Sarah sat in her room totally frustrated with her parents. It was
Halloween and she had planned on going out with Mark, a senior at her
school. Her mother quickly changed her plans telling her that Mark was
too old for her and she should find a boy in her sophomore class to go
out with. Sarah's mother knew Mark from the grocery store where he
worked as a bag-boy and Sarah hadn't dreamed her mother would object.
She had thought her mother liked Mark and would be happy that Sarah was
going to go out with him. If she had known it would have caused such a
fight she would have told her mother that she was going to go 'trick or
treating' with some 'friends' and then slipped off to meet Mark.
Unfortunately, it was too late for that now!
The argument had been pretty heated and her dad had joined in, siding
with her mother. Sarah knew that her parents were a bit over-protective,
with her being an only child. She had hoped that they would start to
loosen things up a bit now that she was in her second year of high
school. It wasn't to be. They were as protective as ever. She wanted her
parents to understand her better. She had always wished that she
would've had a brother or sister so that they wouldn't be so
over-bearing and protective. Her parents had wanted a larger family but,
although they tried, weren't blessed with Sarah until they were in their
30's. It had been their wish to start a family when they were much
younger but it had never happened and it was too late now. Sarah's
mother, Elizabeth, was now 46. Her dad, Steve, 47.
In the course of the argument Sarah had ended up grounded and was sent
to her room 'to think about things'. As she sat on her bed she began to
cry thinking about her friends all out having fun....and someone else
ending up with Mark! She knew she should call Mark and tell him that she
couldn't go out but she couldn't bring herself to pick up the phone.
'How could her parents do this to her?' she wondered.
The weather outside was typical October weather. Gray dreary skies....
Cold, damp, and windy. As darkness fell, Sarah could hear the wind
outside rustling through the freshly raked leaves. She rested her head
on her pillow and listened to the sounds of children in the distance.
They obviously were out in search of Halloween treats. She tried to
sleep but couldn't as the doorbell would continually ring signaling more
'trick or treaters'.
Suddenly, the wind began to pick up. The wind began howling as it passed
through the trees. The remaining leaves were ripped off and the limbs
scratched against her beedroom window. Lightning began flickering in the
distance. Distant thunder roared. Each 'clap' seemed to get closer.
Finally, a loud clap of thunder bellowed and the lights in her room went
out. Before Sarah could do anything she saw what looked like the outline
of a figure in the flickering glow of the lightning! She started to run
for the door when a voice spoke:
"Don't be frightened, deary, I'm here to help you!"
Sarah screamed. With all the power in her lungs, she screamed!
"Now settle down. I'm here to help you with your 'problem'! Besides, no
one can hear you scream. It's just you and me right now. No one else can
hear or see me. And no one can hear you talking to me. Don't be
frightened. I want to 'help' you!" said the figure.
Sarah took a deep breath and slowly backed toward the door "Who,
who.....How? What are you going to do to me?" she nervously asks as she
inches closer to the door.
"I'm a witch. But I'm not going to 'hurt' you. I'm here to help you! Now
just calm down, deary, and we can discuss what you want to do." The
figure started walking toward Sarah and Sarah grabbed at the doorknob.
The doorknob felt like it was on fire! Sarah 'yelped' as she let go of
it.
"Now, don't make me mad! You wanted help, and I came. This is my
favorite night of the year and I decided to spend it with 'you'! I can
help, but you have to work with me. ....Now, about your 'problem'....
Your parents won't let you go out with a boy you like.... tsk-
tsk....and on Halloween.....sooooo cold!" the figure sneered.
"But how could you know?" Sarah asked. "I told you! I'm a witch. And on
this night my powers are at their greatest. I sensed your problem and so
I came to help!" the witch answered.
"You can really help? I mean so my parents will let me go out with
Mark?" asked Sarah, slowly warming to the idea "How?"
"Lots of ways for a witch on Halloween to weave her magic. I could turn
your folks into toads....but that is so cliche'd! Maybe turn them to
stone. That way you could keep them around but never have to 'hear' them
again!" the witch cackled.
"NO! I don't want to hurt them.... They just don't know what it's like.
I feel like I'm in jail! They're so smothering! It's like they don't
know what it's like to be young!..." Sarah said
"Awwwwww, there you go. A solution! I can make them young. Teenagers?,
grade-school?, toddlers?... I know! Two little innocent babes!....."
