As Albert stared at his new form in the mirror he barely recognised his own face.
His usually boyish-looking features had been distorted into manlier forms. His usually svelte face had become rounded, complete with a double chin and puffy cheeks that gave him an overfed look and gave the illusion he had no neck. His jaw, now covered in a full, thick beard, appeared significantly wider than it ever was despite being buried under his jowls. His once well-proportioned nose had flared out and acquired a bump on its bridge, making it look like it belonged to a boxer. His brow was heavier-looking with his upper eyelids starting to sag onto his eyes. His skin appeared weathered with lines etched around his eyes and on his forehead, in keeping with his new age. His forehead appeared significantly larger, which Albert correctly deduced was due his receded, thinning hairline.
Further down his thick neck was attached to equally massive shoulders that flared out into a wide husky back. His arms were hairy, thick and beefy and led to large, vascular, spade-like hands with thick, sausage-like fingers. His chest looked heavy and meaty and was starting to sag under its own bulk. His nipples had tripled in size, having expanded with his massive chest. He now sported his very own pendulous muscle gut that jutted significantly out in front of him. His entire trunk was coated in thick whorls of black hair. What tethers were left of his shorts were trying to cover his hairy, meaty tree-trunk-like thighs that led to equally thick calves and huge size 12 wide feet.
Standing next to him was a shorter youth in his early twenties who had a slight, gangly build at best. Albert recognised the other man’s brilliant blue eyes, but that was as much of the old Martin that he recognised.
Martin was having trouble himself in recognising his own face. Now once again framed with wavy, sandy-blonde tresses that fell into his eyes, he appeared completely different. His thick, round face, which he had had for as long as he could remember, had thinned down to a bony, angular version of itself complete with a narrow jaw. His big nose had become more proportioned and more handsome. His once heavy brow had lifted itself, making his blue eyes appear bigger. His skin was now pale, smooth and blemish-free, without a hint of stubble anywhere in sight.
Down below his new boyish visage, his body was a shadow of its former self. His hairless body was slim, with narrow shoulders and an even narrower back. His previously meaty chest was now flat, skinny and tight with almost no definition. His large nips had shrunken down to the size of small buttons. His thick, protuberant gut had withered down to a flat undefined mid-section. His waist was half as much as it had been and all his bony prominences were now visible – his boxer briefs were barely hanging on his much smaller hips. His hairless arms and thighs were now scrawny and reed-like, devoid any mass, whether this be muscle or flab. His thighs led to spindly calves and smaller, narrow size size 8 ½ feet.
Not quite believing that he was the blond youth reflected in the mirror, Martin touched his face. To his astonishment the skinny figure in the mirror did the same. Seeing the look of bewilderment on Martin’s youthful face, Albert patted him on the back, nearly making him fall over.
“If it’s any consolation even I’m having trouble accepting my new from,” Albert added in his new deep baritone.
“It seems like we have another success!” Illusia announced.
“Now gentlemen indulge our audience here by stepping on the scales once again!”
Albert moved his thickset frame towards the scales at the end of the stage. His new bulkier proportions mandated that he walk in a waddle to spread his mass. His flab shook with each of his massive steps, making his chest and gut heave. The floorboards of the old stage creaked under each of his pounding steps. He finally approached the scales and stepped onto it.
“295 pounds!” hollered Stephen to the audience.
The audience broke into murmuring as Albert patted his now ample paunch and stepped off the scales.
In the meantime Martin had quietly approached the scales. His steps no longer jolted the aging stage. He stepped onto the scales.
“142 pounds!” Stephen announced.
The audience’s murmuring intensified.
“And now Ryan if you could kindly do the honours again and read out to the audience our participants’ date of birth and their height please.” Illusia commanded in a restrained tone, anticipating the furore that will soon erupt in the audience.
“Okay, so,” Ryan started as he fumbled with the license cards. “Albert was born 22nd July…” but then his mouth went dry as he squinted at the number he was about to read out.
“This says 1974!” he exclaimed incredulously as he didn’t believe his own eyes.
“And it would be correct,” the sorceress added with a smirk on her face.
Loud muttering spread across the astounded audience, just as the Madame had predicted.
“Please do continue, Ryan” the Madame added firmly drowning the noise form the audience. The muttering immediately died down as the audience recognised the irritation on the sorceress’ face.
“Albert is 5’11” in height according to this,” Ryan added soberly.
“What about our young friend Martin here?” Illusia asked, pointing at his card.
“Well Martin was born 2nd May 1990 and he is 5’7” tall” Ryan stated his eyes growing wider as he read the card.
“It seems you both got your wish gentlemen! Albert my dear, you are now definitely manlier and bigger in all senses of the word!” Illusia exclaimed, whilst eyeing Albert’s big bulge in his groin, as the audience sniggered.
“And our friend Martin here has gotten his wish as well – he is both slimmer and more youthful!” she added as she looked at the blond skinny twenty-something year old.
“Now gentleman dress yourselves!” Illusia commanded.
Albert was about to reach for his size small, white V-neck shirt and his size 8 ½ thong flip-flops when the Madame interjected.
“I think you will find that your old clothes are ill-suited to your… ahem… new, more corpulent form, my dear Albert”
The audience erupted into renewed sniggers at the expense of Albert, while he blushed as he looked down at his gut that was sticking out in front of him.
“I think you will find you will need more fabric to cover your new figure from now on, my dear. I suggest maybe Martin would agree to swap clothes with you as well, seeing as you have swapped almost everything else? After all I believe Martin is having some clothing issues of his own,” she added looking at Martin who was pulling up his boxers to stop them from falling down his skinny thighs.
The audience was visibly giggling at the Madame’s wicked brand of black humour.
Reluctantly Albert handed his shirt and flip-flops to Martin. He wiggled his big thighs as he tried to pry the tethered shorts off his form. Slowly but surely the shorts came off, leaving the beefy Albert standing in just blue plaid boxer briefs that were stretched taut around his wider waist, chunkier thighs and ass and bigger package. He also handed the remains of his shorts to Martin.
Albert made his way across the stage with his now permanent waddle to pick up the heap of black cloth that was Martin’s tank top. He bent down, his gut drooping significantly in front of him as it sagged under its own weight, and he picked up the top. He slipped it on and pushed his meaty arms through the holes. As the fabric settled onto his massive chest, it felt tight and strained. Then he recalled how he now was 10 pounds heavier than even the old Martin had been according to the scales. He stretched the fabric down on his large paunch and to his chagrin it did not reach below his gut. Albert picked up Martin’s huge discarded training shorts and slipped them up his legs. Thank goodness they had a massive elastic band and fit his girth without problems. Albert reached down once again and grabbed Martin’s massive size 12 trainers. He couldn’t fathom how his feet would fit in those huge boat-like shoes, but as he put them on they were actually a tight fit.
Meanwhile Martin had put on what was left of Albert’s shorts. Despite they were much smaller than anything Martin was used to wearing, they still hung somewhat loosely on his scrawny frame as he realised he was now even skinnier than the old Albert. He slipped on without difficulty the V-neck. The shirt’s cuffs looked big around his wiry arms. He slipped his now much smaller feet into Albert’s flip-flops, looking incredulously at how his own feet were fitting comfortably in the size 8 footwear.
Reflected in the mirror were a scrawny blond hipster kid and an aging dark-haired beefy ex-jock wearing their respective clothing.
“Gentleman my work here is done. You may now re-join our audience. Be sure to look for me in my tent when the show is over!” she said addressing both men with an ominous glint in her eyes.