“Come on, come on!” Megan huffed to herself while furiously pushing buttons. She had been stuck on this same boss battle for about an hour now! But things seemed to be going quite well this time. However, she was running out of time! She just needed a little bit more damage and…

Boom!

Game over!

“Oh, dry up! Screw you and your stupid laser beam!” Megan just threw her head back. The game had otherwise been pretty good but this just felt so unfair and cheap…

    She was still trying to calm herself down from that when she heard her phone ringing. It was her best friend Helen.

    “Yeah, this is beaten and destroyed speaking,” Megan said while playing up the drama.

    On the other side of the phone, there was an audible facepalm happening. “Dragon’s Path again?”

    “You know it…”

    Helen burst out laughing. “Don’t worry. I’ve come to save you from your perils.”

    “Will you beat this boss battle for me?” Megan asked, hopeful.

    “No… but I am inviting you to come and hang out.”

    Only now did Megan sit back up. “Sure, I’m down! Where are we going?”

    Helen was silent for a moment as if carefully choosing her words. “Well… you see… that’s the downside…”

    Megan frowned. Of course, Helen couldn’t see that over the phone but still. “Come on, spill the beans, Helen.”

    “My mom asked me to go and deliver something to my aunt and I figured, if I’m gonna do so, I might as well invite you over to make things more bearable.”

    “You don’t like your aunt very much then?”

    “It’s not that… she’s actually very nice. But… well, you’ll see I guess…”

    That sure made Megan very interested. And, well, she didn’t really want to spend all day being stuck on this boss. Perhaps going out would do her some good so she could do better later. “Alright, I’m down.”

    “Great! I’ll wait for you here!” Helen said eagerly and promptly hung up, giving Megan no chance to ask any further questions. Well, that sure was curious. What could it be about this aunt that was making her friend so reluctant to go?

“Wait, we’re going to the shopping center?” Megan asked.

    “Yeah, my aunt owns a store here,” Helen replied.

    “Oooh, cool! What does she sell?”

    “Just be patient, woman! You’ll see soon enough. It’s not far from here.” All throughout the trip, Megan had tried prodding her friend but Helen just would not give anything away. It only further served to increase Megan’s curiosity.

    Especially when, instead of going into the center proper, they actually entered an alley on the side.

    “It… must not be a very popular shop then…” Megan mused.

    “She targets a… specific demographic,” Helen said cryptically.

    Megan eyed her friend with suspicion. “We’re not going to a sex shop, are we?”

    Helen snorted. “I wouldn’t even want to visit her store if that was the case!”

    Megan let out a sigh of relief. If she wanted to do that kind of shopping, she’d much rather do so online herself. That would be less embarrassing. “So then, what kind of shop is it?”

    “Well…” Helen said as they rounded a corner. They now found themselves in a back alley that Megan sure hadn’t visited before. There were really only a handful of people walking here, seemingly just to go from point A to point B. No surprises there seeing as there was really only one store here. The store that Helen was pointing towards.

    Megan eyed the storesign with confusion. “Leanne’s magical knick-knacks?”

    “That’s the one,” Helen muttered.

    “As in… card tricks and ‘lemme saw my assistant in half’ magic?” Megan asked.

    “As in ‘I will turn you into a toad if you’re not careful’ magic.”

    Megan blinked a few times. “What?” was all she could really say.

    Helen looked around herself, making sure no other person was nearby. “My aunt is a sorceress.”

    “A WHAT?!?!”

    The sudden shout sure drew the attention of everyone else who happened to be nearby. Helen tried to play it off while giving her friend a firm bop to the head. “Keep it down, you dolt!”

    Megan was still in disbelief. “You didn’t tell me your aunt was a sorceress!” she hissed.

    “Well, now you know…”

    “Why… how come nobody is weirded out by that?!”

    Helen let out a sigh. “It’s kind of secret but not really…”

    Megan frowned. “You’re gonna have to be more clear than that.”

