This is a little stand-alone story that eventually became part of a chapter in Cynthia and the High School Years — Part 1. As there are many new readers at this site, I thought they might enjoy another Christmas story. If you enjoy the story and are not familiar with the characters, you might want to read the Cynthia Chronicles.
This is my take on the Spells R Us universe. I want to thank Holly for her help and friendship.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
“Hey, hold the elevator!”
“Sure, Virgil, we’re in no hurry.”
The two store workers made room for Virgil’s substantial bulk as he hobbled across the floor of the loading dock area in the rear of the Dillard’s Department Store. It was the day before Christmas, and the store’s employees were getting ready for the onslaught of last minute shoppers looking for that gift they hadn’t yet found, or maybe thinking it was time to find something at a bargain price.
Gary Smith and Eugene White, longtime store employees who worked in the shipping and receiving area, had known Virgil Stankowski for years. Virgil had been the store Santa since before they had gone to work there. In fact, they remembered Virgil from their childhood. Virgil had changed a bit since those days. He had always been heavy and never needed to pad his 5’ 7” frame when he donned the Santa suit. As long as they could remember, Virgil had a beard. The difference was that now he didn’t have to spray it with temporary, white hair coloring before he donned the white wig. Virgil’s beard was now snow white, and the ring of hair surrounding his bald pate was also white.
There were other differences. Virgil’s weight had increased dramatically over the years, especially since his beloved Margaret had passed away. If the truth was known, Virgil probably weighed close to 400 pounds, and it was taking its toll on him. That fact was obvious to the two store employees. Even though the loading dock area was quite cold, Virgil was sweating profusely. His face was red and he was breathing with a raspy wheeze.
“Thanks, guys,” he said as he mopped his brow with a folded linen hanky, “That customer elevator is a long way away; too far for this old man.” He leaned his cane against the boxed television set and settled on the arm of a couch being taken to the showroom floor. Gary and Eugene winced as his bulk settled down and the chair creaked in complaint.
“It’s okay, Virgil,” Gary said, “this may not be a passenger elevator, but I don’t think anyone is going to say anything about you using it. Besides, it’s closer to your dressing area and Santa’s Workshop to go this way.
“So, do you have anything planned for tonight?”
“No, the forecast is for snow starting around 8:00 this evening. It would probably be best to just stay at home.”
Virgil never had any plans for Christmas, anymore. The joy of Christmas for him was seeing the happy faces of the children as they got to express their wishes while sitting on his lap. The photographer would take their pictures and ‘his’ elves would pass out Christmas candies to them. Oh, he had to put up with terrified toddlers, and the know-it-all older children who tugged on his beard to prove he was a fake, even though their parents would insist that although he may not be the real Santa, he was Santa’s helper, and Santa would know if they misbehaved.
His physical problems were starting to overwhelm him. In spite of all his attempts to lose weight, he continued to gain. He was hypertensive and diabetic. His knees were shot and his right hip needed replacement. The doctor assured him that if he could get his weight down his diabetes would probably go into remission. The problem was he was caught in a spiraling physical decline. If he could exercise, his hypertension and weight might get better; however, he couldn’t exercise because of his knees and hip, and the doctors insisted he wasn’t a candidate for replacement surgery until he lost at least 150 pounds. Compounding the problem was that his health plan would not cover lap band or stomach bypass surgery. He had a small retirement check, and the fact he was considered disabled gave him enough money to get by — barely. There was another problem. He just didn’t care anymore.
He huffed and wheezed his way to the dressing area, and saw two of his ‘elves’ heading for the sales floor. They usually made sure everything was ready for the onslaught of children who were sure to be arriving shortly after the store opened. The elves were usually an assortment of ‘little people’ and teenaged girls. The latter worked for minimum wage; however, many of the little people were paid as actors. The same group was usually there year after year.
The girls were a different matter. They were almost always different every year. This year was no different.
“Hi, Mister Stankowski, it’s our last day. Ready for tonight and a bit of a rest at the north pole afterwards?” Cindy was a beautiful golden blonde who filled out her elf costume rather spectacularly. Her equally beautiful friend was Bobbie. They had to be the warmest and friendliest elves who had ever worked with him. It was strange, because the two hadn’t started out as elves that year. They were just store customers. Cindy had been escorting her little sister, who had to have been about five, through the line. Bobbie was with her boyfriend and his little brother.
Something must have happened because as the three teenagers approached, the two girls suddenly got strange looks on their faces. They left the two small children with the boyfriend and stepped away from the line. The blonde girl, Cindy, took her phone out of her purse. ‘That must have been it,’ he thought, ‘it had rung or whatever they do and she must have heard it.’ She talked rather animatedly for a minute and then passed the phone to the redheaded Bobbie, who became similarly animated. They had returned to the line to rescue the boyfriend just in time for the two small children to get on Santa’s lap.
Virgil hadn’t thought much about it; however, later in the afternoon, he could have sworn he saw the two girls with an elderly blind man and a Seeing Eye dog. They had been looking his way, and then departed. Then the next morning, the two girls had showed up as elves. They had worked the final week before Christmas. He couldn’t remember having worked with two nicer, more thoughtful young adults. He had found out they were both 16; however, looking at them, he would have thought they were much older, especially Cindy.
His thoughts returned to the present and the two girls standing in front of him. ‘I’m glad this is the last day. This old body isn’t going to be able to take much more of this.
“So do you have anything planned for this evening?” he asked.
“It’s probably going to be snowing, but a group of us from the church are going caroling. Cindy and I have done all our shopping, and all our presents are wrapped. What are you planning on doing?”
“Not much; I’ll probably watch television and drink some hot cider. Then I will just go to sleep.” He didn’t add that he had to sleep in his recliner because he had trouble breathing if he lay down. “I don’t have any family, you know. Tomorrow, I’ll probably watch a football game. There won’t be any reason to go out.”
Santa was on his throne when the first children arrived. Cindy and Bobbie would help keep the children amused during the long wait in line, passing out peppermints or small candy canes, with the parent’s approval, to keep them busy.
Around mid day one of the toddlers had an ‘accident’ on Santa’s lap and he had to take a break to change his trousers. Fortunately there was a second pair for just such emergencies. When he returned to Santa’s throne, the line was as long as ever.
About an hour later a young boy who had to be about ten approached him. This was a bit unusual for visitors to a department store Santa.
“Well, young man, what’s your name and what do you want for Christmas?” he said, thinking all the time that the boy was much too old to be sitting on his lap.
The boy spoke softly as if he didn’t want his parents, who were standing a few feet away, to hear him. “I’m Barry, and I don’t want anything for me. It’s just that Mom and Dad are so sad, and I wanted to get them something to make them a bit happier.”
“That’s very nice of you. What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know, and that’s why I’m here. I need some help. You see, my little sister died last month. She got the swine flu. I got it, too, but it wasn’t too bad. All mom does is cry at night, and dad is so sad. I guess I am, too.”
Virgil didn’t know what to say. “Barry, I’m not sure there is anything I can do. I would sure like to.” Then he said something, and he wasn’t certain why he did. “Why don’t you and your parents come back after a while? Maybe I can come up with something.”
“Thank you, Santa. I know you’re not really Santa, but I thought you might have some connections.” He slid off of Santa’s lap and rejoined his parents who gave Virgil a sad little smile as they turned to go to somewhere else in the store or mall.
Virgil noticed that the elves had put up the barrier and a sign saying Santa would be back in 15 minutes. He could use the break. His arm ached from holding the children and he was beginning to get short of breath. He realized that Cindy and Bobbie were holding his arms as he hobbled to the break area. It was really strange, though, because when he sat down he realized he was not in the usual place. In fact, he was sure he had never been in this place before. It had to be in the back of one of the connecting stores.
“Where is this? I don’t think this is part of Dillard’s.”
“No it’s not, Virgil. You are in the back of my shop.”
Virgil looked up to see a gangly man dressed in what appeared to be a tatty robe decorated with stars and crescents. He was wearing wire rimmed glasses, and he had a rather scraggly beard. A large dog next to him was wearing a guide dog harness. The man looked familiar to him and it took a few seconds for him to realize that this was the elderly blind man he had seen with Bobbie and Cindy the week before: except he wasn’t blind.
“What’s going on? I don’t feel very well.”
“You are having a heart attack. It’s a mild one at the moment, but tonight you will have a severe one, and it will be fatal,” Bobbie said rather sadly.
“How do you know that? You are only a sixteen year old girl. You’re not a doctor.”
“No, I’m not. I am a witch, and Cindy’s a witch; and His Wisdom is a very powerful wizard. We know some things about you and want to help you, if you will let us, before it is too late.”
“First of all, we know something that only your late wife knew about you,” Cindy had entered the conversation.
“What would that be?”
“That you have always felt that you were a girl. I sensed that last week when we were in line with my little sister and Bobbie’s boyfriend and his little brother. That’s one of my powers. Bobbie’s power is that she can sense what’s physically wrong with someone who is like you are.”
“That’s the silliest thing I have ever heard,” Virgil said, his voice expressing his exhaustion. “Have you been spying on me? Did you break into my house and look in my computer?
“Since you know what you know, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. What do you want — money? I can assure you I have none.”
“No, the only thing we want is for you to trust us. You deserve a better fate than to die in your home on Christmas Eve without a family at your side. You lost the only family you ever had when your wife died, and now we want to give you a chance to have the family you never had.”
Virgil realized that the diagnosis of his having a heart attack was probably correct. There was pain in the collar bone area of his left shoulder and it was radiating down his left arm. He was beginning to feel slightly nauseated and a bit cold and clammy.
“I think you need to call an ambulance.”
“That won’t be necessary if you let us help you.”
“I mean, what are you going to do? You aren’t doctors. You already told me that. And, this magic stuff you are spouting is nonsense.”
“You don’t have to believe any of this,” Cindy said a bit too strongly, “but eight years ago I was a thirty-five year old man and Bobbie was a nine year old boy. His Wisdom helped both of us become the girls you see.
“Your Wisdom, we don’t have much time. Show him something.”
“How about this?” He started morphing as Virgil watched. His clothing changed from a tattered robe into an ermine decorated, red Santa Claus suit. The Wizard lost a few inches and gained a few pounds. In a matter of a few seconds there was a very acceptable image of a Santa Claus standing before them.
“”Ho, ho, ho,” he rasped in a rather high tenor. “That won’t do at all.” He stretched and rotated his neck a bit. “Ho, ho, ho,” he said in a much pleasanter and lower voice. “That’s much better.
“What do you think, Virgil? Will I pass?”
“I think you will. That was amazing. That still doesn’t mean you can do anything for me.”
“Here, take these aspirin. They’ll help for now.” The Wizard handed him two 325 mg tablets and a glass of water. “We already know that you are a girl inside. Why don’t you let me fix that while I can? I can only do it while you are alive. I can fix your heart, if you want, and you could live a few more years with bad knees, a bad hip, diabetes, and emphysema. However, there is something you could do that will make a family whole again. You can grow up as the girl you know you are, and when you reach a certain point a few years from now you will remember what you want to about your previous life and what happened. If you feel up to it, you could give me an endorsement. I can always use good publicity.
“What do you say? Would you be willing to try it? I think you will find it exceeds all your expectations.”
“You know, I have nothing to lose. If you can’t do this, there’s always the heart attack and dying. Go for it.”
“It’s already done, Ginny. How old are you?”
“I’m five, Mr. Wizard” she looked down at her warm woolen outfit and little inclement weather boots. “I’m really five, aren’t I? I want my Mommy.”
“She will be here in a moment. So will your father and brother. You shouldn’t wander away like that. You stick with them from now on.”
The bell at the front door tinkled. “What a strange little shop. I thought this was a Hallmark Shop.
“Ginny, are you back there?” her mother called.
“I’m back here, Mommy. These nice people gave me some hot chocolate. I got losted.”
“Young lady, am I going to have to put a leash on you?”
Barry and Ginny’s parents followed by Barry came through the beaded curtain to the rear of the shop.
“Thank you so much for looking after our little girl. She does this all the time. She’s there one moment, and then she’s gone. The folks next door said they thought they saw her come in here.
“Ginny, there’s a Santa Claus next door in Dillard’s. Do you want to see him?”
“Mommy, is that the same Santa we saw at Penny’s last week?”
“No, this is a different Santa. Remember what we said about Santa having helpers. He can’t be in all these places without helpers.” Ginny’s mom looked up and smiled at The Wizard, who was now in his familiar attire. “Thank you again. I guess we are going to go see another Santa.”
The family turned and left the shop to the sound of the little bell. Cindy and Bobbie burst into tears and cried on each others’ shoulder while The Wizard pulled a linen hanky out of his previously non-existent pocket and dabbed at his eyes. The wolf wagged his tail.
“Oh, my God, we have to get back to the store. The break’s over,” shouted Bobbie. “Wait, there’s no Santa. What are we going to do?”
“That’s not a problem at all.” They turned to see The Wizard as he had been before. The only difference was that he was wearing dark glasses and the wolf was once again in his guide dog harness. “We have a few minutes: are there any questions?”
“Your Wisdom, that was the fastest transformation I never saw,” exclaimed Cindy. “I mean, it was instantaneous.”
“Actually, it took 43 nanoseconds. I extracted her DNA from some hair that was in her mother’s purse, so I didn’t have to be too creative. I bumped into her when they were visiting Virgil earlier. I did boost her immunity factor a bit, so the flu thing shouldn’t happen again. Fix your makeup. We have a couple of hours before the store closes.
Barry, Ginny and their parents made their way into Dillard’s where they took the escalator to the second floor and the Christmas Wonderland. There was still a line of children waiting to have their picture taken with the blind Santa Claus and his handsome guide dog.
Ginny looked toward the elves, two of whom for some reason she thought she recognized. Then she looked up at the jolly man in the red suit. Remembering the discussion she had had with her mother, she remarked, “Oooh, Mommy, there’s a Santa Claus.”
“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”
Please, everyone, have a joyous holiday season.
Portia
While researching Cindy and Bobbie’s adventures, I found a reference to a little event that occurred during their Christmas break when they were in high school. Some of the details weren’t available, but I think you can probably fill in what happened.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
Thanks to Holly who took time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
“Hey, hold the elevator!”
“Sure, Virgil, we’re in no hurry.”
The two store workers made room for Virgil’s substantial bulk as he hobbled across the floor of the loading dock area in the rear of the Dillard’s Department Store. It was the day before Christmas and the store’s employees were getting ready for the onslaught of last minute shoppers looking for that gift they hadn’t yet found, or maybe thinking it was time to find something at a bargain price.
Gary Smith and Eugene White, longtime store employees who worked in the shipping and receiving area, had known Virgil Stankowski for years. Virgil had been the store Santa since before they had gone to work there. In fact, they remembered Virgil from their childhood. Virgil had changed a bit since those days. He had always been heavy and never needed to pad his 5’ 7” frame when he donned the Santa suit. As long as they could remember, Virgil had a beard. The difference was that now he didn’t have to spray it with temporary, white hair coloring before he donned the white wig. Virgil’s beard was now snow white, and the ring of hair surrounding his bald pate was also white.
There were other differences. Virgil’s weight had increased dramatically over the years, especially since his beloved Margaret had passed away. If the truth was known, Virgil probably weighed close to 400 pounds, and it was taking its toll on him. That fact was obvious to the two store employees. Even though the loading dock area was quite cold, Virgil was sweating profusely. His face was red and he was breathing with a raspy wheeze.
“Thanks, guys,” he said as he mopped his brow with a folded linen hanky, “That customer elevator is a long way away; too far for this old man.” He leaned his cane against the boxed television set and settled on the arm of a couch being taken to the showroom floor. Gary and Eugene winced as his bulk settled down and the chair creaked in complaint.
“It’s okay, Virgil,” Gary said, “this may not be a passenger elevator, but I don’t think anyone is going to say anything about you using it. Besides, it’s closer to your dressing area and Santa’s Workshop to go this way.
“So, do you have anything planned for tonight?”
“No, the forecast is for snow starting around 8:00 this evening. It would probably be best to just stay at home.”
Virgil never had any plans for Christmas, anymore. The joy of Christmas for him was seeing the happy faces of the children as they got to express their wishes while sitting on his lap. The photographer would take their pictures and ‘his’ elves would pass out Christmas candies to them. Oh, he had to put up with terrified toddlers, and the know-it-all older children who tugged on his beard to prove he was a fake even though their parents would insist that although he may not be the real Santa, he was Santa’s helper, and Santa would know if they misbehaved.
His physical problems were starting to overwhelm him. In spite of all his attempts to lose weight, he continued to gain. He was hypertensive and diabetic. His knees were shot and his right hip needed replacement. The doctor assured him that if he could get his weight down his diabetes would probably go into remission. The problem was he was caught in a spiraling physical decline. If he could exercise, his hypertension and weight might get better; however, he couldn’t exercise because of his knees and hip, and the doctors insisted he wasn’t a candidate for replacement surgery until he lost at least 150 pounds. Compounding the problem was that his health plan would not cover lap band or stomach bypass surgery. He had a small retirement check and the fact he was considered disabled gave him enough money to get by — barely. There was another problem. He just didn’t care anymore.
He huffed and wheezed his way to the dressing area and saw two of his ‘elves’ heading for the sales floor. They usually made sure everything was ready for the onslaught of children who were sure to be arriving shortly after the store opened. The elves were usually an assortment of ‘little people’ and teenaged girls. The latter worked for minimum wage; however, many of the little people were paid as actors. The same group was usually there year after year.
The girls were a different matter. They were almost always different every year. This year was no different.
“Hi, Mister Stankowski, it’s our last day. Ready for tonight and a bit of a rest at the north pole afterwards?” Cindy was a beautiful golden blonde who filled out her elf costume rather spectacularly. Her equally beautiful friend was Bobbie. They had to be the warmest and friendliest elves who had ever worked with him. It was strange, because the two hadn’t started out as elves. They were just store customers. Cindy had been escorting her little sister, who had to have been about five, through the line. Bobbie was with her boyfriend and his little brother.
Something must have happened because as the three teenagers approached, the two girls suddenly got strange looks on their faces. They left the two small children with the boyfriend and stepped away from the line. The blonde girl, Cindy, took her phone out of her purse. ‘That must have been it,’ he thought, ‘it had rung or whatever they do and she must have heard it.’ She talked rather animatedly for a minute and then passed the phone to the redheaded Bobbie, who became similarly animated. They had returned to the line to rescue the boyfriend just in time for the two small children to get on Santa’s lap.
Virgil hadn’t thought much about it; however, later in the afternoon, he could have sworn he saw the two girls with an elderly blind man and a Seeing Eye dog. They had been looking his way, and then departed. Then the next morning, the two girls had showed up as elves. They had worked the final week before Christmas. He couldn’t remember having worked with two nicer, more thoughtful young adults. He had found out they were both 16; however, looking at them, he would have thought they were much older, especially Cindy.
His thoughts returned to the present and the two girls standing in front of him. ‘I’m glad this is the last day. This old body isn’t going to be able to take much more of this.'
“So do you have anything planned for this evening?” he asked.
“It’s probably going to be snowing, but a group of us from the church are going caroling. Cindy and I have done all our shopping and all our presents are wrapped. What are you planning on doing?”
“Probably not much; I’ll probably watch television and drink some hot cider. Then I will just go to sleep.” He didn’t add that he had to sleep in his recliner because he had trouble breathing if he lay down. “I don’t have any family, you know. Tomorrow, I’ll probably watch a football game. There won’t be any reason to go out.”
Santa was on his throne when the first children arrived. Cindy and Bobbie would help keep the children amused during the long wait in line, passing out peppermints or small candy canes, with the parent’s approval, to keep them busy.
Around mid day one of the toddlers had an ‘accident’ on Santa’s lap and he had to take a break to change his trousers. Fortunately there was a second pair for just such emergencies. When he returned to Santa’s throne, the line was as long as ever.
About an hour later a young boy who had to be about ten approached him. This was a bit unusual for visitors to a department store Santa.
“Well, young man, what’s your name and what do you want for Christmas?” he said, thinking all the time that the boy was much too old to be sitting on his lap.
The boy spoke softly as if he didn’t want his parents, who were standing a few feet away, to hear him. “I’m Barry, and I don’t want anything for me. It’s just that Mom and Dad are so sad, and I wanted to get them something to make them a bit happier.”
“That’s very nice of you. What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know, and that’s why I’m here. I need some help. You see, my little sister died last month. She got the swine flu. I got it, too, but it wasn’t too bad. All mom does is cry at night, and dad is so sad. I guess I am, too.”
Virgil didn’t know what to say. “Barry, I’m not sure there is anything I can do. I would sure like to.” Then he said something, and he wasn’t certain why he did. “Why don’t you and your parents come back after a while? Maybe I can come up with something.”
“Thank you, Santa. I know you’re not really Santa, but I thought you might have some connections.” He slid off of Santa’s lap and rejoined his parents who gave Virgil a sad little smile as they turned to go to somewhere else in the store or mall.
Virgil noticed that the elves had put up the barrier and a sign saying Santa would be back in 15 minutes. He could use the break. His arm ached from holding the children and he was beginning to get short of breath. He realized that Cindy and Bobbie were holding his arms as he hobbled to the break area. It was really strange, though, because when he sat down he realized he was not in the usual place. In fact, he was sure he had never been in this place before. It had to be in the back of one of the connecting stores.
“Where is this? I don’t think this is part of Dillard’s.”
“No it’s not, Virgil. You are in the back of my shop.”
Virgil looked up to see a gangly man dressed in what appeared to be a tatty robe decorated with stars and crescents. He was wearing wire rimmed glasses, and he had a rather scraggly beard. A large dog next to him was wearing a guide dog harness. The man looked familiar to him and it took a few seconds for him to realize that this was the elderly blind man he had seen with Bobbie and Cindy the week before; except he wasn’t blind.
“What’s going on? I don’t feel very well.”
“You are having a heart attack. It’s a mild one at the moment, but tonight you will have a severe one, and it will be fatal,” Bobbie said rather sadly.
“How do you know that? You are only a sixteen year old girl. You’re not a doctor.”
“No, I’m not. I am a witch, and Cindy’s a witch; and His Wisdom is a very powerful wizard. We know some things about you and want to help you, if you will let us, before it is too late.”
“First of all, we know something that only your late wife knew about you,” Cindy had entered the conversation.
“What would that be?”
“That you have always felt that you were a girl. I sensed that last week when we were in line with my little sister and Bobbie’s boyfriend and his little brother. That’s one of my powers. Bobbie’s power is that she can sense what’s physically wrong with someone who is like you are.”
“That’s the silliest thing I have ever heard,” Virgil said, his voice expressing his exhaustion. “Have you been spying on me? Did you break into my house and look in my computer?
“Since you know what you know, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. What do you want — money? I can assure you I have none.”
“No, the only thing we want is for you to trust us. You deserve a better fate than to die in your home on Christmas Eve without a family at your side. You lost the only family you ever had when your wife died, and now we want to give you a chance to have the family you never had.”
Virgil realized that the diagnosis of his having a heart attack was probably correct. There was pain in the collar bone area of his left shoulder and it was radiating down his left arm. He was beginning to feel slightly nauseated and a bit cold and clammy.
“I think you need to call an ambulance.”
“That won’t be necessary if you let us help you.”
“I mean, what are you going to do? You aren’t doctors. You already told me that. And, this magic stuff you are spouting is ridiculous.”
“You don’t have to believe any of this,” Cindy said a bit too strongly, “but eight years ago I was a thirty-five year old man and Bobbie was a nine year old boy. His Wisdom helped both of us become the girls you see.
“Your Wisdom, we don’t have much time. Show him something.”
“How about this?” He started morphing as Virgil watched. His clothing changed from a tattered robe into an ermine decorated, red Santa Claus suit. The Wizard lost a few inches and gained a few pounds. In a matter of a few seconds there was a very acceptable image of a Santa Claus standing before them.
“”Ho, ho, ho,” he rasped in a rather high tenor. “That won’t do at all.” He stretched and rotated his neck a bit. “Ho, ho, ho,” he said in a much pleasanter and lower voice. “That’s much better.
“What do you think, Virgil? Will I pass?”
“I think you will. That was amazing. That still doesn’t mean you can do anything for me.”
“Here, take these aspirin. They’ll help for now.” The Wizard handed him two 325 mg tablets and a glass of water. “We already know that you are a girl inside. Why don’t you let me fix that while I can? I can only do it while you are alive. I can fix your heart, if you want, and you could live a few more years with bad knees, a bad hip, diabetes, and emphysema. However, there is something you could do that will make a family whole again. You can grow up as the girl you know you are, and when you reach a certain point a few years from now you will remember what you want to about your previous life and what happened. If you feel up to it, you could give me an endorsement. I can always use good publicity.
“What do you say? Would you be willing to try it? I think you will find it exceeds all your expectations.”
“You know, I have nothing to lose. If you can’t do this, there’s always the heart attack and dying. Go for it.”
“It’s already done, Ginny. How old are you?”
“I’m five, Mr. Wizard” she looked down at her warm woolen outfit and little inclement weather boots. “I’m really five, aren’t I? I want my Mommy.”
“She will be here in a moment. So will your father and brother. You shouldn’t wander away like that. You stick with them from now on.”
The bell at the front door tinkled. “What a strange little shop. I thought this was a Hallmark Shop.
“Ginny, are you back there?” her mother called.
“I’m back here, Mommy. These nice people gave me some hot chocolate. I got losted.”
“Young lady, am I going to have to put a leash on you?”
Barry and Ginny’s parents followed by Barry came through the beaded curtain to the rear of the shop.
“Thank you so much for looking after our little girl. She does this all the time. She’s there one moment, and then she’s gone. The folks next door said they thought they saw her come in here.
“Ginny, there’s a Santa Claus next door in Dillard’s. Do you want to see him?”
“Mommy, is that the same Santa we saw at Penny’s last week?”
“No, this is a different Santa. Remember what we said about Santa having helpers. He can’t be in all these places without helpers.” Ginny’s mom looked up and smiled at The Wizard, who was now in his familiar attire. “Thank you again. I guess we are going to go see another Santa.”
The family turned and left the shop to the sound of the little bell. Cindy and Bobbie burst into tears and cried on each others’ shoulder while The Wizard pulled a linen hanky out of his previously non-existent pocket and dabbed at his eyes. The wolf wagged his tail.
“Oh, my God, we have to get back to the store. The break’s over,” shouted Bobbie. “Wait, there’s no Santa. What are we going to do?”
“That’s not a problem at all.” They turned to see The Wizard as he had been before. The only difference was that he was wearing dark glasses and the wolf was once again in his guide dog harness. “We have a few minutes: are there any questions?”
“Your Wisdom, that was the fastest transformation I never saw,” exclaimed Cindy. “I mean, it was instantaneous.”
“Actually, it took 43 nanoseconds. I extracted her DNA from some hair that was in her mother’s purse, so I didn’t have to be too creative. I did boost her immunity factor a bit, so the flu thing shouldn’t happen again. Fix your makeup. We have a couple of hours before the store closes.
Barry, Ginny and their parents made their way into Dillard’s where they took the escalator to the second floor and the Christmas Wonderland. There was still a line of children waiting to have their picture taken with the blind Santa Claus and his handsome guide dog.
Ginny looked toward the elves, two of whom for some reason she thought she recognized. Then she looked up at the jolly man in the red suit. Remembering the discussion she had had with her mother, she remarked, “Oooh, Mommy, there’s a Santa Claus.”
“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”
I am continuing to research the adventures of Cindy, Bobbie, Maddy, The Wizard and others. I came across this and felt that although it was from a much larger story of their high school years, it could stand alone, especially due to the time of year. I hope you enjoyed it
Portia
Suppose the Wizard of Spells ‘R’ Us is only a small part of a big picture. Suppose there are many wizards working among many universes. Maybe they are like sub-contractors hired to do special tasks; however, much of what they do may be due to their own perversities. I think the Wizard has been wrongly maligned. He is old and tired and sometimes he lets his sense of irony get out of hand. Still most of his clients benefit from his spells even if they don’t realize it right away. For those who attempt to cheat the wizard or trick him, that is a completely different matter. It’s no holds barred. If he wants to turn axe murderers into vacuous bimbos, that is just fine. There are many politicians and lawyers out there who would provide far better service as call girls and escorts as long as they were disease free.
Let’s take the case of Alfred Gontarski who has had the misfortune to have been born into the wrong body. Circumstances may have had something to do with it, but basically he is a misanthropic clod who feels sorry for himself and little for anyone else. It wasn’t Al’s fault he was born in the wrong body; however, he hasn’t handled it very well. Well, Al has stumbled upon Spells ‘R’ Us and the Wizard. What Al doesn’t realize is that maybe he didn’t stumble at all. Maybe there is a reason for him being there, a reason that may take more than this tale for him to find out. Whatever the reason is, Al is going to have an interesting ride.
Hopefully, there haven’t been too many violations of the universe created by Bill Hart perpetrated in the revelations in this story. Robert A. Heinlein proposed that each time an author takes to the pen, a new universe is created and I guess I will beg the number of the beast that this universe is just a variation of SRU.
My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
He was basically an insensitive, self-centered clod, and it was a bit strange for him to be out shopping like this. In years past he’d handed a catalogue to his personal secretary and had her order gifts for everyone. The gifts would be presented at the austere pre-Christmas party and probably many would be re-gifted later on.
Al wasn’t much for parties, and after greeting his employees he usually scuttled back to his inner sanctum where he would lose himself in his internet wanderings.
So what was he doing out shopping in a mall like this? Susan could have done it on the internet like she did before. In fact, earlier that morning he’d had the catalog in hand and was going to give it to her. Suddenly he found himself putting on his coat. “Susan, I am going to be out for a while. If I don’t get back, make sure no one leaves early. Stan Lewis is in charge if anything comes up.”
“Stan isn’t here. He’s at the hospital sitting with his daughter. Don’t you remember? He and his wife have been there almost constantly since their little girl almost drowned. She’s still in a coma and they say there have been no signs of improvement.”
“Okay, then, tell Arnold Goldman he’s in charge until I get back. You don’t need me around here anyway.
That’s right, he had forgotten. Hadn’t he sent some flowers or didn’t he have Susan send some? What was the little girl’s name anyway? It was Cynthia. He was pretty sure of it. Now he remembered. She had fallen through some ice and it had taken the rescuers more than 30 minutes to recover her near lifeless form. That was a real shame. The Lewis’s seemed like real nice people and Stan had been with the firm for a long time. He was going to have to follow up.
He had driven to a local mall that had seen better days and found the specialty shop. He ordered the gifts for his employees and made sure they would be delivered in time for the party.
The company’s presence in the community was not ostentatious. That is, they were not flashy, they didn’t have to be. They were just very, very good at what they did. Sales consistently ran around 100 million dollars a year. One didn’t see large billboards with grinning agents advertising their prowess. They didn’t have to as their reputation for being among the best was out there.
So, how had Al ended up with a multi-million dollar commercial real estate business? He’d graduated from college with a BA and MBA and specialized in real estate law. He’d sleepwalked through his courses and still managed to do very well. The fact was the only life he’d had, in spite of his parent’s encouragement to get out and mix with others, was real estate. No, that wasn’t right at all. The only life he enjoyed was the one going on in his imagination.
His parents loved him almost to excess. A product of a late in life pregnancy, he would be an only child. It was very obvious early on that he would be a large boy. It was easy for his parents to take him to work, as years before they had converted some extra office space into a nursery area and any of the employees with small children could take advantage of it if they wished. Over the years, several employees had. Other than the few children who stayed in the nursery, none of whom were Al’s age, Al never mixed with other children until he went to public school.
Even in kindergarten Al was much bigger than the other children. If you saw his class pictures, he was the one who was nearly a head taller than the others. He was large boned and by the time he reached junior high school, the coaches were drooling over the prospect of having this giant anchor the defensive and offensive lines on the football team. But Al could have cared less about football or any other testosterone driven athletic competition.
Several problems arose during his junior high and high school years. Because of his lack of desire for competitive sports either as a participant or supporter, many found his company undesirable. He became even more withdrawn as the company he really sought, the young female students, found him unattractive as a prospective boyfriend. The truth was, he just wanted female companionship.
Al became more and more withdrawn and found solace in the internet and food. By his sophomore year in high school he became known as ‘pear body’. He was 6’ 5” and weighed 320 pounds. Had he been in any sort of physical condition he might have been able to carry close to that weight; however, the bulk of his weight settled around his lower belly, hips and thighs.
He had no friends and sought no friends. He had walled himself away from any interpersonal relationships. He loved his parents but had withdrawn so much that he became almost like a roomer in his own home. He would show up for meals, do his homework and retreat to the world he found on the internet.
As good parents, they were obviously concerned about their withdrawn and possibly depressed son and after much protesting, Al agreed to see a counselor. His indifferent attitude toward the counselor wasn’t much help, however. The only thing the counselor could come up with was that Al was depressed about something he wouldn’t reveal. The counselor felt that Al was probably gay, and couldn’t come to terms with it; however, because of Al’s unwillingness to open up, it was only an educated guess.
After college, Al worked full time at the real estate firm. He easily passed the requirements for a real estate license, but due to his lack of desire for sales, he never ventured into that arena. Still, he knew what was going on, and he gradually took over the management aspects of the business from his parents. This amounted to tracking what the associates were doing, keeping the master files, and making sure that the salaries and bonuses were paid. He also collected a very tidy sum from every transaction. The percentage was small, but the number of dollars was very large.
His parents, although they had complete ownership of the company, had left the company’s operation to Al, though in truth, things pretty much ran themselves.
Tragedy struck when Al was 30. His parents had been deeply involved with Habitat for Humanity and while being flown to a remote site in central Africa the plane disappeared from the radar. The wreckage had never been found. Al was left on his own.
As he stood there, a rather plain looking woman in her late 20’s to early 30’s exited. He heard the tinkle of the bell over the door but it was the woman who caught his attention. She might have been a bit over-endowed; however, it was the expression on her face that he had focused on. She appeared a bit confused as she stopped a few feet outside the door and looked around. Her hands wandered up her blouse to her face and hair. She looked at her left hand and seemed to stare at the two rings.
Suddenly there were cries of “Mommy, Mommy” and three small children about three, five and eight rushed up to her. They were followed by a man (her husband?) who had a bright smile.
She hesitated for a moment and suddenly an equally bright smile formed on her face. The children were jumping around her excitedly talking about the movie they had just seen with their father.
As he watched, Al realized that the young mother wasn’t plain at all but rather attractive. She embraced her husband and hugged and kissed the two girls and small boy who rather reluctantly accepted the sign of affection. The family turned and the five walked hand in hand toward the mall exit.
That was all that Al needed to see. He walked quickly to the door and pushed it open. The mall fire inspectors obviously had not been doing their job, as inward opening doors were against the fire and life safety codes. He was greeted by the tinkling bell and stopped a few feet inside to take in the ambience of the shop.
It was like stepping out of a time machine. The floor to ceiling shelves along each wall were packed with who knows what. It was a cross of an old apothecary, hardware, toy shop and antique store. It could probably, no, no probably about it, it needed a good dusting.
He worked his way toward the counter at the rear, carefully avoiding the large, nearly black wolf stretched out on the floor. When the wolf slightly raised his head and curled his upper lip, exposing two large canines and other large teeth Al almost turned and fled. Had he known more about dogs and wolves, he would have realized that what he took as hostility was actually a friendly acknowledgment.
As near as he could tell no one was present in the front of the store but before he could reach the bell on the counter a voice came from behind the curtain. “I’ll be with you in a moment Al. I’ve some paper work coming in on the FAX, and the crystal ball is clanging for attention.”
The remarks sent shivers down Al’s spine. It was exactly as he had read. The wizard always knew who was coming into the store. There was another thing and that was that the store never appeared unless there was a reason for it to be there.
The beaded curtain parted and the wizened and a slightly bent man of undetermined age in a wizard’s robe that had seen better days appeared. “Yes, I know. The robe looks like hell. Look, I am flitting from one universe to another and flipping back and forth in various time continua, and I just don’t have time to get it replaced. The dry cleaners in this world do an awful job. The last time I was here, they broke three buttons and didn’t replace them. Well that clerk doesn’t have to worry about his acne any more. She’s making a lot more money as a cocktail waitress, and is a lot happier. Besides, a nice sugar daddy is going to sweep her off her feet and if I remember correctly, they will have a nice family.
“Now, Al, what should we do about your problem?” he said as he peered over the top of his wire rimmed glasses.
“Your Wisdom, I’m not sure what you mean by a problem.”
“Al, Al, Al, you had better think before you say anything like that again. You know where you are. You are standing in my shop, that to most, other than a 2:00 PM appointment, looks like a GNC store. I know a lot about you. I know your deepest desire, the desire to be the woman/girl you have believed you have been all your life.”
The wizard turned and walked from behind the counter over to the wolf where he tickled his side and chuckled as the wolf automatically tried to scratch the itch. “Al, I was getting some updates on you over the fax when you came in. My memory isn’t what it used to be 500 years ago, and I wanted to be sure about a few things before I took any action concerning your problem or should I say problems.”
“You say I have problems? I know of only one issue. I am in the wrong body, and my life is totally fucked up because of it.”
“I’m sorry Al, but that is not the case at all. Oh, your soul is female without a doubt. Unfortunately, you have never taken any time to learn what it is to be a human being. There are many people out there who have had the misfortune to be born in conflict with their body. It’s a difficult thing to have to deal with at best; however, most get on with their lives, have friends and make positive contributions to society. Unfortunately, there are too many universes, and too few of us to make all the corrections we wish we could make. There are universes we’ll never get to, and I am so sad about it.”
“Wait a minute,” Al fired back, “Are you telling me you do all these transformations out of the goodness of your heart? I’ve read about some of the stuff you do, turning guys into over inflated, mindless bimbos.”
“Al, most of what you read about me are urban myths generated by the overactive imaginations of some of the incompetent writers at some of those internet sites. We have no way of sorting through all the trash that’s out there. Yes, we have transformed some criminal elements into vacuous bimbos; however, they have been far more productive to society in that form than they had been in their previous forms. I guess I have once in a while allowed my sense of irony to allow some transitions go a way the persons involved hadn’t intended. I remember one where a fellow wanted to be the ideal lover for the girl whose attention he couldn’t get. He didn’t realize what he was asking for and ended up being her identical twin. They love and enjoy each other very much now.”
The wizard’s tone turned a bit more serious. “Now in your case there are some problems. First of all, Al, you’re not equipped to be a woman in this society. If I changed that little Y chromosome into an X chromosome, you would still be the same unsociable clod you are today, and that would be a terrible waste of some very good magic. Frankly, I don’t think you deserve to be a woman; however, I have my instructions.”
Al realized that if the wizard had instructions, the instructions had to be about his possible transformation. “It sounds to me as if your higher ups have told you what to do.” His confidence bolstered, he began to think it was out of the wizards hands. He was going to get what he wanted. “I know what I want and I think you have to do it,” he gloated.
“Al, you had better watch it. This attitude of yours needs to improve. I could turn you into a female toad and have you in a pond being amplexed by another toad in ten seconds. I always have the final say in these things, and I have a lot, let me repeat, a lot of latitude. I could have you walk out the front door with a sack of vitamins and you wouldn’t remember a thing about being here. There’s another thing, and that is the cost. These things aren’t cheap. We’re allowed to do some pro bono cases, but not very often.”
“Pro bono,” exclaimed Al, “You do pro bono work?”
“Certainly, it’s good PR. That woman who just left is an example. When she came in here he was a single father of two girls. His wife had been killed in an auto accident and he was very, very despondent. Tonight he was going to commit suicide and take the two little girls with him. His best friend since high school is a single dad, too. His wife left him saying motherhood wasn’t for her.
His friend volunteered to take the children to a movie and while they were there it was relatively easy to get him in here while they were at the show. Now, in this world, they have been married a little over a year and she is going to get pregnant tonight.” The wizard paused for a moment pulling a large linen hanky from a pocket that Al swore hadn’t been there before, dabbed his eyes and blew his nose. As soon as he replaced the hanky, the pocket disappeared.
“We had another one not too long ago that was almost as good. A Hell’s Angel biker is now a second grade teacher near here. She’s been married several years now. We did that one in the city park during a thunderstorm. It was a lot of fun.
"Now your case is different. There is much bad karma to overcome.” The wizard began shuffling through some papers that Al would have sworn weren’t on the countertop a moment before.
“We need to make sure everything is on the up and up. I have some paperwork here, the usual disclaimers and such. Let’s see, where is that invoice? Ah here it is. We are going to have to do a lot of temporal adjustments to make this work correctly. I hate it when I have to go back and eliminate paradoxes.
“These twenty-six pages describe the adjustments that have to be made. Initial each page at the bottom right in that blank and sign each copy on the last page. You do realize you will no longer operate the real estate company? This document lets us make the adjustments so that the company will continue to operate as a partnership with the current employees. This is the last document and it just says you are initiating the changes of your own free will. We don’t want you coming back and saying you were coerced in any way. The amount due is $1,075,000, though that does include sales tax.”
“Wow! Isn’t that a bit steep?” Al asked, protesting rather strongly.
“Al, you know what you want, and you can afford it, and after my appointment later this afternoon I am not sure if I will be back in this universe anytime soon. We do many of these changes at a loss, and have to rely on our wealthier patrons to keep the cash flow going in the right direction. I’m sure you can understand how that works.”
Al had always been a fairly logical person when it came to business; however, his desire to be a woman, to correct the physical anomaly he had been saddled with his entire life, overrode any semblance of logical thought, and for sure, Al hadn’t thought things out very well at all. He knew one thing, and one thing only. The wizard was real…and he was standing in his shop. He was going to get his gender problem straightened out at last. He quickly initialed the papers where indicated, and signed them on the appropriate lines. Getting out his check book, he asked, “Who do I make this out to?”
“Make that out to ‘Spells ‘R’ Us’.”
“You may have a problem with this going through. I don’t write checks for this amount very often.”
“There won’t be any problem at all. I just run it through this check machine,” he said, indicating a device next to the old brass cash register. He inserted the check in a slot, entered an amount and the check was drawn through and then released. “See? The amount has been deducted from your account and all is in order. Nothing to it, I just tweaked a few circuits and it went right through. Here, you can have the check as a receipt.”
“So what do you do now, wave that magic wand of yours and say some mumbo jumbo?”
“Al, you’re starting to get on my nerves. Things will happen when they’re supposed to happen. Don’t question how we do things. I suggest you leave now. Here, take this shawl. It’s getting cold, and you should keep your shoulders warm.” The wizard draped a woolen shawl over Al’s shoulders. Al never considered the fact the wizard didn’t have to reach up to do it.
As Al walked out the door and listened to the bell tinkle as he opened and closed the door, he suddenly realized something. He had just written a check for over a million dollars without giving it much thought. What about all the rest of his money, his funds, condominium, car?
Suddenly, he had a lot of questions. He turned and looked into the bright lights of the wide open GNC store. ‘Spells ‘R’ Us’ was gone.
Looking around, nothing looked right. He realized it had to be his dirty glasses. Glasses! He didn’t wear glasses. His hands reached up and removed the dowdy frames. ‘Jesus! My hands, what’s wrong with my hands?’ The fingers were boney and the joints seemed disproportionally large. His skin was pale and the blue veins stood out. The nails were painted with bright red enamel and they were certainly longer than he normally wore them.
He turned to the window next to the opening at GNC, looking futilely for his reflection. All he could see was the usual mass of shoppers and one elderly lady staring open mouthed at him. He brought his hand up to his face, a motion mimicked by the lady reflected in the window. She had to be in her 70’s.
‘What sort of rip off is this? This isn’t right.’ He looked downward over two obvious but somewhat unevenly sagging breasts. He was wearing a fashionless dress, and below that he could see some opaque hose and walking shoes. ‘What did the wizard do to me?’
One shock piled on another. His hands dropped from his face to his breasts. There was a serious problem. His hands could feel the two mounds but the mounds felt nothing. ‘What is this? Am I just a short man in a dress?’
His thoughts were short circuited by some loud voices.
“Here she is! I found her.”
Al turned to see a woman with a name tag on her breast approaching. “Maddy, Maddy, how many times have I told you to stay with the group? If you keep doing this, we won’t be able to bring you to the mall to shop. You’re going to have to stay at the home.”
The next thing she knew was being escorted to a group of elderly men and women and herded onto a small bus. Al found a seat at the rear. The bus departed for an unknown destination. Al knew no one on the bus.
Apparently she was supposed to be hard of hearing, because Al could overhear everything the two escorts were saying and they were talking rather loudly about Maddy, whoever she was.
“I don’t think we can let Maddy go on these trips with us anymore. She’s showing all the signs of Stage II Alzheimer’s. I don’t think she knows who we are, and I’m not sure she knows who she is. When I found her it was almost as if she was in a trance. We need to get an evaluation before we take any further chances with her.”
“I agree, Ethel. The home can’t stand to have another case like we had a couple of years ago when ‘Old Man Dawson’ wandered off and froze to death before we could find him. We may have to have Maddy transferred to a nursing home where they can keep closer watch on her.”
Well one thing for sure was that Maddy/Al didn’t have a clue who she was. A quick investigation had already proven to her (dis)satisfaction that the equipment she used to carry between her legs was no longer there. Instead, there was a fleshy area with the appropriate opening. Inside her panties there was also an absorbent pad. Maddy was slightly incontinent.
She realized she was carrying a small purse and opened it to find a little makeup, a wallet and a coin purse. Inside the wallet, along with some credit cards, were several forms of identification: a Social Security card, Medicare identification and an old driver’s license. Her name was Madeline Franken. She was 82 years old. She also found a key to what she assumed was her room.
The small bus finally arrived at an attractive facility that Maddy assumed was her home. There seemed to be some subconscious guidance going on as the group entered the lobby area. She looked around and then headed for one of the halls where she found her room on the left, about half way down the hall. Beyond the door she found a small efficiency apartment with a small but complete kitchenette and a small dining table. Beyond was a sitting area with a wide screen TV. An open door revealed a nicely furnished bedroom with a small closet and full bath. The closet contained a small wardrobe of fashionless clothing and equally undistinguished shoes.
A strange sensation suddenly awakened Maddy to the fact she needed to go to the bathroom. Again, a subtle automatic pilot took over. She raised her dress and lowered her panties and sat on the ring. Urination came naturally, and she reached over to a plastic bag that contained underwear pads. She discarded the pad from her panties and replaced it with a dry one. After cleaning up and flushing, curiosity got the better of her.
She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, unbuttoned her dress and hung it on a hook behind the door. She was fairly erect, and osteoporosis did not seem to be a problem; however, something did not seem right. She pulled her slip off and then she could see it. Her breasts were not right and then she saw the edges of the scars. Beneath the padded cups there were no breasts, only scars left from a double mastectomy done many years before.
Maddy was devastated. What had that wizard done to her? What had she done to deserve this? She sat on the toilet seat and sobbed.
Thanks again to Holly H. Hart for her very professional assistance.
Portia Bennett
Thanks again to Holly for her enlightening editing.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Al searched her little apartment for anything that could help her figure out what to do. There was a small complement of dishes and utensils in the kitchen. The food supply was limited and she realized this person whose body she was currently occupying had most of her meals in the dining room. There were no pictures of people on the walls, table or desk top. A search through the small desk revealed that she was a ‘Miss’. Apparently, she’d never married and had no near relatives. There was a retirement account and the money from that was paying her monthly fees. The retirement home was not cheap.
A daily bulletin related a bunch of crap about the various residents: 60th anniversaries, great grandchildren, 95th birthdays and the like. There was a menu showing what was available for the evening meal. It didn’t look too bad and she noted there was going to be a Bingo tournament after dinner. She turned on the television and sat in a very comfortable easy chair.
The television was on the Food Channel, her favorite in the past. This time she didn’t pay much attention. She had a bigger problem. The escorts on the mall trip were probably telling the administrator of this ‘country club’ that Maddy was losing it and had wandered off again at the mall. Damn, she didn’t wander off. That wizard had somehow put her in Maddy’s body. If that was the case, what happened to her old body? ‘Wait a minute, the wizard said he was going to have to go back and make sure there weren’t any paradoxes, or at least fix them.’ No, she’d been changed into Maddy and Al Gontarski did not exist in this universe. At least he didn’t exist any longer. She would have to see if she could figure out what had happened to him.
She was going to have to think of herself only in the feminine gender from now on. After all, that was what she had wanted. It was just that she didn’t want it this way. She knew that if she were sent to a nursing home, that her chances of getting to the mall and the wizard would be slim. She was going to have to convince the administration there was nothing wrong with her, or at least that her mental condition was strong enough to let her stay. She needed a computer and wasn’t sure if there was one available.
Rummaging around, she found her check book. It hadn’t been kept up, and it took several minutes to get the balance. She was receiving a nice monthly deposit from her retirement fund and a major portion of that went to the retirement home. Still, there was a healthy balance, and if there was no computer available she should be able to buy one. Considering some of the web sites she visited, it would probably be best if she purchased her own computer, regardless; however, her main purpose of getting to the internet would be to find out what happened to Alfred Gontarski, and when.
There was still an hour before supper and Maddy knew she would have to familiarize herself with the personnel working at the retirement home. There was a small loosely bound book on the desk and she found it explained just about everything she needed to know about the facility. She noted that instead of being called a retirement home, the place was an assisted living home.
She found the directory of key personnel and quickly memorized the list. ‘Now I am going to have to put these names with faces.’ She remembered that the employees she had seen so far had rather prominent name tags and that would make things much easier. She couldn’t afford to have anyone think she was losing her cognitive powers. There was going to be a serious problem with the residents, though. She didn’t know any of them. Maybe she could fake it.
On the back of the entry door to her room there was an evacuation diagram and she quickly memorized it before stepping out. The layout was actually quite simple. There were residence halls leading away from the central reception area, a large dining room with a large kitchen attached, a laundry facility, offices and a large sitting area.
Maddy started wandering around the building. Her neighbors, a husband and wife, were leaving their room too and Maddy said, “Good afternoon.” The couple seemed surprised that Maddy would talk to them, and mumbled a response.
She wandered into an adjacent hall where she found a beautician’s shop. Next to it was the office of the ‘Activities Director’. Maddy could see her working at her desk, and decided to see if she could start here. This was the lady who had first approached her in the mall. Maddy knocked on the door.
“Come in, oh, hi Maddy. How are you?”
”I’m doing fine. I just wanted to apologize about what happened at the mall. I ran into someone I knew from many years ago and she told me about some mutual friends who had recently passed away. I started to think about my own mortality and I guess I sort of zoned out.” If the Activities Director noted Maddy was using words that most 82 year olds wouldn’t have in their vocabulary, she didn’t indicate it.
“That must have been something, running into someone you knew here so far from your home.”
‘Oops, I had better learn more about Maddy’s past before I say something that could get me in trouble’ “Yes, the whole thing was a rather disturbing. It was so many years ago when I had last seen them.
“I do have a question. Is there a computer available for me to use. I’ve decided I need something to do besides watching television.”
“Maddy, you never do anything with the other residents. All you do is stay in your room, come to the meals and go to the mall. You’re not getting your money’s worth of we have to offer here. You could be staying in a small apartment and eat frozen meals for half of what it costs to live here. Why don’t you get out of your hole and join in on a few things. They’re playing Bingo tonight after dinner. Why don’t you join us? Maybe you will make some friends.”
“Bingo’s a stupid game. There’s no skill involved.”
“That’s not the point. It’s a chance to have fun and mix with other people. The game is nothing. It’s all the other stuff going on that makes it worthwhile. Unlike you, there are some folks whose income is very limited. After they pay the rent and their healthcare expenses they can’t afford to do much else. The thrill of winning a small prize means a lot to them. Give it a try. It might surprise you.
“As far as computers go, there is the one in the media room, but it’s on the fritz at the moment. None of the internet programs are working. I am surprised you didn’t know it was there.”
“How long has it been out of commission?” Maddy asked.
“A week or so; it was in the bulletin.”
“Would you mind if I looked at it? I used to work in IT and I know a little about them even if I am old and out of touch.”
“Go right ahead. The repair service keeps putting us off. The other residents would appreciate it. Many of them use it for emails and internet activities. It would be very nice if you could do something.”
“I’ll work on it tomorrow morning. I think supper is going to start soon and then there is Bingo.” Maddy found her way to the dining room. She side-stepped through the cafeteria style line and selected her meal. For some reason, she selected only a fraction she would have taken before her transformation.
One of the dining room staff took her tray as she tried to find a place to sit. She noted that no one acknowledged her other than a slight nod. There were no invitations to join others at their tables. She found a small table by the window and the waiter set her food at her place. The food was acceptable, not great.
After dinner many of the residents hung around in the sitting room while the staff cleaned the dining room and converted it to a Bingo parlor. Maddy decided to linger and see what all the fuss was about. After all, it really was a stupid game. As she watched, certain rituals became evident. Some players had to have certain cards, and others had to sit at certain tables. Some would play one card and some played as many as four or five. ‘What a mess,’ she thought.
There was the simple Bingo that Maddy remembered from her previous life. Then there were all these variations: make an ‘X’, ‘B’s’ only, etc. It was around the third game when Maddy noticed something about a little bent over lady who was sitting directly in front of her. She had glasses that looked like the proverbial soft drink bottle bottoms. She was also wearing two hearing aids. She had shouted “Bingo”, only to find out she didn’t have it. One of the helpers was checking her numbers. “I’m sorry Gretta, you covered ‘B-7’ and the number was ‘B-9’." Gretta was very disappointed. She seemed to be close to tears.
Maddy turned to a helper who was standing by her. “She can’t see very well, can she?”
“Who?”
“That lady, the one who didn’t have a bingo.”
“That’s Gretta McNally. She has very limited vision and doesn’t hear well at all. It’s the same thing every time. She can’t read the numbers, and misses half the calls. It’s a shame because she really wants to play.”
“Maybe she needs some help. I’ll see what I can do.” Maddy sat in an empty spot next to Gretta. “Hi, Gretta, I’m Maddy Franken. Do you mind if I help you? It must be very difficult to see those numbers in this lighting, and I think you missed a Bingo in the previous game when you didn’t hear the number.”
“Thank you, Maddy. I’ve seen you around here, but we haven’t had a chance to talk. My husband used to help me play, but he passed away earlier this year. I don’t win nearly as often now that he’s gone. I think he was a good luck charm."
It was an interesting and fun time, Maddy had to admit. She was able to hear the calls and point out where the numbers were on Gretta’s card, and the best part was when Gretta won the ‘cover all’. There was a $125 prize, and Gretta was ecstatic. The small crowd cheered her as she made her way to the front to collect her winnings. As the group broke up for the evening, Gretta gave Maddy a hug while thanking her for her help.
Maddy retreated to her room for the evening, and for some reason, felt like smiling. Her smile was quickly erased as she undressed and looked in the mirror. She might have been an attractive woman at one time; however, it was difficult to see. She had little muscle tone, and her arm muscles hung, hidden by the almost translucent skin. There were sags everywhere. Her belly sagged. Her butt sagged. She wouldn’t have minded having saggy breasts; however, there was nothing but scar tissue.
Her bath had both a tub and shower, and she opted for the shower. There were rails to hold onto, and a portable seat. Obviously this was the way Maddy had been using it. Maddy realized she wasn’t that steady, and was thankful for the assists. As her shower progressed, exploring her scars was only cursory; however, in the warmth, she tried to see if she could elicit any response from below. She quickly determined that the soap was irritating, and her explorations ceased.
She found a formless nightgown and donned it over her panties with their ever-present absorbent pad. The whole process was very annoying. Lying in bed, she thought about the day’s events. This morning she had been a fat, ugly, giant of a man, and now she was an 82 year old, breastless woman living in an assisted living home. She had to get back to the mall and find that wizard. She would have to find a way to make him correct the problem. She didn’t pay a million dollars to become a woman who was a lot closer to death’s door than she wanted to think about.
Her dreams didn’t change too much from what they had been in the past. Most dreams are pretty ridiculous if you examined them closely. Her dreams that night were no different. Most of the time, her dreams did not dwell on her gender. Previously, she might be a man, woman or small child. She was happy if she was female, and unhappy as a male. There was one dream that was a little out of the ordinary, though. She could see or sense that she was in some sort of ill defined tunnel that faded away in both directions. She sensed one direction was forward and the other was back. She wasn’t very sure of what ‘forward’ or ‘back’ meant. She knew one thing. She was very lonely.
She started walking, if it could be called walking, no, it was more like floating. It was like a balloon that had lost most of its helium. It would just float along, neither rising nor falling.
Then she had a companion, and it more or less appeared out of nothing. It was mostly light suspended at her side. She thought she could detect a form in the center of the light. It seemed to be humanoid in shape but it was very ill defined. The light seemed to pulse slightly.
“Hi, Alfred, how’s it going?”
“Okay, this is a dream, right?”
“Well, in a way it is. This is the only way I can contact you at the moment. Later on, there will be other ways, but we won’t worry about that now.”
“Who, what are you?”
“That’s difficult to put into words. I guess the easiest thing to say is I am sort of a spirit or soul. I’m what’s left after the body is gone and what there is before the body is created. I am going to be your guide for a while. We have a lot of ground to cover, and I will be with you when you’re ready to start your journey. That will be a while yet. I guess I just wanted to say hello and let you know I am around.
“I know you’re a bit disturbed about all this; however, there is a reason. The best advice I can give you right now is to go with the flow. Don’t fight it. That was very nice what you did for Gretta, by the way.” Maddy retreated to more normal dreams after that.
The next morning Maddy again found herself on semi-autopilot as she prepared herself for the day. Breakfast wasn’t bad and she had good choices. As she looked for a place to sit she saw Gretta waving at her to have a seat. Breakfast was mainly small talk for a while. “Well, Maddy, what are you going to do today?”
“I am going to take a look at that computer and see if anything can be done to get it working correctly. I understand that no one has been able to get on the internet for a while.”
“I didn’t know you knew anything about computers. I never saw you using it.”
“I used to work with them a lot. Things haven’t changed that much. If I can fix it, maybe I can save this place some money."
Later, as Maddy approached the computer room a couple was coming out. “Don’t bother. It’s frozen up and you can’t get on the internet.”
Maddy smiled, “I’m going to give it a try. Maybe we can get it running.” The first thing Maddy did was reboot it. It took forever. It became obvious very quickly that a number of programs were corrupted. There were all sorts of things running in the background that Maddy couldn’t identify. She was not a computer expert, but she did know some tricks. Since the problems were only a little over a week old, she did a system restore, disc cleanup, and defrag. Then she downloaded Spybot © and ran it. There were several dozen Trojans and other spyware, and she removed those. It took about three hours but the computer was now humming along quite nicely. While she was on it, she went to a major computer manufacturer’s website and ordered a lap-top and some peripherals for use in her room. For the types of searches and internet activity she wanted to do, she would prefer to do it in private.
Maddy was a heroine to many of the residents, as the internet was the least expensive way for them to communicate with their friends and loved ones. By the time she was through, several residents were in line to get on line.
Her computer arrived two days later and she spent a few pleasant hours setting it up and getting the local cable TV company to allow her access to the internet. She planned on spending a lot of time on the internet. She needed to find out what happened to Alfred, and when. She needed to know what to confront the wizard with, when and if she ever found him. All she wanted was a normal life as a woman, and she figured she only had a few years at best in her current state.
Once on the internet, she found her favorite sites and bookmarked them for easy access. Going to FictionMania she did a search on SRU. She was amazed at how many stories there were. She had not really kept track of them. She started at the earliest story, and when she found one she felt might be authentic, she copied it into her computer file so that she could read it in detail later on. She hoped she might find a chink in the wizard’s armor, something that she could use to make her transformation more acceptable.
She broadened her search to other sites finding some of the same stories and also finding some new ones that seemed to be possibly authentic. She found one on the Master PC site that might prove to be helpful. Big Closet provided a couple of others.
Old habits die hard, and she soon found she was trying to catch up on the new postings at each of her past favorite sites. The stories didn’t seem to have the same bite they had in the past. Previously, she had wanted a transformation to make her be like she felt. Well, she was now female, and none of the transformation stories had the same impact. The ones that most closely matched her desires were the stories that included age regression.
Things changed again at dinner. Gretta McNally was with two other ladies (single ladies outnumbered men by a significant number at the home) and they motioned to Maddy to join them.
Gretta did the introductions. Maddy knew the two other ladies by name but had never talked to them. “Maddy,” asked Gretta, “we were wondering if you played Bridge. Our fourth had to move to a nursing home and we need a replacement.”
“I guess I know some of the basics but I have never really played.”
“We’ll teach you. You need to learn. I’m surprised you don’t know about all the Bridge playing that goes on here.”
So Maddy learned to play Bridge. They started her out with some of the basic bidding systems and lines of play. The artificial bidding systems would come later. The philosophy of the finesse confused her for a while but she quickly caught on. She was thankful her intellect had not been diminished by the transformation.
A special day was when her partner put her in a near impossible small slam. Maddy realized her only chance was to use an end play, and when she pulled it off, she was very pleased with herself. They were playing Duplicate Bridge at the time, and none of the other teams had managed to pull it off. It was the last hand of the night, and several members of the other teams had gathered around to watch the play. There was a subdued cheer when she brought the contract in. Her success enabled her and her partner to get second place in the tournament.
Thanks again to Holly for her enlightening editing.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 3
Maddy didn’t spend that much time on the internet, as she seemed to be more and more involved with activities in the retirement home. There were always those moments of regret when she prepared for bed and when she dressed in the morning; however, her time for regret seemed to be getting shorter and shorter.
She found that Alfred Gontarski had apparently died with his parents in the airplane crash in central Africa. She found the obituaries first, and then found several articles from the business sections written about the unusual terms of his parents’ wills that had stipulated if there was no survivor, meaning Alfred, in the event of their deaths, the real estate business was to go to the employees and associates. The six associates would receive equal portions of two thirds of the business, and the administrative personnel would divide the other third equally. Obviously, the wizard had to have done many ‘corrections’.
She took over the task of monitoring the common computer and making sure it wouldn’t get corrupted. She knew that many of the residents didn’t have a clue about the evil some people were inflicting on the internet. She encouraged the management to subscribe to one of the good virus protection programs, and they agreed. Regardless of the warnings she posted about downloading from unknown sites, things kept showing up. Many of the users were very naíve about these things. Maddy also set up a strong SPAM filter. Her surveillance prevented one couple from losing thousands of dollars to a Nigerian based scheme claiming that the couple was coming into a huge inheritance from a deceased relative they had never heard of.
Her weekly trips to the mall proved to be fruitless. She thought she saw Spells R Us in place of a shoe store, but when she looked again, it was just a shoe store. Still, she hoped she could confront the wizard and give him a piece of her mind. It wasn’t the money; obviously, she had little use for a lot in her current state. It was just the principle of the thing. She had been cheated, pure and simple. She hadn’t thought about it lately, as she had not been dwelling on the situation that much. The activities at the assisted living home seemed to be occupying her more and more.
Things took a downturn a few weeks later. Gretta had returned from the doctor and Maddy immediately knew something was very wrong. Maddy caught up with her as she was unlocking the door to her room.
“What is it, Gretta? I can tell something is wrong.”
“Come in and close the door.” Maddy closed the door and sat across from Gretta’s easy chair.
“Maddy, I have lived in fear of this all my adult life and now it has happened. I have breast cancer. I’ll be going in for surgery next week. There have been times today when I thought, ‘Why bother’. I might as well curl up and die. What’s the use? I’m old and don’t have much time left anyway.” Gretta was close to tears and Maddy wasn’t far behind.
“How old are you, Gretta? I can keep a secret.”
“I am 69, why?”
“How old do you think I am?”
“I don’t know. I never thought about it, I guess”
“I will be 83 next month. I am 14 years older than you, and there is no reason in the world you won’t live as long or longer. If you don’t take care of yourself, you will be cheating your family out of many years of love. I’ve seen your grandchildren, and they love you very much. Don’t you want to see them marry and have children of their own?
“I haven’t been as fortunate as you. I never married and have no family. I’ve spent all my life making money and avoiding relationships with others. Believe me, it’s not worth it.”
“What do you know about this sort of thing, Maddy?”
“I know a lot. I lost both of my breasts to cancer many years ago. I used to think that having breasts would be my badge of womanhood and because I didn’t have them, I would be less of a woman. I found out I was wrong. There is more to being a woman than I will ever experience in my lifetime, but I know I am a woman regardless of the fact I don’t have breasts. As a young woman, they have a lot more significance than they do now. You won’t be any less of a woman or person than you are now, if they have to take one or both of them.
“You are a good friend, Gretta, and I don’t want to lose you. You are going to do what the doctors say, and you’re going to get well. We’re going to continue to play Bingo and Bridge together, and you’re going to live to see your great grandchildren.” She stood and embraced Gretta, who was considerably shorter than she.
Maddy stayed with her at the hospital, helped her with her dressings and drain when the home’s nurse wasn’t available, and stayed by her side as she fought the effects of the chemo. She helped her select some wigs, and when the usual ones looked too much like wigs, she bought her one made of human hair that was as perfect as a wig could get.
The next few months continued in a fairly positive way. Gretta’s attitude continued to improve as did her health. The lymph node tests had been very good and the doctors decided there was no reason to remove her other breast. Gretta’s hair was growing back and at first the growth was quite curly.
The bus took the small group of shoppers to the mall as usual. The weather was pleasant, and Maddy and Gretta were standing near the covered entrance, waiting for the rest of the group to catch up to them. Maddy was watching a harried young mother trying to control her three year old while carrying several bags and a small infant. The three-year old was on the verge of a tantrum and was testing his independence. Maddy was walking toward the woman to offer her help when the little boy broke away.
Maddy was 83 years old, and certainly looked and felt it. She saw the approaching retirement home bus, and at the same time the little boy headed for the curb. There was only one thing to do, and she did it almost without thinking. She had the angle and threw herself at the little boy, knocking him back on the walk. Her momentum carried her into the path of the bus. The last sounds she heard before the bus struck her were the sounds of screams.
“Well, Al, that certainly was a spectacular way to go out. I’d ask you how you feel; however, in this form there is nothing physical to feel. We didn’t expect you to do that. You were supposed to have a heart attack a few weeks later.”
“What the hell is going on, and who and what are you?” She realized that the entity was just like the one she had dreamed about and had discarded as a figment.
“First of all there is no Hell. That’s just the product of some uninformed and overactive imaginations. I guess I could say you are dead. Well, the body you inhabited this last year is. You know, death of the physical body isn’t really that big a deal. Sometimes the physical pain is severe but that’s the physical thing about it. The body fights. It can’t help it. The important thing is you’re alive and ready to move on. As to what I am and you are: we are the spirits that give the body life, a persona.”
“I’m dead?”
“No, just that body you inhabited. It would have been dead long before, however, we worked a deal, and the previous owner was allowed to leave and move on while you were moved in. It’s all very complicated but the more you cycle through, the better you will understand how it works.”
“I think I am confused here. Are you saying that there is something like you and I that inhabits every body? I am having a little trouble with the math here.”
“There are a number of options. Spirits may move from universe to universe joining with the body of the equivalent of a human being on the planet they are on. There are billions of earthlike planets, by the way, just in this universe alone. Not all planets are in the same stage of development, though. Some are far advanced of this Earth, while others have millions, if not billions, of years before they reach this point.
“Spirits are mortal and pass on to other existences. Sometimes spirits are created at conception, and sometimes an existing spirit will move in the new body. You were a new one, and there was a little error. With the population explosion that has been happening on this planet, it’s difficult to keep track of things, and the entity who was monitoring your creation had just come from a world where reproduction was done by parthenogenesis. All babies are female in that world. You are female and should have been with a female body. Instead you were put with a male body. It does seem to be happening more and more these days. By the time we caught the error, it was too late to do anything about it.
“Damn!”
“By the way, that’s a meaningless expression. Anyway, if you look at the overall percentage error, the rate isn’t too bad. We know it’s difficult for those who are victims, and that is why we have the group you know as wizards out there to help correct these problems. Some, such as your wizard, do get a little out of control when they improvise too much. Still, they’re able to facilitate many corrections.”
Al was confused and perplexed. For over a year she had been Maddy Franken, and had actually become accustomed to the role. No, she had actually been happy for the first time in her life. Then she had to go kill herself saving a child from being hit by a bus. Now there was this. ‘What is going on?’
Al realized that although she had been carrying on a conversation with this ‘spirit’, words were not being spoken. They were words in her head, if she had a head. For that matter, she didn’t have a body, either. “Er, ah, Spirit or whatever you are, do I look like you?”
“If you could see yourself, I guess you would. The thing is I look to you the way you think I should look. You have to realize that you’re not really seeing or hearing things. You are not breathing, because you don’t need to. You are currently in a different dimension. Time and distance are considerably different here, and you’re just a bundle of energy that is maintained on a subatomic level.”
This was more than Al could handle, and she chose not to get into the details. Either she was having a hallucination brought on by the traumatic injuries she had experienced, or the spirit was telling the truth. “If I am dead as you say, when is my funeral?”
“Your funeral was four days after the body’s death. Do you want to go?”
“How can I go if there was a funeral already?”
“You forgot about what I said. Time and distance have little relevance here.”
“Yes, I would like to go,” Al said after a brief pause. “I think I would like to see what some people thought about me. Not that it really matters.”
“Okay, let’s go. This should be the right spot.” They faced a portion of the tunnel wall (if they had faces, if it really was a wall, and if they were in a tunnel). Al finally decided she wouldn’t think about it. The wall opened, and they were at the back of a church. Al couldn’t remember anything about religious preferences; however, they were in a church.
The service was interdenominational and quite nice. Al noticed a large contingency from the retirement home, and several people she didn’t recognize. The family of the little boy she saved was also there. Gretta was openly crying, and Al wished she could comfort her. The eulogy was very complimentary, and Al was pleased that she was obviously appreciated. Her too short stay had some positive results.
“I am going to call you Al for now, as that is the name your spirit was born with. You may want to change that later on. We have a lot to do, and it’s going to cover a lot of time in the world you’re from. We need to go places that you have little awareness of, or may have forgotten. You have much to learn.
“As I said earlier, we spirits are mortal. We gain strength and life through existing in harmony with others and working for the betterment of all and the sphere around us. Some spirits are defective. Things happen in their creation similar to birth defects in the biological world. There is an evaluation whenever the spirit leaves the body. You weren’t aware of it, but you were evaluated at the time of your physical death. Some spirits never continue. Some are relegated to a black hole where escape is impossible. The spirit that was Sadam Hussein was quick to join that group.
“Your original self had an opportunity for growth, but chose to withdraw and care little for anyone but yourself. It was our mistake that helped you along that route; however, many others in similar circumstances managed to overcome adversity and grow in spite of it. You are weak and might have just faded away after that one venture. As Maddy, I must say, you did far better than several thought you would. Your aura is much stronger now but you still have much to learn, and much to gain.”
They were back in the tunnel. Al tried to assess it in more detail. It was difficult to describe and she realized it was rather pointless to try. After all, who would she describe it to? She really wasn’t seeing anything anyway. It was just a sensory impression. Still, she had just seen her own funeral. Maybe all of this was being created in her brain in the fractions of a second it took her brain to die after she was struck by the bus. It was really a moot point. Dead, dying or a spirit being escorted by another spirit: it was all out of her control. What had the spirit said in the dream? That’s right: “Go with the flow.”
“That’s right, Al, go with the flow. Just let it take you. When it’s time, you will know.”
“What do you mean, ‘When it’s time….’?”
“Just what I said, when it’s time, you will know.”
“Know what?”
“I’m not going to keep repeating it. When it’s time, you will know. It’s as simple as that.”
That’s all Al needed — a cryptic spirit.
“Okay, Al, we need to go.”
Well, it’s back to being Al, and her dream companion from the first night as Maddy has returned. Perhaps it wasn’t a dream after all. Reconciled to whatever it is that she is going through, Al joins her companion on a lengthy and convoluted journey. She returns to her early school years and learns about someone who could have been a friend that she instead rejected.
Thanks again to Holly for her enlightening editing.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Al had not been paying much attention. She was a bit put off by the spirit’s unwillingness to reveal anything. They were no longer in the tunnel. They were in what appeared to be a schoolyard. There was a group of boys playing softball in one area. They seemed to be a bit older than many of the other students and appeared to be having a good time. Some girls were playing kickball in another area. Some girls were playing hopscotch, and there was a younger group of girls, probably second or third graders, playing jacks.
Al realized she had been hearing the sounds of the playground activities. It was almost like a river tumbling over rapids, this chaotic mass of noise that would every once in a while eject a louder phrase or shout that could be separated into intelligible words or phrases. They seemed to be moving in on the jacks game and the sounds became more specifically related to what was going on.
“Chrissy, look, there’s that creepy Alfred Gontarski. He’ll probably come over here and want to play jacks. He’s such a dork.”
Al looked toward the bench against a retaining wall at the upper end of playground. There he sat, too big, too fat, too dour and too sad. The girls, Christine and Diane looked at him with obvious distaste. “Alfred,” sneered Diane, “why don’t you just go over and play with the other boys? We don’t want you here.”
The spirits watched the scene unfold before them. They could see that the young Al was nearly in tears. Then his expression changed to a malevolent scowl. He stood and walked towards the two girls, who were totally unprepared for what followed. He passed between them, and with a sweep of his foot, knocked the little metal jacks away, scattering them across the playground. Several fell through a grate-covered drain. The girls watched him with obvious disgust and then attempted to recover the lost jacks.
“Well, Al, that was certainly not the way to win friends and influence people, was it? What happened there?”
“They wouldn’t let me play with them,” Al said with a far away tone in his voice.
“Do you think your attitude might have had something to do with that? Let’s look at another day.”
There was a flicker, barely noticeable, and they were standing at the same place, but obviously on a different day. The girls were playing jacks again; however, there were several more involved in the game. Al was unable to see her former self anywhere in the area. There was another boy there, and it took Al a moment to realize who it was. It was Jackie Baldwin. Jackie was a bit strange, if Al remembered correctly. He wasn’t very handsome as a little boy, and he wasn’t any better looking as he got older.
Jackie stood there for a while watching the game. “That’s kinda neat how you do that. Can I try it?”
“Jackie, this is a girl’s game.”
“That’s okay. The boys don’t want me around. They keep on calling me a pansy. They told me to come over here and play with you. Since you’re a lot nicer than they are, I thought I would ask.”
Diane Hauswald, the one who had rejected Al previously, said, “We don’t want any icky boys playing with us, so why don’t you just leave?”
“What if I pretend to be a girl; you know, make believe?”
“Well, I guess that would be okay,” said Christine, looking at Diane. “You have to promise to be nice, not like that dorky Alfred Gontarski.”
“I promise.” said Jackie as she sat cross-legged with the four other girls, awaiting her turn with the ball and jacks.
“What happened?” asked the astonished Al.
“The problem, Al, is that it was always about taking, wanting, and never joining. You needed to gain rapport, that is, assume the protective coloration of the group. You always were demanding, never joining. Jackie let her feminine side show, and she eased into the group. You were a bull in a china shop.”
“So Jackie was like me. I never knew. He was always pestering me.”
“Jackie wanted to be with you, because she could sense something about you that many others could not. If you hadn’t been so self-centered, you might have found a true friend. However, you always shut Jackie out, just like you shut so many other people out.”
“You know, it was about a week before I went to the mall that Jackie called me. I just let it go to the answering machine. I think I was reading a story on the internet, and didn’t want to be bothered.”
“That’s right, Al, you didn’t want to be bothered.”
The scene suddenly changed, and it took a moment before Al realized where they were. They were in Al’s inner sanctum, the computer room in his condominium. At least it had been his in the time line where he hadn’t been killed along with his parents in the airplane crash. She wondered about that for a moment, then decided it was too complicated to think about. The Al in front of them was deeply engrossed in some story on one of his then favorite websites.
The phone rang, and the corporal Al glanced at the answering machine display. The display was easily read: John Baldwin, 555-0170. Al did not pick up, and the machine went through its recorded spiel.
The voice on the other end seemed almost frantic. “Al, this is Jackie, er, John Baldwin. I need to talk to you about something. It’s very important. I think I know something about you and it’s very important that we talk. I need your help and I think you need mine.
“It’s been a long time since high school, but you’re the only person I know that I think I can turn to. I’ve run out of options. Please call me tonight. I need your help. My number is 555-0170. Please, please call me.”
The Al at the computer turned to look at the display on the answering machine, then shrugged his shoulders and continued to read the image on the computer screen.
“I wonder what that was about? I remember the call. I think I thought it might have been some sort of come-on for the high school reunion or something like that. I didn’t think it could have been very important. I hadn’t seen or heard from him in nearly ten years.”
“Why didn’t you ask yourself what it was about then? I think we shall see what it was about.”
They seemed to flash back into the tunnel briefly, then they were in another room. A woman was at a desk writing something. She finished whatever it was, and stood while reading it over. When she turned, Al recognized her immediately. It was Jackie; there wasn’t any doubt about it. The full head of hair was obviously a wig, and the dress was ill-fitting. The bust didn’t look right, and the make-up was a bit garish.
Jackie turned to the bedside table where there was a glass, a bottle of Scotch and a bottle of prescription pills. Jackie sat on the edge of the bed and took the pills, washing them down with the Scotch. Al wanted to yell, wanted to stop her but she was powerless to do anything. The spirit refused to leave the scene before them and they watched the very intoxicated figure climb onto the bed. She was quietly sobbing and rolled onto her side in a semi-fetal position. The sobbing subsided, and gradually the breathing did too.
“Why did she do that?”
“Out of despair. She came out to her parents and they rejected her. You were her only hope. It’s interesting. Had you come out to your parents, they would have accepted you without question.”
“That’s great! Some woman I would have made at six foot five and 320 pounds. My transition would have been a joke. I never could reconcile how I looked to how I felt inside. No amount of hormones, cosmetic surgery, or sexual reassignment surgery would have made me comfortable with myself. I would have been a joke.
“Suppose I had answered that call, what good would it have done? What sort of life would either of us had? Besides, I am not gay, although I didn’t know about Jackie. What sort of life could either of us had?” Al asked angrily.
“You might have been able to give each other some comfort. Jackie really did like you, even if it was only a sisterly thing. There was nothing sexual about it. For sure, both of you would have gained a lot; things that would have been useful in future lives. Jackie probably could have transitioned successfully, and both of you would probably have been happy in an asexual way. Both of you have much to learn.”
“You keep saying I have a lot to learn. How do I apply all this alleged knowledge? Do I have a reference manual to refer to in future lives?”
“No,” the spirit replied. “Very few spirits ever have a connection to the world we’re in now when they’re in corpora. Running their current body is a major task in itself. There are subconscious controls and knowledge in place; however for first time spirits like you and Jackie, there is nothing to fall back on.
“Almost all of these cases are due to mix-ups at the time of insertion. You have to realize that once you get much beyond the basic building blocks of the universe, nothing is perfect. There are variations among all the universes. In some, what you call magic is almost non-existent. In others, what you call magic is common place. In most, like this universe, magic is controlled by few.
“Imperfections show up at very basic levels. Once detected, some can be fixed; however, many go undetected. There are evil or malfunctioning spirits, as well as very good spirits. I told you what can happen to the evil spirits.
“None of the time-lines we researched indicate you did anything to intervene with the actions you just saw. In fact, even in the universe where you were killed many years before, Jackie still committed suicide. There may be a universe out there where you did respond to the phone call and prevented Jackie’s suicide. Who’s to say what may have happened.
“Okay, I’ve been allowed to make a brief stop here.” They were in a hospital and Al suddenly realized it was a maternity ward. They passed through a wall into a room where a young mother was being assisted in feeding her newborn baby. The baby had a pink ribbon attached to what little hair was on her head.
“Support her head like you are and bring her up to your nipple. Rub the nipple on her lips and see what happens.”
As they watched, the baby’s mouth opened and pulled in the rather prominent nipple and portion of the areola.
“She certainly isn’t going to have any trouble nursing if she keeps reacting like that. How do you feel?”
“Fabulous! I’ve wanted to do this for so long. My breasts have been leaking for the last week or so and I got a tingling sensation in both breasts when her lips touched my nipple.”
”That’s wonderful! You’re having a let down reflex already. That is pretty unusual for this soon.”
Al was having a strong emotional response to what she had been witnessing. “Why did we stop here? That’s certainly a wonderful scene; however, what does it have to do with me? I don’t know those people.”
“Al, the little girl is Jackie. The insertion was flawless, and she is going to have a very nice life and be a mother, too. They wanted me to show you that. Now, we need to move on.”
Al’s life was a history of not being involved with others and she learns more about what might have happened had she. She and her companion visit another universe and follow the experiences of a family previously explored in The Heart of the Beholder and other stories. She learns a great deal about forgiveness, acceptance and love.
Thanks again to Holly for her enlightening editing.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
“Where are we now?”
“Where and when doesn’t really matter, and I don’t always know what’s going to happen. I just know where they want us to go, and when in the time continuum. I think we need to stop here.”
Al took in the scene around them. They were in what appeared to be the suburbs of a typical American city. The area was relatively flat, and the streets were broad and curbed. She thought she recognized some of the many trees as oak trees, others had lacey foliage and if she had known much about trees, she would have recognized them as Mesquites. The mystery for Al was solved when they settled into the middle area of a broad avenue. They were in Texas, a fact displayed on most of the license plates on the cars that whizzed by them. There was a sign proclaiming the speed limit was 40 miles per hour; however, the speed of choice seemed to be closer to 50 miles per hour.
Wondering why they were standing in the middle of a road with traffic oblivious to their existence passing around them and through them, Al took in more of the surroundings. She thought she caught sight of something, and then she knew it for sure. There was a small cat hiding in the shadow of an Oleander. It made several false starts before it raced for the other side.
“Shit, it’s not going to make it!” Al figuratively yelled. Several cars slammed on the brakes and others swerved to avoid the little, terrified critter. It managed to cross three lanes and the center turn lane but it just wasn’t to be. Almost safely to the shelter of the far side, cat and car met. There was an audible thump, and the little body was tossed to the gutter against the curb. The driver had made a weak attempt of swerving and braking, but it was far too late and too little. Instead of stopping, the auto sped off with the rest of the traffic.
Al felt terrible, yet there was nothing she could do about it. The cat was still alive and lay panting in the gutter. There was a nasty gash along one hip and there were probably other injuries as well. After five or six minutes the cat dragged itself over the concrete curb and managed to get up to the shade of a tree. That was as far as it could go. It lay there for the better part of an hour. There was no doubt many drivers and some of their passengers saw it. Several cars slowed, but then went on their way.
By this time Al was in agony. She hoped that the cat would die and end its, as well as her, misery. That was not to be. Al couldn’t feel the heat, but she knew it was hot. Finally a car slowed and almost stopped. The driver turned on the flashers then thought better of stopping. Instead, the car pulled into a driveway several hundred feet away.
The driver was a young woman. She got out and opened the trunk of the car where she retrieved a blanket. She cautiously approached the little form. If the cat was feral, it no longer had the energy to try to flee. It lifted its head, and uttered a quiet hiss that could probably be translated to, “I am hurt and don’t want to be bothered. Please let me die.”
“You’re not going to die, Little One; not if I can help it.” The woman gently covered the little cat and bundled it gently. It no longer had enough energy to fight back, although it did utter another little hiss. Gently cradling the cat, she placed it on the floor of her car, then carefully backed into the traffic and headed off.
Without any willful effort on Al’s part they followed the car to a veterinarian’s office several miles away. The woman rushed the cat inside.
The vet and assistant took the cat back to the operating room and a few minutes later the vet returned. “Mrs. Tankersley, it doesn’t look very good, and I’m not sure we can save it. The leg will have to go. The bones are shattered. If you want my advice, I would have her put down.”
“Can you save her?” asked Alice Tankersley wiping a tear from her eye.
“It will be difficult, but we can try.”
“Then try. She deserves a chance. I guess the estate sales aren’t going to have me as a customer for a while.”
They were back in the tunnel. “What’s the point of this? We don’t even know if the cat lived.”
“Oh, the cat lived. It was a close call, though.”
“I still don’t see why we are here. What do I have to do with this?”
“Not that much; however, you could have.”
“What do you mean? I didn’t hit that cat.”
“No, you didn’t; however, you were in the fourth car that passed after the cat was hit. You were attending a real estate conference in Arlington, and were returning to your motel.”
“I don’t remember that. Yes, I was in Arlington at a conference, but I wouldn’t have just driven by something like that, would I?”
“You did. It wouldn’t have made much difference as far as the cat was concerned, and it wouldn’t have ended up in a different home. The Tankersley’s spent their summer vacation money on the care of the cat. That is, instead of going on vacation, they paid for the medical care of the cat. No one complained, and the children eagerly waited until they could bring the little three legged cat into their home. That is where it is now, and it hardly knows that it is missing its right hind leg.
“Had you stopped and rescued the cat, the results would have been the same. You probably had what it cost to treat the cat in pocket change. The Tankersley’s often rescue and adopt injured pets, and in this case the cat would have still ended up in their house. The only difference is they would have been able to take a family vacation to Walt Disney World.
“You had a chance to make a difference but you didn’t.”
“Al, this is going to be a long path to follow, although time isn’t that important.” They were back in the tunnel and Al noticed that for the first time there was a ‘fork in the road’ so to speak. “We are going into a different universe,’ the spirit continued. “What you call magic is much rarer here than it was at one time. It’s a world close to yours in many ways and there is a story here that you need to experience.”
They were in another schoolyard which except for the fact was in a different universe, was virtually identical to the one Al had experienced when she was in grade school. There was a scene unfolding before them. Three boys were harassing a small, effeminate boy. They were teasing him and calling him ‘queer’ and ‘faggot’. Time sped up and now they were inside the school building. The little boy was going to the restroom and had been preceded there by one of the bullies. They watched as the unsuspecting boy was struck rather brutally in the face by a rapidly opening stall door. It was a very deliberate and cruel act.
The scene changed and now one of the previous harassers was trying to establish a friendship with the previously injured boy. What’s more, the friendship was quickly established.
“The little boy is gay after all, isn’t he,” stated Al. “In fact, they are both gay.”
“One would think so; however, that’s not the case. The blond boy is actually an intersexed girl. She is just starting to enter puberty, and the physical changes are just starting to show up. They are very much in love, by the way, and always will be. Both of them are a bit conflicted by the mutual attraction they feel; however, they have both come to the realization that there is nothing wrong with their friendship. The gender issues aren’t that important at the moment. Only their friendship is. It’s just going to take a while for this little drama to unfold.
“We need to move forward a few years.”
Now they were in a city park, and once again Al was frustrated by her inability to affect what was going on. The two friends were being brutally attacked by the two bullies from the elementary school, and the intersexed girl was badly hurt. Fortunately, help arrived in time. They followed the injured children to the hospital, and observed the first aid treatment, and the revelation that the blond boy was actually a girl.
Al was amazed at how easily the revelation was accepted by every one; that is everyone but the boy’s father.
“He knew all along, didn’t he,” Al said as they watched the two young lovers to be kiss.
“Yes it was something they both felt almost right away,” remarked his companion. “But it will be a long time before they can be together. It’s not their love that’s the lesson to learn in this story. It is something much deeper than that. Shall we move on?”
“Certainly,” replied Al, knowing full well she had no choice in the matter.
They followed the boy and girl’s families for what was apparently many years. They witnessed the bigotry of the boy’s father expand, and witnessed his involvement in murder. There was a divorce, and the boy’s father remarried, as did his mother.
The two best friends (They were Mike O’Donnell and Jo Beebe) were now in college. The two spirits had been viewing vignettes of their lives as well as the lives of two youths’ relatives. Something was bothering Al besides the months of real time involved in seeing what the two were going through.
“Why don’t those two, who are so obviously in love with each other, do something? He has never pressed her for any sex. They haven’t even discussed marriage. Now she’s going to medical school, and soon he will be going on active duty. Time for them is wasting.”
“There will be much more time before they are finally together. We are here to see something else.”
They were in the library of the university and watched a young lady approach Mike and strike up a conversation with him. Al recognized her immediately. “That’s his stepsister, Mindy. What’s she doing here? They have never met. He doesn’t even know she exists.”
“She’s here because his father, her stepfather sent her. She’s here to destroy the relationship between Mike and Jo.” They watched as she nearly succeeded. They watched as Mike, the ever constant gentleman, took Mindy out on two dates.
The disaster took place a few days after their second date. Mindy met Mike as he walked between classes. They sat down on a bench in the shade of a large Kellogg Oak when Mindy suddenly said, “Mike, isn’t that your friend over there? I would love to meet her.”
Mike stood up and waved at Jo, motioning for her to come over.
“Hi, Mike.”
“Jo, this is Mindy Rudolph. She’s the one I was telling you about.
“Mindy, this is Jo Beebe. We’ve known each other since the fifth grade.”
“Oh, Mike,” exclaimed Mindy, “so this is the freaky little faggot you were telling me about. It really does almost look like a woman, but I’ll bet she can’t fuck nearly as good as I do.”
The two spirits watched the scene unfold. “Of course Mike had never even thought about making love to Mindy,” mentioned Al’s companion. “There is only one person on that agenda and that is Jo. As you can see, Jo was devastated by this event. She felt that Mike betrayed her by revealing her intersexed childhood. She was very naíve and her naiveté compounded the problem. Mike’s father was behind this and you may want to learn more on your own later on but you are not ready to do that yet and won’t be for a while, if ever.
“Things are going to work out and we don’t need to see everything over the next few years of their lives. You were scheduled to visit Mike a few years from this point in time. He became quite the hero and was willing to sacrifice his life to save his comrades. However, you proved to us that was no longer an issue when you saved that child. As I said earlier, that was a complete surprise to almost all of us.
“Life and events are not predetermined. Some big events can be manipulated; however, there is so much randomness that comes into play that what was considered to be a sure thing suddenly becomes a non-event. We can make adjustments; however, there are some things that just happen. We are now going forward about seven years.”
They were back in the (a?) tunnel and travelled what seemed to be a short distance. “Al, what do you think about Mindy? What she did was a pretty evil thing, wasn’t it?”
“It was awful, so malevolent.”
“Things have changed a bit. Mike and Jo are getting married, and Mike’s father has been arrested for a previous murder and two additional deaths. He attempted to have Jo killed. Mindy found out what she had been part of and it could have killed her and her children. She is a very innocent woman who has been mentally abused by her stepfather and husband. She was brainwashed into believing what she did to Mike and Jo was God’s will.
“What happens next is very important. Mike’s father and Mindy’s husband are both in jail because of many crimes, and Mindy has innocently been involved. She found out through television and magazine articles a closer approximation of the truth about what had happened, and after much inner torment is seeking forgiveness from Jo.”
They paused as they had done so many times before at some predetermined point. “Okay, we’re here.” They were outside a hospital. The weather was dreary and a light rain was falling. Mindy had just parked her car and was carrying her youngest daughter with the older daughter in tow. She looked at the hospital directory in the foyer, and then proceeded to a reception area.
“Hello, I don’t have an appointment but I need to see Dr. Beebe. It’s very important, and I have driven a long ways to see her. My name is Malinda Alexander.”
“Dr. Beebe is in. Why don’t you have a seat? There is a play area over there for the children, and we can watch them while you are visiting the doctor.”
One of the nurses called Dr. Beebe, and shortly afterwards escorted Mindy to her office. What followed was one of the most heart rending pleas for forgiveness that Al could have imagined.
Al could see that Jo was deeply moved as she moved to Mindy’s side and gently embraced her, and through her embrace and gentle words let Mindy know that she was forgiven. Mindy, through malevolence that was not her own, had nearly destroyed a relationship, and as it would turn out was welcomed into the family. Her fortunes would take a miraculous turn.
The spirits hit several more points along the family’s time line. Al was astounded by the amount of warmth displayed in their welcoming arms. A little more than a year after the birth of their twins, Jo and Mike adopted an orphan. Several years after that, they welcomed a transgendered woman into the group, and helped her adjust to her new life after being released from prison. Jo was at her side as she completed her transition.
Their adopted daughter used tens of millions of dollars of her inherited wealth, inherited from her natural parents, to create and operate a medical network for the disadvantaged.
“Al, there will be a time when you might be able to follow this family further if you wish. It might be that someday you will become part of them. Right now, we need to go the where and when you came from, or at least, about when.”
OK, take a deep breath. Al's journey is just about over. We are going to find out about something mentioned in the very beginning of this tale. Obviously, there was a purpose behind the journey Al has been through. The Wizard helped facilitate Al's adventure, but where and when Al is going is being directed by others. We still haven't found out who Al's companion is/was and the revelation may not be a surprise to anyone who has stuck this tale out. Please forgive me from borrowing from my other stories; however, I felt Al would benefit from experiencing some of those adventures.
Al doesn’t realize it but her journey is ending and at the same time, just beginning. She and her companion return to her original world, or at least the world where she had been Maddy. They witness a near drowning and then everything suddenly becomes much clearer. If The Wizard needed a hanky, you might need one, too.
Hopefully, there haven’t been too many violations of the universe created by Bill Hart perpetrated in the revelations in this story. Robert A. Heinlein proposed that each time an author takes to the pen, a new universe is created and I guess I will beg the number of the beast that this universe is just a variation of SRU.
Thanks again to Holly for her enlightening editing.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
They passed back through the tunnels, if it was back. It may not have been the same tunnels for that matter. All Al knew for sure was that they were going to somewhere and somewhen. She was going to have to take her companion’s word that they were where it said they were when they arrived.
The scene before them certainly appeared to be similar to the area Al had called her home. It was winter, and there were crusty low drifts of snow wrapped around stems of winter browned grass. The sky was mostly overcast, and there were a few flakes of snow falling. It was the kind of snow that could elicit arguments from the local population as to whether or not it could really be considered snowing. It was a rural area with widely separated houses; each perched on its four or five acres attached by their umbilical driveways to a winding country road.
The snow was deep enough in some areas to allow sledding, and some children were taking advantage of it. They had found an area near a grove of leafless trees where the snow had drifted. Some of the boys, obviously future engineers, had collected additional snow and constructed a toboggan run. They had managed to add some banked turns which added to the excitement. The snow had become packed enough that the sleds with runners could also use it. The run started near a road where an elevated berm gave the sleds a speedy start. It paralleled an old stone wall, curved along a copse of trees and ran out along a small creek.
The area along the creek was ideal for alders, willows and cottonwoods and a family of beavers had found the area particularly to their liking. The all-year creek had cut a natural channel that was five to six feet below the fairly flat terrain. The beavers, with their innate wisdom, had dammed a narrow area and raised the level of the pond that formed so that it spread out over perhaps an acre. The pond was frozen out to the creek channel; however, the beavers and current kept a narrow band of water open.
At one time, it had been particularly cold, the sled run terminated on the frozen pond. That had ended when one of the sledders went through the ice. No one was hurt; however, the parents put an end to sledding out onto the ice and made sure the run ended away from the pond.
