Candace was hyperventilating as she anxiously looked around the hall of mirrors. She wouldn’t of believed it unless she had seen evidence to the contrary, and she had seen plenty.
After gazing at her appearance she was stunned to see her hair a bit longer while her face seemed a bit fresher. At first she had tried to dismiss this thought but those thoughts vanished as she examined her ankle. The tattoo had vanished leaving her skin smooth. Finally Candace had checked her license. Still thinking it was a trick the woman had dug into her purse and produced her wallet. At first everything seemed okay. The pictures, makeup and other knickknacks she had stored were unchanged, it wasn’t until she glanced at her wallet that the gravity of the situation hit her. It was still her but upon closer examination she could see her year of birth had changed. Now instead of listing her as a 30 year old woman she was only 26.
“How the hell can I be 26,” she whispered. “It’s still the same year so I didn’t go back in time or anything. This kind of thing shouldn’t happen....it just shouldn’t.” Looking back in the mirror Candace noticed a small note taped to the mirror, a note that had not been their only a moment ago. Tentatively she now reached for it, opening it up and reading the message.
“Hello Candace,” it read. “Yes this is real, you really are only 26 now. However that can change if you So wish it and I’m not talking about going back to your original age.”
Candace paused, glancing around the hallway in hopes of trying to find whoever left the note. Looking back she bapegan to read it once more.
“Regrets,” it read. “As we grow older we have more. We wonder what would of happened if we had turned left instead of right. How things could be different if we just made a different choice.”
Candace had plenty of regrets, she had never gone to college like many of her friends, instead going to work immediately. It wasn’t until the ten year reunion that she began to have regrets. Everyone she seemed to run into had promising, interesting careers or were starting families. Candace was still working a dead end job with no future. It paid the bills but not much else. Candace sighed as she thought of her regrets in life. She regretted not going to college, she regretted that tattoo she got on her lower back when she was 17, she regretted not going to that private high school, she regretted losing her virginity at 14, hell she regretted not joining girls scouts as a kid. Turning back towards the note she sighed as she continued to read.
“This hallway not only changes your age,” it read. “It allows you to take a path that can eliminate those regrets. You will find as you walk that you will come to a fork in the road. You can turn one way or another. One path will lead you down the road you know, the other will lead you down the road your wish you took. Regardless of the oath though you will still grow younger the longer you walk. The only difference is that the choice you make will become your future, when you reach that age once again. The choice is yours Candace, do you eliminate the regrets you had?”
Candace looked ahead, knowing what awaited her. With every step she took she would grow younger, eventually she would come to a fork, a fork that would change the course of her life. Part of her was fearful of this, she would b changing who she was (as well as growing younger). She wondered how things would change? Would she have an interesting life after making these choices and erasing her regrets? Candace took a deep breath, by walking forward she would begin growing younger again, if she exited now then she would 26 but what would that do? She would still be her, just four years younger. Same boring life, same feelings of wishing her life was more interesting.
“Fuck it,” she muttered. “What’s a few more years.” Tentatively she took a step forward as she continued down the hall.
Candace’s steps were slow and deliberate as she continued. She found herself carefully studying her image as she went further down the hall, as she walked farther she began to notice the changes more prominently. Candace’s face seemed smoother and more refreshed as she retreated into her early twenties. Glancing at her body she could see she had lost some weight around her hips and theighs as she continued to grow younger causing her pants to sag ever so slightly. Cautiously she now glanced down at her license, noting she had grown even younger.
“23,” she whispered. “Wow I still can’t believe it.” As she looked up once more Candace was surprised to see that the hallway seemed to end. Curiously she approached it mirror wall, noticing that the path branched off in two separate directions. Glancing down both corridors she frowned, which way was she supposed to go? Candace received her answer as she now saw a note sitting next a college diploma and a paycheck. Picking up the note she now read.
“This is one of your greatest regrets,” she read. “You always thought about what things would have been like if you had gone to college or had the grads to get into the college you wanted. Now is the chance to change that regret. To the left is a past where you will have the opportunity to attend college, to the right is the last you remember so well. Pick your path and continue your journey, you can leave whenever you wish but know when you exit the world outside will only remember you at the age in which you exit. Good luck and I wish you the best.”
Candace glanced down the two corridors. No matter which corridor she would continue to grow younger. The only difference would be what her future would hold, a college diploma or a paycheck. Smirking she turned towards the left. As she became a 22 year old college senior she felt as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders. She had eliminated one of her regrets, the only question that remained now was how many more she would get rid of.