The house was still where it had been, but there was no yard sale! Emily looked around, but she couldn't find anything to suggest that there had ever even been a yard sale. No signs, no people, just an empty yard and a driveway with a minivan parked in place. Emily was confused as hell, but figured the disappearing yard sale and the magic camera had some connection.
Just then, a little boy walked out of the front door, and hopped on a scooter which lay against the garage door. Emily watched him for a moment until they made eye contact.
"Hey kid!" She asked him. "Was there a yard sale around here?" She asked, maybe wondering if she may have gotten the wrong house.
"Nope. Sorry lady." He shrugged before scooting off.
Emily watched him go in disbelief. Rick started to whine a bit as he had heard everything. He was trying his best not to let his new emotions get the best of him, but after hearing that trade he was beginning to really worry. What was he going to do. Emily noticed the baby girl that was her boyfriend start to fuss, so she held him close and tried rocking him.
"Shhh, it's okay Ri-I mean Nicki." She said catching herself as a couple with a dog walked by. She had been trying to call him Nicki as to avoid confused glares, but it was all getting frustrating. "We'll just have to figure out this thing on our own, without that weird yard sale."
"Did you say yard sale?" She heard a voice from behind her say.
She turned to find a woman of about forty. She was dressed in a joggers uniform that didn't leave much to the imagination, as her massive breasts and camel toe were clearly visible. Her curly red hair was tied up in a bun, and she clearly was a little chubby but doing well for herself.
"Yes! Do you know where it is? I know this might sound weird but I need to find it... for uh, reasons." Emily explained, not trying to sound insane.
"No no you don't have to be secretive, I know exactly what you mean! Let me guess, you went to a yard sale, bought an item and it changed you right?" She asked concerned.
"Wh-what? Yes! Well not me." She said lifting "Nicki" up a bit. "How do you know about it? Do you know where it is?!"
"I'm sorry sweetie but you can't find it again." She sighed. "See, that yard sale s a curse on this town."
"A curse?" Emily asked.
"I don't know exactly if it's a curse but it ought to be. Not many people know about it cause it only appears so often, plus if anyone who hasn't been there hears about it then they usually just ignore them as crazy." The woman explained as she sat down with a huff on the sidewalk. Emily sat with her, eager to hear more. Rick too had calmed down and was intently listening.
"From what a few people have gathered, it's some kind of traveling magical yard sale. It appears randomly on someone's driveway, and even though the owner of the house isn't running it, nobody ever notices until after it's gone." She continued. "Basically, every item there is cursed. It has some weird, magical property to it, and the only consistent feature it has is the ability to alter reality itself."
"Reality? But the one we bought only seems to change people." Emily countered.
"Check your phone." The woman replied.
Emily did so and her jaw dropped. Every photo she and Rick had taken together were replaced by her and some other guy she had never seen before. He looked pretty cute, kinda tall and strong, but clearly no one she knew.
"W-wait. So, Rick never existed?" Emily asked.
"Well if Rick is that adorable baby girl then technically. Reality alters so that the changes have always been. So Rick was born only a year or two ago as this cutie." She said pinching Rick's stunned cheeks. "You probably only have him because you're babysitting him or something."
"I can't believe it..." Emily gasped. "So, so there's no way to find the yard sale again?"
"There's a tiny tiny chance but odds are no." She sighed. "I've been looking for three years now and haven't found it."
"What happened to you? What did you buy?" Emily asked.
"I bought a watch that wasn't really a watch. Whenever I hit a button on the side it would scan the room and the people closest to me and transform me so that I would fit the surroundings and people around me. At first I used it for fun. I was a fitness nut so I really just made myself smarter, and taller and stuff, but eventually things got out of hand. I started making blends I did't want, and then I finally screwed it all up when I accidentally blended with a maternity ward section. I became a pregnant woman." She sighed.
"Oh, so you were a man?" Emily asked.
"I was, and as I walked out of the store I found I now had a husband who was eager to make sure I was feeling less sick from the baby, and while he distracted me some teenaged punk stole the watch from under me. He ran off, and my fat pregnant ass couldn't stop him. I haven't seen it since." She explained.
"I'm sorry." Emily sighed. "maybe I could try to use my item to change you back?"
"Sorry, but one thing the others have found is that the one group of people you can't change with your cursed item is other people with cursed items bought. Besides, it's ok. I accepted it when I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl. Plus, this huge body I was given let me start my fitness search all over again. Now I have two kids and assuming Greg doesn't want another I should get my body up to supermodel specs fairly soon." She peacefully replied.
"So, so how do I fix my boyfriend?" Emily asked, holding up the teary eyed baby girl who was angrily sucking on the pacifier.
"Well, depends, what's your item?" She asked.
Emily pulled out the polaroid and handed it to the woman. She looked it over and handed it back.
"From the look of it I'd say it's a random type. Probably changes the person in the camera randomly right?" She asked.
"Yeah, I think so, though I've only tried it twice." Emily replied.
"Well sorry but your only option is to keep trying. Eventually you'll get a transformation that'll bring him back or almost back. Also, be carful cause there are a few switches on that thing for awareness and other stuff. You and him are the only ones who will notice reality changing, but that could alter if you play with that so be carful." She warned.
"Ok... I guess we'll just have to keep trying. Thank you os much... um..." Emily continued before she realized she didn't even know this woman's name.
"Mary. And here's my number. I'll put you in a group chat with other victims like us. Some still have their items and see it as a responsibility, while others are like me who completely screwed up and are just needing someone to talk to." Mary explained.
"Thank you Mary... um, good luck with the exercising." Emily smiled.
"Thank's kid, see you around. Good luck with fixing your boyfriend, and try to be careful changing others in general, that's a lotta power you hold!" The yelled behind her as she ran off down the block.
Emily stood there holding Rick in one arm and the camera in the other hand. She was completely overwhelmed.
"Wow, that's a lot to process." Emily sighed, slithery talking to Rick but also just herself.
Before she could do anything else, she saw a text message pop up on her phone. It was a message from Rick's mother telling Emily that she'd be over in 10 minutes to pick up Nicole. Emily snapped out of her amazement and quickly refocused on the task at hand.
"Okay Rick, we're just gonna have to keep trying." She said to him.
Rick looked up and looked like he was about to cry.
"I know I know I''m sorry but we have to just keep trying to change you." She explained. "Look, how about we go back to my house ok? There we can just keep changing you in peace until you're you again alright? I just have to change you to something else so I don't loose you to your angry mother. You heard Mary, the whole world thinks you've always been a baby girl! And we can't get to my place in time so I['m just gonna turn you into something that'll let us take our time to get back to the car and then back home!" She explained.
Rick begrudgingly nodded his head. He understood, but he didn't have to like it. Emily place Rick onto the sidewalk and aimed the polaroid at him. They both crossed their fingers as Emily took the shot. The question is, what did Rick turn into?