The children would ride two or three at a time on the toboggan and it was a fun run with just enough speed to make it exciting.
Al watched the children playing. It was something she was never able to do while she was growing up and now she was so sorry she had missed out.
The spirits were gradually drifting toward the bottom of the hill to an area between the end of the sled run and the pond. A group of three girls was careening down the frozen path. There were screams of mock terror and loud laughter. The toboggan finished its run and the girls tumbled into a snow bank just for fun as the sled halted.
Al saw it at the same time one of the girls did. Close to the edge of the frozen pond there was a small furry form. At first she thought it was a squirrel and then she realized it was a small kitten. Someone may have abandoned it, or maybe it had wandered away from its mother and littermates. Where it came from was not important. The important thing was that it was there.
Some dried leaves were being caught in the light breeze and were tumbling across the smooth ice. The kitten took after one and managed to gain some speed. The leaf briefly stopped and the kitten did not.
“Look at that! That kitten is sliding toward the water!” The kitten didn’t get quite that far, but it was in a precarious position. Some water had splashed on the ice and it had not yet frozen. The kitten’s feet were wet. It took a few steps and the wet fur around the pads froze to the surface of the ice. The kitten couldn’t move, and it was terrified.
One of the girls, without saying a thing, grabbed a fallen limb and raced for the edge of the pond. The ice was thick enough to bear her weight, just barely. She gingerly walked toward the kitten, and the ice creaked ominously. She tried to extend the branch to the kitten; however it was firmly fastened to the ice and could only cry pitifully. The little girl got onto her hands and knees and crept towards the little ball of fluff. She was finally close enough and gently slid her hand under the body. She gently pried the paws off the ice, leaving a little fur behind. The little kitten was firmly in her grasp as the ice gave away. Without much thought for her own safety, she turned and tossed the kitten to the more secure ice.
The water was deep where she went through, maybe six or seven feet. She struggle to get back on the ice, but the sheets didn’t offer any hold. Her clothing was quickly absorbing the water, and her buoyancy disappeared. It didn’t take long, but it was inevitable, and she disappeared below the surface.
Some of the children ran to the closest house where someone was able to call 911. Two of the children had tried to get to her, but the ice gave away immediately and they were soaked to mid thigh. One of the nearby residents brought a ladder to support his weight on the ice but there was no way to tell where the little girl had gone.
Her distraught parents arrived shortly after the first adults and one of the children handed a terrified little kitten to the girl’s mother.
“She was trying to save this kitten. I don’t think it belongs to anyone. It looks like some that live in that abandoned shed over there.”
The girl’s mother held the kitten to her chest and realized it was shaking. She opened her blouse and placed it between her breasts. The kitten’s little feet were like icy-hot pokers. She closed her blouse and wrapped her coat around her.
It took thirty minutes for the rescue crew to arrive. A man with a dry suit and scuba gear found her less than five minutes later. She had a very slow heartbeat and they restored her breathing in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Once again Al felt desperation. She had watched the scene unfold, and there wasn’t a thing she could do. They had observed the scene from a little distance, but close enough that Al recognized the girl’s parents. They were Stan and Marissa Lewis, his employee and wife in his previous existence. ‘So that was how she drowned, or almost drowned,’ Al thought. ‘How awful that must have been for them'.
Instead of following the ambulance on to the hospital, they returned to that non-world they had travelled through to so many places and times.
There was silence for a long time as Al pondered all she had seen. “I have a question, Spirit. You told me that my problem was due to the fact I was inadvertently inserted into the wrong body. Based on what I’ve experienced and seen in this adventure, I have to believe what you’ve told me, but what about people, men and women who are gay, lesbian or bisexual? I don’t see how any mistake could lead to someone’s behavior being that way.”
“Al, behavior in a population where there are two genders varies considerably. There’s a wide distribution of behaviors, and they may vary from one corporal occupation to the next. Some male spirits may find their orientation is strictly towards other males. They remain strongly masculine in behavior. Some male spirits feel more female in their attraction to other males. Some of these may eventually become female in spirit. The same thing happens for some female spirits. Some feel very female, but have no desire for sexual relationships with males. They are attracted sexually only to females. Other female spirits feel more and more male in their relationships and may eventually become strictly male. Then there is the other group who finds mutual attraction to both sexes. Some wish to maintain either the male sex or female sex, and others go back and forth. Sometimes they are male, and sometimes they are female. These are not mistakes. Unfortunately, some societies cannot accept anything except pure heterosexual roles. That is unfortunate.
“The big problem is those like you where the bodies and mind are in such conflict. That’s where we try to make the corrections. It’s just that there are not enough available to make the changes happen. In some worlds, there are medical procedures that can make superficial changes and some changes that are far from superficial; however, these are not the changes those souls desire, but it’s as close as they can get. For some, it is not close enough. Unfortunately, there are many societies that stigmatize what are real conditions, not perversions.”
Al filtered these apparent facts and had to accept them. It wasn’t that he had a problem with being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or even heterosexual. He just had never given it much thought until he had experienced what he had over the recent months. His previous transgendered state was his only concern until recently.
“Al, your aura seems to be getting particularly bright. I think it’s time now.”
“Time for what?” Al asked.
“You have an appointment that must not be missed. It’s time.”
“Do you mean you’re going to torture me further? I’m not sure I want to go through any more of this. You have shown me so much sadness, happiness and kindness. I used to have hope for something, and now I’m not sure what I want. I think I just want to get to the end of this tunnel or what ever it is, and face whoever or whatever has been putting me through this.”
“I can’t take you there, and I’m not sure anyone can. That is something that just happens when the time is right. I can’t explain it. Okay, we’re here now.”
They stopped, if it could be called stopping. The wall of the tunnel became translucent, then transparent, then faded completely away. They were at the far wall of a room that had to be patient’s room in a hospital. A child was on the bed and a couple who had to be the child’s parents were sitting at either side. The woman was holding the little girl’s hand and quietly crying.
“We have only a little time and we are synchronized with this world now. I want you to follow me closely, because I know the way. We’re going to get you in place and then I will have to leave. This is the end of your journey for now.”
Al looked at the two adults and recognized them immediately. They were Stan and Marissa Lewis. The little girl on the bed had to be Cynthia, and she was still in a coma and hooked up to several machines.
“Come on, we don’t have a lot of time. They’re going to remove life support in a few minutes, and you have to be ready.”
Al suddenly realized they had entered the little girl’s body. Somehow there was light, and she could see an endless network of cells and blood vessels.
“Great! Everything has been fixed. There won’t be any problems. All this over here got messed up, and that’s why I had to leave. I couldn’t make anything work.”
Al was quickly putting two and two together. “You’re Cynthia! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Actually, I’m not; at least not any more, and haven’t been for a long time. I was Cynthia when I resided here, but now I am moving on. It was my time, and you’re not taking anything from me. When you became available, this was the ideal place for you. You just weren’t ready and Cynthia wasn’t either. Now you both are.
“Okay, just slide in here. You just about have it. Here, let me help. That’s it and none too soon. You’re going to have to work a lot of this by yourself; however, most will be automatic, and it should all kick-in in a few seconds. You’re on your own now, Cynthia. I’ll check on you every once in a while. You’re going to have a birthday next month and you’ll be nine. I’m not sure when I’m scheduled to be back in this sphere, but if I do get back, we might get together. You never know. And, please, stay off the ice.”
There was a brief blending of spirits and then she was gone. For the first time in a long time Cynthia, for she truly was Cynthia, felt the need to breath. It wasn’t easy, and she almost coughed. She felt her mother’s grasp, and squeezed back.
“Stan, Stan, she squeezed my hand! Oh my God! She’s breathing! She’s off the respirator and she’s breathing on her own!” Marissa was punching the call button, and at the same time yelling, “Nurse, Nurse, Doctor, somebody! She’s alive, she’s alive!”
Cynthia realized she still had her old memories, or at least many of them. She also had all of Al’s memories, including everything she and her companion spirit had done over all of those days, weeks and months. She realized, though, that much time could not possibly have passed. She tried to open her eyes and found she could. She saw her mother and father’s tear stained faces. Her mouth was dry and her throat hurt. Still she managed to croak, “I love you.”
It took many weeks of therapy before Cynthia had most of her strength back. The weeks of immobility had caused much atrophying of her muscles and there were times she was still a bit unsteady, but it was hardly noticeable now.
The little kitten she had saved from drowning had grown under the care of her parents and little brother while she was in the hospital. The first day she was home, the kitten sprang into her lap as soon as Cynthia was settled in an easy chair in the family room. Then it did something unexpected. It clambered up her chest until its little face was directly in front of Cynthia’s. It sniffed Cynthia’s breath, half closed its eyes and bumped Cynthia’s nose with her nose. Then it curled up in her lap and went into a purring sleep. That night, the kitten moved from Cynthia’s parents’ room into her room, where every night after that, until Cynthia married, it curled up under the blankets against her chest.
Her parents and brother had not named the kitten. They had been worried about other far more serious things. They thought the immediate attachment the kitten had to their daughter was unusual but didn’t think a whole lot about. It was the next day when her mother approached her. “Have you thought about a name for her, Dear? She does seem rather attached to you.”
Cynthia seemed a bit thoughtful before responding, “Her name is Madeline, but we’ll call her Maddy, with a ‘Y’.”
Hearing her name, the little cat raised her head, gave a little chortle of agreement and returned to her nap.
The happy family was shopping at the local mall and had stopped outside the Hallmark Shop to eat the ice cream cones they had purchased. Cynthia looked up at the store. “Mommy, may I go into the shop? I need to get a card for a classmate who is having a birthday party next week. They might have a present for her, er, him too. I have some money. May I please?”
“Sure, we’ll wait right here.”
Cynthia skipped to the wooden door with the glass panels and pushed it open. The sound of the bell’s tinkling sent pleasant shivers down her spine. “Mr. Wizard, are you in there?”
“Just a moment, Cindy, I’ll be right with you.”
Cynthia looked around the shop she had first entered only weeks before. She found the wolf in his usual place, and pounced on him. His tail thumped loudly on the wood floor as Cynthia threw her arms around his neck. He gave the side of her face a slurpy kiss. She started scratching his side, and was pleased to see his scratching response.
“Well, Cindy, how are you doing?”
“I am doing great Mr. er, Your Wisdom. Mommy and Daddy are great, and my little brother is okay. I am so glad you’re here and I have to thank you. I was so angry with you at first. It took a while, but I finally realized what everyone was doing. It was a tough row to hoe.”
“Cindy, that sounds more like Al talking. I think we should have taken care of that. It will only take a minute. I just have to find that spell.”
“Please don’t take my memories. Al needs to be inside me. As much as I am Cynthia now, I am Alfred too. The other Cynthia was/is a different person. I am not her.”
“I’m not going to take your memories. I am just going to tune a few things down a bit. It seems you’re a special case. You have, and are going to have, some special talents. You’re going to need all that knowledge and some more in a while. Do you know what a ‘familiar’ is? Never mind, we’ll get to that later.”
Shifting away from the subject of adjusting her memory, she added, “I told my parents I was here to buy a present for a classmate. He’s Bobby Schmedlap and he is just like I was. Is there something I can get him so he won’t be as unhappy as I was?”
“Come on to the back room with me. Let’s see what we can find out about this friend of yours.” They carefully stepped over the wagging tail and passed through the beaded curtain. The crystal ball was cloudy, but the wizard made a few passes over it and it cleared up. Cynthia couldn’t see anything, but the wizard obviously could.
“Ah, here it is. Oh dear, a typical case, just like yours. Let’s see. She was scheduled for about ten years from now, but I don’t see any reason we can’t speed things up. They tell me the earlier the better and we can avoid a lot of the problems you had.
“We don’t want anyone to get something that’s not intended for them, so I think a gift certificate would be the best way to go. He will have to bring it in here to redeem it. I’ll personalize it, and you can give it to him, ah, her next week. I see here that you two are going to be great friends, and no one but the two of you should ever need to know what happened.
“I think I’m going to send a memo up. I don’t have to change nearly as much if I do these things early. That will save a lot of time and expense.”
“What’s this going to cost? I can’t afford what you charged Al last time,” questioned Cynthia.
“Well, I just got a notice that there was a ten percent rebate on major transformations last month. Why don’t we just apply that and call us even. By the way, there’s a finder’s bonus that we pay each time you bring in a customer for a transformation. You may apply it any way you wish. It could go towards future pro bono work that you might want to do.
“Okay, here’s the certificate and birthday card from Hallmark.”
‘Where did they come from?’ thought Cynthia as the wizard put the card, along with the gift certificate in a nice Hallmark bag.
“Cindy, you are going to have a beautiful life.”
Cynthia looked up and saw what she thought might be a tear in the old man’s eye. “I know I will,” she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. “I love you.”
Picking up her bag, she skipped to the door. Turning to wave, she saw the wizard putting his old linen hanky into the pocket in his robe. As she waved, ‘Spells ‘R’ Us’ faded into ‘Hallmark’.
“Who were you waving at?” asked her mother as they walked away.
“A friend, a good friend.”
EPILOGUE
If one could see such things, there were four bundles of energy hovering near the family. They followed the four for a while and then returned to the worm hole they would travel through.
“That certainly went well,” said the spirit that had once been Madeline Franken.
“Yes, our little girl is finally where she belongs. If only we had known.”
“Come on,” said the spirit that had once occupied Cynthia, “We have to get to that planet 10 light years the other side of Alpha Centauri.”
And they did.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: For this little bit of fluff we go back only a couple of months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight. Over the years that these tales about Cynthia Brewer (nee Lewis) have appeared there have been a number of loose ends. We have met people, many the victims of The Wizard’s magic, and then we hear nothing more about them. A prime example is Charli and the Girl Cave. Charlie Donizetti’s parents as well as his aunt and uncle were brutally murdered during a robbery, leaving Charlie an orphan. Also orphaned were his two cousins. Other than a brief mention that the cousins had been sent to an orphanage in western Connecticut, we know nothing about their fate. Now is the time to find out what their fate was. The Wizard is up to his usual tricks.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place about two months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight and a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 1
Dr. Cynthia Brewer smiled at the little girl who smiled back at her as she turned into a room off the long, sterile appearing corridor. They had done a little dance typical of when two people aren’t sure where the other one was going.
What a pretty young girl Cindy thought as she watched her enter a room off the hall. She has to be related to whomever is in there. She wouldn’t be walking around like that especially at this time of day if she didn’t have an official reason to be there. Cindy sent out a shallow probe to just verify her assumptions. She was right. The little girl’s aunt had brought her to visit her mother and father who were recovering from a rather horrendous automobile accident. Their injuries were severe, and her mother might never walk again. That was horrible. It had been a hit and run. The driver of the semi had never slowed down. Well, she’d have to ask His Wisdom to look in on that. He might determine if some ‘corrective actions’ were appropriate.
Cindy gave herself a figurative kick in the butt. She’d been so impressed with the femininity of the young girl that she’d completely overlooked some things. At least one of which was that the little girl was actually a little boy. She’d never make a mistake like that. It must be the long hours, she thought. She’d been working all night in the trauma unit at the largest hospital in Boston. She might have attributed it to the full moon; however, she knew that was just an old wives’ tale. Saturday nights were bad enough, but Halloween and New Year’s Eve were the worse. She’d seen the second thing, too. But it just hadn’t sunk in.
“Ma’am, er Doctor, you are a doctor aren’t you?”
Cindy turned to see the little girl, er boy looking up at her. She, no he was eleven years old. His name was Tommaso, but he preferred Tommy. That was actually ‘Tommie’, but few other than his parents knew that.
“Yes, Tommie, I’m a doctor. Do you need something?”
“Yes, my mother has been pressing the call button, but no one is coming. She’s in pain, but the morphine machine isn’t working.”
“Let me check. I’m not her doctor, but I can at least make sure the protocols are being followed.”
That was when Cindy realized what she’d completely overlooked a few seconds before. A third of the child’s face was covered with a ‘port wine’ birthmark. If it had been white it would looked a bit like a Phantom of the Opera mask. The thing was there was nothing ‘there’ to call her attention to it. The child was perfectly at ease.
She’d learned over the years, especially in medical school, that in spite of her mind reading abilities, a person’s private thoughts were just that – private. She seldom intruded unless it was an absolute necessity. There were times, especially in hostile and dangerous situations when it was a must. That had been the case when they had rescued Charli years before. Charli could take care of herself now, as she had done several times. The point being though, she had no business probing other person’s minds unless they requested it or the situation required it.
Cindy checked Mrs. DiMaggio’s chart while doing a superficial scan of her pain center. Yes she was in pain, but that was sort of bad news, good news. The doctors had to fuse the T-12, L-1 and L-2 vertebrae. Her femur had also been fractured, and that had also been surgically repaired.
“Mrs. DiMaggio, I’ll have the nurse fix your morphine pump in a minute. Would you mind if checked something?”
“I guess not.”
“Where are you feeling pain at the moment?”
“In my back and leg.”
Cindy donned a pair of rubber gloves before drawing her finger up the arch of Mrs. DiMaggio’s right foot. Mrs. DiMaggio’s toes curled slightly.
“You felt that, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Can you wiggle your toes on your own? Give it a try.”
Cindy could tell it was difficult for the woman, but after a period of a few seconds her toes flexed slightly. Maybe there was hope, maybe the nerve damage wasn’t too severe.
“That’s very promising.
“I see your husband is asleep. How’s he been doing?”
“I’m not sure. Along with the broken arm, he had a ruptured spleen and a severe concussion. He doesn’t remember what happened.”
Cindy did a quick check of his charts. The doctors hadn’t discovered the clot and the small bit of arterial damage. The family didn’t need any more trauma than they already had.
“Your Wisdom, Would you have Dr. Bettencourt make a quick visit. I’m at the hospital. I just did an all-nighter at the ER, and I thought I would check on some things. There are some problems down here that you need to look into.”
“Give me a couple of minutes. A young woman and her twin sister are visiting. You might remember that incident when you were about ten when that pedophile tried to contact you in the mall. It was in the candy shop apparition.”
“Yes, I remember it very well. That was the first transformation I’d seen you perform. That was before you ‘fixed’ Bobbie.”
“Actually, that was the second one. The first one was with Tammy in Fargo the day before. If I remember correctly, you talked to her several years ago.
“Well, I had the candy shop operating; taking care of a couple of shop lifters, you know how it is. Can you imagine high school seniors trying to steal candy? Fortunately, they only got into the gum drops.”
“The pink ones, I imagine.”
“Of course. I don’t run a slipshod operation. Anyway, they are with their mothers at the beauty salon. Terri is giving them the works. I think they’re trying to decide whether they want to become blondes or not.”
“You didn’t turn them into bimbos, did you?”
“Certainly not, they will both be getting advanced degrees now that their attention is in other directions rather than causing mischief.
“Anyway, they’d just left the shop when Jean and Jane Williams walked in. Jean knew where she was immediately. She looked at me and gave me the biggest smile. They bought a lot of candy for a party, and I’m wrapping it up for them. They are going to be, correction, are a couple of heartbreakers.”
“Not magic, I hope.”
“Not this time. Okay, everything is ready. I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”
The conversation had probably taken a couple of seconds.
“Excuse me Doctor, these are my patients. May I ask what you’re doing here?”
Cindy turned to see a doctor wearing a lab coat. Behind him was a woman holding two cups of coffee. She was Tommie’s aunt, and had obviously been to the snack bar. “Certainly, Dr. Adams, this young man stopped me a few minutes ago because he thought I might do something for his mother who is in considerable pain. It seems that her morphine pump isn’t working properly. The nurses’ station hasn’t responded to her calls.
“Doctor Adams, I just stopped at the nurses’ station on my way back. One of the nurses said they would get down here after they finished some paperwork. The head nurse said that my sister is always calling for them, but each time they check on her she’s asleep. I know that’s not true.”
“I’ll check on them in a minute. That’s not the right answer. Let’s see what’s wrong with that morphine pump.” Dr. Adams took the control from Mrs. DiMaggio. “Obviously it’s an internal malfunction,” he said after working with the controls and checking all the wires and tubes. “I’ll have it replaced immediately.
“How’s Mr. “D” doing? Has he been resting comfortably?”
“My Daddy’s been asleep since last night,” Tommie responded.
“That’s not good. We’d better have the neurologists take a look at him.”
“Here I am,” Dr. Bettencourt said as he entered the room. He was dressed in his usual green scrubs. His long grey hair was in a neat ponytail, and his trimmed beard resembled a Vandyke.
“And who are you?” Dr. Adams asked.
“Al Bettencourt, you know that. I’m the Chief Neurologist. I’m sure you remember that, now.”
“Yes, certainly,” Dr. Adams responded with a bit of a monotone.
“Great work with Mrs. DiMaggio, by the way. I know you were worried about the possibility of permanent sciatic nerve damage, but things are really looking up, there.
“Now let’s see what we can do to help Mr. DiMaggio.” Dr. Bettencourt approached the sleeping figure on the other bed. He stroked his pointed beard briefly before touching the right side of Mr. DiMaggio’s head a bit above his ear.
“Ah, there it is. That was an easy one to miss.”
“What was easy to miss?” Dr. Adams asked.
“When we finish here you might want to look at that MRI again. It would have been very difficult to detect; even by the best. Fortunately, I am the best and I’m here, now. There is a slight tear in the peripheral artery and it has since weakened and there is a blood clot forming right about here,” he said indicating an area about three inches above and behind Mr. DiMaggio’s ear.
“Okay, I’ve fixed the tear. Hold this while I check for anything else that might be wrong,” he said putting a half-dollar sized dark object in the stunned doctor’s gloved hand.
“Everything looks fine now. I imagine he’ll be waking up in a little while. Let me get rid of that blood clot. I just wanted you to see it
“A nurse will be arriving momentarily with a new morphine pump, and I would recommend you have a serious talk with that Director of Nursing about priorities. Anytime a nurse thinks paperwork takes priority over a patient’s comfort you have the beginning of a serious problem.”
“I will Dr. Bettencourt. I will also have the neurologists review the images and see if they can detect that damage.”
“That won’t be necessary since the problem has been fixed. Just study it for reference. Besides, that wasn’t his MRI. He’s fine as you can see. In fact, Mr. DiMaggio’s waking up now. You should check his vitals. In fact, neither Dr. Brewer nor I have been here,” Dr. Bettencourt said looking around the room.
“Dr. Brewer, let’s get a cup of that fine coffee they have down at the canteen. They have my favorite brand.”
Two minutes later The Wizard and Dr. Cynthia Brewer were sitting in a corner of the very nice canteen. Patients, visitors and employees could get a good meal there at a reasonable price. Besides, they had The Wizard’s favorite coffee. Cindy had erected a screen of silence around them.
“Thanks for calling me, Cindy. That could have killed him. That shouldn’t have been that hard to detect. Dr. Adams is not to blame here. The radiologists should have caught it, as should have the neurologists.
“Why were you down there in the first place?”
“I really had a shitty night. Actually, it was a very good night in many way, terrible in others. Thank the Goddess that more people were not killed or wounded by that maniac. There were many traumatized people that were there, plus their families were there. I think I helped a lot of people. I’ll be glad when my residency is over so that I can concentrate on what Bobbie and I want to do; but, I will always be available to help anyone I can.
“Why was I walking down that hall? I guess because it was the shortest route to the parking lot. I’m always ‘listening’ for distress. If there is something I can do to help someone, I want to do it. Then, Tommie smiled up at me before she entered his parents’ room. I hadn’t take two steps before she turned around to ask if I could help her mother. I had obviously noticed the gender problem, but it was like I hadn’t seen it. She was a girl, and I had not seen the wrong sex thing. Then I saw the port wine birthmark. I’d never noticed it earlier.”
“I’d suggest you should follow up on that,” The Wizard said. “Why didn’t you notice it?”
“Excuse me,” a little voice said.
Cindy turned to see Tommy, er Tommie standing next to the table.”
“You’re one of them, aren’t you?”
“Excuse me, one of whom?”
“You’re a witch, and he’s The Wizard.”
“The ball’s in your court,” The Wizard said before he conveniently disappeared.
I just noted something as I reviewed this chapter. I never once mention “Spells–R–Us” or SRU. I guess the question is who is Tommie DiMaggio? It already seems that there is something a bit out of the ordinary about him besides the gender issue. There are not many in that particular universe who would confront The Wizard that boldly. It also appears as if The Wizard has turned this whole thing over to Cindy. This might get interesting, then again, it might not. Chapter 2 coming soon.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Tommie tells her sister about meeting a real witch and The Wizard. Elaine’s not too sure what to believe. We also learn one other thing. Tommie can converse with his cat. Does this sound familiar?
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 3
“So how was your day?” Don Brewer asked. He’d come home to find his beloved sound asleep. She’d been working four straight with little rest. She’d been officially a Medical Doctor for several years by this time and it wouldn’t be long before she and Bobbie would be able to start their clinic. She was a medical doctor; however, her goal had always been to be a psychiatrist. In her first year of internship she completed four post-graduate months of internal medicine and an additional four months of pediatrics. She also completed two months of neurology during that first year. Since that time she’d been spending time at various mental health institutions in the area. For the last eight months she’d been counseling victims of mass terror acts and shootings. Those acts had seemed to be on the increase lately; however, her younger sister, Randi, had told her that things were far worse in the universe she’d left years before.
Four days before, someone who Cindy deeply regretted never having contact with, managed to get into the underground with an assortment of weapons. He killed 12 men, women and children in seconds. He wounded several dozen more; some of whom never survived. Two genuine heroes tackled him and prevented further mayhem. He was not allowed the privilege of dying by his own hand. Cindy had spent the last four days working in the trauma ward with both the survivors, families and their loved ones. It wasn’t easy work. She got to see the results of the worst of mankind.
“Sorry I asked,” Don said after Cindy gave him more details of the aftermath of the shooting.
“Don’t be sorry; I have to get rid of some of this. The victims are recovering, and their families are there for most of them. I did a lot of grief counseling last night. I think I helped ease a lot of pain.
“I was a little late getting home. I knew you were in court, so I wasn’t about to bother you. A wonderful thing has happened, or maybe I should say is happening.”
Cindy proceeded to explain the events of that morning.
“So, His Wisdom is up to his usual tricks,” Don said with a knowing tone.
“It certainly appears that way. He’s twice told me that the ball was in my court.”
“Do you think he’s going to allow you to do a transformation?”
“I don’t think so, and I’m not sure I want to. He’s allowing Mom to do some under strictly controlled conditions. If it comes to the point where she will be allowed to do them on her own, it will still have to be coordinated with The Wizard. He said he wasn’t allowed to do any for more than 100 years when he first started out as a new wizard.
“So, tell me more about this ‘little girl’ who found you this morning.”
“Here’s her picture, and if you scroll one back you’ll see her sister’s picture.”
Don looked at the picture of Tommie. “What a shame, can you do anything about that?”
“That port wine birthmark means nothing to her. It’s not important. She doesn’t think about it, nor does her family. The most important thing to her is getting her body in sync with her gender, and she’s well on the way without our help. I know His Wisdom will fix things, but he’s going to do it in his own time and way
“Now, take a look at the next picture,” Cindy said.
“Wait a second, that’s not the right picture. That’s a picture of ….”
“No, that’s a picture of Elaine Floria Donizetti DiMaggio. Now, do you get an idea of what’s going on?”
“This is amazing; all these years. How long has it been?”
"Well, we were looking for a place to live in Boston. So that had to have been 10 years ago.”
“Wait a minute, something isn’t right here. How old is Tommie?”
“Eleven.”
“And, how old is Elaine?”
“About 15.”
“Do you see what I’m talking about?”
“Yep. They’re not old enough, but that’s nothing for his Wisdom. He took them four years into the future, changed a little paperwork, and no one is the wiser. Elaine would have been about four. It wouldn’t be too difficult to make her think she had remembered the wrong date if even she had.
“What I’m wondering is why is he doing this?”
“I’m sure he’ll tell us in good time. However, there is another problem. I think he wants me to handle everything right up to the penultimate moment. I have quite a bit going on, but I can handle it, I think.”
“I take it you found the doctor,” her aunt said. “You’ve been gone quite a while.”
“Yes, we had a nice conversation. She knows about me. I didn’t have to tell her.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Yes, she has to stick to that Hypo …, Hippocratic Oath.
Tommie could see that his mother was holding his father’s hand across the space between the beds. His dad was definitely awake.
“How’s my little girl doing?” her father asked.
“Glad you’re back, Dad. You had everyone worried for a while.”
“Dr. Adams said everything was fine; that there was nothing to worry about.”
“There’s another thing,” his mother said. “The driver of the truck that hit us turned himself in. His company’s lawyers contacted us. They want to settle for a lot of money. On top of that, the doctors said that we’ll be able to go home by next weekend. The trucking company has already said they will pay for the ambulance and the in-home care until your dad and I get back on our feet.
“Your uncle and sister will be here in a little while. Your sister said the cats miss you.”
The drive back to New Bedford the following day was only a little over an hour, and Tommie was itching to tell her sister about what had transpired earlier that day. Elaine (Lainie) and Tommie had fixed dinner for their uncle before retiring to their upstairs retreat in the rear wing of the small boutique hotel. Actually, the dining room staff had done most of the work. Most of the time the two families prepared their own meals in their own quarters. Aunt Delia and Uncle Rudolfo, who were several years older than Tommie’s parents, had a separate house closer to the harbor. Their two children were in college nearly three thousand miles away on the northern coast of California.
Uncle Rudolfo had retired to his own home after dinner. He knew Lainie and Tommie were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.
“Lainie, remember those stories I showed you about The Wizard and those nice witches?”
“Yes, they were a little weird, but mostly sweet. Wouldn’t that be nice if there really were such people? If that were the case, you wouldn’t have to be going through what you’re going through and they could get rid of that birthmark.
“Are you feeling okay? No nausea? I know the doctor said that could be a problem. I can’t wait to help you pick out your first bra.”
“Lainie, I met them.”
“You have to be kidding. That stuff you’re taking has to be messing with your mind.”
“No, really, I met a very pretty doctor. Her name is Cynthia Brewer. She’s a witch and she knew about me right away. Then I met Dr. Bettencourt. He is The Wizard. There is no question about it.
“Dad had a clot on his brain, and The Wizard fixed it. I saw the clot. The thing is that neither Mom, Aunt Marie, nor Dr. Adams remembers anything about it.”
“What have you been smoking?”
“Nothing: you know I don’t smoke.
“Matilda, stop kneading my thigh. You’ll mess up my skirt.”
‘I’m sorry Tommie. I’m so glad you’re back home, and I’m so glad Mom and Dad are going to be okay.”
“You know, it’s like that cat understands every word that you say,” Lainie said as she watched the little cat curl up in Tommie’s lap.
“Oh, she does. She’s very glad that Mom and Dad will be alright”
“Lainie, have you been able to find out anything more about our parents? I told Dr. Brewer about us. I gave her your picture. She seemed very interested in it.”
“I think I found some interesting stuff while you were gone. I ran across it yesterday. I don’t know how I missed it, before. There was a robbery at a grocery store in East Boston that seems to fit the right time frame. Four, possibly five people were killed, and their names were, get this, Giuseppe, Floria, Matteo and Zerlina Donizetti. The fifth one was Charles Donizetti. I remember them, Tommie. Dad was Matteo, and Mom was Zerlina. Giuseppe and Floria were our uncle and aunt; and Charles was our cousin. I think he was about your age. They never found him but presumed he was dead. They thought he could probably identify the killers. So they killed him and got rid of the body. As far as I could tell, the killers were never found.
“I guess I just buried most of my memories. I remember being taken to that orphanage, and Mom and Dad taking us home with them just a little while later.
“I’ll keep looking. I had to pay to look back in the Globe’s archives, but I think it was worth it.
“By the way, I bought you a present. It’s in that bag. They had a sale at that little boutique dress shop. I thought you’d like it. You needed one of your own, anyway, rather than wearing my old nightgowns.”
“Lainie, it’s beautiful,” Tommie said holding up the lavender nightgown. “It might be a little big, but I will grow into it. I might be able to even fill out the top part after a while.
“I love you, Big sister.”
“I love you, Little Sister.”
Next: Charli is let in on what has been going on. Randi has to hold her back.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: We have met Tommie who seems to be a very well-adjusted young boy going to be a girl. She has a great support group behind her as she starts her transition. Cindy realizes very quickly who Tommie is, and her full name, sister’s name, and picture confirms her suspicions. The Wizard seems to be a bit Laissez-faire about the whole thing, and that perplexes Cindy.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 2
“Would you like a sweet roll?” Cindy asked as Tommie sat in the place The Wizard had occupied a few seconds before.
“No thank you, my aunt and I had breakfast at IHOP early this morning. We’re staying at a hotel, but they weren’t ready that early. Besides, their food isn’t that good, anyway. I would like some hot chocolate though if you’re buying. I would have thought you would have known that. I know you can read my mind.”
“I’d be glad to get some chocolate for you,” Cindy said as she stepped away from the table. “How’d you know I could read your mind?”
“You and His wisdom made the same mistake. You called me by my name. I didn’t tell you my name, and no one else told you.”
“I’ll be right back. Would you like some marshmallows in the chocolate?”
“Thank you.”
“Okay,” Cindy said as she set the cup of hot chocolate in front of Tommie, “we need to talk. I will not deny anything you said. I would appreciate it if you would keep it under your hat for a while. As far as reading your mind goes, your name is right on top. I don’t pry in people’s minds unless I’m invited or if there are serious circumstances involved.”
“Is that something to do with that hypocritical oath?” Tommie asked.
“That’s Hippocratic Oath,” Cindy chuckled. “Yes it does; however, when you are like His Wisdom, some of my friends and family are and I am, it does allow us to do quite a bit more. Yes, we do have rules and restraints, at least most of us do.”
“I suppose you know that other ‘thing’,” Tommie stated rather firmly.
“Yes I do; however, I almost missed it, because you seemed so positive. There didn’t seem to be any conflict. I am able to sense it when there’s a conflict between sex and gender. I’ve been able to do that for nearly 20 years, and it doesn’t entail mind reading. It’s something that radiates from within. Most of my friends can do it; some better than others.
“Okay, I promise not to read your mind unless you want me to. I do have a question, though. Why are you so at ease with the problem you’ve been dealt?”
“Because my family’s so great. Mom suspected something for quite a while. I like to do boy things, but I also like to do girl things. I’d play dress up with my older sister. We’d do the clothes and makeup thing, still do. She’d do my makeup and I’d do hers.
“Mom asked me one day if I wanted to be a girl. I had no trouble with the answer. I told her I was a girl. She just hugged me and cried and told me that she loved me and my sister so much. Mom can’t have children. We’re adopted. I’ve been to a doctor and a counsellor, and they put me on blockers. Things have been going very well. I started low dose estrogen last month. I can’t tell much yet, but I’m hoping we started all this stuff soon enough.”
“Do you know anything about your background, anything about your parents?”
“I know I’m Italian. That was one of the reasons our parents adopted us. From what we’ve, Elaine and I, been able to find out, our parents won’t tell us much, our natural parents were murdered when I was only a few months old and my sister was about four. We were sent to an orphanage in western Connecticut, and were adopted only a couple of months later. We live near New Bedford. Mom and Dad and my aunt and uncle operate a hotel and sport fishing business. My boy crazy sister is in high school. Dad’s watching over her. My Aunt’s staying here until Mom and Dad get better. My uncle will drive up here tomorrow with my sister, and then we’ll go back home.
“My sister’s real pretty. I’d like to look like she does when I get her age.”
“I don’t think you will have to worry about a thing.”
“The Wizard saved Dad, didn’t he? He took a blood clot out of his brain. I saw it.”
“You weren’t supposed to remember that.”
“I don’t think I was, but I do. They know you were there and that you got them to fix Mom’s morphine pump. None of them remember Dr. Bettencourt. His little disappearing act down here didn’t do much to change any opinions I might have had earlier. I would guess he’s not worried about me. Why would that be?”
“His Wisdom loves to keep us guessing. It’s all part of our training. He’s probably over a thousand years old.
“May I ask, how do you know about him, and the fact I’m a witch? You don’t seem to be too disturbed by all this.”
“I’ve read about The Wizard on some of those sites. Some of the stories are bull shit.”
“Tommie!”
“Well, they are. Some of them are written by people who don’t have a clue; however, some of them are real nice. The authors aren’t all hung up on sex and boobs; not that I wouldn’t mind having a pretty pair.
“Then, there’s this other thing. As The Wizard said in one of the stories, there are few accidents. Your being here and his being here is no accident. There’s a reason for this. I’m hoping I know what it is; but, just meeting him is quite an honor.”
“So, you would like him to finish the process.”
“Certainly, and I think that might happen. From what I’ve read, he would never let me come this far without fixing things. I’m going to make that assumption; however, there has to be a lot more to this than I have any idea about.”
“Tommie, I think you’re probably right. I don’t understand why he does things this way, sometimes. Many times, I have no more idea of what he has in mind than we do right now. There are powers above him that control many things. He would like people to believe he is a lone wolf, but that is far from the case. Let’s just let this thing play out.
“You need to get back to your family. I’ll keep track of things from this end. Think your email and phone number for me and I will remember them. We’ll keep in touch.
“I do have two questions.”
“Sure.”
“What is your full name?”
“Tommaso Antonio Donizetti DiMaggio. Why?”
“Just curious.”
“What was your other question?”
“Do you have a picture of your sister?”
“Yes, she wants me to show it to good looking boys who are older than she is. I don’t know how she thinks I’m going to meet them, but I carry it for her. Here it is.” She said handing her phone to Cindy. “Would you like me to send a copy to you?”
“Sure.” It was a simple matter to send the image to Cindy’s phone.
“I think you’d better get back to your family. We’ll keep in touch. I need to get some sleep. I’ve been up since yesterday morning.”
Tommie gave Cindy a hug and kiss before skipping off to her parents’ hospital room.
Cindy stared at the image of Elaine Floria Donizetti DiMaggio. She shook her head. “Well, Your Wisdom, you’ve had to have known about this from the beginning. What in the hell am I going to do?”
“The ball’s in your court, Cindy.”
Cindy is very sure about who Tommie is, and the picture of her sister confirms it. Cindy agrees that since The Wizard is certainly in the know about things that eventually Tommie will have what she’s always wanted. However, why the delay and The Wizard’s seeming indifference.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Randi fills Charli in on what has been going on. Needless to say she is beyond happy. Tommie has a very pleasant surprise.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 4
“Randi, it’s tough being a witch. There’s all this responsibility. I’m going to have to make a decision about those three guys that tried to kill me. I’d rather just forget about them, but that can’t be. I think 500 years being locked up in a bocce ball set is too much. As much as they wanted to, they didn’t kill me, although I understand Pilonetti probably did kill some other people. Luca had probably been in on it. Danny Malpais was just a wannabe crook and child rapist. I think I’m going to ask His Wisdom to give them a ‘do over’. Maybe he can find a place for them. It might not do any good, but we could try. Maybe the way they were was due to environmental factors. I think I’ll ask him to start them over in some nice families where they get a lot of love and some good discipline.”
“I’m sure he’ll listen to you, Charli,” Randi replied. “He’s been talking about that new project he wanted us to help him out with. He said there is a good chance for two transitions and two new witches. He said it looks very good. He also said there will be several sent all the way back to the womb. He could probably take care of your three nemeses at the same time.
“Speaking of wombs, Cindy told me she and Bobbie are going to try to get pregnant early next year. They don’t see any reason to wait any longer.”
“I think I knew that, but what will that do to Bobbie’s golf goals?” Charli asked. “If she doesn’t stop playing immediately, she’ll be pregnant when the Masters comes up.”
“She told me it wouldn’t affect her game that early. She’s about ready to retire, anyway.
“Okay, I have something more important to talk about. Have you had any luck trying to find your cousins?”
“It took some doing, but I’m pretty sure I found the orphanage where they were taken. But the problem is they say they didn’t take in any orphans that fit the age description around the time our parents were killed. I’m almost sure it’s the right place. It’s been more than fourteen years and they may have just misplaced the records. I suppose if I went out there I could do a little mind reading. The other problem is Charles Donizetti is dead. Charlene Michelle Donizetti Brewer isn’t related to Elaine or Tommaso Donizetti. I don’t really have any official reason to be looking for them.”
“And, The Wizard won’t help?” Randi said smiling a bit.
“Right,” Charli answered. “He says he has too much on his plate right now. This big project we’re going to be involved in this fall is taking up most of his time. For a man who can be in two places at once, I don’t think I understand it.”
“Okay, look at these pictures Cindy sent. She wanted you to see them. She thought they might answer some questions you have.”
Charli looked at the picture Randi had brought up on her phone.
“When was this taken? I never had an outfit like that. That had to have been taken two or three years ago.”
“Take a closer look. That picture was taken just this year. That’s not you. Think about it. You reacted as if you were looking in a mirror. She parts her hair on the other side. I have a feeling she might be left handed, too.
“Now take a look at the next picture.”
“What a cute little girl. What a shame about that birthmark.”
“This is going to get interesting,” Randi replied. “That’s an eleven year old boy who’s currently transitioning with his entire family’s approval. By the way, the older girl, his sister, is fifteen.
“Take a good look at that birthmark. Have you ever seen one like it before?”
“Not that I remember. Wait! My cousin had one similar to that, but he’d be fifteen now. I remember my aunt and uncle talking about trying to get it removed. That little boy is how old?”
“Eleven and the girl is fifteen, like I said. Would you like to know their names?”
“Sure, for whatever good it would do.
“The boy is Tommaso Antonio Donizetti DiMaggio, and the girl is Elaine Floria Donizetti DiMaggio. When they were adopted, their new parents kept their old names and just added their new surname.”
“What? How? That has to be them, but they’re too young.”
“You’re not thinking clearly, not that I blame you. His Wisdom went to the orphanage, did his little time travel thing, altered the records a bit and your two cousins were suddenly four years into the future and four years younger than they should have been. I’m sure he arranged things so that the DiMaggios would adopt them.”
“So, what’s he going to do?” Charli said a bit overwhelmed by the moment.
“Apparently nothing immediately. He’s dumped the whole thing into Cindy’s lap; as if she didn’t have enough to do. She’s going to have to work out how this whole thing is going to be resolved. When she has it all figured out, I’m sure he’ll step in and do whatever he would have, regardless.”
“Well, I’m going to have to see them.
“Willy, wake up.”
“Huh, what?” the giant cat muttered. He’d obviously been napping.
“We’re going to visit my cousins.” Charli exclaimed.
“Hold your horses girlfriend, sister-in-law. This is Cindy’s show. We’re going to have to see what she has in mind. She just wanted you to stop worrying about your cousins. We know where they are.”
“Where are they?”
“I’m not telling. You’re just going to have to wait until Cindy’s ready. Don’t spoil it for her. You know that things are going to work out.”
“Lainie, look, I have boobs!”
“Wow, where did those come from?” Lainie said looking at two small but very definite AA breasts. “It’s a good thing that school will be over this week. You’ll not be hiding those much longer, and they look just right on you.”
“I don’t know where they came from. They’d been getting kinda sore and itchy for the last few days. The doctor said they would. I thought I saw something yesterday. Well I know I did, but I wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it. Then I got up this morning, and there they were. It really is happening. Come Saturday, I’m going full time. The boy clothes are gone forever. Then we have all summer before going to my new school. I don’t think those nuns would be very accepting if I had to go there another year.
“I’ll just deal with it when I get to the middle school. Most of my friends knew what was happening. They’re cool. I’ll just be another girl to everyone else.”
“Let’s hope so. You gonna tell Mom?”
“Of course, as soon as the nurse serves Mom and Dad’s breakfast. She doesn’t need to know quite yet. She thinks I’m a girl, well I am, anyway.”
The DiMaggios had been home for more than a week. The trucking company, true to their word, was paying for everything including a full time nurse. The lawyers were still working out the details; however, things were going to work out very well for the DiMaggios. Well, considering the pain and agony they’d gone through, it would be difficult wipe out what had happened with a check.
The trucking company wanted to avoid a law suit at all costs. Actually, their insurance company was the one deeply interested. It had turned out that the driver had forged several documents indicating he was physically able to meet DOT requirements. The company’s lax controls had allowed him to drive when he shouldn’t have. If they were unable to reach a settlement, they might be brought to court. If they were found criminally negligent, their insurance wouldn’t cover them. At this point, the company was essentially admitting guilt without admitting guilt.
Business at the hotel had always been good. They had a good occupancy rate, and their restaurant attracted many additional customers. They didn’t actively pursue the business crowd; however, they frequently hosted small business groups in their relatively small business facility.
When Elaine and Tommie arrived for breakfast they found their parents in a deep conversation with the business manager. She was an attractive woman, married to one of the local fishermen, John Lagasse. Maria and John had five children, with another on the way. All five had ‘grown up’ at the hotel. As far as the DiMaggios were concerned, there never would be too many children there. Maria was discussing business with their parents.
“As you know, we don’t get much call for the business facilities on weekends. The downside is that is the weekend you wanted to use the room for Tommie’s birthday party.”
“I think we can move the party to another weekend.
“Would that be a problem,” Tony DiMaggio said turning to his soon to be ‘official’ daughter.
“No, besides the invitations haven’t gone out. I guess we could have it the next weekend. The best thing is that I will be attending as Tommie, rather than Tommaso.”
“Fine,” Maria said, “I’ll respond to their email immediately. A phone call might be a good idea. It sounded like there would be around 30 in attendance. There should be plenty of space available.”
As soon as Maria and the nurse were out of earshot, Elaine spoke up. “Tommie has something to say. Daddy, cover your ears.”
“Tony, please get a cup of fresh coffee for me. This one’s cold. Besides, you need to walk.”
Tony DiMaggio wasn’t going to question his wife when it came to ‘girl’ things, and he had a pretty good idea that was what this was about.
“Go ahead, tell her,” Elaine almost giggled.
“Mommy, I got boobies. They just sort of appeared.”
“Well, I guess we have some shopping to do on your first full-time day as a girl.”
Tommie has a very interesting and strange at the same time visit with her doctor. Matilda tells her about her sister’s plans.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Tommie has an appointment with her doctor. Things start out quite well. The doctor is a bit surprised by her development and then things get a bit strange. Tommie’s ability to converse with animals comes to the forefront.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 5
Other things were happening as well. Tommie had been on testosterone blockers for a little more than a year and had started low dose estrogen two months before. The doctors had told her not to expect major changes, especially not right away; however, her development seemed to be going a bit faster than anyone had expected.
The distaff side of the family made a trip to the local department store the Saturday after Tommie’s discovery of her unanticipated rapid development. It was a time of bonding that only mothers and daughters can have. The van provided by the trucking company was equipped with a wheel chair lift, and they were able to park in the van accessible parking spot close to the entrance to the mall. Dartmouth Mall was probably not the greatest shopping venue, but under the circumstances, it would do. It did have a Victoria’s Secret and a couple of other nice boutiques that would do well enough until Francesca got back on her feet and could travel to Boston or Providence to some of the finer shops.
Having been assured by the doctors that Tommie would not be undergoing any rapid drastic changes, Francesca was a bit surprised at how much Tommie had changed over the last few weeks. She was actually developing hips, and she measured to a 30 AA bra. Other than the slight ‘protrusion’ she looked very natural in a pair of panties. That anomaly was quickly hidden with a feminine pad. There was no question that Tommie was becoming a young woman; if only in shape. Things were going better than anyone had expected, including her doctors.
Her doctor’s appointment was the following Wednesday, a week and a half before her birthday.
“Tommie, have you been taking anything in addition to the shots we gave you?”
“No sir, you told me not to; not that I would have known where to get anything, anyway.” That wasn’t entirely true. Tommie had discovered several sites where hormones were available. However, she would have to have had a credit card. Besides, she certainly didn't know more about what she should be doing than the doctors did.
“Your lab results are rather interesting,” the doctor said scanning his computer screen. “Your estrogen and progesterone levels are at the upper end of the scale we’d expect for a girl exhibiting the stage of puberty you appear to have reached. Your testosterone level is right on line for a girl your age. I double checked everything as far as the dosages we gave you. I don’t think we overdosed you.
“How have you been feeling; any nausea?”
“No sir.”
It was at this point that things got a little weird.
“You seem to have a little acne. If that doesn’t clear up right away, I might prescribe birth control pills. I know you’re not having sex; at least I hope not. Sometimes the pills help with that sort of thing.
“Let’s see, you haven’t started your periods yet. I think we’ll schedule you for a complete exam next time, and we’ll give you your papilloma vaccination at the same time. It’s just a good idea. It’s no big deal and your mother’s already okayed it. Your sister got hers four years ago.
“I’ll have the nurse schedule you for a complete exam in six months. I’ll tell you what, I’ll write a prescription for some pills. Just follow the instructions. I wouldn’t want to see any acne problems develop and mess up that beautiful complexion of yours.”
In spite of what some might think due to the birthmark, Tammie’s complexion, with the exception of a few ‘zits' was very nice. Some would say her skin was porcelain smooth.
Tommie had happily and with her parents’ permission been wearing girl’s clothing at home for many years. The hotel staff had been aware of Tommie’s situation for many years and were wholly supportive with the exception of one caretaker who was asked to find employment elsewhere.
“Mom, Dr. Leibowitz talked to me as if I were a real girl. He asked me if my periods had started yet, and then he prescribed birth control pills for my acne.”
“Well that certainly is a bit strange. I mean you do have a couple pimples, but certainly nothing to get excited about.”
“He also wants me to come back for a complete examination and get a papilloma shot. I guess that’s okay,” Tommie said sounding a bit perplexed.
“Maybe he was just having a little fun with you. I certainly don’t think what you’re going through is anything to joke about, though.
“I guess we’d better get that prescription filled.”
Matilda and Henrietta were napping on Tommie’s bed when she returned from the morning appointment with the doctor. They were rescue cats. Both had been found as kittens around the docks. Henrietta had joined the family five years previously, and Matilda had come along three years later. Both were short haired calicos, and might even have had the same parentage. Henrietta was Elaine’s cat; however, she was pretty independent, and she spent a lot of time in the lobby greeting guests. She never ventured far from the hotel, though.
Matilda was a different matter. Although she was friendly with the hotel staff and guests, she was definitely Tommie’s cat. As Elaine and others had noted, there seemed to be a strong bond between the two. Tommie swore that she knew what Matilda was thinking, and that she had no trouble communicating with her.
Had Tommie been a bit more truthful, her family would have discovered that Tommie was certain that she could communicate with many animals. Cats and dogs were easy. Basic ideas were easy to get across; however, with Matilda, and Henrietta to a lesser degree, it was like carrying on conversations. Trips to the zoo were overwhelming; especially the ape exhibits. Some of them were not too upset, especially the rescue chimps that compared their new ‘freedom’ with where they’d been. All of them expressed a wrongness about their situation and a great desire to return to a homeland they’d never experienced. Tommie wondered if it would ever be possible.
“So what have you two been up to?” Tommie asked as she placed her purse on her dresser.
‘Not much, Henrietta killed a rat out back by the dumpster. It was a Norwegian rat; not one of the native species. Although we don’t see many of the latter.
‘We’ve been getting word from the west that there is a campaign among some cats to set up an organized program to get rid of non-native species. They say it’s working. It’s just been words so far. I haven’t seen any attempts to get anything organized around here.’
“Well that’s very interesting. Why are you sleeping? You didn’t do anything, did you?”
‘Of course I did. I flushed the rat out so Henrietta could kill it. It was her turn. We left it on the back step so that the staff could properly dispose of it.’
“Yuck.”
“Yuck, what?”
Tommie turned to see Elaine entering her room.
“Matilda was telling me that she and Henrietta killed a rat. They left it by the back door to the kitchen.”
“How did you know that? The sous chef just found it.”
“I told you. Matilda just told me. She flushed the rat out from where it was hiding, and Henrietta killed it.”
‘Tell her that she promised to sneak out this evening to see Eric. They are going to meet at the old boat house.’ Eric was one of the summer hire waiters and bellhop. He attended Providence College in Providence Rhode Island. He was a ‘good’ Catholic boy; which was one of the reasons the DiMaggios hired him. Of course, being 19 and working close to the frankly very attractive Elaine DiMaggio got the hormones going into overdrive. He may not have realized that the dark haired beauty was only 15, and she certainly wasn’t going to tell him.
“So, are you going to use protection?” Tommie asked quietly.
“Wha …, what in the world are you talking about?”
“Matilda just told me that you and Eric are going to have a little meeting in the boat house after he gets off work tonight. Have you told him that you are only 15? If you don’t, I will. That could really screw things up for both of you, and he could go to jail. I don’t think Mom and Dad want to be grandparents quite this soon, anyway.”
“You little shit, don’t you dare tell Mom and Dad.”
“I’ll leave that up to you. I like Eric, too; however, you need to be fair to him and you. I’m not saying don’t date him. I’m saying don’t screw things up for everyone.
“Now, about Matilda, are you beginning to understand that she and I are able to communicate on a bit higher level than you might have thought. Henrietta and I can communicate on the same level. It’s the same reason I don’t like to go to the zoo. They are so unhappy there.”
“Are you sure you’re only 12, well almost. You sound a lot like Mom.”
“Lainie, I may be a girl and I think I’m going to be a pretty one, but unless something extraordinary happens, I’ll never be able to have babies. Don’t mess it up for you. I want to be an aunt someday, but not right away. Be cool, okay.”
Something big is going to happen at the hotel, and Tommie isn’t too sure about it.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Big things are happening at the Hotel, and Tommie is becoming a bit uneasy about things. Most of the special group that has been arriving since the day before is magic, and they seem to have an unusual interest in her. Cindy realizes she may have made a big mistake.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 6
It wasn’t that unusual; however, it was nice when the hotel was filled to capacity. It was a rambling structure overlooking the bay that separated Fairhaven and New Bedford. The frame structure was nearly 100 years old and had been updated numerous times during that time. The DiMaggios were proud of their hotel and knew that the money three generations of DiMaggios had put into it would continue to pay off. Elaine was pretty sure she would continue in the family’s business after she graduated college. Tammie wasn’t that sure what she wanted to do; however, 12 years old might be a bit early for some to make a lifelong decision.
Elaine and Tommie were helping out at the front desk on Friday afternoon when the first of the weekend guests started arriving.
The very attractive redheaded woman and her equally handsome husband approached the desk. The lady was carrying a platinum gray cat.
“May I help you,” Tommie asked.
“Yes, we’re the Andersons and we’re here for the conference tomorrow and Sunday. We might need some help with our luggage. We’re also doing a demonstration and some instruction at the Acushnet River Valley Golf Course on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon.”
“Certainly, here you are in the computer,” Tommie said as she printed out the registration form for Mr. Anderson to sign.
“Eric, would you help the Andersons with their luggage.”
“Certainly,” Eric replied. He’d been staring at the young couple for several minutes.
“You’re in room 126 right down that hall,” Tommie said as she handed them their electronic room keys. “The vending machines are on your left just past the door to the pool. You’re the first of your party to arrive. Please enjoy your stay.”
“We will, Tommie. I know we will,” Mrs. Anderson said with a warm smile.
Eric followed the pair out to their state of the art hybrid SUV, and loaded the luggage cart with their two enormous golf bags, suitcases, and boxes.
“Eric, I believe you’re free tomorrow afternoon. I just happen to have two tickets to our charity golf event out at the Acushnet River Valley Golf Course. Why don’t you ask Elaine if she’d like to come with you? I’d bet that Andy and I can help you get rid of that nasty slice that keeps showing up at the most inopportune times.”
“Er, uh, thank you Ms. Anderson.”
“It’s okay to call me Bobbie, and Andy is just Andy. Be sure to come. I know you’ll have a great time. You’ll be breaking 80 before you know it
“Do you realize who they are?” Eric half whispered to Elaine when he returned with the empty cart.
“No, they’re just part of that group who will be here for the weekend.”
“That’s Bobbie Anderson, the greatest female golfer in the world, and she gave me two tickets to the golf clinic they’re putting on out at the Acushnet River Valley Golf Course. Would you like to come?”
“I’d love to, but I’ll have to ask Mom.”
“Kids, sit over there until your mother and I get us checked in. I promise we’ll go swimming as soon as we get settled.”
Elaine looked up to see two women approaching. Each was carrying an infant and there were six other children accompanied by a nanny and two cats heading for the sitting area.
“Hi, we’re the Fischer-Hamiltons. Hopefully you have the suite ready for us,” said the towering redhead.
“Yes, Ma’am, if one of you will sign here, we’ll have someone help with the luggage. You are in the Narragansett Cabin which is right down that hall, out and to the left. You may drive around to it. There is a reserved spot for you.”
“Rose, I’ll help Amy herd the children to the cabin. It will probably be easier if you took the Denali around without the rug rats. Fred and Linda want to meet Matilda and Henrietta. They can work that out among themselves. ”
Rosemary was glad to do it. What should have been a little over two hour drive quickly became three. Four 4 year-olds had to stop at the first rest stop before they even got to Providence. All four were very excited about going swimming. They swam like fish. Rosemary and Lisa had made sure of that. The middle two were almost out of diapers, and would be ready for their naps. The youngest two were getting antsy and would need a feeding before being put down for their naps.
Amy was from the Maine Coven. She’d been hired to help with the children and help out at the restaurant as soon as it opened which was hopefully going to be around the first of October. Lisa was going to teach her the ins and outs of being a fine chef. Lisa had given her notice to kitchen supply and design company she’d spent the last five years with. They would continue to have an outstanding relationship over the years, and Lisa was even considering having a weekly television show that her previous company would help sponsor. Of course she’d have to see first how the restaurant turned out.
After Amy got the children off to the pool, Lisa put the 2 two year old girls down for their nap. Then it was down to the business of feeding the newest additions.
“Do you regret one bit what you did, Rose?” Lisa asked.
“The only thing I regret was delaying my transformation as long as I did. I loved you so much, and when His Wisdom gave me that figurative kick in the ass, I knew I’d been foolish for waiting. I might have been just a bit afraid of the whole thing, but being able to give birth to the girls and to this little boy and being able to feed them at my breast like this is all it takes for me to know that this is what my soul wanted all along. We are so fortunate. I’m absolutely certain I did the right thing.
“I told Amy to wait until 3:00 before coming back. Do you think we have time?”
“I’m certain we do my sweet little Rosemary.”
“Yes, we’re the Matthews. We’re checking in for the weekend’s events. I believe Dr. Cynthia Brewer is running the show.”
“Yes, Mr. Matthews, your room is ready for you. The two cribs and the roll-away are in place. The Fischer-Hamiltons checked in a while ago and asked that you call them after four. They’re in the Narragansett Cottage. Your room is 124; next to the Andersons. Eric will help you with your luggage. The dining room hours are from 6:00 to 9:30. Please enjoy your stay.”
“We were certainly glad to see you are pet friendly.”
“That’s not a problem at all. Each of your rooms has box for the cats, and room service will clean and replenish the litter. Our owners’ daughters have two cats and they more or less have the run of the place. There’s never been a problem with them getting along with any of the visiting pets.
“And, where have you two been,” Elaine half jokingly asked as Henrietta and Matilda sashayed into her room. She and Tommie had been comparing notes about the unusual goings on that had been taking place since early that afternoon.
‘We’ve been visiting with our guests. We showed them where Henrietta killed the rat, and Fred showed us some neat tricks. Phantom showed us how to differentiate between birds that were fair game and those we should leave alone. Phantom also showed us how to open the pantry where the cat food is kept.
‘Dr. Brewer and her husband arrived a little while ago and we got to meet Queen Maddy. She is such a powerful cat. She’s going to teach Henrietta and me how to kill cockroaches.”
“What in the world are you going on about?” Tommie asked Matilda.
“What is she saying?” Elaine asked, half believing that Matilda could really talk.
“Every one of those groups of people who checked in this afternoon had at least one cat with them. Matilda just said that they’ve been meeting with them and learning some new tricks.
“Remember what I told you about Doctor Brewer, the lady I met at the hospital; the one who helped save Dad. She must have checked in a while ago. She brought her cat, too. I know Dr. Brewer is a witch. She admitted it to me. She asked me not to tell. But I had to tell you.
“I just realized it a few minutes ago. They’re all witches. This big meeting must be some sort of coven thing.”
“If what you’re saying is that having a cat makes the ladies at least witches, there is one family that isn’t. Two professors from MIT checked in while you were taking a break. They didn’t have any cats or other animals, just three kids. Their name is Mankowitz or something like that. They are definitely with the group.”
The next morning did nothing to change Tommie’s mind that something big was going on. Another family had checked in the evening before, and they were seated with Dr. Brewer and a man who had to be her husband.
A lot of happy noise was emanating from the dining room; however, none of it was understandable. Dr. Brewer waved at Tommie, motioning for her to come over to the table. As she approached she was suddenly able to understand the conversations going on.
“Tommie, I’d like you to meet my family; well, most of them, anyway. My oldest brother and his wife couldn’t make it, but you will meet them soon enough.
“Everyone, this is Tommie DiMaggio. I know we will be getting to know her more as time goes by. Now, to make this easier I’ll just go around the circle. This handsome fellow is my husband Don Brewer. The redheaded firebrand is my sister Martha. She likes Marti. Next to her is my brother, Stan Jr. That’s,” she said pointing to the stunning blonde, “my mother, Marissa, and the lucky guy next to her is my Father, Stan, Sr. Finally, next to me is my sister Christine Miranda. She goes by Randi to most everyone.
“There’s not time now, however, I know you’ve met many of the folks here. I’ve already talked to your mom and dad about this, and we’ve made room for you at the dinner this evening. We’d like you and your family to sit in with us. I know you’d originally planned to have your birthday party this weekend, and we’ve seemed to have intruded at a very special time. I guarantee we’ll make it up to you.”
“Thank you for the invitation. If Mom said it was okay, I’ll be glad to have dinner with you. I just wish I knew what was going on.”
Cindy watched Tommie walk away as a sinking feeling engulfed the pit of her stomach.
“Mom, I’ve really screwed up big time, haven’t I.”
“The ball’s in your court, Cindy,” her mother said.
Maybe it’s the hormones, maybe it isn’t; however, Tommie suddenly realizes that this meeting of all the magic people and their friends might be about her. All the attention may be more than she’s prepared for. After all, what she’s been going through should be a private thing, and apparently, she’s been outed to the world. Cindy realizes at the same time that she really screwed up.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Tommie is confused by the enormity of what she thinks might be happening. She returns to her room and cries herself to sleep. Cindy realizes that her whole approach had been wrong, and turns it over to The Wizard.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 7
Tommie’s emotions were on a roller coaster ride, and she wasn’t exactly sure why. All of these magic people were there at her parents’ hotel. They were obviously there for some sort of important meeting. I guess they can have their meetings wherever they want, she thought. But why here?
Did they all know about her like Dr. Brewer did? Obviously, The Wizard did. Why were they so open with her? What were they doing? Were they teasing her? Nothing she’d ever read about The Wizard even remotely resembled what was going on. All she’d ever wanted was to be the girl she knew she was. She didn’t want any fanfare. She just wanted everything to continue going in the way it had been before all these people showed up.
She had left the dining room a little after 10:00. The group, coven or whatever they were, were going on a sightseeing cruise of the bay. It would take a couple of hours. They would be back at around 1:00. They’d have lunch aboard the tour boat. She’d seen the Andersons leave quite early for the golf course where they were putting on a demonstration and giving some lessons.
She hadn’t seen the cats since breakfast. That was very strange. The staff had set up a buffet for the cats in a small room adjoining the dining room. All sorts of delicacies had been set up on a large revolving serving tray, and the lady who was the nanny for that beautiful couple with eight children seemed to be serving to each cat what they indicated they wanted. Matilda and Henrietta were there right along with the rest of the cats, some of whom she hadn’t seen before. One cat, a tabby, was more than twice as big as many of the cats. A long-haired black and white cat was almost as big as he was. She could ‘hear’ the cats commenting among themselves about the excellent quality of the food.
For some reason she found herself tearing up. It was like the world was closing in on her. She collapsed on her bed sobbing before she fell asleep. She awoke briefly as Matilda snuggled up against her. She remembered her saying, “It’s going to be alright, Tommie.” She must have been dreaming that, but when she woke up, Matilda was sound asleep up against her. She washed her face in the bathroom adjacent to her room before returning to sit on the edge of her bed. A gentle rap at her door brought her back to reality.
“Just a moment.”
Dr. Brewer was standing there with Tommie’s sister standing a little behind her in the dark hall.
“May we come in?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Tommie,” Dr. Brewer said as Tommie pointed her to a chair, “I owe you my deepest apology. I wanted everything to be special for you at this very special time, but I realized this morning how selfish I was being. I thought I knew what you wanted. I know what you want, but I never thought to ask you how you wanted things to happen. I knew, and I think you knew when you met us in the snack bar that eventually you would get your wish. I think you remember The Wizard saying that the ball was in my court. Well, I dropped the ball.”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“I was like you were many years ago. Unfortunately, I lived 35 years in the wrong body. When I was finally allowed to occupy the body you see, I was not quite nine years old. Several years later I finally reached the stage where you are now. To put it bluntly, I was afraid, very afraid. My folks were great, but it was tough. I had been caught up in the joy of being a woman without really understanding what was involved; the reality. It took the love of my life to finally make me understand what it was all about.
“What is happening to you, has happened to you is not like throwing a switch and ‘bingo’ you’re a woman. It’s a long process, and whether you realize it or not the physical process is over. It happened while you were asleep. Your mother and sister will be here in a little while. His Wisdom has been talking to them, and they know what’s been happening. Your parents also remember what happened in the hospital. You need to spend some time with your mother. It’s going to be a very long day; however, The Wizard had to do a little ‘cleaning up’ of the mess I made.
“Fortunately, you have been transitioning for quite a while, and you have a great support group. No one outside your family will notice any of the adjustments he had to make. As far as the others are concerned, you have always been Thomasina Antonia Donizetti DiMaggio.”
“But my sister’s here,” she said realizing what Dr. Brewer had said about her mother and sister a moment before.
“Nope, Tommie meet Charlene Michelle Donizetti Brewer. Charli is your cousin.”
“But, …?” For the first time, Tommie took a closer look at the person she’d assumed to be her sister.
“I know. Remarkable isn’t it. Charli could be your sister’s twin. The fact that the three of you look so much alike just confirms the fact you’re related. By the way, Myrna, you haven’t met her yet, has already completed a DNA analysis. You are definitely first cousins. Both of you inherited an interesting trait from your paternal grandfather, and that is your ability to communicate with other animals. You also inherited something from your mother. Your mother and Charli’s mother had inherited the magic trait through both your mothers’ ancestries. Your mothers are cousins about 10 generations removed, and they passed on the magic trait to you and Charli.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tell her, Matilda.”
“You’re a witch, Tommie,” Matilda said in her sweet voice.
“Tommie,” Charli explained, “I’ve been looking for you for years; just like your sister has been looking for me. Thanks to His Wisdom’s shenanigans, we never connected. That was because we were both looking in the wrong time.”
“This is crazy. Charles Donizetti should be considerably older, and you’re a girl.”
“Yeah, I’m just like you. We have quite a bit in common. I’ll fill you in on all the gory details, but not right now. When The Wizard saved my life he fixed my problem just like he fixed yours. He also took nine years off my life so I could grow up properly. In a way, he did the same thing for you and your sister. He brought you four years into the future, or he went four years back and brought you into that present. I don’t really understand it. Avery Mankowitz will have to explain it to you. He’s the physicist.
“Anyway, I’ve been given the assignment to help you out as far as getting used to being magic. Your mother and sister have been doing a great job with you about the other things. It’s not that I have enough to do as it is. I’ll be a freshman at UConn just a couple of hours down the road. I will also have one of The Wizard’s projects as a roommate, but that’s another story.”
Charli gave Tommie a hug and kiss before stepping back. Tommie’s mother and sister were standing in the doorway. Her mother was holding a tray of soft drinks. That was a bit strange because that morning she’d been in a wheelchair.
“Is she going to be okay?” Tommie’s mother asked. “His Wisdom said everyone should relax and have a glass of their favorite soft drink.”
“Mom, I think I’m a real girl, and what happened to your wheelchair?”
“You’ve always been a real girl except for some little problems The Wizard fixed. He told me he fixed most of them that first day you met him in the hospital. No wonder you’ve been making such progress.
“As to the wheel chair, apparently your father’s and my injuries were a lot less severe than was thought. Although we know otherwise. The trucking company’s lawyers contacted us this morning, and are very eager to make a very equitable settlement. After our lawyers are paid, you and your sister will have more than enough to go to just about any university you want to. Just as long as you keep your grades up, that is. Well, that’s more your sister’s problem right now.
“Drink up. It seems that your birthday party is this afternoon, after all. Those invitations we never sent out were sent out two weeks ago. We’re going to have to find the right dress for you.”
“I think I will leave you girls alone for a while,” Cindy said as she got up to leave. “There won’t be any need to take a trip to town today to find an appropriate dress. I think you will find everything you need in your closet.
“We’ll see you at dinner tonight. I promise you it will be a quiet affair. It will just be a great chance for you to get to know many of us. You have no idea how happy we are to have found you.”
Epilogue
“Hold still while I fix this veil. There, that should do it,” Elaine said as she stepped back to admire her beautiful little sister.
“Okay ladies, I’d like to get a couple of dozen more shots of the Bridal party,” the photographer said. He proceeded to put the group of beautiful attendants and equally beautiful bride through the tried and true poses.
“When did you know he was the one?” Randi asked.
“Ed, who’s that beautiful girl?”
“Which one.”
“The one looking at us.”
“The one with the birthmark?”
“I hadn’t really noticed. I saw her the other day in freshman orientation. She was with some friends, I guess they are friends, and she seemed so happy. That’s what got my attention. She’s almost effervescent, and it seems so contagious. I know she looked at me then, and she’s looking at me now.”
“She’s Tommie DiMaggio. Her parents own that posh hotel in New Bedford. Her sister married that pro golfer, Eric Wolfe, last year.”
“Yeah, I remember that. Attractive lady, I think she’s a writer.
“I think I’d better go over there and introduce myself before she gets away. There’s just something about her.”
“That was very nice. You are really getting very good at that.”
“I have to be, I don’t want to lose you.”
“You know you don’t have to worry about that,” she said as she snuggled up to him. There would be time for a warm shower together later on. Ostensibly, they were on a ski trip to Stowe, Vermont over semester break. They would find time to do some skiing later.
“When did you fall in love with me?” she asked.
“You know exactly when it was. It was when you smiled at me when I walked over to introduce myself to you. You had me before that. I just wanted a chance.
“How about you?”
“When I saw you at freshman orientation. I saw you and did a quick read. I never tried to read you again. I knew then and there you were the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I just had to get your attention.”
“That wasn’t too difficult. Then you told me you were a witch. That made things so much easier. I thought maybe we’d been set up, but Mom and His Wisdom assured me that was not the case. Then Bobbie told me she knew you and what a wonderful woman you were. I’d have to agree.”
“Randi told me the same thing happened to her and Frank the summer after my transformation. When it’s the right person, falling in love is a pretty easy thing to do. Those were a couple of great years. Well, they all have been, really. I remember Bobbie talking about her ‘baby’ brother, but until that freshman orientation we’d never seen each other. I should have realized you were related when I saw that red hair. Two seconds later I knew everything I ever needed to know.
The wedding of Thomasina Antonia Donizetti DiMaggio and Amos Emmanuel Schmedlap, Jr. garnered the attention of the society sections of several major eastern newspapers. The ring bearer was Donald Brewer, son of Drs. Donald and Cynthia Brewer. The flower girl was Linda Anderson, daughter of Felix and Roberta Anderson. The bride’s sister, Elaine Wolfe, was Matron of Honor. Attendants to the bride were Dr. Cynthia Brewer, Roberta Anderson, Dr. Christine Deere, and Charlene Brewer. The best man was Stanley Lewis, Jr. The groomsmen were Felix Anderson, Ezra and David Schmedlap, brothers of the groom, and Eric Wolfe.
The reception was held at the DiMaggio Hotel. Many of the photos of the reception caught, if you looked at them just right, a distinguished gentleman and his enormous dog. There were several pictures of more than a dozen cats and a ferret feasting at a buffet obviously set up for the animal guests. One particularly endearing photo showed two very large dogs and the sated cats and ferret sleeping on a mat in a corner of the reception hall.
The quarter page photo of the bride and groom definitely caught the attention of the readers who didn’t know either of the families. Many couldn’t understand why the bride hadn’t masked the birthmark that covered nearly a third of her face. Really, those question didn’t have to be asked; however, in the past some did anyway. “I am who I am. I have everything I could have ever hoped for. What is it that bothers you: the fact that I am ‘disfigured’, or the fact I don’t want to do anything about it?”
The fact was The Wizard could have removed the birthmark at any time. Cindy realized early on that Tommie had no desire to change what was truly her. There was only that one thing that needed to be corrected, and that was done quite nicely. Tommie did remove the birthmark the year before her first child, Amos the 3rd, was born. It was a simple spell. Besides, she knew who her friends were. No one said anything after it was gone.
Cindy attended many transformations over the years as a doctor, counselor and witness; however, they were always very small and personal affairs. Although able to, she left the process to The Wizard and a select few, including her mother.
There will be more stories about Cindy and her friends. A bit of an idea about Tommie had been running around in my mind for a couple of months. I started writing it in the middle of March, and just let it go where it did. I didn’t think it was necessary to dwell too much on the physical transformations. Why did Cindy do the things she did? I think it was fatigue. Resident physicians go through hell. I sometimes wonder why they are allowed to practice medicine, much less magic.
I have a non-magic story in mind. It will not involve characters from my previous stories.
Alfred Gontarski had the misfortune to have been born into the wrong body. That’s all been fixed now; however if you are not familiar with how things were corrected, you should go back and read “An Incremental Journey” before you read this little adventure. Al, now Cynthia Lewis, has a problem. It seems that one of her nine-year old classmates has the same problem she had. He was born into the wrong body. Cynthia was able to work a deal with the SRU Wizard to get Bobby Schmedlap a gift certificate for his birthday that would allow him to become the girl Cynthia knows he wants/has to be. The problem is this. Bobby has not redeemed his gift certificate and now the powers behind SRU want to know when he’s going to do it because it’s the end of the fiscal year and unclaimed spells cause all sorts of accounting problems. It’s going to be Cynthia’s job to find out what’s going on and why Bobby Schmedlap hasn’t gone for the change he so desperately wants.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Pat, pat, pat, pat.
“Huh, murf, wha? Maddy what are you doing?”
Cynthia was now wide awake, and apparently, that was exactly what Maddy had in mind.
“Maddy, it’s only three o’clock. We have at least another three and a half hours before it’s time to get up.” Maddy, the little kitten Cynthia had saved from drowning a few months before was perched on the middle of her chest. She had been lightly tapping Cynthia’s cheek with her soft forepaw until she had eventually received the desired result. That was to get her young human friend to wake up.
“Meowlevishiss’n.”
“Maddy, if I didn’t know better, I would say you were talking, and it sounded like you were saying ‘television’.”
“Meoweress.”
“That sounded like you said ‘yes’.”
Maddy, tired of trying to get through to Cynthia, jumped off the bed and headed for the desk where Cynthia’s computer occupied a significant place. Cynthia was very computer literate for a nine-year old, she had just recently had her ninth birthday, however, she also had the memories and intellect of the thirty-five year-old man she had never wanted to be. She also had all the memories and some of the residual personality of the little girl who had previously occupied the body that was now hers. The latter had been very helpful in her adjustment to the life she had so desired for so long and now had.
Cynthia was a very happy; no, let’s make that an ecstatic nine year old girl. Things couldn’t be better as far as she was concerned. Her borrowed memories helped her fit into the family she loved more and more each day since the transference, and the memories she had as the misfit Alfred Gontarski gave her an advantage few nine-year olds would ever have. The most important thing to Cynthia was that she was finally in the correct body. The conflicts were gone.
Every time she woke up, she marveled at her little girl body clad in its little nightie. The first few weeks after the transference she would wake up knowing that it had all been a dream, that she was still the six foot, five inch, 350 pound Al Gontarski who had no life.
Her mother had twice found her standing in front of the mirror on her closet door while staring at her nude body. There were tears streaming down her face. Her mother attributed it to sleep walking induced by the trauma of her nearly dying from drowning and being in a coma for weeks.
Her mother would gently hold her as Cynthia would quietly proclaim, “It’s me, isn’t it? I really am a girl and I am pretty.”
“Yes, you are a very pretty little girl and you need to go back to bed. Here, put on your panties,” her mother would say as she helped Cynthia put her nightie back on. It would be some time before Cynthia could really accept that it really happened. It took a skinned knee from tripping on the playground at school, the subsequent pain and blood to finally get it to sink in that she was really Cynthia Lewis.
Her parents bathed in her happiness and she in theirs. Maybe some day she would tell them about her strange journey; tell them that although she was their daughter, she was a bit more and sadly, a bit less. She knew that she wouldn’t be prevented from telling them. She just wasn’t sure if it would ever be necessary.
Right now, there was something that required her attention. Maddy was seated to one side of the computer screen and was staring intently at it. Cynthia knew she had turned off the computer before going to bed, yet the screen was starting to glow and flicker. Then it sprang into life, that is, there was an image that Cynthia quickly recognized as the back room of the SRU wizard’s shop. She could hear some muttering coming from the screen. That in itself was weird as the speakers sat more than a foot away from either side of the screen. A quick glance at her computer clearly indicated it was not turned on.
Suddenly, The Wizard’s face was thrust into the forefront. “Blasted modern technology!” he muttered. “Why can’t we just do apparitions like we did in the old days; they were so much simpler. But no-o-o-o, we have to keep up with the times, computers and all that hogwash.
“Cindy, can you see me? We need to talk.”
By this time, Cynthia was sliding into her chair at the computer. She didn’t have an on-line video system as she had not yet felt the need for one. Somehow, she felt it wasn’t going to be necessary.
“Oh, there you are. How’s it going?”
“Other than it being three o’clock in the morning, not too bad.”
“Double drat and fried bat wings dipped in arrow toad excrement, I forgot about the time zones. It’s eleven A.M. here in St. Petersburg. I’ve got to straighten out some things with an ex-KGB operative in a few minutes.
“Look, I’m sorry about the time thing. The Board had some questions about your friend Bobby. Has he said anything to you since you gave him the gift certificate? They were hoping he would opt for the change soon so we don’t have to ‘fix’ too many things. All the financial things are coming due soon. It’s the end of our fiscal year and they were hoping they wouldn’t have to carry it over to next year.
“Bobby hasn’t said anything after he opened the card up. A couple of other classmates saw the certificate, but they thought it was a gift certificate for Wal-Mart. I know Bobby could see what it really was because he looked at me real funny like.
“I’ll talk to him tomorrow and see if he understands what it’s all about. He may think I’m playing a trick on him. I don’t think anyone else knows she’s inside.”
“Do that Cindy, and let me know as soon as you can. By the way, you still sound a bit too adult. Are you sure you don’t want me to tweak things a bit? You know, just to get your spoken phrasing a bit more like other girls your age.”
“No, I’m doing fine around my friends and family. It’s getting very easy, and I’m very comfortable. It’s just that you know all about me and discussing business with you as an adult seems to come naturally.
“By the way, I think Maddy can talk.”
“Of course she can. She’s young and it will get easier for her as she gets older.”
“I don’t think I understand. I mean, she’s just a kitten.”
“No,” The Wizard corrected, “she’s your ‘familiar’. I thought I told you that. No? I meant to, but I guess I forgot. That blasted CRS again.
“Both you and Maddy are rather special. As you get older, your powers will increase. Right now, your power seems to be primarily the ability to detect people with certain problems. You know, people like Bobby Schmedlap. That power will get stronger, too. You are able to recognize the anomaly when someone is close to you. That should change as you get older.
“Maddy and you will age at about the same rate. In about three years you will both reach puberty. No one will notice. Maddy’s appearance will change every fifteen to twenty years. She’ll do that when the time is right. We can’t have people suspecting 100 year-old cats.
“Your powers will greatly increase when you reach puberty; however, you will need a lot of instruction and training.”
“Your Wisdom, I remember you said I was special that day I stopped by to thank you for everything. I just thought you meant I was lucky to be where I was, and I certainly agree with that. I guess I didn’t pay much attention. I was too happy.”
Suddenly, Cynthia heard her parents’ door down the hall opening.
“I’ve got to go back to bed. Mom’s coming.”
“When you come to the mall this Saturday, come to the service entrance to the shop. It’s back by the restrooms. We’ll talk then.”
The computer screen went blank as the bedroom door opened. “Cindy, are you alright?”
“I’m fine Mom. I was having a real nice dream, but I had to get up to go to the bathroom. Maddy wanted to play.”
“Mro-a-dint.”
“Get back to sleep. Tomorrow’s Friday and we’re going to go shopping Saturday. Are you sure you are OK?”
“Mommy, everything is just purrfect. I love you so much.”
Marissa hugged her daughter and kissed her forehead. Cynthia slid under the blankets and Maddy snuggled up to her. Marissa gently closed the door.
“You are a bad cat!”
“Mrowmnot.”
Cynthia had been playing hopscotch, a game she mastered very quickly once her strength returned. It helped her re-acquaint herself with the friends who were the original Cynthia’s friends. She knew them from the saved memories, yet she didn’t really know them. That was coming along slowly.
Now she was watching Bobby Schmedlap. Bobby was a handsome boy. He was a bit tall for his age and very athletic. He had a shock of red hair, brilliant blue-green eyes and his pale skin was lightly freckled. Bobby got along well with everyone. He was equally at ease with the boys and girls and several of the girls had serious crushes on him.
There were times, though, that Cynthia caught him looking longingly at the girls around him. It wasn’t lust. He was not old enough yet for that to be a problem. There was a longing in his gaze. Once, Cynthia caught him looking at her and that was the first time she knew for sure. She knew that his soul was the soul of a young girl, a girl who was resigned to her fate as a male. He really handled it quite well.
She thought back to his birthday party. The Wizard had told her there wouldn’t be any problems with the gift certificate. That only those who had a need to read it could. To everyone else, it would look like a gift certificate from Wal-Mart. Now that she thought about it, she realized she probably shouldn’t have given it to him the way she did; however, that was done, and it didn’t turn out so bad; or at least she thought it didn’t.
He had turned pale when he first looked at it. He turned to Cynthia with a look of terror on his face. A nearby friend grabbed the certificate and loudly proclaimed, “Neat, a $20 gift certificate from Wal-Mart.” Bobby grabbed it back, reread it, and gave Cynthia a questioning look. She smiled back. He had basically avoided her ever since.
The bell rang: signifying the end of the lunch and play period. Bobby couldn’t avoid walking by Cynthia. “Bobby, we need to talk.”
“I don’t think I want to talk to you. You could ruin everything. I have enough problems as it is without you telling everyone about me.”
“Bobby, I haven’t told anyone about you except someone who already knows. I just wanted to help you be what you are inside.”
“What do you know about what I am inside? We have enough problems at home. Mom says you are just going to make trouble for me. She doesn’t think that the ‘gift certificate’ is very funny. She said it is a very bad joke. Dad said he had half a mind to spank you if he ever saw you.”
Cynthia was a bit perplexed. “Wait a minute. Do you mean they can read it?”
“Sure and my older brothers don’t think it is very funny either. What I don’t get is that Tedd McKeever thinks it's a Wal-Mart gift certificate. He never could read real good, though.”
“Bobby, class is going to start soon, but we need to talk. I’m sure I don’t understand everything that’s going on. I am going to have to get some advice from someone. I won’t lie to you Bobby, and I want to be your friend. I know what you are going through, believe me.”
“How could you know anything about me? We have never talked with each other about anything like this before. My mom says you found out about me some way and you are just going to make our lives hell. I think you just need to leave me alone and stay away.”
This was definitely strange. Apparently, Bobby’s parents and brothers knew about him and were trying to protect him. If that was the case, why wasn’t anything being done?
“Bobby, I won’t tell anyone your secret unless you want me to. Just don’t be afraid of me. I can help you.”
“Right, so rich little Cindy Lewis is going to be able to pay all the medical bills and everything else to fix me,” his voice dripped with sarcasm. “Good luck!” With that, he turned and they entered the classroom just as the last bell sounded.
Cynthia managed to pay attention well enough to get through the rest of the day; however, she was perplexed by Bobby’s negative reaction. She could watch him without his knowing it and thought she detected a tear running down his cheek. When the bell rang, signifying the end of the school day, he was up like a shot and out the door before Cynthia could get her books together and follow him.
By the time she was outside the building, he was on his bike and heading off the playground. She ran to the street and followed him with her eyes. He turned right, just before the river bridge. She could see him for a bit longer because the Cottonwoods and Poplars had not yet leafed out; however, he disappeared among some industrial buildings.
Cynthia turned and walked to her bus that would take her several miles in the other direction. ‘Why was he going down there?’ she thought. ‘There’s nothing down there but a bunch of old factories. I don’t think anyone lives down there. I’ll have to ask Dad. He knows all about that area. I don’t remember anything about it other than the company had several sales there when I was Al.’
She shuddered when she thought about being Al Gontarski. In this reality Al Gontarski was deceased for many years. The company he used to run was now owned by her current father and four other partners. The Wizard and whoever he worked with had done some interesting things to adjust reality so that Cynthia could be with her current family. She didn’t try to question things. She just knew her current reality was far better than her old one.
The school bus stopped at her driveway and the driver kept the flashers going until he was sure Cynthia was safely out of the way of the traffic on the country road. There were actually three houses that shared part of the driveway before the separate driveways branched to each house, and two of Cynthia’s friends lived in the other two homes. The drive curved around the side of the low hill and at one point the curve overlooked the road below and the field and creek beyond that. Cynthia paused and looked across the field to the creek where her body’s previous occupant had been driven out by her near drowning, and in turn had made it possible for the spirit and memories of Al Gontarski take her place.
Her friends could sense her hesitation as the beaver pond surrounded by the willows, now just beginning to leaf out, came into view. It was almost a daily ritual. She would hesitate, and then stare at the slick waters for a while before she would continue on to her home. Her friends had been there that day when she broke through the ice. They witnessed her near lifeless body finally being pulled from the icy depths, nearly a half hour after going under. What they didn’t realize was that Cynthia had been up the hill watching her near death experience unfold.
Now it was almost spring, and the waters were warming up a bit. The beavers had long before run out of their winter stores and had felled several of the larger willows, harvesting the smaller branches that were now swollen with the nutritious spring flow of sap. An old man had parked at the edge of the road and was seated on a folding camp chair by the pond. He had three poles set up and was hoping to entice some catfish to accept the fat night crawlers he had baited his hooks with.
Cynthia took several deep breaths of the fresh, slightly chilled air. She saw so much more now. Details of what was around her would have been lost on Al Gontarski. Now, every little grain of sand, every pebble, every leaf, the Purple Martins just arriving from somewhere south of the border, all of it meant so much more to her than it ever did in the past.
“You’re different, Cindy,” remarked Diane, her friend from a grade ahead of her. “You’re a lot more serious than you used to be. Not all the time, but sometimes you seem to act like a grownup.”
“She, er, I almost died down there. The doctors think I may have had some things happen to my brain. That was why I was in a coma so long. Mommy and Daddy say the same thing. I know I am different from what I was before. I remember almost everything from before, but it’s like it happened to someone else.” Indeed it had, but Cynthia knew she wouldn’t always be able to ‘fake it’. So, if she acted differently from the way she acted in the past, it was easy to just attribute it to the trauma she had undergone.
Diane and Betty said their ‘goodbye’s’ as Cynthia headed up the last stretch of driveway to her home. Her mother was at home with her little brother. His school day ended earlier than hers did. Tommy was a good brother. In Cynthia’s previous life she would have said he was a pain in the ass; however, she realized now that he was just growing up and finding himself. They had a few arguments, but for the most part Cynthia was able to convince him to behave.
She realized something else these first months of her new life. There was nothing in her previous life that legitimized her behavior. Her previous parents had been wonderful caring people and she knew now that her reaction to her misplaced gender was over the top. She also realized that she had been very selfish. Well, that was all behind her now. Her mental maturation had been a difficult and painful process. She was wise beyond her apparent years now; however, more than anything else she was the little girl she had longed to be, and she realized that someday she would become a woman. That would happen in time. There was no longer any rush.
The mall was filled with early spring shoppers. The warming weather had brought the crowds out. There was the background roar of many voices riding on a soundtrack of piped-in music being played over the mall’s speakers. There was no sign of the SRU shop, and she didn’t expect there to be.
“Mommy, I need to go to the bathroom.”
They were sitting at the food court across from the passage leading to the mall offices and restrooms.
“Do you want me to come with you?” asked her mother.
“I’m OK by myself. It’s right there and I won’t be long.” This may not have been wise in some malls; however, in this case the restroom area was secure and there was only one way to enter the ladies’ room. Cynthia walked quickly down the short hall and made a right turn. The ladies’ restroom was just ahead at the end of the hall. On her right were two doors leading to the rear of two shops. A sign on one of the doors declared: "Spells-R-Us, Deliveries Only. Please Ring Bell.”
Cynthia looked around and noted there was no one in view. She pushed the button and a second or two later she heard a buzz and a click. The door opened easily and she found herself in the back of the shop she remembered so well. The Wizard was not in sight, so she made her way to the front. She could hear The Wizard talking with someone.
“Now remember to read and follow the instructions. We can’t be responsible for anything that results in your not following the procedures, warnings and cautions.” Cynthia watched as a young couple carrying two flat boxes exited the shop into a snowstorm! She realized she was looking out into a parking lot, not the interior of the mall she had just been in. ‘This is really weird,’ she thought.
“Hi, Cindy, glad you could make it.”
“I don’t have a lot of time. My Mom thinks I’ve gone to the restroom.”
“Not to worry. I’ve set up a little time loop. When you go back out the rear door, it will be the same time it was when you came in here.”
“I have a feeling I’m not in Connecticut, anymore.” Cynthia chuckled at her joke as she looked at the driving snowstorm outside the shop. “Where are we, anyway?”
“Fargo, North Dakota. I have two events to take care of, actually one now.
“That young couple who just left are so in love with each other and they are afraid to say anything. There is a “First Day of Spring Party” tonight that is being jointly put on by her sorority and his fraternity. She asked him and as you have probably surmised, it is a costume party. He’s going as Lil’ Abner and she’s going as Daisy Mae.”
“I take it there is a lot of padding in the costumes. Neither of them looked much like Daisy Mae or Lil’ Abner. Does anyone even know who they are? That strip stopped when I was a child the first time.”
“No, she just thought they were cute costumes.”
“So what’s the catch? I know there is one. There always is with you?”
“There’s no catch. They just need to follow the warnings and cautions. They won’t, though.”
“What’s going to happen?”
“I cast a little inhibition releasing love spell on them. They will probably make love tonight. It will be the first time for both of them. If they can wait and take their costumes off before they do it, they will marry and have a pleasant, if undistinguished life. If they can’t wait and don’t remove all the costumes before consummating their love, several things will happen. The built-in enhancements will become real; however, there is a little twist. They will switch bodies, something that they will have little trouble adjusting to. They will gain a lot of self confidence in their new genders and do very well. The probability charts indicate a 92% chance that the latter situation will happen and be successful.”
Cynthia had a far away look. “I never made love to anyone. I hope I find someone someday.”
“Don’t worry about it Cindy. You have many years ahead of you to grow up in. I think things will work out nicely for you.”
A coo-coo clock suddenly squawked eleven times and The Wizard looked up, startled. “Quick, follow me. We have to go out back.”
Cynthia followed The Wizard out the door she had come through a few minutes before. Instead of going into the mall, the door led to an alley. The Wizard made a little wave and the falling snow parted over their heads, keeping them dry. They walked to a dumpster that was a few shops down the way.
“OK, here he is. Stand back a bit. This could get a little messy.”
Peering over the edge of the dumpster, The Wizard called to an as yet unseen person, “Tommy, you need to get out of there. You will freeze if you don’t get out now.”
“Go away. Leave me alone.”
“Tommy, if you don’t get out now. I will make you get out.”
“You can’t make me do anything, you old fart. Just go away and let me die.”
“I figured it would go like this,” The Wizard grumbled. He made a few passes and suddenly a mountain of trash flew out of the dumpster followed by the form of a young man dressed in rags.
“What the hell?”
“Don’t move, and be quiet.” For some reason, the young man was unable to do anything.
The Wizard made a sweeping gesture and all the trash gathered up in a whirl and deposited itself back in the dumpster.
“OK, Tammy, you will be quiet and follow us.”
Thirty seconds later they were back in the rear of the shop.
“Sit there Tammy, The Wizard said, indicating a small chair. “You may speak if you remain polite.”
“Don’t call me Tammy. My name is Tommy.”
“Why don’t we have some hot chocolate while we talk things over?” There were three steaming mugs of hot chocolate on the counter and The Wizard passed one to the boy and another to Cynthia. The Wizard took a sip and smacked his lips with a gesture of satisfaction. Cynthia took a sip and found the temperature and taste to be perfect. The boy also took a sip. Cynthia realized he was a bit younger than she first thought.
After the boy took another sip, he couldn’t have been much older than twelve, The Wizard started talking to him in a gentle voice. “Tammy, I want to hear only the truth from you. What were you doing back there?”
“I was trying to find a place to stay warm, and my name isn’t Tammy.”
“Do you wish it was?”
The boy, who was closer to ten than 12, paused for a moment before answering, “Yes sir.”
“I think that can be taken care of.”
Cynthia watched in awe as the boy, no a girl, continued to change. The rags were gone. Instead, there was a little girl, dressed in wool trousers and a bright woolen sweater. There was a knitted wool cap on the stool beside her. Her auburn hair was in braids and her cheeks were rosy. There was a bright pink lip gloss on her lips. She took another sip of the hot chocolate and then fished out a marshmallow. She looked at it before engulfing it in one bite. She had a bright smile on her face. She couldn’t have been more than five.
“Tammy, where are you?”
“I’m back here Mommy. These nice people gave me some hot chocolate.”
A woman in her late 20’s came through the curtains. “Tammy, I said you could look at the kittens, not take over the place.
Turning to The Wizard, the woman smiled, “I hope my daughter wasn’t a problem. I told her she could look at the kittens while I was picking up the dry cleaning.” Then lowering her voice, added, “She will be five next week. She doesn’t know it, but that little black and white one has her name on it.” Tammy hadn’t heard a thing. She was licking the last remnants of the chocolate from the mug.
The woman thanked the Wizard for his kindness and led her daughter out into the snowstorm.
“She lost her daughter to a drunk driver last month. Tammy is going to be a very happy little girl. Tommy would have died in that dumpster tonight. His parents will be killed tonight when their meth lab explodes. They might do better next time.
“So, did you feel Tommy?”
“Yes, as soon as you got her out of the dumpster. That was very nice how you did that. She won’t remember anything will she?”
