The Running Shoes (Ch. 48 - 2/23/2025)

[PamperedPrince]

On 1/17/2025 at 5:18 AM, Dirty Boy said:

I'm afraid there could be another regression, it's not going well for Charlotte

There might be.  Stay tuned.  😉

On 1/18/2025 at 11:14 PM, Night Rain said:

Bobo to the rescue.

Why not?  Bobo has always been trustworthy.  😀

 

After dealing with work and a recent cold, I managed to get the next one done.  Here it is!

 

Chapter 36

Charlotte glanced around, noticing the glint of sunlight peering in through the window as she lay on the large air mattress with a layer of blankets cushioning it underneath her.  She reached around, looking for Bobo.  Sometimes, she knew that Bobo was elsewhere knowing that her trusty friend was doing everything to protect her.  ‘He’s probably just making his rounds!’ Charlotte thought.  Charlotte rolled over which happened to be right on top of what felt like Bobo.  She lifted him up and hugged him.  “Oh, I’m sorry Bobo!” Charlotte whispered.

Charlotte suddenly began to notice an increased bulk between her legs.  Her Goodnite, she noticed, had swollen even more overnight and she heard a loud rustling sound as she sat up.  ‘How much did I go overnight?’ This question really didn’t matter much to Charlotte, as she had no problems with sitting in a soggy Goodnite.

She suddenly heard what sounded like a conversation downstairs.  It sounded like Aunt Darlene and…’Wait! Is that mommy?’  Charlotte listened carefully, trying to make out the muffled sounds of the conversation that was going on below.

“So..……….….….Charlotte.…...…..…..last night?”

“Charlotte.….…..great!..………...…….mess.………….clean……………………………night…”

“Charlotte………….again?”

“…….Charlotte………………Goodnite…………………..last night………………………happened……..”

“She…………Goodnite?....Charlotte’s..bad girl!”

“…….bad……………….too late…….”

After that, Charlotte could hear laughter coming from both adults downstairs.

Charlotte sat up, suddenly feeling the slight urge to pee.  Instead of getting up to go to the bathroom, she willingly just peed what little she had in her bladder into the already soaked Goodnite.  ‘After all, I’m still in bed, right?” Charlotte said in her mind, trying to rationalize her lazy use of using the Goodnite instead of the toilet.

Charlotte stood up, feeling the Goodnite sag heavily between her legs.  With each step she took, she could hear the loud rustling of the Goodnite against the fabric of her nightgown.

She noticed that Heather’s bed was empty, meaning that she was the last to get up.  Shrugging her shoulders, she exited the room and made her way down the stairs.

When Charlotte reached the bottom, her mother turned around and smiled.

“Look who finally decided to get up!” Darcy said with a smile.  “Good morning, sleepyhead!  How did you sleep?  Your Aunt Darlene told me how much fun you had last night!”

Charlotte nodded, and took a seat in the kitchen, hearing a loud slosh as she sat down in her saturated Goodnite.

Darcy playfully poked Charlotte in the butt and smiled.  “Did somebody have an accident last night in their car seat?”

Charlotte’s face turned red.  ‘She knows?  Aunt Darlene must’ve already told her.’  “Well,” Charlotte stammered.  “It is…I…I didn’t mean to…”

Darcy lovingly stroked Charlotte’s chin.  “Of course you didn’t, honey.  It was an accident.  Your aunt already washed and dried the waterproof liner to your car seat, along with your wet clothes from school…”

Charlotte sighed.  ‘I almost forgot about those clothes!  If only I could have a stronger bladder!’ Charlotte was perplexed at the random mature thoughts that were going through her mind.  It was like a much older version of herself was trying to regain control.  ‘Stronger bladder?  No.  I have accidents and I need them.’  Charlotte was satisfied with that answer as she squirmed in her wet Goodnite.

Sitting next to her was Heather, who was already eating a small plate filled with small portions of egg, sausage, bacon, and pieces of toast.

This made Charlotte’s stomach growl.  She glanced at her mother and cried.  “MOMMMMMY!”

Darcy laughed.  “Yes sweetie?”

“I’m hungry!” Charlotte shouted.  “Can I please have some sausage, bacon, eggs, and toast?”

Darcy nodded.  “Well, of course you can, honey.  We didn’t want your food to get cold while you were sleeping.  Your Aunt Darlene is preparing a plate for you right now!”  Darcy took another sip of coffee and smiled at her daughter.  ‘I’m going to have to do something else about Charlotte’s more frequent accidents…”  She gave Charlotte a few pats on her back and smiled.  “Were you a bad girl last night, Charlotte?  Your Aunt Darlene told you to not pee in your Goodnite that you wore to the restaurant, and you went in it not once, but twice!”

“No!” Charlotte said, defending herself.  “I’m a good girl, mommy!  I’m a good girl!”

“Your mommy is just joking with you,” Darlene said, as she finished scooping a small portion of eggs similar to Heather’s portion along with the sausage, eggs, and toast that was already there.  “If there’s anyone who’s bad, it’s mommy.”

Charlotte gasped.  “Mommy is bad?”

Darcy smiled.  “I told your aunt that I was going to be back by 11:00.  I was back by 2:30 in the morning!”

“Oh!” Charlotte said in an accusatory voice.  “Mommy’s in trouble!”

Darcy made a pretend frown.  “Yes.  And now mommy is going to have to be punished!”

Darlene grinned.  “I have one.  No more coffee!  I’m cutting you off, Darcy!”

Both Darlene and Darcy burst into laughter as Darlene placed Charlotte’s plate down, along with her eating utensils.

Charlotte wasted no time in her quick process of devouring her food.  Within a few minutes, she was almost at the point where Heather was, which was just a couple of pieces of toast left.

Darcy gave Charlotte a loving nudge in the back.  “Honey, after breakfast, I’m going to need you to get dressed.  Mommy is very busy so we’re going back home.”  Darcy let out a deep yawn and gave her daughter a tired stare.  ‘Too late.  I stayed out too late.  But it was totally worth it…’

Charlotte finished her last bite of toast and drank down the small cup of orange juice that was sat down before her by Darlene.  She then got up from the chair and glanced at Darcy.  “I’m going to get changed mommy!”  Charlotte was almost at the foot of the stairs when her mother’s voice stopped her.

“Don’t forget to use the wipes!” Darcy told her.  “If I were to guess, that Goodnite looks pretty full this morning.”

Charlotte nodded.  “I will! I won’t forget, mommy!”  Charlotte rushed up the stairs and into Heather’s room, where she saw a pack of Pampers Baby wipes next to the supplies and diapers that Darlene used for Heather.  She removed her nightgown and her Goodnite, which quickly dropped to the floor when she barely moved it from her waist.  Charlotte used a few baby wipes before putting together her outfit for the day that was in her overnight bag.  Charlotte then put on a white dress with lavender plant patterns and a lavender cardigan to go with it.  As she was slipping on her white and pink panties, the thought crept into her mind again.  ‘Enough is enough.’  Charlotte gasped, disturbed at the strange thought that was invading her mind.

But the older Charlotte persisted.  This was the Charlotte that had to deal with every change in her body since mid-August.  ‘I’m in control.’  Charlotte glanced down again, now feeling like a stranger in her own body.  It wasn’t that she was a stranger, though.  She was the same Charlotte, but a whole lot younger.  ‘This outfit.  It looks so babyish.  I miss my stylish clothes that I wore as an adult…’  Charlotte now had a mature expression on her face.  One that conveyed confidence, responsibility, and independence.  She gasped when she noticed her bedding all over the place.  She quickly laid the covers neatly over the air mattress and grabbed Bobo.  As mature as she felt on the inside, there was a part of her that just couldn’t let go of Bobo.  She couldn’t at this point.  ‘You’re silly,’ she told the stuffed bear as she place him in the overnight bag.  She grabbed the used wipes and wadded them into her hand, looking for a place to dispose of them.  She went into the nearby bathroom to dispose of them.

Charlotte almost left the bathroom when she felt the need to pee.  ‘I am going.’ Charlotte told herself.  ‘It doesn’t matter how tiny this body looks.  It doesn’t matter that everyone thinks that I’m seven years old.  I’m 29!’  Charlotte pulled down her panties and confidently sat down on the toilet, letting out a small stream of pee.  She sighed as she glanced at the little girl panties that laid between her feet.  ‘So juvenile.’ Charlotte thought.  ‘I miss my Victoria’s Secret panties…’

Charlotte then heard a friendly knock on the door.

“Charlotte? When you’re done in the bathroom, we’re going to say goodbye to your cousins and we’re going home.  Okay?”

“Okay mom!” Charlotte told her as she let a few more drops of pee escape her.  Charlotte then cupped her hands over her mouth.  ‘Is this how I really sound now?’ Charlotte didn’t know why it took her real self that long to realize just how young her voice sounded.  Maybe it had to do with Charlotte being distracted.  Or could it just be the limitations of her smaller body?  Her smaller brain?  Not knowing that many things at seven?  But that didn’t matter now.  ‘I’m in control.’ Charlotte told herself proudly.  ‘I’m an adult, no matter what anyone else says.’

“Charlotte?  Are you almost done?”

“Yes mommy!” Charlotte sighed.  ‘No!  Not mommy!  It’s mother!  Why did I just say mommy?  It’s this stupid body!’  Charlotte took a few squares of toilet paper and began finishing up.  She pulled her panties back up and flushed the toilet.  ‘Seriously.  I wish that my mom would treat me more like an adult!’  But as Charlotte was washing her hands, she saw a little girl in the mirror.  ‘Is this really me?  It’s not.  It’s who I was!  When I get home, I’m going to figure this all out.  I’m going to solve this mystery!’  Then an immature thought pried at Charlotte’s mind.  ‘After I play with my Barbies!’

Charlotte dried her hands with a hand towel and opened the door.

Darcy was standing there, holding Charlotte’s overnight bag, her backpack, and her school clothes, which Darlene managed to wash and dry.  “All done, honey?  Let’s say goodbye to your cousins!”

Charlotte smiled as she walked down the stairs, almost two full paces ahead of her mother.  ‘This talking down to me has got to stop.  But yeah.  I need to figure this out and get back to my normal age.’  Again, another thought tried to invade Charlotte.  ‘I’m seven years old!  I can’t wait until my eighth birthday!’  Charlotte sighed.  ‘No, I’m 29!  I’m in control!’

Charlotte was now in the living room, where both Heather and Allison were watching another episode of Miss Rachel.  Knowing what she had to do, Charlotte looked at both her cousins and smiled.  “Bye Heather and Allison!  It’s been fun!”  She looked at them with a grin.  ‘Maybe mom will let me babysit them next time!’

Darcy nodded and glanced at Darlene, Daniel, and their two daughters. “It looks like Charlotte had a lot of fun with you guys!  We’ll have to do it again!”

Darlene gave a playful nod as she glanced at Charlotte.  “Just try to work on that thing with Charlotte’s accidents.  You do that while I work on encouraging Heather in her potty training.”

“Deal!” Darcy told her.  “Charlotte and I will figure this out, won’t we Charlotte?”

Charlotte nodded.  “Sure mom!”

Darcy said their goodbyes for the last time and left the house.

Charlotte was about to walk towards the house when Darcy stopped her.

“Charlotte!” Darcy said in a calm, yet commanding voice.  “We are not walking home. I know that it’s a short distance, but we’re going to drive back, okay?”

Charlotte nodded.  ‘If we have to drive back, that means…I’m going to have to sit in that babyish car seat!’

Darcy opened the door and picked Charlotte up, placing her in her car seat.

‘Look at me,’ Charlotte told herself as she sighed.  ‘I’m an adult yet my mom is carrying me and strapping me into a car seat!’  And at that moment, something in Charlotte snapped.  “Mom!  I’m tired of this car seat!  When can I be in a normal one like you?”

Darcy was taken aback at Charlotte’s remark.  “Honey, I appreciate your willingness to be in a big girl seat, but you are just way too small for one right now.  When you grow and you’re taller, I promise that you’ll be put in a big girl seat like mommy’s right away.”

Charlotte sighed.  ‘Of course.  It’s because of my height…’  Because of the real Charlotte having the limited understanding with her seven-year-old body, she couldn’t remember what the height restriction was.  “How tall mommy?”  She sighed, letting that “mommy” slip.

Darcy spread her hands out, from her hands to her feet as if she was measuring her.  “Charlotte, from your last appointment with the pediatrician, you are almost 3 foot 5 inches tall.  You need to be at least 4 foot 9 to be in a normal seat like mommy.  But guess what?  You’re almost ready for a booster seat!  That will be an improvement!  Won’t it, dear?”

Charlotte feigned the excitement that her mother was trying to project to her.  ‘Booster seat?  That’s still for babies!  It doesn’t help that I’m petite and take after mom…’

Charlotte then felt a warmth in her body that went from her toes all the way up to her heart.  When she saw the shoes that she was wearing, she smiled.  It was the running shoes.  ‘My favorite shoes!  Mom must have packed the ones I wore to school in the overnight bag…’

The Toyota 4Runner stopped in the garage and the garage door closed.

“We’re home, Charlie.”

Charlotte sighed.  ‘We are?’ she thought sarcastically.  ‘I thought we were on Mars!  Really.  I have seen this garage so many times now.’

After Darcy unbuckled Charlotte’s car seat, she hurried out of it and grabbed her backpack that was next to her.

Darcy laughed.  “My, are we in a hurry!  Are you going to go play?”

Charlotte nodded, secretly playing along with acting age appropriate in her mind.  “Yes mommy!  I’m going to play with my Barbies now!”

Charlotte hurried upstairs and into her room.  Once inside, she unzipped her backpack and took out her notebook and the story that she wrote in class.

Charlotte glanced at the title of her notebook.

 

SUPER SLEUTH CHARLOTTE’S MYSTERY NOTEBOOK

For solving The Mystery!

‘Which will be solved, if I have anything to say about it,’ Charlotte thought with a triumphant smile.

Charlotte leafed through the pages, soaking in all the information for the past that she needed to remember.  As she was doing this, a sad realization came across her.  ‘I could be modeling right now!  Instead, I’m back in elementary school…’

Charlotte stopped at an entry that made her read very slowly:

10/1/2024 – Good news!  Whatever the cosmic anomaly was, it seemed to have corrected itself since I have undergone two episodes where I have experienced rapid aging.

The first episode happened yesterday (9/30/2024) where I ended up aging two whole years.  But for the sake of argument, the onset of that aging was discovered on 9/29 when my mother asked me if I was ready for my Senior Year.

The second episode happened today where I ended up aging 12 more years.  This has effectively restored me back to my original age of 29 where I can finally continue my wonderful life as a famous supermodel.  The onset of this aging was determined by three different variables:

1. My appearance – My physical appearance is fully developed, and all my normal features are back to normal.
2. The car in the driveway – Upon glancing out of the window, a gold Rolls Royce was found in the driveway.
3. My date of birth – Upon inspecting my California Driver’s License, my date of birth correctly read 11/8/1994. This is my true date of birth.

The cause of the restoration to my original age is still unknown and investigation is ongoing before this case can be closed.  But the mystery is solved so the cause will be explored later.

Charlotte gasped.  ‘How?  How did this happen?  Somehow, my age was restored for a short time.  The answer is closer than I thought.  What could it be?  Having read all the entries (and stumbling over some of the difficult words because of her limited seven-year-old brain) she knew that it had to be magic.  But what kind of magic?  Fairy magic?  Witch magic?  Genie magic?  Whichever magic it was, she had to find the source that cast the youth spell on her and turn everything back to normal.

Charlotte got her Barbie dolls out and started playing with them as a front to distract her mom incase she was found not doing this.  Just as she began to play with them, the door opened.

Darcy smiled.  “Playing with your Barbies?  I just wanted to put your overnight bag back.  I was also thinking of something fun that we can do together later.  How would you like to go and see a movie?”

Charlotte’s seven-year-old mind kicked into overdrive, overshadowing her original adult 29-year-old mind.  ‘A movie?  Oh boy!’  “Yeah!” Charlotte shouted.  “What movie are we seeing, mommy?”

Darcy glanced at her cellphone and grinned.  “We’re going to see The Wild Robot.  It’s about a robot named Roz that gets shipwrecked on a deserted island and needs to learn how to live on that island since it’s so different than what that robot is used to.  This robot makes friends with animals and takes care of a bird that can’t find their mommy!”

Charlotte smiled.  ‘Robots?  Dessert islands?  Animal friends?  I’m in!’  She then gave her mother a silly look.  “Are there really dessert islands in that movie, mommy?”

Darcy laughed.  “Not dessert islands, Char.  Deserted islands.  Deserted means that nobody lives there.  The island is not a tasty sweet thing!  Now, most of the showtimes are sold out so we’re seeing the 7:30 showtime tonight.  It’s going to be past your bedtime when the movie is over so you’re going to be dressed for bed.”

Charlotte nodded.  ‘Dressed for bed.  That means I get to wear my Goodnite and jammies to the movies!  Yay!’

Darcy gave Charlotte a kiss on the cheek.  “I’ll let you know when you need to get ready, dear.  Have fun and keep playing with your Barbies!”

Darcy left the room, leaving Charlotte with her playtime.

Charlotte snapped out of her childish stupor and glanced at her notebook again.  ‘So mom is taking me to a childish kids movie about robots?  Well, I better update this notebook.  It hasn’t been updated in a while…’  She glanced at the recent entry and was appalled at the surface errors.  ‘My spelling is horrible!  This looks like it was written by a seven-year-old!’  Charlotte was suddenly stricken with the irony of what she had just thought about.  She was indeed seven, even though she knew that her mind was almost 30.  Charlotte went to work on writing her latest entry:

10/12/2024 

I jus realized that I’m in control again.  This young body is making things more diffakult to solve the mystery, but I know that I will solve it.  I just re red evy single entry and I know my real age is twinty nine.  I am an adult trapt in a child’s body and I feel ho pless and trapt.  When will I finnally bee at a point wher I can bee an adult and do my madeling again?  Nobahdee will baleave me if I tell them that I’m really a growned up.  They will think that I am crazy and that I need a sykyatrist.

My mom wants to take me to a movie later about a robot trying to live in a new place.  Right now, I feel like that robot on that “deserted” island that my mom talked about.  I’m in this young body but nobahdees there.  I’m all alone and I need to make new friends like the robot.

I need to solve the mystery!  From a resent entry from 11 days ago, I was my nomal age.  What magic turned me back?  I’m still wurking on figgering it out.  I will, beecause I’m in control.  I’m twinty nine and not a little girl.  I’m a Super Sleuth and I will solve the mystery!  Then I can bee happie and model again.  I look for ward too this and my manshun and Rolls Roys.

Charlotte sat her pen down.  She was tired.  The more tired that she got, the more that she felt like she was losing control again.  ‘I’m in control.  I’m in…control.  I’m….in…control….I’m…I’m…I’m tired….’

And just like that, Charlotte let go.  And like a tidal wave, everything that was going on in Charlotte’s seven-year-old mind washed away every trace of Charlotte’s almost 30-year-old maturity.  And along with that tide, Charlotte fell asleep.

Charlotte awoke to a wet spot on the carpet.  She lifted up her dress to find her panties soaked.  ‘It happened again!’  Acting quickly, Charlotte took a few of her stuffed animals and covered up the wet spot on the carpet.  She took her wet panties off and shoved them at the bottom of the clothes hamper (Thankfully her mother didn’t wash her clothes yet.) She put a new pair of panties on and glanced at the mystery journal that she had left open.  ‘What was I doing?  Was it something to do with a mystery?  Something like that…’ Charlotte didn’t consider this important as she was about to have fun with her Barbies and stuffed animals.  Of course it would be the ones that were not guarding her accident.

As Charlotte sat down, she felt her stomach rumbling, then a strong push inside of her.  “I have to poop!”  Charlotte got up at once, hurrying to the bathroom and closing the door.

Darcy was at the top of the stairs, about to check on Charlotte.  She found her room empty but also noticed that the bathroom door was closed.  ‘She must be using the bathroom.  Such a responsible girl!’  She glanced inside of Charlotte’s room to notice four stuffed animals that were suspiciously laying next to a closed notebook on the floor.  ‘Charlotte never keeps her stuffed animals like this!  She always has them in a certain order…’ She lifted up the stuffed animals to notice a wet spot underneath.  ‘Oh no!  Another accident!  I’ll have to talk to her later about this.  It will be after the movie since I don’t want to ruin her fun.’  Darcy left the room and returned with some carpet cleaner and a towel to sop up the wet spot.  After she did this, she left her stuffed animals just as they were.  She then glanced at the notebook.  ‘What is this?  Super Sleuth Charlotte’s Mystery Notebook…For Solving the Mystery?’ Darcy really didn’t want to invade her daughter’s privacy, but she at least wanted to see what she wrote.  She glanced at the first page:

Charlotte’s Super Secret Observations (HIGHLY CLASSIFIED)

MYSTERY #1 – The Mystery of the Reverse Aging (AKA Fountain of Youth Mystery or Benjamin Button Mystery)

ORIGIN AND OFFSET OF MYSTERY: Cause is still unknown.  The strange mystery began after my first run with my friends Lexi and Maya in mid August August 16^th.

DESCRIPTION OF MYSTERY: Being a really busy (on the verge of becoming famous) supermodel, I, Charlotte Warren, decided to take an extended vacation from my mansion in Beverly Hills to my mother’s house in Langford, California.  I gave Raymond, my chauffeur, the day off and took my Petra Gold Rolls Royce Phantom Extended north for a 17-day vacation where I didn’t have to think.  The traffic in Los Angeles was BAD on the way up but was okay for the remainder of the trip.

I got to Langford with the plan of running with my friends Lexi and Maya, followed by a fun night of eating out and spending the night with them at my mother’s house.  My mother interrupts me with a wonderful gift: a pair of Bottega Veneta running shoes.  She spared no expense with this pair of designer athletic footwear.  The shoes didn’t fit at first, but then after I got ready for my run with my friends, they…fit?  Anyway, I love my BV’s and I wear them all the time on my runs now.

I go on my run, and I find myself already primed for the workout.  After running, I appeared to be in some other alternate dimension.  A dream world where I was running a marathon in Paris.  When wearing the shoes, I seem to be filled with a boundless endurance where I can run fast without tiring from my pace.

After the run, reality seemed to have been altered when both Lexi and Maya told me that I have always been the fastest runner.  There’s a possibility that I may have been sent to an alternate universe (NOTE: EXPLORE THEORY LATER!).

Next event to suggest alternate reality: My mother told me after my run that my Lululemon shoes didn’t fit me and that my BV’s fit me perfectly, even though I can remember my mother watched me slipping on the BV’s when they didn’t fit.

Besides the alternate reality, there has been three different episodes where I have undergone a reduction in my age (NOTE: ORIGINAL AGE IS 29 WITH ORIGINAL BIRTHDATE OF NOVEMBER 8^TH, 1994.  WILL NEED THIS FOR GETTING BACK ONCE THE MYSTERY IS SOLVED).

Episode 1: 2-Year Reduction (8/17/2024)

New age was discovered to be 27 the very next morning after my sleepover with Lexi and Maya at my mother’s.  Alternate reality happened again as my Petra Gold Rolls Royce was replaced with a Diamond Black Rolls Royce Phantom (my older model).

