Alice and Nicole were stunned to see a very young businesswoman arrive, the dreadful Sharon had been replaced by a much more...sympathetic-looking young woman.
"What are you looking at?" Sharon asked, frowning.
Alice sighed, no doubt it was the same old Sharon. "Give me your dice Sharon, I'm the oldest one here and if you don't want your pants to fall off completely you should avoid another roll" said Nicole holding out her hand.
Sharon grumbled and, after a moment's thought, handed over her die, "Okay, but it's still mine, don't forget".
Alice rolled her eyes and opened the front door.
The three women entered Alice's house. It was a fairly large house, with a certain financial level evident in the furniture and decor. It certainly wasn't Alice's librarian's salary that could pay for all this, it was all about inheritance, no doubt.
"Not bad for a small bookseller" laughed Sharon.
"Let's just say, I'm the last of a large family and my husband made a pretty good living, before..." Alice paused at that last word, and Nicole patted her on the back.
The three women moved into the living room, where Alice placed the box they'd retrieved on the table. "So on this box there's an address that says where these dice came from?" Nicole asked.
"That's right, it's even crazier than everything else to be honest." Alice grimaced.
Sharon grabbed the box and looked carefully at the address on it. "0777 Restart Rd.? So there really is a place with so many items like these? It's incredible but how has no one ever heard of it! I can already imagine the business I'll be able to do with objects like these!" The young businesswoman announced ambitiously, causing the other two women to sigh.
"I know you Sharon, I know you're going to seek to serve your own interests with this, but trust my intuition you shouldn't get involved in this sort of thing, just look at you, look what those dice have done to you. I think there's a lot worse out there, and you're going to bite your fingers off." Alice affirmed.
The young executive thought for a moment. It's true, those dice had already changed her a lot, and quite uncontrollably, so it might be wiser not to go and see this store head-on, but to find out more before confronting it. Who knows what else might happen to her if she got into trouble with people capable of anything?
"You're right, I'm going to be careful with this store. I know I sound like a hothead, but I know how to go in with gloves on when I have to. Right now I'm thinking of taking stock of myself before I go anywhere." Sharon says seriously.
Alice was stunned. It wasn't every day you saw Sharon give up on something, and Alice sighed with relief.
"Well, before we decide on anything, I suggest we get to the bottom of how these dice work and then how to control them." Alice glanced at Sharon, who was struggling to keep her clothes in place.
"I've got some clothes for you too Sharon, you can go and have a shower if you like I'll bring you what I've got."
Sharon nodded and headed for the bathroom. "Thanks, I owe you one, and I mean it."
Alice and Nicole looked at each other amazed, somehow, having brought Sharon back to her twenties seemed to have made her more likeable.
Sharon locked the bathroom and admired her reflection in the mirror. Her face was fine, wrinkle-free but still mature. Her hair was bright and lively. The young woman easily got rid of her loose-fitting business suit and was completely fascinated by her nude slim body. Her breast were firm, her stomach was flat, and she was quite muscular. She remembered the days when she kept a perfect body. "Shit I m a fucking knockout, it had those advantages after all. It's even really not bad" she giggled. Her voice had changed too, appearing much softer.
As the hot shower water washed over her body, Sharon felt a tremendous sense of well-being. For a few seconds, she even wondered how she would look even younger. On her way out, she wrapped a towel around herself and opened the door to discover a basket full of clothes that Alice had left behind. She found underwear in her size and settled for sweatpants and a loose-fitting T-shirt. This would enough until she found a new wardrobe.
"Nicole Roberts, Forty-Six years you have walked the Earth, now that number is but thirty six"
Lights appeared around Nicole as the years came off of her. She managed to convince Alice that there was no danger to use them just one or two times. The small parts of grey in her hair vanished and her body slimmed, her wrinkles became a lot less significant as she lost 10 years. "Oh my god this feels so good, I feel so much better!" Nicole exclaimed.
Alice nodded. "Yeah, being back in your thirties might be a good thing, you look…fantastic but don’t push it any further okay ?"
"Come on, another roll wouldn't hurt?" She said as she took the dice and rolled them again.
Alice had no time to react as the dice landed on the table.