AgeArts 3D Comics

Originally published on my Patreon.

Hello, I’m Maureen. People call me “Mo.” I have an unusual story to share with you. I don’t expect you to believe it, but maybe all that matters is that someone else knows what’s happening to me. I would feel a bit less alone, even if I’m never really alone now.

I’m not sure how to start this. Probably, it would be best if I just explained my problem first before going into detail about how it began. I’ve tried this many times before, but the wizard just gets in the way every time. (Yes, there’s a wizard in this story. No, I’m not joking. I only wish I was. This will get weird.) Maybe putting this out on the internet will work. The words might reach someone. Maybe someone might even have a solution to my little problem.

You see, I have a magic ring stuck on my finger. That might be a cool thing if only I could control it. I can’t. The invisible spirit of a wizard controls the ring. (Again, I can’t believe I am actually writing that sentence, but it’s true.) He transforms my body with magic. He can even affect other people’s minds if they’re nearby, which is why I have a hard time explaining the ring to people. They just forget about it as soon as I tell them about it, or the wizard stops me from talking somehow. For example, it’s very hard to speak with no tongue. Ask me how I know.

So, where did I find a magical ring in the first place? I’m glad you asked.

***

It was a sunny out, and I was at a local flea market, enjoying my day off work by shopping for nothing in particular. I think I had a vague idea of finding some antique furniture.

Then, the ring called to me.

There were no words. It had no voice. It was silent, but I heard it.

I was not even looking at it. I just sensed it was there, the same way you can sense someone else staring at you, that invisible focus that raises the hairs on the back of your neck.

I turned and found it in the middle of a dozen other rings. There it was, gold and old with an oddly cut pale gem set in it. It was the one that had called to me. I knew it was, but I couldn’t say how I knew. Something inside me recognized it. It was meant for me. I just knew it.

I paid cash for it, handed the money over the old woman selling jewelry after very little haggling.

As I walked away, I held the ring up and admired the gem in it. From certain angles of light, it appeared almost green. From other angles, it seemed faintly purple. In shadow, it seemed blue, verging on black.

I left the flea market and wondered why I’d bought the ring. I had gone looking for furniture and instead had ended up spending all of my cash on a ring I did not need. For a moment, I considered going back to return the ring to the old woman, but I decided that it would be a bit rude to try to get a refund. Besides, the old woman had been nice to me. I felt good to have supported the old woman even if it had been an expensive impulse buy.

I decided that I could use the ring as camouflage, a fake wedding ring for those times I don’t want guys bugging me. (Not that that happens very often outside of work.) It felt good to have not walked away empty-handed at least.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have tossed the ring into the nearest storm drain and run away screaming.

***

The ring was still in my pocket when I entered my apartment a short while later. I headed for my couch, lay down on it, and relaxed, happy to be home. I love my apartment. It’s a surprisingly spacious place for the city when you consider that I’m not long out of college and I work in food service. How do I afford it? Well, my boss just happens to own the building and the coffee shop below where I live. I work there some days. Other days I work in his restaurant just down the road. He’s a nice old Italian man, but he’s got an eye for young talent and a shrewd business sense. Having me both as an employee and a renter makes him a bit more appreciative of me and a little more forgiving. Also, I’m sure he’s satisfied to know that a lot of the money he pays me ends up right back in his pocket again. The other nice thing about my apartment is that he gives me a big enough discount on rent that I don’t need a roommate. Sure, it’s basically indentured servitude, but I’m not complaining. The apartment is definitely worth it.

After a short while, I realized that I had never actually tried on the ring. I had no idea if it would actually fit me. I might need to get it resized if it did not. I retrieved it from my pocket and went to put it on my ring finger on my left hand. I hesitated a moment. Something felt a bit wrong about putting it on. I don’t know what it was, a feeling in my gut telling me not to do it. I really wish I had listened. I slipped the ring on my finger, anyway.

It fit perfectly, as if it had been sized just for me. I took a moment to admire how it looked on my hand. From a distance, someone might think it was a wedding ring. I chuckled a little at the idea of being married.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to have a husband or a family, only that I imagined all of that happening sometime later, years from now. It seemed like a very grown up thing, and I was not feeling like much more than a teenager pretending to be an adult, much as I was pretending to wear a wedding ring. I certainly was mistaken for a teenager often enough, which was particularly frustrating when trying to get a drink. I kept waiting for a growth spurt that never came, leaving me with a pretty ordinary body lacking in notable curves aside from a little extra weight around the middle.

My phone rang. It was my boss. I sighed, already knowing what he was about to ask, and answered.

“Hello, Mr. Silvestro.”

“Hello, my darling Maureen,” he said in his pleasantly accented English. “I hope I have not caught you at a bad time.”

“Nope,” I said. “You know me. I’m rarely busy. I suppose you need me to work tonight. Which place is it this time?”

“Ah, such a bright one you are, and so eager. Yes, I’ll be needing you to the bistro tonight. Someone has called in sick, and I need you to fill in.”

“I’ll be there in a little while once I’m cleaned up.”

“Molte grazie! Thank you, my dear. You are a lifesaver as always.”

We hung up, and I started to get ready for work, putting on my uniform and comfy work shoes. In the bathroom, before I started to put on my makeup, I tried to remove the ring, but it caught on the joint and would not come loose.

“What the hell?” I said, tugging at it. “I just put this on with no problem.”

I soaped up my hand, hoping that might make my finger slippery enough to get it off, but that didn’t work. The ring just would not budge.

