Laura had spent the last fifteen minutes staring dumbfounded at the box on her desk. The idea that a set of dice could make someone younger seemed impossible. As she looked in the mirror though she realized it was harder and harder to deny.
Laura had carefully looked over her herself not only noticing the lack of grey but other changes as well. There had been a small scar on her left forearm from a hiking accident when she was 38. While it originally injury was nothing severe it had left a noticeable scar, at least it was noticeable to Laura. When she had rolled up the sleeve of her blouse she found the scar was no longer visible. Laura had spent several minutes running her fingers along her now smooth forearm and could feel no trace of the offending mark.
“This is crazy,” she whispered. “How could this be possible? Things like this don’t exist in real life.” Glancing back at the mirrror she sighed. This was real and it was really happening. Shaking her head she now began to carefully search the package for anything that would tell her where it came from. After several moments of fruitless searching she found what she was looking for. On the bottom of the box was an address. As she carefully examined it her eyes bulged. “That place is four hours away,” she exclaimed.
Laura now sat down pondering her situation. The dice had made her 36 again. While being back in her thirties wasn’t a bad thing she couldn’t help thinking about what the voice had said. “Each roll will give you back more of what you lost,” she mumbled. Working the puzzle out in her head she realized that each successive roll would make her younger. Another roll of the dice could leave her anywhere between 34 and 24. The prospect of becoming so young again was thrilling it was also a little unnerving. If the dice happened to roll a high number and then we’re rolled again she could easily find herself returning to her teens or younger. Shaking her head she realized that wasn’t an appealing option. She needed to return these dice as quickly as possible, failure to do so could mean they could accidentally be rolled, making her much younger than she wished to be.
The sound of the door opening caused Laura to jump, turning quickly she could see Kaitlin had returned with dinner. As the 39 year old entered Laura tried her best to compose herself. “Hey Laura I got dinner,” she called. Laura tried to smile but could see the look of concern on her friends face.
“You feeling alright,” Kaitlin asked. “You look pale.”
Laura nodded sheepishly as she grabbed her meal and made her way back to her desk. “Uh yeah just hungry,” she said quickly. Kaitlin gave her friend a bemused look as she scanned the desk. “Oh you opened the package what was in it?”
Laura paused as she watched her friend examine the opened package. “Nothing,” she said quickly. “It...Uh..was meant for someone else.”
Kaitlin furrowed her brow as she now picked up the box containing the dice. “So what is this,” She’s asked.
Laura could feel herself breaking into a cold sweat as she watched Kaitlin open the box. Curious the honey haired woman took the dice from their resting place, examining them carefully. “These are really nice,” she said in awe, fingering the dice. “Be careful with those,” Laura said quickly. “Their fragile.”
“Cmon Laura don’t be silly,” she laughed. “Who would make fragile dice.” Before Laura could say another word she watched as Kaitlin rolled them on her desk. “No,” she shouted as they clattered on the oak top. Laura watched in horror as the dice clattered across the table, finally landing on six.
“Thirty six years you have walked this earth. Now this number is but thirty, each roll of the dice shall restore more of what you have lost.”
“What was that,” Kaitlin exclaimed in alarm. Before Laura could answer she could feel her body begin to tingle as a golden light covered her body. Laura watched dumbstruck as more orbs of light seemed to float off her body. In only a moment the feeling subsided leaving the two women staring at eachother in stunned silence.
“Kaitlin don’t touch those,” Laura said quickly. Picking up the dice she carefully placed them in their case once more slamming the lid down.
“Laura what’s going on,” Kaitlin said. “That voice...then you start glowing. What the hell just happened?!?!”
Laura sighed as she looked at her friend. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she sighed. Kaitlin narrowed her eyes as she gazed at her friend. Laura seemed different somehow yet she couldn’t quite place her finger on it. Laura’s skin and hair seemed a little livelier but Kaitlin chalked it up to a trick of the light. “Well try me,” she said crossing her arms and staring at her seated friend.
Laura sighed as she looked up from her desk. “Okay fine,” She huffed. “Those dice are magical. Apparently they can make a person younger. I rolled the dice earlier and they made me 36. Now you justin rolled them so now I’m 30.”
“Yeah okay,” Kaitlin giggled.
“Take a close look at me Kaitlin,” Laura fumed. “Do I look like I’m in my forties.”
Kaitlin sighed as she approached her friend. She wasn’t quite sure what her friend was up to but was willing to humor her. Stepping closer she now looked over her friend with a critical eye. As she did she was shocked as she realized her friend may be on to something.
“L...Laura,” She stammered. “Oh my god! You...you look..”
“Like I’m thirty,”
Kaitlin nodded, still stunned at her friends transformation. “But...how,” she exclaimed.
“I don’t know,” Laura sighed. “I think the dice are magical. They....they seem to make a person younger based on what they roll.”
“Well that doesn’t sound too bad,” Kaitlin said. “I mean I know I wouldn’t mind being a little younger. Forty is only a few monthes away for me.”
“The problem is though Kaitlin is that it won’t stop,” she said. “The dice are connected to me somehow. Every time they get rolled I get a bit younger. The next time someone rolls them I could end up anywhere between 28 and 18.”
Kaitlin’s eyes went wide as she realized the implications of what her friend was saying. Being a little younger wasn’t a bad thing but if the dice kept getting rolled Laura could suddenly find herself reliving her childhood once more...or worse. “So what are you going to do,” she whispered.
Laura stood up, straightening out her outfit before looking at her friend. “Well there’s an address on the back,” she said. “I need to return them and find out why the year came to me. Hopefully then I can get the dice to stop affecting me.”
Kaitlin nodded before looking her friend over. “Let me help,” she pleaded. “It’s my fault the dice got rolled again. I don’t want anything else to happen to you. I can see how freaked out you are about this so let me come with you so that maybe we can both fix this.”
“The place isn’t about a four hour trip from here,” Laura sighed. “You don’t need to do that.”
Kaitlin folded her arms as she narrowed her eyes at her friend. “Laura in about 30 minutes you went from 43 to 30. What happens if the dice get rolled again while you’re on the road. What if you keep getting younger and you get too young to drive. Please I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Laura sighed as she looked towards Kaitlin, she’s had a point. If the dice kept getting rolled She’s could find herself too young to drive. If she became stranded she would have no way to get where she needed to go. “Okay fine,” She lamented. “But we have to be quick. It’s almost 6 p.m. now. I need to get to this address and fix this as soon a a possible.”
“We’ll do this Laura no worries,” Kaitlin grinned. “Now come on. Let’s get this little road trip started.”
The two women’s jumped into Laura’s Toyota and turned out of the parking lot. THe trip itself would take four hours by the highway, giving the two women plenty of time to think. Laura asked that Kaitlin keep the box safe as they turned onto the freeway. “I want to make sure nothing happens to that box,” She’s said handing the he box to Kaitlin. Kaitlin promise she’s would keep it safe and not allow it to be rolled again. As Laura now sped down the high way she could only hope they couldn’t reach the place where the dice came from safely.