    Helen snorted. “Right. Well, magic is definitely real. I’ve seen and even experienced it with my own eyes. But people don’t really want to know that it’s real because they don’t want to really think about what could happen if people could just throw fireballs all over the place. And so it just gets shoved under the rug like how they did with gay people back in the day.”

    Megan gulped. “So it’s like an open secret then?”

    Helen nodded. “Sort of. The only people that visit her store are those that see the upsides and fun of magic, and aspiring sorcerers.”

    Megan could not believe what she was hearing. Was this all for real or was her friend pulling an elaborate prank on her? It couldn’t be real… could it? “And can anyone become a sorcerer?”

    “You’ll have to ask my aunt that. I try not to get too involved…”

    Megan eyed the store. She couldn’t really see things too out of the ordinary about it. There was a picture of a raven drawn on the window and there was a rack outside with some robes. Behind the window, she could make out what looked to be little figures and some gemstones.

    “Well, shall we go in then?” Helen asked.

    Megan nodded wordlessly.

    As the girls approached the store, Helen pretended as if it was just like any other, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself. Megan, however, wasn’t so subtle about it. She actually had to be dragged along by the hand or she would have still stood there on the corner, staring in disbelief.

    When Helen opened the door, there was a bell that rang out to indicate the arrival of visitors. But that barely registered for Megan who was in absolute awe of what she could see inside the actual store. There were shelves lining the left wall filled with vials of coloured liquids. There were several showcases with all sorts of curiosities dotted throughout the store like wands and foci, gemstones, various ingredients, and much more. On the right wall, there were shelves filled to the brim with all sorts of spell scrolls and books. Megan could not believe her house. She was in an actual magic store!

    “Helen! There you are, dear,” said a woman that quickly approached the two girls from the back of the store. She looked quite young for someone who was supposed to be Helen’s aunt but perhaps that was due to the magic. She was wearing robes much like the ones hanging on the rack outside and there was a typical witch hat on her head.

    Helen put up her best fake smile. “Hey, Leanne. Good to see you.”

    “Ah, and I see you took a friend with you!”

    Now that the attention was on Megan, she was snapped back to reality. “A-ah… I’m Megan,” she stammered while extending a shaky hand.

    Leanne chuckled as she shook the girl’s hand. “I know that look of disbelief. Has my niece not told you about me?.”

    Megan wordlessly shook her head.

    “It’s not really something I can just bring up in casual conversation, you know…” Helen said, a little flustered.

    The store owner laughed. “I suppose not. Well, regardless. My name is Leanne. And yes, I am a real sorceress.”

    Megan’s eyes were wide. There was still a huge part of her mind that couldn’t quite tell whether this was all an elaborate prank concocted by the devious minds of Helen and her aunt or not. “Can… Can you prove it, miss Leanne?”

    Leanne chuckled. “Why, of course I can, on the condition that you leave out that whole ‘miss’ part.” With that, the woman pointed at Megan for a moment. She focused for a moment until finally, she snapped her fingers.

    The girl stared at her. Things sure didn’t feel any different. That is until she caught a glimpse of her long hair that fell over her shoulder. She had always had brown hair but now, all of a sudden, her hair was bright red! “WHAT?!”

    Helen winced from the sudden shout. “Told you.”

    “I can’t believe this! This is real! I… Whoah!” Megan cried out.

    Leanne laughed as she snapped her finger a second time, turning her customer’s hair back to normal. “Of course, magic can do so much more than that but it is an easy proof.”

    Magic was real. Magic was real! Her best friend truly had a sorceress as her aunt! Imagine all of the possibilities this brings!

    “You’ll get over that,” Helen said while rolling her eyes.

    Leanne grinned. “Well, I hope you won’t. It means one extra customer for me.”

    Megan gulped. “I’m… I’m sorry. I just… this is really happening!”

    Helen just shook her head in disapproval. “Anyway, here’s the spellbook mom borrowed.”

