Well Wishes

Chapter 1
First Wish

---

Chapter Description: Shane McIntosh meets a bullied kid named Robbie Williams at the park, who introduces him to a special wishing well.

---

Shane McIntosh headed for the park near his home for an early evening walk after dinner. He had changed out of his semi-formal business attire and dressed in his normal walking shorts and a blue T-shirt. He swapped out his polished leather loafers for his best walking sneakers.

He enjoyed his brisk walk, which helped drive away the stresses of the day. After passing the pond at the park, he made his way past the children’s playground and stopped for a breather on a bench near the swings.

The 38-year-old man enjoyed the nice, shady spot on the park bench, although the rays of the late June sun were already sliding down on the horizon. Shane had just made it through another tough week, stressed by failure to make his sales quota for the third week out of the previous four. Customers didn’t want to turn loose of their money, no matter how polished he made his sales pitch.

He felt a hint of a breeze on his forearms. He sighed, knowing he couldn’t really ask for a more perfect spot.

Several kids romped in the play area. Most of them were boys, and they seemed to range in age from kindergarteners to pre-teens. Shane hadn’t given them a lot of notice, until he happened to see the two boys about age 12 or 13 picking on a smaller kid.

Almost in a distracted manner, Shane watched them playing. Some of the littler kids were chasing each other around the play structures on the playground. Two other kids, maybe in the upper grades of junior high school, tossed a frisbee back and forth. Shane harbored some mild resentment at the carefree lives of all the boys. They didn’t seem to have a care in the world. Well, except for the one kid getting picked on by the two older boys.

Shane felt a surge of irritation at their ruining the idyllic scene of kids enjoying some innocent fun on a summer evening. Of course, any other time, he would probably have looked the other way, letting kids be kids.

The younger boy was small, so there was the unfairness factor working on Shane’s sympathies.

"Just stand up to them," Shane sent a mental message out toward the kid. It wasn’t a piece of advice the kid was likely to follow. Instead, he stood up and instead of facing them down, he ran.

He ran in a straight line, right toward Shane’s bench. The other two boys pursued, and one caught up and gave him a rude shove.

That action got Shane’s attnetion

"HEY!" Shane said in an angry voice.

The younger boy came to rest right at the bench, sprawled on the ground.

"What’s this about, boys?" Shane demanded, adopting his most authoritative voice.

His raised voice gave the older boys pause.

"Just playing," the tallest boy answered as smoothly as silk. He poked his buddy in the ribs.

"Yeah, just a game mister," agreed the other lad.

"Well, yah, doesn’t look like your friend here is enjoying it as much as the two of you."

He turned to the kid. "You OK?"

The boy got up slowly, and rubbed his elbow. "OK, I guess."

The two culprits, having lost their nerve, turned tail and took off.

"You know those guys?  Shane asked the boy, nodding in the direction in which they had fled.

"Yeah, it’s my brother and his STUPID friend!" The boy smiled a little, grateful for the intervention.

"Why were they giving you problems?" Shane asked, but even as he did so, the reason clicked in his brain. "Oh, big brother problems."

The boy looked up and grinned, everything about him striking Shane as a very confiding kid. "I hate to tell you, but I was a big brother — so I know what kind of pains they can be."

"I’d rather have a big brother like you," the boy declared openly. "I am sure you were always nice to your brother."

Shane chuckled. "I’m sure my brother would tell you a different story—"

"I hate him sometimes," the boy said suddenly, interrupting Shane’s recollection of the rivalry he once engaged in with his own younger sibling.

"If I could do it over again, I’d try to be a better one," Shane confessed, letting down his guard with the earnest kid.

"Really?" The boy beamed up at the man. The boy gave Shane a quick grin, lighting up like a spirited elf.

"Well, you know what they say about hindsight," Shane said wistfully. "But, sure, there are a couple of things I’d do differently."

"What’s hindsight?"

