A bitter wind whipped down from the mountains, sweeping
through thick, dark forests and over a raging river before howling through the
puny edifices of man that blazed in the dark like sparks from a fire. The wind
tore at the neat wooden houses and shrieked around fireplaces, taking away the
smoke from fires that burned in hearths to ward against the cold. Inside their
homes, families huddled around the fire, hoping to stay warm. No thermostat was
set below eighty, for the cold outside was more than enough to cool even the
warmest house. TV’s were turned to the weather channel to see when the cold
weather would break, if it would break at all. Outside, the occasional figure
could be seen struggling to cover pumpkin and squash crops to keep them from
freezing.

One person was not bemoaning the cold, or watching TV. In
her room, Doris was idly flipping through a teen magazine, checking the stats
of her favorite popstar. Her only concession to the cold was the thick sweater
and heavy pants she was wearing. Downstairs she could hear the rest of her
family chatting as they huddled around the fireplace, no doubt worrying about
how much of their crop they were going to lose before the cold snap ended, if
it did before spring thaw. Doris was a little worried herself; her job at the
Tasty Treat was nowhere near enough to keep them fed through the winter if they
lost this crop.

Well, if push came to shove, they could sell the sow that
they had been fattening this year. They had planned on breeding her next year,
but they could make a small amount if they sold it this year.

These thoughts are far too depressing, Doris decided. It was
time to think of happier things, There had to be something good out there, like
the dance! There was a dance coming up at the high school that she was
participating in. The theme this year was woodland creatures, and already
everyone had gotten their costumes. Except her. She had kept putting it off,
claiming work was taking all of her time, which was true. Mandy, her boss, was
a nice lady, but had been forced to let a couple people go do to the lower
attendance in the winter, which shifted a lot of the workload on Doris. Now
however, the time was close and she needed to get that costume for the
party.

An ad on her laptop caught her eye. Looked like one for a
new costume shop in town. That could be promising, if the costume shop had just
opened, then she would have the opportunity to get first pick of the costumes.
She could find one that would look so real; it would guarantee her the honor of
Squash Queen of the dance. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. Yes, this costume
shop could be just the break she was looking for, provided she could get the
costume cheap. Well, she shouldn’t have too much trouble in that department.
With her natural endowments and freckled good looks, she should be able to talk
a male clerk into a substantial discount. Scribbling a note on her planner, she
decided to turn in for the night. She wanted an early start for tomorrow.

Doris stared at the unassuming storefront across the street
from her. She had been standing there for close to a minute already, shivering
in the damn cold and trying to figure out why she was even standing out here in
the first place. There certainly didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the
store, out front there was a werewolf costume standing guard, protecting and
proffering a sign in his furry paws that read: ENCHANTED THREADS; COSTUMES SO
REAL, THEY’RE LIKE MAGIC! It was just a quaint little store in one of the older
sections of town. So why was she feeling this dread? There certainly didn’t
seem to be any cause or it. It was now or never, her shift started soon and she
needed to get the costume. Taking a deep breath, she crossed the quiet street
and went in.

The inside of the store was crammed with every kind of
costume imaginable. In front of her stood a pretty good pirate costume on a
dummy, cutlass waving above his head and a stuffed parrot on his shoulder.
Beside him was a gold-uniformed Starfleet officer from the Kirk-era while a
hulking white Stormtrooper from Star Wars flanked them on the left. Then there
were racks of racks of other costumes. Where could she possibly start? Doris
was slightly overwhelmed by the choices. She wasn’t sure how on earth she could
possibly choose which costume she wanted to pick.

“Good evening.” Came a voice behind her smoothly. Doris
jumped, startled, and landed cursing as she wobbled. How had the guy snuck up
on her like that? Spinning around, she caught the first look at the man that
ran the store. Her first thought was that her uncle had stepped out of the
grave. He had the same stoop-shouldered appearance, white side-whiskers on his
face and a kindly twinkle in his eye. Her gaze fell on his nametag: roland.
He
must be the proprietor, Doris reasoned, or at the very least the manager on
duty. Resolving to be polite, she introduced herself and explained why she was
there.

“Well, of course I would assume you were looking for a costume.”
The man said with a small smile. “How else would my store have found you?”

