"I can do this!" She told herself taking a glance in her rear view mirror and seeing her bright green eyes. Her smooth skin. Her face.

"I'm going to make Jessica proud however long it takes. Neither of us asked for this or wished it. It just happened to us. We can't control that. We hope to change back but until we do. I'm going to do the best that I can. Make the best of it. I have to! For Jessica!"

Parking at her apartment complex she ran up the three flights of stairs. 

"Hey Jess, how's Grandma doing?" She heard upon opening the door. 

Linda scanned the room. The words came from her sister (Granddaughter!) Rebecca who was sitting on the couch with her feet up on their raggedy old beat up coffee table eating a piece of pizza.

"She’s good Bec. Doing fine. We got a lot done today" she said kicking off her sandals and dropping her purse by the door. "Hey Katie...sup Carly?" She said smiling and greeting her two friends who were over.

Linda spelled food and her mouth watered. She was starving and everything smelled so good. "Dang! I haven't smelled anything this strongly in years" 

Old age is a slow March that dulls everything so over time you don't even realize it's happening. To have that curtain just yanked back all at once and be thrown back into youth with all her senses heightened was amazing. "I will never take this for granted!" Linda told herself "Any of it!"

Guilt would rise up but it needed to be trampled down. Life needed to be enjoyed no matter what the circumstances. Something had put her in this body. If she was meant to go back, something would put her back. 

Linda filled a plate with Buffalo wings and pizza. Taking a bite, taste exploded in her mouth "Mmmmm, this is so good! Im starving!"

"I haven't had taste buds like this in decades" she thought. She cracked open a Bud Light and downed half the can "Ohmygodthisisamazing!" She thought savoring everything, tasting the best meal she had in years.

Linda fell right into the conversation like it was nothing, laughing and talking way too fast, just like Jess. 

Hearing herself called Jess was also helping her ease down and settle in.

Jessica and Rebecca shared this apartment. Becca had just graduated from college as a nurse. Where Jessica was short with dark curly hair, Rebecca was tall and blonde. They shared the same green eyes and smiled alike.

Linda devoured her food and finished her beer. She got one more slice of pizza and another beer "And I bet I don't get heartburn either in this body haha!" She thought to herself. 

She drank 2 more beers and found Little Debbie brownies too. The 4 of them laughed and talked for hours.

At 2 A.M. Linda fell asleep. 

She was back awake at 7 feeling fine and refreshed and pain free.

"This is amazing! It's real. It's really real. I didn't dream it! I'm Jess!"

She got a wave of guilt at her excitement but she had to get moving if she didn't want to be late for work.

She worked in a casual office so she put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that said 'Shut up Liver, you're fine. She pulled her hair up into a messy top knot, made a big cup of black coffee to go and hopped into her car.

Driving 80 down the highway, merging and changing lanes, she had to laugh "can't beat these reaction times and reflexes. I couldn't and wouldn't have dreamt of driving like this yesterday. I wonder how Jessica is today? I'm sure she's up...I couldn't sleep in and I'm sure she got my sleep habits cause I've got hers now" she sipped and pressed the accelerator down farther.

"Hello all you lucky people!" Linda said giving a wave as she came into work. She plopped down at her desk and spun around in her chair.

She signed on and immediately went to work. No lag, no drag just Jessica's mental and physical abilities taking over Linda's mind and hands. She slipped right into it.

As she did, her mind wandered. Linda's mind drifted towards a new comic book idea. It was just a little thing but slowly, more details started falling into place. She started taking notes, started sketching out a few characters.

"Hmmm...I wonder" she thought. "Maybe I'll show Emily my concept drawings: I can always get an honest opinion from her"

Jessica woke up feeling tiny paws walking over her side. It was 6 A.M. and someone was ready for breakfast. 

Jess was stirring anyway. She had slept lightly all night and had to make 2 trips to the bathroom and now she needed to go again. 

Her feet cramped hitting the floor and she walked stiff legged into the bathroom, lifting her nightgown once more to sit. She closed her eyes as yet another weak trickle sprayed out. "Another thig about being old I hadn't thought about...my bladder sucks"

She put on her glasses as she sat and she saw her wrinkly skin, her old hands resting on her knobby knees, her long spindly toes and veiny feet on the tile floor. "I bet Linda isn't even awake yet. And I'm positive she slept through the night no matter how much she drank" she mumbled to herself.

