I was boy again, I could see it because I was still naked like the boys around me, fortunately I was not as smooth as before and I had my pubes back. I tried to escape without waking them up, but that prove impossible, as they were cuddling me and as soon as I tried to wiggle my way out they woke up. I curled up in a corner of the tent, scared as to what they might do to me know. To my surprise they just sat around and said. "Morning Will."
They knew my name name, probably from my nowhere to be found wallet. "Great performance yesterday." commented Harry.
I gather my courage and demanded the still hazy boys. "You... you said I was to pay you and I did... so change me back and let me go."
The boys looked puzzled at one another, surprised of what I had said, but not angry, rather they were disappointed. "You don't remember yet?" "Shit, have we screwed up?" "Well he was the best, after all."
"Shut up!" Jackson commanded and they were quiet. And then he continued. "Will, you are one of us. You were cursed to become a boring adult."
"Not that's anything wrong with growing up, the spell actually made you as boring as watching beige paint dry." interject Harry.
"Our ritual was to call for you, and the trials were the cleansing spell."
"Beside you were used to do all that stuff before.
"I have not, and what's this bullshit about me being a kid. I have a job, a degree a house a..."
"A lot of stuff that if I question you about you wouldn't give me a straight answer. How old are you? What's your degree? What do you work on?" asked Dominic.
I meant to respond... but I couldn't, for some reason my birthday made no sense, I knew I had to be pushing forties, but my licence said I was barely over a decade old. I knew my work and degree had something to do with computers, but I was working on a case... or was it a patient? "What's going on? Why can't I recall?"
"Because you are neither of those things. But how can you not know yet?"
"You fixed my body but not my mind." you utter, but was confused, you certainly not buy all that crap, then again he had said that.
"He seems to recall, a little." said Dominic.
"It certainly sounded like old Will to me, not OLD WILL, but young old Will. He still sounds like the Old Will we are trying to get rid of."
"Perhaps, if we explain it?" said shyly Tom.
"It's worth a shot." said Jackson and so he began. "You know our names, we are actually friends the five of us. One day, a few years back, exploring this very woods we found a strange old man chanting alone. We were introduced to the world of shamans. And we became his apprentices."
"Sort of. He left after the first sessions, but we continue classes online." commented Harry.
"Huh?" that was so out of left field. "Online, like computers, so now you have internet connection in your huts?"
"Dude, we live in a cul de sac." said Dominic.
"I guess he meant, the whole nudity thing. One of the first things we learn. To do magic as a shaman, you have to be naked. So we became accustomed to wander nude in the woods, instead of stripping each time we want to practice. You were actually the best of us all, and taught us a lot, in the very same sarcastic tone of before but you did it. But then one day we were messing around with the witches, and they turned you into that."
"Witches?"
"There's a whole community of practitioners and creatures that open up when you become part of it." said Harry.
"I found it!" yelled Tom in excitement, he had a laptop between his legs and was reading from it. "Will is right, we didn't fixed his head. The cleansing was just to undo most of the damage and prevent it to reverse back. To repair his head, it's a bit tricky. We could either have gone to a witch, but since we are halfway there it must be better not to. Ask an alchemist for a memory potion, or our way. But were are going to get elephant bones and skin of komodo is anyone guess."