The sun had already vanished beyond the buildings on the opposite side of the street. Megan actually missed the sun shining through her body now. How long had it been now? She couldn’t say. Customers came and went, with one person even purchasing the outfit that Megan and Helen were wearing, and people passed by the store often enough.

    At some point, Leanne came into vision again. It seemed that she was retrieving the rack from outside. Did that mean that closing time was upon them?

    Sure enough, moments later, Megan could feel herself lifting off the ground seemingly on her own! Panic set in as she feared that she might be falling over but no… she was levitating?

    “Don’t worry. It’s only me,” Leanne mumbled as she lifted the glass statue up from her spot and carried her away from the window using a levitation spell. Megan could of course do nothing to stop the sorceress, or even to tell her to to please be careful lest she bumps into something. 

    Megan was taken to stand further inside the store where Leanne placed her next to a chair after which the store owner went back to go get the golden Helen as well. Their time as statues was coming to an end, and Leanne was simply preparing for their transformation back into normal humans.

    Merely a few minutes later, Megan finally started feeling something. It was the same warm feeling that had started her transformation in the first place. Of course, the process of returning to normal was about as slow as well. At least, that’s what it felt like. Perhaps she could already move again but she simply did not want to. After all, statues don’t tend to move on their own.

    But no… she was a human. A girl named Megan. And so, she tried moving. At first, she just blinked. Then, she tried lifting a finger. Then she opened and closed her mouth. And so forth, until eventually, she was able to move again quite substantially.

    “Welcome back, dear,” Leanne said.

    It took a little bit of effort for Megan to turn her head to face the sorceress but she managed. “H-... Hey,” she said meekly.

    “Don’t worry. You’ll regain your strength quickly,” Leanne said. She wrapped her arms around Megan’s body to help her slowly sit down on the chair behind her. After that, she began inspecting Helen who, by the looks of it, was still solid gold for now.

    Megan took in her first few breaths again while trying to stretch her body somewhat. “I… I can’t believe I just did that…”

    Leanne chuckled. “Magic is a fundamental force of nature just as water and air are, but a dismissed one by most because of its versatility. It is no wonder that it is experienced so incredibly for a first time. I can tell you all about when I first discovered it but that can wait.”

    Megan smiled. She was very much interested to learn more but also to experience it more. She turned to look at her friend who finally began blinking her own eyes as well. “I loved this.”

    “If you wish… I do have more potions in need of identification. You can swing by again tomorrow,” Leanne said with a smirk.

    Megan gulped. More. There were more. Different mystery transformations she could be trying. She did not even have to think about her answer. “I’d love to!”

    “I… knew you’d… say that…” came Helen’s weak voice. She had a tired look on her face as her form slowly turned back.

    Megan chuckled. By now, she was pretty sure that she had fully turned back. “Can you really blame me?”

    Helen shook her head slowly in response.

    “I… hope you enjoyed it as well?” Megan asked. She was a little nervous about that.

    Helen let out a sigh. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t…” It seemed that, much like her initial transformation, her restoration was proceeding faster as well.

    “Well, thank you both so much for your help. I would love to talk more but I have to deliver these two potions to the right customer by broomstick,” Leanne said cheerfully as she helped her niece sit down as well.

    At this point, Megan was honestly not really surprised anymore upon hearing that broomstick flying was an actual thing. “Of course,” she said, just as cheerful. “Thanks for… for letting me.”

    Leanne smiled that same devious smile as she had earlier that day. “Any time, dear.”

Megan woke up the following morning in a haze. Her mind had constantly wandered back to her time as a statue, even reliving the experience in her dreams.

    But there was also something else on her mind. After leaving the magic store, Helen had been rather quiet. Even as they went to eat out using the money they had earned from Leanne, she appeared lost in thought. It worried Megan, even though Helen had assured her that she was doing fine.

    And so, after breakfast, she decided to give her friend a call again.

    “Good morning, Meg,” came Helen’s voice.

    “Helen! Uhm… how are you doing?”

    “I’m doing fine, Meg. Don’t worry so much about me.”