Her back cracked as she stood. She ribbed her arthritic hands before she washed them as Lily wound between her legs with her tail up.

They made their way to the kitchen where Lily got fed. 

Jess checked her phone but there were no new notifications. It was the first time that had ever happened.

Jess smiled and headed back to her bedroom. She slipped her nightgown off and got dressed for her walk. Bra, t-shirt, shorts, socks and sneakers.  She had shoes that she just used for walking and she knew that. 

She combed and picked out her hair then filled a water bottle and set out. She walked a slow but steady pace and she knew the route through the neighborhood to take her about 2.5 miles.

Even though it was early, it was going to be a humid summer day but "at least the bugs aren't bad" she told herself. She said Hello to fellow walkers and joggers who looked familiar to her. Some even called out to her by name "Morning Linda!"

Jess was tired by the time she got home. She had worked up a thinner of sweat and she needed to sit down. 

She got to her favorite chair and sat. She drank some water and watched the morning news.

Eventually she got up and made a cup of coffee and cut up a peach. She liked soft fruit now; her teeth and apples no longer mixed very well. 

She found her tablet and she checked the local paper website to read the obituaries first.

She had to take her morning pills with food. A dozen pills waited for her. Thyroid medication, estrogen, calcium, cholesterol, blood pressure, arthritis medication and a few vitamins and supplements. 

Jess saw she had a dozen more to take in the evenings. 

Jessica led a busy life but so did her Grandma. She had a great group of friends that she would get together with regularly. Either in the afternoons for golf or movies or hanging out by a pool in the summer. They played cards and drank wine together in the evenings. They went on trips together, Linda especially liked the casino and now so did Jess.

Jessica also had commitments to uphold. She picked up grandkids from school, got other's to and from practices and filled in making dinner when needed. Dinners with her 3 kids and grandchildren. She had hoped to either search the attic or the internet for an hour a day about their statue and their situation but frankly, she didn't know when she would have the time.

She had to shower and get ready. Today was a matinee movie since rain was called for. It simply took Jessica longer to do her tasks. She was extra careful in the shower washing and stepping out. She was getting used to her body. It was still new to her and, she had to admit, kind of exciting to her. The chance to walk a mile in her Grandma's shoes was exhilarating; it was just something different, very different for her and she decided to make the most of it. She was happy for Grandma "I'm sure she's excited to be young again. Let her play haha. I'll live her life for a while and she can live mine. It'll all work out in the end like it's supposed to"

She talked to herself as she brushed her teeth, did her hair and put on her makeup.

Jessica got dressed in tan capri pants and a light green top. She brought along a light sweater too in case the air conditioning was too cold in the theater for her and she wore her sensible shoes. "Busy busy little Grandma" she called herself as she settled into her life as Linda.

Linda worked in the office some days and others she worked from home. She also did freelance work on the side. She was had to start working on her comic idea. That was an idea just gnawing away at her; ideas were just streaming out and she felt compelled to get it down in a program. She couldn't forget it but more and more was coming to her and they were all good ideas.

Then there was her boyfriend Tony. She wanted to spend time with him. Then, she discovered that Jess had a ton of friends felt close to all of them. Like 20 best friends! Stopping over at their places, having them stop by hers, going out for dinner or to a bar or to a club or to concerts...Linda literally had no free time. Family time for dinner...endless texts, they literally never stopped coming let alone keeping up with more people on Instagram and Snapchat.

She had hoped to research their situation but, she just couldn't find the time. "I'm sure it'll work out in the end. Linda's just fine as me. She'll figure it out" as Linda settled into her very busy life as Jess.

She preferred Jess. Only her parents and Grandma called her Jessica. Everyone else called her Jess.

Over the next two weeks, both of them truly settled in, to the point where they really weren't thinking about their old lives except aquire passing thought. They now texted each other daily to check in but even that had become just routine and run of the mill. They both promised each other that they would get together for dinner soon but, they couldn't seem to work out a time; when one of them was free, the other one had plans.

Another two weeks passed. Linda was getting a lot of progress done on her comic. She was honing dialouge and really getting down to detail on character design.

