It happened just over a week ago; I’d spent the day fruitlessly searching for the perfect present for my friend, Mari, and was about to give up when I spotted the storefront. Old and quaint, with a wooden frame and bay windows filled with old-fashioned toys next to strange brass devices, all decorated with stars and tinsel. The rest of the crowd seemed to be ignoring it, passing it by on their way from one shop to the next as if it wasn’t even there. Something about it was calling to me, that I might finally find the perfect gift.

    I passed under the sign - a broom-stick riding witch that seemed more appropriate for Halloween, under the letters ‘ROSEWOOD EMPORIUM’ in glittering, golden letters - and pushed open the door. A bell above tinkled gently, the warmth inside welcoming after the winter chill. Closing the door behind me, I stepped inside, immediately entranced by the place. All around me, ancient looking wooden furniture was stacked high with teddy bears and books, next to cabinets full of strange liquids. Really, it looked more like a museum than a shop…

    I was interrupted from my thoughts by the sound of a woman approaching, her heels gently clacking against the wooden floor. Tall and slender, her brilliant red hair resting under a picture perfect witch’s hat (wrapped in even more tinsel), the peak rising up into the rafters above. 

    “Hello!” she smiled warmly, welcoming, something about her instantly putting me at ease. “Chris, isn’t it? I’m Evie, pleased to meet you.” 

    I blinked a few times, the obvious questions running through my head: was she really a witch, or was it just a good party trick?

    “Just a good party trick. I’ve got a way of guessing what’s on people’s minds,” she smiled again, a twinkle in her eye suggesting she definitely knew more than she was letting on, “and you’re here for a present, no? Something for a friend…” she started walking down one of the aisles, piled high with stuffed animals of all different sorts, from bears to dragons to things I didn’t recognise. I followed, a little hesitant, but definitely curious. As we rounded the end of some shelves, I caught a glimpse out of the window, the woodland scene behind a far cry from the city we were in… another weird trick? I blinked, trying to get a better look before she spoke again, snatching my attention back. 

    “You’re after something a little more personal, no? As you might have guessed, we’re not an ordinary store,” the witch continued, making a quick glance towards the window, that same twinkle in her eye again… “We here at the Rosewood Emporium specialise in magic that can transform people, temporarily or permanently, into… well… pretty much anything,” she smiled, gesturing at the shelves around her, leaving me wondering if everything that sold could transform you, or had been transformed. 

    “Transform people…” I echoed, my voice betraying my uncertainty, and my curiosity. Thoughts ran through my mind, the sorts of possibilities she was offering, what kinds of things I could become. 

    She nodded. “A lot of people say the perfect gift is yourself, we just take that a little more literally than most,” pausing a moment by one of the cabinets, she picked up a small box, shining red with a neat golden bow on top. “The first change is always free, and you can change back at any time, just by thinking about it.”

    Evie held out the box and I couldn’t help but wonder what was inside. I reached out, hesitant, half-wondering if it was going to come alive and bite me. It was light, something inside rattling gently. Carefully, I lifted the lid off, revealing a small heart-shaped tag inside, leaving me wondering what it was for.

    “If you’d like to give our services a try, just write someone’s name on the back of the tag and it will do the rest,” Evie chimed in, offering out a small, silver pen. 

    Before I knew quite what I was doing, I’d written the name Mari on the back of the tag. Almost immediately, it sparked and leapt out of my hand, golden glitter cascading around it, whirling around me, the rest of the shop blurring around me. 

    The first thing I noticed was the heat, warmth radiating from the glowing glitter, a feeling like my whole body was wrapped up in warm blankets. I looked down at myself, half-expecting to see them there, instead surprised to watch my clothing dissolving off my body, fiery motes drifting off to join the gold swirling around me. It seemed hard to deny that her magic was real now, and any thoughts of alarm seemed lost amidst the reassuring warmth. 

    It was then that I began to feel tired, maybe lulled by the same warmth, my whole body feeling heavy and sluggish. I got the sense I was falling, shrinking, the dim outline of the shop around me growing larger with every passing moment, the silhouette of Evie starting to loom over me. I stumbled back on unresponsive legs, landing on my rear, limbs stuck awkwardly out in front of me. 

    The glow concentrated on my feet, warmth increasing, a strange sort of pressure building under my skin. I could feel it pushing out, my feet inflating outwards, my toes lost in the expanding flesh, losing all definition. Moments later, the ends of my feet looked like crude cylinders. The changes started spreading up my legs, like a wave, bones and muscles feeling numb, as I later realised they were turning into stuffing. A sensation like pins and needles spread across my skin, rapidly turning a rich brown to match my hair, a thousand tiny strands pushing out, forming a thick layer of soft fur as the skin beneath turned to fabric. While my legs slowly faded away, I could feel a tugging, pinching feeling: the soles of my feet turning to soft pads, stitching running its way through my skin. 

    There was little for me to do but sit back and watch the changes progress up my body, rounding over my hips, rapidly smoothing out my anatomy. I could feel my insides growing warm and fuzzy, organs shifting to dense stuffing, the now-familiar sensation of skin turning to fabric. Each time stitches ran through my body, I could feel them stretching and tugging at my skin, settling me into my new form. More and more stuffing filled my torso, pushing my chest outwards, body growing round and huggable. Oh, to be hugged! A voice, a feeling, called out at the back of my mind.

    I reached down, still just about able to move my arms, reaching up across my chest as the plush form advanced. My hands pressed deep into my soft belly, plunging down into my fluff, the feeling so strange and so pleasurable. Below me, I could feel something pushing out, swelling and tipping me forwards slightly, a new tail emerging. 

    Soon, the changes reached my head, sinking down onto my shoulders as my neck collapsed. I could feel the stuffing working its way up, filling my mouth, pushing ever upwards. Maybe I should have been scared but it was hard to deny how strangely good the whole process felt, the knowledge of what a wonderful gift I was going to be. 

    The pressure grew inside my head, more and more stuffing forming, pushing out my face unto a crude muzzle, my nose hardening into stiff fur. I poked and prodded as best I could, feeling my face, squeezing my new muzzle back and forth, trying to make sense of it as my eyes grew flat and round, pushing out on top of my head. There was a strange tugging, piercing feeling as my eyes changed to plastic, hard and solid, fixed forwards. I pushed one gently, a dizzying feeling as my vision involuntarily shifted, feeling the anchor of my eye tugging at my skin. 

    A moment later, and I could barely more my arms, slowly slumping to my sides as they expanded outwards, just as my legs had done. The glow reached the tips, fingers ballooning, squashing together into a single mass, only for stitches to emerge, pulling and tugging my soft body back into rough paw shapes.

    And with that, I was done. 

    The glow started to fade, settling on the ground all around my, the little card tag that had started all this spinning and tumbling through the air towards me. It landed on my ear, a sudden sharp feeling of plastic anchoring it into my ear. 

    “There you are, teddy,” the voice came from above, strangely distant. Though I could not see who spoke, I knew it must be Evie. Hands reached down around my, warm and comforting, squeezing my belly, squashing the stuffing inside me. It felt so wonderful, to be held, to be carried into the air.. but there was a part of me that longed for something more, to be held by my new owner, Mari, waiting for me… 

    “Let’s get you to your new home…”