Starting Over

“To starting over,” Mom announced as she held out her can of Diet Coke for a toast.

“To starting over,” I repeated as I raised my can of Pepsi.

I looked down at the pizza that sat between us and chuckled. This did seem like an odd setup for making a toast, but it was about the best we could do at the moment.

Mom and I had just spent most of the day unpacking the U-Haul and moving everything into our new house. It had been a bit of work, but now we were done with that and could finally relax, though most of our kitchen supplies hadn’t been unpacked yet. There was still more to do, but the real unpacking could wait until later.

I looked around the living room of my new home, wondering how long until it would actually feel like home. Unpacking our belongings and really settling in would definitely help with that. I missed our old house, though admittedly, I was also happy to get away from there. After Dad’s affair and the messy divorce that followed, I had just as many bad memories about that place as I did good. Mom agreed, which was why we’d moved to another city, a place where we could start over without all the baggage that we’d left behind.

“Are you okay, Sam?” Mom asked me.

“Just peachy,” I answered with a sigh before giving Mom a weak smile.

I knew that this whole situation was hard on her and that she was looking forward to starting over in a new place. I didn’t want to make things any more difficult for her by moping around or seeming like I didn’t want to be here. I did. I’d much rather stay with her than my scumbag dad.

My name was Sam Garner, and I was a fifteen-year-old boy with a somewhat unimpressive build. I wasn’t ugly or anything, just…plain. If anything, I was a little shorter and thinner than average, and not in a good way. Still, I was close enough to the average among my peers that the bullies had never considered me to be a good target.

And sitting across from me was my mom, Ellen Garner. Mom was thirty-five, with shoulder-length brown hair, and she was on the pretty side of average. Like me, she was a bit on the plain side, but she could have looked a bit nicer if she’d wanted to dress up or use more makeup than the absolute minimum. Dad had used her somewhat frumpy appearance as one of the excuses for why he’d cheated on her, though I knew full well that Dad had just been making excuses for his inexcusable behavior.

“So, what now?” I asked Mom as I took a drink from my soda. “More unpacking?”

“I think I’m done for today,” Mom answered, only to pause and wince. “Well, I suppose I still have a few things to unpack for the bathroom and my bedroom…including some of my clothes.”

“Yeah,” I responded with a sigh, realizing that I’d have to do the same. My bed was in my new bedroom and fully assembled, but I still needed to get sheets for it.

“We’ll work on unpacking tomorrow,” Mom told me. “And maybe do a bit of exploring around the area before I have to start my new job.”

“And my new school,” I added, trying not to think about it.

A short time after this, we finished eating dinner and then began taking care of dishes. By dishes, I meant that we tossed the paper plates we’d used and threw the leftover pizza into the fridge to eat later. Then, once those chores had been taken care of, I went to my room and began digging through boxes, trying to find my Switch so I could play a few games.

“Let’s see,” I mused aloud as I looked into the third box. “Where did I put it?”

It was at times like this that I really regretted not being a bit neater and more organized, not that I really cared much about that. I just wanted to remember where I’d left my game.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” I announced, as though my Switch would be able to hear me and respond. With a chuckle I added, “Marco.”

“Polo,” came a voice from the doorway.

I snapped around and saw my mom standing there with an amused look on her face. I turned bright red, blushing in embarrassment at having been caught talking to myself like that.

“Just peachy,” I muttered under my breath.

“Are you doing all right in here?” Mom asked.

“Yeah,” I responded a bit sheepishly. “I’m just trying to find my switch.”

Mom raised an eyebrow. “Well, if you’d organized things better and wrote down what was in each box like I told you…”

“I know,” I said with a sigh and a roll of my eyes. Then I noticed that my mom was holding something I her hand, a rolled-up piece of paper. “What’s that?”

“This?” Mom asked as she held up the paper. She chuckled before answering, “Supposedly, it’s a magic spell.”

That caught my interest. “Oh? What kind?”

Mom stared at the paper for a few seconds before answering. “From what I was told, it’s a spell to turn someone into their ideal self…the version of themselves that they wish they could be.”

I nodded at that, admitting, “That sounds pretty cool. Too bad it isn’t real.”

“I know,” Mom responded with a chagrinned look and a weak chuckle. “Carla… You remember Carla, my old co-worker…?” At my nod, she continued, “She gave this to me as a going away present, saying that if I’m going to start over, I might as well do it right.”

“She has a point,” I agreed. “So, are you going to use it?” Then, before she could answer, I added, “And can I use it after you?”

Mom shrugged apologetically. “Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way. The instructions say that the spell is written out on this scroll, and I have to burn it as part of the process.”

“Ah,” I said in understanding. “So, it’s one use only…” I was a little surprised to feel disappointed in that since I didn’t think it would really work anyway. Still, I couldn’t help but think ‘what if?’. “Too bad.”

Mom stared at the rolled-up paper, at the scroll for several seconds before smiling. “You know,” she told me with a smug look. “Carla never said that only one person could use it. Why don’t we try it out right now?”

“Sure,” I responded, quickly leaving my room after my mom, my Switch completely forgotten about.

Two minutes later, Mom and I were in the living room with the scroll opened up and spread out over the coffee table. Unrolled, it was about two feet long, and it was covered with a bunch of writing that I couldn’t understand. The only parts that I could read were a couple paragraphs in English at the top, which were the instructions for how to use the spell.

“Let’s see,” Mom mused as she read over the instructions. “It looks simple enough… We prick our fingers and put a drop of blood on the scroll.” She pointed to the middle of the scroll where a circle had been drawn out. “Then we burn it, and the magic should happen.”

“Should,” I pointed out excitedly, curious to see what would happen. “Then we SHOULD turn into our ideal selves.”

“That is what it says,” Mom agreed. “Now, we just need a needle…”

It took another ten minutes for Mom to find the box with her old sewing supplies, then we sterilized one of her sewing needles and poked our fingers, cleaning and sterilizing it again between our turns. With that done, we each squeezed a couple drops of blood onto the scroll, making sure that it landed right in the circle.

“That should do it,” Mom said. “Now to activate the magic, as it says.”

“I’ve got this part,” I told her, eagerly grabbing the lighter that she’d already set out by the scroll.

“You’re a regular little pyro,” Mom told me. “But for this part, I think we should do it outside…in the back yard.”

I looked around, remembering that we were still inside the house. “Oh yeah,” I responded with a self-conscious smile. “Good idea.”

The final part of the spell was fun, though a little anticlimactic…at first. I lit the edge of the scroll and set it down in the back yard fire pit. The flames slowly spread and ate up the paper, which wasn’t actually all that exciting. But the, once the flames hit the circle in the middle where we’d put our blood, there was a sudden burst of flame, and the rest of the paper all vanished in a flash.

“Well, that was different,” I started to say, only to pause as a strange tingling sensation suddenly ran through my entire body. I looked to my mom and saw her give a whole-body shudder as well. “Did you feel that too?”

“Yes,” she answered, now looking a little worried.

I felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement as we went back inside. My entire body was tingling and felt weird, which was not normal at all.

“I think it’s actually working,” I said.

Mom hesitated a moment before admitting, “You might be right. I would say that this was just our imaginations, but if we’re both feeling it…”

The tingling sensation only increased over the next couple minutes, and soon, I could actually feel my body starting to shift and change. At first, I couldn’t see any of these changes, though I did notice that my clothes no longer fit right. They were becoming uncomfortable, pinching in places where they hadn’t just minutes earlier.

While I began to adjust my increasingly uncomfortable clothes, I noticed that my mom was doing the same thing. We shared a knowing smile but neither of us said a word. Instead, we both kept looking down at ourselves, curious about what changes we were going to go through.

“Your hair,” Mom abruptly exclaimed, pointing to my hair. “It’s longer…”

I reached up and felt my hair, confirming that it was longer than normal. Sure, I usually kept my hair a bit shaggy, but it felt like it had grown a good four inches since this began. And while I was excited to see the first real identifiable changes, I was also a little confused.

“Why is my hair growing?” I asked. “I would have thought that my ideal self would at least have a nice haircut.”