“No, there was little worth remembering. She will always know that she is a girl. There won’t be any doubt there. Now, tell me what’s going on with Bobby.”
“Bobby is afraid of being found out. What’s funny is that his mom and dad know about him. So do his brothers and I think they are OK with it. I think they feel if people find out what he feels inside that things will get very difficult for him. What I don’t understand is if they know about how he feels inside and are OK with it why aren’t they helping him?”
“Cindy, I think you need to find out. This is something that you will be doing a lot of and you need all the practice you can get. Your powers may not be in the area of correcting gender problems, but you will have the ability to detect those who need our assistance. It’s not clear yet where your other powers will be. It will be three or four years before your powers begin to develop fully. We’ll know much more then. Right now you are a scout.
“The problem we have with Bobby is that his transition has to be voluntary. Once these things are set in motion, the method of change may not be altered. For the change to take place, Bobby has to willingly accept the change. Here’s an additional problem. Since his parents are aware of the situation, as are his brothers, they must all be in accord before the transition may take place. The way these things happen, because they are aware of Bobby’s situation, they will remain aware after the transformation occurs, unless a subsequent spell is created. Therefore they all must agree to the transition taking place. If they won’t agree with letting it happen, it never will. You are going to have to use all your powers to convince them to let it happen. This may be very difficult because I have a feeling they may not believe in the process. That is, they don’t believe in the science of magic.
“Remember what it took to get Dorothy home that first time. She had to believe. Once she did, everything was possible and she was able to return to Oz time and again. She still lives there by the way with her aunt and uncle, and Toto still refuses to talk.
“Your job is going to be to convince Bobby and his family that the transition is possible and there will be no danger or fallout from it. When it happens, we will take care of all the necessary details and Bobbie will be able to live her life the way it should be. What do you think?”
“Wow! That sounds like a big job for a nine-year old. Who’s going to believe me?”
“Well, Cindy, that’s where we think your powers are. None of this comes easy. It takes a lot of practice, a lot of instruction and mentoring. You and Maddy will have a lot of help. Best of all, you have a lot of time.
“Now, I have to go to Tokyo. There’s a whole bunch of anime fanatics I have to deal with. I’ll check with you like I did the other night. Maddy will let you know.”
“Your Wisdom, I have a question.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Why does everyone call me Cindy? My name is Cynthia.”
“It is, isn’t it? I guess it’s because Cindy is a nickname and is easier to say than Cynthia. It means people are accepting you for who you are. You are just going to have to get used to it. You are Cynthia, you are Cindy, and you are a nine year old girl. Isn’t it wonderful?”
“Yes it is!”
The Wizard made a half hearted attempt to avoid her hug and kiss. He gave her squeeze in return. “You need to go. I can’t hold that time loop in place much longer.”
Cindy made her way out the back door to the hallway. By this time she really needed to use the restroom and did.
“Why are your shoes all wet?” her mother asked.
Cindy looked at the wet mud on her shoes. “Someone stopped up one of the toilets. People are so rude.”
Well, Cindy has a problem, and it looks like The Wizard is going to let her run with it. I'll bet he'll be around if he is really needed. What could the problem be with Bobby. Did Cindy make a mistake? Did she misinterpret the signals? It doesn't seem so, not from the way Bobby was talking. Well there is a problem and it is up to Cindy to correct it. Will she be up to the task?
By Portia Bennett
Alfred Gontarski had the misfortune to have been born into the wrong body. That’s all been fixed now; however if you are not familiar with how things were corrected, you should go back and read “An Incremental Journey” before you read this little adventure. Al, now Cynthia Lewis, has a problem. It seems that one of her nine-year old classmates has the same problem she had. He was born into the wrong body. Cynthia was able to work a deal with the SRU Wizard to get Bobby Schmedlap a gift certificate for his birthday that would allow him to become the girl Cynthia knows he wants/has to be. The problem is this. Bobby has not redeemed his gift certificate and now the powers behind SRU want to know when he’s going to do it because it’s the end of the fiscal year and unclaimed spells cause all sorts of accounting problems. It’s going to be Cynthia’s job to find out what’s going on and why Bobby Schmedlap hasn’t gone for the change he so desperately wants.
Cindy and Maddy begin to realize some more of their powers. They are not huge or particularly strong; however they are important. They are approached by an internet predator and his fate is what one might expect when encountering The Wizard. The Wizard once again shows a bit of his compassionate side. Cindy talks to Bobby at school and is able to tell him about things that Bobby never told anyone before. We are also finding out a little bit about why Bobby hasn’t cashed in the gift certificate. Cindy and Maddy come to the realization that Cindy is going to have to tell her parents the truth about her. That will not be easy.
My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story. She is a dear.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Cindy was working at her computer later that afternoon. Before she had been aware of all the complications that Bobby’s transformation was going to entail, she thought it was going to just be a matter of getting Bobby to the SRU shop and let the transfer take place. The Wizard would make all the temporal adjustments and remove potential paradoxes. Then Bobbie could get on with her life and start the process of growing up.
Apparently, that was not to be. Even if she could get Bobby to realize that she was on his side, it wouldn’t do any good unless his parents and brothers agreed with the transformation. Cindy went to a number of the websites she used to frequent before her transformation. She had not felt any need to go there since; however, she knew there was information there about previous transformations. Maybe she would find something that would give her a clue on how to handle this situation. The problem was that she couldn’t find one scenario similar to this one. She thought it was going to be easy. It wasn’t.
She was staring out the window lost in thought, not really seeing anything, when she noticed that Maddy had awakened from her nap and was stalking a wad of paper that was one of her favorite toys. Maddy would approach it give it a little pat and send it off in one direction or another. Once it had become ‘alive’ she would pounce on it, give it a couple of shakes and send it off again. Finally, there was no life in it. Maddy picked up the ‘dead beast’ and trotted over to Cindy where she dropped it at her feet.
Looking up, Maddy uttered a very polite, “Mrrpreez.”
For the next ten minutes Cindy would throw the paper wad and Maddy would kill it several times before returning it to Cindy’s feet. Sometimes, Maddy would take her victim and hold it against the side of Cindy’s bed. She would drop it and then bat the wad high in the air before racing after it.
It was towards the end of this little session that Cindy noted something that at first astounded her. Maddy was making the paper wad move without touching it. After ‘killing’ her victim, Maddy would walk away a few feet and turn and face it. She would squat down and wiggle her rear end while staring at her victim. Suddenly, the paper wad would start to roll erratically away from her. She would wait a fraction of a second before leaping on it.
Maddy brought the paper back one more time. Her little sides were going in and out. It was obvious that she was exhausted. That wasn’t too surprising as cats aren’t known for their endurance.
“So, Maddy, you’ve learned a new trick.”
“Merwless. Mrrinner?”
“I guess it’s getting close to dinner, at that. Let me clean out your toilet and I will fix your dinner. I’ll bet you’re pretty proud of yourself. Have you learned to do anything else?”
“Mrohwl.”
“Well, you are just a kitten. Still, I can’t do anything like that yet; however, His Wisdom said we have a lot of time.
“We do have a problem, Maddy. I told you about Bobby. I know I am right about him and His Wisdom says I am. The problem is that unless his parents and brothers agree to let him become the girl he is inside, the magic won’t work. Bobby needs to be a girl right now so that her mother can help her grow up the right way. Real memories are a lot better than ones put there by magic that aren’t real. They aren’t complete. The real details are missing and no matter how good the magic is, it can’t be as good as the real thing. I am so happy that I have real memories, even though a lot of them aren’t mine.
“We have to come up with something. I think I have to convince Bobby first. Then we are going to have to work on his parents and brothers. They have to believe that the magic will work. His Wisdom says I am going to have to work this out on my own. I think it’s a test. Shoot! I’m only nine years old. What do they expect?”
They made their way downstairs and as they approached the rear of the house, Cindy could smell the wonderful aroma of dinner being prepared. In her past life food had been merely a means to temporarily satisfy her deeper appetites. She had not been a gourmet, she had been a gourmand, an over-eater. Food was now a wonderful experience. She enjoyed helping her mother, who was an excellent cook, prepare meals. Her father was also an excellent cook and sometimes the three of them would work on a meal.
On this late afternoon her mother was working on some real estate business in the home office. Her mother had an MBA from the Harvard School of Business and that was where she had met Cindy’s father. They had met on a double blind date, they were not each other’s dates, but the attraction was instantaneous. They married six months later and Cindy was born a year to the day after their marriage.
Stan already worked with Al Gontarski’s parents and had taken a year’s leave of absence to complete his degree. Marissa went to work for an accounting firm in Cambridge; however, after the death of Al’s parents (and Al, too, in this version of reality) she joined the firm as the accountant and business manager. The new partnership continued to thrive after the unfortunate deaths of the owners, due to their benevolence.
Cindy looked in on her mother. “What’s cooking? It smells delicious.”
“Pot roast: it does smell good doesn’t it? What have you been up to? I haven’t heard a peep out of you two since we got back from the mall.”
“I was looking up some things on the internet and then Maddy and I were playing. She fetches real well.”
“I hope you weren’t going anywhere where you weren’t supposed to.” When Cindy insisted on getting a computer, her folks weren’t too sure she should have one; however, after they talked to her teacher about it and found out that the students were encouraged to use the internet, they bought a nice one for her. When Cindy reached the fifth grade the next year, computers would be a necessity.
Her parents were amazed at how quickly Cindy took to it. She explained, somewhat truthfully, that she had learned at school where they had a computer lab. Of course, her father put in all sorts of protection so that the computer would not take Cindy to places that were not appropriate for a nine year-old girl. Cindy, of course, was able to bypass all the protection without her father or mother ever being able to detect it. Her interests were purely academic, now.
Her parents told her about the fact there were some evil people out there who would try to lure children into serious danger. Her mother had already had a pretty serious discussion with her about what it meant to grow up. Cindy appreciated the discussion, especially since it was from a perspective 180 degrees from the one she had the first time many years before. She had a much greater understanding this time about her parents’ concern.
Cindy cleaned out Maddy’s ‘toilet’ and added a little nice smelling, clumping litter. She checked the pet water fountain; Maddy liked to drink from where the water came out near the top, and then fixed Maddy a small bowl of wet food to go with the special dry food that Maddy seemed to be partial to. Maddy dove in.
The wonderful aromas from the kitchen drew Cindy back there. Her mother was checking on the roast that was in the slow cooker. Without being asked, she set the table. It was something she enjoyed doing.
While she carefully placed the utensils on the table she thought about what she was going to do about Bobby. She finally decided that the only thing she could do was try to gain his confidence. This might take a long time, especially because of her coming on too strongly with the gift certificate. She didn’t realize that someone who had gender issues might not be willing to jump at the chance to make the change. Instead she might have caused more damage than good, and had caused Bobby to be suspicious of her motives. She knew she would learn as she got older, but she didn’t want to ‘blow’ her first ‘assignment’.
Her dad and little brother had gone on their first fishing trip of the year and had returned while Cindy was setting the table. Tommy had a great time and actually caught a rather nice crappie. He couldn’t stop talking about it. It wasn’t his first fish, but it was definitely the biggest to date. That fish along with the half dozen his dad had caught would make a nice bunch of fillets for the Sunday evening dinner the next day.
After a very enjoyable dinner and helping clean up, Cindy retired to her bedroom to see if she could get any information from any of the past websites she had been visiting. She was not making any advances at all when her speakers gave a little melodic sound and a small square popped into view on the lower right side of her screen. Maddy, who had been draped around Cindy’s neck, gave a start.
It was an instant message announcement, something Cindy used from time to time to talk with her classmates if they were on line. This was different. It was a message from someone named ‘Lindy Lou’. “Hi, I am new in town and don’t have any friends. My computer said you were on line. Would you be my friend?”
Maddy started growling. She climbed off of Cindy’s shoulders and sat in front of the screen. While continuing to growl, she started batting at the window with the message. “Mrowbad!”
“I think you are right, Maddy. I think this is one of those people Daddy was talking about. What do we do? Gosh, I wish The Wizard was here.”
There was another melodic ‘ding’ and a window appeared on the lower left side of the screen. Cindy looked down and could see the interior of the SRU back area. The view kept getting obscured by the robed figure of The Wizard reaching above the screen. “Dagnabbit and drosophilae’s wings; I keep telling them that these computer interfaces don’t work well with magic. Cindy, can you hear me? Maddy just sent an alarm. Are you OK?”
“Oh, gosh! I can hear and see you. I guess that’s another trick Maddy can do.
“I’m fine, Your Wisdom, I was working on trying to find out what to do with Bobby when I got an IM from someone I don’t know. Maddy doesn’t like it and I don’t think I do either.”
“What’s an IM? Oh yes, instant message. I think the old way is better. So what does it say? What a second — where are those instructions they gave me. Oh yes, here they are,” he muttered to himself.
“Cindy, I am going to do something so I can see your screen.” He started singing to himself as a fiddled with an out of sight keyboard. “Ah yes, bibbitty, bobbitty, boo, there it is. Lindy Lou my withered gluteus, excuse me Cindy, this is a bad one. There’s evil everywhere. Let’s see what ‘Lindy Lou’ looks like.”
The Wizard struck a few more keys and the small window on the lower right side of the screen expanded a bit. Cindy could now see the inside of a room. There was a man peering into what she assumed was his computer screen. He was maybe in his late twenties. There wasn’t anything about him that appeared to be particularly evil.
“OK, we can fix this. This is a good connection and I can read his mind almost as if he were in the shop. Sick, sick, sick: we’re lucky on this one Cindy. He hasn’t been able to hurt anyone yet, but if we don’t do something to correct things, he will. I see he lives near you. We need to get him to the shop as soon as possible.
“I have an opening between two and three tomorrow afternoon. Let’s set up a meeting. I am going to reply to the message for you.”
Suddenly letters started appearing in the window below the image. “Hi, I’m Cindy.”
The image of the man perked up and he started typing. “Hi Cindy, I’m Lindy Lou. How old are you?”
“I’m nine. I don’t have many friends. How old are you?”
“I’m ten. We just moved here from Detroit.”
Cindy watched as The Wizard conversed with the man. Before she knew it, The Wizard had arranged to meet ‘Lindy’ at the mall the next afternoon. Lindy was going to be with her father. They would meet outside the candy store. There was no ‘candy store’ except for what Cindy knew would be the SRU candy store.
The Wizard terminated the connection.
“Your Wisdom, how am I going to get to the mall? We shopped there today.”
“That blue dress you bought is too small. Your mother accidently picked the wrong one off the rack. Just show your mother it is the wrong one. She will take you back. I’ll fix it so she doesn’t notice what’s going to go on. I’ll see you there at two.”
Sure enough, Cindy got the blue dress out of her closet, and just as the Wizard said, it was two sizes too small. She took it to her mother and showed her the tag. Marissa was a bit perplexed, but they agreed they should exchange it the next afternoon after church as Cindy wanted to wear it to school the next week. The four of them would have lunch in the nice cafeteria and then they could exchange the dress after lunch.
The church service was nice enough. Cindy couldn’t really get into the sermon, if it was a sermon. Besides she was wondering what The Wizard had in mind for the internet predator. She had a feeling that a trap had already been set and that she was just along for the ride.
They had a very pleasant lunch at the chain cafeteria in the mall, and Tommy and Cindy were both allowed a generous wedge of egg custard pie for desert. The dress exchange went off without a hitch, and both her mother and sales lady were mystified as to how the error could have occurred.
They wandered through the mall for a while until her dad and brother spotted a sporting goods store. Tommy was starting to grow faster and he needed a new pair of athletic shoes. Strange, but there was a new candy store next door and the sign proclaimed ‘Sweets-R-Us’.
“May I look around in that new candy store. I just want to see what they have. I might want to buy Gramma Lewis a box of chocolates for her birthday. I don’t need to see anything in that sporting goods store.”
“Alright,” admonished her mother, “but don’t go anywhere else.
Wait inside and we will get you when we are through.”
“Yes, Mommy.”
Cindy waited until they entered the store before looking around for the predator. She spotted him immediately standing outside the store. He was rather nice looking; however, there was no doubt who he was.
She made a show of looking around before entering the shop. There was the same sound of the bell that she had come to love. The man followed her in a few seconds later. The interior looked like what she had seen in pictures of Victorian sweet shops. There were huge jars on the counters and bins under the counter and along the walls. Each contained thousands of jelly beans and each jar had a different color/flavored bean. There were huge jars full of various colored licorice. Trays were piled high with fudge and various toffees and peanut brittles. It was spectacular and in spite of just having had a very nice lunch, Cindy’s mouth watered.
“May I help you?”
Cindy turned and marveled at The Wizard dressed in a starched, striped shirt with a high collar. He had suspenders holding up his trousers. He sort of looked like an old time barber. His beard was gone and his hair was short and slicked back. Cindy had to suppress a smile and giggle. It was a pretty neat disguise. If she looked closely while squinting her eyes, she could see the real Wizard behind the disguise.
“I can’t buy any candy right now. I just had lunch. I’m supposed to meet someone here.”
The young man perked up at that comment. “Are you Cindy?”
“Yes sir.”
“Lindy had to go to the rest room. She wanted to meet you here but said we could meet her when she comes out. We can meet her down the hall.”
Playing along, Cindy said, “Well, I don’t know. I have to meet Mom and Dad here in a little while.”
“Before you go, why don’t you try a free sample,” The Wizard said offering a dish of Jelly Beans to them. “Take some for your daughter, too. Try them, you will like them.”
Without really thinking, the man popped a couple of the pink jelly beans into his mouth. He froze.
“Is something wrong, Mr. Tomlinson?”
“I don’t know. I feel a little dizzy. How did you know my name was Tomlinson?”
“Oh, I know a lot about you Mr. Tomlinson, or should I say Eugene? Why don’t you come with us to the back room? It wouldn’t look good if you fainted out front. This will take just a minute and you will be fine.”
The Wizard led the man to the rear of the shop. Cindy had never seen it look this way. There was a very nice sitting area with several very comfortable looking chairs. He had Eugene Tomlinson sit on one of them.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I feel light headed. I sure hope it’s not that swine flu.” Eugene pulled out a handkerchief and patted his brow.
“You don’t have the swine flu. In fact you are very healthy, physically. There is a problem inside that head of yours, though.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well to put it bluntly, you are a pedophile.”
Eugene suddenly had a look of panic spread across his face. Cindy could see him struggle to stand but he was unable to.
“Don’t worry about it Gene. We’re going to fix everything. I assure you everything will be fine. It’s just going to take a while to fix.
“Now about this fixation you have for little girls. Why do you have that? You may answer me truthfully. No one here will hurt you. Have some more jelly beans while you are thinking about it.”
Eugene obediently put a half dozen of the pink jelly beans in his mouth. He savored them, washing them with his saliva before he gently chewed them as they dissolved. “I have always thought I was a girl. But I couldn’t be one. I wanted to play games with girls, be close to them; to be loved. I wanted to be a mommy.” He started to cry. “I didn’t really want to hurt anyone, but I think I could have. I think I am losing control.”
Cindy could see the changes taking place. His hair lengthened a bit; however, the biggest changes were in his facial features. His prominent brow ridge disappeared and his face became heart shaped. His eyebrows remained full and there was no makeup, the appearance was very feminine. His clothing shifted and suddenly he, no she, was wearing a skirt and blouse.
“What are you doing to me?” she said in a very sweet voice
“I told you we are going to fix what’s wrong with you. Now stand up so I can see how we’re coming along.”
Her hips broadened a bit and her legs appeared to be relatively long and very shapely. Her waist nipped in very nicely.
“Turn around so I can see the rest of you.”
She did as told. The Wizard looked up and down. He made a few passes and the girl’s bust expanded a bit. He stopped the growth somewhere between what Cindy would guess was a ‘B’ or ‘C’.
“What do you think Cindy? Not overdone, not a busty bimbo: I think she’s a rather attractive young woman, or should I say will be. Now we need to do the final adjustments.
“Jean, you need to eat the rest of those jelly beans. They are very good for you.
The Wizard turned to Cindy as Jean obediently ate the rest of the beans. “There’s too much wrong inside Jean to fix here. It’s going to take a lot of love and nurturing.”
Jean started shrinking rather rapidly. She became a rather cute teenager, then post pubescent adolescent. Soon she was a six or seven year old little girl. Then she was four, three, two, and one year old. Then she couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old. She started to cry.
The bell tinkled and The Wizard looked up. “Right on time; we should have this all made right very shortly.
“Mrs. Williams, we’re back here.”
The curtains parted and a young mother pushing a baby carriage entered the room. “Mrs. Baxter, (The Wizard was now definitely Mrs. Baxter) it is so nice of you to have a place like this for nursing mothers.” She sat behind a nice screen and pulled a small baby from the carriage. She opened her blouse and nursing bra and brought the little baby to her breast. The little baby latched on immediately. “Janie is such a good baby. I barely have enough for her, but we are doing alright now. I hope I can produce more as she gets older.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem at all. Have some of these chocolate, cream filled candies.”
“Delicious,” Mrs. Williams responded as she took a second and third candy. She never noticed that her bust increased at least two cup sizes in a matter of seconds.
“I think little Jeannie is hungry too, if her fussing is any indication.”
“Jeannie? Oh, Jeannie. Don’t worry Jeannie, there’s plenty for both of you. There always is. Here, I think I can still feed both of you at the same time.”
After about 15 minutes, both babies were, temporarily at least, sated. Mrs. Williams placed the two babies in the now twin sized baby carriage, thanked The Wizard for having a space for her to nurse, and left the store.
“It took her nursing Jeannie to complete the change. I think Jeannie will do a lot better this time around. By the way, the mall is converting a portion of this store into a nursing station. The entrance will be from the ladies rest room.”
Cindy returned to the front of the store and stopped to scratch the wolf’s ears. She couldn’t escape a slurpy kiss. She thought about what she had seen. Two days in a row now, The Wizard had performed a rather compassionate transformation. She didn’t think Tammy from the day before would grow up to be a vacuous bimbo, and she was pretty certain that Jean wouldn’t either. Still, she was certain that if situations presented themselves, The Wizard could perform some rather startling and bizarre transformations. She would stay on his good side.
“Cindy, I think another of your talents is beginning to show up. Your computer skills are very good and it will be important for you not to let on for a few years how good they are. We already know that you are developing the ability to detect the transgendered. Apparently you are also able to detect people like Jean. That could be very dangerous. I have fixed it so that if someone like Jean tries to contact you I will get an alarm. That way I can monitor what is happening and we will be able to do what needs to be done. It may not always be as simple as this time. You need to be very careful. Maddy and I will watch things closely.
“Your parents and brother should be coming along shortly. I’ll be close by regardless of where I am. All you have to do is call for me and I will contact you. Keep working on Bobby. He should be your main concern for a while. OK, I’m off to Anchorage.”
Once again he couldn’t avoid Cindy’s hug, and she felt he wasn’t trying too hard.
Cindy looked across the playground at Bobby Schmedlap. He was playing softball with his class mates and doing very well at it. It was just that every time Cindy got within 50 feet of him, she could sense his female spirit. There was no question about it, and her dealings with The Wizard over the weekend only confirmed that her intuition was correct. Bobby was a girl inside and he wanted desperately to be a girl on the outside. She thought at first that Bobby’s display of sporting prowess was his way of hiding the real Bobbie; however, she began to realize there were some biases left over from her previous life. There was no reason a girl or woman couldn’t be an athlete and still love being a very feminine woman. After all, there were many very attractive athletes who were also famously wives and mothers.
On the other hand there were also a number of excellent male and female athletes who were gay. It boiled down to the fact that athleticism and gender were not tied directly together. Cindy knew she was going to have to work hard scrubbing stereotypical thinking from her mind. It wouldn’t be easy. Now she was going to have to do something for Bobby. She felt more and more that she had let him down. If she had gone about the whole thing a different way, like gaining his friendship first, things might already have been the way they should have been.
“Hi, Bobby, that was a neat catch you made. I thought Jason was going to hit it over your head.”
“Er, uh, thanks Cindy; I got kinda lucky with that one.”
“No, you are very good. I think you are one of the best baseball players in Carver.
“Could we talk a minute? There’s still some time before we have to be back to class.”
“I guess so,” he said after a short pause.
“Bobby, I’m sorry about the gift certificate. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted you to have something so that you would be happier than you are now. I should have talked with you before I did that. I know how you feel. No, it’s more than that. I know what you are inside.”
Bobby stared at her before talking. “My mom says you are nothing but a trouble maker. I don’t know what you know or how you found out, but my mom says nothing but bad could come from this. My folks have enough troubles with dad not being able to work. Besides, how could you possibly know how I feel?” Bobby was almost in tears.
“Because, I was once like you are.”
Bobby stared at Cindy. His jaw was slack. He shook his head. “That can’t be. We’ve been in school together since kindergarten. You’ve always been a girl. That accident last winter must have really messed you up. They say you almost died. I’ll bet it screwed your brain up.”
Cindy contemplated what she knew she had to say. “How different am I from before?”
“It’s hard to say. You are quieter. I don’t know, sometimes you don’t seem to be as girly as you were before.”
“I know; I am still learning that part. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be; however, it’s better than I ever hoped it would be,” she said almost as if she were talking to herself.
“That’s another thing. You are always talking like a grownup. You never used to talk like that.”
“Yeah, he warned me about that, too. I’m trying, Bobby, I really am. I hope it won’t be too long before you find out what it’s all about.
“I want to be your friend, and I’m pretty sure we are going to be friends for a long time.” She thought back to what The Wizard had told her that day she thanked him for everything he and the ‘others’ had done for her. “I am going to tell you some things that may sound a bit strange, and the way this thing works is that you won’t be able to tell anyone but your parents and brothers about what I am going to tell you. That’s because some of the magic is already in place.”
“What are you talking about — magic?” he said almost disdainfully.
“You were there that day, weren’t you?”
“What day?”
“The day I almost died.”
“Yeah, I was hanging out with Ken Burns. We were having fun with that toboggan run. I rode my bike over there.”
“Let me tell you exactly what happened after I went through the ice. First of all, drowning is not fun. It hurts. You were standing away from the others, but ran up to the edge of the ice. You tried to walk out. You even lay down like I did when I tried to save Maddy. That’s what I named her.
“You tried to get close to me, but went through the ice up to your knees. You were lucky. When I went under you took off up the hill. You were going to Ken Burns’ house to get them to call 911. You fell down twice: once when you slipped on the snow and the second time on the Burns’ front steps. I think there is still a mark on your shin from the scrape. After you got them to call the rescue people, you came back to the edge of the pond. Miriam was holding Maddy and she was crying. You took Maddy from her for a while, trying to warm her up. Miriam eventually took Maddy back before she gave her to my mother. After the ambulance took me away, you stood there for a long time. You sat on the edge of the snow bank and cried for me.
“You are probably thinking someone told me about this, and they could have. One other thing happened. You stopped at the old well house. I think you were looking to see if there were any more kittens. That’s all I can tell you.”
“What do you mean that’s all you can tell me.”
“Well, at that point I had to leave.”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“Bobby, I watched all of that. I was there with someone else. You couldn’t see us, but we were there. This is going to be hard for you to believe, but I am not Cindy. No that’s not exactly right. I am what’s left of Cindy and a lot more. Cindy died that day. Her body stayed alive and it gradually healed. Being under water that long caused a lot of damage and Cindy’s spirit had to leave.
“So, who am I? I was someone like you in many ways. I was a girl in a man’s body. I wasn’t a very nice person, and I blamed a lot of other people for my problems. It seems there were things about me that I didn’t know and I am still finding them out. Then I met The Wizard. Sometimes he has a shop in a mall around here. He helped make it possible for me to take the original Cindy’s place.”
Cindy watched as a look of astonishment spread across Bobby’s face. “You really are crazy. The Spells-R-Us Wizard doesn’t exist.”
“So, you do know about the SRU Wizard. There’s hope.”
“That’s a bunch of crap. My mom say’s it is just a bunch of wishful thinking.”
“How did you first find out about The Wizard?”
“From the computer in the library; we can’t afford a computer at home.”
“I hope you still have that gift certificate. You told me your family could read it. Where is it redeemable?”
“It says at my local Spells-R-Us Shop.”
“Have you shown it to anyone else?”
“The guys at school all thought it was for Wal-Mart.”
“We took it there, and they said it was for Dillard’s. We thought I might be able to get some new clothes so we took it there and they said it was for J. C. Penny.”
“That’s when my dad got pissed. We can’t afford to buy much gasoline.”
“Bobby, I know you are smart. You get some of the highest grades in class. Why are you and your family able to see what it is, I can too, but others can’t?”
“I don’t know. It’s really weird.”
“Bobby, it’s magic. The Wizard made that certificate for you and I paid a lot of money for it.
“I know some other things about you. Things you never told anyone. Your girl name is Roberta, that figures. You are glad you are a redhead and you like the color of your eyes. They are beautiful, by the way. You want to be tall, not too tall, maybe five-ten. You want to have nice breasts, you’re not too sure of the size, but I think a ‘C’ cup is what you envision. You wish your teeth were smaller and straighter. That will be easy to fix. You want to be married and have at least three children. You want the first two to be girls. You want to go to college and eventually become a youth counselor and coach. And above all, you want to play professional golf on the LPGA tour.
“Did I pretty much hit the nail on the head?”
“Oh my, I never told anyone all of that! Mom and Dad just know I’m a girl inside. We can’t afford to do anything about it. We lost our health care when Dad lost his job. Mom’s working as a waitress. We lost our home and….” Bobby was doing all he could to hold back his tears.
Cindy couldn’t help it as she moved in to hold the much taller Bobby to her. “Bobby, we need to get to class.”
“Boy, are we in trouble,” Bobby said while wiping his nose. “We’re gonna be real late.”
“I don’t think so,” Cindy said while checking her watch. I think time stood still for us for a while. The Wizard’s looking out for you. We still have a minute to get to class.”
When class was over, Bobby didn’t make an immediate exit like he had a few days before. “Would you walk with me to the bike stand? Your bus doesn’t get here for a few minutes and I think we need to talk.”
“Sure.”
“I don’t know how you know what you do, but it has to be magic. That’s the only way to explain that weird gift certificate. Can you really do what you said you could?”
“Bobby, the only thing I can do is detect people like we are or were. I can do something else, but that doesn’t matter right now. I’m too young to do any real magic. We’re not sure what I will be able to do when I’m older. Maddy’s got a bit of magic in her, too. The Wizard says she’s my ‘familiar’. She’s there to help me.”
“What are you — a witch?”
“Perhaps: what I really am is a nine-year old girl who is enjoying what I am very much. I lived 35 years as a male of the species and now that’s not a problem anymore. I’ll find out more about what I am later on. I’m just taking it a day at a time.”
“See, you’re talking like a grownup again. That’s another thing that makes me believe you. You never used to talk like this.
“I want to be like I feel inside very much. The idea sort of scares me, but I know it’s right. Before Dad got hurt and lost his job, they took me to a special counselor. She said I have gender dis… er disphora, or something like that.”
“I think it’s called gender dysphoria. There’re a lot of names for it. The names aren’t important. The important thing is that you know, your parents know, your brothers know, I know, and The Wizard knows that inside you are a girl.”
“So what do I do? Do I take the certificate to the wizard and he waves his magic wand or something. Where is he anyway? I have never seen his shop and I used to go to the mall all the time.”
“The only thing I can say is when the time is right he will be there for you. That gift certificate has locked you in. We do have a problem, though. Until your parents and brothers agree to let you use the certificate, it won’t work. The reason for that is that they are tied into your transformation. They know and believe in how you feel and they have been brought into the circle. We know that because they can read the certificate. They have to believe in the magic and consent to let it work.
“I’m new at all this. I might have to talk with your parents to try to explain things. They have to realize that the certificate must be magic. It can’t appear to be different to different people without it having some sort of spell on it.
“Please try to get them to understand how important this is. I don’t want you to have to go through what I did the first time.
“Look, my bus is coming. I’ll see you tomorrow. Wait, one other thing: what did your dad do before he got hurt?”
“He was a construction supervisor. His company built all sorts of plants and office buildings. Why?”
“I’m not sure. For some reason I felt like asking. It must be important.”
For the first time since becoming Cindy, she had trouble sleeping. There had to be some way to meet with Bobby’s parents and two older brothers for that matter, and try to convince them that the gift certificate was real and that she was not crazy. She needed help and wasn’t sure where she could get it. After all, The Wizard said she was on her own.
She realized that since the change she had mentally been becoming younger and younger. There was that time when her new body had almost pre-occupied her. The wonder and the joy, maybe it was elation, she felt about what had happened to her no longer caught her attention every few seconds. She had all her adult memories; however, they no longer on the ‘front burner’, so to speak. If she needed something it was there for her. She had to search those memories out. It was different, though about the memories of the previous Cynthia. She could feel them being interwoven into her personality. It wasn’t like pulling up a page that said on this date and at this time she kissed her Grandmother Smithson goodbye before their trip home. Now she had all the details. She could smell her grandmother’s perfume; she could feel the soft texture of her skin. She could see the rouge and makeup on her cheeks, and she could see the fine hairs growing out of her cheeks. That was strange because her grandmother had died before Cindy had recovered from her near drowning.
Cindy knew she was becoming Cindy in every way. She didn’t have to act. Maybe the wizard had given her a ‘tweak’ as he put it, but she didn’t think so. She was just fitting in. Al Gontarski no longer existed, nor did Cynthia Lewis. She was Cindy Lewis. There was no schizophrenia, no voices, no two personalities occupying one body, one brain. She was Cindy Lewis and she had a mission, perhaps many missions and she knew she was going to enjoy every minute of what the future brought to her as she became a young woman, wife and mother.
She realized, too, that her thought processes that probably put her in the high genius category were still the thought processes of a nine-year old girl. She saw things in a considerably different light than Al Gontarski did. There was something else that really weirded her out. She thought at first that her poor coordination when she was recovering was due to the brain trauma.
She had received flowers and gifts from well-wishers, and her mother thought it would be good therapy if she wrote some thank you notes. Her writing was awful. Al Gontarski’s penmanship hadn’t been bad, but her attempts to write were almost painful.
“Mom, I can’t seem to write very easily. My hand doesn’t work right.”
“Here, let me see. This might have to be something the therapist will have to help you with.
“Oh, Cindy, no wonder you’re having trouble. You’re left handed.”
“Oh my, I guess I forgot.” After that many things became easier. She had to let things happen, rather than think about them. That became very apparent after her catheter was removed. It was a horribly embarrassing time. It took the best part of three weeks before she had any control at all, and another two weeks before she had essentially normal control. It was an enlightening and totally female experience. She learned something in a little more than a month that most little girls took many years to learn.
She knew that she had essentially caught up in most ways. Now she had to look to the future and the future included Bobby Schmedlap. What was she going to do?
“Maddy, how are we going to help Bobby?”
“Mtark.”
“What?”
“Mwarlk”
“Maddy, can you try to talk to me without vocalizing? Your lips make enunciation a bit difficult.”
“[What I said was ‘talk’. I thought I said that very clearly.]”
“Omigosh, you really can talk that way. I was just joking.”
“[You need to talk to Bobby’s family. We need to convince them that the magic is real.
“[Cindy, you need to tell your parents.]”
“Tell them about what?”
“[You, me, Bobby, the whole thing: I think they are part of the plan. You will know it’s permitted and meant to be if you can do it. If you can’t tell them, then you’ll know it’s not allowed.]”
“Maddy, how come we haven’t done this before? I mean, I knew you could talk, but not this way.”
“[Probably because there wasn’t any need before. You asked and suddenly I knew I could do it. I will try to practice talking the other way, too. It might come in handy. I think that was what they call anthropomorphizing. I don’t have hands, though these paws work pretty well.]”
“Cindy,” her mother’s voice came from the hall, “it’s much too late to be talking to your friends. Tomorrow’s a school day and you need your rest. Say goodnight. You can talk at school tomorrow.”
“OK, Mommy. Goodnight.”
“[Maddy, can you hear me?]”
“[Loud and clear.]”
“[Oh, this is going to be so much fun,]” she thought while Maddy snuggled up to her. “[But I’m not sure about telling Mom and Dad about me. They might think I’m crazy and make me go to some shrink. If they do that, I may not be able to help Bobby.]”
“[I don’t think that will be a problem. I think we need their help. We’re too young to do this on our own.]”
“[Speaking of being too young, how old are you anyway? You don’t sound, er, talk, er whatever, like a kitten. The Wizard said you were going to live a long time.]”
“[We will age together. I won’t be able to have kittens until you are old enough to have children. I think I have done this before. I keep remembering things. I think we will live a very long time, but we don’t have to worry about that now. We are just children.
“[I’m going to sleep now.]” And, she did.
Well, Cindy has her work cut out for her. It looks as if Bobby is beginning to believe in ‘magic’ and the gift certificate. Now Cindy is going to have to get her courage up in order to tell her parents who she really is. The thought scares her, but she knows it has to be done. If that works, then she is going to have to confront Bobby’s family and convince them to let Bobby use the certificate. Next time we will see if Cindy is up to the challenge. Thank you for reading and thank you for your comments. Constructive comments are always fuel for future stories.
Alfred Gontarski had the misfortune to have been born into the wrong body. That’s all been fixed now; however if you are not familiar with how things were corrected, you should go back and read “An Incremental Journey” before you read this little adventure. Al, now Cynthia Lewis, has a problem. It seems that one of her nine-year old classmates has the same problem she had. He was born into the wrong body. Cynthia was able to work a deal with the SRU Wizard to get Bobby Schmedlap a gift certificate for his birthday that would allow him to become the girl Cynthia knows he wants/has to be. The problem is this. Bobby has not redeemed his gift certificate and now the powers behind SRU want to know when he’s going to do it because it’s the end of the fiscal year and unclaimed spells cause all sorts of accounting problems. It’s going to be Cynthia’s job to find out what’s going on and why Bobby Schmedlap hasn’t gone for the change he so desperately wants.
Cindy confronts her parents with who she really is. It turns out they are not as surprised as she thought they would be. Now it’s time for the final confrontation. Will Cindy, with Maddy’s help of course, be able to convince the Schmedlap family to let Bobby use the gift certificate? Her parents come with her to lend support; however, this is Cindy’s assignment and she is going to have to pull it off or Bobby is doomed to have to try more conventional means to set things right.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story. She is a dear.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
“I think my Mom and Dad want to talk with you,” Bobby said first thing when they got to class.
“Great! I guess they want to let you use the certificate?”
“No, I think they want to tell you to stop filling my head with false hopes. Those were the words Mom used. I think they want your mother and father there, too. I think they’re really upset about some other things. No one will hire Dad because of his back. We might have to move again, too. It’s not very good right now.
“I really do believe you, Cindy. I keep thinking about the things you’ve told me, and magic is the only way you could know what you know. I looked at that certificate last night and I got all tingly. I almost felt it was doing things to me.
“What are we going to do?”
“Let’s not worry too much about it,” Cindy said while thinking things over. “I am going to have to talk to my parents. Maddy says we should. My parents don’t know about me and I am going to have to tell them. Give me your phone number, and I will call you when I get things straightened out with them.
“This is going to be tough. There may be two sets of parents who think I’m crazy.”
Cindy was eating lunch in the school cafeteria when the subject of Bobby came up. Stephanie Adams looked at Cindy and spoke in a knowing sort of tone, “So, is Bobby your boy friend? You two have been getting awful chummy lately.”
“Bobby and I are friends. I’m a little young to have a boyfriend. We just have a lot in common.” ‘Whoops,’ she thought, ‘I’m talking like a grownup, again.’
“Well, I think he is gorgeous. Those eyes are to die for. You know, you are the only girl he ever talks to like he does. You are very lucky.”
The rest of the day went quietly. Bobby and Cindy said goodbye to each other and each went their separate ways at the end of school. Cindy promised to call as soon as she knew something.
“You’re being awful quiet this evening,” her mother said as they cleaned up after dinner, “Is anything wrong?”
“No, I don’t think anything is wrong. It’s just that I need to talk to you and Dad about something that is pretty important.”
“Well, what is it? You’re not in trouble at school are you?”
“No, nothing like that, but I think we need to wait until after Tommy has gone to bed.”
It was not going to be easy, but she thought it was like getting into cold water. She needed to jump in before she lost her courage. They went into the family room after Tommy was asleep. Cindy was shaking a bit. Her parents sat on the couch but Cindy stayed standing.
“I need to tell you some things about me that may be a bit difficult for you to believe. Please let me tell you everything before you decide to have me committed.
“This is so hard. I think you know that I am different than I was before. I think I remember the doctors telling you that because of brain damage, I would be likely to have personality changes.”
“Well you are a bit different,” said her mother, “but you are still the sweet little girl we have always known.”
“Mom, Dad, Cynthia died when she almost drowned. She’s still around, or at least her spirit is. We’ve talked a lot. There was so much damage to the brain that she couldn’t stay. I am not Cynthia. I am Cindy. Before, I was someone else. Cynthia’s brain was fixed while she was in the hospital, but there wasn’t a spirit there to run things. When her brain, my brain, was fixed I was allowed to move in.
“You know I have most of her memories. The thing is I am loaded up with the memories and personality of someone else. I am not that person anymore thankfully, because I wasn’t very nice. I love both of you very much and I love Tommy, too.
“There’s something else. It seems that I have some special powers. Some of them may have been there before, but I think it took my moving in to make some things happen. I know things about certain people. I’ll get to that in a minute, if you will let me.”
She looked at her parents who had been very attentively listening to her. She was somewhat amazed by the fact that neither had spoken out while she was talking. Neither had made a move to protest anything she was saying. She stared at them for a moment. She had expected some sort of reaction, and she wasn’t getting any. Her parents looked at each other, and then walked to her. They pulled her close and hugged her for a long time. Cindy realized she was crying.
“Cindy, a day or two after you woke up, I had a dream. It was a very strange dream. I was in a tunnel and I wasn’t alone. There was this thing, a sort of bright light, and it was alive, or at least seemed to be. Then it spoke to me. It said you were going to be OK, that it would take a while. It also said you would be different, but that you would always be our daughter. It said that you were a very special person and that someday you would tell us all about it. That was when I realized that your father was with me. It told us other things, and so far everything it said has happened.
“The next morning as we drove to the hospital to see you I told your father about the dream. He almost wrecked the car. You see, he had the same dream, exactly the same dream. Before the dream ended, the spirit, for want of a better description that’s what we called it, said it loved us and always would. That was the end of it.
“We wondered what sort of insanity we had been afflicted with, partly because you never said anything. I think that right-handed thing was the first clue we had. The way Maddy warmed up to you was another. There were many little things that could have just been due to your brain injury, but they didn’t add up.
“We do know this. You are our daughter. We couldn’t possibly be wrong about that. Yes you are a bit different, but that is as much of a blessing as anything. We are so lucky to have you and we don’t want you to ever think anything else.”
There were some more hugs and tears. Maddy had been reclining on the back of Cindy’s chair during the revelations.
“Menow.”
Cindy turned to her. “Now?”
“[Yes, now.]”
Stan Lewis, who had been quiet through most of the conversation, after all, this was greatly a mother/daughter thing, stated with some affirmation of what he had suspected for a while, “Maddy can talk, can’t she.”
“Yes, she can. She has trouble with some of the syllables and letters, but she is getting better. She can mind speak to me, but I don’t think you can hear her.”
“[They can’t.]”
“She wants me to tell you something. We will get to that in a minute.
“Daddy, I heard you say the other day that you need someone at work to do property inspections and evaluations for you. Would someone who had been a construction superintendent be able to do that? I would think he should be able to.”
“Yes, that’s exactly the qualifications we are looking for. Do you know someone?”
“Bobby Schmedlap’s father: I think he used to be good, but he hurt his back.”
“Amos Schmedlap would have been perfect, but I don’t think he can do the climbing that the job would require. They say he can hardly walk. It’s a shame what happened to him. He was one of the best. I understand the judge threw out the lawsuit out on some sort of technicality. I haven’t heard anything about him in quite a while. I thought they had moved.”
“No they live here, but they lost their home. Bobby Schmedlap is in my class. I think they live somewhere down in that old industrial area by the river.”
“This brings me to the main reason I needed to talk to you. It’s about something I can do and it has a lot to do with who I used to be. I don’t think the spirit told you about that. I know that spirit by the way. We spent a lot of time together.
“I was someone you knew before; not real well because reality has been changed a bit. In the world you remember, I was killed 10 years ago in an airplane accident. In the world I knew, I was around until last December, when Cynthia drowned, or almost drowned. My spirit was extracted from my body before things were changed. For a while I was an elderly woman and I learned many lessons about life and getting along. Then the Spirit and I went to many places and saw many things. That ‘I’ was being healed while Cindy’s body healed.
“This may seem a bit strange; however, I have among other things, the ability to sense or detect people who are in the body that is not their gender. I used to be a person like that. I have always been a girl. It’s just that I was in a man’s body. I hated it, enough said. Everything is just fine now.
“I know now that because I have been able to tell you all of this that it is OK to tell you more. Bobby Schmedlap is a girl like I was. His family knows it and they love him. It’s just that they can’t afford to do anything about his condition. He wants to be a real girl so much. I knew that as soon as I got back to school.
“Remember when I went into that Hallmark Shop? That’s what it looked like to you. To me, it was the Spells-R-Us shop. It is operated by a very special person. I think it will be OK for you to meet him soon. That candy store I went into on Sunday was his shop also. If you check now you will find out that there is a specialty tea and coffee shop there. Anyway, I bought a gift certificate for Bobby so that The Wizard’s magic would allow him to be a girl on the outside, too. The trouble is, unless his parents and brothers agree to let him use the certificate it won’t work.
“The Wizard says I am going to have to work this out on my own. I think it is part of my training. Maddy told me to tell you all this. I would have eventually; however, we need your help. Bobby’s parents are mad at me because they think I am being mean to Bobby by giving him false hopes. We need to meet with Bobby’s family and try to convince them to at least try to get the certificate to work. They don’t believe in magic. I think you do.”
“Of course we believe in magic. It brought our daughter back to us. How could we not believe in it,” her father said as his voice cracked a bit. “They said there was no hope for you; that that best we could do was donate your organs. Then you were back. They said it was impossible, but here you are. Then there is this thing about a talking cat.
“Maddy, you really can talk, can’t you.”
“Mrresss. Mralk oo Missindee. Easrr rat way. (Yes, Talk through Cindy. Easier that way.)”
“That’s all we need to know. No I think there are two things. You want us and Maddy, too, I suspect, to talk to the Schmedlaps.”
“Right; and what’s the other thing?” Cindy knew what it was, and she dreaded the question.
“Who were you before?”
“I was Alfred Gontarski.”
“No, Alfred Gontarski died with his parents in a horrible plane crash. You are our daughter, Cynthia Elizabeth Lewis. You have always been and always will be our daughter; a very special girl with something extra.”
Cindy was walking on air and Maddy was on her shoulder. They had absolutely nothing to worry about, except Bobby Schmedlap.
It had been threatening to rain all day. There had been a warm, gusty wind from the south, but now the west was darkening faster than could be attributed to a setting sun. As they drove past the school, Cindy began to have serious doubts about what they were doing.
Bobby’s parents had wanted to talk to Cindy’s parents to get her to stop talking to Bobby about his gender identity problem. They had wanted to help him get the medical and psychological help he would need. They just couldn’t afford it. Maybe when Bobby was older and their financial situation got straightened out, they could do something. It was hard enough now to put food on the table. Their phone service would be the next thing to go, then the power and water. They had a roof over their heads but that could change at any moment.
The double-wide trailer had basically been a loan from Amos’s previous employer. It had been a construction office; however, with the downturn of the economy, it wasn’t needed. If things turned around in the construction business, they might lose their home, such as it was.
Amos’s employer was a good man, but with Amos’s injury and the downturn of the economy, there was no hope for a job.
After the injury, things went downhill fast. The worker’s compensation insurance company refused to pay the workers’ compensation insurance. They maintained that Amos was not on the job at the time of the injury. Amos’s lawyer filed a suit against the subcontractor who actually caused the injury; however, the opposing lawyer successfully filed a motion dismissing the suit.
Then the market crashed and their 401K lost 60% of its value. The medical expenses ate everything up and the Schmedlaps ended up filing for bankruptcy. They couldn’t make the house payments and with the mortgage balance being more than the house was worth, they ended up having to walk away from it. Now they were living on a shoe string and there wasn’t much left of it. Then some idiot girl had to start bothering their beloved son about his gender identity problem.
It would have been difficult, but they had it all planned out to help him the best way they knew possible. He was going to start anti-androgen medication within the year. Then when he would start low dose estrogen and progesterone to simulate early puberty. When he reached twelve they would increase the dosage to allow him to start female puberty and grow into the girl he was. They had it all worked out and then that damned forklift had to run Amos down. He was exactly where he was supposed to be and doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing; however, the other lawyer was cleverer than his lawyer and the judge threw it all out. Amos would gladly have lived with the back injury if their son had just been able to become their daughter. It was so wrong that Bobby had to suffer because of someone else’s careless action.
Now that crazy girl and her parents were coming over to talk to them about something. She had no business dragging Bobby through all of this. He had accepted things pretty well and now she was bringing up all this magic crap. It wasn’t right and he was going to tell them that what she was doing was unnecessarily cruel. He was going to do his best to make them leave Bobby alone.
His back hurt like hell and his leg was essentially numb. He could barely make it work. He had some pain pills left, but he didn’t want use them because they fuzzed his mind. He wanted to be sharp when the rich people from up the hill arrived.
“It’s down here dad. We’re supposed to go past the old warehouses and up the levee. After that we turn left at the stop sign. There will be a bunch of trailers in a yard and they are back by the office building.” The wind was picking up and lighting was reflecting off the cloud deck. They found the trailers and noted a light on at one near the rear of the yard. The rain was starting to spit as they walked up the portable stairs to knock at the metal door.
Lightning flashed again and thunder rumbled about fifteen seconds later. The wind was picking up and had shifted to the northwest. The temperature was starting to fall.
They could hear someone coming to the door. It started to open slowly, but a sudden gust of wind blew it out of the grasp of the woman who stood there. She was an attractive woman, but weariness shown in her expression. Her hair was dark red and Bobby had her eyes. Cindy saw that right away.
“Please come in. It’s really starting to look nasty out there. I’m Sally Schmedlap.” She politely extended her hand. She led them into the main room of the double-wide trailer and introduced the rest of the family. Bobby’s brothers were David, age 12, and Ezra, age 14. They scowled at Cindy when she was introduced. Cindy introduced Maddy, but didn’t mention that she could talk. The Schmedlaps’ German Shepherd ran up to investigate the intruder. Maddy murmured something and the dog stopped in his tracks. Maddy twisted around his legs and everyone watched somewhat astonished as the two headed for the kitchen and the dog’s watering dish. They returned shortly and settled down on the mangy carpet to watch the humans.
“Would anyone like something to drink? We can’t offer much. We have coffee, tea, iced tea and some cokes. I think there are a couple of beers in the refrigerator,” Sally offered.
The adults settled on coffee and the children opted for the soft drinks. Cindy felt almost guilty about taking a coke because she knew how tight things were for the Schmedlaps. There was a bit of unease in the group and before anyone could say anything, Cindy decided it was up to her to get the ball rolling.
“I know that Mr. and Mrs. Schmedlap are upset with me because of what I said to Bobby and what I gave him at his birthday party at school. I know now that I did the wrong thing. I didn’t handle the situation very well. I should have done things very differently.”
“Young lady,” interjected Mrs. Schmedlap, “I don’t know how you found out about Bobby, but the last thing we want is to have it spread around is that Bobby is transgendered. Things are hard enough on him as it is.
“We were going to move so that Bobby could start living as a girl in our new home, but everything was lost due to Amos’s accident. We can barely put food on the table; much less get him the medical help he needs. Then you come along and dangle this preposterous ‘gift’ in front of him. What sort of nonsense is this? I think it is a cruel joke and we think you owe Bobby an apology.”
Cindy was trying to summon up all the courage she could. She was gong to have to fall back on her Al Gontarski personality a bit to give her some strength. “Mrs. Schmedlap, everybody, this is not a joke. I know about Bobby because I was given a gift. I used to be like Bobby. I used to be a man who wanted desperately to be a woman. I got that chance.”
“This is nonsense. I think you and your parents need to leave now,” Mrs. Scmedlap said rather emphatically.
“Would you give me a chance to prove that there is validity to what I am telling you? If you would let me and Maddy show you a few things, things that might be attributable to magic, maybe you would you at least let Bobby try to use the gift certificate? There can’t be any harm in at least trying. If it doesn’t work, you can do what ever you think is necessary to do about me and my parents. The only thing is that all of you have to agree to let him redeem the certificate. There’s nothing else to do. I know it will work.
“Please humor me for a few minutes.”
“Who are you? You certainly don’t talk like a nine-year old girl.”
“I know, and I’m trying to forget how I used to talk. I want to grow up as a girl and rid myself of some of my old habits. This isn’t easy to talk about, but it’s the only way I can see to at least convince you to try to let the magic work.
“The original Cynthia Lewis died last December. Her body was kept alive and it was repaired until I could occupy it. I am one person, but I am a combination of the original Cynthia and someone else. When I woke up in the hospital, I was the new Cindy Lewis. The doctors think that my problems with personality are just due to brain injuries.”
Cindy paused for a moment and listened as the storm raged outside. She hoped her brother wasn’t afraid of thunderstorms and that the baby sitter would keep him safe.
“I don’t want to flood you with a lot of details right now. If you will let this work, we can talk about it and other things over the years. I have been given a brief glimpse of what will happen, and I know everyone will be very happy with the results
“Maddy it’s time for us to do our thing.”
Maddy got up, stretched, said something to the dog, and then trotted over to Cindy. She jumped to the arm of the chair and then to Cindy’s shoulder.
“Maddy is my familiar. Bobby helped save her the day I drowned. Maddy, please say hello to everybody.”
“Herrow.”
“She still is having trouble with her ‘l’s. Maddy can mind speak with me and I suspect she can with Einstein.”
“Maddy, ask Einstein what his favorite fun food is.”
Maddy looked at Einstein and he looked back, licked his chops and wagged his tail.
“[Pepperoni, but he didn’t get any for Christmas this year.]”
Cindy passed on the information.
“Why, Bobby could have told you that. That doesn’t prove anything,” said the doubting Amos Schmedlap. “Ask him where the skunk family is that I found today. I haven’t told anyone about that. And, how many kittens were there?”
Maddy relayed the answer.
“They are living in the small trailer that is up against the building in the northeast corner of the lot. Einstein thinks it is a light gray trailer, but Maddy says it is blue. There are five kittens and one is sickly, but if you give them food like you did this afternoon they will survive. Einstein says he doesn’t mind that you left some of his food for them earlier. They are pretty warm in that old utility closet. Einstein says the mother killed a pigmy rattlesnake under this trailer two nights ago. That’s what he was talking about, er barking about.”
“I don’t believe it. That kitten told you that?”
“Yes, she’s learning about what she can do, just like I’m learning.
“Dad, do you have a business card with you?”
He fumbled around and found one in his wallet.
“Crumple it up into a tight little ball and throw it to the middle of the floor.”
Maddy reacted instantly to the sound of the card being crumpled. Cindy could feel her twitch in anticipation. Her dad threw the wad onto the floor.
“Maddy, take the paper wad to Mr. Schmedlap and then return it to my father. The only thing is you may not touch it. Do it like you did the other night. Can you do that?”
“Mmyesss.”
Maddy did exactly as she was asked. She chased it across the floor towards Mr. Schmedlap. Before it reached him, she cut it off and proceeded to push it across the floor toward Cindy’s father. At the last second, she gave a little grunt and twitched her behind. The paper wad popped into the air and landed in his lap.
“Are there any questions?” Cindy asked.
There were none.
“Now, is there anyone not in favor of at least letting Bobby try to redeem the gift certificate?”
Bobby’s oldest brother, Ezra, who had been silent up to this point, commented, “Bobby has always been a good brother, but he has always been like a sister, too. I will always love Bobby whether he is my brother or she is my sister. I have always wanted a little sister that I could be proud of and protect as she grew up. I say go for it.
“What do you think, David?”
“I would like to have a sister. One brother is enough. I think Bobby would be pretty, too.”
“All Sally and I want is for Bobby to be happy. If this doesn’t work, we will find a way some day to save enough to do what we need to do medically. It’s just that I don’t see anything happening soon. I say let him try to use the certificate. What do you think Sally?”
“Yes, we can try. It certainly won’t change anything if it doesn’t work. After what I’ve seen and heard, who knows?”
Cindy breathed a sigh of relief. It was going to happen.
“So what do we have to do to redeem it?” Sally asked.
“I think we will need to go to the mall. The Wizard will probably contact me and let me know when. He’ll work out the details with you and Bobby. I already know a bit about what Bobby wants.”
The raging storm had abated somewhat, but the wind was blowing fiercely. There was a simultaneous flash of lightning and a huge crash of thunder. The lights flickered off and then back on after about two seconds.
Cindy gave a gasp at what she saw.
Bobby stood up and headed down the hall. “I think I need to go to the bathroom.”
Cindy stood to follow. “There’s another bathroom in the master bedroom,” Sally Schmedlap said. “I’ll get some brownies. I made them this afternoon.”
Cindy tried to catch up to Bobby but she didn’t make it in time. Bobby opened the bathroom door, turned on the light, and closed the door behind him. The shriek that no one but Cindy expected was loud and short.
“Eeeek!”
“Mrs. Schmedlap, Mom, I think we may need your help.”
”ƒ
Cindy had been the first one to get to the door. She opened it and stepped into the small space. The change had been happening as Bobbie got up and started walking down the hall. Cindy had seen the changes taking place, but everyone else was too startled by the brief power failure to pay any attention to someone going to the bathroom. The change was probably complete by now.
Standing in front of the mirror was a relatively tall, slender nine year old girl. Her beautiful red hair hung in loose waves down to her shoulders. It was a Titian red, almost auburn in shade. Her eyes were the same beautiful blue green they had been before. Her complexion was a bit paler and still lightly freckled. Her face was that of a young girl not yet entering puberty, but it was a beautiful face. There were some tears streaking her high cheek bones, but there was no doubt that the tears were due to an extreme happiness that was just beginning to settle in.
One of the things that had first caught Cindy’s attention was the clothes. She was wearing a nice cotton blouse rather than a boy’s shirt, and the Levis were definitely girls Levi’s. They no longer had the bulge and looseness of boys’ trousers. They fit tightly to her body and left no doubt about her femininity. She had a tight little waist and a very pert little bottom. Her legs hinted at the glamorous length they would some day grow to.
There were two simultaneous gasps behind them. Bobbie looked up at her mother’s reflection. A huge smile was spreading across her face. “Mommy, I’m me. I don’t have to pretend any more. It really is me. I look just like I wanted to.” Then she got a look of concern on her face. “Mommy, I gotta pee. What am I going to do?”
“I think you can figure that out. Just sit down and relax. Don’t forget to wipe. We’ll work out the details later. I am going to have my work cut out for me. I can see that. We’ll wait out here for you.”
They closed the door and let Bobbie find out about one of the things she would be dealing with for the rest of her life. Finally the toilet flushed and there was the sound of her washing her hands.
She opened the door and smiled. “I think everything worked just fine.” She looked down the hall towards the living room. “Do they know yet?”
“I’m not sure. They probably suspect something happened. You always did shriek rather girly-like if you were surprised. Your father probably ignored it.
“Well, they are going to have to find out sooner or later. There’s no reason to wait.” The two mothers preceded the girls back to the living room. They stepped aside as the newly minted girl made her entrance.
“Gentlemen, it seems as if the gift certificate has been redeemed. Meet Roberta Allison Schmedlap.”
Amos dropped his coffee cup on the dilapidated carpet. Fortunately, the cup was empty. “Oh my God: it worked. It really worked. What a birthday present! Thank you, Cindy. Thank you so much. This is more than we could have ever hoped for.”
Suddenly there was a mass hug going on. David and Ezra held back a little at first as if they were afraid that Bobbie had suddenly become fragile.
Everybody was beaming at the pretty little girl and she couldn’t stop giggling. Finally, things started to settle down.
“Amos, there was another reason for this meeting tonight, although I must say it pales in comparison with what we have just witnessed. I know you need a job, and we need someone with your qualifications. I think you are aware that our company deals in commercial real estate and property management. We need someone can oversee the various properties and make sure they are properly maintained. We also need someone to conduct property inspections. We are also getting into renovations and restorations. Loft apartments are becoming a big thing all over the state. We were wondering if you would be interested. You would be our property and construction superintendent.”
“I would love to do it, but I’m afraid I’m not physically able. My pain is severe and the doctors don’t seem to be able to do anything about it, and, as you can see, I have just about lost the use of my left leg. God, I would love….”
They were interrupted by a rapping on the door. Sally looked out through the peep hole. “Oh my! There’s an old man in a robe and he has a huge dog with him. And, it is really snowing hard.”
“Wonderful,” Cindy shouted, “It’s His Wisdom, The Wizard, and he brought his wolf. You can let him in. I’m sure he wants to see his handiwork. I’m sure he knew how Bobbie was going to turn out, but I’ll bet he has some other things to talk about, too.
Sally opened the door and a cold blast of air preceded The Wizard and Wolf. They could see that the early spring snow was falling hard and a few flakes followed the pair in.
“Good evening everyone; sorry about the lightning and thunder display earlier. I couldn’t resist. We would have been here sooner but we had to deal with a gang of hoodlums who thought I might have something worth taking. They have been sworn to an unbreakable oath not to lose their virginity until after they are married, and they are now home with their mothers learning how to knit.
“So, Amos and Sally, what do you think of your daughter? I think she turned out rather nicely. I knew she would.”
“She’s beautiful. And, above all, she seems to be very happy,” Sally said while wiping away a tear.
“Ezra, Dave, what do you think of your sister. Is she what you expected?”
“Er, yes sir,” replied Ezra in awe of the robed man in front of them. “She’s very pretty. I’ll bet she will have a lot of boyfriends someday.”
“Yes there will be boyfriends, but only one will matter. Promise to look out for her.”
“Yes sir.”
“Well, Stan and Marissa, what do you think of your daughter? She did pretty well for her first case, didn’t she? She’s going to help us a lot. I’ll have some assignments for her in a few years, maybe sooner. Right now, she is just going to have to learn about her abilities. We’re not sure right now about everything she is going to be able to do.
“Great job Maddy. I liked that little trick with the paper at the end. Keep practicing. Work on pushing and pulling. You’ll never know when it might come in handy.”
“Mresssir.”
“Now let’s see,” he said while pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket that hadn’t been there seconds before. “We made a few adjustments, nothing that will be very disruptive.” He moved the paper up close and then far away as his arms could reach. Finally, he pushed his glasses up on his forehead. “Double drat and fried toad kidneys, arms are too damn short.” He muttered something and suddenly the paper quadrupled in size. “There, now I can read it. I’m going to have to put the shop next to Lens Crafters next time. Okay; Amos, the judge had second thoughts about your lawsuit. It has been reinstated and should settle out of court for around $500K for you after fees.
“I’m not licensed to practice medicine, but I got the OK for this.” He made a subtle motion with his hand and Amos gasped in surprise. “I hope that didn’t hurt. They said it shouldn’t.”
“No, it didn’t hurt. I just felt a twinge in my back. What did you do?”
“It seems that the doctor never detected this little bone chip,” he said while handing a tiny fragment of bone to Amos. “It was impacting your sciatic nerve. The doctor should have found it but he was on drugs, totally incompetent. The hospital should have detected his problem long ago. Well she’s going to have a long time to think about it. She’s going to be a midwife in about 20 years when she is about 30. She will never take drugs again.
“It will take a while for your leg to recover. It wouldn’t look right when you go to court if you had miraculously recovered. You should be able to work in a few months. I think Stan will have the job ready for you then.
“Now, what do we do about this little situation? I know that the Schmedlaps are fully in accord with Bobbie’s change. Cindy may have told you it was scheduled to be handled by my shop in about ten years. It would have been good, but all the memories would have been artificial. This way’s better. The only thing that would have been better would have been if the mistake had not been made in the first place. That’s not your fault. The mistake was made elsewhere. Cindy will explain all about that later.
“What do you want to remember? I can fix it so that you will remember Bobbie as a tomboy who decided to become all girl, that’s the way all outsiders who knew her will remember her, or we can just let things alone. You just won’t be able to tell anyone unless there are important reasons for it. Cindy will probably know what those are.”
Sally thought about it for a moment. “I think we can all agree on this. We want to remember how it was, if only among us, so that we may share her joy about what has happened. This has been such a wonderful evening. I know I don’t ever want to forget it. You have opened up a whole new world for us.”
“Fine, that’s the way it will be.”
“Your Wisdom, would you have a brownie and some hot chocolate? We have some extra.”
“I would love some. We can stay for a little while. We have to be in two places at the same time later on. That’s always a strain.
“By the way, I think that scratch off in your purse is worth $10,000. You should probably claim it tomorrow. That will hold you over until the settlement comes through. There’s going to be a nice house available just down the road from Cindy’s home. You might want to look at it.”
The Wizard reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of beef jerky for Wolf and a stick of pepperoni for Einstein. Then he pulled out a small dish of kitty treats for Maddy. He made room on his lap for Cindy and Bobbie and the two families spent the next 30 minutes discussing Cindy and Bobbie’s future, plus a lot of just happy talk. Finally, The Wizard excused himself. He had to move on. There was no rest for the weary. Maddy, Einstein and Wolf had been snoozing together.
“We’ll see all of you many times, I am sure. Maddy, Cindy and I will have a constant connection. They will always be able to reach me.”
The Wizard received hugs and kisses from the women and girls, and handshakes from the boys and men. Wolf followed him down the steps into the snow. They disappeared after about four paces. The footprints just stopped. The two families returned to the inside of the trailer and found that the horrid soiled carpeting had been replaced by a nice plush carpet. Nobody questioned it.
The Lewis’s gathered up their things and Cindy bundled up Maddy in her coat. They said their goodbyes once again and returned to their car for the drive home in the waning snow.
Sally Schmedlap looked at her pretty little daughter as she helped her get ready for bed. She kissed her goodnight as she had kissed Bobby every night before. They were going to have a lot of fun over the next few years. She knew there was something special about a mother-daughter relationship. It would be very special for both of them.
In fact, it was going to be magical.
Well, that’s it for now. I think there are many adventures ahead for Cindy, Maddy and their friends. What they are, I can’t be too sure about that right now. I have one in mind; however, it happens many years from now. We’ll just have to wait on that one. I’m sure there will be many more transformations in the future. Some may be more in line with those we have seen The Wizard do in the past. Thank you for reading and thank you for your comments. Constructive comments are always fuel for future stories.
I also want to thank the large number of readers who took the time to read the previous story, 'An Incremental Journey', and vote. The response to the suggestion to read it was very heart warming.
Portia
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Randi Lewis, Cynthia (Cindy) Lewis's younger sister has shown amazing talents very early in her second childhood. Not only are her magic powers showing up, she also has the ability on a small scale to manipulate space and time. Charli Brewer, her now sister-in-law, is also a talented young witch. She has the ability to converse with most mammals and birds. We're not sure at this time if she's able to converse with reptiles. Charli is turning 11, and Randi will be twelve very shortly. Both girls are physically mature for their age. Randi's intellect is off the scale and, as she mentions in this tale, had memorized Grey's Anatomy the year before. Is there such a thing as too much knowledge? As the story develops, the girls become acquainted with a shy Jewish boy, Efram Silverman, who has just come to their school. They also become better acquainted with a notorious bully, Brian Stewart. What could go wrong, or better yet, what could go right?
This is a continuation of the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Charli and the Girl Cave, Adam and the Three Wishes, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling; and Randi and the College Professor,. The time frame of this story follows immediately after Adam and the Three Wishes.
Unfortunately, I have to rely on my own editing. Let me know if you find any goofs.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 1
"Here comes one. How fast is he going?"
"Actually, it's a she, and she's doing seventy-six point five-two-four miles per hour.
"Shit, she's texting. I don't want to mess with her car. She might lose control. I'll just shut off her phone, first." Randi paused for a moment before she gave a little smile. "That was easy enough. Okay, now do it the way I taught you. Have you found the car's computer?"
"Yeah, that was easy."
"Okay, cut out the power going to two of the ignition wires."
"Got it," Charli answered.
"Good, she's pulling into the service station. Let's talk to her." Randi turned towards small copse of trees behind them.
'Come on, guys,' she projected towards the trees. She didn't have to, really. It was just one of those unconscious things one did when talking to someone. You always faced them.
'Coming, we were just having a meeting with some of the strays up there. We wanted to see if any of them were interested in coming over to our side. I think we might have some possibles. Silky was showing them how beneficial knowing some magic was. We killed their fleas, ticks and worms.'
Sleek, black little Silky bounded out of the grove of trees. She was accompanied by the much, much larger Willie. He was a strongly marked tabby with white boots, and he was so big that Silky could actually walk under his belly, barely touching his fur with the ridge of her back. Where Silky barely weighed seven and a half pounds, Willie weighed close to eighteen pounds, and it was all muscle.
The two tweeners made their way from the hill overlooking the four lane undivided highway to the service station and convenience store. Randi carried Silky, but Willie trotted down the hill next to Charli. Silky was a sleek, well muscled little cat; however, Willie was a giant in the house cat world. He was a hunter and killer of small animals, in particular, rabbits. However, among his friends and fellow familiars, he was just a big pussy cat.
The car Charli had disabled had made it to the large parking lot, and the occupants were outside peering into the space under the hood, probably not able to name anything they were looking at. Perhaps they expected a screen to pop up and say something like "Push reset button."
"What seems to be the trouble girls?" Randi asked as they approached.
"Nothing that you would know anything about; say, aren't you out past your bedtime?"
"No, were doing a school project," Charli offered.
"You were going a bit fast up there, weren't you," she added.
"What business is it of yours? Besides, I wasn't speeding."
"I think that's a forty-five zone, and you were doing seventy-six point five-two-four miles per hour."
"Bull shit!"
"You were texting, too. In fact, all of you were texting. Maybe that's why you didn't know how fast you were going," Randi admonished.
"Your car's fixed now, but you will never be able to speed again unless it's a real emergency. Also, you will never be able to text if you're driving. Texting while driving is so stupid and unnecessary. That goes for the rest of you, too; no texting and no speeding.
"Oh, and Misty, you weren't wearing your seat belt. You will always wear your seatbelt from now on.
"That roadhouse you were planning on going to is off limits for all of you until you are twenty-one. Okay, I want all of you to stand quietly there until we let you go. Maria," Randi said to the driver, "you and I need to talk privately. Follow me."
Maria quietly followed Randi to the edge of the parking lot. "Who are you? What have you done to me, us."
"I could be your worst nightmare, but I won't be. Instead, I'll be your friend."
"Who are you? I mean you can't be more than thirteen, and yet I'm doing what you tell me to. This is not right."
"Thanks for the compliment, I'm actually only eleven." Randi, who'd always been beautiful, was well on her way to puberty. She was a bit tall for her age, athletic, and her body was already hinting at the voluptuous woman she would be in just a few years. "Charli and I are actually witches, and we are monitoring the highway along here for folks like you who are flagrantly violating safe driving practices. Well, you're cured of that now; however, there's another problem we need to discuss. You're pregnant."
Marie's eyes widened in disbelief, "How could you possibly know that?"
"That's just one of the talents we have. I'm going to have to be brutally honest with you. Frankie Belanger is a low life meth addict, and he would never be a decent father or husband. The other thing I have to tell you is that the baby can't survive. It is anencephalic. It will not survive birth. You need to see a doctor immediately, and as much as I hate to say it, your only option is an abortion."
"You are what, eleven years old, and you are talking to me like an adult. This is all nonsense."
"I guess in a way I'm thirty-nine years old, but we don't need to discuss that now. You and your friends won't remember any of this anyway. You will tell your mother that you think you are pregnant. The diagnosis will be confirmed by ultra sound in a few weeks. You shouldn't miss any school. As far as Frankie Belanger is concerned, he will probably be arrested later this week or early next week. Don't concern yourself about that.
"Now take your friends home."
Randi and Charli watched the car drive off at a sensible speed. "She'll never be able to speed again, will she?" Charli said with a bit of wonder.
"She will, if conditions warrant it; however, she'll never want to drive like she was driving tonight. I just boosted their judgment abilities a bit. That other thing was unexpected, though. Did you catch it?"
"You mean the pregnancy? Yeah, I got it at the same time you did. That's a shame, but sometimes those things happen. Sometimes I'm glad Bobbie taught us how to do that, but something like that is so sad. The baby never had a chance.
"Oh, hi Wolf," Charli said as she looked down to see Wolf sitting on the pavement next to her.
Randi turned to see The Wizard standing behind them. He was watching the car disappear over a hill in the distance at just forty-four miles per hour.
"So, how did my little vigilantes do? Shall we go back to the shop and go over things?"
"Yes, Your Wisdom," the two girls responded simultaneously.
The two girls, two cats, Wolf, and The Wizard disappeared with a slight 'pop' as the air rushed in to fill the space they had occupied.
They sat around the coffee table in the back of The Wizard's shop. They weren't in any mall at the moment. The shop was just where it was when it wasn't anywhere else. Silky and Willie were enjoying some nice snacks, and Wolf was destroying a large salami. About half way through it, he got up and took the remaining portion to a room that The Wizard had added to the shop several months before.
The Wizard and his two trainees were sipping on some hot chocolate - well, sort of. The Wizard had added a little crá¨me de menthe to his. It helped ease the arthritis he had been developing over the last couple of hundred years or so.
"So, little ones, how did it go?"
"I think we did real well," Randi responded. "We converted an unsafe driver to a safe one, and we also affected the other passengers. I think we did it pretty safely, too. The way she was driving, things could have gone very badly if we hadn't slowed them down."
"Charli, do you have anything to add?"
"Well, Silky and Willie found some feral cats."
"That was their job," The Wizard said with a chuckle. "What about you? What else about this little project tonight?"
"I know," Willie said in his well modulated voice.
"Yes, you do; however, this was their project," The Wizard said, nodding towards the two girls.
Randi began going through everything they had done. She couldn't think of anything they had done wrong. She thought back about The Wizard and Wolf watching the car drive over the hill. Then she remembered that Silky and Willie hadn't been watching the car, and they hadn't been watching the girls or The Wizard. They had been sitting there in their Egyptian cat mode with their tails wrapped around their feet, looking at the BP service station where several people were filling their gas tanks. There had been a loud group of presumably college kids was on a beer run, and for some reason their car wouldn't start.
It hit Randi like a rock between the eyes. They had been so intent on the carload of girls that they had totally forgotten about the service station and convenience store.
"We screwed up didn't we?" Randi said quietly. "Everyone at that service station saw what we were doing."
Charli added, "Oh crap."
"Fortunately, you have a good backup team. That's Silky's and Willie's job. They're there to help you. They generated a very good obscuring spell. Although, it was probably a bit late, as the fellow using that payphone watched for quite a while. He'd had ideas about helping the ladies in distress. I took care of that problem.
"Just remember that you can't get tunnel vision when you do these things. You have to look at the big picture, and then erect the proper barriers and shields. No harm done this time, and you handled the young lady's situation very well. She will probably do what you told her to do, and she will be much more careful in the future about choosing a bed partner.
"You didn't catch any wrongly sexed aura, did you?"
"No sir," Randi said, "however, we're not nearly as good as Cindy is in that area."
"Good, I didn't either. You will get a lot better at it as you get older. That talent runs in your family.
"Charli, you're really getting good with those computer things. I wish I understood them like you and Randi do. Now, neither of you should worry about that little bit of oversight this evening. I shouldn't say this, but I will. You are far ahead of other witches of your age that I've known over the years."
Wolf returned to the back room with Padrona at his side. It was almost as if they were joined at the hip.
"Would you like to see the babies?" Padrona asked. "They're asleep now. Their eyes should be opening in a few days, and in another week, I'm going to have more than I can handle. I'm not sure if their father is going to be able to handle them either."
She led them to the private area that belonged to Wolf and Padrona when they were at the shop; however, the room seemed to go where it was needed. Wolf and The Wizard, for the moment, remained in the other room.
"He is so proud of them," Padrona remarked as they looked at the six sleeping bundles. Three of them took after their father, and three definitely took after their mother. "We're going to have fun teaching them everything. We have so much to look forward to."
"Okay, Charli and Randi, you are up well past your bedtime. It's time to go home, and I have to get ready to go on a little trip," The Wizard said in a grandfatherly manner. Two seconds later Randi and Charli found themselves in Randi's bedroom.
"That was fun, Randi. I hope Mom lets us do that again. It's a lot better than doing those imaginary problems in the lesson book. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Charli opened the door to Randi's closet, stepped in before taking the shortcut through the pet door to the room she shared with her older sister.
Lucy looked up as her sister walked out of the closet. "Did you two have fun? I sure wish I could do the things you do."
"We had a lot of fun and learned some important things. His Wisdom helped us a lot." Charli went on to explain how her and Randi's evening had gone.
Chapter 2
"Randi, you shouldn't do those things to Ms. Schilling."
"I'm not hurting anything. I'm just having a little fun with her, and besides, she's a nice lady." Randi was having lunch with Charli and Lucy. Randi's best friend, Ginny had an orthodontist appointment, and wasn't having lunch with them like she usually did.
"Well you shouldn't do it," Charli said. "You know what His Wisdom said about calling attention to us." Charlie turned and started whistling and chirping a little tune. About twenty English sparrows flocked around her feet and she threw some bread crusts to the ground. The girls were having lunch in the outside lunch area. It was a beautiful spring day, and the warmth of the spring sun made school lunch more like a picnic.
"Talk about not calling attention to ourselves, there you go calling the sparrows in again."
"Well, they're hungry, and the nestlings are growing fast. It was a late spring, and the seeds are just coming in. Besides, no one knows I can talk to them."
"I'm not sure about that, Charli," Lucy added. "A couple of the kids are calling you the bird lady."
"Well, I'm not going to let them starve."
"They're not going to starve, Charli. They just know a soft touch." Randi said as she turned to see the new kid sitting in a corner of the lunch area. He was in one of Randi and Lucy's sister classes. There were four classes in each grade in their elementary school. Randy was in the sixth grade, and Charli and Lucy were in the fifth grade. The next year was going to be quite a change for Randi as she was moving on to the seventh grade. She was going to be in junior high school. That was a significant step up in the lives of the young girls. It was going to be a whole new world; one with new friends and new experiences. There would be slumber parties in the future; however, they would be taking on a whole new meaning.
The new kid, his name was Efram Silverman, had come to the school in mid-semester. He was a loner, and as near as Randi could tell, didn't have any friends.
"Charli, do you remember what His Wisdom was talking about last night; about sensing certain things?"
"Yes."
"Do you sense anything now?"
"I do, now that you mention it."
"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked.
"Lucy, you know about Charli and me; how we used to be."
"Yeah, of course I do. I think it's kinda neat how you got to be real girls. I couldn't imagine being a yucky boy."
"I think Efram is like we were. What do you think, Charli?"
"I think you may be right. We haven't had much experience with this sort of thing. I mean Cindy and Bobbie are supposed to be real good. I'm mostly good with animals, but The Wizard says you're a lot like Cindy in where your powers are."
"I think I'll talk to Efram," Randi said while getting up from the bench. "If there are any problems, I can make him forget what we're talking about."
Randi made her way over to the lonely little boy. Charli stayed back as she didn't want to intimidate Efram. Besides, she would be able to hear both sides of the conversation even though she was quite far away.
"Hi Efram, I'm Randi Lewis."
"Er, hi," he quietly answered.
"I know we haven't met before, but Lucy, Charli and I were wondering if you'd like to join us for lunch. You just seemed to be very lonely over here by yourself."
"That's okay. I like to be alone."
"I don't think you do. I think you're afraid of something, and I'll bet I know what it is. Efram, you can trust us not to reveal your secret."
"What secret? I don't have any secret."
"They were mean to you at your last school, weren't they? They made fun of you because you'd rather play with the girls. It's not that you're not good at sports; it's just that you don't like playing the way boys play. I can see your gentle side. You don't hide it very well.
"Your problem is this. As much as you would like to associate with us, you don't want to be harassed by the boys. So you just hide in the corner. Well, that's going to have to stop. You can't hide forever. Besides, it's not good for you. There's too nice a person inside you to keep hiding like you do."
"How do you know about me? I mean, we've never talked before. Who told you? Do you know someone from my other school?"
"No, I don't know anyone from Bangor, Maine; although it does sound like a nice place. I think we're having our annual meeting there next fall. Come on and sit with us. We need to talk about some things, and I can guarantee that no one will bother you."
"What about Brian Stewart? He's coming over here right now. He told me that if I associated with any of the girls that he'd beat the crap out of me. He's in my class. They're all afraid of him."
By this time Brian was only a few feet away. "What did I tell you, Jew Boy, about coming around our women? I'll tell you what I told you. I told you that I'd beat the shit out of you if I ever found you around our women."
Brian was a bit big for his age, and Randi knew his reputation for being a bully. She had mostly ignored him in the past; however, she wasn't going to ignore him this time. Brian was just starting to reach for Efram when Randi quietly said "Stop."
"Brian, don't say another word. Just stand there and don't move until I tell you to. It's okay to breathe.
"This bullying has to stop right now. You will not be able to talk to anyone but Charli or me about this until further notice. Right now, I'm just going to get your attention. You really need to go to the bathroom, and you have thirty seconds to get to the boys' bathroom; thirty seconds before you wet yourself."
Brian suddenly had a look of extreme concern on his face. "You may go now, but I want to see you after school." Brian took off on a dead run to the school building.
"What did you just do," Efram asked, obviously impressed by Randi's apparent domination over Brian.
"Efram, you need to understand something about Charli and me. First of all, you won't be able to tell anyone about what went on unless we let you. Charli, Lucy and I need to talk to you about what's bothering you and we don't have time to do it now."
"What do you mean by 'what's bothering me'?"
"We know that you are a girl inside." The girls could see Efram pale at that pronouncement. "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone who doesn't understand what you're going through. Both Charli and I know exactly what you're going through."
"How can you know that? I've never told anyone."
"Charli and I are witches, and I can read minds."
"There're no such things as witches."
"Charli, call those sparrows over here. I think we need a demonstration. I'll take care of witnesses. We won't forget this time," Randi added.
'Little sparrows, come over here. I have some more bread crumbs for you.' In a matter of seconds, there were dozens of peeping sparrows hopping around them.
'Food, food, food, food,' the ever hungry little birds peeped.
'In just a moment, but first I have something for you to do,' Charli told the eager little birds. She turned to Randi.
"What do you think I should have them do?"
"Have them play dead. That should be good enough for demonstration purposes," Randi replied.
"Good idea."
'Play dead.'
'What is dead? We don't know what that is.'
"Randi, they don't know what dead is. I forgot that they don't understand the concept of death."
"Hmmm, just have them roll over and go to sleep."
Charli gave them the instructions, and the little birds promptly fell over and became motionless.
'Very good, now here're some crumbs.' Charli tore up her remaining sandwich, and Lucy contributed some of hers as well. The sparrows immediately fell on the crumbs, and several brief spats resulted. Two of the little birds tried to carry off the same piece of crust, and made some distance before one gave up its hold.
Efram was amazed as there was no doubt about what had taken place. "Wow, you can actually talk to animals!"
"Charli and I can," Randi replied, "but Charli's a lot better at it than I am. We can talk to all the larger mammals, but Charli can talk to just about all the mammals and birds."
"What about Lucy?"
"Lucy and I are sisters, but we're adopted. We have two brothers, Jorge and Donald. Don's married to Randi's big sister. They're in college in Boston. Anyway, we're all adopted, my brothers, Lucy and I. It seems I got lucky and have magic. Randi's mother and sisters are all witches."
"But, what about Lucy?" Efram asked again.
"I'm not a witch, but that's okay 'cause I get to do a lot of things with these guys. You have to understand that it's all a big secret and you'll never be able to talk about it."
"So, you guys are sisters-in-law. Neat."
"I guess we are. But we like to think we're more like cousins. We're not old enough to be sisters-in-law."
"Effie," Randi asked, "have you told your parents about how you feel; about who you really are?"
"You mean wanting to be a girl?"
"Wanting to be a girl is not enough. You have to be a girl inside there," Randi said pointing to Efram's head.
"I am a girl inside; however, unless I'm a girl on the outside, I'll never be a girl." That was when Efram started to cry. He took a few moments to compose himself.
"My parents won't listen to me. They don't like gay and transgendered people. Every time something comes on the news about a same sex couple, dad goes into a rant. Mom's the same way. They quote Leviticus all the time. It might as well be posted on the refrigerator door. They won't watch any of the news programs or any other programs that have gay people in them. I'm not sure there's anything they like to watch. Rabbi Steinmetz is just as bad.
"Look, Brian is back. He will probably want to beat the shit out of me."
"I don't think so," Charli said while looking at the bemused Brian. "He's trying to figure out why he can't see us. I'll send him to the other side of the playground." Brian turned and walked to a softball game that was in progress.
"Now," Charli said, "I think we need to get down to business. What are we going to do about Effie, here? Should we talk to His Wisdom?"
"Not right now. Besides, he's not around. Let's see what we can do."
"Randi, you know we're not supposed to do anything advanced without His Wisdom's approval."
"I wouldn't think of it. Okay, Effie we're going to try to tackle this problem of yours. I guarantee that Brian won't bother you."
"Randi, how old are you? You talk like my parents."
"We'll explain it all to you some day. Right now, I'm just eleven."
So, what are the girls getting themselves into? The Wizard is apparently out of town, and if we know Randi at all, she doesn't often ask before venturing into untried territories. I think Randi may be thinking about trying something new.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: The girls may be walking into dangerous territory, here. Brian's animosity seems to have disappeared almost overnight, and it doesn't take much for both the boys to reach the tipping point. Well, in reality it is quite a bit; however, Randi tends to make things look very easy when they aren't.
This is another story in the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Charli and the Girl Cave, Adam and the Three Wishes, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling; and Randi and the College Professor,. The time frame of this story follows immediately after Adam and the Three Wishes.
Unfortunately, I have to rely on my own editing. Let me know if you find any goofs.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 3
"Brian, we need to talk," Randi said as she approached the cowering bully.
"Please don't make me piss in my pants. I almost didn't make it to the restroom in time last time." Suddenly Brian realized that his embarrassing statement had gone unheard by those around him. It wouldn't do at all for him to appear to be intimidated by the beautiful girl who now seemed to be able to make him do anything she wanted him to.
"Brian, this bullying has to stop. There is no reason for you to be threatening Efram like you're doing. He's never done anything to you. What's your problem with him?"
"He's just a fat little Jew. My dad says the Jews killed Christ, and it was too bad that Hitler didn't kill all of them."
"That's not true. The Jews didn't kill Christ. The Romans killed him. Pontius Pilate was a Roman, and he had Christ killed to intimidate the Jews. He was very afraid of him.
"Your brother beats you up, doesn't he?"
"Yes, but .... How did you know that? I've never told anyone that."
'De je vu all over again' Randi thought as she recalled her conversation with Efram earlier that day. "It's very simple. I'm a witch and I can read your mind."
"Yeah, and I'm Paris Jackson. If you're so smart, what am I thinking right now?"
"You think I'm pretty and you'd like to feel my tits, as you call them; however, you don't think they're real - and you really would like to be Paris Jackson.
"Well, thank you for the compliment. They are real, by the way; however, you're not going to get to feel them. You know, I might just give you a pair of your own so that you could feel them all you want. I might just have to do that. That'll have to be later, though. There are too many other problems to overcome right now.
"We're going to have to do something about your brother. It would never do if he found that cache of girls' underwear you purloined from your sister. You're treading on thin ice with him as it is. I think I can fix some of the problems you're having with him, but I'll have to get into your house to do it.
"Now, about you and Efram; I think you should get to know each other a little better. You have a lot in common. It's just that you don't know it. Be nice to him. You might find that you can be friends. Tomorrow, I want you to apologize to Efram, not because I'm telling you to, but because you want to. You need a friend, a real friend. Efram needs some friends, too, and Lucy, Charli and I are going to be his friends and your friends, too. I think you might find that being nice is easier than being nasty.
"Do you think you could try to be nice for a while? Some very nice things might happen," Randi said while thinking about what The Wizard might do if asked.
"I'll try. Er, I didn't mean I wanted to feel your tits."
"Breasts, they're called breasts. That's much a much politer term. It's okay for girls to call them tits among themselves, but when boys say tits, it's sort of derogatory."
"What I was thinking was what it would feel like to have tits, er, breasts. They're so pretty."
"Well, thank you; of course, it could be padding, but it's not.
"Tell you what; Charli's having a birthday party next week. You and Efram will get invitations. Originally, it was going to be an all girl party; however, I think Charli will be fine with you and Efram coming.
"Randi, I'm not too sure it would be a good idea to invite them. I mean we were going to have a lot of fun experimenting with makeup, and dressing up, and stuff. It's going to be a swim party, too. I'm not sure our friends will like a couple of boys being there."
"Look, we already know they're girls. So what's wrong with them enjoying themselves? Wouldn't it be nice if Efram and Brian became good friends, and could enjoy being girls together?"
"Well, yes; but, they're not girls."
"What if we could make everyone else think they were?
"Randi, even if we could, we're not allowed to do those sorts of things."
"I wasn't thinking about doing a transformation like The Wizard does. I was thinking we could do some temporary things, nothing that couldn't be reversed. Efram really wants to be all girl. Brian's a little different. He's mostly girl inside, but he's been so abused that he keeps fighting himself. I'd love to give him a chance to see what it's like."
"I don't think this is a good idea." Charli was beginning to sound a bit worried.
"It's not going to be easy, but I think I found a way to do it. You know how I can do things to shrink or expand space and move things around. You know, like what I did for that satchel I gave Cindy for Christmas."
"Yeah," Charli chuckled, "you didn't get in trouble for that like you did switching the men's room and gymnasium. Everyone, especially The Wizard, was really upset with you. He had to do all sorts of things to prevent that from getting out. I think he mentioned a punishment involving living in a pond for the rest of your life and sitting on a lily pad."
"I did get into a bit of trouble for that one. I thought I had it all figured out, but I forgot about all those people. Fortunately, The Wizard was able to make them think they had just gone through the wrong doors. I'm getting better at the mind control stuff, but I'm nowhere near as good as Cindy and Bobbie. The Wizard says that Cindy is one of the best he's seen. We're not supposed to tell her that, though.
"Okay, I have this all worked out. We'll invite Efram and Brian, but we'll have them arrive much earlier. You know how your mom is sometimes. I'll just fix it so she thinks they're girls. We'll take them up to your room and I'll fix things so that they'll look like real girls, just nothing permanent. I've got it all figured out."
"What do you have in mind?" Charli asked.
"We could get wigs for them, but that wouldn't give them the experience they need to have. I want them to experience girlhood as close to the real thing as possible. I'll get their hair to grow out, and I'll move some fat around to give them boobs. They're both a bit on the chubby side, so there should be plenty to work with."
"But how do you get their hair to grow? We haven't been taught how to do anything like that. You know we're not allowed to try to do any transformations, even if we did know how."
"That's easy," Randi responded, "I'm going to speed up time in their scalps so that the hair growth speeds up."
"You can do that?"
"Yeah, I've been practicing. Let's go over to your house. I'll show you how it works."
The two near teenage girls followed by Willie and Silky passed through the door in the closet to the house down the street.
"Hi, guys," Lucy said looking up from her computer. She had been working on an assignment from her on line drafting class. She knew she wanted to be an architect, and now that she was going to be in junior high school in another year, her parents were letting her take some courses that would get her started on her architectural career. "What's going on?"
"I going to need your help for a minute," Randi said. "I want to show Charli what I'm going to do to make Brian and Efram look and feel like girls so we can have an all girl birthday party."
"How're you going to do that?" Lucy asked.
"I want to make some of your hair grow. I'll also make your boobs grow a bit. I'll bet you'd like that." Lucy was the same age as Randi; however, she felt she was much further behind in development than she should be. Maybe envy helped her to the decision.
"It won't hurt will it?"
"I'll just make your side burns grow out a bit. We can trim them later so your mother won't notice. I'll just move a little fat from your love handles to pad your boobs just a bit. You're going to grow quite a bit in that area anyway, so no one will notice. Okay?"
"You're sure it won't hurt?" Lucy asked with a bit of an uncertain tone. She was a bit in awe of her friend's powers and her body. For that matter, she was a bit awed by her sister as well. After all, it wasn't just anyone who could tell a neighbor's dog to stop barking, and actually make the dog stop.
Even before Charli had become a girl and a witch, she had been able to converse with dogs, cats and other mammals. She had discovered her powers shortly after discovering her hideout beneath a freeway bridge in east Boston. Padrona had been a junk yard dog who had then threatened the startled Charlie Donizetti with 'death'. She didn't really mean it. Charlie found himself in a mental conversation with the rather large dog, and they fast became friends. Padrona was able to rescue Willie from a wild dog pack that had killed his mother and siblings. Padrona was now Wolf's mate, and they had found a mutual attraction rather quickly.
One of the benefits of being a familiar was that many of the powers the young witches had were transferred to them as well. They helped manage spells and amplify them if necessary. There was one special spell that The Wizard passed on to all the young witches, and that was the ability to control ovulation. In the case of the female familiars, they were able to control when they came into heat and when they ovulated. That prevented all sorts of problems when the familiars worked in the field.
In this case they were far from the field. They were in Charli's sisters bedroom, and Randi was about to attempt a rather complicated spell on a small scale on a human being; one of her best friends, Lucy Brewer.
"Okay, this is the easy part. I'm going to move some fat from around your waist to your chest to expand your breasts. I don't think you're going to feel anything other than a bit of tightness.
"When was the last time your mother had you measured?"
"It's been a couple of months. I still have to pad a 32A."
"Good, I'll make you a 32A+. That shouldn't be too much of a change, and you can go to your mom in a few days and tell her you need new bras. We all grow in spurts. Okay, hold real still. I have to visualize everything at the cellular level. Let me know if anything starts to hurt or feel too warm," Randi advised.
"Maybe I should take my bra off so you can see what's happening without its support."
"Good idea."
Lucy removed her T-shirt and bra. In spite of her lack of size compared to Randi, her nipples and areolae were developing nicely. It would be a few more years, but she would have a nice figure - nothing to be ashamed of.
"Hold still."
"Oooo, that tickles around my tummy, and my boobs are starting to itch."
"Don't move. There, that should do it. What do you think? I think I added about a cup size."
"Oh wow, they're really sticking out."
"It's not too much is it?" Randi asked because the growth was quite obvious.
"Oh, they're perfect. Don't change a thing. I'll just take the pads out of my bras, and then I'll complain to Mom that I've outgrown them."
