The letter I received in the mail seemed very curious. I tried rereading it again to decipher its true meaning. I still could not figure out what it meant.
 

There was no signature at the end of the letter and the enclosed clue did nothing to ease my mind as to what might be going on. I didn't normally like puzzles but this one had some sort of attraction to me. A clue shaped like a tiny pair of binoculars, did it mean that I had to look for the answer through a pair of binoculars? I couldn't figure out why.

As I looked closer at the tiny item in my hand, I couldn't help but notice the tiny loop attached to the top of the thing. It looked like something that could go on a necklace or some such thing like that. But it wasn't hard to figure out the best way was to go find a chain to thread the clue on to. I had a few gold chains that could be used for this purpose. Former girlfriends who all said they were trying to brighten up my otherwise gloomy disposition had given them to me. I had never liked any kind of jewelry so they sat in my underwear drawer out of sight. I went into my bedroom to get one out.

I had to go through five of the six chains before I found one that would fit through the hoop of the binoculars. It was almost like it had been made to fit only that particular chain. I placed the others back in the drawer. At least now, I had something to keep the, for lack of better words, charm on. I felt rather ridiculous wearing jewelry so I placed it into the pocket of my jeans. Whenever asked why I didn't wear any sort of decorations, my answer was always that to wear anything like that was vanity and vanity had no place in my life. I wore only a watch for the functionality only. You can't work without knowing what time it is, so it was a necessary evil to me.

I felt that it was time to go out and see what I could find out about my 'clue'. Since it was in the shape of binoculars, I grabbed my pair that was sitting on a shelf in my closet. I had never used them since they were given to me by one of my co-workers who was so into hunting. He felt that I needed to get more of a life and get out into the field and hunt for big game or something. I refuse to do that since to hunt is to kill and I am not a killer. The animals were too beautiful to end their lives so that you could eat them and mount their heads on your wall. I had made a decision that I would go out to my front porch to do some looking. Maybe even later I would go for a drive. Something had to turn up.

As I walked out the front door of my house. The first thing I noticed was there was no sounds anywhere. I lived on a fairly busy street and there was always noise outside. The highway was always humming with traffic, the kids in the neighborhood were always playing and making all kinds of sounds, dogs barking, birds singing. But now, there was nothing at all making a sound. It was almost as if the world had muted itself. But it was not my concern. I sat down in my porch chair and surveyed the world around me and contemplated the meaning of the letter. It was still a closed item to me. As I looked around the neighborhood, I noticed things really were not the way they should be.

There was a car coming around the corner three houses up from me. It did not seem to be moving. One of my neighbors was mowing his grass. He was not moving. A neighbor kid was out front playing with his dog and throwing a Frisbee for it to chase and the dog had jumped to catch it. The dog was in mid air with its jaws open to close on the Frisbee. But the dog was frozen in mid air and not moving. This was like something out of the Twilight Zone TV show from years ago. It reminded me of an episode where there was a Nuclear War being launched and one person went crazy with the thought of the world ending. Because of this, time froze and the only person that was able to move around was the crazy person. It showed one nuclear missile hanging in the air frozen in time. That was how this whole scene looked. Frozen in time. Weird. I had to repress a shiver down my spine with the thought of the world being frozen in time.

On impulse, I raised the binoculars to my eyes and looked through them at the dog catching the Frisbee. But something was in the way of the view. All I could see was a necklace and charm in the viewfield. Thinking something was wrong, I took them away and the still world returned. Looking back through the lenses again, I saw the necklace again. This time, there were more details. It showed the necklace with the binocular charm hanging from it and the whole thing hanging from a neck. The neck looked like mine without any clothes. Why was I seeing this? It made no sense. Then in a way it did. Was I meant to be wearing the necklace and the charm? It was ridiculous that I was supposed to wear it. I hated jewelry and flatly refused to wear it. I put the binoculars down on the table next to the chair I was sitting in.

I stood up and started walking to my car. I had to see if more than my immediate area was frozen as it was. When I got into the car and inserted the key, nothing happened. No lights came on when I turned the key and the engine did not start. It seemed that I was going nowhere until I solved this small puzzle. Whoever was doing this was powerful and it was up to my intellect to figure this out. I was starting to get hungry and went back into the house to get a bite to eat. I opened the refrigerator to dig out the makings for a sandwich and spread them on the counter to fix my lunch. I knew my stomach was telling me it was as close to noon as it could be but the clock on the wall said it was only 10:00. Why was I so hungry if it was only mid morning and I had a huge breakfast at 8:00? I didn't really care but I still had to eat something. I made my sandwich and sat down to the table to eat it.