Mom chuckled at that. “Well, a lot of women like men with long flowing hair…”

“Maybe,” I responded, tugging at my shirt and frowning. “I think I need to change.”

There was a moment of hesitation before Mom agreed, “Me too…”

I quickly went to my bedroom and locked the door behind me, just to guarantee that I had a bit of privacy while I undressed. Mere seconds later, my shoes came off along with everything else I was wearing. Even my underwear was now uncomfortably tight. About the only clothes that I had on which weren’t becoming uncomfortable were my socks.

Once I was undressed, I quickly examined myself, wanting to see what was changing. What I saw was a strange mixture of obvious and subtle differences, most notably in my proportions and shape. One look was enough to tell that I looked different, though it was a little more difficult to tell exactly how. My legs seemed longer and my hips a little wider for some reason, but my muscle tone was definitely improving. It looked like my muscles were starting to grow larger, which was the first obvious sign that I’d seen about actually becoming my ideal self.

I spent another minute looking myself over, identifying more of the changes while also becoming more confused about them. For one thing, all the fine body hair that I’d been growing on my arms and legs over the last couple years was gone, leaving my skin soft and smooth. And then, there was my chest, which seemed to be a little larger. My first thought was one of excitement as it seemed my muscles really were growing larger, until I felt my chest. It was soft, more like extra flab than like the muscle I’d expected. And I could feel my chest slowly growing larger even as I touched it.

An uncomfortable suspicion began to form in the back of my mind, though I refused to consider it or even admit that it was there. Instead, I turned all of my focus and attention to finding clothes that would fit me so that I could get out my bedroom and see Mom. I was curious about how her own changes were progressing.

I tore through several boxes of clothes that I had yet to unpack, pausing only briefly to stare at my Switch. “Oh, that’s where I left you…” After tossing the game onto my bed, I continued searching.

Most of my boxed-up clothes were the same size as the ones I’d been wearing, which meant that they’d be just as uncomfortable to wear…if not more so since I’ve continued changing. However, I did have some clothes that Dad had given me last Christmas, ones that were too large and that he said I’d grow in to. Whenever he bought me clothes, they were always the wrong size since he never bothered to ask what sizes I actually wore.

I threw on some sweatpants and a Football jersey for some team that I didn’t know anything about. They didn’t really fit, but at least they were large enough that they weren’t squeezing me or pinching uncomfortably, so that would have to do.

When I stepped back into the living room, I saw that Mom had beaten me back. She was wearing one of her bath robes, which no longer fit her any more than her previous clothes, though it was large enough to give her a bit more room. I also noticed that she’d continued changing, and not just her clothes.

“You look younger,” I blurted out in surprise.

“Really?” she asked with a delighted grin. “How old do I look now?”

“At least ten years younger,” I said. “I mean, you look like you’re in your early twenties…”

Mom’s eyes went wide at that. “Really? That young?”

I nodded at that as I continued looking Mom over, taking in all the other differences. Besides looking younger, there were other notable changes. One of them was her hair, which was normally shoulder length, but which was now only about half that. And then there was her chest, which was definitely smaller than normal.

“You look different too,” Mom said as she stared at me. “I think you look older too, by just a couple years. Maybe around eighteen or nineteen… But…”

“But?” I repeated, noting the worry in her tone.

Mom silently pointed to my chest, drawing my attention down to where I saw two round bumps pushing out from my chest. My eyes went wide at the sight and my previous suspicions flared up, now too loud to overlook or ignore.

“I think something went wrong,” I started to say, only my voice to crack. My throat tickled a little and I coughed to clear it. “Okay, something definitely…went…wrong…” I paused at that, realizing that my voice now sounded different. “Is… Is that me?”

“It seems so,” Mom started, only to pause and cough a couple times. When she continued a few seconds later, her voice had changed as well. “I think the spell got us mixed up…”

I stared at Mom again, taking in all of her changes, which suddenly made more sense now that I’d pieced things together. She now looked more like a boy than a girl, and she even sounded like it too. Of course, that also gave me a good idea of what I now looked like.

“Oh shit,” I muttered in my new feminine voice.

Mom and I rushed to the bathroom where we both squished in together so that we could both look into the mirror above the sink at the same time. My reflection was about what I expected to see, looking much more female than male, almost the exact opposite of what had happened to my mom’s.

“Okay,” I slowly said in my new feminine voice. “It looks like that spell definitely got us mixed up.”

As Mom had said, I looked older, around twenty or twenty-one. Of course, she now looked like she was around eighteen or nineteen, which meant that I now looked older than she did, even if by only a couple years.

“It looks like I’m older than you now,” I teased, more amused than horrified by this.

Mom flipped me off in the mirror. “I wanted to be younger, but not this much.”

“And I don’t think its stopping yet,” I pointed out, watching as my features continued to slowly change.

My hair had lightened several shades, going from a dark brown to a light brown, and it had grown even longer so that it was tickling my shoulders. In fact, my hair now looked a little longer than Mom’s had been before this started, by about in inch or two. The face had changed too, becoming finer and more feminine while my lips actually plumped up a bit as I watched. I was starting to look a lot like Mom, while she was not only becoming boyish, but was strongly resembling the image that I usually saw staring back from the mirror.

I stared down at my chest again, at the breasts which had only grown larger and rounder. Out of curiosity, I peeked down the front of my jersey to get a better look, noting as I did so that my nipples had also grown larger. Then something else dawned on me and I turned away from Mom and looked down the front of my pants, seeing that I did so that my penis was much smaller than normal and that my testicles seemed to be missing entirely. I had to resist the urge to reach down there and feel it.

While I was doing that, Mom seemed to have had the same idea because she’d turned away from me and was looking down inside her bathrobe. When she saw me looking her way, she quickly closed her bathrobe back up and blushed awkwardly.

“This is very strange,” Mom said, now looking like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy.

“Definitely,” I agreed with a self-conscious smile.

I glanced down at my body again before turning my attention back to the mirror. I now looked like a grown woman in her late twenties, and a rather beautiful one at that. There was definitely a strong resemblance to my mom, but there were differences too.

Just then, my eyes began to itch and everything suddenly turned blurry. I blinked in surprise and my vision quickly cleared back up. But when I looked in the mirror, I noticed that my eyes had changed color. Normally, I had brown eyes like my dad, while Mom had grey eyes. My eyes were now grey…ish. They were a brighter and more vibrant color than my mom’s eyes had ever been, being more of a silver instead.

“Interesting,” I commented as I considered what this meant.

“You know,” Mom sad as she continued to examine her own reflection. “We should probably be completely freaked out over this.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, understanding exactly what she meant.

Normally, I would have expected something like this to leave me completely shocked and panicking, but that wasn’t how I felt at all. Sure, there was surprise and a bit of confusion, but nowhere near what I would have imagined. Instead, I mostly felt curiosity and amazement.

“You know,” I pointed out. “This whole thing proves that magic is real. I mean, if something like this can really happen…” I gestured at her and myself, adding, “then ANYTHING is possible.”

“That…is a good point,” Mom agreed with a nod. “After this, I can’t help but believe that anything really is possible.”

“Now,” I said, giving the mirror my full attention again. “I think it’s almost finished.”

Mom looked to be a little closer to finishing her transformation than I was, though not by much. She was now about fifteen or sixteen years old, and though she looked like the old me, she wasn’t identical to what I’d looked like before. Instead, it looked like she was a little taller and more athletic. Her features looked just a little more handsome, like an idealized version of the old me.

My own reflection had just passed into the early thirties, which made me feel a bit self-conscious and uncomfortable. I expected to see signs of aging, such as crows-feet or sagging, but there didn’t seem to be any of that. Then again, I was turning into an idealized version of my mom, and her ideal self certainly wouldn’t show any signs of aging.

“I think it’s done,” Mom said. “I don’t feel the changes anymore.”

“I still feel it, a bit,” I admitted. But after another ten seconds, the sensation faded away. “Okay, now I think I’m done too.”

The woman who stared back at me from the mirror was familiar, yet not quite the person I was used to seeing that face on. I looked like my mom, or more accurately, I looked like her sexier twin sister. I looked like an idealized version of her.