Next event to support alternate reality: Birth year was found to be 1996 instead of 1994 on my California Driver’s License (NOTE: THIS WILL BE RECURRING).  When I got home, my mother corroborated the allegedly fake license by showing me my birth certificate that had the same date of birth.  Evidence is definitely pointing to an alternate reality where everything around me changes every time I get younger.

The alternate reality has also somehow given me bladder problems (my mother calls it overactive bladder).  While I used to have a cast-iron bladder, there are now times where I can barely hold it.  Accidents are frequent at night, and I have wet the bed a few times.

Episode 2: 7-Year Reduction (8/30/2024)

New age was discovered to be 20 when I tried to buy Crystal Dragon from the Langford Liquor Store (settled for Pepsi instead).  Driver’s License DOB now read 11/8/2003.  Woke up to feel AMAZING but it turned out to be seven more years that managed to escape me.  Had to go to bed early for SF Labor Day Marathon.

New friends were discovered due to the alternate reality: Lauren Ashcroft and Monica Swanson.  (NOTE: THE ALTERNATE REALITY REPLACES ORIGINAL MEMORIES WITH AR MEMORIES.  DON’T TRUST THE NEW MEMORIES!)  Alternate reality gave me new memories with new friends that I never met.  It appears that I know them well in this strange new reality.  I called Lauren and Monica my “Besties for Life”.

Marathon in alternate reality resulted in first place finish but a horrible accident happened where my bladder failed me and I peed myself.  The last four miles of the race was total hell running in wet bottoms.

Sleepover was worse where I had another accident at Monica’s before going to bed.  I set alarms all night to try to avoid using the Depend Night Defense (AKA nighttime adult Pull-Up’s).  Accidents keep getting worse (I blame the alternate reality).

Episode 3: 3-Year Reduction (9/2/2024)

New age was discovered to be 17 after going on a run around the Langford running trail.  Felt dizzy.  Woke up to my workout clothes feeling a little loose.  Talked to mom about workout clothes and she told me that she was washing all the other clothes.  The alternate reality has shifted again!  When I asked my mother what year I was born, she said 2006 and that I was 17.

The original plan was to drive back to Los Angeles in my white 2014 Lexus LS 500 Sedan (Yes, because I didn’t own a Rolls Royce until I was 27).  The Lexus wouldn’t start so I had to call a towing service to get it fixed.  Towing service was supposed to get it.  Unpacked everything and went for run to kill time.  Came back to find my car gone.  I thought that it was towed, but the loose-fitting clothes and other clues suggest that the alternate reality shifted after my run.

New friend:  A crush by the name of James Richardson (I LOVE YOU JAMES!  XOXOXOXOXO).  My feelings for him are very strong in this current reality.  (NOTE:  ORIGINAL CRUSH’S NAME IS TAYLOR ABBOTT AND HE’S CO-STARRING IN THE MOVIE RUNWAY, WHICH IS BEING SHOT IN LANGFORD.  REMEMBER THIS ORIGINAL MEMORY AS IT COULD BE THE KEY TO GETTING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL REALITY.)

9/3/2024 – Had a lot of close calls today with my trips to the bathroom.  And even one accident!  I won’t miss these accidents once I get back to my original reality.

 

PERSON(S) AFFECTED BY MYSTERY: Charlotte Warren (only known case)

IS MYSTERY CONTAGIOUS? Mystery points to an alternate reality, so mystery is not contagious.  It’s an isolated case affecting only one female subject (Charlotte Warren).

THEORIES REGARDING THE MYSTERY’S ORIGIN:

1. Alternate Reality – This theory postulates that I have somehow been transferred to an alternate reality different from my own. This reality continues to mold and shift every time there’s a reduction in my age. Everyone else in this reality seems to be unphased to any difference or change in the reality shift.
2. A Coma? This theory is formulated around the assumption that I am in a perpetual state of sleep. Some traumatic event may have caused this extended comatose state to happen upon which I am unable to awaken.  Could I be in a hospital?  Is all of this a dream?
3. A Simulation? This theory is based on the assumption that some research scientists or aliens have abducted me and have managed to hook me up to a machine that has linked my subconscious to an avatar body. The “Age Reductions” are nothing more than adjustments made to the simulation program to see how I react to the new stimuli.  I am a living experiment being studied against my will and in every way, I need to escape the simulation and get back to my normal life.
4. Magic (NOTE: ONLY CONSIDER THIS THEORY WHEN ALL OTHER OPTIONS HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED AS MAGIC AND SUPERSTITION ARE CONSIDERED PSEUDOSCIENCE) This theory is formed around the assumption that magic is real and should only be used as a last resort when all other theories have failed. Some possible things that may have happened include the following. There is a curse or hex placed on me which has somehow made me slowly regress in age over time.  The curse or hex may not be so much as limited to a spell, but some kind of accessory or object with mystical and enchanted properties.  The continued use of this object prolongs and worsens the effect of the curse.  Another possibility is that I may have upset a wizard, an elf, or some other mythical being (a fairy or pixie?) and they used their mysterious magic on me to age in reverse at unpredictable intervals of time.  If enchanted object is a lamp, I will release the genie and wish for my life to be restored back to normal.  Otherwise, I will need to search for the mythical being responsible and do them a good favor in hopes that they will restore me back to my original age and life.  Possible suspects include Quenlumina: The light Elf Queen, Marilith: The dark witch of the Forest of Brominir, Mythra:  Fairy Queen of the Shimmering Cloud City in the Upper Lands, Plexsia: Trickster Pixie of the Forbidden Forest, or Dujani (if the suspect is a genie).

Investigation on Mystery #1 is ongoing and clues will be gathered and analyzed until the mystery is solved once and for all.  Additional notes will be added as new information is discovered.

Darcy closed the notebook and was in shock.  ‘I never realized just how gifted Charlotte was!  Such an imagination!  And where did she pick up these advanced words?  If she keeps it up, she’ll be a wonderful author someday…’  She then remembered the pee stain that she just cleaned up.  ‘Wait a second!  If Charlotte had an accident, where are her clothes?’  Darcy knew that there were only two options.  Either Charlotte was still wearing her soaked underwear, or she was hiding them somewhere.  Darcy guessed the latter and checked the clothes hamper.  Sure enough, she found Charlotte’s soaked panties at the bottom of the hamper.  She placed them back there and sighed.  ‘Poor girl.  I will have to talk with her after the movie.  It’s a good thing that she’s wearing her Goodnites there.  I think I’ll pack an extra one just in case…’  Darcy left the room and made her way back downstairs.

Meanwhile, Charlotte just flushed the toilet for the last time.  She ended up using more toilet paper than what was needed to wipe everything clean.  With an almost empty roll, she pulled up her panties and washed her hands.  She dried them and returned to her room, very excited to play with her Barbies.

Charlotte decided to play a little game with her Barbies.  In the game, Charlotte said that two lands existed.  Barbia and the Fuzzy Kingdom.  She piled her stuffed animals around the Barbies as the stuffed animals of the Fuzzy Kingdom were about to take over the beautiful land of Barbia.

Charlotte played this game for a couple more hours before she heard a knock on the door.

“Charlotte!  It’s time to get ready for the movie!  Don’t want to be late!”

Charlotte smiled and willingly put her playtime on hold.  She looked forward to the Robot Movie (or whatever it was called).  She glanced at her two groups of toys and smiled.  “Bobo says that there should be peace on both sides!  No land is taking over.  Both lands can live in peace!”

With that resolved, Charlotte smiled, eagerly looking forward to the fun movie night with her mother.

[Dirty Boy]

And to think that in her notebook, Charlotte wrote the solution, and that the responsibility for her regression is a cursed object that the more she uses it the more she regresses. The fact that her brain is that of a 7 years old, does not help her to focus on the problem. I wonder if Darcy has read Charlotte's notebook, she can start to remember too

[PamperedPrince]

On 1/22/2025 at 3:00 PM, Dirty Boy said:

And to think that in her notebook, Charlotte wrote the solution, and that the responsibility for her regression is a cursed object that the more she uses it the more she regresses. The fact that her brain is that of a 7 years old, does not help her to focus on the problem. I wonder if Darcy has read Charlotte's notebook, she can start to remember too

The funny thing is that the answer is actually right in front of Charlotte and she doesn't even realize it.  I'd like to think that the "cursed object" is making it hard for Charlotte to "solve the mystery".  As for Darcy reading Charlotte's notebook, all that I think will happen is that she will think that Charlotte has a wonderful sense of imagination and incredible talent for coming up with such advanced words for her age.

Chapter 37 is in the works.  Stay tuned... 😀

[PamperedPrince]

Chapter 37

Charlotte finished sliding her Goodnite between her legs so that it was snug around her waist.  It then felt like a few drops of pee were escaping her, but it might have been her imagination.  At her mother’s request, she was supposed to be dressed for bed.  She grabbed a set of pink footed pajamas with flowers and fanned pink dots and began unzipping the zipper when the door swung open.

Darcy finished unzipping the pajamas and quickly got Charlotte into them, sliding both her feet into the footies and her arms into the sleeves before zipping her into the pajamas.  “We need to hurry, dear.  It’s almost 7:00.  Viola Cinemas is about ten minutes away.”

Charlotte nodded as she held the hand that her mother offered her.  Within seconds, Charlotte was slipping on her running shoes before being led into the garage, where her mother opened the door to the 4Runner and sat Charlotte in her car seat.  Between the fleece from her pajamas and the soft cushioning from the car seat, Charlotte felt very relaxed as her mother buckled both buckles to her five-point harness.  And it didn’t take more than the 4Runner leaving the garage for Charlotte to fall fast asleep.

***

“Charlotte!  We’re here!”

Charlotte stirred in her car seat, noticing no difference in her Goodnite from when she fell asleep.  Her bladder did feel empty, so if Charlotte used her Goodnite in her sleep, Charlotte couldn’t remember doing so.

Darcy quickly unbuckled Charlotte and helped her out of the car seat, before exiting the 4Runner into a crowded parking lot.  The theater, The Viola Cinema 14, was situated near a bank, a symphony house, and a group of government buildings.  Darcy hurriedly grabbed Charlotte by the hand, making sure that she remembered her bag that contained the spare Goodnite, in case she needed to change Charlotte in the middle of the movie.  ‘This movie might be too long for her.’ She thought. ‘She could fall asleep in the middle of the movie.’

Charlotte glanced around, noticing groups of adults with children and teens all entering the movie theater.  Charlotte tried to remember the movie and everything that her mother told her regarding what it was about.  ‘It has a robot in it!’  She thought, which brought a smile to her face.  ‘And the robot takes care of a bird?  I think that’s what she said.’  She felt a tug from her mother, indicating that she wasn’t walking fast enough.  She walked faster, keeping her pace even with Darcy’s.

Darcy entered the theater to find a large counter area.  The crowd dispersed into five different lines, which were all used to buy tickets and concessions.  The fourth line seemed slightly shorter, so she hurried over to that spot before anyone else could.  There were at least five other people in line ahead of her, but it seemed like the line was going quite fast.

Charlotte began to think about the movie but was distracted by another foreign thought.  The thought sounded older…like an adult.  But unbeknownst to Charlotte, it was really her true self trying to regain control of her limited child body.

At this point, the real Charlotte in a way felt like she was only watching everything unfold.  At times, she could rouse her senses but with limited success.  ‘Okay.’ She said, quietly sighing when she glanced at her pajamas.  ‘At least everyone thinks that I’m a kid.  I would never wear these kind of pajamas in my normal age.  Ever.  Now, what triggered me getting back to adulthood?  Something had to.  Was it some kind of spell?  A wish?  Maybe I can make a wish tonight and the one who cast it will hear me?  Maybe…’

Charlotte’s thoughts were interrupted by a shout that was in another line.

“Charlotte!”

Charlotte glanced over and noticed that it was Gabrielle, from her school.  She was dressed in Disney Frozen pajamas, only they were tops and bottoms and not footed pajamas.

Gabrielle smiled when Charlotte was gazing in her direction.  “I didn’t know that you were seeing a movie tonight!  What movie are you seeing?”

Charlotte couldn’t remember the name of the movie but knew that it had a robot in it.  ‘Some robot movie, but I can’t think of the title.’  “Um…The robot movie?” Charlotte finally blurted out.

Gabrille gasped.  “You mean, The Wild Robot!  So, you’re seeing it too?”

Just then, what looked like Gabrielle’s mother gave a smile towards Darcy.  “Hi.  I’m guessing that they both know each other from Langford Elementary?”

Darcy nodded.  “Yes.  Charlotte does attend that school.  Can you provide your name?  I’m Darcy, Charlotte’s mother.”

“I’m Danika, Gabrielle’s mother.” Danika introduced herself.  “Gabrielle’s older sister is at a sleepover, so I decided to take Gabrielle to a movie.  But wow.  It looks like your daughter is pretty small.  At first glance, she looked like a preschooler.”

Darcy laughed and pointed both fingers at herself.  “She gets it from me.  You’re definitely taller than I am.  As for Charlotte, she will probably reach my height as an adult.  “I heard from Gabrielle that she’s also seeing The Wild Robot.  So, you’re in Theater 10?”

Danika nodded.  “Yes!  What seats do you have?  Both Gabrielle and I are in B7 and B8.”

Darcy sighed.  “Well, we won’t be sitting together, that’s for sure.  Charlotte and I are in C10 and C11.”

“But that’s still VIP, right?” Danika told her.  “From what I saw on the website, the VIP section goes all the way to D.”

Just then, Danika was next in line, while Darcy and Charlotte were still behind two other people in their line.

Danika smiled.  “Well, I don’t want to hold up the line.  It’s nice meeting you, Darcy.  We’ll see you in the theater!”

Gabrielle smiled at Charlotte.  “I like your pajamas.  They have cute flowers on them.”

Charlotte glanced back at her pajamas and shrugged her shoulders.  She finally uttered “My mommy got them for me.”

Within the next moments, Danika got her tickets printed and her popcorn and drink bought for herself and Gabrielle.

Minutes later, Darcy gave the cashier her phone and scanned some codes, which resulted in two tickets printed for herself and Charlotte.  She got a kids popcorn combo, which had a compartment for the popcorn in a cardboard container with the drink in its own holder attached to it.  For herself, she got a large popcorn, which she knew that she would be sharing with Charlotte whenever she needed more popcorn.

After paying for the concessions, they both proceeded to another section of the theater which had four people filling up buckets of popcorn and handing them back to crowds of people that were standing in the lines.  The line was moving fast, so they waited until both their popcorn containers were filled with buttered popcorn.

At the drink station, Darcy got water for herself and Charlotte.  ‘Can’t give her sugar this late.’ Darcy thought.  ‘She’ll be off the walls!’  After grabbing a large wad of napkins, they were finally ready to see the movie. They filed behind various other people that were walking right towards a hallway that led to screens 10-14.

Theater 10 was the first screen on the left, so Darcy opened the door and they both entered.  No sooner were they in the theater then Darcy realized that she had to go.  Glancing at Charlotte, she smiled.  “Do you have to go, sweetie?  It’s a long movie so it’s best that we go now.”

Charlotte sighed.  “I don’t have to go at all, mommy.”

Darcy nodded.  “But mommy has to go, so you’re going with me.  We’re going to try.”  She then felt the padding on Charlotte’s Goodnite.  ‘I can also check Charlotte’s Goodnite while I’m at it.’

They both entered the Woman’s bathroom, and Darcy entered a handicap stall with Charlotte.  After she finished going, she unzipped Charlotte’s pajamas and pulled down Charlotte’s Goodnite.  ‘A little wet.’ Darcy thought, noting the slight traces of yellow around the core of the Goodnite.  ‘Not wet enough to change her yet.  Might have to during the movie though.’

Charlotte felt herself being lifted up and sat on the toilet by her mother, who was glancing at her phone impatiently.  “But I don’t have to go!”  Charlotte complained.

Darcy impatiently nodded.  “Try Charlotte.  It’s 7:20. The movie starts in 10 minutes.  It’s pretty long so try!”

Charlotte glanced down and noticed that not a single drop of pee was coming out.  After a few minutes, she sighed.  “I can’t.  Nothing’s coming out.”

Darcy sighed, as she quickly helped Charlotte pull her Goodnight back up.  She then pulled her footed pajamas back up and zipped them back up.  They both hurried with their concessions to the sink, where Darcy washed her hands.

The two finally left the bathroom and entered Theater 10 with just 3 minutes to spare.  As they circled around the front of the big screen, they saw a branching stairway where they had to stay to the left if they wanted to stay in the VIP section.

Charlotte, noticing the “VIP Section” signed glanced at her mother.  “Mommy, what does VIP mean?”

Darcy smiled.  “Very Important Person.  We are very important people, since we get to sit in nice seats that recline and different heat settings.  This way, honey.”  Darcy guided Charlotte up the stairs to section C.  As they passed section B, Danika waved at Darcy while Gabrielle and Charlotte exchanged friendly glances with each other.

“Look!” Gabrielle said in a hushed voice.  “The seat goes up and down when I press these buttons!  You should try it when you sit down, Charlotte!”

Darcy sat in C11, while she let Charlotte sit in C10, since it was closer to the bathroom.

Charlotte sat down in the comfortable seat, feeling the cushioning from her Goodnite and fleece pajamas rub against the leathery seat.  Sure enough, Charlotte noticed a group of buttons that were next to her seat, along with a tray that rotated next to her, with a drink holder (which she wouldn’t need since her kid combo already had one).  Charlotte pressed one button, and the seat reclined out.  Even with the seat fully reclined, Charlotte’s legs were not long enough to reach the end of the recliner.  As it was, her entire body could almost fit in the entire seat.  Charlotte sank into the rather large seat, now feeling very comfortable.  She then felt a cardboard object being sat into her lap.

“There’s your popcorn and water, sweetie.” Darcy told her.  “You need to be quiet during this movie so touch mommy’s shoulder if you need more popcorn, okay?  Also, if you need to use the bathroom, give mommy’s shoulder a good touch and we’ll take care of that.  Don’t worry about missing anything as we’ll be getting the movie when it comes out.  Okay Charlie Darlie?”

Charlotte nodded.  “Okay mommy!”  Charlotte wasn’t about to move a single inch, as she didn’t want to miss any of the movie.  ‘Why should I have to miss anything?’ Charlotte thought.  ‘I’m wearing a Goodnite and I’m in my pajamas!  It’s like I’m in bed already…’ Using that logic, Charlotte decided that it was okay to use her Goodnite if she had to.

The screen darkened and started to play a couple ads, before transitioning to different trailers to upcoming movies.  These trailers were for Snow White, A Minecraft Movie, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Smurfs.

The last trailer excited Charlotte the most.  She sat there, mesmerized at the large Smurfs that she saw on the big screen.  “I wanna see The Smurfs!” Charlotte shouted.  For that moment, Charlotte felt her groin getting warm, her thirsty Goodnite getting filled with new moisture.  ‘It’s okay.’ Charlotte reasoned.  ‘I’m in my Goodnite and pajamas.  It’s for bedtime.’

Darcy glanced at Charlotte, placing her index finger to her mouth, indicating the “shh!” sound.

The theater finally darkened all the way, as the movie was finally starting.

Charlotte smiled as she shoveled small handfuls of popcorn into her mouth.  She managed to drink most of her water before she was even 20 minutes into the movie.

Darcy took notice of this and sighed.  “Let mommy know when you have to pee, okay Charlie dear?” She whispered.

Charlotte nodded.  “I will, mommy!” she whispered back.

But as the movie progressed, Charlotte finished her popcorn, which Darcy refilled at least twice.  When Charlotte asked for more water, she only refilled her water halfway, as she didn’t want Charlotte to risk having an accident at the movie theater.

When it was more than an hour into the movie, Darcy glanced over at Charlotte and frowned.  ‘She has to pee at this point.’  She tapped Charlotte on the shoulder and smiled.  “Sweetie?  Do you want to get up and try to use the bathroom?”

Charlotte shook her head and pointed at the big screen.  “No mommy! This is the good part!”

Darcy sighed.  ‘I just hope that she doesn’t have an accident in that seat…”

Charlotte could now feel the warm pee spreading around her legs and crotch, while her thirsty Goodnite soaked it up.  The Goodnite continued to swell, ballooning outward as the yellow flood continued.  It finally stopped.  Charlotte could now feel a large soggy bulk pushing her two legs apart.  And there was still more than a half hour remaining in the movie.

Darcy once again nudged Charlotte, hoping to get her to the bathroom before the movie was over.  She was worried that the Goodnite would leak if she waited too long.  ‘Charlotte surely couldn’t hold it for this long.’  “Honey, I really think we should head to the bathroom, okay?”

Charlotte shook her head.  “Nah-ah!  It’s almost over, mommy!”

Darcy sighed, praying that the Goodnite wouldn’t leak.

The movie finally ended, and Darcy hurriedly brought Charlotte to her feet.  “Bathroom, now.” Darcy directed her.

Charlotte nodded as she felt herself get jerked and tugged all the way from the theater to the Woman’s bathroom.

Darcy took Charlotte into a handicap stall and glanced at Charlotte’s footed pajamas.  Sure enough, she noticed a few wet spots beginning to form around the crotch.  “See Charlotte?  You completely soaked it and now it’s leaking.  Why didn’t you tell mommy when you had to pee?”

Charlotte sighed.  The movie was so good, and she felt like she couldn’t miss a single second of it.  “Um, I forgot!” she answered, giving her mom a bashful look.  Really, Charlotte was so caught up in the movie that she didn’t even realize when she had to go.

“You forgot,” Darcy said, giving Charlotte a doubtful nod.  “Are you sure, Charlotte?  I asked you three times if you had to go.  I even let you go before the movie!  But since you don’t want to tell me when you have to go, I will be checking you a lot more often.  I also have more to say when we get to the car.  Now dear, let’s get you into a dry Goodnite, okay?”

Charlotte gave her mother a sullen nod as she unzipped her footed pajamas.  The heavily soaked Goodnite fell almost immediately between her legs, like it was waiting to be freed.

Darcy grabbed the sodden Goodnite, which felt like a water balloon and stuffed it into a plastic bag.  She wiped Charlotte with a few moist wipes before sliding the dry Goodnite up through Charlotte’s ankles until it rested around her waist.  She checked Charlotte again in case she had anything else to release since she was in a new one.  ‘Still dry.’ She told herself.

Charlotte’s mind was racing as she left the movie theater with her mom.  More to say?  ‘What did that mean?  Did it have anything to do with the movie?  I loved that robot Roz!  Is that what she has to say?’

Darcy was completely silent from when they left the theater.  She was even silent when she was buckling Charlotte into her car seat.  But after she got into the car seat and closed the car door, she couldn’t help but notice the wet spots on the crotch of Charlotte’s footed pajamas, which were a little more dried at this point.  “Charlotte,” she finally said breaking the silence.  “Before we left the theater, mommy noticed something strange about the stuffed animals in your room.  You had them sitting right in the middle of the room, dear.  When I lifted them up, I found a wet spot.  Can you tell me what happened, Charlotte?”

Charlotte gulped, feeling her eyes on the verge of exploding with tears.