"How did you know how to do that?" a rather astounded Charli asked.
"I memorized Grey's Anatomy last year. It's a very interesting book, and there's a lot of valuable information in there that will help with certain types of spell casting that affects human anatomy. If you don't understand what you're doing to the human body, you might really mess things up. I think there are too many spell casters who rely on intuition rather than sound physiologic knowledge.
"Lucy, any pain?" Randi asked.
"No, they're just a little tender, but they get that way once a month, anyway."
"Good, let's work on the hair. This is going to be a little tricky. I'm going to speed up time in a little area in your scalp. There will be some increased blood flow in that area, and because of the metabolism speeding up in that area, there will be more heat given off. I'll create a stasis field where the heat will collect. Then I will send it outside where the heat will be released. No one will notice a thing.
"Are you ready?"
"Go for it. You've done pretty good so far."
Randi placed her index and middle fingers on Lucy's temples and concentrated.
"It's starting to get a bit warm."
"How's it now?"
"Much better, it's beginning to feel cooler."
"Okay, I'm done. What do you think?"
"Ohmygosh!" Lucy said looking into the mirror. "You added about two inches. That's amazing."
"I'm not sure whether or not your mom will notice. Maybe, we should trim them a bit."
"No, leave them alone. I don't think Mom'll notice."
Chapter 4
"Brian, Charli and I need to get into your house so we can isolate your bedroom from your brother. It shouldn't be any problem at all once we get there to put the right spell in place so that he doesn't bother you. Do your friends come over very often?"
"I don't have any friends."
"Yes you do, and we're going to work on that," Randi responded. "How're you doing on that project that's due next week? I think both our classes are doing the same thing."
"I haven't started it yet. I don't know what to do. I guess I could copy some stuff out of Wikipedia."
"That'll never do. If anything, that should just be your starting point.
"Do you think your parents would mind if we came over and did some studying together?"
"No, they don't get home until around six. My brother'd be there, but you don't want to meet him."
"Don't worry about him. We can take care of ourselves.
"Efram is going to come along with us. He's real smart, and I think he can help you out a lot.
"What about your sister? You know, the one who contributed to your collection."
"She's at college. She's living with her girl friend. Mom and Dad won't talk about it.
"Mrs. Silverman, I'm Randi Lewis. Efram, Brian, Charli and I are working on a school project, and we wanted to meet at Brian's house to put some finishing touches on it." Randi was meeting Efram's mother for the first time. Tamara Silverman was an attractive woman in her late 30's. Randi could sense right away that she was a good mother; however, she could also sense that she had some significant biases concerning gender and sexuality. Randi knew she'd have to work on that. Mrs. Silverman was also a bit concerned about her son's association with two very attractive and somewhat precocious Gentiles. Randi didn't want to get The Wizard involved at this point in her project; however, she knew that if what she was trying to do worked, His Wisdom would eventually have to be involved. As far as Randi knew, The Wizard was the only one at this level in this universe who could actually facilitate any gender and sex transformations.
"Well, I don't know about that. Efram has to do his violin practice."
"Mom, I can practice later. We have to get the project done by next week."
"I thought you'd finished that?"
"My part's mostly done, but we need to put everything together so we don't have to worry about it."
Randi started to push just a bit. 'It's okay, Mrs. Silverman. We just want to make sure that we can get good grades, and Brian needs Efram's help. Efram is so smart. Nothing bad is going to happen.'
"Well, okay then. Don't be too late. Remember, it's the Sabbath."
Charli's adoptive mother was waiting for them outside the Silverman's house. "I see," she said noting that Efram was still with them, "that Efram's mother gave you the okay."
"Yes, Mrs. Brewer," Efram answered, "I just have to be home before the Sabbath begins. That should give us a couple of hours."
"Mom, could you pick us up at around 6:30. That should give us plenty of time to do what we need to do."
The Stewarts' home was in an older middle class neighborhood much like the Silverman's. The four conspirators were greeted at the downstairs entryway by Brian's older brother, Jeffrey. He spent more than a few seconds leering at the two beautiful young girls, and paid little attention to Efram.
"I think you need to introduce me to your friends," he said staring at Randi's bust line.
"Guys, this is my brother, Jeff. Jeff, this is Randi Lewis," indicating the blonde who was currently gathering his attention. "This is Charli Brewer, and this is Efram Silverman."
"Well HELLO, Randi, I think you and I need to get better acquainted. Forget these losers."
"Jeff, go to your room and play with yourself for a while before you take a nap. Don't wake up until your brother gets you up. You will forget all about this unless I remind you later," Randi said while projecting a very strong mental push. "And, don't forget to close the door."
"Uh, sure," he said before he turned to go up to his room.
"Alright, we have a couple of hours to get some things done. First of all, Brian, we're going to show you how to get your project done the right way, and we're going to fix your room so that your brother won't bother you.
Once in Brian's room, Charli cast an exclusionary spell that prevented Brian's brother from entering without Brian's permission. The same applied to his parents.
"Where do you keep your girl things?" She knew exactly where they were, but didn't want Brian to be too overpowered by their powers; at least not yet.
"In the closet at the back of the top shelf."
"Bring them out. We need to see what you have."
Brian retrieved a fairly large box, and placed it on his bed.
"Ugh!" Randi said as she pawed through the contents. "When was the last time you washed these?"
"I never have, I can't. Someone would see them," Brian said defensively.
"We'll fix that so no one will notice. These definitely need to be laundered. I'll leave instructions on your computer."
Efram showed Brian how to research his project paper, and showed him sources of information that went beyond Wikipedia. They still had more than an hour left for Randi to work her magic.
"Okay guys, this is no time for modesty. I want you to take your shirts off. I want to see what I have to work with.
"I want you to remember something. I know we discussed it before, but I want you to realize I can't do anything permanent other than make your hair get longer. I can't make you into permanent girls, but I'm going to do a few things to make you look like twelve-year old girls. We'll do a little bit today just to give you a feel for what it's going to be like. I can't change your biology, give you female hormones, or take away your male hormones. But, if both or either of you are comfortable with what happens today and at the party next week, we'll see what we can do for the future." Randi turned to Charli.
"What do you think: 'A' cup? They definitely have enough fat to work with. We can take the fat off their waists like we did before. I'll make their hair grow out just a bit, maybe four or five inches."
"But everyone will see our hair," Efram said obviously concerned. "I mean, Brian has a burr cut, and even though my hair is longer than his, everyone will be sure to notice. Besides, I don't think you can really make our hair grow, anyway. And, how are you going to give us breasts?"
"Trust us on this Efram. I've practiced this, and it works. Charli is going to cast a spell for both of you that will make people not take any notice of your longer hair. Okay, let's take care of the breasts. Who wants to go first?"
"I guess I do," Efram said after a moment's hesitation. "I have my doubts, though."
"Okay, just hold still. This will feel a little funny around your waist, and your breasts may itch just a bit."
As Randi started doing her magic Efram's eyes started getting bigger and bigger. He could feel a tickling sensation and itching just like Randi said he would. Then he heard Brian gasp.
"You can move now," Randi said while examining her handiwork. "I hope I didn't make them too big. Your areolae will stretch out a bit, but I can't do much about your nipples. That will take hormones or magic I don't know how to do at this time; maybe someday."
"Th-th-they're beautiful," Efram said lifting his hands to cradle his small mounds. Tears were starting to run down his cheeks.
"Now, about your hair; it's pretty long. I'll try about four inches. That's equal to about six months growth; so I'll have to dissipate a lot of energy. Let me know if your head gets uncomfortably warm."
Five minutes later, Efram had a full head of hair that could be easily styled. Charli handed a mirror to Efram. The look on Efram's face said it all. His dark brown hair was naturally curly. There wasn't much boy left.
"Why do I suddenly feel so hungry? I mean, I am really very hungry."
"All that hair had to come from somewhere, and the materials to make it grow came from your fat reserves. I had to do some fast moving of fat molecules.
"Brian, do you have any snacks downstairs?" Randi asked.
"There's a bunch of left over pizza in the freezer."
"Charli, why don't you heat up a bunch while I'm working on Brian? It's too bad that Silky and Willie didn't want to come along. They could have practiced their microwaving.
"Say, why aren't they here, anyway?"
"I don't know. I asked Willie if he wanted to come, but he said he and Silky had something to do. I'll get the pizza heated up."
By the time Charli returned, there were two partially nude boys whom anyone would have said were two young girls entering puberty. Both seemed to be in awe of their pseudo breasts. Brian's hair was a light brown shag about four to five inches long. Efram's hair was several inches longer.
"Okay, I'm going to try something else, and I want you to let me know if things get uncomfortable. I'm going to retract your testes, balls, back into the cavity where they descended from. I'll also retract your penises, dicks if you will, so that your profiles will be more feminine. This is all reversible. I'll just manipulate some local space. Once the party's over, I'll reverse everything. We'll just cut your hair."
"Can you make my hair longer?" Brian asked as he devoured a piece of pizza.
"We'll lengthen your hair more next week when your nutrient levels are back to normal.
"Brian, strip down. You're among girls here, and you don't have anything I haven't seen before, anyway."
"Randi!" Charli exclaimed.
"Charli, I have two brothers, and I helped change Stan Junior's diapers."
Randi worked her magic, made a little adjustment before handing Brian a pair of panties from his stash. "I want all of this stuff washed after you finish your school project. Now, let's see how you look in these."
Brian did what Randi asked. At this point he probably would have done anything she asked. He was borderline ecstatic as he peered downward at his profile. He had breasts and there was no offending bulge below his waist. He couldn't remember being so happy.
Efram had similar feelings after Randi worked her magic on him. As far as anyone else would have realized there were two tweenage girls who needed help with makeup and hair styling.
"Brian, you are still on probation. We expect your report to be done on time. If you have any problems I expect you to contact Efram. Efram is not going to do your work for you.
"Charli, do you have their measurements?"
"Yes."
"How did you do that?" Brian asked.
"It's just one of those things that Randi and I can do. We need to get some swim suits for you for next week. After all, this is a swim party. We'll work out some sort of story so that you can arrive early to give us enough time to get you ready."
"I want to be a blonde," Brian suddenly blurted out. "Can you do that?"
"I can't do that magically. That's a transformation spell. I will be able to do it someday, but not now."
"I want hair that looks like yours. You have the most beautiful hair I've ever seen."
"We'll see what we can do. I'm not going to make any promises.
"Now we have some other work to do. Your room is now safe from entry by your parents or brother unless you invite them in. Your lingerie is invisible to them, and they won't be able to see any of the changes we've made in either of you. The obscuring spell should also work anywhere else you go. We'll watch you at school, and if the spell needs strengthening, we will do it.
"Have you thought of names?" Charli asked.
"I like Stephanie," Efram replied. "You've called me Effie in the past, and that can be a nick name for Stephanie."
"That'll work," Randi said after thinking about it. "What about you, Brian. And, don't say Brianne. That's too prosaic."
"Shoot, I kinda liked Brianne."
"How about Beverly?" Randi asked. "You could be Bev. We have a friend in Hartford whose great, great grandmother is Beverly. She's cool. Her great, great granddaughter, Terri, was like you. That's all been fixed now. You might get to meet her some day."
"I think I'd like Terri better, if you don't mind. That's a prettier name."
"Okay, Terri it is."
"I noticed something else," Charli interjected. "They don't have very much hair, but they need to shave their legs and armpits. We can't have any of that if they're going to be wearing swimsuits."
"Absolutely right, Charli; guys, you need to clean things up. You don't have much hair down there, but you certainly don't want anything showing around the bottom edge of your swimsuits. I know you're shaving a little. Be careful. You don't want any unsightly nicks on your legs."
Well, this could get very dangerous. It's gone fairly well, so far; however, what's going to happen when they have to change back? Another question: where are Silky and Willie?
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Well, the die is cast. Randi and Charli are going to bring about some serious cosmetic changes to the wannabe girls. How well can they bring this off, and where are they going to go after the party's over?
This is another story in the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Charli and the Girl Cave, Adam and the Three Wishes, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling; and Randi and the College Professor,. The time frame of this story follows immediately after Adam and the Three Wishes.
Story after story, I thanked Holly Happy Hart for helping me make my submissions better. Thank you, Holly, so much for stepping up more than five years ago and volunteering to help me. I never thanked you enough, and I will never be able to thank you enough for what you have done for me. We will miss you.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 5
"What do you think of this shade?" Charli asked as she held a box of Born Blonde © out for Randi to see.
"That's pretty, but it's a little darker than mine. Terri said that's what she wanted," Randi said looking at the beautiful model pictured on the box.
"On you it's perfect because it's natural. On her it would be a bit too light with her darker eyes and complexion. This is a two stage thing. We will have to bleach her hair out, and then add this ash blonde shade toner. When the party's over, we'll have to dye her hair back to her natural shade. That'll be easy, especially since her hair will be so short after we give her her old buzz cut. I think that's going to be very hard on her."
"Yeah, it's going to be tough on both of them to go back, but until something more permanent can be done, there really isn't much choice. I wish His Wisdom wasn't off on one of his trans-universe journeys. I'd bet he'd do something for them.
"How come you know so much about dying hair? You don't dye yours. It's perfectly beautiful, by the way."
"Remember, back in my previous life when I was hiding from those crooks and they had pictures circulated all over the place? My hair was darker than Brian's. I dyed my hair and eyebrows blonde, and I had to do touch ups about every two to three weeks. It got pretty routine. I did it for three years before I had a professional dye it close to the shade I have now. It used to drive Padrona crazy because of the strong smells when I was doing it.
"The Wizard really got it right when he did the transformation for me."
"I've noticed more and more when he does these things that the results are seldom bizarre. He doesn't get carried away like he was reputed to have done in the past. I think what he did for you was what you needed as well as what you wanted," Randi said while giving her best friend and sister-in-law a hug.
"Let's check this stuff out and try to find those swim suits."
It didn't take long for them to find two maillots that would serve very nicely to deemphasize Effie's and Terri's slightly plump bodies while giving them a bit more cleavage.
"I had to boost the obscuring spell a bit this morning. They are becoming so feminine in carriage and manner it's hard to hide it with a normal spell. I think we've created a couple of monsters, Randi."
"I know what you mean; however, I think we're doing the right thing." After a brief hesitation, she added, "I sure hope so."
It hadn't taken much of a suggestion on Randi's part to convince Efram and Brian's mothers that it was okay to bring them to Charli and Lucy's house midmorning. Brian's mother had to work, and she brought him over at about nine.
"Mom, this is Terri. We're going to go up to my room so that she can get ready." Lucy had cast a little glamour spell, and Terri, who was already becoming quite feminine, didn't appear to be much different than any other of Lucy's friends; maybe just a bit bigger.
"It's nice to meet you Terri.
"Charli, we still have a lot of work to do. Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean that you can pass all the chores off on Lucy."
"Don't worry, Mom, I'll help. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Charli led Terri up to her room. It was hard to think of her as anyone but Terri by this time. "Okay, in here," she said opening the door to her closet, "Randi and Effie are waiting."
"What do you mean waiting? This is a closet."
"They're down the street. This is just a shortcut. Watch." Charli leaned down and dragged her finger at an angle at a corner of the pet door that was installed in the wall. It was a bit like expanding a picture on the computer. As she dragged, the door expanded into a full sized door. She grabbed her astonished friend's hand and led her through the door.
Stepping out of Randi's closet, she found that Randi had already been hard at work. Effie was munching on an energy bar, and there were several empty wrappers on the floor. She was holding a copy of Seventeen in her other hand. Her obviously much longer hair was up in rollers. She was wearing a bra and panties, and it was obvious that Randi had given her a good boost in bust size.
"Wow!" was all that Terri could say for a moment.
"I found a couple of unused bras, and I fixed it so that Effie fitted them just fine. They're a 'B'. I was able to get another inch off her waist. She'll be a knockout in that suit this afternoon." Randi said before turning to Terri.
"Okay, Terri, strip down. We have a lot of work to do. We have a couple of surprises for you."
"Are you going to give me boobs, er breasts like Effie has?"
"Yes, you're going to be a 'B', too; however, since your frame is bigger than Effie's, I had to get a bigger bra for you. You're going to be a bit bigger, but in proportion. Maybe you're both going to be a little large for your age. There will be some jealous girls at the party, but this is your reward for getting a B+ on your paper."
"How do you know that?" Terri asked. "We haven't gotten them back yet."
"I can read minds, and I listened in on your teacher yesterday while she was grading them. She graded yours first because she thought you might fail. She would have given you an 'A' except for some grammatical problems. We'll work on those later. We're going to get you ready for college when the time comes.
"How do your breasts feel? Any pain?"
"Fabulous, they were a bit sore on Monday and Tuesday. But they've been fine since then."
"Great. Let's work on them first. Then we'll get to the hair.
It was just like before, but even better Terri thought as she felt her breasts slowly expand. Now she knew what to expect, and she wasn't disappointed. The tingling in her breasts was a very satisfying feeling.
"Beautiful," Randi proclaimed. "I really do good work. Now we have to do the hair. Did you eat a big breakfast like I asked you to?"
"Yes."
"Good, I think I can get about six more inches. I want you to eat several of those power bars as we are working on you this morning. I don't want you fainting on us."
"Are you going to give me curls like Effie has?"
"We're going to do more than that. We have a surprise for you. You're going to be a blonde, a nice pale blonde. We have a lot of work to do."
Fifteen minutes later, Terri's hair was another five to six inches longer. Randi put a plastic cape over Terri's shoulders while Charli mixed up the bleach for the first stage of work. Then Charli took over. She quickly sectioned Terri's hair and started applying the bleach.
"I have to start applying this about an inch out from the roots. Then I'll go back and apply it to the root area. Let me know if you get very uncomfortable. We haven't had time to test your sensitivity, but most people don't have a problem."
When all the bleach was applied, Charli place a plastic cap over her hair. "This will keep it from drying out and will keep the heat in. I'm going to watch it closely. This is your first time, and I don't want to overdo it."
Thirty minutes later, Charli was washing the noxious smelling bleach out of Terri's hair and gently shampooing it.
"My God," she giggled as she looked at her reflection, "I'm a blonde, a real blonde."
"Well, you're not a real blonde, yet. But, I'm going to make you look real close to one. Good, the color came out nicely. Your hair was not very resistant. Now I'm going to gently get the tangles out, and then we're going to do the same thing all over again with the toner. You'll be a nice ash blonde shade when this is done. I'm also going to lighten your eyebrows a bit with some special bleach. Nothing looks worse than garish dark eyebrows on a pale blonde."
"Effie, you need to try on the swimsuit and the dress we have for you. As soon as I've finished coloring Terri's hair we've got to get back to my house to help Mom. We have only a couple of hours.
"Terri, this is real important. You must wear a bathing cap. The color won't set in for a while, and the pool bleach might make a real mess of it.
"Your brows are fine now. Randi will have to do a little cleaning up after she trims your hair a bit. Let's rinse this toner out of your hair and wash it with that special shampoo."
Charli cleaned the bleach out of Terri brows, then rinsed out the toner and shampooed her hair. Terri caught a glimpse as Charli wrapped a towel around her hair to blot up the excess moisture.
"It's so dark," Terri said sadly.
"Don't worry about a thing. That's just because it's wet. It's going to be perfect. Trust me.
"Effie, you look great in that suit."
"I think you're right. I look wonderful, and I feel wonderful. This is just wonderful. Thank you so much, both of you," Effie said as her eyes glistened just a bit.
"Get over that right now," Randi said with a mock scolding tone, "we need to get some makeup on both of you."
"Charli, fix Effie's makeup and take her to your house. Your mom's going to need some help. I'll take over here."
"Mom, this is Stephanie. Everyone calls her 'Effie'. She was visiting with Randi. Her mom left her off there. Randi's helping Terri with her makeup, and they'll be over in a while."
"Hello, Effie, we're so glad you could come to Charli's party.
"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to get back. We still have to get the tables ready. Your dad has everything set up outside for the music. Everything you need for the patio tables is in that box on the over there. There should be enough room for everyone at the trestle table; however, your dad can set up the folding tables if necessary."
"Okay, Mom; come on Effie," Charli said as she picked up the box of supplies.
"Where's your mother from?" Effie asked as the set the table. "She has an accent."
"Mom's German. She met Dad when he was in the Air Force. Mom can't have babies, so we're all adopted as I told you the other day. My oldest brother, Don, was a foundling in Laredo, Texas; so was Jorge. My sister Lucy, you know her, was adopted when they were stationed in California. I was a late adoption. I'm mostly Italian, but there's probably North African, and Middle East in my DNA as well. My parents were murdered during a store robbery. I'll tell you more about that some day."
"Gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."
"That's okay. My life has been wonderful. I couldn't be happier. I miss my parents, but that was a long time ago.
"Let's check on Terri and Randi. She should be close to being ready."
They returned to the kitchen. "Mom, we're going to check on Randi and Terri. We'll be back in just a few minutes. The others shouldn't be arriving for at least 30 minutes."
They entered Randi's bedroom as she was admonishing Terri about something.
"Look, I promised not to use any more mind control on you, but if you insist on crying every time you see yourself in the mirror, I'm going to have to do something. Your makeup's perfect, and I don't want to have to redo it until after you've been swimming.
Terri was now a very attractive blonde who probably looked a year or so older than her twelve years. She might have been a bit on the heavy side, but that didn't matter. Randi had worked and trimmed her hair into a layered bob which framed her face nicely and definitely masked what little of her remaining masculinity there was.
"Terri, you're beautiful," Effie exclaimed as she rushed over to hug her new friend.
"I know. What am I going to do when we have to go back?"
"Don't think about that now. We're going to have fun and enjoy ourselves."
Chapter 6
And fun they had. They probably hadn't that much fun in their memories. No one questioned the fact that they had never seen the two girls before. Charli just explained that they were in another school district and they had met in the mall. It was a great party, and they just did what eleven and twelve-year old girls did at birthday parties.
When things finally broke up, Terri and Effie helped with the cleanup. Randi had made sure that Terri and Effie's mothers would show up at Randi's house several hours after the party actually was over. After all, there were a number of changes that had to be made. They could cover up some of the cosmetic things they had done with some minor spells; however, both girls were going to have to go back to their boy modes, as tough as that was going to be.
"Okay, we have a lot of work to do," Randi said.
"I don't want to do it," Terri said rather firmly.
"What do you mean? That was part of the deal. I mean what are your parents going to see? We can't keep casting spells to hide your blonde hair and Effie's brunette curls. Your breasts would go away in a while, but I need to move that fat back to where it was before."
"I don't want to go back, either," Effie stated in a way that let everyone know she was serious. "I'm the way I've always wanted to be. I love having to sit down every time to go to the bathroom. I love playing with my little thing and pretending that I have a real vagina. My balls are gone and they can stay right where they are. I did some reading, and found out that if they stay up there they'll stop working after a while, and what little estrogen I have in me will help keep me feminine. It won't be perfect, but it's much better than I was.
"Can't you just do some of your mind control thingy, and make my parents believe I've always been this way. You can't have done all of this for us and expect us to go back. What do you say, Terri?"
"I agree completely. I love my boobs and blonde hair. I love the way you gave me a waist. I hated that thing between my legs, and now unless you look closely, you can't tell me from a real girl. I'll run away if I have to. I don't know where I'll go, but I can't go home to my bullying brother and bigoted parents. My best friend is a Jewish girl. What would my parents say to that?"
By this time Effie was starting to sniffle. "My parents would be throwing Leviticus at me all the time. I couldn't live with that. Wherever you are going to go, I'll go with you, Terri." Then Effie started to really cry.
"Shit, what are we going to do," Randi asked. "We have to change them back, but I don't want to, either. We've known all along that this was right for them. We just wanted them to enjoy being a girl for a while. I know when His Wisdom returns we could convince him to do something about it. He wouldn't like what they've been going through anymore than we do.
"I mean, look at them. If there was ever any masculinity in them, it's gone now. If they went back, I don't think they could fake it, anymore. They couldn't walk across the schoolyard without being picked on, and there's no way we could always be around them to protect them. This wasn't supposed to work this way.
"Hi, Silky, hi Willie, where've you been? We missed you," Randi said as she looked up to see the two cats quietly sitting on the carpet.
"Oh, we've been around," Silky said in her sweet little voice.
Effie gave a little screech, and pointed across the room. She was pointing at the robed figure wearing a wizard's hat. Next to him sat a rather large wolf and an enormous Bull Mastiff Rottweiler cross. Next to them were Charli's mother, Randi's mother, and Randi's big sister, Cynthia.
"Oops, I think we may be in trouble, Charli," Randi said as she realized the cat was out of the bag.
"Well, you've been presented with a rather interesting problem, haven't you, girls?" The Wizard said with a little chuckle.
"Er, yes Your Wisdom, where did you come from?" Charli asked rather timidly.
"Oh, we've been here all along, or at least one or two of us has. I deferred to your mothers during some of the more intimate times. I'm not a voyeur, although I've been accused of that in the past. We've known what's been going on for quite a while."
"Terri, Effie, you're not in any trouble at all," The Wizard said turning to the two awestruck girls. "We don't want you to feel bad about what's happened. It's no fault of yours, and you don't have to worry about a thing. I guarantee that everything will get sorted out in a little while.
"I think everyone needs a little refreshment. Marissa, do you have some soft drinks for everyone?"
"Certainly," Marissa said as she reached back and retrieved from the dresser a tray that Terri knew hadn't been there seconds before. "I think I have what everyone needs right here." Everyone found exactly what they wanted.
The Wizard took a sip of his coffee. It was Starbucks. He looked at the four girls. "I want to give Charli and Randi a pat on the back for doing as well as they did without violating the rules I set down. The changes they facilitated used minimal magic, and did use some of Randi's rather unique abilities to manipulate time and space. She took a rather unique view of how to do something for two girls who really needed our help. If it hadn't been for them, things might have turned rather dark for these two young girls, and we couldn't have that."
Effie had finished her drink rather quickly, and now she was getting fidgety. "Randi, is it okay to use your bathroom? I don't think I can wait," she whispered.
"Sure, you know where it is," Randi whispered back.
Effie was gone for a little while, and when she returned there was a smile on her face and a little bounce to her walk. She leaned over to Terri, and whispered into her ear, "Terri, you need to go to the bathroom."
"No I don't," she whispered back.
"Yes you do," Effie whispered. "Do it now, and check everything out. I mean everything."
"What in the world are you talking about?"
"Just do it."
Surprisingly, Terri found that she really did need to go when she sat down. It took a moment for her to sense that there was something different about the process. It didn't feel quite the same. When she looked down she realized her shape was different: not a lot, but different. Her hips were definitely broader, and there was a bit more padding on her behind. Then she realized that the whole shape of the faux vulva that Randi had created was different. The shock was almost too much to take. It was real. Everything down there was just like the pictures she'd seen. What had been the head of her retracted penis was no more. There was a little hood of flesh hidden between the folds of her new labia instead. Spreading the lips revealed what had to be an opening where there had been no opening before. What little hair she'd had there before was no longer brown; it was pale blonde, just like the hair on her head. But she knew they hadn't dyed it that morning.
She had to see what else had happened. She stepped out of her dress. The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't as big on top as she had been before. She might also have been a bit shorter. Her shoulders had to be narrower, as was her rib cage. Her waist was definitely much more defined than it had been before, and there was a little tummy where there hadn't been one before. Then she removed her bra. Her breasts were definitely at least a half-cup smaller, but that wasn't what caught her attention. Her bright pink areolae, she didn't even know what that word meant a week ago, were at least twice the diameter they had been, and there were two prominent nipples where there had hardly been anything just hours before. The shape of her breasts was a bit different, too. For some reason they looked nicer. She lightly squeezed and caressed them for a minute. They were definitely different, and when she pulled on her now prominent nipples, she felt little jolts that ran to her groin.
Looking back at her reflection, she realized her face had changed subtly. It was a girl's face, not the face of a boy trying to look like a girl. Her hair was perfect, and she realized that the ordeal she'd gone through that morning to be a blonde was something that she would never have to go through again. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but somehow she knew it wasn't necessary.
She started giggling while she dressed. It had happened to Effie, too. She was sure of that. That was why she'd been so adamant about her going to the bathroom. They were girls, real girls, and they'd never have to worry about it again. Yes, there were going to be those other things that her sister bitched about every month; however, at the moment that was very minor; very minor, indeed.
As she started to leave the bathroom, she realized that it was very quiet in the spacious bedroom. When she opened the door she could see that all eyes were on her. She couldn't help but smile. "Tada, it's a girl," she said and gave a little twirl. Then she was lost in a mass hug.
"Darn," Randi muttered to herself, "I'm going to have to fix their makeup again. I'm probably going to have to fix mine, too."
The Wizard waited a while before clearing his throat. "We have a number of things that we still need to go over.
"Terri and Effie need to realize that there has been considerable magic expended. As far as the world is concerned, they have always been girls. I'm not going to 'mess' with their memories, as Cindy would say. They will learn many valuable lessons from what they've experienced. I've given them a few basic 'talents', but since Randi and Charli have been responsible for initiating these transformations, they are going to have to look out for these new girls. I'll expect them to be there for them for quite a while."
"Uh, Mr. Wizard, what about our parents?" Terri asked. "My parents hate Jews."
"We couldn't have that, and we made a few very minor historical adjustments. Things are quite different now. In fact your mothers are going to pick you up in a little while. They've been attending an Inter Faith Coalition meeting. That's why you had to be here so early. Your fathers should be finishing up their round of golf in a little while, too.
"Effie, what's your sister's name?"
"Sarah."
"Terri, what's your sister's name?"
"Uh, Helen. Why?"
"Ohmygod, Helen's the name of my sister's girlfriend," Effie exclaimed.
"My sister's girlfriend is Sarah," Terri said stating the obvious.
"That was one thing that didn't need changing. It's always been that way. It's just that they have little sisters now instead of little brothers. You will find a little bit of blurred reality because of our adjustments. They have been welcomed with open arms into both families. They don't have to hide their relationships anymore.
"Girls, I want you to stay very close to Charli and Randi through the rest of the school year and summer. You have a lot to learn; especially about boys. I backed off on your physical development from what Randi had envisioned. She might have gone overboard a bit," he said winking at Randi. "Still, you're both a bit more developed than most twelve-year old girls. The boys are going to be attracted to you, and you're going to have to be careful."
"What about my brother?" Terri asked. "He's such an ass."
"Your brother is one of your major protectors. Our little adjustments have made a big difference there.
"I'll see Randi, Charli, and Cindy tonight. We have some more things to go over." With that, The Wizard, Wolf and Padrona disappeared with the usual 'POP'.
"I think Donna and I will leave you girls alone for a while. Terri and Effie's mothers won't be here for another hour, and I know you have a lot to talk about," Randi's mother said as she and Charli's mother started to leave.
"Mom," Charli asked, "you knew what was going on all along?"
"Certainly, liebchen, I have been around all these magic people, especially you and Randi, enough to know I haff to be on my toes all the time. You may be magic, but you are also young girls. Remember, I was a young girl, too.
"Silky and Willie told us what was going on, and His Wisdom said to let you continue, but that we should watch just to make sure nothing ever got out of hand. This was the first time I ever got to be invisible. It's a good thing your father is such a good man. To be invisible could make things interesting for some bad husbands.
"I am very proud of you, Charli. You have a good heart. So do you, Randi.
"We will call you when your mothers get here."
"I'm proud of you, too, little sisters," Cindy said giving both Charli and Randi a hug. "I have to get back to Boston, but I'll see you this evening." Then she disappeared like The Wizard had minutes before.
"We're dreaming, aren't we," Terri said while looking at Effie and taking in the changes that had become more and more apparent. "I mean this can't be happening. You've just done your mind control thingy on us, and we'll wake up tomorrow being the ugly boys we were this morning."
"First of all," Charli exclaimed, "you were not ugly. You were just girls in boys' bodies. The Wizard fixed all that a little while ago."
"How did he do that?" Effie asked. "I didn't feel anything. He didn't wave a magic wand or anything like that. I mean I had to go to the bathroom, and when I did I suddenly realized I had changed. I was a real girl. I mean this is the real thing: periods and everything."
"We can put a hold on those if you like," Randi said. I know a nice little spell that will prevent you from ovulating for a while. It will keep you from getting pregnant, too."
"I don't know about you, Terri, but I don't think I want to put that off. After all, looking at us I'd say we've probably been having periods for quite a while. We're pretty mature for twelve-year olds, as The Wizard said, and I think I like that. If that means I have to have periods, I'm fine with that. Maybe I can start on birth control pills. It's not that I've been thinking about having sex with anyone, at least not for six or seven years. Like The Wizard said, we have a lot to learn."
"I think you're right. I've wanted to be a girl for a long time, and now that that's happened, I don't see any reason to put anything off. I'm in this for the duration: full steam ahead."
"Girls, your mothers just pulled in the driveway," Marissa called from downstairs. "Don't forget your swimsuits. They're in the service porch." They wouldn't realize it until they got home, but their bathing suits were now Bikinis.
Both girls were apprehensive as they greeted their mothers at the front door. Terri was surprised to see that her mother was quite a bit blonder than she'd been that morning; however, that made sense. After all, she had to have gotten the blonde genes from somewhere.
"Terri, what did you do to your hair?" her mother asked. "It looks so much better than that pony tail."
"Randi and Charli gave me a makeover." Boy, did they ever,' she thought. "They did Effie's hair, too. What do you think?"
"Our little girls have grown up, Rachel."
"They certainly have, Marge."
Epilogue - That Night
"So, what did you learn from this little exercise? You may go first, Charli."
"I thought we had it all planned out pretty well. We'd let them experience what it was like to be girls. But we knew we couldn't do a real transformation. I was a fake girl for years, and there was no way I was going back. I had forgotten what it was like after a while. I mean, I remembered, but the anguish disappeared when it no longer mattered.
"We dangled girlhood in front of them, and then we were going to take it away. We should never have teased them like that. We had forgotten how important it was.
"The second thing was that we didn't plan for all the fallout. What we did was going to impact so many people, not to mention their families. We were really short sighted.
"On the plus side, we rescued Terri. We didn't have any doubt about Effie's gender; however, Terri had been so mentally abused by her bigoted family that she tried to hide her gender. Once we broke through those layers, the real Terri came out rather quickly. We made it possible for her to express herself. Randi's giving her breasts was a major event, and redesigning her and Effie's genitalia just about clinched it; however, allowing Terri to be a blonde had far more impact than either of us thought it would. When we did that, and Randi styled her hair and did her makeup there was no turning back. I hate to think what might have happened if we'd cut her hair off."
"You didn't have to worry about that. Their actual transformations have been taking place since that day you did the first modifications."
"What do you mean?" Randi asked.
"When you retracted their testes, I just made them disappear. We knew when you started this project, that they would be transformed. It's a bit like you Charli, once we found out about you, the transformation was going to be completed quickly. In your case there certainly was not any reason to wait. There have been a number of male to female transformations as well as female to male transformations that once we found out about the individual's need to transition we just did it at the first opportunity. Your Aunt Bobbie was one of those. Most of the time, we work it so that the individual comes to the shop where we affect the magic.
"Of course in the case of Terri and Effie, we didn't have to get them to come to the shop. They were with you most of the time. It was mid-week when we changed their 'Y' chromosomes to 'X' chromosomes. At the same time, they received their female organs. Except for some external details and skeletal changes, they were fully female when you did those modifications this morning. Estrogen was already flowing through their bodies, and I must say they took to it very well. We did the final changes of course, this afternoon when you realized that they couldn't go back. We did those minor reality changes at the same time. All in all, I think it went very well, and you have two friends for life.
"Now, the next time you run across someone like Terri and Effie, just let me know. If I'm not in this universe, you can still leave a message on the computer.
"Randi, you are going to be able to do real transformations one of these days. Your mother is already well on her way. Without my approval, please don't do any more modifications like you did this week. The speeding up of hair growth can be dangerous unless you are very careful. You had the theory down pretty well, but I did assist a bit. You'll get better at it. Just let me know, so we can prevent problems. The moving things around like you did is not as serious. Again, just let me know. I can see where your talents are going to be very important someday.
"Are there any more questions?" The Wizard asked.
"Yes," Randi replied. I guess I have several. Did you do to them what you've done to several of us in the past with your special tea? I mean, they were really pretty calm about the changes."
"Yes, that was in the soft drinks your mother gave them. They'll be fine.
"Speaking of fine, Cindy, your friend Sonia came by the mall with her little boy and girl. It's been a couple of years since I'd last seen her. She told me to say hello to you. She said she's an aunt three times over now.
"You had another question, Randi?"
"Yes, you hinted at this a little bit. I'm almost twelve and Charli's eleven. I know that we're physically ahead of the curve, and I pretty much know what's in store for us. All I have to do is look at my beautiful sister and mother to know where I'm heading. I have a feeling that Charli will be nicely endowed as well. Believe me, neither of us is complaining; however, I'm wondering about Terri and Effie. They're pretty well developed for being only twelve. They're not going to be huge are they?"
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see," The Wizard said with a twinkle in his eye. And with that, he disappeared.
I think I may have urged my muse to respond a bit to my wish to write. I will be working on a story derived from the tacked on ending to Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. I'll remove that ill advised addendum and put the story back the way it should have been. The new story should be considerably longer than this little effort. I hope you enjoyed it.
Holly, we miss you so much.
Chapter 1
By Portia Bennett
Alfred Gontarski had the misfortune to have been born into the wrong body. That’s all been fixed now; however if you are not familiar with how things were corrected, you should go back and read “An Incremental Journey” and “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend” before you read this little adventure. Now we continue with the adventures of Cindy Lewis, her best friend Bobbie Schmedlap, and Maddy, Cindy’s precocious kitten and familiar.
Randal Mantooth, Randy, has a secret he has never shared with anyone. Don’t we all? Randy, being the good and honorable citizen that he is, joins the US Air Force and is sent to Afghanistan to help support what he feels is an honorable cause. What he experiences there affects him deeply and when he returns to the US, he is suffering from PTSD. Unknown to anyone is the fact he is also seriously ill, and this is contributing greatly to his mental problems. Randy is lost. He suddenly finds that he is in a world similar to, but not the world he grew up in. Then he sees his ‘angels’. Maybe they can help him figure out what’s wrong. Then there is Kinky Friedman. He beat whom to become a US Senator!
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time once again from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story. She is a dear.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
I saw her again today and she smiled at me. No one smiles at me, but she did. I think she is an angel. She has to be. She wasn’t alone like she has been before. I think she was alone before. Sometimes I can’t be too sure about things. Her friend has to be an angel, too, because she smiled. Almost no one else ever smiles at me. They just look the other way.
I have to walk. It’s the only way to keep them from getting to me. I know they are out there. They tried to kill me before. They killed Andrioli. They blew most of his head off. I got hurt a little bit, but most of the blood was his. The Captain and the Chief saved us. They drove through the mortar blasts and got to us just in time. The Warthogs got the Taliban, but it was too late for Andrioli. They came back and got him later.
They have to be angels. I think they are looking out for me. That’s nice. They don’t follow me ‘cause I know the others are out there and they might go after them, too. I hope that there’s some good food at the Outback. Sometimes they leave stuff for me. I think I’ll stay under the bridge tonight. It won’t get too cold. They told me that earlier; or was that last night?
Damn! They almost killed the Chief. If it hadn’t been for the Captain he’d’a died. They’re coming after me. I know it. I’m sure glad those angels are looking out for me. The little brown-haired one smiled at me and waved. Her friend did too. She’s a pretty little redhead. I’ve got to keep walking. If I stop too long they’re goin’ ta find me. They killed Andrioli.
I guess I don’t understand what’s going on. A cop talked to me the other day. He wasn’t mean or anything. He just wanted to know what I was doing. I told him that the Taliban were out to kill me. That was real funny. He didn’t know what I was talking about. I told him I had been in the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. He looked at me real funny-like and said what war? I told him “The war we been fighting over there since 9-11.”
That’s when it got real strange. He said, “9-11, what’s that?”
I said, “You know; when those Arabs flew the planes into the twin towers and the Pentagon.”
I think that’s when he was going to run me in. He started talking on his radio. I think he was going to cuff me but that car ran the light and hit that other car and he got real busy. I just walked down the alley. There’s a restaurant a few blocks over and they leave me some food sometimes.
I’ve seen him a couple of times since then, but I just steer clear of him. He looks at me like I might be crazy. Maybe I am. I know things haven’t been right since before I got out. I guess I’m lucky in a way. My enlistment was up and they just let me go, not like those poor bastards in the Guard that gotta keep going back. I don’t understand it. That cop acted like he never heard of the war.
Then there is this other thing. Maybe it is me. I mean everything is the same, but it isn’t. When I got back, nothing was right. It’s been the nightmares when I can sleep, which isn’t very often. Then my folks were always yelling at me, “Get a job.” “Cut your hair.” “Go to school.”
I never really wanted to cut my hair, but I felt the military was a way I could do something worthwhile, and I was right. The Air Force was the right place for me. Basic Training was tough. It had to be. But they were decent about it. My TI, that’s for Technical Instructor, was one big guy. He’d been a cop before he went to Lackland as an instructor. I think that’s why I ended up where I did. Anyway, Staff Sergeant Sanders, always ‘Sir’, was a guy that got the message across very quickly. No one gave him trouble about anything. Well, there was this one kid who mouthed off during the first week of training. SSgt Sanders grabbed him by the front of his shirt and picked him up with one hand so that his face was directly in front of his. “Now, Robinson, I don’t think you really want me to get mad at you, do you? I’m going to hold you up here and let you think about it for a minute.”
SSgt Sanders proceeded to continue to talk about what he was saying, the whole time holding Robinson up in the air using only his right arm. Finally, he put him down. “OK, Robinson, you get back in formation and behave yourself. When you get back to the dorm, change your pants. They seem to have gotten a bit wet.”
Robinson never did give him or anyone else any trouble again. I never had any trouble with him either. SSgt Sanders had made me Flight Leader. I had two years of college and was almost as big as he was. I didn’t want to be flight leader, but you didn’t refuse SSgt Sanders anything. I was athletic enough and didn’t have any trouble with leading the flight to where they were supposed to go. The marching was easy enough and unlike some of the guys in the flight, I knew the difference between my left and right feet.
I knew about other differences, too, and I kept my mouth shut. We had all the lectures both in class and from SSgt Sanders about being gay, not that we had to say anything about it. It was just that if someone was gay and decided that being in close confines with a bunch of other young guys was more than he could take, it was alright to say so in private and they would get you back into civilian life. I’m pretty sure one of the guys was gay, but he never let on. Me? I’m not gay: if it were only so simple.
I gotta keep thinking about this stuff. It keeps me from getting nightmares. I just go over everything that happened in Basic and Tech School. I got most of it figured out. I can just about account for every minute. Now I’m working on college. If I keep thinking about the good stuff, then I won’t think about that other stuff: like when they blew off the Chief’s leg. There I go thinking about it again. I gotta stop doing that. I think I will try to determine prime numbers in my head. Sometimes that helps. I gotta be careful, though. Sometimes I forget to pay attention to where I am going. I think that’s how I got here. Either that or it was getting hit by lightning that time. At least, that’s what I think it was.
That was really strange. I think it was lightning. I mean there was this flash of light and I was almost knocked out. I think I lay there for a long time and the rain was coming down real hard. When I could finally get up, nothing was right. I mean the big picture was about the same, but the details were different. I knew where I was but it wasn’t the same. I think the lightning fucked up my memory. I know I went to Afghanistan and Iraq, but everyone I talk to around here doesn’t know anything about the wars. I can’t be making this stuff up. I mean it’s so real. I remember getting a Purple Heart. I remember Andrioli getting killed. I remember the Captain saving the Chief. I remember when he got the Air Force Cross and I remember that he got The Medal of Honor after he got out. He shoulda got it the first time but he got screwed. The trouble is nobody around here knows anything about the war. I know it happened. I was there. I know the Captain and the Chief got the Silver Star. I know that the Captain got the Air Force Cross and the Medal of Honor. He should have, but nobody here knows anything about it. I mean the war and everything. It had to happen. I was there, dammit. I was there.
There’s a grocery store and they have free coffee. I go there some mornings; especially in the winter. The coffee warms me up. I set on a park bench up near the bus stop. It’s not really a park, just a few trees. They’re Bradford Pears. They’re real pretty in the spring and fall. Some people talk to me. There’s this real nice lady who talks to me some times. I think her name is Tracy.
I think she lives close to the store as I see her jogging. It was a couple of months ago that she sat down on the bench. Not many people do that. I don’t get to bathe very often and the only clothes I have are the ones that I wear and a few that I have hidden under a bridge down by the river. She’s real pretty. She’s tall and has red hair. Anyway, she sat next to me. It couldn’t have been pleasant for her but she didn’t let on.
“Why do you do this, what you are doing?”
“What?”
“I mean you are always walking. I see you all over this town and sometimes you are over in the next county.”
“I guess I’m trying not to think about it. When I walk I can see ahead and I think about how many steps it will take me to get to a certain spot. Sometimes try to find prime numbers. I have to try dividing in my head. I think I’ve figured out almost a thousand of them.”
She looked at me with a sad smile. “What is it that you are trying not to think about?”
“The war: I lost a lot of friends over there and sometimes I have dreams about it. Sometimes I think they are still after me. I can hear them at night looking for me.”
“What war was that? We haven’t had any war since we rescued Kuwait and went in and deposed Saddam Hussein. Thank God they have him locked away.”
“Locked away? We captured him in 2003 and his people hung him. It wasn’t pretty.
“I went to Afghanistan after 9-11. We’re still fighting that war and the one in Iraq.”
She looked at me with a look that told me she was trying to figure out what I was talking about. “What is 9-11? I’ve never heard of it.”
“You know: when those Arabs hijacked those airplanes and flew them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon killing all those people. We went after Osama Bin Laden, but we have never been able to find him.”
“What are you talking about? Osama Bin Laden was killed in 1990 by the Pakistan army. The Taliban leadership was essentially wiped out. There have been several attempts to hijack airliners, but they were always stopped. The World Trade Center is fine and no one has ever attacked the Pentagon.
“President Clinton did some outstanding diplomatic work and Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan have been pretty friendly and quiet. President Gore picked up where Clinton left off. Now Hillary is in the White House and Vice President Obama is really going to strengthen things with our world relationships when he gets elected.”
That’s when I realized that I wasn’t in my world any more. Where was I?”
So that’s Randy Mantooth. He is modeled after a homeless man who I see frequently in the area where I live. The problem is going to be what Cindy and Bobby can do for him, if anything. The Wizard is lurking out there, but it will be a little while before we meet him. Thank you for reading and thank you for your comments. Constructive comments are always fuel for future stories.
Portia
Cindy and Bobbie are growing up and loving it. There is a problem though. They have been seeing the homeless man, sometimes known as ‘The Walker’ and less frequently as ‘Dirtman’, and he has seen them. They have even talked a bit with him before one of the school officials chased him off. Cindy senses something about him and is startled to find that Bobbie also has ‘seen’ something about him. Cindy can detect the essence of a girl. That is not as disturbing as what Bobbie senses. She senses Randy is dying.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time once again from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story. She is a dear.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
“Cindy, here he comes again.”
It was the lunch hour recess and the two best friends were walking across the grass of the athletic field; Cindy to play kick ball and Bobbie to play softball. Bobbie was one of only two girls in fifth grade that joined in with the boys on a regular basis in some of the team sports. Bobbie, at ten years old, was a vivacious, tall and slender redhead who happened to love sports and athletic competition. She also loved being a girl and was looking forward to puberty and all the mysteries it entailed. She had all the normal crushes of girls her age. There were the entertainers, the heartthrob brothers singing group and others.
Her best friend, Cindy was a bit shorter than Bobbie. She had light brown hair and sparkling blue eyes that stood out as did Bobbie’s bright blue-green eyes. Cindy was not particularly athletic, but with Bobbie’s encouragement was becoming more involved in sports. Cindy, like Bobbie, was all girl when it came to her attitude about life. She, too, was eagerly awaiting the onset of puberty and was already noticing some of the subtle changes in her body that were normal for a ten-year old. In fact, just the previous weekend she and her mother had gone shopping with Bobbie and her mother, and had purchased their first training bras. Physiologically speaking it probably wasn’t necessary for either of them, yet; psychologically, it was very comforting. Cindy’s little nipples and area around them were starting to change visibly and she was certain she could feel a little tingle once in a while.
After they had returned from shopping, they raced upstairs to Cindy’s bedroom to try on their prizes. Maddy, Cindy’s cat had been napping on the foot of Cindy’s bed when the two girls bounded up the stairs. She watched with a somewhat bored expression as the two girls stripped down to their panties and struggled to get their ‘dainties’ on.
“Awwnother good reeeson to be a cat,” she muttered rather loudly as she watched the two awkwardly twist their hands behind them while attempting to get the new hooks to catch. “I have eight of them, but they will never change until I have kittens.”
“Maddy, you’re just jealous,” Bobbie laughed.
“Don’t be silly. I’m a cat and I have no reason to be jealous of a human. I happen to be a particularly attractive cat and when it is time for me I will have the pick of the best toms in the area; just as you two will always be able to choose whom you mate with. That is one advantage I have over most cats. I will be able to choose.
“Now, I hate to ask, but since I can’t open the can, would you please fix my dinner, unless, of course, you’ll let me go outside to catch dinner. There’s a particularly plump wood rat out in that field, and I think I would like some nice fresh meat for a change.”
“Yuck!” screeched Cindy. “Let me get my clothes on and I’ll fix your dinner.”
The girls realized that their new lingerie was a bit stiff and prickly and should be washed before they wore it; however, they wanted to show off to their mothers that they knew how to put them on.
“Ta da,” they proclaimed as they pirouetted in front of their mothers who were having a cup of coffee in the late afternoon. “We did them ourselves,” Cindy proclaimed, “and didn’t help each other. They are a bit scratchy and I think I’ll wash them tonight so I can wear them to school next week. A lot of the other girls are already wearing them.
“We’re going to feed Maddy. She threatened to go out and catch a wood rat if I didn’t.”
The two girls headed to the rear of the house while their mothers watched. Sally Schmedlap, Bobbie’s mother, watched her daughter as she accompanied Cindy to feed Maddy. There was a happy tear running down her cheek.
“It’s hard to believe that that was an unhappy little boy last year. She is so happy now. We will never be able to thank Cindy enough for what she did. What a treasure she is.”
“Sally, you have to remember that Bobbie was always a girl. What Cindy and The Wizard did was just make the physical correction.”
“I do know that, Marissa. The psychologist explained it all to us. It’s just that she was so miserable as a physical boy and she hid her unhappiness so well. We knew early on that things were not right. I think when she was about four and asked me if I could put some makeup on her that I realized it wasn’t a phase. When she asked for a doll for Christmas it just confirmed what we already were pretty sure about.
“Amos was so good about it. We had both wanted a daughter, but that had nothing to do about it. Our children’s happiness was always so important. When Bobbie insisted she was a girl, we took her to our family practice doctor and got a referral for a psychologist. The psychologist was so sweet and Bobbie loved her. She outlined very clearly what the possible routes of treatment were, and we all agreed on what we were going to do. Then Amos got hurt and everything changed. Then Bobby met Cindy.
“Sometimes I forget about all the changes that had to happen. I know what His Wisdom said, but it is easy to forget. I know now that the spell affected how we behave. As far as everyone is concerned, Bobbie has always been the beautiful, athletic girl we see today. However, sometimes I forget. We were shopping a couple of months ago and ran into her psychologist at the mall. I said ‘Hello’ and got a blank look response. I was going to say something else, but Bobbie pulled me away. ‘Mom, she doesn’t know us. All that never happened, remember?’
“I think that it was the spell that caused Bobbie to intervene. I am pretty sure that anyone outside the immediate family doesn’t know what happened. There is one exception, though. I think my mother knows. We were having dinner and Mom and I were cleaning up. She said, ‘Bobbie’s a lot happier now, isn’t she.’ She gave me a knowing smile and a nod. I haven’t tried to tell her anything, so I don’t really know. Still, I think she knows.”
Sally knew she had been running on a bit, and stopped to sip on her coffee. Much had happened over the last year and most of it she knew was due to the sweet little girl who was her daughter’s best friend. At first she had thought that Cindy was a ‘nut case’ who had found out about Bobbie’s transgendered state and was tormenting her with a ‘magic gift certificate’ that would allow her to become a real girl. The amazing thing was that it was all true.
The two families had met The Wizard who seemed to specialize in gender transformations. He seemed to be a kindly person and what he had done for Bobbie was beyond any expectations they might have had. They had not seen him since; however, Cindy assured them that there would be future meetings. It was just that he never showed up anywhere unless there was something to be done. She also warned everyone that in spite of The Wizard’s kindness, there was another side to him: that he sometimes performed rather extreme transformations on some ‘deserving’ individuals. There were also times that he allowed transformations that seemed to please his rather ironic sense of humor. Cindy couldn’t confirm it; however, she told the two families about reports that some selfish and criminal individuals were transformed into rather vacuous bimbos who became nothing more than sex objects in a less than savory part of society. She told them, too, about some of the transformations she had witnessed where some individuals were given a new lease on life. She was a prime example, she happily stated.
The adults of both families expressed some concern that the memories of some of the transformees were erased or artificially altered to fit their new reality. Cindy felt that there were times that this was necessary to avoid serious conflicts or trauma; however, it was important to realize that the basic ‘spirit’ or soul of the person could not be changed, and that when they were in the in between world there would be an opportunity to review their past lives before they moved on. In her case and Bobbie’s, retaining their old memories was going to be important. Cindy wasn’t sure how important, but she was sure it was.
Okay, we’ve done a bit of catching up about Cindy, Bobbie and their families; however, we need to deal with some current problems. Who is this person that Bobbie is bringing to Cindy’s attention?
“Look at him. He is so dirty. He just walks and walks. He hardly ever stops. He must be hurting. Look at how he holds his back. We used to see him under the highway bridge down by the industrial park when we lived there. There has to be something wrong with him,” Bobbie said sadly.
The walker stopped; then turned their way for a moment. Cindy, for want of anything else to do, smiled and waved at him as she had done before. He smiled and waved back. Then he approached, stopping about ten feet away on the other side of the chain link fence.
“Are you angels? I think you are. You are so pretty. You waved at me before. What’s your name?” he said looking at Cindy.
“I’m Cindy and this is Bobbie. What’s your name?”
He paused for a moment as if he were searching his memory. “Uh, Randal, Randal Mantooth: I think most people just called me Randy before. I can’t find anybody who knows me in this town. I know I am from here, but it’s different. Some people are the same, but they don’t know me.
“Then there is this other thing. No one knows about the war: except the ones who are trying to kill me.”
“Hey you, get out of here before I call the cops!”
Startled, the girls turned to see the vice-principal hurriedly approaching.
“He didn’t do anything nasty, did he? He shouldn’t be around children. They ought to lock him up. He’s crazier than a coot; always talking about wars that didn’t happen.
“You girls need to stay away from him. He’s some sort of pervert. Go on now or they will start playing without you.” He shooed the girls towards the others who were getting ready to play. The girls looked back over their shoulders and saw Randy disappearing toward the industrial park. He was holding the small of his back and was taking short, almost staggering steps.
Neither girl played particularly well that day, and Bobbie, heaven forbid, actually dropped a fly ball. There was something bothering each of them, and it wasn’t exactly the same thing. But, in both cases, it was about Randy.
There was a warm wind blowing from the southwest when they got off the bus in front of Cindy’s home. This was pretty much routine, getting off the bus that is. The wind was something else. It was carrying the haze of a million automobiles and the thousands of factories in New York and New Jersey. It was a precursor to what would prove to be a stormy night. Neither of them was particularly disturbed by thunderstorms. In fact, thunderstorms brought back some very special memories.
“Cindy, he’s very sick. He’s dying and he doesn’t know it. There’s something wrong with his, er, his …. Crap, what do you call them? They’re in his back. You know, they make pee.”
“Do you mean kidneys?”
“Yes, that’s what they are. They’re failing and he is dying. There is something wrong with that other thing; that big thing that’s up by his stomach.”
“That would be his liver. How do you know there’s something wrong with him?”
“I don’t know. I could sort of see it in my mind. That is really weird.”
“Bobbie, I think we need to talk to The Wizard about this. You might have some sort of ability.
“There’s something else. I felt something, too. He’s like we were. It’s not as strong, but it is there.
Cindy and Bobby know a lot more about Randy than they did before. There’s also this apparent power that Bobbie is demonstrating. What could it mean? Obviously, they are going to have to contact The Wizard. Thank you for reading and thank you for your comments. Constructive comments are always fuel for future stories.
Portia
Randy’s wanderings have taken him to the well house near Cindy’s home and the place where she almost drowned. Randy is seriously ill and the girls get Cindy’s father to donate some clothing to Randy. The seriousness of Randy’s illness is very apparent and Stan calls for an ambulance. In the aftermath, Stan discovers that more than likely Randy really was in a war and it was a war that had never happened. Randy has a Purple Heart and the certificate is signed by George W. Bush, President, a man who never was president. The Wizard lurks.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time once again from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story. She is a dear.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
3371, 3373, 3389, 3391: some of those a real close together. I double checked. I’m pretty sure they are prime numbers. I noticed something. I seem to be peeing a lot more than I used to, and I get real thirsty. I was sleeping out by the turnpike the other day and I was dreaming about peeing. I woke up and discovered I had pissed myself. That’s real awkward. There wasn’t anyone else around and I washed my clothes out in the creek. I hid under the bridge and it took all day for my clothes to dry. I realized that I had been able to sleep that night. I didn’t dream about the Taliban.
I saw the angels again and they waved at me. They even talked to me for a while until someone at the school chased me away. He was real nasty. I’ve never hurt anyone. Well, I think I killed some people in Afghanistan, but that’s different. There’s something about them, the angels. I think they know about me. I think I want to talk to them, but I can’t do it at the school. They don’t understand there.
I didn’t used to hurt like I do now. I’m not sure what the problem is. I think it started, the pain, after a bunch of us got together down by the river. One of the guys had got a road kill deer. He said he saw it get killed. He dressed it and a bunch of us had a feast. Old Ned had fixed up something to drink. I think he had collected a bunch of stuff from God knows where. He said most of it was alcohol, but it was real sweet. He found some stuff behind a store. He said it was fuel for tiki torches and was pretty good stuff. He said the other stuff was some sort of alcohol, too. He said he remembered that from school. He had a couple of jugs of it. I didn’t recognize what it was. That’s a problem I’ve had over the last few months. Ever since I got hit by lightning, things aren’t the same.
Some things are just like I remembered, but then there are these real weird things. Take the cars. Sure they got Chevrolets and Fords. They look OK, but here’s the weird stuff. There’s Edsels and they’re new. The designs are new. The grills have that toilet bowl shape. Shit, they stopped making Edsels before I was born. At least I thought they did. Then there’s this thing about the presidents. George W. Bush owns a part of a baseball team in Texas. He tried to run for a senate seat, but was beaten by this real strange guy named Kinky Friedman. The guy’s some sort of nut, but apparently he has done some real neat stuff. At least that’s what Ned told me. I never heard of Kinky Friedman.
3691, 3697, 3701, 3709, 3719: those are real close together. I think they might get further apart as I go along. I think I’ve been through these numbers before. I don’t have anything to write them down with, and sometimes I forget where I left off. I think I’m going to wash off in that creek down there by that old well house. I got some food saved up there and maybe they won’t find me there.
“Look, Bobbie, there he is. I think he was swimming down there behind those willows. I think he’s been sleeping in that old well house. He had a fire down there this morning. Let’s go talk to him.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean two ten-year old girls shouldn’t just go down and visit some homeless guy who is kinda weird.”
Cindy pondered what should have been obvious to her; however, her eagerness to help someone had probably made her a bit careless. “You’re right. Let’s go talk to mom. That guy’s been wearing the same clothes for months. I bet we’ve got some of Dad’s old clothes we can give him.”
The two best ‘buds’ had been playing at the Schmedlap’s new home. They had been watching television, and had been concentrating on some of the programs targeting young girls. Outsiders would have been intrigued with the conversation between the two. Bobbie had been soaking up the young female culture long before her transformation the year before. Her parents had long before accepted the fact that in spite of what appeared to be a young boy, Bobbie was actually a girl. What it boiled down to was that Bobbie was much more in tune with being a young girl than Cindy, who had actually been a physical girl longer than Bobbie.
They learned from each other. Cindy was considerably worldlier than Bobbie, having lived 35 years as a male in the business world, and she could point out the methods used by advertisers to influence young people and their choices. Bobbie, in turn could educate Cindy about what was culturally important as far as being a young girl in modern society. Their genders were strongly female, and subconsciously they were already thinking about the cultural mating dance that would permeate their lives over the years ahead of them.
Marissa and Stan were working on some food preparation for the barbecue they were hosting for some of their neighbors later in the day. The Schmedlaps would be joining them as would the other families on their shared driveway.
“Hi, girls,” Stan Lewis greeted his daughter and her friend with a hug and kiss, “how did your morning go?”
“Great, Daddy. We watched a bunch of those Saturday morning programs. They advertise some neat stuff and I explained to Bobbie how they work on young people’s minds. It is educational, too. I still have a lot to learn.”
“Cindy, I think you and Bobbie are doing very well. I think The Wizard was right about not changing things too much and letting both of you learn on your own,” Cindy’s mom added, wiping her hands on her apron. “How would you girls like to help preparing the food? We need someone to work on the salad.”
“We’d love to, Mommy, but we have a bit of a problem. You know that homeless guy we see walking all over the place? He’s been staying down in the old abandoned well house down by the pond. We think he could use some of Daddy’s old clothes. I think you put some things in a bag for the charity to pick up and Bobbie and I would like to take some things to him.”
“Well, I’m not too sure that would be a very good idea, Stan said with a concerned expression. “Often, these homeless people are a bit unbalanced. I don’t think it would be a very good idea for you to go down there.”
“Daddy, Bobbie and I talked to him the other day. He was walking by the school. He thinks Bobbie and I are angels. His name is Randal Mantooth and he says he’s from here. I think he is confused about a lot of things. He says he was in the war, but I don’t think he’s old enough.
“You know how I can detect certain things? Well, I think I felt it about him, but it’s different. I’m not sure how. Bobbie says he real sick. She says his kidneys and liver are failing,” she added while looking at Bobbie who nodded her head in agreement.
“How do you know that,” Stan asked rather incredulously.
“I don’t know. It was almost like I could see under his skin. Most everything was OK, but those two kidneys and liver. I think he’s dying. We’re going to ask The Wizard how I can do that.”
“Speaking of His Wisdom, I haven’t heard much about him lately. Are you girls still talking to him? He hasn’t set up his shop around here lately, has he?” Stan, as were the Schmedlaps, was very grateful for what The Wizard and others had done for the two girls; however, Stan wasn’t that sure that he trusted him. As they learned more about The Wizard’s powers, they realized they had little control over what he might do.
“I think Maddy has talked to him once in a while, and he has installed some lessons on the computer for me and he’s been teaching me about my powers of observation and how to strengthen them.
“Daddy, could we give him some of your old clothes, please? He’s not a bad person. He’s sick and needs help. Let’s go talk to him and see if there is anything we can do.”
“Alright, sweety, pick out some things from the bag in the laundry room and we’ll take them down to him. If he is as sick as you say, he might need to go to the hospital.”
Cindy and Bobbie gathered some clothing, and they followed close behind Cindy’s dad down the long driveway, across the road and down to the old well house. They could see some smoke rising from the other side of the stone building; however, Randy was not in view. There was an old pathway where the grass didn’t grow as tall, and they followed it toward the house. As they neared it they could hear a sound that they all knew, but didn’t like. Randy was throwing up.
“Girls, wait here while I check on things.” Stan rounded the corner of the house to see the disheveled homeless man on his hands and knees. He was no longer throwing up; however, he was still poised over what little he had earlier ejected from his stomach. As ragged and tattered the man was, Stan realized he was quite young, maybe in his early 30’s. He had seen him many times; however, had never looked at him closely. Rather, like many, he had turned away whenever he saw him.
“Are you alright? Is there anything we can do for you?”
Randy turned to see who was talking to him and fell back on his haunches. He stared at the man he had never seen before; however, when he looked past him, he saw the two girls, his ‘angels’, whom he had seen several times.
“Uh, no sir, I think I’m sick. My stomach hurts real bad. I think I may have been poisoned by something.
“Hi Cindy, hi Bobbie, is this your father?”
“He’s my father,” Cindy replied. “We brought you some clean clothes. We live in that house up on the hill.”
“Which one? I used to live up there.”
“The salt box: the one with the rear garage.”
“I used to live in that house before I went to the war. My parents lived in it when I got back. I’ve been looking for them, but nobody knows who they are.”
“What war are you talking about? We haven’t had a war since the Gulf War. You’re too young to have been in that.”
“That’s what everyone tells me, but I know there were two more. One is in Afghanistan and there’s another one in Iraq and they’re still going.
“Look, I can prove I was in the Air Force. I still got my ID. I’m in the reserves, or I was.” He reached into his tattered trousers and fished out an equally tattered wallet. He sorted through some cards and other items until he found what looked like a military ID card. He struggled to stand in order to hand the card to Stan, but collapsed to the ground. He held the card, waving it for Stan to come and get it. Stan took a few steps forward. That’s when he saw the blood.
“We need to get you to the hospital. I’m calling for an ambulance.”
“I can’t afford any doctor. They’ll just kick me out.”
“Any hospital will have to take you; however, you’re a veteran and they can take you to the VA Hospital.”
Stan called 911 and they waited for the ambulance.
While they waited, Stan asked him some questions about the war. He heard the same tale that Randy had told many others. The real strange thing was about the house. Randy knew the house. He knew every room. He knew about the wet bar in the cellar. He knew where the attic door was. He said his family had moved into the house right after it had been constructed. That had been twelve years ago when he was seventeen. He lived there after he got out of the Air Force. That is until they found him and tried to kill him. He had to get away. He couldn’t stay anywhere very long or they would find him.
It took the ambulance almost 30 minutes to get there. Randy was able to talk coherently about his version of the world while they waited, and Cindy wasn’t paying detailed attention until he started talking about the unit he had been with in Afghanistan.
“The Captain and the Chief were two of the best people I ever knew. They are real heroes. They came after me and a bunch of other guys. Andrioli was already dead, but they got the rest of us out of there. That’s when I got my Purple Heart. See, I got it right here.” He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the medal with the likeness of George Washington on it. The medal was attached to the pocket flap and had definitely seen better days.
Cindy could see that her father was going to say something, and then thought better of it. She knew what he was thinking. Anyone could buy a Purple Heart at a flea market.
“I even got the citation here. I keep it in this bag.” He pulled a zipper locked plastic bag out of the same pocket, carefully opened it, and extracted a folded document. “See, they gave this to me after I got out of the hospital. I wasn’t in very long. The General gave it to me, but Captain O’Donnell and Chief Stephens were there too. The Captain was a sharp cookie and there were a bunch of gals around the base who would have loved to jump into the sack with him.
“I’m sorry; I guess I shouldn’t have said that. He was real handsome; about six-two, dark hair and almost black eyes. There was only one girl for him, but she broke his heart. I think they had some sort of fight. Her name was, was ….”
“Her name is Jo, Josephine Beebe. It’s OK, everything worked out and they got married. They are very happy.”
Randy was shocked. “How did you know? It did happen! I’m not crazy. It did happen!”
That was when the ambulance showed up. The next few minutes were spent securing Randy to a stretcher. The terrain was too rough to get the wheeled stretcher down there and Randy was `too weak to stand on his own. The medics had hooked him up to an IV and determined that they would take him to the VA Hospital in town.
“Daddy, after the barbecue, would you take me down to the hospital to visit him. Bobbie and I need to talk to him about some things.”
“Cindy, how did you know who he was talking about? This is crazy. How could you possibly know?”
“I know because I was sort of there. Remember, before I got into this body, the spirit and I took many trips to many places; and many of them were not in this world. I think what I am saying will make more sense when you read that certificate he left with you.”
Stan unfolded the soiled certificate and scanned it. Although he had not been in the military, he was familiar with this sort of thing. One of the partners in the company had been in the Army and had several military awards on the wall of his office. Everything looked very legitimate until he got to the bottom. There were several signatures, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the President of the United States. The signatures may have been reproduced; however, that was not what caught his attention. The first thing was the date. It was only a few years previous. He wasn’t sure about who the Secretary of the Air Force was, and he thought he knew who Donald Rumsfeld was. But this was screwy. George Bush had been President many years before. He couldn’t have been president when this medal was presented.
Then he looked at the President’s signature in more detail. It was signed by George W. Bush, not George H. W. Bush. How could that be? He wasn’t even a senator.
“Cindy this is crazy. George W. Bush was never President.”
“I know Daddy. Randy is not from this world. He’s from a different world; one that I visited for a while; one where this country is still fighting two wars; one where George W. Bush was elected President.”
“Bobbie, we need to talk to The Wizard right away. There is something really strange going on, and I think he needs to know about it.”
Bobbie had been taking it all in and had avoided any comments up to this point. “Cindy, all that stuff you’ve been telling me really is true isn’t it?”
“I don’t think you have to look any further than yourself to know that it is. We need to talk to Randy and find out what he knows. Maybe there is a special reason he made the crossing. I know The Wizard and his kind can do it, and I know the spirits can do it, but Randy is not a wizard, nor is he a spirit, at least not yet.”
“Cindy, you’re talking like a grown-up again. I wish you would stop it,” Bobbie said with mock seriousness.
Next: Now Randy is in the hospital; however, he is a man without a world. His SSN won’t match and there won’t be any service records about him. He might be seen as an imposter and could be in serious trouble if the government gets wind of him. At last we meet The Wizard.
Portia
The problems about Randy’s origin are beginning to surface. The doctors feel he may have ingested some anti-freeze and that is the cause of his kidney failure. His liver problem has yet to be diagnosed. Cindy, Bobbie and Maddy know they have to talk to The Wizard. The connection is quick; however, The Wizard has to take care of a couple of shoplifters before he can address the problem the girls are bringing to him. I wonder what’s in store for them?
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time once again from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story. She is a dear.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Stan Lewis had been on the phone for a long time. The VA Hospital called the Lewis’s shortly after the neighborhood families had headed for their homes after the cleanup of the barbecue’s remains. He had taken the phone into the office and closed the door. There was no question that there was a serious discussion going on. The Schmedlaps had remained because they had a good idea that there were some things going on that went beyond the ordinary. Bobbie had told her parents, out of earshot of the other guests, that there was something strange going on about the homeless man that had been taken off in an ambulance earlier that day. There was magic involved, and that meant that The Wizard might have to be involved.
They could hear Stan ending the conversation with someone they thought was a doctor from the hospital. Stan returned to face the inquisitive looks from the group that didn’t include Bobbie and Cindy’s brothers who were outside capturing fireflies. They weren’t that interested in magic and the other goings on; however, that would change in future years.
“I’m afraid the news isn’t very good. Randy is very, very sick. His kidneys are barely functioning and he will probably need a transplant. His liver is also on the verge of failing. If they can keep the liver going, it might recover; however, there is not much optimism at the moment.
“They think he drank some bad booze. He shows all the symptoms of having ingested antifreeze. That stuff kills dogs, and cats, and other animals all the time. It has a very sweet taste and it destroys kidney function.”
Maddy, who had been curled up in Sally Schmedlap’s lap while getting her head scratched, perked up at that revelation. “Wowlrr, I’m going to have to make sure my babies know all about that.” Maddy then proceeded to roll over on her back and offered her chest and tummy to be scratched. Sally happily obliged.
“There’s another problem which we anticipated. They say his ID card appears to be genuine; however, there is no record of him in the military system. They’re treating him right now as if he was a veteran, but that may end. Something else is going to be a problem. His Social Security number doesn’t fit either. His number was issued to someone else. The bottom line is this. He doesn’t exist in this world. I’m sure it won’t be long before the Feds get seriously involved. I guess you could say that not only is he a man without a country, he’s a man without a world.
“They have him on dialysis at the moment and that should stabilize things for a while. The problem is that his whole existence is going to be questioned. I don’t know what we can do for him. It may be taken out of our hands before we can even try to do something.
“I think we’re just going to have to wait and see. I imagine you girls,” he said including Maddy with a nod, “are going to have to contact The Wizard about this. Just be careful, OK.”
The girls had already made plans for Bobbie to spend the night and they had the OK from their parents to stay up past their normal bedtime. Their parents knew the girls were going to try to contact The Wizard. They were uneasy about it, but knew at the same time, there was nothing they should do about it if there was any chance for Randy to survive. As Cindy had explained several times, it was best not to upset His Wisdom, although there hadn’t been any reason to be concerned as of yet.
The three girls, two of them humans and one a kitten, gathered around the computer screen. As it was most of the time, they didn’t need to turn the computer on to contact The Wizard. If he needed to contact Maddy or Cindy, it just came on. In this case the computer was on, so they just called for the Wizard and waited. Soon enough, the screen did a few flip flops and they were looking into the back room of the Spells-R-Us shop. Bobbie hadn’t actually been in the shop yet, but she knew she would get there some day.
“Cindy,” The Wizard’s voice came over the speakers, “I’ll be with you in a moment. I have a little problem to address here.”
The ‘camera’ backed up a bit and changed direction. Soon it was focused over The Wizard’s shoulder. There was a young couple standing in front of him. It was easy to tell by their expressions that they were terrified. It was also obvious that they couldn’t move. The two were rather Goth, with many tattoos and piercings. Several of the latter seemed to be inflamed or infected.
“What am I going to do with you? I know you can’t answer unless I let you, so I just want you to think about it for a while.
“David, in spite of all the good advice, you’ve had from your parents and school counselors, you seem to think the world owes you everything. You don’t want to put the least effort into earning an honest living. Instead you want to steal a bunch of worthless trinkets from an old man’s business so that you can take them to a pawn shop and sell them for ten cents on the dollar if you are lucky.
“Pamela, you have the same problem David does. You think you are smarter than all the rest. You think because David gives you reasonably good sex and drugs, you don’t need to do anything else worthwhile. You just follow his lead and get yourself deeper and deeper into trouble.
“I should turn both of you into door stops; however, that wouldn’t be fair to the lives you have created. It seems, Pamela, that you have carelessly, considering your situation, allowed yourself to get pregnant: not that David isn’t to blame, too. Well I can’t let your drug habit affect your unborn children. So, you no longer have any of your desires for drugs. After your children are born, you might have a glass of wine or two, but not until you have finished nursing.
“It would be very difficult for Pamela to raise one child let alone two, so, David, or should I say Daphne, you are going to share totally in this child rearing business.”
The three watchers knew what was going to happen. They weren’t exactly sure of the details, but they knew the gist of it.
“We don’t need either of you to be distracted by members of the opposite sex, so for a while the only interest you will have is making sure that your unborn children are given the best opportunity for good health and a good future.
“Ok, it’s time for some adjustments. Gad! all that metal.” He gave a little wave and there was a rattling clatter of small objects hitting the floor. He made a few more motions and suddenly there was a small ingot of metal. “Wait a few weeks before you cash that in. Silver will go up a few dollars.
“Now Daphne, you are going to be a very good mother. So are you Pamela, for that matter. It’s just that Daphne doesn’t have much to work with yet. Let’s see what we can do here. We certainly don’t want childbirth to be difficult, so we need to do several adjustments. Male pelvises just can’t hack it.”
The Wizard pointed his wand at the hapless boy’s, soon to be a girl’s waist, and gave it a few subtle flicks. What had been narrow boys hips expanded and reshaped into a very nice female pelvis. The clothing shifted appropriately at the same time. The girls could see the boy/girl wince as some of the changes took place. There had to be other less visible changes taking place, too. It wasn’t pain, but more or less an acknowledgment of what was taking place.
“There must be some other changes to make things work correctly. Both of you young ladies are going to have hungry, healthy babies, so we need to take care of things in the feeding department. Size isn’t that important, but we want to make sure everything is working correctly.”
Pamela had been wearing a scoop necked garment that displayed her smallish breasts rather nicely. She gradually expanded a couple of cup sizes. Her companion was gradually becoming equally endowed. “You will grow a bit more as your pregnancies progress, but should shrink back to just about this size when you stop nursing. This might help you attract good husbands later on.
“Pamela, since, for the moment you are carrying both babies, would you rather continue with the boy or girl? You may speak.”
“Sir, I didn’t know I was pregnant. I would never want to hurt my babies.”
“What you have been doing has been rather reckless and thoughtless. Now you get to make a decision about your child and your sister’s. Now who shall it be?”
“I would like to have a little boy. Maybe I could raise him to be better than I have been.”
“Then that’s the way it shall be. This will take a little adjustment with the continuum, as Daphne is now four weeks pregnant, too. There’re all sorts of physiological and hormonal things that have to be changed.
“Is there something wrong Daphne? You may speak.”
“Yes sir, I think I am going to throw up,” she said with a rather sweet but shaky voice.
“Not on my clean floor you don’t. The restroom is behind those skeletons. I could keep you from doing it, but you need to know what it’s all about. We’ll be right here when you get back.”
The Wizard turned to face the girls. “Sorry to keep you waiting. These two decided to remove a few of my possessions from the shop. I can’t allow that sort of thing to happen. This will take a little longer. Sometimes slow transformations are the better way to go and these two are going to be able to think things over for a long time.
The wizard turned back as a rather shaken young woman left the small water closet. She was wiping her face off with a tissue and there were some tear streaks on her cheeks.
“Ladies, this is the way it is. Daphne, you would have left Pamela as soon as you discovered her pregnancy. Now, you are going to have to rely on each other. You are both intelligent young women and that will do well for you. Daphne, you are now a pharmaceutical assistant at the grocery store down the street from where you live. Pamela, you are an assistant to the librarian. Both of you are working on your degrees and have about 60 hours each to complete. You will use your minds instead of wasting them.
“When your parents find out about your conditions, they will support you to a certain extent; however, until you can demonstrate your changes in attitude, they will pretty much leave you alone. Their new grandchildren will help ease you back into their arms. Daphne, you now share Pamela’s memories about growing up as well as her DNA, but you will never forget that you were once David. Unfortunately, David has been killed this evening trying to break into someone’s house. I think you will realize after a while that was the best thing for you. You had no future had I not intervened.
“As I said, David would have left you when he found out that he had impregnated twin sisters on that drunken night. Your babies carry his genes, but not his proclivities.
“Let me look at you. I need to see what other adjustments need to be made.” The dyed black hair was gone and both young women now had mid-length, efficient hair styles. Their light brown hair was clean and shiny. Their faces remolded slightly into identical features. Their eyes were a rich brown, their teeth straight and white. “Neither of you are beauties, but you will learn how to accentuate your best attributes. You are going to be good parents, and some day, loving wives. You will also do well in your chosen professions. Never forget the chance you have been given. Make the most of it. Now go home to your nice little apartment and take care of yourselves. Both of you have appointments with your doctor, tomorrow. Don’t miss them. I don’t ask for it, but some day you will thank me.
“Now go.”
The two nearly identical, rather plainly dressed young ladies turned and parted the beaded curtain to go. They were holding hands. Daphne still had a rather stunned expression on her face. Pamela stopped and turned back toward The Wizard.
“Sir.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. We both thank you.”
“I know you do, even Daphne. I’m a wizard and I know these things.”
Next: The girls are going to have to find out more about Randy and The Wizard is going to be away for a while. One of the things the girls find out is devastating.
Portia
With the shoplifters taken care of, The Wizard can address the problem at hand. The Wizard seems to be somewhat surprised about Bobbie’s apparent ability, but not too surprised. I wonder why? Another thing, who is Naomi? Cindy tells The Wizard she has detected another person who is in the wrong body. The Wizard already knows about her and invites the two girls and their parents to his shop. That might prove to be an interesting visit.
The two families visit Randy in the hospital. The girls have some time alone with Randy and tell him they are aware of his inner dream. They are able to tell him about their transitions. They also learn more about his transfer between worlds. Randy has a relapse, but before the girls go, Bobbie senses one more thing about Randy’s condition.
I am posting these chapters today because I am going to be on the road tomorrow and Friday. I will post Chapter 7 on Saturday.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time once again from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story. She is a dear.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
“Bobbie, I guess other than your own transformation this is the first one of these you’ve seen. What do you think?”
“I think I don’t ever want you to get mad at me. Cindy told me you threatened to turn her into a toad, once.”
“I wasn’t really going to do that. I was just making a point. Cindy had a lot to learn back then. Well, she still does, but it is a different type of learning now.
“This must be pretty important for all of you to be gathered around like that.”
“Yes, Your Wisdom, we think it is.” Cindy was taking command. “What do you know about Randal Mantooth? We think something is going on that you need to know about.”
“Randal Mantooth, hmmm? I don’t think I’ve come across anything about a Randal Mantooth. I’ve been ‘Down Under’ for the last few weeks and spent some time in New Zealand, also. As small as the population is down there, there has been plenty to do.”
The scene shifted and they could see The Wizard peering into his crystal ball. “Hmmm, that’s strange. Oh dear, the poor fellow. Goodness, there is hardly anything in here about him. Did you know about this, Cindy?”
“Do you mean that he’s a girl? Yes, sir, I sensed it, but it was different. It was kinda like I wasn’t tuned in, but since then, it has gotten stronger. There’s something else. Bobbie can tell he’s real sick. She says he’s dying. He’s in the hospital now. What they told my dad pretty much says the same thing.”
“Cindy, that’s adult talk again,” Bobbie admonished.
The Wizard turned his head and looked at Bobbie. “How long have you been able to do this?”
“That’s the first time. It was almost like I could see what was not working right. I wasn’t sure about the names, but Cindy told me what they were.”
“That is certainly interesting. I’m going to have to talk to Naomi about that. That certainly explains some things. Oh well, back to this problem with Randy. Let’s see what else we can see.
“This is odd. There’s nothing before about two years ago. Is something wrong with this blasted crystal ball? Well if there is, it’s still under warranty.”
“Your Wisdom,” Cindy piped up, “I can tell you why it’s not working.”
“You can! Have you learned how to do something else?”
“I don’t think so. This was just good detective work. He’s not from this world. He came from a world that is pretty close to this one. I went there before the spirit brought me back here. It’s not as nice a world as this one. There’s still a lot of war and stuff going on.
“Something happened and he was brought or thrown across. He didn’t know what happened. He knows that this world is different and he thought he was hallucinating, or something. He keeps hearing voices and thinks some people are trying to kill him. He’s sick and he’s scared, but he knows he’s not as crazy as he thought he was.”
“No wonder there isn’t anything in here about him; this ball isn’t multidimensional. Where is Glinda’s book when I need it? It isn’t easy for some to go from one world to another. Dorothy is real good at it, but she hasn’t done any moves since about 1910. She’s happy just staying in OZ. You should visit her sometime. You’re about the same age. Maddy would get along real well with the lion and tiger, but Toto can be a bit obnoxious at times. That wizard isn’t half the wizard I am. He’s a Johnny-come-lately. Why ….
“Sir, we need to talk about Randy.”
“Oh yes, we certainly do. It’s just that …. Oh well, never mind. I need to do some research about this young fellow and this might take a while.”
“We don’t think he has much time,” Cindy said with a bit of exasperation. “They can’t identify him and they’re going to think all his identification is forged. He doesn’t have any health care, and they won’t think he’s a citizen of the U.S.”
“Cindy, the reason you had trouble reading Randy is that he is a bit out of phase with this dimension. His aura is not totally synchronized with this universe. It gets easier after a while, but the first time someone goes through, things can get a little discombobulated. Normally, beings that come across are not subject to transformations, and I might have to get an OK on this from the boss. I’ll have to get back to you on this. This isn’t going to be a routine thing no matter what we do.
“I have some things to do now. I want you to visit Randy and see what you can find out about how he got here.
“Maddy, how’s your practice with small things going? Are you able to do any more since we tried that different thought pattern?”
“Mress, sometimes I can keep things up and leave the room. That’s a lot of fun. I pretend they are birds and kill them. I’m going to work on some starlings that are down in that bunch of trees if Cindy will let me out. No one’s going to miss a couple hundred starlings.”
The Wizard chuckled, “There’s no question you’re all cat. It would probably do well for you to get out once in a while and practice your skills — no blue birds or robins, though. We don’t have any problems with starlings. There’re too many of them and they don’t belong on your side of the Atlantic. They are harming many of the native species, too.
“Cindy, have you come across anyone lately that we might be able to advance in the system? Unless there is a major change, the shop will be in the mall next week. I’ve a couple of assignments coming up, and of course there might be some unexpected drop-ins.”
“Daddy and I were looking at a warehouse with Bobbie and her dad. They are thinking about changing it into loft apartment. I started getting a feeling about someone who was in the building next door. I think it’s one of those ‘special’ clubs. Anyway, this rather tall lady came out and I realized she was the one. Some guy picked her up. They hugged and kissed, but it was a brother/sister kind of thing.”
“That would be Sonia Hennie. She’s a famous dancer at the Kandy Kane Klub. Her parents kicked her out of the house years ago, and when her kid brother defended her, they made his life miserable. He ran away and she took him in. She sacrificed the money she’d been making as a dancer to put her brother through college and medical school. That was the money to pay for her surgery. She doesn’t like that life that much and had hopes of finding someone who was understanding and willing to marry her in spite of the fact she couldn’t have children.
“We are going to take care of all of that. She gave up the best part of her life for her brother and she deserves a better outcome.”
“What are you going to do? I think it would be real nice if you let her grow up as a real girl.”
The Wizard could be seen pondering Cindy’s statement. He gave a wry smile as he started to speak, “I think you will just have to find out for yourselves. Why don’t you come to the mall? It might be good for your parents to come too. They might like the shop.
“I’ve got to go. I’m going to be in Kabul for the next week. I have some serious abuse cases to address. There’s nothing in the Koran that says it’s okay to abuse one’s wives. Let me know when you find out more about Randy.”
“Hi, Randy, how’re you feeling?
Randy looked away from the television program he was trying to fathom and saw Cindy and Bobbie standing there and smiling hopefully at him. He recognized Mr. Lewis and assumed the woman next to him was his wife and the other two were Bobbie’s parents.
“At last, my angels have arrived. I’ve been hoping you would. The doctors and nurses here are very nice but they are not like you two.”
Stan introduced Marissa, and Amos and Sally Schmedlap. They said they would be waiting for the girls down in the reception area. They could stay with Randy as long as the doctors and nurses let them. They, Stan for sure would probably come back and talk with him further after a while.
“Randy, are the doctors going to let you go home soon?” a very concerned Bobbie asked and then realized that Randy had no home. “I’m sorry, Randy, that was a stupid question.”
“No, it wasn’t a stupid question. You want me to get out of here and I wish I could, but I don’t think the outlook is very good.
“In some ways, I feel pretty good; better than I have in a while. They put me on dialysis because of my kidneys, and that has helped a lot. They did a bunch of tests including an MRI. I almost couldn’t do that one. If they came after me when I was inside that thing, I wouldn’t be able to get out. It doesn’t look good for my liver, though. They are going to put a drain in my side to see if they can get rid of the infection. They’re going to do a biopsy. Do you know what that is?”
“I do,” said Cindy. “They must think you have cancer.”
“Angels, there are all sorts of things that are wrong with me. They have given me drugs, anti-psy- something or other. They help a little. I don’t think anyone is after me right now, but they could be back. I can hear them talking. I don’t understand what they are saying, but I think they are planning to get me.”
“Randy, Bobbie and I won’t let anyone get you. We have some good connections. There are some things we need to tell you and we need to find out how you got here in the first place.” The girls pulled up their chairs. Bobbie had closed the door a bit and they hoped they could have a little privacy.
“The first thing we need to tell you is that we know something about you that the doctors will never find out unless you tell them.”
“What’s that?”
“You wish you could be called Christine.”
“How, wha…? Who told you that? I’ve never told anyone that. Now they are really going to think I’m crazy.” Tears started running out of the corners of his eyes.
Cindy reached out and tried to cover his hand with hers. That wasn’t possible, but she hopped her warmth and gentle touch she provided would ease his mind a bit. “This world is different than the one you came from in many ways. It’s not just those little things we talked about yesterday. There’s magic here, real magic. Bobbie and I are partially the results of that magic.
“You don’t have to believe me, but this is the truth. A little more than a year ago I was a 35 year old man, a very unhappy man I might add. I found out there really is magic in this world. I was allowed to occupy this body because the original occupant had to leave. I am still learning how to be a girl, and I have never been happier.
“Bobbie, tell Randy about what happened to you.”
“Are you sure I can? I mean, I thought we were restricted.” Bobbie was a bit worried because she had never tried to tell anyone about how she had been blessed. She was still a bit worried that her dream would be snatched from her.”
“If you think about it: you’ll realize it has to be OK because we are talking about it.”
Bobbie tried to put together a short story of her life. “All my life, I knew I was a girl, and the best part was my family believed me. They took me to a psychologist who believed me, too. They were going to get hormones for me and let me live as a girl until I could get the final surgery. Then Daddy got hurt and lost his job. The only thing that saved me was that I could hide how I felt. I love sports and I’m real good at them. Nobody thought I was strange or gay or anything like that.
“Then Cindy came back to school after she almost drowned. We had never been friends before, but when she came back to school, she was different. I mean, she looked the same, but there was something different about her. She started looking at me all the time, and every once in a while would smile and nod. I didn’t understand what she was doing.
“We had birthday parties for the students and we would get cards, no gifts, except Cindy put a gift certificate in mine. It was good for one sexual reassignment at the Spells-R-Us shop. No one but my family could read it that way. Everyone else thought it was a department store gift certificate. How did she know? What business was it of hers that I was a girl in a boy’s body? I thought she was crazy, and so did my parents.
“Cindy didn’t give up. She had the courage to bring her parents and her cat to our house to try to convince the rest of my family that she was legitimate and that the gift card was real. She was very convincing, and when my family agreed to let me try to use the certificate, the change happened almost immediately. It seems The Wizard was just waiting for their approval.
“Anyway, here I am, and I can assure you that I am all girl. Cindy has a gift. She can detect people like you and me, or least the way I was. She can’t do anything about it; however, The Wizard can.”
Randy was taking this all in; however, the girls weren’t sure he believed them. “Are you telling me that you can do something to turn me into the girl I know I am?”
“We don’t know. There seem to be some problems with the fact that you are not from this world. The Wizard wants us to find out anything we can about how you got to this world. Apparently, the sort of transfer you experienced doesn’t happen very often. Dorothy Gale is one of a few mortals who seemed to be able to go back and forth without much difficulty.”
“Dorothy Gale! You mean the Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz?”
“That’s the one. I think she made at least five trips before she decided to stay in OZ forever. That’s what The Wizard told us.”
Randy was getting confused. “Let me get this straight. The Wizard of OZ really exists?”
“In some universes, according to The Wizard,” Cindy said rather matter of factly.
“By ‘The Wizard’ you are referring to The Wizard who has that shop that keeps appearing here and there; the guy who turns guys into bimbos; the guy who tricks everyone who comes into his shop?”
“That’s the one,” Cindy said in the Wizards defense, “but he is not as bad as the stories make him appear. Bobbie and I watched him work a couple of changes yesterday and he was really quite nice about what he did. He could have been real nasty, but he wasn’t.” She didn’t mention that the fact that the girl was pregnant with twins may have affected The Wizard’s decision.
“The Wizard is very concerned about you; however, he needs to know how you got here. I think he wants to try to fix things, but there are some things going on that he hasn’t told us about. Apparently, magic doesn’t work the same for beings who just came across.”
Randy started to squirm and look around. “The voices are coming back. I think they found me.”
“Bobbie, get the nurse. I think we are going to have to leave.” Turning to Randy, she asked. “Randy, what happened? How did you get here?”
“I don’t know. I think it happened during a storm. They were coming after me. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them. I was crossing the river bridge. There was a storm starting and the lightning was really bad.”
“What bridge were you crossing?”
“The steel bridge: the one that crosses the west fork of the river down by the industrial park. It was real strange. There were all these sparks coming off the supports. I think they call it St. Elmo’s fire. Then lightning hit both ends of the bridge at the same time. It was real bright and real loud. Suddenly, I was falling, not far, maybe five feet, and it was raining very hard, but there was no more lightning.”
“Randy, that bridge isn’t steel. It’s concrete. The steel one was demolished years ago, before I was born.”
“All I can say is that it was steel and then it was concrete. That’s when it had to happen.”
Cindy was going to ask another question but was disrupted by a nurse followed by Bobbie entering the room. “Mr. Mantooth, are you alright?”
“I don’t think so. They’re back. I can hear them. I’m going to have to get out of here. They’re going to kill me. I’m sure of it.”
The nurse injected a hypodermic into Randy’s IV. “This will make you feel better about things in just a few minutes.
“Mr. Mantooth needs his rest. It would probably be a good thing if you girls said goodbye for the day.”
Bobbie and Cindy watched as Randy visibly calmed down. He wasn’t a bad looking young man. He had been bathed and shaved and his hair had been combed out. The nurses were definitely looking out for him. They came over and kissed his forehead. “We’ll see you tomorrow,” Cindy promised. “If you can think of anything more, we’ll tell our friend.”
Cindy heard a stifled gasp from Bobbie as she stood back from the bed. She was as white as a ghost, at least figuratively because Cindy knew that ghosts didn’t have ‘color’.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered as they entered the long hallway.
“He’s dying.”
“You told me that before. The doctors are trying to fix it.”
“No, this is worse. I saw it when I kissed him. It’s in his brain. It’s real ugly and it’s like the roots of a tree. It’s going everywhere. I think it’s a creature of some sort. It’s evil and it’s not going to let him go. We have to do something. It’s not fair.”
Bobbie was in tears and Cindy realized there might be questions, so she pulled Bobbie into a rest room so she could compose herself. “You are going to have to be strong. The doctors don’t need to know about what you can do. Let’s fix your makeup. We can talk about it when we get out of the hospital.”
Bobbie gradually composed herself while Cindy checked on the repairs. “I’m OK now. Let’s go.”
Their parents were talking to one of the doctors in waiting area. “Did you have a nice visit?” Marissa asked.
“It was OK. He looks a lot better than he has before, but he started getting upset and the voices were coming back. The nurse gave him some medicine to help him relax.”
“Mr. Lewis, we’ll let you know as soon as we find out anything. The government offices won’t be open until tomorrow, and maybe then we will find out why he has dropped off the face of the earth.” They said their goodbyes and walked out into the heat of the late afternoon.
Next: What are they going to do about Randy? He has no place to go. There is only one solution. They visit the SRU shop with some interesting results. There are several interesting transformations.
Portia
Bobbie and Cindy’s fears are confirmed by their parents and the doctors. Randy is moved into the Lewis’s guestroom and made as comfortable as he can hope to be. The two families are going to meet with The Wizard in his shop. What could possibly go wrong? In The Wizard’s shop; just about anything. The two families witness several transformations.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time once again from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story. She is a dear.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
“I’m afraid we have some bad news,” Stan said as they entered the highway for the drive home. “I also think you already know what I’m going to tell you.
