“The Tooth Fairy brought me a Wishing Stone coin, a sheet of Tooth Fairy stickers, and a Magical Tooth Candy,” Sarah told Zara.

“You got an actual coin? Really, wow! I didn’t know the Tooth Fairy still gave out real coins. I’ve never seen a real coin. All I ever get is Zeeboes credits in my account on one of her Tooth Fairy Magical Tooth Candies.”

“I got one of the Magical Tooth Candies, but it didn’t have any credits on it. Just had the candies and toy.”

“What does the coin look like?”

“It’s small, round, and really thin. It’s multi-colored like the stone. On one side, it has a picture of the Temple of the Gods, and on the other a holographic image of the Wishing Stone.”

“Why didn’t you bring it to school,” Zara inquired?

“Mommy said I couldn’t. She didn’t want me to lose it.”

“You do tend to forget where you put things.”

“Yeah,” Sarah said. “That is why I didn’t complain when she said that.”

“Are you going to spend it? Can you spend it? What can you do with a coin?”

“Dad says it is real money, but I can’t go buy candy with it. I would have to go to a special money place to get it turned into Zeeboes that I could use.”

“Are you going to do that?”

“It’s soooooo pretty,” Sarah said with a big smile. “No way am I going to spend it. It also reminds me of Mikey. Everything is Milly now. There is nothing left of Mikey. When I look at the holographic Wishing Stone on the coin, I think of Mikey and how much he loved the Wishing Stone.”

“So, am I going to your house after school today?”

“Ummm, I forgot to ask. Between the tooth and the floaty Ballet.”

“What in the Solar System is Floaty Ballet. Wait a minute. I thought you stopped taking Ballet a few years ago?”

“I did. Milly is taking floaty Ballet. It is Ballet classes done in a place with little or no gravity.”

“How can you dance when you are floating around in space?”

“Milly can. She did this perfect ballet twirl while we were playing on the Zero-G playground after the class. Then she pushed off the play equipment and went flying off to Mommy. She has better control in Zero-G than I do.”

“Yet in gravity, she still crawls around on the floor,” Zara pointed out.

Sarah chuckled, “She’s not that little, but she does still crawl around some, especially when playing. She runs and walks most of the time, but she also gets Mom and Dad to carry her a lot. Would you believe, every time she holds her hands up and says, ‘Uppy, ’ someone picks her up.”

“Little kids don’t know how lucky they are. Mom never picks me up anymore, and Dad complains every time he does.” Then Zara uses her best Dad voice, “You’re getting too big for this squirt.”

“Yeah, my dad complains that I’m getting too big to carry, but it isn’t even an option now that Milly is here. She’s always the one being carried.”

“Wonder what your dad would do if you went up to him, held up your hands, and said, ‘Uppy’,” Zara inquired?

Sarah giggled, “I certainly wouldn’t be picked up. Oh, Zara. Did you know that Mikey’s wish changed a bunch of people?”

“Duh, of course, I did. It was all over the school when it happened. Not every day that a few kids at school magically turn from boy to girl or girl to boy.”

“I didn’t know until yesterday,” Sarah admitted.

“Oh, that’s right. You weren’t at school that day. But, you got to go to the real Wishing Stone Ceremony,” Zara pointed out.

“I skip a day of school and miss out on the biggest news at school.”

“No one in our class transformed, so I didn’t see anything,” Zara commented. “You got to see Mikey transform, though, and you got to see the Wishing Stone. No one else at school has ever seen the Wishing Stone in person. You even got to meet World Leader Evans.”

Sarah smiled, “He was nice, but I thought he would wear fancy clothes like the Kings in the Fairy Tales. He was just wearing a yucky man’s suit.”

“That would have been really cool if he did dress like the Kings in the stories,” Zara contemplated.

“Now for a story that will have you looking at your book collection. Over the last couple of days, there has been a murmur in book reader chat rooms about books that had suddenly appeared in people’s book collections. Most of you will find several books in your collection by author Gregg Soffin, but you have no recollection of buying the books. Wish Magic is to blame, or maybe we should be thanking Wish Magic. Once people started reading those mysterious books, the chat picked up about an amazing author. Last night I started reading one of those books and could not put it down. Who is this Gregg Soffin, and why is he a famous author we have never heard of,” the news reporter asked?

“Gregg is the father to the Wishee, and when the Wishing Stone regressed the Wishee, it changed Gregg’s past. Rewriting his life for what it would have been if his oldest child had been born years later. This is the first reported case of someone’s past being altered that had not directly made the wish. Checking records, all four of Gregg Soffin’s books were #1 bestsellers, and until the day of the wish, his upcoming book had record-breaking pre-sales. Gregg will be making his first author appearance since the wish this Saturday at the Poetry Corner on Europa.”

“It will be interesting to see if he can become as famous of an author now that we know about him, as our history now says he is. After reading his first book, I know I am looking forward to reading his other books.”

“Malina from the Wishing Stone Society has specialized in altered timelines. Tell me, Malina, could this Gregg Soffin be as good of an author as the Wishing Stone books have contributed to him?”

“Based upon previously altered timelines, the recipient does have the ability the new timeline contributes to them. I do not doubt that Gregg Soffin is that talented of an author. We have lots of events in our lives that can change our paths forever. Most of the altered timelines I have researched had just changed one piece of the person's past, putting them on a different path and creating a whole new reality for us. In this case, the event that was changed was the birth date of the Wishee. In the pre-wish timeline, Gregg Soffin’s oldest child was born 12 years ago. In this timeline, his oldest child was born eight years ago. By having those four years without children, his efforts to be a writer were not stopped by the need for more money upon the birth of a child.”

“Why is it that none of us can remember any of these books if the timeline has been altered?”

“Wish magic changes the memories to the new timeline of very few people. Not even the Wishee’s family members have memories of traveling down the new timeline. The Wishee knows her past, but others around her don’t. Rarely does an altered timeline affect us all as Gregg Soffin’s has, or should I say will? Like you, Marsha, I started reading one of his books yesterday when I was asked to do this interview. We have all been given a gift.”

“House,” Gregg said. “Are there any other new news stories on me?”

>>No<<

“House, turn the news off.”

“Sawah,” Milly said, walking into Sarah’s bedroom. “Play?”

