Laura knows that the journey won’t be easy while she’s this small, but she doesn’t want to stay in the daycare. She’s young enough that she might fall asleep and wake up the next day, mistaken for a child that attends the daycare.
Laura holds the dice in her hand as tightly as she can and leaves the daycare. As she heads into the night, she suddenly feels fear overtake her. She quickly turns around to go back inside the daycare, but the door is now thoroughly closed. She won’t be getting back inside.
She continues to walk down the street, jumping at every shadow and noise. She’s barely a block away from the daycare when a nearby bush rustles, startling her so much that she wets her training pants. She stifles a sob but continues on.
Another block down, a dog barks. Laura jumps. The dice go flying out of her hand. She watches in horror as they fly through the air and land on the ground, revealing a two and one.
“Four years you have walked this Earth. Now this number is but one. Each roll of the dice returns more of what you have lost. Be warned you have no more years left to regain. Give the dice to a new bearer or risk the consequences.”
Laura feels herself shrink out of her clothes yet again. If the dark neighborhood was scary before, it’s terrifying now. Everything is so overwhelming and she’s so small. With no other choice, Laura begins to wail.
A light turns on in a nearby house. Someone exits the house and walks over to Laura, who is still bawling on the ground, too overcome by fear to notice the approaching stranger.