Not Always Greener

I pulled up outside my old house and sighed. I can't believe it's really been a month. I thought it was going to be a breeze. Hell, I even thought I'd conveniently misplace the brooch, and never go back. But modern teen life definitely wasn't how I imagined it would be. I'm almost glad to be going back to living my old life, even if it wasn't exciting. It was a mistake to consider playing out my fantasy. At least I know Brent is going to be pleased to get back to his own life too...

I knocked on the front door, and was a little dismayed when Frank opened the door. It was strange to see him after a full month. It was crazy how much I missed his beautiful face, his warm touch... "Oh, Gerald," he said with a smile. "What a surprise! I wish you'd called ahead, I was just about to head out."

I was surprised. Didn't Brent let him know I was coming? We did mark today's date down in our phones, just in case we forgot. I smiled and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, I just came by to see my uncle. We have things to discuss."

"He's outside in his usual spot," Frank replied, patting me on the shoulder as he left. I shuddered at his touch, I couldn't wait for things to get back to normal. He turned on his heel, then added, "If you stick around for dinner, I'm making my famous meatloaf."

I waved him goodbye, knowing I would definitely be around for dinner. His meatloaf really was the best. I couldn't wait to sit at the dinner table with him, gossiping about the neighbors, and complaining about work. It's the little things you miss... 

Ring of Desire

Tension was brewing between Martin and his Uncle Jim. He was staying with him while the rest of his family went upstate to support his brother's debate team in the regionals. Martin had hoped he'd be alone for the week, but staying with his uncle was a nice alternative. They were kindred spirits, both enjoying the same music, the same movies, and the same baseball team. The only problem was that Martin's easygoing nature clashed with Jim's sternness. So when he switched off the TV, claiming the upcoming game would be on too late, Martin didn't take it well. As he stomped upstairs to his room. Jim called out, "Where are you going, little man?"

Martin huffed, "I'm gonna play Minecraft."

"At this hour?" Jim asked. "If you can't sleep, isn't there any homework you could do? Or maybe you could clean your room a little. Dirty clothes belong in the laundry, after all."

Martin ignored him and slammed his door. He didn't think he could last another day with his constant rules. So he reached into his bedside table, and pulled out a tacky looking ring, the kind you might get for 500 tickets as an arcade prize. Except, Martin had bought the ring from a thrift store for a dollar. It was no ordinary ring, it had strange powers. It could grant any desire of the person using it. From making the bed to changing the universe, there were no limits to what the ring could achieve. The powers would last until the day he discovered his ultimate desire. At that moment, the ring would vanish, sensing he would no longer have the need for it. It could take hours, or it could take years. He knew this, of course, because the ring told him when he first put it on.

Santa Hat 12

All was busy at Matty's house as their family Christmas gathering was underway. Relatives of all ages were spread throughout the house waiting for the signal they could all exchange gifts; when Uncle Jim came down the stairs decked out like Santa. Little Matty was especially excited, he looked forward to the theatrics every winter. But this year, he had a special goal in mind. He sat waiting at the foot of the stairs for his uncle to come by and popped the question. "Uncle Jim, do you think that this year, I could wear the Santa suit? Pretty please?"

Jim stroked his large beard in thought. "I don't know... It takes a big man to fill those boots. Heck, I barely fit into the suit. Though that's because I've gotten a little too big over the years..." He slapped his big belly for emphasis.

With a frown, Matty whined "Come on, I wanna be Santa this year!"

"Hold on...". Jim grabbed the Santa hat off his bald head and placed it on his nephew's. It slipped down past his ears and covered half his face. Jim chuckled, his belly shaking, and said "Sorry buddy, looks like you have some growing to do before you get to wear the suit! Maybe next year."

Matty pulled the hat back to sit on his head and flared his nostrils in annoyance. Jim squeezed upstairs to get prepared for his act, leaving Matty alone in a huff. Not big enough... His uncle was such a large man, he'd never achieve such a size in time. If only there was a way to get big quickly... Alas, nothing came to mind. Still fuming, Matty muttered under his breath "I wish I was big enough to wear that suit..."

Ignored

Halloween Enthusiast

Lincoln sat across from his nephew, Barry, while they took a break from shopping. He'd brought the boy out to prepare for Halloween, but instead of finding the perfect costume and decorations, he'd spent the entire day distant and uninterested. It hurt to see his fellow Halloween enthusiast so down. Finally, he got up the courage to ask "Is something wrong? You're usually so ecstatic about Halloween. Where's your spirit huh?".