    Of course, the tone of Helen’s voice was definite cause for worry. “I just… did you really enjoy things yesterday? You were so quiet about it.”

    There was some silence on the other end of the line, followed by a meek “Sorry.”

    “I just wanna make sure you were comfortable as well,” Megan said.

    “I… hmm… you wanted to go help out again today, right?” Helen asked.

    “Well, yes, but…”

    “Then let’s just go. I’ll see you at my place.” With that, Helen hung up the phone, leaving Megan more puzzled than she had been before.

“It’s complicated,” Helen said as they approached the city center.

    “Why is it so complicated?” Megan asked.

    “It… it kind of just is.”

    Megan frowned. “It just doesn’t make sense to me. On the one hand you’re telling me about all of these fun and amazing experiences you’ve had with the help of magic but you seem so… unwilling to interact with it. With your aunt and her store.”

    Helen threw her head back in response. “Can we just drop it?”

    “You know I can’t do that. I don’t want you to force yourself to do something you don’t want to do.”

    Megan was given the side eye in response to that. “I said I’m enjoying it as well. Why can’t you just accept that?”

    “Helen…”

    At this point, the two friends stopped their pacing and turned to face one another. Helen seemed to consider her words a little. She looked down to the ground and began muttering. “I do like magic… a whole lot… but I don’t like the inability of other people to understand it…”

    Megan tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

    Helen looked up, still frowning. “Do you have any idea what other people may say about you if your aunt is a sorceress? ‘Oh, you probably only look this good because of magic,’ ‘You must have used magic to become this smart,’ ‘She cheated in that contest with magic,’ ‘She couldn’t have run that marathon without her aunt’s magic.’”

    Megan was actually taken back as these frustrations came pouring out. “I… I had no idea…”

    “None of that is true, of course, but good luck trying to explain that to everyone else! And so I just try to stay away from it all. I try to distance myself from magic so that people don’t make stupid assumptions about me that aren’t true!”

    At this point, Megan wrapped her arms around her friend, hugging her tightly. “I’m sorry… I had no idea…”

    Helen dropped her head on Megan’s shoulder. “It’s fine,” she muttered. “I should have said something sooner…”

    Letting go of the hug again, Megan grabbed her friend by the shoulders. “Know that I won’t ever think these things about you, alright?”

    Helen nodded. “That’s why I figured it’d be fine to take you with yesterday… Because I know you wouldn’t judge like that. Though… I didn’t expect you to get into it so much.”

    Megan chuckled. “You can’t expect me not to!”

    Helen chuckled as well. “Let’s just… keep it between ourselves for now though. I don’t want people to start spreading rumours about me again.”

    Megan nodded. However, the agreement was only really a halfhearted one. Was it really right for her friend to close herself off from that which she likes so much?

Leanne was busy talking with a customer as Helen and Megan entered. She was selling a handful of scrolls and was giving them some useful tips and warnings.

    While they waited, Megan actually inspected the wall of scrolls now. Most of them were very much different from the potions on the other side of the store but there was some overlap, which begged some questions. “What’s the difference between potions and scrolls?” she asked.

    “Potions you can just drink and you experience the effects. Scrolls and books are used by sorcerers to enchant others. You can only really use them if you know how to do magic yourself,” Helen explained.

    “I see…” Megan said absentmindedly. She made a mental note to ask Leanne about that. Experiencing magic through potions was definitely great fun but being able to use magic herself? That sounded like it could be just as much fun!

    “Have a lovely day, dear,” Leanne said to the customer.

    “Thanks! I’m sure they’ll come in useful!” the man said as he left the store.

    “Helen, Megan, good afternoon!” Leanne said cheerfully as she turned her attention to the two girls. “I’m glad you’ve come again.”

    “Of course! I liked it so much, yesterday, I couldn’t not come again!” Megan said eagerly.

    “And I can’t exactly let her come on her own without supervision or she’ll mix all these potions and drink it like a cocktail,” Helen joked.