My mom’s face stared back at me, though the features had all been cleaned up and refined, almost as though someone had given it an airbrush treatment. The skin was smoother, without any of the usual lines or blemishes, including the tiny mole on her cheek which I was now missing. It didn’t look tired or worn the way hers often did, though somehow, that familiar face looked every bit as mature as before, if not even more so.

“Very strange,” I mused aloud, carefully trying to determine all the differences, though it was difficult since many of them were subtle. What I did notice was that my cheekbones seemed slightly more defined, my nose a touch bit smaller, and my lips fuller. And of course, there were the eyes. “But interesting.”

“I know what you mean,” Mom said as she continued examining her own reflection. “It’s so strange to see you looking back at me. Well, a version of you, at least.”

I nodded at that, not taking my eyes off the mirror as I ran a hand through my hair, which was now a dark blond with golden blonde highlights. It was also a good six to eight inches longer than what my mom’s had been, running down to the middle of my back in lustrous waves.

“It seems that I’m having a good hair day,” I joked.

“Short hair will be easier to take care of,” Mom responded as she ran a hand through her own hair, which was short and somehow seemed to be much less of a shaggy mess than it had been on me.

With that, I stepped back in order to get a better look at my overall reflection. I took in my entire body, looking down several times as I did so to make sure that I wasn’t just imagining things. This was definitely the body of a mature adult woman, though unlike my face, not immediately identifiable as my mom’s.

For one thing, I seemed to be several inches taller than Mom had been, around five-foot-ten or so, though I couldn’t be sure without measuring. My build was definitely more athletic, having firm muscle tone while losing much of the extra weight. This was the body of someone who actually exercised on a regular basis. But on the other hand, my feminine curves were actually more pronounced. I had long shapely legs, wide hips, a slender waist, and of course an impressive bust.

My breasts were noticeably larger than Mom’s had been, by a couple cup sizes at least, and they seemed to be large, round and firm. They were perfect breasts, not even seeming to need a bra, much less a push up bra to hold that shape.

“Well, this is definitely a strange situation,” Mom sad, giving me a worried look. “I don’t know what we’re going to do now.”

“Me either,” I admitted, a bit shaken now that the changes over and the reality of what had happened was finally hitting me. I awkwardly touched my breasts, which seemed to stick out of my chest by an almost ridiculous amount. “I think… I think I need to sit down for a bit and just absorb this.”

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I stood in the kitchen with my hands on my hips, looking over the mess. There were boxes piled up all over the place, including on the counters and breakfast table. All of the food that didn’t need to be refrigerated was still packed away, along with everything else. All I wanted was to get some breakfast, but that wasn’t going to be possible when the kitchen was in this state.

“Just peachy,” I said with a sigh.

Then I looked down at myself, especially at the two generous breasts that pushed out from my chest. At the moment, they were covered with the bathrobe that I currently wore. After Mom and I had finished our transformations the night before, we’d traded clothes with each other. Our new outfits weren’t perfect, especially in my case, but they did fit our new bodies better than the previous outfits did. And at least, Mom’s new clothes actually fit her pretty well.

“Dad said that I’d grow into them,” I mused with a chuckle. “I bet he never thought that Mom would instead.”

Trading clothes with my Mom might have been a bit strange, but that had been the least weird thing to happen last night. We’d actually traded bodies, or at least, turned into variations of each other, which had been close enough. Either way, the whole situation was straight out of the Twilight Zone, as Mom had said after our changes.

I’d slept surprisingly well, though I’d had strange dreams the entire night. That part, at least, wasn’t too surprising. At least strange dreams made sense. I couldn’t recall any details about those dreams, though, which I found vaguely annoying. If I had an interesting dream, I wanted to at least be able to remember it, and maybe even tell Mom about it in the morning.

Then I’d woken up far too early for a morning when I didn’t have to go to school. I couldn’t go back to sleep, or more accurately, I felt absolutely no need to do so. As soon as I’d opened my eyes, I felt wide awake and ready to go. It was completely unnatural for me to be this awake and full of energy in the morning.

“Did that spell make me into some kind of morning person?” I asked myself with a frown. The thought of no longer being able to sleep in late was an unpleasant one. I’d always liked sleeping in late. “I hope that this isn’t a trend.”

Now, I was wide awake and looking for breakfast while Mom was still asleep and enjoying her comfortable bed. I felt a little envious of that and briefly considered waking her up, just to share the misery of being up that early, but I decided against it.

“He’s a growing boy and needs his sleep,” I commented wryly. “Now, where is the cereal?”

I began opening boxes and setting things on the counter as I looked through them, only to realize that this was silly when the cupboards were right there. It was easier to just put things away now, rather than to go back and do it later. Before long, half the boxes in the kitchen had been unpacked and put away.

It was around this time that I heard the toilet flush from down the hall, letting me know that Mom had gotten up. I glanced at the clock and was startled at the time, having lost track of it while I’d been putting things away.

“She’s still up a little earlier than I would have been,” I reminded myself.

Since I was already up and in the kitchen, I decided to surprise Mom with a cup of her usual morning coffee. I’d already found the Keurig and plugged it in, so it only took a few seconds to pour in the water, add the pod of flavored coffee grounds, and turn it on. Less than a minute later, it poured the hot coffee right into a mug.

Mom staggered into the kitchen, looking a bit tired and groggy, but not half-dead like I usually was in the morning. She wore sweatpants but no shirt, which was common for me in the morning, but which must have been a bit of a novelty for her.

“Good morning,” I greeted her brightly.

“Is it?” Mom responded with a faint groan that made me smile. Maybe being a morning person wouldn’t be so bad.

“I’ve got your coffee ready,” I told her, holding out the mug.

Mom took a few steps towards me but then paused. “I don’t think I’m really feeling coffee this morning…”

“Really?” I asked, a little surprised since she usually insisted on starting her morning with a cup.

I sniffed the coffee, which actually smelled quite appealing. Then I took a cautious sip, smiling faintly at how good it tasted. I took another sip, savoring the rich coffee flavor, along with the chocolate and caramel. It was delicious.

While I was enjoying the coffee, Mom put one of my hot chocolate pods into the Keurig and began to prepare that. I just took another sip of my coffee and watched her, not saying word. Once Mom had her hot chocolate, she went to the kitchen table and picked up the box of cereal that I’d left there. I raised my eyebrow at that but continued to remain silent.

A minute later, Mom took a bite from her bowl of cereal, and only then seemed to realize that I was watching her. She gave me a self-conscious look and said, “This just feels appropriate this morning, considering…” She gestured down at herself.

“I understand completely,” I replied, taking a sip from my coffee and smiling. “And since we’re doing that…”

I set the coffee down on the table, then I went to get my own breakfast together. This was actually my mom’s breakfast, or at least, what she usually ate. Some fruit from the fridge, a cup of yogurt, and a slice of toast with jam. And I had to admit that at that moment, this breakfast felt a bit more appealing than a bowl of sugary cereal.

We ate without talking, though once we were done, Mom finally looked around the kitchen and blinked in realization. “You’ve been putting things away.”

“I woke up early,” I told her with a shrug. “And it gave me something to do.”

Mom smirked at that. “One day as a woman and you’re already starting to behave like a responsible adult.”

“And you’re behaving like a lazy teenager,” I pointed out with amusement. “Please don’t insult me.”

We both laughed at that. Then I got up and began loading the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. It wasn’t until I was done doing this, that I realized that I was behaving more like a responsible adult, much to my annoyance. Normally, I would have just left everything on the counter.

“I was thinking,” Mom said, seemingly more awake now that she’d had her breakfast. “I have Carla’s work email, so I’m going to contact her and see if she can tell me where she got that spell…and if she knows how we can undo it.”

“That sounds good to me,” I responded thoughtfully. “But until we do fix this, we’re going to need to deal with it. And that means, we both need to get some clothes that fit.”

“One day as a woman and you already one to go shopping,” Mom joked before nodding. “But you’re right. And unless we figure this out by tonight, then you’re going to have to go to my new job tomorrow, and I’ll have to go to school in your place.”

I considered that for a moment, frowning at the idea of having to go to work. “Then,” I said with a faint smile, “let’s hope that Carla gets back to you soon.”

