Tackled by You

Chapter 42 – Back to Twelve

It started with a wish.

After a long walk under the stars, Sheik and Andrea passed by an old fountain tucked between two buildings downtown. The kind of fountain people barely noticed anymore, rusted and cracked at the edges, but still somehow running — still catching coins and hopes.

Andrea stopped.

"Make a wish," she said.

Sheik raised an eyebrow. "You believe in that?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes it's nice to believe in things that don't make sense."

He smiled, took a coin from his pocket, and held her hand. Together, they tossed it in.

Neither of them said their wish aloud.

That night, as they curled into each other beneath shared blankets and soft breathing, something… shifted. The world tilted.

When they woke, it wasn't in the hotel bed.

It was in a playground. The old kind — with rusty swings and monkey bars that creaked in the wind.

Andrea blinked first. She sat up slowly, noticing her arms — shorter, thinner. Her legs didn't stretch as far.

"What the—"

She turned to see Sheik beside her, rubbing his eyes. He looked different too — smaller, rounder face, familiar but boyish. His voice cracked as he spoke.

"Why do I sound like a cartoon?"

They both stared at each other — wide-eyed, stunned.

"No way," Andrea whispered. "We're… kids?"

"Twelve," Sheik guessed. "I think I'm twelve again."

They looked down at their clothes — old uniforms, the kind they hadn't worn since elementary school. A soccer ball sat a few feet away.

Andrea picked it up. It felt huge in her hands.

"I don't get it," she said. "Did we… go back in time?"

"Or we're dreaming," Sheik said.

But the wind felt real. The cold metal of the monkey bars felt real. The laughter from a nearby group of kids sounded very real.

"I think," Andrea said slowly, "we got our wish."

They spent the rest of the day exploring. Running. Laughing. Playing tag like nothing had ever hurt them. No pressure, no future plans — just freedom. Just being.

Sheik taught Andrea how to do a proper slide tackle on the grass. Andrea dared him to eat two ice creams in one go. They climbed trees. They fell. They got dirt in their socks.

And somehow, it healed something.

That night, as they sat under a jungle gym, Andrea leaned her head on Sheik's shoulder.

"I think I forgot what it felt like," she said softly. "To just… play."

He nodded. "To love without worrying what comes next."

"Do you think we'll go back tomorrow?" she asked.

"I think," he said, "when we're ready."

And for that moment, with skinned knees and sleepy hearts, they were just two kids — young, wide-eyed, and in love — before the world ever got loud.