It was like biting into a piece of cardboard. It was hard to bite and was tasteless but left a feeling in my mouth that was nauseating. Nothing like ruining a meal. I went to the refrigerator again and pulled out a milk jug to see if I could wash the horrible tastelessness out of my mouth. As I tried to pour the milk into a glass, it felt like I was trying to pour a jug of molasses. I practically turned it upside-down trying to get the milk out and it would not even run. In disgust, I capped the jug again and placed it back where I got it. I was starting to get very worried that things were going to stay this way. I tried the water tap; nothing came out when I tried to turn the handle. It looked like I was going to have to go hungry or figure out how I could get things to go back to normal. I started wandering through the house aimlessly. I was highly confused as to what to do. I passed a mirror in the hallway and had to stop when I noticed something strange about my reflection. The face was distorted back at me but the one thing that was noticeable was the necklace and charm again hanging around my neck. Was someone trying to tell me that I had to put the necklace on? I had no idea but it was almost unsettling to see such a distorted image in front of me.

Again on impulse, I took the necklace out of my pocket and slipped it over my head. Once it was in place, the image in the mirror cleared up. It was my face looking back at me. At once, dizziness hit me and I had to reach out a hand to the wall to steady myself. I missed the wall. I collapsed to the floor because I could no longer stand up. The spinning of my head increased as if the world's axis was speeding up. After several minutes, things started slowing down enough to be able to hold up my head again. It finally stopped and things returned to normal. Did I say normal? Too many things were not the way they were before the spinning took hold of me.

I heard a voice coming from the kitchen, "Where is that girl? Jennifer! You get back in here and finish your lunch, young lady!"

Jennifer? Who was Jennifer? I lived alone in this house and there had never been a Jennifer that was a girlfriend of mine. Besides, who was the lady in the kitchen yelling for Jennifer? Things didn't matter much at the moment. I had a sudden urge to use the bathroom. As I stood back up off the floor, I noticed things were not right with me either. My legs felt bare but yet there felt to be some sort of cloth covering them or at least partly. As I looked down, I saw a tank style top covering my chest that was covered with little flowers. Lower still was a pair of pink shorts covering me below the waist. Below them were the skinniest, hairless legs that I had ever seen. Down below them were a pair of lacy ankle socks and pink tennis shoes. My hands started roaming over myself when I caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of my eye.

I turned my head and saw a young girl in the mirror on the wall. She looked to be about 10-years-old and had a scared look on her face. I quickly turned my head to see if this girl was standing behind me. No one there! I looked back at the mirror and the girl followed my movements. She had very beautiful eyes that stood out from her face. I had never seen violet irises before and these were the most fantastic colors for eyes that I had ever seen. A tiny upturned nose that could only be described as cutely pert was centered on her face. Below that was a pair of lips that could only be termed as generous for someone so young. She was crowned with the most luxurious sable brown hair that cascaded down to the middle of her back. Looking closely at her chest was the tiniest little bumps of future womanhood.

My inspection of this girl was cut short but the treading of a woman's heels coming down a wooden floor. "There you are Jennifer! Didn't you hear me calling you to come back and finish your lunch?" she said.

Still surprised, I looked behind me to see if this Jennifer was standing behind me. Again, there was no one there. Was I Jennifer? How could this be possible? Was I going crazy like that person on Twilight Zone? Fortyyear -old men do not become 10-year-old girls in an instant like this.

"Well, what is wrong with you? Why are you just standing there and not getting back in the kitchen and tend to your lunch? Growing girls like you need their nutrition and I would be a poor mother if I let you skip lunch. Get going and finish eating." She had a stern look in her face as if she was going to brook no argument from me.

"I'm sorry, I needed to go to the bathroom." It was the only thing I could think of to say to her.

"Well, why are you standing in the hallway then? Go and get done and go back in the kitchen. Remember to wash your hands after you get done." With that, she turned and left me to myself. I was totally scared out of my wits now. Why was this happening to me? I knew nothing about this girl that I seemed to be. But I still had to go to the bathroom. Since this was my house as before, I knew where it was. I went there and closed the door. Knowing that I had to use the toilet before I burst, I had to undo the shorts that I was wearing. Once I lowered them, I could see that I was wearing a pair of pink cotton big girl's panties. I lowered them and at once I knew I would not be able to stand to go to the bathroom. All that was visible was a hairless little girl's crotch. I could not call it the derogatory terms that many men love to use because I always felt that it was too crude to use them. As I sat, I realized that to use the toilet in this fashion was strange but not nearly as strange as this whole day had been so far.

