The party

Kyle hung another picture of a raccoon to his wall. Most guys his age had pictures of girls and sports stars on their walls, but Kyle had literally dozens of pictures of raccoons. Some of the pictures were huge and others were small. He even had one above his bed so it would be the last thing he saw before going to bed at night. Seeing him hanging the picture, his mother walked in.

“Another one? Don’t you think this is all a bit much? I mean all the other guys your age have pictures of girls.” Kyle responded with a simple

“They like girls, I like raccoons.” It wasn’t that Kyle hated girls or anything like that, he liked them. But he just didn’t feel the need to have pictures of them all over his room or to have playboy magazines under his mattress. Finishing hanging the picture he got into bed, holding several raccoon plush toys, he had quite a few of those and always tried to have at least one with him wherever he went.

Kyle’s 20th birthday was coming up. He wanted to go to chuck-e-cheese for it. He hadn’t been there since he was a kid and he missed the days where his birthday was a big deal and all of his friends would go there and party all day. When he told his parents that he had reserved a room in the local chuck-e-cheeses they thought it was odd and that he was too old for it, but decided to

“let it go” because it was his birthday. He had made sure to invite all of his friends from College. Most of them were thrilled by being able to go to chuck-e-cheeses as they too hadn’t been there since they were kids. For Kyle, while he did enjoy college he often found that he missed the days when he was a kid. Those days were much simpler and he had far few worries. He missed how he could get away with going days without bathing, where his biggest concerns in life were things such as “GI Joe” or “The Disney Afternoon” or where the hardest thing he had to learn was how to write his name in cursive writing rather normal printing. He missed the days of innocence where going to the park was a major thing and where eating at McDonalds was a major treat. It was difficult for him to believe that he was already 20 years old. Technically speaking he was grown up now. Most people were in a rush to grow up from as young as 10 years old, but he had always tried to ‘stall it’ as much as possible. When he finally turned 18 and was legally considered an adult, suddenly doing kid stuff became one of those your too old for that kinds of things. It had always annoyed him. Now that he was turning 20, he would soon be in the first age group where a person is really considered to be an adult, and he felt he was losing something in the process.

His birthday finally came; after he woke up he went down stairs. Everyone wished him a happy birthday and they all ate breakfast together. He called up several of his friends who wished him a happy birthday and said they couldn’t wait for the party. It had been years since they had been to chuck e cheeses and the more they thought about it the more they found themselves looking forward to it. Sitting down on the couch in front of their TV in the living room, Kyle watched some morning cartoons. His parents thought of saying something but since it was his birthday they let it pass.

His party was scheduled for 3pm, for most of the day leading up to it; it was all he could think about. Time seemed to pass very slowly and he found himself getting anxious. But finally the time came, and they left.

Chuck-e-cheese’s was quite busy, fortunately, since Kyle had made a reservation they were able to get a room with plenty of tables and seats. As soon as everyone was there, they immediately ordered several pizzas. Pizza was one of Kyle’s favorite foods as a kid and he still loved it now. As it arrived they all chowed it down. They were all reminded of how good it was, in a way it made Kyle miss being a kid even more. After they had all had several pieces they decided to have some cake before playing games on the literally dozens of machines they had. Kyle’s cake was huge; it was chocolate with tons of icing and 5 layers. There were 20 candles on it, and as it was put on the table in front of him everyone said for him to

“make a wish”. Closing his eyes he wished that

“I had a way to show everyone why I like raccoons so much and that I could experience the innocence of childhood again”

With a mighty huff and puff Kyle blew all of the candles out in a single breath. Everyone cheered and clapped. Kyle’s friend Jeremy turned to him and said,

“Cool, you get your wish”. Smiling and turning to him, Kyle said,

“I certainly hope so”. As he did the honors of cutting the cake he felt a bit itchy, but dismissed it. The cake was incredibly rich and tasty, the best one he had eaten in years. It was so good that not only did he have seconds or thirds, but 4 pieces. Feeling quite full he decided to go play some of the video games to let his stomach digest all of the food.