Jessica had looked around her attic, searching boxes and piles methodically, albeit, slowly.

She hadn't found the statue or any trace of it. The rest of the items from her brother in law were just common things, everyday items like his old yearbooks and photos and mostly items from his childhood. Without a picture of the statue, her Google searches were going nowhere. It was most likely a one of kind hand crafted item from some random Hippie 50 years ago. Never written about, never understood, absolutely nothing to find. It might as well have just been some random whittled stick as far as the internet knew.

Every search for bodyswap just led her to stories on various fetish websites or to movies like Freaky Friday and all its knockoffs.

Jessica's searches had gotten more and more infrequent.

"Not that I mind" she admitted to herself "Being Jess...wow...that was exhausting honestly. This speed; it suits me better. I'm more relaxed and so at ease. I'm in no hurry to swap back if she's not" she giggled to herself "Our little secret...ssshhh" she told her cat as she scratched her behind the ears hearing her purr"

Over the past several weeks, Linda had worked furiously on her comic. She kept up her essential social schedule but her mind kept drifting to it, obsessing over it in a way. She skipped sleep to work on it. She constantly jotted down notes wherever and whenever she could putting it together. Frankly, Linda loved every second of it. She loved her friends and all the socializing "Quite different than the old group I used to hang out with" she remembered sitting poolside as her former self, sipping a drink, playing Euchre and staying in the shade. She pictured this as she floated on an inflatable Toucan with her friends in a pool just after shotgunning a beer. Her pink painted toes flipping at the water.

She loved her relationship with her boyfriend Tony...things she hadn't done in years she now did nightly.

She loved her relationship with her younger sister and roommate Rebecca.  She also appreciated how the world had flipped between her and her Dad. From Mother and son to Father and daughter. Her daughter in law was now her Mom. Her grandkids were her cousins. Her other two kids were her Aunt and Uncle.

As much of a role reversal it was, she loved it.

She also really liked her job and working again. She had missed it once she had retired. Now she had a while new skill set at her disposal and she loved how sharp her mind felt. Linda also had never had artistic ability. Now, a God given talent coursed through her fingers and her mind. She could draw all day and it never stopped fascinating her. "She’s not hassling me to swap back so she either doesn't mind or doesn't know how to...well I'm in absolutely no rush to switch back. It's only been like 6 weeks! That is nothing! I'm sure we will in time" she told herself smiling and adjusting her sunglasses as she floated and rejoined the loud pool conversation.

Another month passed and Linda was ready to show off her comic. She knew her friends would give her their opinions but she wanted a professional to at least look at it first, another graphic designer and artist, so she took it to her friend, co-worker and frankly, her mentor, Emily Lewis.

Emily was about 10 years older than her; married with two kids and very pretty, she had helped Jess out when she had first started. Linda had gone to her too in her time for second opinions and had always gotten good advice. Emily was simply a natural at her work and also a really nice lady. 

She was a perfect mixture of straight laced and carefree. Linda detected a hippie free spirit in her somewhere and she was always in a good mood. 

Other co-workers mentioned that a while back she had been depressed, but whatever she had done to correct that was definitely working.

"I love it!" Emily told Linda. "It's a great twist on what could be an overdone genre. Superhero origin of a hero changing into her heroic form...but it's your dialouge that makes all the difference. It's true. It sounds like how people speak. The reactions are spot on, as are their internal monolog. Their decisions seem realistic, their reactions. Especially Julia. I love it and I want to read more" she told her. "Where did you come up with the idea to make her alter ego an 72 year old woman?"

"It just sort of came to me" Linda said.

"What old lady wouldn't want to find a ring that turns her into a 25 year old Superhero?! But it's her reaction to becoming young again that sells it. Such genuine joy...then finding her powers, but that's just a bonus. You writing really is at its best when it aims at age roles and expectations. You really write being 72 very well!"

"Thanks" Linda blushed.

"And as a 25 year old...it’s like you're both haha...but that's a sign of good writing. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes and finding their voice"

Silver Juventas was the name of the book and her hero. 72 year old Julia Sullivan finds a magic ring. She puts it on and transforms into a 25 year old perfect specimen with super powers. Sure she defends the city but that's a small part of the comic. More of it is Julia's life and her decisions. 

