Once there was a pair of twin boys named Jack and Rohn. They were both very mischievous and never listened to their Parents. In fact they've always tried to do the opposite of what they were told. When they were told to sit, they would stand on the chairs, when they were told to clean their rooms they would throw their toys everywhere and when they were told to stay, they would run away.
One day the twins were told to stay in the yard so… when they were no longer being watched they took off jumping the fence and ran into the woods.
They walked through the woods for about five minutes before they came across an amazing discovery. An old playground, but what caught their eye the most was a spin top in the middle of the playground. Jack and Rohn ran up to it and hopped in with their feet hanging over the lip of the spinner but their legs were too short to touch the ground. Not only that there was sand in it that they decided to brush out so that their mom wouldn't get mad at them for getting too dirty. Jack stopped trying and patted his brother on the shoulder. "We need to take turns being spun." Rohn frowned as he pulled his legs back into the spinner and faced his brother.
"How do I know I will get a turn?" Rohn asked while giving his brother a look that told him he would not be tricked today. Jack rolled his eyes. Obviously he had learned that there was no arguing when Rohn looked like this.
"How about we do rock, paper, scissors to see who goes first? We spin for one minute and switch… Deal?" Rohn smiled wide and readied his hands for rock, paper, scissors. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" They both extended their hands showing their choices. Jack had his hand in a tight fist choosing rock and Rohn had his hand flat choosing paper. Rohn smiled wide as he put his hand over Jack's fist. "Paper beats rock!"
"Hmmm ok." Said Jack as he pulled himself out of the spinner. Grabbing its edge, Jack smiled a very mischievous grin. "You better hold on, I want to see how dizzy I can make you." Rohn put his back against the curve of the spinner and took a deep breath.
"I'm ready." Said Rohn. Jack gave it all he could and pulled the spinner from right to left. He started counting as he continued to go hand over hand spinning his brother. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8….."
Jack started to giggle as he watched the world revolve around him in a blur. "Faster!" he called out. Jack tried to spin Rohn faster as he continued to count.
"50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55," Jack was starting to feel tired and stopped spinning. Putting his hands on his knees as he breathed heavily Jack laughed. "Ha ha ha, you can't say you are not dizzy yet." The spinner was slowing down as Rohn watched the world spin around him like he was still spinning at top speed, but he was not going to let his brother know that..
"Haaa, you can't make me dizzy. I am too powerful to be dizzy!" Jack stopped the spinner and looked up to his brother.
"AHHHH!" Jack let out a shocked scream as he fell backwards on his but and sat frozen in fear looking up at Rohn. Jack tried to stammer out words, failing each time. "Y.. you. N- no… Ro.. Rohn.." Rohn sat in the spinner assessing the dumbfounded look on Jack's face. "W-What happened to you?" asked Jack.
Rohn looked down at himself expecting his hands to have paint from the spinner or something like that on him but instead he saw something far worse. His hands were long and skinny covered in wrinkles, just like grandpas. His clothes were all stretched out and way too small. He barely fit in the spinner now with his long thin vieny legs tacking up most the room. "Jack!" Rohn said as his eyes watered up looking at his hands and back at his brother. "M-Mom is going to be so mad." He cried as tears started to fall down and disappeared into his bright white wild and long full beard. Jack stood up looking at his twin crying in his stretched out clothes and white beard.
"Rohn, you look like grandpa." Said Jack as he cautiously walked a little closer.
"I KNOW!" Sobbed Rohn loudly.
"What are we going to tell Mom?" Asked Jack.
"You need to fix me Jack! I can't go home like this. It's your fault that I look this old!"
"N-no you wanted to spin first!"
"Jack… I don't want to go home like this. I don't want Mom to be mad.
"Ok ok just let me think." Jack started to pace as Rohn started to calm down.
Jack suddenly stopped and walked over to the spinner gesturing with his hands like he was spinning the top without touching it. "What are you doing?" asked Rohn.
"I am trying to remember what way I was spinning you. Maybe it is like a time machine clock. You can spin it forward or spin it backwards. I think I pulled it right to left."
