Isiash, or Isaac as he often went by, stared at Eric dumbfounded, his son more occupied with flexing his new muscular body than his concerns. How could his son not see how serious this was?
When Isaac had woken up in his bed much smaller than he remembered, he couldn’t believe it. He was inside his son’s 12 year old body instead of his own which left him assuming that his 38 year old body was being piloted by Eric. It sounded like one of those old movies from the 80s he’d remember seeing about a father and son swapping bodies, but there was a difference between those films and real life. They weren’t supposed to actually happen!
Isaac had raced out of his bedroom, trying to find his son before hearing his voice emit from the bathroom, stating something being ‘awesome.’ Issac wasted no time knocking and confirming his suspicions before opening the bathroom door, his old body standing in front of him wearing nothing but the sweatpants he had worn to bed the night prior.
Isaac had gulped as he looked up at his original body, the figure standing over a foot taller than himself and packed to the brim with muscles. It was definitely an intimidating sight to behold. Regardless, Issac still tried to convince Eric that they had to find a way to swap their bodies back by reminding him of the seriousness of the situation. Yet Eric wasn’t fazed in the slightest, continuing to admire himself before saying something that had caught Isaac’s attention.
“What do you mean wish? Do you know what caused this?” Isaac asked baffled. When he had accused Eric of switching their bodies he hadn’t really meant it. He was just enraged at being stuck as his son and taking it out on him, the current occupant of his old body. But now it sounded as if his son had caused this after all. It couldn’t be true, could it?
“Yeah, Dad! Follow me!” Eric bellowed out, unable to properly control his voice and speaking much louder than he intended. He led Isaac to his bedroom where he picked up a silver coin off his nightstand. It was about the size of a quarter and had nothing to distinguish it, lacking any sort of emblem and free of words and symbols on both sides. Isaac would have assumed it was toy money if he hadn’t recognized it from the day before.
After he had gotten home from work, Isaac had taken Eric to the toy store to buy him an early birthday present. Eric didn’t say anything, not wanting to offend his father’s kind gesture, as he visited the childish store that was meant for kids much younger than himself. However, it did leave him rather annoyed that his dad never let him leave his field of sight, keeping a close eye on him the entire time. “I’m not 5 years old,” Eric had thought, annoyed at being treated like a child before spotting a strange coin for sale near the counter. The sign taped nearby stated it was “A magical wishing coin” and gave the possessor an endless amount of wishes, the coin also able to grant any wish it was asked. Of course Eric didn’t buy into any of the hocus-pocus advertised but in an effort to go back home early he had asked his dad to buy it for him. Isaac didn’t pay much attention as he paid for the coin and bought it without reading the taped up sign, focused on a sudden phone call he had received from his job. In the end the two went back home, an unordinary silver coin resting in Eric’s pocket.
“Is that the coin I bought you yesterday?”
“It sure is.” Eric flipped the coin in the air before catching it back in his right hand. “I used it last night before going to sleep to make a wish, and it came true!”
Issac viewed the coin with suspicion. How was a toy responsible for their current predicament? “That’s… that’s not possible. It’s just a coin!”
“It’s a 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯 to be precise. I wished for us to swap bodies the next day and it worked as I’m sure you can see,” Eric let out his dad’s usual chuckle as he waved a large hairy hand over himself before motioning toward the body Isaac was in as well.
“Then it must also be able to swap us back!” Issac exclaimed excitedly, the answer to his prayers in front of him. “I wish me and Eric were back in our own bodies!”
Isaac shut his eyes, expecting himself to feel something as he changed back. However, after a few second had passed, Isaac opened his eyes to see his old body still standing in front of him. Nothing had happened.
“Dad, you have to hold the coin in your hand to make a wish,” Eric explained, remembering what the sign in the toy store had stated.
“Oh, then can you hand me the coin then? We really need to go back to our original bodies. My job and your school will be expecting us soon.” Isaac held his hand out, waiting for his son to place the coin in his palm.
“No way! I want to be an adult a bit longer!”
“Eric this isn’t a game!” Issac jumped pathetically as he tried to reach the coin, Eric holding it high in the air above him. “You better give me that coin!”
“I wish you couldn’t use the coin unless I said so!” Eric wished quickly, coming up with a simple solution to keep his dad from using it.
Issac halted himself from jumping again as he looked at Eric with an angry glare. “ERIC! You can’t do this! Just think about it! Neither of us could pass off for each other at my job or at your school. Remaining like this would be detrimental to both of us!”
Eric stroked his chin, surprised at the sensation of stubble, as he realized his dad had a point. He had no idea how to do his dad’s job and he didn’t exactly enjoy the thought of his father going to school as him. “Hmm… I wish I could pass off as you until the end of the day,” he said absentmindedly, contemplating what to do.
Eric didn’t have a single moment to think about what he said as the coin granted the wish, overwriting Eric’s personality with his dad’s. Before long there were two Isaacs in the room, Eric now believing himself to be Isaac and having zero recollection of the coin. Only Isaac remained aware, surprised at the wish his son had just made and what it meant.
“Uh… Eric? Are you alright?” Isaac asked his old body which looked to be lost in a deep state of thought, his eyes drooping and mouth agape.
“Wuh… ghhh…” Eric said before shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“I said if you were feeling alright Eric?”
“What are you talking about son?” Eric then broke into a grin. “Are you trying to play a joke on me?”
Eric rustled Isaac’s hair affectionally as he stared at his surroundings. What was he doing in his son’s bedroom? Maybe he was there to wish him a happy birthday? “Happy Birthday Eric! I need to go get ready for work but since it’s your birthday I’ll take you to school instead of letting you take the bus. Meet me at the front door when you’re ready.”
“But, Eric, I’m not… I mean you’re not…”
Eric noticed a coin in his hand and realized it was his son’s birthday present. He wasn’t sure why his son had wanted it the day before nor why he was currently holding it, but right now he was focused on getting ready for work. He placed the coin on the nightstand and walked out of the room, heading to the bedroom he believed was his.