Uncle Ricky I loves you wiff all my heart and I hopes dis stowy I colored for you makes you as happy as all da hugs and airypane rides you gibs me. I is a very lucky liddle girl to habs you for my Uncle.

Happy birthday hugs and kisses, your niece Maggie
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Once upon a time there was a woman named Rebecca, who had long blond hair with just a hint of red, big green eyes, and a warm smile that came straight from a loving heart.

Rebecca was an older woman by years accumulated, but within that loving heart was the soul of a little girl, a little girl named Becky who never got her chance to grow up.

Why didn’t Becky get her chance to grow up? Well…that’s because Becky had been born under an evil curse. Her newborn body was both male and female. Becky’s parents were faced with a most difficult decision. Was Becky to be their son or their daughter?

Becky the infant looked up at her parents sensing their dilemma and cried out to them that she was a little girl, but her parent’s ears heard only the squall of a tiny baby.

The decision ultimately rested in the hands of Becky’s father and the proud Scotsman ached for a strapping son to carry on the family name. Picking up the tiny child in his arms, he announced to the world he had a son named Charles.

Upon hearing these words, Becky let out a mournful cry, and then her consciousness slipped away in defeat. Becky’s father couldn’t have known it at that time, but his decision placed Becky into a dark lonely prison that she would be many years getting out of.

Becky’s parent’s often commented what a good baby their son was, as he rarely ever cried. Of course this made Becky’s father even prouder as he was a firm believer in the rule that said real men never cry. Sadly, he didn’t know that the little girl within was sleeping now, but very soon she would awake and make her presence known.

Becky awoke to find herself in the body of a toddler boy, and obviously none to happy about it. Her father had filled her room with toy trucks and plastic soldiers, while her mother had dressed her in jeans and little flannel shirts. “Charles” refused to play with any of the toys, and was constantly wiggling out of “his” clothes and preferring to go naked rather than to be dressed as Buster Brown.

Charles’s parents were deeply concerned and thought that perhaps their son was lonely as he had no brothers or sister’s to play with. His father thought that if his son spent some time with other boys his own age, he would soon fit in.

Charles was six the summer that his parent’s drove up to visit his uncle and aunt. He had two cousins there, Timmy who was 8 and Maggie who was 5.

When they arrived, Charles’s two cousins were waiting to meet him. Timmy who was a bit large for his size, towered over Charles who was definitely smallish for his age. Tim didn’t seem overly enthused at the prospect of having a younger kid tagging about but he’d promised his father he’d show the boy some real rough and tumble fun.

Maggie despite being a year younger than Charles was several inches taller. From her cute dress, to her beautiful big eyes, to her long brown hair and the bow she wore in it, everything about her was beautiful. Charles looked at her and did something he rarely had cause to do. He smiled. The smile opened a window, and Becky peeked out in the face of what had been a sad little boy.

Maggie eyes lit up and she smiled back. She sensed the presence of another little girl, but before she could run to hug her, Timmy grabbed Charles’s arm and whisked him away to look at his collection of bugs. Becky was heartbroken. Charles’ eyes filled with Becky’s tears as he watched Maggie frown and then go back up to the house.

The first two weeks were an exercise in frustration for all three of the children. Timmy resented having to drag Charles about. It was bad enough his cousin was younger and smallish and didn’t know how to play any boys games, but Charles showed no interest in learning. He wouldn’t hunt bugs, he was terrible at sports, and he wouldn’t even hold the air gun Timmy’s father had given him, let alone shoot it.

Charles hated being dragged about every bit as much as Timmy hated dragging him. Even when he tried to do as Timmy taught him, it just didn’t work. What Timmy couldn’t see while explaining to Charles the fine art of catching a wiggling worm, was Becky peeking out. The little girl within Charles hated digging for bugs and she yearned to join little Maggie who was on the porch having a tea party with her dollies.

Timmy would grow frustrated with Charles’s lack of attention and end up shouting at his younger cousin, which only made Charles withdraw deeper and often sent him to tears.

Maggie would sit on the porch playing with her dolls, occasionally looking over at Charles when she heard Timmy screaming at him. She would wiggle her fingers and smile at the sad little boy, who always seemed to be looking at her whenever she turned to look at him. Their eyes would meet and then slowly a sunshine smile would spread over Charles’s face and like magic the sad little boy would melt away, as Becky reached out to Maggie.

Most little girls couldn’t say big words like hermaphrodite or transsexual, let alone know what they mean, but even a five-year-old like Maggie knew which kids were boys and which were girls, so no matter what her cousin’s name was or how short his hair was or even how they dressed him, she saw what everyone else had failed to see. She had seen Becky and she knew her cousin was somehow really a girl.

Maggie wanted to go play dress up and dollies with the little girl she saw smiling at her, but she too was frustrated, as she could never get the chance to play with Charles. His father continued to push him off on Timmy each morning for more all day “boy training”.

Two weeks into the visit, Maggie finally got her chance to meet Becky. Timmy had told Charles he had a big surprise for him out at the barn. Charles trudged along reluctantly and was horrified to find out the “big surprise” was an air rifle. Timmy informed him it fired pellets and that he usually shot at cans and bottles on a fence; however, he then proudly stated that on occasion he’d fired at a few birds, and nearly gotten one or two.

Almost on cue a songbird made its presence known in a nearby tree. Timmy took the gun and aimed in its direction but then stopped and handed the gun to Charles offering him first shot. To Timmy this was an honor any young boy would be thrilled to have. To Charles/Becky it was a waking nightmare. He had no desire to shoot anything, let alone another living creature.

Charles shook his head and immediately dropped the rifle. Timmy became angered and insisted he pick it up. Charles had finally taken all he could. He began crying and then ran off toward the house. Timmy shook his head and then picked up the rifle. He fired wildly into the tree, missing badly. The songbird flew off in the same direction Charles had just moments earlier.