The boy’s question reminded Shane that he was talking to a kid, maybe only 9 or 10 years old. "Oh, it’s about looking back," he explained helpfully.

The boy nodded. "Oh! OK."

Shane leaned in closer, but not too close. "You know, he may seem like a pain now, but you gotta remember that this is the best time - it’s summer, you’ve got all kinds of fun out in front of you."

"They don’t want to spend any time with me," the boy said. "I wish you were my age, mister. Then we could be friends!"

Shane chuckled. "I’m sure we would be the best of pals," Shane agreed. "What’s your name, kiddo?"

"I’m just Robbie."

"Well, just Robbie, I’m just Shane." He held out his right hand. "Put’er there."

Robbie presented a mix of shyness and eagerness, but he accepted the offer and put his small hand into Shane’s much larger hand.

"I’d be proud to be your friend, particularly if you need help with that big ol’ brother of yours," Shane offered.

"He was afraid of you!" Robbie said, still marveling over the fact.

"Just cause I’m bigger than him," Shane said.

Robbie started fiddling in his pockets when Shane released his hand.

"My little brother was scared of me, too, but you know what happened later?"

"No," Robbie said. "What happened?"

"He grew up, and he got bigger than me."

Robbie broke into a meaningful grin at that thought. Of course, Shane realized Robbie was applying the fact to his own situation.

"Keep that in mind the next time your brother is mean to you," Shane said, laughing.

Robbie nodded, but he seemed distracted. "Mister...I mean, Shane... you got any dimes?"

"Dimes? Sure, I think I have some change." He fished for coins in his pocket, producing a few dimes in the process.

"Oh good!" Robbie exclaimed. He took the coins and grabbed Shane’s hand again. "Come over here..."

"A dime doesn’t buy much these days, I’m afraid," he informed Robbie. "Uh, where are we going?"

Robbie pulled his new friend toward the park wishing well.

Responding to the boy’s urgent tug, Shane finally got off the bench. As he stood, Robbie paused and gasped. "You’re so big!"

"Yeah, I am," he said. "I’ve been this tall since I was a sophomore in high school."

Robbie wasn’t listening closely. Instead, he issued his own instructions. "We have to do this together."

"I used to make wishes like this when I was a kid," Shane said.

"Did they come true?" Robbie looked up into his face again, wide-eyed and ready to believe.

"Not always, but they were always fun," he recalled.

"OK... when I count to three... Ready?" Robbie leaned over the well with his borrowed penny.

"What do you want me to do?" Shane asked, joining Robbie at the well, which featured a circular stone wall and a sloped roof supported by two wooden columns.

"Wish that you could be my friend," Robbie answered.

"One..." Robbie started the countdown as Sean juggled a dime in his right hand.

"Two..." Robbie intoned dramatically.

Thinking it over, Shane saw no harm in indulging a kid’s fantasy. Besides, how hard could it be to be this kid’s friend?

"Three!" Robbie exclaimed. He tossed in his coin.

"I wish Shane was my age so we could be friends," he said when he heard the damp plunk as the dime fell into the water deep in the well. "Hurry. Do it now, Shane."

"Sure - I wish I was Robbie’s friend," Shane said. "That I was his age."

Despite his agreement, he could not help chuckling at this kid’s imagination.

He noticed that Robbie’s eyes are closed. When he opened them and peeked, he looked disappointed.

"Toss your dime in!" Robbie urged. "Do it now!"

Shane flipped the coin. He heard the loud "plunk" as the coin dropped into the water. His ears registered the gentle splash.

And then the sound of the splash seemed to echo in his brain. The sound rang louder, bouncing back and forth, increasing in volume, making him feel dizzy.

"Whoa - feel a little funny - must have got too much sun or something...." Shane said weakly.

Robbie smiled, trying to put a good face on his disappointment. "Well, we tried anyway. I have to get home, or I’ll get into big trouble."