I tried to figure out what had happened. Did it shrink because of my body heat? I wondered, but I was pretty sure that was not how thermodynamics worked.

I knew that I was running out of time, so I gave up and just decided to leave the ring on for now. I finished with my make up and hurried out the door.

***

Most days when I worked at the bistro, I would take the bus there and back. It was not a long trip, but I knew I would be worn out after a day on my feet. Not having to walk there and home again was a matter of self-care. Today, I didn’t have the time to wait for a ride, so I went on foot.

The first sign I had that anything unusual was happening was a slight bit of chafing with my underwear as I walked. It was nothing extreme. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all if I hadn’t been walking for so long. I just felt as though my bra and briefs were a bit tight on me. Initially, I figured that either my underwear had shrunk in the wash or I was putting on weight.

Unfortunately, both of those guesses were incorrect.

The sun was nearly setting when I made it to the bistro. (By the way, I won’t share the name of the places I work or any other places for that matter. As weird as my life has become, I’m still trying to maintain some anonymity.) I entered the unnamed bistro, and checked in with the manager to find out where I’d be working that night. Turns out, I would be waiting tables.

I wouldn’t have minded much except for the woman waiting tables in the section next to me. Judy was an ass. She was a gorgeous blonde with aspirations of movie stardom. That gave her an air of superiority that was more than a little annoying. She was condescending and passive-aggressive. Maybe the worst thing about her was that she was probably right about being better than the rest of us. She was clever, beautiful, talented, and motivated more than anyone else I’ve ever met. I felt like a slacker around her. I felt ugly next to her beauty. I felt slow and dumb when I talked to her. Like most of the other workers there, I just silently hoped she would catch her big break already and leave us plebs alone.

“Hi, Mo!” Judy said when she caught sight of me. “You filling in tonight or just looking to make an extra buck?”

“A little of both,” I admitted.

She looked me up and down and asked, “You lose some weight?”

“Um,” I said. “I don’t think so.”

“Something looks… different about you. New bra?”

“No.”

“Hmm,” she said with a strong hint of disbelief. She seemed to suspect that I was up to something and was quietly threatened. She was a person who had her radar tuned to detect competition at all times. Apparently, I had just blipped on it.

“Well,” I said. “See you around.”

“Yes,” she said, still doubtful. “I’ll keep an eye out for you.”

We went about our business, taking orders and serving meals. I tried to concentrate on work more than Judy or my uncomfortable underwear, but neither of them wanted to leave me alone. Judy kept giving me suspicious looks anytime I saw her, and my underwear seemed to be shrinking more and more as the hours went by, leaving me with a serious wedgie and muffin top of tit-flesh swelling out over my bra. As closing time grew near, I started to realize the problem was not just with my underwear. My shirt was ready to pop the top few buttons, so I unbuttoned a couple to avoid having to sew the buttons back on. My pants were cutting into my waist due to pressure from my hips, so I unbuttoned the top of my fly as well. Looking down at myself in the restroom during a break, I had to admit that my breasts looked bigger. I actually had cleavage, which was a rarity for me except for when I was really squeezing everything together awkwardly. My hips seemed a bit wider as well. None of these changes were particularly extreme, by the way. In fact, I might not have noticed them at that point if I wasn’t wearing something that fit me as well as my work clothes. Still, I was concerned. I wondered what the hell was going on with my body.

Of course, my first thought was that I was putting on weight. However, the only places growing were my chest, my hips, and my butt. If anything, my belly seemed even slimmer than it had been earlier. I thought this might be some side effect of menstruation that I’d never experienced before, but there was still some time before I had to deal with that.

“I’m too old for a growth spurt,” I told my reflection in the bathroom mirror. “Right?”

Back at the tables, I noticed that the tips from my male customers were getting bigger as my clothes got tighter. I think Judy noticed as well.

“You know,” she said to me when we’re alone for a moment. “If you’re going to stuff your bra, you should wear a larger size. Right now, it just looks like you don’t know how to buy clothes that fit.”

I didn’t reply. What could I even say? “Actually, I’m not padding my bra. My body is just mysteriously growing ‘thicc’ on its own. I guess… lucky me?”

“Maureen!” a man called to me. I turned to see old Mr. Silvestro walking towards me with a charming smile.

“Hello, sir,” I said to him.

“You are looking well tonight.”

“Thanks,” I said, not being able to deny that fact. “What brings you by the bistro?”

“I have a bit of an announcement, but I wanted to talk to you first. You see. I need a new shift manager here. A position has opened up. Of course, you were first on my list, but it would be unfair to not even consider other applicants. Would you be interested in the job?”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“I would be too,” Judy said from behind me. I turned to see her smiling pleasantly at our boss.

“Excellent,” Mr. Silvestro said to her. “I am truly blessed with such fine employees. I only grieve that it will make the selection difficult. It pains me to think I might have to disappoint one of you.”

“How do we apply?” I asked.

“I’ll post the position for the whole staff to see, then I’ll begin interviews. Work hard and show me you deserve the position.”

Judy and I exchanged a look, and I had the sensation that we were two runners poised at the starting line of a race.

“Well,” I said to Mr. Silvestro. “I had better be checking on my customers.”

“Me too!” Judy said.

We excused ourselves and broke away from him and tried to look as busy and productive as we possibly could. It was exhausting and even tougher with my clothes constricting me as they did, but I was determined to get that job if only to make sure that Judy didn’t get it.