Charles’s eyes were burning with tears as he entered the kitchen. He heard his parent’s voices in the next room. He wanted to run to his mother and have her hold him, but he didn’t dare go. His father would be there, and when he found out why Charles was crying he’d march him right back out there and force him to shoot something. Charles couldn’t bear to do that.

Finally, he decided the best thing to do was run far, far away, and never come back. He crept up the back steps and went to the room he’d shared with Timmy. He dug out some of those ugly jeans and flannel shirts he hated and started packing his suitcase. The thought of never seeing his mother again, and of being alone in the world finally got the better of the child and Charles collapsed on his bed and began sobbing.

Maggie heard his crying and came to investigate. She immediately ran up to him and hugged him. Charles felt little arms around him and turned to see Maggie smiling. He immediately wiped his eyes and Becky smiled through Charles’s tears.

Maggie smiled big and then took Charles/Becky’s hand and said, “It’s otays…no cwys. Come wiff mees and habs funs.”

Charles hesitated but a second, and then was gone. Becky squeezed Maggie’s hand as her eyes lit up. “Otay…let’s go”

Maggie led Becky into her bedroom. Becky’s eyes went wide as she found herself in a little princess’s dream. Everything was pink and white and lacey. Maggie had a beautiful white canopy bed, which was covered in stuffed babies, shelves full of books and dolls and games, and a walk in toddler-sized closet that was overflowing with beautiful dresses.

While Becky stood mouth open and mesmerized, Maggie pulled her over to a small table that had been set up for a children’s tea party. Maggie smiled and giggled. “C’mon Charles…lets habs a tea pardy!”

Becky sat down at one chair and Maggie the other. Maggie then looked up and down at her cousin’s attire and frowned. Shaking her head she stood up again. “Dem’s icky boys cose. You no can comes to a tea pardy dwessed wike dats!”

Becky frowned and dropped her head. She had nothing else to wear but the clothes Charles was given. Maggie winked, grabbed her hand and ran with her over to the wardrobe. Smiling proudly she told her cousin to pick out an outfit for their party. Since Charles/Becky was close to Maggie’s size, everything was a near perfect fit.

Becky’s hand trembled as she searched through the long row of dresses and then she squealed as she found the perfect one for her. Maggie nodded her approval and then helped her cousin out of those “icky boys” clothes.

Maggie saw the boys tiny pee pee as he stepped out of his undies and into the panties Maggie gave her, but it was just like the clothes that Charles had wore. It didn’t belong on her cousin and Charles was still a girl in her eyes.

Ten minutes later Becky was wearing a lovely pink dress with a bow in the back, white stockings, and mary janes. Save for the short hair, no one would suspect a boy could possibly be hiding there.

Maggie frowned again as she looked at Becky’s hair or lack of it. Becky sighed and wished she had Maggie’s long mane and the bows she routinely wore.

Maggie turned that frown upside down and winked at Becky. “No be sads Charles…I can kinda fixerades your hairs!”

The little girl ran over to her toy box and started throwing toys left and right and then squealed with delight as she found two oversized summer hats. They had been her mother’s last summer.

The hats were straw and adorned with flowers and lovely ribbons. Maggie sat one down on Becky’s head and the other on hers. The huge hats nearly swallowed the girl’s heads but at least it completely obscured Becky’s lack of hair.

Maggie pulled Becky over to her dressing mirror and for the first time in her life Becky saw a little girl reflection greeting her. Happy tears welled in her eyes and she hugged Maggie tightly.

Maggie hugged her and then stepped back. Looking into Becky’s green eyes she finally asked the obvious. “Charles how comes eberybody says you is a boy when you is weally a girl?”

Becky shrugged her shoulders and frowned. “I dunno…maybe cause…cause I gots a boys name and stuffs.”

Maggie nodded as she listened to the toddler logic. “Well”, she offered. “Maybe if you hads a girls name dens…dens…dey wouldn’t tinks you was a boy no mores?”

Becky lit up and smiled proudly. “I do gots a girl’s name, but…but…it’s a secwet and I no neber tolded nobody for.”

Maggie leaned in close. “You can tells me. I keeps secwets good! I pwomises.”

Becky nodded and whispered. “My weal name is Becky”

Maggie smiled and hugged Becky tightly. “I wikes dat lots bedders dan dumbs ol Charles. C’mon Becky let’s habs our tea pardy!”

The two girls scampered over to the table and took their places. Maggie was the hostess of course and poured imaginary tea into their cups while Becky munched on biscuits of the same brand.

Also in attendance at the party were several of Maggie’s dolls and a few of her stuffed teddy bears. She could see the way Becky looked longingly at all the stuffed animals and then asked Becky how many babies she had at home.

Becky’s eyes misted over, as she was ashamed to say she had neither a dolly nor a stuffed baby of her own. Maggie’s heart went out to her cousin. No girl should be without at least one baby to call her own.

Taking Becky’s hand, Maggie led her over to a long shelf well stocked with babies and told her cousin to pick one to keep for her very own. Becky hugged lil Maggie tightly and then wiped the happy tears from her eyes as she got to select her first baby.

There were so many beautiful ones to choose from, but one stood out. It seemed to almost reach for her every time she got near it. Finally she snatched up off the shelf and hugged it tightly. Maggie giggled. “I tinks hers choosed you to be her mommy, Becky.”

Becky was unable to speak as she closed her eyes and continued to rock the small stuffed bear in her arms. Maggie smiled and hugged her. “Dat’s Bernadette. She’s a weal speshul bear. She’s a weal good girl. You gonna loves her lots.”

The happy tears in Becky’s eyes said she already did.