"Sure, kiddo," Shane said, still fighting the echoes of that splash. They seemed to be receding, but he remained light-headed.

"Uh, do you come here every day?" Robbie asked.

Shane lean against the roof over the well for a minute, trying to get his bearings again.

The sensation of light-headedness refused to dissipate. He rubbed his forehead, trying to think about Robbie’s question - seems like an easy question, but his brain felt sort of fuzzy at the moment.

"Do I come here?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, silly."

"Yeah, before it gets dark, sure, I usually take a walk every evening."

"OK! See you tomorrow evening, Shane."

With that, Robbie raced away.

Shane tried to watch, but right now, he felt as if he lifted his head, he might topple over. Finally, the strange dizzy spell came to an end, almost as suddenly as it started.

Most people were leaving the park as the sun was setting over the treetops. Shane decided he should go - it was getting dark and he has got to be home before dark. Then, frowning, he wondered where that thought came from and shook his head.

Nevertheless, he decided to take the shortcut, a beaten path that winds through the wooded area near the park’s small lake. The buzzing sounds of nocturnal insects danced in his ears as he started along the pathway. He didn’t get far when he noticed something strange with his once perfectly fitting sneakers.

Halting his walk, he leaned against a tree trunk and check out his shoes. It didn’t seem like he has had these sneakers long enough for them to be wearing out.

He looked down at his feet, and saw that he could slide his feet out of the shoes without even undoing the laces.

"What the hell?" He put his right foot back into the sneaker, which is indeed far too roomy.

He prepared to walk again when he felt the sag of his shorts. "Dang - my shorts, too?" Shane said as he tugged them back around his waist.

He had been meaning to do something to shed a few pounds, but he hasn’t really cut back yet.

"Maybe this walk did me some good," he said aloud just as he felt a searing surge of energy course through his body. The energy seemed to spread through his veins and extended down to his toes and to the tips of his fingers.

He had to keep his toes splayed to keep the shoes on his feet, but despite the difficult he broke into a run.

To his surprise, he enjoyed the run more than anything he has done in ages. He even laughed out loud as he whipped past trees and shrubs.

"Whooooooo!" Shane shouted, but right at that triumphant moment, he threw his right shoe. He tripped from the surprise, and the shoe is flung off the path into some thick weeds.

Careening off balance, he ran into the trees on the side of the path, jumping over the curb, and then a log that suddenly appeared directly in his path.

He almost cleared the fallen log, but it was slightly taller than he thought. He snagged a toe on it and messed up his landing, tumbling in a pile. Despite the spill, he laughed again.

"That was AWESOME!" Shane shouted.

Now wearing only the one sneaker, he hobbled back toward the path.

"Now where did that shoe go?" Shane said as he searched the terrain at the edge of the path. As he searched, his other foot lifted out of the other shoe.

He paused and picked that sneaker up in his hands, and suddenly it looked very big.

His Size 14 looked for all the world as if it has been exchanged into a size what? 18?

It almost looked like someone else’s shoe.

"But, it’s mine," he whispered, a trace of apprehension entering his voice. The woods suddenly seem a bit more shadowy.

One of those welcome summer breezes started up, cooling him off, especially on his bare butt.

Butt? Bare?

With a start, he realized his shorts...and the underwear this time... have slid off again.

"What the hell?" Shane asked again, with growing unease.

He gazed around and saw his shorts and underwear on the ground, puddled around his bare ankles.

Even in the dim light, he felt the burn of embarrassment start on his features. He’s embarassed as hell about being butt naked in the park, but there’s something weird about the clothes. He stepped out of the pile of clothing, then reached down. He felt as if he was picking up random clothes in the park.

"They don’t even look like mine," Shane told himself.

Overcoming an unanticipated twinge of repulsion, he picked up his boxer briefs. "Crap - they aren’t mine - they can’t be mine!" He stared at them. "They’re HUGE!"

