the twenty fifth
Art: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/96044072
As he did every night, Roy lay on his bed, looking out through the room's only, tiny window at the night sky. It was all Roy could do, really. His tiny "bedroom" - just a repurposed storage room - was bare, spartan, the only things within those yellowing, peeling walls a squeaky folding bed, a cardboard box containing all of Roy's clothes, and his backpack he carried to school every day… yet, it was the only sanctuary he had known for the past six years of his life. Crash. Roy winced as the sound of shattering glass came from somewhere else in the house, trying his best to tune it out, though he did turn his head to make sure the door to his room was securely locked - just another of his uncle's drunken rages.
A spark of light from outside the window, glimmering faintly in the night sky. Roy's eyes widened as he sat up, almost not daring to believe his eyes as he saw the glowing, shining trail - a shooting star. His mind flashed back towards something his mother had told him years ago, before she had faded away like this star would surely in just a moment… something about making a wish? He had only been six back then, but Roy could still remember her kind voice, the warmth of her touch… Roy closed his eyes, only one thing crossing his mind, one thing that he could possibly wish for…
“I wish that I was happy.”
That was it. No flash of light that signalled his wish had been fulfilled, or even acknowledged. The shooting star faded away, leaving behind a night sky that seemed darker for its absence, and Roy sighed, lying back down and turning to one side. How foolish could he be? As Roy drifted off to sleep, however, he could not have known that someone - or rather, something - had heard his wish, and was ready to grant it…
The changes started slow, so slow that even someone witnessing the process would have trouble seeing that something was different at all. The fine hairs across Roy’s body all disappeared, the occasional bruise and scar on his body fading away to leave behind unbroken, unblemished skin. With soft cracks his arms and legs slimmed, malnourished forms filling out slightly with fat - though they still remained slender and petite. Roy’s backbone began to shrink, the twelve year old boy’s height brought down until it was more on the level of one who was three or four years younger. His throat slimmed down, the beginning of an Adam’s Apple melted away to ensure his voice would remain higher-pitched, unaffected by the trials of puberty.
His hair began to grow longer, maintaining its light brown shade as it pooled around him on the bed, gaining a slight wave to its styling. And there was some style to it indeed - his coarse, rough hair became more silky smooth, lustrous; it was clear it had been well cared for. Roy’s face began to subtly warp, much of his features remaining in a visage that looked like it was younger, but also more innocent, more… happy. The hue of his eyes remained green but they widened slightly, creating a more childish appearance as slowly, a smile came onto his slumbering face. Or, should it be her slumbering face? Within a matter of seconds Roy’s nether region had undergone a fundamental change, turning the boy to a girl - but of course, she continued sleeping, none the wiser. The thin T-shirt and shorts that covered Roy’s body now began to change, merging together into a single dress - frilly, cutesy, its fabric a pure white. Nothing more happened,
“Mmm…” Rose awoke to a world that was somehow both familiar and not at the same time, soft sunlight filtering through curtains to illuminate her face. She sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes as she looked out across her room - pristine and well-cleaned, some of her plushies strewn out to give it a bit of charm and cuteness. “Ah…!” She peered out of her window, something causing her to smile as she padded out of her bedroom and down into the living room, slipping on a pair of sandals, picking up an umbrella as she skipped into the backyard. “Rose~!” A voice came from behind her, a female’s, warm and kind - her mother’s, for whose else could it be? “Look!” She pointed into the distance, a wide smile on her face. “A rainbow!!” Was that still a sense of sorrow, of fear within her? Maybe it was from last night… watching the deluges of rain fall from the sky, it had seemed like it would go on forever, would never end… but today was a different day. And everything would be alright in the end - she just knew it!