Eventually, probably in issue 12 or so, Linda had planned out, we will meet the original owner of the ring. 25 year old Layla Lewis. Formerly super-powered hero Lady Justice, but now merely ordinary. Not only has she lost her powers but at random times, she turns into an old woman. She has to find that ring.

"If only you knew" Linda said thanking Emily profusely for her input.

"If only you knew" Emily thought. After Jess left, she looked down at her feet clad in a pair of black flats "Never take being you for granted haha...walking in someone else's shoes is highly addictive"

After showing her sister, then her friends, she showed her parents. Everyone was enjoying it but there was still one person she needed to show.

<knock, knock> the door opened up knowing it was unlocked. "Hey...anybody home?! Haha!"

Jess heard the knick and the door open, He'll she had heard the car pulling into the driveway but hearing her former voice made her jump and very nervous.

Linda was nervous too but trying to act like she wasn't. She was petrified stepping into her old house for the first time in 3 months. It was actually longer than they had ever gone without seeing each other...maybe it was on purpose by both of them?

Summer had turned to fall. They texted everyday but both were afraid to meet in person. But now...Linda smelled her specialty cooking in the oven, a chicken and dumpling casserole that made her young mouth water. "It smells great in here...I'm starving!" She said pulling off her boots. They stopped a few feet apart. Jess started to cry. They hugged tight and for a really long time as they both broke down sobbing now.

"It's overwhelming seeing you" Jess finally managed to say.

"I know...I feel it too. I'm sorry" Linda replied.

"There's no need to say that. There's no need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong" Jess replied which only made Linda cry harder.

"Come on...let’s sit and talk. The food still has another 20 minutes to bake" Jess said as they went to the living room. 

Jess was wearing tan pants, a black top with a black sweater over it along with black slip on.

Linda was now in her socks but she wore skintight black leggings and an oversblue top with it that was much more form-fitting to show off her massive chest.

They both dried their eyes. "So how are you doing?" Linda asked.

"Well...I'm good. Great actually" Jess began. "I wasn't sure how I would approach tonight but I came around and simply thought, I need to be honest. So...I'll admit it. I'm happy. I'm fine...I'm not quite sure how to put it though. I'm content...no...that's not strong enough" Jess sighed sounding frustrated "Can I call you Jess?"

Linda blushed "Uh, of course you can if that makes you more comfortable. I wasn't going to push it"

"Good. Call me Grandma then Jessica. I ask you and tell you that because that's who I feel we are right now. I'm fine being Grandma. I'm comfortable being Linda. I respond to both...and Mom,  these days. Jess isn't really on my radar at the moment" 

"I know that feeling. Being Linda, being...your, I mean my age is tough to see. I remember it all but it also seems far away" Linda admitted. "I feel guilty but I have to say this. I'm happy being young. Being you. Being Jess"

"Don't feel guilty. Don't beat yourself up. You should feel that way. It shows you're taking ownership. Taking pride. You're doing exactly what we said we had to do and should do: Live as each other and make the most of it" Linda started crying and sobbing again.

"I will fully admit, and swear to you I'm not lying when I tell you that I'm happy exactly the way I currently am. I'm happy being older. Im happy being Grandma Linda. The pace you're living at, I don't want right now"

"But how can you say that?" Jess was shocked "You’re elderly?!"

"I know right!" Jess laughed "Look, the fact of the matter is that I can't find that darned statue and I can't find any evidence of it. I can’t find a way back yet. Spells, potions, magical trinkets…" she laughed. "All of it just seems like made up crap on the internet for stories"

"I haven't found anything either" Linda admitted.

"I know we held it. We saw the flashing lights but then, it vanished. It's gone. No evidence of it exists aside from the two of us seeing it. Maybe it switched us. Maybe it had nothing to do with it"

"But it had to Grandma!" Linda said "People don't just spontaneously swap bodies with each other!"

"Oh but add in an old statue and then it becomes possible...sure, that makes so much more sense" Jess said with a lifted brow on her wrinkly face. "That statue is just a convenience but I think it's a red herring ultimately. What happened, happened. We can't change it or obviously control it. If whatever swapped us wants us to switch back, it'll happen"

"And if if doesn't?" Linda said cautiously.

