Before he could snap his fingers, the shimmering stopped. Alex raised his eyebrows, confused by the sudden change. The mirror seemed to have returned to normal. Maybe he really had been seeing things.
And then the text started scrolling across the mirror. It was written in a language Alex had never seen before, closer to the symbols etched on its sides than anything else. The text seemed almost...confused. It went in one direction and then back in the other, as if it were trying to catch his attention. Well, it certainly had his attention. What it didn't have was his understanding.
The longer he gazed at the symbols, the more sense they started to make, until he realized that some of the symbols were beginning to morph into English letters. It took a while, but eventually they formed words. Nonsense words, but words all the same. It took them a bit longer to form into words and sentences that he could understand.
'Okay, so this thing is definitely, definitely magic.'
"Welcome, new user," it greeted him through text.
"Hello?" he said to the mirror, feeling ridiculous.
"Hello! It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Oh. Was it?
"Uh, are you alive?"
"No."
"Oh. Okay. So...you can change lives, right?"
"Bodies and lives, yes. That is my function."
"Do I get to choose?"
"No. You can guide the changes in a certain direction, but you cannot choose. That would be against the primary purpose of my creation-- to help people explore humanity through the eyes of others."
"So, it's completely random?"
"More or less. As I said, your thoughts matter in guiding the direction of the changes. Try to make sure you're in a good state of mind before using me. Or don't. It does not matter. My purpose is fulfilled, either way."
"Wow, you're pretty cheeky for a mirror."
"So I've been told. I merely reflect the attitude of my original creators."
"Where are they now?"
"I do not know, and it is not relevant to you or your journey."
Alex chuckled softly.
"And what makes you think I'll go on this journey? What if I chicken out?"
"You've already come this far. You won't stop here."
The mirror was right.
"Okay. You got me there. So, these people I become...are they real people?"
"No. But they reflect elements of real people. They are echoes of people I've seen, people who have looked into me and other mirrors of my kind...even from other worlds."
"What, like aliens?"
"Not quite," the mirror responded. It didn't expand on that point, and Alex didn't feel like pushing it. It might not be alive, but he didn't want to annoy the magic mirror if he could avoid it.
"Alright. Here we go..." Alex said, squeezing his eyes shut as he prepared to snap his fingers. In his mind, he counted backwards from three.
Three...two...one...
Snap!
To his surprise, he didn't feel anything different at first. He only started noticing the changes once he opened his eyes and looked upon a very handsome redhead. The dude he was now must have been at least six feet tall, and he was jacked! It was a total change, too. His eyes were blue, a sharp contrast to the hazel-green they'd been before, and he had more stubble on his face than he'd ever had in his life. He was sure that he was older now, too.
"Wow, look at this hair!"
It was slicked back, more James Bond than anything. It took Alex a moment to realize his clothes had changed too-- instead of the Star Wars print T-Shirt and shorts he'd been wearing just a minute ago, he was dressed in a tight blue button-up shirt and a pair of slacks. Very professional. And very hot!
Wait, had he just thought of himself as hot? He'd never thought of himself as attractive. Or any other man, for that matter.
Was this that 'flavor' thing the old lady mentioned?
"Am I still Alex Madison?"
"Yes, you are."
"But I like men now..."
"Yes. And women, occasionally. It is a part of this life."
Alex thought about it for a moment. It was a little scary, but it made sense that changes like this would occur. If you wanted to explore someone else's life, truly explore it, you had to get into their heads a little. He had another question, though.
"Do I have to stay like this?"
"No," the mirror answered quickly. "You can move onto another life whenever you choose. Exploration is encouraged, however. You might find something worth staying for."
Alex leaned closer to the mirror, examined the stranger's face reflected in it. He imagined what it might be like to be this person...to see the world they lived in. And he couldn't. Whatever this guy was, whoever he was, he was only a temporary stepping stone in Alex's own life. He was sure of it.
But there was one more thing Alex needed to check. He was still in his house, right? But his room...his room looked vastly different. It was bigger, for one. His entertainment system was much more organized, with a single monitor on top and a PC underneath. There were posters on the wall. Movies. With his face on them. His new face. He was an actor now. And he could be forever, if he wanted to be.
'Woah' he thought. 'This is doing my head in.'
With a bit of trepidation, he opened the door, expecting to see his brother's room just across the hallway. What he saw instead shocked him to the core. He no longer appeared to be in his parent's house. No, outside of his room was some sort of lounge/kitchen combo. He was in a penthouse apartment! Living on his own! And what's more, there was a man reclining on a chair in front of a TV. In his underwear! Something told Alex this was his current flame. Stephen.