“Randy is very sick. He has a month, at most, to live. Even if he could get a kidney transplant and they could fix his liver, there is nothing they can do about the tumor in his brain. That’s where the voices are coming from. It seems to be centered in the auditory area of the brain. The doctor says it is inoperable and there is no way they can get it out without leaving him a vegetable.
“They are going to continue his dialysis and try to treat the liver infection. They can give him drugs to reduce his anxiety and they will be able to control the pain, but the bottom line is he is going to die.
“We know, Daddy. Bobbie could see it. We’ve got to get The Wizard to fix him and then do the other ‘thing’.”
“There’s something else. The VA will probably discharge him early next week. They can’t verify his service time. It’s going to be just like we thought it would be. So this is what we are going to do.
“We’re going to put Randy in the guest room. We can afford to take care of him and make him comfortable until whatever happens, happens. He’ll have to have dialysis every few days, and he will need a lot of medication. At least he can be comfortable. They doctor says that as long as he takes the medication, the paranoia should be minimal. Knowing what has happened over the last year makes me believe that he may not be nearly as paranoid as the doctors feel. I think the best thing we can do is to give him some hope.
“Do you think His Wisdom can do anything to help?”
“Daddy, that’s wonderful that we are taking him in and trying to make him comfortable, but it might be difficult to keep him there. Knowing how he sometimes thinks, he might just get up and leave. He can’t be a prisoner and I guess he can do whatever he wants. I just wish we could do what we need to very soon. It’s time that Randy lived the way he was meant to.
“The Wizard said we had to find out as much as we could about what happened to get him here. He’s going to be in the mall next week and he thought we should meet in his shop. He wants you to see it. I think he’s rather proud of it.”
Just as they thought, Randy was discharged the following Tuesday. The medical staff recommended a local medical facility where Randy could continue to get dialysis treatment. His liver had responded very well to medication and the doctors were encouraged about that. They were not encouraged about the brain tumor and said it would be only a matter of time. He was given prescriptions for a plethora of medications that should help keep him comfortable. They also had the name of a local hospice organization to contact when Randy’s time drew near.
Randy seemed to understand the seriousness of his situation; however, he held out hope that his ‘angels’ could come up with something. He had some trouble at first with moving into the ‘same’ house he had spent part of his youth in. He looked around at the place that was so familiar and yet so different.
“I know this isn’t the same place, but so much of it is nearly the same. Look at the marks on the doorway over there. They’re the marks showing how Cindy and Tom are growing. In my house, it was me and my younger brother and sister who got measured, and we put the marks on the same place. That beaver pond at the bottom of the hill is the same. My friends and me used to build a toboggan run down there in the winter. Our parents got real mad when we ran it across the ice. That stupid Freddy Smith almost drowned down there.”
“That’s scary,” Cindy mused, “so did I. I tried to save Maddy and went through the ice.”
Maddy was riding on Randy’s shoulders at the time, curled around his neck. “That’s the first thing I remember. Cindy grabbed me and threw me away from the open water. I didn’t see her for a long time, and then she came home, I knew it was her. I’m a cat, but I knew that Cindy and I were connected. It was a while before I realized that I was different from most other cats. I don’t remember my mother and I don’t remember my litter mates. I must have had them, but I don’t remember them.”
Randy had no problem at all carrying around a talking cat, one who did have a pretty high opinion of herself. She delighted in entertaining him with her ability to move small, light weight objects without touching them. Randy was very weak, but he and Mandy could play for hours with a paper wad. He would hide it somewhere and she would try to find it. He didn’t realize it at the time, but he was helping her develop her levitation and other skills.
Maddy found that she liked Randy very much, and it disturbed her that he might die very soon. She could sense when his medication was beginning to lose effect, and she would remind him to take the next dose.
It became obvious that Randy was not going to get better. They would take him into the clinic for dialysis and the clinic personnel would also check the hepatic drain. Things were looking better in that area as Randy’s color was gradually getting to be more toward normal. Cindy realized that beneath all the dirt and unshaven face, Randy definitely had a yellow tint. It was now less pronounced. On the negative side, there was definitely a tremor that was becoming more and more pronounced. The meds would help, but as they began to wear down, his hands would start to shake more and more. It was definitely getting worse.
“Before we go in, I need to tell you some things. First and foremost, don’t touch anything; don’t play with anything; and when other customers come in, just be quiet. Above all, unless The Wizard gives it to you, don’t eat anything.” Cindy was trying her best to warn everyone that the Spells-R-Us shop was a very dangerous place for the uninitiated.
“Usually, if expected customers come in, they won’t notice anything that was not meant for them to see. His Wisdom is expecting a brother and sister to come in. He said he wanted everyone to witness what was going to happen. Bobbie, Daddy and Mr. Schmedlap have seen them before. The sister is a well known dancer at the Kandy Kane Klub. She has sacrificed her life for her brother. Now things are going to be made right.”
The shop was in the place of the Hallmark Shop; the place where all the wonderful things that had happened to Cindy and Bobbie had started. Everyone, even Cindy looked around in awe in the cramped old store. Randy was in a wheel chair; he never could have made the walk from the parking lot to the store.
The wolf stood up from his usual resting place and walked up to the group while wagging his tail. He almost climbed into Randy’s lap while giving him a big slurpy kiss that seemed to be his specialty.
“Just make yourself at home, folks. I have a couple of things to do back here before my customers arrive,” The Wizard’s voice came from the back room.
Maddy had ridden in Marissa’s purse and she jumped out and approached the wolf. She had met him at the Schmedlap’s old home, but hadn’t spent anytime with him since. The wolf reached out with a heavy paw in sort of a greeting and knocked Maddy sprawling. “Watch it Buster, I don’t weigh as much as your foreleg. I think your ears need grooming. Just lay off with the heavy handed stuff and I will give you a good cleaning, OK?”
The wolf rolled onto his side. His tail was thumping the floor and his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Maddy climbed up his neck and proceeded to rather vigorously clean out the wolf’s ears.
“Look at all this stuff,” Marissa said to herself as she was drawn down one aisle that seemed to have more modern cosmetic items. What she didn’t realize was that merchandise often changed in any location to suit the desires, spoken and unspoken, of the potential customer. She came to a countertop that had a number of wigs on display that were placed on Styrofoam ‘heads’. She was drawn to one in particular. It was a pale, ash/platinum blonde, and obviously very expensive. It wasn’t one shade throughout, but instead had wonderful highlighting and varying shades that naturally darkened a bit toward the nape. It was a bit ‘big’ but not to a ‘Dolly Parton’ extreme.
She gently lifted the wig off the stand and noted the label “GENUINE NATURAL BLONDE HUMAN HAIR”. ‘I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a blonde. Surely it wouldn’t hurt if I tried it on.’ She set her purse on the counter and, while looking into the handy mirror, gently placed the wig over her head. She tucked a few stray wisps of her natural light brown hair back under the edges.
“Mother! Don’t do that! You’ve got to take it off!” Cindy rushed up to her mother’s side. “Mom, I told you not to mess with anything.”
“I’m not messing. I’m just straightening it up a bit. Ooooh, it tingles. Mmmm, I feel good. Where’s that handsome father of yours. I’ll bet he likes blondes.”
“YOUR WISDOM, HELP, WE NEED YOU RIGHT NOW!” Cindy shouted.
A little piece of cloth caught her eye. She thought she had seen something fall as her mother adjusted the wig. She picked it up as she heard the others approach.
The Wizard arrived first. He had a large glass of a greenish liquid that was fuming a bit. “Mrs. Lewis, drink this right now, all of it.”
“What’s that, a grasshopper? I hope it’s not alcoholic. Booze makes me do naughty things, especially if I drink it in the afternoon,” she said as she winked at her astounded husband. She took the glass and drained it. She gave a little shudder and licked her lips. “Wow, that’s strong stuff. What was it?”
“That, my dear, was my best de-bimboization elixir. I keep a bottle around for emergencies such as this. How do you feel?”
“A little strange, sort of horny,” she whispered the last part and stifled a giggle.
“Let’s wait a little longer. I think she got the elixir in time, but it takes a little while to act,” The Wizard said while he studied Marissa with a look of concern.
“Mrs. Lewis, what’s the square root of 144?”
“Why twelve, of course.”
“What are the first three rules of real estate?”
“Location, location, location: everyone knows that.”
“I think she’s going to be OK. She got the elixir in time.”
“Oh dear,” Marissa exclaimed, “Something is wrong with my bra. It’s getting very tight.”
“I’m afraid that is part of the affect of the wig. I’ll fix that.” The Wizard made a subtle motion. “How’s that?”
“Much better,” Marissa said while wiggling her shoulders a bit. “What did you do?”
“I made some adjustments. I adjusted all your clothes at home, as well.”
Cindy was looking at the tag she had picked up
“GENUINE NATURAL BLONDE HUMAN HAIR,” said the first side, the side her mother had seen. “Bimbo Blonde Products. Your Satisfaction Is Guaranteed. Our Best Three Way Alteration,” said the other side. Cindy looked at her mother who was still sporting a somewhat bewildered look. She was also sporting a rather prodigious bust line.
Marissa was running her fingers through her hair. “I guess since I tried it on, I had better pay for. I kinda like the way it looks, but I’m not sure it is really me.”
“It’s $19.95 plus tax; however, it really is you now. I’m afraid it’s permanent. You are now totally and permanently a beautiful, natural platinum blonde. Your new endowments are part of the package. It only takes a few minutes for the changes to become permanent. I had to react to the most serious of the changes and your mind is the most important thing about you. The other changes will be accepted by others as being the way you have always been.”
“My God, my boobs are huge!” Marissa said as she twisted back and forth taking in her profile in the mirror.
“They are the best magic can buy. Guaranteed to never sag excessively or droop. They will always be 100% disease free. They also are fully functional and erotically very sensitive. I think you will be very pleased.
“There are some other effects that come along with this. Because you have children, your genetic traits have been passed on to them. There has to be some consistency in these things.”
“Cindy,” Bobbie piped, “your hair! Look at your hair!”
Cindy turned to the mirror. “Oh my goodness!” Her hair had been a light brown up to a few minutes before. Now it was a bright golden blonde. There was a little more wave, and it seemed to be a bit longer. She turned to The Wizard.
“I suppose this means there will eventually be some other similar changes,” she said with a bit of a knowing tone.
“Most assuredly; you were always going to be very pretty. Now you are going to be a bit of an eye catcher. I think you will be very pleased. You will naturally be a bit smaller than your mother, maybe a cup. I can make you bigger if you desire.”
“No, I think we should let well enough alone. Well, I always wanted to have breasts, and now I really have something to look forward to.
“Your Wisdom, I tried to warn everyone not to mess with anything. I guess Mom didn’t understand how powerful everything in here is.”
“No harm was done, Cindy. In fact I think things will work out very well, very well indeed.
“OK, here comes the brother and sister. They won’t see you, but please be quiet. I have to go to the back room. It’s part of the rules.”
The two families stood back as the couple entered the shop. The bell tinkled as it always did and the couple looked around in awe at the strange shop.
“Gary, Sonia, I’ll be with you in a moment.”
Sonia looked around taking it all in. “Gary, I don’t believe it. I saw the sign when we came up to the front. This has to be some sort of an elaborate joke. If only this place really existed. I mean there are so many girls like I am who would give so much if it did.
“I mean look at this. That big dog looks just like a wolf. And, what’s that kitten doing sleeping on his head. Who would go to all this trouble to make fun of me?
“Is this why you wouldn’t tell me what store the discount coupon was for. You must have known about the myth of ‘Spells-R-Us’. Are you that gullible? I hope you didn’t spend anything on that. How could you be so foolish?”
“He’s not foolish, Sonia,” The Wizard said as he parted the curtains. “Your brother loves you very much, and he hopes you can get the life you deserve.”
Sonia looked at the robed old man and gave a forced laugh. “I must say you certainly had some good coaching for the role. You look just like I thought you would look if you really existed.”
“Gary, you told me she was hard headed and practical about things. I think we will have to take a different tact.
“Sonia, your brother contacted me on the internet. There are special times and conditions for certain portals to open and apparently he found one. Now I want you to drink this Coke and think about what you would like to happen if it could. Remember, I am a wizard, and I will know what you desire.”
Without thinking about it, Sonia took the Coke and swiftly drank it down. “Shoot, now I have to go to the bathroom.”
“It’s back behind the skeletons. The seat’s a bit loose, so be careful when you sit down.”
Sonia strode on her long legs through the curtains to the back of the rear room.
The wizard handed Gary a box as Sonia disappeared. “What’s this?” Gary asked.
“They were her implants. She doesn’t need them anymore.”
There was a screech from the back of the shop. “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! It’s real! I’m real. What have you done to me?” A much different appearing Sonia raced out of the back room into her brother’s arms. “Gary,” she said between gasps, “I went back there and sat down and all of a sudden I realized I was different. It’s gone. Oh my God, it’s real. You’re real. It’s not a joke.” She said the last looking at The Wizard. She looked down at her chest and her hands flutters over her breasts. “They’re real, too, aren’t they?”
“You’re totally real, just like you’ve always wanted. Now, there are a couple of other things that need to be taken care of. I think you will be much happier being about five-ten when you grow up instead of six-two, so that adjustment has been made.
“You sacrificed your young adulthood for your brother to get him through college and medical school. David is now 26 years old; ready for his residency and you are 38. Rather, you were 38. I think it is only fair that the tables are a bit reversed. I think if you were 14, you would get to experience a lot of what you missed. Would you be happy about that?”
“Yes sir, I think that would be wonderful, but what about our parents? They were so mean to both of us. It was hard to leave them, but we had to.”
“These changes don’t start here; they have to go back many years. It took surprisingly little to change just a few things to change your parent’s attitudes about things. I think you will find them much more accepting about people who have problems similar to what yours were. You have to remember that you were a late child. One of their hopes is that they will live long enough to see your children. That’s still a ways off.
“Gary, there is a nice Pakistani resident physician at your hospital who likes trout fishing. You might want to get to know her. Now, your little sister needs to get home. It’s been a long day and your parents are waiting for you.”
Next: Marissa’s enhancements have an immediate and very pleasing affect on Cindy’s parents. The families learn that Randy has not absorbed enough of this universe to allow The Wizard’s magic to work properly. Any attempt to change him would be immediately fatal. All they can do is make things as comfortable as possible for him.
Portia
The aftermath of Marissa’s transformation has some interesting results. The Wizard explains why he can’t do anything for Randy. He gets a bit philosophical about things. Randy accepts his fate and the inevitable happens. Cindy is left with the feeling that The Wizard didn’t try hard enough.
Cindy and Bobbie’s training in the world of magic continues and we learn some interesting things about Bobbie’s ancestry. Marissa’s two thirds bimboization rekindles her love life (which wasn’t really that bad) and she has two children over the next three years, and she might have more. Bobbie’s athletic skills are coming to the front. She learns that she will never be able to use magic to give her an advantage in sports. She won’t need it. Cindy’s little sister asks her an interesting question.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time once again from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story. She is a dear.
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Cindy and Tommy bounded down the stairs for their Sunday breakfast. The aroma of bacon and something else was almost intoxicating. Marissa was also cooking waffles and eggs. The coffee maker contained a freshly brewed pot of coffee, and the aroma was wonderful — a lot better than the taste of the coffee, as far as Cindy was concerned.
Marissa was in an especially good mood. She was wearing a light robe over what couldn’t for the moment be seen, but Cindy knew it was a see-through baby doll nightie. The robe did little to hide what was now a spectacularly well endowed body.
Tommy had been with Bobbie’s brothers the day before at a movie in the mall’s multiplex theater while the others were at The Wizard’s shop. The boys made no mention of the changes in Marissa and Cindy, nor did they seem to notice that Tommy was much blonder than he had been when they had entered the theater. As far as they were concerned, everything was perfectly normal.
Randy had finished breakfast a bit earlier, and he and Maddy were out on the deck taking in the pleasant summer morning. Maddy was watching the hummingbirds coming to the feeder. Her tail was twitching, but the birds knew she was not a threat. Once in a while one would come down and hover a few feet in front of her before going back to the feeder; however, there seemed to be an unwritten truce.
Cindy and Tommy were diving into their waffles when their dad came down the stairs. He too was in a great mood, and came up behind Marissa and gave her a kiss on the nape of her neck. He buried his nose in her beautiful blond hair, and Cindy couldn’t help but notice that his hand snuck around and lifted a beautiful breast while tweaking a prominent nipple. Marissa leaned back and accepted a kiss. “Stop that, you naughty boy,” she admonished while snuggling back into her husband, “The children ….” Cindy gave her mother a knowing look. She knew her time would come soon enough.
After the brother and sister had left the shop, The Wizard asked the group to come to the back room for some refreshments and a little discussion.
“That was certainly nice, what you did for those two,” Sally said, wiping a tear from her eye. “That was just real sweet.
“I have a feeling that this is not a store to go to, to try out as much of the merchandise as is possible,” she said while glancing at the new blonde.
“There are some things that can be arranged without serious consequences,” the Wizard advised. “Just remember the old saying ‘Be careful what you wish for.’
“The shop is no longer in the mall; however, when it is time to leave, you may go out the back door. It will open into the corridor that leads to the restrooms. Cindy has used that door several times.
“Now, about Randy, I am afraid I have some news that is not what you have hoped for. Randy’s transference to this world has some in the home office scratching their heads. As I said before, most mortals aren’t able to make the jump from one world to another. Dorothy was an exception, or at least we thought she was. But now we know she is part fairy. Pixel, the cat, is another mystery to everyone. Apparently, he doesn’t know it is impossible to do what he does, so he does it. That group that hangs out with Lazarus Long knows how to do it, but they control the method and it hasn’t reached this universe yet. If it ever does, there could be all sorts of chaos.
“It’s a moot point about how Randy got here, because he is here. The lightning and the configuration of the bridge must have weakened a spot in the continuum and Randy was at the right place at the right time. They are trying to duplicate what happened in the lab, but nothing has come of it yet.
“Unfortunately, a great deal of Randy is still of that other universe. My magic can only work on the part of him that is from this world. If I tried anything right now, he would probably end up being a pile of disassociated protein and that wouldn’t be very pleasant.
“Do you mean Randy is going to die?” Bobbie said, barely able to hold back her tears.
“My dear, the physical body always dies sooner or later. I’m not sure how old I am in accumulated years. Using the current calendar, I am over 900 years old; however, I’ve had many detours. Someday it will be time, and then I will just have to see what happens. I’m not going to worry about it.
“You are a wonderful group of people, and there are many adventures ahead for you. You have gone far beyond what anyone would have expected of you in taking Randy in. That will never be forgotten.
“Now I need to talk to Randy and Marissa in the other room.”
About ten minutes later Marissa returned pushing Randy in the wheel chair. She was expressionless as was Randy. “I think we need to go home now.”
Randy’s decline continued over the next few weeks. His tremors became worse and worse, and there were a number of occasions where he seemed to black out. His eyes were open, but he wouldn’t respond to stimulation. Other times he was alert and quite upbeat. He would say the voices were there, but that they weren’t that important anymore.
For the two weeks following the visit to the Spells-R-Us shop he was able to get around fairly well. There finally came the day when he was limited to getting from his bed to the bathroom, or his chair to the toilet. His attitude was remarkable. He and the other adults would stay up at night comparing the differences in this world from the world he came from. He had to laugh about the fact that in this world the Chicago Cubs were frequent World Series victors.
It bothered all of them that in his world the schism between the Moslem and western world was so severe. There were still many differences; however, the Moslem world had begun to accept the fact that there needed to be a separation of church and state. This was also something that the western world had picked up on, and many of the fanatical Christian sects had lost a great deal of political influence. Randy was amazed that a Catholic Pope had actually been forced to step down. He was also surprised that celibacy was considered to be strictly voluntary and not looked at as a sign of religious commitment in the Church.
The end came suddenly and much more quickly than they had expected. Randy had a severe seizure and it took several hours before he regained consciousness. From that point on there was a nurse with him at all times. The second seizure was even worse. He had left a ‘do not resuscitate’ order; however, he continued to breathe on his own.
He regained consciousness to see two tear-stained faces. “Ah, my angels are here, good. Don’t worry little ones. You have made my life worth while. This is such a wonderful world and so many wonderful things can happen.
“Death is part of reality and my dying in this world is so much better than if I had died in my old world. I think I need to go to sleep now.” He never woke up.
There was a quiet funeral where the two families said goodbye to their recently found friend. The Wizard and Wolf appeared, and Maddy and the wolf sat silently together as the coffin was lowered into the grave. No one tried to explain why the flowers never wilted and why their perfume was so strong.
Things did get back to a certain degree of normality, but Cindy was upset that this world’s magic couldn’t help Randy. She had felt from the beginning that the reason he had shown up was so that her world’s magic would allow him to be the girl or woman he knew he was. It just wasn’t right that he had gone through so much torment and strife to not be able to experience what she and Bobbie had experienced. She had seen so many transformations with so many potentially happy outcomes, and in the back of her mind she felt that The Wizard had just not really tried.
Things happened over the next few weeks that helped take the edge off the events leading to Randy’s death and their failure to rescue him.
Cindy, Maddy and Bobbie were spending an afternoon in The Wizard’s shop. Since Randy’s death, Bobbie had not been able to duplicate her ability to recognize serious illnesses in people, and they were running some simple tests in order to see if there were any latent powers showing.
“Bobbie, you and Cindy are very young. It is unusual for ones your age to demonstrate the powers you already have. Most likely, there was a very strong affinity among the three of you, and it brought your powers to the surface.”
Their discussion was interrupted by Maddy streaking by with the wolf close behind. His feet were slipping and sliding on the wood floor. They could hear his toe nails rattling on the hard surface. Maddy went under the curtains, but the wolf hit them full force and the strings of beads were thrown in many directions. Seconds later, there was a huge crash in the rear of the back room. The wolf came flying back through the curtain with Maddy hot on his trail. Her tail was appropriately fluffed and the hair on the wolf’s back was raised in a body length ridge.
“That’s enough you two. Go play outside.” The Wizard waved his wand and there was a pop as the space the two playmates had occupied imploded.
“I hope you didn’t send them out to the parking lot. That’s not a very safe place,” Cindy said, obviously concerned.
“No, they’re up in Hockett Meadows. I’m going to let them wear off some of that energy. The wolf and I don’t get out often enough as it is. By the way, Maddy is now a mountain lion. That should make things a bit more even.
“Now watch this. The words are ‘Osteo Erectus’.” He waved his wand and the totally disassembled skeleton quickly re-assembled itself and hung back up on the hook. “Once you get the pronunciation correct, you only have to form the words in your mind. That’s why you never or seldom will ever hear me say any of the words when I am doing a spell. It’s not a good idea for the untrained to be hearing these things.
“Now, we have a little surprise for Bobbie.”
“Oh goodie, are you going to teach me a spell?” Bobbie’s voice sparkled with excitement.
“Not yet; I think we will need to find out more where your abilities lie.”
The shop door opened, followed by the tinkling of the bell. The girls looked up to see an older woman enter. She was carrying a bag of golf clubs.
“Gramma Naomi!” Bobbie shouted, “I thought you were in Visalia. What a surprise!”
“Dear, I am in Visalia.
“Your Wisdom, did you move the shop and not tell them?”
“Apparently I did. That’s right, I had it programmed to move: forgot completely about it,” he said winking at her.
“Gramma, you know The Wizard?”
“We have known each other for a long time. There’s a lot to tell you, and we will just take it a little bit at a time. My-oh-my, you just get prettier and prettier.
“Cindy, thank you so much for speeding things up. I know he told you he had the change scheduled for when she was 18, but that was before you arrived. Realities have been shifted a bit since then.
“Gramma, you know about me?”
“Yes dear, I know everything. I must say, you are positively gorgeous, and the best thing is you have some powers. They didn’t get lost after all.”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“Sweet, sweet Bobbie, you come from a long line of magical people. Call us sorceresses, witches, wizards, whatever. We thought the line stopped with your mother, but now we know it is continuing.
“I deliberately dropped a hint last year when we were visiting, and your mother picked up on it. She knows that I know.
“There was a horrible accident when your mother was about four. She learned to read early. It was totally my fault. I left a spell book out and she got hold of it. She randomly opened it and just started reading. It was an obfuscation spell and she erased her mind. Before I could do anything she was a babbling baby. We got the basic things back, but the magic was gone, maybe forever. I never worked magic around her after that.
“I hoped that she would have a girl and that the powers might be passed on. Instead, she had three handsome athletic boys, one of whom was a girl. I have always known that, Bobbie, and you were so strong about it. I knew eventually that the change was going to happen, but we didn’t know if the magic would come back. Now Cindy has worked her own special magic, and you have magic, too. The other wonderful thing is that your mother, father and brothers believe in magic because of what Cindy did. There’s hope now that your mother might get some of it back.
“You need to get back east to that mall, but I wanted to give you something. I found this set of lady’s golf clubs at a sale and they are perfect for you. There is one caveat.”
“What’s a caveat?” Bobbie was a bit overpowered at the moment. She had many questions to ask, but they would have to be asked later.
“It’s an advisory or warning. I made a little spell. Anything you do athletically cannot be magically enhanced. You have to do it on your own. It’s only fair.”
“Thank you so much, Gramma. These are so much nicer than the child’s set I have now. You never would have had to worry about me using magic on the golf course. That would not be good golf etiquette.”
They were interrupted by a crash in the back room. The wolf flew through the curtains and over the counter closely followed by a sleek puma. She grabbed him and they rolled down the aisle.
“Stop!” shouted The Wizard. The two sat back on their haunches while panting in exhaustion. Naomi peered into the back room. “Osteo Erectus”.
Gramma Naomi hugged the two girls, kissing their cheeks. She and The Wizard exchanged embraces. She stroked Maddy’s head, she was a kitten again, and scratched the wolf’s ears. “We’ll see everyone at Thanksgiving. Your grandfather is at the garden shop getting some bulbs. I need to make sure he is getting the right ones.”
Maddy didn’t wake up that night until Cindy rattled the cat food can with the spoon. She trotted down the stairs, ate her dinner, bathed and returned to Cindy’s bed.
Dinner was quiet, but Cindy could tell something was going on. Her mother positively glowed. She was reveling in the changes that had occurred, and seemed to take a bit more interest in how she appeared. Cindy had always considered her pretty, although she down played her appearance a bit. Now she was beauty pageant gorgeous. She didn’t overdo it, she kept her appearance very tastefully done, but she was a real attention getter regardless.
After twelve years of marriage, her parents love making had waned a bit; however, that was different now. Cindy knew her parents couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. She was sure that the wizard had probably done some tweaking of the spell that had changed her mother’s, and consequently her appearance as well. She began to think that her mother’s donning the wig may not have been an accident. It may have been planned.
“Children, your father and I have an announcement. We are so happy to tell you I am going to have a baby in about eight months.”
Cindy thought the news was wonderful. Her brother wasn’t too sure; however, he would be fine with it after a while.
Marissa’s pregnancy proceeded normally, and in the fourth month they confirmed she was going to have a little girl. Marissa went into labor on a Saturday morning and delivered after only four hours of labor. By the second day little Christine Miranda Lewis was feeding like a champ.
Little Christine flourished. She was a beautiful platinum blonde like her mother, and her eyes were dark blue. Cindy could not remember her ever having an unhappy moment.
When Christine was three, Marissa gave birth to a little boy. He was Stan Junior.
Although, Christine was a very happy child, she had some serious moments, too. She would get very involved in computer games, and more than once, in fact many times, she would come into her sister’s room while her sister was doing something with The Wizard. The Wizard would look over Cindy’s shoulder and say hello to the little girl. Christine would say “Hi” and take in whatever was going on.
Cindy asked The Wizard if it was alright for her little sister to watch. “I don’t think any harm will come from it. You know, I think Maddy needs a playmate. It might be time to find a kitten out there somewhere.”
“No toms,” Maddy responded.
It was around Christine’s fifth birthday that she asked the question that changed everything. “Cindy, how come you don’t call me Chrissy like everyone does at school?”
“I’m not sure. I guess it just seemed too ordinary for my favorite little sister.”
“What’s the nickname for Miranda?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Why don’t you look it up on the computer?”
“Sure,” She typed in ‘Nickname “Miranda”’.
“Well look at that! The nickname for Miranda is Randi. I never knew that.” She turned around and looked at her little sister. She was smiling up at her big sister. There were some tears in her eyes.
“I remember everything. It’s just that the voices are gone. I love you so much.”
They hugged and cried for a long time.
Marissa was working on the evening meal when she heard approaching footsteps, Stan and Amos were reviewing the status of one of the ongoing construction projects, and her husband would be a bit late for dinner. She recognized the footsteps immediately as those of her two daughters. She turned to welcome two of the many joys in her life, and was greeted by two tear stained but smiling faces.
“Mo-o-o-ther, why didn’t you tell me?”
Marissa could tell there was something important behind the question. She took in the two smiling faces and sensed there was something very serious in the words. Then she saw her youngest daughter's questioning nod. “About what, dear?”
“Mom, you had to have known. I just never gave it a thought; then Christine asked me why I never gave her a nickname. She knows, Mom. She knows who she is and you never told me. For almost five years, I thought Randy was gone, but Randi has been here the entire time, and you never told me.”
Marissa’s mixing spoon clattered to the floor, spattering batter across the cabinet. “Oh my God, when did this happen?” She gathered her two daughters to her as she sat at the breakfast table. Now she knew what the tears were for. She gently kissed Christine on the forehead and then pulled Cindy to her and kissed her, too. She placed Christine on her lap and Cindy sat on the chair next to her.
“We were never sure that it would work, but The Wizard assured us it would. He just wasn’t sure whether she would remember like you did, Cindy.
“What happened, Chris? How long have you known?”
“Mom, she’s Randi from now on,” Cindy said while holding her little sister’s hand firmly in her own.
“Mommy, a fairy came to me in a dream. She said I was old enough to start remembering some things. I had some scary dreams, and I was doing all sorts of things. There was fighting, and sometimes I would walk and walk. I dreamed about Cindy and Bobbie, ‘cept they were little girls, not all grown up like they are now. They were nice to me, not like some of the grown ups were. I dreamed about you and Daddy and The Wizard, too.
“The fairy said I would remember the nice things, mostly, but it would all be there, sorta like a book. I didn’t have to be scared any more. I remembered something about bad people coming after me and all of their voices. She told me that they weren’t real. I was sick then but I wasn’t sick any more and that all of you would take care of me. She called me Randi. I asked her why, and she said because that was my name. Then I remembered. Randi was my name, but once I wanted to be called Christine, and then I knew why.
“My old dream came true, and all of you are part of that dream. The Wizard told me you are supposed to find a kitten for me. Maddy said she would help when the time was right.”
“Randi, are you using my computer when I’m not there?” Cindy asked with a bit of a scolding tone.
“Oh no, he talks to me on mine. He’s real friendly, just like that first time I met him before I died. Mommy, he said it was okay for you to tell Cindy what happened.”
“Mo-o-o-ther, exactly what did happen, and why haven’t you told me any of this?” said an exasperated Cindy.
“That was quite a day, wasn’t it? I became a blonde, something I had always sort of wanted to do, although I never expected to become a natural blonde. I hadn’t bargained for these two ‘girls’, though,” she said while lifting her perfect DD breasts, “but I must say I’m not disappointed. Your father certainly isn’t. I also found out that I was going to become a mother again if I agreed to the plan.
“The Wizard set me up. The timing was pretty important, because I had to be ready when Randy died. He explained it to us that afternoon. If I was pregnant when Randy died, they might be able to arrange for Randy to be transferred to me. The thing was, even if Randy’s spirit was transferred, it was so early in the pregnancy that we didn’t know how many of the memories could be saved.
“His Wisdom put us, including himself, into a trance, and the spirit met us like she did before when Cindy was recovering. She said she would do the best she could do to help us. She told Randy not to worry. She didn’t want her to have his old memories for the first years as she grew up. There just wasn’t any reason for it. She needed to have a normal childhood. There was also a chance that the memories could be damaged, lost or that Randi would just never allow them to surface.
“We didn’t tell you any of this Cindy, because it wouldn’t have done any good to have you and Bobbie worrying about it. We also felt that you and Bobbie might try to force things too much. This way, you just let Randi have a normal early childhood. The Wizard knew you would be disappointed in that Randy could not be immediately saved, but he felt it best that we just keep you two out of the loop for a while. I have to agree.
“I see Bobbie coming up the drive. Why don’t you tell her while I clean up this mess?”
The two sisters met Bobbie as she parked her bike at the edge of the driveway. She had played golf that morning with her father and some of his friends. As usual, she trounced them, and she played from the men’s tees. At fifteen, she was a scratch golfer and a member of her high school’s golf team. There had been an uproar about letting a girl play on the boy’s team; however, there was no girl’s team. Besides, she beat all the male members when she tried out.
“Hi, guys; what’s going on?”
“Bobbie, Randi has something to tell you.”
“Randi? Since when has she been Randi?”
“Well, Randi is a nickname for Miranda. She asked me today why I didn’t call her Chrissy like all her friends do. I hadn’t really thought about it much. She just never seemed like a ‘Chrissy’ to me.
“Randi, you tell her.”
“Bobbie, I still think you and Cindy are angels, and I always will.”
“OH, MY, GOD!”
Next: That’s it for this episode. There are several more stories about Cynthia and her friends lurking out there. I think we need to go back a few years, essentially to the period after Randy’s death, and see how Cindy and Bobbie fare as they enter the great adventure of puberty. Cindy and Bobbie should find their powers starting to surface. There is also a question about where Cindy’s powers came from and what the implications are.
Portia
Growing up isn’t easy for anyone, and certainly Cynthia Lewis is no exception. The hormones are starting to flow in greater quantities than they ever have before. Suddenly, the doubts that had been hiding in the depths of her mind are beginning to surface. Menarche is pending, and Cindy is beginning to think that she doesn’t have what it takes to be a woman. She is suddenly very afraid.
Growing up isn’t easy for anyone, and certainly Cynthia Lewis is no exception. The hormones are starting to flow in greater quantities than they ever have before. Suddenly, the doubts that had been hiding in the depths of her mind are beginning to surface. Menarche is pending, and Cindy is beginning to think that she doesn’t have what it takes to be a woman. She is suddenly very afraid.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, and “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”. “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” takes place several years after this story. Read it for enjoyment, if you like. It is not a plot spoiler.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time. In fact, this just might be the time.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 1
Al Gontarski was famished and there was more food in front of him than he could remember seeing in one place at one time. There was no need for a plate; he could just grab handfuls of whatever was in front of him and cram it into his mouth. There was a problem though: none of the food tasted right. It was bland and unfulfilling. Hunger was eating at him, and no matter how much he ate, the hunger was there gnawing at his stomach. It was a cramping ache and it just seemed to get worse.
He looked around for help and saw his parents filling their plates with delicacies. There was a fabulous selection of antipasti. There were all sorts of salamis and cheeses, and the amount and variety of olives was spectacular. He tried to shovel the olives onto a plate, but they kept falling off. Finally he resorted to just cramming the handfuls into his mouth. The olives were as bland as the other food he had been ingesting. He was getting so frustrated, he started to cry.
“Mommy, this food doesn’t taste very good, and I can’t get enough of it. I’m so hungry and my tummy hurts.”
“Who are you calling ‘Mommy’, you fat pig. You’re no son of mine.”
“But, Mommy, I’m your daughter, Cindy. I used to be Al, but I’m Cindy now.”
“What are you talking about? Cindy drowned years ago. You’re just an oversized, fat excuse of a man. Come to think of it, you died several years ago, too. You have no business here taking all this food.”
Al started crying even more. Nothing was right. He wasn’t Al; she was Cynthia Lewis and had been for a long time. She had a baby sister and a younger brother. Her best friend was Bobbie Schmedlap. ‘Where are they? They should be here. Why does my tummy hurt so much?’
She looked across the room and saw The Wizard holding her cat, Maddy. They were both laughing at her. The Wizard was feeding Maddy shrimp, and a large pile of bones mixed with rat feet and tails lay at The Wizard’s feet.
“You’ll have to come with me.” Al turned to see a man dressed as a waiter reaching for him. “You don’t exist in this world and you are spoiling everyone’s meal. You will have to leave now.”
“But, I’m hungry. My tummy hurts, I’m so hungry. I want my mommy. I want my Daddy. I want my brother and sister. I want my best friend.”
“All that’s been revoked: apparently, the check you wrote has been sent back. Since you died all those years ago, it wasn’t any good.”
“No-o-o-o! The Wizard ran it through. It was good. I’m not Al, I’m Cindy Lewis. I’m thirteen years old. I’m a girl.”
“Not any more. If you don’t leave now, The Wizard is going to turn you into a toad, and you’ll be the premier jumping toad for Toad Suck Days in Conway, Arkansas next year.”
“No, this is all wrong. I want my Mommy.” Al started sobbing inconsolably.
“Cindy, wake up. Wake up, Dear; you’re having a bad dream.”
“What? Huh.”
“Cindy, you’ve been having a bad dream. Maddy tried to wake you up, but she couldn’t, so she came to me. She was worried about you. You’ve been crying. Your pillow’s wet with tears.”
Cindy began to realize that she was alright. The hall light was on, and the light through her open door lit things up well enough that she knew where she was. Maddy, her cat and familiar, was sitting on the bed next to Cindy’s mother. Maddy had a very concerned expression, at least it was as concerned an expression that a cat could get.
“[Cindy, I tried to wake you, but you just tossed and turned and moaned. Then you started crying. I had to get your mother. I couldn’t read you at all. There was a wall],” Maddy didn’t mind-speak to Cindy that much unless they were far apart. Her diction had improved so much that she didn’t have any problem being understood by anyone who was allowed to hear her speak.
“I’m okay, Maddy; I was having a horrible dream that I was Al. It was just awful.
“Mommy, you and Daddy didn’t know me. You said I was dead. The Wizard was going to turn me into a toad. I was so hungry and I couldn’t get enough food. My tummy hurt, I was so hungry. My tummy still hurts.”
“Where does it hurt, Dear?”
“Kinda low; down in the middle.”
“It doesn’t hurt in the lower right area, does it?”
“No, it’s just cramps.”
Marissa looked at her daughter while thinking back to her own early teenage years. She remembered the problems she had and the discomfort she experienced. There was good reason to feel that her daughter might experience some of the same problems. Cindy had experienced a huge growth spurt over the last few months. She was nearly fourteen and her body was changing rapidly. Marissa and Cindy’s genetics had been altered a bit due to The Wizard’s magic; however there was no reason to assume that their basic biology had been altered significantly. It was time, perhaps a bit overdue, but she was pretty sure she knew what Cindy’s problem was.
“Just a minute, I have something for you.” Marissa briefly left her daughter to contemplate her misery.
“Are you alright, Cindy? It frightened me when you wouldn’t wake up.” Maddy was very concerned about her human friend. Cindy reached over and stroked Maddy’s ear. Maddy reciprocated by pushing her head against Cindy’s gentle touch.
Maddy was close to full grown, and as had been predicted by The Wizard, Maddy had matured very slowly. If she had grown at the normal domestic cat rate, she would have reached maturity more than a year before. Instead, she was just about full grown, but hadn’t yet come into heat the first time. Maddy was pretty certain that she wouldn’t until Cindy had her first period.
Maddy, in spite of her high opinion of herself, was a very beautiful little cat. Her ancestry was mixed and she obviously had a lot of Siamese in it. Her eyes were large and very blue and the overall affect of her coat was that she was mostly white with darker guard hairs. Her eyes were made more spectacular as they were highlighted by a mix of light and dark, very long, and slightly curled eye brows. Her beautiful long whiskers were also a mix of light and dark. She had light tabby markings on her face and a darker pattern down her spine and tail, the latter being definitely tabby striped. Her ears were dark; however, her left ear was speckled with yellow-gold. Her feet were also dark, and following the design set by her ear, her left hind foot was highlighted with yellow-gold markings. Her Siamese ancestry stopped there. She had a stocky little body and her head was round, not elongated like a Siamese’s head would be. Another difference was that her very soft coat was long; not as long as a Persian, but quite a bit longer than what a Siamese would have. Soaking wet, which she would never have allowed to happen, she might have weighed seven and a half pounds.
“Here, take these,” Marissa was back with a glass of water and some tablets, “they should help. They work for me.”
“Oh, what are they?”
“Midol.”
“Oh…”
Things are going to get worse before they get better. Having a loving, understanding family, and great friends helps. There are four more chapters in this little episode.
Portia
Bobbie Schmedlap, Cindy’s best friend, is quick to diagnose Cindy’s problem. As we have seen before, Bobbie can detect physical problems in some people, and she quickly diagnoses Cindy’s ‘problem’. She is happy for her friend, but Cindy is not happy at all about the pending event. She is having serious doubts about her role, and the nightmare of the night before was an expression of that doubt. Now is the time for her mother to be there. Bobbie and Maddy help, too.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, and “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”. “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” takes place several years after this story. Read it for enjoyment, if you like. It is not a plot spoiler.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time. In fact, this just might be the time.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
“Cindy, you look terrible. Is anything wrong?” Bobbie Schmedlap was Cindy’s best friend, and lived in the next group of houses. She and Cindy had known each other for several years; however, they had not become good friends until a little over two years before. They had a lot in common in that they had both been born on the XY side of the human race, but were both now possessors of two X chromosomes. The changes had involved considerable magic; however, it was magic for which both girls were very thankful.
Bobbie looked at Cindy rather closely through squinted eyes, “Oh, Cindy, it’s going to happen tonight. I’m so happy for you.” They were waiting for their school bus along with a small group of children who lived in the neighborhood and shared the bus stop. Cindy and Bobbie were in eighth grade. They hadn’t always lived close to each other. In fact, before The Wizard and his magic had happened, Bobbie and her family were only a few months from being homeless. With The Wizard’s help, justice was achieved, and the Schmedlap family now lived in a very nice house close to the Lewis’s.
“What are you talking about?” Cindy was obviously not in a good mood.
“Tonight’s the night you become a woman. I’ll bet you thought it was never going to happen. You’re getting your period. Wow, it’s about time!”
“Look, I’d really rather not talk about it. I had a real shitty night last night. I had horrible nightmares, and awful cramps. Mom gave me some Midol, and it helped a bit. If this is what I’m going to have to go through every month, I’m not sure I want it.”
Bobbie thought back to her journey into womanhood. Five months before, she had had her first period, and it was really almost a non-event. She had felt a little bloating and talked to her mother about it. There had been ample discussions and they were well prepared. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience, but it was a confirmation of her womanhood, and she figuratively welcomed it with open arms. Her period started, she accepted it and took care of it. Her mother was there for counsel and hygienic advice. It probably helped that she was the daughter her mother hadn’t expected to have, but had wanted so much.
Now it was Cindy’s turn, and obviously, things were not going as smoothly as they had for Bobbie.
“Cindy, it’s going to be okay. You know the first few times can be a bit difficult, but once your systems get adjusted, things should settle down.” Cindy grumbled something unintelligible, and Bobbie thought it best not to pursue the matter any further; at least, not until Cindy felt a bit better.
They had most of their classes together, and they were excellent students. Bobbie would privately complain in half jest that it wasn’t fair because Cindy actually had a master’s degree in business. It was just that that had been in a previous life. Bobbie had to work hard for her good grades, and it wasn’t exactly a snap for Cindy. Cindy’s problem was life in general. She had so much to learn about people and how to interact with them. That had been her major failing before, as Al. Now that she was a young girl, soon to be a woman, she no longer had the gender identity problem that had plagued her most of her previous life. Still there were problems. There were the little rituals she had still to learn. Bobbie helped her greatly; however, Cindy continued to have a problem with coming on too strong with others and acting too adult-like, almost patronizing at times, with others. Bobbie had to keep reminding her to back off.
Bobbie also had some problems adjusting to her femininity. She was an outstanding athlete and could out perform most of the boys in her age group. She was faster than most of them, and could hit a baseball just as far. Her arm wasn’t quite as strong as some, but she was a quick accurate thrower. She had started playing golf at ten and was already regularly shooting in the low 80’s from the women’s tees. In fact, she had broken 80 several times. She was deadly around the greens. She was also feeling attraction to some of the boys, and had to be careful not to hurt any feelings due to her athletic prowess.
Cindy had grumbled her way through the day, but was silent on their ride home on the bus. Bobbie would have gladly ridden her bike to school except on the bad weather days; however the narrow roads and traffic in their area made the long bike ride to school too dangerous. At least, that was what her parents felt.
Bobbie said goodbye as they got off the bus and proceeded down the road to her driveway. She would get a snack and do her homework, and check with Cindy later. Sometimes, she would go to Cindy’s in the evening, or Cindy would come to her house, and the three of them, Cindy, Bobbie and Maddy would get a lesson from The Wizard. Bobbie’s powers had been strengthening since her menarche and she was able to do some minor spells. She knew it frustrated Cindy that her powers were developing faster than Cindy’s
They had learned much over the last three years about the magic they had, and they knew they would learn much more. Maddy was probably more advanced in some ways than either of the girls. She was very adept at levitating small objects and keeping them aloft for long periods. There was a payback, though, and that was that keeping things aloft for extended periods was fatiguing. Bobbie explained it this way. Even though Maddy was not physically touching an article, it was still Maddy’s energy that kept it aloft. It was just more efficient than using electro-chemical muscle power. Her mind was operating like a lens to focus the energy stored in her cells. There might be a time later on when they might be able to direct and focus energy from other sources. That would come after much training and practice.
Maddy used her power to other advantages. She never had fleas or other parasites. If one showed up, Maddy would just banish it. Then she discovered that she could hold the offending creature off, but hold it in place at the same time. She would pump a little more energy into it and it would literally cook as if it were being microwaved. Maddy didn’t think much past that at the present; however, that ability might prove to be very valuable.
“Bobbie, Cindy’s mother wants to talk to her for a minute,” her mother called up the stairs to her.
‘Whoops!’ “Mom, Cindy’s not here. She got off the bus with me, but I thought she went home. I don’t think she’s feeling very well. She has PMS something awful and she’s not herself. She’s going to start tonight and it’s her first time. Let me see if I can locate her.”
Bobbie called Cindy’s cell phone, but it went to voice mail immediately. The phone was obviously turned off. Cindy couldn’t have gone far so Bobbie thought she would go look for her. She had an idea where she might be.
She put her shoes back on; she loved to go barefoot, and came downstairs to find her mother getting ready for a dinner out with Bobbie’s father. It was their anniversary, and Bobbie knew it was a special time for them. The whole family had been ‘down’ for quite a while after her father’s injury, and it had been especially hard for him.
Amos Schmedlap had been an All American baseball player in college and he had also been an excellent student, majoring in mechanical engineering. He had been a late round draft pick by Boston; however, he didn’t feel that a career in baseball was the way to go. Maybe if he had been drafted in an earlier round and had been offered a substantial bonus, things might have been different. However, there were several determining factors that made him opt for an engineering and construction career, and most of them involved Sally and their soon to be first child.
They had married between their junior and senior years. It hadn’t been planned, they had really wanted to wait a few years, but Sally became pregnant almost immediately after their marriage. The rigors of traveling with a minor league team were not conducive to a good family life, and Amos opted to go to work for a construction company immediately after graduation.
Anyway, her father had his health back thanks to The Wizard’s kindness. Bobbie hadn’t realized it then, but the spinal injury had seriously affected her parents’ love making. That was in the past now. Sometimes they were like college kids, and Bobbie was glad, in a way, that her parents’ bedroom was far removed from the upstairs rooms occupied by her and her brothers.
“Mom, call Mrs. Lewis and ask her to have Maddy look for Cindy. I think I know where Cindy is, but Maddy can help.
“So, are you and Daddy going to the ‘Pepper Pot’?”
“Yes, and don’t wait up for us. I think your father is feeling a bit ‘frisky’, if his call a while ago is any indication.” She paused for a moment. There were some thoughts running around; things that had been teasing her for the last year. “What would you think about having a little brother or sister?”
“MOM!” The exclamation was there, and then receded. “Do you really mean it? I would love to have a little brother or sister. I want to have my own children someday, and you could teach me so much.
“Look, we need to find Cindy. We can talk about babies tomorrow.”
Sally picked up the phone. She still had a little smile thinking about what might transpire later that evening. “Marissa, Bobbie wanted you to ask Maddy if she knew where Cindy was. I know that she can read her thoughts and Bobbie thought Maddy might be able to locate her.”
“Just a minute, Sally. I should have thought of that. Those two are inseparable. I’ll have to find Maddy. She’s probably napping on Cindy’s bed. Though, it is about her dinner time. Let me check. I’ll be right back.” Sally and Bobbie waited for what seemed like a very long time, although it was probably not much more than a minute, or a bit more.
“Maddy says Cindy isn’t talking, but she thinks she’s down by the beaver pond.
“I didn’t realize she was feeling so bad. I think I will take Maddy with me and see if I can do something. Cindy needs to know that we understand how she’s feeling. Ask Bobbie to meet me down there. We need to give her some support.”
The sun was still well above the horizon in the late spring afternoon. It was warm and humid, and the gentle breeze did little to dispel the clinging heat. A family of wood ducks was paddling on the far side of the pond where Cindy had nearly drowned four years before. They had wanted to come ashore, but Cindy was purposelessly tossing small pebbles into the gently moving water, and the ducks were waiting out of her range. She would understand better what she was going through later on, but right now, she was miserable. It wasn’t just the PMS. That was just the crest of the hormonal wave bearing down on her in a sea of doubt that she was wallowing in.
Maddy gently nudged Cindy’s arm before climbing into her lap.
“What are you doing here, Maddy?”
“I wanted to be with you. We wanted to be with you.”
Cindy turned to see her Mother, and her best friend standing there. There were tears in her mother’s eyes, and Bobbie might have had a few, too.
“Go away, leave me alone.”
“Why would we want to leave you alone? This is a difficult time for many of us, and we need to be here with you. I should have realized how difficult this was being for you.”
“You don’t get it, either of you. I’m a fraud, a fake, a travesty.”
“Cindy, you’re talking like an adult again. I wish you wouldn’t do that,” Bobbie was trying to make light of something she probably didn’t really understand.
“Oh, shut up!”
“Baby, what’s the matter? It can’t be that bad. What are you talking about?”
“I am a total fraud. It was easy being a little girl. I didn’t have to think about things. I had all these new friends, but I hadn’t been a little girl. I had been, was, this obese, disgusting person who had no life. I have all those memories that she had before I took over, but they aren’t my memories. I’m a fake. Everything about me is a fake. I don’t have a fucking clue about what being a woman is about.
Maddy pushed her head against Cindy’s incipient breast, and then not knowing what else to do, looked up to Marissa and Bobbie.
Marissa motioned to Bobbie to sit next to Cindy. She pulled her own skirt under her as she sat on her other side, wrapping her arm around Cindy’s shoulder, pulling her to her. “Cindy, no one ever said being a woman was easy, and let me tell you, becoming one isn’t easy either. No matter what anyone tells you about it, until you have experienced it, you can’t know what it’s about.
“Maybe you didn’t have all the benefits of really experiencing early girlhood, but I know you are ready for the rest of this adventure. In spite of what any young girl is told, experience is the only true teacher. It will be the same way when you have your first lover, your first pregnancy, your first baby: no one can tell you everything in such a way that you will know exactly what to expect.
“There are just some things you are going to have to accept. Your hormones are flowing at a rate they have never done before, and won’t again until your first months of pregnancy. Hormones are powerful drugs, and they will drastically affect your perception of things. You will learn to deal with it, as will your friends and future mate. Your father learned to deal with it, too. I don’t think many mothers prepare their sons on how to deal with hormonal women. Your father is very understanding.
“No woman understands fully what to expect. She can’t.
“Now, I don’t want to hear anything more about you being a fraud. You are a beautiful, sensitive girl soon to be a woman. There is not one person out there who thinks any other way. It is never the same for any woman. Your experience is uniquely yours; however, I can tell you without question that you are a going to be a woman in every way. That other person is part of your history. You are not him. He is part of you. We told you before that you are our daughter, and always will be.
“It will get better for you, and I think the worst is over. The first time is almost always rougher. Be brave. We have to be tough. Most men just don’t get it.
Cindy turned to her mother. All three women had tears streaming down their faces. If Maddy could have cried, she would have, too. Instead, Maddy gently purred and snuggled into her best friend’s arms, spreading her healing warmth the best she could.
“Come on, dinner will be ready in a while and you need to fix your makeup. Your dad and brother are watching Christine, and I need to feed that hungry little darling before the rest of us eat.”
“Would you just hold me for a moment? I’m scared. I’m scared I’m going to screw it up.”
“Darling, you’re not going to screw it up. We won’t let you, and The Wizard won’t let you. You are just going to do this a day at a time, just like the rest of us did.”
“Mmmmmm, did you see that rather handsome tom over by the shed,” Maddy mused. “He was stalking some quail.”
“Oh gosh, Maddy, not you too?” Cindy exclaimed as she hugged her dear friend to her. “I think we will need to keep each other company tonight.”
Well, life goes on. Cindy didn’t get to experience early girlhood; however, the future is entirely hers. The next few months will hasten her physical maturity. What could go wrong?
Cindy has adjusted quite well after some initial psychological problems and doubts created by her two life experiences. She has been growing rapidly over the summer, and enjoying every second of it. There is no reason for doubt any longer. Her mother talks to her about her sexuality, and Cindy has some definite feelings; however, she doesn’t feel she is ready to venture in that direction. There is a dark cloud on the horizon; something that none of them are prepared for.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, and “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”. “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” takes place several years after this story. Read it for enjoyment, if you like. It is not a plot spoiler.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time. In fact, this just might be the time.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
School was out almost before any of them realized it. It would be a most interesting summer. Cindy had her second period just before the end of school, and it was a much easier experience than the first time. It wasn’t great, but she knew what to expect, and the fact that it was not the ordeal she had the first time was a welcome relief.
“Mom, I need some new bras and underwear. My bras are getting so tight they’re beginning to hurt.”
“Oh dear, let’s take a look. I think you’re outgrowing everything. My goodness, you’re taller than I am and it just happened over night.”
Cindy stood proudly in her panties as her mother took some measurements. Her breasts that had just been little mounds of fat with their swollen nipples and slightly expanding areolae a few months before were now proudly jutting from her chest. It had happened almost over night. The hard little pads had been developing under her nipples, and the area had been quite sore. The areolae had been puffing out more and more and suddenly the little pencil eraser nipples were twice that size, and her bright pink areolae spread out to maybe two and a half inches. Now her breasts were taking on a life of their own and there were times that she almost became obsessed with them. Considering her past life, that was probably understandable.
She would lean over in front of the mirror and delight in how they fell away from her body. She would gently roll her shoulders back and forth and watch her new breasts gently swing in unison. She would gently massage them, feeling their yielding firmness. She remembered her high, hard little nipples of a couple of years before...Now they were much lower on her rib cage and much further apart.
There was another thing. Her breasts were becoming very sensitive, as were her nether regions. Her golden pubic hair had been growing for a while, but now it was a virtual forest. She had been shaving it into an inverted triangle that started about an inch in from the juncture of her thighs with her lower abdomen. She was probably going to have to trim even more if her mother let her get one of the two piece suits she was coveting.
She had also discovered (or rediscovered) the joys of masturbation. In her previous life, masturbation had been as much a vent for sexual frustration as it had been for pleasure. It was different now. She knew that she would find a partner when she was ready. Right now she was learning about her sensuality. She was learning how to orgasm properly: how to draw things out or how to bring herself to a rapid peak if the mood struck her.
Her explorations had found the evidence of her virginity, and she pondered how and when to take care of it. Right now she felt that she would wait. She had never had a sexual partner in her previous life, so in a sense, she was a forty-nine year old virgin and her mindset at the moment was that she would wait for the right person, someone who would be worth sharing the loss of her virginity with.
“Okay, you are 36” below your breasts, so you should be wearing a 40 band. Now just relax and we will get your cup size.” Marissa lifted and adjusted the cloth tape measure so that it measure across Cindy’s breasts. She insured that the tape was parallel to the floor. “My goodness you have grown. You are a full ‘B’. You are going to be a big girl, just like your mother.”
“Mom, since you changed, do they bother you at all. I mean, you are really, big now, and you’re still nursing Christine.”
“Thank goodness for His Wisdom’s magic. I can certainly tell the difference, and I need those special bras to keep them under control; however, they’re not uncomfortable. They work a lot better than they did with you and Tommy. I barely had enough for you two and I dried up pretty early. Now, they just keep producing and producing. I think there is a demand - supply thing. Christine should be weaned shortly, but there always seems to be exactly enough for her. I don’t have sore nipples or chafing. They are working perfectly, just like His Wisdom said they would.
“Just between us girls, there seem to be many more side benefits too. Your father, bless his boob loving heart, can’t leave me alone, and that’s fine with me. I hope you are as lucky as I am, because your father is a wonderful, considerate lover. He always was, but I think The Wizard may have done some tweaking. Some things are just a bit different, and I am not complaining one bit. We’re going to wait a bit longer, but I think there will be a little brother or sister coming along in a couple of years.
“Well, you certainly aren’t a waif. You are going to be a big girl. I don’t mean fat, unless you carried over some of those previous weaknesses. But, I don’t think that will really be a problem. You are about five-eight and might get a bit taller. Your proportions are really nice. Your hips are a bit big, larger than mine, but on you, that’s just fine. Your waist is a bit thick, but I think a lot of that’s due to baby fat. You should have a real hour glass figure in a year or two. You are going to have trouble keeping the boys away.”
Marissa paused for a moment, pondering what she was going to say next. “We’ve never talked about this before, but how do you feel about boys? I mean….”
“Mom, do you mean, am I attracted to boys? I think I am as far as a life partner is concerned. In the past I was attracted to girls because that was what I felt I should be. I thought men, sexually, were disgusting. I don’t feel that way any more. I know some boys at school who kinda turn me on. I mean I get these feelings. I kinda wonder what it would be like to have sex with them. Sometimes I think about what it would be like to have sex with a woman, too. I missed out on that before. The thing I think about a lot is just what it would be like to love someone forever; to wake up with that person by my side every morning and enjoy each other in that special way.
“Boys don’t turn me off, they don’t disgust me. If the right man comes along at the right time, I think I could be very happy with him. But, ---- if the right person happened to be a woman, I think that might work too: someone like Bobbie. I don’t think Bobbie feels that way, though. She is really into boys. I may have to watch her closely. Believe me, she is all woman; and, it might not take much for some handsome guy to trip her. She has posters of hunky men all over her bedroom. She gets kinda dreamy about some of them sometimes. I’ll have to admit some of them kinda turn me on, too.
“Mom, I’m sorry about that meltdown, I had last spring. The Wizard told me the other day that he knew I would have a rough time for a while, but that I had to work it out on my own. Using magic as a medicine to get me over some of the rough spots wouldn’t do me any favors in the long run. He told me that I wouldn’t always have things as easy as they have been, and that I was going to have to deal with adversity. I couldn’t always just wave a magic wand and make things get better.
“Speaking of wands, he says he wants Bobbie and me to start some practice with wands. He says we won’t always need them, but that they will help us focus our energy on the task. He said that sometimes wands are more for effect than anything else. He has Maddy doing all sorts of things. Have you seen what she can do to cockroaches?”
“I have, and it’s disgusting. I told her if she’s going to blow them up like that, she has to clean up all the body parts. Maybe The Wizard can teach you how to put up a barrier so the blasted things don’t come into the basement at all. I think that would be much more pleasant.
“Now that I have your measurement, let’s go to the mall. I was talking to Sally a while ago and she and Bobbie are going to come with us.”
Evan Sheisskopf surveyed the mall parking lot as he maneuvered his van up and down the aisles. The feeling had been getting stronger and stronger, and he knew he needed release soon or the headaches would be coming back. This was new territory for him; however, one mall was pretty much like the other. Shoppers were shoppers, and young girls pretty much acted the same way where ever he was.
Florida had been good, but after two episodes and then his subsequent ‘releases’, he knew that he had to move on. The authorities had found one of the bodies, and there had been a very grainy video of his van traveling through the parking lot of the mall. Fortunately, he had already rid himself of that van, and purchased a replacement. The previous van was at the bottom of a Florida sink hole. He had then gone north to Atlanta, where he managed to avoid any recurrences of his ‘problem’ for six months. Finally, the urges became too strong. He made his move in a shopping center north of downtown. It hadn’t been as good as some. He had probably used too much chloroform. She didn’t struggle very much and may have actually died before he was through with her. He sank the van in a limestone quarry, purchased a replacement and headed for Charlotte.
Money was not a problem for him, for there had been a sizable inheritance. Still he needed to occupy himself. He would travel from flea market to flea market, looking for anything that he could resell. He spent much of his time looking for pieces of silver, flatware and hollowware, that he could scrap out and make a little profit. If he found something that was good, he might sell it to an antique dealer or jeweler. He averaged four to five hundred dollars a month in profits: more than enough to keep him going.
Sometimes, he would settle down in a motel apartment for a few weeks or months. When the urges struck him, he would pull up stakes and move on, usually after satisfying his urges in the usual way. Now he was in Connecticut, and the urges were getting stronger. The mall seemed to be the ideal place for him to carry out what he needed to do. It was a week before school was scheduled to open, and there were many families and groups of teenagers getting their last minute shopping done. It was still early, only a bit after 10:00 AM, and there were many parking spots available.
Evan continued to cruise the lot. He saw a mall security car, and decided he’d better park so as not to draw attention. He pulled through the double parking row so that he was headed out of the slot, shut down the engine and waited. He rolled his window partly down and slouched in his seat, watching the traffic and shoppers through the heavily tinted widows.
It wasn’t long before the parking lot started to fill. The slot next to him stayed empty for quite a while. People don’t like to park next to vans because they obscure the view of traffic for a driver who is attempting to back out of the slot.
It was midday and starting to get hot in the van and the area around him was about fully occupied. He didn’t pay too much attention to the car that pulled in next to him until the two teenage girls and their mothers got out. The girls were young, but had the developing bodies that were almost too mature for his taste. Still, his growing erection made him seriously look at the possibility of snatching one or both of the girls; however, the presence of the girls’ mothers and the nearby security personnel made him decide this was not the time to attempt the snatch. He would have to wait for a better opportunity.
Comment: I don’t think I like where this is going; however, I have the advantage of many hours of research into the lives of Cindy, Bobbie, and the others. I know what’s going to happen, but you, the readers, will have to wait for a while. Sheisskopf: I remember that name from a novel I read in the 1960’s. I wonder if this guy is any relation.
Cindy, Bobbie and their mothers are doing some pre-school shopping for essentials. Bobby, especially, is very conscious about how nice she looks, and wants to get a swim suit for her final trip to the beach before school starts. Bobbie’s mother is pleasantly surprised, and at the same time a bit disturbed, about how strikingly beautiful her daughter has become. Evan Sheisskopf is lurking in the parking lot.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, and “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”. “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” takes place several years after this story. Read it for enjoyment, if you like. It is not a plot spoiler.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time. In fact, this just might be the time.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Marissa Lewis and Sally Schmedlap were enjoying themselves immensely as they helped their daughters look through the racks of lingerie at the Nordstrom’s Department Store. Bobbie had already picked out a couple of athletic bras and was now looking for some bras that would enhance her developing figure. She was now only an inch short of the five-ten she would reach in the next year. Her figure was slender, but very womanly. She was almost model-like in appearance; that would be a ‘healthy model’. There was nothing at all anorexic about her. She had well defined muscles that were covered with just the right amount of feminine fat to soften her appearance. Her vivid, dark red hair, blue green eyes, and sparkling smile had already caught the attention of many boys at her school and elsewhere. Her legs were long and very shapely, and she loved to show them off.
Her best friend, Cindy, was also an eyeful. Her golden mane of curls was like a beacon that called attention to the rest of the package. She was about an inch shorter than Bobbie and weighed perhaps ten pounds more. As her mother observed, Cindy was a ‘big girl’, but it was ‘big’ in a complimentary way. Her proportions were ideal, and as she matured over the next year or two, those proportions would border on the spectacular.
“Cindy, I think we need to keep the bra purchases to just the essentials. I have a feeling you are going to develop quite a bit more in the bust department. Remember that The Wizard said you would probably end up about a cup smaller than I am. That means you will probably be a ‘D’ before too long. There’s no use in investing a lot in lingerie that you won’t be able to wear in a few months.”
Cindy smiled inwardly. It might have been a carryover from her previous life, but the thought that she might be well endowed was very pleasing to her, and she felt her mother was right about what The Wizard had said. When her mother’s genetics were altered by the bimbo wig, Cindy’s had been also. Her mother was now a double D, or rather, was before her pregnancy and nursing. She would probably shrink back to the DD after Christine stopped nursing.
Cindy had overheard some adults venturing that her mother had implants; however, people who had known her since childhood maintained that she was all natural and had grown into the spectacular figure she now had. Reality had been altered, and there were only a handful of people who knew about her magical enhancements.
“I think you’re right, Mom; however, I would like to get one for that new dress I want for my birthday.” Cindy had pointed out a dress in a shop down the way that was perhaps a bit ‘old’ for her.
“Cindy, you’re only fourteen. You are a beautiful young woman, but don’t rush it. Besides, I think you will outgrow that dress very quickly. I mean that in a physical sense. Let’s wait until next year before investing in something like that.”
Their discussion was interrupted by Bobbie arriving with a two piece swim suit in hand, “What do you think of this? I think it’s cool. Mom’s not too sure.”
Cindy thought it looked perfect. Like most mothers of girls, neither mother was willing to have their precious girls growing up too soon or too fast. “Mommy, may I please try it on? I brought the right underwear.”
“Oh, you did? And, what might that be?”
“Mo-o-o-m, it’s a thong. You know I can’t try it on unless I have underwear on. I want to see what Cindy thinks about it, and it wouldn’t look right with regular panties.”
“Okay, try it on. We’ll wait here,” Sally acquiesced.
Bobbie sashayed to the dressing room, while humming a victorious little tune.
The sound of a cell phone ringing had Cindy reaching for hers. She was wondering who might be calling her, and then realized it wasn’t her phone. In fact, hers was missing.
“Mom, I left my phone in the car. I’m gonna go get it.”
“What do you need your phone for? We can get it when we get back to the car.”
“Mo-o-o-m, somebody might call me.”
“Okay, meet us here. I’m sure Bobbie has other things she wants to try on for your approval.”
Cindy took off for the parking lot.
She had felt a little nauseous when they had parked in the lot earlier, and she attributed it to slight motion sickness because she and Bobbie had been riding in the back seat. The nausea had gone away as soon as the group had walked a few feet from the car. Now, as Cindy approached the car, a feeling of malaise hit her.
Everything hit her at once. Suddenly, she realized that the nausea was the same feeling she had when she came across a pedophile stalker on the internet. It was just that it was so much stronger. She gave a little mental twist and the rear door unlocked. As she opened the door she realized that the source of the nausea was very close to her. In fact ….
She was grabbed from behind, and a rag soaked in some sort of evil smelling fluid was forced over her nose and mouth. Whatever it was got in her eyes and burned. She tried to struggle, but the world closed down to a narrow tube of light, and then it was gone.
A few minutes later, a striking redhead in a tiny bikini returned from the dressing room and pirouetted in front of her mother and her best friend’s mother. Several jaws dropped and they weren’t just the two parents’. “Oh my goodness,” Sally said to herself more than to anyone else. Her daughter was a beautiful young woman. She was a knockout, and she was barely a teenager. It was going to be an interesting few years.
“Where’s Cindy? I want her to see this suit.”
“She went back to the car to get her cell phone.”
“Darn, I wish she had waited. It’s in my purse. I picked it up off the car seat when we came in. I thought she saw me get it.”
“Why don’t you try some other things on, dear, while we’re waiting for her? She shouldn’t be too long.”
After about five minutes they began to wonder where Cindy was. At ten minutes, they began to worry. That was when Marissa’s phone rang. “It’s from Stan; I wonder what he wants?”
“Hi Dear, are you worried that we are spending too much money?”
“Marissa, Maddy is beside herself. She says that someone has grabbed Cindy. She can read Cindy, but Cindy’s not responding. We’re getting in the car. Maddy says she has good contact. Call the police. She says that Cindy’s in some sort of vehicle heading west on the turnpike.”
The two frantic parents and a frantic girlfriend headed for the store exit. The alarms went off as they passed through the door to the parking lot. The ensemble Bobbie was wearing still had the anti-shoplifting sensors attached. Store security caught up to them as they reached the car. The rear door was still open.
“Ma’am, you’ll have to come back to the store with us. The clothes that the young lady is wearing haven’t been paid for.”
“Are you store security?” Marissa asked.
“Yes Ma’am. You need to come with us.”
“Would you please call the police. My daughter’s been kidnapped.”
“Kidnapped! How do you know she’s been kidnapped?”
“She, er, uh, called us on her cell phone when we were in the store. She was getting the phone from the car when someone grabbed her. She said she was heading west, and that was the last we heard. Please call the police.”
That was when something a little out of the ordinary happened. Bobbie turned to the security officers and said, “Call the police. You don’t have to worry about the clothes. Take my mother’s credit card to the sales representative. We are paying for the clothes. We will do it later. There is nothing to worry about. Every thing is okay. You don’t have to worry about a thing.
“Mom, give him your credit card. We’ve got to find Cindy. We don’t need to be fooling around here.”
Sally Schmedlap handed her credit card to the security officer.
“Thank you, Ma’am. We’ll take care of it. Good luck finding your daughter.” The security officers turned and walked back to the store.
“My goodness, what just happened?”
“Don’t worry about it Mom, I’ll explain it later.
“Mrs. Lewis, we need to get on the road. Call Mr. Lewis and find out where he is.
“Mom, you drive the car so Mrs. Lewis can talk to Cindy’s dad. I need to talk to Maddy. Is the phone in that car hands free?”
“Yes.”
The next few seconds were spent establishing contact with Cindy’s father and Maddy.
“Stan, where are you?”
“I’m on the turnpike, going west. Maddy says Cindy is about a half mile ahead. The vehicle is not going very fast and we are gradually catching up. She says Cindy is unconscious but beginning to wake up. The kidnapper knocked her out with something.”
Bobbie was trying to figure out something to do. There was really only one person who could help them and she wasn’t sure she could contact him.
“Mrs. Lewis, tell Maddy to try to contact The Wizard. I think he said something about that she could contact him if she had to. We usually do it at the computer. Maybe we should have tried to do it in the first place. I’ll try to contact him, too.”
Stan Lewis was doing the best he could to catch up to the as yet unknown vehicle with his daughter in it. It was difficult to keep close to the speed limit and it wasn’t long before he was creeping up well over 75 miles per hour.
“Cindy’s in that gray van. She’s awake now and she says there is only the driver. He’s taped her up pretty good. There’s tape over her mouth. She says her head hurts and she’s afraid she’s going to throw up.”
“Maddy, Bobbie says you’ve got to try to contact The Wizard.”
“I know: I heard her. I’ve been trying, but I’m not sure it’s working.”
“He’s slowing down a bit. I think he’s taking the next exit.”
Maddy had been reclining on the back of the front seat, and she could get a good view ahead.
Stan looked in his rear view mirror and noted there were two state troopers following him. Their lights weren’t on, but Stan had no doubt what they were doing. They pulled around him and closed in on the van as it exited the turnpike. They turned on their lights and sirens. The driver of the van must have realized he was being followed as he crashed through the toll gate, sending parts flying in many directions.
There was no way that the van would be able to outrun or outmaneuver the police vehicles, and the driver pulled over in a wide spot in the road. The police blocked the car, and then with their weapons drawn, took shelter behind their vehicles. Stan stopped several hundred feet away. Only seconds later, Sally, Marissa and Bobbie pulled up next to him.
They could hear the bullhorn instructions telling the driver to surrender and come out with his hands up. He came out the back door of the van with a very frightened Cindy in his arms. He also had a very large, nasty looking knife at her throat.
“Try anything funny and the girl gets her throat cut,” he shouted. “Back off now. I want a plane to Cuba. If I get what I want, the girl lives. If I don’t, she’ll be just like the others.”
Maddy had seen all she needed to see. “Stan, let me out. He won’t pay any attention to me, and I can do something.”
“Are you sure, Maddy? You’re awful small, and he could really hurt you and Cindy with that knife.”
“I’m not going to get that close. I’m going to go through those bushes and hide behind those vines. If this works, you and the police will know it.”
Stan cracked his door wide enough for Maddy to get out of the car. She crouched low and headed for the trees and shrubs close to the side of the road. About a minute later, she took shelter in some vines close to the side of the van.
Meanwhile, the exchange of demands and counter demands continued between the police and Evan Sheisskopf. Suddenly everything changed. Sheisskopf suddenly screamed in agony and flung the knife away from him. Then he screamed again, grabbing at his crotch and rolling over in obvious pain. The strange thing was that there was smoke rising from his midsection.
“Oh God, make it stop, make it stop!”
Within seconds he was disabled, cuffed and placed in the back seat of one of the trooper’s cars.
Well, it looks as if Cindy is safe; however, there are some loose ends to take care of. And, where has The Wizard been?
Cindy is safe and back with her friends and family. What did Maddy do to save the day? Where has The Wizard been? What will become of Evan Sheisskopf?
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, and “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”. “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” takes place several years after this story. Read it for enjoyment, if you like. It is not a plot spoiler.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening and The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time. In fact, this just might be the time.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Cindy was surrounded by her parents and friends. They gently removed the tape from her. She was shaking and trying to choke back sobs. It wasn’t working very well. By then, an ambulance that had been waiting down the road pulled up, and the medical technicians helped Cindy into the back so that they could check her out. The technicians didn’t pay much attention to the pretty little cat that was sitting in Cindy’s lap, and rubbing all over her.
Two of the troopers came over to the worried families. “We’re certainly glad that the girl’s okay. That guy’s confessing all sorts of things. He may be a serial killer from what he’s blabbing about. It’s real strange. The front of his Levi’s are burned through and he’s got some nasty burns around his crotch. We’ll get the medics to look at him as soon as they’re through with the young lady. She’s very lucky. We’ll be taking him to the station, and we’ll need everyone to come to the station to make a statement.
“My goodness that’s a big dog: where did he come from?” The startled trooper was looking right at The Wizard’s wolf.
The rest looked up to see The Wizard and the wolf standing beside the ambulance. Evan Sheisskopf was standing next to The Wizard, his eyes darting back and forth, but he obviously couldn’t move or say anything.
“Gentlemen, I’ll take care of things from here on. There’s been a minor accident only. That van ran the toll gate and the driver, an illegal alien, fled and can’t be found. You may go back to your patrols. Absolutely nothing else has happened. These fine folks stopped because they witnessed the driver go through the gate.
“You medics need to go down the road to the next town. There’s a woman in a convenience store going into labor. She needs you now.”
“Thank you for telling us, sir. We’ll go there immediately.” The ambulance took off down the road.
“Officers, thank you very much for your help. You can file your report. Be sure to tell the Border Patrol about a possible illegal alien in the area. He is probably the Romanian they have been looking for.”
The Toll Way Authority repairmen had already arrived and were starting to fix the destroyed gate.
“Okay, we have a lot to talk about. The shop will be in the mall. Meet us there as soon as you can. Mr. Sheisskopf and I will go now. Come on Wolf.”
Maddy and the wolf had been rubbing on each other, and the wolf had given several slurpy kisses to Cindy and Bobbie. He went to The Wizard’s feet, and The Wizard grasped Sheisskopf’s shoulder. There was a little ‘pop’ as they disappeared.
The families arrived at the mall about thirty minutes later. Cindy was feeling much better as the effects of the chloroform dissipated. Obviously, everyone was a bit shaken, but knowing that The Wizard was in control of things eased their minds considerably. Sure enough, the SRU shop was in its Hallmark Shop location.
The Wizard called to them as the door bell’s tinkle subsided. “We’re in the back.” They found the Wizard, Wolf and a very frightened Evan Sheisskopf. “Everybody have a seat. Have some tea. It will be very calming.” The three adults, two girls, and Maddy found there were comfortable chairs in an area that was much larger than the size of the store should have allowed. There were cups of hot tea next to the chairs. There was also a small dish of cream for Maddy.
“I would have Mr. Sheisskopf apologize to you; however, it would be an empty apology, meaningless.”
“As things now stand in this universe, the events of today never happened. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about what Mr. Sheisskopf has done in the past. We have learned some valuable lessons, and we will never forget what happened; however, I am erasing the effects of the trauma. I don’t think it will be necessary for that to remain. That’s a very special tea, known for its calming effects.
“All of you have witnessed some of my work in the past, and know what most of the outcomes are. I have done them in that way because I knew something positive was going to happen because of them. I am afraid that a transition of that sort for Mr. Sheisskopf would be a reward he doesn’t deserve. There is absolutely nothing redeemable about Mr. Sheisskopf.
“How many young women have you kidnapped, raped, and murdered, Mr. Sheisskopf?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“Do you regret doing what you have done?”
“No sir, I enjoyed it very much. I have to, love to do it.”
“Okay, that’s enough. I just wanted everyone here to hear it from you.”
“This may not be pleasant for you folks to watch, but sometimes things like this must be done.”
The Wizard made a few passes, and Sheisskopf began to morph. He dropped to his hands and knees. His arms and legs modified as his clothes became a brown and white fur coat. In a matter of seconds he was a wobbly-legged newborn calf. The dried umbilical cord was still attached to his belly.
“That’s enough. Be gone with you.” The Wizard waved and the calf vanished.
“What’s going to happen to him?” Cindy asked.
“The same thing that happens to most male calves; I don’t think we need to discuss it any further.
“Well, that was a close one. I got your calls, but the sunspots affected their strength and garbled the message. I’ve fixed all your cell phones so that you may reach me directly, without going through the ether. That might be a bit more reliable sometimes. As their strengths improve Cindy, Bobbie and Maddy should be able to reach me without the phones; however, I want the parents to be able to reach me anytime.
“Maddy, that was quick thinking. I’m really proud of you.”
“What did she do,” Cindy asked. “The man screamed and dropped his knife, then he fell down and there was some smoke.”
“Tell them what you did, Maddy. I really liked your approach.”
“I made believe his knife was a giant cockroach. It heated up real good, didn’t it? Then I melted his zipper. It was brass. That was fun. I think it burned him pretty good.”
“Bobbie, you did something to those store security people. What did you do?” her mother asked.
“Cindy and I have been working on our powers of suggestion. That was the first time I was able to put it to use.”
“Does that mean you have been using those powers on me, young lady?”
“No mom, they don’t work on family. That wouldn’t be right.
“Cindy, you’ve got to see me in that bikini. It is awesome!”
Evan looked around and discovered he was amidst a herd of cows. He seemed to be closer to the ground than he was used to. He also felt hungry. He tried to stand but found that the only thing he could do was walk on all four legs.
A large cow next to him called, and he sidled over to her. Her milk filled udder was right there, and it looked very inviting. He moved in and grasped one of the teats in his mouth and began to nurse. It was very pleasant.
The days passed and he would nurse and play with the other calves. When he was hungry, he would find his mother. He knew her smell and could always find her. He was starting to eat the rich grass in the field. One day, some men on horses came and forced him and the other calves into a truck. They took him to another place and started feeding him rich hay and other fattening food. He and the other calves grew quickly on the rich diet. The men on horses came again and started roping the calves. They would put them on their sides and do something to them with a long rod. He realized they were branding the calves, and he didn’t think he would like that. He started to run, but the next thing he knew he was on his side.
He tried to tell the cowboys that he wasn’t really a cow, but the only sound he could make was a bawling sound. The branding hurt like hell.
“Hey look at this one. His dick’s all scarred. He ain’t going to be worth shit for breeding.”
“Yeah, hold him there for a second, and I’ll take care of it.”
One of the cowboys came over to him and knelt at his rear. He grabbed him and there was hard pressure and searing pain.
“Okay, that should do it. Throw a little of that powder on him. Boy, we’re gonna have a lot of fries tonight.”
He was herded with a group of other calves into a truck. The pain in his groin was becoming a dull ache and was soon forgotten. He wasn’t sure how long the ride was. The truck was very crowded, and he couldn’t have fallen if he wanted to.
Life after that seemed very pleasant. He was in a crowded yard with some of the calves he thought he recognized from earlier. There was a lot of food and he grew larger and larger. It may have been many months later, he wasn’t really sure, when he was forced into another truck and taken to a big building. There were hundreds of other cattle. He was gradually pushed with other cattle into a long, narrow aisle. He saw lots of men wearing what looked like long white raincoats. Some of his friends were calling for their mothers. ‘Stupid cows: their mothers are nowhere near here. I wonder what’s going on up there?’
Then he saw it. The steer in front of him was clamped into a cage-like thing. The man by the steer’s head put this big thing against the steer’s head. There was a bang and the steer’s legs buckled. The steer was kept from falling by the cage. Something was wrapped around the steer’s hind legs and the steer was lifted up. Somebody cut the head off and the blood gushed everywhere. Evan screamed in terror. ‘I’m not a cow. I don’t belong here. You’ve got to let me go!’
He was pushed forward and secured in place. Something was pushed against his forehead. There was a bang.
I don’t think there’s much to discuss. Every time I read this, it has a strong emotional affect on me. Maybe it’s because I am getting old and know that there is always finality to life as we know it.
The Lewis’s and Schmedlap’s went back to Nordstrom’s to finish their shopping. They would never forget the incident, they couldn’t, but The Wizard allowed them to get some emotional relief. Both girls got to buy some nicely provocative swim suits for their trip to the beach. We will pick up on their adventures later on as they enter high school. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your comments.
Portia
Before we seriously get into Cindy’s high school years, we have to lay some background. We’re going to meet some of Cindy and Bobbie’s friends. They won’t all be magical; however, they are very important. Just how important will take many years to resolve. Part 1 addresses the first three years of High School. We will discover there are some mysteries that will not be resolved immediately, either. Cindy and Bobbie have matured greatly over the summer, and have become real head turners. Something else very important is going to happen. They are going to find romance. Cindy is a bit surprised the direction her romance takes; however, no one is prepared, (with the exception of The Wizard), for how the romance is terminated.
Before we seriously get into Cindy’s high school years, we have to lay some background. We’re going to meet some of Cindy and Bobbie’s friends. They won’t all be magical; however, they are very important. Just how important will take many years to resolve. Part 1 addresses the first three years of High School. We will discover there are some mysteries that will not be resolved immediately, either. Cindy and Bobbie have matured greatly over the summer, and have become real head turners. Something else very important is going to happen. They are going to find romance. Cindy is a bit surprised the direction her romance takes; however, no one is prepared, (with the exception of The Wizard), for how the romance is terminated.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, and “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth.” “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” is looked at from a slightly different perspective in this story. There are some interesting revelations of what went on behind the scenes.
This story is a bit longer than the previous ones in this series. It is 13 chapters and 34,000 words long. The High School Years, Part 2 is partly written, but no where near ready to post.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time. In fact, this just might be the time.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 1
Cindy was in one of her contemplative moods. She had been forcibly abducted a few weeks before by a very evil, depraved individual; but thanks to her friends and The Wizard, she was no worse for having gone through the ordeal. In fact, she’d learned many important things from the ordeal. What had been a very traumatic experience hadn’t had any lasting negative effects on the Lewis’s or Schmedlaps, primarily due to The Wizard affecting a minor spell that smoothed over the effects of the trauma.
Both families had learned some valuable lessons about how vulnerable young people can be, and all of them became a considerably more cautious. The Wizard immediately initiated some training to ensure Cindy and Bobbie learned more about how to recognize auras, especially the bad ones. The Wizard knew this was one of the areas where their strengths lay, and he wanted them to be a proficient as possible.
Since, as far as the rest of the world was concerned the incident had never occurred, there was no notoriety surrounding Cindy or Bobbie about the kidnapping; however, there was some notoriety of another sort.
As their community high school was a four year school, ninth grade was their first year as high school students. The students came from four junior high schools, and there were many new friends and potential friends. Of course, for social protection, the students from each of the schools tended to cluster together with their previous schoolmates, at least for the first few weeks. However, there had been a deliberate attempt by the school administration to mix the various student bodies. It worked out that each class was about 25 percent from each of the junior high schools.
“My God!” Myrna Breckenridge exclaimed the day school started, “The boob fairy must have visited you two twice. Those can’t be real. You had to have stuffed your bras.” Myrna had become a good friend of Cindy and Bobbie over the last few years, and she wasn’t above teasing them when the timing was right.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you Myrna, but Cindy and I are all real. I’m a B, and Cindy’s almost a C. I guess we’ve been pretty lucky. We went to the beach last Saturday and a bunch of college guys tried to pick us up. They didn’t believe us when we told them we were only 14. They called us jailbait. I loved it. I think Cindy did, too, didn’t you, Cindy?”
“Yeah, it was cool. I think a couple of the boys got ‘woodies’ while they checked us out. A couple of them were pretty good looking.”
“What, the woodies?” Myrna laughed.
“No, the boys, you idiot,” Cindy fired back defensively, flushing a bit. She thought about how the two families had joined for a trip to a pleasant beach on the sound south of where they lived. It had been a fun weekend, and a pleasant way to end the summer.
Cindy had been wearing her new two-piece suit, one that had taken more than a little convincing of her mother before she was allowed to get it. Based on current standards, both her and Bobbie’s suits were definitely revealing, but not to the extent of some of the thongs and barely nipple covering outfits some other beach-goers were wearing.
The two fourteen year olds definitely caught the attention of many of the male beach-goers; however they were a bit overshadowed by Cindy’s mother, whose spectacular figure and beautiful natural blonde hair definitely caught the eye of many. When Cindy had come forward with the suit she wanted to wear, and had convinced her mother that it was alright, the next thing Cindy knew, her mother was buying a similar suit. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” she laughed.
Some of the more conservative beach-goers had made some disparaging remarks about the well endowed mother with the well toned figure. Stan Lewis had picked up some of the disapproving glares and half-whispered comments and all he could think was, ‘Eat your hearts out.’
Being freshmen in a school of nearly 3,000 students was somewhat intimidating. Cindy didn’t like to think back to the previous time she’d gone to high school. It hadn’t been a very pleasant experience, and she knew that most of the reason for it rested on her shoulders. She determined she would make this time much more pleasant, and she found she didn’t really have to try. She fit in, and the best thing was she loved herself. It wasn’t an egotism thing; it was just that she knew she belonged where she was, the way she was.
High school was a time of many decisions. Being an apprentice witch was fun, but serious business; however, there was going to be much more than magic to strive for in her adult life. Magic would be there when she needed it, and she knew it was important. The thing was, what would she do in her adult life? She’d had a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business management, and although there was no paper to confirm that, the knowledge was there. She could always rely on that. She needed to expand her education and she felt she wanted to do something to help others, even though the final decision was going to be many years in the future. What she needed to do was do the best possible in all things so that the options would remain open for her.
The autumn weather had been very pleasant for the last few days; however, this was the time of year when good weather was usually the portent of nasty weather to come. Having finished lunch, Cindy was sitting at one of the outdoor picnic tables, just enjoying it while it lasted. Her reverie was interrupted by someone’s approaching.
She looked up as a shadow crossed her face.
“Well, hi Babe, I think it’s time that you and me got acquainted.”
“That should be ‘you and I’ not ‘you and me’ and if that’s your idea of a good pickup line, you need to reassess.”
“Well you got the picture. They said you was pretty smart as well as good looking.”
“So, what do you want besides English lessons, uh, Mr. ….”
“I’m Dave, Dave Growell. I’m the best athlete in the school. You and me should get acquainted, being as you’re as good lookin’ as you are. Besides, that hot body of yours is just beggin’ to be tried out and I’m just the guy to do it for you.”
Cindy knew darn well who Dave Growell was, and so far, finally meeting him had done nothing to improve her opinion of him. He had already hit on several of her friends, including Bobbie. From everything she had heard, and it was now being supported, his opinion of his athletic ability was exceeded only by his opinion of himself as a lady’s man. She knew he was a jock; however, no one in her circle had come forward to say anything about his prowess as a lover.
Dave was 16, and a junior. His parents were members of the country club that Cindy and Bobbie’s parents had recently joined. He had to know that Cindy was a freshman and only 14. Wondering why he would be hitting on 14 year olds rather than girls his own age, Cindy thought it might be time to test some of her newly developed skills.
“Dave, have a seat. We have a little time before the lunch period is over. I need to tell you something, and you won’t ever be able to repeat what I’m telling you unless I let you.”
“Sure, like you have any control over me. Once you find out what a real man is, you will be beggin’ me for whatever I can do for you.” His bravado was building.
“Dave, you’re a big phony. Tell me, and you have to tell me the truth, how many women or girls have you slept with or made love to? I guess in your vernacular, that would be ‘fucked’.”
“Well Cindy Babe, you have a treat in store for you, there have been dozens, and every one more grateful than the other.”
“Tell me the truth, Dave. I won’t tell the world.”
“Well, doz, er doz ….”
“Tell me the truth, Dave.”
“Er, none.”
“Speak up, Dave. How many?”
“None.”
“So, you thought you would try to seduce a fourteen year old girl so that you could brag to your friends about it. Is that what you wanted to do?”
“Er, yes.”
“That certainly isn’t very admirable. Well there are some new rules in effect from now on. You will never be able to lie to a woman, or anyone else for that matter, about your sexual conquests. You will never be able to express affection for someone unless it’s the truth.
“Now, tell me why you want to get to know me. Tell me that you are a great lover and that I will appreciate your skills as a lover. Tell me that you love me. There’s no one around to hear you. I just want to hear how you intend to make me fall into your arms.”
Dave was very confused. He had been rejected many times, but no one had ever talked to him that way. There seemed to be something compelling him to speak.
“Uh, you’re real good looking and have nice tits. I want to fuck you because my friends would stop bothering me about being a virgin.
“Oh my God, what did I just say?”
“You told me the truth. It’s not a very good line though. Okay, here’s the way it is. When you speak to a woman, and have the intentions you have, it is always going to come out the truth. You need to find someone you like, someone who is a bit closer to you in age. Get to know her, let her get to know you. When the time is right, she will let you know. You won’t have to lie to her because it will be the truth.
“David, you won’t be able to tell anybody, but I’m a witch, and so are some of my friends. This little spell I’ve put on you won’t mess up your life; in fact, it should help. You have some good athletic skills, but there is a lot more to life than being a basketball player, and you will never be good enough to go to the pros. You are going to have to do a bit better academically if you want to succeed. Your command of the English language is atrocious. So, you need some help.
“Patty Breckenridge is the sister of a friend of mine and she is in your class. She is an A student and could really be a help for you. She has tutored other students in English before. I am going to be honest with you; in fact, I will always be honest with you. Patty has had a crush on you for a long time. I’m not sure I know why; however, she’s very nice, and cute in a plain sort of way. You never know what might happen if you treat her nicely.”
“Sheesh, ‘Flatty’ Patty? Why would I want to be around her?”
“David, you have a lot to learn. It’s what’s between the ears that matters, not what’s in her bra. I’m not telling you to date her or anything like that. I’m saying you need help, and she might just be the person to do it. The fact that she thinks she likes you just might help, especially if you are nice to her.
“If you’re not nice to her, I can do some things that you might find very unpleasant. I don’t think you will want to find out what they might be. Let’s just say I could be your worst nightmare.”
Cindy knew she would never use magic in a revengeful way. She would only use it for positive results. She felt David was not beyond redemption, but if things really got bad, there was always The Wizard. He always came up with some interesting solutions for anyone who mistreated women.
Any doubts Cindy had about her giving David a nudge toward Patty Breckenridge were alleviated within a few weeks. David started meeting Patty in the library during their free period. By the time Christmas break came, she was wearing his letterman’s jacket. His improved grades helped get him into the same university where Patty went. He became known as the ‘Sixth Man’ on the basketball team, and helped take his team to The Final Four twice. Patty and David would have four children.
Well, the big adventure has started. In the next chapter, we will learn a bit more about Myrna Breckenridge and her family. We go back a few years to where Bobbie insists that she and Cindy have slumber parties. After all, what better way is there for two girls to learn about other girls and the mystery of sex?
Cindy reflects back on growing up with girl friends. It was something she had wanted so much, but at the same time, it terrified her. We are going to learn more about Myrna, and how she develops as a true friend. Female sexuality becomes a central point of discussion.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, and “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth.” “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” is looked at from a slightly different perspective in this story. There are some interesting revelations of what went on behind the scenes.
This story is a bit longer than the previous ones in this series. It is 13 chapters and 34,000 words long. The High School Years, Part 2 is partly written, but nowhere near ready to post. I will try to post at least one chapter this weekend.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 2
Being a teenage girl was hell, especially when one is rather good looking, and doesn’t really have a clue. Bobbie Schmedlap was Cindy’s mentor in many ways. Even when Bobbie had been Bobby, she had studied how to fill her role as the girl she felt she was. Her parents and brothers had always supported her even before the magic had changed her. She subscribed to all the teenage girl related magazines plus several on sports, and golf in particular, although when her family had reached near poverty, the subscriptions had expired, and the magazines had stopped coming.
When Amos Schmedlap recovered from his back injury and became gainfully employed once again, Bobbie plunged headlong into her task of being a pre-teenage and soon to be teenage girl. What was most enjoyable for her was that her now best friend, the girl who had gifted her with the magical transition, needed help, and needed help in a big way.
Cindy’s problem was that although she was definitely female in body and spirit, she had not truly experienced early girlhood. There were the memories from the previous occupant of her body; however, the links were not always easy to find for some of those memories. The Wizard had deliberately not given Cindy any artificial memories. She was on her own in many ways. So Bobbie took it on herself to bring Cindy up to date.
The basic ingredients were there, i.e. Cindy was physically and mentally a female. She had turned nine years old, physically, shortly after her transition. It had taken a while for the awe she felt of her achieving her desire to wear off. The fact that she had a wardrobe full of little girl clothes helped. It also helped that some of her faux pas could be written of as being due to her ‘brain injury’. However her mother realized that her daughter needed a little more help than she had needed in the past, and did what was necessary to keep her daughter presentable when she returned to school.
Many of Cindy’s past ‘friends’ attributed her difficulties in some areas to be due to her injuries and prolonged coma. In fact, her grade school teacher had advised her classmates before Cindy had returned to school, that Cindy might have ‘problems’. Most of the early problems were more physical in nature because of her muscle weakness; however, some of her lapses could have been related to brain trauma.
One of the things that Bobbie had wanted to do for years, and had been unable to do, was to have a slumber party, (after all, how many boys have slumber parties?). As soon as her family had moved into their new home, Bobbie had convinced her mother that a slumber party was absolutely essential.
Cindy, to be truthful, was terrified. A slumber party was exactly what girls her age were doing; however, there was still a ghost of a past life and Cindy felt she might be perceived as some sort of voyeur. She expressed her doubts to Bobbie.