Sarah looked at the Starbop dolls she was playing with and then back up at the little girl standing in her doorway, holding on tight to her Susie dolly. A week ago, she was the little girl holding onto BooBear in Mikey’s doorway, asking the same question. Mikey smiled at Sarah, put down what he was playing with, and they went off to play together. Sarah didn’t want to stop playing with her Starbop dolls, but she also didn’t want Milly messing them up. Sarah was about to say no when she remembered how sad she felt the times that Mikey said no to her. The longer there was no answer, the smile slowly faded from Milly’s face.

Looking at the doll in her hand, “Sorry, Starbeam, Milly needs me. We can play later.”

Milly ran up and hugged Sarah.

“You go down to the Playroom,” Sarah told Milly. “I will be down in a minute.”

Milly kissed Sarah and ran out the door running down the hallway to the right towards Mom and Dad’s bedroom. Looking at the Starbop Starbeam doll in her hand, Sarah asked, “Where is she going?”

Sarah dropped her doll and went running after Milly, “Milly, where are you going? We’re not supposed to go in Mommy and Daddy’s bedroom.”

“Playroom,” Milly screamed back.

Sarah went out her door and ran down the hall to Mom and Dad’s bedroom. Stopping at the doorway, “Milly, you’re not supposed to be in here. Milly.”

There was no answer.

“Milly,” Sarah shouted. “Come on, let’s go to the playroom to play.”

With no answer, Sarah gathered up her courage to go into the room to find Milly. She couldn’t go in though. The House force field blocked her from entering.

“House,” Sarah complained. “I have to go get Milly out of the room.”

>>Melissa is not in your parent’s bedroom.<<

“House, she has to be. She went running this way. If she’s not in there, where is she?”

>>Melissa is in the playroom.<<

“No, she isn’t. She went running this way, not to the playroom.”

>>Melissa is in the playroom.<<

Sarah went running off to the stairs and down to the playroom.

“Milly, Milly,” Sarah yelled. “Where are you Milly?”

When Sarah entered the playroom, she saw Milly moving a holographic blue ball into the blue circle.

>>Ding, ding, dong. You’re RRRRRRRRRight!!!!!<<

“Look, Sawah,” Milly said, hopping up and down while clapping her hands. “I do it!”

“That’s good Milly,” Sarah said, looking at Milly. “Milly, how did you get from my room to the playroom?”

“I took the slide,” Milly said, going over and picking up the red holographic cube.

“Slide,” Sarah questioned? “What slide?”

“The slide,” Milly said, trying to put the red cube in the red square.

>>Bong, Bong, Bong.<<

“Why it no go in,” Milly complained as she repeatedly tried to push the cube into the square.

“You have to turn it, Milly,” Sarah said, coming up and helping Milly turn the cube, so it fits in the square.

>>Ding, ding, dong. You’re RRRRRRRRRight!!!!!<<

“Milly,” Sarah asked. “Really, how did you get down to the playroom?”

“I went down the slide,” Milly said as she turned her attention on the yellow pyramid.

“Milly,” Sarah said in frustration. “Slides are on playgrounds, not in houses.”

Milly let go of the yellow pyramid she had just picked up. It just stayed hanging where she left it. Milly grabbed Susie off the floor and went running out of the room. Sarah followed. When they reached the 3rd floor, she stopped in the middle of the hallway just past Sarah’s bedroom.

“The Slide,” Milly said, pointing at the wall.

“Milly,” Sarah looked at where she was pointing in confusion. “There is no slide.”

“House, slide,” Milly said with a big smile. Then she went to the wall that disappeared and went down a slide.

Sarah looked at the wall that immediately reappeared after Milly went down the slide. She went up to the wall and felt it. She could feel where the wall went from wall to force field, but she couldn’t see the difference.

Looking both ways and then at the wall, “House, slide.”

The wall disappeared, and an opening to the slide appeared. Sarah got on the slide and slid down the winding slide, and came out in the playroom.

“See,” Milly said. “Slide!”

“Again!” Sarah screamed before running out of the room with Milly following.

“Girls,” Dad said as the girls ran past him as he went down the stairs, and they went up. “Don’t run in the house.”

“But Dad, there’s a slide,” Sarah explained as she continued to run up the stairs.

“Slide?”

“Yeah, Daddy,” Milly said, going up the stairs as fast as she could. “Slide.”

Gregg changed direction and followed the girls.

“Daddy,” Sarah asked? “You going down the slide?”

“What slide?”

Milly walked up to the side entrance and said, “House, slide.”

Before Gregg could say anything, Milly was on her way down the slide, and the entrance was covered up again.

“That slide, Daddy,” Sarah said with glee. “House, slide.”

Sarah jumped on the slide, saying, “Come on, Daddy.”

Gregg looked as Sarah went down the slide, and the wall reappeared, “House, slide.”

>>Sorry, you don’t have access to that command.<<

“What do you mean,” Gregg inquired. “I’m the owner of the house.”

>>If you are over 14, you must have a child with you to go down the slide.<<

“Who would set a stupid rule like that?”

>>You did. When your nephew and niece were visiting and hogging the slide so much, the little kids couldn’t get on the slide.<<

“Okay, good reason for the rule,” Gregg said as Sarah came running up behind him.

“Sarah bear,” Gregg asked? “Can I go down the slide with you?”

“I’m a big girl Daddy. You go down with the baby,” Sarah said as she went up to the slide. “House, slide.”

Sarah was gone before Gregg could say anything. Sarah got back just ahead of Milly. She was down the slide before Milly reached Dad.

“Milly,” Gregg said. “Let’s go down together this time.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Milly went up and hugged Gregg.

After several more trips down the slide, Milly went back to the Princess Stacy Color Search game.

“You figure out what you are going to talk about tomorrow,” Marsha asked Gregg as she sat down after tucking Sarah in for the night?

“I think so,” Gregg said. “I’ve picked passages from each of the books, but I hope to just focus on the first book in the series on this Meet & Greet.”

“Makes sense,” Marsha snuggled into Gregg. “Are we dropping you off, or are you dropping us off?”

“I figure you should have the transport,” Gregg responded. “So, you drop me off and then go off to the Children’s Museum. I’ll catch a taxi to the museum when I’m done.”

“What did you book on the train?”

“I got a spot in the Family Car. With a 4-year-old, it seemed the only logical choice. Sarah would watch something on her Kid Pad for the trip, but Milly probably wouldn’t.”