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I looked over the kitchen and smiled at the fact that everything had been unpacked and put away. It had taken a bit more time than I’d expected, but it had needed to be done, and I felt a sense of satisfaction at having taken care of this.

“A good start,” I mused, thinking about the boxes that were scattered around the rest of the house, awaiting their turn to be unpacked.

With that, I made a show of blowing on my nails and brushing then against my robe. A moment later, I held my hand out and took a closer look at my nails. They were all longer than I was used to, oval in shape, and perfectly manicured. The rest of my hands were a little different too, being just a little more slender than I was used to. And then there was the scar on the back of my hand, or more accurately, the lack of a scar that I’d possessed since an accident when I was five. It was gone without a trace, just like my penis.

“And this is probably the least weird change,” I mused as I wiggled my fingers in amusement.

Since I was finished with the kitchen, I decided that it was time to get cleaned up and dressed. I made my way to the bathroom, only to pause at the doorway. The door had been left open, but the room was occupied and in use.

Mom was standing there, butt naked, posing in front of the bathroom mirror and flexing her new muscles. This gave me a much better look at her changed body and just how much more athletic it was than when I’d worn that face. Then I noticed her penis, which was much larger than mine had been, at least twice the size.

I immediately felt a mixture of surprise, amusement, and jealousy. After just a couple seconds of staring, I backed up and out of view before Mom saw me there and this whole situation became even more awkward.

“Okay,” I quietly told myself. “She’s just goofing off a bit after taking a shower. Nothing that I haven’t done a hundred times or more.” Then I chuckled to myself. “But at least I know to lock the door before I do it.”

The bathroom was off limits for the moment, so I went to Mom’s bedroom and began looking for clothes to wear. We’d done a little searching last night and had found a few things that might work, at least long enough to get me to the store where I could buy clothes that actually fit properly. By the time my clothes had been picked out, Mom had finished with the bathroom.

A few minutes later, I was the one who was naked and examining myself in the mirror. However, unlike Mom, I remembered to close and lock the door behind me.

It was still strange to see this version of my mom staring back at me from the mirror, though perhaps not quite as strange as it should have been. It was becoming obvious by now that the magic that had changed us had altered more than just our bodies. There was no way that I would have cleaned up the kitchen like I had before I’d changed.

I shifted position and took a sexy pose in front of the mirror. I really did look good, with a slender waist, full round breasts, and a great ass. I was sexy, but MILF sexy rather than stripper sexy, because in spite of my great body, I also managed to look sophisticated and motherly. And for some reason, I felt rather proud of that.

After this, I climbed into the shower and began to wash up, though I was caught between the conflicting urges to go as fast as I could and ignore all the changes to my body, and the equally powerful desire to take my time and examine myself in even more detail. In the end, my sense of curiosity won out over any embarrassment or wishes to respect my mom’s privacy.

Taking a shower was quite a different experience from usual. My skin was soft and smooth, as well as more sensitive than I was used to. And then there was the fact that my proportions were all off, which added a whole new dimension to the strangeness. But in spite of that, I found the experience to be relaxing and enjoyable.

“And now for this hair,” I mused, thinking about how long and heavy it was now that it was soaked through. I grabbed my mom’s shampoo and conditioner which she’d left in the alcove and paused, wondering just how much I’d actually have to use to wash that much hair. “Okay, this part will take a bit more work than usual.”

After I finished my shower and began drying off, I discovered something interesting. When I began drying my hair with a towel, a lot more water came out than should have been normal. In less than five minutes after I’d begun, my hair was not only completely dry but was cascading down my back and looking almost like I’d just come from the salon.

“And I barely even had to brush it,” I whispered in amazement as I ran my fingers through my hair. “Talk about having a good hair day…”

I admired my hair in the mirror, considering how strange it was that I had perfect hair almost immediately after stepping out of the shower. Of course, this was just another part of the magic that had changed me. It made sense, once I thought about it a little. Mom’s ideal self would have had great hair, every day, without having to put in much effort.

“But this does seem to be taking it a bit far,” I mused, though I certainly wasn’t going to complain about that.

Next came my clothes, which were not the best or most stylish that my mom had, but they fit me well enough to work for a few hours. I was already looking forward to getting better clothes, ones that not only fit better but looked better on my body.

Then came the makeup. I’d never worn makeup before in my life, much less applied it myself, but I just felt that if I was going to be going out in public, I should at least look my best. For a moment, I considered asking Mom for help but quickly decided that this wouldn’t be necessary. I was confident that I could handle it myself.

I quickly put on some mascara, blush, and lipstick, doing so with a steady hand and an ease that surprised me. This was my first time using those things, but it felt more like something that I had a lot of practice with but just hadn’t done recently.

“No stranger than any of the other changes,” I said as I looked over the finished results in the mirror. I looked good, having kept the makeup rather light so that it had a more ‘natural’ look. “Now for the jewelry.”

If I was doing makeup, it only made sense that I add a few pieces of jewelry as well. Mom never bothered to wear much, but she had a nice little collection, which I helped myself to without hesitation. A pendant, a bracelet, and a pair of earrings which slipped right into my pierced ears without any problems.

Once I was ready, I decided that it was time to collect Mom so we could go shopping. She was in her room with the door open, and I could hear her making grunting noises before I even reached the door. When I did, I saw her doing push-ups in the middle of the floor, grunting each time she pushed herself back up.

I stood back and silently watched Mom for a few of the pushes, smiling faintly in amusement as I did so. Then I cleared my throat to announce my presence and asked, “Are you about ready to get going, honey?”

Mom quickly scrambled to her feet, embarrassed at how I’d walked in on her while she was doing that. I wondered how much more embarrassed she would have been if she knew that I’d been watching her earlier as well.

“I didn’t hear you,” she muttered awkwardly.

She looked me over, seeming a bit surprised, and her eyes lingered a few extra seconds on my breasts before she tore them away. Her expression was a mixture of envy and something else, something even more awkward.

“Hey,” she blurted out a few seconds later. “Did you call me honey?”

“It just kind of slipped out,” I admitted. “I guess I’m just getting into character.”

“Perhaps a little too much,” she pointed out, looking me over again.

I smiled at her reaction, then reminded her, “Well, I certainly can’t call you ‘Mom’ when we’re out in public, can I?”

“No, you can’t,” she admitted with a look of resignation. “I guess I should be calling you that now, at least when we’re out in public.”

“Then I guess, I should call YOU Sam,” I told her with an amused smile. “When we’re out in public.”

Mom shook her head. “Hopefully, Carla will get back to me soon so we can get this all straightened out.”

When Mom came up beside me, I noticed her height compared to mine. She was a little taller than I used to be, and maybe an inch or so taller than she used to be, but still a couple inches shorter than me. I absently considered that since she was a teenage boy and supposedly still growing, that specific height difference probably wouldn’t last for long.

“Come on, honey,” I told her, this time intentionally using the affectionate nickname in order to tease her. “Let’s go shopping.”

--------------------

“What do you think?” I asked as I strutted across the store, then paused and turned around to give Mom a better look.

“They look great, Mom,” Mom answered with an awkward smile.

I was currently showing off my new shoes, a pair of high heels that I was going to buy. They were surprisingly comfortable and easy to walk in, though I knew that this like many other things was due to the magic that had transformed me. Wearing high heels just felt…right. And besides, I liked the way that they made my legs and ass look.

Mom stared at me for several seconds and then shook her head. “I can’t believe how graceful you are in those. You make walking in them look so easy. So natural.”

“Thank you, Sam,” I responded, pleased with the compliment though I knew that I couldn’t really take any credit for what that spell had done.

“Of course,” Mom mused, “you were moving pretty gracefully before you put those on. She shook her head and admitted, “I’ve never been very comfortable in heels like those.”

“Which is probably why I am now,” I pointed out, reminding her of the nature of our transformations.

She paused for a moment with a look of consideration on her face. “You’re probably right. I always wished that I could be more graceful, and that I could walk in high heels as easily as some other women do.”

I just smiled at her, pleased to note that the heels had given me a couple more inches on top of the two that I already had on her. It was nice to feel tall for once.

“This should be it for our shopping,” I told her. “Unless you can think of anything else we’ll need.”

