Date: Mon, 25 Nov 1996 00:14:35 -0500 (EST)
From: Radioactive Loner
Subject: SRU: Spring Cleaning (1/1)
This story can be distributed freely on mailing lists,
newsgroups, and archives if two conditions are met: first,
that I be informed of the posting; and second, that for any
distribution outside of the TSA-TALK mailing list, my name be
removed from the story and authorship remain anonymous. The
second condition is of extreme importance to me.
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SPELLS 'R US: SPRING CLEANING
The old man sneezed as a small cloud of dust arose from
a nook within the shop. In one of the old man's hands was a
perfectly ordinary washcloth. In the other was a perfectly
ordinary featherduster. The old man sneezed two more times
in quick succession.
"Never hurts to keep the place clean," he mumbled under
his breath as he worked at the counter's surface. "Damn
faerie dust always messes up the spells."
Suddenly, the old man's face darkened in a strange mix
of both anger and concern. He placed the featherduster and
washcloth on the table gently and walked quickly to the front
of the shop. He opened the door gently and smiled at a young
woman who was walking by the shop.
"Dana?" he said. "Would you mind stepping into my shop
for a moment?"
The girl stopped. She was in her late teens, and her
face was soft and delicately beautiful, pale skin framed by
brown hair. The only thing marring this vision of loveliness
was the fearful look that had taken permanent residence in
her expression.
"How ... how do you," she began, then trailed off as a
flash of fear ran through her eyes. She had long ago learned
not to ask questions.
The old man smiled. "I am a wizard, Dana. I am on your
side. I will not do anything to hurt you in any way.
Please, believe me."
She looked in the old man's eyes, and the kindly and
loving look in them reminded her of her grandfather, of a
loving childhood memory that didn't focus around ... she
willed that thought away, and, after a moment's hesitation,
walked quickly into the shop before she could change her
mind.
Taking care not to touch her, the old man gestured to
a small table with two chairs in the corner of the shop.
[Dana could not have sworn to its existence a few minutes
earlier.] On the table was a kettle and a cup of tea with
wispy curls of steam rising from its rim. Dana sat down in
the chair and reached for the cup.
"Don't drink from that cup quite yet, my dear," said the
wizard as he took a seat across from her. He looked her in
the eye with a kindly gaze that somehow she could stand and
not turn away from.
"I felt your trouble as you passed by the shop," he
began. "I know, my dear, that you do not feel comfortable
speaking of ... what you have gone through. Suffice it to
say that the evil which has been done to you can be stopped."
"I ... " she began to object, but she could not muster
the strength when faced with the piercing, yet still kindly,
gaze of the shopkeeper.
"No, my dear, do not object. Evil of this residue
leaves psychic ... marks," the shopkeeper said, choosing his
words carefully. He carefully watched the girl's reaction to
the word "mark." A quick glance downward to her arm was
enough to confirm what he had read in her aura.
"Suppose," he said, "that with one sip from something as
simple as ... as that teacup, you could begin your life anew
in a loving home. And I would insure that what was done to
you would never be done again."
The storekeeper watched the girl's fearful expression
carefully. He saw, in the corner of her eyes, a glimmer of
hope begin to form.
"I will be frank, dear. One sip of that tea will
restore you to infancy. And I will insure that you are
adopted by a loving family, and I will see that your current
parents are ... taken care of."
The girl glanced down, and then shut her eyes. She
reached for the teacup, and took a long sip. As she glanced
back up, she invested the storekeeper with the one thing that
was hardest for her to give. In a beautiful yet softly muted
voice, three syllables floated across to the old man's ears.
"I trust you."
The old man watched as the girl's body lost its fullness
of breast and hip. He watched with satisfaction as scars and
bruises unformed and healed. Her hair receded into her scalp
until her head was only covered with a soft fine baby hair,
as her body shrank into smaller proportions. Most lovely of
all, he watched as the expression of fear disapppeared to be
replaced by the joyful innocence of childhood.
He picked the child up and chucked it under the chin.
The infant girl gurgled back happily and grasped onto the old
man's finger. He diapered and put a cute dress on the little
child, and magicked her away to appear on the doorstep of a
loving couple who would have a lot of love to give, yet in
the past had failed to conceive a child.
The old man watched as the new mother and father found
the infant on their doorstep and reacted in joy and love. A
warm glow filled (
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