second chances

Chapter 1
chapter 1 of 1

One cold spring night, a young woman named Hannah was walking briskly across the run down streets of the city . The 21 year old was on her way to a bar; or at least that is what she was going to tell people if they asked. In reality, she was on her way to a particular house in the richer part of town to rob it, as she had been tipped that the occupants, a young wealthy couple,  were out of town and had lax security. She did not want to do it, but this was the only way she knew. At a young age Hannah was abandoned by her parents, and would wind up bouncing from foster home to foster home. Unfortunately for her however none of them were very nice, ranging from physically abusive to neglectful. When she was 15 she ran away and had bounced between homelessness, shelters, and staying with other "friends" she had met along the way ever since. However, because of her rough life she had very serious trust issues and as such did not ever stay in one place for long. With no true friends or family she was always on her own, and had learned to survive. She avoided stealing, seeing it as a last resort, but had became very good at it when she needed to. Because of her lack of an education she couldn't find a job. But this particular family was very wealthy; if she took some from them she could be set long enough to get on her feet.

As she walked hurriedly, Hannah glanced at her reflection in the large window of a restaurant she passed by. The 21 year old had messy dirty blonde hair, with pale skin and bright green eyes. She was quite pretty, but at 5 '4" weighed only 95 pounds was underweight for a girl her age, as evidenced by her small breasts and skinny waist. She was currently dressed in black skinny jeans with holes in them, a warn out looking baggy black sweatshirt, and a black beanie.  As she was looking at herself she was not paying attention to what was in front of her, and found herself colliding with someone. She landed on the ground with a thud, looking up at who she had just ran into. It was a mysterious looking man, dressed in a brown trenchcoat. She couldn't tell how old the man was, he looked fairly young but also had an aura of wisdom, like he had been around for a long time and seen some things.

The man stumbled back as he made impact with the young girl, but he maintained his balance. Just from this brief touch, the mysterious stranger could see everything the women had been through. He could feel her every emotion, her misery and sorrow. Her emotions overwhelmed him with sadness. He paused for a moment to recollect himself before reaching out his hand to help the girl up. She simply stared at him with a mix of fear, anger, and hurt before pulling herself up without his help and running off into the night.

"That poor girl, it seems she has been through so much pain and suffering. Perhaps there is a way I can help her."

Hannah had arrived at the home she was planning to break into. She couldn't help but continue to think about that strange man she had just met. There was something about him...he knew she never had met him before, yet he felt familiar. Mysterious and intimidating, but also oddly welcoming and calming. She tried to shake these thoughts out of her head so she could focus on the task at hand. She took a look at the house, she knew this was a nice area but was still shocked to see just how huge it was! She gulped nervously as she walked up to the window and pried it open just wide enough to slip her skinny frame through. She winced in anticipation for an alarm, but was relieved to see her tip was correct as none went off. Thankfully the houses were spaced out enough that with the dark nights sky she did not have to worry much about neighbors seeing her but she still wanted to hurry. She tried to act quickly, gathering as many small belongings that looked worth something as she could while looking for the safe. Eventually, she came across a suspiciously hung painting in the master bedroom and assumed this would be a good guess for where the safe may be hidden.

However as she approached she felt a sudden spell of dizziness wash over her. She grasped her head as the walls began to spin and she collapsed to the floor. She felt an overwhelming feeling that she never had felt before pulse through her body like a wave of energy. She couldn't do anything but lie there. She felt almost as if her body was...changing in some way inside and out but could not pinpoint how.

After laying curled up on the floor of some strangers house for several minutes, Hannah finally felt this strange feeling began to dissipate. Frightened and confused, she slowly stood up, still wobbly. She had no idea what just happened but felt afraid. She decided she had to leave, even though she had not completed her goal. She ran out of the house in a hurry, leaving behind the bag of items she was taking and slid through the window even easier than before. 

She continued to run in a fast sprint. Her clothes felt slightly looser and she had to hold up her pants while running to keep them falling down. Eventually Hannah passed by the same window from earlier in the night, and noticed the reflection looking back at her was different. Her bony face was slightly rounder, but overall she was even skinnier. She some blemishes and a bit of acne on her usually clear face. Her already small breasts were even smaller to the point they were barely there, and her small butt had lost pretty much any sense of womanly curves it had. Overall, she thought she looked younger, similar to how she looked when she was 15 or 16. This only caused her to panic more as she continued to run. Finally she got to tired and found a spot under a bridge where she would occasionally sleep and decided to stop here. She was shivering from the cold and started a small fire, finding it more difficult than usual but still managed to get it eventually. 

"What the hell is happening to me?! Something is not right." She said to herself as she sat there in the cold. Angry and upset both due to the strangeness of her situation but also because she had failed at stealing the money she so desperately needed, Hannah found herself beginning to cry. With everything she had been through she was jaded and in some ways numb enought that she hadn't actually cried in years. Eventually she began to grow tired and decided she may as well get some sleep and then figure out what to do tomorrow. However just as she was about to fall asleep the strange feelings from before began to return. However this time it was a bit different.

Hannah shot up as her head felt like it was pounding. She buried her face in her hands while her mind became cloudy. However she also began to feel her body change. she could feel herself getting smaller, clothes becoming even more loose. She heard and felt her bones crackle and pop as they reclined inward and reshaped themselves. She looked down as what little remained of her breasts disappeared, and watched in horror as her hands shrunk and arms grew shorter. Several of her teeth began to rapidly fall out only for new baby teeth to quickly grow in there place. Finally the changes stopped, and the panicking Hannah tried to make sense of what was happening. Was she shrinking? It didn't look like it, she looked...younger. Just like she thought before. But how could that be possible? She couldn't understand.

