"Help me," called a voice.
At first, you had no idea where it came from and didn't recognize it. When it pleaded with you again, you determined that it was coming from the jacket itself.
"No way," you said.
"Wear me," begged the voice.
Then there was silence. You waited for a few minutes to hear the voice again, but it never spoke. You sighed and towered over the discarded jacket. It went against your better judgement, wearing a hair-changing jacket, but you were curious. There was something magical about all this and you were eager to learn what was going on, if only to prove you weren't crazy.
You watched the mirror as you reequipped the female attire again. This time, you could watch your hair morph and grow before your eyes. Your mouth dropped as your hair reddened and curled, until it looked just like a woman's style.
Suddenly, your reflection in the mirror moved on its own. You shrieked and fell backwards on the floor as it tried to calm you.
"I'm sorry!" your reflection said. "I didn't mean to scare you!"
"What the hell are you!? Are you a ghost?"
"Uh, kind of," the reflection replied. "I was a person once, I remember that much. My name is Abby. What's yours?"
The voice of the spirit was kind, even if it looked like you with red hair in the mirror. Knowing that it had a name though calmed you down. This wasn't like something out of a horror movie.
"Simon," you replied.
"A pleasure to meet you, Simon," Abby winked at you. "You seem like the kind of guy I would date if I was still alive."
"Um, yes. About that. What happened, exactly?"
Abby rolled her eyes. "Long story short, my sister is a witch and cursed me because I have too many clothes. Now I'm forced to be a spirit trapped in my many outfits until someone wears me and I can become conscious again."
You recalled the shopkeeper had red hair as well. "How long have you been like this?"
"I don't know, twenty years? The last person who tried on my clothes ran away screaming when I revealed myself and burned the dress they were wearing. I tried to be a little slower with the reveal with you, but that failed. Whoops."
"You're a little clumsy aren't you?"
Your reflection pouted. "Well forgive me for being tactless after being trapped in a void for two decades."
"Fair point. What do you want from me then? And why does my hair change when I wear the jacket?"
"As I said, my spirit is in the clothing itself. When you wear one of my clothes, a little part of me seeps out into your body. Because my spirit is so divided, it only affects a small portion of you at a time. That's why you can see me and that's why your hair changed. That's MY hair."
"Huh," you patted your red frizzles. "You have nice hair."
"Aw, you're sweet. I knew I liked you. Anyway, I can only take physical form while someone is wearing my clothes. What I want is a body that can be my host. The longer you wear my jacket, the more of me comes out. I want my body back then I want revenge on my sister."
"Makes sense."
"Listen," Abby leaned in close to you and batted her eyes. "You're a really cute guy. I don't want to steal your body, but you're the only one who actually had a conversation with me in the last twenty years. Can you help me?"
You thought about it for a moment.
This Abby person sounded really nice, if a bit dense and a bit clothing crazy. You wanted to help her, but the thought of actually becoming her wasn't too appealing. On the other hand, it didn't have to be you playing host. If you explained things to Kim, she might understand and be willing.
You decided...