Ryan perused the shelves of the magic shop. It had randomly popped up in the mall one day, and he had no choice but to check it out. So far, it seemed to be just a kitschy little store, with small items that claimed to have magical properties. Ryan picked up a small glass ball that claimed to reduce your enemies.
“Yeah, right,” he scoffed. Part of him, though, wondered if it might actually work. But he didn’t want to bother paying for a piece of cheap glass. He glanced at the register. There wasn’t anyone there. Discretely, Ryan slipped the glass ball into his pocket and sidled over to the store entrance. He took a step out of the store. Promptly, an invisible force threw him back into the shop. He landed on his back, on the ground. Footsteps sounded. A wizened old man with a long gray beard leaned over him.
“A thief, eh?” the man asked.
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Oh really?” The man held out his hand. The glass ball flew out of Ryan’s pocket and into the man’s hand. “You want to reduce your enemies, do you, boy?”
“I’m twenty-eight,” Ryan said, sitting up. “Don’t call me a boy.”
“Boys steal. Men don’t.”
“I didn’t steal. That thing must’ve been knocked off the shelf or something,” Ryan argued. He stood. The man’s face darkened.
“You’re determined to deny your crime.”
“What crime?”
“Hmph.” The man crossed his arms. “I was planning on letting you off with a warning, should you come clean. But since you continue to double-down, I have no choice.”
“What do you-”
“You wanted this bad enough to steal it?” The man held up the glass ball. “Now, you can experience firsthand what it does.” The man threw the glass ball at Ryan’s feet. The ball shattered, releasing a plume of smoke that enveloped Ryan. When the smoke finally cleared, Ryan was no longer looking down at the man. He was looking up.
“Huh?” Ryan looked around, confused. Everything seemed much bigger than before. The man crouched down to Ryan’s new eye-height.
“I must admit, you make an adorable toddler,” the man cooed, ruffling Ryan’s hair.
“Hey!” Ryan shoved the man’s hand away. In response, the man picked him up and carried him over to a full-length mirror. Ryan’s jaw dropped. In the reflection, the man was holding a toddler, probably around two or three, dressed in only a thick diaper. “Wh- what did you do to me?!” Ryan squeaked, staring in horror.
“I told you. This is the ability of the object you were trying to steal.” The man set Ryan on the ground. “Though I think I’ll make a few adjustments so that the punishment really sticks. Normally, this effect only lasts for a few hours.”
“You’re- you’re not gonna make me a little kid permanently, are you?” Ryan asked. He couldn’t deny now that the man had some sort of magical ability, and was thoroughly terrified by it. Terrified enough to feel warmth spreading through his diaper. He looked down. His diaper had turned yellow.
“Aw, you don’t need to be so scared,” the man said in a cloyingly sweet tone. He snapped his fingers. Ryan’s wet diaper was promptly replaced with a fresh one. “Actually, you seem like the kind of tyke that likes cars.” The man snapped his fingers again. Ryan’s diaper became patterned with cars. “And you could use some clothes.” With another snap of the fingers, Ryan was wearing a white T-shirt, red overalls, and red Velcro shoes. “Perfect.”
“What- what are you going to do to make it stick?” Ryan asked nervously. The man tapped his chin thoughtfully.
“I’m tempted to make it permanent, but you’ve obviously already begun to learn your lesson. Hmm. How about this?”