“I’m good,” Mom responded with a shrug.

Mom and I had spent the last few hours shopping, going to a couple different stores as we picked up everything we’d need to live as each other for the next week or so. That included some outfits for my mom’s job, which I’d have to deal with tomorrow if we didn’t get this resolved before then. I was skeptical that Carla would get back to Mom with a solution that quickly.

I looked down at my new pair of heels, then walked up to the register where the salesman was waiting for us to ring up three pairs of shoes, two for me and one for Mom. I handed him her credit card, then signed at the bottom of the receipt. My signature was nice and elegant, looking like Mom’s handwriting rather than my own. I’d already noticed that little detail while signing my signature at the previous stores.

“It’s getting about time for dinner,” I told Mom as we began to leave the store. “Why don’t we go out for dinner. My treat.”

She gave me a wry look. “Yeah, but that is my credit card.”

“Not at the moment,” I pointed out a bit smugly.

When we reached the car, I pulled the keys out of my purse and opened the door. Mom gave me a look of annoyance before climbing into the passenger seat. Since I was currently the adult with a driver’s license, albeit hers, I was the one who got to do the driving. I’d never driven before today, but as with so many other things since my transformation, it came easily to me anyway. And more than that, it just felt natural for me to be the one driving.

“You know, Mom,” Mom told me with a sigh. “We spent quite a bit on new clothes…”

I smiled at that, noticing that she’d called me ‘Mom’ again, even though we were alone in the car. The first couple times she’d called me that, it had been a bit jokingly, but each time she did so seemed to come easier and more natural to her. I wasn’t sure that she’d even noticed she was doing it now.

“Don’t worry about it, Sam,” I responded, intentionally using that name.

As with Mom, it had been a bit weird to call her that at first, but each time seemed to come easier and more naturally. I couldn’t help but wondering at how natural it was becoming to use each other’s names like this. If I continued to call her Sam, would I begin to actually think of her as Sam? And if that was the case, then would she start to think of me as ‘Mom’?

“We’ve got a nice bit of savings after the divorce,” I reminded her. “And after selling the old house. At least, enough to afford some new clothes.”

“Good point,” she muttered, still not looking happy. “And it’s not like I don’t have a new job lined up anyway.”

I pulled the car off the road, parking in front of a Japanese restaurant that seemed appealing for some reason. This earned a curious look from Mom.

“I didn’t think you liked Japanese,” she commented.

“No, but you do,” I pointed out with a smirk. “And since I am you right now, I thought that it might be interesting to give it a try.”

Mom looked a little uneasy at that but quickly recovered and nodded. “Sure. It might be interesting trying it as you.”

A short time later, we were seated in the restaurant with bento boxes in front of us. I reached for the chopsticks and began to eat, pausing after a few bites to realize that I was using chopsticks. I’d never used chopsticks before and had always stubbornly refused to learn. Yet here I was, using them with an ease and comfort that suggested that I’d been doing so for a long time.

I watched Mom, a little surprised to see that she went for the chopsticks as well, rather than grabbing a fork like I normally would have done. She was a little clumsy with her chopsticks, at least compared to my current usage, but she didn’t seem to have any real issues.

“You know,” I commented after eating a piece California roll, “I’ve been thinking about our changes…and how they’re obviously a lot more than just physical.”

“I’ve noticed that,” Mom admitted, giving me a curious look. “But you seem to be getting more out of it that way than I am.”

“Maybe,” I agreed, mentally listing off the things I’d noticed.

My food tastes had changed, and I found myself enjoying the foods that Mom preferred over my own normal preferences. Before this, I would have wanted to get a burger for dinner, or maybe pizza. And then there was my fashion sense, which had definitely changed as well. I’d noticed that while picking out clothes and finding things I liked. However, my fashion choices had been a little different than what Mom would have selected, being a bit more fashionable and stylish, and in some cases, a bit more daring.

“I can walk in heels now,” I pointed out thoughtfully. “I can drive a car and use chopsticks…” I held up my chopsticks before picking up a piece of gyoza. “But I haven’t really noticed you doing anything new.”

Mom looked a little self-conscious for a moment, perhaps thinking about how she’d been flexing her muscles in front of the mirror, or how I’d walked in on her while she’d been doing push-ups. Both of those were good examples of this kind of change.

“Maybe I’ll be good at your video games,” Mom suggested with a sigh.

I nodded at that. “You can play with my Switch when we get home,” I told her with a smile. “Maybe you’ll beat some of my old scores.”

“Just peachy,” Mom responded with a roll of her eyes. Then she looked me over and suggested, “Maybe, it’s because I’ve been around a bit longer than you. I’ve had more time to develop insecurities and think about what I’d like to do better.”

“Like using chopsticks?” I asked wryly. “Or parking?”

Mom shrugged at that. “Well, you did do a really good job with that parallel parking, better than I would have. You really seemed to know what you were doing.”

“Thank you,” I said before admitting, “I’m actually curious to see what else I can do now.”

“Me too,” Mom responded with a sigh. “Me too.”

--------------------

I walked down the hallway with a ‘click click click’ from my high heels echoing over the cubicles and announcing my presence. People kept turning to watch me as I walked past, their eyes going straight to my chest or lingering on my ass as I walked past. I held back a smile at the attention and pretended that I didn’t notice it, even as I added a little extra sway to my hips as I walked. A part of me was a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed this attention, but a much louder part insisted that I deserved it. After all, this body was deserving of every bit of admiration it received.

This was my first day at work, at the new job my mom had been hired to before we’d ever even moved into town. She had never met anyone here in person and had done her job interview over the phone. Because of that, there was nobody to point out that I didn’t look quite the same as she did, nor any reason for them to realize that anything was off.

At the moment, I was wearing one of the work outfits that I’d bought yesterday. I was wearing heels, a skirt that really showed off my long shapely legs, and a blouse which showed just enough cleavage to be interesting while not crossing any lines of professionalism. My hair was even pulled back and tied up into a bun, which helped to showcase the sexy yet professional image that I was going for.

I looked damn good, and I knew it. Ever since my change, looking good had been important to me. Looking good AND appropriate, which kept me from showing off my impressive new body as well as I could have otherwise. However, while I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t show off a little more, I knew that it was a good thing that I didn’t. I’d only begun this new job a few hours ago, and I did NOT want to lose yet over something as silly as looking too unprofessional.

A few seconds later, I arrived at my desk and took my seat, then I handed a cup of coffee to my new coworker, Janet. “Here you go,” I told her with a friendly smile. “Fresh from the break room.”

“Thank you, Ellen,” Janet told me as she accepted the coffee.

I took a sip from the cup that I’d brought for myself, then turned my attention to the computer. So far, I’d spent most of my time reading documents on company policy and working on some training videos. It was boring, but I paid close attention and even took some notes at the same time. Once I was ready to get back to work, I pulled up the next training document that I’d been given, one that was supposed to be relevant to my daily tasks and began reading over that one.

“Hey, Ellen,” a new voice said. I still wasn’t used to people calling me that, so it took a moment to realize that she was talking to me.

“Yes?” I responded, looking up at Anabelle.

Anabelle was an athletic black woman in her late forties, who was the department manager and my new boss. “Come on over here for a minute…” She gestured for me to go to another desk, where she was waiting. “You too Janet.”

Janet and I hurried over to where Anabelle was waiting, right beside the desk. Marie, a slender brunette in her late twenties, was another of my new coworkers. But while Janet and I were both new employees, with Janet only having a few days of seniority on me, Marie had been there for a couple years.

“Okay, Marie,” Anabelle told the woman. “Show them how to prepare that report…”

“No problem,” Marie responded, smiling at Janet and me. “It’s a little tricky, so it’ll probably take you a few times before you remember all the steps.”

I paid close attention as Marie demonstrated the steps for the report, and I listened carefully while she explained why we needed to perform each step. Anabelle stood nearby the entire time, nodding along and occasionally adding to the training.

“That seems simple enough,” I said once Marie was finished.

“Simple?” Janet asked in disbelief. “I lost track of what she was doing after that third part…”

“Like I said,” Marie reminded us with some amusement. “It is a little tricky.”

