You'll understand when you're older

A fifty-fifty split. That had been the deal.

Half the business, half its profits, and half their collective ages redistributed so they were even. Maturing by fifteen years in the space of as many seconds had been a price Felix was willing to pay to ensure success. But as Sammy continued to move away from him, each damning step backwards draining what remained of his youth, Felix realised that he had been conned.

He had first met Samuel ‘Sammy’ Fitzgerald at university, who had lamented at being branded a ‘mature student’, frequently grumbling about how lucky Felix was to have an eternal baby-face, as he called it. Felix didn’t agree; it was hard to get people to take him seriously when they were trying to deduce whether he was some child genius who had been awarded a bachelor’s degree before he reached puberty. However, when Sammy had realised that Felix’s inability to grow a convincing beard did, in fact, not correlate to his academic ability and that he was hardworking to boot, his interest had grown. The jibes about his youthful looks did not entirely diminish, but they grew fonder, and the pair graduated not only as friends, but as prospective business partners.

Felix had revealed his idea one evening in the pub they frequented, after buying each of them a pint of stout and inevitably having his ID scrutinised by the suspicious but eventually yielding bar staff. Sammy insisted on stout, claiming it would put hairs on Felix’s chest. Felix had thankfully grown to like it; evidently he needed all the help he could get. The older man’s eyes had grown steadily wider as Felix pitched his proposal. Felix was the more talented out of the two, that was certain, but as a young man in his early twenties with nothing but four years of student debt to his name, a bright idea was nothing without the means to fund it. Sammy, on the other hand, was in his fifties and had assimilated a variety of friends over the years, many of whom Felix had met at parties and other more informal gatherings. If they were as rich as their spending suggested, they would have no trouble getting a small business off the ground.

It had started with excitement and promise, as most things did. Felix didn’t mind working into the night, at least not at first, but he couldn’t ignore the irritation that gnawed away at him as Sammy flitted from one expensive lunch to another, schmoozing potential clients and investors alike. That was what business was, Sammy explained, and to his credit, they eventually paid off their loans and shifted into the green. Still, if they wanted to know real success, they were going to need some substantial backing.

Sammy started bringing Felix to his meetings, claiming that having the ‘brains’ in the room added more credibility to their pitch. Felix bought himself a half decent suit and explained his idea over and over, weathering the questions and criticism and refining his presentation for the next meeting. As time went on, however, and funding was still yet to be secured, the issue became apparent. Phrases like ‘the idea is sound but a little immature’ and ‘try again in a few years’ haunted him, and although Sammy never said it explicitly, it was clear Felix was holding them back.

Luckily, Sammy had a solution. He wouldn’t tell Felix what it was, claiming it would be better to see it in person. Intrigued and a little nervous, Felix had sank down into the heated leather seats of Sammy’s newly leased car, staring out the window as he drove them out of the city and into the countryside. They steadily climbed in altitude, turning off into a deciduous forest whose trees grew ever denser as they ascended. Sammy eventually parked the car beside a dirt track and gestured for Felix to follow him. He stepped sure-footedly into the trees, seemingly following a trail that was invisible to Felix’s eye. It wasn’t long before Sammy was clammy and grumbling, panting in a way that suggested he had not exerted himself in such a manner for a long while. Felix tried not to make it obvious that the route had barely even begun to get him out of breath.

They eventually emerged into a clearing where a magnificent oak tree towered above the verdant forest below, its branches stretching over the raised outcrop it had rooted itself in. A small group of people stood at its base, and after Sammy had dragged himself up the remaining incline, he breathlessly greeted them.

Felix introduced himself when Sammy prompted him, shaking hands with a very charismatic man with thick salt and pepper hair, and Mr Langsett, Sammy’s lawyer who stared at him in his unsettling, intense manner as their hands clasped together. They had already met several times before to go through all the necessary legalities that starting a small business required. The final person, a young woman with long, coiled copper hair, reached up to place a delicate kiss on each of Felix’s cheeks, which he reciprocated, feeling unease twist in his chest when he realised that her hands were shaking. Sammy gestured for Felix to take his place next to him and with the pleasantries out of the way, they got down to business.

It was like a marriage ceremony of sorts, except that instead of promising their lives to one another, they were consenting to exchanging parts of it, five years to be exact. Just long enough, Felix presumed, to make their age gap more socially acceptable. The thought had him swallowing down a growing sense of dread and he began to wonder just what the hell Sammy had dragged him into.

It was absurd. People couldn’t exchange years of their lives, no matter how rich they were, or whether they knew an aloof and slightly dodgy lawyer who was willing to witness the proceedings on the quiet.

But the couple acted as if they very much did believe the process would work, following Mr Langsett’s instructions by placing a hand each on the tree’s broad trunk and stating how many years they wished to exchange. They took a simultaneous step back, and another, one for each year they had promised.