EWWWwwwwww! Shane produced a strange squeal and tossed them back on the ground again. The oversized underwear looked like they must belong to some huge, enormous guy. They’re way too big to fit him.

Suddenly, Shane heard voices, coming closer at quite a clip.

"Oh, crap," he cried as he ducked behind some bushes. Gravel, dirt, thorns and fallen leaves scratched his bare feet and the rest of his bare body as he crouched in fear of discovery.

From his hiding place, he watched as two huge guys came into view. Dedicated joggers, they didn’t break their stride as they exchange a few words. Any gist of their conversation was lost as Shane stared at the men. They looked eight feet tall!

He tugged at his shirt, pulling it down to cover himself....gratified that it covered him quite well. "Damn –- didn’t know an NBA basketball team was in town," he whispered as they were soon, thankfully, well out of range. Leaving his hiding place, he ran back to look again at his shorts and the boxers.

"What the hell’s happening?" Shane said aloud. "I have got to get home!"

But, with another shock, he realized that he can’t just traipse down his regular street. It’s always crowded in the evening. But, he has an idea.

Shane picked up the shorts, which sure as hell look like his - just way too big!

When he lifted them, he felt a weight in the pocket and pull out a wallet - his wallet! That clinches it! These are his clothes, but what is going on? How did his clothes get so big?

Those answers could wait until he was in his own home. He knew that there’s a vacant lot that borders the park path. From the west side of the lot, he can sneak into his backyard, hopefully unobserved.

There are a few obstacles, particularly the fence around the lot. To use the vacant lot to get home unobserved, he will have to scale the six-foot-wall.

Shane gathered up his shorts and shoved his underwear in them. He could only find the one shoe, but figured that if they’re worn out, what does it matter?

He made his way quite tentatively through the woods toward the lot, relieved not to meet any other people on the path.

But the path kept assaulting his feet with thorns, broken pieces of glass.

"Ouch!" Shane cried at one point, lifting his foot and trying to see what pierced his biggest toe.

He has gotten much closer to the vacant lot, which seems more ominous when he got to the fence. The closer he got to the wooden barrier, the taller the wall looked.

He is almost breathless, and something about being out in the open makes him feel sort of anxious.

"Christ! It looks eight feet tall!" Shane said as he examined the fence.

At one time, he could have stood on tiptoe and peeked over the top of the fence. Now, that was hardly the case.

"What the hell’s going on?" Shane wondered. He ran his hands along the rough boards of the fence, stretching as far as he could reach.  it’s like everything got all big all of a sudden!

"Am I shrinking?" Shane said out loud, even as he knew that was crazy.

But, he convinced himself, almost, that’s not possible. All the same, these fine point were doing nothing to help him scale the fence.

He looked around, noticing a large boulder, excavated when the walking path had been paved through the park’s woodlands.

Construction crews had shoved the boulder up against the fence.

"Awesome!" Shane said with gusto.

He ran toward the large rock, then climbed up on top, his toes gripping the rough surface like a monkey’s deft digits.

Now, atop the boulder and pushing himself up on tiptoes, Shane managed to peek over the fence.

Memories flashed in his mind, quite vividly, of what fun he had enjoyed as a kid Robbie’s age climbing trees and rocks.

As he enjoyed those rosy memories, he saw some pale yellow lights from the windows of his own home.

But the house is located on the opposite side of the huge, empty lot. It struck him as funny - well, not in the amusing way - that in this light, he almost didn’t recognize his own house.

"Well, nearly home free now," Shane told himself, which was a good thing as it was almost dark now. A few stars have made their appearance in the sky.

He reach down and tossed his one shoe, shorts and underwear over the fence, and then he looked up and down the pathway before he hoisted himself up.

It is still more of a climb than he anticipated, his feet scrambling to find purchase on the rough wood. He managed to lift one leg over the fence and awkwardly hoisted himself up, accomplishing an awkward straddling of the dividing fence.

