Wishing for Some Playmates

Wishing for Some Playmates: Part 1

Michael Goldison let out a slightly lonely sigh as he looked around. The eight-year-old, ginger-haired boy was in a park near his family home and couldn’t help but feel lonely. The park Michael, or Mikey as his friends called him, was in didn’t have anyone else in it, save for a woman and her four-year-old niece and nephew. Seeing the two four-year-olds, enjoying each other's company, only made the boy lonelier, and he looked away from the happy toddlers. Mikey sullenly suck his hand into his overalls' pockets and kicked a stone as he left the park, heading for home. The Goldison family had moved to this town, Amber Ridges, about six months ago, and Mikey found that there weren’t many kids in the neighborhood his own age. That bummed out the eight-year-old; Mikey was the youngest of five, and all his brothers were far too busy to play with him. Mikey rounded the corner and came to a stop, blinking. The ginger-haired boy saw an old wishing well he didn’t remember seeing when he left his home. He stared at the object for a few seconds, then walked by it, figuring he just didn’t see it before. He got about two steps away from the wishing well when he felt a strange urge overtaking him. Mikey stopped and looked back at the well, feeling like making a wish. He fished his hands into his pockets and rummaged around them until he found something. “...I wish I had someone to play with,” Mikey said absentmindedly, tossing in two dimes and a nickel into the well. The eight-year-old boy gasped as he watched a wisp of purple smoke rise into the air. He watched in awe as the wisp spiraled high into the air. The wisp eventually disappeared into the sky, and Mikey blinked, a confused look entering his eyes. The ginger-haired boy looked around, seeing nothing but space, and wondering why he was just standing there. After a moment, he hesitantly left the area, looking at the empty space, and feeling like something was there just a second ago. (SC) Bruce Goldison had to resist the urge to roll his eyes as he watched his wife, Kathrina, gush over their four oldest boys. The fifty-two-year-old man with the graying red hair looked at his boys, instinctively studying them. There was Lawrence, his oldest at twenty-five. Lawrence shared a lot with his father, the same red hair and blue eyes, but his chin was slightly smaller. Larance was wearing a pair of pressed kakis, well-polished loafers, and a red silk dress shirt. Bruce noticed the shirt was unbuttoned at the top, showing the gold chain that hung loosely around his son’s neck. Next to Lawrence were the twins, Donald and Ronald, doing their own thing as they talked with the rest of the family. The pair of twenty-one-year-olds had inherited their mother’s golden brown hair, but their father’s eyes. Donald’s face was slightly wild, giving him a slightly babish face unlike his twin, whose face was more narrow. Donald was dressed slightly more casually than his older brother, wearing form-fitting black jeans and a short, collared white shirt. Bruce frowned as he saw the small dirt stains on his son’s new work shoes. Roland’s outfit was even more casual than his twin's; he wore a pair of jean shorts, a blue tank top and black sandals. Finally, there was Robert, Bruce’s seventeen-year-old star basketball player. Robert had his father’s hair, but it was slightly darker, and his mother’s red eyes. Robert was also the tallest of the Goldisons’ boys, well over six feet, 3 inches. When standing next to his brothers, who were all around five feet, 10 inches, it was hard to tell who was the oldest among the four. It also helped that Robert kept himself in good shape for his favorite sport and was quite lean. Currently, the seventeen-year-old was wearing nothing more than a pair of gym shorts and a white, short-sleeved undershirt, having just finished showering. “My boys!” Kathrina gushed admiringly. “My pride and joy!” Bruce had to resist the urge to roll his eyes again, as his fifty-one-year-old wife repeated the lines she always said when all four of their boys were together. “My oldest,” Kathrina commented, looking at Lawrence. “A post-graduate student majoring in business and minoring in law. I bet your teachers had nothing but praise for you.” Lawrence looked at his mother with a polite smile and a quick nod. Bruce nearly smiled as he saw that his oldest was just going through the motions. “And my future composers,” Kathrina said playfully, beaming at the twins, “What are you two being so quiet about?” “...Just looking over Beethoven’s 5th,” Donald replied offhandly, sounding bored. “Nothing special,” Ronald added, sounding just as bored as his twin brother. Curious, Bruce got up from his spot and walked over casually to his wife, pressing by the twins in the process. He saw that Ronald was looking at a music sheet from the Jackson Five’s song “ABCs.” That brought a smile to Bruce’s face as he joined his wife, giving her a quick peek on the cheek. Kathrina offered her husband a loving smile before turning her attention to her second youngest. Bruce tuned out Kathrina's usual praise about how Robert was scouted for a few sports scholarships to the best colleges in and out of state, thinking about a few things. Bruce knew his wife loved their boys, but sometimes he felt her drive for them to succeed had caused them to lose out on some of their childhood. It was clear to the father that his boys enjoyed what they did, but Bruce silently wished that they had more freedom just to be kids during their youth. Bruce was brought out of her thought when his wife grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard. He looked at Kathrina and saw her mouth hanging, eyes wide, and face a little pale. Curious, Bruce followed his wife’s eyes and frowned as he saw Robert. He studied his son, taking note of his state of being. It didn’t take long