The girls had their tea party, played games, took good care of their babies and had giggling fits through out. After a few hours of spirited play the girls were growing tired. Had Charles been there he might have seen the danger coming and gotten back into his boys clothes and ran away as he originally had planned, but this was Becky’s chance and she wasn’t about to miss a minute.

Becky and Maggie held their babies and snuggled together beneath the soft warm duvet under the canopy. They were just going to talk and daydream, but sleep claimed them and they soon drifted off.

The lunch hour came and Timmy walked into the kitchen without his pint-sized sidekick. When both mother’s asked him where Charles was, he shrugged his shoulders and said he’d ran up to house crying because he didn’t want to play games. Timmy skillfully omitted the part about shooting at birds.

Charles’s mother having not seen her son anywhere downstairs, went up to his room and saw his suitcase open and his clothes half packed. She immediately went back downstairs and informed the men and a search of the house and grounds was instituted.

Timmy’s father went outside, while Charles’s father went to the basement. Timmy’s mother and Charles’s mother decided to check the upstairs and the attic, as they had a lunch tray prepared to bring up to Maggie anyway.

Deciding to check on Maggie first before heading up to the attic, the mother’s opened the bedroom door and found two little girls snuggled together and sleeping happily.

Charles’s mother screamed, which woke up both girls and had Charles father at her side as fast as he could climb the stairs. Becky and Maggie jumped up in bed, and began crying as the piercing scream had frightened them.

When Charles’s father entered the room, his eyes immediately went to Becky. Becky hugged Bernadette tightly. The tears rolled as she tried to tell him who she was, but he wouldn’t listen. He grabbed her from the bed and began ripping the dress off Becky. Becky slowly faded back into her place as poor Charles came back to the butt whipping of his life. His father waled into him several times that day and his mother just looked on sadly and cried.

Charles and his parents cut their trip short and the next morning the sad little boy was seated in the back of the car. Becky cried but Charles dare not shed her tears as he looked out the back window and watched as Maggie waved and cradled Bernadette in her other arm. It would be the last time Charles or Becky would ever see either of them.

When the family returned home, the incident was never spoken of again. Charles’s mother tried to act as though it never happened. Becky retreated deep into Charles, her pain at having known life for a few short hours and then having it taken away again, was too much to bear. Charles the sad little boy was even sadder now as Becky’s depression caused him to withdraw further.

Charles’s father dealt with it in his own way. Instead of considering the possibility that perhaps he’d made a mistake in choosing his child’s gender and that perhaps he should allow Charles the chance to be “Becky”, he went completely in the opposite direction as the stubborn Scotsman was determined to kill off the little girl and make a man out his son at any cost. Sadly the cost was destined to be the loss of a loving relationship with his child.

So began many years of Charles’s father pushing the boy into every young manly pursuit from hunting to sports. Charles, forever trying to please his father, went along with him as he had with his cousin Timmy before, and like before, he tried, but the end results were still the same. Charles would fail miserably, his father would howl and the child would end up running away, often in tears. Charles would spend his nights in bed, crying quietly and dreaming of being Becky and holding Bernadette once again.

Charles went through his teen years and physically grew into adulthood, but while the body did grow, it really didn’t mature. Charles cut an image that seemed neither particularly female or male. It was as if the body was waiting for an eventual winner between Charles and Becky before assigning secondary sex characteristics.

While Charles had grown into an absolutely miserable young man, who was shunned by his mates, and constantly berated by his father, Becky was still the same little girl who’d held Bernadette and had a tea party with her cousin Maggie.

Perhaps it was the stubborn Scot within her, but Becky wanted the childhood she was entitled to, and she wasn’t growing up without it.

Charles’s father could see his hopes of having a son to carry the family name was slipping away from him, so he decided to go “kill or cure”. He coerced Charles into joining the military, hoping that they could make a man out of his son, if he couldn’t.

It would be Charles’s last effort at trying to appease his father. He joined the service and spent four horrible years living more of a lie than he had before. He’d contemplated using that rifle he still hated to take his own life, but he couldn’t bear to bring more pain and shame to his family than he already had.

Charles returned home to his family, no more of a man than he’d left it, but stronger from the experience. Having faced his own mortality from living a lie, he felt he could now face his father.

When Charles told his father he could no longer live as a man and wanted to be the girl he’d always felt he was inside, Charles’s father erupted in rage. He told him that if Charles did this he would no longer have a home, a family, or even be allowed to be put to rest in their native Scotland when his time came.

Charles’s father was the clan leader of the Stewarts and one word from him could make an entire family turn their backs on any of the members.

Charles knew in his heart it was choosing life or death. He then kissed his mother and walked out the front door. The last words Charles ever heard from his father were the most prophetic the older man had ever spoken to him. “I have no son!” he shouted, as he slammed the door behind Charles.

Charles thought to himself, ‘I know, Father, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell ya all along.’

That was over thirty years ago. Since then, Charles has had several surgeries and a name change, allowing her to finally live as “Rebecca”, the more adult form of Becky.

It’s not been an easy life for Rebecca; she has basically lived as an orphan since her gender reassignment surgery. Her father was true to his word and when he found out a surgeon’s knife had made Charles no more, he ordered the family to never speak or associate with Rebecca again.

No prince charming ever came to sweep the late blooming princess off her feet and the only taste of motherhood she would ever know was as little Becky, the day she held Bernadette in her arms. Sadly, no medical marvels imaginable could fix her body to allow her to ever carry a child.

Still, in spite of being a woman barren of a soulmate and children, she never once regretted her decision to choose life over death. Her only true regret was for all the tea parties and the childhood that little Becky never got to have.

Rebecca was a woman now in her late fifties, but Becky, the stubborn little Scottish girl, still lived within her and was still the same playful child who’d been set free for an afternoon with her cousin Maggie.

Rebecca embraced the child within her whenever she could, and Becky still peeked out in her smile, her love for children, and even in her writings. Rebecca had become an accomplished authoress over the years, and Becky’s little girl joy and innocence could be seen through out Rebecca’s finest works.