Doris wasn’t sure if he was mocking her or not. The store found
her? How utterly ridiculous. Roland, it seemed, was a few bushels short of a
harvest. The poor man must not have a good grip on reality, which could work to
her advantage. Deciding to press on with her plan, she smiled and began to play
the ditz for the old fool. “Yes. I suppose your right on that.” She laughed
softly and touched his arm. Physical contact was a necessity for closing the
deal. “I’m looking for a good costume that I can get pretty cheaply. The
winter’s been pretty bad here, and I can’t afford anything expensive. And I had
so been wanting to win first prize at the party this year.” She gave a sigh and
pouted slightly. “There’s always next year I suppose, although that will have
to be for the town party.”

Roland patted her hand softly. “There, there. I’m sure we can find
something that will get you that prize. In fact,” He said, suddenly thoughtful.
“I may have something in the back. I haven’t the room to put it out, and with
my poor timing it will be late next year before I can sell it. Give me a minute
here.”

The old man went hobbling towards the back, cane thumping the
floor vigorously. Doris felt bad for playing the old man; she couldn’t afford
the costume and she really did want to have a decent showing for herself at the
contest, but that was not a good excuse. Doris sighed mentally. For a moment
she wished she could be like Debra Cosk, stuck up and perfectly willing to take
advantage of other people without guilt. For a moment only.

When she heard Roland coming back, cane thumping the floor, she
spoke. “Mr. Roland, I wanted to thank you for your time, but…” Her voice
trailed off as he came out of the racks holding the most gorgeous costume she had ever seen. The fur of the main body suit was
thick and plush, the long tail that drug behind seemed equally soft, and there
was a great mask with ears done in fox style, although the proportions on the
face seemed wrong, the muzzle too short and broad for a full fox. Yet when he
held it up, it seemed perfect to go with the costume. It took Doris a moment to
find her voice. “It’s beautiful, Mr. Roland!” she said. Doris was unable to
tear her eyes away; a deep yearning had awoken in her at the sight of it. She
had to have that costume!

“Do you like it?” Asked Roland, delighted by her reaction.

“Oh, yes. I like it. How much?” Doris replied.

“For you my dear, the costume will be one hundred and seventy-five
dollars.” Roland told her.

“Sold!” Doris squealed. It would take all the money she had
brought with her, but she had the costume! Doris paid him at the register,
carefully counting out the ten and twenty dollar bills that she had brought.
Roland rang up the sale, and passed back her change. Doris realized something
was wrong. “No sales tax?” She inquired with raised eyebrow.

“Not today.” Roland told her quietly. “I just moved here from out
of state, and there was no sales tax there. I haven’t configured the register
yet, but should have that done by late this afternoon. I guess you got lucky.”

I guess I
did. Doris thought happily. She was given directions to the fitting
room in the back, but was assured that the costume would fit her. Doris glanced
at her watch, and realized that she would have to get to work. This jaunt had
taken longer than she had thought. With a smile and a wave at Roland, she
walked out of the store, glad to have finished her shopping for the party.
Walking to her green pinto, she placed her costume in the back tenderly, and
drove to work.

Mandy was a smiling, motherly lady of thirty-six, with three kids
and a husband at home. She was just a little taller than Doris’s five-foot two,
with green eyes and a permanent smile on her face. Her long platinum blonde
hair was done up in a tight bun and placed in a hair net for work, and she had
the Tasty Treat uniform and apron on as she bussed the tables. “Hello Doris.”
She waved from her work. The entire store was empty of customers.

“Hello Mandy. Busy day again, huh?” Doris waved back as she headed
for the kitchen.

“You know it, dear.” Doris laughed, a sound like tinkling chimes.
“Listen, if it gets much slower, I’ll close up early and let you go home, OK?”

“Oooh! Cool! I just picked up a costume from that new costume shop
in town for the party. I haven’t been able to try it on yet though.”

“Well girl, there’s no time like the present. Go ahead and fetch
it from your car. There’s nobody here, anyway.”

“OK!” Doris went to grab her costume. On her way out, she noticed
Brittany and Calah running down the street. What was up with that? She stopped
dead when she reached her car and let out a curse that would have earned her
boxed ears if she had said it around her mother. The side of her car had been
spray-painted with orange neon letters that spelled: Nerd Girl. Those whores!
Well, she’d show them! Huffing angrily, Doris grabbed her costume and walked
back inside, feeling ready to cry.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Mandy asked, alarmed. She swept over and
gave her a hug and began to stroke her hair. That was the way with Mandy. No
matter how old you were, she treated you like a little kid. Doris didn’t mind
this time, however, and told her what had happened. Just thinking about it made
her want to cry, those girls were so mean.