Felix couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. The man’s hair steadily darkened until its rich brunette was undisturbed, while the lines around his eyes and brow smoothened enough to make him look rugged without signs of obvious aging. Opposite him, the youthful roundness of the girl’s face slimmed down, the elegant bones of her face sharpening to that of a young woman.

Sammy slapped a hand down on Felix’s shoulder, a grin slicing across his face. “It’s like magic, eh kid?”

“It’s impossible,” Felix gasped, his wide eyes fixed on the girl as the couple began to make a hasty exit. A chuckle sounded in his ear.

“And yet there they are. Living proof. She’ll look twenty-one forever if they keep on top of it.” He withdrew his slightly crushing hold on Felix’s shoulder and called across the clearing. “Alex, fancy a pint? My round.”

Mr Langsett shrugged. “Sure.”

Felix sat in the back seat as they drove back into town, his mind reeling. By the time a brimming pint was placed down in front of him, foamy and dark, Felix already knew how he was going to respond to Sammy’s inevitable proposal. What he hadn’t prepared himself for, however, was just how much his business partner would ask for.

“Fifteen years?” he blurted after having almost choked on a mouthful of stout. “You can’t be serious.”

Sammy’s smile didn’t falter. “Deadly.” He leaned over the table. “The thing is, kid, there’s exactly thirty years between us. What could look better than two entrepreneurs in their mid thirties? Old enough to understand how to make a successful business, young enough to actually get it done.” He reclined against his seat, draining the rest of his beer. “Your twenties are overrated. Mostly chaos and confusion all washed down with sad, microwaved meals and cheap beer. You have the opportunity to skip all that. Get to the good bit. And to finally grow a beard. Probably.”

Felix shook his head. “At the expense of a fifth of my life! I can’t believe you’re asking me this. I could have maybe parted with five but fifteen is just a joke.”

A smirk pulled at the edge of Sammy’s lips. “Who said anything about parting with them?” He swirled the dregs of his pint around the bottom of the glass. “Once we expand, we’ll need interns, assistants...young opportunists brimming with ambition that will be shackled by their immaturity, just like yours. You gain back what you loaned, and they invest themselves in the company until such time that they can cash in on those...shares, as it were. It’s all perfectly legal. Right, Alex?”

Mr Langsett had been sat quietly, taking small sips of his beer and watching their conversation unfold. “Yes. Providing both parties consent.”

“Well there you go. So, what do you say, Felix? Ready to finally become a man?”

Felix had said yes. Of course he had said yes. He’d invested too much of himself, mentally and financially into their business to see it fail now. Still, it wasn’t the happiest decision he’d ever made, nor, he suspected, the most sensible one. The alarm bells started clanging almost immediately when Mr Langsett produced a contract and slid it across the table to him. His eyes were immediately drawn to the word death and the clause it resided in, such that if one of them died, the other received their half of the business in its entirety. Swallowing the fear that welled in his throat, Felix wiped his clammy hands on his trousers and reached for the pen. Sammy’s grin turned wolfish and he stretched his arms behind his head, the already straining buttons of his shirt struggling even more.

“Excellent. Shall we? No time like the present.”

They drove back up the forest path, parking just behind Mr Langsett’s car. Sammy cursed and wheezed until they emerged in the clearing once more and he braced himself against the oak’s thick bark, breathing hard. Felix positioned himself opposite, trying to mask the shaking of his hands.

“Alright, kid?” Sammy panted and Felix nodded, not quite able to bring himself to smile. “It’ll be over before you know it. You’ve got a bright head on your shoulders. What remains of your life is going to be interesting, that’s for damn sure.” The wording struck Felix as odd, but Sammy was keen to press on. “We good, Alex?”

Mr Langsett was stood at the edge of the hill, his hands clasped in front of him and expression unreadable. “Proceed.”

“Now listen to me,” Sammy urged, “it’s really important that you follow my instructions to the letter. We take fifteen steps back, moving our feet at the same time. You’re good with numbers, so that should be the easy bit. But whatever happens, you must not step forward. It’ll screw the whole thing up and could be extremely dangerous. For both of us. Got it?”

Swallowing nervously, Felix nodded. “Yes.”

“Good lad. Here we go.” Sammy looked to Felix expectantly and took a large step backwards. “One. Two. Three...”

They stepped away from each other with synchronous steps, continuing to count upwards with each movement. At first, Felix couldn’t tell if anything was happening, but around the count of eight a niggling pain blossomed in his right knee while the skin on his chin and neck began to itch. Opposite him, Sammy was also starting to transform. The thin patches of his hair began to grow thicker and richer in colour, while the lines carved in his face steadily faded. His ample middle began to shrink, although clearly not as much as he had hoped, given the frown that shadowed his features as they neared the fifteenth count.

Felix stopped moving, his heart hammering in his chest. He felt different for sure, but not as terrible as he had feared. Flexing his hands, he cracked his knuckles. His eyes snapped up as Sammy’s voice sounded across the clearing.

