You had a simple day like any other. You had recently graduated high school and were preparing to go to college. That night you went to sleep like usual, but the next morning you felt strange. Your knees and back were aching badly, and the room smelled odd—like your grandparents’ house. You opened your eyes and saw an elderly, chubby woman hugging you. Startled, you screamed and jumped up.

The woman woke up from your scream and looked around, even more terrified than you.

“Where am I?! Who are you?! I was kidnapped by some old creep!... Ahhh, my hand!!”

She said, pointing at you. Then she noticed how wrinkly and fat her hand looked and gasped.

“My hand… what the hell happened to me?!”

She looked down and saw a huge, saggy chest and a round, heavy belly. She squeezed them in shock at how fat she was. Then she looked at a mirror and gasped again when she saw her wrinkled face.

“What the hell?! I’m a hag!!”

You looked at yourself too and, with horror, saw an elderly version of your own face staring back. She grabbed your shoulders and started shaking you.

“This is a dream, right?!... Make me wake up!”

A crack from her back stopped her, and she groaned, complaining about how bouncy and fragile her new body felt. Then she suddenly stopped when she noticed a photo on a nearby desk. It showed her in a wedding dress.

“That’s me!... Like, the real me!... No—the hag me!”

You looked at the photo too, and your eyes widened when you saw yourself standing beside her. With growing shock, you both realized it was a photo of your wedding. You could even recognize some of your friends and family in the background.

She put her hand on her face and began hyperventilating.

“This has to be some weird joke… there must be a hidden camera somewhere.”

Then a nearby phone rang with a notification. The two of you looked at it and gasped again when you saw the wallpaper: a picture of the two of you together on a beach. To her surprise, the phone unlocked with the same pattern she always used.

The notification was a message from a contact named “Potion Guy.” It read:

“Oh, by the way, the potion makes you younger only mentally, not literally. It regresses your brain by a number of years depending on how much you drink. I hope you read this before drinking it.”

You noticed two empty bottles near the bed and, with horror, put two and two together. You hadn’t been transformed into elderly people, and you hadn’t traveled to the future. Your older selves had drunk a potion hoping to become young again—but instead, your minds had regressed. You were essentially your younger selves trapped in your elderly bodies. The memories you had were from some time before you even met each other in college.

“This is some fucked up shit!... I’m just starting college! Wait… are those kids our grandchildren?!”

She said, pointing to another photo of the two of you surrounded by children who looked suspiciously like you.

“I… I think I’m going to vomit… I lost my whole life… my wedding, my graduation… and I’m stuck as a hag with an old man I don’t even know!…”

She paused and glanced back at the wedding photo.

“Well… at least you look decent in the wedding picture… the suit suits you well, I guess....oh...my name is Emerald by the way....”