Once I had finished I wiped myself, flushed and stood back up as I pulled my panties and shorts back into place. Remembering what Jennifer's mother had said, I washed my hands and dried them. I left the bathroom much relieved and went back into the kitchen. When I walked through the house to get back to the kitchen, I noticed that the house was decorated differently than it had been earlier. It had a simple but very feminine style to it. There were pictures on the wall that I had not owned before. They consisted of renditions of famous artists' portraits of flowers, animals and fields. A couple pictures were of the family I was now a part of. It showed the woman, the girl who I was now, and a man. Another picture just showed the woman and myself. No man was evident in it. Why was he out of the picture? Were they divorced? I didn't think there was an easy answer to that question. Before I could ponder too much more, my stomach growled in hunger. Back to lunch I guess.

Upon entering the kitchen, I found the sandwich Jennifer had started to eat earlier. Bite taken out of it already. A glass of milk along side the plate with the sandwich. I quickly finished the sandwich and drank the milk. My new mother was at the sink doing some of the dishes that were dirty. She looked over at me and smiled her pleasure. "Would you like to have a couple of chocolate chip cookies for your dessert? I made some fresh this morning for you. I know how much you like them," she asked.

How did she know I love chocolate chip cookies? Before she came down the hallway, I had never seen this woman before in my life. The kitchen I had never seen in this shape before. It was too bare to be my kitchen. Hardly any cabinet space, the stove was an old fashioned gas burner instead of the fancy smooth top electric one that I bought last year. I had always taken pride in the modernity of my kitchen. I had even spent $15,000 last year remodeling it and upgrading the appliances. Now, has all that work been to naught? Those questions were nagging at my head but the ones that should have been bothering me the most were not.

"Yes, Mom, I would love to have some cookies. Thank you," I finally replied to her. She dried her hands and went to the old baking counter and put two cookies on a small plate and brought them over to me.

"Here you are, dear. Enjoy them as you always do."

"Thank you. Mom, may I have another glass of milk, please?"

"Yes, you may. My, aren't you a polite one today? Are you feeling ok? I don't think I have ever seen you as polite before. But I love it." She gave me another loving smile before turning to resume her tasks at the kitchen sink.

She seemed to be a caring mother and one that I might grow to love if I had to be this girl for the rest of my life. But I had to have an answer to the Discovery question in my letter. What was I trying to discover? I chewed the cookies and drank the milk in contemplation of my task. I had barely finished them when the doorbell rang. My mother said, "Could you get that, dear? My hands are not dry at the moment."

"Sure, Mom."

I ran to the door and opened it. Standing outside were two girls that looked to be my age as I was now. One was a redhead and the other was a blonde.

The redhead on the right asked me, "Jennifer, can you come out and play? Tiffany and I are very bored and we need you to come out and join us."

I didn't have any idea who these girls were but the pleading look in their eyes made me say, "I don't know. I am going to have to ask my mom if I can." I ran back to the kitchen. "Mom, Tiffany wants to know if I can go outside and play with her. May I?"

"I know your room is clean and I don't have anything else that needs for you to do it, so yes, you can go play. Is Heather with her? You know how inseparable those two are." So that was the redhead's name.

"Yes, mom, Heather is with her."

"Then I think it is ok to go. Please try to stay out of trouble. You know how the three of you get when you don't think. There is some money on the table next to the door if you would like to take it with you. You can buy an ice cream bar when the truck comes around again. They should be here in about an hour if their schedule runs as it should."

"Thank you, mom. I would like that."

"You go and enjoy yourself. Please try to be back home by 4:00 so that you can get ready for dinner. Make sure you remember your watch this time. I don't want to have to come looking for you again," she admonished me.

I looked at my wrist, the watch was there. A girl's Minnie Mouse watch. "I have it mom. See you later." With that, I went back to the door. I tried to figure out why I was so excited to go out and play with two little girls that I did not know. But I did not have any time to wonder. I spotted the money on the table by the door and picked it up and put it in my pocket. I opened the screen door and closed the big door behind me. The two girls were bubbling over with energy that I seemed to have an abundance of myself.

