The Wish

 

I looked at the bedroom window, watching as the sun sank below the rooftops of all the houses in the neighborhood. I did not, however, look at the clock. I had set a reminder on my smartwatch that would let me know when the time changed to 11:11. Everyone else in the house was deep asleep, leaving me the only one who was wide awake. I closed the curtains in front of my window, taking a deep breath. The notification dinged, and I looked down at my watch, seeing that the time now read 11:11 pm. The night before, I had been reading up on the rules of an 11:11 wish, and I had waited up until now to make my wish.

 

That being said, the moment I’d been waiting for had arrived. “I wish that I could become any kind of animal, Pokemon, video game character, movie character, anything. That I can do so by thinking it, wanting it, saying it, that I can transform partially or completely, and that there is no time limit on how long I can be transformed, and that my voice changes depending on what I transform into.” When I stated my wish I immediately looked away from the clock. In foresight, I had also set an additional reminder that would let me know when the time changed to 11:13.

 

Please let this work, Please let this work. I really want my wish to come true! I thought, screwing my eyes shut. My fingers were crossed, and I genuinely wanted the desire to be fulfilled. The notification dinged again, and I quickly opened my eyes. “I hope I can do this,” I said to myself. My most favorite Pokemon was Lucario. I decided to try transforming into one. Closing my eyes, I thought this over and over: I want to turn into Lucario. I want to turn into Lucario. I opened my eyes, feeling a strange force straining against the seat of my pants. “What’s that I’m feeling?” I wondered, scratching my head. Without warning, something burst through the fabric of my pants. RIIIIIIIIP! Ah, that feels so much better! I was still curious about what had torn through my pants, so I looked over my shoulder. “WHAT?” I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Even though I was seeing it, I could hardly believe my eyes.

 

This could only mean one thing: My wish had come true. I slowly opened the door to the hallway outside my bedroom. “I can’t believe this. My wish actually came true!” I said to myself, walking down the hallway. I looked behind myself once again, starting to admire having a long tail. I reached the bathroom door, opened it, and entered through the doorway. I quietly shut and locked the door.

 

I was beginning to believe that I actually had the tail of a Lucario. In real life. I was giddy with excitement. Suddenly, the thought occurred to me of how my parents would react to seeing me with this tail. “No one can know about this. Not even my parents,” I told myself, understanding how important it was that my parents didn’t discover my new secret. If I can transform into something, surely I can transform back. I decided to give the thought a try. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and focused on the thought of my new tail disappearing.

 

When I thought hard enough, I opened my eyes. When I looked behind me, the tail was gone. I breathed a sigh of relief, unlocked the bathroom door, and returned to my bedroom. Luckily, I was on summer vacation, with plenty of time to test my newfound transformation abilities. “This is so amazing. I’m definitely going to enjoy this,” I said to myself, splitting the curtains in front of my bedroom window. The sky was beginning to light up, as the moon dipped below the horizon. “I should probably change out of my pants,” I told myself, closing the door to my bedroom. I took off my torn pants and put on a pair of shorts. A series of knocks rapped on my closed door, followed by the sound of my mom’s voice. “Derek? It’s time for breakfast. May I come in?” she said. I looked over my shoulder just to make sure I didn’t have a tail. Good.

 

“Sure, Mom,” I answered, opening the door. My mom stood in the doorframe, smiling cheerfully. My mom’s name was Luanne. She had long and vibrant blonde hair, which was curled at the ends. A single strand of hair, however, was more of a brown color than the rest of her hair. On more humid days, her hair was even frizzier than other days. Before she noticed, I saw a lone strip of torn fabric which I immediately stepped in front of. “What are we having for breakfast, Mom?” I asked. “Your favorite: Fried eggs and toast,” she replied, smiling. “I’ll be there in a few minutes. I just need to check something on my computer,” I told her.

 

Mom turned away from me and headed down the hallway. When I was absolutely sure she had left, I shut the door and locked it. “That was close. Too close,” I said. After breakfast, I would be testing out my new ability. I picked up the piece of torn fabric and dropped it into the recycling bin sitting beside my desk. Today is going to be very interesting, I thought, unlocking my bedroom door.

 

When I got to the dining room, my Dad was already seated at the table. Mom was humming as she cooked breakfast, flipping the sizzling eggs one by one. Dad looked up from his newspaper, peering at me from over the top of the paper. After a moment, he broke the silence. “Are you just going to stand there staring at me or are you going to take a seat with me for breakfast?” I shook my head, pulling a chair out from under the table to sit in.

 

Mom slid a spatula under each of the fried eggs and doled them out on some summer themed paper plates. “Breakfast time!” she sang cheerfully, setting all the plates in front of us. She took a seat beside my dad, then clasped her hands in prayer, gesturing for me to do the same. I nodded, closed my eyes, and joined the blessing. After we’d said the blessing, we began eating. “Thanks mom,” I said, swallowing a bit of fried egg. “You’re welcome.”