Not only was her body different but her mind felt different too. It was hard for her to focus. What should she do? Hannah had always been forced to be very resourceful, but she had no idea what to do now, like a helpless child. Suddenly, she heard a loud parking of a dog off in the distance and got even more fearful. She used to have a phobia of dogs after getting bitten by one when she was 6, but had largely grown past it when she was 11. But now it had returned. A sudden strong gust of wind made things more ominous, and also put out her already dimming fire. Hannah tried to start it back up again, but couldn't remember how. Even though she had learned and regularly done so since she was 13. She still had her sweatshirt, which was already large on her before but now covered her almost like a dress, but this wasn't enough to keep her warm considering her lower body mass.  As she stood there panicking a light from a flashlight appeared as a man began to approach the now under 4 foot, 8 year old girl. Hannah quickly realized it was the same mysterious man she had bumped into earlier.

"Y-You again...what are you doing here?" Hannah asked in a higher pitched voice than she was used to. "wait a second...this all started after I met you! Did you do this to me somehow?!" Hannah accused the man with a voice cracking shout as she backed up from the strange man.

"Hello Hannah. I am sure you have many questions and are probably very confused. But do not be afraid, all will be right soon. But this is not a safe place for a little girl like you. I can not allow you to remain here unsupervised. Please, come with me. I will keep you safe.." The man said in a matter of fact, but calming voice as he reached out a hand. 

"....I can't. I'm not supposed-I don't trust strangers."

"Ah, and that is smart. But this is an exception. Please, you can trust me." The man said. Hannah had trusted very few people in her life, but for some reason this felt different. She had no idea why but she believed him. She less afraid the moment he arrived than she had the whole night prior. The young girl hesitated, but slowly took the man's hand.

After a long walk (or at least it felt long to Hannah thanks to her shorter legs and current lack of a full concept of time) the two arrived at a small, run down shack. Hannah had seen this place before and had even slept there a few times, but it empty and in very bad condition and looked like it could fall apart at any moment, so she felt it was more dangerous than staying outside. Reluctantly however she followed as the man led her inside, and was shocked to see a completely different interior. Instead of a rotting shack she was standing in a massive mansion liked building. All around were many strange objects and artifacts she had never seen before. The man led her to a specific room, this one much more homely with pink walls and a frilly bed. It looked like a stereotypical little girls room.

"This is where you will be staying for the night. I am sure you are very tired, so I will let you sleep. Your questions can wait until morning. I am going to lock the door from the other side, but do not worry. This is only for your safety." This should and normally would be a huge red flag, but the more tie she spent with the man the more Hannah inexplicably trusted him. Thankfully for her his intentions were pure. The man left as he wished her goodnight, and just like that Hannah was overcome with drowsiness as she fell asleep.

At the break of dawn the man entered the room his houseguest was staying in. However instead of a 8 year old girl a small baby laid there. She was no older than 4 or months, but looked a little smaller than average for an infant that age. The man reached down to pick up the baby girl, cradling her in his arms. This caused Hannah to jolt awake. The frightened girl was still aware of who she was, but only barely. She couldn't remember where she was, and couldn't focus enough to distinguish the world around her, only noticing how huge everything was. She tried to resist the man, but couldn't control her arms or legs well enough. She tried to speak but couldn't get any words out. Her undeveloped brain was fuzzy and she was confused, and involuntarily began to cry.

"Shh, now now. Its ok. You are safe. I am here to help you. Just relax." The man said in a soothing voice as he slowly rocked Hannah in his arms. This action and the sound of his voice calmed her as she stopped crying. "Now, it is time to finish this. You will no longer feel all the pain and suffering you once did. The troubles of your old life will be washed away. I am going to give you a second chance at a better life." Hannah found herself unable to fully understand the man, but just like he said all the remaining memories and negative emotions she had left dissipated. Now she was just a young, innocent baby, having the mental capacity of a natural baby her age. The man smiled as he continued to hold the infant, who was now sleeping once again cutely in his arms. He wished he could keep her here with him, but knew there was a better place for her. He gently set her in a basket, and carried her out of his house. He opened the door and stepped outside, but instead of the exterior of a shack he was standing in front of a large house. The man knew Its occupants were a young wealthy couple, who had been unable to have a child of there own and were constantly on the wait list or getting rejected while trying to adopt. He knew they were kind and charitable and would treat Hannah well. He also knew the couple was currently on there way home from a trip out of town, and when they arrived in approximately 5 minutes they would find the baby girl with a note telling them to take in the baby girl named Hannah and raise her as their own (and to get better security). The man dropped her off at the doorstep, leaving her with a stuffed teddy bear as a parting gift.

One warm, fall morning, a mysterious man was walking down the streets of the nice, wealthy suburban neighborhood. He stopped near one particular house, where he had last been 5 years ago. A young girl was playing ball outside with her adopted parents. The young child had well kept dirty blonde hair with green eyes. She was shorter than most girls her age, not getting her growth spurt until later in life, and was a little chubby, clearly not missing many meals. The man watched her play happily, before her ball rolled into the street. 

"I'll get it Mommy!"

"Just be careful, look both ways!"

The ball happened to roll right by the man. He picked up the ball as the little girl ran up to him, and handed it to her, noticing the girl was holding the very same teddy bear he had left her with 5 years ago. 

"Thank you mister!" the girl said with a cute smile. There was something about this man that felt oddly familiar to her. 

"Hannah, come on, its time for lunch!" Her father shouted as she ran back to her house. The girl's hand had briefly brushed against the mans, and from that brief interaction he could feel the emotions of the young girl. He felt her youthful joy and happiness, the love she had and received from her parents. He smiled to himself, happy with the far more positive emotions than the last time he had read  Hannah. Feeling fulfilled with the knowledge her new life would be a good one, the man continued his walk before disappearing into the shadows.