    Leanne laughed. “Well, unless you want to become part cat, part cow, let’s not do that! Now, I figured you’d like to talk a little more. We didn’t really get the chance to do so last night. However, it’ll be an hour after closing time before you turn back if you drink the potions now. I can deliver today’s potions in that extra hour and then come back for you.”

    “Maybe we can talk afterwards?” Megan proposed.

    Leanne looked up for a moment to think. “Yes… yes that should work just fine.”

    Megan grinned. “Is that right for you too, Helen?”

    Helen looked a little uneasy but smiled still anyway. “Yeah, that sounds good,” she said.

    “Excellent! Then… let’s get you two transformed, shall we? I’ll get the box,” Leanne said before heading off again.

    Megan turned to her friend but before she could say anything, she was already cut off.

    “Yes, it’s fine, Meg. I know you really wanna gush about magic,” she said.

    “Well… yes. But I figured… if you wanted to keep distance...” Megan said. She was being a little careful around the subject now, not wanting to upset her friend right before becoming inanimate again.

    “I’m doing this with you and that makes it all okay. So long as it stays between you and I.”

    Megan nodded. “Fair enough.” Still, was it really right for her friend to turn her back on magic entirely? Even though she enjoyed it so much? Perhaps she should talk about it before their transformations would take away their voices…

    However, just at that moment, Leanne returned with her box and two spoons. “Alright! You get to decide today. If I may suggest, potions that I placed together will have a similar kind of transformation so keep that in mind. I will also say, while yesterday’s transformations allowed you to keep your senses of sight, sound, and scent, these others might not. Most objects don’t have eyes with which to see after all.”

    Both girls started sifting through the box. There were liquids in all sorts of colours and there were several potions in each partition. One of them was actually already empty, likely because they held yesterday’s potions. It was so strange to think that each of these vials held the ability to turn its drinker into some kind of object.

    Helen eventually picked out a pink-coloured potion from a partition that held five vials. “I think I’ll pick this one.”

    The way Helen decided on her fate so casually was almost kind of funny for Megan. However, there was no real way of knowing what each of these vials had in store for them. That was the whole point of this exercise to begin with. Eventually, Megan picked out a red-coloured potion from the same partition. “This one’s for me.” If they were going to transform together, they would get a similar transformation.

    Leanne clapped her hands together as she took Helen’s vial and poured its content onto her spoon.

    Much to everyone’s surprise, Helen actually drank up her transformative juice straight away. Was she that eager? Or did she just want to not talk to anyone?

    Perhaps just as curiously was the fact that Leanne actually didn’t pour Megan’s potion onto her spoon right away. For now, Megan just dismissed it. “Wonder what we’ll become this time!”

    Helen shrugged. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

    “You said that you’d been transformed a few times before but never inanimate. What uh… what’s it like in comparison?” Megan asked.

    Helen smirked. “Well, it’s enjoyable. Different but not any more or less enjoyable. I gotta say, I expected that I wouldn’t enjoy it at all. The inability to move or talk or even do anything… It seemed like it would be boring but it was far from it.”

    “I know!” Megan agreed. There was a strange sense of fulfillment she had felt yesterday throughout the experience. The thought that she was simply existing and doing what she was made for was such a wonderful feeling.

    Finally, Leanne also filled Megan’s own spoon. Why was there that delay? Was Leanne willing to talk to her alone? Regardless, Megan looked down at the liquid that would, once again, transform her. Yesterday she had been filled with anticipation because it was her first time. Now that she knew what it felt like, she was filled with excitement and, of course, curiosity for what her transformation would be like.

    Eagerly, she drank it, determined to get herself transformed. She wanted this. She enjoyed this. There was no doubt in her mind. As the liquid flowed down her throat to do its magic, Megan had an almost blissful smile.

    As Leanne placed both bottles on the nearby shelf, she put her hands on her hips. “Just like yesterday, describe what you two are feeling and we can accommodate as necessary.”

    “Well, I’m already feeling something…” Helen said.

    Megan felt that same excitement building up in her abdomen that she had felt the day before. Since Helen drank her potion before she did, her friend would be the first to start transforming, meaning it would give her an indication of what they would both become.