I went back to my desk and repeated the steps that Marie had shown us, remembering each step without a problem. A couple minutes later, I had the report compiled in front of me, exactly the same way that Marie had.

Anabelle came past and looked over my shoulder. “Very good,” she said approvingly. “You really picked that up.”

“I don’t know how,” Janet said with a sigh before asking me, “Can you show me what she did here?”

“Sure,” I responded, glancing to Anabelle who merely nodded.

I helped Janet with the report until she was able to get through it once, and I suggested that she write down the steps while we were doing this as a reminder for the next time. The entire time, Anabelle stood nearby, keeping a watch on us and nodding in approval before she left to go work on something else.

“Thank you,” Janet told me with appreciation. She chuckled self-consciously. “You picked that right up…”

“You would have figured it out on your own, soon enough,” I assured her. “You just needed to play round with it a little more.”

“Oh no,” Janet assured me. “You’re pretty sharp… Beautiful and intelligent. I don’t know what your ex was thinking, letting you get away…”

I chuckled at that and gave her a wry smile. “I don’t know what he was thinking either, and honestly, I don’t really care anymore. That is in the past, and at the moment, I’d really prefer to focus on my present.”

Janet accepted that and dropped the subject, much to my relief. That would have been a touchy subject for Mom, but for me, it was just awkward. After all, I wasn’t the one that Dad had cheated on and divorced, even if he had left me just the same. Still, I was somewhat amused by the conversation at the same time and wondered what Janet and the rest of my new coworkers would think if they knew that under this beautiful and mature façade, I was really just a teenage boy.

The rest of the day was busy with training, but it still passed quickly. I was able to pick everything up pretty easily, far too easily to be normal, though I didn’t really question this. That was just one more part to the changes that I’d gone through, and being able to learn how to do my new job without much effort was probably one of the least shocking changes. Still, it did seem to impress Anabelle and the rest of my new coworkers, which was nice.

--------------------

“Honey, I’m home,” I called out as I returned home from work. I hadn’t really meant to use the endearment, but it had slipped out anyway.

Sam…Mom was already home from school and was sitting on the couch. He…she wasn’t alone either. There was another boy sitting nearby, one who looked quite young. The truth was, he looked to be about fifteen, around my own real age, but at that moment, my first impression was that he was a kid.

“Hey, Mom,” Mom greeted me before gesturing to the other boy. “This is my new friend, Cody. We met at school, but he only lives a couple houses down.”

“Hello, Cody,” I said politely.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Garner,” Cody responded politely.

I had a bag of groceries in one hand that I shifted over to the other, drawing Mom’s attention to it. She gave me a curious look.

“For dinner,” I explained with a wry smile. “I picked a few things up on the way home.”

“But, you don’t cook,” she blurted out before giving Cody a quick glance.

I chuckled in response. “Apparently, I do now.”

With that, I went to the kitchen and began preparing dinner. I thought about the boxes that were still unpacked in the living room and reminded myself that I’d have to finish unpacking those as well. There were so many things that needed to be done and not nearly enough time to do them all.

I looked down at the dinner I was preparing, chuckling a little to myself since Mom had been right in that I didn’t know how to cook, or at least, I didn’t know how before. Now, it came to me naturally, almost as though it was something that I always did. On the way home from work, I’d found myself wondering about what I should make for dinner, as though it was something that I did every day.

“It seems that I’ve gained a new sense of responsibility,” I mused to myself.

This was something that I’d already noticed a bit, but which was becoming more obvious the longer I was like this. I felt responsible for taking care of the house…and for taking care of Sam…Mom. I felt a sense of ownership over those chores and responsibilities, which was a little odd for me.

“No stranger than anything else that has happened,” I said with a chuckle.

I was nearly finished making dinner when Sam…Mom came in to check on me. “Hey, Mom,” she said, apparently without even thinking about it. “Cody took off a few minutes ago.”

“So, how was your first day at school?” I asked her with some amusement, imagining that it must have been interesting to go back to school after so many years.

“Strange,” she answered with a shake of her head and a chuckle. “How was your first day at work?”

“Strange,” I responded with a chuckle of my own. “Can you set the table?”

Mom nodded and began setting the table while I finished up. Once I was done, I pulled out a bottle of wine that I’d picked up at the store. I’d never had wine before, but as soon as I saw the wine aisle, I just knew that I’d enjoy a glass with dinner.

“Wine?” Mom asked with a look of surprise as I poured myself a glass.

“It seemed like a good idea,” I told her, not feeling the least bit awkward or embarrassed about this. I took a sip and smiled, pleased to find that my impulse had been right. I really did enjoy it. “It’s very good.”

“I never cared for wine,” Mom admitted, sounding almost self-conscious about this. “Or any alcohol, really.” She shook her head. “I never really liked coffee either, though I certainly appreciate the benefits.”

“Really?” I asked, a little surprised as I definitely enjoyed coffee now. My tastes had changed along with my body, and I kept discovering new likes and preferences.

Mom shrugged. “That kind of made me feel like I was a fake adult…like I was some kind of impostor.”

“Interesting,” I responded with a nod as I considered her words. That did put a few of my own changes in perspective. Then as we sat down at the table to eat, I asked, “Have you heard back from Carla yet?”

“Not yet,” Mom responded with a shake of her head. “I sent the message to her work e-mail, since I don’t have her personal one, and I know she wanted to use up some of her vacation time…”

“So, she might be taking some time off,” I finished for her with a thoughtful nod.

“Maybe,” Mom responded with a shrug. “I can’t be sure until she gets back to me about that spell.”

“Then, I suppose we will just have to make do for now,” I said before changing the subject. “So, tell me about school…”

“It was…different,” she said with an odd look on her…on my old face. “And I started to really notice some of my other changes.”

“Oh?” I responded, taking a sip from my glass of wine. “Such as?”

“We played baseball in PE,” Mom explained as she began eating. “It turns out, I really had fun…and I’m also really good at it. I think I’m really into sports in general now, considering that I talked with a couple other boys and was really interested in the subject…” She shrugged at that, then a little more self-consciously admitted, “It seems that I’m also into girls now. I was flirting with a couple different girls at school, before I even realized what I was doing.”

“That is interesting,” I mused aloud.

I’d noticed her checking out a couple women yesterday, when we’d been out shopping, but I hadn’t been sure if she was interested in them or just a bit jealous. It seemed, that her interest had probably been the former.

“You know,” I thought aloud. “The spell was to turn us both into our ideal selves, but neither of us described what our ideal selves were, so I assume it must have used our subconscious images of what our ideal selves would be.” I looked at Mom and explained, “I always wanted to be a bit taller and more athletic… I wanted to be good at sports and good with girls.”

“I did feel rather confident about it when I was talking with the girls at school,” Mom responded with a chuckle. “But of course, that could just be because I used to be one and have a different perspective.”

“That might be part of it,” I agreed, “but I’m pretty sure the spell is also playing a large part.” Then I paused to take a bite of my dinner and another sip from my wine. “I think it is past time that we actually talk about what our ideal selves would be…so we have a better idea of what else we can expect.”

Mom nodded at that. “Good point.”

“I don’t think my ideal self was really too much different than my normal self,” I thought aloud as I tried to consider what I’d always wanted to be. “I mean, this wasn’t something I really thought about a lot, but other than being taller, more athletic, good with sports and more confident with girls…” I paused a moment as I remembered something else. “I did go through that phase where I wanted to learn how to play guitar…mostly to impress girls…so you might find that you now have some new musical talents.”

Mom chuckled at that. “I’ll have to try it out and see.” Then she looked me over with a thoughtful expression. “As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve always had a few insecurities…and I’ve had a lot longer than you to think about what I’d improve about myself if I could.”

“Of course,” I agreed, having already noticed the results of many of Mom’s insecurities. After all, I was the one receiving the benefits of them.

“Physically,” Mom started to say, only to pause and give me a wry look. “Well, you can see my physical ideal for yourself. Basically me, but better in just about every way.”

I nodded at that. “It is hard to miss.”

“And as for the rest of it,” Mom said, only to pause again, this time looking a bit embarrassed. “This is a bit a bit personal, but I suppose it’s the same thing. I always wanted to be better…in just about every way.”