But Darcy wasn’t done.  She continued with her interrogation.  “Also sweetie,” she continued.  “I looked in your clothes hamper and found one of your panties at the bottom.  It was sopping wet with pee.  Can you please tell mommy what you did?”

Charlotte began to sob loudly.  “I…” Charlotte stammered.  “I…didn’t mean to, mommy. I…was…sleeping…and I was sitting on the floor….and….I’M SORRY MOMMY!!!  I’M SORRY!!!  WAHHH-HAH-HAH-HAH!!!!!”

Darcy gave Charlotte a compassionate sigh.  “Sweetie?  Shhhhhhh….shhhhhh…..It’s okay, dear.  You told me the truth, and that’s all mommy needs to hear.  You can’t help it.  When you’re sleeping, you can’t control your accidents, dear.  But we’re going to try something different tomorrow, okay?  I promise that we’ll make it all better, okay?”

Charlotte was now out of breath, hiccupping sobs as her face was burning red with wet tears.  “Oh…kay…mom…mee….*hic* *hic* *hic*”

It took all the rest of the trip home for Charlotte’s hiccups to finally get under control.

Once at home, Darcy took Charlotte to her room and got her out of the slightly damp footed pajamas that were caused due to Charlotte’s Goodnite leaking during the movie.  She gave Charlotte a glass of milk since she was thirsty and helped her brush her teeth.  Once in her bedroom again, she put Charlotte in some new footed pajamas.  These ones were white, with yellow cats and pink flamingos.  Both the sleeve cuffs and the collar were a greenish blue.  After Darcy zipped Charlotte in those pajamas, she got Charlotte into her bed and tucked her in.  She gave Charlotte her stuffed bear Bobo and watched her squeeze him tightly.

“Don’t worry about tonight, hunny.” She said, giving Charlotte a reassuring smile.  “We’ll figure this out.  We’re going to try something new tomorrow since it seems like these Goodnites are not enough.  Good night, Charlotte!  Sweet dreams!”  She gave Charlotte a kiss on the forehead, turned off the light and closed the door to her room.

Charlotte stirred in her bed, thinking about what her mother said.  Something new?  ‘I hope it’s not Pull-Ups!  I do NOT want to be in Pull-Ups!  Those are for babies!’

Charlotte’s eyes became heavier and heavier by the second before she could no longer keep them open.  She held Bobo tightly as she fell asleep.

***

“Commander Charlotte!  Commander Charlotte!  Are you there?”

Charlotte woke up to notice what looked like a night sky overlooking an endless ocean outside her window.  She immediately knew where she was again.  She was aboard the Century Eagle, with what sounded like Private First Class Bobo calling her for the millionth time.

Charlotte yawned and stared at her trusty friend.  “I’m here, Bobo.  What happened?”

Bobo gave Charlotte a worried look.  “What happened?  We almost lost you on Oceania!  Your spacesuit, as predicted, couldn’t handle more than 300 feet of depth and we had to launch an emergency rescue mission immediately.  But I can now say with confidence that Operation: Rescue Charlotte was a success!  Just look at me, Charlotte.  Do you have any idea what lengths I had to go through to rescue you, Charlotte?”

Charlotte nodded, grateful that her friend was able to rescue her from a watery grave on Oceania.  “I’m very grateful that you rescued me, Bobo.  Now, are you making modifications on the spacesuit?”

Bobo nodded.  “Obviously!  From all the tests that I have been running so far, we will need some serious modifications before you go venturing into any body of water again.  And Charlotte?  I advise that you do not go into any body of water without a spacesuit.  I have some blueprints for advanced modifications to the spacesuit but will only use them as a last resort.”

Charlotte looked very curious as to what these blueprints were.  “Can you tell me what you had in mind, Bobo?”

Bobo nodded and pointed to the blueprints.  “It’s for a durable spacesuit designed to handle extreme depths.  I call it the Durable Interspace Attire Pressurized Extra Resistant Spacesuit!.

Charlotte frowned when she saw all the letters.  “D.I.A.P.E.R.S.?  I don’t think we need a spacesuit that strong, Bobo!  Let’s explore some other options first.”

Bobo gave Charlotte a nod of reassurance.  “Not to worry, Charlotte!  The spacesuit is still in its prototype phase.  It’s still a long way out before it would be ready for your use.”

Charlotte gave Bobo an uncomfortable smile.  “I don’t know if I would ever be ready for D.I.A.P.E.R.S.”

Bobo shrugged his shoulders.  “You never know, Charlotte.  There may come a time when you’ll need to navigate deep bodies of water.  Just look at your current spacesuit.  While you were out, I already had to transfer you into two different suits!  In your weakened state, I recommend that you stay in a spacesuit just to be safe.”

“I DO agree with that Mr. Bobo!”

Charlotte looked around to see a silver droid standing with a smaller droid that was black and looked like a moving trashcan.

Bobo nodded as if he recognized the two droids.  “Oh.  Charlotte?  These were the two droids that I was talking about.  We acquired them on Milkia while you were resting, remember?  The silver one is…why don’t I just let him introduce himself to you?”

The silver droid politely approached Charlotte and flashed lights by his mouth what Charlotte could only guess was a smile.  “Greetings and Salutations!” The silver droid greeted.  “I am D-4RQ, a rather very talented human cyborg, if I do say so myself.  I know many different languages and I’m a wonderful asset to your team on The Century Eagle.  You may not understand my friend, but he’s K2B2.  Come on, K2!  Don’t be shy!”

K2B2 responded with a few very friendly beeps towards Charlotte.

“Wow.” Charlotte said, marveling over her two new friends.  “Let’s be prepared for the next mission.  This one will be needed as we know that Finn Loner is really in need right now.”

D-4RQ nodded.  “I already know of Finn’s plight, Miss Charlotte!  I don’t know if he’s malfunctioning, but he must have told me about it at least 100 times by now!”

K2B2 gave a few beeps, as if it was trying to correct D-4RQ.

“107?” D-4RQ gasped.  “You are indeed right, K2!  Those six other occurrences must have happened when I was out of the room, checking on Miss Charlotte!”

Just then, Finn entered Charlotte’s recharging room.

“So you’re finally up?” Finn said, with a frenzied look on his face.  “You had no idea everything we had to do to rescue you, Charlotte!  You were very deep in Oceania, and we thought that we were going to lose you.  Thankfully, me and Bobo made the rescue.”

“You and me?” Bobo said, with a accusatory stare.  “Why are you taking any of the credit?  It was I who rescued her!”

“Yeah?” Finn said, pointing his finger at Bobo.  “And it was I who was continually glancing at the radar to make sure that you wouldn’t get lost trying to find her.  Don’t forget, you overgrown fuzzball.  I rescued you on Barbia from the pink clan.  You wouldn’t be anywhere if it wasn’t for me!”

“Don’t forget how many binds I have gotten you out of!” Bobo reminded Finn.  “All your numerous debts and I helped you escape from every one of them.  And what about all the inventions that I come up with?  You wouldn’t be anywhere without them!”

Finn nodded and glanced over at Charlotte.  “That reminds me, Bohie.  Have you began designing a new spacesuit for her?”

Bobo sighed.  “What do you think?  I do all this work and what do you do?  All you do is nap on the Century Eagle!”

Finn sighed.  “I’m conserving energy for our next mission.  Didn’t you hear Charlotte?  We’re going after an important artifact!  This will pay off my debts and we’ll be able to buy a new starship.  Wouldn’t you like a bigger ship to store this one in?”

Bobo laughed.  “That depends on how much that artifact is worth!”

“It’s worth a lot,” Charlotte told Bobo.  “Now I need you two to stop arguing.  We’re all a team and we need to work together if we’re going to find this artifact.  Now, are we still on Oceania?”

Bobo nodded.  “We are.  Where to next?”

Charlotte scratched her head.  “The sensors indicate that we’re in the right place.  Somewhere deep underwater is the fabled city of Bylantis!  The Bylantians should be able to know where this artifact is.  After all, I heard of the lost artifact from a bedtime story that used to be told to me.”

Bobo nodded.  “I think I remember that one.  It’s before you decided to say goodbye to your mommy and venture out into space!”

Charlotte nodded.  “And I have gone a long way since then!  How else could I become a Super Sleuth Astronaut?”

“It was a wonderful idea, Charlotte!” Bobo told her.  “You are very brave to venture out into the deepest reaches of space.  I’m sure your mommy would be proud of you!  I think you make a very wonderful Super Sleuth Astronaut!”

Charlotte glanced at her Spacesuit and then back at Bobo.  “I’m going to try another dive.  This time, I want to try and find the lost city of Bylantis!”

Bobo shook his head.  “Not yet, you aren’t!  Don’t you remember what happened last time?  You almost drowned!  The suit that you have won’t be able to handle the deep depth or the pressure!”

Charlotte sighed.  “Then how will I be able to explore?  And no, Bobo.  I am not going to wait for you to develop the D.I.A.P.E.R.S. nor will I ever try the suit on.”

Bobo gave Charlotte an understanding nod.  “Nor will you have to, Commander Charlotte!  I have invented a protective shield that should protect you all the way down to the deepest part of Oceania.  But do beware!  It’s got a time limit!  I will be following you in my Mini Sub, so we won’t have another incident like last time.”

Finn sighed.  “What about us?  The Century Eagle can only float on the water.  It’s not designed to be submerged underwater!”

Bobo nodded.  “Just wait for me to think about how to modify it.  The Bylantians might have the technology to help me do this.  You can wait with the droids.”

D-4RQ gave Finn a nod.  “I DO like Bobo’s proposition, Mr. Finn!  His suggestion is 78 percent more likely to be successful than if you were to follow him.  Besides, the Mini Sub only has room for one!”

K2B2 affirmed D-4RQ’s remarks with a series of beeps and blips, as if he were agreeing with D-4RQ.

“K2 seconds my suggestion.” D-4RQ told Finn.  “Why thank you, K2!”

Charlotte exited the Century Eagle and was now standing on one of the top flaps of the ship, that looked like a diving board.  “I’m going in, Bobo!”

Bobo nodded.  “I have the Mini Sub ready!  Go ahead, Charlotte!”

Charlotte leapt forward and immediately sank into the water.

Just as Charlotte was submerging, Bobo activated a protective shield around Charlotte to protect her spacesuit from the deep depths of Oceania.

Charlotte sank deep down into the depths of Oceania, with Bobo following her quickly in his Mini Sub.

“Charlotte!” Bobo shouted.  “One other thing.  That protective shield is supposed to last 10 minutes, and I only have three of them!”

Charlotte nodded as she sank deeper into the ocean planet.  “Hopefully it’s enough to get us to Bylantia.  By the way, how am I able to talk to you underwater?”

“I designed your suit with a microphone that directly interfaces with my Mini Sub!” Bobo told her.

Charlotte smiled as she glanced at Bobo.  Her stuffed friend was a genius, and this proved it.

As Charlotte touched down on the ocean floor of Oceania, she noticed just how dark it was.  She noticed one glimmer of light ahead of her.  From the light, she saw shadows beginning to cast over her.

“I hope that’s not what I think it is,” Bobo said, looking worried.

“What do you mean?” Charlotte said, her voice beginning to falter with worry.

“Didn’t you read the Oceanian atlas?” Bobo told her.  “Deep in the depths of Oceania lives the Oceanian Sea Serpent.”

“S-sea…Serpent?”  Charlotte said, now beginning to worry and fear for her life.

Just then, Charlotte could hear what sounded like a growl.  Then, a large silhouette emerged right in front of Charlotte and Bobo.

“OH NO!” Charlotte screamed.  “It’s the Oceanian Sea Serpent!”  Charlotte made futile attempts to run, but she couldn’t because she was underwater.

“Use the thrusters!” Bobo shouted.

Charlotte glanced at her suit and pressed a button, which propelled her suit forward.

But as fast as both Charlotte and Bobo were, they were no match for the Oceanian Sea Serpent, which hissed and began to close in on them.

Charlotte watched in horror as the terror of the deep began to circle around them.  Her heart stopped when she realized that there was not one, but two Oceania Sea Serpants circling around herself and Bobo.

The two gigantic Sea Serpents loomed over them and lunged towards them.

That’s when Charlotte noticed a timer counting down from 10 seconds.  “Bobo!” Charlotte shouted.  “The protective shield only has ten more seconds!”

“Shield?” Bobo gasped.  “I think that’s the least of our worries!  At the rate those Oceanian Sea Serpents are traveling, we will be gone before that!”

The twin Sea Serpents both lunged forward, plunging both Charlotte and Bobo into complete darkness.

[PamperedPrince]

Chapter 38

Charlotte woke up, gasping when she realized that she wasn’t in the depths of Oceania anymore.  Instead, she was lying in her bed.  Instinctually, Charlotte checked both sides of her bed underneath the covers to find, to her relief, that the bedding was completely dry.  Right next to her lay her stuffed best friend: Bobo.

Charlotte picked up Bobo and smiled.  “Did you help keep me dry?” she asked him.  Almost instantly, her original self harshly criticized the absurdity of that question.  ‘Really?  How can a stuffed bear keep you from wetting the bed?  Really Charlotte?’  Her mind then focused on the movie that she saw last night.

Charlotte lay down, trying to remember the details of the movie.  The movie was…The Wild Robot.  From what she could remember, Roz was a robot that was supposed to follow its original programming.  Instead, Roz went against the grind and decided to act against the programming that it was originally designed for.  Charlotte sighed as she glanced at the hands that she knew belonged to a seven-year-old.  Like Roz, her original programming would be to act like her adult self.  This was what she wanted to do so badly.  But something in her programming rejected her adult thoughts.  It was almost like instinct was taking over.  At times, it just felt easier to default to her brain and thought patterns of her current younger self.  But something in Charlotte just knew that it wasn’t right.  Was this younger version of herself trying to go against her original programming?

So, Charlotte was divided.  The lingering urges from her adult mind trying to restore order to her very world that she saw was getting out of control.  Why was it so much of a fight?  Did it have to be?  Charlotte remembered the entries that she read from her Mystery Notebook, knowing that these entries were the future she was trying to return to.  At all costs, she needed to try and get back to her normal self.  ‘Remember.’ Charlotte told herself.  ‘I am trapped in a child’s body.  Really, I’m an adult just trying to get back to my original age.  And…’ Charlotte slapped her hand over her forehead in defeat.  ‘I forgot to make the wish!  Tonight, I will make the wish and hope that the fairy, witch, or genie will hear me, and I can talk with them.’

The door cracked open, and Darcy entered the room.

“Good morning sleepyhead!” Darcy said with a smile.  “Just when did you plan on getting up this morning?  It’s already 8:30 in the morning!”  Darcy turned on the light and lifted up the covers, inspecting them carefully.  ‘Good.  No accidents.  But of course, Charlotte is not going to tell me if she’s dry, so I better check.’  Darcy sat down on the bed next to Charlotte and pressed her hand over Charlotte’s crotch to feel a heavy bulge.  “Charlotte dear, you completely soaked that Goodnite last night.  It’s a wonder that it didn’t leak.”

Charlotte noticed her face blushing as it took her mother to realize that she was laying in a soggy Goodnite.  ‘Oh yeah!  That’s why my bed is not wet.  Of course, this is what I have to deal with in being a seven-year-old AGAIN…’ But just then, Charlotte just found it easier to smile sheepishly at her mother than deal with these foreign thoughts that tried to take over.   “I guess I did.  I…I didn’t mean to, mommy…”

Darcy hugged Charlotte.  “Charlotte baby.  Of course you didn’t mean to.  Today, we’re going to try something new to deal with your accidents. Okay?  For now, mommy’s got a nice breakfast waiting for you downstairs.  Let’s go eat it before it gets cold!”

Charlotte nodded as she stood up, feeling the weight of the Goodnite sag between her legs.  Her mind began to fill with anxiety when she thought about what her mother said.  ‘Something new? I hope that she’s not going to put me in Pull-Ups!’  Her eyes fixed on Darcy as they left her bedroom, widening as they walked into the hallway.  “I don’t wanna be in Pull-Ups mommy!” Charlotte said with a frown, almost in a whiny tone.

Darcy smiled.  “Charlie, mommy is not going to do this.  Let’s just have our breakfast.  Okay?”

Charlotte was closer to the stairway, almost leaning into Darcy’s side when she could begin to smell something amazing.  ‘Is that…pancakes?  And bacon?’  “I LOVE PANCAKES!” Charlotte shouted, now making much faster strides as she hurried down the stairs.

Darcy laughed as she watched Charlotte hurry into her booster seat in record time.  She got Charlotte a plate of three mini pancakes and a few slices of bacon.  The moment that she poured the syrup on the pancakes, Charlotte began piling the pancakes into her mouth like she hadn’t eaten in weeks.  “Slow down, dear!” Darcy instructed.  “Don’t want you to choke honey…”

But Charlotte was already done with her pancakes and was starting to eat her bacon.  When she was finished with her bacon, she gave her mother a frown.  “Can I please have some more pancakes, mommy?”

Darcy laughed.  “Only if you promise to slow down, honey.”

Charlotte nodded.  “I promise mommy!  More pancakes please!”

Darcy placed two more mini pancakes on Charlotte’s plate and poured a little more syrup on the pancakes.  Charlotte took a little longer to eat the pancakes, since she wanted to keep her promise with her mother.

After breakfast, Darcy had Charlotte take a shower while she picked out an outfit for her.  When Charlotte was done, she was dressed in a pink ruffle sleeve top with light pink, mint green, and white stripes for the shorts with a cute cotton belt with a bow.  Underneath, Charlotte wore the same white panties with pink outlines.  She then put on pink mid-crew socks with white hearts sewn around the ankle.  Finally, she put on her running shoes, and she was ready to go with her mom.

Charlotte was now sitting in the car seat, all buckled up as the 4Runner was backing out of the driveway.  Again, she was worried about what her mother meant by trying “something new”.  Could it be a different brand of Goodnite?  What could it be?  “I don’t wanna be in a Pull-Up, mommy!” Charlotte pleaded.

Darcy smiled as she shifted the car into drive, pulling onto the intersection that led out of the small neighborhood they were in.  “Charlie, mommy is not going to put you into any Pull-Ups!  Don’t worry, dear.  You will see.  Mommy also needs to pick up a gift for someone special.”

Charlotte gasped.  “Someone special mommy?”

Darcy laughed and felt her heart skip a beat.  “Yes dear.  There is someone special in mommy’s life.  You will understand later when you’re older, Charlie Darlie…”

But the true Charlotte already knew what Darcy was talking about.  ‘Yeah.  She probably has a boyfriend or something.  Clearly something my seven-year-old brain doesn’t understand. Can we get to bedtime already so I can make the wish?’

About 20 minutes later, the 4Runner pulled into Walmart.

Charlotte was now in the store, anxiously walking behind her mother as she pushed the shopping cart, wondering what “trying something else” meant.  Maybe she was just going to get some more Goodnites.

Darcy pulled the cart into the diaper aisle.  She stopped the cart when she saw the various diaper brands: Luvs, Huggies, Pampers, and the Walmart brand diapers.

Charlotte was nervous, as the very idea of her being in a diaper repulsed her.  ‘But I’m a big girl!’ Charlotte told herself.  ‘She’s not going to put me in a diaper!  I will not wear one!’  But to her relief, she pulled past the diapers to where all the Pull-Ups and training pants were.  This made her mad.  ‘She promised that she wouldn’t put me in a Pull-Up!’  But when she saw her mother grabbing another large box of size XS Goodnites and placing them in the cart, she was relieved.  ‘Maybe mommy wants me to wear them all the time now?’

But she continued following her mother as she kept moving.  Darcy continued pushing the shopping cart towards the kids clothing section under toddlers.  She watched as her mother grabbed a pair of strange looking underwear off the rack.  Charlotte glanced at the design on the underwear.  ‘Minnie Mouse?’  Charlotte then saw the words “TRAINING PANTS” on the packaging.  “Mommy, those are not training pants!  They are underwear!” Charlotte corrected.

Darcy smiled as she grabbed a second pack off the shelf.  “Charlotte honey, this is what mommy meant when I said that we were trying something new.  This underwear is different than the panties that you are wearing right now.  If you have a tiny accident in the Minnie Mouse underwear, you will still feel wet.  But it will hold the accident, so it won’t get all over the place.”

Charlotte scratched her head.  “Like the Goodnites?”

Darcy shook her head.  “Oh no, honey.  This underwear holds a lot less than a Goodnite.  Just a little accident in case you don’t quite make it to the bathroom.  I’m also buying more Goodnites since you need more, dear.”  Darcy hesitated to tell Charlotte the real reason.  ‘That, and I need a plan B in case Charlotte keeps soaking the training underwear.  If the training underwear doesn’t work, I’ll need to put her in Goodnites during the day.’

Charlotte held the Minnie Mouse training underwear in her hand.  ‘So, it’s like a Goodnite but I can’t go a lot in it?  If I start wearing those instead of my panties, then I need to be careful.  Then, out of nowhere, Charlotte frowned, indicating that her adult self was trying to fight back.  “Why those new underwear, mom?  I have to wear the Goodnites to bed!  I…I don’t want to…mommy…”

Darcy gave Charlotte a sharp scowl.  Her look on her face was all that it took for Charlotte to know that she had no other option.  If Darcy’s expression had any words, Charlotte guessed that it would say “You are going to wear the new underwear and do as I say, Charlotte!”  Charlotte felt that this was the right thing to do, even though her adult mind was fighting it every step of the way.  And she began to feel the warmth in her feet again.  The warmth spread up her legs, past her stomach, and into her heart.  And just like that, there was no more resistance.  No more arguing.  What did it matter that she was about to wear training underwear meant for preschool girls that were being potty trained?  Every worry and concern vanished from Charlotte’s mind as a submissive look came on Charlotte’s face.  Her mom buying the new underwear now?  It didn’t matter to her.  Nothing else mattered.  “I’m…I’m sorry…mommy.  I will wear them, mommy.  I will…”

Darcy smiled as she patted Charlotte on the head and smiled.  “Of course you will, dear!  Thank you for being a good girl.  I know they look different, and you don’t like them.  But trust me.  This is going to help you so much.  If you have a little accident on the way to the bathroom, no big deal!  That new underwear will hold those little accidents, honey.”

Charlotte held the new underwear and began studying them.  Unlike the cotton underwear she was wearing, she also felt the polyester on the protective lining.  So, can these be washed like regular underwear?  Knowing the underwear that she already had on, she figured that they had to be.  ‘Hopefully only for a short time.’ Charlotte thought.  ‘Especially if my wish gets granted tonight.  Then I won’t really need them!’  Charlotte looked up and glanced around.  She turned to the left and to the right.  ‘Where did she go?’  Her mother was gone.  Just like that.  ‘How could she leave me?’

Charlotte began walking around the kids’ clothing section, unable to find her mother anywhere.  ‘She just…She just…’ Charlotte said to herself, her mind racing.  ‘She left me!’  She held the Minnie training underwear.  ‘Is this why she gave me this underwear?  Am I on my own now?’  Charlotte’s face began to redden as her eyes began to fill with tears.  “Mom?  Mom?  Mommy?  Mommy…..?”  Charlotte couldn’t take it anymore, so she let it all out.  “MOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYY!!!!!”  She cried loudly, which began to draw attention from other nearby shoppers.