He realized quite clearly that the next part may be more of a challenge as there’s no convenient rock on the other side of the fence.

Taking a deep breath, he began to lower himself down the side. He tried to hang on the side, but the strain was too much for him, and he felt his fingers slipping.

He let go, and tumbled flat on his ass, rolling in the dirt and weeds, picking up a few additional scratches and bruises in the process.

A laugh bubbled out of him as he stood and looked at that monster fence. It hadn’t been easy, but he’d scaled the barrier. Another fit of laughter escaped him. He felt a little exhilarated. "I did it!" Shane said jubilantly. "I conquered it!"

He grabbed the big ol’ shorts and one shoe and burst into a run toward the street. A dark stretch of sidewalk and street was all that separated him from the shelter of his house.

He was almost there when he saw two strange red glows in the darkness just ahead.

He froze, stopping in the middle of the street and staring at the glowing red pinpoints of light.

He shuddered from surprise when two kids stepped out of the shadows.

They are smoking cigarettes, hence the strange points of glowing red light that came and went with each inhalation.

He felt a sickly knot grow in the pit of his stomach. They are only kids, so how did they get so tall?

They took a few more steps out of the shadows, enough for the closest steep lamp to give some illumination to two rather tough-looking teen faces. Shane, to his embarrassment, recoiled a little, then laughed in a high-pitched, fast chortle that also did him no favors.

"Dudes!" Shane exclaimed. "I didn’t see you!"

"What’s your hurry, kid?" asked he tallest of the teenagers.

Shane felt perplexed. How could two kids look so tall?

"I’m not a kid," he snapped absently.

He looked up... up? That didn’t seem right, but when he did, he recognized the face.

He was looking up into the face of Robbie’s big brother.

The bully!

Damn, these guys are big, Shane thought to himself.

"Hey, Keith," the other teenager said loudly. "The kid doesn’t have any pants on."

"Oh crap!" Shane thought. He had forgotten a few important facts.

"Maybe he got scared in the dark and wet himself." Keith folded his arms and looked down arrogantly.

They both laughed at their "clever" joke at his expense.

Shane felt the warmth on his cheeks. "You’re - you’re Robbie’s brother," he blurted out.

Keith frowned. "You know my shrimpo brother?"

Shane stared up at him - feeling really confused, and a little bit scared.

"He’s my friend," Shane answered without thinking.

"Well, any friend of Robbie’s..."

Shane looked beyond the two teenagers, toward his house - it was his house, he reminded himself. If he can get past these two bullies, get inside the house...

Shane cried out when Keith stepped next to him and grabbed his elbow, giving it a twist.

OWWWW

Keith laughed.

"Hey - lemme go!" Shane ordered.

"Hey, Brent, he looks like he could start hitting himself at any moment, don’t he?"

"Yeah, he does, Keith." Brent responded.

Shane realized what’s coming, and he tried his best to pull away, twisting to break free or run.

He saw his predicament in an oddly karmic sense. This is like all the mean trick his friends and he pulled when he was a kid, coming back to haunt him.

In the struggle with Keith, he dropped his clothes and wallet, as well as the spare shoe.

Keith tossed his cigarette on the sidewalk, ground it out beneath his shoe.

"This little runt’s not worth the trouble," he pronounced as he shoved Shane, the same as he had shoved his little brother back in the park.

Shane sprawled backwards on the street. As he fell to the ground, he felt a geyser of emotions - anger, confusion, even fear – surge forth.

His throat and eyes were burning.

"Yeah, I think the baby’s gonna cry," Brent said.

Shane ended up running toward his house, their laughter finally growing fainter. He staggered up the front walk toward the door. There is a pale green glow from a nearby street lamp as he fumble for...

"My keys!" Shane said in a whiny voice. "Where’s the freakin’ key?"

Then, he remembered. It’s in his shorts!