“Nonsense,” Bobbie replied somewhat strongly. “I think you and I have seen each other without clothes enough to know that our reactions are perfectly normal. You never ‘lusted’ after girls in your past life, and I didn’t either. We wanted to associate with girls and do girl things because we felt it was the right thing to do. Right now both of us have a lot to learn about girlhood, and the best way for us to do it is to immerse ourselves in it.
“I think a slumber party with some of our friends will be great. We can experiment with makeup and our outfits; and, we can talk about boys. It will be a lot of fun. You can have the next one at your house.”
“Bobbie, you are beginning to sound too much like an adult,” Cindy said in mock exasperation.
Cindy did overcome her self-consciousness. It didn’t happen immediately, but eventually, walking around in her panties in the privacy of a bedroom with a group of her friends, became a non-event. It was just something that young teenagers to be did. She studied the differences in female anatomy, not in a prurient way, as she and her friends matured.
Some girls were developing earlier than others. Breasts started showing up in different shapes, sizes and ornamentation. Myrna Breckenridge was similar to her older sister in that her natural cup size was barely an A; however, her areolae and nipples were very well developed early on. She was the first in the group to have pubic hair and start her period. She was also the one to bring up the subject of masturbation, or ‘jilling’ as she called it. Her description of what it was like had piqued the curiosity of those who hadn’t ventured in that direction before.
“Why would anyone want to do anything like that?” exclaimed Francie Sexton. “I mean, how gross; eeeeuuuuw!”
“Francie, I think I know the answer to this, but do you intend to get married and have children?” asked Myrna. Cindy could see a bit of a glint in her eye.
Myrna Breckenridge was very intelligent, a genuine free spirit, and a bit outspoken. Her mother had divorced her father after a string of infidelities came to light. The divorce had been very nasty, and the court session was rather lengthy. Nancy Breckenridge had been a faithful wife and excellent mother. She was a full time elementary school teacher. When the judge gave his decision, Ken Breckenridge stomped out of the court calling his ex-wife a “ … titless, cold hearted bitch.”
Nancy might have put herself back in circulation after the divorce; however, she never had the chance. Sharon Spitzer, a fellow school teacher, had decided early on that she was going to be there for Nancy after she knew that the marriage was heading for the divorce court. She had been attracted to Nancy for years, but had avoided making any overtures. Once Nancy was free, she invited Nancy to have a post divorce celebration dinner with her.
Nancy probably had the better part of two bottles of Prosecco, and the couple eschewed desert. Sharon had picked Nancy up earlier in the evening, and it was probably a good thing. Nancy had never been much of a drinker, and was certainly in no condition to drive. Nancy would recall many times, rather happily, that she allowed Sharon to take her back to her two bedroom condominium on the pretense they would share a couple of glasses of port before Sharon took Nancy home.
Nancy looked around the warmly decorated living room as Sharon busied herself at the dry bar with the port. It was a very friendly place. She looked at her friend across the room. She was several inches shorter than Nancy, and considerably bustier. She always presented herself well. Her hair was always done perfectly. Her makeup was just right, and she always dressed very tastefully.
Sharon handed a small glass of port to Nancy. “To the future,” she toasted. They raised their glasses and then took a sip of the sweet, fortified wine. Neither would ever admit as to who the initiator was. Sharon had considered seducing Nancy early on. Nancy had probably realized that. She set her glass on the end table and gently took Sharon’s glass and placed it next to hers. Gently placing her hands on the sides of Sharon’s face, she leaned over and kissed her wine sweetened lips, and then without a word, led her to Sharon’s bedroom. For the first time in more than six years she shared an orgasm with someone else.
The condominium was placed on the market, and Sharon moved in with the Breckenridge’s the following month. Sharon’s king sized bed replaced the one in Nancy’s bedroom. The latter was picked up by a local charitable organization.
Neither Myrna nor Patty had any problems with the arrangement. Their mother was happy for the first time in years, and one of their favorite elementary school teachers had become a second mother to them. The whole home situation had improved many fold times. There were some raised eyebrows; however, the pair was accepted by most.
Myrna and Patty’s mother had been sexually neglected for years, and it was no secret that Nancy and Sharon had an active sexual relationship with each other. Myrna had discovered fairly quickly what orgasms were all about. She’d had a rather intense self-exploration one night and was basking in the after glow when she realized her mother had come into her bedroom. There was no denying the fact that her nightie was up around her neck. There was no denying something else, and that was the aroma created by her arousal.
“Mom, I’m sorry; I can’t help it.”
Her mother sat on the edge of the bed and took her daughter’s hands in hers. “Myrna, you don’t have to apologize for anything. There’s nothing wrong with finding sexual gratification. I didn’t realize what you were doing at first and I apologize for walking in on you. I heard some sounds, and thought you were having a bad dream.
“Don’t ever let what happened between me and your father turn you away from men. There are many decent men out there who will make excellent lovers, husbands and fathers. I am certainly not going to tell you not to explore and find whoever might be right for you. I could have very easily found another man; it was just that Sharon was the right person and came along at the right time. Loving someone is loving what’s inside that person. Sharon and I love each other very much. We are right for each other, and I imagine we will marry soon.
“I’m happy that you have found out what you can do for yourself; however, I will tell you this: it is much better when you can share with others.”
“Francie, do you mean to tell me that you have never played with yourself, never gotten off?”
“Well, no, Mom says it’s dirty. She says sex is just a necessity to have babies. She says that there is nothing pleasant about sex, and it’s a woman’s duty to submit to her husband. She says that any woman who says she enjoys sex is just lying.”
“Hmmm, that is certainly an interesting concept,” Myrna said while looking around Bobbie’s room. “Do you have any posters like these?
“A few, why?”
“I guess that’s my question: why?”
“They’re handsome. That one,” she pointed at a poster on the far wall, “is one of my favorites.”
“Oh, so you do think that some men are handsome. What does he do to you? Do you get a little tingly when you think about him?”
“I guess so, a little.”
“Okay, we’re going to try a little experiment. Francie and I are going to need a little privacy. We’ll take a sleeping bag into Bobbie’s closet for a while.
Leading Francie by the hand, Myrna said, “I want you to pretend that I’m that handsome guy in that poster.” She closed the door behind them. At first there were some sounds of protest; however, those sounds gradually changed to little coos and moans of pleasure.
The girls didn’t say a thing when a somewhat subdued and embarrassed Francie returned to the larger bedroom. The other girls were in their sleeping bags or sharing Bobbie’s large bed. There weren’t any comments about what had transpired, and none were needed.
After that night, Francie formed a bit of an attachment to Myrna; however, that was never Myrna’s intention. It took a bit of work, but Myrna was eventually able to wean Francie. She explained to Francie that she enjoyed their relationship very much; however, neither of them was really totally into girls, and it was time to broaden their horizons. Now that Francie knew a bit about physical pleasure, it was time to find out what boys were about, both physically and socially.
Both Cindy and Bobbie viewed the relationship from a distance. They felt, and rightly so, that Francie was better off for it. Her mother’s attitude about sex had been on the verge of doing serious damage to Francie’s attitude about sexual relations and her relationship with men in particular.
They were both elated when Francie eventually found that men were not nearly as bad as her mother had indicated.
We are rejoining Cindy and Bobbie in high school in the next chapter. At Bobbie’s insistence, Cindy has entered into competitive swimming, and is doing quite well. Then a remarkable thing happens, Cindy meets someone new. She is a beautiful Latina girl, and as we will find out, she has a troubled background.
Now begins one of the most important phases of Cindy’s life. She becomes friends with a new student, a beautiful Latina girl who is living with Andy’s family. Donna Brewer is an orphan and a ward of the state. We don’t know her background yet; however, it has been very tragic. She is welcomed into Cindy and Bobbie’s circle. Their lives will never be the same.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, and “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth.” “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” is looked at from a slightly different perspective in this story. There are some interesting revelations of what went on behind the scenes.
This story is a bit longer than the previous ones in this series. It is 13 chapters and 34,000 words long. The High School Years, Part 2 is partly written, but nowhere near ready to post. I will try to post at least one chapter this weekend.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 3
Cindy was firmly ensconced in the high school environment and so much had happened, the first year of high school was gone practically before she realized it. She no longer had to try to act like a girl, or young woman. She had caught up quite well. Her old personality had been thoroughly absorbed, the dichotomy was gone. She was popular even though she didn’t seek popularity. She wasn’t that much of a joiner, and there were certain aspects of high school life that just didn’t appeal to her.
She felt that the mystique of being a cheerleader was ridiculous. Probably part of that was due to the fact she felt it was an exploitation of women. Bobbie insisted that she get involved in sports, even if she wasn’t very good. Strangely, it turned out she wasn’t a bad athlete; she just needed encouragement, and Bobbie saw to it that she was encouraged. Cindy had become a strong swimmer, partly due to her near miss with death in the pond that winter many years before.
The country club her family had joined had a 50 meter pool and a diving pool. They had hosted a number of swimming events over the years and Cindy started competing in some of the events. Many in her age group had a distinct advantage in that they had been swimming for years; however, Cindy did very well in the competitions, and the next thing she knew, she was on the high school swim team.
Cindy accomplished many things by being on the swim team those first two years of high school. Winning a race was not among them. There were comments, some of them not out of earshot, about the fact the drag created by her bust line probably cost her several races. She took it all in stride. Winning wasn’t that important. And if the truth were known, though she might have been able to use magic to give her an edge, that had never been considered. She remembered what Bobbie had said to her Grandmother Naomi about the fact she would never use magic to enhance her golf game because it wasn’t in the spirit of the game.
What it did accomplish was that she became more and more part of the social group. She was happy. She made several new friends, and among them was Donna Brewer. Donna had moved to the area at the beginning of Cindy’s sophomore year. She was very quiet and made no attempt to mix with the other girls. She was very attractive, and she was athletic, as Cindy was to quickly find out. They had only one class together that semester, and that was gym. Their lockers were almost next to each other and they were in position to appraise each others’ physical qualities rather quickly.
Cindy had developed as her mother had thought she would. There really hadn’t been much guesswork involved, as Cindy’s refinements were due to the spell that had changed her mother from a brunette with rather average endowment in the bust department to a stunning platinum blonde with perfect DD breasts. As The Wizard had said, Cindy inherited her mother’s genetics as well as her father’s. She was now 5’ 8”, and her bust was a perfect, for her body, D cup. As her mother had expected, her waist had trimmed down to 26 inches. Her hips were decidedly female, and the overall impression was definitely that of a well proportioned hour glass. Her body was also well toned and would never know the meaning of cellulite.
Bobbie’s insistence that Cindy maintained good physical conditioning would reap many rewards over the years, and right now it was garnering some very appreciative glances from Donna Brewer; not that Cindy wasn’t giving Donna’s figure some appreciative glances as well. Where Cindy was a well packed and stacked blonde, Donna was considerably different. She was about 5’ 6” with a dark complexion. Her breasts were proud little beauties that perched high on her rib cage and stuck out impudently for all who could, to see. She probably didn’t need a bra; however, school dress codes required she wear one. Her body, to put it mildly, was ripped. She wasn’t bulky by any means; it was just that there was muscle definition everywhere.
These mutual appraisals took all of three seconds as the girls undressed and donned their gym togs.
“Hi, I’m Donna Brewer,” she said as she stuck out her hand to encourage a hand-shake.
“Hi, yourself, I’m Cindy Lewis. You’re new here,” she responded as she took Donna’s hand in her own.
“Yeah, I live with the Andersons. They’re my family of the year. I just moved in there a couple of days ago.”
“Oh, I don’t know what to say. I mean, are you adopted, or something? I’m sorry, that was rather insensitive of me.”
“No, I’m not adopted. No one would have me anyway. I lived in a children’s home near Fallsville, and it burned down. The Andersons were nice enough to take me in until the county can find another facility for us. They’re nice people, and they don’t seem to be too worried about me.”
“Why are they worried about you? Are you sick or something?”
“That would be ‘or something’. I don’t want to talk about it now; maybe later.
“Say, who is that gorgeous redhead I saw you with? You and she make quite the couple.”
“That’s Bobbie Schmedlap. We’re best buds, and have been for a long time. Do you have lunch next period?” Donna nodded. “Why don’t you have lunch with us? I think you’ll like her, and we can introduce you to our friends. Bobbie’s the best golfer on the school team. She’ll probably go pro someday.”
“I didn’t know there was a girls’ golf team at this school.”
“Oh, there isn’t. She’s on the men’s team. She beats all of them.”
The regular gym classes rotated through a number of sports, and Cindy’s class was starting out in soccer. Soccer was still an alien sport for many in the U.S. It was difficult for many of the girls not to use their hands if there was an opportunity to do so, and Cindy was no exception to this weakness. Donna was something else. When the opportunity arose, it was as if she and the ball were one. Her footwork was amazing, and it wasn’t long before several of the coaches were neglecting their own students and were standing on the sidelines watching Donna put on a demonstration of the way the game was supposed to be played.
“Wow, you sure know how to play soccer!” Cindy exclaimed at the end of the period as she stood under the shower nozzle in the community locker room shower.
“Actually, in most places in the world they call it football. Thanks for the compliment. I learned to play in Germany when we….” Donna stopped talking and turned to immerse her face in the warm shower water. She didn’t complete the sentence.
For the second or third time that morning, Cindy got a rather strange feeling. It came and went, and it was difficult to attribute any significance to it. It was almost like a sense of wrongness. Something was not right, but she couldn’t tell what it was. The Wizard had been working with Cindy and Bobbie on the differences in aura; however, this was not like anything they had encountered in any of their training sessions. She was going to have to tell Bobbie, and they were going to have to talk to The Wizard about it.
Cindy did a quick retouch of her makeup and noted that Donna barely redid what little she was wearing.
As they headed from the gym to the cafeteria, Donna started opening up a bit. “You’re not exactly a slouch out there, Cindy. You play pretty well for not having been exposed to the game.”
“I try. I’m on the swim team. Bobbie keeps after me about staying in shape. I don’t have the physical skills like you and she do. She also plays fast pitch softball. She’s the best player on that team, too.”
They entered the cafeteria, dumped their books on a shelf, and proceeded to make their selection of items of mostly unpalatable food from the serving line. They found a spot by one of the outer walls.
“Ah, here comes Bobbie and her latest admirer. He’s real nice, not like some of the lost puppies she’s dragged around in the past. His name is Andy Anderson.”
“Yeah, I know him,” Donna said looking up from her salad. “I live with him. He’s okay I guess, if you like boys.”
Cindy turned to look at Donna. She wondered if that statement had a greater implication than she thought. She wasn’t going to worry about it too much. People are who they are inside; and she and Bobbie would be the last people on earth to criticize anyone for his or her sexual or gender orientation.
“Hi, Donna, I see you’ve met Cindy,” Andy said, greeting the two girls. “This is Bobbie Schmedlap. Cindy’s probably told you they are best friends.
“Bobbie, this is Donna Brewer. She is living with us this year. She was living in the home in Fallsville before it burned down. She’s cool.”
Andy, actually Felix, but no one would ever call him that to his face, was a junior. He had been the number one seed on the golf team when Bobbie showed up, and he, as had the others on the team, showed her no mercy as far as the comments that were generated. The golf coach hadn’t been too pleased about being forced to have a young woman on the golf team, but he figured ‘What the hell’, he would have to put up with her as an alternate, and probably would never actually have to put her in competition.
There was a seeding process, as in each tournament, each player would play against a player of similar seed from the other team. They would determine the seeding for their first tournament by a stroke play tournament among the team members at the nearby country club.
The guys were really nasty to her. There were three foursomes, and Bobbie through the luck of the draw was in the last group to tee off.
“Okay, Bobbie, you have to hit the ball down there between those trees. See those red balls down there? That’s the lady’s tees. Are you sure you don’t want to hit from there?”
“I’ll tell you what, fellows. We’ll play El Paso Rules.”
She had won the honor, and teed up her ball. The boys were riding her unmercifully. She took a couple of practice swings.
“Hey, Bobbie, you have to stand closer to the ball if you want to hit it.”
“What’s that, you’re lying three already and you haven’t even hit it yet.”
Bobbie backed off and scowled at her tormentors.
“That’s enough fellows. At least give her a chance to hit the ball.” The coach had to give the impression that he would be fair.
Bobbie addressed the ball, took a slow back swing, and unleashed a drive that caused some jaws to drop. The ball started down the right side, then gently drew to the left, bounced off the gently sloping side of the fairway, and came to rest in the middle about 290 yards from the tee. The silence was deafening.
She leaned over, giving a couple of the boys a brief glimpse of cleavage, picked up her tee, and stepped to the side of the tee box.
“Okay, guys, El Paso Rules, remember?”
Andy was next to tee up. “El Paso Rules, what are they?”
“Surely, you’ve heard of El Paso Rules? If your drive doesn’t pass the lady’s tee, you have to unzip your pants and let your dick hang out for the entire hole. I thought everyone knew what El Paso Rules were. I mean, the lady’s tee is only a hundred yards away. Surely, you big strong men can hit the ball further than that.”
Andy didn’t stand a chance. He made the mistake many golfers make, especially those who don’t play in much competition. He tried to kill the ball, and topped it. It didn’t go 50 yards. The cheers and jeers were almost deafening. Poor Andy picked up his tee and slunk bank to the side of the tee. His face and ears were burning. Not one of the other players was able to hit their ball as far as Bobbie did on that hole, and she was out-driven only on two of the other holes. The only reason for that was that she had deliberately laid back for strategy reasons.
As the foursome approached Andy’s ball, Bobbie walked up to him. “Andy,” she said quietly, “you don’t have to play El Paso Rules. It’s okay. I’ll let you know when you have to comply.”
They turned in their score cards to the coach at the end of the round. “Not bad, Anderson, a seventy-five should keep you in the number one seed position.”
“Uh, coach, Bobbie shot a seventy, and I think she sandbagged. She’s unreal.”
Andy asked her out the next week. Bobbie gladly accepted.
Next: Things will never be the same for Cindy again. Cindy and Bobbie’s powers continue to develop. The four friends go to the beach for one last time before fall sets in, and Cindy learns about the tragedies in Donna’s life.
By Portia Bennett
Cindy and Bobbie are having a problem. Their special senses are being piqued, but not in a way they have been before. They can’t explain it, and are not sure what they are sensing. Andy takes Bobbie, Cindy, and Donna to the beach. It’s their last opportunity to get some sun before the fall sets in. The weather changes rather drastically, and their sunbathing is cut short. Donna tells Cindy the story of her life. It had been a wonderful life until the last few years.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, and “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth.” “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” is looked at from a slightly different perspective in this story. There are some interesting revelations of what went on behind the scenes.
This story is a bit longer than the previous ones in this series. It is 13 chapters and 34,000 words long. The High School Years, Part 2 is partly written, but nowhere near ready to post. I will not be able to post Part 1, Chapter 5 until the middle of the week.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 4
They finished lunch and took their trays to the window that opened into the dish cleaning room. Cindy pulled Bobbie aside.
“Bobbie, I’ve been getting some really strange feelings ever since school started. I am sensing wrongness, but it’s unlike anything we’ve been learning about. Have you been sensing anything these last couple of days? I mean it kinda comes and goes. I’m not sure who or where it’s coming from.”
“I was going to ask you about that. I’ve been feeling something, too, and I think someone is hurting. The problem is, it’s not focused. I can’t pinpoint the source. It was real strong in the cafeteria, but it was like going in and out of a cloud. I’ve felt it in the hallways, too. It might be from more than one person, if it is from a person.”
Bobbie changed the subject. “If the weather holds, Andy wants to go to the beach. He wants to know if you would like to come along. He already felt obligated to invite Donna.”
“I’d love to. It’ll probably be the last chance to get some sun before it turns cold. I’ll ask Mom this evening.”
Andy was sixteen and able to drive; however, Bobbie was only fifteen, and Bobbie’s parents had some firm rules about dating. One was that Bobbie could not go on a date with anyone unaccompanied. It had to be a double date or on a chaperoned event. Cindy’s parents had similar rules.
Andy wasn’t too concerned about the fact that he couldn’t be alone with Bobbie. He was just very happy that she would even give him a second look after the way he and the other members of the golf team had treated her. If one was to measure his status as a BMOC, he had definitely accumulated some points. There was no question that Bobbie was one of the more attractive girls on the campus, and she was definitely a feather in his cap. However, he didn’t think about her in that context. Yes, she was beautiful, intelligent and athletic; however, there was something more about her that just drew him to her. She was just a nice person to be with.
He felt her friends were nice, too. Cindy Lewis was drop dead gorgeous and friendly. She didn’t have any steady boyfriends, and seemed content just to hang around her best bud. Myrna Breckenridge was another of the group who was fun to be around. She was definitely different, and her relationship with Francie Sexton had raised a few eyebrows. That relationship had waned a bit, and Francie now had a boyfriend.
Then there was the issue of Donna Brewer. Andy’s parents were very active in the community and their church. When the children’s home in Fallsville burned down in the middle of the night, the Anderson’s were among the first to offer their home to put up some of the children. When Donna had first moved in, there had been several discussions between his parents. Andy had not been included, and had basically picked up some fragments of the discussions. Apparently there was something about her past. As soon as his presence was realized, the discussions were cut short. It couldn’t have been too bad, because she was welcomed with open arms, and as Andy said, she was cool.
There were some conversations among the parents about the kids going to the beach; however, it was decided that a trip to the beach one more time before the fall weather set in, in earnest might be a good thing. The days were rapidly shortening and the cold blasts from Canada weren’t far off.
The remainder of the first week of school was pretty much uneventful. Cindy and Bobbie, after several cases involving The Wizard and his correcting some gender errors, found they didn’t have a whole lot to do in that area of magic. They knew that Cindy’s power lay in being able to recognize girls who were in the wrong body, and that Bobbie’s power seemed to be in recognizing physical problems in transgendered individuals. Cindy had identified a few students at school, but unlike the conditions revealed in transgendered fiction, the school was not rife with transgendered individuals. There were, however, significant numbers of gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals.
Some might call it ‘gaydar’, and Cindy and Bobbie had no trouble identifying those students (and teachers) that fit into those categories. In a way, they were glad that they could, because if they could detect that a conversation was going in the direction that might cause embarrassment or hurt someone, they could exercise some influence to prevent what might be considered bigoted statements. They were also able to conduct a little persuasive education when the timing was right.
At first they were very worried about their ability to ‘brainwash’ someone. They didn’t feel it was ethical. The Wizard had some different thoughts on the matter.
“I don’t think we can call making someone understand the truth, brainwashing. I’m not talking about the ‘truths’ or dogma that some of those fanatics spout, I am talking about good science, reality.
“Cindy, you saw a lot of it when you had that little adventure, out of body experience. I think our friend explained it to you very well. What the spirit told you were not beliefs, they were reality. If you can turn some uneducated, undereducated bigots into people who can be objective about reality, I wouldn’t call that brainwashing, even though that’s exactly what many of their kind will say it is.
“You are going to have to learn to be subtle. Don’t dump the whole thing on them. Give them some basics, and when they digest that, pass on a little more information. I think both of you can do a lot of good.”
The weather wasn’t bad when they first arrived, and they had a few hours of some sunning and splashing; however, a little after lunch the wind shifted to the east and then northeast and the temperature started falling. Along with the temperature drop, scuddy stratus clouds started to fill the sky.
“Guys, I think the sunning and swimming is through for the day. Think we ought to pack it in, or do you want to hang out around here a little longer?” Andy was putting his windbreaker on while checking out the clouds. The sun was definitely playing hide and seek.
“I’m kinda sandy and stuff,” Bobbie said while looking at Cindy and Donna. “If we go back now, we’ll just have to go home. I don’t think I want to go to the mall or anything like that. We’re certainly not dressed for it. We still have some time. Why don’t we hunt for sea shells? We could walk down the beach towards that jetty. What do you think, Cindy, Donna?”
“I don’t mind staying around here for a while,” Cindy said. “Mom and Dad are going out tonight and wanted me to watch Tom, Randi, and Stan, Jr., so we have to be back by 6:30. I know! Why don’t we spend a couple of hours here, go home, and get cleaned up?. Then everyone can come over to my place while I watch the kids. We can order some pizza and watch a movie.”
So they decided that was what they’d do. Andy and Bobbie, holding hands, headed down the hard packed sand along the water’s edge. They weren’t seriously looking for shells, Bobbie’s left hand in Andy’s right, left leg synched to right, the two enamored youths led the way.
“They really do like each other don’t they?” Donna remarked as she and Cindy lagged behind. “Aren’t you jealous? I mean you two are closer than any two sisters I’ve ever known. I don’t know how to explain it. You two are … like connected. If I didn’t know better, I would say you are on some secret mission. Shoot, I thought you two were a pair, but Andy says you are just good friends.
“Is it true that you almost drowned?”
“Yeah, that was more than seven years ago. I fell through some ice near my house. I was in a coma for a long time. Bobbie and I became good friends after I got back to school. We had a lot in common.”
Donna paused for a few moments, seeing an old partially deflated rubber volley ball at the edge of the water, and she left footed it back into the ocean to be washed up later on. “So, do you have a boy friend? I mean you are drop dead gorgeous and have boobs to die for. How come you’re not going steady with anyone?”
“I guess because I’ve never met the right person. I’m in no rush. I go out with some of the guys on double or group dates. I have fun, but I don’t get emotionally involved. I’m only sixteen. Someday, the right person will come along. I just don’t need to be distracted right now. My education is primary.”
“Are you into girls? Maybe that’s a bit forward of me, but I’m curious.”
Cindy pondered the question for a moment. “Mom asked me that once, and I told her I didn’t think so, but if the right person was a woman, then that was the right person. I would just have to go with how I felt.
“Bobbie and I are very close, so very close, and I love her very much, and will for the rest of my life. She loves me, too. That will never be questioned. Bobbie is probably as heterosexual as they come.” She almost added, “… and always has been.” But that was going into an area that couldn’t be discussed.
She started walking again.
“What about you? You said something the other day about ‘if’ you liked boys.”
“Yeah, I did say that, didn’t I? I’m not sure why I said that to you, but for some reason, I feel I can trust you.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend or girlfriend. I don’t think I’ve ever had as many friends as I have now. Someday the shit is going to hit the fan about me, so I might as well tell you now, and let you decide what to do about me.”
“Why should I do anything about you? I like you just the way you are. You certainly haven’t done anything to make me feel any other way,” Cindy said with a slightly raised eyebrow.
“You may think differently in a while. Bobbie and Andy are way ahead of us. Why don’t we sit out of the wind over by that shack, and I will let you know a few secrets.”
Donna led Cindy to the sheltered spot, and they sat on a weathered driftwood log.
“My mother abandoned me shortly after I was born. I was found on the steps of a convent in Laredo, Texas. There was a note in Spanish that said, ‘Tenga cuidado de mi niá±a (Please take care of my little girl.).’ They named me Donna Linda. I think you can tell from my appearance that I am probably Latina. I was put up for adoption and was adopted almost immediately by an Air Force pilot and his wife.
“They were wonderful and doted on me from the start. Mom was German, and Dad had met her when he was station at Ramstein. Mom couldn’t have children and they planned to adopt more after me. I remember leaving Laredo, Dad was an instructor pilot, and we moved to Little Rock Air Force Base. When I was eight, we moved back to Germany. Dad was a squadron commander. I remember how happy Mom was to be back. Dad liked it, too. That’s where I learned to play soccer, and I got pretty good at it. By then I had a little brother.
“Dad got another promotion and they shipped us to the Pentagon. I remember Dad saying that he was a highly paid shoeshine boy. He was a Lieutenant Colonel, and he said they were a dime a dozen. We lived in Reston, and they had good schools and soccer programs.”
Donna stopped for a moment, and Cindy could see something was bothering her. Her eyes started to fill with tears. “Th, th, that’s when those snipers killed him and my little brother. They had just gone to the convenience store to get some milk and stuff. Mom was never the same after that. I had problems, but not like Mom did.
“Dad had a lot of insurance, and Mom and I still had all the dependents’ privileges. We could go to any of the military installations, and Mom started going to the clubs. She’d come home drunk; sometimes bringing someone with her. She would take him into her bedroom and they would do things. She’d wake up in the morning screaming and yelling for the guy to get out of her house. She couldn’t remember that she brought him home.
“She started seeing one guy a lot. I thought he was a real creep. He kept leering at me, and would make suggestive comments all the time. I hated him. I came home one Sunday morning after sleeping over with a friend. I hoped he would be gone by then, but his car was still there.
“I snuck in, but he heard me. Mom was asleep or passed out. He raped me.”
Cindy didn’t know what to say. She pulled Donna to her and sobbed. Her tears mixed with Donna’s. “It gets worse. Mom heard me screaming, and she tried to get him off of me. She had grabbed a poker from the fireplace and hit him across the back. It didn’t faze him.
“He had finished with me and he turned on her. He beat her with his fists. Then he started strangling her.
“I killed him with the poker, but not before he had killed her. The neighbors heard the screaming and called the police. I don’t remember much after that.
“It was pretty easy for the police and investigators to figure out what happened. It took me several weeks before I could tell anyone anything. I was in the hospital for a long time. I had no relatives, and no one in Germany seemed to want me.
“Eventually, they sent me to the home in Fallsville. They were nice people over there. They tried to find a foster home for me, but when anyone found out that I killed someone, they decided I wasn’t for them. Then we had that fire. The Andersons know what I did, but it doesn’t seem to bother them. Andy doesn’t know, but I will have to tell him some day.”
Cindy was speechless for a moment. Donna looked at her almost as if she expected Cindy to bolt, or worse, hit her. Instead, Cindy embraced her, and said nothing. Finally she leaned back and looked into Donna’s dark brown, almost black eyes. They were unusual eyes in that there were little flecks of gold that caught the light. Cindy gently reached over and raised Donna’s chin. She gently kissed her on the lips, then embraced her again.
Next: The Wizard tells Cindy and Bobbie to tell Donna and Andy about their magical abilities. He also tells them that Bobbie and Randi need to find a familiar. Both Andy and Donna are able to understand Maddy. Maddy and Cindy give Donna a rather convincing demonstration of their abilities. Chapter 5 will be posted about midweek.
They return from their day at the beach. A day that might have been a bit more emotional than either Cindy or Donna expected. Randi continues to amaze everyone with her advanced talents. The Wizard tells Cindy that Andy and Donna need to know about him and their magical abilities. The Wizard also gives the impression that Donna is very important. Cindy and Maddy give rather impressive demonstrations of their powers.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, and “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth.” “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” is looked at from a slightly different perspective in this story. That’s a few chapters from now and there are some interesting revelations of what went on behind the scenes.
This story is a bit longer than the previous ones in this series. It is 13 chapters and 34,000 words long. The High School Years, Part 2 is partly written, but nowhere near ready to post. I will post Chapter 6 in a few days.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 5
They sat in silence for a long time, keeping each other warm against the wind.
“Okay guys, we need to get back. What happened? Did we walk too fast for you?”
“No, Donna and I had some things to talk about. Yeah, we’d better get back or Mom or Dad will be calling."
They returned in plenty of time, and Stan and Marissa had no problems with the four teenagers looking after the other two Lewis’s children. Bobbie returned before Cindy’s parents left, and Andy and Donna got there shortly afterwards. It was starting to spit rain, and the weather was probably a precursor to what would be a nasty winter.
Cindy had gone upstairs to check on her little brother and little sister. The latter was at her computer and chatting with The Wizard. Maddy was draped over her shoulder, and turned as her friend entered the room.
“Cindy,” Maddy said in her cute little voice. “His Wisdom says it is time for Randi to have an associate. He also says that Bobbie is long overdue finding one. He says we need to go to the county animal shelter tomorrow.”
Cindy looked over her little sister’s shoulder, and watched The Wizard as he was demonstrating how to cut up four leaf clovers to make a good luck potion. The Wizard looked up at her as he continued to mince the leaves. “Cindy, they will be waiting for you. Take Maddy. Just tell them, if anyone questions you, that you need to make sure that they will get along with her. It shouldn’t take too much persuasion. The arrangements have been made, so you just need to get there.
“Now there are a couple of other things. There shouldn’t be any problems with Bobbie telling Andy about you two. I’ve checked the time lines and there aren’t any reasons not to tell him. Also, there are a couple of things I need to talk to Bobbie about. Ask her to come up when she get’s a chance, and she can bring Andy.
“Okay, young lady, that’s it for tonight. It’s time for bed and be sure to brush your teeth. Also, ask your mother before you practice with the clover. Be sure it’s clover, and not shamrocks. All the shamrocks will do is summon a bunch of ill-tempered leprechauns.”
Randi ran off to take care of things. The Wizard continued to busy with some things on his counter. “So how is Donna doing? Is she okay? She’s certainly had a rough time of it.”
“You know about Donna?”
“Of course I do, I’m a ….”
“ … Wizard,” Cindy chimed in. “I think I like her a lot. I’ve only known her for a short time, but I think she’s a good person who has had some really shitty luck. I think I would like to get to know her better.”
“Maybe you should. Make sure you send Bobbie and Andy up here. I need to go over a few things with them.”
Randi returned to the bedroom. She raced to her dresser, found a nightie to her liking, and quickly donned it. She ran over to the computer screen, reached through it grabbing The Wizard around his neck, and gave him a goodnight kiss. Cindy shook her head in disbelief. Her little sister wasn’t waiting for puberty to exhibit some of her powers.
Cindy kissed her sister goodnight, turned off the computer, and went to her own room to her computer. She could see that The Wizard was still online. “Your Wisdom, were you aware she could do that, or did you teach her?”
“I must say, she caught me completely off guard. That takes some special ability, and I don’t think anyone expected her to be developing so soon.
“How is she doing with the old memories? They’re not overwhelming her are they?”
“She’s doing fine. She says she just puts them in her scrap book, and she can find them if she wants. She enjoys life so much. She is going to be a real heart breaker; she’s already a consummate flirt.
“I guess I shouldn’t second guess you, but do you think it’s wise for Andy to find out about you?”
“It will be fine. He will need to find out some day, anyway.”
“Oh.”
“Take care of Donna. It’s very important. The reason will become apparent after a while. I’ll just leave it at that.”
Cindy returned to the family room. Her other brother had just come back from hanging out with some friends and was watching the movie along with Andy, Bobbie and Donna. He was thirteen and starting to sprout. He seemed to take most of the goings on of his family in stride. He knew about The Wizard and the fact that his sisters seemed to have some special powers. He didn’t tell his friends about the strange things they could do, nor did he tell them that his sister had a talking cat. If he had friends over, they never seemed to notice anything unusual.
Maddy bounced up on the couch next to Donna and sniffed at her a bit. Her upper lips curled up and her mouth was slightly open. “Donna, this is Maddy. She’s been part of this household for seven years.”
“Well, Maddy, you are certainly a beautiful little cat,” Donna said as she reached out and stroked Maddy’s chin and lower jaw.
“Thank you Donna, you are very pretty, too.”
Donna turned to Cindy, “Wow! you are some ventriloquist. Where did you learn to do that?”
Cindy’s jaws dropped. The Schmedlaps knew Maddy could talk, as did Cindy’s family. Bobbie’s grandparents also knew, but they hadn’t told Bobbie’s mother and father. There was a problem there that still hadn’t been resolved. Now Donna could hear her as well.
“Er, Donna, I’m not a ventriloquist.”
“Well, who is: Bobbie, Andy, Tom?”
“I’m afraid,” Cindy said carefully, “none of us are. Maddy do you want to explain yourself?
“Uh, Bobbie, His Wisdom wants to talk to you and Andy. He’s waiting.”
Andy was also startled by what he too thought was a ventriloquist’s trick. “What’s going on, and who is this wisdom character?”
“I think I’ll let Bobbie explain that to you. It will all become very apparent soon enough.
“Tom, why don’t you go upstairs and play games on your computer. Apparently, Maddy and I have some things to explain to Donna.
“So Maddy, what do we do now?”
“I guess we tell her everything. If she can understand me, then that is the only logical thing to do.”
Donna shook her head. “This is getting weirder and weirder. What did you guys do, put some sort of drug in my Coke? I have to be hallucinating.”
“There’re no drugs. I certainly didn’t expect this to happen; however, I guess you’re meant to know what’s going on.” Cindy took a deep breath. “We’re witches; Bobbie, Randi, and I are witches. Maddy’s my familiar; although, that is an oversimplification. Maddy is very magical, and she helps me focus our powers.
“Bobbie and Andy are talking to The Wizard right now, and I guess he and Bobbie are explaining the same thing to Andy.”
“Right, and I’m Ellen Degeneres.”
“Maddy, how’s the holographics going?”
“Fine, what do you want me to do?”
“Well, since she mentioned it, why don’t you put an image of Ellen up over there? We’ll let Donna make up her own mind.”
Maddy hissed something unintelligible, and there was a sparkle of an image coming in and out of focus. The image suddenly solidified as much as a holographic image could. It walked over to Donna, who wasn’t sure what to do, whether to run or laugh.
“Hi, Donna, I just wanted to tell you that Cindy and Bobbie are witches, and I’m, er, Maddy is the most beautiful and intelligent cat in the world.” The lip synching was perfect and Maddy had done a pretty good imitation of Ellen’s voice.
“Sorry about the voice thing. I still have some practice to do on that. His Wisdom’s always after me. He says that a little slip up can mess up the whole effect.” The image of Ellen blinked out.
“This is unreal. I mean witches and talking cats. I suppose the next thing you will do is cast a spell on me and have me strip naked and dance on the dining room table.”
“I don’t cast spells on people without reason, and I never cast spells on my friends unless there is an emergency. We’re just learning witchcraft and The Wizard wants us to take it slowly. My little sister is somewhat of a prodigy, though.”
“So, are your father and brothers sorcerers or something like that?”
“No, they don’t seem to have any magical powers as near as we can tell. It seems that the sort of magic we have is passed down through the girls’ side of the family. I’m doing some study on that. I’ll show it to you sometime. I’m still trying to figure out The Wizard thing though. I haven’t figured out what happens there. There are also sorcerers, but I’ve never met one of them.”
“You are serious aren’t you? You are really trying to tell me you are a witch, that that image thing wasn’t just a parlor trick.”
“Donna, would you let me try something? I promise I won’t hurt you. There won’t be any fire or knives, or anything like that. Just stand there and relax.”
“Sure, I have nothing to lose.”
“Donna, if this doesn’t work, I think I have everything to lose.
"[Maddy, I’m going to need your help. I want to levitate her. We’ll pick her up and move her over in front of the fireplace. Any problems with that?]”
“[I think we can do it. We’ve practiced enough]”
They formed the correct sequences in their minds and Maddy focused on Donna. Donna’s eyes widened as a sense of weightlessness overtook her. She gently rose off the floor.
“Holy shit!” She wasn’t terrified, just surprised. She looked around and passed her hand over her head to see if there were any wires somehow supporting her. They gently placed her in front of the hearth.
“I guess we could do some more, if you want. Need any more demonstrations?”
“That was fucking amazing. No, I think you’ve shown me enough for now. Why are you telling me all of this?”
“Because it feels right, and The Wizard indicated I should. I think he wants me to tell you many things.”
“Maddy, besides being exceptionally beautiful and intelligent, what do you do?”
“I kill cockroaches. I also kill starlings and Norwegian rats. I talk to dogs and wolves. The Wizard’s companion is Wolf, and we’re real good friends. The Wizard lets me be a mountain lion sometimes when we go out in the woods and play. I was a real good friend with Bobbie’s dog, Einstein, but he died last year. He told me he was coming back as a border collie next time. He was hoping he could come back here. That’s the fun stuff.” Maddy became a bit less self important. “I saved Cindy’s life once,” she added quietly.
“Actually she saved my life more than once, although the first time, neither of us understood what was going on,” Cindy reminisced about the tiny kitten struggling on the ice. That had been so long ago.
The sound of footsteps descending the main stairway into the entry hall diverted their attention for a moment. Andy and Bobbie entered the family room. She had her arm around his waist. He had a wide-eyed look of incredulity.
“If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it. There really are wizards, and sweet, not so little Bobbie is a witch: fucking amazing. I think I’m just beginning to understand what’s so special about her.
“Donna, did they tell you? Can you believe it?”
“I believe it. They gave me a rather convincing demonstration.”
“Maddy, would you entertain Donna and Andy for a moment? Bobbie and I have something we need to talk about.”
“Sure, the usual parlor tricks?”
“Why not; just show them a little of what you can do.”
Cindy led Bobbie to the kitchen just as her parents were coming in from the garage. “Hi Mom, Dad: Andy and Donna are in the family room. Maddy is showing them some tricks.”
“You mean they … ?”
“Yeah, they know. The Wizard said we should tell them. I guess there are some important reasons, but he hasn’t told us what they are.”
“Did you tell them about you and Bobbie?” her dad asked.
“No, and that’s why Bobbie and I are back here. I wanted to find out what The Wizard had to say to her.”
“He told me that it wasn’t time, but that it would be soon,” Bobbie said. “He felt that there was no reason to inundate them with too much at one time.
“You’re going to like Donna, she’s sweet.”
Next: The two couples and Randi go to the County Animal Shelter. As they near the shelter, Bobbie, Cindy and Randi hear the young kittens calling for their mother. Maddy assures them everything will be alright. They meet two witches who bring the two kittens to them. They get their shots and Maddy leads the way. Randi continues to demonstrate her developing powers. We’re expecting more snow here. I might put up the next chapter on Friday. We’ll see.
By Portia Bennett
Chapter 6: Following The Wizard’s instructions, the friends, with Randi and Maddy, go to the County Animal Shelter to pick up two ‘associates’ for Bobbie and Randi. All goes well, and the two little darlings are returned to the Lewis and Schmedlap households. A few days later Maddy awakens Cindy. It seems Randi has done it again as the two new additions are seated with Maddy at the foot of Cindy’s bed.
Chapter 7: Things have settled down for a while as far as the cats are concerned. At Donna’s urging, the four friends take up jogging seriously. None of them are in Donna’s class as far as running is concerned; however, they find their weekend runs to be very enjoyable, that is until they are accosted by some hoodlums. For the first time, Cindy has to rely on magic for her survival, and does rather well. The Wizard is very pleased with how well she handled herself in a very serious situation. Once again, though, he expresses his concern for Donna.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, and “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth.” “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” is looked at from a slightly different perspective in this story. That’s a few chapters from now and there are some interesting revelations of what went on behind the scenes.
This story is a bit longer than the previous ones in this series. It is 13 chapters and 34,000 words long. The High School Years, Part 2 is partly written, but nowhere near ready to post. I will post Chapter 8 & 9 in a few days.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 6
The county humane society, for some reason was open on a Sunday. That was definitely not the usual thing; however, two of the teenagers, a five year-old girl, and the world’s most intelligent and beautiful cat didn’t question it. Andy and Donna were along for the ride, so to speak, though Andy was actually driving. The facility was tucked beside a country road that wound through the hills and valleys with their patchwork farms, and country homes. Stone walls that were probably pre-revolutionary lined many of the roads.
As they rounded a corner, maybe a mile from their destination, Maddy’s ears perked up. She was riding on a padded platform place between the two front seats. It was enclosed in an elastic web designed to secure her in the event of an accident. Maddy wasn’t offended in the least about being confined in her perch. She knew it would protect her in the unlikely event of an accident. Besides, they would be making some modifications to it on their return journey.
“They’re there. I can hear them. In spite of what their mother told them, they are a bit scared.”
“[I’m coming little one’s. Your Aunt Maddy will be there in just a few minutes.]”
“[Mommy, Mommy, where are you Mommy?]”
“[Your Mommy’s fine, and now you are going to have some new Mommies to take care of you.]”
Cindy sniffed back a tear, “They sound so pitiful. This is the first time they’ve been away from their mother, and they’re not too sure what’s going on. I think all the animal sounds and smells are probably bothering them, too.”
“The gray one’s trying to be brave, but she’s not going to hold up much longer,” Bobbie added.
“What are you guys talking about? You can’t be hearing those kittens. We’re still almost a mile away.”
“They’re mind speaking. That’s what Maddy does when she wants to talk to me in private, or when we’re apart.
“Bobbie, you heard one of the kittens?”
“Omigosh, I did. I heard both of them, and I heard Maddy, too.”
“The black one says she wants to stay with me. Her name is Silky. Her sister is Chloe. They want us to hurry,” Randi added.
“This is amazing,” Donna laughed. “I’m sitting in a car listening to a cat tell me what some kittens are saying in a building a long ways from here. Not only that, I am riding with three gorgeous witches who could probably turn me into a toad if they wanted to.”
“You don’t have to be worried about being turned into a toad,” Bobbie laughed. “The Wizard says that honor will be Cindy’s. Besides, neither Cindy nor I can do any transformations, yet. I’m not sure about Randi, though. She’s doing stuff that Cindy and I haven’t even thought about. She just goes and does it.”
The animal shelter appeared as they rounded a bend, and Andy pulled into the mostly empty lot. A couple of cars that probably belonged to the employees were parked at the rear. They could hear many dogs barking as they approached the entrance.
They were greeted by two middle-aged ladies who were dressed as if they had just come from church, which they had. The next thing the group knew they were being hugged and kissed as if they were long lost relatives.
“Bobbie, you are even prettier than Naomi said you were,” waxed the matron, whose name was Evelyn. “Andy, you take care of this young lady. I don’t want to have to come back here for any negative reasons.”
“Ma’am, her brothers already made it very clear to me about that. Besides, she can take pretty good care of herself. She gives me two strokes a side and still beats me.” The two ladies laughed. It would be a while before the meaning of the double entendre hit him.
“So, this is Donna. It is so good to see you. We are so glad you are here.”
Donna was a bit disturbed. “You know about me?”
“Of course we do, dear; His Wisdom has told us about all of you. He can’t say enough about how proud of all of you he is, either. Of course he will never tell you that. He is especially proud of Cindy and the progress she has made.
“He wanted us to remind you to make sure to take Randi to Dillard’s to see Santa this Christmas. He says you will understand when you get there.
“Esmeralda, I think it’s time we brought the babies out.” Esmeralda retreated to the office, and the group could suddenly hear some pitiful meows. Esmeralda returned holding two unsure, wide eyed kittens. They were probably about 12 weeks old, and they were clinging to her silk blouse while looking at the humans. Their demeanor changed a bit when Maddy spoke to them.
“[Silky, Chloe, these are your friends. They are going to share their homes with you. I am going to be your teacher and guardian for a while. Silky, you will live in my house, and as you get older, you and Randi will be working together. Chloe, you are going to live with Bobbie and her family. They live close by so that everyone will be able to talk like we are now. We will be doing a lot of things together and there is no reason for you to ever be lonely.]”
Maddy turned to Evelyn and Esmeralda. “We don’t have any problems in our neighborhood, but we need to be safe. Have they had their shots yet?”
“Not yet, it will just take a minute.”
“[Silky, Chloe, I don’t want you struggling. Just relax, and you will hardly feel a thing. Look, I will get my shot first. It’s the right time for me to get mine, too. These shots have powerful magic and they will help keep us from getting all sorts of nasty diseases. They just mean there are a whole lot of things we don’t have to worry about.]”
Maddy sat on the counter and never flinched as Evelyn injected the shot into the loose skin at the nape of her neck. Then she went to each kitten and scrubbed their eyes and ears as Evelyn administered the shots.
“[Now, I want both of you girls to behave nicely on our trip to your new homes. We have a special place for you to ride in the car. When we get to your homes, I want you to stay inside unless Cindy or I, or Bobbie is with you. Randi is not old enough yet to go out and explore on her own.]”
As the got ready to leave, Esmeralda took Randi aside and knelt beside her. “Randi, I want you to be very careful with your spells. I want you to think how it was before. Remember how Captain Mike did things. He was very powerful, but very thoughtful. He always did the best things for his men. You were part of his team. Now you are part of this team. Cindy and Bobbie are your sergeants, and The Wizard is your captain. There will be a time when you will have to do things by yourself; however, that is a long time from now. Promise me that you won’t do any spells without your sister’s or The Wizard’s knowledge.”
“I promise Aunty Esmeralda.”
Again, there were hugs and kisses as they loaded their precious cargo into the special seat. Maddy immediately held the two kittens down and groomed them, forming an unbreakable bond.
Andy started to back out of his parking slot, and looked to where the other cars had been parked. One was no longer there.
The two kittens were short haired little beauties. Silky was what most would call a ’black cat’; however, she was really a very dark auburn. The reds in her fur glowed in the sunlight. Silky’s eyes were the color of gold, very similar to the mineral tiger-eye. Chloe was a shiny platinum gray. Her eyes were almost a hazel green.
The two sisters were quickly assimilated into their human families. They visited each other often, and could converse whenever they wanted, though Maddy had to teach them how to focus their mind speaking abilities so that they wouldn’t intrude on the others.
Things got interesting a few weeks later. Neither family felt that the sisters were old enough to explore the outdoors by themselves, and they were too far apart to travel between their homes which were several cul de sacs removed from each other.
The fall football season was in full swing, and Boston College was in the midst of an undefeated season and the families were engrossed in watching the television. No one paid much attention to Randi, who was traveling from her bedroom to the basement and back.
The next afternoon, the Lewis’s were visiting the Schmedlaps. They had had a bit of a break in the weather, and the men folk were doing some late season grilling before the New England Patriots’ game with San Diego.
Randi wasn’t much of a football fan, and being the youngest non-infant, had to sometimes resort to other forms of entertainment. Her mother and Bobbie’s mother were both dealing with infants, and Randi liked to help out; however, the older sisters got more involved. “Bobbie, may I visit Chloe?” Chloe liked to sleep on Bobbie’s bed. She wasn’t very gregarious; however, that would change as she got older.
Once again, no one paid any attention to the fact that Randi was carrying a bag of ‘stuff’ with her. Most assumed that she was carrying some of the dolls that she enjoyed playing with.
No one gave it another thought until late that night.
“Cindy, wake up. We have a problem.”
“What? What is it, Maddy?”
“I think you had better turn on the light.”
Cindy turned on the light and looked at the foot of her bed. Maddy was sitting there, Silky on her left and Chloe on her right.
“[Chloe, what are you doing here?]”
“[I was lonely, so I came over.]”
“[What do you mean you came over here? We told you that until you were older you couldn’t walk over here by yourself.]”
“[I didn’t walk over here. I came through the door.]”
“I don’t think I understand,” Cindy said out loud.
“Cindy, she came through the cat door. The one Randi put in her closet wall. I’ve already been through it. It opens into Bobbie’s closet. I don’t know how it works, but it does.”
It was too early in the morning to call Bobbie, so Cindy went to sleep with three little cats snuggled up to her.
She didn’t have to worry about calling Bobbie. Bobbie called her first thing in the morning.
“Cindy, (sniff) Chloe’s gone. I can’t find her anywhere. She was sleeping next to me last night, and this morning she’s gone. She’s not in any of her favorite places.”
“Don’t worry, she’s with me; just a minute.
“[Chloe, tell Bobbie you’re with me. You’ve been a bad girl.]”
“[Bobbie, I’m sorry. I got lonely, so I came over here to be with my sister.]”
“[Chloe, you need to go home now. It’s real early. Now the rest of us are going to have to figure out what’s going on.]”
“[Okay, but may I come back after breakfast? I want to play with Silky.]”
“[I guess so. I guess there’s no way to keep you from going back and forth.]”
Chloe hopped off the bed and headed for Randi’s bedroom.
“Cindy, she’s here. How did she do that?”
“She went through the cat door. Now I am going to have to talk with that little sister of mine.”
“This is really advanced stuff,” The Wizard said as he examined the two halves of the pet door. They had removed them so that The Wizard could examine them. He was having a slow week, and the Lewis’s had invited him for dinner so that he could see what his little protégée was up to. Amos and Stan had removed the two halves from their respective closet walls. Randi had used some duct tape and a few nails to mount the two halves. What was amazing, was that as soon as the door was removed from the wall, there was no sign of anything having been there other than some nail holes and tape residue.
After dinner the two families sat around the family room, enjoying the warmth of the fireplace. The adults were sipping some 200 year-old port that The Wizard had brought. They were being amused at the moment by the antics of the two kittens. The two halves of the door were placed face up on the floor about fifteen feet apart. One of the kittens would dive into one of the openings and disappear, ostensibly, into the floor, only to pop out of the other door fifteen feet away. It didn’t seem to matter which way the doors were placed, the kitten would go through one and come out the other. There could be half a kitten at one side of the room and the other half appearing at the other side of the room. It was rather disconcerting.
The adults and children had experimented, also. Both Cindy and Bobbie’s stomachs did little flip flops as they watched Stan’s arm disappear through one panel and appear across the room coming out of the other.
“What she has done has created a worm hole in space between the two doors,” The Wizard explained. “Essentially, no matter how far apart they are, there is no space between them. One of Stephen King’s universes has something like this, and Heinlein talks about star-gates in one of his books. Of course I do it all the time.
“Randi, tell us how you did this. You’re not in trouble. We would like to know, but you have to realize that until we know more about what you have done, we can’t let anyone else see them. This door could create all sorts of problems if the wrong people got hold of it.”
“Chloe and Silky wanted to play,” Randi said hesitantly. “They miss each other, so I put the kitty door in the wall so they could be together when they wanted to. They’re sisters and they need to be together.”
That night the doors were reinstalled in the closets, and the cats went back to going between the houses at will. The Wizard cast a spell so that the doors could not be seen by anyone but family members and others with a need to know. Everyone felt that there might be some other uses for them. It would be a while before they were able to put the magic Randi had found to use in other areas.
Not only did Donna play soccer, she was also an outstanding long distance runner. She was the number one runner on the women’s cross country racing team. Cindy marveled at how Donna’s hard body flowed as she clipped the miles off on the 3.2 mile course. The track season started the following spring, and Donna convinced Cindy, Bobbie and Andy to run with her on weekends when the weather permitted, which wasn’t all that often. Donna explained that the running would help Cindy develop her endurance for the longer races in the pool, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt Bobbie and Andy’s golf game.
The little group found a nice route along some of the country roads, and they could jog along at a pleasant pace while talking about school and other more pleasant subjects. Donna would usually get bored with the leisurely pace, and would take off on her own for the last two miles of their five mile route. It was a pleasant late fall day, and they were about three miles into their run when a car coming toward them caught their attention. They could hear it from some distance away. It wasn’t because of the noise of the engine; it was because of the booming rumble of the sound system.
They were climbing a slight grade when the car came over the crest of the hill. Instead of yielding space to the runners, the car drifted into the bike lane, forcing the runners onto the shoulder. They could see the four occupants laughing at the runners’ consternation.
“Bastards,” Andy grumbled, “it’s just one big fucking joke to them. I’ll bet those are the same guys that have run bikers off these roads. One guy was badly hurt.”
They had run about another half mile when they heard the car returning. There was a wide spot, a pullout, in the road, and the runners went as far left as they could. They could hear the car downshift, and then it pulled in front of them and came to a stop. Four greasy looking individuals piled out of the car. They were wearing the ‘uniforms’ of a local gang and the runners realized that there was going to be a confrontation.
“Shit, that’s the Goldsmith brothers and two of their pals. They’re nothing but trouble. Word is one of them knocked up Amy Epperson. They got a bunch of people to say she willingly took on their whole gang. She’s over 18, but not very bright. I heard they paid her $20.00 to put out. I think she thought she was going to make some new friends. Instead they just dumped her when she turned up pregnant.
“This could get messy. I’m not sure what we can do,” Andy said looking around for an escape route.
“Well, well, if it ain’t Feeleex Anderson. What you say Feeleex? It looks like you got more wimmin than you can rightfully handle. I tell you what, you just have those ladies come over here and get in my car and we might leave you alone.” That was Acey Goldsmith speaking. He was the oldest brother.
“Andy, don’t try anything,” Cindy whispered. “They’re more than we can possibly handle. Don’t feel bad about this, but I think Bobbie and I need to use some special resources.”
“Hey, you with the tits, why don’t you come over here and show me and my friends what you got under that shirt? They can’t be real. Why don’t you just get in the back seat and I will show you what eight inches of hard dick can do for you.”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea, Acey.”
“Just shut your face, bitch, and do what I tell you and maybe you won’t get hurt too much.”
By this time the gang had moved to surround the four runners.
“Boys, it seems something is wrong. I think that food you had this morning had something wrong with it. Not only that, you drank so much that you have to take a leak. Unfortunately, there’re no rest rooms around here, so you are just going to have to wet your pants.”
“Holy shit, Acey, you just pissed yourself,” one of his cronies remarked.
“Well shit, asshole, I wouldn’t talk. It looks like you pissed yourself, too.
“I don’t know what you did, bitch, but I think for that, you’re going to die.” He pulled out a rather impressive switchblade and released the blade.
“Unfortunately, your feet are glued to the ground and you can’t move. Your knives seem to be getting very hot, so the best thing to do would be to drop them.”
Four switchblades dropped to the ground.
Cindy realized she had things under control, but she also realized that if she relinquished control over the four, they would never be rid of them.
“Andy, what do you think these four have been responsible for?”
“Well, I know what I hear, but I don’t really know for sure. There are a number of alleged rapes. I think they deal in drugs. I wouldn’t doubt that they have been responsible for a number of burglaries in the area.”
“If that’s the case,” Cindy said while looking at the four, “I think the best thing would be that they tell us what they have done.
“What do you think fellows? Before we let you go, boys, I think you had better tell us what you have done.”
For the next fifteen minutes they listened as the four listed a litany of crimes that was hard to believe. Cindy finally had them stop.
“This is the way it is going to be. The food poisoning you have been suffering is just about to be manifest in severe diarrhea. The only thing you can do is report to the police station and use their restroom. Of course in return, you are going to confess all your crimes to them. They will be very grateful and will see that all your housing and food needs will be taken care of for a long time.
“Now get in your car and drive carefully to the police station. Your radio is broken, so you might as well turn it off.”
The four watched quietly as the four gang members with rather dazed expressions got into the car and slowly drove off.
Donna collapsed to the ground, sobs wracking her body. Cindy sat next to her and pulled her close. She knew Donna had flashed back to the rape she had experienced several years before.
“Cindy, you showed remarkable restraint. I am proud of you.” They looked up to see The Wizard and the wolf. The wolf nuzzled up to Donna and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. “I might have done differently; however, what you have done will allow for a lot of closure for many people. I’m not sure what I would have done to them; however, I think the punishment they will suffer is far worse than if I had turned them into rocks.
“I did strengthen the compulsion you put on them to report to the police. I think yours would have held, but we certainly didn’t want them out and about. They are reporting in to the police as we speak and they will be old men before they ever see the light of day from the outside.
“Why don’t you get into my limousine, and I will take you back to your car.
They quietly got in the limousine and started down the road, the Wizard joining them in the back. “Donna, I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. Sometimes these things happen, and I’m not always aware of that they will happen. In this case, Bobbie called me; however, Cindy was already in charge of things. She had to act as she did. None of you should get in the habit of me responding immediately to your calls, as I am involved in many things, and sometimes I just can’t get to you quickly enough.”
Andy was a bit agitated and kept looking around as the limousine headed down the road. “Excuse me, Your Wisdom (Bobbie had told him about the proper forms of address), but who is driving the limousine?”
“Wolf’s driving. He’s a very good driver. Besides, no one will notice.” He turned to Cindy. “We need to talk about what happened. Cindy, why did you have those hoodlums pee in their pants?”
“I had to know I was in control. I had to know I could really make them do what needed to be done. Bobbie and I have done some minor mind control things before, but never anything as important as this was. I knew if I could make them do that, then I was pretty sure I could keep things under control.
“Thank you for reinforcing the control, though. It really could have been bad if everything had worn off after they drove away. They were so evil. You should have heard what they’ve done.”
“Oh, I did. I think I would have been much harsher in my treatment of them, but in my old age, I find my patience runs thin rather quickly. Turning them into rocks would have been too easy.
“I remember a similar case I had in southern France. When was that? Let’s see: that was just before or just after the Salem witch trials. What a horrid state of affairs, that was. All those innocent people executed like that. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, southern France. There was this gang of highwaymen, and they would hold up a coach, and they weren’t satisfied to just take the money and jewelry, they would rather violently rape the women and young girls. I was sent down there to take care of them. I turned them into flagstones, and they were used to pave a stable floor. I think they are still there.
“I was asked afterwards why I didn’t turn them into women and throw them to the wolves, so to speak, to be raped again and again. First of all, I couldn’t do that to any woman, and second of all, all that does is encourage rapists, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. They were better off as rocks.”
“Sir, may I say something?”
“Sure, Andy.”
“Well, I’m just very thankful that Cindy and Bobbie can do what they can. We wouldn’t have stood a chance against those guys if it hadn’t been for magic. I think some guys would feel inadequate, embarrassed, or worse that they had to rely on a girl to save his ass. I just want everyone to know that I am not eaten up by that macho shit. Bobbie put me in my place a while ago, and I have learned a lot about personal relationships since then. I’m sure there will be a day when I’m able to do something for them because of some talent I have. I am proud to be associated with this group, and they may use magic anytime they want to save my ass.”
The Wizard had turned his attention to the pretty brunette who had been pretty quiet up to this point. “Donna, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You have experienced some very traumatic events over the last few years, and you had every right to be fearful about those hoodlums. Things will get better over the years and you will gain much strength.”
“Okay, here we are. I think there is some of ‘that tea’ in your kitchen cabinet, Cindy. Why don’t you fix everyone a cup or two when you get back to your house? I think Donna might want two cups for sure.”
The headlines in The Courant and the accompanying article the next morning shouted the fact that the gang that had been terrorizing neighborhoods, and had been responsible for a huge amount of drug trafficking, had turned themselves in to the local authorities. The author of the article speculated that they would be providing numerous names involved with a major crime syndicate headquartered in the Hartford and Boston areas.
The thugs had waived their legal rights to silence, in the presence of their appointed attorneys. There was a lot of speculation as to why they had turned themselves in; however, the local constabularies were happy they did.
Next: I’ve decided to post two chapters again. Many of you will be familiar with chapter 8, as it is “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” from a different perspective. We now have some additional information of what went on. Chapter 9 is the turning point in Part 1. Cindy is deeply and truly in love for the first time in her life. The storm in this chapter is very reminiscent of what I experienced in the Washington, DC area last week, although I wrote this chapter months ago.
Portia
Chapter 8: Friendships continue to be solidified. Cindy, Randi, Bobbie, Andy, and Derrick (Andy’s brother) go to the mall to see Santa. They find out why The Wizard had kept reminding them to go. This chapter has a bit of a different look at a story presented as a stand alone story (“Cynthia and the Christmas Gift”).
Chapter 9: Winter turns out to be rather nasty, but the friends make the best of it. Maddy has a plan, and brings in the neighborhood cats, both domestic and feral, to help her with its execution. Cindy has known for a while that she feels very strongly about Donna, but it takes the catalyst of a major early spring snowstorm to encourage Cindy to take the final steps. Strangely, Cindy’s mother knew all along.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, and “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth.” “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” is looked at from a slightly different perspective in this posting.
This story is a bit longer than the previous ones in this series. It is 13 chapters and 34,000 words long. The High School Years, Part 2 is partly written, but nowhere near ready to post. Chapter 10 will be posted alone soon.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
The winter had been particularly cold and a number of the lakes and ponds had frozen over, including the beaver pond below the house. The group went ice skating frequently; however, it was always on a manmade rink, whether indoors or outside. Cindy never would venture out on the ice of a frozen lake or pond.
Christmas was just around the corner and Cindy and Bobbie remembered The Wizard’s request that they take Randi to see Santa Claus. As far as Randi was concerned, Santa Claus was real, and who were they to argue. They knew there were many areas of magic that they had yet to explore.
Andy maneuvered his car around the huge piles of snow at the far reaches of the mall parking lot and felt fortunate to even found a place to park the car. Randi, and Derrick, Andy’s little brother, were excitedly bouncing up and down in their special seats in the rear of the car. Donna had stayed at home to help Mrs. Anderson prepare some care packages that their church was going to distribute at the local shelter.
The temperature was in the lower 20’s and there were a few flakes drifting down as the three teenagers and two kindergarteners headed for the warmer interior of the mall. Randi and Derrick had some shopping to do; however, the highlight of the day as far as they were concerned was going to be the visit to the department store Santa in Dillard’s.
The shopping scene was typical of the season. There were the harried clerks trying to complete as many sales as possible. There were pleasant shoppers and not so pleasant shoppers who thought their needs were more important than anyone else’s.
One little drama unfolded in front of them that brought back some memories that hadn’t surfaced in many years. A young mother was trying to corral a four year old, carry an infant in a sling, and shop at the same time. The four year old was probably shopped out and running on vapors. The mother was near to tears.
Cindy thought back to that day when she’d flung her arthritic body in the path of a retirement home van to knock a child of similar age out of its path. The body she had been in had been killed instantly, and Cindy, not yet Cindy, started her multidimensional journey with the spirit. This time, Cindy had no intention of throwing herself in front of a bus.
“Ma’am, we can watch your son for you while you finish your shopping, and we’ll help you take your things to your car.”
The harried mother never even thought to question the group about anything. Randi and Derrick entertained the little boy, who was maybe a year younger than they, while the three near adults watched closely.
After a while, Cindy looked up to see the young mother returning. “Jimmy, I want you to be very nice to your mother and do what she tells you. There will be no more running around and carrying on. This is a very tiring time, and your mother needs all the help she can get. Now, until you get in your car, you will stay right with me. Do you understand?”
Jimmy looked up, somewhat in awe of the near adult who was quietly talking to him. He didn’t really understand what was going on, but he knew he had to do exactly what the pretty lady was telling him.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you; little Samantha got hungry and I had to nurse her. It would have been impossible with him running around and screaming like he was. I would have ended up with two screaming children.
“All the shopping I had to do is done, but I have to go back to the gift wrapping counters and pick up the packages. Could you possibly help me get the packages to the car? I feel awful; I just didn’t plan this trip very well.”
“We will be glad to. I think the next time you do something like this it might be a good idea to get a baby sitter so at least you can leave Jimmy at home.”
How the woman thought she was going to get all her purchases and children in the car was beyond them. They helped her load the SUV, and she thanked them profusely for their help. “I should pay you something for your help.”
“That isn’t necessary, we were glad to help.”
“Here, take this and buy something nice.” The woman thrust some bills into Cindy’s hand. The children were secured, and she backed the car out of the slot, and made her way through the parking lot to her home, wherever it was.
“She doesn’t have a clue, does she?” Bobbie remarked. “Cindy, I have a feeling you were involved in this for a reason.”
“Yes, something like this happened a long time ago. I will tell you about it some day. Right now, we need to get in and see Santa before he closes up shop.” As they re-entered the mall, Cindy reached over and dropped the bills into the Salvation Army Bell Ringer’s bucket.
The line to see Santa was rather long, but as they neared Santa, Cindy started feeling something.
“Oh, look,” said Bobbie, “that’s the same Santa that was here when I was a little girl. I haven’t been up here to see Santa for ten years or more. I guess he did grant my wish, though.”
“Uh, Bobbie, do you sense anything? Andy, would you watch the two Munchkins for a minute? Bobbie and I have to make a phone call.”
“Sure.” Andy had a feeling they were calling The Wizard about something.
Cindy and Bobbie stepped out of the line and found a spot out of the way. “Did you feel anything? I’m sure it’s Santa, and the feeling was very strong.”
“I felt it just as you said something. He’s very sick. It’s his heart. He’s going to die very soon. What do you think we should do?”
“I think that’s why The Wizard wanted us to see Santa. He kept making a point of it every time we’ve seen him lately.” Cindy retrieved her cell phone and hit the automatic dial for The Wizard.
“Yes, Cindy, what do you think?” The Wizard responded immediately.
“I’ll let Bobbie tell you what she thinks; however, I don’t have any question about his inner gender. If you knew about him, why did we wait until now to do anything?”
“It’s all a matter of timing. He has no family, no relatives. It creates problems with the continuum if we have to make too many changes. We had to have a place to put him. Of course he might just die and we could hope that the next time there would be gender compatibility; however, some things have recently happened, and I think I’ve found an ideal place for her to be.
“Let me talk to Bobbie, for a second.”
Bobbie took the phone. “Yes, Your Wisdom?”
“Bobbie, what do you think his chances are? I want to see if what you read coincides with what I have here.”
“It’s his heart, along with a whole lot of other things, but it will be his heart that gets him. Several arteries are almost totally blocked. I think he will have a minor attack followed by a major one. My best guess is sometime around Christmas Eve. There isn’t anything that can be done, unless you want to repair things in the way you are able. Even if you could cure his heart problems, his diabetes and other things will eventually kill him. His quality of life is really going downhill.”
“I think your assessment is right on. Good work as usual, Bobbie. Let me talk to Cindy. Do you have much planned for the next week?”
“Not really, we’ve done most of our shopping. Here’s Cindy.”
Cindy took back her phone. “Yes, sir?”
“Cindy, you and Bobbie have jobs as Santa’s helpers until Christmas Eve. The store is expecting you to show up tomorrow. I will be up there in a little while to take a look. Meet me at the store entrance. Andy can watch Randi and Derrick for a few minutes.”
The girls returned to Andy who was just about ready to call for help. Derrick was first to sit on Santa’s lap. He was a bit nervous, but Santa put him at ease very quickly. There were several toys that he wanted, and he managed to tell Santa about a couple of them.
Randi, assured as usual, hopped on Santa’s lap. Her light blonde hair made a halo as it escaped from around the edges of her woolen cap. “Hi Santa, I just wanted to say hello. I have everything I want, but if you want to bring me anything, that’s okay. Right now, you need to get well so I can see you next year.”
“Well, thank you, sweetheart. Santa is getting a bit old, but I will get to rest after Christmas Eve.” She gave Santa a hug, hopped down, and ran back to her sister and friends.
The group sat down outside the entrance to Dillard’s and waited for The Wizard to show up. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before an elderly blind man with a guide dog (make that guide wolf) showed up.
“Excuse me, could someone help an old man? I get so confused in this mall, and I’m afraid my dog isn’t much help.”
“Thanks a lot,” Wolf muttered. The others were a bit surprised because they couldn’t recall ever having heard the wolf say anything before.
“Well, you’ve just blown your cover, now everyone will want to talk to you.
“Hi, Mr. Wizard, are you going shopping?” Randi wasn’t fooled a bit.
“Actually, Cindy, Bobbie and I are going to see Santa for a minute. You need to wait here with Andy.”
Derrick seemed oblivious to the conversation, and the girls were sure that The Wizard had put a zone of silence around them.
The two grown up girls escorted the elderly man through the store to Santa’s workshop. They stood to one side as he assessed the situation.
“Yes, it is exactly as you said. These things are much more accurate in person than reading them through a crystal ball. I want you to watch him closely. Everything should come together late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve.”
Things worked exactly as he said it would right up to that afternoon before Christmas. Bobbie kept a close monitor on the condition of Santa, his name was Virgil Stankowski, and reported to The Wizard about every half hour. Cindy and Bobbie watched as a mother and dad with their son approached Santa during the mid afternoon. The boy had to be about ten, which was at the upper limit for visitors to Santa.
“Well, young man, what’s your name and what do you want for Christmas?” he said, thinking all the time that the boy was much too old to be sitting on his lap.
The boy spoke softly as if he didn’t want his parents, who were standing a few feet away, to hear him. “I’m Barry, and I don’t want anything for me. It’s just that Mom and Dad are so sad, and I wanted to get them something to make them a bit happier.”
“That’s very nice of you. What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know, and that’s why I’m here. I need some help. You see, my little sister died last month. She got the swine flu. I got it, too, but it wasn’t too bad. All mom does is cry at night, and dad is so sad. I guess I am, too.”
Virgil didn’t know what to say. “Barry, I’m not sure there is anything I can do. I would sure like to.” Then he said something, and he wasn’t certain why he did. “Why don’t you and your parents come back after a while? Maybe I can come up with something.”
“Thank you, Santa. I know you’re not really Santa, but I thought you might have some connections.” He slid off of Santa’s lap and rejoined his parents, who gave Virgil a sad little smile as they turned to go to somewhere else. As they were making their way towards the store exit, an older man bumped into the mother. He apologized profusely before wobbling down the aisle.
“I think he may have had some Christmas cheer a bit early,” she remarked. She noticed that the clasp on her purse was open, and made a quick check of the contents. Everything was there.”
Bobbie’s phone rang shortly after that. “Everything is ready,” advised The Wizard. “There is a portal in the dressing area which leads directly to the rear of the shop. Just bring him through. It’s time.”
Virgil noticed that the elves had put up the barrier and a sign saying Santa would be back in 15 minutes. He could use the break. His arm ached from holding the children and he was becoming short of breath. He realized that Cindy and Bobbie were holding his arms as he hobbled to the break area. It was really strange, though, because when he sat down he realized he was not in the usual place. In fact, he was sure he had never been in this place before. It had to be in the back of one of the connecting stores.
“Where is this? I don’t think this is part of Dillard’s.”
“No it’s not, Virgil. You are in the back of my shop.”
Virgil looked up to see a gangly man dressed in what appeared to be a tatty robe decorated with stars and crescents. He was wearing wire-rimmed glasses, and he had a rather scraggly beard. A large dog next to him was wearing a guide dog harness. The man looked familiar to him and it took a few seconds for him to realize that this was the elderly blind man he had seen with Bobbie and Cindy the week before; except he wasn’t blind.
“What’s going on? I don’t feel very well.”
“You are having a heart attack. It’s a mild one at the moment, but tonight you will have a severe one, and it will be fatal,” Bobbie said rather sadly.
“How do you know that? You are only a sixteen year old girl. You’re not a doctor.”
“No, I’m not. I am a witch, and Cindy’s a witch; and His Wisdom is a very powerful wizard. We know some things about you and want to help you, if you will let us, before it is too late.”
“First of all, we know something that only your late wife knew about you,” Cindy had entered the conversation.
“What would that be?”
“That you have always felt that you were a girl. I sensed that last week when we were in line with my little sister and Bobbie’s boyfriend and his little brother. That’s one of my powers. Bobbie’s power is that she can sense what’s physically wrong with someone who is like you are.”
“That’s the silliest thing I have ever heard,” Virgil said, his voice expressing his exhaustion. “Have you been spying on me? Did you break into my house and look in my computer?” He slumped, too tired to care anymore. “Since you know what you know, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. What do you want — money? I can assure you I have none.”
“No, the only thing we want is for you to trust us. You deserve a better fate than to die in your home on Christmas Eve without a family at your side. You lost the only family you ever had when your wife died, and now we want to give you a chance to have the family you never had.”
Virgil realized that the diagnosis of his having a heart attack was probably correct. There was pain in the collar bone area of his left shoulder and it was radiating down his left arm. He was beginning to feel slightly nauseated and a bit cold and clammy.
“I think you need to call an ambulance.”
“That won’t be necessary if you let us help you.”
“I mean, what are you going to do? You aren’t doctors. You already told me that. And, this magic stuff you are spouting is ridiculous.”
“You don’t have to believe any of this,” Cindy said a bit too strongly, “but seven years ago I was a thirty-five year old man and Bobbie was a nine year old boy. His Wisdom helped both of us become the girls you see.
“Your Wisdom, we don’t have much time. Show him something.”
“How about this?” He started morphing as Virgil watched. His clothing changed from a tattered robe into an ermine decorated, red Santa Claus suit. The Wizard lost a few inches and gained a few pounds. In a matter of a few seconds there was a very acceptable image of a Santa Claus standing before them.
“Ho, ho, ho,” he rasped in a rather high tenor. “That won’t do at all.” He stretched and rotated his neck a bit. “Ho, ho, ho,” he said in a much more pleasant and lower voice. “That’s much better.
“What do you think, Virgil? Will I pass?”
“I think you will. That was amazing. That still doesn’t mean you can do anything for me.”
“Here, take these aspirin. They’ll help for now.” The Wizard handed him two 325 mg tablets and a glass of water. “We already know that you are a girl inside. Why don’t you let me fix that while I can? I can only do it while you are alive. I can fix your heart, if you want, and you could live a few more years with bad knees, a bad hip, diabetes, and emphysema. However, there is something you could do that will make a family whole again. You can grow up as the girl you know you are, and when you reach a certain point a few years from now you will remember what you want to about your previous life and what happened. If you feel up to it, you could give me an endorsement. I can always use good publicity.
“What do you say? Would you be willing to try it? I think you will find it exceeds all your expectations.”
“You know, I have nothing to lose. If you can’t do this, there’s always the heart attack and dying. Go for it.”
“It’s already done, Ginny. How old are you?”
“I’m five, Mr. Wizard” she looked down at her warm woolen outfit and little inclement weather boots. “I’m really five, aren’t I? I want my Mommy.”
“She will be here in a moment. So will your father and brother. You shouldn’t wander away like that. You stick with them from now on.”
The bell at the front door tinkled. “What a strange little shop. I thought this was a Hallmark Shop.
“Ginny, are you back there?” her mother called.
“I’m back here, Mommy. These nice people gave me some hot chocolate. I got losted.”
“Young lady, am I going to have to put a leash on you?”
Barry followed by his parents came through the beaded curtain to the rear of the shop.
“Thank you so much for looking after our little girl. She does this all the time. She’s there one moment, and then she’s gone. The folks next door said they thought they saw her come in here.
“Ginny, there’s a Santa Claus next door in Dillard’s. Do you want to see him?”
“Mommy, is that the same Santa we saw at Penny’s last week?”
“No, this is a different Santa. Remember what we said about Santa having helpers? He can’t be in all these places without helpers.” Ginny’s mom looked up and smiled at The Wizard, who was now in his familiar attire. “Thank you again. I guess we are going to go see another Santa.”
The family turned and left the shop to the sound of the little bell. Cindy and Bobbie burst into tears and cried on each others’ shoulder while The Wizard pulled a linen hanky out of his previously non-existent pocket and dabbed at his eyes. The wolf wagged his tail.
“Oh, my God, we have to get back to the store. The break’s over,” shouted Bobbie. “Wait, there’s no Santa. What are we going to do?”
“That’s not a problem at all.” They turned to see The Wizard as he had been before. The only difference was that he was wearing dark glasses and the wolf was once again in his guide dog harness. “We have a few minutes: are there any questions?”
“Your Wisdom, that was the fastest transformation I never saw,” exclaimed Cindy. “I mean, it was instantaneous.”
“Actually, it took 43 nanoseconds. I extracted her DNA from some hair that was in her mother’s purse, so I didn’t have to be too creative. I did boost her immunity factor a bit, so the flu thing shouldn’t happen again. Fix your makeup. We have a couple of hours before the store closes.
Cindy and Bobbie felt it was one of the best Christmases ever. For that matter, The Wizard was pretty proud of how well things had gone, too. Try as they may, no one could coax the wolf to say anything. He might some day; however, he just didn’t feel he had much to say.
After the Christmas break, Randi went back to kindergarten with her friends. She got home at her usual time and told her mother, who was working on the company’s books, that she was going to work on her computer. She bounded up the stairs and found Maddy, Chloe, and Silky engrossed in a conversation with The Wizard. The kittens weren’t very magical yet; they were just able to ‘push’ some light objects; however, Maddy felt they were coming along quite well.
The Wizard looked past the cats as Randi entered the room. “Hi, Randi, how was it getting back to school after that long break?”
“It was neat. Ginny was there; I suppose you knew that. Nobody remembers that she died. She’s a little confused sometimes, she doesn’t remember some things, but she is very happy. I missed her a lot. I’m glad she’s back, even if she’s not the same Ginny.
Winter lingered to the point of being tiresome. But finally the massive piles of snow accumulated by the snow removal equipment started melting in earnest. The acres of soil exposed to the warming sun were sooty and muddy, and the oily water in the parking lots and along the highways left a dingy coat on everything. Then a couple of warmer rains cleaned things up a bit as the crocuses opened up on their short stems.
The golf courses were finally playable and Bobbie and Andy could extend their golf practice to the fairways. Their friendship and romance was solidifying, and most had written them off to be together for the rest of their lives.
A romance blossomed in Cindy’s life as well, but not where she expected it. She dated infrequently, and as had Bobbie, received her driver’s license. As she neared her seventeenth birthday, her beauty continued to grow. She was the object of desire of many of the most popular boys on campus. The trouble was they were boys in her mind and in fact.
Bobbie had her boyfriend in Andy, and he truly adored her. No longer restricted to double dating, they were often alone together. Bobbie was on the pill; however, she maintained that she and Andy had not done ‘the deed’ yet, though they’d had, according to her, some pretty intense make out sessions. Andy wasn’t talking.
The thing that bothered Cindy about dating was that it always seemed to boil down to sex. To every boy in high school, she was a goal. Unquestionably, she and Bobbie were probably among the ten most beautiful young women in the school. Probably half of those ten were no longer virgins. Neither Cindy nor Bobbie was a member of that half. Cindy’s solution was simple, if a boy became too aggressive or amorous, she would let him have his orgasm — in his pants. That usually cooled his ardor on the spot.
Cindy had another problem, and that was her feelings about Donna Brewer; feelings she felt were reciprocated. She was confused about them. When asked years later, she wouldn’t say exactly when it happened, although she was pretty sure when it had.
Donna was a bit of an enigma. On the surface, she was tough. There was a bit of bravado about her, especially when she scored a goal, or finished well in a cross country race. Beneath that bravado was a fragile shell that she did her best to protect. Below that, there was another layer and that was her spirit. In spite of losing her brother and parents, and having had to kill her mother’s murderer, she had survived. She was bruised, but the bruises were slowly healing.
She had made few friends beyond the circle that Cindy and Bobbie belonged. A few boys had asked her out; however, she refused. It was widely assumed that she was a lesbian or asexual. No one in the school but Cindy, Bobbie and Andy knew about her having been raped and killing her mother’s murderer. By the spring semester of their junior year, many assumed that Cindy was probably a lesbian, too. Cindy wasn’t sure.
Cindy knew better than to question The Wizard about things. He had a huge picture of events to assimilate and manipulate, and the little bit occupied by Cindy and her friends couldn’t really be that important. Still, she often wondered why His Wisdom had been so free with letting Andy and Donna in on the magical activities going on with the Lewis and Schmedlap families. She knew there had to be many anti-disclosure controls in place; however, Donna and Andy never came close to even slipping up about the fact that there were three young witches living in the local community. There were a number of times that the group sat around Cindy’s computer as a conference on some matter magical, or maybe a little lesson in magic was going on.
By early spring, Chloe and Silky’s ability to talk was improving daily. Maddy would take them out to the nearby fields and teach them things that all cats were hard wired to do. She imposed strict rules, and as far as the girls knew, they were never violated. Non-native species of vermin were the main objects of their hunting. They knew their efforts would probably have little effect on the starling population, and they felt no guilt about exercising their hunting skills on the flocks that descended into the copse down by the creek. The non-native rodent population was something else. The rats were large, intelligent, and nasty. They had pushed the native, less aggressive species into the shadows.
Maddy had an idea, and she with the two half grown kittens in tow, made the rounds of the neighborhood. She held nocturnal meetings with the feral cats, and those domestic cats who were allowed out, and organized them into an anti-rat battalion.
The cats were in awe of her ability to communicate with the humans as well as with the cats, and dogs. The non-feral cats allowed themselves to be fed and pampered by their human associates, but often held them in a bit of disdain for their inability to understand anything but the most rudimentary things about the cat language. Housecats, Felis domesticus, traced their ancestry back to the cats of North Africa and the European Wild Cat, and they were proud of that ancestry.
Even though domestic cats formed loose communities centered around the females, and their human families, they were solitary hunters. Maddy had been watching a show on Nature, the PBS program, about her distant relatives, the African Lion. The males, in her opinion, were chauvinist slugs, who would kill the cubs that were not theirs. The toms would do the same thing to domestic cat kittens if given the chance. What she saw that really interested her was the way the lions did cooperative hunting. The lionesses would separate their intended prey from a herd and drive it toward another lioness lying in ambush. She was amazed at how well it worked.
“So you want us to work together to catch and kill these rats?” said a scruffy tom who had lived in the area for several years. He didn’t think much of humans, as he had been abused, then abandoned. “So, what’s in it for us?”
“I’ll see that there is food put out for you if you want it, and I will get rid of all your fleas, ticks, and other parasites.”
“Sure you will, and you will let me mate with you as often as I want. Right … !”
Maddy scowled mentally at the disbeliever.
“What did you just do? My tummy got all warm and my skin feels funny.”
“You will feel a little digestion discomfort for the next day or so. I just killed all your intestinal parasites. You need to stop eating those dead possums. I also killed all the fleas and ticks on you. They’ll be dropping off shortly.
“I’ll do the same for all of you. I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything for the leukemia a couple of you have. That’s beyond my abilities; however, there are some nice homes around here that don’t have cats, and they might take you in if you let them. They can get you the medical attention you need, and you might have a few comfortable years. It will certainly be a lot better than how you are living now.” She didn’t mention the neutering and spaying; however, she knew that that would result in one less burden for them.
The rat battalion worked well, perhaps too well. Several people observed cats working in what appeared to be in cooperation, and one aspiring animal behaviorist wrote her Masters Degree thesis about the cooperative hunting. In ten years, the phenomenon was being observed in New York City.
Cindy’s parents were out of town for a weekend conference in Miami. They were combining business with pleasure in Miami, and Cindy was the baby sitter. Stan, Jr. was walking, babbling, and getting into everything; however, Cindy enjoyed the domestic duties of taking care of an infant, now toddler. Often times she would let her mind wander a bit, thinking about her own babies that she desired very much to have. She imagined them nursing at her breast, and she thought about the attentions of a loving husband. She didn’t have much trouble imagining the babies; however, the imagined husband was always a blank. Try as she might, she could never bring up a picture of how he looked, much less how he would act. It was just emptiness.
The weather had taken a turn for the worse, and Saturday began to get ugly. There was talk about a late winter/early spring nor’easter forming. Andy, Bobbie, and Donna had spent the late afternoon and evening with Cindy while she was taking care of the children. Tom didn’t need any watching, and he had gone off to play video games with some friends up the street.
They had just finished watching a video, when Tom came stomping in through the service entrance. “Hey, guys, it’s really starting to snow out there. The temperature on the garage thermometer is 25 degrees. I’m going to bed.”
“Randi, it’s probably time for you to hit the sack, too. Maybe we can get some good sledding in tomorrow,” Cindy shooed her little sister up the stairs.
They looked out and confirmed what Tom had said. It was snowing hard and the driving snow was almost horizontal in the wind. Some of the early sprouting plants were definitely going to be nipped in the bud.
“I think I’ll take Bobbie home,” Andy said. “Donna, you might want to leave too.”
“Yeah, I’ll be right along. I’ll help Cindy clean up, and I’ll be right behind you.”
The phone rang five minutes later. It was Andy. “Guys, I almost didn’t make it down your driveway. I couldn’t even start to get up Bobbie’s. She made it up to the house okay. It’s snowing harder than ever.
“Donna, you don’t need to be out in this shit. I’m on the main road now and we are just creeping along.”
“Andy, Donna can stay here for the night. You’re right, there’s no reason to be out there. We’ll just wait until they get the roads cleared.”
They spent the next fifteen minutes cleaning things up before they went upstairs.
“Here’s a nightie for you. Take a shower if you feel like it. I’m going to check on Randi and Stan.”
The phone rang while Donna was in the shower. “Cindy, I’m almost home. There are wrecks everywhere and they are getting ready to shut down some of the roads. At least I don’t have to climb a hill to get to the house. I’ll call back if I have any problems.”
“Okay, we’ll see you as soon as they get things cleared off. Talk to you later.”
Donna had just dried off and was heading for Cindy’s queen sized bed. There had never been any question that she would not be in the same bed with Cindy. Cindy showered and dried off in front of the fogged mirror. For some reason she was shaking in anticipation of something she was not sure she understood. Then she smiled to herself. She took a bottle of her favorite cologne and dabbed a couple of drops in strategic places. Returning to the bedroom, she turned off the lights and slid under the down filled duvet.
“Mmmmmm, you smell nice,” Donna said sleepily.
“So do you, my love.”
Donna froze; then turned slowly to face Cindy. “I didn’t know for sure. I thought I knew, but I was afraid to say anything.”
“Shhhh,” Cindy said, gently touching Donna’s lips with her index finger. Then she leaned forward and gently kissed the lips she had kissed the previous October. Donna’s response was immediate. Cindy gently pulled Donna’s nightie over her head and lost hers quickly afterwards.
“Now, where was I?” Soon their tongues were gently dueling. Their nipples were like hot daggers pressing into each others breasts. The feeling of their breasts pressing into each other was something wonderfully unexpected. Cindy could resist no longer. She let her lips trail down to the base of Donna’s throat, and then on to her breasts, those gravity defying cones she had fallen in love with the previous year. She drew a hard nipple into her mouth and teased the point with her tongue.
“Ohmygod,” Donna gasped as she gently pressed Cindy’s head into her chest. Cindy continued her journey across Donna’s hard belly to her sparsely furred mound. She was playing things by ear, having never ventured this way before. In the back of her mind was one thing. Donna had been brutally raped, and now was the time to make her forget that. She wanted Donna to feel truly loved both spiritually and physically.
“No, not there, you can’t. That’s….”
“Shhhhsh, just relax and let me make you feel good.” Donna tried to push Cindy away, but there wasn’t much resolve in the motion. Cindy gently paid homage to Donna’s pretty folds. She found the right spot and gently teased her. For a while Donna lay still, then Cindy’s ministrations began to elicit a response. She could feel the muscles in Donna’s belly start to twitch and contract. Her hips started to thrust upward meeting Cindy’s gentle probing. Suddenly, she started vibrating and little moans escaped her clenched jaws. It hit Donna very hard. She barely had time to pull a pillow onto her face to stifle her screams. Finally the spasms ceased; then the sobs began.
Cindy cradled Donna to her breasts, gently rocking her back and forth. “It’s okay, my love, it’s okay. I will be here for you forever. I will never let anyone hurt you.”
Donna’s sobs gradually subsided. “I thought I was the strong one,” she sniffed. “I was going to be big, strong and macho for you, and then you went and did this. God, I love you so much. It’s not right. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
“I know; but it is. Mom asked me a number of years ago how I felt about men, and how I felt about women. I told her that what was important was the person, what was inside. You are that person. We’ll worry about the details later.”
“I don’t understand. You are always talking about finding the man of your dreams: someone to be the father of your children.”
“Well, I guess plans change. I realized something a while ago: you are important in my life in a way no one else is. Yes, Bobbie is my best friend, but we will never be lovers. I think she knows that. She and Andy are the real thing, and I could never come between them.
“What am I going to do about you? I have a strong feeling that you are already accepted by everyone around here. I don’t think there’s a thing you have to worry about. But are you okay with this? I think I did okay for my first time ever making love to anyone, but for me it was very important that I did it.”
“I have no complaints, but one. This will never be a one sided relationship, and I think I am one up on you. Cindy, do you realize how incredibly beautiful you are; inside and outside?
“These lips for instance: they are so soft and pouty.”
“Ummmm ….”
“And these breasts; I’ve never seen any more perfect. I mean, look how these beautiful nipples pucker when I do this. They look like little strawberries, and they are just as sweet.”
“Yesss, oh yes. Please do the other one, too. God, you’re making my toes curl.”
“And this delightful little innie navel; my tongue fits in there just like this.”
“(Giggle), that tickles so good.”
“This golden forest is just waiting for me to pass through it. And, look what it leads to. This is so sweet, just like an orchid, dew covered and opening to the sun. I may linger here for a while.”
“Please do.”
The record March snow continued well into the next day. In the little upland area where Cindy lived there was close to 30 inches on the ground and the wind was still howling when Cindy woke up. Donna was snuggled up to her, breast to breast and it was a very comfortable feeling. Donna’s eye’s opened, and a smile spread across her face. “I wasn’t dreaming, was I?”
“Only if we are having the same dream.
“I need to check on Stan. He probably needs changing. I promised to make pancakes for them this morning, so I’d better get up.”
Cindy walked to the window, pulled back the curtains, and opened the blinds. It looked like an arctic scene. It was still snowing at a moderate clip. As far as she could see, it was a winter wonderland. There wasn’t a sign of any human activity, other than clouds of condensing moisture coming rising from the vents on the roofs of the other houses.
“I’ll get you a toothbrush. I have a feeling we may be here for a while.”
Maddy jumped up on the bathroom counter while Cindy brushed her teeth. “I thought it best to leave you two alone for a while. I apologize for Chloe and Silky. They were curious about what was going on. I sent Chloe home, and Silky and I stayed with Randi.
“I think what you and Donna were doing was nice. Am I right?”
“It was very nice, Maddy.”
“That’s what I told Silky and Chloe. I told them that adult humans do things like that. When they are older, I will tell them more.”
“Oh, Maddy, I forgot about you. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“You didn’t hurt my feelings. You need to do human things, just like I need to do cat things. I like Donna very much. She is right for you.”
Cindy changed Stan Jr.’s nighttime pull-ups and put on his daytime underwear. Stan Jr. wasn’t totally potty trained yet; however, he was beginning to get a pretty good idea what it was all about. Randi was still sleeping, and Cindy decided to let her sleep for a while. Tom was already up and downstairs playing a video game on the big screen.
Things had changed over the years. Cindy used to love the smell of coffee, but hated the taste. Now coffee was a regular thing for her. She doled out the correct number of spoonfuls of grounds into the filter and started the coffee maker on its way. The smell of brewing coffee gradually made its way through the house.
Tom was on his third helping of pancakes when Bobbie showed up at the back door. “Well, I put the clubs away, and got my skis out. It is beautiful out there. Any more pancakes? I wish Randi would make that door bigger so I didn’t have to go through all that snow.
Cindy served up a stack of four, and Bobbie smothered it in butter and maple syrup. She made quick work of them. She kept giggling to herself the whole time.
Bobbie was helping Cindy put the dishes in the, and they were alone together for the first time that morning. “So, you two did it last night. I am so happy for you.”
Cindy’s face felt as if it were on fire. She couldn’t not look at her best friend, but she was at a bit of a loss at what to say. “Er, well, uh….”
Bobbie grabbed her in a bear hug and then kissed her on the lips. “Don’t worry about it. You two are so right for each other.”
Cindy’s parents called later in the morning. All flights into the area had been canceled, and it would be at least two days before they could get back. Schools had already been canceled for the next day, so Cindy was stuck with babysitting for another day.
“Mom, Donna spent the night. It wasn’t safe for her to drive home.”
“Is everything okay?”
“I think everything is wonderful.”
“Do you want to talk about it when we get back?”
“If you want to: it just seems so right. I think Donna needs me, and I think I need her.”
“Well, we were wondering when you were going to figure it out. Just don’t be too flagrant in front of the kids, at least, not yet. Give Donna our love.”
