My name's Alex.  I was 15 when I first suspected I might have Moore's Curse.

It was summer, the hottest one I could remember at the time.  The world was crazy and getting stranger by the day if you listened to the news.  Everyone was affected by the fallout from the pandemic that had started a few years back, but for me a lot of what I heard and read seemed far away.  I went to school once a week like everyone else, but other than that I mostly stayed home.  That was unusual, believe it or not - once Justin Moore released his vaccine for the pandemic to the world, after so much time in quarantine almost everyone else my age wouldn't spend another minute in their homes.  It didn't make sense to me.  Riots, hate crimes and violence were everywhere.  The government was held together by a thread.  The vaccine didn't work as promised (to say the least) and people were still getting sick and dying in droves - but it didn't matter.  Pandora's box was opened and you couldn't stuff people back inside.  

But me?  I lived in a bubble at home.  I was perfectly happy to stay in it, even if it came with a social cost..  Before the pandemic, I was just like any other kid, I guess.  Had lots of friends, snuck out, got myself into trouble.   Things were different now, though.  I kept to myself..  I had a few friends I played games with online, but had never met.  Couldn't tell you the last time I hung out with someone.   But I liked my life.  I was coming to learn I was a quiet person anyway that didn't need much attention.  I read a lot, played games, took care of the house.

I did everything around the house, actually.  I had more free time than I knew what to do with, and after a few months of doing some extra chores around the house, I was shocked when I discovered the effect it was having on me.  I felt like I was doing something useful.  And though in a weird way I despised myself a bit for it, when I was doing things like folding laundry or washing dishes or cooking for my family I felt peaceful and content.

And they, my family, were grateful for it.  For the most part.  I lived with two women and a little brother who all had what seemed to me like pretty crazy lives.  Jeanne (sounds like genie), my mom, worked 60 hours a week as the director for a very high end grocery store.  When my dad cheated on her and then disappeared without a trace, she had worked her way up from a front end cashier making nine dollars an hour to a six figure salary in ten years.  She was amazing.  Funny, beautiful, playful, and equally kind to everyone.  Well, almost everyone.  My sister, Ashley (one year younger), and my brother Chris (five years younger), would both say that I got special treatment from her.  The favorite.  I would play it off and say if anything she was just grateful that I actually did my chores.  Truth was, I thought they were probably right.  Maybe I was imagining it.  Weirdly, I hoped not.  She took up a big space in my (admittedly small) world.

Anyway, back to that summer.  For months after the vaccine was released, it was being touted as a miracle.  Justin Moore was on every magazine cover and his name was synonymous with savior.  No new cases of the pandemic from anyone vaccinated.  Everyone got it.  But then, maybe a year later, new cases started cropping up.  Strange side effects started appearing.  None too serious, aside from one.  Moore's Curse.  It only affected teens - boys and girls both.  Around 16 years old, growth halted for an extended period when it would normally be most pronounced..

Then reversed.

Moore's Curse caused shrinking in anyone afflicted.  The degree to which it might go was unknowable.  A wait and see type deal.  One inch, two inches sometimes.  And others, well.. they just kept shrinking.

My whole family was tall.  When I was growing up, my mom would always tell me about dad's freshman year at college.  He was already 6 foot, then shot up five more inches when he was 18.  She was just shy of six feet herself.  I was 5'9" when I was fourteen, about average, but I knew I was going to be tall like him.

Until the next year.  It was summer, I was fifteen, still 5'9"..

And two inches shorter than my little sister, Ashley.