***

By the time we were closing up, I felt like stripping naked right then and there, just to escape the pressure from my clothes. I did undo the clasps on my bra to give me a little breathing room. Judy left ahead of me, but not before giving me another dirty look, as if I had personally offended her by being comparatively sexy in her vicinity, especially when there was a promotion to vie for. Then, I headed out on my walk home.

I was particularly aware of how much extra motion was happening on my body as I walked. A lot more places were jiggling and bouncing when I moved, causing me to trip up once or twice on the sidewalk. It was such a relief after I jiggled my way up my steps and retreated to the privacy of my apartment. After closing all the curtains, I immediately stripped naked and let out a big sigh of relief.

Then, it was examination time. There was a full body mirror on the back of my bathroom door. (It was there when I moved in. I’m not the kind of person to try on outfits in front of a mirror, and I’m rarely impressed by my body in general.) I stood in front of the mirror and tried to make sense of what I was seeing.

I looked… good.

There wasn’t one big thing that had changed to make me look better, but a collection of many minor things adding up together. Of course, cupping my breasts told me that they had gotten bigger. I’d been a 34B for most of my adult life, aside from when I put on my “Freshman 15” in college. Now, without finding my tape measure, I would guess that I was up to a C cup. My belly was definitely flatter. I used to have a bit of a paunch, but it was hardly even noticeable now. Below my waist, things had spread out a bit more. My hips were a bit wider and my ass a bit rounder. It was as if someone had taken my belly fat and spread it out to where it would look better. Then, there was something different about my hair and my face. Normally my hair is a pretty indistinct light brown. Now, I was detecting traces of auburn. Plus, it had an alluring luster to it, as if I had just bought an expensive shampoo and conditioner. My face itself seemed… I don’t know how to describe it… Smoother? Softer? Gentler? I still looked like myself, but it was a version of myself that got 8 hours of sleep regularly and took much better care of her skin.

“Well…” I said. “What the hell?”

How was I supposed to react to this? I mean, I should be concerned that my body has noticeably changed shape in just a matter of hours. And yet, I was struggling to find anything to complain about, besides the realization that I would have trouble fitting into my clothes now. I worried for a moment what other people would think of me. Already, Judy had noticed, but that was just her own hyperactive competitive nature at work. Most normal people would barely even notice. It didn’t look like I’d had a boob job or liposuction or anything. All of the changes could be explained away by many weeks of exercise and other lifestyle changes. Still, this had all happened by itself in one evening, not over many weeks.

I put my hand on my cheek and noticed the ring on my finger again. The gem in it seemed brighter, and there was an iridescence to it, flashing from green to pink to white as I moved it. Again, I tried to remove it, but it was still stuck in place.

“Figures,” I said. “Everything else about my body had changed. Maybe my fingers got a little thicker as well.” Though, I couldn’t see any difference in my hands.

I took a long shower, giving myself time to enjoy the shape of my body as I soaped it up. When I was done, I briefly tried to remove the ring again, gave up, and toweled myself dry.

Then, I put on my pajamas, feeling relieved that they still fit me, and went to bed. I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

***

I felt different when I woke up. It was hard to pinpoint what had changed, but something just felt… off.

After a bleary walk to the bathroom, I flipped on the lights and squinted in the mirror to see how I looked.

At first I thought it was just a trick of the light as my eyes adjusted to the brightness. It seemed as though my breasts had grown even larger overnight. I figured that a quick check with my hands would prove that everything was normal.

I was wrong.

“What the hell?” I asked as I cupped a pair melon-sized breast hanging from my chest. As I said before, I was used to having a pretty average-sized bust. Now, I was hefting a pair of tits that were too large to properly hold in my hands anymore, their extra mass spilling over my fingertips.

Again, I looked at myself in the mirror and was shocked at the woman reflected back at me. Once more, I saw my face looking surprisingly sexy for this hour in the morning. I could almost swear that I looked even younger now than I had in years. I let my breasts hang beneath my stretched-tight shirt, and they barely sagged at all. I removed the shirt and revealed a pair of tits that women would spend thousands of dollars for surgeries and implants just to get something approximate. Yet, somehow I had the real things hanging from my chest, a perfect pair of enormous boobs, the kind that men throw money at when visiting a strip club. So many people’s dreams were hanging from my chest, which, ironically, was starting to feel like a nightmare to me.

“What the hell?” I asked again, this time genuinely hoping that an answer would come from somewhere. How the hell did this happen to me?

Naturally my next step is probably the same one you would take if you discovered that a part of your body was growing larger at an alarming rate.

I went to see my doctor.

***

The mammogram was not particularly fun. However, I was oddly fascinated by how large by new tits got when flattened out like pancakes for an x-ray. That was not a comfortable experience, but, then again, the whole day had been full of discomfort. Apparently, I was getting used to it.

First, after a quick wet-wipe cleanup, I discovered that my hips and ass had swollen a bit more as well. All my attention had been focused on my breasts, so I didn’t notice the change down there until I tried to put on my underwear and jeans. I couldn’t even pull them up over my thighs. After trying to put on my biggest briefs and loosest “fat” pants, I gave up and opted for going commando in sweatpants. Only when I had those on did I notice that my ankles were left exposed. It seemed that my legs had grown a little longer as well.

I didn’t even try putting on a bra. Instead, I put on a T-shirt that stretched tightly over my chest. After that, I slipped on a hoodie to help hide the obvious points of my nipples.

