Taking the volunteer's young body

Kaia couldn't stop giggling. The retirement home volunteer had actually agreed to go through with the swap, and she couldn’t believe her luck. Her laughing became louder and more enthusiastic as she felt the power of youth fluttering through her perfect body. Kaia hadn’t been this happy in way too long. She scampered about, her flat black shoes making soft thuds on the linoleum, playfully circling Emery's wheelchair. Her sexy dress flowed beautifully while she ran her slender fingers along her firm breasts. “Wow, these things are incredible,” Kaia said. “Now it’s all mine.”

Emery, a vibrant young woman of 25, now found herself in the worn-out body of 83-year-old Kaia. She stared in disbelief. She was hunched in her new wheelchair, her hands gripping the armrests, her knuckles white from the pressure. Her heart pounded with a mix of anxiety, fear, and a twinge of regret, but she managed a frail smile, watching Kaia with a sense of detached amusement. “For the night. Be sure to come back, okay?”

“For the night? I guess I did say that.” An evil smile crept over Kaia’s lips. “I wasn’t actually serious. Did you really think that I was going to give this body back to you? I’ve been stuck in a wheelchair for years from my stroke. And now I can actually think clearly. I actually feel alive. I can actually do things. Walk around, see boys…” She let out a sigh when she felt the warmth between her legs start to flutter through her. “Gosh, it’s been a while since I’ve felt this way.”

“What do you mean?” Emery croaked fearfully. Earlier that day, Kaia had approached her with an unusual proposition. She held in her hands two antique necklaces, their chains interwoven, holding a single, shimmering amethyst and a deep, glowing ruby. She explained that these were magic necklaces, passed down through generations, and they held the power to swap bodies temporarily. Kaia, with the weariness of age in her eyes, pleaded with Emery, promising it would only be for a day.

Emery was a long-time volunteer going through college. She always wanted to help people, so she agreed, intrigued by the possibility of experiencing life from a different perspective. They wore the necklaces and felt an uncanny sensation, a whirlwind of memories, emotions, and senses, and then, they were no longer in their own bodies. Kaia, in Emery's youthful body, felt the vigor of life once again. She was entranced by her reflection, by the smoothness of her skin, the brightness in her eyes. She looked at her perfect hands, stretched her fingers, and felt the strength in them. Meanwhile, Emery felt awful. Every movement was slower, every step heavier. She felt the toll of decades on her body, the sagging skin, the creaking joints. 

And as Kaia walked around Emery's wheelchair, her laughter subsiding, she looked at Emery and tugged her necklace. Now, the body thief had both of them. "Can’t have you bringing this necklace to anybody. It’s your only way back into this body … but there’s no way I’m letting that happen. Have fun while you still can, Kaia.” Her voice became filled with spite. “Better you than me, old lady. See you around.”

Emery was eager to return to her own body, but a part of her knew that she had made a horrible decision. She watched Kaia as she left the retirement home, walking towards the setting sun, leaving a trail of youthful laughter behind. Emery desperately tried to convince the other retirement home staff that she was actually the real Emery, but nobody listened to crazy old Kaia.