Sarah was speechless as she felt herself shrinking in size. The dress now growing loose, her breasts growing smaller as she went from 25 to 18. The room grew taller as she became shorter, her eyes wide with wonder as she looked down to see her feet shrinking into flats. "What...what is happening to me?"
"It's okay Grandma," Candy said, her voice filled with excitement. "You're just becoming younger, like me and mommy."
Sarah's eyes grew wide with astonishment as she took in her surroundings, now at the height of a 12-year-old girl. She looked down to see her dress hanging off her like a nightgown, her breasts almost entirely gone, and her hips narrowing. Her mind was racing, trying to piece together how this was possible.
Moonbeam watched with a knowing smile as her mother continued to shrink, her hair now in a mess of blonde curls framing her youthful face. "It's okay, mom," she said reassuringly. "You're going to dig the good vibes of the room. Just let go."
But as Sarah looked into the mirror, she felt a sudden jolt of fear. "No, I can't go back," she whispered. "I can't go through that again."
The room's magic seemed to sense her distress and halted her regression at the age of ten. Her body remained youthful, but the aging process ceased. The door spoke in a calm tone, "If you wish to undo the regression, simply say the command 'Progress'."
Sarah, still in shock, studied her reflection. She was a child once more, but with a wisdom beyond her years. Her hair now fell in loose waves around her shoulders, and her eyes held a maturity that didn't belong to a girl of ten. She felt a mix of emotions: fear, excitement, and a strange sense of relief. She looked over at Moonbeam with a scowl. "Elizabeth, what have you gotten us into?"
"Don't look at me." Moonbeam chuckled. "My great granddaughter's the one who got the ball rollin' down."
July felt a strange feeling in her stomach, a mix of excitement and anxiety. She had never met her grandmother, not even in photos. Now, she was about to see her great grandmother. The door to the Age Room creaked open, revealing a small, stoic figure in a 1920s flapper dress, complete with fringes and a feathered hat.
Candy's eyes grew wide as the woman she knew only as Millie, her great-great-grandmother, emerged into the room. The woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, with a stern gaze that seemed to challenge the very essence of youthful exuberance. Millie took in the scene, her eyes scanning over Moonbeam and July.
"What sorcery is this," Millie spoke, her voice carrying an air of authority despite her youthful visage. She stepped into the room, her flapper dress swaying with each step. The room grew eerily quiet, the tension palpable as the five generations of women stared at one another.
Candy couldn't help but feel a sense of awe as she looked upon her great-great-grandmother, Millie. The woman looked so different from the stories she'd heard. Young and vibrant, she was nothing like the frail, elderly woman Candy had imagined. Millie's piercing gaze took in the scene, her expression unreadable as she approached the group.
Moonbeam, still reeling from the revelation of her mother's regression, was the first to speak. "Welcome aboard, grandma."
Millie's gaze aimed to Sarah, her own daughter now a child once again. "What madness is this?" she demanded, her voice echoing with the strength of the woman who had raised a family during the Great Depression.
"Apparently, this is a room that twists time," July offered nervously, her voice shaking slightly. "It... it can make people younger or older."
"Time... twists?" Millie's eyebrow arched, her curiosity piqued despite the gravity of the situation.
"And soon you'll be ten like us. Won't that be fun?" Candy asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Ten?" Millie's gaze flicked between Moonbeam and July, the weight of their words sinking in. "How... how did this happen?"
'Candy regressed herself past infancy to pre-conception, her mother did the same causing her mother to undergo an unwilling regression' The time room explained to a now slimming Millie. 'It was only through your granddaughter's experiment that it stopped with her at a safe age, preventing a catastrophic loop that would've erased your lineage'.
Millie took in the information, her mind racing. This was beyond anything she had ever encountered in her long life. Her eyes fell on her now twenty-year-old body, the dress that had once hugged her curves now hanging loosely like a costume from a bygone era. She felt the weight of the situation, the responsibility of the matriarch of the family, even as she physically grew younger.
"Stop!" She commanded, her voice still strong despite the youthful pitch. The de-aging ceased months into the age of eighteen. Millie looked at the room with a mix of fear and defiance. "I will not lose my memories. I have seen too much to become a child again!"
The Age Room was taken aback. It had never encountered such resistance before. The room remained silent for a moment, contemplating the woman's words before it spoke, "Your experience is unique, Millie. I can maintain your current state if you wish."