To my relief, my shoes did fit. Thank God for little mercies.

Not yet trusting my coordination in my reshaped body, I decided it would be safest to take the bus to my doctor. I regretted that decision as soon as I got on. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed that I was getting stares from everyone I walked by, primarily from the men on the bus. It didn’t help that every time the bus hit a bump, my unconstrained tits started bouncing around wildly. No doubt that was noticeable even under my hoodie.

I started sweating, both from nervousness about what was happening to me and from the fact that it was a bit too warm of a day for the clothes I was wearing. Yes, shockingly enough, my sweats were making me sweat. For the first time in my life, I had the joy of experiencing underboob sweat. Let me tell you, there’s nothing quite as uncomfortable as feeling your own sweaty skin pressed against another part of your skin. The stickiness was driving me crazy, I desperately wanted to take off the hoodie or maybe surreptitiously wipe my underboob area dry. Unfortunately, as uncomfortable as I was, I refused to touch my huge boobs in front of the other passengers. The rest of my bouncy, sweaty ride was spent patiently waiting for it to be over.

At the clinic, I was finally able to dry off in the bathroom and ditch the hoodie. I didn’t care if the staff or other patients saw the shape of my nipples under my shirt. I half-hoped that the display might get me in to see my doctor faster.

After an interminable wait, I was called in to see her at last. Then, I was fortunate enough to be able to get an emergency mammogram to check out what was going on in my breasts. During the wait for the results, I sat there, imagining my breasts as a pair of marble bags, only, instead of marbles, they were full of tumors. Just when I had gotten to the point of imagining my head with no hair, my doctor entered the room carrying my x-rays.

“How are you feeling?” she asked me.

“Worried,” I said. “How bad is it?”

“Well,” she said, as she put the x-rays up on a light board to illuminate them for us. “I’ve got some good news.”

“Yes?”

“I see no signs of cancer.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“However,” she said. “I don’t see evidence of what might be causing your breasts to grow.”

“Oh,” I said, realizing that I was once more clueless about what was going on. Cancer would suck, but at least it would be an answer, some kind of certainty. Now, I was just as clueless as I had been this morning.

“Are you sure this just happened over the past couple of days?”

“Yes,” I said. “I noticed it started yesterday. Then, it was even worse this morning.”

“Are you sure you haven’t been in contact with anything that you might be allergic to?”

“I’m sure,” I said. “And, I haven’t changed anything with my diet or wardrobe. I mean, I did buy a new ring.” I held up my hand for her to see, and she took it and examined my finger.

“Hmm,” she said. “I don’t see any signs of irritation around it.

“It’s stuck to my finger. I can’t get the damn thing off. Maybe it’s causing swelling.”

“Maybe,” she said. “But, I don’t see any signs of swelling.”

“Well then what’s happening to me? What’s wrong with my breasts?”

She looked at my x-rays again and said, “Nothing, as far as I can tell. I just don’t see any abnormalities here. There’s no signs of inflammation, no fluid retention, no evidence of lactation. You just have a good amount of normal breast tissue.”

“I have too much normal breast tissue.”

“Well,” my doctor said with a shrug. “That’s a problem that can be dealt with if you’re interested in considering surgery. As it is, I would suggest waiting a little bit to see if there are any more changes. I’ll order up some blood tests, and we can talk again once I get the results.”

“That’s it?” I asked. “You’re just sending me home with no answers.”

“There’s a lot of common reasons why this might be happening to you. You might be going through a bit of a late growth spurt. You might be putting on weight that’s accumulating in an unexpected way. As it is right now, I see nothing physically wrong with your body. You appear to be healthy. I don’t know how I can cure you if you’re not actually ill.”

I sighed. I groaned. I accepted it.

Then, I thanked her and headed on my way.

***

My next stop was a particular clothing store I knew of that specializes in fitting women for bras. After some work with a tape measure, I was given a new bra size much further down the alphabet than I was used to. I doubted it could be possible, but when I tried on a bra in that new size, it fit me perfectly. I bought the bra along with a big pair of bottoms that fit me well and wore them out underneath my sweat clothes. Then, realizing that I had a shift later today, I went back in and bought some dark clothes I could wear to work.

I started walking down the sidewalk with no real destination in mind. I was just staring at the concrete ahead of me, thinking about what I might do next. Then, I caught my reflection in a window. I stopped and turned to look at my curvy body.

“Why am I upset?” I asked myself out loud. “Is this really that bad?”

I had the type of body many women dreamed of and many men lusted after. I was sexy as hell. I posed for myself a little and enjoyed my reflection. Who could resist this body? If I wanted, I could attract any man I choose. I might even be able to use my looks to find a new career. After all, there were countless ways a beautiful woman could make money in this world.

“Yeah,” I said, sarcastically. “You’d make an excellent stripper.”

I frowned. My shoulders slumped. I hated this, feeling like my body was getting in the way of me. I had been plain and ordinary for so long that I rarely thought much about how I looked aside from avoiding looking like a mess. Now, there was no way to escape thinking about my body. If my body had been just quietly existing before, then now it was screaming for attention. Whenever anyone saw me from now on, they would be thinking about how I looked before considering who I was. As big as I had become, I felt terribly small inside.

I went home.

***

Back in my apartment, I found myself subconsciously avoiding mirrors. I sought out distractions. I put on the TV and started scrolling through social media on my phone, anything to keep from thinking about myself for a little while. It worked, but I found myself so zoned out that my eyelids started drooping. Eventually, I just gave in and took a nap on my couch.

