Wishing You Well

Chapter 1
Whole Story

Wishing You Well

With a frustrated sigh, Miranda Jones ran a hand through her short, strawberry-blond hair. In the distance, she could hear happy noises and looked to her right. She managed a small smile as she watched her parents play with her 5-year-old sister, Heather.

Miranda’s good mood didn’t last long as she continued to look at her sister. With another sigh, the 25-year-old woman looked away from her family and stared at nothing as she thought things over.

The self-employed media aid had always wanted a young sibling, but her parents, who were fairly young when they had Miranda, weren’t too keen on having another child.

Like a typical child, Miranda was mad at this until she got older and realized her parents weren’t in the best state money-wise, and she accepted it. That all changed five years ago, during her parent's wedding anniversary when they had a wild night.

Naturally, Miranda’s folks panicked and even thought about that opinion. But once they calmed down and thought things over for a few days, they decided to have another child.

Miranda couldn’t be happier for her family, but the young woman was still conflicted. Because of the large age gap, she never felt a connection with her sister; that made her feel like scum.

Heather loved her big sister to pieces and wanted to spend all her time with Miranda. But Miranda just couldn’t feel the same way, and that made her feel like the worst sister in the world.

Speaking of Heather…Miranda heard someone approaching her. She looked to her right and saw her sister running toward her.

“Mindy, Mindy!” Heather shouted, all smiles, “Play!!”

Miranda forced a smile onto her face and kneeled down. “Maybe later,” she said, speaking softly. “But the trip here had tired these old bones out, and I want to take a walk in nature for a recharge.”

Heather took that answer and smiled ten times more, which made Miranda feel even worse. Still, she gave her sister a hug and told her parents what she was planning. She then power-walked into the nearby forest before anyone could get a word in.

For the next ten minutes, Miranda wondered about the forest. The Jones had made this spot their family vacation since Miranda was a little girl, so she knew the area like the back of her hand. Still, she was a little surprised when she came across an old wishing well.

After a quick examination, she concluded that the resort’s staff was doing something to the area; the ground had been dug up recently.

Miranda was curious and took out a coin from her pants pocket. She lightly tossed into the well and was surprised when she heard a faint splash sound. She looked down the well, but due to the trees and time of day, she couldn’t see the bottom.

She was about to walk away when an idea popped into her head. It was a childish idea, but she could use some silliness to lighten her mood.

“I wish I could connect with my sister,” she spoke softly and then laughed when she said the words.

Miranda decided she had wasted enough time with her wondering and turned away from well. Unaware to the young woman was the puff of purple smoke that rose from the well.

Halfway back to the resort, Miranda found that she needed to fix her pants; they had suddenly gotten a little loose. She didn’t think much of this; she was dieting again, so some loose-fitting clothing was to be expected.

What she didn’t notice was her aqua-blue tank top had become less form-fitting. Also, her class ring fell off, and her sandals looked a little big on her feet.

After she fixed her pants, Miranda looked herself over and saw that her arms did seem a bit thinner. She thought it was due to her diet and continued on her way.

She didn’t even take ten steps when she felt her pants falling again. With a groan, she stopped to fix her pants again. She growled as her frustration grew; no matter what she did, she couldn’t get her pants right.

“What’s going on?” Miranda wondered.

The media aid failed to notice her voice; it had jumped nearly a pitch in volume. She also didn’t see the massive changes she had undergone; she had lost nearly eight inches, and her once-sharp figure was starting to be covered by baby fat.

Given how small her chest was at the moment, it looked like Miranda had been a late bloomer.

The reason behind this was Miranda was no longer 25 but closer to 14.

Miranda tried for another minute to fix her pants but gave up in a childish huff when she couldn’t make it work. With a scowl, she grabbed her pants and pulled them up until she could see her feet.

With another huff, she began her walk again, still aware of the changes happening to her.

Miranda was nearing the resort when she started to realize something was wrong. The area looked bigger than it did a few minutes ago, and she was getting scared. Every shadow she saw, she couldn’t help but feel like it was a big bad wood critter just waiting to jump out and gobble her up.

The part that was her rational, adult mind told her such things were silly, but Miranda was finding it harder to think like an adult. The reason behind that was in the short time she walked, she lost four more years.

During this time, she had lost the last of her mature body, and strangely, her hair had started to grow out. It now went down her shoulders but was out of her face. She also lost nearly a foot and a half in height. She was having trouble keeping her pants from falling and keeping her sandals on.

She could see the resort building, and that caused her to smile. Miranda suddenly heard a snap, and she lost the last of her adult reasoning. She bolted for the resort but forgot about her pants. Her pants leg fell around her ankles, and this tripped her up.

Miranda cried as she hit the ground. The fall wasn’t bad, but for reasons she couldn’t understand, she started crying. This was because she was now just a six-year-old in body and nearly mind.

And what does a six-year-old do when scared and hurt? “MOOMMMMYY! DAADDDDYY!”

(SC)

Ivo and his wife, Joan, were waiting for their oldest to return, with the 46-year-old man keeping his youngest entrained. The two heard a child cry and immediately acted; Ivo picked up his daughter and went in the direction they heard the sound come from.