Next: Cindy and Donna’s romance solidifies much to the disappointment of some of their schoolmates who are no longer in the picture; however, the romance is quite easily accepted by the Lewis, Schmedlap, and Anderson families. Myrna realizes Cindy may be responsible for the changes in Dave Growell and his growing affection for her sister. Cindy and Bobbie decide to give Myrna a gift. Myrna undergoes a transformation much to her liking.
Portia
Chapter 10: Cindy and Donna’s love for each other is stronger and stronger, and out in the open. There are some disappointed boys. Bobbie’s golf skills are remarkable and she wins her Country Club’s match play and stroke play championships — against the men! Myrna confronts Cindy about what happened to her sister and Dave Growell. Cindy realizes that Myrna needs to know about her and Bobbie’s powers. They give Myrna a special gift purchased at the SRU Shop.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, and “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth.” “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” is looked at from a slightly different perspective in this story.
This story is a bit longer than the previous ones in this series. It is 13 chapters and 34,000 words long. The High School Years, Part 2 is partly written, but nowhere near ready to post. Chapter 11 will be posted alone in a few days.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 10
Spring finally set in for real and Cindy and Donna’s relationship blossomed. There was some talk at school about the fact that what had been suspected as a lesbian relationship had been confirmed. A number of boys were greatly disappointed and it wasn’t that any of them had any love for either of the two. It was just that two pretty girls were off the potential conquest list. There were some of the usual remarks behind their backs; however, they weren’t the only ‘couple’ on campus. In reality, it was a pretty liberal place. Most got over it very soon, and the level of acceptance was gratifying.
The Andersons had no problems with the relationship either. They knew Donna was fragile behind the veneer of toughness, and that the relationship with Cindy was a good thing for her. They had been seeking to obtain legal guardianship of her, as she was still only 17, and they wanted to make the family an official thing for her. To say Donna was happy about their acceptance was an understatement.
Donna’s ability on the soccer field was garnering notice from several universities. The fact she was an outstanding distance runner was also creating a scholarship buzz. Cindy continued to work out in the pool, and she actually won a race. Bobbie’s progress on the golf course was amazing. She won her country club’s match play tournament competing against the men. There had been a hue and cry among the members that a teenage girl had no business competing against men, several of whom were pretty solid amateur golfers. The club pro put all his cards on the table.
“What are you afraid of? We are fortunate to have probably the finest woman golfer in the northeast as a member of this club. I think she will be going pro very soon. Think of what it will do for this club to have her associated with us over the years. She will bring in new members and a lot of good publicity. I know what your problem is. You’re a bunch of damn cowards.
“There isn’t one of you she hasn’t shellacked out there. Hell, she beat me on one of my good days. I think it’s time that everyone around here grew up. There are several other clubs in the area that would gladly have her family’s membership just to get that feather in their cap.”
She was allowed to enter, and it came down to the last hole when she chipped in for a birdie and closed her opponent out. Several of the diehards claimed that it was just a matter of luck and that her opponents choked. They changed their tune when she won the stroke play championship two months later.
As they approached the end of the school year, Cindy couldn’t be happier; however, she felt something was going on, and she couldn’t put her finger on it. Sometimes, Bobbie and Donna would go off by themselves and discuss something. Whatever it was that they were talking about, they would stop as soon as Cindy approached. Cindy didn’t like to snoop, and she felt that if she needed to know, they would tell her.
Cindy, Bobbie, and Randi’s lessons continued, and Randi continued to amaze everyone with her prowess. Her self-control was better than it had been, and she began consulting with Cindy or The Wizard before attempting to do anything unusual.
Some people are smarter than others, and some people have some pretty good reasoning powers. Myrna Breckenridge was one of them.
“Cindy, may we talk in private?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“What did you do to my sister and Dave Growell? I mean, she sort of had a crush on him, but at the same time thought he was a bit of a jerk. I mean, he’s real good looking, but hell; he wouldn’t give my sister the time of day. He kept calling her ‘Flatty Patty’. That hurt her a lot. Damn, she’s smart and real nice.
“I remember that day I saw you talking to Dave. He was always bragging that he was going to fuck you. I couldn’t hear what you said to him, but I guess you put him in his place. Then the strangest thing happened. He apologized to my sister for everything he had said, and asked her to help him with his English and some other classes. She didn’t want to, but he insisted. Somehow he found out when her birthday was and he sent her some roses. She was a lost cause after that.
“As you know, they started meeting in the library. He asked her out, but she refused. She said she wouldn’t go out with him unless his grades improved. They did and she did. He came over to my house and talked to Mom and Sharon. I never saw anything like it. Then there was the strangest thing. He said he loved Patty and wanted to be with her. He almost cried. Mom and Sharon went to the kitchen to fix some lemonade or something. He sat there and shook his head. He said, ‘She told me I couldn’t say it unless I meant it. I mean it, I really mean it.’
“I think he was talking about you. I think you did something to him that day. I mean, it’s all good. He loves her, and she loves him, and they’re screwing like minks. They’ll probably get married before they graduate college.
“I saw you break up that knife fight behind the cafeteria. You told them to stop, and they did. You told them to get out of the gangs, and they did. They haven’t missed a day of school since then, and are actually doing well enough to go to college.
“What are you, a witch, or some sort of hypnotist?”
“That would be the former. I guess I’m going to have to be a bit more careful.”
“You can’t be serious: a witch? That’s wild. My mom and Sharon are always saying that there are probably some covens around here.”
“Myrna, you won’t ever be able to tell anyone what I told you; however, since you figured out as much as you did, I don’t think there will be any problem letting you know some more. Come on over to the house after School. Bobbie will be there, too.”
“So, Bobbie’s a witch, too?” she said somewhat sarcastically.
“Well, yes, and so’s my little sister.”
Myrna showed up about ten minutes after Cindy got home. Bobbie had gone to her house first. She showed up at Cindy’s shortly afterwards. “You’re really going to show her?” Bobbie asked.
“I might as well. Myrna’s been a good friend, and I think it would be better if she knew the truth than to have to form an opinion based on half truths and bad guesses. Besides, I think the regular rules will apply.”
They proceeded to Cindy’s bedroom and her computer desk. “Your Wisdom, do you have a moment?”
The screen flickered on, and The Wizard could be seen rummaging around in the back of his shop. “Sure, Cindy, I’ll be right with you.” He fiddled around some more before coming to the screen.
“Well, hello everyone; hi Myrna, so Cindy’s decided to tell you a little bit about her. Well this is my shop. I’m in Cleveland at the moment, but will be going to Auckland, New Zealand in a few minutes.”
“Excuse me, but how do you know who I am? I don’t think we’ve ever met before.”
“Well if Cindy hasn’t explained it to you, I’m a Wizard, and it’s my job to know these things. By the way, how’re your mom and Sharon? Sharon’s a good person.
“What did you have in mind, Cindy? As if I didn’t know, but you may tell me anyway?”
“Well, Myrna’s been a real good friend, and she’s done some nice things for some people. I thought maybe you could do something for her: something nice, maybe a bit of lingerie. Call it pro bono, or just put it on my account. Keep it simple. I don’t think we need any side effects, not like what almost happened to Mom.”
“I think I have just the thing. I’ll send it over FedEx. I have to go now. I have to take care of some rowdies. They never learn. I’ll talk to you later.
“Myrna, it was nice to talk to you. Enjoy.” The screen went dark.
Bobbie was looking out the window. “FedEx truck’s coming up the drive way.”
Two minutes later Randi rushed in. “Here’s a package for Myrna. It’s from The Wizard. Can I watch?”
“Probably not a good idea: We’ll ask you what you think afterwards. Why don’t you let us big girls have a little privacy.”
“Okay, I hope you like your gift, Myrna.” Randi closed the door behind her.
“What sort of joke is this? I mean you have some sort of closed circuit TV with an Albus Dumbledore look alike, and he says he’s sending a package FedEx, and it gets here three minutes later? I mean, what is this?”
“Why don’t you open your package and see.”
The box had a pull tab on it, and it opened quickly. There was some bubble wrap, and inside the bubble wrap were two small tissue wrapped objects. There was also a note: “Dear Myrna, I hope you are pleased. Because these are undergarments, they cannot be returned. Your friend, The Wizard.”
Myrna slowly unwrapped the two articles. She was shaking her head in disbelief. “Well, these are lovely; however, your wizard certainly got these sizes wrong. I’m going to be lost in these panties. I’ve no ass at all. This bra is ridiculous. I mean, he got the band right. I am a 34, but a ‘D’? I have to pad to fill out an ‘A’.
“Myrna, did you ever wish that your figure might be a little fuller?”
“Well, I used to, but the boob fairy used up all his magic on you and Bobbie. I’ve thought about getting implants some day, but most implants don’t look very good, and I don’t think I can afford the best.”
“Did you really want to be a ‘D’? These aren’t returnable.”
“Yeah, I kinda did, but with this bean pole figure, it wouldn’t look right.”
“Why don’t you try them on? I think you might be pleasantly surprised.”
“Guys, you’re gonna laugh at me. These panties will probably slide right off, and I will be lost in this bra. Okay, but this is ridiculous.”
Myrna removed her clothes, placing them on the edge of the bed. She unhooked her bra, and stepped out of her panties. She put on the nicely cut panties, and then put on the bra. She had adjusted the shoulder straps a bit before she had donned it. Then she reached around behind her and deftly hooked the band.
“See? I look like a scarecrow. This is silly, I mean, I mean ... Shit, ... what’s happening?”
“Just relax, Myrna,” Cindy said as she positioned Myrna in front of the mirror. “The Wizard sometimes likes these things to happen slowly. Let’s just watch.”
Watch they did. Myrna’s bottom and thighs slowly filled out, and her waist to thighs ratio became very pleasing. Then the magic in the bra started doing its thing. Myrna watched, and tears formed in the corners of her eyes.
“What am I going to tell my mom, much less my sister? What’s Avery going to say? He loves to suck on my nipples and now there is all this boob behind them, and there’s more. My God, I have a figure!”
“Myrna, only a few people will know what happened.”
But Myrna apparently wasn’t listening. “I mean, I can’t get into any of my clothes. I’d better take these off right now.” She did, and stood looking at her reflection. She had a beautiful figure. Maybe it was just a bit top heavy. Without the bra, her breasts sagged slightly, but they were beautifully placed and contoured. The Wizard was never one to leave a project undone. She had definitely put on a little weight. Her arms were fuller and her shoulders might have been just a bit wider. She had a pert bottom, and there were lovely dimples above her buttocks.
“I didn’t change back. What am I going to do? I can’t go naked.”
“Myrna, put your old clothes back on. Everything will fit,” Bobbie said as she handed Myrna her old bra and panties. They fit perfectly, as did the rest of her clothes. “All of your clothing at home has changed to fit you. Only a few people will know what happened. To almost everyone, you will just be the slightly voluptuous young woman you’ve always been.
“I hope you are happy with the changes: as The Wizard said, there are no returns or exchanges. Consider this our gift to you for being such a good friend.”
“Boy, this is going to take some getting used to. These girls,” she lifted her breasts, “are pretty perky, considering their size. Wow! I have a bod.”
They talked for a while, and Myrna cycled a while between giggles and sobs of gratitude. Finally, she had to leave. She was still apprehensive about her changes, and Randi didn’t help when she exclaimed, “Wow, you got boobs. I’m going to have boobs some day. I hope they are as pretty as yours.”
They headed through the kitchen to the driveway. Marissa was working on dinner, and she looked up as the girls passed through. “You look very nice, dear.”
Next: Bobbie’s golf skills garner national attention, some of it not what she really wanted when a picture of her and Cindy dressed in revealing bikinis surfaces. Bobbie is invited to compete in a women’s professional tournament as an amateur, and after a slow start, does very well. Cindy and Donna go to a summer camp for athletes so they may refine their skills. Cindy is just glad to be with Donna, as Donna is glad to be with her. Cindy realizes there is something bothering Donna; however, she respects Donna’s privacy and doesn’t ask what it is. Then Donna disappears, never to be seen again. Needless to say, Cindy is nearly destroyed with grief as she finds out Donna no longer exists in their universe. The whole thing reeks of magic gone wrong, and The Wizard admits her existence has been terminated. He doesn’t seem to be too concerned.
Portia
Chapter 11: Bobbie’s golf skills garner national attention, some of it not what she really wanted when a picture of her and Cindy dressed in revealing bikinis surfaces. Bobbie is invited to compete in a women’s professional tournament as an amateur, and after a slow start, does very well. Cindy and Donna go to a summer camp for athletes so they may refine their skills. Cindy is just glad to be with Donna, as Donna is glad to be with her. Cindy realizes there is something bothering Donna; however, she respects Donna’s privacy and doesn’t ask what it is. Then Donna disappears, never to be seen again. Needless to say, Cindy is nearly destroyed with grief as she finds out Donna no longer exists in their universe. The whole thing reeks of magic gone wrong, and The Wizard admits her existence has been terminated. He doesn’t seem to be too concerned. And, what’s this about ducks?
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, and “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth.” “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” is looked at from a slightly different perspective in this story.
This story is a bit longer than the previous ones in this series. It is 13 chapters and 34,000 words long. The High School Years, Part 2 is partly written, but nowhere near ready to post. Chapters 12 and 13 will be posted alone in a few days. That will be the conclusion of Part 1.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 11
The feeling of distress and discomfort that Cindy and Bobbie had detected in the past kept popping up. There wasn’t any rhyme or reason to it. They could be at the mall, or school. They might be at church; it would just suddenly hit them. A major problem was that there was no direction to it. It was like walking through that cloud. It hadn’t changed much at all over the last two years.
They had talked to The Wizard about it, and his response was that they were just going to have to work it out. Cindy felt she had a responsibility to find out what was going on. Her frequent statement was, “If I know something is wrong, I have to try to fix it. The problem is, I didn’t know what’s wrong and I don’t have a clue where this distress is coming from.” They did the best they could.
School ended, and now they had to look forward to the last summer break before their senior year at high school. Bobbie had actually qualified for, or received invitations to several significant tournaments. This was going to be a test far beyond anything she had experienced before. There was a lot of talk on the sports pages, golf magazines, and Golf Channel about the 17 year old ‘phenom’ who could drive the ball as far as many of the men, and had a spectacular touch around the greens.
Her first major pro tournament as an amateur was an eye opener for her. She drew two well known and successful lady golfers as partners for her first round. They were very polite and supportive. The press was not. Someone had dug up a photo of her on the beach with Cindy. No one knew where the photo came from. It was probably somebody’s blind luck that they had taken a picture of two beautiful teenagers on the beach in their revealing bikinis.
Regardless, the headline “Bikini Clad Beauty to Compete in First Pro Tournament” unnerved her. The picture was very complimentary; however, she didn’t want to be known as a bathing beauty, she wanted to be known as a ‘damn good golfer’. She shot a 75, and was in position not to make the cut. Andy was carrying her bag, and after the round, he gave her a pep talk. Cindy called and did the same. Of course her family was there, too.
The next day she shot a 68, and made the cut by a stroke. Another 68 followed by a day’s best 67, and she finished in fifth place and the top amateur. She never looked back. It would be only a matter of time before she turned pro.
Cindy and Donna’s romance became firmer and firmer. It wasn’t just the sex, as powerful as it was. It was like a Vulcan Mind Meld, Cindy would say. Donna was receiving more and more looks because of her soccer prowess, and there was some talk that she might even try out for the US Olympic Team. Donna was non-committal.
An athletic summer camp in northern Vermont designed for pre-college athletes had sent Donna an invitation. A number of sports were addressed, and Donna asked Cindy if she would like to attend. There was a good swimming program, and Donna felt Cindy could benefit, even if she chose not to continue swimming in competition in college. Cindy applied and was accepted. Her parents were very supportive, and the next thing Cindy knew, she and Donna were driving off to the mountains near Woodstock, Vermont to spend two weeks of concentrated athletic training.
The camp was not inexpensive; however, there were some perks. One was that that rather than open barracks or multi camper tents, there were two attendees per room. Cindy couldn’t complain. It was tough, and the training was intense; however, they had a lot of private time. Besides the formal training, there were hikes and nature walks. They made new friends, and best of all, they enjoyed each other.
There were times that Cindy felt Donna’s lovemaking was almost frantic. It was as if she was trying to cram in as much as possible. Cindy wished Donna would take her time and draw things out. Still, sex, even when it is not the best, could be pretty damn good.
All in all, it was a very fulfilling two weeks, and it did nothing to lessen Cindy’s feelings about Donna. However, while she did have a feeling something was bothering Donna, she didn’t feel like pushing.
Two days after they returned, Cindy’s world crashed down. Donna disappeared. The bad thing was Cindy knew magic was involved, and some of the evidence terrified her.
It began when Andy called on his cell phone. “Cindy, Donna’s gone. It’s scary.”
“God, what happened?”
“I don’t know. I got up this morning to use the bath, and when I went in, none of her stuff was there. Her shampoo, towel, shower cap, razor: they’re all gone.
“That’s not all, I looked in her room, and it’s like no one lived there. Bobbie and I were out rather late last night, and when I came in, Donna’s car was gone. I just thought maybe she and you were out, or she was spending the night with you. She’s not there, is she?”
“God, no, I haven’t seen her since yesterday afternoon. She told me she had to do something. She started to walk away, but came back to kiss me. I thought she was going to cry. I just thought that it was just because it was her time of the month. She does get emotional, sometimes.”
“Cindy, I think this goes beyond anything I understand. No one in my house even knows she existed. She’s not in any of the family pictures. All the paperwork we had getting ready to adopt her is gone. That really got me going.
“Get out your yearbook from last year.”
“Just a minute, it’s buried in my closet.
“Okay, I have it.”
“Take a look at page 67. Who was most valuable player on the women’s soccer team?”
“What? That can’t be. My book says Lucile Graff. Donna was; I know it.”
“Look at the team picture.”
“Andy, she’s not there, and she’s not in the picture with the cross country team either. I’m going to have to get hold of The Wizard. Maybe, he knows what’s going on.”
“Cindy, what’s wrong? You sound distressed.” Cindy looked up to see her mother looking at her with a worried look.
“Mom, Donna’s gone. Andy just called. It’s like she never existed. There’s no trace of her. She’s not in the high school year book. It’s like her existence has been erased. Mom, she’s my life. What am I going to do?”
“Dear, we’re just going to have to let things work out. I’m sure that everything will be okay. Why don’t you talk to The Wizard? He might have some answers.”
“I was just getting ready to try to call him.”
Cindy went to her computer and made her call the way she usually did. It took a horribly long time for The Wizard to respond. While waiting, Cindy grabbed her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She’d call Donna. Maybe she would answer. The problem was there was no phone number for Donna in her cell phone. Someone had removed it. That shouldn’t be that much of a problem. She would just dial it in. She knew the number by heart.
“We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is a non-working number. If you have dialed this number in error, please check the listing and dial again.” She knew the number, and knew she hadn’t misdialed. She called again, anyway. The response was the same.
She called Bobbie. “Bobbie, have you heard anything from Donna?”
“No, I haven’t talked to her since yesterday afternoon. She seemed to be in a bit of a hurry about something, and didn’t stick around. I think she was going to the mall. Why?”
“It’s like she dropped off the ends of the Earth. Andy said there’s no trace of her at his house. She’s not in the family pictures. She’s not in the yearbook. Somebody has erased her existence. Look in your cell phone directory. I’ll bet her number is no longer there.”
There was a brief pause. “You’re right, the number’s gone.”
“Don’t bother to try to call her. The number is a non-working number. This has to be magic. I’ve been trying to get hold of The Wizard. He’s not responding. Oh, here he is. I’ll call back. Bye.”
“Good morning Cindy, what’s going on?”
“Your wisdom, Donna’s missing. It’s like her existence has been erased.”
“Well, that is odd. Let’s see what I can find. Hmmmm, how unusual; her existence was terminated yesterday afternoon. Let’s see, it was a code 3712, Temporal Discontinuity. That is not done very often. There’s nothing I can do about it right now, but I’m sure things will work out.”
“But I love her. She can’t be gone. My God, you said her existence was terminated. Does that mean she’s dead?”
“Not exactly; what it means is that she never existed in this universe. There have been a number of adjustments. I’m afraid she is gone, my dear. Love is very powerful. It’s amazing what love can do in the right circumstances. Try to be strong. Sometimes things happen for a reason and it takes a while for us to figure out why.”
To say Cindy was distraught would be putting it mildly, and she was really disturbed by what seemed to be a lack of concern on the part of The Wizard. She headed downstairs to find her mother fixing breakfast. It was several minutes before Cindy could stop crying long enough to tell her mother what she had found out.
“Mom, she’s gone, Donna’s really gone.”
“Gone where dear?”
“I don’t know. The Wizard said her existence was terminated, that she never existed in this universe. I don’t get it. If she never existed, how come I remember her? You remember her, Bobbie remembers her.
“Remembers who?” Randi asked as she entered the kitchen while rubbing her eyes.
“Donna: she’s disappeared, and The Wizard says her existence has been erased. Oh God, where is she?”
“Cindy, I forgot to tell you. Donna called yesterday afternoon. She said she was going away, that she had to do something about some ducks. She wanted me to tell you she loved you very much.
“I don’t know why she wanted to do anything about the ducks. I like the ones down at the pond.” No one else could figure it out either.
Cindy did a little discrete research and made several discoveries. The Lewis’s and Schmedlaps remembered Donna, as did all of their families. Only Andy remembered her in his family. Maddy and the kittens remembered her, as well. That’s when Cindy realized that there was a lot more to Donna’s disappearance than she’d first thought. If her existence had been erased, why did a handful of people remember her? Something was going on and it was beginning to seem very complicated.
For the next few days, Cindy would go in and out of crying jags. She had trouble sleeping, and her appetite was almost non-existent. Everyone who knew, or remembered Donna sympathized with Cindy, but there didn’t seem to be anything they could do to cheer her up. Since she didn’t exist, a missing persons report would never get off the ground.
About three days after Donna’s disappearance, Cindy had a strange dream. It might have been wishful thinking, but she wasn’t sure. She was having a rather ill-defined dream, when suddenly she was in the tunnel she had been in many years before. She looked around and saw the endlessness she had seen before. Suddenly, The Spirit was with her.
“How are you doing Cindy?”
“Not very well, thank you.”
“Cindy, I want you to understand that what’s happening in your world started a long time ago, and you have a very important place in that world. Sometimes things happen that are difficult to explain or justify.
“How old are you now?”
“I don’t know, I guess fifty two, fifty three.”
“No, no, forget about Al and all that stuff. That doesn’t matter anymore. You are a young woman, a bit over seventeen years old. You’re not even of legal age yet. If you add up all my lives in your temporal space, I’m over two thousand years old. Your Wizard is over nine hundred years old in this life alone. You have so much to learn, and you have done so well with what you have learned so far. As you get older, you will find out that there are many twists and turns to reality that don’t make sense to you right now. They will some day.
“I’m not warning you or advising you. I just want you to know that all of this will make more sense, some day.”
“Yeah, like losing the love of my life. She’s gone. She doesn’t even exist in this world. I wish they had taken my memories of her like they did for most everyone else. At least I wouldn’t feel so sad.”
“How, can you be sure she’s gone? As you said, some of you remember her. The fact you have these memories must mean something. Be patient. Things will make more sense.
“I told you I will stay in touch with you. You will hear from me again.”
Cindy returned to a much less logical dream world after that. When she woke up the next morning, she had forgotten about the dream meeting with the spirit.
It was a couple of days later when Bobbie arrived shortly after breakfast to find Cindy moping around.
“Come on Cindy, we’re going out.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Regardless, we’re going over to the park and get some sun. It’s a beautiful day, and maybe we will run into some of the kids from school. There’s a bunch over there playing soccer.”
At the mention of soccer, Cindy almost started crying again. Reluctantly, she got up and did a little work on her makeup. Her eyes weren’t as puffy as they had been. She got out a scrunchy, and put her hair into a loose ponytail. Her hair had a lot of volume and it spread out in a narrow golden fan across her shoulders. She grabbed a purse and slowly followed Bobbie to her car. “Mom, we’re going to the park. We might get some lunch while we’re out.”
As Bobbie had predicted, there was a pickup soccer game in progress. There was also a tag football game, and the tennis courts were full. Soccer doesn’t garner much attention, especially a pick up game; however, several families were sitting on the low bleachers, plus some girls who Cindy figured were girlfriends of some of the players.
They sat on the first row next to a family of four. The father was probably in his forties. He was quite attractive, as was his wife. She was blonde, but based on her apparent age, was probably coloring her hair. The boy with them was about twelve to fourteen, and fairly dark complected. He was probably of Latin American origin. The little girl was eight or nine and had an oriental heritage.
The family was shouting encouragement to one of the players. After a few minutes, Cindy realized he was the player she had been watching for a while. He would look over their way and wave, she assumed, at the four sitting next to her. He was about six feet tall, maybe a bit more, and rather slender. He wasn’t skinny or anything like that. His muscles stood out; maybe wiry would describe him. He was dark like the other boy, and Cindy realized he was very handsome, a bit like a young Antonio Banderas. She noticed dark hair in a narrow strip climbing up his six pack belly to above his navel. He was wearing a half tee shirt, and she could see some of the dark hair on his chest. There wasn’t a lot, but it stood out. There was something very familiar about him.
Someone kicked the ball out of bounds, and it rolled up to them. Bobbie footed it back to the boy Cindy had been watching. He picked it up to do a throw in, and as he did, looked Cindy in the eyes. He winked at her.
“Hey, guys, let’s take a time out. I’ve got to do something.” He came over to the family sitting next to Cindy and Bobbie.
“Mom, Dad, Jorge, Lucy, I would like you to meet someone.” He grabbed Cindy’s hand in his, and pulled the stunned girl to her feet. Bobbie followed. “This is Cindy Lewis, the girl I told you about from the sports camp, and this is her best friend, Bobbie Schmedlap.”
Cindy looked into his dark brown, gold flecked eyes; and for the first and only time in her life, fainted dead away.
Next: Wow! What just happened? I think we know, but we are going to have two more chapters to try to straighten everything out. Who is this handsome fellow, and what are he and his family doing there? We shall see. Well, we need to wrap up a few loose ends. Actually, there are more than just a few; however, some will have to wait for Part 2 and future stories.
Portia
Chapters 12 and 13: Did what I think just happen really happen? Well, we have two chapters to straighten this mess out; however, there is much more going on than will ever be revealed in Parts 1 and 2 of Cindy’s high school years. You can read a lot between the lines. There are many others working in the shadow of The Wizard. The question is going to be asked again and again: why is The Wizard going to all this trouble?
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, and “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth.” “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” is looked at from a slightly different perspective in this story.
Well, we have come to the conclusion of Part 1. Cynthia and the High School Years, Part 2 is being researched. I hope you find it interesting.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations.
Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 12
“Okay everyone, I’m a doctor. Stand back, let’s let some air in here.
“Young, lady, are you alright? Here, drink this. You will feel better in a minute.”
A cup of something was place at her lips and she took a sip. It didn’t take long, and soon everything came back into focus. Bobbie was standing there with a wide grin on her face. There was Donna — no, it wasn’t, but it was. ‘What’s going on?’
“You should be fine in a moment. I think you stood up too fast. Your knees were probably restricting your circulation, and when you stood up, your blood pressure dropped, and you fainted. It happens sometimes, especially when it’s as warm as it is. Just take it easy for a few minutes.
“Let’s help her sit down. Now, young lady, why don’t you come by my office in the mall later today, and I will check you out. There won’t be any charge.
“It’s a good thing my dog and I were taking a walk through here when we were. I think we will go now. We’ll see you later.”
The Wizard was wearing a light warm up suit, and he had the wolf on a short leash. He also had several plastic bags and a pooper scooper. He headed for the parking lot, but disappeared before he got there. No one noticed.
“Are you feeling better, Cindy? You look great. You’re even more beautiful than I remember.”
“These are my parents, Robert and Hilda Brewer. Dad’s a colonel in the Air Force, but he’s retiring. I think I told you about them. This trouble maker, Jorge, is my brother, and Lucy is my sister.
“Cindy, it’s so nice to meet you,” his mother said with a slight German accent. “Ever since Don came back from camp, he couldn’t stop talking about you and your friend there,” she said indicating Bobbie. That was really strange, because Bobbie hadn’t gone to camp. It had been Donna.
“He was so excited when we found out that Bob had been accepted for a job up here. Bob decided to ‘punch out’ as he puts it, and retire, and there was this job offer. We’re staying in a Residence Inn right now until the house closes.
“I can certainly see why Don was attracted to you. You and your friend are very pretty.”
“Mom, you are embarrassing her.” Then he turned. “Cindy, do you feel well enough to take a little walk? It’s so nice to see you again, and I would like to catch up.”
Cindy didn’t know what to say. She felt she should be hysterical with joy; however, the potion The Wizard had given her must have been very powerful. “Sure, I would love to. It’s great seeing you again.” ‘That has to be the greatest understatement I have ever made,’ she thought.
“Mom, Dad, I’ll see you back at the motel. It’s only a couple of blocks. I can jog back.”
Bobbie sat on the bench seat as the two lovers walked hand in hand toward a path that wandered through part of the park that was along the river. Bobbie was having a difficult time holding back her tears, and not succeeding very well.
Don and Cindy said nothing for the longest time. Cindy was soaking in the feeling of Don’s grasp. He held her hand the same way Donna had. They kept looking at each other. Cindy was smiling the entire time, but couldn’t keep the tears from flowing. They finally stopped at a fallen sycamore near the edge of the river.
“It’s still me, Cindy. I’m still Donna inside. Nothing has changed about how I feel about you. It’s just that there’s a bit more of me than there was before.
“I’m sorry I had to do this to you. There was no other way. It was the only way to avoid a serious paradox. To you, I may have been gone a week, but to me it’s been more than seventeen years. Thank God, I didn’t remember you until a bit more than a month ago. I would have gone crazy knowing you were out there and we couldn’t be together.
“Cindy, I love you more than ever, and knowing I was going to see you again some day made all this worth while. Are you mad that I came back this way?”
Cindy looked at him, trying to make sense of everything. There was a tremendous feeling of peace taking over what had been so much distress. “There’s so much going on in my mind right now that I can’t explain. I should be in shock, but I’m not. The woman I loved was taken away from me, and this last week has been hell, and nothing anyone said or tried to do has made any difference. I kept getting these reassurances, but they seemed so hollow.
“Then, there you were. Bobbie talked me into coming down here to see the kids and get some sun. She knew, dammit, she knew! I saw you, and there was something about you. You have the same grace, that same beautiful body. Well, not quite the same. God, the hair, the color of your skin, your smile: you came over to me, all the while talking to your parents as if you knew me. There were tingles going up and down my spine, and I didn’t understand it. Then you looked at me and I saw your eyes, Donna’s eyes. Suddenly, I knew. Suddenly, everything was alright.
“My God, you’re back! My beautiful Don or Donna, I don’t give a shit, you’re back, and I am whole again.” She turned and wrapped her arms around him. He smelled of perspiration and maleness, but there was Donna’s smell, too. She planted a kiss on his lips while feeling the slight stubble on his cheeks. She had seen and could feel his arousal. There would be time for that later. It certainly did put a different perspective on things, though. The kiss lingered for quite a while, and was being lovingly reciprocated.
She slowly broke away, as tears of happiness trickled down her cheeks. “No, I’m not mad. I guess I’m going to have to shutoff the egg factory, because I have no intention waiting very long before taking you to bed.”
He pulled her close, again. “The Wizard wants us to meet at the mall. I think he can explain things far better than I can.”
“Does it bother you being in a male body?” Cindy had given his body a very appreciative appraisal.
“Not at all, I could be just as happy being Donna again, if it had to be. Being raped didn’t help, but being a woman with you was a wonderful, wonderful thing. I don’t think this is going to be any less wonderful. In a way we are starting over, but I think that is only a physical starting over. I remember everything about you, every little nook and cranny, and frankly, you turn me on more than ever.
“Over the last few years I’ve had all these fantasies that most boys have. Some day I was going to find a gorgeous, stacked blonde. The thing was, now I know it was you all along.”
“You say you’ve known for about a month. What happened?”
“I was in the Tyson Corners Mall #2 looking for some games for the computer; except, the game store wasn’t there.”
“Let me guess. It couldn’t have been a quaint little shop called ‘Spells-R-Us’, and filled with all sorts of magic stuff and a great big wolf.”
“That would be the one. Well, someone in the back called out my name and said he would be with me in a moment. He came out in that ratty outfit of his and offered me a Coke. I took it, and suddenly, I knew who he was, who you were, and everything else. It knocked me on my ass, literally. The wolf licked up the spilled Coke.
“Have a seat. I’ve closed the shop, and no one will bother us. So how are your folks, and brother and sister?”
“They’re fine. Oh, my gosh! I have a mother and father. They’re not dead. My brother is alive, and I have a little sister.”
“And …?”
“And, I’m a guy!”
“Are you okay with that?”
“Well, yes, but you knew that didn’t you?”
“Yes, I’m a Wizard, and I know these things. Besides, I already told you.”
“Wow, I’ve got to call Cindy. I hope she won’t be too disappointed in the change.”
“She won’t be, but there’s a little problem up there. See, your Donna self is still there. It will be three weeks before you come to me and we start to fix everything from that end. You’ll get your chance to see her in about a month. Right now, you have to get ready for your move. Your dad has a job offer up there to go to work for Cindy’s dad. Your dad’s eclectic background is going to be just what that company needs to take another step forward.”
“I seem to have all my other memories from those other seventeen years. Will that be any problem?”
“Not at all, but they will just be memories. They won’t affect your life like they did before. I think we took care of all the bad things that happened to you and your family. This time, your brother and father never made that trip to the store, and your mother never had that breakdown.
“By the way, the fellow who raped you and killed your mother in that other reality was instead killed by the sniper who killed your father and brother. His behavior had been set many years before, and he had raped and abused several others.
“You are going to a sports camp next week. This is where it will take some good acting on your part. This camp will be the place where you allegedly meet Cindy for the first time, as far as your family is concerned. You need to tell your family that you met her there, and you need to tell them how enamored you are of her. That shouldn’t be too difficult, because that is the truth. There would just too many problems if you actually went to the same camp with your other self. It could be disastrous.
“Things are going according to the plan. Right now you don’t have to worry about anything else.”
“Will Cindy know me? Will she recognize me?” he said, still unsure.
“You have nothing to worry about. Cindy has always loved you, and although your change in sex will be a surprise, it won’t matter.
“Oh, to be young again.”
“He told me that we need to meet him at his shop this afternoon. Bobbie and Andy need to be there. I think he has already told your sister what’s going on. I missed that little imp.”
“Why has all this happened? Why couldn’t we have just stayed together the way we were. I don’t mean that I am upset with this change, but why is the system going to all this trouble?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I think this is about you and me. Cindy, I wasn’t unhappy about being Donna. I was pretty, and a good athlete. I was never strongly attracted to men; however, there wasn’t much attraction to women, either. It took you to really make me love anyone sexually.
“Deep inside, I think I knew I would have been happier if I had been born a boy. Then The Wizard contacted me. We talked about many things, especially you and me. He made me realize that I should have been a boy, but that there had been a mistake at my conception. He asked me if I wanted to fix that mistake. I said I would if it meant I could be with you as your lover and husband. He told me it wouldn’t be easy; however, if I wished to fix the things that had happened to my family, I would essentially have to go back to square one.
“I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. I finally broke down and called your home, but you weren’t there. Randi answered, and I told her that I had to stop a paradox.”
Cindy started laughing hysterically, “She said you were going to take care of some ducks. So that’s what it was, a paradox, a pair of ducks.”
“What I realized was that if I had already gone back, and The Wizard confirmed this, there would be two of me, and that couldn’t happen. I had a feeling that I was somewhere else even as I went to the mall. The whole process had actually been going on for a long time, and that I was the last of the previous reality that had to be corrected. I think the two realities have finally become one.
“Don’t get mad at me for saying this; however, I think our love is just part of what’s going on.”
Cindy kissed Don again and again lingered quite a while. “You know something? You really are kinda cute.”
They walked back to the soccer field. There was a touch football game in progress, but Bobbie was waiting for them. “So, have you two made up?” She hugged Don. “It’s so good to have you back where you belong.”
“Guess what? Don’s dad is going to work for the company. That’s why they’re up here. This is so great and it keeps getting better.”
“Kids, I’m in the back. I have some refreshments.”
“He’s always in the back. That’s part of the rules,” Cindy muttered.
The wolf greeted everyone with some slurpy kisses, before he retired to his place in front of the counter. Don parted the beaded curtain so Cindy and Bobbie could pass through without messing up their hair. Then he and Andy followed.
Andy had been shocked when Bobbie told him that Donna was back, except that ‘she’ was now a very handsome ‘he’. Knowing what he knew about his special group of friends, he had little trouble accepting Don. Andy had loved Donna as a sister, and although Don could never be an adopted sibling, Andy realized he had a great deal of fraternal love for Don.
The Wizard had placed some comfortable chairs around a coffee table that was loaded with sandwiches and cold cuts.
“I know you have many questions, and I will try to answer as many as I am allowed to. I just checked things, and as far as I can tell, all potential paradoxes have been nullified. This was a good piece of work, if I say so myself. It’s not easy to stitch two realities, but we pulled it off without too many disturbances.
“First we had the line where Donna was a foundling, where her parents and brother were killed and she was sent to the home in Fallsville. Then we have the line where Don was a foundling. The thing is, Don and Donna are one and the same. We created a little breach in the line, a diverticulum, a weak point, and let the line with Don develop there.
“Yes, Bobbie, you have a question?”
“Yes, Your Wisdom, how did you turn Donna into Don?”
“That was fun. Our people are very good at what they do. If I remember correctly, we searched 97 parallel universes before we found the mother who had an embryo that was virtually identical to Donna, except for the Y chromosome. Where the genes are parallel in the X and Y chromosome we again matched to about 99.9999 percent. You may think that is pretty close; however, when orangutan, chimpanzee, and bonobo DNA is about 95 to 97 percent the same as human’s, you can see there is little room for error.
“Anyway, we switched embryos. The female one went to a universe where Cindy doesn’t exist. She has had a beautiful life with her adoptive family.
“The line with Don was virtually identical to the line with Donna. We kept narrowing events down so that other than Don’s family surviving, and Donna’s not surviving, there were no differences. In reality, the two lines were superimposed. We started stitching the two lines back together after the murder of Donna’s mother. We gradually eliminated the differences until the only anomaly was Donna.
“So what do we do with Donna? Donna already knew that she wanted to be with Cindy for the rest of her life; however, she knew that as Donna, she couldn’t give Cindy the family she wanted. The thing was that the plan had been for Don and Cindy to get together from the beginning, but as Cindy and Bobbie will tell you, what was intended doesn’t always happen. My job was to tell Donna what we could do to make things right. I don’t think it took any convincing on my part.
“Donna knew that magic existed because we let her find out, but we still had to convince her that we could do a one hundred percent perfect sex change, so that she could come back and be a husband for Cindy. That’s still up to you two, though.
“Bobbie, Cindy, please forgive me, but Donna had to know about you. I had to tell her about you, and Randi, too. That was our trump card. I think she may have had an idea that something was different about the three of you, besides your magical talents.”
“I was beginning to wonder,” Don interjected, “because they were so matter of fact about things. There many comments that could be interpreted several ways. There was something else: Cindy and Randi were too smart, too worldly. They knew things and talked about things that were way beyond what their experience should have been, especially for a six year old. The last thing was that they enjoyed being females almost too much. It’s difficult to explain, but when His Wisdom told me, it all made sense.
“Because I had been a bit conflicted about my gender, it was an easy decision. I had nothing to lose. I went to the mall that afternoon with one goal in mind. I was going to return, sweep Cindy off her feet, and be the best damn husband I could possibly be. I wasn’t going to lose her to anyone else.”
“I don’t think you had to worry about that,” Cindy responded while giving Don another kiss. “What was it like? I floated around for ages with a spirit until I got this body.
“Omigosh, the spirit, the spirit came to me in a dream and told me that things were going to be alright. I had forgotten all about that. I was so miserable when you disappeared.”
The Wizard continued with his narration, “We initiated the Temporal Discontinuity, 3712 at that point, at the point your physical existence as Donna ceased. We did allow the memory residue to remain for just a few of you. When that happened, the two lines were joined. Cindy’s spirit, the one she just mentioned, took your spirit back in time and inserted you into the male embryo. We’re getting better at these early insertions. We learned a lot when we did Randi.
“So, what are your memories of your second childhood?” The Wizard probably knew all the answers; however, he wanted Don to explain things in his own words.
“I don’t remember anything about going back. The Wizard put me in a trance and that was the last thing I remembered until he woke me up last month. It’s amazing how parallel my second life was to my first one. Other than being treated like a boy, I didn’t sense much difference until that night Dad didn’t go to the store. Some other unfortunate person was shot instead.”
“That was your mother’s murderer.”
“Things continued to be great. I got a new sister, Mom was well, and Dad was promoted to colonel. Until I met The Wizard in Tyson Corner, I had no idea about this other life. I think things are going to be just wonderful. We’re going to be seniors in high school, and then there’s college. There’s going to be a lot going on.
“You look puzzled, Cindy. Is something bothering you?” The Wizard asked.
“Yes there is, and I imagine as I learn more, much of this will make more sense. I have magical abilities that I am just beginning to learn how to use. I suspect that this body always had these abilities, and when I was inserted into it, the abilities became mine. I think my little sister is in basically the same situation. Her spirit was inserted into a body that would have magical talent.”
“That’s true,” The Wizard said with a smile.
“But what about Bobbie?” she said then hesitated. “Oh dear ….”
“It’s okay, Cindy, Andy knows. I told him a while ago. He’s cool about it,” she said while smiling at Andy and squeezing his hand.
“Boy, I thought I screwed up big time there, but come to think of it, Andy hasn’t said a thing about all these changes we’ve been talking about. Of course he knew.”
The Wizard continued. “Bobbie’s transformation was a bit more difficult. Once the gift certificate was created, it was just a matter of execution. Then we realized something. There was a chance to continue the line. I’ve known Bobbie’s grandmother for years, but I hadn’t been aware of what happened. Naomi was very upset with herself about what happened to Sally, and cast a little obscuring spell. When you gifted Bobbie, some of my associates realized we had an excellent opportunity. We basically did a little gene splicing.
“For a lot of these transformations, we just insert some generic templates we have on hand to change the Y chromosome to an X chromosome. As you are well aware, I favor certain templates. When it comes to magic, there are no templates. We have to use what the individual has. In other words, we can’t take an ordinary mortal and turn her into a witch. Two things were in Bobbies favor. One was she was always a woman at heart.” Andy nodded his head in agreement. “The other thing was she was carrying the magic trait inherited from her mother. We duplicated the missing portion of the Y chromosome from her X chromosome and attached it. It worked perfectly, as you can see. We are very proud of how well it worked out.
“There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes. There are all sorts of little loops in the time continuum to make these transformations appear to happen as fast as they do. There are many special affects, and sometimes some serious mind control. When I disguise myself, it’s all an optical illusion. I know Cindy can usually see through the disguises.”
“Your Wisdom, there has been something else that has been bothering Cindy and me for quite a while. Cindy was sensing, for want of a better word, wrongness, and I was sensing distress. It was intermittent. Sometimes we were bathed in it; then it would go away for a while.”
“So, do either of you sense anything right now?”
“No, I don’t. Do you Cindy?” Cindy shook her head.
“That’s because nothing is wrong anymore. If you think back to an earlier part of this discussion, you should already know. The problem is that both of you are a bit biased in favor of the female. Your abilities in gender issues have always been focused on the female in the male body, not the other way around. I’ll fix that with a little training. You knew something was wrong, you just couldn’t recognize what it was and focus in on it.”
It hit both girls at the same time. “Oh my gosh, it was Donna!” exclaimed Bobbie.
“Now Don,” said The Wizard. “The problem has been fixed. What was difficult for you was that Donna was a beautiful young woman. Either of you would have been very happy if you had turned out to be like Donna, and the thought never entered your minds that she might have been happier as Don. Well, it’s a moot point now.”
“Why didn’t you just change Donna into Don?” Cindy asked, already knowing what the answer was.
“Because, doing it this way fixed many more problems. Don would have had to live with the trauma that happened to Donna. This way, the knowledge is there, but the trauma is gone. Don’s parents are living, as are his brother and sister. We have eliminated an unfortunate portion of the time line. There are other reasons, too, but we will go into those later.
“I’ve sent a zip file to Bobbie and Cindy’s computers. There’re two spells in it that you need to learn. The first will help you overcome your bias to FTM individuals. You will do a lot of good there. The second one will be obvious to you when you read it.
“Bobbie, just a little advice, when you get to the 12th at Augusta, use your nine iron. Forget the wedge.”
”ƒ
“Andy and I need to do some shopping,” Bobbie said. Her intention was obviously to let the two reunited lovers have some more time alone. “Why don’t you let Don take you home? I know you have a lot more to discuss.”
“Bobbie, I do have a question before you go. How much of this were you aware of? It doesn’t bother me if you were. I just have a feeling that there was much more awareness on your part than you are letting on. I saw you and Donna talking several times, and it was obvious you didn’t want me in on it.
“There’s another thing, now I finally understand why Donna was so up tight those last few weeks.”
Don didn’t give Bobbie a chance to answer. “I went to Bobbie for several reasons. I still had trouble understanding why you didn’t have a boyfriend. I think I was a bit insecure about our relationship. I loved you so much, and feared I would lose you. Bobbie told me you had a very liberal opinion about interpersonal relationships, and that your feelings wouldn’t change whether I was male or female. That just supported what you had told me.
By this time they were walking back to the parking lot. “Then The Wizard contacted me on my computer. I was a bit surprised, but by then I had pretty much accepted this whole magic thing. That was when he told me about your origins. I was surprised, but he was very convincing. I realized, too, that it didn’t really matter. I knew about transgendered individuals, although before then I don’t think I considered myself transgendered, and I realized how fortunate Cindy and Bobbie were.
“The Wizard revealed his plan to me, and said there wasn’t much time. I couldn’t tell Cindy, but I could ask Bobbie. I imagine it was one of those discussions you came upon. She explained about what happened to her and how wonderful it was. Even though I knew my situation was more complicated, it was Bobbie’s assurances that made my decision to go forward easy. I was scared, though. I was so afraid I would lose Cindy, but Bobbie assured me again that Cindy loved me. It didn’t matter what body I was in, Cindy would always love me. I know Cindy felt something wasn’t quite right, but I couldn’t tell her.”
“I couldn’t tell her either,” Bobbie added, “however; The Wizard contacted me this morning and told me to take Cindy to the park. I knew then, everything was going to be alright.
“This is so wonderful!” Bobbie joyfully exclaimed.
They parked next to Marissa Lewis’s car and walked, hands tightly clasped, through the service entrance into the large country kitchen. Marissa was working on some culinary project.
“Mom, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
They had stopped just a couple of feet behind her. Marissa turned, wiping her hands on the apron. She hardly hesitated before grabbing Don in a loving embrace and smothering him in kisses. “I am so glad you are here. Cindy has been an absolute mess since you took off on that journey of yours. Thank God everything worked out. Now we can get back to normal around here.” There were some tears in her eyes.
“MOM, YOU KNEW!”
“Of course I knew. When I realized that magic was involved, I contacted that wizard of yours and gave him a piece of my mind. The nerve of him: making my daughter so miserable. He assured me that everything was going to work out just fine. I was about to try to go over his head, I was so mad. He promised me that all these temporal shenanigans were over as far as you two were concerned.
“How did you contact him?”
“Well, I do have a computer in my office, and I am your mother, young lady, and until you are of age, I have a responsibility to look out for your welfare. I am not going to go snooping in your computer or Randi’s, or Tom’s for that matter, but I do have a right to know what’s going on. I made that very clear to His Wisdom a long time ago. I think he’s very understanding, in spite of his not having a child of his own.
“I have a lot of power, you know, since all my daughters will be witches.
“Don, your family is coming over for dinner. Of course they have no idea what’s been going on between you two, and I imagine it will be a long time before they do, if ever. We know what to say and not say, and so do the Schmedlaps. They will eventually learn about the magic, but now is not the time.
“Now, about you two: obviously things have taken on a bit of a different perspective. I know what you have between you is not an infatuation. Mothers know these things, and your mother, Don, will find out soon enough how strong the bond is between you and Cindy. You have been making love for a long time, and it would be foolish of me to expect you to stop now; however, I am not ready to be a grandmother, and I don’t want grandchildren who are older than any children I may have in the future.
“Could you use a little restraint for a while? And, above all, use protection. Young lady, you are going on the pill immediately, and as you know, it takes a while for them to take effect.”
“Mom, I am still a virgin; however, I do intend to take care of that in a while.” Cindy looked back over her shoulder at Don who was standing behind her and hugging her to him. “Our first time together before was very special, and I intend our first time together again to be just as special. The one thing for sure will be that it will be planned. I will let you know. You are going to have a lot of grandbabies, and we will contribute to that number. Don’t worry; it’s going to be a while. I don’t intend to be a teenage mother.”
Randi took that moment to come bounding in from wherever she had been playing, three cats right on her heels. “Mom, I’m thirsty.
“Hi Cindy, Hi Don. Don, you sure are handsome. We’re sure glad you’re back. Cindy was real unhappy.”
Maddy and the kittens began winding around Cindy and Don’s ankles; they jumped onto the counter and received some strokes and chin scratches. “Well, if you had to be a boy, you’ve done pretty well. I guess it’s okay. [Just kidding.]”
“I heard that Maddy,” Don picked her up, turned her over, and scratched her tummy.
“[You did! Well this certainly puts a different light on things. Come on girls. Don’t forget to kill those fleas. We have some lessons to go over].”
Dinner was a very enjoyable affair. The younger children were being feted with pizza at the Schmedlaps, while the adults and older children were seated at the Lewis’s house. Both of Bobbie’s brothers were at college on the west coast, and did not attend.
The Brewers were very pleasant dinner companions. Bob Brewer was not eaten up by having spent 22 years in the Air Force. He had two early promotions and was being groomed for a flag (general’s) position. He knew he was in line for a star, but had decided he needed a better grounded life. “I bought my soul back when I put in for retirement,” he said as Hilda held his hand. “This is going to allow us to do a lot of family things that we haven’t been able to do before. My blood pressure dropped 20 points the day I handed in those papers in.
“Don really got our attention a few weeks ago when he told us about a certain young lady he had met at camp. Imagine our surprise when it turned out to be this beautiful young lady, and that she was the daughter of my new boss. I think there were other reasons he was happy to come here. He says they have an excellent soccer program and a very good cross country program at the high school. He’s already getting a lot of attention from several universities that are offering athletic scholarships. However, I think the biggest reason he’s happy we’re coming here is Cindy.
“There was a time I had hoped he would try to get into one of the academies. Now I’m glad he didn’t. Hilda and I talked about this for a long time. We want to stop moving around, and the kids have said the same thing. When I came up here to talk to Stan, Amos, and the rest, I was sure this was the place. Now I know there are many reasons to be glad we are here.”
Cindy, Bobbie, and Don excused themselves from the table. Andy was coming over, and the four were going to hang out somewhere. Andy was going to be going to College at Wake Forest on a Golf Scholarship. His game had improved considerably over the last year, and he was the best male golfer on the team, just not the best golfer. Bobbie had never given up that honor.
There were many more important things than golf going on in the minds of the four young lovers that night: four young lovers who had not yet taken that last step in consummating a relationship. Cindy and Donna had made love many times, but it wasn’t that ultimate man and woman thing. Now they had been given that chance. It would probably work to Don’s advantage that he knew every little spot on Cindy’s body that elicited the responses they so enjoyed; however, there was that one special thing that they could never have done before now. Truthfully, there would be no rush. It would happen in the not too distant future. Right now they just had each other and that was enough.
Andy parked the car on the bluff overlooking the river. They talked about their future, some of their hopes and dreams, but mostly the two couples just held on to each other.
It was an out of the way bed and breakfast in the Berkshires about 75 miles from their home town. They had arrived late in the afternoon, and taken their single piece of luggage to the remote cottage. They freshened up, and then went to a nice little out of the way restaurant. The waiter never batted an eye when the young man ordered two glasses of white wine with dinner. Neither of them finished the glass.
The couple talked quietly, and frequently held hands over the table. There was no doubt in the minds of several of the other customers that the two were newlyweds. They were a bit premature in that guess.
The couple made their way back to the inn. He locked the door and secured the curtains. They met in the center of the room and while kissing, slowly undressed each other. He gently cradled her breasts in his hands and then lowered his lips, gently caressing her nipples. Then he led her to the bath, and they joined each other in the shower. They finally were able to join the jigsaw puzzle images they had of each other’s bodies into one image. After gently drying each other, they returned to the bedroom.
“I was going to invoke the El Paso Rules; however, I don’t think I will be able to because of a technicality. It doesn’t seem to be hanging. I would have been worried if it was. Now come here and make love to me. I think we have waited long enough.”
They didn’t get much sleep.
Next: Part 2 will be coming along in a month or two. We will start with Cindy’s senior year in high school. We’ll just have to see how far we can get. There are many mysteries that we have barely scratched the surface of. There is the overriding concern about The Wizard’s interest in all this. Why is he so involved? We may not find out for a while yet. We may not even find out before the end of Part 2 of the high school years.
Thank you for reading. I would love to hear from you.
Portia
It has taken nine years, but Cindy is finally a senior in High School. There have been some fantastic events, events that not all her friends are aware of. Cindy has a boy friend (It is really much more serious than that) and Bobbie and Andy have taken their love to the next step. Myrna Breckenridge is surprised to see that Cindy has a boyfriend; after all, she never had one before. But wasn’t there someone?
It has taken nine years, but Cindy is finally a senior in High School. There have been some fantastic events, events that not all her friends are aware of. Cindy has a boy friend (It is really much more serious than that) and Bobbie and Andy have taken their love to the next step. Myrna Breckenridge is surprised to see that Cindy has a boyfriend; after all, she never had one before. But wasn’t there someone?
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth”, and “Cynthia and the High School Years — Part 1.” This story completes the Cynthia Chronicles, Volume 1.
Part 2 is almost as long as part 1. It is 12 chapters and 27,500 words long. There are many more stories out there, and bits and pieces are being discovered almost every day.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
Holly really took me to task this time due to my poor sentence structure and punctuation. She wields a firm ruler and isn’t afraid to use it; my poor knuckles. Thank you so much, Holly, for making this more readable!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 1 — The more you erase; the more marks you leave.
The first day of school is pretty much the same from one year to the next. Oh, there are those little incremental changes that almost go unnoticed from year to year; however, some changes seem to stand out. Or maybe, some people are just a bit more observant than others.
Myrna Breckenridge was one of the more observant. She saw Bobbie Schmedlap and Cindy Lewis approaching … and Cindy had a man in tow! If someone had asked her to rate Bobbie and Cindy in the overall category of best friends, they had to be in the 99th percentile. Myrna knew she was considered to be a good friend, but she didn’t really concern herself with how she might be rated on a scale of friendship. It wasn’t something she felt compelled to do. She didn’t have a thing to worry about.
Myrna continued to be very grateful for the little gift they had given her the previous year. They had told her no one would notice that she had changed from a 34AA-25-34 figure to a 34D-24-36, and no one had. Her popularity, since she had always been popular, didn’t change. Her boyfriend didn’t suddenly become a sex crazed maniac because of the change in her appearance. Things just continued the way they had been, with one exception. Myrna’s self esteem had shot through the roof. She no longer worried about what other people thought about her.
Her boyfriend, Avery Mankowitz, doted on her, and he always had. Avery was a bit of a nerd, very intelligent, and not particularly handsome; however, he was a kind and gentle person with a heart of gold.
Before her change, when Myrna had accepted Avery’s request for a date, she didn’t think that he was much of a catch. She’d just looked at him as a brief diversion before she found someone more worthy of her attention. Besides, he was Jewish. What she found was that Avery was a hidden treasure. He made her laugh, he made her feel appreciated, and when she decided that she would take his virginity, she found that as inexperienced as he was, he still put her first. He never once said anything about her (in her mind) less than adequate bust line. After they made love, he held her and gently caressed her.
He was so happy that he could bring her to an orgasm that he cried. He had thought that he was a loser, but Myrna convinced him he was a winner and his self esteem increased tremendously. Later, many wondered what the voluptuous, outgoing young woman saw in the nerdish Avery. If they actually asked her, she would just smile, and if he was there, give him a hug.
Now, Myrna watched as Bobbie approached. There was definitely something different about her, a little self assured swing that hadn’t been there before. Myrna figured it out pretty quickly. She remembered a line from ‘Shakespeare in Love’: “She has been plucked since I saw her last ….”
“Well, Bobbie, congratulations are in order I see.”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“That must have been quite a send-off you gave Andy. It’s about time.”
She turned to Cindy, deliberately ignoring Bobbie’s momentary discomfort. Cindy was walking almost as far off the ground as Bobbie, and Myrna could see the source of Cindy’s elation. He was holding onto her left hand. ‘My goodness he’s good looking: tall, slender, very self assured, and totally in love with Cindy, as she is with him.
This is crazy. Cindy doesn’t have a boyfriend. She has never had a boyfriend. She’s never dated anyone more than once. There has never been a steady. … Wait a second. There had been somebody. Who the hell was it?’
“Myrna, I would like you to meet Donald Brewer. Don, this is Myrna Breckenridge. We have been friends forever.
“Don and I met at camp last month, and really hit it off. We didn’t know it then, but his dad was coming to work at my dad’s company. They moved up here from Reston, Virginia. His dad just retired from the Air Force.”
“Don, all I can say is, hang onto your hat, because you have no idea how crazy this group is.” Myrna looked at him more closely. There was something definitely familiar about him. He was so handsome, he was almost pretty. God, those dark eyes, lashes, and those very kissable lips were to die for. His short sleeved shirt showed a well sculpted body. He was probably about six foot, maybe six-one, and weighed maybe 170 lbs. His dark complexion gave him a very romantic, Latin look.
They compared schedules and discovered they had several classes together. Most of the athletic competitors had their gym class at the end of the school day, so Bobbie, Cindy, and Don had gym for their sixth period. The four of them had their core courses, English, History, and Calculus together.
Myrna was naturally inquisitive, a trait that would help her as a research scientist when she left college. Right now her curiosity was piqued at a much more local level. Cindy was in love. Cindy, the very practical, almost intellectual at times, gorgeously attractive girl who never dated anyone was in love with a beautifully handsome, almost matinee idol attractive young man who she had known for only a few weeks. He was just as in love with her. None of this made any sense. Cindy just didn’t work that way.
Well, at least there was no mystery about Bobbie and Andy. It was surprising they had held off as long as they had. One thing for sure, she certainly hadn’t needed to use any magic to bag him. Bobbie would probably be a lost cause while Andy was at Wake Forest; however, they would be meeting on holidays. ‘I wonder if witches actually use brooms’, she thought.
Since they had class together just before lunch, it was easy for them to move en mass to the cafeteria. They could talk about many things; however, magic was not among them. Magic? Don and Cindy were thicker than molasses in January. Surely, he must be aware of her powers, probably Bobbie’s too. In light of Myrna’s transformation, it was easy for her to accept other things magical, and she was certain magic had to be involved in some way.
Myrna did not have a mean or vindictive bone in her body. She never bore a grudge, and if someone hurt her, that person became ‘shrouded’ for an appropriate period of time. After that, that person would have a clean slate. There was one exception, and that was her father. He had not done anything that she felt warranted her forgiving him. Well there was one thing, and that was he was no longer causing her mother unhappiness. Actually, there were two things. His absence allowed Sharon to become a part of their lives. It was a wonderful change.
Call it curiosity if nothing else. Myrna had to find out what had happened to cause Cindy to fall head over heels in love in just a matter of weeks. The fact that he was absolutely gorgeous had nothing to do with it. The fact that he was an excellent student who had traveled all over Europe couldn’t have been the reason either. He played soccer like no one she had ever seen. She sat with Cindy on a Saturday morning as he played a pickup game with the small group of players from the local area who found soccer to be more of their liking. He could do things with the ball that were unimaginable. Soccer, soccer … what was it about soccer?
Soccer was a spring sport. American football was a fall sport, and during the fall, the American style football players had priority over the field after school. Soccer style place kicking had found its place in American football more than forty years before, but still, it wasn’t as easy as it looked, and their high school had a problem. Their place kicker from the year before had gone off to college.
“Looks like they’re still trying to find a kicker to replace Garrett,” Bobbie remarked. They were on their way to the parking lot, and as they passed the athletic field they noticed a small group of football players attempting to kick the ball through the goal posts. It was almost comical. The kicker would kick the ball, and there were about forty-seven things the ball would do, and most didn’t include kicking the ball through the uprights. The ball might flutter to the left or right, or just bound down the field in the general direction of the goal posts while doing the erratic bouncing that only a football could do.
Cindy had never been a very knowledgeable fan of football, and attended games only because that was what high school students did. “What can be so hard about kicking a ball between those posts? I see them do it all the time.”
“It’s not so much about strength as it is about timing,” Don said matter of factly. “If you don’t hit the ball just right, it can do all sorts of things, and most of them are wrong.”
They watched for a few minutes as the kickers made mostly futile attempts to get the ball to do what was desired.
“See how they plant their foot? It’s all wrong. They have to get lined up just right or they cut across the ball. That will cause it to hook or fade. If they catch it too high or too low then it will pop up or they might just kick it into the linemen.”
“Have you done this before?” Myrna asked.
“A little: we had a football team on base in Germany. We played the schools from other US bases.”
“What did you do?”
“I was their place kicker.”
“Well, why aren’t you kicking for our team?”
“I guess because I’m not particularly fond of American football.”
“Don, I think you need to go over there and show them how it’s done. We’ll just sit here and watch.”
“Cindy, do you mind? This shouldn’t take very long.”
“Go right ahead. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do anything with a football.”
They watched as Don approached the kicking coach and the players. They could hear the conversation, but not the details. Don was going through some motions, showing how the foot needed to be planted, and how the weight should be transferred. The holder simulated taking the ball from the center, and placed it on the spot. Don effortlessly kicked the ball through the goal posts, even though he was wearing street shoes. There was a bit of a discussion, and they moved back ten yards. Don again demonstrated some adjustments, and kicked the ball through the uprights. They moved ten yards further back, and the results were the same. The girls weren’t really paying all that much attention, but the last kick had been from 50 yards out.
There was some further discussion, and they could see that Don was protesting about something. Finally, an agreement seemed to be struck, and the coach shook Don’s hand.
“What was that all about?” Cindy asked as Don returned to the group.
“Well, it seems our Friday nights are going to be busy in a different way than we thought. Apparently, I am now the place kicker for the team. Coach Robinson said he would picket our house if I didn’t sign up. Besides, he made the argument that if I was a good place kicker, it wouldn’t hurt my scholarship opportunities.”
Don got his chance in the very first game when he kicked a fifty-two yard field goal. The field goal did little to affect the final outcome of the game. Truthfully, their team was not particularly strong, and they would be fortunate to finish one game above .500 for the season. Several things were accomplished, though. Don set a league record for the number of field goals and field goal attempts, a number that happened to be the same. He did not miss an extra point, either, though there weren’t that many. He set a state record for the longest field goal, 62 yards. All this meant was that his team didn’t score very many touchdowns, and he had to kick a lot of field goal so they wouldn’t come away scoreless on a drive. He was furiously recruited by several universities.
One other thing happened, and it happened in their very first game. When the 52 yard field goal split the uprights, he gave a little fist pump and a little kick that was sort of an exclamation point. Cindy was ecstatic that he had done so well.
For Myrna, it was something else.
It created a huge amount of confusion and a feeling of real weirdness. She suddenly remembered watching a soccer game with Cindy. There was a beautiful Latina girl, who was a magician on the soccer field. This was really weird. When she scored a goal, she gave the same little fist pump and kick. She and Cindy had been lovers, and it wasn’t a secret.
This just didn’t make sense. Cindy and Don Brewer were madly in love with each other, but Cindy had been in love with a girl. Myrna was sure of it.
But that couldn’t be. Cindy was straight, maybe a bit aloof, or very selective, but she didn’t hang out with girls in that way. Well, while she and Bobbie were joined at the hip, they weren’t lovers, and never had been as far as she knew. It was almost as if two images were superimposed. She could swear she remembered Cindy and a beautiful girl walking hand in hand.
Myrna figuratively shook her head. It couldn’t be. That was Cindy and Don Brewer, but it wasn’t. The other girl was several inches shorter than Cindy. She had to have a name. If Myrna could come up with a name, maybe she could make some sense of this.
‘What was her name? Who remembered names from a dream? Her name was Don. No, that’s his name. Her name was Don. Stop that; her name was Donna. Shit, her name was Donna, Donna Brewer. His name is Donald, Don Brewer. She was an orphan. He has a family. Christ, they could be twins; brother and sister. Those eyes, those eyes are identical!
‘Something very strange is going on here, and it has to have something to do with magic. This whole thing reeks of magic.’
Myrna’s boyfriend, Avery, it was much more serious than that, was a freshman at MIT, and was unable to make the short trip home for the weekend. What it boiled down to was that Bobbie and Myrna were ‘class B’ bachelorettes, as their boyfriends were not there.
Don was able to clean up after the game at the school, he didn’t get very dirty, and he was going to take the three girls to the local drive-in for some after game refreshments.
They were relaxing in the car with their drinks, and Myrna felt it was time to ask the question that had been bothering her. “Okay everyone, I have some questions. You may throw me into the river after I ask them, but I have to know something. Something has really been bothering me.”
“Myrna, you’re our friend,” Cindy said, looking over the back of the front seat, “If you have a question, we will certainly try to answer it.”
Myrna took a deep breath. “Does Don know everything? Maybe I’ve already said too much.”
“Go ahead, it’s okay.”
“I mean does Don know everything about you and Bobbie.”
Don turned to the back seat, “Do you mean do I know that they are witches?”
“Well, that answers that question. Okay, if that’s the case, then I think I can pursue this a bit further. I have a conflict of memories, and they are all about Don, or should I say Donna.”
“Oh dear,” Bobbie said to no one in particular. “I think we just found someone outside the families who remembers. I guess the cat’s out of the bag. If Myrna remembers, then it must be alright. Cindy, why don’t we go over to your house? I think Myrna needs to know what happened and what didn’t happen. Obviously, if she’s figured out this much, it must be alright to tell her.”
“Oh my God, Don is Donna! I knew it! I knew it! This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of. It hit me after the field goal. I remembered your reaction. I can’t believe it. How could anything like this happen? I mean I’ve heard of sex changes, but nothing like this. I mean, Donna was an orphan, but Don has a family. This is really strange.”
“Myrna, you don’t have even an inkling of how strange, but not strange, everything is, but I guess we are going to have to tell you.
Next time: Myrna is brought fully into the group. She may not have magical ability, but she has tremendous ability in many areas. In the next chapter Myrna finds out what happened to turn Donna into Don. She also finds out about Cindy and Bobbie’s origins. She expresses her appreciation to The Wizard for what he did for her.
Well, Myrna rather quickly deduced that Don and Donna were the same person, and she realizes that the magic she has learned about must be responsible. With The Wizard’s help, they explain how the transformation took place. It was very complicated, as we know. Myrna also finds out more about Cindy and Bobbie’s origins. The cats welcome Myrna into the group.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth”, and “Cynthia and the High School Years — Part 1.” This story completes the Cynthia Chronicles, Volume 1.
Part 2 is almost as long as part 1. It is 12 chapters and 27,500 words long. There are many more stories out there, and bits and pieces are being discovered almost every day.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
Holly really took me to task this time due to my poor sentence structure and punctuation. She wields a firm ruler and isn’t afraid to use it; my poor knuckles. Thank you so much, Holly, for making this more readable!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 2 — Myrna learns a lot
“Your Wisdom, we have a little situation here, and need some advice.” They were sitting around Cindy’s computer, and the scene on the screen was one that was familiar to everyone. It was the back room in The Wizard’s shop. He was puttering around, doing something they were not sure about. There was a cup of what they presumed to be coffee on the counter. A spoon was gently stirring the contents.
“I’ll be with you in a moment. Things are a mess. We had a bit of an earthquake a while ago, and I had to put up a family of mongooses until the water receded after the tidal wave.
“Now, I guess there might be a bit of a problem, but it’s nothing that’s going to do any damage. You have to understand something. There is no such thing as an accident. ‘Accidents’ are just things that occur at the far end of the probability scale. There are no such things as miracles either. It is easy to ascribe the term miracle to something when the science isn’t understood, or if an event has just been fabricated. It’s all about probabilities and science.”
“Your Wisdom, I think we can discuss those things later. Right now we have to deal with some things that to most appear to be miracles.” Cindy did not want to go into the philosophical area at the moment. She just wanted to know how to deal with the revelation that Don had been Donna, but really hadn’t been.
“Certainly: hello, Myrna, it’s amazing how you took just a residual bit of information left over from a universe that doesn’t exist any longer, and you came to the right conclusion. I think the best way to look at it is to imagine a zipper.
“There was a timeline where Donna existed. We took that zipper apart back at the time where Donna was conceived, and created one where the embryo was as biologically close to Donna as possible, with the exception it was Don. There was one other thing going on. At the same time we started eliminating the time line that Donna grew up in. That may not be the best description. You know how sometimes a zipper comes apart and you have to get it started by putting it together manually? Well, that’s what we did here. This is really an over simplification at best.
"Donna and Don were raised by the same family in each time line. We did quite a bit of manipulation so that the two universes were virtually identical. In Donna’s universe, there were a series of tragic events that led to Donna being sent to the children’s home, and eventually living with the Andersons and meeting all of you at school.
“Now, we have to deal with Don’s universe. Because of just a few differences, the tragic events that occurred in Donna’s universe never happened in Don’s Universe. Don’s family continues to thrive right up to the present.
“You might ask how come Don and Cindy are getting along so well, and I can certainly understand why you might ask that question. After all, they have known each other for only a few weeks. The answer is yes and no. Myrna, Don is Donna, as you figured out. Several weeks ago, Don’s family was in Reston, Virginia with Don. At the same time, Donna was up here. We had stitched, or zipped the two universes back together. Donna came to me and we terminated her universe and her physical being. We reconnected the two universes, and Donna’s spirit was taken back some seventeen years and inserted in Don’s embryo.
“Don grew up as Don; however, all of Donna’s memories were in a compartment in his mind just waiting to be released. Of course it wouldn’t do to release those memories too soon, because if we did, we would have an extremely frustrated Don wanting to get back with the woman he loved when he was Donna. We couldn’t have Don appear until after Donna’s time line had been reconnected with this one. He did that a week after the termination of Donna’s time line. Needless to say, Cindy knew who he was immediately.
“When the timeline with Donna was closed out, it was absolutely essential that a number of people in this universe knew about Donna. The seaming of the two universes wouldn’t accomplish what had to be done unless this small group, including you, Myrna, knew about the dual existence of Don/Donna.”
Myrna contemplated what she had been hearing The Wizard saying. Something going on that was far bigger than any of them realized was going on. She decided she wasn’t going to pursue that for a while. She realized one thing for sure. Cindy and Don were the central characters in this thing, whatever it was.
“So, do you have any questions?”
“Only five or six thousand, but they’ll have to wait. I do have something to say, though.”
“And what is that?”
“I want to thank you for that little present of lingerie. I know it was a gift from Bobbie and Cindy, but I know you made it possible. It means a lot to me. I know that it was somewhat selfish of me, but your gift has given me confidence to do more important things. I will be thankful to you forever. I am sure over the years I will be thankful for many things, but I just want to thank you for the opportunities you have given me, whatever, they might be.”
There was a bit of silence, and Bobbie, Cindy, and Don realized they had a true and valuable friend.
Maddy, Silky, and Chloe had been sitting back, listening to The Wizard explain what had happened. It was no big deal to Maddy, who had known all along what was going on. She had accepted it as just what had to be done.
Although Myrna had been aware of the magic possessed by Cindy, Randi, and Bobbie, she was not aware of the roles played by Maddy and the two kittens under her tutelage. They had been sitting back while listening to The Wizard trying to put into simple terms what had been going on with Don/Donna and the rest of them.
Maddy jumped to the computer desk took a few steps and gently descended to Myrna’s lap. She gently kneaded Myrna’s thighs, and then pushed up against her breasts. “Myrna, we are so happy you are here. Even though you don’t have the magic some of us have, you have your own special magic. You are part of us.”
Myrna gently stroked Maddy, then stopped. She looked down to the pretty little cat, as it suddenly dawned on her what she was doing. “Holy shit, you can talk. I wonder what other surprises are in store for me?”
“Well, Chloe and Silky can talk, too, but they’re just learning. They’ll get better.” Myrna would never be able to ‘mind speak’ with the cats, but she never had any trouble understanding their spoken words.
“Myrna,” The Wizard added, “before I go, I want to let you know that there are a number of other things that you will be learning about this group. There are some restrictions on what you will be able to discuss outside this group, but I am sure you understand why.
“All of you are so young, and you have so much to learn and experience. There will be some wonderful experiences over the years, but the most important thing for all of you is to enjoy life and each other. Myrna, you will be able to bring Avery into this circle. He will understand as Andy does now. Have fun, go to school, help each other, and don’t be afraid to explore. If you have a question about something, don’t be afraid to ask. I will always be reachable.
“There is one other thing, well, three, actually. Cindy, Bobbie, and Randi have some interesting stories to tell you. I think you will find them very enlightening.
“I will talk to all of you later."
The screen blinked out, and they sat quietly for a few minutes.
“Did I open up a can of worms, or what?” Myrna exclaimed.
“You have to realize something, Myrna. If we can talk about it, we are supposed to. The Wizard is very powerful; however, he is just the tip of an iceberg,” Bobbie commented.
“The thing that got me wondering about the Don/Donna thing was that physically it didn’t make sense. I know about these sex change operations; however, there is nothing in medical science that could take that beautiful, five foot, six inch Donna and turn her into this six-one handsome hunk that Don is.”
Don was a bit embarrassed about all the attention he was receiving. “In spite of The Wizard’s assurances, I was scared to death that Cindy wouldn’t like me. I mean we were pretty serious about each other as women. We had a very special relationship, and after all the misery I went through, Cindy was the most beautiful bright ray of hope that I could ever have wished for.
“I did a horrible thing leaving her like I did, but I had to. Thank God, she forgave me.”
Cindy grabbed Don, and put him in a lip-lock that probably curled his toes. “There was nothing to forgive. How could I be mad about having the person I love come back to me? I didn’t know the details at that time, but when I realized this beautiful person was the same person I thought I had lost, everything else was immaterial. I learned a long time ago not to question some of the things I’ve been privy to. If we ever find out one tenth of what’s going on, I’ll be surprised.
“I never told Donna about my origin; however, The Wizard did. He had to. Have you ever heard of ‘Spells ‘R’ Us’?”
“I can’t say that I have.”
“That’s not surprising. There are generally two types of individuals who find out about the shop. That’s the name of his shop: ‘Spells ‘R’ Us’. It’s a magic shop, loaded with all sorts of real magic. You’ve seen the inside of his back room over our computers. The shop is notorious in transgender lore. Transgendered individuals hope to find the shop, and use the magic to correct their gender problems. Most of the time, these changes are for the better. Sometimes, they backfire. The Wizard has little use for criminals, pedophiles, wife abusers and the like. He also has little use for boys who come into the shop looking for a potion to change their girlfriends into sex crazed bimbos. There have been a number of occasions where the boy or man found himself ending up in the girl’s shoes — literally.
“Over the years, I have seen him perform literally dozens of transformations. I haven’t seen one where I didn’t think the outcome was justified. He does have a strong sense of irony, and sometimes his solutions are rather severe; however, he is not an evil person.”
“You keep talking about transformations. Do you mean he turns dogs into cats, and things like that?”
“Yeah, things like that. You know what happened to Don. That was a transfer of the soul or spirit. Most of what he does is turning boys or men into girls or women. He does have a bit of a breast fetish. In the area of actual transformations, I’m only aware of one female to male transformation. That involved a couple who exchanged genders. They didn’t know what going to happen, but it worked out for the better. I checked on that one a couple of years ago, and it really did work out well.
“He does many of what I would call ‘new start’ transformations. Bobbie and I have been witness to several of those. Some of them have been especially nice.”
“I may be sticking my neck out here, but I guess you are one of The Wizard’s ‘victims’. May I ask what happened?”
“It’s a long story, but my change was similar to Don’s. My spirit was put in this body after the original spirit had to leave. This body almost died, but with the help of some magic and time, it was healed, and I was allowed to move in. The original spirit who helped Don’s spirit move in helped me, too.”
“Do your …?”
“Do my parents know? Yes they do. I have had a more wonderful life than I could have ever imagined. I brought Cindy back to Mom and Dad. They couldn’t be happier about the outcome.”
Myrna looked at Bobbie. “So, Bobbie is one, too, isn’t she? You two share too many knowing glances, and are just too close not to have shared in this sort of thing.”
“Yeah, I was Cindy’s first project. I had known for years that I was a girl trapped in a boy’s body. My family knew, and they were very supportive. A lot went on that we don’t need to go into now, but Cindy gave me a gift similar to what we gave you. Mine did involve a complete sex change. I was nine years old, and my life really began then. There hasn’t been one thing about it that I haven’t been thankful for.”
“Including Andy, I imagine.”
Bobbie’s pale freckled complexion turned quite red. “Especially Andy; I don’t think I need to say anything else.”
Next time: Marissa and Cindy have a ‘mother-daughter’ conversation. Marissa proves to be much wiser about things than was first indicated. Cindy comes to the conclusion that her mother is a witch, and just like Bobbie’s mother, Sally, something has happened to prevent her magic from developing. There are some problems at school. Three of the students are particularly bigoted, and don’t hold back about revealing their displeasure with Don’s racial origin. This is a project for The Wizard.
By Portia Bennett
Marissa and Cindy have a ‘mother-daughter’ conversation. Marissa proves to be much wiser about things than was first indicated. Cindy comes to the conclusion that her mother is a witch, and just like Bobbie’s mother, Sally, something has happened to prevent her magic from developing. There are some problems at school. Three of the students are particularly bigoted, and don’t hold back about revealing their displeasure with Don’s racial origin. This is a project for The Wizard.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, and Cynthia and the High School Years — Part 1. This story, the twelve chapters, completes the Cynthia Chronicles, Volume 1.
Part 2 is almost as long as part 1. It is 12 chapters and 27,500 words long. There are many more stories out there, and bits and pieces are being discovered almost every day.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
Holly really took me to task this time due to my poor sentence structure and punctuation. She wields a firm ruler and isn’t afraid to use it; my poor knuckles. Thank you so much, Holly, for making this more readable!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 3 — Mother daughter time, and bigotry shows up.
Cindy and Don knew that they would consummate their love for each other in the near future; however, there was no rush. They knew they were committed, and even if Donna’s transformation hadn’t happened, they would have been together for the rest of their lives.
Marissa wasn’t sure if she wanted to have more children, or not, but there were no signs that her child bearing years were close to being over. She was rather adamant that she didn’t want children younger than Cindy’s children; however, if that did happen, she probably wouldn’t mind. She knew that Cindy wouldn’t wait much longer before taking the final step with Don, and the thought of her making love with Don didn’t bother her that much.
“Mom, we need to talk.”
“Sure, baby, what’s on your mind?”
“First of all, I want to thank you for being so accepting of Donna, and now Don. I don’t think I know of very many parents who would have accepted Donna like you did, and now it’s as if there was no difference, in spite of the transformation.”
“It wasn’t difficult at all. We knew how you felt about Donna, and it was really none of our business about your preferences. I think we knew that it went much deeper than just a female/female thing. You and Donna were soul mates, and there is no reason for us to think anything different about Don.
“Knowing what we know about events, Bobbie would be a good example; the change from Donna to Don was a correction. I think that The Wizard’s cabal intended for a long time for you and Don to get together; except that Donna appeared rather than Don. They probably didn’t expect you and Donna to get along so well; however, that worked out well, because after the transition, Don continued to be the perfect person for you. I think they are letting nature take its course for now, but I think we are being gently manipulated in a kind sort of way.
“For example, the little alteration I went through, both physically and mentally, facilitated saving Randi. They could have done it differently, but I think they want us to be close together. That includes Bobbie’s family, too. The Wizard let something slip, and I mentioned it the other day. All of my daughters, if I have any more, will be witches.”
“Mom, were there any witches or suspected witches on your side of the family?”
“I don’t really have any way of knowing. As you know, I was adopted, and have no idea about my birth ancestors. I thought after Mom and Dad passed away that I might try to research my ancestry; however, it has never had a great priority.”
“Mom, whether you realize it or not, you are a witch, and dad has to have witches in his ancestry as well. Lore has it, and I think it’s pretty much established, that the witch trait is passed down through the female line. My biology and physiology classes pretty much back this up. The witch gene is carried on the X chromosome and it has to be a recessive gene. That is, it has to be paired with the recessive from the X chromosome donated by the father.
“Boys aren’t witches. They are sorcerers and wizards, and they have to be from a different combination of factors that might include the witch gene, but there have to be some other factors. I am pretty sure about this, and what you say about all your daughters being witches means that both of your X chromosomes have to carry the recessive. You are a witch, there is no other answer. Something must have happened so that the magic genes never kicked in.
“You’re like Bobbie’s mom.”
“Oh?”
“Oops, she doesn’t know it, and we haven’t told her. We’re still trying to figure out what to do about it. Gramma Naomi feels awful about it. She’s a witch, too. There was a little accident when Bobbie’s mom was growing up, and she erased her mind. It’s like losing a link in a computer program. The power’s there but we can’t figure out how to restore the link to get to it and make it work. This means that Bobbie’s dad is carrying the trait, too.
“I think these things will work out over the years. I don’t think there is too much concern on The Wizard’s part. He’s kinda looking out for all of us.
“Now here’s the other thing I needed to tell you. The Wizard gave Bobbie and me a couple of rather involved spells. The first one involved our ability to recognize female to male transgendered individuals. That’s working pretty well right now; however, that situation is not nearly as frequent as Bobbie’s and mine were, and we haven’t had much opportunity for practice.
“The other one is a spell that prevents ovulation. What it means is that I am now on birth control without having to use protection. One of the affects of the spell is that it preserves all the eggs. They are not lost or absorbed. Right now I have about 250,000 to 300,000 eggs. You have maybe 20,000. I think there is an implication here about extending our lives. I have found that this spell can work on any woman, but only those who have magic can implement it.
“We have a lot of time to work out many of the details, and I think that’s why Myrna is involved in this. She wants to be a research biologist specializing in human reproduction. I think one of the things she’ll be working on is this little phenomenon.
“Mom, you are 40. If I shut down your ovulation, it might appear you are entering menopause; however, we can keep track of your hormone levels and determine that your ovaries are still functioning. If you want another baby, we just turn the factory back on, and let daddy do his thing.
“Speaking of that, Don and I will be making love the way men and women do it, and I don’t think we will be waiting too much longer. It doesn’t matter whether or not there has been influence from elsewhere; we are so right for each other. I just want to assure you that we won’t be making any babies for a while. I think I want to get a degree in psychology or psychiatry. That means we are looking at six to ten years, or even more, before I finish school. Don hasn’t made up his mind yet; however, he is leaning toward law. He’s still thinking about professional athletics, but he admits that he may outgrow that.
“This whole tapestry is so interwoven. Bobbie wants to play professional golf, but she will retire from the tour when she is still young. She wants to go into youth counseling, and I think we will be working together.”
“So, do you and Don intend to get married some day?”
“I think Don feels even more strongly than I do about that, and I feel very strongly that we will; however, I think we will wait until close to the end of our undergraduate studies.”
“Well, my little girl is growing up, but don’t be in too much of a rush.”
“I’m not, Mom. I’ve been so blessed to be able to have lived my youth over as I have. This time, though, I am much better prepared to face adulthood.”
Their mother-daughter talk was interrupted by two seven-year olds bursting into the kitchen. “Mom, can Ginny and me have a snack?”
“Now, Randi, that should be, ‘May Ginny and I have a snack?’”
“Okay,” she responded with a bit of a vexed voice, “but, can we?”
“Sure, we’ll work on the grammar later.”
Ginny, with a wide smile, looked up at the mother and daughter. “You were one of Santa’s elves, weren’t you?” she asked Cindy. “You helped Santa a lot, and your friend did, too. Someday, I’m going to help Santa, too.”
They watched the two little girls rush out to the deck, nearly spilling their lemonade. “Do you think she remembers?” Marissa asked quietly.
“I don’t think so. The Wizard said she might when she reaches adolescence. It’s hard to say whether she remembers me from before or after the transformation. Hopefully, she won’t be burdened by those memories. Besides, she’s having too much fun being a little girl.
“It is interesting that Randi seems to know it all. We never told her, but she knew instantly what had happened when Ginny returned to school after Christmas. It’s just like when Don and I came to you in the kitchen that first day we got back together. She didn’t bat an eye when she saw Don. She just said she was glad he was back. She’s scary.”
“That’s all we need around here is another beaner. Those damn Mex’cans are taking over the country. They’re taking our jobs, and the next thing you know, they’ll be taking our women. This country’s for honest white folks.”
Cindy had just about had enough. She was studying in the library with Bobbie, doing some research for a combined project. She knew the conversation was pointed at her and her relationship with Don. As far as everyone at the school was concerned, Cindy had never formed a relationship with any of the male students before. She hung around with Bobbie and Myrna, but Bobbie and Myrna had boy friends they were deeply involved with.
Now school had started, and Cindy was seriously dating someone who hadn’t even lived in the area the year before. Not only that, he was ‘Mex’can’. He wasn’t even white.
“Do you know how many Mex’cans it takes to eat a ‘possum’?”
“No, how many?”
“Three. Two have to watch for cars.”
The three boys laughed uproariously.
The librarian had had enough. “Boys, any more noise, and you will have to leave.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the ring leader said while silently snickering. His name was Tommy Bolt, but everyone called him Terrible Tommy. The other two were Dougie Sanders and Fletcher McElroy. They came from working class families. Their mothers had tried to raise them properly; however, their abusive, hard drinking fathers had negated any efforts to make them socially acceptable.
“Did you hear about the Mex’can who tried to get a job rounding up cattle?” Tommy said in a not too quiet whisper. “They had to fire him. He was so greasy that he kept sliding out of the saddle.” There were a bunch of muffled snickers.
Cindy was fuming, and she had had enough. She quietly got up and approached the three.
“What’s your problem, bitch? You finally decided to find some real men rather than some greasy foreigner?”
“Tommy, shut your mouth and don’t say another word. That goes for you two as well. I think it’s time you learned some manners. For the rest of the hour you will study quietly. I will meet you at the mall after school by the Hallmark Shop.”
Cindy returned to her chair. “Bobbie, I don’t know what to do about them. If I just turn them over to The Wizard, he’s likely to turn them into bimbos. I don’t think that will do anyone any good. I know this; whatever The Wizard does, it will be final. Maybe we can come up with something that will be meaningful. I don’t think there is any hope for them the way they are now.
“I guess I could be accused of trying to get even with them. I could use more persuasion to keep them quiet, but that won’t cure their problems. I just haven’t had that much experience with this sort of thing. I know this. If we don’t do something, many bad things could happen. I don’t want to see Don getting into a fight over this. I think he can handle himself, but a fight isn’t the answer. No one wins in that sort of situation.”
Later that afternoon Cindy, Don, and Bobbie arrived at the mall to find three puzzled youths waiting for them in front of the Hallmark Shop. In a matter of seconds, the store shifted. Cindy opened the door and bade the youths to enter.
“I’m in the back, Cindy. Bring them back. Everything is ready.”
The boys, still silent, skittered away from the wolf when he snarled at them. The wolf wagged his tail as the other three passed.
“Boys, take a seat on that sofa. Let’s see: Tom, Doug, and Fletcher; you make quite the trio, don’t you?”
The three sat silently on the sofa, their eyes darting around the room.
“I’m sorry, Your Wisdom, I told them to be quiet, and didn’t take the spell off.”
“That was probably for the better after what I’ve found out about these hoodlums.
“Boys you may speak when spoken to. The rest of the time you will remain politely quiet. I’ve been doing a bit of research since Cindy called me, and I must say you are getting an early start for a disastrous life. Let’s see, Tommy and Fletcher, I see a little incidence of statutory rape here. What do you have to say about that?”
“She was begging for it, and Fletcher and me busted her cherry for her.”
“Hmmmm, and she was just 14. The complications of the early pregnancy could have killed her. It is ectopic, and she’s afraid to tell her mother. She’ll tell her now, but unfortunately, the baby will be lost. It never would have made it to term. There is nothing that can be done about it.
“I also see you’ve been selling a little pot at the park on Saturdays. Well that little venture ceases right now. Doug, tell me about this cross burning incident.”
“Yes sir, me and Tommy went with our dads over to the Willow Creek Division. There were some niggers who moved in there. They don’t belong in that neighborhood, and we were just encouraging them to move out.”
“I see you have some plans to do something similar to the Brewers. Why would you want to do anything like that to them?”
“My dad says that they’re here because the ACLU wants the Spics to move in, and those two Spic kids are just the beginning.”
“All right, that’s enough.” The Wizard turned to the others. “I don’t think you were aware of these other things, and believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Their mothers are good people, but they can’t overcome what their husbands have done. The husbands are going to be arrested later today on a huge list of federal hate crimes. Their divorces have already been finalized. They will be going to prison for many years and may not survive. I won’t assist that in either way.
“But, what do we do about these three and their families? Their mothers, brothers and sisters shouldn’t suffer for what those three men have done. Well, it turns out that their mothers are very enterprising ladies. They are going to start a very profitable cottage industry that will, in a matter of a year or so, bring in more money than they are getting now.
“These three are going to be very important in the success of their families. That’s what good daughters should do. They are going to be good daughters and mothers to be.”
The three boys began to look rather uncomfortable.
“I think you three are getting a bit hungry. Have some jelly beans. The pink ones are especially good. I want you to understand how wrong the direction you have been going is. I don’t want you dwelling on the evil you have done, but I want you to understand how bad it was, and I want you to make an honest effort to do the right thing. Obviously, being seventeen is not the correct spot to start. I think that going back before puberty will give you a good place to start from. That way you can unlearn many of those bad habits you picked up.”
The changes took place rapidly, and it wasn’t long before three ten year old girls were sitting there. Each girl was in awe of what had happened to the other two, not realizing that the same had happened to her.
“What I am saying now is for everyone’s benefit. This is not punishment. I could have let society punish you, the miscreants that you are; however, you would never amount to anything, and the life of crime you would lead would just lead to your early deaths and, worse yet, harm to many innocent people. This way, you will never forget what you did, but that life will only be a fading memory. You are going to learn how to be productive people. I am going to give you an opportunity. In seven years, you may come back to me. If you think the life you will lead during that time was a waste, I will let you go back to what you would have been had I not changed you. I don’t do this very often; however, I will give you that chance.
“Your mothers will be here in a few minutes to pick you up. I expect to hear good things about you.”
Sure enough, their mothers arrived to pick them up just minutes later. By that time, the shop appeared to be a beauty parlor. The girls had been getting a makeover for the formal tea they were going to the next day. They were positively adorable with their new make up and hair styles.
“So, will they come back in seven years?” Bobbie asked.
“Only Tommie will come back, more out of curiosity than anything else. I will show her what he would be doing if this change had never happened. She won’t be able to see anything, and will want to know why. It’s easy, I will tell her, there’s not much light inside a coffin six feet underground. She will rejoin her boyfriend and never question what happened again. What I will show her is the truth. He wouldn’t have made it through next year.
Next time: Not surprisingly, there is a small and decreasing population of witches in the New England area. Word about Cindy, Bobbie, and Randi is out there; thanks to publications like The Journal of Witchcraft and word of mouth, much initiated by The Wizard. The New England Coven holds a meeting in the girls’ home town, and they and their mothers are invited. Marissa and Sally find out who they really are, but Marissa probably knew for a long time. Maddy and her two students perform for everyone, and Randi is up to her usual tricks.
By Portia Bennett
Not surprisingly, there is a small and decreasing population of witches in the New England area. Word about Cindy, Bobbie, and Randi is out there; thanks to publications like The Journal of Witchcraft and word of mouth, much initiated by The Wizard. The New England Coven holds a meeting in the girls’ home town, and they and their mothers are invited. Marissa and Sally find out who they really are, but Marissa probably knew for a long time. Maddy and her two students, Silky and Chloe, perform for everyone, and Randi is up to her usual tricks.
I decided to go on and post Chapter 5, also. There is not a lot of action; however, there is an important discussion concerning the event that led to Sally’s early mind erasure. This chapter is really the set-up for Chapter 6, which concerns a significant confrontation between Cindy and Bobbie.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, and Cynthia and the High School Years — Part 1. This story, the twelve chapters, completes the Cynthia Chronicles, Volume 1.
Part 2 is almost as long as part 1. It is 12 chapters and 27,500 words long. There are many more stories out there, and bits and pieces are being discovered almost every day.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
Holly really took me to task this time due to my poor sentence structure and punctuation. She wields a firm ruler and isn’t afraid to use it; my poor knuckles. Thank you so much, Holly, for making this more readable!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 4 — The meeting of the Coven. Mistakes and secrets revealed.
“Mom, there’s a little mother - daughter thing this Saturday night, and we’re invited. Cindy, Randi, and her mom will be there. We’d like for you to be there, too. You might meet some nice people.
“Does this have anything to do with all that magic stuff that you and Cindy are involved in?”
“Well, yes. The Wizard said he thought it would be nice if some of the families could get together once in a while. After all, we are a rather select group, and we have to work on the fringes as it is. It might give you an opportunity to meet some other families who have to deal with having magical offspring.”
“This is not like one of those Tupperware Parties is it? I don’t like going to those things, and then feeling obligated to buy something I don’t really need.”
“No, it won’t be like that at all. I think some folks will be coming in from Massachusetts and New York. It’s going to be like a mutual support group. We have a lot of responsibility, and this will give us a chance to talk about some of the problems we have to face?”
“How many non-magical people are going to be there?”
“I don’t really know. We’ll just have to find out when we get there. I think it will be fun. The Wizard is going to do a presentation on multiple object levitation. That should be interesting.”
It was October, and Bobbie and Andy had just spent most of the previous weekend together. Andy had caught a commuter flight from Winston-Salem for the Columbus Day Holiday and Bobbie had driven to Hartford to pick him up. He had been one of the first to get off the plane; however, the gate area was empty by the time their embrace ended. There had been a few tears of happiness. His single bag was by itself at the baggage carousel when they arrived to pick it up.
They spent Friday and Sunday nights with their families; however, they’d spent Saturday night at the same bed and breakfast they had gone to before school started.