    “Ah, yes, excellent! I hope it helped her with her gardening?” Leanne asked.

    Helen nodded. “A little too well. I don’t think we’ll ever run out of tomatoes…”

    Leanne shook her head. “Oh, that Pearl. I’ll have to swing by next week and make sure that it doesn’t spiral out of control.”

    Megan didn’t really pay much attention to the conversation anymore though. She was much too occupied with the store itself. All of these things could hold magical properties. The books and scrolls were no doubt filled completely with spells of all kinds. It made her wonder what all was possible with magic? And what wasn’t?

    And then there was that potion wall. Absent-mindedly, she moved on over to get a closer look at them. There were so many of them. What could they possibly do? She had to read the labels on some of them, muttering the words to herself as she did.

    “Flying… fish gills… invisibility… shrinking… growing…” All of these things which she had always thought to be impossible were just sitting there on the shelves of this back alley store. She could be one drink away from being able to fly back home!

    Interestingly enough, there were quite a lot of vials that were marked with the letters ‘TF’ and then another word like ‘TF cat’, ‘TF fairy’ and even ‘TF doll. What could that all mean?

    “Do you see anything that interests you?”

    Megan practically jumped in surprise as Leanne had suddenly appeared next to her. Behind her, she could hear Helen mutter something along the lines of ‘And here we go…’

    Leanne laughed. “The potions are quite popular. All of these are temporary and will last for a few hours depending on how much you drink of them.”

    “I… I see,” Megan mused.

    “You’re free to purchase most of these but some I can’t just sell you without me making sure you won’t use it for bad purposes. You can imagine what a burglar could do with an invisibility potion.” The store owner had put on her best saleswoman face and was using tactics to entice Megan. She had to admit, it was working.

    “Right… wouldn’t want that!”    Megan agreed. “So… what does that TF stand for?”

    “Oh those? They’re transformation potions.”

    The smile she had on her face became a look of bewilderment. “Transformations?” she repeated. So, that TF cat potion… could turn the drinker into a cat?!

    “Yep. Some of my more popular products, I tell you. Most actually purchase this one,” Leanne said as she held up a ‘gender swap’ potion. “Some even ask for a permanent version of it. I can arrange that, but only for this one.”

    This Leanne sure thought of everything. A part of Megan wanted to get a taste of all of these potions, just to see what they did and how it would feel. The ability to fly, or finding out what it would be like to run through the forest as a fox.

    At that point, Helen actually joined them again. “You’re gonna buy something here, aren’t you, Meg?”

    Megan turned to face her friend. “I mean… you can’t just take me to a magic store like this and expect me to not get excited by all this!”

    Helen frowned. “I guess that’s on me… Alright, which one are you planning on getting then?”

    Megan turned to face the wall again. There were just so many… too many! Which would she want to try first? How many of them would she wanna get? Being able to breathe underwater sounded really cool for a day at the beach. Or what about the bat transformation! Having sonar ears sounded amazing! But then, there was also the fairy transformation!

    “Actually…”

    Megan and Helen turned to face Leanne in confusion. “Actually… what?” Helen asked.

    Leanne had her finger on her chin, thinking about something. “Hold on a moment. I have just the solution for this.” With that, she hurried to the back of the store and vanished behind a curtain.

    Megan gave her friend a curious glance but she seemed equally confused about these proceedings. Eventually, Helen’s aunt returned carrying a partitioned box with several vials in them. “There,” she said while placing them on a nearby empty shelf.

    Both girls eyed the box.

    “Uhm… what do these do?” Megan asked.

    Leanne began scratching the part of her head that was under the witch’s hat. “Well, that’s just the thing! I haven’t the foggiest.”

    “Wait, what? You made these potions and you don’t know what they do?!” Helen huffed.