“You’re most likely right. The Family Car has enough to keep them entertained. Getting her back in the Transport without tears when we reach the Jupiter system might be a challenge.”

“Going anywhere with two kids under 9 is a challenge.”

Marsha chuckled, “I know, but would you believe I miss having a baby around the house.”

“Oh no, you don’t,” Gregg protested. “We have two kids who can talk to us when upset. We are not having another kid, dealing with years of guessing when they are upset.”

“Milly is only four. We still have to do some guessing when she is upset.”

“You calm her down, and she can talk to you,” Gregg pointed out. “Now, all we have to do is get her out of diapers.”

“Sarah will probably fall asleep on the trip back. As soon as we get on the train headed back to Earth, we should put her in her nighttime training pants.”

“If we bring their Pajamas and get them dressed for bed at that time,” Gregg commented. “We will probably get less resistance.”

“House,” Marsha stated. “Add to the list of items needed for the trip, items that get them all ready for bed.”

>>Teeth sanitizer, pajamas, nighttime protection, and security stuffie added for each girl, and a pacifier for Melissa added to the trip needs list. Should I also add the girl’s blankies to the list?<<

“No, we should be back by official bedtime. If the kids can’t get to sleep because they don’t have their blankie, that is okay,” Marsha replied.

“I think we should bring my Transport,” Gregg stated. “It can go twice the speed of your transport, and that might come in handy in the Jupiter System.”

“You and your fancy transports, but I guess you are right. Why don’t you make sure the kid’s support bags in your transport are fully stocked. If I need a change of clothes for one of the kids, I don’t want to find that kid’s bag empty.”

“Would I use something out of one of those bags without restocking it?”

“Yes, you would,” Marsha jabbed Gregg. “You go do that, and I will get the other stuff on the list.”

Marsha got up in the morning and headed down to the kitchen. On the way, she peeked into the girl’s rooms. Sarah was sleeping soundly, but Milly wasn’t in her bed.

“House, where is Milly?”

>>Melissa is in the playroom.<<

“It’s going to be one of those days. Wait a minute, House? How did she get to the playroom if night-time settings put a force field on the stairs preventing them from going down? Do Milly’s nighttime settings block the stairs?”

>>Yes, Melissa’s nighttime settings restrict her from using the stairs.<<

“If she is not allowed to go down the stairs, then how did she get to the playroom?”

>>She didn’t go down the stairs. She took the slide to the playroom.<<

“The what?”

>>The Slide.<<

“Who puts a slide in a house? Oh, never mind, I can picture Gregg doing that. Where is this slide? I’ve never seen it.”

>>Look down the hall towards your bedroom.<<

Marsha looked down the hall and saw a holographic display with the words ‘Slide Entrance’ and an arrow pointing at a glowing purple spot on the wall.

“House, change the settings for both girls. When on nighttime settings, access to the slide is off-limits.”

>>New settings recorded. No slide access when the girls are set for nighttime.<<

“House, how long has she been up playing?”

>>She isn’t playing. Melissa is currently asleep on the floor of the playroom.<<

“That is good, I guess. When did Milly go there, and how long was she awake for?”

>>Melissa woke up at 4 am and went to the playroom at 4:30 am. She fell back to sleep at 6:22 am.<<

“Great. A day away from home when she has had two and a half hours less sleep than usual,” Marsha headed downstairs and peeked into the playroom.

Milly was curled up on the floor under her pink unicorn blankie, sucking on her pacifier. In one hand was Susie and the other had a toy unicorn.

“House, activate playroom soundproofing. I don’t want noise from other locations reaching her.”

Marsha went to the kitchen, “First things first, something to wake me up.”

Marsha got fifteen minutes of peace and quiet before being interrupted by BooBear entering the dining room dragging a barely awake Sarah with her.

“Morning, Sarah Bear,” Marsha said, putting down her drink. “Want some Scrambled Eggs for breakfast?”

“With strawberry toast?”

Marsha smiled, “Sure. BooBear does like strawberry toast, doesn’t she?”

Sarah hugged BooBear tight as she sat down at her spot at the table.

Sarah was almost done eating her breakfast when Gregg entered the room.

“Daddy,” Sarah exclaimed. “Mommy made BooBear strawberry toast!”

“Did she now,” Dad chuckled. “If it was for BooBear, why is there strawberry jam on your face?”

Sarah giggled, “I had to taste it to make sure it was good before letting BooBear have it. She’s very picky.”

“Is she now. She must have learned that from you.”

“Daddy!”

Turning to Marsha, “So where is the little princess?”

“She is in the playroom, sleeping.”

“Sleeping in the playroom,” Gregg inquired?

“Well, apparently, some crazy person put in a way for her to get to the playroom in the middle of the night, even if I put restrictions on the stairs. Who puts a slide in a house?”

“In my defense,” Gregg stated. “I have no memory of doing that.”

“Oh, it was you,” Marsha commented. “I certainly didn’t install a slide inside the house, but that is something you would do.”

“Admittedly,” Gregg grinned. “It is the type of thing I would do.”

“She was awake from 4 to 6:30 before falling asleep on the playroom floor. Neither of you is going to wake her up. Understand?”

“Yes, Mommy,” Sarah said.

“Yes, Mommy,” Gregg added.

“I mean it. Milly sleeps until she wakes up, or we will have a cranky baby all day. I do NOT want a cranky kid while we are traveling or at the museum.”

“Museum?” Sarah jerked her head around, looking straight at Mom. “We’re going to a museum?”

“Daddy has to do something on Europa, so the rest of us are going to the Children’s Museum there.”

Sarah bounced up and down in her chair, clapping. After a minute, she asks, “Where’s Ur-upa?”

“Europa,” Gregg said. “It is a moon around Jupiter.”

“That planet with the red spot storm cloud?”

“Good girl,” Mom praised. “That is the one.”

“Will we get to see the aliens living in the asteroid belt?”

Gregg chuckled, “No, sweetie. There are no aliens living in the asteroid belt. That is only pretending on the Holoprogram.”

Sarah frowned, hugging BooBear, “They’re not real?”

“Sorry, Sarah Bear. We have not found any intelligent aliens yet. Not even in other Solar Systems.”

“The Furry Jells are just make-believe?”

“Yup,” Mom shook her head up and down. “I know they look real in the Holoprogram, but they’re not.”

“But Mommy, that program isn’t a cartoon. It has real people in it.”

