"What do you mean?"
"I mean you can swap traits with anyone as long as they agree to the swap too. Also, reality will change to make it the swap seem perfectly normal to everyone."
"Oh my god. Any swap no matter how big or small?"
"Yes, you can swap everything with another person or just a mole on your nose if you like. It doesn't matter. And you can do it as often as you want. There is just one caveat."
"What is that?"
'You can swap with only one person at a time. If you want to swap with someone else, you have to give back everything you had gotten from the first person."
"Why is that?"
"So you can't get the best traits from dozens of people to make yourself 'perfect'. If you want to be handsome like say 'John' then you can't be rich like 'Paul.' But regardless, they have to swap with your willingly. How you could get Paul to give you all their money, or John to give up their looks, I don't know. Probably won't happen."
"I can trick them?"
"Sure, why not? But they have to agree. As long as they agree anything goes."
"And if I swap back, I can swap with someone else?"
"As long as the first person agrees to swap everything back. Then you can do what you like with the next person."
"I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. But as they say, be careful."
With that, he left me. I knew everything he said was true. There wasn't any doubt. I knew there should be doubt, but a person who could give that power could also convince me of the authenticity of their claims without real proof.
----------------------------------------------------
My younger sister Joan was driving. Her six-year-old daughter Suzy was having a recital today. Even though she was six, this was one of the scores of dance recitals she has been part of. Suzy has been taking dance since she was three years old.
I was sitting next to Joan in the front passenger seat and Suzy was sitting behind me in her child safety seat. It was in the afternoon in the middle of the week so Suzy's father couldn't attend. I wasn't busy so I said I would come.
Joan pulled the car into the hotel/theater where the recital was taking place.
Joan got out of the car and headed immediately to the trunk to get what she needed. I got out at the same and opened the door such that Suzy could get out too. I took her hand and we waited as Joan fetched what she needed.
"Suzy hold Uncle William's hand. It's dangerous in the parking lot. Cars could come by," Joan reminded her.
Suzy didn't have to be told. I was already holding her hand.
"Suzy, you must be excited but a little scared to be in front of all those people," I told her.
"No, Uncle William. I do them all the time."
"Not scared at all?"
"No, I love to dance. I just love it. It's so much fun."
"I'm glad. Hey, would you like to see yourself dance?"
"Mommy takes videos. I see myself all the time."
"I mean from the audience. It's different from the audience."
"How can I be in the audience and dance at the same time?"
"We could swap. I'll dance for you and you can watch me."
"That's not the same. Besides everyone will know you aren't me."
"I know some magic. Everyone will think I am you. The teacher, your friends, Mommy, and everyone in the audience."
"I don't believe you."
"Then swap with me. I'll be you and you'll be me."
"OK, what do I have to do?" The swap took place, even though nothing physically happened. As far as everyone was concerned, I was a six-year-old girl and Suzy is an adult man.
"You already did it. Everyone thinks I am you now."
"No, they don't."
"Yes, they do."
Joan appeared from behind the car after she closed the trunk. She was carrying two bags (besides her purse), one over her shoulder and one in her hand.
Now hold onto Mommy's hand," Joan announced. Then she got on the other side of me (as compared with Suzy) and grabbed my hand. I held on. I was now in the middle of both of them. Suzy was amazed, she was usually between the two adults. Suzy thought this was more of a game of pretend than actual magic.
Once we entered the hotel lobby, Joan told me to stay with Uncle Suzy until she got back. She needed to go to the front desk to check on where to go and what to do.
"Now what?" Suzy asked.
"Well, I think I'm too tall to dance with the other little girls. I think we should swap bodies too."
"Sure, let's do that."
This time there wasn't any doubt. My body shrank and took on the form of my six-year-old niece Suzy. Her body changed into the body of an adult man. We both looked kind of silly wearing each other's clothing.
"Wow, I didn't think it would happen," she squealed in a voice that used to be my own.
"See I told you." I was looking up at my body. Suzy is now doubly tall as compared to my new height. But not only was Suzy so much taller than me, everyone was. It was like I was in the land of the giants now. Fortunately, I didn't expect to be this size for very long. I would return to my own body and life right after my performance. Continuing I said, "But I think we have to make two other swaps."
"What?"
"Well, I need to know how to dance as well as you do. So let's swap everything about dance."
"What else?"
"Your clothes silly."
"I guess you're right." My clothes changed shape to a jumper and top that Suzy had been wearing moments ago. My long hair was tied up in a bow and I was wearing Suzy's sandals too.. But the clothing swap was nothing compared with the newfound love I had for dance, that I had never had before. I had all of Suzy's practical experience with dance, what she learned from her teachers. There was also a joy about just twirling around that I didn't know before existed. I could also remember every dance experience that Suzy had had. They were my experiences now. I smiled at the memories. IT was a gap-toothed smile with many baby teeth.
A moment later, Joan came to fetch me. She had to get me ready for the recital.