Sarah listened to the witch but upon hearing 'that' cut her off "I, I,
think that might be too much! Babies? .....Ummmm, Could you have really
done that? Babies?"
"My dear, A witch on Halloween is all powerful. I can do anything.
Whatever you wish can be had on this evening. I rather like your idea of
them seeing things from the perspective of youth! Perhaps YOU would want
to control the spell? That can be worked out." Sarah liked the thought
of her being in control of the spell "So, 'I' can do that?.... How?
....They'll be whatever age I want them to be and I'll control it? What
about their memories? I don't want them to know what is happening to
them."
"Sure deary, I can put a spell on a piece of jewelry and you can use
that to do your will. They will be as young, or old, as you want them to
be. And they really will be young.... in mind and body! Just remember
that at midnight the spell will end and the piece will no longer have
any powers. However you leave things at midnight is how they will stay!"
the witch warned.
Sarah found a necklace and handed it to the witch "Will this necklace
work?" The witch seemed pleased that Sarah had agreed to the plan. "Oh
yes, deary, that will be grand!" The witch said as she took the necklace
and began to rub her hands over the pendant. All the while, she slowly
chanted. All of a sudden, a glow appeared and then seemed to be drawn
into the pendant. The witch smiled a crooked smile and handed the
necklace back to Sarah "Hold the pendant in your hand and look at the
person you wish to cast the spell upon. All you have to do is imagine
the age you wish them to be and the spell will do the rest. Careful
though! The 'pendant' is now all powerful, atleast until midnight. It
can be used on others as well as your parents, and it can be used by oth
ers. Use it as you see fit, but remember.... midnight! It will have no
power after midnight."
Sarah cautiously took the necklace from the witch and decided to try it
out. 'What did she have to lose?' She looked to the witch for some more
advice but the witch was GONE! Sarah shrugged, turned the doorknob,
which was now cool, and walked down the stairs and into the Kitchen. Her
mother was finishing up doing the evening's dishes and was startled to
see Sarah so soon after such a huge argument. "Mom, I'm sorry for the
fight...." she said while taking the pendant in her hand. Her mother
turned to face her and started to speak but stopped as she saw a glow
coming from the pendant in Sarah's hand. Sarah thought about her mother
and wondered what she had looked like when she was in her twenties. As
she concentrated she could see her mother start to change. Not much
happened at first but then more drastic changes occurred. Sarah could
see her mother getting younger right before her eyes! As she slipped
over form her 40's into her 30's Sarah could see that her mother seemed
to look a little more vibrant. She kept thinking about what her mother
would look like in her 20's and her mother kept getting younger. It was
obvious that she could only be in her early 30's now, and still getting
younger! Her clothes started getting a little loose. Especially
noticable in the places that middle-age had deposited a little extra
weight. Sarah couldn't believe what she was seeing! She began to picture
the number 25. She continued rubbing the pendant thinking about her
mother at age 25. Soon her mother crossed the bridge from her 30's into
her 20's. Although Sarah had never thought of her mother as looking
'old', her mother now looked VERY YOUNG. The lines on her face were
almost all gone. Just a few lines around the corners of her eyes.... And
they were fading fast. Her hair was looking fuller and much more
healthy. It was long and shiny like a models! Then, as suddenly as the
glow had appeared from the pendant, it faded. Sarah realized that she
had turned her mother into a 25 year old. Barely more than a kid! She
would be lucky to be served in a bar without getting carded now!
'Incredible' she thought 'It worked!'. She could only stare at her
mother.... too stunned to speak!
Her mother looked around the room and at her 'conservative' baggy
clothing. "What happened? Who are you?" her mother asked. "Uh, I'm .....
Sarah, I live here...." Sarah answered still searching for an answer
that would make sense to her newly rejuvenated mother without giving
herself away. She hadn't considered all the ramnifications of making her
parents younger until that moment! She decided to buy some time and
began to rub the pendant some more, thinking about her mother becoming
even younger. She thought about her mother as a teenager. The pendant
started to glow as it had before. Soon, her mother looked like a college
student. All traces of any extra weight were long gone. Her face was
smooth and unlined. Her eyes were bright and focused onto the glowing
pendant in Sarah's hands. Quickly she crossed over from her 20's into
her teens. Sarah couldn't believe her mother was ever this young! She
looked like just any other teenager from the high school. She started to
get slightly shorter and even appeared to be a shrinking a bit, her
clothes now very loose on her lean body. Just as it appeared her body
was about to start loosing its 'curves', Sarah's father entered the
room!