 

After breakfast, I called my friend on my smartphone. After a few minutes, Lewis answered my call. “Hey, Derek. What’s happening back at your house?” he asked once he picked up. I lowered my voice and returned to my room. “I have something to tell you. But I can’t say it until I get to your house. Can you meet me in the woods?” There was a few minutes pause before Lewis asked “How come you can’t tell me now?”

 

I closed my bedroom door, then answered Lewis’ question. “No one but you and I can know about it. Trust me, nobody else should know,” I explained. Lewis sighed, then replied. “Okay. When do you want to meet me in the woods?” I thought about it for a moment, then said, “As soon as possible.” Lewis didn’t answer, but hung up on me. I left my room to go ask for permission to meet Lewis. “Sure, just don’t stay out too long. Okay Derek?” I nodded in agreement. She smiled, then headed out the front door to ride to work. Fortunately, neither of my parents would be back from work until late at night. So I had nothing to worry about. I had the whole day free for a meeting with Lewis.

 

I went down the stairs to the garage, where my bicycle was waiting for me. I hope that Lewis doesn’t tell anyone about it. I took a deep breath, put my bicycle helmet on, and pedaled away from the house. There was a strong wind today, but at least I didn’t have any paper with me; Paper was easily blown away by strong wind. I continued on, not stopping until I reached the woods. Lewis was already there waiting for me when I reached my destination.

 

“What took you so long?” he asked, taking off his helmet. Lewis stood leaning against a tree. He was about as old as I was. Skinny, very good at sprinting, Lewis wore a blue shirt with a dark blue stripe in the middle. He could usually be found skimming stones at the nearby pond, taking his time to relax, enjoy some alone time every now and then, and be very thoughtful. He was my best friend, who I could count on to help me through my more stressful times.

 

He cleared his throat, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Derek. I asked you a question. What took you so long to get here?” Lewis repeated. “I was actually pedaling here at an extremely fast pace. There’s a difference,” I replied, leaning my own bicycle against the tree Lewis’ was. “What did you want to talk about, Derek?” Lewis asked me, curious. “Something that no one can-” Lewis cut me off. “I know, I know! Will you please just tell me?” he interrupted. I guess I have to tell him. No turning back now, I thought. I took a deep breath, then closed my eyes. “What are you doing?” I shook my head, with my eyes still shut. He said nothing more.

 

I focused on transforming. When I felt something change, I opened my eyes again. Lewis was speechless, staring at me with wide eyes and his jaw hanging open. I nodded, in answer to his silence. He pointed at my face, backing a few steps away from me. I walked closer to him, and he backed up, until the tree blocked him. “It’s okay. I’m fine. This is what I meant,” I told Lewis. He finally broke out of his surprise and looked suspiciously at me. “Whatever happens, you cannot, under any circumstances, tell anybody else what you just saw. It’s not safe that any other person but you and I know,” I warned. He gulped, then walked forward.

 

“How-How did you just do that? The nose, I mean,” Lewis demanded. I thought back to what I’d learned about an 11:11 wish. Nothing on the website had cautioned against revealing your wish after it came true. So I spilled the beans. “I made an 11:11 wish. That’s how I can do it,” I explained. Lewis looked at me, skeptical. “I’ll prove it. Watch,” I said, closing my eyes. I turned away from him, focusing on a raccoon tail. I felt something push against my underwear and shorts, followed by a loud SHRIIIIP! I opened my eyes, then turned to face my friend.

 

“How is this possible? I’m dreaming aren’t I? This is probably just a dream,” he stammered, rubbing his eyes, trying to convince himself he was only dreaming. I waited for him to finish. I walked up to him, shaking my head. “This isn’t a dream. I actually have a raccoon tail,” I said, turning away from him to prove my point. “Try touching my tail if you don’t believe me. It’s there all right,” I said, still not looking at Lewis. He hesitated for a second, then shakily extended his arm toward my tail. I looked over my shoulder at Lewis. Lewis finally touched my tail, and he seemed more than convinced that this was real. But as soon as he touched my tail, he jerked his hand away, with a puzzled look on his face. “Derek, for some reason, I feel something pushing against my pants,” he told me, starting to smirk. What’s going on with Lewis? I wondered. I noticed a small patch of fur beginning to appear on his chest. “Lewis, you might not want to see this,” I warned him. He followed my gaze and gasped. I turned around and tried not to look quilty. “What’s happening to me?” he whispered, looking down at his chest. Is it just me or is Lewis transforming into something? I thought, backing away from him.

 

I looked away from Lewis, feeling pretty responsible for what was happening to my friend. While I was facing away from him, I felt very worried. “Whatever you do, do not look behind yourself. Trust me, you probably won’t like what you see,” I cautioned, shutting my eyes. From behind me, I heard Lewis snickering, followed by a very loud SHRIP! Lewis immediately laughed hard, which made me open my eyes and look back at him. Lewis was leaning against a tree, tears rolling down his face as he laughed. When his nose twitched, his eyes squinched shut. He managed to breath a few words. “This…feels….goooood,” he gasped, breathless. Meanwhile, his nose was pushing out into a muzzle, while he continued snickering.

