Image Description: A young, short-haired woman stands outside in the rain, looking upward with her hands held out. She is naked except for a large pendant necklace and a bracelet. She is surrounded by tables and chairs.
Caption:
"Oh, come on, not again!" Ken shouted.
It had been nearly a year since the changing rains first appeared. They were unpredictable, indistinguishable from normal rainstorms until the water started falling, and causing different changes each time.
The only constant was the process, with which Ken was becoming well-acquainted. First, his clothes—specifically anything made with a synthetic or plant-based fabric—dissolved into nothingness, leaving him only with his stone pendant and glass-bead bracelet. He felt the oddly warm water wash over his body, and wonder what his fifth change would bring. His body slimmed and shrank, reminding him of the first rain, the one that turned everyone into five-year-olds. He felt a pressure in his chest, not unlike the one a few months back, where pressure along his sides preceded the growth of two additional sets of arms. He could feel his hair growing longer, and sighed. He'd just had it cut after the storm two weeks ago that sent everyone's hair growth out of control. Some of the women at his office still had their beards.
But as he watched his nipples grow round and dark and begin to push away from his torso, he began to suspect what the change would be. "Seriously? I have a date tonight!" he whined at the sky, but the rain didn't let up. His waist drew inward and his hips expanded, his whole body became smoother and daintier. There was no sense in trying to find shelter; once they started, there was no stopping the changes. He held onto the last remaining vestige of his manhood as it drew up into his body, completing the change. Ken looked up once more at the clouds. Most people were back to normal again a week or two after the storm passed, but the rain didn't look like it would be letting up anytime soon.
Commentary: One of my longer caps, though probably not my longest. I try to keep them short, but introducing the Changing Rain—not my most original or interesting idea, I guess, but one I keep coming back to—required a bit of setup and exposition.