    Leanne actually became a little red at that. “Let me explain. Last week I had a sale going on and, naturally, I got absolutely swamped with orders. I worked my butt off brewing potion after potion and managed to finish them all. But then, I made the stupid mistake of putting them all in this box, thinking I’d remember which one was which. Of course… I didn’t.”

    Helen actually facepalmed while Megan gave her an amused smirk. “You didn’t label them?”

    Leanne shook her head. “I didn’t think it was necessary. Don’t I feel like a fool now…”

    “And what does that have to do with Meg’s inability to choose?” Helen asked.

    A devious grin appeared on Leanne’s face. “I need to identify these potions so I can label them properly and send them to the right customers and the best way to do so would be to have a volunteer taste-test them.”

    Megan began to chuckle nervously, completely flustered. Drinking mystery potions with unknown effects that not even their creator knows? Even the mere idea was preposterous! But… then again… there was something very enticing about that prospect. To drink a potion, not knowing what was going to happen until it was already too late to back out.

    Helen frowned and snorted air through her nose. “When I woke up this morning, I didn’t think I’d have to explain what a bad idea that is today but here we are…”

    Leanne, however, remained unfazed and kept smiling. “Calm down, my dear niece. I am not completely clueless on what they do. For one, like I said, they are all temporary. Secondly, the sale I had was specifically about inanimate transformations so there’s that as well.”

    Inanimate transformations… “Like… like that doll potion?” Megan asked meekly.

    “Yes, exactly like that,” Leanne stated.

    Megan still had to let this all sink in. Each of these mystery potions had the ability to turn its drinker into something inanimate. What it was going to be, nobody even knew. And Leanne was asking her to drink some of them. To become an object for her just to identify them. There were so many sensations rushing through her as she thought about all this.

    “Why don’t you drink them yourself? You messed up, you fix it!” Helen huffed.

    Leanne put up an uneasy grin. “Well, I can’t tend to my store as a doll or something, can I? Besides, I will pay you.”

    Helen let out a sigh while rubbing her temples.

    “How long do they last?”

    Both Leanne and Helen turned to Megan in surprise. Even Megan herself was surprised, even though she had asked the question herself.

    Soon, Leanne began grinning ear to ear. “One spoonful will transform you for five hours.”

    Megan gulped. Five hours. She would be an immovable object for five whole hours. No way to get out of it. No way to turn back prematurely. No way to even call for help if she had an itch or something. She’d just be inanimate. She looked at the clock and softly mused to herself “It’s noon now…”

    Helen stared at her in disbelief. “Meg, you’re not seriously thinking…”

    Megan went beet red as she turned to face her friend. “I am…” she admitted. She truly was too. She could not just leave this store without experiencing this now.

    “But… but you’ll just be an object! For five whole hours!”

    “Yeah but... but I’m curious about it…”

    Helen sighed as she looked towards the door for a moment. “So much for burgers for lunch…” she murmured. “Fine! I’ll help out too.”

    Now it was Megan’s turn to eye her friend in surprise. “But I thought you didn’t…”

    “Meg, you’re my best friend and if you’re gonna do this, then I’ll do it with you,” Helen replied.

    Leanne clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh, excellent! Things will go a lot faster with two assistants! Thank you so much, you two. You’re a lifesaver. I’ll go get you two spoons!” With that, the sorceress almost skipped over to the back of the store again, leaving the two girls alone for a moment.

    Megan gulped. In just a few moments, she’d be inanimate. Together with her best friend Helen too! There was an excitement building up in her stomach that she simply could not shake. She turned to her friend who was honestly a little difficult to read. Was she excited? Annoyed? Happy? Angry? Or maybe even a mixture of it? “You really don’t have to do this for my sake.”

    Helen shook her head. “Nonsense. I took you here so I might as well join you when you’re about to do something stupid.”

    Megan bopped her friend on the hand. Likely the last time she’d be able to do so for the next five hours. “You’re a dork.”

    “You’re the dork here!”

    Megan chuckled. “Maybe… Have you ever been transformed before?”

