Morning sunlight poured into the meadow, golden and soft, brushing the dew from blades of grass and dappling the little burrow that had once been their world. The three of them awoke not as they once were—small, squeaky, and four-legged—but as something entirely new.
They sat in the grass, blinking in confusion. Arms, hands, legs—strange human forms dressed in clothes they had never owned. Their soft fur had become hair, but their eyes still held the wide roundness of their old selves.
"W–what happened to us?" whispered Hazel, the one with fluffy brown-and-white hair that framed her face like a lion's mane. She clutched at her hoodie nervously, still chewing on a stray leaf she had woken up with.
Next to her, Mina—black-and-white, with a bow keeping her puff of hair tied back—hugged her knees. Her voice trembled. "This doesn't feel real. Yesterday we were just… guinea pigs. I was… I was happy just running under the haystack." Her fingers curled, uncertain how to hold anything.
The third, Liora, with flowing white hair and a calm expression, stood more gracefully. She tugged at the ribbon of her blouse and looked around, her voice quiet but steady. "Something… called us here. I don't think this is an accident."
The meadow was familiar, but larger, overwhelming. Trees towered like giants, flowers rose taller than their heads. The wind carried whispers, as if the world itself was alive, watching them.
Hazel puffed her cheeks, trying to act braver than she felt. "Well… if we've turned into… whatever this is, maybe it's because we're supposed to do something. Maybe an adventure?"
"An adventure?" Mina squeaked. "I don't even know how to walk properly!" She stumbled forward, nearly falling into Hazel's arms.
Liora reached out, steadying both of them. Her dark eyes softened, and for the first time a faint smile tugged at her lips. "Then we'll learn. Together."
As if to answer her words, the ground beneath them shifted. The meadow glimmered, and from the air came a faint sound—like tiny silver bells. Shapes began to form in the light: a path that hadn't been there before, leading deeper into a forest that pulsed with strange energy.
The three girls looked at one another. Their little hearts—still the same as when they were small, fragile creatures—beat fast in their chests.
Hazel grinned nervously, tugging her hood over her head. "Well… guess the world doesn't wait for scared guinea pigs."
Mina whimpered but took their hands.
Liora simply nodded. "Then let's go."
And so, three guinea pigs who were no longer guinea pigs stepped onto the path of the unknown—unaware that the world beyond was filled with magic, danger, and secrets that would test the strength of their new forms… and the bond that tied them together.