 

Lewis doesn’t seem too upset. He looks like he’s enjoying this, I thought. I walked up to my friend, unsure of what to say to him. I waited until he stopped laughing. When he regained his breath, he looked up at me. “Are you mad at me?” I asked him. He shook his head no. I let out a deep sigh of relief, glad that he wasn’t mad. “Look at me. I have a raccoon tail,” he said, before collapsing on the ground, banging his fists against the exposed roots of a towering tree as he laughed. He’s in shock. It’s my fault, I thought, feeling guilty about the whole situation.

 

I helped Lewis to his feet, doing my best to support him. Lewis stopped laughing and seemed to realize what had happened to him during the past few minutes. I held up my mirror for him to see his reflection. “What? How did this happen?” Lewis asked, holding his hands up to his nose. It happened because of me. I didn’t expect this to happen. What am I going to do? I lowered the mirror, not daring to look Lewis in the eyes. “Hey. I’m not mad at you or anything. I’m just a little shocked, that’s all. I don’t blame you for what happened to me,” Lewis said.

 

I looked him in the eye and sighed. “I think I can return you back to normal. Just close your eyes. Focus on reverting back to normal,” I suggested. He nodded and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, the small patch of dark fur disappeared, his tail shrinking away to nothing. Lewis opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder to make sure that the tail was completely gone. “It worked. Do you think that you accidentally gave me the same ability as you do? If so, what else can I transform into?” Lewis questioned. I shook my head, not at all completely certain of what else he could do with his newfound ability.

 

I focused on returning to normal, and it worked. “Whoa,” is all Lewis said. I completely understood. If I had been him and seen someone with a tail, I’d be surprised. “Yeah. I can actually do that,” I said. Lewis sat down on a flat rock nearby and sighed. “I can’t believe this is happening right now,” he said, looking up at me. “Well it is. And we cannot tell anybody else what we can do. It’s too risky for anyone other than both of us knowing what we’re able to do,” I replied, sitting down next to him. Lewis looked away from me and sighed again. I looked up at the sky, which was now mid afternoon. I patted Lewis on the back. “Come on. It’s lunchtime. We should probably head back home,” I said, standing up from the rock. Lewis followed suit, and we put on our bicycle helmets, pedaling quickly to my house.

 

When we got to my house, I discovered that I had been right. My parents were still at work, which meant we had the whole house to ourselves. Perfect. I removed my bicycle helmet, then hung it on the handlebars of my bike. Lewis closed the garage door, then turned to face me. He had an excited look on his face. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Lewis asked me. I nodded eagerly. “Tonight, once our parents are asleep, we should test out our new power,” I said, and we both nodded in agreement. It was decided. Tonight we would have a little bit of fun with our newfound ability.

 

Lewis’ smartphone buzzed. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, answering the phone call. “Hello? Oh, hey mom. I’m over at Derek’s house. Do you want me to come back home?” A pause. “Okay. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Love you. Bye.” Lewis ended the phone call, sliding his smartphone into his back pocket. He turned to look at me. “I have to go. I’ll see you in the woods tonight after dark, okay?” I nodded. With that, I opened the garage door again so my friend could ride his bicycle home.

 

Later that night, I waited until my parents started snoring. When I was absolutely sure that they had fallen asleep, I slowly opened the bedroom window, having already gotten dressed, put my backpack on, and crawled through the open window. There was a tall tree that stood outside the upstairs window, which was really useful for sneaking out of the house. I quietly shut my bedroom window and made my way down the towering tree.

 

The wind was really blowing stronger than before, whirling my hair in all directions. The neighborhood was quiet, all the windows were darkened and empty. The moon was bright and full tonight, unimpeded by stray clouds drifting across the sky. With one last look at my bedroom window, I made my way to where I was supposed to be. As I walked, my smartphone dinged. So I took my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the screen. A pop-up text message had appeared, and it had been sent by Lewis. Are you on your way? I sent a quick message back. Yes. I’ll be there in a minute.

 

A wispy cloud fell over the moon like a velvet curtain, throwing a darkness over the area surrounding me. The wind began dying down, no longer messing up my hair. I quickened my pace, hurrying toward the woods. After a few shortcuts, I reached the woods. A flashlight blinded me out of nowhere, startling me. A click sounded, and the beam of light vanished. “I caught you by surprise,” a voice said, chuckling. I rubbed my eyes and adjusted to the darkness. Lewis was standing there in front of me, smiling.

 

I playfully bopped my friend on the head. “Okay. Enough messing around. Are you ready for a little transformation time?” I said, taking off my backpack. He nodded, doing the same. I walked over to the tree we’d leaned our bicycles against, then hauled myself onto a thick and long tree branch. “What are you waiting for? Get up here with me,” I said, scooting further back on the tree branch. He said nothing, climbing up to the tree branch I was sitting on. But as soon as Lewis sat down on the tree branch, something happened. Without warning, a bushy tail burst through his pants, startling both of us. I could hardly contain laughter, and I pointed at the tail behind my friend.

