Katie Jacobson dragged her feet across the polished floor of Westbrook Mall, letting her purple sneakers make that annoying squeaky sound she knew drove her mom crazy. Her brown ponytail bounced with each deliberate step as she released another dramatic sigh - her fifth in the last ten minutes.
"This is sooooo boring," the ten-year-old announced, to nobody and everybody at once. "We've been walking around forever and haven't done anything cool yet."
Her little brother Ben nodded vigorously, his mop of brown hair flopping across his forehead. At seven years old, he considered his big sister the authority on all things interesting. "Yeah, forever," he echoed. “It’s like a million hours already!”
Their father, Harold Jacobson, chuckled and adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses. He was a tall man with a slightly athletic build and dark-blonde hair that was just starting to gray at the temples. "It's been exactly seventeen minutes since we parked the car, guys."
"That's basically an hour," Katie protested, spinning in a circle as they walked. Soccer had made her legs strong and constantly restless – sitting still was pure torture.
Their mother, Sarah Jacobson, tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear and checked her watch. Unlike her husband's lanky frame, she was petite with curves that filled out her casual jeans and sweater. "Well, I’m sure it’ll pass faster once we get to the food court. I think they have those cinnamon pretzels you like, Ben."
"With extra icing?" Ben perked up, momentarily distracted from his boredom.
"Maybe," Sarah smiled. “Only if you stop complaining.”
Harold placed a hand on Katie's shoulder as she attempted another dramatic spin. "Easy there, soccer star. You're going to take out that elderly couple if you keep that up."
Ben giggled. "Katie got in trouble," he sing-songed, only to receive a scowl from his sister.
"Did not. Dad doesn't count," Katie retorted, sticking out her tongue.
Westbrook Mall stretched around them in all its dull glory – a sprawling suburban shopping center with the usual mix of clothing stores, small boutiques, and chain restaurants. Skylights let in streams of clouded sunshine that painted the polished floors and fake potted plants. Pop music played softly from hidden speakers, competing with the distant splash of the central fountain and the general murmur of weekend shoppers pushing strollers and carrying bags.
"Is this really our big Saturday adventure?" Katie asked, tugging at her pink horse T-shirt (actually a shirt with various different kinds of horses and equines). "Walking around looking at stuff we're not even buying?"
"We needed a family day," Sarah explained for what felt like the hundredth time. "Dad's been buried in tax returns all week—"
"Occupational hazard of being an accountant," Harold shrugged with a self-deprecating smile.
"—and I've had three house closings back-to-back," Sarah continued. She worked as a real estate agent, a job that Katie thought was super boring despite her mom's insistence that every house told its own story. "Plus, you two have been going non-stop with school and activities."
Ben tugged at his father's hand. "Can we go to the toy store? Just to look?"
"Nice try, buddy," Harold laughed, ruffling Ben's already messy hair. "Your birthday's still two months away."
"Looking is free!" Ben protested.
Katie rolled her eyes. Ben was probably itching to add another dinosaur to his collection, which took up two shelves in his bedroom already. "Free is Ben-code for 'I'll beg until you buy me something.'"
"Is not!" Ben protested.
"Is too, dork face!"
"Katie," Sarah warned, using her mom-voice that could somehow be heard through walls and across playgrounds. "That's not how we talk to each other."
Katie crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I'm bored. B-O-R-E-D bored." She wasn't trying to be difficult – not really – but sometimes her family could be so... ordinary. Katie craved excitement, adventure, something different from the everyday routine of school, soccer practice, and homework.
They rounded a corner, passing more of the same boring stores they'd seen a million times before, when something caught Katie's eye. Between a shoe store and a cell phone kiosk stood a storefront she'd never noticed before. The sign above it simply read "The Experience" in elegant, swirling letters that seemed to shimmer slightly when she looked directly at them.
"Whoa, what's that?" Katie stopped abruptly, causing Ben to bump into her from behind.
"Hey!" he protested, before following her gaze. "Ooooh, is it new?"
"Must be," Harold said, adjusting his glasses as if that might help him see it better. "I don't remember seeing it before."
Sarah frowned slightly. "Strange place for a new store. That used to be just a wall with a directory, didn't it?"
