Video

[john_morris]

We do take time for granted.

It passes us by undisturbed and when we notice it, it has already gone on by.

I find myself to be... younger. It seems I have lost ten years or so and it is remarkably a very noticeable difference. A kind of invisible weight has been lifted from my very soul. A weariness brought on by the passing of the years...

Ah, but I do not mean to be somber.

This may be a blessing for some, as I believe I am not the only one that this miracle has affected.

Enjoy your renewed time.

Comments

voice;

[timehit]

[Excuse him for not immediately sharing in your enthusiasm; being trapped in this younger body, likely permanently in this case, hasn't been enjoyable so far.]

So your memory hasn't been affected at all, I take it? And there's been no other noticeable side-effects?

[john_morris]

No.

[As far as he's aware.]

Has this happened to you?

[timehit]

Not me specifically.

[Maybe someone he knows was afflicted? Although, Five does sound awfully young in comparison to the questions he's asking...]

But the data itself is important, especially if there's other symptoms of this we're not fully aware of. [He sighs.] So, just what are you planning to do with your regained youth?

[john_morris]

Nothing out of the ordinary. Live my life. My new life here, unencumbered by regretful thoughts of the past. They held me back not so very long ago.

[timehit]

Just like that. Suddenly you're back in the body a young man and completely unburdened by your entire life before? Even supposing you've retained all your memories and mental faculties?

[Very skeptical. Of everything here, really.]

[john_morris]

It is not so simple, however I had come to the revelation that I was treading the wrong path prior to my arrival here. This merely gives me back some lost and wasted years.

[For a very short time.]

[timehit]

We can't go back, not really, not to whoever we were in the past. What's done is done, even if this...bodily rearrangement is temporary for most.

Besides, is whatever you've done before really so unacceptable?

[john_morris]

I let my life be dictated by others, even when they were only a mere memory. Moving forward will be freed from that, regardless of my age.

[timehit]

You wouldn't be the first to suffer the ill-effects of an authority figure.

[Just look at his entire family, for instance.]

Regardless, if you need to break away from a point of prior trouble, then I guess it's not the worst excuse. I'd wish you the best, but you might find that being stuck in a different body isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

[john_morris]

It’s still my body.

Tell me, sir, are you having some related trouble yourself, to be so invested?

[timehit]

I don't have any trouble. And I told you, it's important to gather as much data on this as I can.

[There's a lot of defiance in his tone, enough to make that argument slightly less credible.]

I appreciate your cooperation, but it's not me who needs help here.

[john_morris]

What will you do with this information you are gathering?

[timehit]

Hopefully nothing, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared should something else come up.

Being informed seems the least one can do here, don't you think?

[john_morris]

It is good to stay informed.

video;

[consulinchief]

[The man on the other side of the camera is sporting a nice pair of black cat ears on the top of his head, and doesn't seem to notice.]

It certainly is a stark reminder of just how much of your life has gone by, isn't it?

video;

[john_morris]

[He's seen a lot of strange things here so politely doesn't comment on the ears.]

It is something I had already realised, and how empty...

This seems like a blessing of sorts to regain wasted years.

[consulinchief]

Like life offered you a second chance.

And it's just a matter of figuring out why.

[At least, that's how he viewed it once he realized he wasn't, in fact, dead, and everything around him wasn't the afterlife.]

[john_morris]

Do you think there is some deeper meaning?

[consulinchief]

Sometimes.

But I've found that while it might be nice to have that answer, what's more important is what you make of it.

[john_morris]

Very true.

We have to find what's right for ourselves. Our own path.

[consulinchief]

Something like that, yes.

Admittedly, I'm repeating some of my past mistakes, such as burying myself in my work.

[Although at least this time he isn't forced to choose between running a country and being with his sick son, and a good chunk of his workaholic attitude is an unhealthy attempt to avoid his PTSD, but semantics.]

Audio

[by_candlelight]

I was a ten year old for about a week. Didn't keep my memories from being a teen. Could have been worse. That said I'm glad this is working out for you? Does ten years really take that much out on the body?

[john_morris]

I changed my life very drastically in the last ten years, yet I had held on to the past and it had taken its toll on my peace of mind. Having let that go only recently, it feels freeing to have that burden removed and also have my youth restored. It feels like they were wasted years otherwise, living under a shadow.

[by_candlelight]

So it was a mental thing? Not a body thing?

[john_morris]

I would say so.

Perhaps I simply did not noticed how drastic an effect it had on me until this added transformation.

Video

[perfectlyhuman]

[ Oh, wow. This guy's pretty deep. And Adam could make a point about that. But he's an 11 year old in a 17 year old body, and it's not even the first time this has happened.]

I just look older.

[ This time around. But, last time, he was older? It's complicated.]

You like it better this way?

Re: Video

[john_morris]

I am not certain I could say that for sure. It only feels as if this is a renewed chance of years lost to the wrong path.

You are usually younger?

Re: Video

[perfectlyhuman]

The wrong path? [ Of course he's going to ask. ]

Yeah. S' not the first time, though. Did you get to see the other world we got in a while back?