    “A few times, yeah. I swam around once as a mermaid for instance, and I also remember playing hide and seek as a fairy a few times. Oh, and remember that guy Joseph you thought was cute but then never heard from again?”

    Megan gasped. “That was you?!?!” she cried out. She vividly remembered Joseph appearing in a dream she’d had later that week. To think that that had been her best friend all along!

    Helen snorted. “It’s just like Leanne said, people tend to get curious about what it’s like for the opposite gender, myself included. It was fun but it also made me appreciate my female body much more.”

    “Damn… I don’t think I’d wanna do that…” Megan admitted. She had never really been all that curious about that and it was probably the only potion in the rack that she did not have much of an interest in trying.

    “Never been inanimate before though,” Helen said.

    “Huh… so it’ll be a first for both of us then.” Megan was actually a little curious now. Why was her friend being so dismissive of the whole magic thing? Or of Leanne herself? Was it really so embarrassing? Or was there something else going on? She was about to ask when the sorceress returned. 

    “There. These should be big enough,” she said as she handed out two tablespoons.

    Megan eyed her spoon and then looked at the bottles. They were decently big and probably held many, many more spoonfuls. “How… long would you be transformed if you downed that bottle?”

    Leanne looked down to the vials. “I’m pretty sure there’s enough in there for a full month, give or take a few days.”

    “Imagine staying a doll for a whole month…” Helen mused.

    “Right… five hours is already quite long! For a first time!” Megan huffed.

    Leanne grinned. “It’s not too uncommon for customers to down the whole bottle in one fell swoop depending on the potion involved. Regardless, let me see which ones I will give you two first…” With that, the sorceress began sifting through the box a little. She took out several vials, eyed them, and then put them back before finally settling on two different ones. One held a clear liquid while the other looked to be a yellow-ish colour. “Let’s start with these two.”

    “Do you even have the slightest clue about what they do?” Helen asked.

    “Well, I have a list of possibilities and my suspicions but I need to be certain before I can send them out. So? Who wants which?” Leanne replied.

    Megan eyed both bottles. She couldn’t possibly know what they did so there was no sense in carefully considering her options. “I guess I’ll take the clear one.”

    Leanne nodded as she uncorked it. “Hold up your spoon, dear.” Carefully, the sorceress poured the transformative liquid onto the spoon. The liquid that would turn anyone who drank it into something inanimate. What could it possibly do?

    While Leanne poured the yellow liquid onto Helen’s spoon, she explained a little more. “Once you drink this, the effects of the potions will slowly take hold after your bodies have accepted it. Then, you’ll slowly start to transform over the course of a few minutes. I’ll know what you will turn into before long and can make quick decisions should it be necessary.”

    “Decisions… like what?” Helen asked.

    “Like ushering you outside should you become something too big for the store,” Leanne answered.

    “And… there’s no going back once we’ve taken it…” Megan mused softly to herself. Suddenly, it was getting so real.  To the point where she started getting cold feet about it. Once she drank this, she’d be unable to do much of anything for five whole hours! Was that… really what she wanted? There was no way to back out. She could try and scream for help but no sound would come out. She could try to run but her body would simply not respond. She’d be trapped fully and completely. It… actually sounded pretty scary now that she thought about it.

    Leanne nodded. “That’s right.”

    Megan turned her head to Helen to see what she was doing but she appeared to actually wait for Megan to make her own move. “I’m not taking this sip until you’ve done so. Just in case you chicken out.”

    Megan nodded. She gulped wordlessly as she looked down at her spoon again. She was beginning to sweat a little as there was a build-up of excitement and fear coursing through her entire being. Her mind was screaming so many things at her that it was kind of hard to make sense of it all.

    “Don’t worry, Megan. You’ll be perfectly safe and fine. I’ll make sure of that,” Leanne said.

    Megan eyed the sorceress. She will be safe. She will be fine. Leanne was there. And Helen was going to transform alongside her too. It will turn out fine. She took in a deep breath and finally… she put the spoon in her mouth and drank its contents in one big gulp.

