Dorothy sighed. It wasn't easy being a single mother, and, as if being tired all the time from working two jobs wasn't enough, lately, her son Jason seemed bound and determined to make her life hell. It all started when she discovered Ken, her ex-husband, had been cheating on her. She had been devastated. So she wasn't young and pretty enough for him anymore?
Forget that. She'd not only brought her proof to his boss, the CEO of his company, but sought out a divorce attorney. As luck would have it, Ken was served within minutes of both him and his floozy being fired. Actually, Dorothy did feel a little sorry for the girl, she was a new hire from the secretary pool at Ken's company, and had likely been misled by him.
The divorce was messy, and Ken kept trying to pin the blame on anyone but himself. He threatened Dorothy, and did his level best to ruin her life. But all she had to do was think of their son, and realize that Jason deserved better. In the end, Dorothy won her case, and Ken only got visitation rights with their son. Of course, Jason thought the world of his Dad, and didn't understand why Mom wouldn't forgive him.
And she had to put up with Ken's constant attempts to turn Jason against her. That had been hard. Then Ken vanished, just before he would no longer be able to avoid paying Dorothy the remainder of the money she'd been awarded in the court case. Her lawyer apologized, but there was nothing he could do about it. Until Ken was caught and expedited, there was no way to seize the majority of his assets.
And Dorothy still needed to pay the lawyer.
All of this would have been ok. Not great, but ok. She'd become independent, and managed to make ends meet without Ken in her life. The problem was, Jason blamed her for his Dad leaving- and leaving without him.
"I don't want new clothes, I don't want to go back to school, and I don't want to live with you! I hate you!" He screamed at her in the middle of the shopping center. Her heart broke. She didn't blame him for feeling this way- he'd been just as abused as she had been, he just didn't realize it. Ken had manipulated Jason for so long, he really believed the poisonous words that were spewing from his mouth.
She started to cry, unable to convince her son that she loved him more than anything.
And then...the world changed. Dorothy couldn't move, she could only watch as a golden light surrounded Jason. She watched as he began to change, before her eyes. He shrank in size, and his blonde hair became long and golden. His features became softer, more innocent, and his blue eyes became brighter. His clothing morphed as well, and within moments, he'd gone from a screaming, angry 10 year old boy to a quiet, exceptionally pretty little girl of perhaps 3, wearing a cute yellow dress and white and black saddle shoes.
Jason didn't know what was happening. He'd been so angry at his Mother- why couldn't she understand what her fight with Dad was doing to him? Then he was paralyzed. He saw a golden light surround Mom, and she began to change. The dark circles under her eyes vanished, and the crow's feet with them. Her light brown hair seemed fuller, with a glossy, healthy sheen. Her face softened, becoming younger, prettier. Her blue eyes seemed livelier. Her breasts shrank, and she lost a good deal of weight, becoming slender and youthful.
Then she seemed to grow taller...no...wait...he was getting smaller! Strange thoughts filled his mind. He remembered everything, but it was as if a light had been shone on his actions. He began to understand how much he had hurt Mom...Mommy. And that made him sad. He wanted to be good. He would be good. He promised.
'I'll be a good girl.', Jacyn thought. 'Wait...girl?' She frowned as time seemed to move again. That wasn't quite right, but she supposed it didn't matter. Mommy was looking down at her, a surprised look on her face.
"I'm sorry I yelled, Mommy. I'll be a good girl, I promise."
Dorothy couldn't believe it. Not only had her boy become an angelic little girl, her demeanor had entirely changed! "Jason, is that really you?"
The girl wrinkled her nose. "Jacyn, Mommy, with a 'y'." Honestly, to the casual passerby, the two names sounded exactly alike, but Mother and...Daughter...could tell the difference.
"Jacyn." Dorothy got to one knee and pulled her...daughter into a tight hug. "It's ok. You know I love you."
"I know, Mommy. What happened? You got younger!" Even though she was a little girl, she hadn't forgotten anything she'd learned, and so she had the language skills of an older child.
"I did?" Dorothy stood up, and herded her daughter towards the nearest restroom. The shrieks and yells of those nearby her who had witnessed a variety of transformations (or had been transformed themselves) went unnoticed by the dazed young woman.
In the bathroom, she looked in the mirror and gasped. She looked like she was 16 again! "Oh..how can this be?"
"I don't know, but I think you look pretty, Mommy." Jacyn smiled up at her.
Dorothy scooped her daughter up in her arms and kissed her on the forehead. "You look very pretty too, dear."
"Thank you." She smiled angelically. "Do I still get those new dresses, Mommy?"
Dorothy smiled sadly. "Not today, but soon. Do you want McDonald's on the way home?"
The little girl seemed thoughtful. "I like McDonald's, but we should eat good food, that is healthy for us! I like Mommy's cooking!"
Dorothy almost dropped her child in shock. She liked her cooking? She wanted real food, not junk food? She wanted to cry again, but this time, her tears were joyful. "Of course, baby, let's go home."
And so they did, and Dorothy cooked for her daughter. Later, after she'd put Jacyn to bed, she started looking around, to see what else had changed. All the bills were gone, and checking online, everything was paid. Even though she looked 16, her license said she was 18, and she still had both jobs. Although she thought about quitting one, because her bank account had swelled greatly- it was as if Ken had actually paid the money he was supposed to.
"I won't question it, it's a miracle!" She went to bed that night with a smile.
A chestnut haired young woman was sitting on Jacyn's bed, talking to the little girl. "So that's all you want, you don't want to be a boy again?"
Jacyn shrugged. "I should want to, but I don't. I just want Mommy to be happy. I was a bad boy, now I'm a good girl."
Teri reached out to pat the girl gently on her head. "Then I wish you would get a good night's sleep." She tucked the girl in, and kissed her on the forehead.
'Well, that was easy! I guess I did a good thing. One down, a lot more to go.' And she vanished, as if she had never been there.