Marsha went over and hugged her daughter, “Learning the difference between real and make-believe is hard, sweetie. When you were Milly’s age, you believed talking puppets and cartoons were real, much like Milly does. At four, you know some things are make-believe, but not others. Eventually, you learned that all cartoons are make-believe, but you still believed in some things that are not real. That is okay. It is part of growing up. As you get older and smarter, you learn to tell the difference. With Holoprograms, though, there is an easy way to tell. Down in the corner of the program you will see a red, green, or blue dot. A red dot means it is make-believe or the person is lying. A green dot means it is real, or the person is telling the truth.”

“What does the blue dot mean?”

“Everyone has their own opinion of things. Everyone is allowed to have their own opinions. There is a difference between truth, lies, and opinion.”

“We have been learning between Facts and Opinions in school,” Sarah said with pride. “I’m good at that.”

“Yup, it is so important to know the difference between them, that they teach it in school. A blue dot means it is an opinion. There is a special filter on the Holoprograms that will show those dots on the people while talking. House, turn on Solar System Talk. Mute the sound, but turn on the Truth Filter.”

On the table was displayed a talk show with five people sitting around a table. Above the head of the person talking, Sarah could see a dot. It kept changing between green and blue.

“There are no red dots,” Sarah observed.

“That is because no one is lying.”

“Oh, look, Mommy,” Sarah blurted out. “Down in the corner, there is a blue and green dot.”

“That is because the show is to talk about facts and opinions. Now let’s look at one of your programs. House, change channels to Big Kids Dis. . .”

“No, Mommy,” Sarah shouted, pointing at the Holodisplay. “Daddy!”

Marsha looked at the Holoprogram and saw an image of Gregg, “House, volume.”

“. . . is an amazing author. I have read through two of his books at this point and can’t wait to start on the next one. Thank You, Olivia, for telling us about him.”

“I just started his fourth book,” Olivia stated. “Every free moment I have I am reading his books. They are absolutely wonderful. If I weren’t working today, I would definitely be headed to Europa for the Author Meet and Greet at the Poetry Corner. Maybe we can get him to come on this show.”

“Calm down, Olivia. He is married with two kids. One of which is the Wishee.”

“A loving dad and an outstanding author. I wonder if he tells the kids great bedtime stories.”

“He does. He does,” Sarah shouted.

“I can guarantee you that everyone in the Solar System will soon know Gregg Soffin for his stories instead of his child. With books that good, he has a long career in front of him.”

“I sure hope so,” another one of the hosts stated. “His books have definitely entertained me. With two young children, who knows, maybe we will even see some kid's books out of him.”

“Yeah, Daddy,” Sarah jumped up and down. “All the kids in my class would love Daddy Stories.”

“Well,” one of the hosts said. “Whether he does or not, I will certainly be reading every book he puts out. For those lucky ones that get to meet him today, enjoy.”

“Did any of you hear what World Leader . . .”

“House, turn off the show,” Marsha stated.

“Daddy,” Sarah asked? “Will you write a kid's book?”

“We’ll see Sarah Bear,” Dad smiled. “Maybe.”

“Gregg,” Marsha asked? “When do we have to leave?

“We have tickets on the 2 pm train, so we need to leave here by 9:30 am at the latest to make sure we make it.”

Sarah was puzzled, and that showed on her face.

“What’s wrong Sara,” Gregg asked?

Sarah held up her left hand, pointy finger, and said, “9:30.” She held up her right hand and said, “2.” Then she put her left hand into a fist and started to count, putting a finger up for each number, “9 - - 10 - - 11 - - 12 - - 1 - - 2” Looking at her fingers, she turned to Daddy and said, “That’s 6 hours. Why are we leaving six hours before the train?”

“Remember how the Wishing Stone ceremony was in a different Time Zone than us?” Dad looked for confirmation. “Well, the train is in a different time zone. It is four hours different from us.”

Sarah held up six fingers and put down four, “It takes 2 hours to get to the train?”

“It takes about 20 minutes, but you counted wrong. When you count, you don’t include the first number. Then, I also said 9:30, not 9 am. If we leave here at 9:30, we will get there 10 minutes before the train leaves.”

“Except with two little ones,” Mom added. “We need to allow more time for unexpected things. Let’s aim for 9 am to leave. Then hopefully, we can be out of here by 9:30.”

“Good point,” Gregg added. “9 am it is. House, set a 9 am alert.”

“House, show me, Milly,” Marsha said. “Inform me when she enters wake-up stages.”

>>Wake-up alerts activated for Melissa.<<

“Awwwww,” Sarah said, looking at the holo display of Milly sleeping. “The baby looks so cute sucking on her pacifier and hugging her dolly.”

“Yeah,” Marsha commented. “Almost as cute as my little girl hugging her teddy on her lap and strawberry on her face.”

“Mom!”

“If you don’t want to be called a little girl, then stop calling your sister a baby,” Marsha raised an eyebrow. “And use your napkin to wipe your face.”

Sarah grabbed her napkin and wiped her face.

“Finish up, Sarah, then go up and get changed. We're going to a Children’s Museum, so I recommend wearing pants or leggings.”

“Is she still asleep,” Gregg asked as he walked into the living room?

“Yeah,” Marsha said, putting down the book she was reading. “I am about to go in and take her up to her room to get ready to go. Did you put one of those breakfast bars she likes and a sippy cup of Gupit in your transport?”

“Just finished. The kids’ bags are in there too,” Gregg responded. “I sent Sarah to go potty before coming down here.”

Marsha stood up and headed over to the playroom, “Okay, you get Sarah in the Transport. I will join you in a few minutes with Milly.”

Milly didn’t wake up until Marsha started taking her pajamas off to change her diaper. She was quickly changed and dressed in pink pants and a purple shirt with a unicorn on it. After getting her hair up in pig-tails, the two of them headed to Gregg’s transport.

“Mommy,” Sarah asked as Milly was being put in her baby seat. “I want my unicown hown.”

“Not today Milly. We’re leaving.”

“Sawah have cat eaws. I want unicown hown.”

Marsha looked over at the cat ears headband Sarah was wearing and then back at Milly, “Sorry, Milly, but it’s too late.”

“I want my unicown hown. I want my unicown hown. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa,” Milly let out at the top of her lungs while flailing her arms and kicking her legs.

“I’ll be right back,” Gregg said as he hurried out of the transport.

