"The Stolen Memories of Margaret Jones"

1. The year is 2018.
2. Ethan, a 5-year-old boy, has just been given permission by his mother, Sarah, to go shopping alone for the first time.
3. Ethan was born on November 12, 2013.
4. His height is 3 feet 5 inches.
5. He weighs 40 pounds.
6. Ethan's hair is blonde and styled in a shaggy cut.
7. His eyes are a bright blue.
8. Ethan is white.
9. His mother, Sarah, is in her late 20s, turning 28 this year.
10. Sarah’s birthday is April 6, 1990.
11. She stands at 5 feet 6 inches tall.
12. Sara weighs 135 pounds.
13. Her hair is dark brown and is usually tied back in a ponytail.
14. Her eyes are hazel.
15. Ethan's grandmother, Olivia, is younger as well—she’s 46.
16. Olivia’s birthday is August 30, 1972.
17. Olivia stands at 5 feet 8 inches.
18. She weighs 140 pounds.
19. Olivia has graying black hair, kept short and curly.
20. Her eyes are green.
21. Ethans’s grandmother Olivia lives nearby and often visits.
22. Ethan’s mom has given him $10.
23. He walks through the automatic doors of the grocery store, eagerly peering at items on the shelves.
24. Sarah watches him for a second before waving and heading to the frozen foods aisle.
25. Ethan clutches his money.
26. He looks at various shelves, fascinated by the candy aisle.
27. Ethan is excited about picking out a treat all by himself.
28. As he turns to head towards the toy section, he spots an elderly woman acting suspiciously.
29. Her name will later be revealed to be Margaret.
30. She appears older than Ethan's grandma by 10-15 years, around 61 years old.
31. Margaret's birthday is October 25, 1957.
32. She stands at 5 feet 3 inches tall.
33. Her weight is 130 pounds.
34. She has long, curly gray hair.
35. Her eyes are a dull blue.
36. Margaret is wearing a feminine blouse with floral patterns.
37. The blouse is light blue with small white flowers printed all over.
38. The blouse has short sleeves with a slight ruffle.
39. She is also wearing light white shorts that reach her knees.
40. On her feet are simple brown flip-flops.
41. She carries a large leather purse on her shoulder.
42. The purse is tan with a gold clasp.
43. It looks almost too big for her slight frame.
44. Ethan watches in shock as Margaret shoves items into her purse.
45. He wishes he could stop her somehow.
46. Ethan quietly walks up behind Margaret.
47. Suddenly, his foot catches.
48. He stumbles forward, feeling strange as he loses balance.
49. He opens his eyes and feels taller.
50. Ethan realizes there’s a weight of a purse on his shoulder now.
51. He looks down and sees unfamiliar feet with polished toes.
52. The feet are now in flip-flops.
53. He’s wearing the shorts and blouse that Margaret wore.
54. Ethan examines his new female hands.
55. There’s a wedding ring on the left ring finger.
56. “Oh, how ghastly this flower blouse is,” Ethan unwittingly says in a feminine lilt.
57. He can’t stop talking in this mature womanly way.
58. “Why on Earth would someone wear such sandals?” he exclaims, horrified.
59. “This long hair, it’s simply atrocious!” he continues.
60. “My word, these frilly shorts are hideous.”
61. “These polished nails are horrifically pink.”
62. “I look completely daft in this outfit!”
63. “This large purse, how cumbersome!”
64. “The blouse ruffles, they’re just so old-fashioned.”
65. “Dear me, the floral patterns are entirely too much.”
66. “My hand seems so delicate.”
67. Ethan then finds an ID in the purse.
68. The name on it is Margaret Jones.
69. Margaret’s DOB is October 25, 1957, making her 61.
70. “How am I older than Grandma now?” Ethan says in his innocent tone.
71. He clips-clops to a mirror, adjusting the purse.
72. He spots wine bottles and other stolen items in the purse.
73. Ethan intends to turn her in.
74. As he clip-clops up, he passes another wine rack.
75. His head turns instinctively.
76. He grabs a bottle of wine as his mind starts changing.
77. “No, please, not me!” Ethan cries out, but the words sound like Margaret’s.
78. “Oh lordy, look at this fine wine,” she exclaims.
79. “It simply must be added to the collection.”
80. 10 of Ethan’s kind memories now become acts of shoplifting: teaching him how to grab unnoticed items.
81. His first kindness, giving a cat food, becomes learning to sneak chocolate bars.
82. Helping his friend tie his shoe is now how to avoid store cameras.
83. Sharing toys becomes methods of hiding small items in pockets.
84. Packing groceries transforms into slipping bottles into large bags.
85. Escorting an old lady across the street as a distraction for theft.
86. Offering a friend a seat becomes shoving expensive perfumes in hidden pockets.
87. Helping clean the house adapts to covering stolen items with a coat.
88. Charity bake sales turn into swiping small bakery items.
89. Helping read books becomes skimming for slight of hand techniques.
90. Finally, his caring smile while helping others becomes Margaret’s devious grin.
91. Margaret’s memories flood his mind, overwhelming Ethan’s identity.
92. She jerks her head before smiling.
93. “Oh Margaret, you’ve done it again,” she mutters.
94. “Just one more thing and perhaps I’ll be done.”
95. “This 61-year-old woman has been at this for over 40 years.”
96. “I can’t wait to enjoy my free wine.”
97. “If anyone tries to stop me, I’ll just claim profiling.”
98. “It's so easy, even my loving dear doesn’t suspect a thing.”
99. “Would a woman my age really steal with two kids and a couple grandkids?”
100. Margaret leaves the store with stolen items.
101. She drives home, waiting for her husband, Tom.
102. Tom arrives and asks where she got all the fancy goods.
103. “Oh, I just found some great sales today," she lies.
104. “There were these scented candles,” she says, explaining.
105. “Also, this lovely wine set.”