Back there. With them. The bullies, Keith and Brent.

His stomach suddenly felt like it’s full of ice.

He had no choice. He crept more stealthily back along his walk. He peered around the corner. They seem to have moved on.

He sighed in relief.

He saw his huge clothes, spilled all over the ground. He ran to them, began gathering them up. But the wallet...it’s gone!

Shane looked around in the dark for some sign of the wallet among his clothes.

"Those little shits!" Shane cursed.

But, it got a lot worse. He patted down his shorts.

There’s no key. The pocket is empty

"No freakin’ way!" Shane shouted.

He patted all over the ground with his hands, searching for his keys.

"This sucks!" Shane said.

He finally gave up searching. He was beginning to think he would need to break a window when he remembered that he kept a hidden key, just for such emergencies.

He kept the key lodged on top of the porch light.

Still fuming that the two punks stole his wallet, he headed back toward his front door.

He was immediately dejected to find the porch lamp out of reach!

He might not have a boulder, but he did have a small table on the front porch. The only current purpose for the table is to hold a few potted plants.

He looked up at the porch light and his front door. "Damn, when did my door get so tall?"

He began moving the plants off the table, and then he scooted the table across the concrete surface of the porch, placing it below the overhead coach lamp.

He stepped on the table and managed, barely, to reach his hidden key.

The key felt clunky in his hand. It shouldn’t, but it did. He turned it over in the dim light, watching the dull metal gleam. He stepped gingerly off the tabletop.

He slid the key into the lock. That also felt weird. The key slid easily enough into the lock, but the angle at which he had to hold the key to unlock the door felt odd to him.

The door handle and the keyhole were far too high.

He ended up using two hands to turn the key and knob, which opened his door and allowed him to stumble into his house.

He shoved the door closed behind him and reached for the light.

He missed the switch, and had to try a second time. This time, he reached higher up, his fingertips brushing against the switch. As light floods the room, that weird feeling hits him again - it looks like his place, but then again it doesn’t.

Everything’s too big. And it smells funny. like old pizza and cologne.

"Bathroom!" Shane remembered that he had a full-length mirror on the back of the door.

But, he paused, surprised at the sound of his voice. "Hello?"

He clear his throat, and said, in a low voice, "Hello?"

Still sounds funny, slightly too high and buzzy. His voice sounds almost like a girl’s voice, or maybe just a little boy’s voice.

Forgetting about the change in his voice, he ran toward his bathroom. His small bare feet felt chilled on the cold tile floor. With building trepidation, he closed the bathroom door and turned toward the mirror.

He received a weird shock as he looked into the mirror and observed a little kid ready for bed - wearing nothing but his dad’s t-shirt.

Shane’s eyes widened, and the eyes of the boy in the mirror did the same.

"That’s not me!" He thought the word, but they were produced by a little kid, the same boy staring back at him - eyes wide as saucers - from the glass.

"It’s not possible!"

An undeniable thrill crept into his thoughts again - excitment at seeing himself like this.

Shane’s brain careened from one extreme to another in a wild bi-polar manner. It’s a weird flip, with his kid side rejoicing, while the adult still present in his new body felt scared and whiny.

"The wishing well!" Shane exclaimed in his high, boyish voice. "Ohmygod! What was it that Robbie said anyway when he tossed in his dime?"

Shane’s mouth dropped open as he recalled the words in perfect clarity. As he repeated the words again, that resonance hit again, bouncing off the walls of his skull, scrambling his brain.

"That I wish I was Robbie’s friend," Shane said.

He slapped his hand against his forehead. "Think!" He remembered that there was more and that... "NO WAY!" Shane gasped.

But, there’s no such thing as magic wishes.

But, he had wished it. "I wished I was his age," Shane said with a queasy feeling settling in his stomach. "But he’s like 9 years old!"

He looked into the mirror again. "But I’m 38!" Shane said in a shrill tone of disbelief.