It took Marsha a little bit to stop the temper tantrum, assuring Milly that Daddy would get her unicorn horn headband. Until Milly saw Gregg coming back with the headband, she didn’t fully calm down. With the unicorn headband on, and a pacifier in her mouth, she entirely calmed down.

As they were pulling out of the garage, Sarah blurted out, “I have to go potty, Mommy.”

“Transport, return to the house,” Marsha stated. “Sarah, why didn’t you go when Daddy sent you off to go potty?”

“I didn’t have to go then.”

“Gregg, this is why we plan on leaving so early for things,” Marsha commented. “Milly, why don’t you start eating your breakfast bar while Sarah goes potty.”

After returning from the bathroom, Sarah climbed back into her safety seat and activated it. Before anyone could tell the transport to take off, Milly let out a sound that immediately caused the diaper alert to activate.

“Think we could get away with waiting to change her until we are on our way to Jupiter?” Gregg inquired?

“Definitely not,” Marsha replied. “I can already smell it. Unless you want to stink up your transport.”

“Okay, I guess you do need to go change her.”

“Um, nice try,” Marsha raised an eyebrow. “I just changed her. This one is yours.”

“Come on, Milly,” Gregg released Milly from her safety seat and picked her up. “Let’s get you changed out of that stinky diaper before Mommy gets even madder at me for saying something stupid.”

Sarah was bouncing BooBear on her lap. In her BooBear voice, “Is that all I have to do is throw a temper tantrum, and I get what I want?”

“No BooBear,” Marsha quickly responded. “You are a big Bear. Milly is just a little kid. A little kid who is grumpy because she didn’t sleep all night. If you or Sarah pulled something like that, you would be in time-out and lose your Kid Pad for a few days.”

Sarah hugged BooBear, “Don’t worry, Mommy. I’m a big girl, not a baby like Milly.”

“You certainly are my Big Girl, Sarah. It is not easy being the big sister, but you are doing a good job. Today might be a little hard. We can do it.”

“Did I do stuff like that when I was her age?”

“Oh yes,” Mom smiled at Sarah. “You were an expert at throwing temper tantrums. Still do every now and then.”

“No, I don’t,” Sarah rebutted as she was making BooBear nod his head up and down. “BooBear, you’re supposed to be on my side.”

“Sarah, with Milly in a grumpy mood, we will do things a little differently today. When we get to the Children’s Museum, we will go off and do things Milly would love to do. Maybe start in the Bubble Room, I know you will love that too. Until Daddy can join us, Milly gets to pick what we do next, but as a good big sister, I am sure you can recommend a few things both of you will enjoy. I’ve watched the two of you over the last few days. She looks up to you and wants to do stuff with Big Sis.”

Sarah smiled.

“When Daddy gets to the Museum, he’ll take Milly, and the two of us can go do whatever you want in the Museum.”

“Really?”

“Yup, just the two of us having fun,” Marsha smiled. “Transport, display map of Europa’s Children’s Museum.”

“Oh, Mom, look,” Sarah shouted. “They have a pet center. Can we go to the pet center? Can we?”

“Sure, SarahBear. You want some cuddle time with kitty cats?”

Sarah’s smile grew.

“I bet Milly would love the Fairy Tale dress-up room and the ball pit.”

“Hmmm,” Marsha grinned. “I know an eight-year-old who would love the ball pit too and who still enjoys playing dress-up.”

Sarah blushed.

“Look, Mom. They have a baby room.”

“Sarah, that is for real babies, but Milly would like the Little Ones Play center,” Marsha said, pointing at one of the rooms.

By the time Dad and Milly returned, Sarah and Mom had picked a few places to visit with Milly and some to do when it was just Sarah and Mommy. Once Milly was secured in her seat, they took off for the train.

“We got out before 9:30,” Gregg said as they left the garage.

“Only by five minutes,” Marsha pointed out. “Good thing we aimed for 9 am.”

Milly looked at the map being displayed, but she couldn’t read any of the words. She commented on how pretty the map looked, with the rooms being different colors.

“Yes, Milly,” Marsha said, real pretty. “Transport, is there a Little Ones map?”

The map changed, with pictures displayed above the names of the rooms.

“Look, Mommy, a princess Room!” Milly exclaimed.

The whole family discussed the places to go and things to do at the Children’s Museum as their transport traveled up into space to the train station. None of them were paying attention to what was happening outside of the vehicle.

>>Redirect received. Changing course to the new destination.<<

This caused everyone to immediately look out the windows at where they were and what was happening. They could see that they were surrounded by plain-looking transports, one on all six sides. They were flying past the Family Car on the train and headed towards the engine at the front.

“What’s going on Gregg,” Marsha asked?

“I don’t know,” Gregg said, pressing a few buttons on the transport display screen. “It appears that our train tickets have been changed to . . . to the Elite Car.”

“That’s not an upgrade Gregg. Normal people like us can’t get a spot on that Train Car. Who ordered the redirect?”

Gregg pressed a few more buttons and then looked at Marsha with a quizzical look, “All it says is, Security Override.”

Marsha looked out at the transports surrounding them. Six identical transports, all with tinted windows and no identifiable elements on the vehicles, not even brand names or symbols, “The girls’ protection force?”

“That is my best guess,” Gregg stated. “But I have no idea why? They said they would be keeping their distance.”

>>Incoming Com-Link. Scrambled communications. No ID provided.<<

Gregg and Marsha looked at each other and then at the girls. They were both hugging their stuffed companions.

>>Security Override approved. If you do not respond in 10 seconds, communication will be initiated.<<

“Transport, Accept Com-Link,” Marsha stated.

“Soffin Family, I apologize for intruding on your day out, but we needed to increase your security for the day. There is no direct threat, but unexplained events have caused us to be concerned.”

“Lieutenant Stiles,” Gregg responded. “What unexplained events?”

“Over the last 24 hours, the number of transports booking trips to the Jupiter System has increased dramatically. All train tickets are sold out from every planet in the Solar System. The Train company has added more trains to the system today, and they are all sold out too. There is no increase in bookings at any facility in the Jupiter system. We have too many unknown factors here. Due to that, World Leader Evans has put you on his train car. The only thing more secure would be to travel on a military vehicle to Jupiter. It was not determined necessary at this time, but we will be having a light-speed military vehicle joining us on this trip, just in case. The girls will each have three bodyguards assigned to them.”