Barry scoffed at his uncle's joke and mumbled "I'unnoft, I just don't wanna do it this year. I'm getting too old for that stuff"

"Too old!?" Lincoln almost shouted. "You're barely twelve! That's not too old for trick-or-treating"

"Yuh-huh, it's for babies! Besides, none of my friends are going. I'd be the weird loner who couldn't take a hint"

"You wouldn't be alone, I'll be there remember? It's, like, our thing!"

"Ugh, that's worse. I'm almost a teenager, I can go door to door by myself now. You know, if I wanted to. And I don't. Because it's dumb. Jason's holding a scary movie marathon anyway"

"B-but I've taken you trick-or-treating every year since your first Halloween. I never had the chance to do it when I was your age you know."

"I know, you literally tell me every year. Face it, if I'm too old for trick-or-treating, then you're ancient! You have to outgrow these things at some point"

Lincoln sat dumbstruck as his nephew turned his attention to his phone. He couldn't believe Barry didn't want to go trick-or-treating any more. No more costumes, no more free candy, no more uncle-nephew bonding... Sure he could start doing a movie night instead, but he couldn't stand those gory horror flicks, and Barry would rather want to be with friends instead of him... Lincoln just wasn't ready to give up up Halloween. His prudish parents never let him celebrate as a kid as they believed it to be a wicked holiday. Plus it was the only time he and Barry really had the chance to bond together in the year. If only he could get one more year out of it...

Vignettes: Easter Egg Hunt

The time had come, the doors opened, and families eagerly entered the small, antique store to participate in the Easter egg hunt. It had existed on this road for generations, yet few people knew it previously existed let alone entered its doors. Nobody could imagine they would enter into a beautiful, awe-inspiring garden that extended well past the confines of the store's actual floor plan. You could easily forget you were inside a building at all, with the towering trees and natural sunlight flooding the area, until you stumbled across a brick wall slathered with vines.

Hidden throughout the exotic, extravagant foliage were plenty of small and colourful eggs, the goal of the event. They were everywhere. Chocolate eggs, plastic eggs filled with jelly beans, even a few boiled eggs for comedic effect. There were also some special golden eggs dotted throughout the large room. These glamorous eggs had attached instructions to find The Apprentice, the burly shop assistant whose festive bunny ears did little to soften his natural surly expression, who would help unlock its prize. Excited participants seeked down the man, and handed him their eggs.

"These are very special, magic objects that contain whatever you desire" he dully recited with a memorised speech. "Chocolate bunnies, candy eggs, turkish delight, whatever you want, anything at all, you will receive it". Most people picked out their favourite brand of candy, some even tried asking for something more obscure to see what would happen. The Apprentice would crack open the egg and poof! Whatever they asked for appeared in his palm in a puff of smoke.

However, a few people noticed the loophole in this trick. The wishing eggs could grant anything you desire. And anyone who spotted it received a rare smile from The Apprentice, because this meant he could have some fun. Wishes were one of the easiest forms of magic to master after all, and also the easiest to manipulate. This gave him the chance to put his skills to the test, and maybe have a bit of fun with the few who wanted more than just chocolate this Easter.

Lose The Beard

Vignettes: New Perspectives

I was stuck babysitting my sister's little kid for the weekend while she went on some business trip abroad. He's such a pain in the ass, he keeps messing with all of my stuff and asking the stupidest questions. I got sick of it after he almost totalled my drum set so I sent him up to the guest room and told him he had to stay there the rest of the day. He was furious and threatened to break stuff but there ain't nothing valuable in there that I care about. A few hours of peace later, I hear a loud thud upstairs, followed by me desperately needing the loo. I rush to the bathroom and start my business when something scary happened. As I peed, I got smaller and thinner and hairless. I was terrified but I couldn't stop myself going. By the time I finished, I was some puny shrimp who looked to be about the kid's age. I was freaking out, even all my ink had vanished. Outside, I heard a deep laughter so I burst out the room and ran right into the belly of this stranger. He was a massive guy, even more-so at my new height, and he loomed over me with a wicked smile. I could see some similarities in the guy, like he was an uglier clone of me. He had on my underwear and chains. He had a big gut and a goatee like mine. Even the tattoos were like the ones I had. I had a sinking feeling I knew who he was, that the freak soon confirmed. Turns out that junk in the guest room weren't so useless after all as the kid found some sorta wishing stone. He wished we'd trade places so he was the uncle and I was his nephew . He lifted me up easily and dumped me in the guest room, saying I couldn't leave for the rest of the day before cackling and slamming the door. God I hope there's another of those things in here...

"OK I'll prove to you that it works! Give me a year" Phil said, preparing to type my answer onto the weird device he bought from a garage sale. He said it could change the age of the person who held it but I didn't believe him.

