Introduction: This story is the fourth and final story in a series within a series. The overall series is the “Cynthia Chronicles”. This story is directly connected to “Simoné and the Second Time Around”, “Marti and the Doppelganger”, and Marti and the Doppelganger – a Follow Up”. Several of the stories in the Cynthia Chronicles left some unanswered questions. In “Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling” two of the antagonists are regressed to childhood. Now we will learn what happened to them. In “Randi and the College Professor” Randi and Frank Deere adopt Betty, a bit of a rogue witch. Betty was regressed to early childhood, but she kept her powers. As it turns out, Betty was a real blessing. We also learn a bit more about Cindy’s first born who is the first new wizard in probably close to a thousand years. Then there is a question that has been floated about. What about death?

Cynthia and Don had taken on the responsibility of raising Martin and Joann along with their first born. It wasn’t that easy, nor was it that difficult. Martin and Joann were wonderful children. They got along well with everyone; however, they soon learn of their origins. This might prove to be difficult. -->
 

The primary purpose of the psychiatric clinic in Bridgeport was not, as some readers may think, to physically change any transgendered client so their sex matched their gender. First and foremost, they operated a clinic where doctors would try to help their clients attain good mental health. It wasn’t always easy. Often, there wasn’t a cure for what ailed someone, only continuous treatment.

Some might ask why magic wasn’t used to ‘cure’ the mentally ill. Magic was not something to be just thrown around and used willy-nilly. It took energy. Those who had the ability to use magic had to learn that. Even The Wizard had learned that. There were times that the best solution to a problem was the simplest one. Changing reality, even at the local level was very ‘expensive’. There were times it was absolutely necessary. Those in the know realized a tremendous amount of energy had been expended to ‘correct’ the Donna/Don situation. Since then The Wizard and witches did their best to keep universe alteration to a minimum. Still there were times when fairly drastic measures were necessary.

Saving someone’s life was always paramount. Some families were very supportive of their transgender children. They desired counselling to help them understand their child as well as help their child understand herself or herself. These were the situations that went very well. The parents never received a bill for the counseling and transformations.

Cindy and Bobbie, excuse me, Drs. Brewer and Anderson had a distinct advantage when it came to the transgender, or any of their clients for that matter. They could read minds. Cindy had explained to Tommie Donizetti several years before that the Hippocratic Oath prevented her from going beyond the surface. She also explained that sensing gender misalignment was something quite different than reading someone’s personal thoughts. Cindy and Bobbie usually knew very early in the first session if a child was truly transgender. The other sessions were just to acquire and confirm details. A mentioned before, Cindy and Bobbie never performed a transition. They left that to Dr. Aloysius Bettencourt, aka, The Wizard.

Cases varied considerably, and they always would. In reality, dealing with the transgender was less than five percent of the cases they were involved in. That was considerably higher than the statistical average; however, there were many ‘out there’ who knew exactly where to send someone who needed their special help.

Mental health was not simple. In reality, dealing with the transgender was probably the easiest thing they had to deal with. That was the one situation they were best equipped to deal with. However, in their favor, they were eminently qualified to deal with other psychological problems besides transgender issues.

One of the disparities between the magic world and the non-magic world was aging, and the effects of aging. Someone carrying the magic gene was ensured of an extended life if he or she was closely associated with someone who practiced magic. Those that could practice magic, barring a catastrophic event, might live seven, eight hundred years or more. Wizards historically, routinely lived a thousand years or more. Some wizards voluntarily moved into the spirit world when their life on earth was no longer of interest to them. Sorcerers and sorceresses were thought to have similar life spans; however, there were no recent examples in this universe to draw on.

What did this mean to the families that had shared so much over the last thirty years or so? All of the Lewis’s and Schmedlaps carried the magic gene, either a pair or a single recessive. All of Cindy and Don’s children carried at least one or more of the magic genes, as did Andy and Bobbie’s children. Andy did not carry the magic gene; however, his longevity would be considerable.

Unusual longevity is sure to bring attention to one. How do the long lived divert attention from themselves? First of all, they have to ‘die’.