“Is that really necessary,” Marsha asked?

“That is the thing, Mam. We don’t know,” Lieutenant Stiles replied.

“Do we need to change our plans for the day? The girls and I were planning on going to the Children’s Museum while Gregg was at the Author Meet and Greet,” Marsha questioned?

“We intend to let you continue your day as planned, just with more security in place. The Children’s Museum has already been notified. They are used to high-security individuals going to their museum.”

“What about the Poetry Corner,” Gregg inquired?

“We have people on the ground there already coordinating with them,” Lieutenant Stiles answered.

“Do you think all these people are going to show up at the Poetry Corner?”

“I refuse to speculate on that at this time. We are preparing for that possibility, including informing Europa and Jupiter System Police.”

>>Incoming Com-Link. World Leader Evans. Scrambled Communication.<<

Gregg responded, “Accept Com-Link and bring into the already active one.”

“Soffin Family,” World Leader Evans said as the transport docked with the train. “I think we need to talk.”

“Sir,” Marsha said. “Can you add anything more to this situation?”

“Maybe,” World Leader Evans stated. “A disproportionate number of individuals booking train travel to the Jupiter system are wish transformed individuals or families of transformed individuals. That is the reason I initiated this Com-Link. The secret of what happened to the Wishee is still unknown. If you want it to stay that way, do not let Milly or Sarah get off the train until it returns to the Earth System. This may, however, be the time to reveal the truth. Multiple Intelligence Agencies believe that the people are going to the Jupiter System in hopes of thanking the Wishee for transforming them.”

Once the transport was fully docked, Sarah turned off her safety seat and snuggled up between Milly and Mommy.

“As I have said before, it would be better if this was revealed on our terms instead of the tabloids or news platforms,” World Leader Evans continued. “But it is your decision. We have already put in place the ability to send a message burst to everyone that shows up, telling them that all communication and messages for the Wishee are to go through the Wishing Stone Society Wishee Communication Network. Think about all of this. It is a 40-minute train trip to the Jupiter System. Once there, the train car you are on will disconnect with the train. You have exclusive access to that train car while it is in the Jupiter System. It will connect with whatever train you are returning to Earth on. Don’t worry about tickets. The train car will automatically arrange to connect to the returning train when you are ready to return to Earth.”

Gregg looked at Marsha and the girls, “World Leader Evans, what do you think we should do?”

“Secrets cause people to seek out the truth. It is always best to just tell the truth. Let the Galaxy know that the Wishee is now four years old. No interviews, but let people take pictures of her.”

“She doesn’t even know she is the Wishee,” Marsha pointed out.

“I am sorry about that, but you asked my opinion,” World Leader Evans stated. “It is your call. I will back whatever your decision is. I have to go, but Lieutenant Stiles can help you. If you need to talk to me, I have instructed my team to give you direct Com-Link access to me.”

“Thank You, World Leader Evans,” Gregg said. Turning to Lieutenant Stiles, “Can we talk on the train, please.”

“The girls’ security teams and I are docked with the train car next to your transport. Regardless of your decision, it is time everyone met.”

After the Com-Link ended, Marsha got Milly out of her Safety Seat and brought her into a big hug.

“What’s going on Mommy,” Sarah asked as she hugged Mom?

“Let’s go into the train car to have this discussion,” Gregg said.

As they left Gregg’s transport, >>Two small children detected. Do you want to activate the Choo-Choo Train protocol?<<

Looking at the two girls, Marsha smiled and said, “Train, yes.”

>>Choo Choo Train protocol activated. Settings are recorded for future rides with this family.<<

Sarah looked up at Mom with a quizzical look. Marsha just smiled. As they entered the walkway from parking area into the train car, Gregg took the gravity bracelets sitting on a shelf, and attached them to the ankles of himself, the girls, and Marsha. As they entered the main compartment of the train car, Sarah immediately noticed a kids section with toys and zero-G playground equipment. She went running over there.

“Daddy,” Sarah asked? “Can I take the gravity bracelets off?”

“No, Sarah, not until the train gets up to speed,” Gregg responded.

Marsha put Milly down and sent her off to play with the toys. Gregg and Marsha sat down on a comfortable couch and watched the kids.

“Can we do this? How are we even going to explain it to Milly? She has no memory of making the wish or being the Wishee,” Marsha said, looking at the girls exploring all the toys.

“Maybe we should,” Gregg commented. “People have trouble accepting she is the Wishee because they believe the Wishee is Sarah’s age.”

“I guess,” Marsha turned to look at ten people enter the train and go to the other end of the car. “If they are correct that a bunch of people are coming to your Author Meet and Greet in hopes of meeting Milly, this would be a good time to do it. No official Press Conference, and maybe they will talk about you instead of Milly during interviews. It hopefully will take some of the attention off of Sarah. I can’t stand having two kids with a potential target on them.”

>>All Aboard. Direct train to the Jupiter System will be leaving in five minutes.<<

“So, do we just thank everyone who shows up, tell them the Wishee was regressed down to four years old, and her memory of the event was blocked from her awareness,” Gregg asked?

“Maybe,” Marsha kept watching the girls play. “Then we bring her out, let them take pictures of us as a family, and then I leave with the girls.”

“You really think it will be that simple?”

“No, but for us, it could be. There will almost certainly be people there recording what we say, so it will be all over media networks by the end of the day. We get the Wishing Stone Society to release the same details right after we publicly state the information,” Marsha kept her eyes on the girls. “Look at them, Gregg. Do you remember when it was Mikey, age eight, and Sarah, age 4? He was so good to little Sarah. Much like Sarah is being right now to Milly. I want Sarah and Milly to have as normal of a childhood as possible. That is not going to happen with them,” Marsha pointed over to the Security Patrol at the other end of the train car. “Look over there. We have to get rid of them, and probably the only way to do that is to let the Solar System know the truth. Regardless of the law restricting interviews, that isn’t going to stop people from trying, but no one interviews a baby in diapers. It’s not even worth talking to her if she doesn’t remember making the wish.”

Gregg hugged Marsha and kissed her on the cheek.

A sound was heard throughout the train car. It started slow but then got faster and faster, Chug-u . . . Chug-u . . . Choo Choo . . . Chug-u . . . Chug-u . . . Choo Choo. Then a train whistle was heard twice.

Milly and Sarah came running up, with Sarah all excited, “We’re on a Choo-Choo train. A real Choo-Choo train!”