"I thought you were grounded?" He demanded. Sarah spun around, letting
go of the pendant and leaving her mother looking like a 16 year old. She
stammered "Ummm, I thought it over.... and you were right....". Her
father shook his head in agreement and said "I knew you would come
around. You're a good girl. I'm proud of you. Your mother knows what's
best for you. That's all she wants for you.... Just what's best. I knew
you would understand after you had some time to think about it. I was
once young too, you know! Who's your friend?" he quizzed pointing at the
other young girl in the kitchen. 'Oh my Gosh' He doesn't even recognize
her! What am I going to say?' she wondered. Before Sarah could speak,
the other girl answered for her "I'm Liz....Maybe you can tell me what
is going on here....". 'OH NO! More trouble!' Sarah began rubbing the
pendant again this time thinking about BOTH of her parents getting
younger. Much younger! She needed time to think. She needed to figure
out what to do! Since she had never called Mark to tell him she couldn't
go out, he would be arriving at any minute!
Her father simply froze, his eyes transfixed on the glow of the pendant.
As Sarah watched she could also see him getting younger. He didn't look
much different at first. Then, slowly she could see his hairline
creeping farther forward. It was no longer in retreat! His 'spare tire'
also began to disappear slowly. Sarah hadn't noticed just how much it
had 'grown' in the last few years until she saw how quickly it seemed to
melt away. Quickly, he turned from 47 into 37. The same metamorphosis
was now occurring as she had seen in her mother. Her father now had
almost a full head of hair. His shoulders seemed to become broader, his
posture looking better with each fading year. It was clear he was now in
his 20's. His hairline was totally restored. 'This is better than
Rogaine!' Sarah thought. Soon his newly found muscles began to fade into
the gangly look of a teenager. His height began to decline. Years
drifted away. Sarah concentrated on the number 6. He kept getting
smaller. Suddenly, the pendant stopped glowing and she could see her
father was now a mere child! She turned to see her mother and saw that
the same thing had happened to her. She was sitting in a pile of
clothing and was no more than a 6 year old herself.
"OK, you two, I don't wanna leave you like this but there's no time!
You're my new little brother and sister and we're going to go trick or
treating with my boyfriend....at least I hope he turns out to be my
boyfriend!" Sarah says as she takes the two children's hands and heads
them toward the bedroom in search of a costume of some sort! The two
'children' didn't know exactly what she was talking about, but 'trick or
treating' means CANDY, and they were all for THAT! Both of the children
walked right out of their shoes, and then their pants as they tried to
keep up with Sarah as she tugged on them urging them along.. Soon they
are wearing only their formerly proper fitting adult shirts. "Pretty
soon you'll have all kinds of candy....won't that be fun?" She asks the
'children' as she grabs some of their adult clothes and begins to pin
them up so that the two 'children' will look like they are dressing up
like 'grown-ups!'. She rolls up their pant-legs and neatly pins them so
that they'll be able to walk without tripping. She then pins up their
sleeves so that their hands can stick through and they'll be able to
hold their trick or treat bags. She now starts taking off her things and
starts putting on her Cinderella costume. Sarah tells the kids to put on
anything else they want and motions them toward the jewelry box.
Sarah knows Mark is due at any time. As she hurriedly gets ready the
doorbell rings. She grabs her 'glass', actually 'plastic', slippers and
heads for the door hoping it's Mark. She opens the door and is happy to
see that it IS Mark. He looks at his 'Cinderella' standing in the door
with one shoe on and one shoe off, and offers to help her try on her
'glass slipper'. They both laugh as he helps her with her shoe. "Why,
Thank You, Prince!" she says and offers him a seat while she finishes
getting ready. "Mark, I hope you don't mind but I uhhhh promised we'd
take my little brother and sister with us. I hope it's OK?" She asks
before heading back to the bedroom. "No, I don't mind. Sounds like fun."
he answered rather half heartedly.
When she got back to the bedroom the 'kids' were all ready to go and
were very excited to be getting some 'candy'. Sarah finished with her
costume and they all headed out to the family room to get Mark. "Now
don't either of you run off! Stay together" Sarah reminded them. The
'children' promised to stay close and they all headed out to start the
evening.