Rebecca took good care of the little girl within her, and eventually the little girl would be forced to return the favor. Rebecca had been diagnosed with cancer several years ago. She battled through numerous surgeries, treatments and hospital stays but this was one battle she was not destined to win.

As the adult Rebecca’s life and body continued to be eaten up by cancer, the little girl Becky came more to the forefront. Rebecca found that be allowing herself to be Becky again, to embrace childhood a second time, seemed to ease the pain more than any dosage of morphine ever could.

Rebecca divided her time between volunteering in the cancer wing of the children’s hospital, helping “other children” and coming home to finish her last book and allow Becky out to play.

As Rebecca’s condition deteriorated, she was forced to sell her house and move into an apartment close to the hospital and the chemist where she picked up her life prolonging drugs. Wanting to give herself, to give Becky a bit more of the childhood she’d always wished for, Rebecca furnished one of the two bedrooms in her apartment as an almost duplicate to the one her cousin Maggie had all those years ago.

When she wasn’t writing as Rebecca, she was playing or resting as Becky in that room. It was her life, giving sanctuary against the cancer that was forcing her to measure her life in days and weeks now.

The pouring rain, and dizzy sickness alerted Rebecca it was morning long before the alarm had went off. If it hadn’t been for her children in the cancer ward, she might not have gotten out of bed at all today, but if those brave little ones could get up and face the next day, so could she.

Rebecca braved the rains and the sickness and brought smiles and comfort to many of the children who had grown to love their Auntie Rebecca. After putting several little ones to bed with a fairy tale, she found the energy to once again brave the elements and head for home.

This time though, Rebecca made a quick detour and stopped by the chemist. She wasn’t in need of any medicines, but Becky had nearly worn the last pack of crayons down to the nub and the little girl within felt like more coloring today.

The clerk behind the counter knew Rebecca worked at the children’s hospital and thought nothing of it when the older woman routinely bought crayons, coloring books and doll clothes.

Rebecca opened her umbrella as she stepped out and the wind took it from her in a gust. Barely having the energy to walk let alone run, she summoned it up from Becky and chased after it into an alley.

The umbrella finally stopped as it wedged against a row of rubbish cans. Rebecca breathed heavily as she stooped to pick it up and hoped she wouldn’t be hit by a dizzy spell that Becky often called the whirlees.

Rebecca collected her umbrella and was “whirlee free” as she straightened up, but her eyes were drawn to a torn plastic bag that sat atop one of the rubbish bins.

There in the sack, were several stuffed animals. Becky’s heart reached out for them as Rebecca’s hands did the same. She didn’t check to see the condition of the abandoned babies; she just cradled the bag in her free arm and headed for home.

Ten minutes later, Rebecca and babies had returned home. Becky was peeking out with excitement as the older woman carefully extracted the stuffed babies from the plastic bag.

When its contents were emptied, three stuffed bears were laying on Rebecca’s kitchen table. Their tattered condition brought tears from both the big girl and little girl.

One by one, Rebecca picked up each bear and carefully examined it, assessing the damages. The bears were of three different sizes so she grabbed the biggest one first. It was one big bear, larger than the other two smaller bears put together.

Despite the fact it appeared to be the most battered of the three, with rips, tears, and patches of missing fur, it was still ever so cuddly. Rebecca embraced the massive stuffy and a wave of warmth and safety came over her so strong that Becky almost refused to let it go.

Of particular interest was the vest the big bear wore. It too was torn and soiled, but Rebecca was still able to make out its pattern. Tiny silver musical notes adorned the dark blue, possibly light blue if it was clean, vest.

Setting the bear on its bottom she played with its arms and noticed that no matter how she moved them they always seemed to return to a position that said the bear was holding something. On a hunch, Rebecca went back to the bag to see if she might have missed something. Her hunch paid off, as she removed a small toy guitar from the bottom of the bag. The strings on the guitar were missing and a tiny crank that might have wound it up to actually play had rusted and refused to turn. Rebecca placed the guitar in the big bears arms and it fit perfectly, just as it had been made to.

Setting aside the big bear, Rebecca turned her attention the next largest one. It’s coloring was more of a reddish golden brown than the big bear’s dark brown, but that wasn’t the only difference. Rebecca smiled and then Becky giggled as the thick black lashes that framed emerald green eyes told her this one was a girl bear.

The girl bear smiled at her with just a hint of red lips still left from a bit of the red velvet that remained in place. Rebecca smiled at her new friend and then felt compelled to picked her up and hold her tight.

The same wave of warm and security flooded her as she cuddled the girl bear in her arms and Becky was just as reluctant to part with it, as she was the first.

As the fur from the girl bear tickled Rebecca’s nose she smelled a faint aroma. The older woman couldn’t place the sweet smell, but Becky, like any six year old, knew right away. She licked her lips and whispered one word to the big girl, “BROWNIES”.

Rebecca smiled, as she knew the child within was right. Despite all the dirt and muck that coated the poor bear, there was definitely an aroma of freshly baked brownies about her.

For want of any other explanation, Rebecca reasoned that perhaps the rubbish bin where she’d found the bears also contained some brownies that been thrown out as well.

She then further inspected the lady bear. Her body was in reasonably good shape, save for one rather large tear across her forehead where a bit of stuffing protruded. Rebecca sniffled as she rubbed her fingers across the gash and thought to herself that this poor girl bear must have one terrible headache right now.

Just as the big boy bear had been wearing an article of clothing so did the lady bear. A badly soiled white lacey apron was tied around the bear’s waist. Rebecca noticed a hint of color at the bottom left hand corner of the apron, and wiped some of the dirt away to uncover a small red heart.

A soft-spoken “Awwwww…”, escaped from Rebecca’s lips as the apron clad bear was just too cute for words.