“So, you’re sure it was Brittany and Calah, huh?” Mandy said
soothingly. “Well, they’ve earned themselves a permanent ban from the Tasty
Treat. They won’t be having any of my a la mode surprise!” Doris found herself
grinning; Mandy was famous for her ice cream. Being banned was the worst
punishment imaginable. Suddenly cheerful again, Doris started cleaning some of
the dishes while Mandy went to her office to call the girl’s parents. When she
came out again, she was beaming. “The girls will know they are banned from the
Tasty Treat tonight, and the parents have offered to help pay for a new paint
job on that rust bucket of yours.”

“Thanks Mandy.” Doris said gratefully. She doubted she could have
paid for a new paint job; she would have had to spray paint over the top of it
which would have still showed the letters underneath.

“Don’t thank me girl. Those girls are the ones who are going to
eventually pay for it. Now, how about that costume?”

“I have it over here, near the freezer.” Doris said. She picked
the costume up and held it so Mandy could see. She exclaimed over the detail of
the fur and remarked how cozy and warm it was going to be during the dance,
which was traditionally held outside. “I certainly hope so.” Doris laughed.
“Otherwise, my tail will fall off from the cold!”

Once the laughter had settled down, Mandy went and took off her
uniform, pants and shoes. Flapping her arms slightly, she all but jumped into
the body of the suit. Mandy was surprised to realize it was form-fitting,
rather than the sack like style of the other suits. It fit tight over her skin
and felt warm already. With a sigh of relief, Doris stepped out of the restroom
to show Mandy.

“Oh, my!” Mandy bustled over. “It’s very nice! A little tight here
though.” She grinned as she gestured to Doris’s bust. Doris automatically
covered the area with her arms before realizing there was no point, the cream-colored
fur covered it completely. “It’s form fitting.” Doris muttered. Mandy giggled
slightly and pulled out the mask from the counter. “All right, put on the
mask!” she said excitedly. Doris laughed and took the mask and set it over her
head.

“How do I look?” she asked. Even to her ears, her voice sounded
slightly muffled.

“Not bad.” Mandy said as she ran a critical eye over the ensemble.
“Though I…what’s this?” The sound of something hitting the ground was audible
through the mask. Doris watched Mandy bend over and pick something up off the
ground. She held it in between her hands, and Doris realized that it was the
zipper to her costume.

“Huh, guess Roland hadn’t gotten around to fixing it.” Doris said.

“Well that’s all right. It’ll take me just a few minutes with
needle and thread to…my dear, what’s wrong? Mandy asked, alarmed as Doris
suddenly doubled over in pain.

Doris wanted to answer her, but her stomach felt like she had
taken triple helpings of Five-Alarm Chili and downed an extra bottle of tobacco
sauce with it. It spread to every part of her body, and Doris writhed.
Screaming in agony, she barely felt Mandy’s hands grab her to keep her from
falling. The mask suddenly went dark as something covered the eye-holes, and
then there was pressure around her head as it tightened against her skull. Her
breathing was cut off for a moment, sending her into a panic and she thrashed
wildly. A tingling sensation came from just above her butt and she squealed as
pain erupted there too.

The pain left her body suddenly, and she collapsed to the floor,
sobbing in relief. She felt fingers probing quickly at her neck, trying to get
under her fur for some reason. She opened her eyes and looked up at Mandy. Her
face was in sharper focus than before, a corner of her brain noted muzzily.
Also, she needed to go lighter on her deodorant, it was very overpowering all
of a sudden, and iceberg blue just wasn’t a good smell on a girl.

“What happened?” Doris asked dazedly. Her voice sounded softer,
and her words ended with more of a clipped accent, almost as if she was barking
the words. Mandy gasped and stared at her in horror. “What’s wrong,” Doris
asked worriedly as she pulled away. “Did I have something stuck in my teeth?”

“D-Doris, are you all right?” Mandy asked hesitantly.

“I think so.” Doris said. She wasn’t in pain anymore, and the
disorientation was starting to fade. “I hurt like hell for a minute there, but
I feel much better now.”

Mandy was silent, staring at her. Doris began to feel
uncomfortable under that stare. “Mandy! What’s wrong?”

Mandy took a deep breath. “Umm, do this sweetheart.” She held her
hands up in front of her face and wiggled her fingers.