Milly added, “Choo-Choo Twain.”

The smiles on both Gregg and Marsha were just as big as the ones on the girls. They brought the kids up onto their laps and gave them big hugs. After some discussion about Choo-Choo Trains and that this one couldn’t travel in time like the one on the Holo-Cartoon, the kids were brought over to meet the Protection Squad.

“Okay, you two,” Marsha directed. “This is really important. Please look at these people. All of them are here to help us.”

Milly went right up to one of the ladies and hugged her.

“Awwww,” Olivia said, looking at Lieutenant Stiles. “Can I be on her team?”

Lieutenant Stiles chuckled, “Sure. Olivia’s team is on Milly. George’s team is on Sarah. Team leaders, spend some time with your VIP. Then switch and get to know the other team's VIP. Remember everyone; these are little kids. Trust is everything. We reach Jupiter System in 40 minutes. I expect all the kids' questions to be answered and little kid trust-building activities done.”

“He talk like Militawy Soldiew at school,” Milly observed.

Olivia leaned into Milly and softly said, “That is because he is a real big important Military Soldier.”

“Oh, cool,” Milly smiled. “I Z-37 pilot.”

“Sam over there,” Olivia pointed to another member of Milly’s protection team. “He is my team’s pilot. Maybe you can give him some pointers.”

“Suzie,” Milly said to her dolly. “We need to teach him evewything we know.”

Among a bunch of laughing, Olivia stated, “Sam, it looks like you are going back to school. Teacher Milly and Teacher Suzie, let’s go over to the toy area so you can teach Sam how to be a good pilot.”

“So, your sister is a pilot,” George asked Sarah? “What special skills do you have?”

“Me,” Sarah questioned while she hugged BooBear tight. “I am no one special.”

“Hmmmm,” George got down on his knees and looked Sarah in the eyes. “Everyone is someone special.”

“Not really,” Sarah declared. “Mikey was good at sports. Milly is good at Floaty Ballet. Zara is good at art. I’m not good at anything.”

Marsha moved towards Sarah, but Gregg held her back, “Let’s see what George has to say first.”

“I was watching you,” George said. “You were being a really good big sister.”

“I was just playing with Milly.”

“I’m a big brother. I know it is not always easy putting up with younger siblings. They can be so annoying at times.”

“Yeah, Milly can be annoying, but she is so cute and loveable. Well, except when she has a poopy diaper.”

George laughed, “Poopy diapers certainly do take away from the cuteness. Now, besides being a great big sister, what do you like to do?”

“I like playing with my dolls and playing on playgrounds.”

“So, other than recess, what do you like at school?”

“I like music class and . . .”

“Excuse me,” Lieutenant Stiles said quietly to Marsha and Gregg, “Can we go talk away from the kids?”

Once out of earshot of both kids, “I just got word from the advance team on Europa. The Poetry Corner has confirmed that the number of pings requesting info on their place, your appearance, and directions to get there far exceed their capabilities.”

“They can’t all be coming to see me, an author none of them had never heard of before a couple of days ago.”

“We agree. It is felt that most are coming in hopes of seeing Milly.”

“Okay, let me see what I can do,” Gregg responded. “Train, Com-Link World Leader Evans.”

>>Accessing Military Communication Network.<<

“What?” Marsha looked at Lieutenant Stiles.

“We are on a Military Train Car. It will allow for communication while traveling at lightspeed.”

“Mr. Soffin, how may I help you,” World Leader Evans asked?

“This has escalated out of control. Marsha and I have agreed to share the secret of what the Wishing Stone really did to Mikey.”

By the end of the conversation, decisions were made as to what information would be released. Coordination of release of information from the Wishing Stone Society to coincide with the family telling the public was set up. World Leader Evans used his contacts to change the location of the venue. The Europa Sky Traffic Control alerted to automatically redirect all traffic going to the Poetry Corner at the time of the event to the new location. Jupiter System Military forces would be deployed to help with security during the event. A team from the Wishing Stone Society would fly out to the event, taking comments intended for the Wishee from those in attendance. The train trip was almost over by the time all the loose ends were tied up.

“Milly,” Marsha called her over. “While we are in Zero-G, why don’t you practice some of your Ballet moves. Let me take your gravity bracelets off.”

“Floaty Ballet,” Milly said, clapping her hands while jumping up and down. Then she stopped and got all serious, “But Mommy, I can’t.”

“Why not, Princess?”

“I don’t have my tutu,” Milly said with all seriousness.

“Mommy,” Milly asked as they left the stage. “What’s a Wishee?”

“You are, silly,” Sarah answered.

“Me,” Milly asked as she looked back at the large crowd? “Why were they calling me a wish?”

Marsha took a deep breath, “As a Princess, you were given one magical wish. With your wish, you gave all those people what they wanted more than anything else. They just wanted to thank you.”

Milly thought about that as they headed to Daddy’s transport.

“Mommy, you’re not going to tell her,” Sarah questioned?

“Tell me what?”

Giving Sarah’s hand a slight squeeze, “Milly, sometimes when babies are born. The person they are on the inside does not match their body. They have a boy body but a girl heart and mind, or a girl body and a boy heart and mind. Your wish made all their bodies match their heart and mind.”

“I did that?”

Sarah got in front of Mommy, who was carrying Milly. She turned to look at the two of them and bounced up and down with a big smile, “Yup, you sure did. You changed you and all of them. You made them really, really, really happy.”

Milly stayed quiet until they were in the transport headed for the Children’s Museum, “I changed me?”

Marsha closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled at Milly, “Yes, Milly.”

“All Wishes Granted,” Milly stated with a blank expression on her face. “An evil queen turned me into a boy, and a pretty Fairy Godmother turned me back into a little girl. Wasn’t that nice of her?”

>>Incoming Government Communication: Wishing Stone Society, Professor Ian<<

“Accept Com-Link,” Marsha stated.

“Marsha, what just happened with Milly? Her Wish Particle number just jumped. It hasn’t moved for days. What changed,” Professor Ian inquired?

Marsha looked at Milly and then at Sarah, “Someone told her about changing from a boy to a girl.”

Sarah meekly raised her hand.

“After thinking about that for a bit,” Marsha continued. “Milly stated, ‘All wishes granted.’ Then she used the line again of an evil witch turning her into a boy and a Fairy Godmother turning her back into a girl.”

