✅ The Baby Makers

Come Out and Play

"I can play now?" Ana asked. She just about noticed that she was mumbling a little now. Her words weren't as clear as normal, and she wasn't sure if that should make her giggle or blush, so she did both.

"Good girl," Doctor Phil reminded her, and the wave of pride washed away any doubts. If he wanted her to forget things then she would, and she knew it would feel amazing. "So, what do you want to play? We've got painting, or building, or dolls. There's some board games too, but that's more fun when there's more little ones around."

"Painting," Ana said, "You should have some pictures that's not all blobby. I can do some, cause I'm a big girl." She knew her words weren't coming out right, and she could tell she was starting to forget how to put a sentence together, but it didn't seem to matter right now. It was just one more way to know that she was getting littler. Younger, even, if she could keep the word in her head. As soon as she wasn't paying attention to words, the ones she used became vaguer and less correct. Even in her own thoughts.

"Okay," Doctor Phil smiled, and led her towards one of the doors along the corridor, "There's all kinds of paints in here, so let's see what you can manage." He opened the door, and Ana couldn't help stopping to stare at the walls in awe as she came in.

The room was giant. Bigger than that, it was enormous. And there were paintings all over the walls. Some of them were just handprints, like they'd been done by real babies. And then there were some that were the same blobby finger-painting as the ones outside, and even more that looked like big girls had done them. Not quite getting the people to look like people, or the bunnies to look like bunnies, but close enough that you could tell what they were supposed to be. They were all mixed up together, like it didn't matter how good a picture was, or how old the person who drew it was. As she looked around them, Ana tried to work out which ones were done by actual babies and children, and how many were done by little girls like her who'd got turned back into kids.

She couldn't tell. And now, she couldn't remember why there would be real babies here. Did the people who came here want to have babies? She wasn't sure why they'd come here, instead of going to a hospital. But then, she realised that she'd got too little to understand how you make a baby, so maybe she was just missing something. It didn't matter, she was sure, that was something she'd learn again when she grew up.

The memories she'd ost didn't matter right now. What mattered was the huge display of pictures on the walls, and the huge selection of paints and crayons on tables around the room. There were at least a dozen tables here, though she couldn't count the exact number. She stood in the doorway and turned around slowly, unable to decide which way to run first. There were different colours of paper and card, and stickers, as well as the simple paints. Some of the tables had big boxes of crayons too, thousands of them. In fact, she might have said that there was just about everything you might think of to make pictures. She couldn't decide what she wanted to do first.

"Hmm," Doctor Phil said, and Ana knew that she probably wouldn't like what he was going to say next. It was a kind of deep, thoughtful mumble that said he'd thought of something that was probably a very grown-up idea, and certainly not really fun.

"You're not really dressed for painting," he didn't disappoint. "You've got those fashionable clothes on, it would be terrible if you got paint on them. So why don't we go and get you changed first?"

He took Ana's hand, and she didn't even think of pulling it away as he led her towards one of the room's other doors. She wondered if everyone had to get changed before painting, or if it was just her. Or if he would have taken her to get changed whatever kind of games she chose. There was no way to tell, this place was practically a maze of corridors and different rooms, and she couldn't even guess how many of them were connected together.

"Why do I need to change?" she asked as they walked, and then realised the words were drawn out into a whine. Just like a real little kid, about to throw a tantrum. She was embarrassed by the realisation, but it was so hard to think now. She kept finding herself doing things as soon as the instinct struck, or saying whatever thoughts came to mind.

"In case you get your clothes dirty," Doctor Phil answered, without any change in his patient tone. "And because you might feel more comfortable with something a little cuter. You're too young to be comfortable dressed as an office lady, and I know that if you get any younger, you'd love the idea of getting to wear clothes that are more suitable for a little girl."

The giant room got even larger, and Ana could see her hands getting smaller. She knew it was silly to keep on wearing the clothes she'd come in with, when she was so much smaller now. She wanted something cute, that wouldn't get in the way of her playing. She also knew that Doctor Phil had made her want that, but she didn't mind. She knew he was right, this was how she should feel as she got littler, and he was always trying to make her happy. She looked up at him and just nodded.

He led her along another corridor, or maybe it was the first one again. She really couldn't tell. It was decorated with more pictures, and every time she looked at them Ana was sure she could do better. Her pictures were going to be so good that everyone who walked past would notice them, the best pictures ever. She was getting excited just thinking about it, almost as excited as she was about being able to wear some proper clothes that would let everybody see how cute she was.

The next room Doctor Phil took her into was just as over the top as the art room. Not as large, but still just as impressive. It was like a walk-in closet, with a bench in the middle and rails of clothes along both sides stretching into the distance. It looked even bigger than it really was because the wall at the far end was a single, huge mirror. When she saw her reflection, Ana knew that she had to get changed right away. The clothes she was wearing didn't look right at all. But she was spoilt for choice here, she didn't know where to look at all.