"Then it doesn't and we have to accept fate. If we don't then we were supposed to swap for a reason. I'm not going to pout and crawl into a corner. I'm going to live!" Jess said. "Yes,I'm old. Old before my time but I don't begrudge you for that. We didn't ask for this,because didn't cause this. I'm happy for you! Look at you! You're thriving! You're obviously enjoying yourself...you can admit it. I want to hear all about it" Jess told her.

Linda smirked and they started to talk. To catch up. They ate and washed dishes together and relaxed again. 

Their fear and guilt had lessened and they were comfortable in each other's presence like family should be.

Finally, Linda pulled out her laptop. "I want to show you something…" she put it on Jessica's lap and pulled up Silver Juventas.

Jess started crying again but smiling, beaming with pride as she read on.

"This is amazing Jess" Jessica said. "I could never come up with something this good. This pure...you...This is so much better than anything I ever wrote or drew for that matter. You took my talent and, it's like you magnified it. Intensified it" she gasped. "This is why we switched!. You had to write this! You had to draw this! This story needs to be out in the world. But you needed to be me to do it"

"It's us...it’s us combined Grandma! That's where the magic comes from. We did this. You started it really, drawing and developing your skill" Linda said.

"And you’re taking it beyond where I could take it. It needed you to guide it to its purpose"

"So wait a minute! If that's true then maybe when I complete it. Once it's finished and complete. I complete my reason for being you"

"Maybe that's how we swap back" Jess admitted.

"It makes sense...Glorious Purpose!" Linda yelled out like Loki as Jess laughed. 

"Don’t rush. You can't rush. It won't work if you rush or cut corners. Don't worry and it doesn't matter how long it takes" Jess said "You have to get this right"

"I will. It's just been flowing out of me nonstop. I have so much more in outline and notes and random quotes. I know where it's going but it's going to take time to get it there"

"I know dear...you'll do it. You're the best. You're a better Jess than I was"

"Only because I'm both of us" Linda said.

Linda outlined the story arc as she saw it and Jess loved it "Do your thing" she told her at the end. "For as long as it takes...for all time" they decided on their own motto.

They wrapped up their night with a long hug and more tears. Linda back in her knee high boots and backing out way too fast.

Weeks went by and an early snow hit Wisconsin the week before Thanksgiving.

Linda was working on her comic when she could but she also had her very busy schedule to maintain. Friendsgiving led to at least three full get togethers as well as family considerations. 

The whole family got together for Thanksgiving. At one point, Linda and Jess huddled together whispering to each other as they told each other how they saw every other memof the family. What felt right and how their perceptions had changed. "This is going to be a busy month coming up for you" Jess told Linda.

Linda rolled her eyes "Oh I know!" Linda was a bridesmaid in 2 upcoming weddings for her friends. Then there was a Bachelorette party in Nashville too. It looked like she'd get into a third wedding in March.

"I've got Emily Lewis helping me. She's editing and putting some final touches on the drawings for us" Linda said.

"Oh good...Emily is perfect for an extra set of eyes. She's great"

"Oh I know! I love her!" Linda said

Jess too was not staying still and twiddling her thumbs, she had a trip to the Gulf Shore coming up with her friends.

She had made all the desserts for Thanksgiving. "I want to see pictures of you in your dresses from these weddings you're in" Jessica told Linda before she left.

"Of course Grandma! I'll text you all kinds of pictures"

"Even ones of you drunk in Nashville? I wanna see you in those white cowboy boots trying to stay upright" Jessica teased.

"How did you know I was going to wear those boots?!" Linda asked. 

"It's Nashville...duh. And those were my boots before they were yours" Jessica reminded her.

Linda just laughed.

That night, Jess couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, her mind kept running. "What if we don't swap back?" She thought.

She let out along breath from her nose finally letting out the thought hagging at her mind. "What if I'm wrong? She finishes her comic book and nothing happens...we’re actually stuck like this permanently" 

Jess got up and went to the bathroom. She wouldn't sleep that night. Insomnia had been creeping in at times. She would nap the following day when she could. The fact was, she was getting a bit nervous about the future.

Linda was too busy to be worried about it. 