Meanwhile, Darcy was in another nearby aisle, still able to maintain eye contact with Charlotte.  ‘Oh no.’ Darcy thought, as she quickly grabbed the gift off the shelf.  ‘I wasn’t going to be too long and I’m not that far away.’  She quickly paced back towards the kids clothing section just as a concerned mother was about to approach her daughter.  Darcy wrapped her arms around Charlotte and lifted her off the ground.  “Oh, Charlie honey!  Shhhhhhhh!  Shhhhhhhhh…..Shhhh….It’s going to be okay, dear.  Mommy’s right here!  I was just in another aisle, hun…”

The mother next to Darcy let out a sigh of relief as she watched Charlotte’s sobbing diminish.  “Well, that’s a relief!  Why don’t you just take your daughter with you?  Me and Jodie go everywhere.”  The mother pointed to her shopping cart, where Jodie was sitting in the seat, contentedly watching a video on an iPad.  “How old is your little one there?  Four?”

Darcy shook her head as she supported Charlotte in both her arms, Charlotte still crying into them.  “Her name is Charlotte.  And what’s your name?”

“Valorie.” The mother politely answered.

“Well Valorie,” Darcy addressed her.  “Charlotte here is almost eight years old, so she’s more than capable of waiting in one part of the store until I finish my shopping."

Valorie’s face reddened with embarrassment, and she nodded.  “She’s eight?  I’m very sorry!  If that’s the case…um…” She pointed at Darcy, trying to address her by name.

“Darcy.” Darcy said now impatiently.

“If that’s the case Darcy,” Valorie told her.  “Then I would advise that you keep your eight-year-old girl under control.” She glanced at Darcy’s shopping cart, which had the Minnie Mouse training underwear and the large box of 99 Extra Small Goodnites.  “And judging from all those Goodnites, it looks like she has some issues to deal with.”

Darcy’s eyes darted towards Valorie’s cart, which had a large box of nighttime Pull-Up’s in them.  “Touché. It looks like your little Jodie still needs to work on her potty training too!  How old is she?”

Valorie sighed and nudged her daughter.  “Jodie, could you tell this nice lady how old you are?”

“Four.” Jodie told her.

Valorie smiled.  “Good job, dear!  Now Darcy, I’m trying to get Jodie out of Pull-Up’s by kindergarten since they won’t allow them at Langford Elementary.  I at least call it progress!  Last year, Jodie was still in diapers.”

“I use the potty now!” Jodie shouted with a proud smile.

Valorie nodded, patting Jodie on the head.  “Well, I’m sorry Darcy.  All I ask is that you understand Charlotte’s needs.  If you know that she’s going to have such terrible separation anxiety, don’t ever leave her side!  You have a good day!”  Valorie walked off, pushing the cart with Jodie still glancing at the iPad screen while she held it.

Charlotte was still clinging to her mother.  During the entire conversation with Valorie, all Charlotte could think of was holding onto her mother as tight as she could.  ‘I’m never going to let go of my mommy.’ Charlotte decided in her mind.  ‘If I do, I will lose her again.’  But as her mom was trying to pry her arms loose from her shoulders, Charlotte whimpered.  “No!  If I let go, you will go away again!”

Darcy laughed.  “Charlotte, mommy is not going to go anywhere.  Now, I left you in the kids clothing section for a short time, okay?  During that whole time that I was gone, I could see you.  My eyes never left you the whole time.”

Charlotte smiled, feeling the relief wash over her as the comforting truth from her mother permeated her mind.  ‘She never left.  She could see me the whole time?’  Charlotte hugged her mother again.  “Thank you, mommy.”

Darcy noticed that Charlotte’s feet were starting to get tired from walking, so she picked up Charlotte and sat her in the shopping cart seat, which comfortably fit Charlotte.  She then buckled her into the seat.  Her legs dangled to and fro as Darcy finished her shopping at Walmart.

On the way home, Darcy stopped at McDonald’s and got Charlotte a chicken McNugget Happy Meal, which contained a white miniature Croc with a yellow mouth for a toy.

Once at home, Darcy sat the Happy Meal box on the TV tray and placed it on the couch.

Before Charlotte could even eat the chicken McNuggets, her mother pointed at the Minnie Mouse training underwear.

“Not yet, honey.” Darcy told her.  Let’s go use the potty and put that exciting new underwear on!”

Charlotte nodded as she was led into the bathroom with her mother.  ‘Why is she making me go?  I don’t have to go that bad!’  But as Charlotte climbed onto the toilet seat and pulled her panties down, she found herself peeing for the next minute.  ‘Wow.  I guess I had to go a little more than I thought!’

Darcy nodded.  “See Charlotte?  Aren’t you glad that I made you go?  Now, let’s get that new underwear on.  You like Minnie Mouse, right?”

Charlotte nodded.  “Yes mommy.  I love Minnie Mouse!”  She watched as her mother ripped open the plastic and pulled out a pair depicting Minnie Mouse standing next to a pink smiling shrub and green tree next to the sun in a pink background.  As she crawled off the seat, she grabbed some toilet paper and began to wipe herself.  After she flushed the toilet and washed her hands, her mother handed her the new underwear.  As Charlotte slid it on, she found that it felt similar to the underwear that she was wearing.  But when she felt the polyester lining against her crotch, it felt similar to her Goodnite.  ‘This feels good.’

Darcy glanced at Charlotte, giving her a smile to encourage her.  “Well honey?  Do you like them?  Do you think that they will help?”

Charlotte nodded as she pulled her shorts back up.  “Yeah!”

Darcy helped Charlotte tie the cotton belt back into a beautiful bow around her waist.  “There.  Now you can have your McDonald’s honey.”

At the word “McDonald’s”, Charlotte was already out of the bathroom towards the living room.  She plopped herself onto the couch and turned the TV on.  She found one of the resent selections on a streaming service, which was My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.  Charlotte began watching the show while she began to dip her McNuggets, shoving them into her mouth and getting a bunch of barbecue sauce all over her face.

Charlotte felt a napkin brush over her face as she began to eat her small fries.  That’s when she realized just how messy her face was.  “Um…Thanks mommy!”

Darcy followed with a moist paper towel, which got the smeared barbecue sauce off her face that the napkin didn’t get.  “You’re welcome, honey.  Here’s some water.  Mommy’s got some more things to work on around the house.  Enjoy your cartoon!”

Charlotte nodded as she grabbed the plastic cup from her mom.  Her fries were already gone, and she was now licking the salt off her fingers.  After that, she gulped down the water and it was gone in seconds.

As Charlotte was in the middle of watching the next episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, she started to feel a little wet.  ‘Oh no!  Again?  I gotta go potty now!’  Charlotte stood up and to her surprise, the coach was not wet at all, even though she still felt wet.  That’s when she felt a small bulge in her new underwear.  She hurried to the bathroom and peed the rest in the toilet.  As she was peeing, she could see the moist spot in her underwear where the pee was being held.  ‘That was close!  At least my new underwear got it.’

Charlotte finished up and returned to the living room to find a new glass of water sitting in its place.  She sat down and drank the entire glass again as she continued to watch the current episode that she was on.

“Charlotte honey?  Charlotte?”

Charlotte woke up.  Somehow, she managed to fall asleep in the middle of the episode.  She stood up and gasped.  To her surprise, there was a wet spot on the couch where she was sitting, with Darcy giving her a frown.

Darcy sighed and rubbed Charlotte on the head.  “I saw you sleeping, hun.  But look!  The accident could’ve been worse if you were wearing normal underwear.”  Darcy could see that Charlotte was still upset, but this was the best thing that she could tell her in this situation.  ‘Maybe I should have her wear a Goodnite if she’s watching TV since she’s so prone to falling asleep in the middle of her shows.’ As much as Darcy wanted to do this, she knew that it wouldn’t be helping Charlotte in the long run.  ‘No!  I’m trying to help with Charlotte’s problem.  Not worsen it!’  She gave Charlotte a pat on the head.  Don’t worry about it, sweetie.  We’re going to get some new underwear on and some new clothes.  You’re then going to play in your room upstairs while mommy cleans up this mess.  Maybe you should just play up there so it can dry for tomorrow?  Let’s do that.  Okay?”

Over the next few minutes, Charlotte was upstairs in her bedroom while Darcy wiped Charlotte with some Kandoo kids wipes before sliding a new pair of Minnie Mouse training underwear on her.  This one showed Minnie Mouse laying down by an orange circle below a green circle, with the sun smiling with its eyes closed above her in a lavender background.  The outfit she was dressed in was another ruffle sleeve shirt similar to her pink one, only this one was lavender, with a fuchsia, lavender, purple, pink, and light blue striped pattern on the shorts, with white stripes in between the colored stripes and the cotton belt wrapped around the shorts.

Darcy glanced at the spot on the carpet that she had just cleaned earlier.  “And Charlotte,” she firmly said, raising her voice.  “If you have another accident in this room, please tell me immediately.  Don’t hide it from mommy, okay?”

Charlotte could feel her face burning red with embarrassment.  “I will tell you if I have an accident, mommy!”

Darcy smiled and kissed Charlotte on the cheek.  “There’s a good girl.  Just play with your toys, okay?”

Charlotte nodded and glanced at her pile of stuffed animals with her Barbies nearby, which were next to a dollhouse.  She made a beeline for her stuffed animals while her mother left the room.

Charlotte was deep in her pile of stuffed animals when she once again had that strange feeling that something was wrong.  Right away, Charlotte knew that she was in the wrong body.  ‘I need to return to adulthood.  Now is not the time to be playing with stuffed animals and Barbies.’

Charlotte focused her attention on her Mystery Notebook and opened it up immediately.  She found the section where she talked about the theories and found the one on magic.  She read it aloud (at least the parts that she could with her seven-year-old mind):

1. Magic (NOTE: ONLY CONSIDER THIS THEORY WHEN ALL OTHER OPTIONS HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED AS MAGIC AND SUPERSTITION ARE CONSIDERED PSEUDOSCIENCE) This theory is formed around the assumption that magic is real and should only be used as a last resort when all other theories have failed. Some possible things that may have happened include the following.  There is a curse or hex placed on me which has somehow made me slowly regress in age over time.  The curse or hex may not be so much as limited to a spell, but some kind of accessory or object with mystical and enchanted properties.  The continued use of this object prolongs and worsens the effect of the curse.  Another possibility is that I may have upset a wizard, an elf, or some other mythical being (a fairy or pixie?) and they used their mysterious magic on me to age in reverse at unpredictable intervals of time.  If enchanted object is a lamp, I will release the genie and wish for my life to be restored back to normal.  Otherwise, I will need to search for the mythical being responsible and do them a good favor in hopes that they will restore me back to my original age and life.  Possible suspects include Quenlumina: The light Elf Queen, Marilith: The dark witch of the Forest of Brominir, Mythra:  Fairy Queen of the Shimmering Cloud City in the Upper Lands, Plexsia: Trickster Pixie of the Forbidden Forest, or Dujani (if the suspect is a genie).

Charlotte underlined all the mythical creatures that she could find.  Quenlumina (The light Elf Queen), Marilith (The dark witch of the Forest of Brominir), Mythra (Fairy Queen of the Shimmering Cloud City in the Upper Lands), Plexsia (Trickster Pixie of the Forbidden Forest), or Dujani (a genie).  Charlotte reasoned that Quenlumina and Mythra would be the easiest to make a wish to.  Marilith, Plexsia, or even Dujani might be harder to work with.  Especially Marilith since she’s a dark witch that might not know how to undo her spell.  Especially if Marilith cast a youth spell on her.  Quenlumina and Mythra were both nice and would not have any ill will towards Charlotte should she ask them for help.  ‘I just hope that Quenlumina can help me and that she’ll address my problem!  Being almost 22 years younger is a serious problem.’

Charlotte found herself re-reading the story that she wrote for Miss Willoughby’s Second grade class.  “Ah!” Charlotte gasped.  Here it is!”

Charlotte re-read the entire story from beginning to end:

Once upon a time, there was a sevin year old girl named Chloe.  Now Chloe loved Barbies and Barbie dreemhouses and she maid it a goal two be just like Barbie sumday.

So Chloe gru and she gru and she gru until she was 29 years old.  From all that gruing, Chloe was now a famus soopermodil and was just like Barbie.  She lived in a big house and drived in a very nice car.  She was so prowd and happy that she wantd too vissit her mommy for a while so she did.

Now Chloe reallee loved two run so her mommy suprised her wif a specsell pressant   A brand new pier of runing shoes.  Chloe tryed on the shoes and was very happy.  She ran with the shoes for a wile.

Weeks later, Chloe startd two get smaler.  She shrinkd and she shrinkd and she shrinkd until she was only seven years old.  When Chloe was shrinkin, no body beeleeved her.  Not even her mommy.

That’s when Chloe got hersef an idea.  I will look for a powerfell fairee two turn me back to nomal Chloe sed.

But Chloe didnt no where two find the fairee so she became a super slooth and began her investeegashin.  She red a book that was about a fairee so she new where to find her.

Chloe in her bedrom that nite had to wish on a star to summin the fairee.  Chloe wished very hard and the fairee apaired

Chloe was sad and said to the fairee I am not sevin I am 29 and I want two be my nomal age again can you please change me back.

The fairee sed two Chloe you need two find the inchanted obbjict and I will grant you one wish.  It is a spesell necklelis wif a specsell ston.

Okay Chloe told the fairee.

The next day, Chloe fownd the necklelis in her clawset and waited until bedtime two wish on the star two summin the fairee agin.

Chloe gave the fairee the necklelis and the fairee was very happy.  Okay Chloe I will grant you one wish the fairee sed.

Chloe wishd that she was 29 years old agin and the fairee grantid her wish.

Chloe gru and she gru and she gru until she was 29 years old again.  Like the Barbies that she use two play with, she got two liv in her big and butiful dreemhouse and drive her nice car agin.  And Chloe lived hapily ever after.

The End

Charlotte then looked back at the underlined names of the mythical creatures that she had in her mystery notebook.  Her story that she wrote had a fairy in it.  ‘It must be Mythra!’  Mythra, Charlotte knew, was a Fairy Queen that ruled the Shimmering Cloud City in the Upper Lands.  The one defining feature that Charlotte remembered in reading The Ringmaster Chronicles was that Mythra always wore a necklace with a stone known as the Sky Pendant.  Maybe Mythra was missing her necklace, and she needed it back?  Charlotte knew that she had to wish before falling asleep tonight.

It was now evening, and Charlotte was brushing her teeth.  She had a good dinner that night, which was fish sticks with tater tots.  Her dessert consisted of apple sauce with one Oreo.  And no Oreo cookie was complete without a nice glass of milk to wash it all down.  Charlotte finished brushing and entered her bedroom, where her mother was there, waiting to check on her.

Darcy first checked Charlotte’s teeth, since she knew that sometimes the Oreo can get stuck in some crevices.  To her surprise, Charlotte’s teeth looked white all over.  “Good job, dear.” She said, praising Charlotte.  Next, she checked Charlotte’s underwear after she removed them.  She found a tiny pool of pee in them and sighed.  “Sweetie? Before you put that Goodnite on, let’s use the bathroom.”

Charlotte sighed.  “But I already did, mommy!”

Darcy wasn’t going to let this slide, as Charlotte’s Goodnite was completely soaked last time.  “We’re going to go again just to be sure.”  Darcy led Charlotte to the bathroom and watched her climb on the seat bare, with only her lavender ruffle sleeve shirt on.

As Charlotte sat there, she peed for what seemed like 20 seconds or so.

Darcy gave Charlotte an accusatory stare.  “Don’t lie to me about using the bathroom, dear.  There’s no way that you could go that much if you already went.  Finish up and then you can put your Goodnite on.”

Charlotte’s face was again red like she was a criminal caught in committing a crime.  ‘It’s not fair!  The Goodnites are for bedtime!’  She turned her face so that her mother couldn’t see her pouting and got off the seat.  She wiped with a few squares of toilet paper before flushing.  She washed her hands while singing “If you’re happy and you know it” in her head, as her mother was still watching, and she didn’t want to do anything else that would upset her.

Charlotte returned to her bedroom and began her favorite nighttime ritual.  She slid a new Goodnite on, enjoying the soft cloth backing as it brushed against her crotch and butt.  And as if her body took notice, she could’ve sworn that she felt maybe a few drops of pee enter her Goodnite.

After that, Darcy helped Charlotte into her footed sleeper, which was a mint color with a white dotted pattern from top to bottom.  The zipper went from the collar all the way down to the right leg of the sleeper.  She had Charlotte step into the footed sleeper and guide her arms into the sleeves.  She then had Charlotte zip the zipper from the legs all the way up to the collar.  Darcy snapped the safety flap around the collar, since she didn’t want Charlotte’s chin to be hurt by the teeth of the zipper.

Since Charlotte had already brushed her teeth, she brought Charlotte a cup of water that she could drink in case she was thirsty.

Darcy then tucked Charlotte in and kissed her on the forehead.  “School is tomorrow, dear.  You’ll be starting Junior Track on Wednesday.  Renee gave me the good news on Saturday and you’re in.  Are you ready to run with the big fifth graders?”

Charlotte nodded.  “Yeah!  I wanna run in my shoes mommy!”

Darcy smiled.  “I know, dear.  That’s why I got them.  Now, I’m going to pick out your clothes tomorrow when you shower.  Sweet dreams, honey.”

Darcy kissed Charlotte again on the forehead and flicked the light switch to turn off the lights.

After Darcy left the room, Charlotte got out of bed and walked over to the cup of water.  She gulped it down and got back into bed, finding her stuffed friend Bobo before settling deep underneath her covers.

Charlotte then remembered something important.  ‘The wish!’  Charlotte smiled and then remembered her story.  She had to wish on a star.  So, clutching Bobo tight, she glanced up at the ceiling and wished as hard as she could.  “Oh star, oh star in the sky!” Charlotte wished.  “Hear my wish tonight!  I wish to meet the fairy Mythra.  Ruler of the Shimmering Cloud City in the Upper Lands!  Oh star, may I meet her tonight to discuss my important wish with her!”

Charlotte repeated the wish a few more times just to make sure that Mythra could hear her.  Each time she repeated the wish, her eyelids became heavier.  Until finally, Charlotte fell asleep in mid-wish.

“I wish…” Charlotte said, her eyes beginning to close as she began to snore.

Just then, Charlotte saw a bright flashing light in her room, only she noticed that her room was way bigger than she remembered.

“Who is the one who summons me on this pleasant star-filled night?”  A kind and gentle voice boomed, filling Charlotte’s bedroom.  The bright light, which materialized into a fairy wearing a sparkling crystal crown, glanced around the room to see who it was who called upon her.  “What is that I see?  A mound of bed sheets that are shaking?  Come out, whoever you are.  I just need to know who it was who summoned me.”

Charlotte couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  ‘I wished on a star and here she is!  It actually worked?’

Mythra smiled, as if her ears picked up sound from a different source.  “Of course it worked,” she spoke, as if she could hear every single thought in Charlotte’s head.  “The thoughts that I am hearing sound like that of a fair child.  Come out, fair child!  It is only I, Mythra.  There is indeed nothing to be afraid of.”

Charlotte finally mustered the courage to lift her covers enough for Mythra to see her head peeking out.  Still feeling very shy, Charlotte could feel herself soaking her Goodnite as she spoke.  “M-M-Mythra?  Can I please speak to you about a wish?”

Mythra let out a gentle and pleasant laugh which seemed to tickle Charlotte’s ears as she heard it.  “A wish?  Why of course!  After all, a wish was what summoned me here, wasn’t it?  But alas.  While I can be summoned by wishing on stars, I am currently unable to grant any kind of wish right now.”

Charlotte was heartbroken.  “But why?  To tell you the truth, Miss Mythra Ma’am, I am not a fair child.  I am actually an adult.  An adult trapped in a child’s body!”

Mythra let out another gentle and pleasant laugh which continued to tickle Charlotte’s eardrums.  “That seems to be quite the spell that you have, my dear.  Have you by chance been using any enchanted objects that may have caused this spell?”

Charlotte shook her head.  “None that I can think of Miss Mythra Ma’am.  Now, why can’t you grant any wishes?”

Mythra smiled, rapidly beating her fairy wings up and down.  She pointed to her beautiful neck, which was completely bare. 

“I went for a flight during the last starlit night. 

Much as I had to fear, my necklace wasn’t there! 

Then I found out why.  The necklace fell out of the sky.

Downward, the Sky Pendant Showered.  It was my one source of true power.

A mortal has found it indeed.  But it is the one thing that I need.

Find it for me and then.  I will grant any wish once again.

Once you have found it for me.  I’ll be able to address your plea.

Just know that I’m never too far.  When you wish upon a star.

There I will be.  The Sky Queen Fairy Mythra, that’s me.”

Charlotte was in awe, hearing Mythra’s beautiful voice recite her poetic explanation to her like it was a bedtime story.  “I will!” Charlotte told her with much urgency in her voice.  “When I find the Sky Pendant, I will give it to you!”

Mythra released another gentle and pleasant laugh, which delighted Charlotte’s ears once again.  “Very well, fair maiden trapped in a fair child.  There is nary a thing that I can do for you until I am wearing that necklace again.”

Charlotte pointed to her room and gasped.  “Why is my room so big?”

All Mythra could do was smile at this question.   “Troubled maiden, this is not your actual bedroom but the bedroom of your dreams.  When I am summoned by star, I can only answer by dream.  But do know that my fairy magic is very real and can only be unlocked through the use of my Sky Pendant.  It communicates with the wishes and deems their approval.  A star in the sky needs to be sacrificed for each wish that is made.  But worry not.  These stars are deep in space.  Troubled maiden, that is quite the spell that you have.  I would hasten in returning my necklace as it seems like you are running out of time.  What be your true age?”

Charlotte had to think for a moment as no one had asked her this in a while.  “I’m…almost thirty!”

“And you’re but barely eight,” Mythra immediately answered, as if she was reading Charlotte’s mind like an open book.  “That youth spell has taken 22 years of your life.  If you do not make speed soon, you will be but a mere babe swaddled by your mother, and then disappear.  I have been summoned by another star so I must bid you farewell.  Find my pendant and I will surely grant the wish to break the spell.  Farewell Lady Charlotte!”

Mythra vanished in a light that nearly blinded Charlotte.

The light turned out to be the light turning on in Charlotte’s room.

Charlotte opened her eyes to see her mother approaching her.

“Charlotte!  It’s time to wake up for school!”

Immediately, Charlotte sat up to feel a cold wetness all over her footed sleeper.  ‘No.  Not again!’

Darcy lifted up the covers to find Charlotte’s footed sleeper darkened from the waist down.

Charlotte could already feel the cold wet spot that was underneath her.  Somehow, despite the Goodnite, Charlotte had managed to do it again.

Charlotte was sitting on cold damp bedding in a cold damp footed sleeper.  Charlotte’s Goodnite had leaked.

Charlotte once again wet the bed.