The parents were in luck; they found the child close to the resort’s limits, and what they found was heartbreaking. A little girl no older than six was crying into the dirt.

Joan carefully approached the child, knowing how frantic a scared child could get. She frowned as she noticed the clothes around the child and how they looked like the outfit her oldest had. She put this out of her mind and slowly got down on her knees.

“Are you okay?” Joan asked as she carefully played her hand on the girl’s back.

The girl’s head snapped up, and Joan couldn't help but gasp when she saw a good look at her face. It was covered in dirt but a good mother would not know her daughter’s face when she sees it.

“MOMMY!” Miranda screamed as she rushed into her mother’s arms.

Joan’s mind shut down for a minute from shock at seeing her daughter a child instead of a grown woman. Her mind started back up quickly and raced a mile a minute as she tried to figure out what going on.

It has been barely 15 minutes since Miranda went off by herself to think. She wondered what could happen in that time that could cause such a change. Or what caused said change in the first place?

Unfortunately, the sobbing of a confused child caused Joan to put everything else on the back burner. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked into the concerned but caring eyes of her Husband. With a smile, she patted his hand and saw the item in his hand.

She took the handkerchief and got into a sitting position. She took her daughter into her lap and began to clear her face.

“Shh, shh,” Joan said comfortingly. “It’s okay, mommy’s here.”

Ivo took a seat next to his wife and began rubbing his oldest back while a curious Heather looked on. For five minutes, the family just sat there as the parents tried to comfort their daughter. Miranda started to calm down and let out a small hiccup before she looked at Mommy.

Mommy and Daddy looked at each other, and a message was silent between the two. They looked back at their still oldest daughter and thought about how to approach this matter.

Ivo decided to take the lead and smiled warmly at his daughter. “Honey,” he said slowly, “Do you know what happened to you?”

Miranda’s face twisted as she tried to focus on what happened to her. She knew that she was a big girl, a REALLY big girl just a short while ago. And there was…wait, what did she find in the woods again? She felt like the answer was on the tip of her mind, but anytime she could get a good picture of what she thought caused her to become a little girl, it vanished.

The more she tried to remember, the more stressed Miranda became, and she was close to crying again. This didn’t go unnoticed by Ivo and Joan, and they went to work.

“It’s okay, Sweetie,” Joan said softly, hugging her daughter. “If it’s too much, you don’t have to try.”

Ivo simply nodded and rubbed Miranda’s back again. Miranda quickly calmed down from her parents’ comfort and settled into her mother’s embrace.

Heather, who had been quiet this time, began to squirm in her father’s arms. Ivo quickly put his youngest down, and Heather got close to her sister. She stared at her once-adult sister with childish curiosity, and Miranda did the same.

“Mindy?” Heather asked curiously.

Suddenly, Mindy no longer saw a cliff that kept her from connecting with her little sister. Instead, she just saw a girl she could play with. This made the former adult very happy, and she jumped to her feet.

She energetically nodded as she smiled broadly. “Tag,” she happily proclaimed as she tapped Heather on the nose.

Heather’s eyes went cross as she tried to look at her nose. She soon realized what her sister wanted and was about to take off running.

Joan wasn’t going to have any of that at the moment and looked at her husband. Ivo got the message and picked up Heather before she could run off.

“Before you two get playing,” Joan said, picking up her oldest, “You, young lady, need to get dressed.”

“AWW,” the two little girls moaned and gave their mommy the biggest, saddest puppy-dog eyes ever.

Joan nearly broke at this sight but held firm as she and her husband made their way to the resort.

Thankfully, the resort had a small gift shop, and Joan was able to buy a pair of sandals and a small sewing kit. She then modified one of Heather’s blue dresses and put Mindy in it. Joan looked at her daughters, and a thought came to her.

“Turn your head, sweetie,” The mother told Mindy warmly as she took out a red ribbon from Heather’s belongings.

The six-old-year turned her head, and her mommy went to work. Soon, Joan had put her oldest’s hair in a loose ponytail that rested on her right side and the ribbon’s ends hanging off. Next, she put Heather’s hair in the same style and tied a blue ribbon to her amber-red hair.

Joan got up and took a step back as she felt Ivo lovingly wrapped his arms around her waist. He put his head against his wife’s shoulder and the two looked at their little girls.

“Oh, my,” he said in awe, “They’re adorable!”

Joan nodded her agreement and took out her phone to take a quick picture. Mindy’s dress went well with Heather’s red one. The two little girls seem to think so; they quickly look at each other for a second before giggling. They then spun around until they got dizzy quickly and fell down.

Joan and Ivo laughed at the cute scene, and once the girls came to their senses, they joined them.

“Now,” Ivo cheerfully said, “who'd want to play tag?”

“YAY!” the two girls cheered and quickly ran to the door.

Ivo and Joan shared another laugh as they followed after their two little girls. They may never learn what caused this sudden change, but they weren’t all that worried, especially after the joyous laugh of two happy little girls filled the air.