The older woman was about to set the lady bear down when she felt the urge to inspect its arms the same as she had the first. After wiggling them around several times they seem to come back to the same setting every time. Both arms would set straight out at waist level and the hands were turned as if they should be holding something.

Not really believing she could have missed anything else a second time she went back to the bag and much to her surprise found a small metal baking pan with dark squares in it. Two of the squares seemed to be missing but she found neither in the bag.

Taking the little pan over to the lady bear, Rebecca found it slid perfectly in her hands. A second wave of brownie smell found its way to the older woman and Becky giggled, telling her bigger half, “I told you so!”

Rebecca chuckled as she shook her head. The dark squares were brownies, obviously scented with some sort of chocolate oil to simulate the smell of freshly baked brownies.

Finally setting the second bear over she turned her attention to the last one. The smallest bear of the three seemed to have fared the best of all of them. Rebecca didn’t see any major rips or tears on it, but it was by far the filthiest and in more need of a bath than any stuffed baby she’d ever seen. It’s fur was literally caked with bits of food and dirt it must have encountered while languishing in the rubbish bin and the odor was beyond compare, yet like the first two she felt compelled to hold it close.

And like the first two she felt a warm, soft feeling wash over her when she held it close, but she also felt something else. At first it started as a warm smile but then soon blossomed into laughter and eventually became a Becky full-blown giggle fit.

There was an air of impishness about this little bear that was infectious and Rebecca wondered how many little girls would love to have her for a best friend.

Yes, this bear was another she-bear too. Despite the many layers of dirt, she found this bear shared the same reddish-blonde fur and emerald green eyes framed in long lashes as the other lady bear, but there was something different about this one. She wasn’t just smaller in size, but somehow smaller in “nature” as she seemed more of a little girl bear.

Upon further inspection of the food and filth caked bear, she found evidence to support her theory. A tiny pink ballerina’s tutu was tied around the bear’s waist and pink lacey slippers were on the bottom two paws.

Another soft-spoken, “Awwww…”, escaped Rebecca’s lips as the little girl bear was simply too cute for words.

She cradled the little one in her arms for awhile and then decided to check to see if its arms held secrets just as the first two did.

Once again she wasn’t disappointed. Inspection and moving of the little bears arms revealed that her left one came forward and raised up toward her mouth, and the hand was cupped as if it should be holding something. The right arm came out and the palm of the hand turned upwards as if it too should be holding something in it.

Figuring in for a penny, in for a pound, Rebecca went back to the “magic” bag to see what she’d missed several times before and once again returned with two small items. She smiled as she held a toddler’s tiny sippee cup in her hand and one of the two missing brownie squares from the lady bear’s baking pan.

The drinking cup fit perfectly in the little bears left hand and its top just touched her lips. Rebecca then started to put the other brownie square back in the pan, but then thought better of it and placed in the open palm of the little bear. Like the drinking cup it was a perfect fit. Rebecca stared at the small stuffy and could swear its smiled somehow grew the moment she placed the tiny brownie in its palm.

Rebecca sat back and rested for a moment. After her volunteer session at the hospital, the battle for her umbrella, and playing with her newfound friends, she was exhausted.

The doctors would have told her to take a good shot of morphine and go to bed early, but the doctors weren’t measuring their lives in days, and they didn’t have a little girl inside them anxiously waiting to fix up the babies she’d rescued.

Morphine and rest were set aside, as Rebecca/Becky decided to take care of the babies instead. Deciding to take care of first things first, Rebecca carried the babies off to the bathroom to give them a much needed scrubbing.

She spent over an hour in the bathroom washing the bear’s fur and their articles of clothing. The big bear was easy to scrub and the dirt seemed to roll off him with no problem. The lady bear was also easy to scrub, but each time Rebecca sat the bear on the shelf over the tub to drive off, she would fall back into the soapy water almost as if she was trying to dive back in. The little girl bear took most of the hour for Rebecca to scrub. Her fur seemed to almost resist soap and water, and she was constantly slipping out of the woman’s hand as if she was trying to escape the bath.

Finally the bears were clean and dried, which gave Rebecca a chance for further inspection. Around the lady bear’s neck she found a small gold chain and heart shaped locket that had been obscured by her previously matted fur. The locket open up to show places for two pictures but none had been included.

On the bottom of the big bear she found a small cloth tag that like the locket had been obscured by dirt and fur before. The writing on the tag was faded but still legible. It read: I’m Ricky, the musical Papa Bear.

Checking the other two bears she found tags on them in the same place and again both writings were just legible. The tag on the lady bear read: I’m Jenna, the brownie-baking Momma Bear.

The tag on the little girl bears bottom read: I’m Cathleen, the giggling Baby Bear.”

Rebecca felt Becky whisper in her ear and the woman nodded. Picking Cathleen up in her arms, she squeezed the baby bear tightly, and sure enough, giggles came pouring out of her tummy, which sent Becky into another giggling fit.

Once the giggles died down to chuckles, Rebecca concluded that whatever mechanism inside Cathleen that made her giggle must have jammed somehow by all the dirt, which would explain why it didn’t work before.

Rebecca picked up the “Three Bears” and hugged them tightly. Becky felt almost a tinge of envy as she thought of the loving family they represented, and how she would have given anything to have known that kind of love in her life.

Rebecca sat the bears down and then began working on repairing the damage to their bodies, clothes and Ricky Bear’s music maker.
Cathleen required only moderate seamstress work on her pink ballet slippers and few stitches to fix the lace on her tutu.

Jenna got a fresh coat of lipstick via new red felt, and some replacement stuffing and skilled needlework cured her “migraine headache”.

Ricky was the sickest of the three bears. After digging around in his fur for a while, Rebecca found the door to his musical mechanism. What she found inside made her cringe. Rust had gotten the better of the big bear so badly that most any repairmen would have just closed him back up and said there was no hope.