“Insecurities,” I said.

“Exactly,” she responded with a sigh. “Smart, sexy, and confident,” Mom mused with a sigh before shaking her head. “I suppose that I always wanted to be one of those women who was always self-assured and competent.”

I nodded again as I considered her words and the new perspective that they put on my own thoughts and behavior. I’d definitely noticed much of that at work during the day, especially the confidence. I’d never felt this confident before in my life, and I found that I rather enjoyed it.

“Perspective,” I mused aloud.

“What?” Mom asked.

“Just thinking about how much my own perspective has changed in just a couple days,” I explained. “The way I’ve been thinking and feeling about things… It’s all different. Obviously, it’s the result of the spell, but it is still pretty amazing.”

My perspective was still changing, or perhaps, it had already changed, and I was just becoming and more aware of how much it had done so. That was an interesting thought, though I wasn’t sure that it mattered much either way.

I took a sip of wine and watched Sam…Mom’s face. He…she looked thoughtful as she considered my own words, nodding faintly in response. I felt a flush of emotional warmth towards him, a feeling that I wanted to take care of him and protect him. That made me pause for a moment and wonder about what exactly it was that I was feeling. Was I feeling…motherly? Towards my own mom? It was a strange thing to consider, and even weirder to feel.

“I’m sure that you’ve notice that yourself,” I continued aloud, trying not to show what was currently going on in my head.

“Yeah,” Sam…Mom agreed with a wry smile. “You can say that again.”

“No thank you,” I responded with a chuckle as I turned my attention back towards my dinner. “I’d rather not repeat myself.”

--------------------

“Good job, Ellen,” Anabelle told me with a nod of approval.

“Thank you,” I responded, giving my computer monitor a look of satisfaction.

Janet looked over my shoulder and shook her head. “Wow. I never would have noticed that…”

“I hadn’t,” Marie agreed with a sigh. “And I looked that over three times. Good catch.”

“Thank you,” I repeated, feeling rather proud of myself.

It was my fourth day in the office, and between all of my training and the actual work that I was now doing, everything was going great. I’d just caught an error, an incorrect decimal place which would have cost the company a couple million dollars, and because of that, Anabelle was quite happy with me.

I looked around at my coworkers and peers, smiling faintly as I did so. I was comfortable with these women. I was one of them now, though I did wonder what they would have thought if they knew who I’d been just a week earlier.

“Go ahead and take an extra break,” Anabelle told me with a smile. “And grab a cup of coffee…on me.”

“Coffee is free,” Janet pointed out.

Anabelle gave a look of mock surprise. “Why so it is. In that case, why don’t you grab two cups, Ellen?”

“And bring me back one too,” Maria added with a chuckle.

I made my way to the break room, being careful not to smile when I noticed several other employees checking me out. I definitely enjoyed the attention, though it wouldn’t do to make that too obvious. However, I did add just a little extra sway to my walk.

A minute later, I had a new cup of coffee, settling for only one since I could only drink one at a time. The company provided coffee wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t as good as what they had at my favorite coffee place down the street. It amused me a little that I actually had a favorite coffee place, when just a week ago, I wouldn’t have touched the stuff.

“Still not bad,” I mused as I took a sip.

I was just about to head back to my desk when someone else stepped into the break room, heading straight for the fridge. He didn’t even seem to notice me for his first couple steps, though that quickly changed, especially when I shifted position and pushed my chest out just a little further. Then he paused and gave me an appreciative look while trying to look like he wasn’t.

“Hello, Bryan,” I greeted him in a tone that was friendly and inviting, a little more than professional but not quite a sultry purr. Then I blew on my coffee to cool it off.

Bryan worked in another office, just down the hall. He was tall, fit, and handsome with a noticeable bulge in his pants. Most of the ladies in the building were interested in him, though I was the one who’d caught his attention.

“Hey, Ellen,” Bryan responded with a smile, straightening up a bit more.

“I hear that you’ve been dealing with a bit of an issue,” I said, referring to a bit of gossip that had been going around that morning. I hadn’t heard all the details, but from what I had heard, two other men in that office had nearly come to blows over something stupid, and Bryan had been forced to step in and calm the situation down. “That must have been interesting.”

“A bit,” Bryan said with a chuckle. “But nothing I can’t handle.”

I nodded at that. “So, what was it all about anyway?”

Bryan hesitated for a moment, clearly considering how much he should share. After a couple seconds, he explained, “Apparently, one of them accused the other of somehow cheating in their fantasy football league.”

I blinked at that and had to fight back the laugh that wanted to escape. “That sounds…serious.”

“Sometimes, I feel like I’m working with teenagers,” Bryan said with a shake of his head.

“I know all about dealing with teenagers,” I told him with a smirk, though he would never guess just how true that statement was. “I have one of my own.”

After this, we changed topics and continued to talk for a couple more minutes, mostly doing some light flirting. Eventually though, Bryan excused himself to return to his office while I kept an appreciative watch on his shapely ass as he left. Once he was entirely gone, I went back to my own office as well, feeling satisfied with that encounter.

I didn’t feel the least bit embarrassment over the way I’d interacted with Bryan, nor with the way I’d acted or with what I’d been thinking and feeling while doing so. After all, regardless of who and what I’d been before, I was now a grown woman, one who was completely comfortable with her own sexuality. I knew exactly what I wanted, and was confident enough to not hesitate in going after it.

--------------------

When I returned home from work, Sam was out in the front yard, throwing a football with Cody and another boy their age. When I first saw them playing, I had a moment of nostalgic regret, but it passed in a couple seconds and was gone. Instead, my new maternal instincts took over and I felt a swelling of warm motherly pride as I watched my son.

“How are you boys doing?” I called out to them.

“Hi, Mrs. Garner,” Cody called out.

“Hi, Mom,” Sam responded.

The third boy, whose name I didn’t know, waved and added, “Hi, Sam’s mom.”

I chuckled at that and remained where I was beside my car for a few more seconds, watching as the boys went back to playing catch. Then I shook my head and went on into the house to start working on dinner.

Just as I was closing the door behind me, I heard the new boy exclaiming to Sam, “Dude, your mom is hot… A total MILF.” I laughed at that, tempted to turn around and get a look at Sam’s face, but I resisted the temptation and closed the door behind me instead.

“Now,” I mused aloud. “What to cook for dinner…”

A couple hours later, I was nestled comfortably in my recliner, a glass of wine in one hand and a book on computers in the other. Sam, the old Ellen, used to enjoy trashy romance novels, but I’d found that while I was vaguely interested in those, my own reading tastes leaned more towards non-fiction now. The idea of being productive and learning something while I relaxed just seemed to make more sense to me now.

Sam was stretched out on the couch, playing a game on my old Switch, though I didn’t know which one. However, he abruptly paused and shook his head in annoyance before reaching over for the can of Pepsi that was sitting on the coffee table beside him.

“Are you doing all right?” I asked.

“Just peachy,” Sam responded with a sigh before explaining, “I just died, so now I have to start the level over again.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I told him with a faint smirk, though I carefully kept the amusement out of my voice. I knew just how frustrating that kind of thing could be. “I’m sure you’ll get it next time.”

“Thank, Mom,” Sam said as he turned his attention back to the game.

I watched Sam for a few more seconds before turning my own attention back to the book I was reading. However, I wasn’t able to really get back into it, so after another twenty minutes, I finished off my wine and set the book aside.

“I’m going to get cleaned up and head to bed,” I announced as I stood up. Then I went over to Sam and bent down to give him a motherly kiss on the forehead. “Good night, honey.”

“Night, Mom,” he responded almost automatically.

I chuckled at that and shook my head, still amazed at how quickly we’d both settled into our new roles. I didn’t say anything about that though, since bringing up that kind of topic was always a bit awkward. Instead, I just went towards my bedroom, the large master bedroom the old Ellen had originally claimed for herself. Now, just like her identity, adult status, and role as the mother of the family, it belonged to me.

--------------------

Dinner had finished cooking a few minutes ago and was now simmering on the stove, waiting to be served up. The table had already been set, so the only thing missing was Sam, who was running a bit late.