    Leanne’s eyes were sparkling. She was enjoying it too. “What do you feel, dear?”

    “Uhm… I feel… I don’t know… hollow?” Helen explained. Then, suddenly, she held out her hands and looked at her fingers. Nothing was apparent yet about them but by the look on Helen’s face, she was certainly feeling something.

    Finally, something appeared to happen. Helen’s fingers started becoming shorter and… they opened up? It was just as she had described. Her fingers were becoming hollow. Not only that but her skin started taking on a pink hue and… what were those red markings that started appearing here and there?

    Leanne’s smile only grew wider and wider. “I see, I see! Excellent. I know what it is you’ll become!”

    Helen looked to her aunt. “And… what is that?” she asked. Just then, the ring that had been around her left ring finger fell uselessly to the floor as her fingers further retracted into her hands. The red markings became more defined now, looking a little like tattoos now. They were… flowers?

    There was just that devious smirk on the sorceress’s face. “You don’t mind if I wear you two today, do you?” she asked.

    Megan gasped. Wear? That meant… they were becoming clothing?!

    Helen sighed as the transformation took hold further and further. She had actually started shrinking a little as well now as her legs began retracting into her body as well. “I’d be mad if you just kept me in a closet all day…” she muttered.

    Leanne giggled. “Thank you, dear.”

    Seeing her friend slowly turn into some kind of garment really made Megan curious about what she would become herself. Pants? Tights? A shirt? A skirt? Or perhaps even a bra? The mere thought of these things sent waves of excitement through her. In mere moments, her entire existence would all revolve around being worn. And the fact that she had already drank the potion made that fact unchangeable. What was it going to feel like? She would find out soon enough.

    Leanne began grabbing her niece around the waist and easily lifted the girl up as Helen’s feet retracted into her legs and out of her shoes and socks. She would have fallen if not for her aunt’s help. Her arms had by now all but disappeared completely into spaghetti straps. Even her head had begun retracting.

    “Cya tonight, Helen!” Megan said eagerly.

    “... Cya… to-...” Helen said meekly as, like yesterday, her voice was taken away from her mid sentence. Her head simply disappeared into her chest which now opened up, completely hollow for her owner to wear.

    Leanne now grabbed her niece by the straps that had been her shoulders just a moment ago and shook it a little bit, causing the remainder of Helen’s clothes to start falling to the floor as well. After all, clothes can’t exactly wear other clothes.

    Finally, the sorceress held up what looked to be a pink summer dress with a floral pattern on it. There was absolutely no clue whatsoever that this dress had been a normal girl mere moments before aside from the pile of discarded clothing lying on the floor now. It was just a dress, made to be worn and make its wearer look pretty.

    “She’s beautiful…” Megan mused.

    Leanne chuckled. “I think she’d suit you if it weren’t for the fact you’ll be following in her footsteps shortly.”

    The thought of wearing Helen as her own dress was a fun one. Perhaps they could have some fun with that at a different time. However, Leanne was right. As if on cue, Megan could start feeling her own transformation beginning. “It’s starting…”

    Leanne nodded. She carefully hung the dress that was Helen on a nearby chair while picking up the pile of clothes from the floor. “I don’t think she’d appreciate it if people could just see her underwear lying around on the storefloor.”

    Megan chuckled. “No… I don’t think so…” What was happening to her? That feeling of hollowness that Helen had described during her own transformation was there, yes, but there was something else as well. What could that be?

    Leanne finished picking up all of Helen’s former garments and, surprisingly, she actually looked a little saddened now. “I suppose you must wonder why I had you wait for a few moments.”

    Megan nodded just as she felt some kind of compulsion building up. Her body was demanding she bent over forwards? What kind of clothing was she becoming? She tried resisting it for now but the compulsion only grew stronger and stronger. Eventually, she just gave in and started bending over as the transformation demanded.

    “I know that my niece does not visit me often. I… fear that she doesn’t like me very much…” Leanne said.