 

Lewis followed my gaze and started laughing, too. “I look so hilarious, don’t I?” he asked, snickering. I nodded, tears streaming down my face. Suddenly, my nose started to twitch. I felt a sneeze coming. “Ah, ah, AH, AHHH-CHOO!” Lewis’ eyes widened, and then he burst out laughing, pointing at my face. “What? What’s so funny? Why are you laughing?” I demanded. He said nothing, holding up a mirror to my face. I took one look at my reflection and fell on my back, roaring with laughter.

 

We were laughing so much that we barely noticed what was happening to us. As I was laughing, I barely realized that I was shrinking in size. I stopped to catch my breath. In the moonlight, I saw a darkening patch materializing on my arms. I tapped my friend on the shoulder. He paused in his laughter. “What is it?” Lewis asked, not looking at himself. “Uh, I think I know what’s happening to us. Take a look at your tail,” I said, pointing behind him. He looked behind himself and realized what type of tail he had. I nodded when he turned his head back to me.

 

Squirrels. We’re becoming squirrels. My two front teeth lengthened, becoming bucktoothed. “Look at my teeth! I’m bucktoothed now!” I said, feeling my two new buck teeth. I finally noticed how much smaller me and my friend had become. My shirt was completely covering my lower half, with the sleeves hanging over the ends of my arms. I picked up Lewis’ mirror and took another good look at my face. In the moonlight, the patch of fur traveled up my arms and began spreading all over my body. My voice began to change as well.

 

“Look at us! We’re squirrels!” I exclaimed in a high pitched voice. Lewis laughed in a voice much the same as mine. His laugh sounded like chittering. I dropped the mirror, no longer strong enough to hold up its weight. My shirt slid over one of my shoulders. My pants fell off of my legs, then dropped off the tree branch and landed on the ground directly underneath the branch. I didn’t care about it much. For some reason, I suddenly felt much better without those pesky pants.

 

“Ahh. That feels so much better. Why was I wearing those, anyway?” I wondered, twitching my right ear. I was so caught up in how I looked that I barely recognized my mind was becoming fuzzier and more instinctual. I snapped out of my confusion. I clapped my hands, or rather, paws, to get Lewis’ attention. “What? For some reason, I really want to go hunt for acorns. What’s happening to my mind. I feel so….different,” he said, his eyes glazing over. I snapped my fingers and Lewis snapped out of his daze. “Don’t lose yourself, Lewis,” I cautioned, throwing off the strange half-formed thoughts and urges racing through my mind. He nodded, then looked down at himself again. We hadn’t completely turned into squirrels. Some parts of our bodies were not yet covered in grayish brown fur.

 

I did the best I could to secure my t-shirt from falling off of me, but it still hung over my left shoulder. “What are we going to do now?” Lewis wondered, rolling up his sleeves. I thought about it for a moment then I knew. A thought occurred to me. “Lewis, I want to try something. Close your eyes,” I told him, then closed my eyes. I concentrated on becoming somewhat human again, and then I felt my body shifting and growing. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes again. When I looked at myself, it seemed my idea had worked. I was my normal size again.

 

I looked over at my friend. The same thing had happened to Lewis: He’d partially become human and was back to his original size. “It worked. Now what do we do?” Lewis said, looking at me as he spoke. His voice had lessened from being high pitched and reverted to its former sound. I looked up at the sky, as the clouds and moon continued to make their way across the sky. I looked at my smartphone and looked up the time. Fifteen minutes had passed. We still had plenty of time.

 

“Easy. We just have some more fun,” I said, smiling. Lewis nodded, then looked like he’d just thought of something. “Derek, didn’t your pants fall off and end up on the ground? If you revert to your normal self again, you wouldn’t be wearing any pants,” he said, looking down at the base of the tree. I agreed. So I hopped off the tree branch, picked up my pants, and put them on in the safety of a thick bush.

 

When I came out of the bush, I felt oddly restricted in my pants, and I realized that I still had a tail. I sat down, causing my tail to hurt. I winced, then tore a hole in the seat of my pants, immediately feeling so much more free when my tail burst out of the opening I’d created. That’s much better! I thought, enjoying the liberation. I looked up at my friend, who was still perched on the tree branch. “You can come down from there now! I’m wearing pants,” I called up to him. After a moment, Lewis leapt off of the tree branch and landed in front of me.

 

My friend looked up at the night sky, enjoying the view. After a couple of minutes, Lewis lowered his head and looked at me. He had a twinkle in his eyes that told me how much fun he was having. “Let’s go have a little fun. Think of how much we can do like this!” he said. I nodded, then closed my eyes, focusing on completely reverting back to becoming human. It didn’t take but a few seconds and I was no longer partially a squirrel.

 

Lewis did the same, and in a moment, we were both back to normal. I put my jacket on, letting it fall over the hole in my pants. I stood still for a moment, looking up at the night sky. I thought of something. “You know what? I think I want to transform again,” I said. My friend nodded in agreement. I climbed back up to the tree branch, and Lewis did the same. I didn’t close my eyes like I had before, and my two front teeth immediately lengthened. “Let’s have a little more fun as squirrels,” I said to my friend. Lewis looked over his shoulder and a black and gray ringed tail was protruding from beneath his green t-shirt.