I glanced at the clock and felt a moment of worry, though I quickly pushed it aside. Sam had called ahead and warned me that he was going to be late getting home. Some of his classmates had invited him to play some basketball with them after school was out, so this delay was completely expected.

Just then, the door opened, and Sam returned home, grinning from ear to ear. I let out a faint sigh, relieved that he was home. Sometimes, these new motherly feelings could be a bit annoying, but at others…

“You look like you’re in a good mood,” I said with a smile.

“It was a great day,” Sam responded, pausing to look at the table and then the food which was waiting. With only a moment of hesitation, he went to the sink to wash his hands before sitting down at the table. “We played a few games of HORSE, and I totally kicked ass…”

“Language,” I said, more to tease Sam than to actually warn him.

Sam rolled his eyes at that. “Anyway, I had a lot of fun.” He gave me a knowing look. “I absolutely LOVE being so athletic… So young and full of energy.” Then his expression darkened just a little and there seemed to be a hint of guilt in it, as though he felt bad for reminding me of the things I’d lost during our change.

“I get it,” I reassured him. “I found a lot of things to love about my new situation too.”

It had been nearly two weeks since Sam and I had used that spell, and while that wasn’t really that long, it almost felt like a lifetime. That had been just enough time for Sam and I to both adjust to our new lives. I was completely comfortable being a sexy grown woman and a mother, while Sam seemed to enjoy being a popular and athletic teenage boy.

A moment later, almost as if to emphasize my thoughts, Sam announced, “I have a date tomorrow…”

“A date?” I asked, giving him a curious look.

Sam nodded, somehow managing to look calm and confident, yet a bit self-conscious at the same time. “I asked this girl…Sarah…out, and she said yes.” He definitely looked pleased by that, and I realized that the awkwardness was more about what I would think.

For a brief moment, I was tempted to tease Sam, but instead, I just smiled and said, “Good for you.” Then before he could answer, I smirked a little and added, “And is she pretty?”

“Thanks,” he responded with a grin. “And yes.”

I took a bite of my dinner and a sip from my glass of wine. I didn’t say anything, though I did watch Sam with an amused smile.

“I know it’s weird,” he blurted out, the self-conscious bit coming forward. “I mean, in a way, our age…” He was clearly referring to his old age, not his current one, and just how young Sarah was in comparison to that. However, Sam continued, “But the truth is, we’re the SAME age… When I look at her, I see a hot girl my own age…”

“And that’s perfectly normal,” I gently assured him. “You are a fifteen-year-old boy, so it’s only natural that you date a girl your own age.”

Sam smiled at that, looking relieved at my support. “Yeah… Yeah, it is.”

I took another sip of my wine, smiling as I did so. I hadn’t told Sam about the fact that I had my own date lined up with Bryan, but this conversation would help to make my own announcement a little less awkward as well. However, that could wait a bit longer since I saw no reason to bring that up quite yet.

Then, because I couldn’t resist at least a little gentle teasing, I said, “Just be careful. I only just became a mother, and I’m nowhere near ready to become a grandmother just.” Sam chocked and turned bright red, which made me laugh.

Once dinner was over and everything was cleaned up, Sam and I each went to our computers. I suspected that he was either going to chat with his friends or play one of the video games he’d recently discovered. I, however, was doing a bit of research on a project which had caught my own interest, one that I was looking forward to working on once I had a little time.

I had barely gotten onto my computer when Sam yelled out, “I FINALLY GOT A RESPONSE FROM CARLA!”

That immediately caught my attention, and I jumped up and went to where Sam was sitting in front of his laptop. “What does she say?”

“Let me see,” Sam responded as he opened the email. “I was starting to think that she wasn’t going to answer… I mean, who in the world gives someone a working magic spell, then just disappear?” He shook his head. “Thankfully, she didn’t ghost me after all.”

I nodded at that, feeling less than enthusiastic as I said, “Yes, thankfully.”

“Let’s see,” Sam mused as he read the first part of the email. “She said that she was on vacation, which was why she didn’t respond sooner…”

“You said you used her work email,” I commented thoughtfully. “That makes sense.”

“I was a little worried that she might have quit,” Sam admitted as he read over the rest of the email. Then he scowled a little and announced, “And here it is…”

I leaned over to read over his shoulder, already asking, “What does she say?” even as I was beginning to read it for myself.

“Let’s see,” Sam said. “Carla said that a family friend gave her a couple copies of the spell, and that she hasn’t heard from that friend in several years. But the important part…” Sam put his finger on the monitor, pointing to the relevant part of the email. “She also says that the spell is permanent…that it doesn’t wear off…and that once someone is changed by the spell, it will never be able to affect them again.”

My eyes widened at that, and I took a step back. “Oh…”

“So, we’re stuck like this,” Sam said, though he didn’t sound upset by that. Somehow, I don’t think ‘stuck’ was quite what he actually meant.

I let out a sign of relief and then began to smile, though I held back from grinning too broadly. I’d been a bit worried that Carla would have had a way to undo the spell and change us back to the way we used to be. The idea of becoming a teenage boy seemed…ludicrous. Why in the world would I ever want to be anyone other than who I was now?

After the spell had gone wrong and changed us, changing back had been kind of important but had never felt urgent. And within a couple days, even that had faded. Contacting Carla and looking for a ‘cure’ had actually felt more like we were just going through the motions because it was the responsible thing to do, the think that Sam and I should want to do.

“I’m kind of glad, to be honest,” Sam admitted as an understatement. I could see that he was holding back a grin of his own. “I’ve never felt as good as I do now…or as confident.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” I assured him with a nod. “I know that the spell got mixed up by accident, but this feels…right.” I gestured down at myself. “I feel a lot more comfortable like this…and also a lot more confident.”

Sam looked relieved at my words. “I was a bit worried that you’d still want to go back…”

I gave a dismissive wave at that. “You couldn’t pay me enough to become a teenage boy again…” I shuddered at the very thought. “You’re welcome to keep it.”

“And you’re more than welcome to keep my old life,” Sam responded with a grin. “I can’t even imagine being a mom again…or going to work every day.” He shook his head and gave a look of disgust. “Besides, you’re better at it than I ever was.”

I smiled at that and bent over to kiss Sam on the forehead. “Thank you, honey.”

“Just telling the truth, Mom,” He responded a little self-consciously.

“You know,” I mused aloud. “It’s probably a good thing that this won’t wear off…and that we can’t be changed back, and not just because we’re both happy with things as they are. Can you imagine how much trouble that would be?”

Sam gave me a curious look. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” I explained with some amusement, “imagine if I suddenly had to start going to school again. I don’t know the school layout, your class schedule, or any of your teachers. I don’t know about the subjects you’re currently being taught…”

“Oh,” Sam said, his eyes widening a little with realization. “And you wouldn’t know who most of the other kids are either…”

“Exactly,” I agreed.

He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he continued, “And I imagine it would be the same if I tried taking over your life now… I don’t know any of the people you work with, and I haven’t gone through any of the job training that you have… I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to actually do your job.”

“And we’d be doing all of that without any of the benefits we currently have,” I added. “I wouldn’t be nearly as good with sports as you are…or with the girls.” I smirked as I remembered his upcoming date with Sarah. “And you would be lacking certain…assets that I possess.” I pushed my chest out a bit and smirked. “If we did switch back, it would be like starting over again from scratch.”

“Yeah, that would be a real pain,” Sam said with a shake of his head, just as thankful that we’d avoided that issue as I was. “So, Mom, what do we do now?”

“Now, we go live our lives,” I answered, giving him another motherly kiss on the forehead.

After that, I returned to my own computer, which was still sitting open to the page where I’d left it. I was looking at some online classes for leadership and business management, classes which I now felt free to sign up for since I didn’t have to worry about losing this new life.

I liked my new job and coworkers, but I wanted more. This new life was great, but I knew that I could make it even better.

Over the last week, I’d been feeling stirrings of ambition, a desire to see just what I could accomplish if I really put my mind to it. I smiled as I began filling out the registration form, completely confident that I could handle any challenge ahead of me as a woman, a mother, or with my career. That scroll had given Sam and I a new start, and I was determined to make the best of it.

The End