for Bruce to realize what was different about Robert, and he couldn’t help but gasp. Robert was about a foot and a half shorter, causing him to take hold of his shorts as they were slightly loose. It wasn’t just Robert’s height that was noticeable; his lean muscles were looking a little soft. Bruce remembered that his second youngest had a big growth spurt when he was about fourteen-and-a-half, and he realized that what Robert looked like…like a fourteen-year-old boy! “W-What’s h-h-happening!” Startled, Kathrina and Bruce looked at their other boys, and Kathrina gasped in horror at what she saw. Lawrence was about 17, his outfit starting to look baggy, while the twins were, surprisingly, 12. The four looked at each other, stunned, as they saw the change taking place in real time. Everyone watched as the boys’ bodies continued to deflate, causing their outfits to balloon around them. Their legs and arms shortened as their shoulders pressed in slightly. Fingers started to become chubbier, causing them to fiddle with their grips on their clothes. Faces lost some sharpness as baby fat started to grow. As the four neared single-digit years, their outfit finally gave way to their shrinking bodies, causing their pants and shorts to fall to the ground. Despite all that was going on, Kathrina found herself looking away, a faint blush on her face. The fact that her sons’ shirts covered their private parts escaped the mother. Bruce, shock wearing off slightly, became curious. He saw that his boys’ legs were completely smooth, not surprising. What was surprising was that the birthmark all of the Goldison men shared, a V-shaped imprint below the right knee, had disappeared. Becoming more curious, Bruce looked at his boys and noticed something he had missed earlier. His sons’ hair had grown, not much, but just enough to give each a mop top. Bruce was brought out of his musing when his wife squeezed his hand so tight it started hurting. He looked at Kathrina and saw that she was trembling in fright, and her face had paled to a sickly white. Her breathing had also become erratic, coming out in short, uneven gasps. Bruce’s concern grew as he realized his wife’s state was worse than he first thought. Kathrina was looking unsteady on her feet, and she looked ready to faint at any moment. Seeing how things were going with Kathrina, Bruce leaned in and pressed his body against his wife’s to support her. Kathrina didn’t notice this gesture, eyes completely focused on her boys. Bruce saw this and, frowning, turned his attention to his sons. He saw that his boys seemed done regressing, and he studied each of them in turn. The man was surprised by how things turned out; Lawrence was the youngest at five. Doland and Roland, surprisingly, were still the middle children, at age six. That meant Robert was now the second-oldest at seven. Lawrence blinked, coming out of his shock, and slowly looked at Robert. The now five-year-old scowled in a rather cute way as he saw that his once younger brother was still taller than him. Robert saw the look his now younger brother was giving him and, despite the awkwardness of everything, smiled a teasing smile. “What you looking at…wunt?” the seven-year-old asked teasingly. Lawrence, not one to back down, did the only thing that came to mind; he blew his brother a raspberry. Robert, the competitive sort, wouldn’t let that stand. He pulled his feet free from his shorts and, keeping his shirt on his small body, stormed up to his little brother. Lawrence felt a hint of childish fear as he realized just how much taller Robert was now, but swallowed his fear and stood his ground. Robert glared at his little brother (still enjoying that he was taller than his brother) for a second, then grinned playfully. Lawrence squeaked in surprise when his brother lunged at him and got him in a headlock. Lawrence struggled to get out of his big brother’s grip when Robert began nugging him. “BOBBY!” Lawrence whined. “STOOP!” Robert…Bobby just laughed good-naturedly and rubbed a little harder. “Poow Lawwy,” he replied playfully. Lawrence…Larry, despite everything, actually laughed. He soon turned playful as he continued to try to get free from his big brother. The twins watched all of this with slightly disturbed looks on their faces. It didn’t take long for childish impulses to overtake them, and the two found themselves laughing at their little brother’s predicament. Bobby heard his brothers’ laughter and shot them a mischievous, playful smile. “Wonny, Donny?” he said playfully, letting his brother go and turning to face the twins. Roland and Doland…Ronny and Donny both let out cute squeals as Bobby ran at them with a cute roar. The twins took off running, holding tight their oversized shirts, as their older brother chased them around the room. Not one to be left out of the fun, Larry hurried after his older brothers. “No bully, Ronny and Donny!” he squeaked playfully. Bruce and Kathrina watched all of this, both weirded out by all they had seen. Despite himself, a smile slowly found its way to Bruce’s face, his worries slowly disappearing. The father found it strangely pleasing to see his boys acting like children, despite being adults or near adults just a few minutes ago. He laughed as Bobby got Donny and nugged him. Ronny came up behind his brother and tickled him until Bobby let Donny go. “...I don’t know how this happened,” Bruce mused softly to himself, “But I can get behind this.” Kathrina, who had been stunned quiet by all she had seen, clearly didn’t share her husband’s sentiment. Her shaking had gotten increasingly worse, and her mouth was moving, but no sounds were coming out of it. “W-What…” Kathrina finally managed to gasp out, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. Bruce felt his wife’s body go limp as Kathrina fainted from everything. He managed to catch his wife just as Mikey stepped into the room.