"So what do you two want to do? I have some money mom gave me for ice cream bars later when the truck comes."

The two girls squealed with delight at the thought of ice cream. Suddenly, they both stopped and looked at me strangely. Or more precisely, at what was around my neck.

"Jennifer, where did you get the necklace? You have never worn it before," Tiffany stated.

"I have always had it but didn't want to wear it. I just got the charm today in the mail." I wasn't lying but they had a hold of the necklace and were looking at the charm hanging from it.

"Why is it the shape of binoculars?" Heather asked. "It looks like something a boy would wear." She had a distasteful look on her face.

"I don't know. Mom thought it would be good to put it on this chain and thought I could wear it around the house. I forgot to take it off before I left the house. I will have to be careful that I don't lose it."

"Then take it off and put it in your pocket. It is an ugly thing to wear."

"I might lose it out of the pocket. At least around my neck, it won't come off," I responded.

"Well, it's your neck it is uglifying. Tuck it under your top so we won't have to look at it."

I was a little bit offended by her tone but I shook it off. By the time I had it hidden under my top, they were both back to their bubbly selves. We went down to the park that was on the next block and proceeded to have a great time playing on the equipment. We even had several boys showing off for us that had all three of us giggling our heads off. I wasn't attracted to them in any sort but I could remember how I acted when I was their age. They had all the moves I used to do down pat and to my great amusement they looked so silly to be doing them. Now I was beginning to realize just why the girl's 30 years ago had been giggling at me. And for that reason, I was joining in with Heather and Tiffany in giggling at them all.

We heard the ice cream truck's music playing and ran to the street to meet it and get our treat. I paid for the three of us and we ran back to the park and went into the shade of one of the bigger trees to eat them. I had long ago forgotten how wonderful these things tasted. An industrial accident with chemicals ruined my sense of taste and smell fifteen years ago and I had a poor ability for either. I could taste some things as well as smell some things, but for the most part, I was able to only get a sense of the worst things around. The ice cream was pure heaven to me and I enjoyed it as if I had never had any in my life.

The afternoon progressed slowly and I began to relax around the two girls and enjoy their companionship. I had never realized that girls had so much fun and was pleased to discover that they were not the alien race that I had always thought them to be. As the old saying goes, you have to walk a mile in another person's shoes to understand them. I had walked, ran and everything else in these shoes today. This was an enlightening discovery I had made.

Suddenly, I had another realization. My letter came back to me from earlier. The question of discovery. The answer was that girls were not alien and they were able to have fun without the pressures of peers looming about them. They could be themselves without sacrificing anything.

I took a glance at my watch and realized that it was getting close to 4:00 and I had to be home soon or mom would get mad at me if I were late. I made my apologies to Tiffany and Heather and left to go home.

As I got to the front gate of the yard, I noticed an envelope hanging on the gate. It stated simply 'Jennifer'. I pulled it loose and looked it over. It was sealed but I could feel a small bulge as well as what felt like a piece of paper inside. I folded it up and put it in my pocket and went into the house. I made my way to my room but realized as soon as I walked into it, that it was my mom's room and not mine. I went into the second bedroom, which was Jennifer's room.

I sat down on the bed and opened the envelope. I pulled out the paper and unfolded it. It had the list of questions that was on the original letter. But the first question had the answer next to it as I had thought it a short time ago. The message underneath the questions was simple. It read:

"The first question was the easy part. Each answer will get harder to find but again, you will have plenty of time to find it. Good luck."

Again, it was not signed. I overturned the envelope and dumped the item inside into my hand. The world swirled around me again and I found myself sitting on my bed in my bedroom. I was back to where I started from and I was myself again. Forty-years-old, male and tired. I felt like I had been out running a marathon. It was still early morning according to the light entering the room and the clock next to my bed told the truth. It was 10:05 AM. My whole day was spent already and hardly any time had passed in reality. Was this what was meant by having all the time in the world? I am sure I was going to find out further.

I pondered the next question further and looked at the charm that had been in the envelope. The two combined said it all. Explorations. The charm was shaped like the steering wheel of an ancient sailing ship. One that went on explorations of the world. Knowing it was inevitable, I took the necklace with the original charm off and opened the clasp. I put the new charm on it and closed it again. I slipped the necklace back over my head. The world started spinning again.
 
To Be Continued...
 
Note: TG magic transformation deals/gifts age regression Adult-to-under-13 rated-g
Posted by: Admin on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 12:01 AM.