She was working and going in a dozen different directions with everything in her life. She was doing a ton of freelance work on top of her regular job. The comic book sat untouched for over a month.

Jessica was playing cards on Saturday afternoon when her phone began to go off. Pictures were coming in of Linda in her bridesmaid dress. Wine colored and floor length with a plunging neckline, her makeup done impeccably and her long curly hair done up. Her finger and toenails matched her dress. All the bridesmaids had gotten mani pedis to match. 

Jess showed off the pictures to her friends "she's gorgeous! She's stunning! Wow...don't you wish you had a chest like hers?" We're the comments she got back. The last one making her blush hard.

The following weekend, while she was out Christmas shopping with her daughter (Aunt?) Jess got a new round of bridesmaid photos. This time the dress was black along with the shoes. Her makeup was a darker tone with dark lipstick but all the girls were like that so it must have been the brides' orders.

"I swear that girl never stops" was the comment from her daughter Sarah. "She has so many friends and is in so many weddings that when it's her turn, she could have 30 bridesmaids" she laughed.

The pictures the following weekend didn't come through until Sunday night but they documented a full weekend of bar hopping and partying in Nashville. In most, Linda was in a short, tight, pink dress with her white cowboy boots on. There were some in skin tight jeans and a tight white top but the boots remained.

"Did  I act like that?" Jess thought to herself. "Was I that wild?" Then she added "I don't miss it"

Christmas came as winter got colder. They saw each other on both Christmas eve and Christmas day. Jessica in the role of family matriarch and Linda as the fun loving and slightly too loud one.

No pictures came from New Years Eve but Jess knew that Linda wouldn't miss that night.

It was mid February when Jessica saw new pages. "It's getting better" she told Linda who beamed with pride.

Jessica had now met Layla in the book. They talked extensively about her. "The next batch is with Emily now and I working on getting it further. I'm over half way done. It's going to be at least 48 issues, maybe as many as 60. I'm on issue 40 in rough draft" Linda told her "I'm getting there"

"There's no rush honey" Jessica patted the top of Linda's hand with their neon green nails.

Linda smiled. She looked at Jessica "She’s so old. Her 73 birthday is next week and she's so sweet like this!" She thought knowing they needed to switch back but, part of her was reluctant to. She liked being young. She liked being Jess; it was fun and exciting. There was never a dull moment; giving it up would be hard.

"Maybe we won't swap back. Maybe we do need the statue and without it, we really are stuck like this with no way back to our original selves" she thought blushing a bit. 

The thought both enthralled her and terrified her. They had talked about their swap being tied to her writing and drawing but did either of them really research that theory? It sounded great at the time; it was hopeful. But now several months had passed. Did that theory still hold water?

This might be just the tip of the iceberg for her writing. There could be more Silver Juventas stories or others.

More months passed until they hit their 1 year anniversary in late June. Linda had just turned 26 with a wild weekend of partying.

They got together just in case the date was important; a milestone. Both thought it could happen, but, it didn't. They had a nice dinner and evening together but they did not switch back.

It was a breezy November night when Linda hit save and said "It's done" She looked around her room and laughed. A lot of editing remained as well as drawing, but the story itself was complete. She sent her files to Emily and thought about her drawings but for the night, it was enough.

She sat still, almost expecting to just poof back into her old self again but nothing happened. 

Miles away, Jess snored away asleep.

Two days before Thanksgiving, Linda brought her laptop to her Grandma's house.

She came in smiling and handed the computer over. Jessica had forgotten the password so Linda signed in for her.

Jessica read along and Linda saw the excitement on her wrinkly features. Tears came to her eyes as she hit the end.

"I'm so proud of you. This is so much more than just a comic book"

"Thanks Grandma" Linda replied. "It still needs some final edits and touch up but there's been a new development and that is Silver Juventas is now the property of Dark Horse Comics"

Jessica's jaw dropped. 

"They love it! We're going to be published by the 3rd largest Comics publisher in the country! They’re handling the final edits with my approval of course! Then it's published and distributed and promoted!" Linda said unable to contain her joy putting out a very brief, oversimplified version of what was to come.

The two women embraced, hugging each other tightly. They jumped when they heard banging and clattering behind them.

There, laying on the ground at their feet were the two halves of the statue.