    Megan’s upper body went down all the way to the floor where she could just barely stabilize herself using her hands but even as she did so, her arms were already shrinking back into her torso. Her legs, in the meantime, weren’t hollowing out at all. Instead, they hardened and solidified. It was perhaps a little odd to continue the conversation like this but she had to. “She likes you… it’s… something else that’s bothering her,” she managed to say as that feeling from earlier grew stronger as well.

    Leanne tilted her head. However, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Megan to keep her head up to look the sorceress in the eyes. “Is that so? What… what is it then?”

    Megan opened her mouth to answer as she noticed her skin becoming red and a little shiny. Finally, the strange feeling crescendoed as, incredibly enough, her body began splitting straight down the middle! It started down at her bottom and slowly cut upwards. Strangely enough, it did not hurt at all, and she could still feel both halves of her body as if they were one whole.

    Despite all that, she had to answer quickly before she no longer could. “I… think… it’s better… if you… ask her…” she stammered. Finally, her body separated completely as her back arched up a little. There were openings that formed on the backs of both halves of her body while her former clothes began draping over her, becoming far too big for her quickly shrinking body.

    There was a chuckle somewhere nearby that became harder to hear as Megan could feel her head transforming as well now. “I suppose you’re right about that.”

    Megan could feel Leanne’s fingers entering the cavities that had opened up. Had she become that small already? It was a little difficult to see with these clothes over her but she was quickly fished out of them. She was being lifted up and brought up to the sorceress’s face. “And don’t worry, I will of course wear you as well. It’d be a shame to keep such beautiful high heels off,” she said with a wink.

    That was the last thing Megan could see or hear as the remainder of her facial features were completely removed, leaving her as just a normal pair of heels.

    As the transformation came to a close, Megan couldn’t believe any of this. The darkness and silence that now surrounded her would have been scary to her otherwise but… it wasn’t. There were other things occupying her mind. Like the fact that she had been split in two!

    She could feel Leanne’s fingers holding both of her halves but she was put down somewhere. Of course, Megan’s own clothing was now lying on the floor just as Helen’s had been. Clothes that a pair of heels no longer needed.

    There was something so much more limiting about this form than her statue form from yesterday. Not only could she not move or talk, she couldn’t even hear or see. But of course, shoes don’t need to hear or see. All that a pair of shoes had to do was be worn. And the fact that she couldn’t hear or see also left her with a feeling of anticipation. She was completely helpless, left in the care of Leanne who, just as easily, could decide to just toss her to the side.

    But of course the sorceress wouldn’t just do that. And sure enough, a few moments later, Megan’s right half… the right shoe… was filled up by Leanne’s right foot. The resulting feelings were overwhelming to the former girl’s mind. She was fulfilling her purpose. But only on one of her halves.

    Naturally, the left shoe was filled by Leanne’s left foot shortly afterwards, completing the process. Megan, a human girl turned high heels, was now being worn. She hoped that, together with the dress that was Helen, they made their wearer look nice.

    Soon, Leanne started walking, sending new sensations all the way through Megan. The asymmetry was so strange to her. As one shoe was placed on the floor, the other lifted off the ground. They were truly separate halves, yet connected somehow by the fact that both halves were worn by the same woman.

    Today was certainly going to be interesting and fun!

Just as before, Megan was completely oblivious to the passage of time. There was no real sense in keeping track of it for her either. All she had to worry about was to be a good little pair of heels.

    Leanne was a busy bee throughout the day. She was walking around quite often. For what purpose, Megan didn’t know. Perhaps she was helping a customer. Perhaps she was just walking around the store. Well, the reason didn’t really matter of course to a pair of heels. The only thing of importance to her was whether she was doing a good enough job supporting her weight.

    At other times, Megan was pretty sure that Leanne was sitting down, for she could feel one foot standing on the ground while the other was swishing through the air. She could guess that the sorceress was sitting with one leg crossed over the other.