As he played, he again felt itchy. He wasn’t sure what was causing it. He didn’t feel sick or dizzy or anything so he didn’t think that it was an allergic reaction. Thinking it was

“all in his head” he continued to play. He has always enjoyed side scrolling shooter games, and was getting far in the one he was playing. He was on the 2nd last level, when the itchy feeling returned. This time it was over much of his body, scratching slightly with his hand between waves of enemies, he tried his best to ignore it. As he finished scratching, the game seemed to get a bit taller. Thinking this was all in his head, he ignored it and continued to play.

Finishing the game, he cheered quietly at his victory, and walked around to another space shooter that was at the back of the arcade. The itching still persisted, and he thought about telling someone. But he still wasn’t feeling sick or dizzy, so he still thought it was his imagination. Kneeling down to put a quarter into the machine, he found it odd that he didn’t have to ‘go down’ as far as he had for the other game. Everything seemed to be a bit taller as well. He had worn a polo shirt and a pair of slacks to the party, but as he looked at his pants their texture and appearance almost looked like jeans. His shirt seemed to be a bit softer and he could swear that the buttons and ‘hole’ on it were vanishing.

“This has to be my imagination, if I were really shrinking my clothes wouldn’t fit me anymore. It’s dark in here, so that’s why they look a bit different now” he thought to himself; he stood up and began to play the game. After 15 minutes of playing the game, the itching was still bothering him, and he noticed that it seemed be getting warm. The machines also again seemed to be a bit taller. He knew that he should probably tell someone, but decided against it. Suddenly he felt something pressing against the back of his pants and heard a loud ripping sound behind him. Turning his head around to see what the noise was he saw a tail sticking out. It hung down between his legs. It was covered in a pelt of Grey fur with some brown mixed in, and had 4 dark Grey rings on it. It looked just like a raccoon’s tail. Reaching to it, he petted it. It felt very soft, and he could feel the tail being petted, this tail was very real. The itching continued, and spread to his arms. Thinking of what could be ‘going on’ he rushed to the bathroom to get a look at himself in the mirror.

Thankfully for him, no one was in the bathroom at the time. Seeing his clothes in the light now, they had definitely changed. His polo shirt now looked like a tee shirt, and his pants almost like jeans. He was continuing to feel warm and feel itchy, so he look off his shirt and pants to see what was going on. He was very shocked and surprised by what he saw to say the last. His chest was covered with Grey fur with a little bit of black mixed in, as were his legs. Looking at his arms he could see that fur was growing on them as well. He was definitely shorter. While he wasn’t certain how much height he had lost, he could tell he had lost height. While his face hadn’t acquired fur, he looked almost younger, as if he was maybe 14 years old. His height seemed about right for that age.

“Most 14 year olds don’t have fur and a tail”, he quietly said to himself. He noticed that his voice sounded much younger, as if he really was only 14. Looking at hands, his nails looked a little longer, and were turning black. Even his eyes looked a bit different. Last time he checked he had green eyes, but now they almost looked blue. Opening his mouth his teeth looked a bit sharper then before. Reaching his hand to the fur on his chest, he petted it. It felt incredibly soft, the sensation of having fur and of someone petting it was a very nice feeling. His sense of touch almost seemed as if it were improved, as the texture felt much more detailed.

“So what am I supposed to do now? I have the tail of a raccoon and I’m growing the fur of one all over my body. Should I tell anyone?” he quietly asked himself. Logic would say that he should tell someone, and tell them quickly before it got worse, but he found himself wanting to do just one thing; play and worry about this later. Looking back into the mirror, he appeared to be even shorter. Putting his clothes back on, he expected them to feel loose, yet their fit was still perfect.

Leaving the bathroom, he headed back to the games.

