Chris sat at his computer, his cursor hovering over the internet icon, deciding what to do next.

“Everything is boring…” he muttered dejectedly, his depression kicking in.  He took his hand off the mouse and stretched, stifling a yawn at the same time.

“There’s gotta be something to do,” he sighed internally, looking around.

His room was messy.  College textbooks and pieces of paper were scattered haphazardly on the floor.  He briefly contemplated doing his homework before shaking his head in dismissal.

“There gotta be something interesting to do,” he reiterated to himself.

As he was about to give up and go to sleep, a knock pounded on his door.  He slowly got out of his chair and went forward, peering through the peephole once he got in range. 

He saw the back of the postage man, walking away from his house.  He hurriedly opened up the door, glancing at the package that lay at his feet.  Curiosity shone in his eyes.  He wasn’t expecting anything.

He double checked to make sure the name was correct and retrieved the package from the ground. He slammed the door shut, heading back into the seclusion of his “lair”.  He set the package on his desk and pulled his keys out of his pocket.  Using the key’s edge, he cut through the tape sealing the box.

“What the hell is this?” he blinked in confusion.

In his hands laid an object reminiscent of an olden-day “See N’ Say”.  It was essentially a roulette game.  By cranking the handle, an arrow would spin around, landing on one of the multiple objects marked on the round surface.

Chris peered at the twelve images inscribed on the device.  The thing was bizarre.  Options such as death, disability, war, and famine were mixed with options such as life, strength, peace, and change.

“Who sent this to me?” he wondered, looking over the remains of the package.  To his disappointment no name was written upon it.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Should I give it a crank?” he mused. 

At that moment, a strange sense of foreboding filled his mind.  He laughed at the ridiculousness of his behavior and shook his head to clear his brain of such thoughts.  It was just a silly toy.

He reached towards the device and pulled the handle.  The arrow spun rapidly before coming to a stop on the word “change”.

Nothing happened.

Chris laughed self-mockingly.  Of course nothing happened, it was just a toy.

However, at that moment, he realized his laugh had sounded different.  The pitch was much higher than usual.  A deep sense of unease filled his body.  He dashed towards the bathroom. 

When he saw his reflection he emitted a high pitched squeal.  His body had completely transformed.  No longer did he have the appearance of a lanky college boy.  He was a girl.

Long eyelashes blinked in front of crystal blue eyes.  Short-cut black hair laid atop of a perfectly symmetrical face.  Two objects bounced as he stepped backwards in fear.

“What happened to me?” he spoke out loud.  He then gasped at the clear chime emitted by his new vocal chords.

“How did this happen?” he trembled.  Tumultuous thoughts raced through his mind before settling on one, clear note.

“The roulette!” he instantly dashed back towards his desk, almost tripping due to the odd sense of balance.

He grabbed the device in thin, trembling hands, almost dropping it as his nails began to elongate in front of his eyes.

“How do I reverse this?  There’s got to be a way!  Maybe if I pull it again?” he panicked.  He almost pulled the handle before going pale.  What would happen if the arrow landed on death or war?  Would those things actually happen?

He set the device back on the table and collapsed into his chair, his head in his new hands.

“Maybe there’s a time limit?” he laughed manically, “Yeah.  That must be it.  If I go to sleep I’m sure I’ll be normal in the morning.”

He went into the bathroom and opened his medicine cabinet.  He swallowed a couple pills to make him tired and then went to his bed and shut his eyes.

However, even with the aid of the pills, he found himself unable to fall asleep in the middle of the day.  He cursed fervently.

As if to make matters worse, the doorbell rang.  Horror appeared on his face as he dashed to the door and peered through the hole.  His mom was standing outside.

His heart raced as he contemplated his choices.  After thinking, he desperately headed back to the roulette, hoping that he would transform back to normal after pulling the handle again.

He felt sick as he saw the arrow spin around.  He prayed that it would land on something good.

As if to mock him, the arrow landed on change once more before slowly sliding onto the word death.

A thud sounded outside his door.