Dr. Rebecca however was a miracle worker and she wasn’t about to give up on her special friend. She immediately set to work, clearing out what rust she could, and then implementing some rather unorthodox repair procedures.

An hour later, she was gently turning the crank and praying. When she released it, Ricky bear began playing the soft sweet tones of an old children’s lullaby she hadn’t heard in years. It was one of those Becky had always imagined her parent’s singing to her when they put her to bed, but that was yet another thing the little one had missed out on, too.

By the time song had wound down, Rebecca was crying tears for both herself and the child within.

After that Rebecca took a break long enough to fix herself a cup of tea and take her temperature. She was fevered and yet chilled to the bone. That was nothing new. At least she was still breathing, and any day she could say that, was a good day.

Grabbing her favorite woobie over the sofa she wrapped it around her and then returned to complete final repairs on the three bears. A few strands of fishing line replaced Ricky Bear’s broken guitar strings and a little extra brushing had Jenna Bear’s reddish blonde fur shinning.

Rebecca then noticed that despite the fact Cathleen Bear hadn’t been moved from the table, already she’d picked up a few smudges of dirt on her freshly cleaned fur. Figuring she must have missed a few spots, she made a mental note to give her another bath tomorrow. As Rebecca turned to adjust the necklace around Jenna’s neck, she could have sworn Cathleen bear stuck her tongue out at her.

Attributing that hallucination to pure fatigue, she finally realized she had no choice but to succumb to sleep. Picking up the three bears she carried them into what would become their new home: Becky’s room.

Rebecca stopped at the doorway and Becky carried her new babies the rest of the way. The tired and sick older woman suddenly became a smiling and happy child. Yes, this little girl was sick, too, and like her older counterpart, tired easily and was not long for this world, but during those brief moments of play and energy she found within her room, she was truly happy and alive.

Becky sat the woobie on her bed and then wiggled out of her clothes and into one of her adult-sized little girl jammies. The little girl smiled at the bears and gathered them into her arms, carefully hugging and loving them. She felt the warmth and love and security she felt the first time she held them and when she closed her eyes she almost felt as if she were part of this Bear family too.

She continued to play and cuddle with the bears, and each time she held Cathleen and heard the little bear giggle, she echoed with one of her own.

Finally, sickness and exhaustion intruded upon her playtime and she had no choice but to go to bed. Becky sat the three bears up on her vanity and then started to wiggle beneath the duvet and cuddle with Beagle Bailey her stuffed pup, but she couldn’t “bear” to leave her knew friends alone, and quickly scampered out and reclaimed them. Tucking them into bed with her and Bailey, she kissed each one and told them all she loved them. Becky’s blonde hair spread out over the pillow and the scene looked like a poster for Goldylocks and the Three Bears.

Becky slept well that night, better than she could remember. She imagined she was a little girl, a real little girl, who had a great big ol’ cuddly daddy, a beautiful loving mommy, and a cute little sister with a horrible case of the giggles.

The sound of giggles woke her from her slumber and her first thought was that she’d fallen asleep on Cathleen bear and was setting off the giggling mechanism, but as the sleep cleared from her mind it was quite apparent that wasn’t the case.

There next to her in bed, was a small girl smiling up at her. The child was a toddler, probably about three-years-old, with big green eyes and strawberry blonde locks. The charming imp wiggled in next to Becky and immediately began giggling.

Becky wondered if she was still dreaming, or if she’d finally gone on to heaven. She wanted to ask this little girl a few good questions, but the little one’s giggling was infectious, and all serious thought by Becky soon went by the wayside as she joined the toddler in a giggling duet.

After a good amount of giggling and wiggling, Becky was finally able to speak and then asked the little girl who she was. The imp giggled again and gave her a wide smile. “Me Cathleen!”, she said proudly and then started giggling once again.

Becky’s next question was going to be, “Why are you giggling, Cathleen?”, but she got an answer before she could even pose it. A small lump centered about the end of Cathleen’s feet was moving and wiggling beneath the duvet. Suddenly the “lump” changed directions and headed straight for Becky’s feet, and the girl had her answer. A warm puppy tongue began licking her toes, and she began thrashing about in the bed, giggling and wiggling as her new friend Cathleen had done just seconds before.

After a few minutes of toe attack, the small lump began making its way toward the top of the duvet. When the lump reached its ultimate destination, Becky and Cathleen were greeted by the cold nose, tickly tongue, wiggling bottom and happy bark of a small beagle pup named of course, Beagle Bailey.

Becky held the loving bundle in her arms and started to cry tears of joy. Cathleen, not knowing why Becky was crying, immediately joined her, which then set the pup to howling.

Two figures immediately entered the room to see what had threesome off. Becky’s eyes were still filled with tears, when she felt arms wrap around her and slowly begin to rock her. A soft cooing in her ear told her everything was all right now, and the fragrance of freshly baked brownies chased away the tears as a smile spread across her face.

Soft fingers, gently wiped the tears from Becky’s cheek and a beautiful strawberry blonde, green-eyed woman smiled lovingly at her. Becky hadn’t seen this woman before, and she should have been alarmed that she was inside her home and sitting on her bed with her, but strangely she wasn’t. For some reason she felt safe in this woman’s arms. She trusted her completely, and did not want her to let go for any reason.

Becky’s little friend Cathleen had quit crying as she too had found the arms of a new friend. Becky’s eyes grew wide at the size of the big man who had to crouch down to fit beneath Becky’s canopy. He was rocking Cathleen and soon had her giggling again, which didn’t seem to be too hard to do. Becky smiled at the big man and he smiled back as he winked at her.

