As Jeff sat back and eagerly awaited the transformation, he didn't realize he had made a small, but crucial mistake. In his excitement, he forgot to double-check which individual was selected for the change. He had intended to make himself younger, but the program still had his mom as the subject. When he hit "Save," the system processed the input.
The screen flashed for a moment before the words "Transformation complete" blinked on the monitor. A moment later, he heard movement from the hallway and turned just in time to see his mother walking back into the room.
But something was... off.
She stood there, her expression confused as she looked at Jeff. She seemed slightly... smaller, her movements a bit more youthful. "Hey, Jeff... did you do something?" she asked, her voice sounding a little different—higher pitched, lighter.
Jeff froze, his heart skipping a beat. He stared at her, unable to process what had happened. The transformation he had intended for himself had, in fact, occurred to her. He quickly looked back at the screen and saw that his mom's profile now displayed "Age: 12" beneath her name.
His jaw dropped. "Mom...?"
She blinked, her expression turning from confusion to realization as she looked at herself in the mirror on the wall. Her once more mature features were now softening. Her brown hair, which had once been neatly tied back, now looked more playful, hanging loosely around her shoulders in soft waves. Her clothes, which had been fitted for an adult, now looked slightly too big on her smaller frame, and she seemed almost startled by how they hung off her.
"Oh... my... goodness..." she whispered, touching her face. Her fingers traced the younger, smoother skin as if in disbelief. She looked back at Jeff, her eyes wide. "You... you turned me into a 12-year-old?!"
Jeff, still in shock, began to stammer. "I... I didn't mean to! I thought I was making myself younger! I must have... I must have accidentally selected you instead of me."