For instance, Stan and Marissa Lewis are now nearly 70. Marissa is still fertile, as is Sally Schmedlap who is a bit older. They might want more children someday. The magic world is getting good at this. They create new lives, new identifications, and new careers. The ties are still strong among the families, but new ties have to be created. They create new realities for the ‘magic’ without changing the universe’s reality. There is a group of witches whose entire job is creating new lives at the appropriate time. Thank heavens for computers.

One of the difficult things to handle is where the magic and non-magic are closely related. It has to be difficult when you know you can look forward to maybe several centuries of a productive life, and someone close to your ages before your eyes and dies while you are still a picture of health and youth.

Bob and Hilda Brewer fell into that category. The magic world could do a lot to make sure they lived well, but eventually; something would have to be done. They might be able to have a choice as to what happened. Andy Anderson was another, who because of his close association with Bobbie and the magic world might have an inside track to his future.

As Myrna’s work in gene identification progressed, more and more carriers were identified. The magic world did everything possible to get the magic and the magic carriers together, but as The Wizard said, the love had to be genuine. If a witch fell in love with a non-magic person, so be it. Love was stronger than magic. Some would say love was magic.

Bobbie knew that she would far outlive Andy. Andy would probably have a long life, but he would be old and infirm, while Bobbie without her cosmetic disguises would appear to be in her thirties. Andy had been aware of what would eventually happen for a long time. One evening after their as usual passionate love making, Bobbie could sense Andy was being a bit introspective.

“A penny for your thoughts.”

“Do you think The Wizard could put in a good word for me? I know we will have many more years together, but some day this body is going to quit. I was just wondering if they could do for me what they did for Cindy and Randi. I think I would like to try it from your perspective, you know, come back as a grandniece. I think that would be a lot of fun. Then I could come to you, and you could teach me all about how to be a good witch. I would love to be able to come back and live with this group.”

Bobbie could sense Andy was serious. The mortality issue had come up before. It was difficult for everyone. “I’ll put in a good word for you,” she answered. She meant it, and she did just that. Bobbie felt there was a good chance her request would be seriously considered.

They really were one big happy family, but things began to happen when the twins and the young Donald and Cynthia were in their eleventh year. Cindy and Bobbie knew that someday the twins would probably begin to remember their past. What sort of reaction would Joann have when she realized that her Aunt Bobbie had humiliated her on the golf course in one of the most historical moments in the history of modern golf? How would Martin react when he remembered that he had been a woman, and a witch? Had his gender been changed along with his sex? How would the once very macho, anti-feminist Jim Campion react when he discovered that he was a girl, fast becoming a very beautiful young woman?

They knew there were going to be problems, but once again The Wizard seemed to be playing hands off. He hadn’t helped Cindy through girlhood and womanhood, and apparently, he wasn’t going to help her be a mother either.

In addition to the twins, Cindy had Donald, Sydney, Gerald (not a Wizard), and baby Amelia. Cindy was sure she would have at least one more baby, and her hope was that she would have a boy, and he would be a wizard.

Bobbie hadn’t been quite as proficient in producing children. She had paused a bit while she was working on her doctorate in psychology. Still, she had three children: Cynthia, Jimmy, and Eliza. She and Andy were also expecting their second son.

Things were going well, but the potential problems with Martin and Joann were lurking out there, somewhere.

Hind sight is 20/20. Maybe they should have realized everything was coming unraveled. There were plenty of hints. Joann’s physical maturation was progressing well, as was Martin’s. Joann seemed to be anticipating her teenage years with unusual eagerness. Martin seemed to be heading in the opposite direction. He became more and more reclusive, spending hours on his computer while being sequestered in his room.

Donald and Cynthia were another matter. They were eagerly attending to their lessons both in the regular school world, as well as the magic world. Donald’s powers at this time were unusual only in the fact that he could perform magic. He was the only male performer of magic known, other than The Wizard.

One of the major tasks of any witch was teaching her daughter, if she was a witch, about the great responsibility she had. It has been said many times, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Misuse of magic, as the misuse of power, could lead to terrible results. A despot could be taken care of through revolution, insurrection, and any number of other social methods. It could lead to war and other terrible events. The trouble with the misuse of magic was that, if known, it could reflect back on the entire magic world, regardless of the innocence of the others. Take for instance what has happened in some universes where all magic has been eliminated through overt acts such as hangings and burnings at the stake.