 

I felt my own nose begin to push out, becoming more rodent-like in appearance. I felt a tail poke through the hole in my pants, which tickled strongly. “Th-this tickles so much!” I said shakily, barely containing my laughter. I looked over at Lewis, as a dark gray mask began appearing around his eyes. “You’re becoming a raccoon? Great choice,” I said to him, and he smiled as his nose began darkening as well as the mask forming around his eyes. I looked down at my hands, noticing the small pads beginning to swell on my palms. Dark colored fur began creeping up my arms, itching slightly. I looked behind myself as the same tail Lewis had poked out from underneath my shirt and jacket. My hair started fading from chestnut brown to the same color as the fur traveling all over my body.

 

I pulled the neck of my shirt down, watching as a dark patch started forming on my neck. The next part of the transformation started: I was beginning to shrink in size, my shirt, jacket, and any article of clothing grew baggier and droopier due to my rapidly decreasing size. My pants fell off the tree branch again, sliding off of my legs and dropping down to the ground underneath the branch.

 

Lewis tapped me on the shoulder. “Doesn’t this feel great?” I asked. He nodded happily, turning around to admire his new striped tail. My voice started changing to a different tone. “Listen to this. I sound different, don’t I?” Lewis’ eyes widened. “I recognize that voice. You sound just like Rocket Raccoon!” he pointed out. I realized that Lewis was right! My voice had changed to match Rocket Raccoon’s own voice!

 

The moon began sinking, gradually dipping below the horizon. I turned to face my friend. “I think we should probably be getting back home. The neighborhood will be awake soon,” I suggested. He nodded. I focused on reverting back to normal. Within a few minutes, I was back to my normal self again. The only thing that didn’t change was my voice. “Oh no. I can’t go home sounding like this!” My voice still sounded like Rocket Raccoon. I closed my eyes and concentrated on returning my voice to normal. After a moment, I opened my eyes and tested whether my attempt had been successful.

 

I cleared my throat then sighed in relief. I was completely back to normal. “I’ll see you later on today, Lewis,” I told my friend, hopping down from the tree branch. Lewis climbed down from the tree branch, landing squarely beside me. “Lewis, you still have a tail,” I said to him. Lewis looked over his shoulder. “I do?” Lewis asked, peering behind himself. I nodded.

 

The sky was definitely brightening, as the sun began to peek over the horizon. Birds started chirping and tweeting as they woke up. Lewis tried to get rid of his tail, but worryingly, it stayed. My friend started panicking. “I can’t go home with a tail, Derek. What are my parents going to think? I tried to come up with a plan. Then after a few minutes of pondering, I thought of something. I tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around to face me.

 

“For now, until you can figure out how to get rid of the tail, just hide it with a jacket or something. That might work until you can get rid of it,” I suggested. He sighed, then nodded, and he seemed calmer now. It was not often that something made Lewis nervous. Usually he was very calm. I lended him my jacket, which he gratefully accepted. I put my arm around my friend’s back. “Come on. Let’s go home. I’ll meet you back here later today.” We both started heading home, but Lewis reminded me of something. “Wait. You aren’t wearing your pants. They fell off you, remember?” I stopped, realizing he was right. I saw where my pants had fallen. Blushing, I hurried over to where my pants were laying, picked them up, then dove behind a nearby tree to put them back on.

 

The sun had reached its highest point, filling the sky with a peach and orange color. I looked at my smartwatch, the time reading: 7:20 am. My friend said nothing, so we left the area and made our way back to the neighborhood. The good thing was that neither of my parents were early risers, unlike me and most of the kids in my neighborhood.

 

When we reached the entrance to the neighborhood, Lewis tapped me on the shoulder. I looked at him. “Are you sure no one will notice my tail?” he asked, lifting up the back of his lent jacket up to glance at the ringed tail protruding from underneath.

 

I felt a little unsure of my plan, but I shook it off. “Don’t worry. As long as you don’t take the jacket off, no one will suspect a thing,” I reassured my friend. He looked like he was about to say something, but closed his mouth, then stalked off to his part of the neighborhood.

 

I looked at the time on my smartphone, then hurried back to my house. The sun was almost ready to wake up the neighbors, but at least my parents would still be asleep for the next ten minutes. I climbed up the tall tree that stood in front of my bedroom window, opened it, and crawled through the window to my bedroom.

 

I switched out of my pants, brushed my hair, put on a pair of plaid pajamas, then went to my bed, drawing the blankets up to my neck. Before my alarm went off, I quickly pulled the windowpane down, powered off the alarm clock and returned to my bed.

 

The bell tower began chiming its morning melody, ringing in the far off distance. The neighborhood began waking up, while the dogs started barking at the mailman. A series of knocks rapped on my bedroom door, followed by my mom’s voice. “Derek? Breakfast is ready!” she said, walking off down the hallway, her footsteps fading away from my door.