    Eventually, after some more walking, Megan could tell that her wearer had left the store since the soft carpeted floor now made way for the stone tiles of the pavement. Only a few moments later though, she lost complete connection with the ground. At first, Megan thought that Leanne had sat down somewhere perhaps but then she remembered it. Leanne was going to be delivering the potions that she and Helen had tested by broomstick! Did that mean… were they really flying?!

    Sure enough, Megan could feel the wind brushing past her. It was actually quite nice in the evening air. She was a little sad that she couldn’t see or hear anything about this. She’d love to be able to watch the city from up in the air. But alas, she was just a pair of shoes.

    Eventually, Leanne landed somewhere. She had arrived at her customer, ready to hand them the potion that would transform them into a lovely pair of heels just like her. Or perhaps even a pretty dress like her friend that was currently wrapped around her aunt’s body.

    The sensations of walking and flying were of course all mixed in with the already existing feelings she had been feeling throughout the day. The wiggling of Leanne’s toes on occasion. The weight of her whole body pressing down on the ground. The asymmetry between Megan’s halves. It was like she was a twin but in control of both bodies. Well, control was perhaps the wrong word. There was no control that two objects such as herself could exert.

    But then, after two more broomstick flights, the saddest moment of the day came when she could feel Leanne taking both heels off. When she had first transformed, she had felt a little empty, sure, but now? That feeling was so much worse. It was likely because she had been worn all day and she was no longer used to that not being the case. No… no! She didn’t want to be taken off! She wanted to be worn more! She wanted to be good little shoes for her owner!

    Once again, just as yesterday, the realization soon came upon her that… no… she wasn’t a pair of shoes. She was a human. A young woman with a life. A life that she could soon feel herself starting to return to.

    It started with the fusing of her halves into one singular whole again. Then, slowly but surely, her human features were returning to her and for the first time since that afternoon, she could begin seeing and hearing things again.

    Megan’s transformation back went relatively quickly but as she regained her ability to move, she was surprised to find herself completely alone in a room she wasn’t familiar with. Mere moments later, she realized why that was: she was completely naked. There was an initial shock of embarrassment but she managed to calm herself down. After all, her clothes had not transformed with her.

    Speaking of which, Leanne had placed them in a basket next to her. A smile formed on Megan’s face as she began putting on her clothes. Another wonderful transformation had come to a close.

“Welcome back, dear,” Leanne said. She was sitting on a chair in what looked to be her living room. She was holding a mug of tea and there were two more mugs sitting on the table.

    “Thanks!” Megan said as she sat down on the couch.

    “How was it? Did you enjoy yourself?” Leanne asked.

    “Oh, yes I did! I… I didn’t think I would like it this much.”

    Leanne took a sip from her tea. “Inanimate transformations are an acquired taste. I’m happy you’re liking them this much. You were certainly very comfortable to wear.”

    An almost embarrassed grin from ear to ear formed on Megan’s face. “W-was I?”

    “Oh yes, most definitely. You were a perfect fit. In fact…” Leanne quickly got out her phone, tapped on it a few times, and then showed off what looked to be a selfie. A selfie where she was wearing both Helen and Megan.

    “Whoah…” Megan mused. It was hard to believe that she was that pair of heels and that that dress was Helen.

    The sorceress put away her phone again. “I hope I didn’t step into anything bad on accident.”

    Megan laughed. “Not as far as I could tell!”

    Leanne chuckled as well herself. “My store closed tomorrow but I am still open to potion testing right here at home if you’d like.”

    “I’d love to! But… I have work tomorrow…” The realization that she had to go back to work hit her way more now than it did on any other sunday. How could she possibly go back to her normal job after this?

    As if reading it on her face, Leanne smirked. “You know… I have been thinking of hiring someone to help out at the store. Doing it all on my own is quite the hassle, you see.”

    A look of bewilderment quickly took over her face. Working… at Leanne’s store? That sounded almost too good to be true! “You think that I’d be good for that?”

    “You clearly have a passion. You could become a great sorceress yourself. You and Helen.”

    Megan looked around herself then. “Where is she?”