“Sixteen.”

“What are you doing?” Felix cried.

Sammy’s steps did not falter. “Turns out, only one of us needs to move. The ‘doing it at the same time’ thing is purely symbolic. Cute, but entirely unnecessary.”

By Felix’s count, he was now at twenty. “We had a deal, Sammy.”

“Sorry, kid. It’s nothing personal.” Sammy’s youthful face twisted into a smirk. “Just business. You’ll understand when you’re older.”

Twenty-four.

Rage erupted under Felix’s skin as Sammy sniggered at his own joke. “You bastard,” he spat. A quick glance over to Mr Langsett revealed that the man had not moved, watching his sabotage unfold with the same bland, impassive expression he always wore. Felix gritted his teeth, only for a horrible realisation to strike him.

“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you.”

“My dear boy, of course not.” The words sounded strange coming out of the mouth of an ever more fresh-faced Sammy. “Not unless you have a predisposition for dying young. Nothing in your family history though. I checked.” Felix clenched his fists, flinching at the thought. “You see, while starting again in my mid thirties would have been great, just think what I could achieve as an eighteen-year-old, knowing all I do now. I would be unstoppable.”

Felix thought he was going to be sick. That would make him almost sixty.

The majority of his life gone. And Sammy wouldn’t have to wait very long to get all his shares in the business. Less, if present events were any indication.

Sammy was now at thirty steps. Their ages reversed entirely. He smirked at Felix again. “As I said, kid, it’s just business...”

The last word morphed into a yelp as his foot caught on the edge of the clearing, his momentum carrying him backwards. He flailed, falling through the air and scrabbling to catch hold of the grass and rock that formed the precipice. A pained grunt and curse wheezed from his chest as he collided with the cliff wall.

“Don’t just stand there...help me!” he gasped, his face rapidly turning a shocking shade of purple.

Felix’s heart thundered in his chest, his eyes wide with shock. “But you said...”

“Screw that, Felix. I can’t hold on to these damned plants...” He was sinking, his weight dislodging grass roots and loose rocks. While his muscles had gained some of their strength back, it was clear Sammy had never been particularly athletic, even in his youth. He looked in panic to the lawyer who still hadn’t moved an inch, his expression that of a man watching traffic pass by. “Alex, please...”

But as his strength waned, Sammy let out a strangled cry and plummeted from sight. A sickening thud sounded a few seconds later and Felix grimaced, doubling over as nausea seized him. After a few deep breaths, he straightened up, forcing himself to find the courage to move. His steps were unimpeded by anything sinister, although his muscles felt thin and there was an aching chill in his bones now the sun was setting that he was certain wouldn’t have bothered him before. Steeling himself, he peered over the edge of the cliff, whispering a shaky curse. Sammy’s body had fallen far, lying sprawled in a hollow made by the tree’s roots. Roots that were spreading across the odd angles of his joints, pulling him deeper. As Sammy’s face began to disappear, Felix staggered backwards, fighting nausea once more. A glance over to Mr Langsett found him absent, vanished entirely from the clearing.

Felix wanted to run. To put as much distance between what remained of Sammy and the life-stealing tree as possible. But profound exhaustion had seized him, unlike anything he’d ever known before. He dragged himself as far as he could away from the edge, collapsing beneath the tree’s expansive boughs. His consciousness swam, soon flickering out completely.

Felix stirred with the warmth of the dawning sun. For a moment he was disoriented, before the previous evening’s events rushed back over him. He gasped, throwing himself to his feet with renewed energy and began hurrying towards where they had parked. At the bottom of the hill, he paused, looking back to the tree. A patch beside the trunk had lost its colour, the grass now grey and crisp, lying limp against similarly shrivelled wildflowers. Swallowing hard, Felix turned his back and broke into a sprint. He didn’t stop until he burst back onto the dirt track and skidded to a halt at the sight of Mr Langsett’s car. The man himself was asleep in the driver’s seat.

Mr Langsett stirred almost instantly when Felix knocked on the window and, pulling open the door, he sank gratefully into the passenger seat.

“You waited,” he said, trying to catch his breath.

“I was contractually obliged to, until one of you appeared.”

Felix cast a glance towards him; he hadn’t read that in the contract he had signed. “You’ve seen this happen before, haven’t you.”

Mr Langsett ignited the engine. “Yes. Some have the sense to take smaller steps. Others do not.” They drove back down the hill in silence. Felix pulled down the sun visor, bracing himself for his reflection. Slate blue eyes stared back at him, harder and more wary than before, their edges crinkled just a fraction. He looked older, but certainly not old. As they turned off the dirt path and the forest began to shrink into the distance, Felix brushed his fingers through the thick beard on his chin, deciding it was coming off the moment he got home.

He wasn’t going to need it.