Short story: The Transformation by Jonathan Roberts

The Transformation by Jonathan Roberts

Once upon a time there was a quite ordinary little girl, just like you or me. She lived in the usual sort of house on an average kind of street where, nothing much happened.

However one particular night, this little girl had a quite extraordinary dream that she hadn’t expected at all!

In this dream she watched herself walk into a building and up some stairs. She wasn’t exactly sure why or where she was going, only that she knew for certain that if she did then she should discover some mysterious secret. At the top of the stairs she was drawn into a bright room with a single small wardrobe standing against the wall opposite her. She felt her heart beat as she approached and turned the little key in its lock. Opening the door she found herself looking at the most fabulous wedding dress you could ever imagine, light as air and bright as sunshine!

"Put it on little girl and see how you will feel," said a voice she wasn’t sure was her own.

She looked about, but there was no one else there, it was warm and quiet and anyway, what harm could it do to just try something on for a few minutes and then she reassured herself she’d walk away and no one would know any differently.

She took the dress down carefully and saw that there was a pair of darling little shoes that looked just perfect. She didn’t hesitate and in an instant it seemed that she was out of her usual plain clothes and in this new thing of beauty beyond compare. Nearby was a tall mirror that she hadn’t noticed before and, as she walked over to look she began to feel strangely different.

To say that she didn’t recognise the reflection in the mirror would be an understatement. She was just a little girl but in the mirror was a beautiful young woman. The young woman smiled at her and held out her hands, the little girl reached out and soon they were both dancing, twirling and skipping with abandon, laughing and larking. Their dress, for it was the same, swirled and flowed. The darling little shoes danced with them. There was music playing, there were people around them laughing and clapping, it was just so wonderful.

Shortly the adoring crowd of people parted and the girls found themselves walking towards another, brighter doorway. As they walked towards it the little girl looked across to see that the young woman was also clapping and as they approached this bright doorway, the beautiful young woman put her hands to her heart, then to her lips where she blew a joyful kiss and stood to wave as if in slow motion. The little girl looked back, smiled, then moved towards the doorway. As she crossed the threshold the scene faded away. The music quietened and she found herself back in the little room with the wardrobe. Startled she looked back to the mirror, it had gone. Turning back to the wardrobe, it too had disappeared. She looked down and saw her beautiful dress with her darling little shoes shimmer, and then fade away.

Breathless, the little girl woke up to feel a thin beam of sunlight caress her face as it squeezed through a gap in the bedroom curtains. Some of the detail of her dream soon faded away. What she did remember, what she could never forgot was the dress, her beautiful dress, and how it had made her feel. And she would keep that feeling… forever.