“Okay?” Doris said. She raised her hands and began to wiggle
her…fingers?! Her hands were covered in smooth black fur, the palms were
rougher, bare of fur and looking a lot like pads, and her nails were rounder
and ended in sharp points. “Ahhh!” Doris yelped in fear. She heard the echo and
realized it sounded like a dog. “Wh-what’s happening to me?!” She cried. She
spotted her reflection in the face of the stove. A young fox-woman stared back
at her. Doris lost it then. Screaming, she scooted backwards on her butt, only
to cry out in pain as her long fluffy tail banged into the freezer. Wrapping it
around her, she stared at it in horror. Dimly she thought how long and
beautiful it looked, but mostly she just wanted it gone. Reaching around her
back, her fingers scrabbled for the zipper, only to feel as if she was scratching
against the bare skin. Sobbing, she backed into a corner.

“Doris?” Mandy’s voice was the gentle one of a parent trying to
soothe a frightened child. In a way, that was true, Doris was frightened out of
her mind and didn’t have a clue as to how she was going to cope. She sniffled
and peered at Mandy through blurred eyes. Her boss walked over and sat next to
her. Wrapping her arms around her, Mandy pulled Doris into the hug. Doris fell
into the embrace and wept on Mandy’s shoulder. Mandy held her for Doris didn’t
know how long, rocking her gently. Eventually the last sobs racked her frame
and she subsided into sniffles.

“Thanks, Mandy. I’m…hic…sorry.” Doris hiccupped as she pulled away
to dry her eyes. She was vaguely embarrassed at being caught in such an exposed
position.

“Honey you take all the time you need.” She said. “When you’re
ready you can tell me how this happened.”

“I don’t know how it happened.” Doris sniffed. “I went to the new
costume shop after seeing an ad for it online…” Doris went on, leaving nothing
out. She even admitted how she had planned to get the costume at a substantial
discount from the regular price, but how it had proved to be unnecessary. She
had paid out more than she had originally hoped for, but had gotten what she
had thought to be a far better costume in return. “…I guess I shouldn’t be
surprised, huh?” She finished bitterly.

“Now, honey. You went looking to make the best deal. Perhaps you
shouldn’t have made it in that manner, but that still doesn’t excuse…this.”
Mandy said firmly. “I’m going to get my coat and cover you up. We’ll take my
car and pay this Roland a visit. Do you remember where it is?”

Doris nodded, and just a few minutes later, Mandy had closed the
shop, covered her up, and bundled her into the car. They drove through the
town, and Doris, for once, was grateful that the extreme cold kept everybody
else inside. Her fox fur kept her surprisingly warm and comfortable. While
Mandy shivered in the driver’s seat, waiting for heat, Doris sat contentedly as
if she was sitting next to a log fire. It was strange, she mused, about how normal it suddenly seemed to be. It
didn’t seem odd at all that she had a natural fur coat about her body. Just a
few minutes ago she had been panicking about such things. Was this her coming
to accept what had happened to her? Doris wondered, or was it a continuing
change of the costume? Doris didn’t know, but she was determined to wring the
truth from Roland.

The car pulled up in front of the same shop-front she remembered,
only this time there was no sandwich board out to advertise. Doris felt a
flutter of fear in her heart as she stared. No! This was the right place. Doris
knew it. She jumped out of the car, ignoring Mandy’s startled yelp and ran for
the door. “Roland! You sorry sap! What did you do to me?! I’m going
to…tear…you…apart?” Doris ended with a whisper. The door lay slightly crooked
where she had smashed it down on her charge in. The empty room seemed to mock
her as she stared in stunned disbelief. A small sign advertised the space from
the real estate company in town. Mandy came up as she continued to stare.

“Are you sure this is the right place, hun?” Mandy asked as she
began looking around the room.

“Yes.” Doris managed, her throat strangling the words. Suddenly
she pointed. “Look!” There, about midway across the room, a banner faded into
existence. In bold letters it pronounced: no returns! Underneath
it was her money from earlier.

“Ah, Ms. Doris. How delightful to see you again.” A voice boomed
from the room, making Doris and Mandy jump. Doris looked wildly around, but
couldn’t see anyone, nor did she spy any speakers that would emit the voice.
“I’m afraid you left in a bit of a rush, and I forgot to warn you. When you try
on one of the costumes in the back, you can never return it. It’s a strange
quirk of the owner. Good luck with that prize at the party! I’m confident that
you’ll have the best costume there! Farewell.” And the voice faded away.

“What am I going to do now?” Doris whispered in horror. The empty
room tossed her words back to her in a whisper as the banner faded from sight.
Still staring at where it had been, Doris could find no answer.