The Transformation Begins

**Monday around Noon...** I felt like a kid on Christmas as I turned onto Evelyn’s street. _”Five houses to go...”_ I told myself as I pulled up to the first mailbox on the street. Prior to starting my route I had checked to see if there was any mail for Evelyn and to my delight there was. _”I could always just hand deliver her mail if the lights are off...”_ I thought closing the mailbox and driving forward to the next house. _”If there’s no signs of life I need to check if she’s still alive. And since the effects were set to fade out there’s a good chance that she’s still asleep...”_ I thought as I tossed a few pieces of mail into the mailbox and pulled forward to the next mailbox. Now with Evelyn’s little house insight and 2 more houses to go I began to hustle. _”What’s this?”_ I asked myself pulling up to Evelyn’s mailbox. The lights inside were on and there was something different about her house, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. _”What’s changed?..”_ I pulled open the mailbox and grabbed Evelyn's mail that was sitting on my lap. _”The lights being on inside is promising... but something about the house is different.”_ Before sliding the mail into her mailbox I looked down at the envelopes in my hand. _”Evelyn Jaccobs?”_ I re-read the name on the envelope. _”Wait... What the hell?”_ I flipped to the next envelope and the same name was on that bill. _”What is going on...”_ I flipped to the next bill. _”Rudy Jaccobs? Who the hell is that?”_ I asked myself. As I sat there frozen in thought a light went off in my head. _”That’s her husband...”_ A hazy memory of an old man standing next to a younger refreshed looking Evelyn appeared in my head. The memory in my head seemed so real, yet in a way it felt deceptive and artificial. I sat the mail on my lap and rubbed my eyes as I tried to get my brain to focus, but I just couldn’t quite get the image in my head perfectly sharp. “This has to be the magic...” I mumbled looking back up at the flowers on Evelyn’s porch. “THE FLOWERS!” I gasped. “They’re real!” My eyes focused on the old planter on the porch. “They were fake yesterday... And now they’re real!” Then I started noticing more and more subtle alterations to the house. The porch looked less decrepit, and the singles on the roof weren’t covered in moss. _”It’s like someone is actually taking care of the house...”_ I thought as I continued to notice small yet significant changes to the house. “That must mean the potions worked... and Evelyn is still alive! Holy shit!” I let out at gasp at the realization that I had been talking out loud to myself. Looking down at the mail in my lap, I quickly gathered it up, and tossed it into the Jacobs’ mailbox. _”I can’t wait to see the changes tomorrow.”_ I thought as I slowly pulled away from the curb on my way to the next mailbox.