The shop windows weren't filled with merchandise displays like the other stores. Instead, they offered glimpses of an interior that seemed both empty and somehow inviting at the same time. Through the glass, Katie could make out walls painted in swirling patterns that reminded her of the northern lights videos they'd watched in science class.
"What do they sell?" Ben asked, pressing his face against the glass (his dinosaur shirt reflecting in the window too).
"Doesn't look like they sell anything," Sarah observed, peering through the window.
Katie spotted a small sign beside the door and read it aloud, sounding out the bigger words carefully. "'Step inside for a mystical experience for all ages. Discover your true self. No purchase necessary.'"
"Sounds like one of those meditation places," Harold suggested, though he didn't sound convinced.
"Or maybe it's virtual reality!" Katie's heart beat faster. This was exactly what she'd been hoping for – something different, something mysterious breaking through the boring sameness of the mall.
"Can we go in?" she asked, already reaching for the door handle. "Please? Before we do boring pretzels?"
"I'm not sure—" Sarah began, her mom-sense clearly tingling.
"It says 'all ages'!" Ben interrupted, bouncing on his toes. "That means kids too!"
"It's probably just some new age thing," Harold said with a shrug. "Aromatherapy or something."
"It'll only take a minute," Katie argued, using her most persuasive voice. "Pleeeeease? I'm so freaking bored!"
Sarah and Harold exchanged one of those parent looks that Katie knew meant they were having a silent conversation. Finally, Sarah nodded.
"Alright, just a quick look," she agreed.
"Yes!" Katie exclaimed, pushing the door open before anyone could change their mind.
The moment they stepped inside, Katie knew this wasn't any ordinary store. The air felt different – heavier somehow, and tingling against her skin like the moment before lightning strikes. It smelled faintly of cinnamon and something else she couldn't name, something that made her feel both excited and weirdly shivery inside.
The interior of The Experience was much larger than it had appeared from outside. The walls were covered in those same swirling patterns, but inside they moved more noticeably, like slow-motion whirlpools of color.
The floor was smooth dark wood that reflected their faces like still water. There were no products, no shelves – just a single counter at the far end.
"Whoa," Ben whispered, his voice sounding oddly muffled despite the emptiness of the space. He tugged at T-Rex dinosaur T-shirt, but his eyes were wide with wonder rather than fear.
"Hello?" Harold called out, looking around for an employee. "Anyone here?"
The family moved further into the space, their footsteps making no sound on the wooden floor. Katie felt a strange sensation in her tummy – not quite nervousness, but a flutter that spread lower, making her feel warm and tingly between her legs in a way that was new but not unpleasant.
"This place is weird," she said, but couldn't keep the excitement from her voice.
"Maybe we should—" Sarah started, but was interrupted by a soft voice from behind them.
"Welcome to The Experience."
All four Jacobsons spun around. Behind the counter, which Katie could have sworn was empty moments before, stood a woman unlike anyone Katie had ever seen. She was tall and elegant, with skin that seemed to glow from within and hair that flowed down her back in waves that seemed both black and purple at the same time. Her dress sparkled like it was made of actual stars, clinging to her body in ways that made Katie think of the women in the magazines her mom didn't know she'd looked at.
"Oh!" Sarah gasped, one hand moving to her chest. "I didn't hear you come in."
The woman smiled, and Katie felt that flutter in her lower belly grow stronger. "I am Elyssa," the woman said, her voice like music. "I've been waiting for you."
Harold cleared his throat. "For us specifically? Or just for customers in general?"
Elyssa's laugh was like tiny bells. "Both, perhaps. The Experience calls to those who need it most."
"What exactly is The Experience?" Sarah asked, her real estate agent's curiosity overcoming her initial surprise.
"It's different for everyone," Elyssa replied, moving from behind the counter with a grace that made her sparkly dress ripple like water. "For some, it's adventure. For others, knowledge. For many—" her eyes flickered briefly to Harold and Sarah, "—it's a rekindling of pleasures long forgotten."
Katie noticed her parents exchange a quick glance, her mother's cheeks turning slightly pink.
"Do we have to buy something?" Ben asked, finally finding his voice.
Elyssa bent down to his level, her starry dress flowing around her like liquid night. "The Experience isn't something you buy, little one. It's something you feel."
