Seven Year Old James Shopping Alone for the First Time

Once upon a time, there was a bright and curious seven-year-old named James who had been entrusted with a special responsibility—shopping. He was excited to venture out alone, armed with money his hardworking twenty-eight-year-old mom gave him. His target? The candy aisle. As James rounded the corner and his eyes fell on his sugar-coated goal, he noticed a woman blocking his path. Standing in front of the candy display in a tan tank top, short denim shorts, and leather wedges was Julia, the songster of the streets. Known as Lonely Heart, she had brown hair that fell to her neck and an ageless beauty about her, despite visibly tough life circumstances. Always humming or singing her favorite tunes—the likes of "All Night Long," "Oops I Did It Again," and "Single Ladies"—today, she was engrossed in Lionel Richie's hit, "All Night Long." Feeling bold, James cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me." The woman leaped in surprise and chuckled, "You scared me." Her warm, welcoming smile made James let his guard down. When Julia inquired if he had any spare change, he regretfully admitted that he only had enough for a candy, his eyes shadowed with guilt. Julia noticed his sympathy and moved in for a bond solidifying hug. During these moments of warm embrace, James felt a wave of dizziness swirl around him. When he opened his eyes, the world looked slightly different. He was taller and in the mirror's reflection; he saw himself dressed in Julia's outfit with her black purse hanging from his shoulder. His heart pounded in his chest as he peeked into the purse to see a strange mix of adult items including cigarettes, a lighter, nail polishes, and tampons. With an "Ew, girly stuff," in Julia's voice, James tossed back the purse onto his shoulder. Frightened, he started looking around for his familiar seven-year-old self. When he finally caught the sight of his original young body, it was inhabited by Julia, and a wave of even more panic rushed over him. Julia laughed and confessed the body switch was her doing; she wanted to sample a youthful life again, leaving James in her aged and homeless existence. Grappling with the stark reality of being more than a decade older than his own mother, James watched as his memories merged with Julia's, his childhood receding. As though a cocoon had been unpeeled, the new Julia confronted her new reality—she was a homeless, 40-year-old woman. Everything was experienced like she had stepped into someone else's shoes. The absence of the wedges and purse unnerved her until she found them accidentally abandoned in the aisle. Applying the polish on her nails, she sighed, "I love painting my nails. Takes me back to the days where I was a little girl. That was over 30 years ago. My God! I'm old." Her demeanor mimicked Julia's with uncanny precision when a little girl sprinted past her—she jumped and yelped, "Oh God! You scared me sweetheart." The store radio filled the air with the pulsating rhythm of Beyonce's "Single Ladies," igniting a spark in the new Julia. An irresistible urge to sing along gripped her as she found herself mouthing the lyrics out loud before exiting the store with an air of resolution to settle in for the night. Her new life as Julia, as difficult and sad it was, had begun. Meanwhile, back inside the store, Julia reveled in James' body—the old life and struggles left behind for the innocence and possibility of youth.