"Or...I was 38..." He looked in the mirror.

He jerked up his right arm. In the mirror, the roomy T-shirt sleeve flopped around as a consequence.

He had managed to lose almost 30 years!

"I have got to get a handle on this," he told himself.

He left the bathroom, headed to his bedroom...

As he entered the enormous room, he paused in awe of his own huge king-sized bed.

Suddenly, there is only one thing he wanted to do. With a running start, he launched himself onto the bed doing his best imitation of a nine-year-old gymnast.

The bed’s gigantic!

He laughed, and got onto his feet on the soft mattress. He dug his bare toes into the bedcovers. Soon, he is hopping up and down on the bed.

It’s hilarious! And so bouncy! It’s so much fun!

A thought occurred to him. If only Robbie was here, it would be even more fun!

Shane, still laughing and bouncing and tumbling, was able to chase away his nervousness.

So far, it hasn’t crossed his mind that, as a nine-year-old boy, he was already too tall to jump on the bed.

"I wish Robbie was here," he muttered as he finally collapsed on the bed. "That would be SO COOL!"

As he rested atop the bed, he smelled something very unpleasant.

"Eeew!" Shane wrinkled his nose at the discovery. The reeking smell was coming from the pits of the T-shirt.

He was smelling, and offended by, his own adult, masculine scent.

"It reeks!"

The intrusive smell was overwhelming, and he suddenly experienced a wave of uncertainty. He felt weird in here- in a grown-up’s room.

He wished he could call Robbie, but he realized he doesn’t even have the kid’s phone number.

The house is suddenly so still, so silent. Everything looks too big and kind of scary.

He realizes that he doesn’t even know Robbie’s last name or where he lives.

But the thought foremost in his mind at the moment is the fearful realization that he is going be all alone here in this big, empty house.

Shane looked toward the book shelf across the room and noticed a framed snapshot.

He walked across the room on his bare feet. He picked up the frame, which holds a photo of his adult self with his younger brother. He remembered that the picture was taken a few years ago when he turned 36.

He stared at the image, impressed by how big his brother looks in the photo. He is all grown up in the photograph.

But his own image looked even bigger.

"That can’t be me!" Shane exclaimed.

Then, he laughed. Looking at the picture made him feel both proud and confused.

It’s his confusion that dominated. Staring at his adult self in the frame only made him feel much littler all of a sudden.

The house had gotten really quiet and the shadows seemed darker.

Shane and his brother are close now, but not as much as Shane would like since his sibling lives about two hours away.

A memory of how he used to scare his little brother with ghost stories popped unbidden into his mind. He was always telling his brother about crazed killers and monsters breaking into houses.

As he recalled some of the stories, his heart raced a little faster. He put the frame back on the shelf and started walking nervously through the house, turning on all the lights.

He found that he really wished his brother was here now.

Shane broke into a run and reached the living room, where he locked the front door.

Hoping to take his mind off his multitude of completely irrational fears, he turned on his TV.

He had left the TV tuned to a boring newscast. He began to thumb through the channels, surfing until he found a cartoon.

The bright colors, quick-paced action and jabbering voices attracted his attention, but it doesn’t help him shake the feeling that any minute now the big guy who lives here is going to come home.

But, as he began to follow the progress of the cartoon, his mind calmed. He doesn’t recognize any of the characters, but it’s something to watch.

He was still wearing the T-shirt, which hangs extremely loosely on his much-reduced frame. Now that he has noticed how much it reeks, the smell is even worse.

He quickly became bored of the cartoon, suspecting it was aimed at a much younger audience.

He wondered if there is a channel just for games?

He shrugged, but put off a search for a distraction until he could distance himself from the overpowering stench lingering from the time his adult body spent in the sweaty T-shirt.

Shane returned to the bathroom and pulled it off, throwing it in the hamper.