For some reason Becky felt compelled to reach out to the giant, and instantly, a big paw stole her away from the woman who held her and gently brought her off to share the big man’s lap with Cathleen. The young woman then scooted across the bed to find her place beside the man and then finally to make the setting complete, Beagle Bailey jumped up into Becky’s arms.

Becky had never felt happier, safer and more loved in her whole life. She still didn’t know if this was a dream or heaven. If it was a dream, she hoped she’d never wake up.

She was very tempted to just lie there and hope it was heaven, but curiosity finally got the better of her and she finally had to know.

Glancing over at the woman who was snuggled next to big man, Becky thought she was too pretty to be anything other than an angel and asked her if she’d died and gone to heaven.

The young woman reached over and took her hand lovingly. “No my little one this isn’t heaven, but us laying here together is the closest thing to it.”

Becky sighed. They left only one alternative. That means this all had to be dream and very soon she would wake up to battle the sickness once again. The sadness of that thought and of having to ever leave this place, brought the tears back to Becky’s eyes, and she began sobbing.

The big man cradled her gently in his arms and spoke to her softer than one could think such a big man could sound. “Here now, little one, what’s all this about?”

Becky trembled as she hung onto the big man tightly. Her voice was weak as she choked on her tears. “I…I…don’t want…want this to end. I don’t…don’t want to wake up…up from…the…dream.”

The gentle man held Becky tightly and immediately sought to calm the little one in his arms. “Becky honey, this doesn’t have to end. You’re not asleep. This isn’t a dream, and as perfect as it seems, Jenna is right. This isn’t heaven. It’s reality.”

“Jenna”, Becky said out loud, but actually meant more for her own ears. The big man who was holding her tight and making her feel safe called the beautiful woman who smelled of fresh baked brownies Jenna, and the little girl with the giggling fits cuddled next to her and wearing ballerina jammies was Cathleen.

Becky’s eyes grew wide and she looked up at the man who held her and said, “Ricky?”

The big man said, “Yesssss…” and then winked at Jenna before laughing and kissing Becky on the forehead. His eyes twinkled at her as her mind raced.

Becky swallowed hard and then was almost afraid to say what she knew she had to say. Meekly she offered, “But…but…but…this can’t be…I mean you can’t really be Ricky and Jenna and Cathleen. I mean…I mean…well you know…that’s impossible. For heaven’s sake thet’re ummm…ummm…”

Jenna reached out and took the flustered girl’s hand and then finished her sentence for her. “Bears, my little princess. I think the word you were looking for is bears, and before you think you’ve gone crazy, I promise you that you haven’t. Last night we really were stuffed bears, and we have been for a very, very long time, Princess.”

Cathleen nodded and snuggled closer to Becky. “Yeah, and I no wiked it berry much neiders, cept for I no haded to take baffs till you gibed me one last night.”

Becky giggled as the two adults rolled their eyes. Ricky gently cradled Becky’s chin in his hand and he brought her gaze to meet his. “Jenna is right, little one. We really were stuffed bears, and if you hadn’t come along and rescued us when we you did, I’d hate to think of what would of happened.”

Jenna instinctively cuddled in closer to her Ricky as she knew exactly what would have happened to them when the trash was collected the next morning.

Becky quickly followed with the obvious. “But…but bears just don’t turn into real people.”

Jenna smiled at her and reached over to stroke Becky’s hair. “They can if they were really people all along, who’d been hit with black magic.”

Cathleen nodded and then added. “Yeahs, dumb ol stupid ebil wizards.”

Becky heard the words, black magic and wizard and then turned to Ricky, her eyes pleading for help. The big man smiled at her and immediately set to ease her confusion. “Maybe I should start from the beginning, little one. Now about fifty years ago, give or take one or two, as I’ve lost track of time a bit, Jenna, our daughter Cathleen and I were a normal family, or as least as normal as we could be, considering my career.”

That confession peeked Becky’s interest, and she had to ask the question now burning within. “So…what was your career?”

Ricky rolled his eyes, and said very matter-of-factly, “Oh, I was a musician.”

Jenna wasn’t about to let him off the hook that easily and quickly added. “A very famous one. He played with and wrote songs for some of the biggest names to grace the stage. He can make that guitar of his sing like no one else.”

Becky smiled at the boast as she saw the deep love and pride that Jenna felt for her husband. Cathleen piped up immediately and added proudly. “My daddy is a wock and woll star!”

This time Becky giggled and Ricky just shook his head and then continued. “As I was saying, before I was interrupted by the Ricky fan club … we lived a pretty normal life considering the circumstances, and we were really happy, but then while I was playing a gig on the west coast, we met this guy who claimed to be a wizard. At first I thought he was just tripping on drugs or something, I mean I didn’t really believe in magic any more than you do, but he started firing spells left and right and made a believer out of me real quick. I mean … this wizard said he could do anything, I mean anything for a price.”

Cathleen nodded and then added. “Yeah, him eben saided he could gibs me a sister.”

Jenna’s eyes…misted over and she hugged her soulmate tightly. Ricky comforted his love and then continued his tale. “Cathleen isn’t our first born. We had another girl before Cathleen came, but sadly, she was snatched from us before she was born.”

Ricky squeezed his wife’s hand as he felt her hot tears on his shoulder. “The miscarriage was pretty rough physically and emotionally on Jenna. The doctor’s said she’d probably never conceive another child, but we were blessed with Cathleen three years later.”

Jenna sniffled back her tears and reached over to hug her giggling little imp and then picked up the story where Ricky had left it. “Cathleen’s birth was another rough one and this time I had to have a complete hysterectomy afterwards. As you know, that meant I would never had another child, and I so desperately wanted at least one more.”

Becky nodded and then added, “I’m really sorry but … I mean couldn’t you adopt or something?”

