With the Torah unrolled in front of him, Meyer looked out at the sea of faces. Unexpectedly, Charlie's tan face appeared. Meyer couldn't help but feel a sense of glee that he tried desperately to suppress. Charlie had been reluctant to come, and Meyer was curious to know what changed his mind.
As the service went forward, Meyer recited the Hebrew flawlessly. The moment had arrived, and he started to feel a bit queasy. "I am becoming a man, so nerves should be expected," Meyer thought.
After the blessing, Meyer began to chant. The further he got, the stranger he felt. "I'm almost a man. This must have been what my ancestors felt." As the rabbi placed the tallit around Meyer's shoulders, something deep in him changed…
"Why did you come today?" Meyer asked, while he and Charlie took their usual evening stroll through the cemetery.
"Look, I don't wanna talk about it. I showed up, and let's leave it at that. I gotta get goin'. The sun is almost gone, and my mother is gonna worry."
As the final rays disappeared behind the horizon, Meyer could feel a transformation beginning. Hair began to sprout everywhere on his body, teeth became longer and sharper, bones began to shift. Meyer cried out to Charlie, who stopped and turned around to face him.
To say Charlie was shocked would be an understatement, his blood curdling scream filled the night air. His best friend had been turned into this monster.
He shouted to what remained of Meyer, "So, what? You have your bar mitzvah, and you become a werewolf?"