"I hope you are right. I don't want to be older than grandpa."
"I will only spin you a little bit." Jack reassured his brother before grabbing the edge of the spinner and started pulling it and counting out loud. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9…"
"Stop!" called out Rohn. Jack grabbed the spinner bringing it to a halt. "Do I look any better?" Jack looked closely at his twin brother. His skin looked paler and the area around his eyes looked even more wrinkly.
"Umm…" Jack was unsure what to say.
"You made me older didn't you?" Rohn asked as he examined his hands again.
"I think I need to spin you the other way." Jack felt a pit in his stomach as he remembered that he did spin his brother right to left the first time.
"Only a little." Rohn said as he settled back into the spinner. Pulling left to right Jack started spinning Rohn.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10" when he hit ten he stopped the spinner and looked at Rohn. "I think it is working." Rohn had more color in his face and the wrinkles around his eyes were a little faded. "Do you want me to spin you more?" Asked Jack.
"Yes I think I can see the difference!" Rohn was feeling excited now and had a big wrinkly smile. Jack started to spin Rohn again this time he spun him twenty times. When he stopped the spinner He could see Rohn was looking a lot like their dad. "It's working!" Jack was so excited to see his brother returning to a younger age.
"Spin me more. I don't want to leave. I need to be as little as you are Mom will know we did something." Rohn was smiling as he looked at Jack who was looking a little out of breath from spinning him so much.
"One second I need to catch my breath." Jack said as he held up one finger.
"He he he he" Laughter echoed all around them. Jack and Rohn looked at each other with worry written on their faces. Before either one of them could say anything the spinner violently started spinning left to right.
"Jack! Make it stop!" Cried out Rohn. Jack grabbed the edge of the spinner only to have his feet leave the ground from the force, the spinner was going faster by the second. Looking up to his brother Jack could see Rohn turn back to his normal self. Then his grip slipped Sending Jack tumbling on the ground.
"Rohn! Rohn, jump out. Jump out now!" Jack yelled in a panic.
"He he he." came the laughter of many children all around.
"Go away! Leave us alone." Jack looked all around and could see no one.
"Jack? Where are you?" Rohn's voice called out and the laughter stopped. Looking back at the spinner Jack didn't see Rohn in the spinner. As it came to a stop Jack walked closer, looking inside all he could see was sand and strange sparkles floating in the air.
"Rohn?" Jack said as he tried to hold back tears.
"Jack! I don't see you!" Jumping as he heard his brother like he was right in front of him Rohn spun around and looked all over but still couldn't find Jack.
"Rohn I am right here at the spinner. Where are you?" Jack was watching the strange sparkles in the air as he waited for his brothers reply.
"No you're not. I am at the spinner and I can't see you." Rohn's voice echoed out and Jack could see the sparkles floating in the air dance around more when Rohn spoke.
"I think you are somewhere else. Somewhere that is the same but isn't here." Jack and Rohn tried to think of ways to get Rohn back but nothing worked.
Night time had fallen and Jack was sitting in the playground tower talking to his invisible brother.
Some time after Jack fell asleep he was startled awake by the sound of people calling out Rohn and Jack's names. "Jack, they missed us, they walked right by." Rohn's voice sounded distraught. Jack stood up and spotted the flashlights in the woods.
"I will run over to them. You stay here so I can find you again." Jack started down the ladder and ran as fast as he could to the group of people calling for him and his brother. When he got to the group he could see it was his parents and neighbors. Jack tried to explain everything as he showed them to the playground. Rohn called out but only Jack could hear him. Eventually his parents made him leave so he could get rest. They all thought he was lying or not knowing what happened so he was making a story up to explain things. It took a while before Jack was able to sneak away to the playground and talk to Rohn.
Rohn explained to Jack that in the few days he was there he found another boy in the lost world. Jack could only hear Rohn but he was happy to know his brother was not alone. Life continued on like this. Whenever Jack could sneak out he would visit his brother. Over time Rohn found more kids on the other side as well. As Jack became a young adult he became obsessed with myths and legends determined to find a way to free his brother and friends one day.