 

I opened the door, then headed down the hallway to the dining room. When I got there,  I could hear the sound of sizzling bacon coming from the kitchen beside the dining room. After a few minutes, mom came through the doorway of the kitchen, wearing a pair of oven mitts and carrying a platter of bacon to the dining room table. “Careful, it’s hot. It just got off the frying pan,” she cautioned, sliding the platter in the center of the dining table. Again, after we’d said the blessing, we started breakfast.

 

My mom snapped me out of my thoughts. “Derek, we have an important business trip to Germany. We didn’t know about it until yesterday. From what we’ve been told, the trip will last up to two months. You’ve proven you can be trusted to be on your own while we’re gone. You know what to do. Stay out of trouble, okay?” she said, smiling. I said nothing, since I had a mouthful of bacon in my mouth. I chewed a few times, swallowed, then looked up at my parents.

 

My mom and dad both nodded, smiling. I smiled back, returning to finishing up my breakfast. After we’d eaten, both my parents told me one last thing before getting in the car and driving off to the office building. I could hardly believe my luck! With two months of being at home by myself, I had time to spare in testing out my transformation abilities! I immediately texted a message to Lewis. No parents at my house for two months! Meet me in the woods in five minutes.

 

My friend responded immediately. I’ll be there! I looked at the time on my smartphone, which now read: 8:16 am. I decided to go ahead and go to the woods, the same spot I’d been to last night.

 

Lewis was already in the woods by the time I got there. “Ready for some more transformation?” I asked him. He nodded eagerly, and we both smiled. Immediately, a tuft of light gray fur began appearing underneath my chin. Lewis’ ears became more triangular, tufts of white hair starting to appear inside his ears. My pants were beginning to slip and slide off of my legs. I sat down, relishing the sensation of fur spreading all over my body. I looked over my shoulder and glanced at the striped tail protruding from underneath my white shirt.

 

“Doesn’t this feel great?” I asked my friend, who nodded happily. My shirt was hanging over one of my shoulders, which was one of the few parts of my body not yet covered in fur. I smiled and closed my eyes, enjoying the transformation. A gentle breeze began blowing my way, ruffling my fur in the most comfortable way. I opened my eyes, then turned my hands over, as pads began swelling on my palms and feet, which tickled slightly.

 

I looked over at my friend, who was nearing the end of his transformation into a raccoon. With the last few changes, my transformation came to a finish. I had now completely become a raccoon. Lewis soon followed and his changes finished.

 

“How do you like it?” I asked Lewis, who said nothing, looking behind himself at his tail in satisfaction. He turned around to face me, a smile on his face. “Like it? I love it!” my friend replied, looking at himself in enjoyment. An idea occurred to me. I looked up at the treetops, feeling a strong desire to climb up the tree branches and have some fun.

 

I tapped my friend on the shoulder. When Lewis turned around, I told him what I’d thought of. “Why are we just sitting here doing nothing? We should be up in the trees?” I asked him. He nodded, looking up at the trees. I felt a little bit mischievous. “First one to reach the treetops wins. Race you!” With that, I darted over to the base of a tree and started climbing, my shirt hanging past my legs as I climbed.

 

My friend called up after me. “Not if I get up there first!” he proclaimed, starting up the tree. I had some trouble climbing up the tree, so I stopped on a tree branch, taking off my oversized t-shirt. As soon as I’d freed myself, I immediately resumed climbing, hurrying along to get a head start against Lewis. I grabbed an acorn and dropped it down at my friend. “Oops! Did I do that?” I snickered, stopping to peer down at him.

 

“Very funny, Derek. Very funny,” Lewis said, feeling more competitive quickening his climbing pace. After a few more minutes, I made it to the top of the tree first. Lewis heaved himself up at the treetop beside me, panting heavily. “I win. Are you exhausted, Lewis?” I said to him, who nodded. After a moment, my friend found his breath and looked up at the midafternoon sky.

 

“It feels like the sky is much closer to you when you’re at the top of a tree, doesn’t it?” I said to Lewis, who was looking up at the sky just like I was. Then, without warning, a bullet whizzed past my tail, just barely missing it. There, at the base of the tree we were sitting on, was Old Dilby, who was pointing his gun right up at Lewis and I. “Get down!” I whispered urgently, pulling my friend down.

 

Old Dilby was a hunter, who could be found anywhere that had any kind of animal that could be shot down and sold for money. The most scary part was that Old Dilby was suspicious of what he called “devil’s forest magic”. The crazy old hunter was a firm believer in the supernatural. He claimed to have various pieces of supernatural evidence that he had encountered on his many trips to these woods before. He was dangerous, and not one to provoke the anger of. He was very proud of his faithful shotgun and was not afraid to use it.

 

I tried coming up with an escape plan, hoping that there was a way to somehow get my clothes, find a good hiding place to transform back into a human and leave the woods unharmed. I quickly scanned the ground far down below the treetops. There! I found the perfect place that me and Lewis could go to without bumping into the crazy forest hunter. I whispered into my friend’s ear. “When I count to three, follow me as quickly as you can. Once we get back to the ground, I’ll distract Old Dilby while you go back to normal. Got it?” I told him, looking through the corner of my eyes down at the hunter, who was searching for us.