    And that was it. She had done it. These were going to be her last few minutes as a walking, talking human for the next five hours. Whatever she was going to be, there was no stopping it now.

    Next to her, Helen let out a sigh. “Alright, well, here goes nothing then,” she said as she, too, downed the spoonful she had been given.”

    Leanne took both of their spoons and had a very grateful look on her face. “Thank you two so much for doing this, honestly.”

    Megan nodded. “S-sure,” she stammered. She was much too focused on herself though. She didn’t feel anything just yet but she was sure that that was going to be changing very soon.

    “Please say it when you’re starting to feel something. Oh, and you may need to take off your clothes. They will not transform alongside you,” Leanne said.

    “Wait, what?! You neglected to mention that!” Megan protested.

    It was actually Helen who chuckled nervously now. “I guess I could have told you that. Your clothes can’t exactly drink a potion, can they?”

    Megan wanted to argue back but, well, there wasn’t really much to argue against. And, well, it was too late to turn back now. Whatever happened happened.

    And then it hit her.

    Suddenly, there was a very warm feeling down in her stomach as the potion took hold. “It’s starting!” she cried out. She was feeling excitement, fear, and joy all at once. What was going to happen?

    “Yep, it’s starting here too,” Helen said.

    Leanne smiled. “Excellent. What do you feel?”

    “Warmth in my stomach for now…” Megan responded.

    “Lift up your shirts a little bit. The effects will usually start there,” Leanne said.

    Both girls did so, exposing their bellies which, for now, still appeared to be their normal skin tones. Megan could feel the liquid gurgling around within though and she was sure that the transformation would start soon enough.

    And sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. Megan could see that a part of her waist was becoming quite smooth and… a little shiny? Looking over, the same thing was happening to Helen. It was a little unclear as of yet what was happening until more of Megan’s skin had morphed. She gasped as she couldn’t believe what she saw. She could see… through her stomach? Was she becoming invisible? No… her outline was still very much there. Only when she touched the transformed skin did she find out what was happening exactly: she was becoming glass.

    Seeing and feeling this sent so many sensations coursing through Megan. It was actually happening! She was transforming! And she was sure of it now… it didn’t scare her. What she felt was adrenaline and excitement!

    Next to her, Helen was experiencing something quite similar only she did not become see through but she was a lot more shiny. Her skin became pure gold!

    Leanne clapped her hands together. “I see! Yes, excellent, I know what these do now!” she said.

    Both girls looked at her questioningly.

    Leanne placed her hands on her hips. “Come with me, girls, while you can still walk,” she said as she led them both to the front of the store in front of the window.

    “Uhm… what’s happening?” Helen asked.

    Leanne grinned and stayed silent for now. “Just stand there for a moment,” she said as she hurriedly left the store, grabbed two robes from the rack outside as well as two witch hats before running back in. “Put these on, quickly!”

    Megan gulped. She had so many questions now. Why would she have to put on this outfit? However, she did do as she was told. There wasn’t really much time to question it after all. Any minute now, she’d cease moving completely and then, it would become impossible to ask questions. Quickly, she took off the vest she was wearing and put on the robes.

    Much to Megan’s surprise, Helen was actually also complying with the request, although she didn’t do so without complaining. “I can’t believe I’m doing this for you… you’d better pay us handsomely!”

    Leanne chuckled. “Of course, of course,” she said. “Now, once you have it on, strike a pose, will you?”

    Only now did Megan finally realize what was happening. Why she was asked to wear these robes in such a hurry and stand in the window showcase. She was going to become a statue made of glass. And to capitalize on the transformation, Leanne was having her become a glorified mannequin.

    And much to Megan’s surprise, she only felt herself get more excited at the prospect! Soon, she’d be nothing more than a glass imitation of a human. She’d just be standing there, being admired by any who’d pass by the store, and perhaps even enticing some people to come and enter. And Helen would be doing the exact same thing next to her!

