually feel the toes wiggling when I commanded them to. I removed the covers and looked down and what I saw shocked me. I saw what appeared to be breasts, not man boobs but actual female breasts and I had lost weight.

“I must still be dreaming.” I said softly to myself and surprised by the feminine voice I now had. I decided to get up and when I did so It finally dawned on me that I wasn't in my bedroom and my wife wasn't sleeping next to me. I looked around and somehow the room seemed familiar, like I had been in it before. It felt like it was the room I had always dreamed of having. I walked to the full length mirror I saw and looked at the reflection. The image was not myself and at the same time it was. Gone was the image of the bear of a man I used to see every day in the mirror and instead I could see the image of the woman I always wanted to be.

“This has to be a dream.” I said mesmerized by my own reflection.

“I would have to disagree with you, Wren.” I heard someone say from behind me.

I turned around and saw a tall blonde bombshell with her hair tied up in a high pony tail, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. She sat down on the bed looking at me.

“Who... who are you? How do you know my name?”

“Hi Wren, you can call me Jen.”

“Jen as in Jennifer?”

“Yes, not that I look like this all the time.” She said cryptically.

“I don't understand.”

“You will. Tell me what was the last thing you remember before waking up?”

“Waking up? I thought I was still dreaming.”

“Nope, this isn't a dream, but something else.”

“You still didn't tell me how you know my name.”

“Don't worry about that just yet. Just tell me what is the last thing you remember before waking up here.”

“I... I'm not sure." I said shaking my head like it would help me remember.

"That's normal, the first few minutes are a little confusing."

"Where am I?"

"Home."

"Home? This isn't my home."

" Are you sure? Look around you, isn't this the room you always dreamed of?"

"It is, but this isn't my home, my home is with my wife and kids."

"Not anymore, Wren. Your wife and kids will be fine."

" You make it sound like I died or something. Oh God, Am I dead?" I asked and I immediately remembered being in the hospital and that I was ready to die.

"Welcome to heaven, Wren."

"Heaven? This doesn't look much like heaven to me."

"This is just your room. All the good stuff is out there."

"Who are you? Why are you the one welcoming me?"

"Because I wanted to be the one welcoming you, and about who am I, you knew me when I was alive, although we never really met in person. You see, I don't always look like this and in my life I never looked this good. I decided to use this form to meet you to keep the freak out factor low. I imagined that meeting you as a strange man after you just woke up as a woman would be a bit much."

"Maybe you're right I would have freaked out more than I already am. Are you going to tell me who you are or do I have to keep guessing? You do look familiar but you said that you didn't look this way when you were alive."

"That's because this form is the form of my favorite character from my stories."

"Wait a minute. You said I could call you Jen, right?" I asked and she nodded. "I think I know who you are. Bob?"

"Part of the time yes, the other part it is Jen. Here you can be whatever you want to. In my case I alternate between Jen and Bob according to my mood."

"Are you really Bob? I can't believe it. I loved your stories and I was devastated when you died. Does it mean I can meet the others like Teddi, Kim, Jaye and Rebecca?"

"Some of them yes, the ones that are still around at least. Unlike what some people think, Heaven isn't a place of eternal rest. It is more like a pit stop, where you rest before you go back to a brand new life. After we die, it takes some time before we are ready to reincarnate."

"What about the ones we leave behind? I mean the ones that are still alive."

"You can check on them if that's what you are asking. In time you'll learn to do more."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever heard of muses? People like us, writers, are exceptionally sensitive to them when alive and after we die we can help to inspire others, becoming muses ourselves until we are ready to move on. To tell you the truth I did that to you a few times."

"You mean I can help to inspire someone? Maybe even help them to continue some of my favorite stories?" I asked thinking about a couple authors from the BCTS website that are in need of a good but kicking to continue writing. The thought did bring a wicked smile to my face.

"Girl, I see you are starting to see the possibilities." Jen said smiling herself.

"What do I do now?"

"Right now, let's try to find you something to wear and meet some people that are dying to see you."

"Dying to see me? Aren't they already dead?"

"Come on, smart ass. You know what I mean. You could go nude if you want to, as nudity isn't a big deal around here, but I think you would like to wear something feminine after waiting for some long."
"You got that right."

"After that we'll go have some fun."

"I can't wait."

 
I'd like to thank djkauf for editing this little piece for me.
  
Wren, we already miss you.