 

I turned back to face my friend, holding up three fingers. “One,” I counted, watching the dangerous man as I counted down. “Two…THREE!” I shouted, hopping down from tree branch to tree branch, making my way back down to the ground. I climbed down the backof the tree, grabbed a fairly large pebble, then hurled it as hard and far through the air as possible. With a thwack, the pebble crashed into Old Dilby’s overlarge nose.

 

“Ow! Who threw that darn pebble? Come out where I can see you!” the old hunter commanded, narrowing his eyes menacingly. I heard a slight creak, then Lewis landed beside me. I silently made gestures for him to run as fast as he could to get his discarded clothing, find a good hiding spot, and transform back into his normal self. My friend understood, then I peeked around the side of the thick looming tree at Dilby.

 

Without realizing it, Lewis was dangerously close to the maddened hunter, and I made sharp gestures for him to get away from where he was standing. I desperately tried to warn my friend, but he didn’t see me from the dark shadow of the tree I was hiding behind. As a last resort, I darted out from the shadows and got Old Dilby’s attention. He growled, then cocked the barrel of his trusty shotgun and aimed it at me. “Go! Lewis get out of here while you still have the chance!” I shouted at my friend.

 

I was seriously regretting being chased by a determined Dilby, who was shouting after me. Oh man! Why did this have to happen today? Why did Old Dilby come here of all places? I thought to myself, running as fast as my legs could carry me.

 

I veered off to the right, darting up a nearby towering tree, scrabbling to reach the highest part of it as I could, while bullets shot at me, missing me by a few inches. I ducked through an opening in the tree, pressing against the innermost part of the tree, panting quickly and fearfully. My heart was beating a mile a minute.

 

I peeked through a smaller hole inside the tree, cocking my ear to listen for Old Dilby. I heard him muttering angrily under his breath. “Evil’s afoot, my faithful weapon, and I’m going to put an end to it, wherever it’s lurking,” he vowed, turning away from the tree I was hiding in, walking off. I let out a sigh of relief, thinking of how close I’d been to the dangerous old hunter.

 

I continued watching Old Dilby march off, until I was sure that it was safe for me to go meet up with Lewis. When the hunter finally left this part of the woods, I exited the hiding place I had found, running back to where my friend was hiding. “Is the coast clear?” he asked once I found my way back. I put a small finger over my mouth, but nodded.

 

The sun had slightly moved past its mid afternoon position in the sky, the clouds drifting lazily. I went back to where my clothes had fallen. I looked toward my friend. “We should probably head back home, so we can come up with an escape plan just in case Old Dilby comes here again. That way we’ll be prepared,” I said, slipping my shirt over my head.

 

Lewis nodded, then went about searching for his fallen clothes. After a few minutes of looking, he’d found all of them and began putting them back on. After that, we both closed our eyes and focused on returning back to normal. Then we were back to our normal selves again. Lewis brushed off a few leaves and dirt after he completed his transformation, then pulled out his smartphone and looked up what time it was. He turned to me.

 

“Your parents may be traveling to Germany, but mine will be home from work soon. It’s almost two o’clock,” Lewis told me, putting on his bicycle helmet. I knew he was right. We needed to go back home. So with that, I did the same and put my own bicycle helmet on, ready to pedal all the way back to my house.

 

As we left the forest area, I rode right past Old Dilby, who was hiding in the shadows cast by the looming trees. But I didn’t think twice about it, continuing to pedal out of the thickly wooded area, with Lewis riding alongside me.

 

The hunter scowled, following the two young men riding out of what he considered his domain. Old Dilby stroked the barrel of his faithful shotgun, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. The dangerous old man stood up from where he was crouched, stepping into the greenish light coming through the leaves and branches of the treetops. He cocked the barrel of his gun, then stowed it in his satchel for later. “Those two are up to something, and it’s not right. We’ll have to keep a very close eye on them,” he said in deep suspicion. With that, the cunning old hunter walked further into the woods, forming a plan in his mind.

 

I pushed a small handle down on the handlebars of my bike, braking to a stop in front of the garage door. Lewis grinded to a halt beside me. I turned to face him. “We have to be really careful transforming in the woods. We can’t risk transforming unless Old Dilby isn’t in the woods when we go there. The best we can do is transform in our backyard, our bedroom, anywhere that isn’t in the woods. The only safer time we can enter those woods is at nighttime. It’s not often that Old Dilby enters the woods at night,” I told my friend, and he nodded. Lewis’ smartphone buzzed in his back pocket. When he powered on his phone, a notification popped up on the screen. “It’s from my mom. They’re dealing with the afternoon highway traffic. Looks like I have a little more time before I have to go home. Think we should try transforming again?” he said to me, switching off his smartphone.

 

I thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Let’s go inside my house. I feel like we’re being watched,” I suggested, opening the garage door. After the garage door slid down, I dragged a stepping stool up to the garage door, peering through the small window.