But that left him without any clothes at all, and the last thing he wanted is to be naked. That’s especially true since he can’t rid himself of that nagging sensation that someone will barge in at any moment.

Shane returned to his big bedroom and searched for something, anything really, to wear.

It doesn’t seem likely he can find something his size. Everything seems to be custom-made for a giant guy.

Everything’s too big- much, much too big! He pawed through the drawers of his dresser, although he needed to stand on tiptoes to examine the contents in the top drawer.

Finally, defeated, he merely chose a clean, fresh T-shirt.

At least it smelled better than the rank one, stained with sweat from his walk to the park and his mad dash back home.

With the T-shirt covering him to his knees, that scary feeling crept back to infect his thoughts.

There’s something else troubling him as well.

"Weird," Shane thought, taking a look at his boy’s body in the man’s T-shirt. "I wasn’t ever this little. Was I?"

When he racked his memories, he can’t seem to latch on to any that match a period when he was such a puny kid.

When he had been nine years old, he had been a big kid, for his age. People always thought Shane was a couple of years older than his actual age.

Idly, he wondered had that been because they always compared him with a little brother, always handy and close at hand.

His brother Jack had let him feel big all through his first childhood....maybe? He decided the theory had merit.

He also found himself missing Jack.

Of course, a more sobering thought occurred when he realized that his brother would laugh his head off,  seeing him brought down to this.

Shane wondered if he should call Jack. "At least he’d know me...it’s not like I could convince any of my friends what has happened to me," Shane said aloud.

He is still not sure he has convinced himself. It feels at times like some really twisted dream.

He could call Jack, but Shane thought of another option. "My laptop!"

When he heard his voice, it just caused him to cringe. He could hardly believe the change in his voice - It’s all squeaky!

Shane found that he wished he had remained silent.

He broke his laptop from its carrying case, trying to ignore how big it seemed. The discrepancy made him feel even smaller. "Laptop it is," he decided.

Considering his shrill voice, he can see some positives in non-verbal communication and how it might be best if he doesn’t have to speak.

Getting the laptop booted proved more difficult than anticipated.

Shane had a tough time with his password, mostly because the keyboard, like everything else, was off-kilter. His fingers didn’t seem to work right, and he kept punching the wrong keys.

When he finally managed to boot, he repeated the same exasperating process to log on to his email account. When he accessed his email, he received a pleasant surprise.

An email from Jack was already waiting for him.

"Oh, cool!"

He opened the email, only to find a depressing note.

Jack informed him that was going out of town. Business trip. But he ended with the information that he would be back in 10 days.

"Ohhhh man!" Shane felt angry as he continued to read. The news got progressively worse.

His brother would not have access to the internet, but he would have his cell phone, if he could get a connection.

"But, he’s got to have his cell phone," Shane said softly.

The email explained that Jack’s work was apparently taking him to remote North Dakota for some ungodly reason.

"So, if I don’t hear from you, we’ll connect when I get back," were the last words typed into the body of the email.

That was it, the full extent of the note.

Shane sat back in the big office chair, feet dangling without touching the floor.

Email had seemed like such a good idea...

He yawned, completely unexpectedly.

His eyes felt heavy as he kept staring at the screen, trying to come up with Plan B.

He headed back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed, too bummed out to even jump anymore.

There is one ray of hope, and his mind clung to it like a drowning man.

He remembered Robbie’s last comments... that he would see him tomorrow...at the park.

His head nodded forward. He was getting sleepy.

"Right!" Shane felt much better now. "He’ll know...what to..."

He fell asleep, but only for a second. He jerked back to wakefulness. All he has to do is wait until tomorrow evening and meet him at the park.

He yawned. "Because Robbie’s my friend..."

That fact seems to make him feel a little more content and relaxed as he drifted off to sleep thinking of the fun he would have playing pirates on the play structure...or maybe....tag.

Shane smiled, then drifted into a very deep slumber.

 

---