"Hmm... What about 1980?" I replied. "The same year my dad was born".

He nodded, quickly tapping the date into the device and turning the screen to me. It showed his current date of birth followed by the one he just added. "Now just watch what happens". He pressed the button atop the device, then shoved it into his pocket. Nothing happened. I was about to brag about being right when a burst of electricity jumped from his pocket and surrounded him. I fell backwards in surprise as Phil literally aged years in seconds. His shirt tore apart as he sprouted up with height and muscle. His jeans fared better but the legs still split down the seams and the buttons flew off. Within moments, he'd grown from a pimply middle-schooler to a hirsute adult, towering over me with a wide grin on his bestubbled face. "So what do you think now?" he asked smugly in a rough baritone instead of his usual squeaky voice.

I stared at him bewildered for a moment, processing that the bear of a man before me really was my best friend Phil. Finally, I replied "Can I have a go?".

I didn't know why I was suddenly a boy again, but I knew I had to find my son to make sure he was OK. The beach wasn't busy yet I couldn't see him anywhere. Finally I found a secluded area where I saw a naked man pacing about nervously. He looked familiar but surely it wasn't him.

"Whatamigonnado... Whatamig- AAH!" he covered himself with a pair of ripped swimming trunks when he saw me. "I wasn't naked! I mean I was but not on purpose, honest! My shorts ripped after... I know it's ridiculous but I used to be your age and... Of course I used to, but I mean..."

"Oh my god" I interrupted. I knew that nervous speech pattern anywhere. "Rick? Is that really you?"

He stopped at the mention of his name. "How do you know my name?"

"Ricky, it's me. Your dad"

He looked more confused than ever. "Daddy?" he asked. He crouched down and squinted at me. "But you're so little!".

"Yeah, and you're so big. What the heck happened to us?"

Rick sat next to me on the sand and shrugged. "I dunno. I was on the beach and out of nowhere, I just grew up. My shorts ripped so I found this place to hide. How about you?".

I sighed. "Pretty much the same. It's a mystery alright... And until we solve it, I guess we'll have to play the part. Here, put these on". I chucked him the swimming trunks I was holding up around my waist. He quickly pulled them on and handed me his tattered pair in exchange.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I can't be the man of the house looking like this. You're the tall one with the deep voice and the hairy chest. You'll have to pretend to be me, and I'll be you, until we find a way to fix things. So let's go home. Dad".

Rick giggled in excitement before retaining his poseur and giving me a stern look. "OK son" he said, delving back into laughter. Well at least one of us is happy I guess.

I played with the enchanted rings while my neighbour stripped out of his clothes. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"A bet's a bet, whatever the price. Hand it over". He snatched a ring from my hand and shimmied it over his cock and balls. I did the same and together, we spoke the words on the parchment. I could feel myself begin to get younger with every breath. I laughed giddily as my belly started to shrink. A newfound energy reared inside me and I almost leapt out of my wheelchair, confident I wouldn't need it now. I ran to a mirror and threw my glasses to the side as my vision cleared. I watched as my skin tightened and my hair grew back to its former auburn glory. It wasn't long before I was a young musclehead in my mid-twenties. I was bounding with energy, thrilled to be young again!

My neighbour, however, had the short end of the stick as he grew older with every breath. His muscles faded as his body bloated, packing on a gut. Hair regrew across his shaved chest while a moustache sprouted above his lips. His hair thinned and gradually lightened until it was mainly white. His skin roughened and wrinkled. While I admired my muscular body, his breathing grew haggard and he collapsed onto a chair. I quickly rushed to his side in concern. "Oh my god, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine. I guess aging so many years in a short time really saps up your energy. I'm pooped".

"We can swap back if you'd like, it's no big deal"

"Noooo! I'm a man of my word, we're not breaking the deal because I'm a little light-headed. Just go out and let me rest for a few hours. I'll be back on my feet in no time"

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave if you feel so uneasy"

"Of course I'm sure! Go and enjoy being a hot stud again while you can. I can tolerate maturity for the time being"

"Well at least let me help you get more comfortable". I grabbed my wheelchair and assisted him into it. As I rolled him to my bedroom and looked down at the old man, I mused to myself about being on the other side of the chair for once, And now I have the freedom to do things that I haven't in years! It's only for a week though so I better make the most of it!

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Thanks everyone for the welcome back! Now this is something I'm toying with. Multiple short stories with a similar theme, I'd like to do more but first I'd like to know what sort of themes people would like to see. Whether it's the people involved, like father/son swaps, or if it's how the change occurs, like cursed water, or even just a general connection, like revenge. Anything I can base about 3-5 separate stories on would do. Thanks again!

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