It had been about 40 minutes since he had started to feel the first itching. As he continued to play, he was still feeling itchy, looking down at and feeling his arm’s he could feel that they were growing a thick pelt of fur, just like on the rest of his body. The game was definitely getting taller, or more so he was getting shorter yet he wasn’t bothered by it. It seemed like the more he changed, that the more he wanted to play and that he was finding himself feeling like a kid. He eventually found himself getting so much shorter that he had to use a stool to stand on. As he finished the latest game, he looked down at himself. His clothes were definitely changing, his shirt looked almost exactly like a tee shirt, and his pants looked almost like shorts. The ripped hole that his tail hung from even seemed to be mending itself and become a natural tail hole that was part of the pants. His arms were now almost totally covered in hair, he could just barley see his skin under it. His hands had darkened, and the skin on the bottom of them looked just like a raccoons, the top of them was covered in short fur and his nails had become very claw like. His face was starting to itch and he could feel his mouth and nose ‘pulling’ out.

It had been nearly an hour since the itching started. As he finished playing his latest game, he jumped off the stool. He was now only about 4 foot 4, before all this began he had been 5 foot 10. His voice sounded just like a kid. He noticed that he could suddenly smell pizza that smelled like it was very close, looking around there wasn’t any. He realized that his sense of smell was now much stronger. His clothes had fully changed into a tee shirt that had a picture of a raccoon, his pants were now shorts, and a baseball cap had appeared on his head. His shoes had changed into running shoes, which like most kid shoes were pretty dirty. Looking in a mirror that was outside the arcade in the hall he smiled. His reflection was that of an adorable raccoon kid wearing attire you’d expect a child to wear.

“This is so cool. I got my wish,” he said, as he looked around for his friends. Seeing them in the dining area, he ran over to them just like a kid would and said hi. They all jumped a bit at the sight of a raccoon kid.

“Oh he’s so cute, Kyle would just love this little guy”, his friend Jimmy said as he gave him a great big hug, something which Kyle very much enjoyed. As Jerry put him down, he looked up at the crowd of people that was now watching him in fascination and said,

“Of course I’d love me.” This made everyone look at him in pure confusion. Seeing their confusion he continued,

“It’s me, Kyle! I got my wish!”

“Your wish? You wanted to be a cute little raccoon kid?” Several of them said.

“How could I not want to?” he responded as he jumped into his mother’s arms and gave her a great big hug. Looking right into his ‘baby blue’ eyes, she admitted that he was very cute, and his fur was very soft.

“I can certainly see now why you like raccoons. I knew that you missed being a kid, looks like you got 2 wishes granted today”.

“2 perfect birthday gifts” he said.

“Speaking of gifts, can I open my present now?” he asked, jumping up and down all excited.

“Okay, honey” his mother responded. The first present he opened was from his college friend Jimmy. It was several computer games. Jimmy was confused, he hadn’t got him those games, but the gift said 'from Jimmy'. Thanking him, Kyle opened his next present, one that was from his parents. It was a brand new pair of tennis shoes. Another one from them was a pair of shirts that were the perfect size for a kid Kyle’s size. Thanking them he gave them both a big hug. Everyone was confused as to how his presents had changed, but they figured that if this wish could change him so much then changing presents would probably be easy. Opening the presents from his other college friends, he got a baseball bat glove and several baseballs; a football, with several jerseys with team logo’s on them. He also got a bunch of music CD’s.

He thanked everyone for the presents. Everyone wanted to know what he planned on doing now that he was a raccoon kid. He could think of one and only one thing, he wanted to play and have fun. It was about time for the party to be over, so everyone was about to start to leave when they found they wanted to stay with Kyle. Seeing their friend like this was strange, but at the same time fun and so very cute. They all found themselves wanting to play with him. Kyle of course loved all the attention he was getting. They decided to first go home, to put his things away then they’d go to the park and play.

When he got home, Kyle went up to his room, and found something interesting. His room was now furnished just like a kid’s room. Looking in his drawers, he saw that all of his clothes were now kids clothes. This news certainly relieved his parents, at least now they wouldn’t have to buy him a whole new wardrobe. He noticed his room now, much like a kid’s room looked quite messy. Quickly putting his new things away (which for him now meant putting them on his bed), he went down stairs and outside, ready to play.