Alex ducked back into his room, clutching his head.
"What happened to my house?!" he demanded.
"This is your place of residence. In this life."
"But what about my parents? What about my siblings?"
"They still exist in this version of the world. You simply do not live with them. It would not make sense for me to be anywhere other than your room. When you change, so too do your circumstances."
That made sense. It was still a lot to take in.
"Okay. Okay...I think I get it. And I think I'm ready to go again."
"Snap your fingers when you wish."
Alex nodded, raising his fingers, ready to snap. It was a touch dramatic, but he had a feeling that this version of himself was a touch dramatic. And why not? It was fun.
He didn't bother with a count this time.
Snap!
Alex was forced to close his eyes this time. This change was just as instantaneous as the last one, but it felt...different. He felt...shorter? Lighter, certainly. A very sharp contrast to his previous form, that was for sure.
His eyes widened as he took in his new form. Eyes that were already wide. Too wide.
If his previous form was obviously older, than this one was obviously younger. Not so much younger, but that was the least of the differences. For one, he was a girl! She was skinny and short, maybe a freshman in high school. Her hair was curly and dark...the olive tone of her skin made Alex think Italian. She had it pulled back into a single, fairly long ponytail that hung limply down her back. The uniform she was wearing...a cheerleader?
She had practice today, he realized. How did he know that? And it was Sunday. No one had school, much less the local high school...No, today was Monday. The calendar on the wall said so. Wait, since when did he keep a calendar on the wall? No, he didn't keep a calendar. She did. It was important to keep things well organized. To make sure she had time for the fun stuff.
Oh man, he was remembering things that someone else had lived...but this girl wasn't someone else, exactly, was she? She was him. She looked nothing like him, but she didn't exist outside of him and the mirror. What a weird thought.
Alex blinked rapidly. He thought he might hyperventilate or even cry. This was a massive change. Even bigger than the last. But...something about this was exciting. He couldn't put his finger on what, exactly. Maybe it was just knowing that the pretty face reflected in the mirror belonged to him. Her sharp nose and dark eyes were his.
He could barely believe it, even as he pressed his fingers along his cheeks, trying to trace out the structure of this new stranger's face.
"I'm a girl," he whispered under his breath, in a surprisingly deep voice for a girl. It was still way higher-pitched than he was used to. "I really am," he said, looking down at his body, contained in a fairly conservative cheer-leading uniform. He squeezed the mounds on his chest curiously. They didn't feel all that unusual, surprisingly. Softer than he was expecting. And in his skirt...he didn't really feel like exposing himself in front of the mirror.
"Yes, you are," the mirror responded.
After he'd had his fill of examining this new body, he turned towards the rest of his room. This one was quite a bit smaller than the actor's. To be expected, considering she was still living with her parents. It was a little girly, but messier than he was expecting. Alex was a little surprised to note there were clothes strewn all over the floor. There were more mirrors in the room. An extra closet. A poster for a movie he'd never watched. Something about a female android? Or possibly a cyborg... The walls were painted a light purple.
'My favorite color,' Alex thought. 'No, wait, that's green.' He shook his head. It was her favorite color, not his. Then again, there wasn't really much difference, was there?
"Alex, will you hurry up? You'll be late to practice!" His mother's voice yelled from the floor below. He was glad to see that his mother was back in this version of things, although she sounded a little different. He wondered if she was Italian, too. It seemed likely. Of course, this probably meant that he still had to clean the bathroom. Unless his mom made Brad do it, which was definitely a possibility considering he was now younger than him...and a girl. Woah. The whole family dynamic had been changed around.
"You're really powerful," Alex gasped at the mirror.
"Yes, I am," the mirror replied simply, as if it were just a fact of life.
"I don't think I'm gonna stay here," Alex thought out loud. As interesting as this might be to explore, he couldn't say he was really enamored with the state of things in this world. And he really didn't want to clean the bathroom. But...more girl bodies might be interesting to explore.
"You may snap your fingers when ready."
"Oh, I'm ready," he said, steeling himself for the next change. He pressed his thumb and middle finger together at his side and stared defiantly at the mirror, even as he heard his mother's feet clomping up the stairs.
'Here we go!' he thought to himself, this time with a sense of unadulterated excitement and a smile on his soon-to-change face.
Snap!