Emily, a young woman with gentle eyes and chestnut hair tied up in a ponytail, moves from child to child, checking bottles and wiping sticky hands. She pauses at the feeding table, distracted, and absentmindedly tastes a drop of formula spilled on her finger. The flavor is odd, but she shrugs and continues her work, unaware of the strange magic lurking in the formula.
Emily suddenly feels dizzy, her vision swimming for a moment. She blinks, noticing her shoes seem slightly loose, and her pants brush the floor. "Did the floor always feel this close?" she wonders quietly, shaking off the odd sensation. As she stands, she realizes that her voice sounds softer, almost childlike.
Emily[/@ch_1].]
Emily tries to help a toddler reach a shelf but finds herself struggling with the task. Her sleeves droop past her wrists, and her hair slips from its ponytail, framing a face that seems rounder. "Am I... getting smaller?" she murmurs, panic rising as her voice fades into a babble. One of the caregivers glances over, confused, but dismisses it as a trick of the light.
Another caregiver notices Emily, now barely taller than a toddler, stumbling toward the nap mats. Ms. Linda, an older woman with kind eyes and a gentle touch, approaches. She looks at Emily, now clad in oversized clothing and babbling softly. "Oh, sweetheart, where did you come from? Let’s get you comfortable," she coos, mistaking Emily for a lost child.
Ms. Linda changes Emily into a diaper, gently cleaning her and dressing her in a onesie. Emily tries to protest, but her words dissolve into incoherent babble. "You must be hungry, darling," says Ms. Linda, cradling her and offering a bottle, then realizing she won’t take it and instead breastfeeds her, soothing her as she grows sleepier.
Emily, now fully transformed into a baby, is gently placed on a nap mat beside the other infants. Her thoughts fade, replaced by simple sensations—warmth, comfort, and the steady heartbeat of Ms. Linda nearby. She closes her eyes, unable to protest, slipping into a peaceful nap as the world around her continues, oblivious to her transformation.
