the age-shifter
I can't recall the last thing the little girl said before she decided to stop being little.
I wasn't listening anyway as I was arguing with this unexpected intruder, threatening to call her parents (no idea who they were), maybe child services for good measure. It would have been comical if the situation hadn't been so odd.
All I remember is her approaching in the strangest way, not quite stepping and not quite floating, moving faster than she should, like my eyes were a telescope zooming in while I was moving backwards or something.
But that's not what happened. I concentrated so hard on the shift there could be no surprise. I think it took only seconds, but who knows
First, I was looking way down at her across the room, and then her face had stopped some inches below mine.
Crystal clear eyes stared back, still the same color and shape, I thought, but a bit bigger.
The sides of her hair were still wet from the rain, but not as wet as before. Because there was more hair to hold the raindrops now.
I literally couldn't believe my eyes. Pretty woman I thought dumbly.
A kid had become an adult and I had seen it happen. All of it.
The few people I have told about this, always ask me about her clothes at this point. Some folks seem interested in that sort of thing.
Yes, they were obliterated of course. What did you expect? However, I won't attempt to describe exactly how this happened, It was complicated. You can try imagining it for yourself, if you want. Maybe someone who knows more about fashion and couture could explain the mechanics of it all.
It took her five steps to reach me. At the start of that journey, she wore a fashionable winter outfit (she hadn't even undone her coat). By the end of that brief trip these were in a very bad state indeed.
Her only possessions that survived unscathed were the folded umbrella, handbag, and scarf left by the door.
I do remember one thing now: halfway through, when her coat had already come undone, her belt became tightly cinched around her waist, like a sausage, before it snapped off. Something equally amazing happened then: She reached out in front of her, and grabbed the flying belt buckle before it could hit me!
She moved fast, but not superhumanly fast. She just knew exactly what she was doing, and what was happening at all times. That was actually super cool.
My mouth hung wide open.
I couldn't move or say anything. My head slowly came down, more by gravity than intent.
Undoubtedly she was a tall woman now. A full hourglass figure. Voluptuous was the word I was thinking of. However, the remains of her clothes still covered her middle and upper body. By chance the areas that had to be hidden, remained hidden. If it had been summertime, she could have legally gone outside like that. Many girls wore less in that climate. But it would have been shocking.
The silence was absolute, except for the rain still falling outside.
I then did something very strange. Still can't explain it. I know, but what do you expect when the impossible happens? It's not like we meet age shifters every day, or if we do we don't know about it.
I reached for her now bare upper arm, and began to lift it. Her pale skin was very smooth. She didn't resist, but it was difficult to move. She didn't expect this.
Yup, there was dark hair in the shadow of her armpit.
"Can't help that," she said with a smile. "That is something that happens when one shifts. Lots of changes inside and out the body."
Her voice was deeper and richer, but she talked the same as the small girl who had slipped past me when I had answered the door. Now that I thought about it, that kid had sounded smart beyond her years.
Her shoulder length hair was lustrous, but all messed up by the aging. It would take minutes of combing and brushing to straighten out.
I thought I knew this person! I had seen her before a few times, maybe looking slightly younger, but couldn't remember where. I don't think we had ever spoken though.
"Well I never... This is..."
"Kiss me," she interrupted. A slight croak in her voice?
"What? I... you... I can't kiss a little girl!" I exclaimed dumbly.
"I'm your age," she replied. "Perhaps a bit older. You can't tell for sure, can you?"
"I... but you..."
"If someone did try to kiss me as a little girl, they would get a BIG surprise."
"A surprise! That's putting it mildly!"
"Don't worry, it won't be anything more than a kiss." This young woman was really quite pretty actually.
As I started to say something else, she put her hand on the back of my head and brought it closer to her lips. There were freckles around her nose. Very nice eyelashes, I noticed. As I stared closer and closer, her dark pupils became dilated.
Then we touched. It was like falling into a whirlpool. The kiss wan incredibly deep and I lost track of time and everything else.
She hugged me tighter than I have ever been hugged before, but I didn't mind at all.
I didn't know where to put my hands, so I finally grabbed her perfect round shoulder and smooth waist. No idea how long it lasted, I sort of zoned out for a while.
She broke the kiss and stepped back. I don't think she had planned for any of this to happen.
"I sense you want to do a bit more than kissing. Let's say it's extremely obvious." She tilted her head. "Not gonna happen for now. But maybe I can help you in another way."
I wondered what she meant.
The tearing sound started again, not so loud this time.
I don't think she got noticeably taller, but she did expand somewhat in other directions. She already looked to be in her late twenties.
The remains of the anorak clinging to her body were further stretched, but the tough fabric held on for dear life. It was being pushed out more in front though. I gulped loud enough for both of us to hear. She had to be in her late thirties already.
Fortunately, the coverings held together all over her body. Well...fortunately? I wasn't so sure about that.
As she passed through her forties her skin changed tone and texture. She looked dignified now, despite the disadvantage of being in this position.
Wrinkles appeared all over and her skin sagged, but it wasn't a bad thing, just a natural process. Most changes were around her neck and hands which got very rough.
By the age of sixty she looked quite severe, like the headmistress at my old school, but also wise.
In her seventies she reminded me of my favorite grandmother. Now there were more wrinkles than I had ever seen in my life.
"This is better than taking a cold shower," I said, my voice shaking slightly.
"Good. I'm glad I don't have to go all the way up to a hundred and twenty. Sometimes I bounce right back into a baby. A strange sensation to say the least."
Her voice was very mature and rich, like someone who knew a great deal. "I think I'll stay this way for a while to help you cool down. It's better that way."
Then she looked at my closet. "First I have to borrow a few of your things."
- (Jake Roger)
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