Intentional Accidents

Chapter 1
Hope

Chapter Description: "You're feeling lost. Alone. You miss the simplicity of youth, the carefree days: when you danced with your father, played in the sandbox, drew outside the lines. These days life keeps giving you lemons, but offers no sugar for your proverbial lemonade. So where does one turn, when life seems so hopeless?"

"Use only as you sleep, in the comfort of your own room. Usage during daily activity may cause mind-altering distortion."

Victoria read the instructions on the package carefully, but with a fair amount of skepticism. Although she was willing to try anything to alleviate her anxiety, this method seemed very far-fetched. Perhaps it was a scam.

But she had to try.

For a girl of 18, Victoria had seen more troubles than most. She’d had three great boyfriends throughout her high school career - or at least, she thought they were great, until they started demanding sex. Victoria was one of those types who intended to save her deepest passions for the man she was to marry, and this vow of chastity brought an untimely end to what were otherwise near-perfect relationships with seemingly flawless guys.

The love life wasn’t her only source of melancholy, however. Her father had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke only a few months ago, leaving him nearly brain-dead and hospitalized, quite possibly for the rest of his life. It had been hard on Victoria’s mother as well. She’d gone from a stay-at-home mom to a bank teller to an accountant to a street performer to all of these at once -- and then some -- in order to make ends meet since her husband could no longer take care of the family, much less himself. And during this time, Victoria could only watch and pray. She tried working an odd job here or there to help her mother with the bills, but more often than not she spread herself too thin, and her grades would suffer.

As if these agonies were not enough, Victoria had just been diagnosed with clinical depression. She insisted to the psychiatrist that her sadness was completely normal in light of everything she’d been through lately, but her doctor recommended an anti-depressant nonetheless. Her mother also believed that something to relieve the stress would be helpful. Sadly, the pills only seemed to aggravate the condition; for some reason mood drugs can cause suicidal thoughts, especially in young adults.

In short, Victoria was beyond miserable. But that was before she found a possible answer to her woes.

While browsing the Internet wistfully, Victoria came across an advertisement which was unlike anything she’d seen before. It was some sort of Flash cartoon, but there was something remarkable about it. The text, vividly animated, read as follows:

"You’re feeling lost. Alone. You miss the simplicity of youth, the carefree days: when you danced with your father, played in the sandbox, drew outside the lines. These days life keeps giving you lemons, but offers no sugar for your proverbial lemonade. So where does one turn, when life seems so hopeless?

There is one sure solution: Hope itself.

Hope is a product unlike any other, a truly revolutionary breakthrough founded on decades of careful research. With this medical marvel, we can give you back the life you so desperately wish you could have again. We promise more than satisfaction; we promise sheer bliss. With Hope, you’ll find that all worries just melt away, leaving you as you were in a happier time. And, as a special one-time offer, you can receive THE first package of Hope ever produced, for the low, low price of $99.99. For more details, click here!"

The graphics had been so inspirational and the pitch so eerily tantalizing that Victoria couldn’t help but be reeled in. She ordered it, and within two business days received a package marked as "Hope: First Edition" in the mail. The instructions were fastened to the top of the box, and Victoria had spent the past hour poring over them.

But a peculiar fact suddenly dawned on Victoria. The advert, the instructions, and the other research she had seen on the Internet all gave incredibly detailed, yet somehow vague information about the product; that is to say, it was never stated what the product actually was.

Finally, she managed to finish reading the manual. Still baffled, but ready to try anything, Victoria opened the box.

Yet its contents left the poor girl all the more perplexed.

Inside the large package was a jumbo pack of what were unmistakably teen-sized, star-spangled, extra-absorbent...diapers.

Victoria was understandably baffled. "Diapers? I dropped an entire Benjamin on these? This is just great…Mom’s gonna lose her mind." Before she could wallow in her disappointment, the young woman noticed a card sitting atop the pretty plastic pack. Curious, she reached down to open it. It read:

Thanks so much for trying Hope!

I swear, you’ll love it! ~Uncle Zed

Once she got past her initial disgust at the corny poetry, Victoria started to think critically. She wondered, first of all, how they had known to put eighteen stars on the front of the garments; Victoria was eighteen, but she’d bought Hope with her mother’s credit card, so unless merely watching the advertisement downloaded spyware to her computer, they would have no way of knowing her age.

But far stranger than that was this: something was compelling her to actually try them on. She looked down with bemused adoration at the beautifully adorned underthings, clearly designed for overnight use. In some respects they were like the Goodnites Victoria had seen on TV, yet somehow far more ornate, enchanting...mesmerizing. The star print, evidently designed to disappear when wet, almost seemed to glow in the moonlight streaming through her bedroom window.

Unable to resist the urge, Victoria stripped entirely and removed a garment from the package. "Can a diaper really...?" She didn’t know the answer, but felt curiously compelled to find out. So, after a ceremonious deep breath, Victoria slid her feet through the leg holes of her first Hopes, gingerly tugging them up her thighs until they settled into place.

It was a sensation beyond description. Victoria couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn a diaper, but she was positive it hadn’t felt this good. In truth, it was the most comfortable form of underwear she’d ever worn. A perfect fit, incredibly elastic and plush, ticklishly appealing. She giggled as she caught her reflection in the mirror on her wall.

There she stood: A 120-pound, 5’9’’ trim, sexy, redhead high-school Senior -- tempting thighs, well-maintained bust, and a face so hot it even made the ladies swoon -- wearing, regardless of its magnificence, an overnight diaper. A giant Pull-Up, so to speak, only tailor-made for Victoria herself...and uncommonly pleasurable.

Giggling again from the tickling feeling, Victoria appropriately slipped on a baby-doll tee shirt and checked her alarm clock. It was 10:00, and tomorrow was a school night (supposing she was still old enough to go to school when she would wake). The sooner she tested the power of Hope, Victoria supposed, the better. She was about to climb straight into bed, when she remembered the instructions.

"Use only as you sleep, in the comfort of your own room. Usage during daily activity may cause mind-altering distortion."

She would have to use the diaper as she slept, and Victoria realized that she wasn’t really feeling the urge to pee. After a moment’s thought, she opened her mini-fridge and systematically downed an entire 2-liter of Mountain Dew. She’d been practicing for college, where chugging is said to be a vital skill; ironic, since her current goal was to escape from that path in life.

After her stomach settled from all the carbonation, Victoria plopped down on her mattress and yawned. As she drew the covers over her 18-year-old body, she wondered what tomorrow would bring. Would she awaken as her younger self? Would she remember anything of her future, if so? Or would these supposedly magical undergarments have no power after all?

Resigning herself to fate and letting her mind wander, Victoria finally drifted off to sleep.

What the future might hold, she did not know...but at least there was Hope for the future.