[Dirty Boy]

Who knows if it was just a dream, if it is Charlotte unconsciously knows that she is missing her shoes, but apparently something is preventing her from realizing it

[Night Rain]

Maybe instead of wishing to regain her age and older body, she should wish to stop having accidents.

[PamperedPrince]

On 1/31/2025 at 10:44 AM, Dirty Boy said:

Who knows if it was just a dream, if it is Charlotte unconsciously knows that she is missing her shoes, but apparently something is preventing her from realizing it

From what's going on, that's what seeming to be the case. 

9 hours ago, Night Rain said:

Maybe instead of wishing to regain her age and older body, she should wish to stop having accidents.

I don't know if that would be the better thing to wish for.  Perhaps there's something else that Charlotte could focus on?

Time for the next Chapter...

 

Chapter 39

“MOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!”

A warm stream of tears was flowing down Charlotte’s reddened face.

Darcy immediately went into mother mode, giving Charlotte a warm and compassionate hug.  “Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…..Shhhhhhhhh!!! Shhhhh….It’s okay, Charlie dear.  Mommy’s here.  Accidents happen, dear.  Now, we’re going to get you out of those pajamas and into the shower, okay?  Here.  Let mommy help you out of those pajamas, okay sweetie?”

Charlotte produced a tearful nod as her mother began to unzip her footed sleeper.  Part of her just wanted to explode with anger.  Part of her wanted to point out just how much of a baby she was behaving like.  But the emotions flowing from her seven-year-old self overwhelmed any attempt for the real Charlotte to take control over her body, which was regressing at an unpredictable rate.  Her true self was choked out by Charlotte’s choked sobs, who was still very upset about her recent accident.  Charlotte could now see herself being led by her mother to the bathroom in just a soggy Goodnite, which was just about to fall off her.  It was hanging on around her waist for dear life.  The slightest stride could free the Goodnite at any time.

Darcy glanced at the sodden Goodnite that was hanging between Charlotte’s legs and sighed.  ‘Just the Goodnite alone is not going to be enough anymore.  I didn’t want to do this, but I’m going to start using the booster pads.’  Darcy’s arm was tightly wrapped around Charlotte’s torso as they entered the bathroom together.  Right after they crossed the threshold to the bathroom, the heavy Goodnite fell between Charlotte’s legs, sloshing as it hit the tiled floor.  “Get in the shower,” she instructed Charlotte, trying to sound warm and kind.

Charlotte entered the shower and began cleaning up, while her mother left the bathroom.  She glanced down at her body and the emotions from her true self began to surface almost immediately.  ‘Really.  I am tired of being a kid again!  Why do I have to deal with pissing myself all the time like this?!’  She then thought about the dream that she had and her meeting with Mythra.  ‘Was that really real?  Did I REALLY meet Mythra?  If I did, then I better get that necklace back to her.’ Then part of Charlotte began to fill with doubt.  ‘What if that Mythra wasn’t real?  What if it was all my imagination?  Then…Then…’  Charlotte shook her head, refusing to let any more doubt creep into her mind.  Mythra had to be real.  Charlotte knew that this was the only hope that she had left in getting herself back to her normal age.  If she dismissed Mythra as a figment of her imagination, then what hope was there in reversing her age regression?  With that, as silly as it felt in Charlotte’s mind, she had to believe that she really did meet Mythra, and that she had to get her Sky Pendant necklace back to her at all costs.

Charlotte watched as the foamed up soap that covered her body begin to wash off and flow down the drain.  As she glanced at her body, it made her miss her old self all the more.  ‘Oh, how I miss my curves and the rest of my beautiful body!’  This was not the body of a supermodel.  Not by a long shot.  This was the body of a girl that she already knew.  The body of a life that she already lived.  Why did she have to relive this again?  ‘Why?’ It just didn’t make sense to Charlotte.  And for whatever reason, Charlotte just couldn’t think of the cause that made her younger in the first place.  It was like the very source of her troubles trying to prevent her from figuring it out.  Clouding her mind and redirecting her with more comforting thoughts.  Thoughts of acceptance.  Thoughts of forgetting about the problem and dismissing it.  Like it just didn’t matter anymore.  The source of the problem just didn’t want to be found.

And to the real Charlotte’s disgust, she saw it again.  Yellow water dripping down into the drain of the shower.  A small stream of pee escaping her without her willing any of the muscles to do anything.  It was like her own muscles have betrayed her in this younger body.

Charlotte finished her shower and wrapped herself in a towel, which began to unravel as she ran into her bedroom.  Sitting by her dresser was a set of clothes that her mother laid out for her.  It was a yellow Garanimals dress with multicolored hearts.  Sitting on top of her dress was that new Minnie Mouse underwear that her mother had her try yesterday.  ‘That’s right!  I forgot about that new underwear…’  Charlotte pulled her face underneath her dress, finding the collar before pulling her head through it and pushing her arms through both of the ruffled sleeves.  After that, Charlotte put the new underwear on, once again feeling the padding from the polyester lining.  In a way, it felt like the Goodnites only she knew that it didn’t hold a lot of pee.  Finally, she noticed a pair of mid-crew lavender socks with lilac buds sewn into the ankles.  After she put her socks on, she saw Darcy peeking her face into the bedroom.

“I see that you’re dressed, dear.” Darcy said with a smile.  “I put your bedding in the washer, and I have all your changes of clothing for the week ready to drop off at school, just in case you have any accidents this week.  Now, I already mixed your Carnation Breakfast Essentials and have your toast ready downstairs.  Eat your breakfast so that we can get going.  Okay?”

After Charlotte finished her breakfast, the rest of the events seemed like a blur to Charlotte.  Charlotte was already entering the school with her mother, since she had her changes of clothing to drop off with the school nurse.

At this point, elementary school felt like so much of a normal part of Charlotte’s life that she almost forgot that she was a fifth grader just a week ago.  And just eight days ago, she was in eighth grade.  In adding up both regression episodes, Charlotte went back six years in eight days.  But for some reason now, this new week of elementary school just felt normal to her.

But the real Charlotte knew better.  She understood the complacency of her simple 2^nd grade mind and how much of a trick it was playing on herself.  Normal?  This was anything BUT normal.  ‘Really.  Is regressing six years in eight days normal?  Eight days ago, I could sit in a normal car seat instead of a stupid five-point baby harness…’ Now granted she still needed a booster seat until the tenth grade, that was definitely better than being strapped in something so juvenile.

Charlotte entered Miss Willoughby’s class early enough to be the first student in the classroom.

Miss Willoughby approached Charlotte with a smile.

“Charlotte?” Miss Willoughby said as she made sweeping glances to ensure their privacy.  “I have been told that we have a girl in this class that needs to be told when she needs to use the bathroom.  Now, I want you to encourage this girl for me, okay?  Whenever you have to go, just wink at me, okay?  Just remember for me to wink back.  We can’t let this girl know, okay?  It can be our secret signal!”

Charlotte gasped.  “Would I tell this girl to come with me?  Is it Gabrielle?”

Miss Willoughby continued to smile.  “Charlotte, I can’t tell you who this girl is.  Can you keep this secret for me, Charlotte?  Maybe if she sees you go, she’ll go too!”

Charlotte nodded.  “Yes Miss Willo!  I’m good at keeping secrets!  I also have a secret!  I’m wearing special underwear!”  Charlotte lifted her dress to show Miss Willoughby her Minnie Mouse training underwear.  “Is this girl wearing the special underwear, too?”

Miss Willoughby shrugged her shoulders.  “I didn’t ask the girl, and we should respect her privacy, okay?  Now, I just want you to wink at me whenever you have to go to the bathroom.  I will wink back.  You’ll be helping this girl, as she’ll hopefully want to go to the bathroom, when you go, okay?”

Charlotte nodded.  “Okay!  I love being a helper!”

About a couple minutes later, a few more students entered the classroom, including Gabrielle, who looked very excited.

Gabrielle had what looked like a small handful of envelopes in her hand.  She handed one to Charlotte.

“Mommy told me that I could give you this.” Gabrielle told Charlotte.

Charlotte held the envelope and looked at it with curiosity.  “What is it?”

“It’s an invitation to my birthday party!” Gabrielle told her.  “My 8^th birthday is on the 27^th and I wanna go bowling!  So will you be coming?”

Charlotte scratched her head.  “I will have to ask my mommy first.  But I wanna go!”

“It will be fun!” Gabrielle said, looking excited.  “I love bowling!  My older sister does it all the time, so my mommy takes me to the bowling alley a lot.  You take this heavy ball, and you try to knock down as many pins as you can.  I’ll show you on my birthday!”

Both Charlotte and Gabrielle’s conversation was cut short as Miss Willoughby was beginning the class.  Just as she was starting, Miss Willoughby winked at Charlotte.

Charlotte smiled.  ‘I don’t have to pee yet, but I’ll remember to wink.  I need to help that girl!’

As the class progressed, Charlotte glanced around the classroom, hoping to find the girl that needed to use the bathroom.  The problem was that it could be any girl in her class, so Charlotte couldn’t figure out who it was.

Just then, Charlotte felt the need to pee.  Even though Miss Willoughby was in the middle of a Math lesson, Charlotte winked at Miss Willoughby, trying to get her attention.

Miss Willoughby finally glanced on the side of the room where Charlotte was sitting, noticing her winking right away.  She immediately winked back.

After that, Charlotte got up, hoping that the girl would see her.  ‘Is she looking my way?  I hope that she follows me to the bathroom!’

Charlotte got up and slowly paced outside the bathroom but began to hurry when her urge to pee worsened.

As Charlotte entered the bathroom, she could begin to feel trickles of pee entering her underwear.  She entered a stall and sat down on the toilet, hearing the whistle of the pee against the inside of the toilet bowl.  Charlotte then glanced down at her training underwear, noticing the small amount of pee that the underwear was holding in the liner.  While her dress was still dry, her underwear was still holding her tiny accident.

As Charlotte was finishing up, she remembered the girl that she had to help.  “Where is she?” Charlotte said with a frown.  “I hope that she didn’t have an accident!”

Charlotte finished up and left the stall, glancing around to see if the girl would enter.  But to her disappointment, she never did.  ‘Maybe I need to do better with helping!’

Charlotte returned to class, darting her eyes frantically back and forth, hoping to find a girl that looked desperate to use the bathroom.

The day continued on, with Charlotte working on her assignments.

When the class emptied for lunch, Charlotte glanced at Miss Willoughby with disappointment.

“I did what you told me, but I couldn’t find the girl!” Charlotte said, frowning.

But Miss Willoughby gave Charlotte an encouraging smile.  “Good job, Charlotte.  The girl finally did go.  She went while you were working on one of your assignments.”

Charlotte sighed.  “But I didn’t see her get up to use the bathroom!  I kept looking up, trying to help her.”

“But I did see her, Charlotte.” Miss Willoughby told her.  “She didn’t want to be noticed so she went during the few minutes that you spent working on your assignment.  You’re doing a good job helping.  But I think that this girl needs even more help so can you continue to be my helper?”

Charlotte nodded.  “I will!  I like to help!”

Miss Willoughby gave Charlotte a sweet smile.  “Good.  I’m sure the girl appreciates it too!”

As Charlotte made her way to the cafeteria, she sighed.  ‘I wish that I knew who the girl was.  We could be friends!’

During lunch, Charlotte sat with Gabrielle, Beth, and Lisa.  Gabrielle and Charlotte ended up talking about The Ringmaster Chronicles.  The conversation then shifted to Gabrielle’s birthday party, where Charlotte found out that both Beth and Lisa were also invited to her party as well.

As Charlotte was finishing her chocolate milk, Charlotte immediately felt the need to pee, followed by a bowel movement.

“I…” Charlotte said as she began to scramble up as her muscles began to tighten around her.  “I gotta go!”

Beth glanced at Charlotte and nodded.  “I know the feeling!  Hurry to the bathroom!”

Gabrielle nodded.  “Yes. Hurry Charlotte!”

But unfortunately, Charlotte wasn’t fast enough.  She could feel the warm flow of pee escaping her.  But to her surprise, none of her friends saw her dress get wet.  That’s when Charlotte remembered that she was wearing the special underwear.  A large bulge of pee was beginning to pool around the lining.

As Charlotte began to run, she could feel herself peeing more and more.  And as she entered the bathroom, the lining couldn’t hold anymore, and she could begin to feel the pee running down her legs and into her socks.  Fortunately, she was wearing her other shoes since her running shoes were packed for Junior Track on Wednesday.

By the time that Charlotte sat down, most of the pee had already escaped her and she released what little she had into the toilet.  Her bowel movement happened again, so she released a few logs of poop into the toilet.

After she finished up, she made her way to the nurse’s office.

Brenda sighed when she saw Charlotte standing there.  “Another accident?” Brenda said with a frown.  “You should be having fun out there at recess!  Your mom told me about your new underwear.  Do you need a change of clothing?”

Charlotte sadly nodded, and pointed to the hem of her dress, which had a little pee on it.

But when Brenda pulled back Charlotte’s dress, she saw that her training underwear was soaked, along with her socks.  “It looks like a bad accident!  Here.  Let me wipe you off and get you into some new clothes, okay?”

Nurse Brenda removed Charlotte’s sodden training underwear and wiped her clean with some Kandoo kids wipes.  She then pulled a new Garanimals dress on Charlotte, which was lavender, with white butterflies.  She then helped Charlotte put on a new pair of Minnie Mouse training underwear.  After that, she pointed at the door.  ‘Quick Charlotte!  You have about 15 more minutes of recess!’

Charlotte hurried outside to enjoy recess with Gabrielle and her other friends.

For the rest of the day, Charlotte was very careful about using the bathroom when she needed to.  She winked at Miss Willoughby and used the bathroom to pee a couple more times.  During both those times, Charlotte looked around, hoping to find the girl that needed to use the bathroom.  But unfortunately, she was unsuccessful.

At the end of the day, Charlotte approached Miss Willoughby when all the students left the classroom.

“Miss Willo?” Charlotte asked.  “Did I help the girl who needed to use the bathroom?”

Miss Willoughby nodded.  “You did, Charlotte.  You helped that girl a lot today.  While I can’t tell you who it is, she’s very grateful.  Remember.  She can’t find out that you’re helping her!”

Charlotte nodded.  “But I’m helping her, right?”

Miss Willoughby smiled.  “You are, Charlotte.  Work on your reading assignment for tomorrow, okay?  We’re also going to continue that science lesson with the egg.  It should hatch by the end of the month!  See you tomorrow, Charlotte!”

Charlotte went to the library to wait for her mother to pick her up.  She had nothing else to work on with her theories, since she knew that she had to get the necklace for Mythra.  Then it hit Charlotte.  ‘That’s right!  I need to write the new entry!’

But before Charlotte could write anything new in her Mystery Notebook, she could feel a tap on her shoulder.

“Mommy!” Charlotte shouted.  ‘I’ll work on the entry later before bed.’  She muttered to herself in her mind.

“So did you have a good day, Charlotte?”

Charlotte was sitting in her car seat, smiling.  “Yes mommy!  I had a really good day!  Gabrielle gave me this letter thing that you put letters in and she invited me to her birthday!  It’s on the 27^th and she wants to go bowling.  Can I go, mommy?  Please mommy?  Please?”

Darcy smiled.  She was elated that her daughter was finally making friends and that one of them invited her to a birthday party.  “Sure you can go, dear!  I’ll have to talk to her mother Danika though.  We exchanged numbers at the movie theater the other night.”

“Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!” Charlotte squealed with excitement.  So much so that she could feel just a little pee escaping her.

Darcy then frowned.  “Brenda told me about your accident today, honey.  Did you pee through your training underwear?  Please tell me what happened.”

Charlotte was on the verge of tears.  “I…It was after lunch and I really had to pee!  But it was too late, so I began to pee.  Then I ran to the bathroom and had an accident!”

Darcy softly sighed but tried to console Charlotte with a smile.  “It’s an accident, Charlotte.  You did what you could.  Just wait until tonight.  I have an idea that might help you.”

After having leftovers from last night for dinner, Charlotte was done brushing her teeth and was in her bedroom, standing in just her Minnie Mouse training underwear.

Darcy got out a Goodnite and pointed to the booster pad that laid inside it.  “See Charlotte?  I stuck that extra liner inside your Goodnite, and it’s called a booster pad.  It’s supposed to hold one more accident before overflowing into your Goodnite.”

Charlotte glanced at it and sighed.  “Will I not have an accident, mommy?  What idea do you have to help?”

Darcy pointed to the booster pad that was inside the Goodnite.  “That is the idea that might help, dear.  I’m hoping that it’s going to help, as it seems like you’re having a lot of accidents.”  She then gave Charlotte a pensive look.  ‘Hopefully, I can get this under control.  I would hate to see my poor girl wearing Goodnites during the day.’

Charlotte pulled open the drawer to get out another Goodnite.  “Can I just try a normal one?”  To Charlotte’s disappointment, every one of her Goodnites now had a booster pad stuck inside it.

“They all have a booster pad now, hun.” Darcy told her.  “Your accidents are getting worse so I’m trying to help you!”

Charlotte sighed as her mother helped her get the newly modified Goodnite on her.  With the new booster pad, Charlotte could feel even more bulky in her Goodnite now.  ‘This might take some getting used to.’

Darcy zipped Charlotte into a Gerber purple footed sleeper with white polka dots.  She smiled, pointing to the new bedding and the My Little Pony comforter.  “I washed your bedding, dear so you’re going to be in dry sheets tonight.  Here.  Let mommy tuck you in.”  Darcy placed Charlotte in her bed and tucked her in.  “Your water is on your nightstand in case you get thirsty.  Good night, dear.”  She gave Charlotte a kiss on the forehead and turned off the light before leaving the room.

Charlotte got out of her bed and unzipped her backpack, taking out SUPER SLEUTH CHARLOTTE’S MYSTERY NOTEBOOK (For solving the mystery!)  And using the glow of her night light, she wrote a new entry:

10/14/2024

Eye am still in cuntrol and eye hav some incuragen news.  I spoak too a fairee named Mifra inn my dureams last nite and she tuld me that she wuz missen her sky pen dant neklus and she wants me too return it too her.  I tuld her that I wuld and wen she has it, I will hav one wish.  My wish will be too be restowed too my oridgenal age.  I hate not beeing abel too spel words cohrectly and I fink its stoopid too hav such a limetted undastaden wen I used too no more fings.  Eye want too bee a supermoedel agin and I want mye nohmel life agin!  Eye am allmoast firty fuhking yeers uld and knot a kid anymor!  I am dun wif this stoopid body Mifra eyem readee too find your neklus gurant my wish so I kin bee an adolt agin!

 

Charlotte slammed the book shut in frustration.  ‘Why?  Words are getting harder for me to spell.  Oh, I hope that I’m not getting younger already!  I need to find that pendant and soon!’  Charlotte sighed and downed her glass of water before she got back in her bed.  Frustrated and defeated, she crawled back into her covers, now beginning to default to the comfort that she craved the most.  This was quickly satisfied by finding Bobo, which took her little effort to find him.  Charlotte found Bobo lying next to her legs and grabbed him.  She wrapped her arms around Bobo and released all her anxiety as she held him in a tight embrace.  Feeling a lot better, Charlotte quickly fell asleep.

[Night Rain]

Will Charlotte be able to attend the birthday party or will she de age again and miss out?

[PamperedPrince]

21 hours ago, Night Rain said:

Will Charlotte be able to attend the birthday party or will she de age again and miss out?

Stay tuned!  😄

[PamperedPrince]

Chapter 40

Charlotte tossed and turned in her bed.  As she flopped onto her stomach, her full bladder began to release, and she began to soak her Goodnite.  The booster pad swelled up and began to spill out, flowing into the Goodnite.  Still asleep, Charlotte tossed and turned again, now lying on her back.  The rest of the pee flowed into the thirsty Goodnite.  The Goodnite drank it up, gelling up and beginning to balloon and swell around Charlotte’s legs.

Charlotte woke up and felt the bed.  Unlike last night, her bed was dry.  But when she rolled over, she felt the slightly warm squishiness of her Goodnite.  ‘Again.  I soaked it again.  Whatever happened to me having a cast iron bladder?’

Minutes later, the door opened, and the light turned on. Charlotte’s tender moment with Bobo was cut short as her mother began to approach her bed.

“Good morning, sweetie!” Darcy said in a sweet, almost melodic voice.  “Any accidents?” Darcy pulled back the covers and felt her hands over the dry bedding.  “No wet bed! But how did the Goodnite do?” Darcy performed the squish test on Charlotte by pressing her hands over the noticeable bulge around the crotch and butt of Charlotte’s footed sleeper.  “It looks like you soaked that one good.  From how that went, we might need the boosters every night, dear.”

Charlotte nodded as she got out of bed.  She could feel the extra weight from the oversaturated Goodnite sagging heavily between her legs.  “I guess I went a little.”

Darcy laughed.  “A little?  Sweetie, I think you peed a whole river in there!  C’mon.  Get your shower and I’ll get your clothes and breakfast ready, okay?”

Charlotte got her shower and ate her breakfast, which was the same as yesterday.

Since Darcy had an extra important gig that morning, she was very quick in getting Charlotte off to school.  Like yesterday, Charlotte was in another ruffle sleeve dress.  ‘It’s much easier than having her experience an embarrassing accident in jeans.’

Like yesterday, Miss Willoughby told Charlotte to help the girl out again, even though Charlotte still didn’t have any idea who this girl was in her class.

Charlotte began to guess who the girl was.  ‘It might be Gabrielle.’ Charlotte thought.  ‘But I can’t let her know!’

During that morning, Charlotte managed to wink at Miss Willoughby three times, using the bathroom to pee twice and the third time to pee and poop.

But during the second half of the day, both of Charlotte’s trips to the bathroom were near misses, with Charlotte barely making it to the bathroom on time.

During the last part of class, it was science class, and Charlotte was learning about life and the egg was used to teach the class about this concept.

Charlotte anxiously stared at the egg, as she wrote about her thoughts on life and what she wanted to see when the egg hatched.  ‘I just want it to hatch!’ Charlotte thought.

Like yesterday, Charlotte waited in the library after school, waiting in there until she saw her mother.

As Charlotte was leaving the school with her mother, she immediately noticed that the liner of her training underwear was bulging with pee.  ‘That’s weird.  When did this happen?’  Charlotte really couldn’t figure it out.  For all she knew, she could’ve been peeing when she was sitting there during the last part of class.  ‘If I knew I was going, I would’ve winked at Miss Willo!’  She silently sighed in frustration.  But there it was.  A bulge of pee pooling up in the liner of her training underwear.  Charlotte knew that if she peed anymore, she would definitely have an accident.  ‘I’ll wait until I get home!’  Charlotte decided in her mind.

But as Charlotte was riding home in her car seat, Charlotte had a strong need to pee again.  But right before she felt this need, she was already peeing.  The pee from the training underwear released and flowed down her legs, soaking the car seat she was sitting in.  Charlotte decided not to hold it this time.  She just let everything out.

And when Darcy unbuckled Charlotte, she immediately gasped.  “Charlie dear, you peed all over the car seat!  Did you forget to go to the bathroom today?”