I dreamt of a man. I can’t say exactly who he was or what the dream was about. The details all vanished when I woke up. I do remember that there was definitely a man in it. Somehow, I felt that it had been an important dream, so much so that I wanted to go back to sleep to try and recover it. However, I noticed it was getting dark outside. I had to go to work soon.

I was torn between calling in sick and just sucking it up and going to work. I certainly didn’t feel sick. I had energy. Despite all the weight I had put on my body, I seemed to be having no trouble moving around or balancing. There was nothing wrong with me aside from the fact that I looked different now, and if my doctor was right about me being healthy, then I might as well try getting used to it. I reluctantly went to get ready.

I stripped off my clothes and entered the bathroom to face the mirror I had been ducking.

“It’s fine,” I told myself as I looked my reflection over. “Maybe nobody will notice.” Yeah, and maybe I’ll win the lottery later.

I started the shower, stepped in, and soaped myself up. It’s hard to describe how weird I felt in there. My body was so different, but I felt it all just the same as before. It belonged to me, but I was a stranger to it. Does that make sense? I was reminded of my teenage years, growing older, taller, curvier, seemingly overnight sometimes. This, however, was the growth spurt to end all growth spurts. Is there such a thing as a second puberty? If there is, then I was having it.

I finished my shower and toweled off. I got dressed in my new underwear and the work clothes that I had just bought. I was reminded of the difficulty I had getting dressed this morning. At the moment, there were only two outfits in my whole wardrobe that would fit me, and one of them was work clothes and the other sweat clothes. My shoulders slumped, and I moaned. “I’m going to have to do a lot of shopping.” I could imagine my poor bank account screaming in terror as my credit cards ran off to hide somewhere. “All the more reason to go to work tonight.” I needed to make some good tips if I wanted to afford a new wardrobe. And, of course, there was the promotion. Calling in sick would not help me with getting the manager job.

On my way to the door, I noticed a piece of letter-sized paper sitting on the kitchen table. I could not remember putting it there, but there was no time to examine it then. I needed to leave if I was going to make it to work on time, so I rushed out the door and caught the next bus to the bistro.

***

I walked into work, expecting a lot of confused looks and questions. Surprisingly enough, nobody said anything about the changes. Of course, everyone was busy working, but even in the down time we spent together, the conversations were nothing out of the ordinary. After a while, I started to suspect that everyone might be gaslighting me by pretending that they didn’t notice how much my body had changed.

Judy was the only one that seemed to be treating me differently, so I focused on talking to her when I could. Unexpectedly, instead of acting ultra competitive with me for the manager job, she was being unusually chummy with me.

“Hey, Mo,” she called to me when we were between tables. “How’s it going? My, you are looking good tonight. Are you trying something new with your hair?”

“No,” I said, suspicious of her friendly tone. “My hair is the same, but my whole body changed overnight. Didn’t you notice?”

“Did it?” she asked. “How fun.”

“Uh,” I said. “Not really. Wait, don’t you find that strange?”

“Find what strange?”

“That I’m suddenly taller? That my breasts and hips ballooned out in one night?”

“Um,” Judy said and looked at me as if seeing me for the first time that night. “Oh,” she said, sounding as though she had just discovered a hair in her soup. “You’re right. What the hell? How did I not notice before?”

“Something really weird is going on,” I said. “I’m getting a little scared. Why is nobody else noticing?”

“I don’t know,” she said, sounding a little worried now. “I think I noticed that something was different, but I just… didn’t think much of it, like it wasn’t important enough to think about. Other things just caught my attention instead. It all just seemed… normal, somehow.”

“What do I do?”

“I don’t know,” she said with a helpless shrug. Then, she seemed to be looking around for an escape from the conversation. “I… I think I ought to go check on my tables.” She walked off, leaving me in my confusion.

***

I rode the bus home that night after having pocketed a pile of large tips, enough, at least, to cover the new clothes I bought earlier that day. It was a small consolation for how confused I was feeling. Aside from when I had gotten Judy to really look at me, not a single other person working at the bistro had commented on my body. I was starting to suspect that something much stranger than a growth spurt had happened to me.

Back in my apartment again, I put on my sweat clothes again and just started pacing around my living room, trying to make sense of everything.

“This is impossible,” I said. “If this was just something naturally happening to my body, then someone else would notice without me telling them. How could you not see something this obvious?”

I kept pacing, hoping that moving around would get me closer to an answer somehow. Meanwhile, I had gripped the ring on my finger with my other hand between my first two fingers and thumb. I wasn’t pulling at it as I had done before, but I felt compelled to hold onto it.

“What do I do?” I asked. “What do I do?”

Again, I noticed the sheet of paper on the table.

“Where did that come from?”

I walked over to examine it at last. Someone had written a long message in elegant cursive in pencil. At first, I thought it might be a note left by Mr. Silvestro about the apartment, but I knew his handwriting. It did not look like this. I started to worry that someone might have broken into my apartment as I began to read what it said.

***

Dearest Maureen,

You must be surprised by the changes you are experiencing. Let me set your mind at ease and explain what is happening. The ring you wear on your finger is magic, enchanted with a powerful spell. It is also my home. I live within it, and now I live within you as well. Indeed, I am a powerful wizard, able to transform this body, our body, in any way that I choose, as you have no doubt witnessed already.