    The sorceress blew on her tea and placed it back on the table. “She’s still in my room. She should be fully transformed back but… hasn’t come out yet.”

    “Why not?”

    “I wish I knew…”

    There was a moment of silence between them as neither really knew what to say until, a few moments later, Helen finally appeared. Her eyes were red as it appeared that she had been crying which shocked both Megan and Leanne.

    “Helen?” Megan asked, worried.

    Helen sniffed as she sat herself on the couch next to her friend and just buried her head onto Megan’s shoulder.

    “Helen, I…” Leanne stammered.

    “I’m sorry…” Helen said meekly.

    “Sorry? For what?” Leanne asked.

    “I’m sorry for… for being so distant.”

    Megan now wrapped her arm around Helen’s shoulder. “Calm down… it’s okay…” she whispered.

    Helen took a few moments before finally elaborating further. “I… I closed myself off from magic… because I was embarrassed. Because… because other people kept talking about me behind my back… I didn’t want it anymore so… so I distanced myself… but I can’t. I can’t anymore because… because I like it too much…”

    Leanne had her mouth slightly agape as her niece poured her heart out. She stood up and went in to embrace Helen into a hug. “Sweety, it’s okay… You don’t have to feel ashamed.”

    Megan just looked at the two family members hugging it out. It was a sweet ending to a wonderful day.

Megan rang Leanne’s bell. Having handed in her two week’s notice, she felt quite great. While today was an off day and her real first workday at Leanne’s store wouldn’t begin until tomorrow, she would still be potion testing today. It was okay though, because it was going to be fun. She knew it would be, whatever today’s form was going to be.

    The door was opened by Helen who had actually stayed the night there. She, too, had decided to come and work at the store, making them colleagues. “Morning, Meg! Come on in!”

    Eagerly, Megan stepped inside where Leanne was already waiting with two spoons and her box. “Good morning, Megan. Did everything go well?”

    “Yep! It all went smoothly, though it was a little sad to say goodbye to the people there,” Megan said.

    Leanne nodded. “I can understand that.”

    “So, what’s on the menu today, boss?” Helen asked jokingly.

    “Calm yourself,” Leanne laughed. “You may pick out your potions like yesterday. Tomorrow, however, I was thinking of giving you a bit of a rundown of what I’d like for you to do around the store. Teaching you two magic will also be a bit of a chore so I hope you are ready for that?”

    Megan nodded eagerly. She had chosen this path and one day, she would be able to spread the joys of transformations and magic to others. But for now… she’d get to enjoy a transformation of her own again. This time, she was the one to choose a vial with a pink liquid inside.

    Helen, on the other hand, chose a green potion from the same partition. “Wonder what these’ll do?”

    “Only one way to find out,” Megan said.

    Leanne nodded as she filled both of their spoons with their chosen potion. “You know the drill by now. Let me know what you are feeling and I can accommodate quickly.”

    “Well… cheers!” Megan said as she downed the liquid quickly. Helen, of course, did the same. 

    It didn’t take too long for them to start feeling the effects as they were all just casually talking.

    “I… I’m feeling a little… huh… I feel like I need something?” Helen said.

    Megan nodded. “Yeah… down at my feet… I’m feeling a little dry?”

    Leanne perked up. “Oh dear… oh dear, oh dear.”

    Both girls looked at her, a rush of panic in their eyes. “What is it?” they asked simultaneously.

    “We have to act quick. I’m sorry but I’m going to have to ask you to take off your clothes fast and come with me to the garden!” Leanne said hurriedly.

    “Wait… wha-” Megan started.

    “There’s no time, just do it!” Leanne huffed.

    Helen and Megan both exchanged glances. Then just shrugged and started complying. It was honestly quite embarrassing, stripping off her clothes in front of their new boss, not to mention each-other, but there was no other way about it. It wouldn’t matter at all soon anyway. So far, their bodies were still looking quite human though.

    Once they were both fully naked, they ran towards the garden where Leanne was hurriedly using her magic to remove some of the grasses. “Go stand in these patches of dirt. The transformation will do the rest.”

