“Oh, sure.” Jack had sat back to wait as Mira checked her phone … and then all he could do was stare in wide-eyed, gaping shock as she transformed in front of him. He’d never seen a magical anon at the moment the spell took effect (not on someone else, anyway), but it wasn’t hard for him to guess what had happened.
“Mira-!” But the little dark-haired girl was already crying. Jack gritted his teeth miserably – a crying baby was one of the worst sounds in the world, and it awakened the father in him, making him instinctively want to reach through the screen and comfort the little one.
When his son finally came back, it took Jack a moment to process what he’d said. “Ulric, she’s been hit by a magic anon. Check the phone, quick – there may be a clue there about how to reverse it!” Anons weren’t nearly as common in the future, but Jack had told his children stories about them, and he hoped Ulric would remember.
Hiccuping between her cries, the little blue-eyed baby sat on the couch, scared and confused. Wasn’t until Mira saw the blue man hovering over her that she stopped crying, staring up at him. That is until she fell over on her side, beginning to cry again.
Little Mira had no idea what was going on. Where was she? Tears formed around her eyes as she just wanted to be held and comforted.
Her phone? Right! Ulric hurries to round the couch, picking Mira up once he’s seated and setting her in his lap, grabbing her cell once he’s settled. Reading the message still on the screen, he goes pale, looking up at Jack. “Says she’s like this for a week.”
He remembered the stories they’d heard about them, had gotten a few himself (though that would be a story for when they got back). Bouncing her gently on one leg, he looks over in surprise when Joey tries to force his way into his lap too from the other side. “Uh…”
“… I think you’d better call your sister,” Jack said, watching them. “Maybe some other friends too, if there’s anyone you can trust.” As unsettling as the whole situation was, he couldn’t help chuckling a little. There are some times when you have to either laugh or scream. “It’s not that I doubt you, Ulric, but you’re not going to be able to handle two babies by yourself for a week."
The older man sighed. He hated having his children so far away even at the best of times – now, when they really needed him, it was so much worse. "I’m sorry I can’t be there to help as well. But I’ll always be reachable this way, all right? And I’ll let your mother know, if you like."
Jack Maple 