Do not be concerned about how other people will react. My magic includes a glamour to disguise your changes. People will see you as you are, but they will find your body too uninteresting or too ordinary to worry about. Therefore, I will be able to change you in somewhat extreme ways without drawing much attention—unless, of course, you try to draw attention to yourself. Even then, I have ways of influencing the minds of nearby people.

Now, you may be wondering how I have written this letter to you from within my ring. The explanation is simple. When your mind rests and surrenders control of this body, then it becomes mine to control. I wrote this letter to you with your own hand as you slept. As you can see, I am the one in command here.

Do not attempt to work against my wishes or there will be consequences. The ring will never be removed as long as I wish for it to remain on your finger. I can resize it to fit you, and I can prevent you from removing it in other ways. Expect a punishment if you resist my will. I will alter our body however and whenever I want. You have no say in the matter. Your flesh is now my amusement. Abandon any ideas of escaping your fate and prepare to live as my servant.

I will be watching.

Sincerely,

Your Master, The Wizard of The Ring

***

I stood there staring at the paper a long time, my mind unwilling to accept it. I read it again. I flipped it over expecting to find some more explanation on the back, thinking I might have missed something, some indication that this was meant to be a joke. There was nothing else. That was the whole message.

“What the hell?”

I looked down at the ring, which sparkled with surprising clarity now. Again, I tugged at it, trying to pull it off. Again, it would not budge.

“This can’t be happening.”

As if in response to my words, I felt a pressure build up in my breasts. Their already enormous weight began to swell larger. Soon, I could feel my boobs straining against my already large bra. I quickly undid the clasp in the back and unbuttoned my shirt just before my boobs grew large enough to pop off buttons burst free. Then, I could only stand and watch as my breasts inflated into a pair of weighty melon-sized tits right before my eyes.

“Holy shit!” I cried when they stopped growing.

Moments later, after giving me time to appreciate their new size, they began to shrink, getting smaller as quickly as they had grown before. Soon, they were back down to the size they had been earlier today. Then, they were back down to my normal size, but the shrinking didn’t stop there. They kept on dwindling away until I had the same flat chest that you would find on a little girl.

“Holy shit!”

Once more, there was a pause to give me time to appreciate how my body had changed, followed by my breasts reappearing, developing, growing larger again until they were back to their normal size and then the new “normal” size they had been earlier today.

I felt like a yo-yo, like my chest had just been tossed back and forth like a toy.

“Okay,” I said, not really sure how else to react. “I assume you’re listening to me right now. Right?”

My right breast expanded slightly larger than the left one for a moment before returning to being symmetrical again.

“Is that a ‘yes?’” I asked. “Do it again if that means ‘yes.’”

Once more my right breast swelled and shrank.

“Right,” I said, aware now that I was in a hostage negotiation and needed to choose my words carefully. “Fine. I can see that you are powerful, and I respect that. Please don’t take this as an insult, but I don’t want you here. I didn’t ask you to be here. I just put on a ring. That’s all. Can’t you just let me take the ring off and maybe give it to someone else? Please?”

My left breast briefly expanded and returned to its usual size.

“‘No,’ huh?” I said. “Can you at least turn my body back to normal, the way it was before I put on the ring? Please?”

Again, my left breast swelled and shrank.

“No,” I said. “I see.” Realizing that I was not hearing his voice in her head, I decided I needed to test him. I shut her eyes and concentrated on silently thinking the words, You can’t read my thoughts, can you?

There was no response from my breasts.

“Well,” I said. “Okay, then. I’m going to clean up. Um… Nice chatting with you.”

My right breast signaled agreement.

I tried not to seem horrified, but I was. I felt like some guy was peeping in through my windows or hiding away in the next room. No, it was worse than that. The windows were my own eyes and the room was inside of me. The call is coming from inside the house! the old story went. I had an intruder. Feeling as though I might start hyperventilating or throwing up, I hurried to the bathroom.

I went to use the toilet and just sat there, staring at the wall, trying to figure out what to do next.

What are my options? I thought to myself.

I thought a reply, Get the ring off!

I thought, It won’t budge. He said he could resize it to keep it from coming off.

Then, I replied, get it cut off. Go see a jeweler.

He warned me not to try that.

Once it’s off, what can he do?

It’s dangerous.

Maybe he won’t always be watching. Maybe he sleeps too.

Maybe. Maybe not.

What other options do you have?

Well, I thought. If the ring won’t come off of my finger…

No.

If the knife is sharp enough, I would barely feel-

No!

Fine, I thought. But, I’m saving that one as a last resort.

Having made up my mind to visit the jewelry store down the road in the morning, I went about getting ready for bed.

***

I struggled to go to sleep.

Everytime I felt myself drifting off, the realization that I was about to surrender my body to the control of a kinky wizard scared me back awake again. I thought about how he had transformed me already and wondered what he might get up to with this body while I was out. I have a vivid imagination, and it was working overtime that night.

Eventually, through sheer exhaustion, I fell asleep at last.

I dreamt of a man. He had nor form or shape, but I could sense his masculinity. I felt him stretching out inside of me, like tree roots in dirt, reaching for every corner of my body. I felt him fill me up until I no longer felt myself anymore. I was pushed aside into nothingness. That was the last bit that I remembered before waking up.

***

Actually, I didn’t exactly “wake up.” Suddenly, I found myself lying in bed with my eyes open, feeling as though they had not been shut recently. No, it felt as though I had just been daydreaming and only come back to paying attention to what was going on. I realized that the wizard had simply just let go of the reins of my body, handing me back control of my own flesh.