“Interesting,” Professor Ian said, looking over at Milly in her safety seat, hugging her Susie dolly.

“Did you see what your son did?” Lucarous complained.

“Did he clean his room?”

“Eltarna, don’t be silly. Did you see what he did on that planet Earth?”

“Lucarous, stop complaining. You got tired of dealing with guiding the seeded planets, so you turned it over to OUR son.”

“He granted two wishes! Then he left Transformite in the one that made the wish.”

“Yeah,” Eltarna beamed. “I was so proud of him for doing that.”

“What? He had one job. Grant one wish that will guide the humanoids towards the day when they will encounter the other seeded planets. One wish. We can’t exactly go back down there and recharge the device.”

“Oh, come on now,” Eltarna went over and started giving her husband a back massage. “Ebit did move the humanoids towards their destiny. Throughout their solar system, there are movements to accept differences in people without question. Within ten of their years, no child will be pushed to be something or someone they are not. All those changes are hidden behind him, altering the gender of a small number of them.”

“I was impressed with that,” Lucarous admitted. “They believe these changes are due to the wish, completely unaware of the seeds of change planted to alter humanoids acceptance of differences. But, he turned that innocent child into a baby.”

“He granted a hurt child her wishes. I was proud of him for that. It reminded me of the last wish you granted on that planet. It had no purpose other than to make that sweet child happier than she had been in her entire life.”

“She was so innocent and naive.”

“I loved what you did for her Lucarous. It showed me the part of you that I fell in love with,” Eltarna kissed Lucarous. “Giving her a unicorn. You didn’t even do an impact study before giving that unicorn. Then you made it a whole species on the planet. It really was a brilliant move of transforming a species that already existed on the planet. The alicorn we brought with us when we visited the planet couldn’t survive without the special food we brought. It always amazed me that the species stayed in the humanoid’s legends. Did you see that the child Ebit granted wishes to loved unicorns?”

“But he turned a child into a baby,” Lucarous complained. “That was pushing things just a little too far. He didn’t even finish the process in one move.”

“Honey, did you pay any attention to what the kid wished for?”

“The kid wanted his body to match his mind.”

“Lucarous, the kid wanted the little girl childhood she missed because everyone judged her by the physical body instead of her brain and her heart. That was her true wish. The secondary wish is what Ebit used to advance the Earthlings. To me, it would have been cruel to turn her into a girl without regressing her the way she wanted.”

“He turned her back into a baby!”

“Not an infant, just a baby. This way, she will grow up with no memories of ever being a boy. Unlike you, Ebit DID the long-term study. The child will have the best possible future by starting over at that age. By altering the parent’s timelines to match the new birthday, the parents could fulfill their own dreams and pass that passion onto their children. Teaching them to pursue their dreams. Did you look at what this child’s most likely future is?”

Lucarous waved his arm, and possible future timelines for Milly appeared in front of him, “This can’t be right. It should be several millenniums before they are able to do that.”

“That baby girl could be the first of our seedlings to figure out how to communicate with us. All Ebit had to do was grant the child a wish to have the little girl childhood that she missed.”

“I . . . I didn’t . . .”

“That is right. You didn’t. You reacted before thinking or doing the proper research. Maybe you should have a little more faith in our son.”

“Sorry, Dear,” Lucarous lowered his head. “It’s just we established the one wish policy for a reason. Ebit granted two. He left Transformite in her. He altered four timelines.”

“Changing his Parent’s timelines?”

“Yeah,” Lucarous said. “And one other to make one of the parent’s timelines work.”

“I do feel he messed up there. He should have altered their memories along with their timelines.”

“No! He shouldn’t have altered their timelines,” Lucarous complained. “We alter the timeline of the individual making the wish and no one else.”

“Oh, come on Lucarous. That child deserved to grow up as if her existence as a male never happened. The research showed it was for the best, and I support Ebit for doing it. I just wish he had finished the process.”

“I’m not going to get any support from you on any of this, am I.”

“Nope,” Eltarna smiled. “I am very proud of our son for all he did for the Earthling’s wishes. Granting this little one’s wishes reminded me of when our kids were little and had access to Transformite technology. Just like the humanoids, they used to think it was magic too.”

“That little kid belief in magic and wishes does appear to be a universal trait of higher intellect beings,” Lucarous said with a smile. “I enjoyed it so much when our kids were little. Stop it! You are trying to distract me from the issue.”

“Is it working,” Eltarna asked?

Lucarous shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“Why are you even throwing a fit now? It’s been a few hours since Ebit did all of this.”

“Transformite just did something to that baby, and I got the alert. Why is there any Transformite left in the baby?”

“Did you read Ebit’s report on the Earthling’s wish and his actions?”

“That garbage written up for the Seedling Council? No.”

“Well, maybe you should,” Eltarna pointed out. “The research showed that it would be best for the child not to have any memory of being a boy as she goes through her childhood.”

“What did he do, put a Transformite Control Node in her?”

“Just a small one,” Eltarna said as she continued giving her husband a neck massage. “That was my recommendation. I call it the Fairy Godmother protocol.”

Lucarous put his hands over his face and shook his head back and forth while taking a deep breath.

“Don’t worry about it Lucarous,” Eltarna directed. “It’s only programmed to make sure all references to her previously being a boy never leave short-term memory. Then when she finally does become an adult, access to all memories is restored. Look at the projections Lucarous. We have done all of this with the Seedling planets to prepare them to meet each other and eventually meet us. That baby girl could be the first to do both. If, and only if, she grows up a normal little girl with no memories of making the wish or previously being a boy. At least not until she is an adult. She is so cute and adorable when she is interacting with her sister. There is real love between the two of them.”

“Eltarna? How do you know about the way she interacts with her sister? Display on.”

“Milly, we’re going to the Bubble room first. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

“Holo Bubbles fun.”

“No, Milly, these are REAL bubbles.”

“Weal Bubbles,” Milly said as her smile grew bigger and bigger.

“Display Off,” Lucarous commanded. “So, you have been watching her. The policy is, we let the Transformite do what it does, and then we walk away and let the culture get used to the changes we made.”

Lucarous swiped his hand and pressed some buttons on his display, “There. I have disconnected the baby’s Transformite Control Node from our surveillance system. If Ebit did his job right, it should be able to complete its mission without us. This is the end of the Earthling Soap Opera.”