They should have known.

“Mom, we need to talk.”

“Sure, Donald, what’s on your mind?” Cindy asked.

“They know.”

“Who knows?”

“Martin and Joann; they started remembering a while ago.”

“Ohmygod, what are they remembering?”

“All of it: the golf, the transformations, everything.”

“Obviously, you know, too. How long have you known?”

“I think Cynthia and I knew it about the same time. It’s been a couple of years. I think we knew it before they did.”

Cindy looked at her first born. He looked so much like his father. His hair was lighter, but his eyes were the same dark brown with gold flecks. He was starting to sprout, and if the indications held true, he would probably be taller than his father, and quite a bit heavier. At twelve years old he was also showing considerable athletic prowess.

“I’ve seen Aunt Bobbie’s museum many times. She never talks about defeating Jim Campion in the Masters, but I always sensed something in what was not being said. I was doing some research for magic class and found an article about Jim Campion, his sister, and his caddy being killed in an aircraft accident in Indonesia a week after that tournament.

“Something didn’t seem right. Jim and Margot’s parents were deceased, but that didn’t seem to have any bearing on the current situation. The big question was who was Jimmy Baldwin? I couldn’t find anything about him. Then, going through the witch data base, I found out Margot Campion was a witch. The funny thing was she was not listed as deceased. She was still alive, but access to the data was restricted. That is very unusual. There are many other unusual things too.

“There are some strange things about you, Aunt Bobbie, Aunt Randi, and Aunt Charli. There’s a point, though, where the data is restricted.”

“Donald, you are wise beyond your years, and I think it’s time, no, I know it’s time that we told you some wonderful things about us.”

“I think I know, and I think it’s neat. But I will let you tell Cynthia and me anyway.

“Did you know that Martin’s not a boy? She may think she is, but she’s a girl. She looks like a boy, and she has what look like boy’s bits. But inside Martin’s a girl.”

“How do you know this?” his mother asked. “Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always known when somebody was in the wrong body. I have never detected anything about Martin that would indicate there was a conflict. Apparently, you know a lot more than your Aunt Bobbie and me than I ever realized. Why didn’t I know about Margot? Wait a minute, what about Joann?”

“Joann knows everything. She has always been a girl. That’s why Jim Campion was such a jerk. He was awful jealous of Aunt Bobbie. She was the best golfer in the world, and she was so beautiful. She still is.”

“What, the best golfer in the world?”

“No, beautiful”

“Aren’t you a bit young to be talking like this?”

“Probably; but, I think you need to know about Cynthia and me. We are going to be together for the rest of our lives. We are bound together by love and magic. It will be ten years before we are married.”

“Oh, my, you sound very positive about that.”

“I am; however, we need to talk about Martin and Joann. As I said before, they know what happened. Joann is not the problem. The problem is Martin.”

“I feel strange asking you for advice. After all, you are my twelve year old son. So what am I supposed to do?”

“That’s not for me to decide. His Wisdom told me to say that you are to make all the decisions. It’s up to you.”

Cindy contemplated the ramifications of the situation. Over the years, she and Bobbie had ‘rescued’ a number of boy and girls, men and women who were in the wrong bodies. Bobbie had been her first. They knew about Randy right away, but Randi couldn’t be saved through the ‘normal’ transformations. When they became professional psychiatrists/psychologists, the numbers increased.

There were quite a few cases of gender confused children and adults who were not truly transgendered. They might be cross dressers. They might be gay, lesbian or bisexual. Their counseling and therapy helped these individuals find comfort rather than conflict. In the cases where families and spouses were involved, they helped the other family members find acceptance. The last thing they wanted to do was ‘cure’ someone whose orientation was ‘hardwired’ into their psyche.

Cindy had an unerring faith in her ability to determine when someone was transgendered. She had never been wrong. What she was beginning to realize was that she might miss some of the transgendered that were out there by using just her magic detection ability. There were some that would have to seek out counseling before she could do anything for them. Sometimes, only the more conventional methods would work. Sometimes she had to fall back on her professional training.

This was going to be one of those times.

Joann and Martin have been aware for years what happened to them. Joann is perfectly happy, but Martin feels he got the short end of the deal. Don’t worry, The Wizard will come to the rescue.