"Here's the ticket," Joan said to Suzy. "I'll meet you at our seats." Before waiting for an answer, Joan took my hand and lead me to the dressing room.
She sat me down and took off my shoes. She stood me up again and then she pulled my jumper over my head and then the top next. Finally, she pulled down my panties. This was the first time I had seen them. They had daisies on them.
I was completely naked now. I looked away from my crotch. I'm not a perv.
Joan sat me down again as she reached into her bag and pulled out an unopened package of white tights. I could see from the packaging that they were Capezio Ultra Shimmering Tights. I assumed shimmering meant that they were going to be very shiny. They weren't as shiny as I expected, my legs were now as white as a painted fence. I couldn't see the flesh tone of my leg at all.
Next, she put me in a leotard...my dance costume. The tights said that they were shiny, it wasn't really, but the blue leotard was definitely very shiny. It was obviously custom made for this performance. It had an iridescent sequin spandex bodice with a translucent mesh neckline. There were a sequin flower and satin ribbon at the waist and a tri-layered tulle skirt with crinolines.
"Step," Joan said as she held the leotard open for me.
I stepped into it and she pulled it up my body, then I pulled my arms through the sleeveless bodice.
"Turn."
I did so and she fastened it closed with a G-hook enclosure.
Next, she worked on my hair, putting it in a bun that was secured with a matching flower hair clip.
Finally, she spent ten minutes applying makeup to me. When I saw myself in the mirror, I saw that she didn't make me up like a woman, all the makeup was understated but was still designed to be seen clearly from the backmost seats in the theater.
I sat down again, so she could put on my ballet slippers, then she stood me up to poof out my skirt.
"Beautiful. Just beautiful," she told me with a huge smile. I had to agree with her when I saw myself completely made up in the mirror.
I was only going to be a little girl for a short time. I decided to play it up, "Mommy, can I get ice cream after the dance?"
"It'll be getting late. I don't want to spoil your dinner."
"If I do really, really, good? Then can I have ice cream?" I pleaded.
"We'll see."
I walked gracefully towards my teacher, using steps I hadn't even been familiar with an hour before. It wasn't like I was walking, it was more like a combination of dancing and floating as I joined the rest of my dance-mates and who I recognized as my dance teacher. I knew everyone. I remembered dancing with some of these girls since getting out of diapers. Others had only joined the troop this year. I knew them all.
When it was time, we took our places on the stage. The curtain was still down. I knew it would be up in less than a minute. I was nervous. Suzy had been lying to me. She was always nervous before a performance. I didn't need to be reminded to put on a big smile. I was also so happy that I couldn't help but smile all the way through the performance.
I heard the music and started to dance. I felt light on my feet like I was floating on air. I danced effortlessly, never missing a step. (at least I didn't think I did, my dance teacher was a bit more critical, thinking I forgot to point my toes every once in a while or that my spacing was as perfect as it should have been. I progressed from one move to the next. I knew not only where I was on the stage, but where I was supposed to be after my next move. I didn't have to think about what I was doing. I suppose I could call it muscle memory.
When it was over, the crowd was clapping enthusiastically. We moved into our positions to accept the adulation. We curtsied in the proper sequence which seemed to also be part of the performance. The whole troop leaped off the stage.
"You all were wonderful, just wonderful!" our dance teacher told us.
Joan found me after the performance. Joan lifted me into the air with a great big hug. "William, it was so beautiful," Joan repeated as she swung me around.
I enjoyed the experience, but it was time to return to normal. Joan got me out of the costume and back into my street clothes as well as cleaned the make-up off my face.
When I got to the car I asked. "Where's Uncle Suzy?" I assumed she would be waiting for us.
"Uncle Suzy had to go. But he said you were the best dancer on the stage and that he loved every minute of it," Joan informed me.
I didn't understand. Suzy had to go? Where could she have gone? She's just a little girl.
"But William, I changed my mind. We can have that ice cream!" Joan said brightly.
Joan didn't know where Suzy had gone any more than I had. Suzy didn't go straight to her seat when Joan told her to. She left the stage and walked out into the city. Everyone treated her like she was an adult, but she had the maturity of a six-year-old. She wasn't paying attention and stepped into traffic. She never knew what hit her.
I went to Joan's house with Joan, what else could I do. I was hoping that Suzy was there, but I knew that couldn't be.
No one told me what had happened to Suzy. I was 'too young to understand' and they didn't want to upset me. Tonight I was put to bed at 8:30, a half-hour later than my bedtime on a school night.
Monday, I would attend first grade. I was trapped. The magic made it impossible for anyone to treat me other than they would have treated Suzy. I tried to explain who I was and what had happened, but everyone thought I was just pretending. I couldn't convince them, I could do advanced calculus and it wouldn't matter, they wouldn't promote me into a higher grade, let alone think I was an adult nor a man. I was stuck like this for the rest of my life.