    Only now did Megan finally realize what was going to happen. Quickly, she went to stand on one of the patches of dirt, overcoming the embarrassment of being completely naked in the garden of her best friend’s aunt. She hoped that none of the neighbours were watching! Helen, of course, did the same.

    Then, as if on cue, a sense of relief quickly overcame her as that dry feeling from earlier was removed. To think that it would go away so easily by just standing on dirt.

    No… she was no longer standing on the dirt. She was standing in the dirt! Her feet were no longer where they had been mere moments ago, having dug themselves into the ground. Not only that, but she could feel them spreading below the dirt?

    Of course, they were no longer her feet. They were her roots. She was going to become some kind of plant after all. Yet again, a completely new transformation was in store for both of them and yet again, Megan was filled with excitement.

    “Is this what the guys call morning wood?” Helen laughed while pointing at her lower legs. They had begun fusing together while bark started covering them.

    “Trees! We’re becoming trees!” Megan said cheerfully as her own legs had started barking over as well.

    Megan’s new roots were spreading surprisingly far. So far, in fact, that she could even start feeling Helen’s tendrils, exploring the underground unseen. Eagerly, both of them slurped up the nutrients from the grounds from the soil and as they did so, both of their transformations sped up a little.

    Their bodies became wooden more and more, barking over almost completely. Soon, Megan felt compelled to hold out her arms as, naturally, she’d want whatever leaves she’d end up growing to bask in the sun above. She’d not really noticed yet how nice the sun was today until now.

    But what kind of trees were they becoming? Well, for now, Megan could still look towards Helen and it was quickly becoming quite obvious. Her friend’s hair had turned into green, fern-like leaves that were spreading out like a bottle rocket. There were even what looked to be small coconuts growing here and there on her head as her friend’s facial features were slowly dissolving into the wood. She was becoming a lovely palm tree.

    Megan’s own transformation was progressing quickly as well but she couldn’t quite tell yet what she was. That is until she could see little flower buds popping up all over her arms… no… her branches. More branches also started spreading out from all over herself, each with flower buds of their own. Soon, the flower buds popped open and out came the most beautiful cherry blossom she’d ever seen.

    And they were her cherry blossoms. Her leaves. Her fruit. “Sakura…” she mused softly as, once again, her voice, her sight, and her hearing were taken away from her completely. Trees, after all, do not have those abilities.

    But what she did have was a heightened version of her sense of touch. She could feel everything so clearly. Each individual cherry blossom that rustled in the soft breeze, each little ray of sunlight that shone down from above, and each little grain of dirt that her roots had dug through. She could feel everything.

    And she knew that Helen was experiencing the same thing. She knew for she could feel it through their connected roots.

    Megan let out a very content mental sigh. She felt in bliss. She was happy as she began enjoying herself. After all, she’d be like this for another five hours. Not that she’d be aware of the passage of time at all.

    It certainly was interesting to go from inanimate objects to a living plant but she was still inanimate, and what a lovely form this was. She knew that she had made the right choice the other day when she drank that first potion. And a part of her was already looking forward to what the next potion would bring.

Leanne stood in the door opening, a proud smile on her face. Two rather alien trees for the local climate stood there; a palm tree and a cherry blossom tree. Just a few minutes ago, these trees had been her niece and her best friend but now, they were motionless plants basking in the sun.

    The palm tree that was Helen was growing large coconuts. Leanne made a mental note to pick some of them later. Of course, she knew that it was perfectly safe to do so.

    The cherry blossom tree that was Megan was occasionally letting some of her petals rain down, creating quite a beautiful scenery.

    But even better than the current scene was the fact that she had found not just one but two apprentices, eager and willing to study in the arts of magic. It was going to be a lot of work, and there would be times where they may come to detest it all, much like she had herself with her own teacher. However, it would all be worth it in the end and, judging by their eagerness, neither of these trees… err… girls… would give up.

    Leanne looked up to the sky. At the sun that was letting the girls engage in photosynthesis. “First thing’s first,” she said to herself as she grabbed the hose. After all, trees do also need water.