John admired his new self in the mirror for another minute before sighing. "If I didn't have the family here, this could be so great. But the physical stuff isn't really what drags me down - it's responsibilities, having to take care of a wide and kids, worry all the time about bills and keeping up at work, meeting everyone else's expectations." He flushed suddenly. "I'm sorry. You've done something amazing for me, and here I am whining."
Allysia smiled and moved behind him, one hand sliding up his chest to stroke his cheek. She was actually a little bit taller than he was, he face clearly visible over his shoulder. "It is not whining. Your life is complicated, so many pressures and responsibilities. Perhaps what you are really looking for is a simpler life, one without competition, a way to contribute without having to worry about others. Would you accept a life of labor in the service of others if it gave you great contentment? If there was no doubt or worry, only a sense of fulfillment?"
John smiled and nodded. "Maybe not slaving in mines, but honest work that helps others with no cares or worries? Yeah, that sounds nice."
The woman's slender fingers rose to stroke his temple. "Then I give that life to you, John Anderson. And we will start by taking away the intelligence that keeps you worried."
A frown flickered over the now-teenaged John's face. "Huh? Take away...?" The frown turned into confusion as his eyes lost some of their brightness, and his mouth slowly dropped partially open.
"A simple life is only possible with a simple mind." Allysia brought her other hand up and stroked both temples now. "A mind empty of all but what it needs." John's skin started to darken in places as shadows formed into splotches of dirt. His hair became matted and tangled as it lengthened into a shaggy, unwashed mane, and the exposed teeth became scummy. His body became leaner, wiry and tough as if he had labored from earliest childhood, hands and feet dark and calloused from the same lifetime of labor. As she continued to rub the boy's temple's, John's forehead slowly dropped and his lower face pushed out slightly, features becoming coarser. The expression of confusion gradually became a goofy, open-mouthed grin from which a trickle of drool dribbled down. Allysia placed both palms on the sides of his head and said "You are a stableboy, Johnny. You keep the animals and their stalls clean and cared for. That makes them happy, which makes you happy. Your only purpose in life is to serve the beasts, and you have no desires or goals beyond meeting that purpose each day. You have no worries, no cares, no knowledge or memories beyond that which is needed to accomplish your purpose. It is the only life you know, and you cannot comprehend ever having any other life." As she spoke the last, she leaned over and kissed the top of his head.
Johnny blinked, aware of the pretty lady behind him and the clean, shiny place he was in. What was he doing here? Why wasn't he in the stable? The question did not alarm him, he was only mildly curious. His mind struggled briefly to understand, but it was far too much for the severely limited intelligence that remained. Instead, he relaxed and stared blankly at the reflection - he was dimly aware that the filthy, shaggy boy in the mirror was him but did not really care.
"Back to work, Johnny." The pretty lady smiled and tousled his tangled mop of dirty hair. "I am sure you have many stalls to clean."
Johnny nodded, grinning happily as he shuffled out through a side passage that he knew would take him back to the stables. He still didn't understand why he had been with the pretty lady, but by the time he picked up a muck rake and started back on his stalls, Johnny had already forgotten he had ever left.