I sat up and immediately noticed that I was naked. The shirt and briefs I had been wearing were in a pile on the floor next to me. I covered my breasts, as if that would do any good when the peeping Tom was inside of me. I tried not to think about why he had taken my clothes off. None of the reasons why were good.

Next, I quickly ran my hands over my whole body, looking for any sign of changes. After a careful examination, I was confident that nothing had been transformed from how it had been last night.

“Are you there?” I asked, looking down at my breasts, watching for them to change size.

Nothing happened.

“I’m going to try to cut the ring off this morning. Let me know if you don’t want me to do it.”

Again, nothing.

“He’s asleep,” I said, hoping I was right. It could be that he had lost control of my body when he went to sleep inside of me. Now, I had a little time to work without him noticing… maybe… hopefully.

I rushed to the bathroom to clean up. I had to hurry. If I was quick enough, I might be able to get to the jeweler before the wizard noticed what I was doing.

Soon enough, I was cleaned up and dressed in a tight T-shirt and yoga pants. Then, I headed out down the road at a steady jog towards the jeweler. I ignored all the bouncing happening, feeling that speed was more important than controlling the movement of my excess flesh.

I made it to the shop and walked inside, trying to compose myself as best as I could. There was a middle-aged gentleman working there who offered to help me find the “perfect adornment” to “complement” my beauty. He was only a little disappointed when I told him I wanted a stuck ring removed.

As I sat on a stool waiting for him to collect his tools to cut the ring off, I let my eyes wander around the room, looking at various necklaces and rings and other jewelry, wondering how anyone manages to afford them. Just the contents of a single cabinet in this shop would be enough to pay off my student loans.

Thinking about money again, I was reminded that I needed to purchase a whole new wardrobe soon if my body did not return to normal again. That started up new worries about what might happen next when the ring was removed. Would I go back to normal? Would I stay at this size from now on? Would something unexpected and bad happen to me if he cut the ring apart? I began to sweat and started to second guess whether I should be doing this or not.

“Ready?” he asked as he returned with what looked like a strange pair of pliers.

“Uh,” I said, feeling hesitation growing inside of me. “Maybe… give me another minute.”

“Certainly,” he said. “Let me know when you make up your mind.” Then, he walked over to a man in an expensive suit who had just walked in through the door.

I found myself wanting to just leave and think this over, but I knew that I only had a limited amount of time before the wizard “woke up” again. Who knows what I would look like later if I gave him any more time to transform me? I had better do something now before it was too late.

I started feeling a bit dizzy, and I had a sense that I was falling or that the room was rising up around me. I worried that I was about to pass out.

“Excuse me!” I called to the jeweler.

He walked back over to me and asked, “Yes, have you made a decision?”

“Yes, take it off.” I held out my hand to him. That falling sensation continued. I even felt a bit of a tingle all over my body.

He turned away to pick up his tools, and when he turned back, he gave me a confused look.

“Young lady,” he said. “How old are you?”

“What?” I asked, noticing that my shirt and bra seemed a bit looser than they had been a moment ago. “What does that matter?” My voice cracked up a little on the last word of that sentence.

“I was concerned about how you will be paying for this,” he said. “Is your mother going to be stopping by to pay and pick you up?”

“My mother?” I asked, this time both words came out at a squeaky chipmunk pitch. At that moment, my shoe slipped off my right foot, followed by the left one. I looked down at my body and watched as my breasts deflated away, leaving my huge bra empty. I felt my height drop away as I became considerably smaller and, apparently, younger.

I pulled my hand away from the jeweler and yelled, “Stop! I won’t do it. I’ll keep the ring on. Please stop!”

Thinking I was talking to him, the jeweler stepped back and said, “Whoa, calm down.”

At that moment, the shrinking sensation stopped, leaving me sitting high on the stool, wearing adult clothes while inhabiting a body that seemed at least a decade too young to fit them.

“Are you lost?” the jeweler asked me. “Is your mother or father around somewhere?” He looked over at the man in the suit who subtly shook his head to indicate that I was no relation to him.

“Uh,” I said, looking down at my shoes on the floor and then the door, realizing that I needed to make an escape. “I’ve got to go. I think… I saw my mom outside.” I sounded like a fibbing child. I was a fibbing child.

I slipped off the stool and stumbled on my landing as my yoga pants and underwear slipped down my legs and tangled up at my ankles. I extricated myself from them, confident that my T-shirt would cover me down below my crotch. Then, I gathered up my fallen clothes and shoes in my arms and hurried out the door, barefoot and bare assed.

I walked down the sidewalk in the direction of my apartment. Part of me felt a sense of relief for having a smaller body again. I moved much more freely now. Another part was acutely aware of how small and vulnerable I had become. This was particularly emphasized for me when a woman and her two children passed by me going the opposite direction. Her son appeared to be about 10 years old and her daughter looked to be about 8. The boy was taller than me and the girl was just a little shorter.

“I’m nine?” I said to myself.

The woman gave me a curious look, and why wouldn’t she? I was a half naked girl walking down the sidewalk alone carrying a pile of adult clothes. To avoid her getting involved to “help” me, I hurried down the sidewalk to the corner and went around it to where I would be out of sight. All the while, I was worried about tripping up and stubbing a toe.

I slowed down and took a look at my reflection in a window. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. The girl in the reflection looked so innocent and frightened. Poor thing.

“I get it,” I said. “I’ve learned my lesson. I won’t try to remove it again. I promise. Please, turn me back.”

