A Beautiful Gift

David opened his eyes slowly flailing his arm trying to turn off his alarm. finally he got lucky, turning off the noise that had interrupted his dream.

As he came round he turned over and looked at Paula, his wife. She was lying on her side, watching as he came round. She smiled at him and said "I had the strangest dream last night."

David looked at her "me too, such a strange dream." He said.

He thought back, remembering that he'd dreamt that he and Paula were paralysed, unable to move in bed, but there was no panic, no fear. Everything felt fine. He could move his eyes and see his wife next to him and there was something moving around the bed just out of sight.

Time seemed to have stopped, he felt like he was lying there for all time and no time. Whatever was going on, he felt he was being changed in some way. Something special was happening to him. Then there was darkness and then that alarm.

He got out of bed and dressed for work. Paula did the same and as David watched her, something seemed different about her.

They had breakfast together in the kitchen, kissed and then he left for work.

David was 38, starting to grey and was beginning to show his age when he smiled. Paula had fallen in love with that smile many years ago now. He was almost 6 feet tall, a fact that Paula teased him about even though she was only 5 feet 4 inches.

Paula was 36, she had long brown hair and had a nice curvy body. In her earlier years she had developed a curvy, feminine body. As she aged she had kept her shape filling out a little in the usual places.

Paula finished getting ready and stood in front of the mirror. Her dress seemed a little higher up her leg than she remembered it being in the shop when she bought it. She grabbed the hem and pulled it down a little, grabbed her jacket and keys and left the house for work.

David arrived at work and checked his calendar for the day. He sighed as he saw he had a 9am meeting with his manager. He prepared himself and walked to his manager's office, knocked on the door and waited.

The door opened and he saw Mike, his manager, with someone he didn't recognise sat at the table. Mike invited David in and asked him to sit. He introduced Linda as David shook her hand.

"I'm sorry?" David said.

"I beg your pardon." said Linda, while Mike frowned, sitting down in his chair.

David was sure Linda had said something as they shook hands. He forgot about it and sat down to start the meeting.

The meeting was boring and David found himself drifting in and out. He started staring at the window and heard Linda say something to him. He looked back at her as she quickly looked away from him. The meeting carried on and he felt Linda looking at him again, this time he didn't look at her. He somehow knew that she was looking at him, admiring him. He couldn't understand how he knew, he just felt what she was thinking.

The meeting ended and he and Linda got up and left the office. As she walked down the corridor David looked back at her and wondered what had just happened. As he did he felt an itch on his ear and as he went to scratch it noticed that Linda did the same. He grinned and went to his desk looking around the office.

Meanwhile, Paula arrived at work. She got out of the car and walked into the building. She sat at her desk and lowered her chair a little. Noticing her dress was up her thigh a little again. Maybe the dress didn't fit like she thought it did in the shop.

The morning dragged a little, it got to her morning break and she went to the bathroom to freshen up. As she looked in the mirror she saw the lines around her eyes. She pulled the skin tight to try to hide them and let go. As she did she noticed her eyes looked nice today, maybe it was the light but they looked almost green. She looked closer and pulled the skin tight again then washed her hands and left for her desk.

The rest of the day consisted of phone calls and conversations with people she didn't care about. She longed to be home and when 5pm arrived she walked quickly to her car, got in and looked in the mirror. Her eyes looked strange, turning the light on she could see, they were green. But her eyes weren't green, she wanted them to be, but they were brown... weren't they?

She started the car and adjusted her seat a little and began the short drive home. When she arrived home she changed into something comfortable and waited for David to arrive so she could show him.

While she waited she thought about other things. She laughed at herself, knowing she'd always wanted green eyes, she thought about what else she had thought of throughout her years growing up.

Blonde hair. Green eyes. Just to be a little bit taller. There were so many things, so many people she'd looked at jealously. But jealousy was an ugly emotion and she was above that.

David put his keys in the door, turned the lock and opened the door. He found Paula in the kitchen. She smiled at him as he poured a glass of orange juice and drank it. As he did he looked at her and stopped. She stood up and walked towards him. "What's the matter darling?" She said.

She reached him and kissed him on the lips.

"Well, first of all, when did you have time to dye your hair?"

She smiled, and stepped back and allowed him to look at her better.

"Have you been to the gym?" He asked.

As he asked the question, he watched amazed as she slowly gained an extra few inches of height. He smiled at her as he heard a whisper inside his mind. It was Paula, giggling like a schoolgirl. He looked at her and said "you want to see what you can do, don't you?"

"How did you know that?" She said

"Well you're not the only one with a gift today."

David grabbed Paula's hand and led the way upstairs.