Waiting for the manager to let us out after the store is closed always sucks. They can take forever counting the day’s receipts and preparing the deposit for the next day. Or whatever else they have to do back in the office to finish the business day. Once everyone else finishes with their shift. You just have to wait until the managers get done. It really sucks tonight because I’m feeling very warm. Sometimes you work up a sweat and it takes a while to cool down.

“You okay Eddie? You’re looking kind of sweaty.” asked Tina

“Yeah, just was rushing while straightening that last aisle. I was so close and wanted to finish. Didn’t want to get stuck in here tonight though,”

“Here comes Carla. She’ll let us out soon enough.”

Soon as the door opened. We all virtually ran out. The cool night air hit my face and felt so wonderful. I lit my cigarette and walked over to Tina in the lot while she waited for Carla to finish locking the door.

“Eddie, you’re smoking.”

“Well yeah, that’s what the cigarette’s for.”

“No, I mean your body is smoking! Look at your shoulders!”

At that moment the world became fire. Blue-white flames stealing across my vision. The heat burning through me down to my bones. My every molecule coming apart.

Then the world was smaller. Everyone looked so tiny. Being fairly tall, I occasionally felt like a giant around really short people. This wasn’t anything like that. Everyone was as short as a toddler next to me.

Fire consumed me once again. Once it faded. My world returned to normal. Or so I thought.

******

The first sign that something was different was when naturalists and hunters started finding new and unusual species that resembled mythical and fantasy creatures.

Officer Micheal Dennison had been with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for decades. A tall suntanned man, his torso was just beginning to show a touch of the middle aged spread. He was currently live trapping small game for tagging and population survey outside of Geneva.

“Doctor McCarty, I just found an unusual animal while trapping. I need you to examine it so we can figure out what exactly is going on. I’m hoping it wasn’t caused by some sort of small ecological disaster. Sure, I can bring it in tomorrow.”

As usual it was next to impossible to find somewhere to park on the Cornell Campus. After half an hour of driving around in circles Mike finally found a spot reasonably close to the Veterinary Hospital. Reaching into the back of his patrol SUV he picked up a medium size pet carrier.

Upon entering the building he was recognized by the receptionist and ushered into an examination room. He set the carrier on the examination table, and only had to wait a couple of minutes before Doctor McCarty entered. She was a short businesslike black woman with a kind smile.

“Take a look in that carrier Doc, and tell me what you see.”

“I told you to call me Jen, Mike. You know I hate being called Doc.”

“Yeah, that’s why I do it.” he teased.

Peering in through the grate at the front. Doctor McCarty jumped back with a jerk.

“What the hell! That looks like a jackalope. Those aren’t real.”

“Not outside of creative taxidermy.”

Pulling on a pair of examination gloves with a snap. Jen reached carefully into the crate and gently pulled the jackalope out. Setting it down on the table, she examined it from antler to soft tail.

“Outside of the head, the anatomy is the same as any other rabbit I’ve examined. Rabbits are pretty well muscled in their legs. So they’re similar to brawnier individuals I’ve treated. At first I thought the antlers were some kind of surgical implant. Like the horns body modification addicts get implanted in their foreheads. However, there’s absolutely no sign of scarring. The skull case seems to be a little thicker to support his antlers.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Where the hell did a real jackalope come from?”

“I don’t know, but the other day one of my colleagues from Tennessee posted a picture of an Unicorn that a farmer had found with his herd of horses. I thought it was a joke…”

******

The first sign that things had changed. Was the magic.

I was so thirsty. Miss Jacobs wouldn’t let me go get a drink from the water fountain. She said I was just being disruptive and wanted to cause a scene. My throat was so dry. It felt so scratchy. I know I’d asked to go to the potty or get a drink to just get out of my chair before. I really really needed a drink this time. I pretended that my hand was a cup and started sipping at it. The goodest tasting water I’d ever had floweded into my mouth. I did it again. More yummy water. I wondered how much water I could get and started pouring it out of my hand onto the floor. It was like when I splashed in the bathtub. All the water on the floor… Uh oh. Mommy yells at me when I get the floor wet like this.

“Jason, where did you get that water from!?” yelled Miss Jacobs

She ran over to my desk.

“It’s like you poured out a whole bucket of water back here.” she scolded.

“I made the water.” I telled her.

“You mean you peed?”

“No, I made the water. See.”

I spilled lots and lots of water on the floor. My hand had lots and lots more too.

Miss Jacobs looked like she ate a worm, walked away, and called the principal to our room.

******

The first sign that the world would never be the same. Was the Changelings.

President Robert Bennett was giving his 3rd State of the Nation address. His balding white hair and visible wrinkles a stark contrast to his youthful energy. His political opponents always created a nothing-burger about his age. This always failed, because simply, their alternative was only 3 years younger than President Bennett. Thanks to a trick of demographics. The entire government had a problem with elderly men and women still holding on to power long past their time.

“In the coming year we will be focusing on…”

To everyone’s horror. President Bennett’s eyes lost their focus. His visage became blank and lost. Ten, twenty, thirty seconds, a full minute passed. His younger wife (she was only in her 60s) shook him in a vague hope of pulling him out of it. He nodded his head when he felt his wife’s touch.

“As I was saying. In the coming year we will be focusing on the economy.” President Bennett finally continued.

At that point he collapsed like the proverbial puppet with it’s strings cut. Vice President Keisha Thompson intercepted his limp form before he fell to the carpet behind the dais. Secret Service agents and EMTS rushed to their side.

“He’s okay. No obvious reason for loss of consciousness!” yelled the senior EMT. President Bennett was wheeled away to safety on a gurney.

For the next week footage of the ambulance pulling away from the capital dominated all news coverage. White House Spokesmen would only say that the president was in great condition, and that there was nothing to worry about. When pressed they refused to provide any details. Especially a diagnosis.

On the one week anniversary of President Bennett’s collapse. The White House Press Secretary announced that the President would be holding a press conference later that evening.

The White House Briefing Room was predictably packed to the brim with reporters from every credentialed news agency in the world. Carrie Chupek, the White House Press Secretary entered followed by two men. The gathered staff recognized the White House Physician, but the second man was a mystery. There was a strong resemblance to President Bennett’s middle aged sons. However, this man looked to be in his late 20s. With shiny black hair, slim features, and long pointed ears.

Secretary Chupek took her place and began speaking.

“This is going to be an unbelievable announcement for many of those attending today. I’m not even going to attempt to explain things. I’m just going to hand things over to Dr. Groff.”

Taking Secretary Chupek’s place behind the podium. White House Physician Dr. Groff wiped his forehead. Before nervously beginning to speak.

“In the last week. President Barrett has been under constant supervision of medical staff. There is literally no known medical explanation for what has happened.”

Dr. Groff paused and took a deep breath.

“My staff watched as President Barrett underwent a metamorphosis. Signs of aging seemed to reverse before our very eyes. Bones and cartilage reshaped themselves. In an effort to find an answer genetic samples were taken and compared with older samples from the President. His DNA was unchanged. Samples were also taken from his relatives. Comparisons were done, and the results were consistent with our expectations.

We have absolutely no idea why President Barrett now resembles an Elf from fantasy fiction. Including a young and healthy appearance.

Further investigation revealed that this phenomenon, for lack of a better word, has been appearing around the world. With only the mythological or fantastic creatures represented as the final result being the variant in the phenomena.

Since President Barrett’s health is now actually better than it was when he took office. It was decided that he should return to duty. I will now attest that this man is President Barrett. No matter how changed his appearance.”

As Dr. Groff stepped aside and the rejuvenated President Barrett took the podium. A deafening silence filled the Press Room.