 

I scanned the view through the garage window, doing a quick check to make sure the coast was clear. I took a deep breath and stepped down from the stepping stool. Lewis took off his bicycle helmet and opened the door that led upstairs to the living room. The house felt oddly quiet without the sound of my mom humming as she fixed up something for us to eat, or the sound of my dad cheering on players that made a goal in soccer.

 

I shook off the feeling and made my way up the stairs leading up the living room. When Lewis and I shut the basement door, I felt a little hungry. After all, breakfast had long since been cooked and eaten. “Are you hungry, Lewis?” I asked him, heading over to the kitchen.

 

The kitchen was in the greatest condition, one any mom or person could ever dream of having. The walls were a pastel yellow, with a sky blue and white tile floor. The windows were perfectly clean, free of stains or dust or anything that would ruin its appearance. Clean beams of sunlight would stream through the windows in the room, which complimented the overall color scheme of the kitchen. My mom had a fondness for pastel colors. My favorite paint color was a nice shade of red. But the most common color Dad chose for his room was usually a decent hue of green.

 

Me and Lewis opened the refrigerator door and peered inside so we could see what there was to eat. Mom had saved a good amount of french toast from our earlier breakfast. “Do you want to have some french toast? They’re really good,” I offered. Lewis nodded, smiling. If you think you’re mom or anyone who makes food is good, you’re mistaken. There’s never been any kind of food or meal my mom made that’s been turned down by someone else. Mom’s food is in a class all by itself.

 

I took the plate of leftover breakfast and slid it into the microwave, setting the cooking time for two minutes and thirty seconds. With a beep, the microwave started heating up the french toast. In almost no time at all, the delicious scent of sweet french toast filled the air in the kitchen, making Lewis close his eyes and take in the smell.

 

I closed the refrigerator door and went toward the living room, where I could have a little time coming up with a plan so Lewis and I would come prepared the next time we went to the woods. Lewis plopped down on the sofa next to me, still looking hungry, made even more so with the smell of my mom’s delicious french toast.

 

I decided to turn on the television, so we could watch something while we waited for the french toast to finish heating up. “Do you really think it’s safe to return to the woods anymore? It’s really risky to transform if Old Dilby is there in the woods. He’s not to be underestimated. You’ve seen him go on and on about his “rumors”. Lewis asked me, making me realize the importance of not risking his and my own safety.

 

Just as I was about to say something, the microwave in the kitchen went off, letting us know that the french toast was done. I got up from the sofa and entered the kitchen. Lewis remained in the living room. As I opened the door of the microwave, I stopped, feeling an itchiness developing on my legs. I ignored this for a few minutes, removing the french toast from the microwave.

 

Lewis was still seated on the living room sofa, looking deep in thought. I set the plate of leftover breakfast on the table in front of him. The sweet aroma made my friend come out of his thoughts. “Your mom makes the best tasting food in this neighborhood, Derek,” my friend complimented, taking a piece of french toast from the plate. I helped myself as well, nodding in agreement of what Lewis had said.

 

As we were eating, a thought occurred to me. There wasn’t just one set of woods where we lived. Other than the woods that Old Dilby traveled to go hunting, there was another area of woods that the dangerous hunter was not allowed to set foot in. Those woods would be a safe area for transformation. The Boreal Forest Region. That was the safest place to do transformation.

 

A few months ago, I’d been listening to a presentation about the Boreal Forest, which I’d found interesting. I’d forgotten about the whole thing until now. I paused in eating, wiped my mouth with my shirtsleeve and looked at Lewis. “I have an idea that just might work. Instead of going to where Old Dilby hunts, why don’t we do some transformation in the Boreal Forest?” I suggested, standing up from the living room sofa.

 

Lewis finished up eating his own piece of french toast and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I think you’re right. Luckily, my parents have a long business meeting tonight that won’t end until two in the morning. If we go there tonight, we should have enough time for a little more transformation.

 

We both nodded in agreement, finalizing our decision. Breaking the silence, Lewis’ smartphone started buzzing and vibrating in his back pocket again. When he took it out, his mom’s caller ID appeared on the screen. My friend left the living room and accepted his mom’s call.

 

I made out a few words from what Lewis’ mom was sayin. “I’m at Derek’s house,” Lewis said. Pause. “Okay. I’ll go back home soon.” Another pause. “No, I’m not going to get in trouble.” Yet another pause. “His parents are on a business trip to Germany. You can trust me.” One last pause. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay at Derek’s house until you come back. Bye Mom,” Lewis said, ending the call.

 

Lewis came back into the living room, looking slightly annoyed. When he caught me looking, he quickly changed his expression to a more positive one. “Mom says she and Dad are still in the middle of a traffic jam. As soon as they get here, I’ll have to go to my house. She said she didn’t mind me being here as long as we stay inside the house or your backyard,” my friend explained.

 

I thought about it for a minute, then I formed a plan. I walked over to the living room window and drew the curtains over it. After this, I turned around to face Lewis. “Tonight, after your parents fall asleep, we should try searching for a different area that’s safe for us to practice our transformation abilities. We can’t risk bumping into Old Dilby again. It’s too dangerous when he’s around,” I said to him. Lewis nodded, then left the garage.