Project New Life

The cold concrete of the planter bit into your legs, a stark contrast to the bustling life of Union Square around you. Three days in New York City, and the grand escape you'd envisioned had dissolved into a desperate search for warmth and a place to rest your head. Your stomach ached with hunger, a constant reminder of your meager fifty-six dollars. Your dad’s voice echoed in your mind, a cutting refrain about not trying, not being carried.

Just as despair threatened to pull you under, a man named Joe appeared, a brief beacon of unexpected kindness, pointing you toward a drop-in center. It wasn't the fresh start you'd dreamed of, but it was a start. You spent a restless night on a lumpy shelter bed, the shadows of your successful brothers, Daniel and Liam, looming large in your thoughts.

The next morning, a flyer on a noticeboard caught your eye: "Looking for a Fresh Start?" It led you to a towering skyscraper on Park Avenue, an interview, a cup of coffee, and then... nothing. Now, you wake up in a plush bed, in a room that smells faintly floral, with long blonde hair on the pillow beside you and a body that is unmistakably, yet impossibly, female. A voice from beyond the door calls you by a name you don't recognize: "Olivia!"