Nothing happened.

I sighed. It seemed that the wizard wanted this “punishment” to continue a little while longer. I looked down at my bare feet and began looking around for a store. “I need shoes,” I said.

I spotted a used clothing shop and was about to go in before I realized how hard it would be to explain my situation to a shopkeeper. Instead I stashed my clothes in a nearby alley and waited at the entrance of the alley for someone else to approach the door to the shop. I would follow them in, discreetly. I hoped that would be enough for me to go unnoticed. All the while, I kept an eye out for police that might be patrolling in the area. The last thing I wanted was to be picked up by someone that would lock me away and start asking questions.

I looked down at the ring on my little finger. It had become small enough to fit the finger as tightly as it had done before. Not that I wanted to remove it right then. Being this small was bad enough. Being stuck at this size with no way of going back to normal besides waiting years to grow up was too much to even consider right then.

Then, just when I was getting worried that I would be found before I could sneak in the shop, a woman walked up to the door. I hurried over to follow her in. The shop keeper greeted the woman as I quietly slipped around a rack of clothes, hoping that no one had noticed me. Having shed all that extra weight, I found I could creep along as silently as a mouse. When I was confident that they were not paying attention, I snuck off to the back of the store to start searching for clothes that would fit.

After a bit of work, I managed to piece together an outfit consisting of a pink and red floral sundress and a pair of leather ankle strap sandals that fit me somewhat well. Checking myself out in the mirror, I felt confident that no one would see me as anything but an ordinary girl unless they noticed the ring on my finger.

I headed to the door, and hurried out carrying the shirt I had worn coming in.

“Hey,” someone shouted.

I started running to the alley where my clothes were hidden.

I could hear someone running after me.

I ran faster.

I bolted into the alley, grabbed my clothes from where I had hidden them, and kept on running down the alley, not once looking back to see if I was still being chased. I turned down another street, still running, and kept going until I was out of breath.

At that point, I slowed down and checked behind myself. Thankfully, there was no one following me. I took a moment to regain my composure, and then gathered up my clothes into a neat ball and walked home.

***

Back in my apartment, I let out a big sigh of relief as I set my old clothes down on the floor. I felt safe again at last. I locked the door and tried not to think about how high I had to stretch to reach the deadbolt and chain.

When I stepped into my kitchen, I suddenly felt very small. At first, I worried that I was shrinking or getting younger again. I stood still and tried to sense my body changing, but nothing seemed to be happening. I was still the same little girl I had been on the way home.

Then, I realized what was going on. For the first time today since I had gotten younger, I was in a place that was familiar to me. I had spent months of my life living here. I knew what it felt like to be in here, how everything should look to me. Now, I was seeing my place from a completely new perspective. Everything seemed to have grown. The kitchen table and chairs were too high. The top cabinets were out of reach. My shoes by the door seemed as though they were made for a giant. It felt as though everything I owned had been replaced by a slightly bigger version of it.

“This is… weird,” I said. I looked around, feeling lost. “What do I do now?”

Thankfully, I was not scheduled to work today, so I had a little while before I would need to deal with the outside world again. I could hide out here until, hopefully soon, the wizard turned me back to normal. He had to turn me back to normal eventually. Right?

“TV,” I told myself, to give me some kind of destination. I tossed my adult clothes in the hamper, headed to my living room, and settled down to watch whatever was on. It had worked before to keep me from worrying about my body, and it seemed to be working again. Maybe I would be able to wait out this situation after all.

Then, my phone rang.

At first, I was scared to even touch it. I checked the ID for the caller. It was Mr. Silvestro, my boss.

Part of me wanted to answer, thinking that he might be calling about giving me the manager job. However, if I did answer, I would have to explain why I sounded like a little girl all of a sudden. I thought I might be able to disguise my voice. I tested it, trying to speak deeply. “Hello,” I said. “It’s Mo. How are you today?” I sighed. I sounded like a kid pretending to be an adult. “That’s not going to work.” Before I could figure out some way to answer. The ringing stopped.

A new idea came to mind. I unlocked my phone and wrote a text:

Hi. Sorry I missed you just now. I had my hands busy, and I’m in a place where I need to be quiet.

Then, I added:

Can you please send me a text back explaining why you were calling?

A minute later, his text arrived:

Maureen, I need someone to work at the coffee shop this afternoon. You were my first choice.

I wanted to simply refuse, but I worried about how that would affect my chances at getting the manager job. After all, I lived literally right on top of the coffee shop. Any excuse for not going in, other than a serious illness, would seem pretty far fetched.

I remembered what the wizard had said, that people would not notice my changes, and I thought back on how no one had made a fuss at the bistro yesterday after seeing my body. Maybe I could pull it off. Maybe no one would notice a little girl making coffee, or maybe they would. Being a curvy woman working as a waitress was possible at least. There was no way anyone would expect a little girl to be working at a coffee shop. I would have to trust the magic a lot to make it seem possible.

“Well,” I said. “Worse comes to worst, I could just run out the door and back up to my apartment.”

I can do it, I replied to him.

Excellent, he wrote back. I knew I could count on you.

Thanks! I wrote and set my phone down.

“Please turn me back,” I said to the wizard. “I really need this. Please.”

Nothing happened.

I sighed. “This is going to be interesting,” I said.

***

There’s more story to tell, but that’ll have to wait for later. I’ll get you caught up on everything soon. Thanks for reading this far.

– Mo

Chapter 2