106. “A beautiful silk scarf, practically half-price!”
107. “This gourmet cheese, they were practically giving it away.”
108. “Tom, the jewelry was such a steal!” ironically, she adds.
109. “They had this vintage clock on clearance.”
110. “Imagine, this whole bag of imported coffee was just a few dollars.”
111. “These precious hairpins, completely affordable.”
112. “The perfume, simply on sale.”
113. “The handcrafted soap…” she continues effortlessly.
114. “Sweetie, the designer handbag was a bargain.”
115. “These exotic teas, just a penny.”
116. “Tom, the silver cutlery set, only $10.”
117. “And those chic sunglasses, you wouldn’t believe it.”
118. “Lastly, darling, these cute slippers were on a discount.”
119. Tom looks skeptical but can’t prove anything.
120. Margaret wakes up the next morning.
121. She waits for Tom to leave.
122. Margaret gets dressed in a similar outfit.
123. She wears the same flip-flops.
124. She grabs her purse, planning another theft.
125. Margaret successfully shops until she's cornered at the door.
126. She maintains her composure.
127. “Oh dear, you’re so sweet to help me!” she tells an employee.
128. “Thanks, sweetie,” she says to another.
129. “How kind of you to be assisting an old lady like me,” she adds.
130. “This isn’t how you treat a lady!” she snaps.
131. “Picking on me because I’m old! Shame on you!” she exclaims.
132. The manager tells them to release her.
133. Margaret walks out, satisfied.
134. At another store, she’s stopped and pulled into the security office.
135. “You’ve got the wrong lady,” she protests.
136. A call is made to her husband.
137. “Tom, I don’t know what’s happening,” she explains.
138. “They say I’ve been stealing, darling, it’s a mistake!”
139. "You know I’d never do such a thing,” she assures.
140. “Please come and sort this out.”
141. “I was just shopping, nothing more.”
142. “Explain to them, sweetheart.”
143. Tom tries to calm her.
144. Security cameras end up being down.
145. "I love my family too much to steal," Margaret explains.
146. A female guard handcuffs her.
147. Margaret is walked out to a security vehicle.
148. She’s put in the back, hoping for footage.
149. The cameras find no evidence, forcing her release.
150. Margaret continues hitting stores.
151. She keeps the same scheme.
152. Margaret never gets caught.
153. Her old self is forgotten.
154. Only Tom remains suspicious.
155. Confronted, Margaret always denies stealing.
156. She uses her sweet charm with Tom.
157. Margaret massages his shoulders.
158. She kisses his cheek.
159. “Honey bunny, how could you suspect me,” she says.
160. Margaret calls him “sweetheart”.
161. She often uses “darling” and “love.”
162. “My dearest, why such suspicions?”
163. “Sweetie pie, you’re imagining things.”
164. “Precious, I wouldn’t steal.”
165. “Pumpkin, such a silly thought.”
166. “My teddy bear, it’s not me.”
167. Margaret wakes up one day.
168. She decides to visit a spa.
169. Margaret plans on getting her hands and feet done.
170. She grabs money she's stolen.
171. “Such a treat for myself,” she thinks.
172. She doesn’t get caught.
173. At the spa, she makes outdated comments.
174. “You girls are so talented,” she says, patronizingly.
175. “Your little shop is adorable.”
176. “These fancy tools, so modern!”
177. “Do you make these lotions yourselves?”
178. “Asian women are so clever,” she remarks.
179. “Such delicate work, perfect for lady hands.”
180. “It's my first time visiting an Asian nail salon.”
181. “Such exotic treatments,” she mispronounces.
182. “Your names are charming, though hard to say.”
183. “Do you all learn to do this young?”
184. “You must have wonderful family values,” she assumes.
185. “All these designs! Simply Oriental!”
186. “Your culture is fascinating,” she thinks she’s complimenting.
187. “Those robes, such intricate work!”
188. “Everything is very, uh, Feng Shui,” saying it awkwardly.
189. “I bet your families are very proud.”
190. “You probably eat very healthily oversea.”
191. “It's so lucky to have natural talent.”
192. “Your English is really commendable.”
193. “I have to visit an Asian country one day.”
194. She likes her polished nails even more.
195. Happy with her nails, Margaret tips rudely.
196. The workers look at her confused but stay polite.
197. Margaret leaves the spa.
198. She feels superior, not knowing the workers disapproved silently.
199. Margaret keeps up her shoplifting.
200. She starts stealing higher-end goods without consequence.
201. Margaret’s life of petty crime continues.
202. She never recalls being Ethan.
203. Ethan's kind heart fades entirely into her darkness.
204. Margaret grows old being known as a sweet but suspicious woman.
205. Tom's sympathetic but cautious trust remains strained.
206. They grow older together.
207. Margaret never stops smiling sweetly while concealing misdeeds.
208. Though shops remain wary, she never slips.
209. Margaret absorbs family love while living her double life.
210. Now in her late 70s, her charm blinds even the keenest eyes.
211. She sees herself as untouchable.
212. Margaret’s life seems ordinary yet plagues the careful watcher.
213. Her story ends with her roaming free,
214. The Ethan once known hidden beneath the memories stolen.
215. Margaret completes each day’s rituals expertly.
216. Her anecdotes more bizarre and exaggerated.
217. Yet family worships her grace.
218. No trinket is safe in her sight.
219. Margaret, the perfect grandmother by perception.
220. Eternal in her stolen sunset, the highlight of a mischievous tale untold.

This story was generated by user manemansteve with assistance by one of OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model; prompts used to help generate the story are shown below.

Images were generated with OpenAI's AI system, DALL·E 2, or uploaded by the user.

AI Prompts