They began walking to the various houses in all the surrounding
neighborhoods. The two children would always walk out in front, skipping
as they walked. After a while, Mark took Sarah's hand as they walked.
Sarah was ecstatic! 'Everything was working out perfect!' At one of the
houses Mark stopped Sarah as she started walking towards the door. He
held Sarah's hand a little tighter and whispered "Why don't we let your
brother and sister take this house?" Sarah stared at him and shook her
head 'yes'. "Kids, you take this house by yourself! ....And take your
time!" Mark told them. Sarah knew it was getting late, but this might be
the moment she had been waiting on. The two kids ran up the long walk,
while Sarah continued staring into Mark's eyes. She hoped he was going
to kiss her! 'She' wanted to kiss 'him' but was just too scared. As soon
as the kids were out of view, Mark took Sarah and kissed her with a deep
passionate kiss. Sarah felt the electricity. It was what she had been
dreaming of! As soon as their lips parted they looked in each other's
eyes for a short moment, giggled, and then kissed again. This time the
kiss was cut short as they heard the two 'children' discussing "The
Lovebirds". They looked to see that little Stevey and Liz had returned
from their latest candy conquest.
Little Liz was talking about how sweet the kiss was, while little Stevey
thought it was "_icky!_". The children started arguing about it, and
they totally ruined the moment. "Uh... Mark, maybe we can get together
later? We should probably get these kids home. What time is it anyway?"
Sarah asked. "It's just after 11:30" he answered. "ELEVEN THIRTY!??? Oh,
we gotta get these kids back! Let's go kids!" She ordered.
"You mean you two _Love-birds_ are finished?" Little Stevey asked
sarcastically as he chewed on some of his candy. "Yes, I mean NO!....I
mean we need to get you back home!" Sarah demanded. Stevey shook his
head 'no' saying "I ain't ready yet! I want some more candy!". Stevey
ran away every time Sarah tried to grab him. The harder she tried to
catch him, the faster he would run! As Sarah was chasing little Stevey
around the sidewalk, desperately wanting to get them home to restore
them to their real ages, she heard little Liz telling Mark "I wish I was
your age and Sarah was mine so you and me could be boyfriend and
girlfriend!"
Sarah felt a tingle and turned to see that little Liz had the PENDANT!
Little Liz must have grabbed it when she had left the bedroom to let
Mark into the house. It was glowing! Sarah tried to speak but she
couldn't! She couldn't keep her eyes off the pendant. She kept trying to
fight what she knew was happening, but the pendant had too much power.
No longer was Sarah 15, but maybe only 13. Her formerly developing
figure was now rapidly disappearing. Her mind was losing the battle to
resist. 13-12-11.... Meanwhile, little Liz was quickly growing. Sarah
and Liz became the same age for a fleeting moment. As one was
regressing, the other was continuing to age. Liz's body began to bloom
as she became a teenager while Sarah's body shrank into that of a small
child. Her Cinderella costume was much too big for her now. Her glass
slippers no longer fit.
Liz continued growing, slowly blossoming into the body of a high school
girl. The pins in Liz's 'costume' were breaking loose as her body filled
out her clothes. 15, 16, 17.... Liz's body is now every schoolboy's
dream! She is trim and youthful. She looks like she should be a
home-coming queen. Her shapely legs are highlighted as they have 'grown'
past the cuffs that Sarah had earlier neatly pinned in the pants. Sarah,
meanwhile, stands amongst a pile of clothes, slightly confused, smiling,
and showing that she is now missing a front tooth.
Little Sarah, no longer fills out her Cinderella costume at all. Mark
walks over to little Sarah and gathers up her now too big glass slippers
and walks back to Liz. "Care to try these on, Miss?" he asks bending
over to slide each of the slippers on her. The slippers fit
perfectly!..... "I think I've found _my_ Cinderella!" he says. He takes
Liz's young hand and they all head back to the house to live happily
ever after.
Meanwhile, the Witch smiled at the thought of everyone getting their
wish.... Sarah is no longer an only child- now having a brother and
sister, Liz and Steve had wanted a family when they were younger- and
now they do have a family when they're younger 'much younger!'..... And
Mark had always 'wanted' the lady that would come into the grocery store
where he worked and flirt with him!
"I just LOVE Halloween!" the witch cackled......
The End