Ricky dropped his head and sighed. “When your profession is guitarist and song writer in a rock and roll band, it doesn’t look to good on an adoption application. Those people want to see the perfect stable family situation. They want you to be Ozzie and Harriet, not Ozzie and Sharon Osborne.

Jenna hugged her husband, tightly trying to console him and telling him this was not his fault. Jenna then picked up the tale again. “Well … that’s how the wizard got into all of this.”

Becky shot her a puzzled glance and then she sighed sadly. “He said he could give us back the daughter that we’d lost. His said she’d been taken from us by an evil curse and that he could bring her back to us … for a PRICE.”

Becky’s eyes grew wide as she asked the obvious again. “Did he want your immortal souls?”

Ricky chuckled and shook his head, but there was no real joy in his laugh. “Nope, all he wanted was a hit song. Said if I’d write him something that couldn’t miss, he’d deliver our daughter to us. Seems he had a bet going with some of his other wizards and this is what he needed to win it. I thought it was all too good to be true, and … well … I guess it was.”

Becky reached over and hugged Ricky tightly. “What happened? Couldn’t you write him a hit song?”

“No … actually, I wrote it, turned it over to a few friends of mine and they did the actually release. Turned out to be a real smasher, actually.”

Becky stared at Rick and waited for the punch but when it didn’t came she asked for it. “Well I don’t understand, if it was such a big hit what went wrong?”

Ricky answered her question quickly. “Well … the group I got to do the actual recording was more folk music than the rock and roll that I normally played. They sort of rearranged the tune a bit and it came out more like a child’s lullaby.”

Becky’s eyes perked up and she blurted out. “The song I heard when I turned your crank … that was it wasn’t it?”

Ricky nodded and then continued. “The folk crowd went wild for that song and it was top-ten material, but … the wizard was less than pleased. Seems his brethren were expecting a little more hell fire, and took a dim view of anything that preaches love and harmony. Guess they literally ran the wizard out of the organization.”

Jenna then picked up from Ricky. “Obviously the wizard was VERY upset and he came back to us in a blind fury. He said that Ricky had made a laughing stock of him by writing a children’s lullaby. He then added since we were all so preoccupied with childish things, we should BE childish things. Before any of us could say a word, a wave of his hand turned us into the teddy bears that you found yesterday. He then informed us that our daughter wasn’t dead. She was alive in this world, only the horrible curse that had stolen her from us had caused her to be born to another, and as a result she lived a cruel existence. He then he added that neither of our curses would ever be lifted unless we found each other. Since that day, we have been shifted from store shelves to yard sales and finally to the rubbish bin.”

Cathleen nodded and then hugged Becky tightly. “But … but … now da curse is all gone cause you founded us, Sissy and now’s we can bees a familwee!”

Becky looked from Ricky to Jenna and they both nodded at her. Ricky hugged her tightly. “Cathleen’s right, pumpkin. You’re her sister and our daughter. Only our daughter could have broken our curse, and only we could have broken yours.”

Becky trembled slightly as she asked, “My … my curse?”

Jenna pulled her in close. “Yes, my princess, the horrible curse that denied you the love of your family and the chance to grow from a little girl into the woman you were destined to be. It is that same curse that poisoned your old body, but all that is gone now. You are exactly as you should be.”

With all the changes that had gone on around her, Becky had become so involved in the story and everyone else she really hadn’t stopped look at herself. She trembled as her eyes drank in the body of a young girl about six or seven years old dressed in pink Disney Princess jammies. She slowly reached up and pulled a lock of her hair toward her face. It was still long, but the blonde had turned strawberry blonde that matched that of Jenna and Cathleen’s.

Tears welled in Becky’s eyes as she finally began to accept that magic could happen and the fact that her family had been teddy bears and now she was a little girl again was living proof.

Jenna cradled Becky in her arms as her tears mixed with her daughters. Becky looked into Jenna’s eyes and searched for one last reassurance. “Am I really your daughter? Really?”

Jenna finally ended all doubt. Reaching to her locket she opened it and showed Becky the pictures inside it. One was Cathleen and the other, the other was unmistakably the little girl Jenna now held in her arms.”

Becky hugged Jenna tightly and then told her the words the young woman had waited so long to hear. “I love you, Mommy!”

Jenna rocked Becky and cried, “I love you too, Princess.”

Cathleen quickly joined the pair and then Ricky wrapped his big arms around his girls and hugged them tightly. Becky kissed him and said, “I love you, Daddy!”

Tears fell from the big bear’s eyes as he smiled lovingly at her and returned. “I love you too, pumpkin.”

Beagle Bailey then decided to add an exclamation point with several loud barks, which brought laughter to the hugfest.

Becky hugged the puppy that wormed its way in to the group hug and then looked up at her daddy. “But … but … what about Bailey. I mean he wasn’t a real beagle, was he?”

Ricky laughed as the puppy squirmed and wiggled. “Well, he is now, and I think that’s all that matters, little one.”

Becky was so happy. She finally had a real family and a chance at a real life. Nothing could make her happier at that moment and then suddenly her father did just that. Like magic, which was becoming an everyday occurrence for Becky now, he produced a small wrapped package and handed it to her.

Becky gave him a puzzled look and then like most children her age she wildly tore it open. When pulled off the wrap and opened the box, she saw the only thing she hadn’t realized was missing until she saw it.

The little girl pulled out a very familiar and well loved stuffed bear and hugged her tightly. She was the first baby the little girl had ever held in her arms, even if it was for only a few hours. Becky rocked and cried as she welcomed Bernadette home.

Inside the box was a note from the only family member that had ever really met Becky. She also the only one who’d defied Charles’s father and stayed in contact with her cousin over the years. The note read. “To Becky. I think you should have Bernadette. She’s your baby, and families should always be together. Love, Maggie. “

Becky said a prayer of thanks to her cousin and then finally with the last member of the family home, everyone joined together in a hugfest and they all lived happily ever after.