"Bu-but the whole reason Claudia wanted to stay an adult tonight is because she wanted to look after Mika, isn't that the responsible and adult thing to do? The only reason she became a kid tonight because she trusted you to be there to look after Mika instead. She said she's HAPPY being Mika's new grandma."
"Yes, but Samantha, Mika, Mary, they've all chosen to abandon the accomplishments and achievements of a long adult life behind just to cheat death and become children again," Tricia said looking off the ring off the stunned child.
Once upon a time, the wizard had thought how this ring, unlike the ring the original buyer had paid for, could be removed from its owner. And the original owner had in fact LOST the original ring and had then thought no more of it, thinking he had been cheated.
The ring however, had been given a rudimentary awareness that had grown and evolved with its interactions from Katie, effectively learning from her, while not truly sapient and self-aware without Katie, unlike many magic rings, Katie's had grown . . . 'attached' to her, just a little. And above everything, in the moment it had been slipped off, the last thing the ring had sensed from its master was alarm, fear, confusion, worry, and it followed those emotions to their logical conclusion.
The ring glowed nearly hot in Tricia's hands.
Tricia didn't have time to react as her collage age body began to shrink before Katie's very eyes. She'd never seen a regression this fast before. Tricia practically imploded.
She was dimly reminded of a fellow seven year boy she'd known before getting the ring, his parents had to move, and their new land lord didn't allow pets, and they had no relatives in town to take the boy's puppy. So the parents had chosen to take the pup to the pound instead, she remembered how the pup had actually bitten the hand that had tried to take him from his master. Her mother wouldn't tell her what happened to the puppy.
In the moments it took for that memory to play back in her mind, Tricia had gone from collage age, high school, middle school, grade school . . . all the way down to a little seven year old (the age Katie had started out at when she'd found the ring).
Her clothes had been changing and shifting with her. Now Tricia was wearing a one person My Little Pony costume.
Tricia blinked for a few moments, as if unsure where she was.
Then the little african child looked up innocently at Katie, then at the ring still in her hand.
"Oh, sorry Katie, I think you dropped this." Tricia offered Katie the ring without hesitation or reserve. Katie politely took it and put it back on her finger.
"Uh, Tricia, how old are you?"
"Seven." Tricia responded with total honesty and no irony.
Katie thought that maybe Claudia would have to be their caretaker tonight after all.