They had warned her about the dreams; prolonged, frightening, and erotic. Like ten-thousand hands caressing her at once forever. And the moans, cries and ululations that were at the cusp between fear and ecstasy. Yes, they warned her about the dreams.
In the end, she slept for nearly three days; but that was not unexpected. When she did awake, she almost tripped. Her muscles responded so smoothly, so quickly! Her old equilibrium was out of balance. Old...old everything....or was it?
Mabel's heart thudded in her chest; could it be true -- really true? For months, countless news stories had trumpeted that the cocktail really was all it was supposed to be -- but the risks...
Damn the risks. What else did Mabel have to live for? What did the rest of her life matter at this point. Maybe a lot. Maybe it had all changed.
Fearing even to look down at herself, she stumbled to the wide mirror above her mahogany Vanity and dresser. And she almost gagged. They had warned her.
She really should not be surprised.
Just once, just this once, the hype was real!
A face smooth as powdered porcelain stared back at Mabel as her green eyes widened in shock. Her ripe, full lips opened wide -- the face of a goddess-in-flesh, the sculpted beauty to provoke the envy of a supermodel, framed by a frolicsome cascade of loosely curled hair the color of a rusty sunset. No... no this...this was more; she -- Mabel had NEVER looked this good!
The only factor that might detract from her beauty was the stripe of silvery gray from her temple all the way down in a distinctive stripe. Incongruous with the rest of her color, but perhaps it added a touch of uniqueness, excitement. And....they said that would happen.
She giggled, and then laughed in a voice more vigorous than any she'd been capable of in decades. She twirled herself, catching a glimpse of the bed behind her and -- ah yes... there on the pillow were the shed leftovers; silver-white strands all in a tangle, detached from the rest. They also said that would happen.
She didn't think her eyes could grow any wider as her graceful hands explored her flesh. Trim and taut and lithe -- but more robust than willowy; and her breasts... she cupped her perky, plump mounds like a farmer caressing his blue-ribbon cantaloupe -- and they were not far off in size. She flicked her taut nipples, fascinated by the jiggling grandeur of her proud, youthful mammaries.
Her hands swept lower, past toned valleys of soft, nude womanflesh -- so tight and firm. It was almost....eerie how there was not a trace of wrinkle or blemish in the least. And her feet, her legs and feet were sleek, statuesque and powerful in a way that she'd forgotten was possible. On a sudden, giggling whim she lashed out with a raucous kick to a wheelchair positioned near the bed, overturning the vehicle to test her strength symbolically.
"Young...young... I'm young again... It was all true!"
**********
Mabel was almost suspicious when she first heard the voice that spoke to her over the phone -- did she know anyone on intimate terms who sounded that young? She did now!
"I called you before, but you didn't answer; still sleeping it off I suppose." said a youngish female voice that seemed tingling with excitement.
"Yes I... I've been asleep... for days." Mabel answered into the receiver.
"It depends, It can take up to 96 hours for some gals. Took me almost that long."
"And...and I doubted you, Ethel. For awhile it just seemed too fantastic."
"And we're both living proof! As soon as I can get a hold of Bertha, the three of us will have the Girl's Night Out we never thought was possible!" Ethel insisted.
"But... how long has it been so far for Bertha?" Mabel asked.
"Two days for her; give her time. The drug is firing up every cell in her body like the Old South during Sherman's March. Just like it was with us two."
"I...I dunno I feel like I...should have made plans - " Mabel began, mind awhirl. " A whole new shot at life! My youth back after all these years. I.... we had all resigned ourselves to growing old gracefully but now..."
"Now that this little miracle cocktail has hit the streets, we ain't old biddies playing Bingo anymore! We can go anywhere! Do anything! We can have it all! The three of us; like old times again!" Ethel's voice over the phone was practically quivering with excitement.
"I almost...don't want to get too anxious; it seems like a dream -- the kind of thing that has to have a catch..." Ethel seemed almost to hiss over the phone.
"Now don't be getting all antsy over the talk about the side-effects and symptoms! That sort of thing is just too incredible! Don't spoil what we've got now by worrying yourself sick!"
"Ethel, I've just survived a mutagenic compound that forced my body to grow fifty years younger! I don't think anything is too incredible after this!" And again, her hand began to explore buoyant, glorious tits and the athletic curvature of her belly and thighs down to her sleek, perfect legs.
"Well, nothin' is going to spoil this for me. And there's no backing out now! Think about it sweetie, if you hadn't taken the SilverFox what would you really have to look forward to?
"Maybe three months spendin' every day in your wheelchair watching Oprah, waitin' on the CandyStripers to get around to driving you to Bingo night at the Senior Home. And after that; probably six more months of Chemo -- and we all know what the docs said about how likely you'd be to survive another round!"
"And that's why SilverFox will keep spreading," Mabel reasoned. "It's supposed to have a greater effect on those with the poorest health -- women like us, getting to be our age. Women at the age where -- where risks just don't have any meaning."
**********
"....legacy of the exiled Korean Scientist discredited by persistent, illegal human cloning and stem-cell experiments." came the perky, yet professional voice of the announcer as Mabel lounged, nude in her easy chair -- still taking it in, still absorbing the magnitude of the potential before her. Ethel wanted to wait until Bertha was finished with her own transformation, so Mabel would give her old friends that, for a little while.
Their was something else familiar about the announcing Anchorette that was narrating an evening news documentary about the ongoing phenomenon-crisis that had so many curious, so many fearful, and so many joyous. What was it about the anonymous newscaster that Mabel recognized? Smooth, shoulder-length auburn hair, clear and flawless face doused in makeup, plump red lips..nothing unusual about the newscaster, was there?
"But it is now known that this scientist was forced to become a doctor for a wealthy, Columbian drug-lord after all other professional doors were closed to him." The T.V. Showed an aerial view of the dense jungles of South America where presumably drug lords and the dangerous men who served them were concealed.
"Yet this exile gave him even more freedom; with a billionaire patron and no ethical restraints; dangerous experiments that would be illegal in a dozen countries led to a discovery that would rock the foundations of society and capture the human imagination." Next, the slim young Anchorette was walking in a clinical laboratory apparently about to interview a scientist. Mabel chuckled, as if the penultimate dream of eons of women would be forestalled by cold feet at the F.D.A. Her own feet, slim and youthful, caressed each other and slid up her own nude legs luxuriously as the T.V. Interview continued.
" ...and no one should regard this as some kind of -- 'Fountain of Youth' answer to prayer. The fact remains that Cis-sulphonamide Xanoxylate has a number of extreme side effects that have doctors all over the world deeply concerned." Insisted an erudite-looking, white-haired doctor with a stethescope around his neck. "It was created by manipulating mutant stem-cells using toxic processes that have never been approved by the F.D.A."
"But surely, the alleged promise of regaining her youth would entice many women to take on the risks. Do you seriously expect most women to ignore the potential?" The doctor raised his hands in a pleading gesture.