Charlotte nodded, her face blushing as she began to cry.  “It was…at the end of the day, mommy.  I didn’t know I had to go.  And when I left the school, there was already a bunch of pee in my underwear.  I wanted to go when I got home, mommy.  I’m sorry…”

Darcy nodded and hugged Charlotte.  “It’s another accident, hun.  Don’t cry.  The underwear did their job, but you didn’t know you had to go, huh?  Well, maybe we need to start trying a timer so that you can go more often, okay?”

That night, Charlotte put on another Goodnite with the booster pad in the center of it.  While Charlotte didn’t like the booster pad, she felt a little more used to it this time.  ‘It’s okay.’ Charlotte decided.  ‘It will keep my bed dry!’

Darcy zipped Charlotte in a Gerber faded red footed sleeper with fuchsia heart patterns, a fuchsia collar and fuchsia sleeve cuffs.  She put Charlotte in her bed and tucked her in.  After that, she kissed Charlotte on the forehead.

“Good night, sweetie.” Darcy said, smiling as she approached the light switch.  She turned off the lights and left the bedroom.

Charlotte drank all her water before she fell asleep.  Like before, her eyelids grew heavy, and she fell asleep.

As Charlotte was snoring, her bladder began to release once again.  The thirsty Goodnite was quenched by the steady torrent of pee which escaped Charlotte.  The booster pad once again reached capacity and flowed into the Goodnite, which quickly gelled up inside the core and expanding outward.  The Goodnite grew and grew as the squishy core began to swell around Charlotte’s legs.  Finally, Charlotte’s bladder was done emptying, so it stopped.

Charlotte was now half awake when she actually felt the need to pee.  Unbeknownst to her, this was the second instance that she had to go.  While Charlotte wasn’t fully awake, she experienced some kind of sleep paralysis where she was unable to move.  All during this time, she could feel the pressure of her bladder muscles increase before deciding to give up.  ‘It’s okay.’ Charlotte thought.  ‘I have a Goodnite on.  And there’s a booster pad in it!  And it’s hardly full.’

The next flood began, and the nearly full Goodnite was about to reach its capacity.  Charlotte could feel her butt beginning to be tickled with the new warm pee that reached it.  Her legs too, felt the warmness.  And then…

Charlotte suddenly felt the warmth begin to spread underneath her. The Goodnite had no other space left, so it began to spill out of her leg openings.  The legs of her footed sleeper began to darken, running all the way down to her feet.  The back of her footed sleeper darkened until it spread all the way up to the collar.  Then, her neck began to feel wet.

By the time that Charlotte could finally move, her bladder was about empty.  She sat up, feeling the moisture drip down around her lap.  She then sprang out of bed.  The pee dripped down the legs of the footed sleeper and onto the carpeting.

Charlotte was overcome with emotion.  All she knew is that she wanted her mother right away.  And as she began to feel the coolness of her saturated pajamas, she began to cry.  “MOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY!!!!!!”

Darcy immediately heard Charlotte crying, and she was out of bed in a split second.  She scrambled to her light switch and turned it on.  Then she ran across the hall and thrust the door open before Charlotte could cry for her a second time.

“MOMMMM—”

Charlotte’s cry was cut short in mid-sentence as Darcy tightly wrapped her arms around her sopping wet daughter.

Darcy sighed.  “Oh honey!  You had another accident?  I don’t know what to do, dear.”  Darcy contemplated a couple options in her mind, but she didn’t want to upset Charlotte.  ‘I can’t bear putting my Charlie back in diapers.  She had a FIT the last time I tried to put her in them.  Maybe try the liners a few more days?’  Darcy then began to think about Junior track and the concerns that now filled her mind.  ‘After this incident, she’s wearing a Goodnite during Junior Track.  Can’t risk her peeing herself in front of the older kids.  Why, she’ll never want to run Junior Track again!’  She then guided Charlotte to the bathroom, frowning as she watched Charlotte produce wet footprints with each step she took.  ‘Poor girl…’

Charlotte stood there as she let her mother unzip her footed sleeper and remove her sopping wet Goodnite.  Charlotte was too upset to do anything for herself.  When she felt her mother tap her on her bare arm, she was still sniffling, finding snot hanging out of her nostrils.

Darcy noticed this and covered Charlotte’s nose with a tissue.  “Blow your nose, dear.”

Charlotte blew her nose hard, freeing the snot into the tissue.  She then glanced at her mother, as if she was waiting for her to respond to her non-verbal plea.

Darcy nodded, noticing that Charlotte wasn’t entering the shower and turning it on.  “Did you want me to help you, honey?”

Charlotte nodded, now sobbing quietly.

Darcy detached the shower head and positioned Charlotte in the tub so that she was sitting down.  She turned on the shower and began to wet down Charlotte’s long black hair.  She then took a generous glob of the kid’s shampoo and began to lather Charlotte’s hair, making careful and delicate motions with her hands.  Each movement was done with a loving touch and care, with Charlotte smiling as she felt the shampoo begin to saturate her hair.  “Honey, we’ll have to keep trying the Goodnites with the booster pads.  I know you don’t like them, but can you please be patient with me?”

Charlotte nodded.  “It’s fine, mommy.  We’ll keep using them.”  Charlotte still felt a little sad as the protection that was supposed to keep her dry betrayed her.

Darcy continued to rinse Charlotte’s hair and then began to lather her entire body.  She lovingly scrubbed every part before rinsing everything thoroughly.  “There you go, sweetie.  All clean.” Darcy glanced at how dark it was outside.  “It’s almost 4:00, honey.  Let’s get you in some fresh pajamas.  You can sleep with mommy until the morning.  I’ll take care of your bedding.  Okay?

Charlotte was placed in her mother’s bed while she took care of the bedding.  But before she could even return, Charlotte fell asleep.

Charlotte awoke again to feel her mother brushing up next to her.  ‘It’s mommy.’ Charlotte could feel the warm embrace of her mother surrounding her.  This comfort was enough for Charlotte’s eyes to become heavy.  ‘This feels good…’

The next thing that Charlotte felt was her being shook awake by her mother.

“Charlie!  It’s time to get up!  I already made your breakfast and you don’t need to shower.  Just get your clothes on. Okay?”

As Charlotte was getting out of bed, Darcy brushed up against Charlotte’s footed sleeper.

‘Hmm…’ Darcy thought.  ‘She’s only a little damp this morning.  That’s good.  With that, she’s definitely wearing Goodnites to the Junior Track meet later today.’

Charlotte walked to her room and noticed that her clothes were already picked out for her.  She pulled on another Garanimals ruffle sleeved dress, only this one had different colored cherry patterns.  But when Charlotte slipped on her Minnie Mouse Training underwear, she noticed some extra padding in the center.  That’s when she felt the familiar padding from what she now knew was the booster pads.  ‘So, she’s putting booster pads in the training underwear now?’

Charlotte sat down and slipped on a pair of mid-crew pink socks with a white/hot pink/white striped pattern around the ankle.

Darcy entered Charlotte’s room and noticed Charlotte frowning.

Charlotte pressed her hand, feeling the padding from the booster pad in her training underwear.  “Why are we using the booster pads, mommy?  Aren’t they for nighttime?”

Darcy nodded.  “You’re having more accidents, honey so I think this will help you during the daytime.  If your accident leaks out of the lining, the booster pad will catch it.  We need to keep trying new things, okay?”

Charlotte was still a little upset that her mother did this without talking to her.

Charlotte was now drinking her Carnation Breakfast Essentials downstairs and was reaching for her buttered toast.

Darcy was holding Charlotte’s cute little My Little Pony bag that held her running clothes for the Junior Track meet later on in the day.  She stuffed a Goodnite in there instead of her training underwear since she knew that “Charlotte needs it”.  ‘Hope she doesn’t get too angry.’ Darcy thought as she watched her daughter finish her toast.

“All done, mommy!” Charlotte announced before brushing the crumbs of toast off her lips.

Charlotte was now buckled into her car seat, with both her bags sitting on the floor near the car seat.

As the 4Runner made its way toward Langford Elementary, Charlotte couldn’t help but notice a man walking down the street of her neighborhood.  She shrugged her shoulders when she saw him as the car turned onto the road that led towards the Langford schools.

Charlotte then pouted when she thought of her recent accidents.  The real Charlotte wanted to break free so bad.  ‘My accidents are getting worse!  It’s typical since I’m in the body of a little kid.  Just where is Mythra’s pendant?  I NEED that to wish myself back to normal.  I miss my old friends!  Lexi…Maya…I miss you both…’

For the rest of the trip, Charlotte began to think about the Junior Track meet that she would be having after school.  Unlike her classes at Langford Elementary, this Junior Track would be held at Langford Middle School with the 5^th to 8^th Graders.  Charlotte knew that none of her new friends had an interest in track or even modeling.  But Jess did!  So did Kelly!  And there were two other girls that she knew that were even older than Jess and Kelly.  They were her “besties for life”.  But who were they?  Charlotte tried to think of their names for the rest of the trip to the elementary school.

That’s when she felt her mother unbuckling her from her car seat.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking about, dear but it’s time for school,” Darcy kindly said as she pointed her finger in the direction of the entrance to Langford Elementary.  “You must be excited about the Junior Track, but that’s later, hun.  Have a good day, Charlie Darlie!”

Charlotte, still deep in thought, grabbed both her bags that her mother handed to her and left the 4Runner.

Charlotte tried to think of the names of her best friends all the way to Miss Willoughby’s 2^nd Grade Classroom.  She sat down in her seat and continued thinking.

“Charlotte!”

Charlotte turned to notice Gabrielle pointing at her My Little Pony bag.  “Nice bag, Charlotte.  Why do you have a second bag today?”

Charlotte smiled.  “I’m running with the big kids today!”

Gabrielle gasped.  “Big kids?  How big are they, Charlotte?”

Charlotte thought for a moment.  “Well, from what my mommy said, they’re from 5^th Grade to 8^th Grade.”

Gabrielle gasped.  “Wow!  Is it that Junior Track?  My sister is in 6^th grade, and she really likes to run.  Her name is Emily.”

Charlotte was surprised.  “Emily?  I might see her then!”

Gabrielle nodded.  “And you’ll see me there too.  I’m going to be watching my sister’s track meet after school.  I’ll be looking for you!”

This made Charlotte want the day to end all the more so that she wanted to run Junior Track and see all her friends.  Including…who were they?  Charlotte still couldn’t remember the name of her two 12^th grade friends.

The day began with Miss Willoughby winking at Charlotte.

This reminded Charlotte of her other task that she needed to do for today.  ‘That girl!  I need to encourage her to use the bathroom!  From what she told me last time, that girl really needs my help.  She glanced at Gabrielle, thinking that she was “that girl”.

Throughout the day, Charlotte winked at Miss Willoughby as her secret signal that they both agreed upon for Charlotte to use the bathroom.  All three times during the morning, Charlotte found her training underwear to be wet, with her booster pad starting to get wet towards lunch time.  While Charlotte managed to pee most of it into the toilet every time, this wasn’t without her having her little accidents before she made it to the bathroom.

After her third time, she glanced around to find the girl to be nowhere.  ‘Hmm.  It looks like Gabrielle is shy in using the bathroom!’  But just as she was entering the classroom, she saw Gabrielle leaving it. ‘Could she be using the bathroom?  I’m glad I’m helping!’

After lunch, Charlotte winked two more times, peeing and pooping the first time and peeing the second time.  Of course she didn’t make it both times so the booster pad was doing its job in protecting Charlotte from a worse accident.

After class, Charlotte couldn’t take it anymore in guessing who the girl was.  So, she approached Gabrielle.

“Gabby?” Charlotte said in a hushed tone.  “Can I speak to you away from everyone?”

Gabrielle smiled.  “Sure Charlotte!  What did you want to discuss?”

Charlotte glanced around the room.  “Something that no one else can find out.”

Gabrielle nodded.  “Sure!  Let’s go to the library.  My mom’s going to be a little bit before she picks me up.”

Once in the library, Charlotte found a spot behind some bookshelves where no one else was.  She then glanced at Gabrielle.  ‘Here it goes.  I hope that Gabby isn’t too embarrassed…’

Gabrielle gave Charlotte a curious glance.  “Well?  What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?  Did you want to discuss The Ringmaster Chronicles?  Oh!  Could it be the progress on the book since you don’t want Miss Willo to find out?”

Charlotte sighed.  “No.  It has to do with…okay.  I’ll just say it.  Miss Willo told me that I needed to help a girl in my class that needed to go to the bathroom.  But the only problem is that I can’t tell her about it!  So me and her have a signal for me to let her know when I have to go to the bathroom.  I simply wink my eye at her, and she winks back.  I was hoping that by leaving class that I would be helping the girl to go to the bathroom, you know?”

Gabrielle smiled.  “Well, I hope that you’re helping that girl, Charlotte!”

Charlotte nodded.  “I hope that I’m helping her, too because I think that the girl is you.”

Gabrielle gasped.  “Me?  Do you think that I have a problem with going to the bathroom, Charlotte?  I have been potty trained since I was two and a half!”

Charlotte frowned.  “So you aren’t wearing any special underwear or anything?  It’s okay to tell me if you are because I wear them too…oops.”  Charlotte cupped her hand over her mouth in embarrassment when she realized that she said too much.

Gabrielle now began to look at Charlotte with concern.  “Special underwear?  What do you mean?  Pull-Ups?”  Gabrielle glanced at Charlotte, who was now covering her face in embarrassment.  “Do you wear Pull-Up’s, Charlotte?  Is that what this is about?  It’s okay, Charlotte.  I’ll still be your friend if you tell me.”  Gabrielle lifted her dress to show Charlotte her underwear.  “See?  It’s My Little Pony.  It’s Midnight Sparkle.  My favorite!  What’s yours?”

Charlotte lifted her dress to show Gabrielle her Minnie Mouse training underwear.  “It’s Minnie Mouse, but the underwear is a lot thicker than yours.  The front is supposed to hold pee in case I have an accident.  And…” Charlotte paused to realize that her booster pad was nearly soaked.  “Oh no!”

Gabrielle gasped.  “What?  I don’t think it’s anything to be a ashamed of.  I’m still your friend!”

Charlotte shook her head.  “It’s not that.  It’s just…I had too many accidents today and my booster pad is soaked.”

Gabrielle looked surprised.  “Is that supposed to hold even more accidents?  Aw.  I always knew that you went to the bathroom a lot, but I never thought that you were one of those kids that still needed help.  No one else in class will need to know, okay?  It will be our secret!  I won’t even tell Beth or Lisa!  I promise!  I PINKY promise!”

Charlotte sighed.  “All I wanted to do was find the girl who I needed to help.  And since it’s not you, I don’t know now.”

Gabrielle smiled.  “What if the girl doesn’t want to be found out?  I just found out that you have a problem that you can’t help.  Do you really think that the girl wants you to find out her secret?”

Charlotte gasped.  “You’re right.  I’ll keep helping the girl secretly!”

Gabrielle nodded.  “I will, too!  Even if I find out who the girl is, I won’t tell her.  Don’t you tell her either!”

Charlotte smiled.  “Deal!”

At that, Gabrielle leapt forward and gave Charlotte a big hug.

In the middle of the hug, Darcy tapped Charlotte on the shoulder.

“Oh, that’s so sweet!” Darcy said with a smile.  “Are you hugging your new friend, Charlotte?”

Charlotte nodded.  “Yeah!  That’s Gabby.”

Gabrielle gave Darcy a shy wave.  “Hi!  See you at Junior Track!”

Darcy looked puzzled.  “So am I taking her there now?”

Charlotte shook her head.  “No!  Her older sister Emily is running it since she’s in sixth grade!”

Darcy smiled and waved at Gabrielle.  “Your mom is probably coming soon.  See you there!”

Gabrielle nodded and glanced at Charlotte.  “Bye!  I’ll be rooting for you at the track!”

Just as Charlotte and her mother left the library, Charlotte noticed a woman that looked familiar.

Darcy noticed her right away.  “Danika!  Your daughter is in the library!”

Danika smiled.  “Thanks.  Another teacher said that a couple of girls entered the library, so I was just about to look for her.  Is she reading again?  She’s quite the bookworm!  Thanks.  I’ll go get Gabs.”

Darcy cracked a smile.  “See you at the Junior Track meet!”

Danika gave Darcy a curious glance.  “Yeah, her older sister Emmy runs but what’s the occasion?  Just wanted Charlotte and Gabby to spend more time together?”

Darcy shook her head.  “Nope.  Charlotte is running in Junior Track!”

Danika gasped.  “Charlotte?  Your girl?!  She’s in the second grade and she’s going to be running with middle schoolers!”

Darcy gave her a proud nod.  “I know.  My Charlie is that fast.  Just you wait!”

Danika nodded.  “It should be fun.  See you there!”

Charlotte’s trip from Langford Elementary to Langford Middle School was a short one since it wasn’t too far of a drive.  Within three minutes of driving, her mother was already there.

Darcy walked into Langford Middle School with Charlotte.

As Charlotte was approaching the girl’s locker room, Charlotte saw a familiar face.

“Is that the girl that I heard so much about?” the girl told Charlotte.  “You remember me, don’t you?  I just saw you at Olive Garden!”

Charlotte gasped.  “Jess!”

Jess gave Charlotte a hug.

“Oh, aren’t you just the sweetie!” Jess said with a widening smile.  “I can already tell the kind of fun we’re going to have when I babysit you.  Anyway, since you’re on the special program, you get your own locker, Charlotte!  And don’t worry about it being used during school hours.  It’s an extra locker that never gets used…until now!  It’s got your name on it, Char!”

Charlotte glanced at Jess and noticed that she was already in her fitness gear.  A white T-shirt and grey jogging pants.

Jess glanced at Darcy and gave her a reassuring nod.  “Not to worry, Miss Warren.  For this afternoon and part of this evening, Charlotte is my charge.  You find a nice seat in the bleachers, and I’ll take care of her!”

Darcy smiled.  “Is that okay, Charlotte?  Mommy will watch you from the audience!”

Charlotte nodded.  “Let’s go, Jess!”

“There we go!” Jess said, almost laughing.  “This way Miss Warren.”

Charlotte followed Jess all the way to her locker room.

When Jess noticed that the bag Charlotte was carrying was too heavy for her, she picked it up and walked the rest of the way, toward a bench with a row of lockers nearby.

A couple of girls were in their training bras, just about to put on their T-shirts.

Charlotte sighed at the sight of the girls and then glanced at her lack of cleavage.  ‘It’s the punishment I get for being a little girl again.’ Charlotte sighed in her mind.

Jess then pointed to the locker, trying to get Charlotte’s attention.  “This is your locker, Charlotte.  Here’s your bag, so go ahead and change!  Let me know when you’re ready.”

Jess retreated towards the exit, being very respectful of Charlotte’s privacy.

Charlotte unzipped the bag and unemptied the contents.  A pair of Alchemy Pink Nike Sweet Swoosh toddler joggers, a white Nike “Your Move” toddler graphic T-shirt, and…Charlotte’s heart stopped when she saw the next item that fell out of the bag.

It was…

It was…

A Goodnite.  And not just any Goodnite.  It was a Goodnite with a booster pad in it.

“MOM!!!!” Charlotte shouted in frustration.  Charlotte held the Goodnite in frustration.  ‘She can’t be doing this.  I won’t wear it.  It’s for bedtime!’

Just then, Charlotte saw another familiar face approaching her.

“Is that a Goodnite?”

Charlotte saw the smile.  It was the smile of an older teen.

It was…Monica!

Monica glanced at the worry in Charlotte’s face and gave her an encouraging smile.  “Did your mom pack that for you?  Look at me, Charlotte.  What’s to be afraid of?”

“I don’t wanna wear it!” Charlotte shouted as she began to pout.

Monica produced the “shhh!” sound by pointing her finger upward against her lips.  “Sweetie?  Here.  Let’s sit down, okay?  You and me on this bench, alright?”

Charlotte did what she was told and sat next to Monica.

“Now Charlotte, look at me.” Monica told her in a sweet and kind voice.  “I want you to be a very big girl for me and put those Goodnites on.  If your mom packed them for you, then she definitely wants you to wear them.  Now Charlotte, big girls don’t have accidents on the track, okay?  Now when you put that on, you will be a big girl because when you run, all your little accidents will go in there if you have any.  And nobody will ever need to know about it.  Just me and you, okay?”

Just then, Jess peeked her face into the locker room.  “Is she done?” Jess caught a glimpse of Charlotte holding a Goodnite.  “So Charlotte’s wearing that?  Okay.  Thanks for letting me know because I’m totally going to be babysitting her soon.”

Monica smiled.  “Really?  I’ve babysat girls like Charlotte before.  You get them like this sometimes.  But you know what?  They’re the coolest kids!  They’re also the kindest and the nicest.”

Charlotte gasped.  ‘Monica definitely babysat me before.  Doesn’t she remember?’  Then it hit Charlotte.  ‘That was right before I got younger.  Wasn’t it a couple of weekends ago?  Let’s see.  I was 13…then 10…then…’ Charlotte gasped.  ‘Seven!  That’s why she doesn’t remember!  Because I regressed so much, it was like it never happened.’

Jess smiled.  “Did you ever watch Charlotte?”

Monica shook her head.  “While I never babysat Charlotte, I know that I watched someone like her before.  Let me finish encouraging the star.  I will show you how it’s done.”  Monica glanced at Charlotte.  “So are you going to be a big girl and put it on, Char?  It’s okay if Jess is over here.  She’s going to be your babysitter soon so it’s okay if she’s here to encourage you, right?”

Charlotte sighed.  “Oh alright!”  Charlotte removed her Minnie Mouse training underwear to reveal a soaked booster pad.

Monica, being the expert babysitter that she was, held out a hand before Charlotte could even put on the Goodnite.  “Stop!  You’re going to get a rash if I don’t take care of that, dear.  How long have you been sitting in that wet booster pad, honey?  And is that training underwear?  Don’t move, Char.  I’m going to take care of that.  It’s looking…a little red….”

Monica unzipped an extra bag that she brought with her that had baby wipes, barrier cream, and cornstarch baby powder.  “You see this, Jess?  If you’re going to be a babysitter, then you need to come prepared with the full kit.  Now brace yourself, Char.  It’s going to be a little cold.”

Charlotte shivered as she felt the cold baby wipes over her tender skin.

“That was to clean off the icky pee.” Monica explained.  “Now, the barrier cream.”

Jess nodded, trying to be patient with Monica.  “I’m what I consider a novice.  I’ve babysat a few kids before.”

Monica nodded.  “Good!  Do you know what to do next?”

Jess nodded.  “Barrier cream on her tender areas.  I got this.”

“And?” Monica said, quizzing her.

“A little powder in the Goodnite to help with the moisture.”  Jess answered.

“You got it!” Monica told her.  “Why am I standing around here if you’re the pro?  You finish getting her dressed and let’s get out to the track.  I have one less helping hand tonight since Lauren is at a charity event with her father.”

Charlotte gasped.  ‘Lauren!  That’s who it was!’  Lauren and Monica!  She winced as she felt the cream being rubbed into her minor rash.