    As Megan bent down to pick the witch’s hat, she actually already felt that it was becoming a little difficult to do so. Her midriff was getting quite stiff and already, she could tell that her entire waistline was now fully hardened. “It’s really happening…” she mused to herself.

    “Yep. Both of you will be beautiful statues for the afternoon,” Leanne said proudly.

    Next to her, Helen was having a little bit of trouble with her robe. It seemed that her transformation into a golden statue was proceeding a little faster as she could already no longer turn her upper body around. “A little help, please!” she huffed.

    “Of course!” Leanne said as she helped her niece out. 

    But no, she couldn’t freeze in place as a statue in a strange pose. She had to look good. After all, she was going to be modelling these robes for customers. Quickly, she began adjusting her body in whatever way she still could. She placed one leg in front of the other. She placed her right hand on her hip, which was already starting to harden, while letting the other arm dangle next to her. She stared ahead to the street in front of her and could already see one passerby eyeing her and Helen with curiosity. She could even see a vague reflection of herself in the window. It meant that she would get to watch herself transform!

    The transformation was slowly progressing up and down. The center area of her body was stiffening substantially now and it was going to be completely impossible to still make adjustments there now. And the excitement only built further and further. She was going to be completely immobile. Together with her best friend!

    “Megan?” came Helen’s voice next to her.

    “Yeah?”

    “Dinner’s on you tonight.”

    Megan wanted to laugh but she couldn’t risk messing up her pose so she just snorted. “Do you regret taking the potion?”

    Helen sighed. “I’d be lying if I said I did.”

    Megan grinned. “Thanks for doing it with me…”

    “Yeah, yeah. Keep your sappy words to yourself.”

    Both girls chuckled at that while Leanne was still busy making some adjustments here and there for both of them. Megan’s lower legs were moved just slightly further apart. It was already impossible to do so to her upper legs after all. What was interesting was the fact that Leanne’s touches on the parts of Megan’s skin that were already transformed felt so… different. Not uncomfortable at all. In fact, it felt quite nice and sensitive. But also, none of it felt noticeably different from what she was used to. Even when one of Leanne’s hands ended up on Megan’s right breast to adjust her robe a little, it felt the same as just touching her back.

    “Could you girls turn your heads towards each-other just a little? Then you can see each-other while still seeing the street,” Leanne asked.

    Of course, Megan replied eagerly while it was still possible to do so. She was very curious to see what her friend was going to end up looking like completely made of gold.

    Helen, however, was turning a little slower than her friend did. Upon closer inspection, Megan could see why that was as the gold had already started climbing up her neck. Megan could physically see how quickly it was climbing up too. Soon, it spread into her face and began affecting her facial features. Slowly and with difficulty, her friend spoke one last time in a very faint voice. 

    “I’ll… talk… again… … in… … … five… … … …”

    And then there was complete silence. Helen’s voice had been taken away from her, as was any and all movement. Megan’s eyes darted around her friend’s body and, sure enough, all of the parts that were still exposed were solid gold. It was as if she had been touched by king Midas. An inanimate, silent, golden statue, made only to be admired.

    “Interesting how the golden transformation happened a lot faster. I’ll have to make a note of that on the label,” Leanne stated matter-of-factly. She was talking as if she was there by herself, musing to herself about her work rather than the fact that her own niece had become a golden statue in front of her. As if she was alone in her store.

    And, in a few moments, that would be true. Helen was already nothing more than a statue and soon, Megan would be as well. Leanne would be the only human in the store as if nothing had happened here. At all. As if no-one had been here. Interestingly enough, there was a sensation Megan couldn’t quite explain at that thought. She felt… content. Happy. Excited yet relaxed. She might have had her doubts at first but no… she wanted this. She wanted to become a glass statue.