"So what do we do?" Katie asked boldly, stepping forward. Unlike her brother, she felt drawn to the strange woman, fascinated by the way her dress seemed to contain actual constellations.
"You simply participate," Elyssa said. "Open your minds and hearts to what The Experience has to offer."
"And what does it offer exactly?" Harold asked, his practical accountant's mind clearly trying to make sense of the vague explanation. Elyssa straightened up, and looked right into Harold’s eyes.
"Transformation," Elyssa replied simply.
That single word sent another wave of tingles through Katie's body, stronger this time, making her privates feel warm and strangely awake in a way she'd never experienced before.
"Is there a cost?" Sarah asked, already reaching for her purse.
"The price is not monetary," Elyssa said, her eyes twinkling. "The Experience asks only that you come with open minds and hearts."
Katie bounced on her toes, unable to contain her excitement. "Can we do it? Please? This is exactly what I wanted – something different!"
"I'm not sure what we're agreeing to," Harold admitted, but he was smiling now too, caught up in his family's enthusiasm.
"That's the beauty of it," Elyssa said, extending her hands. "The unknown. The adventure. Will you trust me? Will you trust yourselves?"
"Yes!" Katie exclaimed without hesitation.
"I guess so," Ben agreed, more cautiously but with growing excitement.
Sarah and Harold exchanged another look, then nodded together.
"Wonderful," Elyssa breathed, her voice washing over them like a warm breeze. "Please, form a circle here, and join hands with one another."
The family arranged themselves as instructed. Katie, with some awkwardness, took Ben’s hand on one side and her father's on the other. Ben giggled, nervously, like this was some kind of strange game.
"Will it hurt?" Ben asked suddenly, clutching his mother's hand tightly.
"No, little one," Elyssa assured him. "The Experience brings only pleasure, never pain."
Katie felt that flutter in her belly again at the word "pleasure," stronger now, spreading through her body. Her private parts felt warm and strangely awakened, pulsing between her legs in a way that was embarrassing but also really nice.
"Close your eyes," Elyssa instructed softly. "Open your minds and hearts. Let your bodies receive what The Experience has to offer."
Katie squeezed her eyes shut, feeling a little silly but too curious to back out now. For a moment, nothing happened. Then she felt it – a warmth spreading through her body, starting where her hands connected with Ben and her father and flowing inward. It pooled in her chest, then flowed downward, gathering in her lower belly and between her legs with an intensity that made her gasp.
"Oh!" she heard her mother exclaim softly, and knew she must be feeling it too.
“What…what is…”, her father uttered in disbelief. Katie also felt the clenching of her brother’s small hand. He was probably feeling this strange pleasure as well. The sensation grew stronger, pulsing in rhythm with Katie's heartbeat. Her nipples tingled, even though she barely had any breasts yet, and between her legs, a strange new feeling was growing – a feeling she had never felt before.
And then, Katie felt the floor vanishing. Her eyes opened, startled, and what she saw was even more startling.
The walls were gone, replaced by swirling colors that enveloped them completely. Strange lights and colors were surrounding her family, as they clenched each other’s hands while standing in the air, as if they were all levitating in midair. Elyssa was nowhere to be seen. Katie was breathing harder now as a rushing wind surrounded them. Her family was gasping too, their hands unable to let go with one another.
“M-mommy? Daddy?!?”, Ben exclaimed, amidst the sound of rushing wind and glowing energy. “What’s happening?!?”
“W-we’re flying!!”, Katie exclaimed. This was impossible. Were they all dreaming? Was this some kind of weird vision?
"The transformation begins," Elyssa's voice echoed into the family’s ears, from everywhere at once. "Your bodies will change. Your pleasures will multiply. Your family bonds will be reshaped in ways you never imagined possible."
The colors around the family pulsed faster, brighter, the world dissolving into pure sensation. Amidst the storm of light, Katie thought she could see her family's clothes shimmering and dissolving into nothingness, revealing bare skin. Katie could barely notice her own clothes and shoes turning into glowing dust as well.
The Jacobson family found themselves themselves floating, falling, flying all at once, as the sensations around reaching an apex that consumed them entirely.
And then…