After Jess powdered the inside of Charlotte’s Goodnite, she stepped into it and Jess assisted in getting it pulled up to her waist.  She then put her joggers on along with her T-shirt.  Her mid-crew socks were next.  And then…

Charlotte smiled when she saw the pair of running shoes that were sitting on the floor.  It was like the running shoes were waiting for her.  Just waiting to be put on.  Charlotte slipped her feet into the pair of Bottega Venetas.  The shoes more than made up for her frustration in having to wear Goodnites to Junior Track.

Just like that, all of Charlotte’s concerns, fears, worries, and recent embarrassments all melted away.  It all melted away as the warmth in Charlotte’s feet surged upward through her legs, above her stomach, and into her heart.  So what if she had to wear her Goodnites to a track meet?  And what did it matter if Gabrielle found out about her secret?  None of that mattered anymore.  Nothing at all did.

Nothing else mattered.

Jess smiled when she saw the shoes that Charlotte was wearing.  “Nice shoes, Charlotte!” Jess praised as she saw just how beautiful they looked on Charlotte’s feet.  Her attention quickly focused on all the clothes that Charlotte forgot to put away: her cherry dress, her Minnie Mouse training underwear, her other pair of socks, and her Skechers Girl’s Twinkle Sparks light up sneakers.  “Char?   Let’s put all this away in your locker first.  See?  Your name is on the locker so no one else can use it.  Let’s put all your things in there, okay?”

Jess helped Charlotte put all her belongings in the locker and then locked it with a pad lock.  “I’m going to give this key to your mom so that you don’t lose it.  Now, we both gotta run, okay?  Let’s go kick butt in track, Charlotte!”

Charlotte nodded and followed Jess out of the locker room and towards the exit of the gymnasium, leading all the way out to the track.

As Charlotte got into the bleacher area waiting for her turn, she saw a man out of the corner of her eye.  Oddly enough, it looked like the same man that she saw this morning.  ‘Does he live in my neighborhood?  Because I definitely saw him this morning.  Maybe he has a son or daughter in track!’

Junior Track began and surprisingly enough, they decided to let Charlotte go first.

“And first up,” The male announcer said.  “Is Charlotte Warren!  A 2^nd Grader from Langford Elementary!”

This announcement made more than half of the middle schoolers gasp.

The murmurs then began from the middle school runners.  “A second grade GIRL?  Who thought that it was a good idea to let a kid run with us?” An eighth grade boy scoffed.

“Go back to kindergarten, missy!” A seventh grade boy taunted.

“Really?” An eighth-grade girl sighed.  “Why is she here?  Shouldn’t she run with her own class?”

“Cut it, Cynthia!” Jess told her.  “Charlotte is an excellent runner.  You are going to be surprised.”

“Says who?” Cynthia said with a smirk.

“Me.” A woman coach boldly said, challenging the eighth-grade girl’s words.  “You think you’re tough stuff, don’t you?  I’m Renee.  I oversee the physical education program at Langford Elementary, teach the curriculum, and volunteer coach track over here.  Now, I signed Miss Warren up for Junior Track.  So if you don’t think she’s good enough for you, then you can just spend the rest of the evening sitting on that bench.  The same goes for every one of you!”

Cynthia gasped.  “Sorry coach!  If she’s that good, then I’ll just see!”

Charlotte made her way onto the quarter-mile track, doing all her warm-ups like they were second nature.  ‘I need to run more.  Why has it been so long?’

Charlotte then heard the announcer and readied herself, leaning forward to get herself into her ready position.

“On your mark!

Get set!

GO!!!!!”

Right after “GO!!!!!”, Charlotte immediately broke out into a full-on sprint.  To her, it felt so effortless and seamless that she found herself continuing to run faster and faster without her pace reducing once.

And before she knew it, Charlotte heard the announcer.

“And TIME!  What a record!”

“6:04.83!” The timer standing next to her said with a smile.  “Good job!”

The whole crowd gasped when they saw what just happened.

Charlotte glanced around, like she just returned from a trip of some kind.  ‘I was…In Rome.  And I won another marathon!’  Sweating profusely, she made her way back to the bleachers where all the runners sat.

“Nice run!” Cynthia said, pointing at Charlotte.  “Do you have any idea what my mile was when I was your age?  It was a 6:41!  Even to this day, I can only get a 5:49.  How do you do it?”

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders.  “Practice?”

Jess smiled.  “You were good out there, Charlotte.  Do you wanna know what my times are?  I will let you in on a secret.  My best time I ever got was a 6:07.  And you get a 6:04 and you’re almost eight?  You will surely be a world-class Olympic athlete someday.  You’ll get a chance to run two more miles, Charlotte!”

Charlotte continued to watch the other runners run their miles.  But unlike Charlotte, they had the runners run by grade and gender.  First, the fifth-grade boys ran.  Then the fifth-grade girls.  After that, the sixth-grade boys ran.  Then it was the sixth-grade girls.

Charlotte smiled when she saw a familiar face that resembled Gabrielle, only older.  ‘That has to be Emily.  Go Emily!’

The seventh-grade boys were next.  Then the seventh-grade girls

Finally, the eighth-grade boys ran.  And last of all, the eighth-grade girls.

Charlotte saw Jess run what she found was a good time.

“6:22!” Jess said, panting as she returned to her spot with Charlotte.

It was once again Charlotte’s turn.  Like last time, she broke into a sprint.

But this time, Charlotte had to pee.  But Charlotte was so focused that she didn’t even realize that she was beginning to soak her Goodnite.  By the time that she ran her mile, it was a little more than damp.  ‘Tokyo again.’ Charlotte thought.  ‘I won another marathon.’

“5:57.48!”  The timer announced.

The crowd went wild.

As Charlotte was sitting down, Jess smiled.

“You know what this means, Charlotte?” Jess said with a grin.  “You’ll make the evening news!  After tonight, you will be a celebrity!  Do you have any idea how good breaking 6 minutes is for your age?  That’s breaking six minutes at almost eight!”

Charlotte just smiled and continued to watch the other runners.

Eventually, it got to her turn again.

Charlotte poised herself on the track and readied herself for her last four laps.

After “GO!!!!!”, Charlotte was out of the starting line and was effortlessly pumping her legs back and forth, sprinting like no one has ever seen.

And just like last time, Charlotte was intensely focused.  She continued unknowingly soaking her Goodnite as she ran.

Then Charlotte heard it.

“TIME!”

Charlotte glanced at the timer.

“5:49.06!”  The timer shouted.

Cynthia’s jaw dropped open.  “What?!  Wow!  I can’t believe that a second grader tied my best time!”

Charlotte was about to sit down but was approached by a very excited Cynthia.

“You need to teach me how to run!” Cynthia said with a grin.  “How are you tying my time at only eight years old?”

“Seven,” Charlotte corrected.  “I turn eight in November.”  Really, Charlotte knew that she was about to turn thirty, but who is going to believe her?

“Just practice!” Jess told her.  “Your first two runs were good!”

Cynthia nodded.  “I guess you could say that.  5:58, 5:56. I still got one run left.”

Charlotte sat down, hearing a wet squish from her soaked Goodnite.  While it was soaked, it didn’t leak when she sat down.

Finally, the time came for the eighth-grade girls to run the last mile for the night.

“5:53!” Cynthia said, panting.  “I WILL keep practicing.”

“Good job!” Jess told Charlotte.  “My last two was a 6:17 and a 6:14!  Now, the coach has pizza for everyone so don’t worry about dinner.  There’s enough for the runners and the parents!”

Darcy joined Charlotte in having dinner and they grabbed Charlotte’s belongings from the locker afterwards.  Darcy used the key that Jess gave her to unlock the padlock to open Charlotte’s locker.  After getting everything out, she relocked the padlock.

After Darcy got Charlotte home, she lifted her out of the car seat.

“I am so proud of you, Charlotte!” Darcy told her.  “A mother that sat next to me and Danika told me that a news station is going to call us tomorrow.  Do you have any idea how famous you’re going to be?  Let’s get you ready for bed, dear.”

Darcy led Charlotte upstairs and into the bathroom.  She pulled Charlotte’s joggers off, revealing a heavily soaked Goodnite.

Darcy pointed to the Goodnite.  “See Charlie dear?  You would’ve totally soaked your running clothes if you didn’t wear that Goodnite.  That saved you from all that embarrassment!  Here.  Take a quick shower and then drink your milk and brush your teeth.  I’ll have the milk in the bathroom for you, okay?”

Charlotte nodded and took her shower.  She then drank her milk and brushed her teeth.

After Charlotte did all that, Darcy was waiting in Charlotte’s room.  “Here.  I need to wipe you off and get you into a fresh Goodnite, okay?”  Darcy wiped Charlotte with some Kandoo kids wipes and pulled a fresh Goodnite with a booster pad up her ankles until it rested around her waist.

Charlotte was then zipped into a pink footed sleeper with white polka dots.  Her mother then snapped the safety flap over the zipper and led Charlotte into her bed.  Charlotte wasted no time in grabbing Bobo and securing him in her arms.

Darcy tucked Charlotte in and kissed her on the forehead.  “Good night, Charlie!”

“Good night, mommy!” Charlotte said, cuddling her stuffed best friend.

Charlotte was tired from all the running that she did.  She quickly fell asleep.

After that, Charlotte suddenly woke up.  But it wasn’t because of her Goodnite.  It was because her throat was dry.

Charlotte noticed that she didn’t drink her water, so she got out of bed and began to drink it.  Charlotte’s Goodnite was slightly damp but with that water, that was about to change quickly.

Charlotte began to walk towards her bed when…

“Stop right there!” The voice whispered.

Charlotte was startled when she heard the voice.  And when she turned around, she saw the same man that she saw that morning and at the Junior Track meet.

“Nice legs you got there!” The man whispered, revealing a sinister smile.  “Now listen here.  You, missy, are going to make me rich!”

Charlotte was about to scream, but the man produced a gun and pointed it right at Charlotte’s head.

“You scream, and your head is going to go bye-bye.” The man warned, his voice still barely above a whisper.

“Then what do you want me to do?” Charlotte softly whimpered.

The man pointed to the door.  “You’re coming with me.  And remember.  You scream, and I will make sure it’s the very last time you ever scream.”

Charlotte, feeling very afraid, nodded.  ‘This is not good.  If I were still an adult, I would’ve kicked that gun out of his hands!’  She then looked at her captor.  “I won’t scream.”

“There’s a good girl.” The man said with a smile that practically mocked her.  “You do what I tell you.  You’re gonna make me rich!”

The man quietly led Charlotte out of her bedroom.  He knew that the coast was clear since the door was closed in the other room and the lights were out.  He led Charlotte downstairs before noticing a pair of shoes that caught his eye.

“Those shoes.” The man said, pointing at them.  “Very expensive.  Put em on!”

Charlotte put both of her running shoes on without hesitation.

The man then led Charlotte out of the house and into a rundown chevy van.

Once in the van, the man very carefully maneuvered himself away from the neighborhood while Charlotte bounced around in the back seat.

The man glanced at Charlotte and began to talk to himself.  “Need her alive.  Need to treat her well.  But she can’t escape!  They can have her back, but at a price.  $10 million and I’ll return her alive.  You’re going to make me so rich!”  The man burst into laughter, driving far away from Charlotte’s neighborhood.

Charlotte had a sinking feeling in her heart as she glanced at the criminal that only cared to use her as a means of making himself wealthy.  ‘Am I going to die?  Really, I didn’t think I would get this far only to fall into the hands of a greedy crook that only wants me for ransom!  Now I need to escape somehow.’

The car continued down the road.  The further the car went, the more hopeless that Charlotte felt.

‘This is it.’ Charlotte thought.  ‘I’m a helpless kid abducted from my own home.  Correction.  I’m an adult trapped in the body of a helpless kid abducted from my own home.  Just what am I going to do?’

Charlotte did the only thing that she knew she could do.  She began to cry.  The hopeless tears flowed out of Charlotte’s eyes as she knew just what kind of situation she was in.

Charlotte was hopeless.  A completely hopeless victim with no way out.

[Dirty Boy]

I wonder who this guy is, will he know about the shoes? Charlotte's mother is not rich so she can't ask for a ransom from her

[starlajean80]

This is getting sooo good!

[Dirty Boy]

The kidnapper says he'll make him rich? He must know about the magic of the shoes or be somehow immune to reality shifting and have seen Charlotte regress. I don't think he kidnapped her just because she's a talented athlete, also because Charlotte's mother is wealthy but not very rich

[PamperedPrince]

On 2/5/2025 at 7:42 AM, Dirty Boy said:

I wonder who this guy is, will he know about the shoes? Charlotte's mother is not rich so she can't ask for a ransom from her

I think that the kidnapper just knows how expensive those shoes are, considering his burgling history.  And while Darcy is not rich, her house sits right near Millionaires Row.  If she doesn't have the money, one of the super rich neighbors nearby would surely be able to pay the ransom money.

36 minutes ago, starlajean80 said:

This is getting sooo good!

Thanks!  This has been a fun passion project so far so I'm glad that you're enjoying it.  😀

1 minute ago, Dirty Boy said:

The kidnapper says he'll make him rich? He must know about the magic of the shoes or be somehow immune to reality shifting and have seen Charlotte regress. I don't think he kidnapped her just because she's a talented athlete, also because Charlotte's mother is wealthy but not very rich

Interesting theory.  As for whether you're right, you'll just have to stay tuned.  I think that Charlotte's talent definitely made her an easier target for kidnapping.  And I don't really see Darcy as wealthy, but there's much more to this later.  Stay tuned!  😉

[PamperedPrince]

Chapter 41

Charlotte’s eyes squinted open as she felt a large bump that almost knocked her out of her seat.  It only took her a split second to remember that she wasn’t in her bedroom anymore.  ‘Oh yeah.’ Charlotte thought, letting out a sigh of despair.  ‘That idiot kidnapped me.  Who knows where I am right now?  For all I know, I may never see my mom again…” The very thought of this began to quickly overwhelm Charlotte, and her eyes began to fill with tears as she glanced at her captor, navigating aimlessly down what felt like a rural road.  “Mommy…”  Charlotte softly whimpered as her eyes stung with new tears.  Her face was red and she felt herself sinking deeper into despair.

The man heard Charlotte’s cry for help and scowled.  “Just shaddap, will ya?!  You will not see your mommy again unless she forks over $10 million.  That’s ten million bucks.  She has until Saturday at midnight to do this, or you’re going bye bye.  Just be quiet and do what I say!  You’re gonna make me rich!”

All of a sudden, the man could hear a vibration rattling against the inside of the drink holder in the middle between the driver’s seat and passenger seat.  He picked up the cell phone and swiped the answer button.  “Hello?  Boss?”

“I’m just checking up on you, Leroy.  Did you get the girl?”

Leroy nodded and glanced at the rear view mirror to see Charlotte quietly sobbing.  “Yup.  She’s pretty upset right now.  I’m thinking that I should give her something to calm her down.”

“Do whatever you need to do, Leroy.  Just keep her alive.  Remember.  She’s worth $10 million.  This is your first assignment.  You don’t wanna blow it.”

“Ya think that I’m gonna blow it?” Leroy said, sounding a little annoyed.  “I want in to the Silver Syndicate.  I already told you.  I deliver results and you’re gonna see them!  Ever since the Ashcroft’s threw me out…”

“Leroy, I don’t need a whole book.  You already told me the details.  I can assure you that you are gonna make a lot more money than a lousy groundskeeper.  Your connections are gonna get us a lot of ransoms and you’re going to make me and the Syndicate rich!”

“I like the sound of that, Vincent!” Leroy said with a smug look on his face.  “That Mr. Ashcroft had a list of different contacts.  That Darcy Warren was one of dem.  Get this, boss.  Her girl was setting track and field records at the middle school!”

“Records, eh?  Maybe we should’ve asked for $20 million instead of ten.  Anyway, that mother has until this Saturday at midnight to deliver the $10 million.  If she doesn’t, get rid of the girl.”

Leroy nodded, giving a quick glance to his gun that was sitting in the passenger seat.  “Got it.  I’m not new at this, either.  I have been stealing from the Ashcroft’s for the past few months!  Jewelry and any valuable I could find.  That girl has some very expensive shoes, too.”

“That’s nice, Leroy.  Did you leave the note?”

“Yeah, I did!  I left it on the girl’s bed with her teddy bear.  So, what do I get from the $10 million?”

“You get $3 million.  I keep the other 70 percent.”

Leroy then began to hear Charlotte sobbing loudly.  “Hold on.  The girl is losing it.”  Leroy turned around and furrowed his brow at Charlotte.  “HEY!  What did I tell ya?!  Shut up!”

“I had an acks-ah-dent!” Charlotte cried, feeling her discomfort increasing as the wet spot continued to spread around her.

“Oh great!” Leroy said in a growl.  “You’ll never believe this, boss.  The girl just pissed herself and made a mess all over the back seat!”

“She’s a kid, Leroy!  Deal with it!”  A brief pause.  “On second thought, I’ll send someone else to buy some things for her.  We’ll just keep her in diapers or something.”

Leroy nodded.  “That’s fine, boss.  Well, there goes the seat.  She’s got piss all over it.  It’s fine.  This van is old anyway.” He glanced out the window and gasped.  “I’m almost at the spot, boss.  The camp site where she’s going to deliver the ransom to us.  I’ll see you in a little bit.  Bye.”

Charlotte sighed as she squirmed around in her sopping wet footed sleeper.  After being shouted at by Leroy again, she was afraid to make another sound.  ‘What is it going to matter?  My mom will never find me and I’m going to die.  I don’t know why this had to happen to me.  I’m supposed to be an adult but now I’m a helpless girl being kidnapped by an idiot.’

The van stopped off the road.

Leroy opened the door and glared at Charlotte.  “You!  Get out!”

Charlotte knew that Leroy was armed, so she immediately got out of the car without hesitation.  She followed Leroy a little ways into the woods to a makeshift campsite.  A tent was set up with a burnt-out fire pit nearby.

Leroy pointed to the inside of the tent and smiled.  “Home sweet home.  You better hope your mommy has the money or it’s bye bye.”

Charlotte gulped, feeling a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.  With it being early Thursday morning, Charlotte had just a little less than two days left.

‘Two days.’ Charlotte thought.  ‘Two days until I’m a goner.’

***

Darcy woke up, feeling a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach.  ‘Did Charlotte wet the bed again?  Something definitely feels wrong.’

The time read 6:51 AM on her alarm clock.  It was time to get Charlotte up for school.  This would be a great day, as Charlotte would be interviewed by the TV station after school.  She was very proud of her achievements.  ‘If she keeps it up, she’ll be earning gold medals someday.’

Darcy exited her room and walked down the hallway.  She opened the door to Charlotte’s room and turned on the light.  “Charlotte honey?  It’s time to get up!”

Silence.

“Charlie Darlie!” Darcy called, approaching Charlotte’s bed.  “You really need to get up.  Just two more days until the weekend!  We also have a fun interview today!”

More silence.  Darcy then pulled back the sheets.

Charlotte was not there.  She glanced over where Bobo was lying and found a note.

When Darcy picked up the note, her heart sank.  “What is this?”  Darcy read the note:

Miss Warren,

I have your little girl.  If you ever want to see her again, deliver $10 million to the following location.

Go to Jenner, California and follow Balboa Avenue until it forks.  Take the right fork and follow the road until it curves.  The delivery spot for the money will be marked.  Leave the $10 million there.

You have until Saturday, October 19^th at precisely midnight.  I cannot guarantee your daughter’s safety if you don’t deliver the money by then.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Steven Salinger

Darcy immediately lost it.  “I knew it!” She wept as she began to worry about Charlotte’s safety.  “That gut feeling!  Charlotte!  My baby!  I need to do something now!”

Darcy dialed Darlene on her phone.

“Hello? Sis?”

“You have got to help me!” Darcy cried.  “I wanted to call you first before I reported it, but…”

“Slow down, Darcy!  What do you need help with and why does it need to be reported?  Slowly, sis.”

“Darlene, when I was getting Charlotte up this morning, I couldn’t find her!  Instead, I found a ransom note from this man named Steven Salinger.  He wants $10 million for my Charlie back!”

“Oh no!  I would call the police and report the AMBER Alert right away.  Give them every bit of information you have.  That crook is not going to get a single penny!”

“I know!  I know Mike well enough.  He would never give money away to a perfect stranger.”

“I agree.  I never knew that such crooks would stoop so low to do this.  Did this crook break in?”

“No.  I don’t see any sign of a break in.”

“He must have found your key outside!  I’m telling Daniel and we’re getting a security system today!  You should too, and you should change all your locks!”

Darcy nodded.  “I will, Darlene.  Now, I need to move fast.  This Steven guy wants the money by Saturday at midnight, meaning that we need to get this figured out by late Friday night.”

“I’ll let you do that, Dar.  That’s too bad that you had to wake up to a kidnapping!”

Darcy was furious.  “That man is not going to harm my Charlotte!  I want my baby back!” Darcy began to cry, heaving out sobs.

“It will be okay, my dear sis.  We will get that imposter!  Now, I need to get Heather ready, so you take care of this!  I’ll be praying for Charlotte’s safety.”

“Yes!” Darcy pleaded.  “Do pray!  I will be praying as well.  Bye!”

Darcy hung up and glanced at the golden cross necklace that laid on her nightstand.  It was a gift from a very special friend.  She clutched it in her hand and smiled.  ‘I have got to tell Mike!  He will pray for her too!’

But first, Darcy dialed 911.  It was time to take care of this crisis.  It was time to rescue Charlotte.

***

Charlotte woke up to hear the sound of the tent door unzipping.  A small torn blanket was the only thing that Leroy gave her to keep warm in the slightly cool morning.

Charlotte noticed a wet spot where she sat from her sopping wet pajamas.

Leroy entered the tent and approached Charlotte.  “Sit still.  I found some clothes at the thrift store so I’m gonna get you out of those wet clothes.”  Keeping the gun by his side, he glanced around at her footed sleeper and sighed.  “How do these things work?  Ah!  It’s some button flap that I need ta undo.  There!”  Leroy began to unzip her footed sleeper.  “So, you’re in the 2^nd grade?  Ya look pretty small!  You’re more like a kindergartener.”  Leroy then saw the soaked Goodnite and groaned in disgust.  “So, you WERE wearing a diaper!  Why don’t ya learn how ta use the bathroom?!”

Charlotte ignored Leroy’s rude remarks and just let him get her into some new clothes.  Anything would be better than her staying in that soggy Goodnite.  She found him groaning in disgust as he removed the Goodnite from her and giving her a pair of frilly pink girl’s underwear.

“Put it on!” Leroy ordered.  “I’m not gonna do that for ya.”

Charlotte, still seeing the gun, did what she was told.  She slipped on the underwear, which she realized was definitely too big on her.  Even though the underwear was too big, she was grateful to be in any new clothing at this point.  ‘Of course he’s too stupid to find the right size, but it will have to do for now.’  Charlotte just thought of the words that she said.  For now.  What if later doesn’t come?  If $10 million isn’t given to this man, Charlotte feared that she would be shot by him.  That would be it.  Her life would end as an adult trapped in a child’s body.  She scrunched the waist around, realizing just how big the underwear was.

Leroy shrugged his shoulders.  “I don’t have anything else smaller than that.  Now, put these on!”