For the first time in years, Kyle was running at the park. The warm summer sun felt great on his fur and it felt so great just to run around and play. He was getting quite a bit of attention from other visitors to the park; a raccoon kid wasn’t exactly something they saw every day so he fascinated them. Several of them wanted to pet his head, he found that he loved the feeling of being petted behind the ears so he welcomed being petted. Eventually, after spending much of the evening running and playing it was getting late and he was getting tired. His friends took him home and after saying goodbye and each giving him a hug, they went home.

It was getting late. He was ready to go to bed when his mother told him that he needed to take a bath.

“But Mom, I took a bath yesterday. I’m fine.” He said. Picking him up she tried to convince him again.

“Sweetie, you need to take a bath, you were outside all evening. Your dirty.” Oddly enough, Kyle was finding that being dirty was actually fun, and since he took a bath the day before he didn’t need to take one today. Again telling her that since he took a bath the day before he didn’t need another one today. Finally accepting it, she said

“Okay dear but you’ll have to take one tomorrow”. Getting undressed and into his pajamas he decided to wear ones he now had that had a bunch of Disney characters on them. Getting into his bed, he curled up into a little ball, a position that felt great and very warm and went to sleep.

Waking up the next day he felt great, and he wanted to play. Getting dressed he went downstairs and ate breakfast. Calling his friends he asked them if they wanted to play again. They all were happy to come over and ‘play’. Most of the day went like the previous evening, he ran around the park and played and played; loving the attention he was getting and loving being able to be a kid again. His friend Jimmy decided to treat everyone to ice cream. As he ate his ice cream Kyle made a bit of a mess, getting it on his fur. The cold and sticky drops of ice cream felt very strange on his fur, but didn’t bother him. All of his friends giggled, he reminded them of what it was like to be a kid. Since it was still fairly early in the day, they all decided to go to the movies. Kyle found that kids movies appealed to him, his friends decided it might be fun to see a kid’s movie again. His friends spend watching much of the movie smiling as they saw him eating popcorn. He looked very cute doing so.

Later that day after his friends had taken him home, his parents decided to go out for supper. Kyle hadn’t eaten a kid’s meal in nearly 10 years. Everyone at the restaurant was smiling at him, several of them asking who this

“adorable little guy is” he loved all of the attention he was getting, for the first time in years he truly felt like himself.

That evening it was bath time again, his mother told him that he needed a bath. His first instinct was to resist, but he knew that he needed to bathe and he was pretty dirty, so he decided to take a bath. Taking a bath as a raccoon kid was certainly an interesting experience, he found himself enjoying playing in the water. His parents had purchased animal shampoo, as regular soap wasn’t going to work that well with fur. With his new sense of smell the soap smelled very interesting. It actually felt really good washing the fur, certainly a unique experience. Once his bath was done, it took him quite some time to get dried off, his parents had to use the hair dryer to fully dry him off. Finally getting dried off, he got dressed in his pajamas and went to sleep, again curling up in a little ball.

The rest of the summer was one of the most enjoyable times Kyle had in a very long time. Every day he played all day. As the summer came to an end, it came time to decide what he was going to do about school.

The idea of returning to school was unavailing to him. Since he still had his memories and intelligence, he could still remember everything he had learned at school. It seemed pointless for him to return to school, he told his parents that he could keep up his knowledge by studying at home when new stuff became available. His friends and parents had really enjoyed the time they had spent with his since his transformation; he had reminded them of what it was like to be a kid and had really helped to remind them of the ‘little things’ in life. His parents accepted this and decided that he didn’t have to go to school if he didn’t want to. One day he planned on returning to college, but until then he just wanted to enjoy being a kid again. He had the rest of his life to be an adult, for now he just wanted to be a kid again.

Having a kid in the house again was a lot of fun for his parents. It made them feel young again. Sometimes it even felt like their aging slowed down or even reversed itself. His transformation had made it so that he could stay a kid as long as he wanted, when he was ready he could grow up again. But until then it was time to play and enjoy having back something he had missed for years.