Bedtime

Chapter 9
A Fond Farewell

Chapter Description: Andrew regains his adulthood...

Jessica looked in all directions, making sure she was alone before picking up the box and taking it inside. She’d been waiting all evening for this package. She thought her tormentor would deliver it in person, but was relieved that he hadn’t. She already felt bad enough for having potentially dirtied her hands. She put Andrew to bed in his crib before opening the delivery.

It was the same mirror she had been presented with earlier that afternoon. Upon inspection she found it was exactly as she remembered. She read the spell that had been attached to the box. “Heart’s true form, return to norm.” She knew she had probably endangered the church in some manner, but she didn’t care about any of that. She’d be reunited with her Andrew tonight. They’d be able to start their relationship anew and put the last few months behind them. She went back into her room to rouse little Andy from his sleep.

“Goodbye, sweetie,” she said as she lightly nudged him awake and pointed the mirror in his direction, careful to recite the spell correctly. This time seemed faster than the demonstration earlier that day. Andrew quickly went from lying comfortably in his crib to taking up half of it. It took him a few minutes to realize he was in a crib, with a diaper hanging loosely between his legs, and blushed deeply upon the realization.

“J-jessica?” he asked as he looked up at her, “What happened? I remember waking up on the couch and everything after that’s a huge blur...”

Jessica sniffed. After months she was finally reunited with her Andrew. She bent down into the crib and hugged him, sobbing. She’d missed him so much. “You need to hurry up and get that job, honey,” she said, still crying, “I’m ready to start having kids.”

Andrew looked around the room. The whole room was set up differently than how he remembered it. Now it looked as though she were accommodating a baby in her room. Andrew’s eyes widened, “I didn’t-” Jessica just nodded in response. She had spent the last few months changing Andrew, reading to him, rocking him to sleep, and everything else that came with the territory. Andrew turned crimson.

“You made a really cute baby,” she consoled him, “I was just about ready to kick you out that morning, but you really grew on me. These last few months made me realize that I need you now more than ever. Please stay with me.” She gave him a look of despair. Andrew was going to stage a guess that she had done something horrible for this reunion, but wasn’t going to bring it up. He beamed at her and nodded. They embraced again.

Andrew had gotten out of the crib and put his clothes on. It felt good to be wearing his old clothes again. He could only vaguely recollect what had happened over the last few months and the memories were far to embarrassing. It wasn’t until dinner that something happened which made Andrew regret the fact that he’d ever even moved in with Jessica.

Having only had formula for the past few months, Andrew was absolutely famished. He wolfed down all the food he was offered, even though he usually complained about the flavor or texture and would leave half unfinished. Jessica was very happy with how the night was progressing. That was, until it happened.

They could faintly make out screams coming from an old church that was somewhat nearby, so Andrew took a few minutes to look out the window. He saw strange red light, coming from that direction. Without warning, a puff of smoke heralded the arrival of the unwelcome, but all too familiar creature who had plagued Jessica’s nightmares the last few months. Jessica had a scared look on her face as she recognized the foul creature. It would ruin everything!

“Why, hello, Andy. Did you enjoy the extra care and attention you’ve had these last few months?” The thing asked him, taking pleasure in the uncomfortable looks it was getting. Andrew looked like he was going to say something, but was lost for words, so the devil continued, “It was actually courtesy of Jess here that you were blessed with another shot at a childhood, and I have to say she made an excellent mommy to you... she even protected you from me.” It cackled a very menacing laugh. Andrew’s hairs stood on end. “But then she had to see her Andrew again, so she sacrificed a whole church to make it happen.”

Andrew stared at Jessica in disbelief. “Is this true?” tear-stricken, all Jess could do was shake her head in denial. She had no idea the dire consequences of her deal.

“And to think this all started over one lousy soul that wouldn’t yield to me! Now I must be off to my feast. I thank you again, Jessica. It was great doing business with you.” It cackled as it departed in the same manner which it had used to arrive.

Jessica kept shaking her head. She began to sob. “I-I-I d-didn’t m-m-mean to!!! He said all I had to do was deliver a slip of paper to some random church and he’d fix this. What would you do?” She sobbed hysterically, as the weight of her deeds began to overwhelm her.

Now it was Andrew who started shaking his head. Without saying a word, he got up and walked toward the door. Jessica grabbed his hand. “Don’t leave me! I did this for us!!!”

Andrew shook his head again. “I... I have to go, Jess. I can’t stay here. Don’t worry about me... I’ll figure something out. You take care...” He continued walking.

Jessica’s heart sank. Now she’d lost her boyfriend and the little guy who had grown on her. Her last few months had been all about him and now he was just walking out on her? This was far too much for her to bear. As she wallowed in self-pity, the thought, ’for us’, popped into her head, giving her one last, desperate idea.

“For us...” this mantra was all that Jessica could say. It was her glue, the only thing holding her together. As she watched the only man she’d ever cared about turn his back on her, she had a sudden idea pop into her head.

Jessica didn’t waste any time as she bolted into her room and grabbed the small, hand-held mirror. In some stories and legends, if you say a spell back-words then it can undo the original spell. It wasn’t guaranteed, but at least worth a shot. If she couldn’t have her man back, then she’d settle for her little man. She left her apartment and chased down Andrew, who was on foot due to his lack of car. She caught his attention as she caught up with him. “Jess, look, it’s over...” he began with effort. The fact that she’d doomed so many people couldn’t ever sit right with him. He figured he owed her a better explanation than a simple “it’s over”, so he stopped to let her speak to him for a last time.

An evil smirk on her lips, she said, “Oh no, it’s not nearly over yet, baby.” she laughed. Andrew felt his skin crawl from hearing her call him that particular pet name at that particular moment. He turned to make a run for it when she showed him the small mirror, where he saw his reflection. “Morn ot nruter, mrof eurt straeh!” The look in her eyes was terrifying.

The image of Andrew that was in the mirror the moment before changed into the baby that he was earlier that day. Light came out of Andrew and went into the mirror. Jessica watched in sheer fascination as he began to shrink. He yelled. He writhed. She continued to gaze in excitement as he lost body mass. He looked to be the scrawny stick of a kid he was at age eighteen, seconds later he was in really baggy clothes as he reentered puberty. “Just hang in there, baby! It’ll be over soon!” she reassured him. If it weren’t for the intense pain that accompanied the transformation, Andrew would have found himself very terrified at this point.

Andrew’s clothes were very baggy on him as he exited the wrong side of puberty, in fact, they were starting to fall off. Jessica cackled as he lost even more body mass, returning to childhood. The pain wasn’t as bad anymore, but the betrayal cut him deep. “Why!!!?” he exclaimed in a very high-pitched voice, as he inflated with baby fat, still shrinking, now into baby-hood.

Jessica picked him up as he shrank down to a few months old. She kissed him on the cheek. “Because you’re my baby.” She howled maniacal laughter. Andrew cried out in fear.

The End