Charlotte grabbed the pair of elastic jeans that Leroy handed to her.  She began to slide the pants on and strained, trying to get them to fit around the waist.  The fit appeared to be very tight around her waist.  Unlike her underwear, these pants were a little too small.  ‘Really?  He’s going to punish me by cutting off my circulation!’

Finally, Leroy gave Charlotte a pink T-shirt that fit similar to the underwear.  While it wasn’t way too big like the underwear, it was only a little too big.  She glanced at Leroy and sighed.

“Hey!” Leroy shouted.  “Be grateful I got ya clothes at all!  Besides, if your mommy pays me the money, you’ll be back with her again.  She knows what ya wear.  I don’t.”

Charlotte then felt a water bottle that was shoved into her hand.

“Drink.” Leroy ordered.  “Can’t have ya getting thirsty!  You’re gonna make me and the boss a lot of money so I need to treat ya well!”

All Charlotte could do was laugh in her mind, despite her troubling circumstances.  ‘Treat me well?  Well, none of my clothes fit and you have me in this shit hole tent!  Excellent job so far.’  Charlotte drank almost half of the bottled water when Leroy held his hand over the bottle.

“Stop!” Leroy told her.  “Save some for later!”

Leroy screwed on the cap and then heard a buzz that was so loud that he almost dropped the water.

“Yeah?  Claudia?  I’m with the girl!  Whaddaya want?”

“The boss sent me to go and get diapers for her.  I was about to go and get some, but do you know what?  The boss called me again and sent me on another assignment.  Now, this assignment is going to take a while so I should be back by tomorrow afternoon.  What size is the girl?”

Leroy shrugged his shoulders.  “How should I know?  I’m not her faatha!”

“And I’m not her mother either.  But it’s an order from the boss so I need to carry it out.  Now quit being an imbecile.  What was she wearing when you kidnapped her?”

“Just some pink footy pajamas with white polka dots!” Leroy said with a sigh.

“That’s nice, Leroy.  But could you tell me the size?  Look at the back of the pajamas. There should be a tag that should give you a size.”

Leroy looked inside the pajamas while still carefully holding the gun near Charlotte.  He glanced at the tag.  “4T/4 ANOS?” Leroy read.

“4T, huh?  I didn’t know that you kidnapped a toddler.”

“Claudia, I did not kidnap a toddler!” Leroy argued.  “I saw her little track meet last night.  She’s in 2^nd Grade!  She’s just a short girl!”

“I see.  A 4T would have her in a size 6 diaper.  Believe me.  I used to babysit a lot back when I was in high school, so I know a thing or two about kids.  I’ll buy the diapers after I complete the assignment for the boss.  So, what’s the boss gonna give ya for the girl?”

Leroy smiled.  “He wants $10 million.  Once we receive that, we’ll return the girl safely.”

“Nice!  The boss wants me to steal a diamond worth $15 million.  He says that I can keep $4.5 million.  It’s his 30/70 rule.”

Leroy nodded.  “Yeah.  The boss always keeps most of it.  But we get paid, right?”

“It’s your first one, Leroy.  I’ve done these a bunch of times.  He told me that you have a list that’s going to get us a lot more assignments.  We’ll be able to grow the Syndicate and make even more money!”

Leroy grinned.  “Yeah.  The groundskeeping job that I used to have has gotten me very good at scouting out property.  For the girl’s house, I found the key under the mat and then waited for the girl to leave with her mom.  I trailed them and followed their car all the way to their track meet.  I then waited until the middle of the night to take the girl, just as the boss wanted me to.  Once I told him about the house, he told me to try and abduct the girl, since we would be putting a ransom on her.”

“I know.  I’ve done a couple of them already.  Last month’s didn’t go very well and we lost Ollie.  The cops got him and he’s behind bars now.  That’s why the boss wants you to do what Ollie did.  Now, I need to get to my assignment.”

“And I need to get to mine.” Leroy told her.  “I’ve got a couple guys outside to watch the girl while I get her food.  It’ll be something cheap.  Something to keep her going.  Alright?”

“You don’t have to explain, Leroy.  I’ve done ransoms before.  It’s what the boss gives to all the beginners.  Good luck, Leroy.  Bye!”

Leroy glanced at Charlotte.  “I’ve got two men right outside.  Don’t you dare try to escape.”

Leroy left the tent and glanced at one of the men.  “Jonas, give her something to keep her calmed down, okay?”

Jonas nodded.  “Got it, Leroy!”

Leroy pointed at the van.  “I’m gonna get the girl something to eat.  Watch her closely.  She’s worth $10 million!”

Jonas nodded along with the other man.

Jonas glanced at the tent.  “Lars, I’m going to calm the girl down.  Keep watch for me, okay?”

Lars nodded.  “Sure thing, Jonas!”

Meanwhile, Charlotte was sitting in the tent, hopelessly staring at the domed outline, noticing two silhouettes outside the tent.  She knew that there was clearly no escape, so she sat there, letting out quiet sighs of despair.

Charlotte then saw a man enter the tent holding a small cup of water.

“Drink this,” the man ordered.

Charlotte, seeing the gun that the man was holding, immediately drank the water.  In minutes, Charlotte started to feel very tired.  Charlotte swooned over and fell asleep.

Charlotte’s eyes adjusted to a hazy figure holding something.  Her blurred vision focused as she sat up and she noticed that it was Leroy, holding a chicken sandwich and a bag of fries.  But before she could grab the sandwich, Charlotte felt a coldness around her crotch.  She traced her fingers around the moist denim and glanced down.  Charlotte was sitting in a puddle of pee.

Leroy noticed the accident and scowled.  “You stupid girl!” He shouted.  “You pissed yourself again and you pissed all over the tent!  I don’t have the diapers yet so you’re just going to stay in those clothes until tomorrow!  Jonas!  Get me a towel for the stupid girl to sit on!  I need something so she’s not just sitting on piss!”  Leroy then handed Charlotte the sandwich and the fries.  “Eat the sandwich and the fries.”

Charlotte began eating the sandwich, which she found to be a difficult task since the sandwich was so big.  Even though it was a McChicken, her small mouth had to take big bites just to get into the sandwich.  Charlotte was getting mayonnaise on her face and then she felt something in her stomach.  She was halfway through the sandwich when she found that she couldn’t take another bite.  She frowned, turning her face toward Leroy.  “I’m full.” Charlotte said, her soft and feeble voice barely above a whisper.

Leroy sighed.  “Try to eat a couple fries!  I’ll eat what you can’t eat.”  Leroy grabbed the sandwich and finished it in just a few bites.

Charlotte managed to eat three fries before she looked up at Leroy again.  “I…I can’t eat…anymore.” Charlotte found her stomach feeling very uneasy.  Her face felt clammy, and she began to groan.  Her stomach then gurgled again when…

Charlotte inhaled and then vomited all over the floor of the tent. It didn’t matter that she was kidnapped.  Charlotte just didn’t feel good.

“I WANT MY MOMMY!” Charlotte wailed, as she wiped the vomit off her face.

Leroy was now upset.  “Listen here, missy.  You will see your mommy once I get the $10 million.  Now, you just made a big mess.” He turned around and sighed.  “Jonas!  Lars!  The girl puked all over the tent!  I need you to help me clean it up!”

Over the next few minutes, the men cleaned up the vomit all around the tent.  But they didn’t bother to clean up the vomit on Charlotte, which was still on her face and thrift store clothing.

Charlotte could feel the tightness around her waist.  ‘These are too tight!  Why do I have to be here?  I’m done.’  Charlotte glanced forward, trying not to think about anything.  She was long gone and was completely convinced that her mom would never find her.  Nobody would.  ‘Mom doesn’t have the money!  I’m just gonna die…’

Charlotte continued sitting in the tent, dirty with vomit and pee, watching the hope that she had left slowly slip away from her fingers.

***

Darcy sat in her daughter’s room, right on her bed, holding the stuffed bear that she knew Charlotte loved so very much.

It was now Thursday evening and it has indeed been a rough day for Darcy.   She called 911 and put out the AMBER alert.  She called Mike and told him everything that she told Darlene.  She drove to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and turned in all the evidence she had, which was the ransom note.  When interviewed by the police, she answered every question to the best of her ability.  She did everything that she could.  All that she could do was wait.

And that was just what Darcy did for the remainder of the day.  Darcy waited for a call.  For an answer.  Anything that would put her mind at ease regarding Charlotte’s safety.

Darcy pressed the pendant of the gold cross necklace to her heart and closed her eyes, sobbing loudly.

“God?”  She cried.  “Why did you take her from me?  Please!  Let me know that she’s okay!  Let me know!  Answer me!!!!”

Just then, she felt a buzz in her pocket.  She glanced at the caller ID and smiled.  She swiped the green answer button.

“Mikey honey?”

“Hey Darcy.  The sheriff’s office just called me.  Having analyzed the entire ransom note, they think that they might have a lead.”

Darcy let out a joyful gasp.  “A lead?  A lead?!!  What is the lead, honey?”

“You will not believe this, Dar.  It has to do with the name at the end of the letter.  The person in question signed the letter as Steven Salinger.  Having done a complete search in their database, they found another ransom letter signed by Steven Salinger, but it was in completely different handwriting.  They linked that other letter to a ransom case that happened a month ago.  The group responsible for that ransom is a criminal organization called the Silver Syndicate.  This group has engaged in various different criminal activities, including drug trafficking, money laundering, robberies, burglaries, and ransom.  Over 30 ransom cases have been reported from their organization with most of them still unsolved.  But last month’s was solved, and that Steven Salinger was just what they needed to identify them.”

Darcy was jumping for joy.  “That is great, Mike!  So, what are they going to do now?”

“Not much, Darcy.  We don’t know where they’re holding her.  The ransom letter might clue us in as to where she might be.  They’re going to send some units to Jenner and try to gather some information.  That’s all they can do.”

Darcy just about lost it.  “WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT THEY CAN’T DO MUCH?  CAN’T THEY FIND HER?!”

“Darcy, I need you to calm down.  Look at that necklace that I got you.  Let it be a reminder of who we both serve.  Now, God has already began to answer our prayers.  Be grateful for that.  Don’t fret and get upset.  Just be still!”

Darcy nodded.  “You’re right, Mike.  I will calm down and keep praying.”

“That’s my sweetheart.  I too will keep praying for Charlotte and her safety.  I love you!”

“I love you too, my dreamy handsome hunk!” Darcy said, feeling her heart skip a beat.

Laughter could be heard on the other end.  “Aw Darcy!  That was sweet!  Goodbye, my love.  Kiss kiss!”

“Kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss!” Darcy responded, now feeling drunk with love.  She hung up the phone, letting out a deep sigh of ecstasy.

Exhausted from everything that happened that day, Darcy fell asleep, slouched against Charlotte’s bed.

***

Charlotte woke up, feeling more wet than she did before.  She began to wince, feeling the sharp pain from the rash around her crotch.  She glanced at Leroy, who was inside the tent with her.  Leroy was fast asleep.  She then tried to decide whether she should chance leaving the tent as she still saw two silhouettes outside the tent.

Socks were the only item of clothing that Leroy didn’t give her, so she slid her bare feet into her running shoes.  Charlotte then made the bold decision.  ‘I’m going to try and escape.  Even if they shoot me, I’m going to try.’

Charlotte unzipped the tent, thinking that the loud noise would wake up all the men.

To her surprise, all she could hear was the sound of snoring.  Both of the men that were supposed to be guarding her were fast asleep.

Charlotte carefully left the tent, making her way towards the road. 

Once she saw the beat up chevy van, she ran down the road as fast as her legs could take her.  If Charlotte were to guess, she was running faster than the track meet.  The only pain that Charlotte felt was the sharp pain around her groin from the rash, since she was still in sopping wet clothes.  But Charlotte also felt the pain around her legs and every area where she was wet.  But she continued running, knowing what was at stake if she were to stop.

Charlotte reached Balboa Avenue and continued running, the adrenaline making her run faster than she ever did before.  A mixture of relief and fear began to fill Charlotte.  Relief, because she finally escaped her captives.  And fear, because she feared that she would be shot if they were to find her.  Charlotte then found tears running down her cheek as she continued to run.

In mere moments, Charlotte heard the loud screech of tires and could see the brightness of headlights right behind her. 

“NO!” Charlotte screamed.  Charlotte ran in vain, as the van began to close the distance on her.

But as Balboa Avenue began to curve, Charlotte cut through the woods, which was something that the car couldn’t do.  It had to follow the road.  And to her relief, it kept following the road.

Charlotte left the woods, cutting through what looked like the parking lot to an inn.  She then went into a grocery store, gasping for air.

Charlotte was out of breath when she saw an older man standing there in complete disbelief.

“Little girl?” The older man said, looking concerned as he glanced at her dirty face, which matched her dirty clothes.  “We’re about to close.  You’re a mess!  What are you doing here?”

The older woman pointed at her cell phone.  “Henry!” she gasped.  “It’s her!  It has to be!”

Henry glanced at his phone to see the AMBER Alert that he received earlier that day.  “Lois, I think it is!  Thank God!”  He looked at the disheveled Charlotte.  “You, miss?  Are you Charlotte Warren?”

Charlotte was still recovering her breath, and she nodded, as tears continued to escape her eyes.  “I am.”

Lois gasped.  “I’m calling the police.  Charlotte, don’t go anywhere.  We need to make sure the bad guys don’t get you.  Okay?”  Lois called the police while Henry glanced at Charlotte.

Henry smiled at Charlotte.  “Now dear, look at me.  Everything is going to be all right.”

Just then, a gunshot pierced the glass door, shattering it into pieces.

To Charlotte’s horror, it was Leroy, pointing a gun at both Henry and Lois.

“The girl comes with me!” Leroy ordered.  “If anyone of you move an inch, I will shoot!”

Henry reluctantly glanced at Charlotte, motioning her to go with Leroy.

Leroy approached Charlotte and scooped her up in his arms.  Charlotte began to scream as he ran out of the store with her.

But just as he was leaving, red and blue lights began to fill the area, as three cop cars all pulled into the gas station/grocery store.

Leroy quickly ran and threw Charlotte into the passenger seat.  He looked around, as if he was looking for someone.  “I’ll have to leave Jonas behind.  He was supposed to guard the other exit!”

Leroy turned on the Chevy Van and slammed his foot on the accelerator.  The van squealed out of the gas station, driving towards Balboa Avenue.

Right behind Leroy was a cop car, which began to follow him with flashing lights as he drove down.

But as the van curved around Balboa Avenue, Leroy could see the red and blue lights diminishing.  “Good!  I lost him!”

Leroy took the right fork and stopped off the road near the campsite.

When he got out, he picked up Charlotte and carried her to the tent, where Lars was waiting.

“I got her!” Leroy said as he panted.  “But the cops are on to us.  We need to keep a low profile!”

Just then, Leroy’s cell phone buzzed.  Leroy swiped the green answer button.  “Yes?  Jonas?  Are you okay?”

Jonas sounded very out of breath on the other end.  “Leroy…..I just escaped them.  I’m in…a safe place now.  Now…don’t you think we should move the ransom location?”

Leroy scowled.  “You idiot!  If we move the location, we’ll have to send the woman a new message.”

“It’s no problem, Leroy!  I will send the new location to the boss, and he will send someone to deliver the new message.  Do you know of anyone nearby?”

Lars nudged Leroy.  “Claudia!  She’s stealing a diamond on Millionaires Row so she’s very close!

Leroy nodded.  “Claudia can do it.  Now, where should we move the drop location?  It needs to be very far from the cops!”

“I got one, Leroy!  How about the woods near Schoolhouse Beach?  There’s plenty of trees right off of Shoreline Highway.  It’s nice and discreet.  We can collect the $10 million there.”

Leroy smiled.  “I like that idea, Jonas.  We’re going to be RICH tomorrow!”

“We will be.  Now, I’m going to meet you there tomorrow.  But I need to do it carefully.  I need to make myself scarce with all the police around.  Stay safe out there, okay?”

Leroy nodded.  “I will.  Take care, Jonas!”

“I will! Bye!”

Leroy hung up and shoved Charlotte into the tent.  “Look, you little shit!  You are going to stay in that tent and you will not come out until tomorrow morning.  If me or Lars sees you exiting….BOOM!  Got it?!”

“Yes…” Charlotte said in a very fearful squeak.

That night, Charlotte slept very fitfully, not daring to leave the tent for anything.  And as thirsty as she was, she didn’t dare ask for a drink either.  The sharp pain all around her continued to ebb at her body as she quietly sobbed throughout the night.

The night felt like an eternity, but the sun was finally coming up.

Leroy immediately scooped Charlotte up, not caring how sopping wet she was.  He plopped her into the back seat and left with her alone, since Lars was going to get a ride later with another member that the boss sent.

Charlotte then found herself being sat into the woods near the beach.

Charlotte was so tired that she spent the early part of the day sleeping and waking up about 20 minutes later.

During the late afternoon, Charlotte saw a familiar man run up to Leroy.

“Leroy!” the man shouted.

“Jonas!” Leroy said with a smile.  “You made it!”

Jonas nodded.  “The boss is very angry with you.  You almost blew it, Leroy!  Yeah, we both escaped but he told me that I get the girl now!  He wants me to watch her until we collect the money, okay?”

Leroy sighed and gave Charlotte to Jonas.

Half an hour later, Darcy arrived, holding a very important box.

Looking very angry, she walked over to Leroy and handed him the box.

“I hope you are happy,” Darcy told him.  “You have no idea the trouble that I had to go through just to get $10 million.  It’s a good thing that a few rich friends helped me.  So, take it, and give me my daughter back!”

Leroy sighed.  “We got the money!  Jonas, give her the girl.”

Jonas let Charlotte go and she ran up to her mother, sobbing her eyes out.

“MOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY!!!!!!!”  Charlotte cried, as she was scooped up by her mother.

Darcy gasped.  “Oh Charlotte!  You’re covered in puke and you’re all wet!  You poor girl!  My baby…”

Charlotte couldn’t stop crying at this point.  Every part of Charlotte was crying.  Even the real Charlotte, who was almost thirty, couldn’t hold back the tears.  “Mommy!  Oh mommy….”

Leroy smiled and glanced at Jonas.  “Well, we got the money.  Let’s open the box!”

Leroy lifted the lid.

And he found…

Paper.  Nothing but crumpled up wads of paper.

Then handcuffs around his wrists.

“Leroy Miller, I place you under arrest for kidnapping and ransom!”  Jonas said with a smug smile.

Leroy scowled.  “You’re not Jonas!”

“Jonas” nodded and pointed to a badge which was concealed under his clothing.  “That is correct.  Your friend Jonas was apprehended last night and now we can take you in.  Take him away!”

Two other officers escorted Leroy to the police car.  One of them began reading his rights.

“You have the right to remain silent,” The cop began.  “Anything you say or do will be used against you in a court of law…”

The cop car door was closed before the rest of the rights could be heard.

A detective was standing next to both Darcy and Charlotte.

“The sting was successful.” The detective told her.  “It would comfort both of you to know that we also apprehended a woman that was going to steal an expensive diamond.  The name cannot be given but just know that you are both going to be safe.

Charlotte continued crying.  This time, she cried louder because of the pain she was feeling around her groin.  “IT HURTS MOMMY! IT HURTS!”

Darcy nodded, as she tried to find a public place to change Charlotte into some dry clothes.  “I imagine it does, hun.  Here.  There’s a family bathroom stall by the beach.”

When Darcy was changing Charlotte into new clothes, she saw various spots on Charlotte that were redder than a tomato.

“Oh honey!” Darcy gasped.  “That is not good!  You have rashes everywhere!  It could get infected.  We need to get you to a medical facility and quick!

An hour later, Charlotte was in the Santa Rosa Hospital, being administered strong antibiotics to kill any infection in Charlotte’s body.  After that, they used various creams to treat the various areas on Charlotte’s skin.

That night, Charlotte was sent home, with Darcy picking up various creams and an anti-itch cream to treat Charlotte at home.

Now in a fresh Goodnite with a booster and a footed sleeper, Charlotte was very happy as she hugged Bobo with tears in her eyes.

Charlotte was finally home.

[Dirty Boy]

Charlotte was lucky her kidnappers were idiots, their leader is still around though. It's interesting to find out that Darcy is apparently having an affair with Lauren's father.

[PamperedPrince]

15 hours ago, Dirty Boy said:

Charlotte was lucky her kidnappers were idiots, their leader is still around though. It's interesting to find out that Darcy is apparently having an affair with Lauren's father.

I do agree that the kidnappers were quite dumb, with the leader clearly being the smartest.

As for Darcy having an affair, I would reread some earlier parts of the story.  It's very clear that there's no affair involved as you will see very soon in the chapters ahead.  Stay tuned.  😀

[Dirty Boy]

16 minutes ago, PamperedPrince said:

I do agree that the kidnappers were quite dumb, with the leader clearly being the smartest.

As for Darcy having an affair, I would reread some earlier parts of the story.  It's very clear that there's no affair involved as you will see very soon in the chapters ahead.  Stay tuned.  😀

Maybe i must have left it out in the previous chapters (which one was it?), because English is not my native language. That there were other clues about Darcy's relationship

[kerry]

Um...do you know the expression "jumped the shark"?

[PamperedPrince]

6 minutes ago, kerry said:

Um...do you know the expression "jumped the shark"?

Jump the shark?  In what way?

[Dirty Boy]

a term originating from an episode of Happy Days, in which Fonzie, jumped a shark on water skis. 

[kerry]

In this case, it involves a pretty silly kidnap plot by criminals who would make the "Wet Bandits" from Home Alone look like geniuses. I know this is a diaper story with an impossible plot, but until this subplot you have strived at least to make it believable within itself. BUT nothing about this side plot plays as in any way realistic.

[PamperedPrince]

9 minutes ago, kerry said:

In this case, it involves a pretty silly kidnap plot by criminals who would make the "Wet Bandits" from Home Alone look like geniuses. I know this is a diaper story with an impossible plot, but until this subplot you have strived at least to make it believable within itself. BUT nothing about this side plot plays as in any way realistic.

I would chalk it up to experience.  Not every one of my ideas are going to be successful.  I appreciate your feedback and assessment that you have given on the realism and detail that I put into this story (or lack thereof in this case).

I just thought that a kidnapping chapter would be a fun thing to experiment with.  Now granted this has been executed a lot better in other stories.  At the very least, I feel like it would serve as another catalyst for Charlotte and a obstacle to overcome (at least for this age, as it seems that everything resets everytime Charlotte enters a new age).

I have some other ideas for later chapters that I will try, and I'm hoping to achieve more success in the way that the subplot conveys realism to the characters in the story.

I appreciate the feedback on this attempt.  I'm hoping my other ideas will succeed where this one has failed.

[Dirty Boy]

6 minutes ago, kerry said:

In this case, it involves a pretty silly kidnap plot by criminals who would make the "Wet Bandits" from Home Alone look like geniuses. I know this is a diaper story with an impossible plot, but until this subplot you have strived at least to make it believable within itself. BUT nothing about this side plot plays as in any way realistic.

let's say that idiots like those kidnappers exist in real life too. They are a bit of a stereotype of stupid criminals from 80's movies 🤣