    And she could physically feel this desire manifest. Her legs were completely hardened. Her breathing had long since stopped as it was impossible for her chest to still move up and down. Her arms were locked into place and even her head tilt could now no longer be adjusted any further.

    Sure enough, in the reflection of the window, she could see how the glass was spreading up her neck and down into her arms. It was so strange to be able to just… see through her own body and yet it was happening right then and there. She’d pinch herself to see if she was dreaming if only she could still move her fingers to do so.

    Soon, the glass reached up into her chin. These were going to be the final moments. She could maybe get out one extra word before she, too, would be completely silenced. There was only one word she could say, addressing the one who had done this to her.

    “... … … Thanks… … …”

    With that, the glass passed over her mouth, locking it into a modest smile. Soon, the transformation glazed over her eyes, causing them to be stuck staring out ahead of herself. She could partially see Helen’s golden form and a decently large part of the alleyway outside. Finally, she could even feel her hair turning into glass strands.

    And just like that, it was over. She was a statue of glass. A see-through piece of decoration, used only as a mannequin. A display. A work of art. Together with her golden companion.

    “You’re welcome,” Leanne said softly behind them. It was of course impossible to turn around. To see what she was doing or even just to look at her as she was talking. Stuck. Immobile. Inanimate. These were the facts of Megan’s and Helen’s lives right now. And in that moment, Megan wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was very difficult for Megan to keep track of time. Had it been four minutes or four hours? She couldn’t exactly look at her phone to check, nor was there a clock anywhere nearby that she could turn to look at. All she could do was stand there and stare ahead of herself.

    What she did see, however, were quite a lot of people that would come and enter the store throughout the day. Were they perhaps enticed by the golden and glass statues standing in the window? It was nice to think about. Megan was even able to hear them talking to Leanne behind them, though these conversations were usually held further in the back and so it wasn’t exactly easy to listen to them.

    Somewhere during the afternoon, Megan was enjoying herself quite a lot. She could actually feel the sun’s rays passing right through her see-through form and it filled her with warmth. She wondered what it was like for Helen. She wanted so badly to ask her friend but her inability to do so only made her feel even more excited about it. Why that was she couldn’t quite say. She only really knew that she just really liked this experience a great deal.

    A girl roughly her own age passed by on the street. Megan had dismissed her initially as she had already vanished from her field of view until she actually reappeared moments later, looking between Megan and Helen for a moment. Afterwards, she entered the store.

    The familiar voice of Leanne could be heard approaching the front of the store behind the two mannequins. “Good afternoon, Portia!” she said.

    “Good afternoon, Leanne! Are those two new?” the girl said. Sounds like it was a regular customer.

    “Oh yes, they are. Do you like them?”

    “I do yeah! Almost makes me wanna join them up there.”

    “You know, you can if you wish.”

    “Oh, no, I really can’t. I got an appointment with the dentist later.”

    “Ah, how unfortunate. Well, there is always next time, dear.”

    “I’ll hold you to that!”

    Once again, Megan could feel herself getting dismissed as just an object. A part of the scenery as Portia and Leanne were just talking to each-other without addressing either her or Helen.

    “So who are these two then?” Portia asked.

    “Ah, they are my niece and her friend. They’re only here for today though,” Leanne responded.

    “Cool! Well, they do look very nice. I passed by them and I couldn’t help but admire them.”

    “They do, don’t they? I’m very happy with how they turned out!”

    Their conversation was about them but they still talked as if Megan and Helen weren’t there in the room with them. And Megan almost couldn’t get enough of it. She loved it!

    “You know what… I think I might have to get myself one of these potions then.”

    “Why certainly! Though I’ll have to make a little more of them. You see, I had a sale last week and…” The rest of the conversation became a little harder to hear again as the pair went to the back of the store again.

    Megan was being treated the way that she was. The way that she would treat any other statue. In a strange way, it made her feel so fulfilled. She was doing her duty as the object that she was. She was standing there to look pretty. And she was doing it well!