Jessica gasped loudly as Linda stood frozen blinking.

"Is that…?" Jess said. 

"Oh my God! They just appeared out of nowhere!" Linda added. She had brought her arms up defensively.

"So they really did dissappear" Jessica said bending down to the one by her. Almost afraid to touch it, she approached it like it was fire. 

Jess picked hers up while Linda still looked at hers on the ground, poised to jump like it was a mouse about to pounce at her.

Linda was afraid; afraid of being turned back into her old body. She had kept the thought of returning far back in her mind, not wanting to think about it. She knew it wasn't fair to stay like this and doom her granddaughter to living out the rest of her days in her broken down elderly body but; she loved being Jess.

She felt so alive and free. She could also feel the anticipation from behind her. Jessica wasn't saying anything as Linda wrestled with her feelings. Finally, she just reached down and snatched it up.

Linda realized that she was mad about the statue pieces showing back up. She turned to Jess with a stone cold look on her face "I have to admit that I don't want to go back to being old again"

"I know" Jess said. "I'll admit to being kind of scared to go back to being young again. I don't know if I can keep up anymore. I'm out of practice. It's been almost a year and half of this more sedate life"

Linda put out her piece.

Jessica put out hers "for all time"

They tapped them together. 

Red light flashed out engulfing Jessica while blue light flooded over Linda. The two pieces fused together and blue light flashed over Jessica and red engulfed Linda.

Jessica felt a surge of energy rock her body.it surged through her revitalizing and rejuvenating her.

Linda felt drained. Suddenly tired and weary, a bit of ache settled over her body. They were swapping back.

The return was faster than the initial swap. Their bodies seemed to remember old pathways to return. Jessica's hair darkened and grew out quickly,

As it did, Jessica's hands went up and ran through it. She gasped as she not only saw her hair growing but also as her fingers filled out and smoothed. Her nails were returning, her fingers, her hands. 

Linda looked across and saw that Jessica was once again shorter than her; or rather, was as short as her. She watched her granddaughter regress back through middle age to her 20s. Her wrinkles vanishing as smooth, unblemished skin returned to her along with her own facial features.

Her body was rejuvenating. Her breasts rose up, her arms trimmed, her sides pulled inward as her stomach flattened.

Jessica's jaw worked up and down as her hips flared and her popped back out strong and firm. Her thighs plumped and her calves rose up muscled and tight. 

Finally her feet smoothed out: her toes shrank back and straightened and she wiggled them smiling. "I'm back! Oh my God I'm back in my body!"

Linda gave a smile. Her hair began to pull up shorter, graying and restyling itself. Wrinkles formed up. Her skin loosened. Everywhere. 

Her neck skin flapped as her chin and jaw pulled back as her facial features softened back to her old face.

Her muscles sagged, her upper arms flapped as her finger joints swelled. Her breasts sagged, her pooch belly popped out as her hips slimmed and her ass fell.

The changes continued downward loosening her skin and muscles in her thighs and calves until finally her feet aged.

The statue remained. Linda placed it on the table next to them and smiled much more sincerely now that it was over.

Jessica spun around, her old lady clothes flapped away billowing out behind her as she laughed.

The clothes that had been tight on Linda now were loose in some areas and way too tight in others. "I look ridiculous in my Granddaughter's clothes"

" I don't know Grandma, maybe we can swap some clothes still haha" Jess laughed. 

"Oh I don't know about that" Linda replied as Jess jumped over and hugged her.

"Now that's what I call an adventure!" Jess said.

"Walking in your shoes was certainly a rush" Linda admitted.

"If it didn't mean another year and a half, I'd be up for splitting time with you! I'm going to miss all your friends!" Jess said.

"I'll miss yours too" Linda replied. 

"You were one hot bridesmaid Nana!" Jess laughed.

"I'll never forget those. My second youth. I had an absolute blast"

"I loved my time as you Grandma" 

"But all good things must pass" Linda said. "You'll have to keep me up to date on the goings on with your comic"

"What? No…you're my partner in this now. You'll be in every meeting and in on every decision!" Jess declared. "You're awesome at this. We're going to write more!"

"Silver Juventas Part 2?" Linda said.

"Will be written by us" Jessica finished. 

They both looked at the statue again and then back at each other.