True love is a precious thing, and Bobbie and Andy were very secure in their relationship. They had spent a wonderful weekend together before school had started, with their parents’ approval. They had held off making love for quite a while; however, they had known it was going to happen, and the consensus was that they were better off having a private weekend together, rather than sneaking off. It didn’t hurt to know that infallible birth control was being used thanks to The Wizard’s spell that Bobbie and Cindy were now practicing.
The mother/daughter meeting/get together was held in the club house of a local condominium complex. To everyone on the outside, it appeared to be a DAR meeting. And in all actuality, most of the attendees probably could have qualified for DAR membership if they’d cared to.
The Lewis’s and Schmedlaps were greeted at the door by Esmeralda Mather and Evelyn Alden, the two ladies who had brought the kittens to the animal shelter. Although the girls hadn’t been aware of it at the time, the two ladies were sisters.
Esmeralda and Evelyn introduced the Lewis’s and Schmedlaps to several groups of ladies. In all, there had to be about thirty present. It became quickly evident that Cindy, Bobbie, and Randi were the youngest there. The Wizard was talking with one group of ladies who seemed a bit in awe of the old master. They were equally in awe when he was greeted with hugs and kisses from the Schmedlaps and Lewis’s. Randi’s familiarity with him raised some eyebrows. Apparently, this sort of thing just wasn’t done; however, no one had bothered to inform the two families.
There was some sort of agenda, and Esmeralda herded the ladies to their seats. Evelyn took the floor. “Ladies, we have a very special evening in store for us tonight. I want to thank the representatives from Long Island, the Hudson River Valley, Greater Hartford, and western Massachusetts for being here. Unfortunately, the Boston representatives could not be here due to the untimely death of Margaret Hamilton this morning. I know many of you will be attending her funeral next Tuesday.
“This is a very special time for us. Today we are welcoming two families into our little association. In a time when our membership continues to decrease, it is so heartwarming to recognize Cindy and Randi Lewis, and Bobbie Schmedlap into the sisterhood. We never knew until a few years ago that there were three new members just learning to spread their wings in the noble art of witchcraft.
“Please also welcome their mothers, Marissa Lewis and Sally Schmedlap. We are so glad to have you here.”
Evelyn’s little speech was interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing at the rear of the room. Neither Marissa Lewis nor Sally Schmedlap looked back; however, Bobbie and Cindy did. Bobbie gave a little gasp. It was Grandmother Naomi who put a finger to her lips as she sat at the back of the room, the wolf sitting at her side.
Evelyn continued. “Our latest census indicated there were 173 of us in the New England/New York area, and to find there were three new members in one city has been very exciting. Hopefully, we will find more before the conference in Salem next year.
“In addition to our new members, we are honored tonight to have in our presence the SRU Wizard and his companion, Wolf. His Wisdom will be discussing the art of multiple levitations. As you are well aware, our talents may be stronger in some areas than in others. For those of us who are not levitation specialists, learning how to do multiple levitations might prove to be very useful.
“We are also honored to have a special guest from Visalia, California, Naomi Ward, President of the Central California Coven. Naomi is Bobbie Schmedlap’s grandmother.”
Sally Schmedlap gave a startled turn toward the rear of the room. “Mother! What are you doing here?”
“Why, I came to see my daughter and granddaughter. We’ll talk later.”
“Obviously, this is a surprise for her family as well as for the rest of us,” Evelyn remarked. Then picking up where she had left off, “As I mentioned a moment ago, His Wisdom will be talking about the art of levitation. Not only is His Wisdom an expert on levitation, he has recently written monographs on “The Effects of Slow Transformations Versus Fast Transformations”, “Gender Change as a Disciplinary Tool”, and “The Proper Treatment of the Male Chauvinist”. All have gone into multiple printings.
“With that, I welcome His Wisdom, The SRU Wizard.”
There was light applause as The Wizard came forward accompanied by two chairs, a floor standing ashtray, and a coat rack.
He spent several minutes demonstrating and discussing how to partition spells to address multiple objects. He kept several objects suspended while at the same time, he imparted different motions to each. He had some rotating in place, while others were in various orbits around him.
Randi watched intently for a while before she went to the refreshment table. She retrieved eight chocolate chip cookies, and soon had them imitating the motions of the objects The Wizard was using for demonstration. Only Naomi and The Wizard picked up on what Randi was doing.
The Wizard placed the objects on the floor; then looked back at Randi. He didn’t smile, but winked at her. She got the message immediately. Saving two cookies, she sent the other six back to the tray at the refreshment table.
“Now, we need some volunteers for the next demonstration. Randi, if you would be my assistant, please bring those two ping pong balls that Gramma Naomi has to me.”
Randi, very pleased that she could be involved in something important, ran over to Naomi and grabbed the two ping pong balls. She raced up the aisle and handed them to The Wizard.
“Did you bring that other ‘thing’ I asked you to bring?”
“Yes, Your Wisdom.”
“Fine, bring it up here and put it on the table.”
Randi raced back to her seat, briefly rummaged through the small satchel bag she seemed to carry everywhere, and pulled out half of the pet door she had modified. She returned to the front, and The Wizard took it from her and placed it on the table. He had Randi stand to one side.
“As some of you are aware, Randi is a rather talented young lady. This is half of the pet door she constructed a while ago. You may have read about it in my article in The Journal of Witchcraft last fall.”
He turned to the door. “Are you ready, Maddy?”
“Yes, Your Wisdom.” Maddy’s sweet little voice came through the door. She, followed by Silky and Chloe, popped through the door, and sat quietly on the table, drawing several gasps of surprise from some in the audience.
“For those who haven’t met her, Maddy is Cindy’s associate, Chloe is Bobbie’s, and Silky is Randi’s. Maddy is very proficient at levitating, and she is an excellent instructor. They are going to demonstrate with these ping pong balls some of the things she has been teaching the two kittens.
“The floor is yours, Maddy.”
Maddy and the kittens put on a very entertaining demonstration for several minutes. They had the balls going all over the room, doing loops and drastic changes of direction. For their finale, Chloe and Silky played a very vigorous game of ping pong on the ping pong table, never touching the balls. When the game was over, they received a nice round of applause. The three, cat and kittens, stood on their hind legs and bowed to the audience. Maddy then shooed the kittens through the door and followed.
“Now, for the final demonstration, I would like two volunteers. I think Sally Schmedlap and Marissa Lewis will do nicely.”
The two looked questioningly at each other, but stood and came slowly forward. The Wizard had them stand at opposite sides of the table, facing each other. He then levitated a ping pong ball about two feet above the surface of the table.
“I am going to hold the ball at its current level. I want both of you to concentrate on the ball. You may close your eyes if you want. I want you to imagine its weight and feel. I’m sure you’ve played ping pong in the past, so that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
“Now, Marissa, try to imagine that you are pushing the ball. It might help to think that it is on a slope. Imagine that it is on this slope and that you are pushing it towards Sally. Just feel the ball in your mind. Feel that dry, slick surface. Sense how light it is. Now, just gently push it. The ball is very light, isn’t it?”
Slowly, the ball began to move towards Sally. Marissa was watching the entire time. If anyone had noticed, a little smile was showing at the corners of her mouth. The ball stopped about a foot in front of Sally.
“Okay, Sally, I want you to do the same thing Marissa did. I want you to imagine, no, I want you to sense the ping pong ball. I want you to sense how light it is, how easy it is for the slightest breeze to move it. Pretend your thoughts are that breeze. Now, just push the ball down the slope towards Marissa.”
“Why, I can’t do anything like that. I’m just Bobbie’s mother.”
“And, Naomi’s daughter,” The Wizard added.
Sally suddenly panicked. She looked at Evelyn, and then at her mother, who just smiled back at her daughter. “Mother, you’re a witch?”
“Yes dear, as Evelyn said, I am the President of the Central California Coven. Why don’t you try to do what The Wizard said? You’re doing pretty well so far.”
“I’m not doing anything. The Wizard’s doing that.”
“I’m not doing anything, Sally. You’ve been controlling the ball ever since Marissa turned control over to you. Go ahead, give it a little push. Just feel it in your mind. Remember Newton’s Law of Motion. Once you start it rolling, it won’t take much to keep it going. The only resistance you will feel is due to the air.”
Sally looked at the ball, and it slowly started to move towards Marissa, picking up speed.
“Push it from the side a little, so it goes around Marissa.”
The ball started to deflect a bit to the right. As it passed Marissa, she reached out and grabbed it with her left hand.
“What are you doing? I mean, why are you telling me that I am doing this?”
“For the simple reason you are, my darling daughter,” Naomi said while pulling Sally into a hug. “You are one of us, and always have been: just as Marissa is. We’ve known about both of you for quite a while. I’ll explain everything to you in a while.”
“That’s why you knew about Bobbie, the way she was before. I knew there was something strange there.
“How did you get here? I mean, I talked to you this afternoon, and you were in Visalia.”
“We came with His Wisdom. We met him at the Mall, and he brought us here in his shop. Your father is down the hall watching a football game. We thought we would surprise you with a visit. We’re going to have dinner at the Lewis’s tomorrow. Then we will go back to Visalia tomorrow evening with His Wisdom.”
“What’s going on, Mom?”
“Well, for now, you just need to know that you and Marissa are witches, too. We’ll explain everything later. Right now the only thing that matters is for you to realize you are part of a very special group, and that you are very welcome.”
Evelyn had a few more remarks, and announced the next meeting would be in Providence, Rhode Island. After the meeting was adjourned, the other ladies lingered to welcome Sally, Marissa, and their daughters. Warm hugs were shared by all.
Chapter 5 — A very pleasant dinner
“Cindy, you have no idea how much you mean to us. You have been a catalyst for so many things. When Sally called us and said that that someone was harassing Bobbie about her being transgendered, and had given her a gift certificate from the Spells ‘R’ Us shop, we didn’t know what to say. I had carefully avoided any discussion of magic around Sally.
Then you show up and wanted to give Bobbie the one thing she desired the most. It brought me out of my shell, my self imposed exile, so to speak.”
“Mom, it wasn’t your fault. How were you to know that I would pick up your spell book and do what I did? Besides, I’m learning things already. The primer His Wisdom gave me has been very helpful.”
“Sally, what parent leaves a loaded gun sitting on the dining room table? I violated so many rules. I couldn’t believe it when I heard an infant crying. There you were crying like a newborn. You had forgotten everything. It took six months before you started talking again, and nearly a year before you were toilet trained. We were lucky you lost only a year of school.
“I finally went to His Wisdom to tell him what happened. If anyone around here should have been turned into a toad, it should have been me. Of course, he knew who Bobbie was, and steps were being taken for a transformation even before Cindy got involved.
“That was when we found out what sort of stuff Cindy was made of. The Schmedlap family, like the Lewis family, is blessed in that all the members carry the magic trait. That’s why they could read the certificate. That was why everyone had to agree that Bobbie could try to redeem the certificate. But it took Cindy’s perseverance to make it happen.
“We were so happy when it did happen, and I couldn’t resist later that year telling Sally how beautiful and happy Bobbie was. She gave me a funny look, because I wasn’t supposed to know. I guess it was six years ago when I gave Bobbie her first set of adult golf clubs. I know she never told you that I was in Visalia when I did it. I believe she told you they came by UPS.”
The two families were sitting around the extended dining room table at the Lewis’s home. Randi and the two youngest members of the families were down in the recreation room playing video games. Randi had promised not to use any magic to affect the outcome of the games. The Wizard was sitting at the place of honor, and Don and Cindy were sitting across from each other at the far end on either side of Stan Lewis.
Bobbie’s brothers were there, too. The Wizard had made arrangements for his shop to be in a mall near where they went to school. They just showed up, walked through to the back of the shop and out the service door into the mall in Cindy’s home town, where Bobbie was waiting for them in the parking lot. It was all very convenient.
The last few months had been … well, to say they had been interesting for Donald Brewer would be an understatement. For the last seventeen years of his life he had grown up in a wonderful environment with his adoptive family. He had traveled all over Europe, thanks to his father’s being in the military. He had a nice, well as nice as little brothers could be, brother and a sweet little sister. His brother had come from the same town he had, and had been abandoned like he had. His sister was Vietnamese, with probably Afro-American ancestry.
He loved his life and was looking forward, like his entire family, to settling down in one place, and not be subject to the whims of the military. Like many boys and young men of his age, he fantasized about women and sex. He had dated frequently, and had, like most boys, experimented with how far he could go. He found out rather early, that with his Latin good looks, athletic ability, and affable personality, that he probably could have had his way with just about any young girl he wanted. Yet there always seemed to be something holding him back. He just couldn’t connect. Somewhere between second and third base was as far as he wanted to go.
The something bothering him was the image of a young woman. She was beautiful beyond anyone he had ever met, tall, golden blonde, and rather well endowed. She appeared in his dreams, and it was obvious that she loved him. She was warm and affectionate, never demanding. They were very close, equals on all levels, and although they never went as far as having intercourse, his dreams of her frequently had ended with a wet dream.
Then, about half way through the previous summer he’d run into The Wizard at Tyson Corner #2 while shopping for a computer game. Within seconds, his life in a parallel universe had been revealed to him. He had been a young woman, Donna, whose life had been turned upside-down by a series of tragic events. Then she had met Cindy, and fallen in love with her, as Cindy had with her.
She had met The Wizard, and he eventually told her about the paradox that was developing. There was only one solution that would allow her to remain with Cindy, and that was to come back as the boy that she was inside, something that had always bothered Donna. That was something that had not dominated her life as a woman; however, the thought had been there. With Bobbie’s support, Donna agreed to go back, become Don, and grow up so that he could return to Cindy. Her universe as Donna would disappear.
In spite of the Wizard’s and Bobbie’s assurances, Don had had some doubts that Cindy would accept him. After all, they had had a very intense and loving relationship as women: a relationship that had been accepted by all close to them.
His family had moved to Cindy’s city where they had purchased a home. His father was going to work for the company that Cindy’s father co-owned with several others. Don had quickly found a group of young men who played soccer, many of them of European and Latin American origin. During the summer there seemed to be a pickup soccer game going almost every morning, and Don fit right in.
On that fateful Saturday morning, he convinced his parents to come down to the park to watch him and his new friends play. Just as The Wizard had promised, Cindy showed up with Bobbie, and they sat next to his family. She was beautiful to the point of being a distraction. He could see that she was watching him rather intently. He could also sense her unhappiness. Finally, the opportunity was there. The ball went out of bounds right in front of her.
It was probably a bit cruel, but he couldn’t resist, he was so damn happy that she was there, and because he had talked about her and Bobbie with his family, he had to introduce the two to them. Needless to say, the shock Cindy suffered when she realized who he was, was not expected. Cindy fainted, but The Wizard arrived to ease her back to consciousness, and prevent what Don found out a bit later would have been an over the top emotional reaction on Cindy’s part.
Cindy’s acceptance of him was seamless, just what The Wizard and Bobbie had said it would be. What’s more, all of his close friends from his previous life accepted him, too. Their lives, and his picked up with hardly a hiccough. There was one difference. They were not quite as sexually intimate as they had been before. That would happen soon enough, without a doubt, and he already felt that Cindy’s parents were not going to prevent their consummating their love. Just when it would happen was entirely up to Cindy. He wasn’t worried about it at all, because he was certain nothing would ever come between them.
There were the lingering thoughts about what this whole thing was about, and the group had discussed it several times. Cindy’s mother had said the same thing. There was so much going on that they didn’t understand. They knew they were being manipulated. The magical world had gone through too much trouble to make sure Cindy and Don could be together. For that matter, Andy and Bobbie’s relationship might have been influenced, too. There just seemed to be too much interest in both of the families: too much concern.
Cindy continued to work hard on her academics. She found that regardless of her previous education, much had changed. Many of the high school courses she was taking were as advanced as the college courses she had taken in her previous life. She had made up her mind that she was going to go the pre-med route when she went to college.
Bobbie was going to major in psychology and counseling. She had determined that she would probably turn pro as a golfer very soon. Her experience in her first pro tournament had convinced her that she had what it took to play professional golf. She knew she could win. She also knew that she was going to go at least one step further. She was going to compete on the men’s tour, and she was going to also win there.
A number of other things kept Bobbie focused. She and Andy had agreed they would get married before they finished college. Wake Forest was already making scholarship offers to her, and she was pretty sure that was where she would go to school. She and Andy would live together, that was without question. Bobbie determined that she would play golf, if successful, only into her early thirties. She might play some after that, but she was going to concentrate on her family and career as a guidance counselor. She and Andy were going to have a family, and they weren’t going to let her professional golf career override that. She made that very clear. She also felt that if Cindy’s career went the way she thought it would, that they would probably work together.
It looked more and more as if Cindy and Don would be going to Boston College for their undergraduate work. Don felt he would try for Harvard Law, and Cindy felt she would try to go to medical school there as well, but that was still many years in the future. There were more immediate concerns.
Next time: I am tired of the agony, so I will post the remaining chapters two or three at a time. Chapter 6: Bobbie confronts Cindy about Cindy’s reluctance to take the next step with Don. She makes a very convincing argument. Meanwhile, Marissa wields a little magic of her own. Cindy is going to have a little brother or sister.
Chapter 7: Avery Mankowitz is brought into the circle of friends. The cats demonstrate some of their magical ability. Avery remembers Donna.
By Portia Bennett
Chapter 6: Bobbie is concerned that Cindy has not taken the final steps in her relationship with Don. After all, from a life experience point of view, they are both over 35 years old. So, Bobbie and Andy have given Cindy and Don a little Christmas present.
Chapter 7: The group gets together over the Thanksgiving holiday and Avery is brought in on the magical aspects of the group. He also remembers Donna.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, and Cynthia and the High School Years — Part 1. This story, the twelve chapters, completes the Cynthia Chronicles, Volume 1.
Part 2 is almost as long as part 1. It is 12 chapters and 27,500 words long. There are many more stories out there, and bits and pieces are being discovered almost every day.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
Holly really took me to task this time due to my poor sentence structure and punctuation. She wields a firm ruler and isn’t afraid to use it; my poor knuckles. Thank you so much, Holly, for making this more readable!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 6 — Bobbie takes charge. So does Marissa
“Cindy, don’t you think it’s time?”
“Time for what?”
“Don’t give me that ‘time for what’ bull shit. Let’s be reasonable about this. If you and Don were normal seventeen year olds, it would be one thing. Let’s face it; you have both gone through hell to get where you are. You weren’t afraid to make love when you were both women. It’s time that you love each other the way you both have wanted to. Since the day he came back you’ve been talking about how you were going to bed him at first opportunity, but you’ve done nothing. It’s almost as if you’ve taken a step backwards.
“Look at what he did to be with you. Based on faith and the word of a ditsy redhead and a cantankerous old wizard, Donna allowed her physical existence to be wiped out, just so Don could be with you. Look at what you’ve been through to be where you are today. You didn’t have to do any of this. You could still be that fat curmudgeonous misanthrope with no friends and no life. You could be, but you’re not. You took all sorts of chances to be where you are today.
“You are not some sort of blonde bimbo throwing herself out there to a bunch of love crazed teenagers. There’s a man out there who loves you more deeply than any woman deserves. I think it’s time that you two took the next step; and the sooner the better.
Cindy turned away from her best friend, silently staring out to space. Bobbie came up to her and pulled her close to her right side.
“Bobbie, I love him so much, and I’m so afraid.”
“Afraid of what? Afraid of being a woman?”
“I think that’s it. I’ve come so far, and I am beginning to wonder if I can do it. I’m afraid I will fail, afraid that I can’t be enough of a woman for him.”
“Cindy, you don’t make any sense. You seduced Donna; well, maybe not seduced. I think you both knew where your relationship was going. You were both plenty of woman for the other. Nothing has changed. We are still dealing with the same two people.
“Are you afraid of the pain that first time? Believe me it’s nothing, and you can use a little spell to numb that area. I chose not to. Do you think that for one moment that The Wizard would allow you to be hurt, or that Don would hurt you?
“Look, we have both been given a gift, something that so many like we were will never be able to experience. Both of you have received gifts, too. You have waited nearly forty-five years to make love to the man who loves you, to be a woman, and he has waited nearly thirty-five years to make love to you.”
“But we made love.”
“That was just foreplay, and you know it. Well, you know it now. Cindy, you are not two love-sick teenagers rushing off to a disastrous, hormone driven encounter. You need each other. What else do you have to experience before you decide to become a woman?”
“I think you are just trying to reassure yourself, since you’ve already jumped into the sack with Andy.”
“Cindy, you are just being defensive. Andy and I made love because it was right. I think you should start relying on the powers that make us a bit different from many others. You know damn well that everything about you two is right. You also know that there won’t be any mistakes. You need each other so that you can get on with other things, and not have to worry about it.
“There is no one else, Cindy, and there never will be. You need to feel complete. I think it’s important for you to get over this hesitancy and regain your confidence.
“I am going to employ a little KITA.”
“What the hell is KITA?”
“‘Kick In The Ass’: we’ve made some arrangements. Andy and I are giving you and Don a little Christmas gift. We’ve reserved a cottage for you at the bed and breakfast that Andy and I like. Your parents already know, and I used a little persuasion on the Brewers. They have already accepted the fact that you and Don are bonded for life. I just opened them up to being a bit more accepting of things. They’re going to have to know the whole story someday, anyway. We’ll feed it to them a little bit at a time. This multiple universe thing will probably be a bit difficult for them to accept, though, especially for an ex-military guy”
“So, you have this whole thing figured out, do you?”
“I guess the shoe is on the other foot. There was a time when you knew what was best for me, and now I know what is best for you. Your reservations are for four nights and three days the week between Christmas and New Years. Don already knows. For some reason, he wasn’t nearly as tough to convince as you.
“Now we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. I know a couple of pretty good spells, and I’m not afraid to use them.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“I will if I have to, and how do you know I haven’t already cast one?”
Cindy turned to her best friend. “Bobbie, I love you. I know you wouldn’t do anything like that. You are right. I am a coward. I have lived all my life for that special moment with Don. I’ve known he was the right one ever since that day on the beach. I guess I am just going to have to get over this last bit of doubt.”
“There is no reason for you to doubt anything about your femininity. The Wizard and his kind wouldn’t allow it. There are about four hundred boys at school who would love to prove it to you. They’re not in the picture, though.”
“So, do you have any suggestions?”
“Well, I could cast a little spell like I mentioned; however, I don’t think either of you needs any additional magic. There is more than enough magic between you two to last a lifetime. You just need to let it happen.”
“Mari, I’m not sure I approve of this. After all, they are only seventeen. If anyone found out that we were letting our children sleep around, tongues would wag.”
Marissa and Stan were having a few quiet moments together in the sitting area of their bedroom. Randi was doing some lessons that The Wizard had left her, Stan Jr. was in bed, and Tom was out with some friends.
“I think I could use anther glass of that port The Wizard left for us. I don’t think there are any potions in it, but have you noticed that the bottle is always half full? That is certainly quite a gift.
“Now, about our daughter: physically, she is seventeen; however, she is an adult chronologically, and you know it. She has never done one thing that ever bordered on the irresponsible. You hardly batted an eye when she and Donna fell in love and started their little affair, and that was more than a year ago.”
“But it’s different now. He’s a boy.”
“He’s a man,” Marissa countered. “He has experienced thirty-five years of life on this planet. Donald Brewer loves our daughter as deeply as it is possible for a man to love a woman. She loves him just as much, and they have waited a long time for each other.
“Their whole situation is so beyond the ordinary. Besides, Cindy needs to have some private time with him. We are not encouraging promiscuity. You know darn well you don’t have to worry about that. I just know that she is ready, more than ready, to take the next step. No one outside our group will ever know about it. She won’t get pregnant, and I know a few spells that will back up the confidentiality aspect.
“I think what Bobbie and Andy did is real sweet. Of course, in other circumstances with different people, it might be inappropriate. That is not the case here. You are being a protective father just as you should be, and I am being the loving mother who knows what is best for her daughter. We just need to realize that this whole situation is exceptional, it is unique.”
Stan was quiet for a few moments. “I guess you’re right. I just have a few issues with our daughter being a grown woman. My goodness, we could become grandparents.”
“You know that won’t happen for a while.
“Now, we have something else to discuss. I want to show you another spell.” She stood while undoing her skirt. Placing it on the bench in front of their bed, she unbuttoned and removed her blouse. Her bra followed. She walked rather seductively over to Stan, and started unbuttoning his shirt. He didn’t wait for her to loosen his belt. They were both quite unclothed as she led him to their luxurious shower enclosure.
“See, with out even touching you, I made that rise. It has to be magic.”
About an hour later, they were basking in the afterglow of some wonderful love-making. Marissa was diddling her fingers through the hair on Stan’s chest. “I have a little surprise; I turned on my egg factory two weeks ago. My temperature was up this morning. I think we may have just made a new daughter.”
She looked at Stan with a little question on her brow.
He smiled back. “Well if it didn’t work, I think we should try again just to make sure. I’m up to it if you are.” They needn’t have worried.
”ƒ
Chapter 7 — Avery is brought in.
Before they knew it, it was Thanksgiving. Avery was able to get away early and avoid the Thanksgiving travel rush. He made the relatively short drive from Boston, and the three couples were able to get together the day before Thanksgiving. They spent the afternoon ice skating before they met at the Lewis’s for a pizza feast in the recreation room.
As it was with Maddy, Silky and Chloe did not mature at the rate normal cats would. Normal cats would have long before become adults; however, Chloe and Silky were still adolescent. For that matter, Maddy appeared to be just on the verge of maturity herself. The cats ventured downstairs, and settled down with the humans. Maddy moved in next to Avery, who was absentmindedly scratching her behind her ear.
Maddy interrupted her purr of gratitude.
“Just a little to the left, please.”
“Sure. … What? … Who said that?”
“Oh boy, here we go again,” Cindy shook her head smiling knowingly at the others.
“Avery, what do you know about us?”
“What do you mean? You are all good friends. Don seems to fit in real well, and I’m glad Cindy finally decided to have a boyfriend. I don’t think I’ve ever met a tighter group of friends. I didn’t know it before, but one of you is a pretty good ventriloquist.”
“How about another piece ’a pizza?” Bobbie asked.
“Sure, I think I’ll have another slice of that sausage and pepperoni. Gramma’s visiting, and Mom’s taken all the pork out of the house. Gramma knows we aren’t kosher, but Mom just avoids the whole issue.”
Bobbie took his plate, retrieving a slice of thick pizza from the greasy box. “Say, this stuff is getting a bit cool. Want me to heat it up?”
“Sure, but I can put it in the microwave.”
“That won’t be necessary.
“Maddy, why don’t you and the girls pretend it’s a cockroach? Don’t get it too hot though, we don’t want Avery to get pizza palate.”
Bobbie put the plate on a mat on the low table. The three cats gathered around and stared at it. Soon the aroma of heating pizza was apparent, and a bit of vapor was rising from the plate.
“That should be enough, girls.
“Avery, check it out. They might have gone a bit overboard.”
Avery picked up the plate and verified very quickly that the slice of pizza was now quite hot. “What the hell is going on? Did you just irradiate all of us with microwaves?”
“I never thought of that before,” Cindy said while smiling at the stunned Avery. “They’re pretty good at focusing the energy.
“Maddy, does any of that energy go anywhere else?”
“No, it seems to all go to the desired object. That’s why we can kill fleas, ticks, and intestinal parasites without any collateral damage.”
“Okay, guys, this is getting real weird: talking cats, cats microwaving pizza? I think you’ve just exceeded the limits of my credulity.”
Myrna hugged Avery, and gave him a big kiss. “Avery, hang on to your credulity, but Cindy and Bobbie are witches; so’s Randi. Maddy, Silky, and Chloe are their familiars, though they prefer to be called associates. You’re too close to this group to not know what’s going on, and The Wizard said it was time for you to find out.”
“So, are you a witch, too? Are you going to turn me into a frog if I don’t perform up to your standards?”
“First of all, your performance exceeded my standards long ago, and second of all, I am not magical.”
“What about Don? How does he fit in all of this?”
“To tell the truth, we aren’t sure. Cindy and Don have been in love for a long time, and it seems they’re destined to be together.
Myrna glanced toward Don and Cindy, who nodded. Everyone had already agreed that Myrna would handle the reveal.
“Avery, I want you to think back to last year. Who was Cindy going with?”
“Cindy wasn’t going with anyone, and that really pissed a lot of the guys off. They said some pretty uncomplimentary things about her — obviously not true.”
“I want you to think back to last spring, and the spring before that. Remember how we used to go to the soccer games? I want you to think very hard. Do you remember a pretty Latina who was a wizard with the soccer ball? She was our friend, especially Cindy’s friend. Surely you remember. Just close your eyes and think about it. She was a beautiful young woman, a bit shy with most of the students; however, we were her friends and we were pretty tight.”
Everyone could see that Avery was thinking very hard. He would look at Cindy and Don, close his eyes and try to concentrate. All of a sudden he straightened up, his eyes wide open.
“I remember her. She was a doll, her name was Donna, and she and Cindy were lovers.
“Oh shit, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry, Cindy. Now I’ve ruined everything. Damn, what can I say?”
Don quickly spoke up, “It’s okay, Avery, I know all about it. You see, I was Donna.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding. There’s no way in hell that could be.” Avery was not one to swear very much. “There’s no way a sex change could make you grow more than six inches, especially over the summer.”
They spent the next half-hour explaining as best they could how Donna had become Don, and the fact that Don had experienced nearly thirty-five years doing it. After a couple more demonstrations, Avery had to admit, even though most of it went against everything he knew or had experienced to date. He was studying physics and electrical engineering, yet what he had seen was irrefutable. He remembered a quote from the famous scientist and author, Arthur C. Clarke, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic.”
“Okay, three of you are witches; there are three talking cats that can move things without touching them. They can also heat up cold pizza and other things. Two of the three most gorgeous women I have ever known used to be boys. Another woman I knew is now a handsome hunk. Then, there’s a wizard who seems to be able to make all these changes happen. Is there anything else I should know?”
Unseen by Avery, Myrna was giving Cindy a questioning look. Cindy shook her head slightly. She didn’t see any reason that Avery needed to find out that Myrna had undergone the transformation she had.
“Avery, there is something going on that we are not too sure about. Apparently, even though you are not magical, Myrna and you have important roles to play in all this. I don’t think there is any rush. We are just supposed to continue doing what we have been doing. We have to continue our education; that seems to be very important. Other than that, there doesn’t seem to be any plan.”
“So, do I get to meet this Wizard of your?”
“I’m sure you will. We could contact him now, but he has been pretty busy. We’ll do it soon enough.”
Next time: Chapter 8: Many years ago Cindy was a little nine year old girl just beginning to learn what being a girl and young woman was all about. Now it’s the week between Christmas and New Years and the two lovers are taking the final steps. When I started this writing this series of stories last year, this chapter was always the objective. Although this chapter represents the most important thing in Cindy’s life up to now, the story is far from over, and it won’t be completed for quite a while.
Chapter 9: The Brewers are invited for dinner, and although they didn’t know it at the time, they are going to meet The Wizard. Once again Randi manages to steal the show. The Brewers are surprisingly accepting.
Chapter 10: Don and Cindy, Bobbie and Andy, and Avery and Myrna spend a delightful weekend at their favorite place. We find out that Avery remembers some other things. Bobbie and Cindy meet an old acquaintance. Someone they met in Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver.
By Portia Bennett
Chapter 8: Many years ago Cindy was a little nine year old girl just beginning to learn what being a girl and young woman was all about. Now it’s the week between Christmas and New Years and the two lovers are taking the final steps. When I started this writing this series of stories last year, this chapter was always the objective. Although this chapter represents the most important thing in Cindy’s life up to now, the story is far from over, and it won’t be completed for quite a while.
Chapter 9: The Brewers are invited for dinner, and although they didn’t know it at the time, they are going to meet The Wizard. Once again Randi manages to steal the show. The Brewers are surprisingly accepting.
Chapter 10: Don and Cindy, Bobbie and Andy, and Avery and Myrna spend a delightful weekend at their favorite place. We find out that Avery remembers some other things. Bobbie and Cindy meet an old acquaintance. Someone they met in Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, and Cynthia and the High School Years — Part 1. This story, the twelve chapters, completes the Cynthia Chronicles, Volume 1.
Part 2 is almost as long as part 1. It is 12 chapters and 27,500 words long. There are many more stories out there, and bits and pieces are being discovered almost every day.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
Holly really took me to task this time due to my poor sentence structure and punctuation. She wields a firm ruler and isn’t afraid to use it; my poor knuckles. Thank you so much, Holly, for making this more readable!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 8 — Two lovers.
He parked the car near the shelter of a large spruce. It didn’t really afford much protection from the driving snow, but it was fairly close to their little cottage. There had probably been more than six inches of snow since they had departed their little nest for dinner, and whether they recognized it or not, the size of the flakes indicated the temperature had dropped considerably. What had been big feather-sized flakes lazily drifting down, were now much smaller but more numerous flakes being driven by an increasing wind.
Cindy was bundled in her new coat and hood as the car had barely time to heat up during the short drive from the restaurant. She was waiting for Don to come around to her side of the car. He had insisted on being the proper escort since the beginning of their little trip, and at first it had almost been embarrassing, but she quickly realized that it was very important for him to do everything properly. She had decided she would just sit back and enjoy his attention. He came around to her side of the car and opened the door while trying to protect her from the driving snow.
They laughed as they huddled together and made a half run to the door while kicking loose snow everywhere. The metal awning over the door did absolutely nothing to protect them from the snow, and in spite of her warm hood, the snow was hitting her exposed skin and melting in little drops. Don fumbled with the door key, and his gloved fingers lost control. The key dropped into the fresh snow, almost disappearing. As Don crouched to pick it up, a gust of wind blew a cloud of snow off the roof, depositing it on both of them. He found the key, quickly opened the door, and gave her a gentle push as he followed her in.
They stomped their feet on the braided throw rug that would hopefully absorb much of the yet to be melted snow. Don took Cindy’s coat, and hung it along with his on the coat rack near the hinge side of the door.
She was wearing a beautiful wool ski sweater with a bright Nordic pattern that did nothing to hide her beautiful figure that for some reason seemed even more spectacular that night. They made a strikingly handsome couple. She had turned many heads as they had entered the restaurant earlier that evening, and Don had received many appreciative glances from the ladies, as well. It was strange in a way because they were so young, yet no one seemed to notice that. The one thing the restaurant patrons would remember was they were two people deeply in love with each other.
“Here, help me get this sweater off.” She raised her arms over her head. He stood behind her and gently pulled the sweater up. Her light blouse pulled out of her ski pants and rose up right along with her sweater.
“Sir, are you trying to take advantage of this maiden?”
“Well, the thought had entered my mind.”
“All in good time, rub my back; I’m cold.” She wasn’t really cold. She just wanted to feel his touch. His hands had warmed a bit, and he gently smoothed his hands over her perfect skin. She smelled so good. His right thumb and forefinger squeezed the juncture of her bra straps, and the bra popped open.
“Sir, how dare you?” His hands gently found their way around her side as he buried his face in her hair and kissed the nape of her neck. His right hand gently separated the cup of her bra from her breast and found its way to the stiff nipple that was waiting in anticipation of his gentle caress.
She was not disappointed. He could see and feel the goose bumps rising on her skin. She leaned back, allowing him access. She could feel his erection pressing against her. She turned, keeping her bra pressed against her breasts with her right forearm. Her left hand gently reached up and caressed his face.
“Why don’t you take a shower? I have to remove my makeup.”
As they hung their clothes in the small closet, he caught more than a glimpse of her beautiful breasts as she donned one of the terry cloth robes the inn had provided, before she sat at the dressing table. Wearing only his tented boxers, he made his way into the luxurious bath. There was a spacious shower, and a Jacuzzi tub that probably could have comfortably held four people. He had no plans to use the latter that night, but felt they would probably be sharing it before their stay was over.
He made sure he didn’t use up the hot water. He dried off with a plush towel, and found the mate to Cindy’s robe on the back of the door. She met him at the door as he left the bath.
“If you used up the hot water, you are in serious trouble.”
He gave her a quick kiss. “There might be a little left.”
Cindy had opened the bed, and Don slid between the sheets and pulled the duvet over him. The sheets were cool, but his shower warmed body soon had it comfortable. He heard the shower turn off, but it was a while before she opened the door. She had left the night light on, and it silhouetted her body through the sheer material of the babydoll she was wearing. Her mother had given it to her at Christmas. It hadn’t been under the tree.
“This is a very special time, and you must give the appearance of propriety. You are my first daughter, and I won’t have you jumping in bed with your future husband and not be properly attired. He must unwrap you: the beautiful gift that you are.” Marissa had paused, and then broken into tears. She hugged Cindy to her, their tears spotting each others’ blouses. Nothing else was said.
He lay there taking in her beautiful visage while lifting the duvet to make space for her. She slid in next to him. Her soft smile was beautiful. “You smell nice,” he said with a smile as he gently untied the ribbons that held the collar of the babydoll together. “So do you, my love,” she responded.
They kissed for a long time, their bodies contacting almost their entire length. She wasn’t sure what to do, but Don took the decision making away from her early on. “Everything is like I remember. It’s almost like yesterday. Your smell, your skin, these beautiful breasts, your golden hair; it’s as if seventeen years never happened. I remember everything. I love you so much. I loved you from that very first day in the gym locker room. There was just something about you. You were so accepting, and I was so screwed up. When I told you what happened, and you kissed me, I was yours forever.
“Well, none of that happened, except for one thing. We both know what didn’t happen. We still remember, and I love you all the more for it. You are a sweet, gentle, and kind person who also happens to be very beautiful and very sexy. I have had seventeen years to learn what it is to be a man, and you have had nearly as long to learn how to be a woman. I don’t think anything else needs to be said. Now it’s my turn.”
They spent the next half hour or so just getting acquainted and reacquainting each with the other. For Don, it was a refresher course, for Cindy it was a bit different. There were still memories of her distant past, but now she was an observer, both visually and tactilely. Things became easier and easier, more natural as the minutes passed. Their biological instructions had been rewritten, and there had been considerable readjustment; however, nature has a way of making things work right for the inexperienced.
They both knew the time was right. Nothing had to be said. It was just right. They became one with only the briefest physical hesitation. She would say later she hardly knew it happened, even though the evidence was there later on. The ‘Vulcan Mind Meld’ was still there, and they had one of those rare first time experiences where everything happened just like it’s written in the romance novels. Cindy cried for quite a while, and he held her tightly. If the truth were known, he was crying right along with her.
“It’s done isn’t it? We have arrived, we are complete. Now we are just going forward as a man and a woman. We are going to have our own family, and we are just starting on an adventure. We hardly have a clue about where it’s going.” He kissed her lightly before gently leading her to the shower.
Far away, in a space that didn’t exist in their world, there was a little melodic chime. The Wizard looked up, and smiled to himself. He reached over to the bottle of ancient port, and poured another ounce into the multifaceted glass. It wasn’t actually glass; it had been carved out of the clearest tourmaline.
“This is a happy night, Wolf. I think things are finally back on track.”
“I can’t believe you were spying on them. Surely, you knew that you had nothing to worry about.”
“Wolf, our hopes rest in those two. I wish them all the happiness in the universe, and I don’t think we will have to worry about a thing. Still, I needed to know that all the trouble we’ve gone through is going to work out.
“I imagine they’re celebrating up at HQ right know. Fuck ‘em, to use the vernacular; those two kids deserve to be happy. We put them through hell to make up for our mistakes, and now we can take a little rest. We’re going to have a lot on our plates for the next few years. Let’s enjoy some peace.”
“I’m with you, boss.
“Say, do you think you could work it out for Maddy, the kids and me to have some fun? I think we need a good romp.”
“We’ll see. How about the four of you being arctic wolves on the tundra? That might be fun.”
They awoke the next morning to brilliant sunshine and the sound of the inn’s snow blower clearing the path to the dining room. They weren’t the last guests to show up for breakfast.
The crews had done a good job clearing the roads and highways, and after a substantial breakfast, the two lovers decided to go into the nearby village for a little shopping. It took a little while to clean the snow off the car, time that was extended by an amicable snow ball fight.
In spite of the fact it was the week between Christmas and New Years, there were a number of open shops. They bought a few trinkets, and Cindy found a scarf to her liking, but mostly they just enjoyed being together. On one of the side streets they found a diner that had the best hamburgers and fries imaginable.
They experimented with being together later when they filled the giant tub. It was fun for a while, but the water lost its warmth rather quickly, and it proved to be a very poor lubricant. They gently dried each other as they became chilled in the dry air of their cottage.
Quickly sliding under the duvet, they snuggled close together trying to regain some warmth. It didn’t take long, and soon they were joined. They still were when they fell asleep
Cindy would say later to Bobbie that any of the trappings she had carried forward from her previous life disappeared that first night. The last vestiges were gone. Bobbie smiled, kissed her, and said, “I know exactly what you mean. Isn’t it wonderful?”
”ƒ
Chapter 9 — Reorganization. Bringing the Brewers into the Family
The company Stan Lewis and his four partners had created after the deaths of the original owners had flourished over the years. Due to the benevolence of the Gontarski’s they had inherited the company, which at the time had been primarily involved in commercial real estate. The real estate market reflects the economy in many ways, and during a down market, they were able to invest in a number of commercial properties, including a number of older commercial buildings and warehouses.
As the company continued to grow, they found that there was an increased interest in loft conversions. Many of the properties they had acquired were perfect for this line of business. Amos Schmedlap had joined the company as the superintendent of construction. At the same time, one of the original partners decided it was time to retire, and Amos had been able to work out a deal to buy into the partnership. The real estate business continued to grow; however, the construction business grew even faster.
The five partners had eventually realized they needed to reorganize. Things had just become too big for them to do the jobs they had, and run the company, too. They had been together for nearly 20 years, and they knew they had to do something or implode. Marissa had been doing the accounting, and Susan Scrivener, one of the original employees, was doing much of the office management. Susan was just about ready to retire and move to Arizona to be with her children and grandchildren. For that matter, Marissa was seriously considering giving up the bookwork. She didn’t need to work for income, and had more than enough to do with her growing family, a family that, as yet unknown at that time, would continue to grow.
They had finally decided to create three divisions. There would be the construction division, marketing division, and real estate division. That was when they’d decided they were going to need a general manager to watch over everything so that each partner could concentrate on their areas of expertise. They put an advertisement in several of the business papers and journals for someone. At the last moment, Stan decided to put an ad in several of the military newspapers.
There were many applicants, and they interviewed several of them; however, one was head and shoulders above the others. Bob Brewer was the obvious choice. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that The Wizard probably had a lot to do with influencing the placement of the ads and getting Bob Brewer to read the one in the Air Force Times. That didn’t really matter as he was the best choice. The Wizard had just made sure that they connected.
It was now late winter, and Marissa was positively glowing in her pregnancy. She had discovered that with The Wizard’s enhancements she genuinely loved being pregnant and raising babies. The whole process went a lot more smoothly and nursing was no longer the chore it had been with Cindy and Tom, as it was now a very pleasurable and fulfilling task. She knew that The Wizard’s magic had made it possible, but it only enabled her to do what she had wanted to do all along.
She was certain she was going to have a girl, and Bobbie confirmed it early on. Still the doctor insisted on an amniocentesis because of Marissa’s age. Everything was fine, and the baby was a girl.
She had many months to go, but right now she had to worry about dinner and their special guests. Don and his parents would be coming, as would Bobbie and her parents. Their special guest would be The Wizard. It was time to let the Brewer’s in on some secrets.
Stan had mentioned to Bob that they were going to have a special guest at dinner, and Bob assumed it was going to be some potential customer. In addition to the three couples and The Wizard, there would be Don, Cindy and Bobbie. There was going to be a lot on the line; however, the general feeling was that they would be successful. Bob Brewer had not disappointed anyone. Hiring him had already paid many dividends, as he’d spotted a number of inefficiencies and a couple of new opportunities. To the surprise of some, he had proved to be much more laid back than many had thought a retired Air Force colonel would be.
The Wizard showed up early. He and Wolf just showed up at the front door. One thing was a bit unusual, as His Wisdom was dressed in a conservative business suit. His beard appeared to be neatly trimmed, and his hair was held back in a conservative pony tail with a nice solid silver clip. He had brought four bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, 1980.
Cindy greeted him with a hug and kiss. Very few had ever been this familiar with The Wizard in the past; however, he found he rather enjoyed it. There had been some discussion circulating in the witch world about the nouveau witches in Connecticut who were much too familiar with His Wisdom, and that they were not aware of proper protocol and deference to someone of his stature. He wasn’t sure where these ‘rules’ had come from, and he didn’t feel he had to abide by them.
Randi bounded down the stairs and violated protocol before Evelyn arrived to take the smaller children down the way to the Schmedlap’s home. In fact, before the evening was over, protocol would be violated many times. He wasn’t complaining. Bobbie stifled a giggle when she saw how he was attired, and proceeded to violate protocol along with everyone else.
The Brewers were the last to arrive, and that was by design. There was one problem. How were they going to introduce The Wizard to a couple who probably weren’t even close to acknowledging that magic existed? “How do we introduce you?” Cindy asked. “I have a feeling that ‘His wisdom, The Wizard’ won’t go over very well.”
“This isn’t the first time this has come up,” The Wizard responded. “I usually use Aloysius Bettencourt if there is a need for a name. I think we can just say that I am looking for a location for my store. Once we get into the real reason I’m here, we’ll just drop all that. I don’t think there will be any problems.”
The Wizard didn’t really look too bad. His suit had come from Savile Row, but it did look a little out of place on the bearded and ponytailed Wizard. The suit was probably 20 years out of date; however, the ladies felt he’d made a good effort.
Cindy greeted the Brewers at the door with a welcoming kiss. Well, the kiss she gave Don was perhaps a bit stronger, as it hinted at what she would do to Don as soon as she got him alone in bed. Fortunately, Bob and Hilda were looking the other way.
Cindy escorted them into the family room where there were more hugs and handshakes.
“My God! Look at the size of that dog,” Bob Brewer exclaimed as he noticed Wolf spread out in front of the fire.
“Actually, he’s a wolf,” The Wizard stated rather proudly. “We’ve been friends for many years.”
“I thought having wolves as pets was illegal. My goodness, what does he weigh?”
“I think he was right at 185 at his last check up.” The Wizard looked over at the wolf, and the wolf raised his head a bit and nodded. At least that was what it appeared to be to Bob. “I don’t have to worry about the wolf thing. I’m sort of grandfathered.”
Bob had a look of concern on his face, as he was sure he had not heard what he had, but he decided not to pursue the matter. Besides, there was some great food and wine.
The theme for the evening was Italian and there were several bottles of chilled Prosecco (The Wizard’s gift of wine would be placed in the wine cooler and greatly appreciated later on.) along with a fabulous assortment of antipasto. The wonderful aroma of the much anticipated meal was permeated the house. The ‘La Prima Piatta’, angel hair pasta with a delicate Alfredo sauce was served shortly after they moved into the dining room. The wine shifted to a Chianti Classico for ‘La Seconda Piatta. There was beef, Steak Florentine, and fish, a delicate tuna. The side salad consisted of mainly lightly marinated artichoke hearts. Il dolce was a very nice tiramisu.
The adults were quite mellow by this time, although the under 21 crowd had limited themselves to a single glass of Prosecco. They had glasses of chilled lemoncello, though.
The Wizard stood, and was about to say something when Randi bounded down the stairs. Now this in itself wasn’t unusual, except, she had been over at the Schmedlap’s house with her younger brother. Evelyn was doing the sitting chores.
“Randi, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at the Schmedlap’s house,” said a concerned Marissa.
“Oh, I’m going right back. I just wanted to see if Wolf could come over and play. The girls wanted to play with him.”
“Well, I guess you are going to have to ask His Wis …. Oh dear, how did you get here anyway?
Just then, Cindy’s cell phone rang. Her current ring tone was Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens. It was Evelyn Alden.
“Hi, Evelyn, she’s here. I figured you would be calling. She wanted to bring Wolf over there to play with the girls.”
“Well, she was here a minute ago. She went upstairs, but when I looked for her she wasn’t around. That girl! Maddy told me she used the door. I didn’t think it was big enough.”
“Just a second, I’ll ask her.
“Randi, what did you do to the door?”
“I fixed it so I could stretch it. It was real easy. I’ll show you how to do it sometime.”
The Wizard chuckled to himself. “Wolf, go play with the cats. I’ll call you when it’s time to go.”
“Sure, boss.” He raced Randi up the stairs. A moment later they heard the bedroom door close.
“Okay, Cindy, she’s here with the Wolf. She had me worried for a moment. That girl ….”
Cindy could hear Evelyn scolding Randi as she turned off the phone, “Young lady, don’t you ever do that to me again ….”
“I didn’t realize the children were upstairs,” Hilda remarked. “They certainly have been quiet.”
“That would certainly simplify things if they were,” said an exasperated Marissa. “Just when I think I have her under control, she does something like this.
“Would you explain things, Your Wisdom, before this gets totally out of control?”
“Just a minute, folks,” Bob interjected. “I would just like to run over a few things. First of all, Randi comes bopping down those stairs, except she’s staying down the street. My hearing is still good in spite of flying jets, and I could hear the telephone conversation. The baby sitter called to say Randi’s gone, and then I heard her very clearly say she was back and the wolf was with her. Not only that, I could swear I heard that wolf talk. Cindy asks Randi how she got here, and Randi says she stretched the door and that she would be glad to show her “It was real easy.”
“The real strange thing is that no one is concerned. I mean none of you even flinched. What are you, aliens from area 51?”
“No, I can assure you we are all from around here,” Stan said, “well, with the exception of His Wisdom. I’m not sure where he’s from.”
“Oh, I was born here, in what is now called Albania. It was in 1064 I believe, using your current calendar.
“Would you folks mind if I change? I think I have a slight allergy to wool.”
“Not at all, I think any pretenses we had of doing this gradually are moot. You can use the powder room if you would like.”
“That won’t be necessary, besides, I have a new robe.” There was a slight shimmering, and The Wizard was dressed as most who knew him were familiar with. “That was getting a bit uncomfortable.”
“Gott in Himmel,” Hilda gasped. “He is that Albus Dumbledore.”
“Actually, Albus is a 4th cousin two universes over.
“Let’s see. Where do I start? The whole point of this dinner was to start to ease the Brewer family into this interesting situation. I really had some neat parlor tricks planned; however, it seems that won’t be necessary, as Wolf and Randi have already provided enough interesting scenarios.
“Bob, you and Hilda, and the rest of you are very important people in an event that has been developing for some time. I am not allowed to say at this time how important it is. Just let me say that you have nothing to worry about. Nothing disastrous is going to happen.
“Did you ever wonder why Cindy and Don got along so famously for having known each other for only a few weeks?”
“We certainly did, and I still have trouble believing we let them go off like that,” Hilda said shaking her head.
“Well, would you feel any better, if I told you that Cindy and Don have been deeply in love for more than two years?”
“That’s impossible,” Bob sputtered. “They didn’t meet until last summer. There was no way. We weren’t anywhere around here.”
“Do you remember my saying something about parallel universes?”
“Well yes, but that’s just a bunch of hokum.”
“Just like talking wolves, and little girls moving from one house to another in an instant; just like me changing from wearing that awful suit to this very comfortable robe. I think you have to admit that something is going on the likes of which you have never experienced before. Let me assure you, you ain’t seen nuttin’ yet. Because whether you are ready or not, you are going on a figurative ride that will constantly amaze you, and the best thing is, it is going to be wonderful!
“You know how in those movies Albus Dumbledore takes memories with his wand and puts them in the scrying bowl so that they may be shared?”
“Well yes, but that is just in those books and the movies,” Bob allowed.
“Oh, you like fantasy? Actually, I knew you did.”
“How did you know that?”
“Well, I’m a Wizard ….” He turned to Bobbie and gestured with his open palm inverted.
She didn’t miss a beat, “… and he knows these things. He can read the surface of our minds. He could go deeper, but he won’t. All the women in these two families can do it to a certain degree, too. That includes Randi, the little imp. I don’t mean that literally, though sometimes, I’m not sure.”
“So, he’s a wizard, and you are …?”
“We’re witches. It’s really kinda neat. Cindy and I are still learning the basics; so’s Randi, but she is leaps and bounds ahead of us in many ways. I dread to think what’s going to happen when she reaches puberty. Our Mothers just found out a while ago that they are witches, too. They are just beginners, but they are catching up pretty fast.
“I think His Wisdom was going to tell you something about scrying.”
“That’s right, I was. What I have done is capture your memories from a universe very close to this one. They are not complete for reasons that will become apparent later on. Don will fill you in. I cut them off several years ago. After you go home this evening and go to sleep, the memories will be revealed. You won’t be flooded; they’ll just be there for you.
“I mentioned that Don and Cindy have been in love for several years. Something happened in that other universe so that Don and Cindy met when they were sophomores. There was one big difference. Don was Donna. You would have been very proud of her.”
“Would have? I take it that means we weren’t there. Were we …?”
“Yes, the two of you were no longer living, and that Donna no longer exists either; at least not in the physical sense. That’s why I cut the memories off. There’s no reason for you to have to relive what happened. Don will explain it to you.
“The evening is still young, and I think we should all relax and enjoy ourselves.
“Bob, you and Hilda don’t seem to be too disturbed by all of this, all things considered.”
“I’m not. There has been a lot going on over the last few months. It’s difficult to explain: however, I remember what Sherlock Holmes said to Watson, ‘How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?’ What you have shown us tonight has changed the improbable to probable, and on to reality. I think I’m going to like this very much. This really makes life interesting.
“I just realized something else. I knew you looked familiar when we first met this evening; you were the doctor who just happened to be there when Don introduced us to Cindy at the soccer field that Saturday morning. The wolf was with you.”
There was a sudden noise from upstairs, and a moment later, three small cats chased by a larger tom raced down the stairs into the family room. Randi was right behind them followed by Evelyn Alden, Amos Jr. and Tom Jr. The three smaller cats took a position on top of the sofa. They were quite fluffed out and their tails were greatly expanded. The Wizard gave a little flick of the wrist, and the large tom cat morphed into Wolf. They were panting a bit but gradually regained their breath. Soon, the four were entwined and sound asleep in front of the fire.
“I don’t know what to say about her.” Evelyn was looking at Randi while trying, but not too successfully, to maintain a frown. Randi had a sad look; however, while her head was downcast, she was looking up through her eyelashes at Mrs. Alden. When Evelyn pulled the little girl to her and gave her a hug and kiss, the smile returned to Randi’s sweet little face rather quickly.
“She just sort of pushed along one side of the pet door, and the next thing I knew it was the size of a regular door. We pushed through the curtain, and here we are. What will she do next?”
“Your Wisdom, may we talk to you in private for a moment?” Cindy looked at The Wizard with a bit of concern. Bobbie had a similar expression. The parents had moved to the kitchen for the moment, and The Wizard was relaxing with a glass of port. Don had joined the parents for the moment. Cindy had told him that she and Bobbie needed to talk to The Wizard privately. There would probably be considerably more discussion going on that evening with or without The Wizard’s presence.
“Certainly.”
“This is a bit awkward, because we’re pretty sure that you already know what we are going to ask. But, here goes. It is obvious to us that we are not in control of things. There is much more going on than we realize. I guess what’s bothering us, is do we have any free will in this situation? Bobbie is seriously in love with Andy,” Bobbie nodded in agreement, “and Andy loves her without question. I love Don like I have never loved anyone else, or ever thought I could love anyone else, and I am sure he feels the same way. I guess what we want to know is, did you or someone else cast a love spell on us? Of course I can’t imagine that you did, but I wouldn’t know if you had. We’re willing to put up with a lot, but we need to know.”
“Cindy, Bobbie, you are right. There is quite a bit going on right now that you don’t understand. I guarantee that you will some day, and when you do find out, it will all make sense. I promise you this; the love you two share with your lovers is as real and genuine as could be. No one has done anything to influence that love. There haven’t been any spells cast or potions ingested. The love you have is absolutely real, and the only magic is what you have generated on your own. That love is pure and will never die.
”ƒ
Chapter 10 — Three Couples and a Quiet Weekend
On the Friday before the Presidents’ Day Weekend, three couples arrived at the bed and breakfast inn that already was and would continue to be a very special place for them over the years. Each couple had their own little cottage for their private times. The management never batted an eye about having three unmarried, obviously young couples spending the time they did there. The answer to that was simple. Bobbie had worked a little spell on the staff and establishment the year before and certain facts were ignored.
This was a weekend of celebration for them. Don and Cindy had been accepted for Boston College; Myrna had been accepted at Harvard, and Bobbie had been offered a full athletic scholarship at Wake Forest. Of course, they were also celebrating their love for each other.
Another couple was also celebrating their love there. Cindy had noticed the car with the tattered streamers and shoe polished windows as they pulled into the parking area. Somebody had just gotten married.
The three couples met in front of their cabins for dinner, and as they started for the dining room, the newlyweds left their little love nest. The bride was a very attractive brunette, tall and slender, with a dancer’s body. The aura of her happiness was so strong it was almost like a small electrical storm. Cindy recognized her immediately, and the gentle elbow in her side from Bobbie, let her know that she had recognized her too.
The three couples had a nice table in a bay window, and the newlyweds were at a table not far away. Early in their meal, the bride rose to go to the restroom. Cindy nodded to Bobbie and they followed her in. The restroom was beautifully appointed and gave a very homey feeling. The wallpaper was definitely country kitsch, the lighting was pseudo Victorian, and there was a nice scent from a bowl of potpourri.
They waited until the woman finished and came out to touch up her makeup. She didn’t really need any help.
“Hi Sonia, congratulations,” Cindy said with a loving tone.
“Do I know you?”
“Not really. I’m Cindy Lewis, and this is Bobbie Schmedlap. We are here with our best friends. Do you have a moment? Bobbie and I would like to talk with you.”
“I guess so, though I’m not sure why.”
“Bobbie, is the room secure?”
“Yes, no one will want to come in until we leave.”
“What’s this about? You obviously know me.”
“Well we did meet after a fashion about seven years ago. I want to assure you that Bobbie and I mean no harm.”
“No, I guess you don’t. Seven years ago? Where would that have been?”
“It was in a little specialty shop in the mall. Your brother was with you. You met a very sweet old man dressed in a robe.”
“Oh my God, you were there? You know about me?”
“Sonia, we were like you were. We were changed, too. The Wizard is our dear friend. We just wanted to tell you how happy we are for you, and that if you ever need help you can contact us, and we can contact The Wizard if necessary. We keep track of many of his transformees.
“Bobbie and I are actually witches, so there is a lot we can do that is a bit out of the ordinary.
“So how’s Gary doing?”
“He’s a cardio-vascular surgeon in Philadelphia. I have two nieces. He married a beautiful doctor from Pakistan. It took some getting used to. After the change, I was a bit euphoric, to say the least. My parents had changed so much that it was difficult to accept. They had been so hateful to both of us, and suddenly they were so loving and accepting. They can’t wait until I give them grandbabies. They have even switched political parties.
“They were so in love that he brought Sarah home, that’s her American name, during the second month of his residency. Before, my parents wouldn’t have let her through the door. She was a foreigner, and a rather dark skinned one at that. Her family is Hindu, which is rare in Pakistan, and that was why they moved here. They greeted her with open arms. If I could see The Wizard again, I would give him a hug and kiss. It’s long overdue.”
“If you go to the mall after your honeymoon, he will be there, I promise. He would love to see you. Well, we had better get back to dinner before they think we fell in.”
They gave Sonia a group hug and kiss before Sonia preceded Cindy and Bobbie back to the dining room.
“She’s going to have a boy. He will be quite handsome. They got lucky the first time,” Bobbie whispered.
Myrna and Avery were basking in the glow of some excellent love making. It always was.
“Myrna, don’t be mad at me, but I remember.”
“Remember what, my wonderful lover?”
“I remember how you were before your change.”
“Oh shit, you weren’t supposed to.”
“It sort of fell out about the same time I remembered about Donna. Why did you do it? I mean, I love you regardless. You didn’t need to worry about losing me. I always loved what was behind that cute little nose and beautiful brown eyes. At least you didn’t change these wonderful nipples of yours.” He gently drew one in and teased it with his tongue. “I guess I shouldn’t complain though. I am the envy of a lot of the guys. I mean, you are absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, and I guess that goes with that gorgeous mind of yours.”
“Why would I ever be mad at you? I am so lucky to have found you before some gentile did. I didn’t change for you, though I gladly would have, had you asked. The change was a gift from Cindy and Bobbie. They bought me some lingerie from The Wizard’s shop. You know how The Wizard reads minds? Well he knew what I had secretly desired since before puberty set in, and he programmed the lingerie to change me. You are one of very few outside the witch world that know that I didn’t always look like this.
“It’s funny how reality works. In order for these changes to happen, a few genetic changes had to happen. Both my mother and sister are larger in the bust now, too. Of course the fact that Patty is pregnant might have something to do with it. This does mean that our daughters will be quite well endowed. With my genes and your mother’s, they won’t stand a chance.
“I can see that all this talk about breasts is getting to you. It’s getting to me too. On your back; now this goes right here … yesss!
“Here’s an advantage, See how much easier it is for you to pay proper attention to my nipples now? Oh, you are so good.”
Marissa was holding two tiny kittens in her lap. “They were in the shed down by the pond, and Maddy was desperate. If she could have cried, she would have. A cat, a very wild, feral cat was hit by a truck yesterday morning. Maddy had tried to convince her to find some humans, but she would have nothing to do with people. She had a feral mother and had been taught to avoid people at all costs. We had a funeral down by the pond that must have been attended by 50 cats.
“She wasn’t even a year old, and these two little ones are less than four weeks. Maddy says there were two others in the litter, but they didn’t survive. The mother was really too young. We got kitten formula from the vet, but The Wizard has fixed it so that Maddy can nurse them in a while. He says the changes have to be slow.”
A very concerned Maddy was sitting on a chair next to Marissa. “I’m about ready. My pretty little flat boobs are getting swollen. I can’t believe how much my nipples have grown, and I seem to be getting anxious about the kittens. It’s this mother instinct thing. They slept with me last night and tried to nurse, but nothing has come in yet. It should be just a few more hours.”
Marissa put the little nursing bottle aside. “They’re full now, so you are going to have to take over in a while. Their little bladders fill up pretty quickly.”
Cindy watched in awe as she learned something about the care of baby kittens. Maddy would gently stimulate them with her tongue to encourage urination. “You don’t have to watch if you don’t want to, but this is how it is done. For me, it is perfectly normal. I don’t find it disgusting at all, and they might die if I didn’t do this. You could stimulate them with a wet, warm Q-tip and get the same results. This is better for me as the adoptive mother.” Maddy was able to start nursing them that night.
So that’s how Marissa and Sally obtained their associates. In two more weeks, the two little balls of fluff were using the box, much to Cindy’s relief. Maddy, Chloe and Silky had already started them on their lessons. The two were almost identical tabbies. Their markings were very strong, with no breaks. There was one difference. Petra had a pink nose, and Selene had a black nose.
They would eventually be several inches taller than their adoptive mother, little, short legged Maddy; but she is the most beautiful and intelligent cat in the world, and don’t you forget it.
Next time: There are several loose ends to take care of. Cindy and Don have to find a place to live in Boston. Myrna and Avery already have a place, tiny as it is. Bobbie is already set up with Andy at Wake-Forest. Finding a suitable place to live proves to be difficult; however, they realize there are several options for the future. They do find a homeless teenager who is living a very precarious existence. Cindy, Bobbie, and The Wizard save the day. This adventure draws to a close. College starts in a week. The Wizard is finally able to sleep peacefully.
By Portia Bennett
Chapters 11 & 12: There are several loose ends to take care of. Cindy and Don have to find a place to live in Boston. Myrna and Avery already have a place, tiny as it is. Bobbie is already set up with Andy at Wake-Forest. Finding a suitable place to live proves to be difficult; however, they realize there are several options for the future. They do find a homeless teenager who is living a very precarious existence. Cindy, Bobbie, and The Wizard save the day. This adventure draws to a close. College starts in a week. The Wizard is finally able to sleep peacefully.
If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, and Cynthia and the High School Years — Part 1. This story, the twelve chapters, completes the Cynthia Chronicles, Volume 1.
I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations. I’m sure that could happen at any time.
Holly really took me to task this time due to my poor sentence structure and punctuation. She wields a firm ruler and isn’t afraid to use it; my poor knuckles. Thank you so much, Holly, for making this more readable!
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 11 — Looking for a Home, But With Different Results
Unlike the football team that floundered in mediocrity, the soccer team went all the way to the state finals and finished the season undefeated. Don Brewer made All State in Soccer and Football. He was offered at least thirty athletic scholarships, and as many scholastic ones. But he and Cindy had made up their minds long before that they were going to Boston College, and they had been accepted. That was it. Cindy continued to get academic scholarship offers based on her applications, but her swimming talent wasn’t the type that garnered much interest. Don did take some financial assistance as the Brewers were not yet as well off financially as the Lewis’s were. That situation would improve greatly over the next few years.
Myrna had been selected as the valedictorian for their graduating class. She had aced her ACT and SAT, assuring an academic scholarship to Harvard. Her two mothers, as elementary school teachers were not even close to being able to support her going to Harvard. Of course she and Avery would be sharing a small walk-up apartment, and that helped considerably in keeping costs down.
In June, Don and Cindy’s parents accompanied the college students to be to Boston to assist in the search for proper living quarters. It was not an easy chore. Rent was outrageous, and the price per square foot was fifty percent higher than it was back in their home town. Bobbie was along also. Her living quarters in Winston-Salem had already been arranged earlier that year.
They were sitting around the table in their hotel dining room discussing their options. The Brewer’s two younger children and the three youngest of the Lewis’s were being watched by Evelyn and Esmeralda. Randi had promised she wouldn’t perform any unapproved magic, and Evelyn had somewhat jokingly suggested that she would use a very unpleasant spell if Randi didn’t follow the rules.
The early summer heat in Boston was a bit hard on Marissa as she was nearing her eighth month of pregnancy, but regardless of her condition, she insisted on being there to approve of the selection. After all, her daughter and future son-in-law had to have a proper residence. They would probably be married before they graduated, and if all worked out the way they hoped it would, they might be living there for at least eight more years after graduating. Don would have law school, and Cindy would have medical school, plus her residency.
Avery and Myrna had joined them in the house hunt. Myrna had been moving her things into Avery’s apartment for a while, and she was very pleased with it. Avery was just as pleased that she was with him. Myrna had made a major concession during the last year. She had decided to accept the Jewish faith, and she had been going to see a Rabbi at Avery’s synagogue for instruction.
Her mothers were very pleased that she was accepting any faith as she had eschewed going to church most of her life. Avery’s mother and grandmother were ecstatic. They were already making plans for the wedding, which at a minimum would be at least three years off. Like Cindy and Don’s, and Bobbie and Andy’s situation, the fact that they were going to get married was etched in stone.
“Daddy, I have a thought, and I think I’ve caught some hints of this from you. I think you need to buy one of those older warehouses we passed earlier today. You can convert it into loft apartments, and either sell them or lease them. If I’m going to be here for the next twelve years, why throw away money on rent? Don and I can live in one, Avery and Myrna could move into another one, and you could keep one for business. You are over here all the time, as Bobbie’s dad is. You and Mom would have a place to stay when you visit. As you said, the commute is hell.”
“Sweety, I think that’s an outstanding idea. We’ve been looking at a couple of those places, and I think we’re going to make an offer; however, they wouldn’t be livable for at least two years if we close tomorrow. We still need a place for you, and I don’t think the dormitory is an option, if I read you two correctly.”
They settled one thing on that trip, and that was that ‘The Company’ was going to move more of their operation to Boston. They had been toying with the idea for a long time, and Cindy and Don were the catalyst. The house hunting was put on hold the next night.
They had had another fruitless day of house/apartment hunting. But they were able to work out a visit to one of the warehouses that they had talked about, and while they were there, Stan called Amos and told him that the building was exactly what they were looking for. He was ready to put in an offer, contingent on the inspection that Amos’s group would conduct.
That done, they decided a Boston seafood dinner was in order. The concierge had recommended a restaurant near one of the industrial areas northwest of the airport. They followed the highway under the river towards the airport before veering a bit to the west. The neighborhood was quite old and probably was made up of descendents of the Portuguese and Italian fishermen who plied their trade in the nearby harbor and beyond.
The restaurant was very popular, and there wasn’t any on-the-street parking for several blocks. They finally found a small parking lot that would take their cars, about three blocks away from the restaurant.
The neighborhood was quite eclectic, and there were a number of bars, small restaurants and clubs. One club caught Cindy and Bobbie’s attention. The establishment obviously catered to the gay population, and as they passed the bar next door to the restaurant, Cindy sensed something she hadn’t sensed in quite a while. She turned to Bobbie who subtly nodded back. Someone was in there, and whoever ‘she’ was, was not well.
Dinner was outstanding; however some of the edge was taken off by the presence next door. Marissa picked up on it pretty early.
“Something’s bothering you two, may I ask what it is?”
“Bobbie and I sensed someone next door who needs help. Nothing bad has happened yet, but she is not well.”
“She has hepatitis. It is treatable. The problem is she’s very young. I would say sixteen or seventeen at the most. She certainly doesn’t belong there, and she has consumed some alcohol. I think Cindy is keeping track of her.”
Bob Brewer was very interested in the discussion. He and Hilda had become intrigued by the revelation of witchcraft, and found the whole concept to be very interesting. The parallel universe aspect of things had been a little more difficult to accept; however, as they absorbed the memories of their parallel lives, the alien concepts were becoming easier and easier to accept. They still hadn’t been told very much about the sex change phenomenon, other than that they knew Don had been Donna in the other universe. They also understood that what had been two parallel universes had been rejoined as one, with the line where Don as a male was the surviving line. Bob had had a field day trying to figure out all the implications.
“What are you sensing? I don’t think I have ever heard you talking about anything like this before,” Bob asked.
Cindy looked around before casting a curtain of silence spell. She wanted to make sure that there weren’t any visitors within the curtain. “As you know, when I was eight, I nearly died from drowning. When I woke up, I wasn’t quite the same person. Most everything about the original Cindy was still there. Her memories were intact, as were her as yet unknown magical abilities. However, Cindy had actually died. Her spirit had left this body. Eventually, her spirit actually helped me move in. This is really the same process that Don went through.
“When I moved in, the main thing was to get my health back. Being in a coma for any length of time does bad things to ones body. When I finally got back to school, I began to realize that I had some special powers.
“I want you to accept what I am going to tell you. Everyone at this table can verify what I am going to say. When I got back to school, I didn’t know anyone. Yes, I remembered them, but I didn’t know them. I obviously had to go through many adjustments. You see, the person I had been before was a very unpleasant thirty-five year old man, whose only true desire in life was to be a woman. As you can see, that wish was granted.
“Here I was, this almost nine year old girl who knew very little about being a girl, but I already knew there was something different about me, and I knew Bobbie was different, too. You see, Bobbie was a handsome, very athletic nine year old boy.”
“Preposterous,” escaped from Bob’s lips before he shut them, as he suddenly realized this was just one more amazing thing he was going to have to get used to.”
“It’s absolutely true, Mr. Brewer. Cindy had a lot of credit built up with The Wizard, and she gave me the most wonderful gift. I was always this person you see. It was just that I was in the wrong body. The Wizard and his group did some wonderful things, and here I am. What Cindy is getting to, is that she can sense other people that were like I was; people who were born in the wrong body. I can sense physical problems, especially in magical people and transgendered individuals, and to a lesser degree I can detect transgendered individuals. We weren’t very good at it at first, but now Cindy’s talent is very strong in recognizing the transgendered.
“There is a young boy next door who is a girl. She’s in the wrong body. The problem is that she shouldn’t be there. She’s too young. She’s sick, and she’s been drinking. As horrible as it sounds, she is probably prostituting herself for money, food, and drugs. The drugs are probably the hormones she desires, but there may be others. I haven’t detected anything for sure in that area.
“Whoops, this is getting real bad. Somebody has slipped some rohypnol into her drink. Two people just grabbed her rather roughly by the arms. I think they are leaving. It’s time for Cindy and me to get going. We can handle this, but we have to act fast. Come on, Don.”
Don had seen them go into action before, and he had a good idea what was going to happen. He turned to the group. “Somebody needs to call 911. Call for an ambulance and the police.”
The three got to the sidewalk in time to see two individuals escorting a very wobbly smaller person in a blouse and mini skirt. They were met by two others before they turned into an alley about a block away. Cindy, Bobbie and Don took off at a half run. Avery and Myrna were close behind.
The beating had already started when Cindy and the others entered the alley. One of them had just landed a rather telling blow, and the smaller person was collapsing into a fetal position. The assailant was getting ready to land a devastating kick to the fallen one’s head.
“Stop right there!”
The four assailants looked up, basically frozen in place.
“Mind your own fuckin’ business, bitch. This doesn’t concern you.”
“Oh, but it does. You have no right to do that to anyone.”
“Lady, I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but this faggot embarrassed my friend last week, and we’re just getting even.”
“I don’t think that’s true at all. I think the four of you cruise gay bars and get a kick out of beating up transvestites when you’re not selling dope and robbing little old ladies.
“Isn’t that a bit closer to the truth?”
“Actually, it is.”
Cindy turned to see that a patrol car had pulled up, and two rather well armed officers were approaching. Bobbie was on her knees trying to help the injured young person who was only semiconscious stay comfortable. They could hear the sirens of an ambulance.
“You are going to tell these nice police officers what bad boys you have been, since you have nothing else to do. They will read you your rights, and I expect you to tell them everything. Don’t leave anything out.”
“Officers, these bad boys have seen the error in their ways, and are ready for you to take them in. They are rather heavily armed, so you should be very careful.”
The paramedics had arrived and were soon seeing to securing the young person to a stretcher. They quickly rolled him to the rear of an ambulance, and someone inside assisted in securing the stretcher. They were gone in less than five minutes.
“Cindy, His Wisdom says to meet him in the hospital. He wants all of us there. He’s in the ambulance now,” Bobbie said, closing up her phone. By this time, the entire party was there.
As far as what the police and hoodlums would remember, the police had come upon the assault, and put a stop to it after a brief skirmish. Because of the numerous parole violations, assaults against the police officers, and numerous other crimes, they ended up spending many years behind bars. None of them remembered a visit by a strange, robed man, however, when they got out of prison, they went to work fighting the AIDS epidemic in Africa. The four lived together until their deaths. Their affection for doing service was almost as strong as their affection for each other. Fortunately, they were not able to bear children. The Wizard had not transformed them into women. They were just very gay.
”ƒ
Chapter 12 — Necessary Changes
“He’s resting as comfortably as can be expected. It’s strange. At first we thought he had a ruptured spleen, but apparently, it’s just a severe bruise, as are what we thought were broken ribs. Dr. Bettencourt will tell you everything as soon as he comes out of the room. I think he’s making some final checks.”
They turned to see a doctor leaving the room where the young person had been taken after the initial examination. The doctor was wearing green scrubs and a green cap over his pony tailed hair. Bobbie stifled a giggle.
“Mr. and Mrs. Brewer, your daughter is going to be fine.”
“What?” Hilda gasped. She and Bob had recognized The Wizard immediately.
“Just go along with him,” Cindy whispered. “Everything is going to be fine.”
The Wizard continued as if nothing had been said. “Thank heavens for seatbelts. In spite of the force of that impact, they and those side airbags saved her life. Now she would like to see everybody.”
They entered the room to see the teenage youth with very obvious small breasts sitting up in the bed. The patient’s hair was long, and in spite of the fact the patient no longer wore makeup, the features were definitely feminine. The young person seemed to be remarkably comfortable and at ease for having just gone through such a severe beating.
“Charles and I have been having quite a conversation. He has been hiding under the horizon for quite a while. As good as our system is, we didn’t know about him until we did some serious research after Bobbie called. I think I need to set up a shop around here. I really am spread too thin.
“Like many, Charles didn’t think I existed; however, he recognized me immediately.
“I must say you did an excellent job hiding your surprise, Charles. That made things easier. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sir. I am having trouble believing this is all happening,” the youth said in a rather delicate, high pitched voice.
“Charles has been living under a bridge for the last three years, since his parents were killed in a robbery more than three years ago. He found a maintenance access, and really made a very comfortable nest. He is an orphan, has no relatives, and we all are aware of this other thing. Because of this problem, and the continued harassment because of his slight body and small stature, he has not gone to school since his parents’ deaths, nor has he had any medical attention. As far as the police are concerned, they believe he was kidnapped, and maybe murdered by the robbers.
“Why I have asked you here is because Charlene, we have already decided on that name, would like your inputs.
“Mr. and Mrs. Brewer, do you think you can take care of another daughter?”
“Yes,” Hilda replied, “We would love to. We have room for many more children.”
“Fine, that’s done. The adoption papers, post dated are being drawn up. They should be on record shortly.
“Charlene has been doing some risky things in order to survive. Her choices weren’t always well thought out. We can attribute that to a lack of parental and professional guidance, and a desire for her physical changes. She is very intelligent, but has missed out in a lot of formal schooling, and for that matter informal schooling as well. Charlene thought she should go back to first grade and get a better start all the way around. I totally agree. I think Lucy will be a great, big sister for her.
“What do you think, Don?”
“Well, I hadn’t really thought about it, but having two sisters would be great. Lucy and I get along great, and Jorge gets along with Lucy very well.”
“Bob, is this alright with you?” The Wizard asked.
“Absolutely, we were looking into another adoption as it was. We are very ready.”
By this time there was no sign of the teenage boy who had been there when they walked into the room. There was just a small androgynous child, wearing a very wide smile.
“Charlene and I discussed this for some length. She needs to fit in with what the Brewers have done in the past. What I am implementing is strictly in accordance with her wishes.”
Charlene’s body changed a bit more. It was definitely a little girl’s body now. There could be no doubt about it. Her skin darkened considerably. Her hair fell in dark waves to below her shoulders. She had black ancestry, without question; however, there was much more. There was probably a little Native American, European and Asian subcontinent there, too. She looked like a young Halle Barry or Vanessa Williams. The wizard had outdone himself.
“What do you think?”
“There were some gasps, and the young women were tearing up. Cindy handed Charlene her pocket mirror. “Oh, Mommy, is that really me? I am so pretty. How can I thank you, Mr. Wizard?”
“You can thank me by going to school, and always wearing your seat belt when you are big enough not to have to use the child seat. There are many other things too, but we will talk about those later. Why don’t you go to the bathroom while your parents and future in-laws have a discussion?”
Charlene, or Charli as she would be known by most, hopped out of bed. She closed the door behind her. She was a while checking things out.
“We almost lost her. If Bobbie hadn’t called me when she did, Charlene may have bled to death. Her spleen was ruptured. I was in the ambulance, and fixed it while we were on the way to the hospital. Her liver was also lacerated. The hepatitis is gone now. By the way, she is a carrier of the witch gene. Under the circumstances, it was decided to duplicate that portion of her X-Chromosome. What we are doing is on a rather gross scale. Myrna, when you start working on your doctorate, would you see if you can pin down the location of those genes a bit more precisely? That might be very helpful in the future.
“I have no doubt that Randi will figure out things very quickly. Try to convince her to not push Charlene in the magical direction too soon. She’s going to have enough to deal with as it is. I’ll talk to Randi, too. She’s doing considerably better, but my goodness, she’s impulsive.”
When Charlene returned to her bed, she was beaming. There was a knock on the door and a nurse entered. “There’s no reason she can’t be discharged right now. Everything looks just fine. I’m sure Dr. Bettencourt will agree.”
“Absolutely, where do I sign?”
“Right here, I’ll get a wheel chair for her.”
“Could my daddy carry me? I think I would like that.”
“Sure, Honey, I think we can allow that. We’re just so happy that you are okay.”
The group was alone again, at least for a few minutes. “This has been a very good night and it’s very late,” The Wizard said. “I think we need some rest. Why don’t you come back to Boston in about two weeks? You might find the house hunting a little bit more productive then. I think it would be a great idea if everyone took a couple of weeks to get acquainted and just relax.”
That was exactly what they did. Lucy and Jorge were very pleased with their new sister. They had known there might be one soon, but when the beautiful little girl jumped out of the car to look at her new house, they were a bit surprised. After all, their parents had gone to Boston to look for a place for Don and Cindy to live, and they came home with a new sister. There was instantaneous love and acceptance. Ten minutes after she arrived, Lucy was showing her all the ropes, and there were many happy tears.
Randi was told under the threat of a lobotomy that she was not to attempt to develop Charli’s magic talents until The Wizard approved. She did not err.
Two weeks later, the two families were back in Boston to look for a home for Don and Cindy. Bobby had a golf tournament, and she and Andy would be involved with that. Evelyn and Esmeralda looked after the children. Randi, as a matter of protection and control, accompanied the families on the trip. In a way, it was a reward and encouragement. Randi was growing up. She was eight years old, but in many ways, she was so much older. Her joie d’ vivre was extremely contagious. Of course, the fact that she had once died might have had something to do with it.
Avery and Myrna had insisted that everyone come over to their place for some wine and cheese before they went out to dinner. Like any young couple, they always saw the best in everything, and the fact that they were profoundly in love didn’t hurt. Their little three-room flat plus bath was stretched to the limit. The bedroom was hardly big enough for a standard sized bed, but Myrna had insisted on a queen sized bed. They had struggled for a while, but somehow managed to set the bed up. There was a tiny problem, in that they couldn’t open the two bottom drawers of the dresser, and had to step across the bed to get to the closet. One also had to walk sideways to get to the little bath. It was a struggle. The main room wasn’t bad, but the little kitchen could barely accommodate two people.
Avery and Myrna had acquired some nice wine, cheese and crackers, and there were some soft drinks for Randi. It really was a very homey atmosphere. The flat was furnished with love.
Eventually, Randi had to go to the bathroom. She had listened to some of the comments made out of hearing range of the two lovers, and wondered what the conversation was about. If the adults had been paying attention, they might have been concerned.
When she returned, she looked up at the others. “I want to show you something in the bedroom.” She had that eager expression that said ‘See what I have done.’
“What’s that, dear?” Marissa was leaning back in her chair, trying to get comfortable. Randi’s little sister was still several weeks away from making an appearance.
“Well, you’re going to have to come and see.”
Cindy was already at the door. Maybe it was because she knew her sister so well.
“Myrna, come here,” she said not too loudly.
“What do you think?”
“Omigosh, how did she do that?”
“You probably don’t want to ask.”
The bedroom that had been barely adequate for a standard bed, was now about twice the size it had been before. There was plenty of room to get around the bed, and the dresser was completely accessible. In fact, there was now room for Avery’s dresser that was currently parked in the living room.
“Randi?”
“It’s okay. His Wisdom said I could do it. He said the landlord would never notice, and it would be good practice for me.”
Randi got an extra piece of baklava for desert.
They found an ideal flat for Cindy and Don the next day. It was a little bigger than Avery and Myrna’s had been before Randi had her way with it. They didn’t say a thing when Randi expanded it a bit, since the changes were only on the inside.
Don and Cindy were alone at last. A lot had been going on over the last few weeks due to the birth of the newest addition to the Lewis family. The birth was uncomplicated, and little Martha Louise took one look around after a brief cry of surprise and discomfort for being thrust into the cold world, and went to sleep. Once again, Marissa’s systems kicked in as they should. Mother and baby went home in three days.
Now, Don and Cindy were alone and on their own. Everything had been moved into the flat, and school for real would be starting in less than a week. They had made love for a long time that first night, and it had been especially satisfying. There was no rush. Don had taken a long time worshipping her. As he did, he thought about that first time they had been intimate and how sweet it had been. She was so beautiful and sensitive. From the very beginning, it had been about them, and it had never been less.
Cindy had told him how devastated she had been when Donna had disappeared. It had nothing to do with their physical relationship. Her soul mate had been ripped from her, and she hadn’t been given a chance to prepare for the loss. If Don hadn’t shown up when he had, she wasn’t sure what she would have done.
Don had lived 17 years without realizing that the love of his life had been so devastatingly hurt. He probably never would have made it through that time had he known. When he was finally allowed to remember Cindy, it was all he could do to restrain himself from rushing to her. The Wizard had told him all would be well, but still the doubt was there.
When they were finally reunited, he knew it was right. To see the joy in Cindy’s face was all he needed to know to tell him that all the sacrifices had been worth it. Yes, it had taken a while for them to make physical love again, but that wasn’t really an issue. It was a bit more difficult for Cindy, and that was understandably so; however, Don was not concerned, because he knew their spiritual love was so strong.
Well that was all past now. He had bought a ring for her, and would make a formal declaration that Christmas. They had already decided they would marry between their junior and senior years. Barring accidents, they would start their family about the time Cindy was finishing her residency. If there were any accidents, they would be welcomed with everlasting love. They would adjust.
Cindy was dozing contentedly on her side. Her smile was illuminated by the glare of the city lights coming through the window, and that was all he needed to see. Anyone could have seen a picture of her and known she was beautiful, but there was so much more than that. It had taken a while to get the whole story, but he had gradually been able to piece it together. Yes, he had died once to get to where he was now, but in a sense, she had died twice, actually three times. She had also given up her life as Al Gontarski with the hope she might be a better person. She had sacrificed her life to save a child from being run over. She had also sacrificed her life to rescue a small kitten, the kitten who was now peacefully sleeping at the foot of their bed. She would be cuddled up with them in the morning. Don had a feeling that there was more of this current Cindy involved in that past incident than she realized. They might find out for sure some day.
They were just eighteen, but they were so much older in so many ways.
“What are you looking at?”
“Your pretty smile.”
“Was I smiling?”
“You always smile.”
“I think I have a reason to smile.”
“We both do.”
Getting serious for a moment, Cindy asked, “Do you think we will ever know what’s going on?”
“He said we would, and I think I believe him. I think they are afraid of losing control, whoever they are. You and I are the center of this thing, and I think Andy and Bobbie, Myrna and Avery, Randi, and maybe even Charli have important parts to play in whatever it is. For that matter, our entire families are probably central in all this.
“There is something, and I know you and Bobbie asked him about this. All the love we feel has to be genuine. It can’t be artificial. They can’t screw with that. If they do, it will spoil everything. I think it has to do with our babies. They’re scared, and we are their only hope. There’s nothing bad intended. We are just their hope for the future. If I’m right, we have nothing to worry about.”
“So it’s about babies?”
“I’m pretty sure it is.”
“So how do we make babies?”
“I do this.”
“Hmmm.”
“And then I do a little of this.”
“I’m not sure you got that right. You better try that again.”
“Is it more like this?”
“Much better.”
“You know, you are getting very good at this.”
“I think you are, too.”
(Several minutes of vocal silence)
“Don, I have a feeling we will make many babies.”
“Yes, and we will have a long, long time to do it.”
Somewhere in his little niche in time The Wizard was sleeping soundly, a smile of self satisfaction on his face. Wolf was in his special bed by the fire place, twitching and growling in his sleep. He and the kittens were arctic wolves, and they were stalking some caribou north of the Arctic Circle.
Next time: Will there even be a next time? I’m not sure it is worth all the research it takes to put this continuing story together. Up to this point, Cindy and the gang have managed to avoid any confrontation with evil magical forces. That is probably not going to last. They really have led a sheltered life up to now. Bobbie will turn pro. I know that for sure. She will set the Women’s LPGA tour on fire. Then she takes the step that Annika Sorenstam tried, but was unsuccessful in doing. Things work a little differently for Bobbie. Remember The Wizard’s admonition about using a 9-iron on the twelfth? I already know that Randi works part time in SRU. She is a very powerful, and yet untried witch. There is one power that she is not able to overcome, and that is love. She happily submits.
After her undergraduate years, Cindy has medical school and her residency in Psychiatry to endure. That will take twelve years. Don has law school and the Bar. Avery and Myrna will be entrenched in research and academia after getting their PhDs. Charli and Martha will also have important roles to play. Cindy, Don and Bobbie’s brothers are not drones, just there to pass on the magic gene. I wonder what roles they will have in this tale. Finally, we will find out what The Wizard and his bunch have been up to. Apparently, there were some serious screw ups that allowed things to go the way they did. Some people weren’t watching the store, so to speak. Of course there are transformations of various sorts. All are meaningful. I believe Cindy and Bobbie’s first babies are born on October 31st. Cindy’s baby is a boy, Donald Alfred. Bobbie’s first is a girl, Cynthia Naomi. The magic continues.
I look back at the stories in this series and wonder what happened. The early ones had a very good response as far as I am concerned, but as things drew closer and closer to what I felt was the whole idea of the series, the responses dropped to a third of the early ones. Well, I thought, that will be taken care of when everyone sees how sweetly I revealed the Donna/Don situation and the eventual consumation of Don and Cindy's relationship. I thought I had written a very sweet, not overtly sexual chapter, where their genuine love for each other was finally expressed in the act of love. Boy was I wrong. The chapter bombed! Go figure. I have literally shed a few tears over its failure; however, I know what I wanted to happen, and I think I achieved that very nicely, even if the response says otherwise.
To those who have been nice enough to write and say they enjoyed the series, I want to say I am still working on the Volume 2. I might be able to get together enough material to pick up where this story left off. We'll just have to see. I want to start on the sixth novel in the California Saga. It promises to be interesting. I suspect it will be well into 2011 before it is done, if then.
So long for now,
Portia
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Prologue
“Now that the meeting has been called to order, I would like to introduce you to two new members this evening. Barbara Boom-Boom Reynolds comes to us from Las Vegas, Nevada, and Alice Gräber who comes to us from Bentonville, Arkansas.
“Barbara, would you please introduce yourself to us; give us a little about your background and why you are here.”
“Like, well, thank you Sandra. I’m, like, a stripper in Las Vegas. I like to show off my body. Men like to put money in my G-string and feel my tits. My tits are, like, awesome; don’t you think.”
Barbara proceeded to run her hands down her body; stopping to heft her prodigious breasts. They really were quite large, and rested on her chest with very little sag. Most who saw them would swear they had to be artificially enhanced. But every woman at the meeting knew they were natural; or at least if submitted to a medical exam would be declared to be natural.
Barbara continued her tale. “I’ve been a stripper for a long time, and am, like, a two time defending ‘Best Pole Dancer in Vegas’. I really like my body.”
“Barbara, would you tell us why you are here.”
“Oh, like, I forgot. I was, like, reading the comic section, and I, like, saw this add. It said something like did you used to be someone else. I don’t have a very good memory. The doctors said it was probably because I took too many drugs, but I don’t remember taking any drugs. I don’t remember growing up. The papers say I graduated from El Segundo High School in Southern California. I think I remember being a cheer leader and fucking a lot of boys. I don’t remember my family. There are people, but they don’t seem real to me.
“Then, I, like, saw that ad, and I started thinking. Maybe, I, like, had been somebody else. I started thinking very hard.” She started to cry a little. “I think I was, like, a boy, and I was the one who was fucking the cheerleaders.
“I remember going into this, like, old shop to get a potion to make girls real horny so they would let me fuck them. There was this old man. He knew my name; except it wasn’t Barbara Boom-Boom Reynolds. I think it was Ben Reynolds, and I think I was a physics student at the University of Southern California. But that couldn’t be because, I, like, have trouble remembering my phone number.”
Barbara broke down into sobs and there were sympathetic comments emanating from the small group of women and men. Sandra led her to a chair and gave her a box of tissue.
“I know Barbara’s story sounds familiar to many of you.
“Barbara, we know what you are going through.
“Alice, would you please tell us your story while I help Barbara with her makeup.”
Alice took her place at the lectern while giving a sympathetic glance Barbara’s direction.
“Good evening ladies, gentlemen, as you know, I am Alice Gräber. Some of you may know me from that television show about my family. Unlike poor Barbara, I now remember my past very clearly. For the longest time, the memories were there; however, I was, until just recently, unable to act on them. I was always this pleasant, compliant woman who submitted to her husband’s will.
“I will be perfectly clear, he never physically abused me; however, in the 20 years of our marriage I have given him 23 children, and I am currently pregnant with our 24th and 25th. The strangest thing is that there doesn’t seem to be any end to this in the near future. My doctor says I have the body of a twenty-five year old. I don’t have any stretch marks and my breasts, as you can see, are enormous. I have not stopped nursing my children in more than 19 years. I want to tell my husband to give me a break, but he won’t let me use birth control, and I am unable to refuse his advances.
“I have a very clear memory of my past, and let me tell you, I was one piece of work. I was Alan Long, and by the time I had graduated high school I had impregnated at least six of my classmates. We were a wealthy family, and my father would make the families an offer they couldn’t refuse.
“By my junior year in college, I had impregnated an additional dozen girls and women. I was a loose cannon, so to speak.
“I found him in, as I now know, his usual haunt in a mall in Sierra Madre. My newest potential conquest was with me. I wasn’t aware at the time who he was or what the deal was about the shop. I should have realized something was up when he called us by name, and there was that huge dog that I realize now is a wolf.
“I thought it was a sex shop, and I was going to buy my newest conquest some sexy lingerie. He offered us some refreshments, and before I knew it, my girl was walking out into the mall. She had a blank stare on her face. I called to her, but she never turned. I then realized I was changing. I very quickly became a twenty year old version of what you see before you.”
“So you want to make babies and leave the mother holding the bag,” he said in a rather dark tone. “Well you are going to continue to make many, many babies, and you will never be able to abandon any of them. Your life will be difficult, but it won’t be bad. I hope you learn a valuable lesson that you can pass on to your children and grandchildren.”
“The next thing I knew I was waking up in a double wide in Dennard, Arkansas. I had all these memories that I didn’t have before. My father was a Pentecostal Church Pastor, my mother was a stay at home wife and our home school teacher, and I was getting married that afternoon to David Gräber of Rogers, Arkansas. We were both virgins.
“Our wedding night was a disaster. He would come literally in two seconds. He couldn’t maintain an erection long enough to break my maidenhead. It was five years and six children before he ever brought me to an orgasm. My husband is not a bad man. He’s just a shitty lover.
“I understand why we are here this evening and I can understand your distress; however, I don’t think there’s much we can do. Frankly, I have no desire to go back to what I was before. I love my children, and I would be very distraught if anything happened to change their existence. I don’t love my husband, and never did; however, he is the father of my children, and he is the family’s breadwinner. Well, I guess we all are since our TV show is so popular. We don’t want for anything. I am just hoping that some of our children can escape from the hypocrisy we are forced to live with.
“I want to thank all of you for giving this opportunity to talk with you, and I leave you with this. The Wizard is very strong: far stronger than any of you realize. There is nothing you will be able to do on your own to change anything that has happened to you. Your only chance at all is to put yourself at his mercy. Show him you have learned your lesson. I doubt very much that he will change you back, but he might make your life pleasanter than it is now. If you fight him, you can only lose. Be very careful.
“With that, I leave you. I have to get back to my family, and it’s a long trip. I wish you the best.”
“Thank you, Alice, I hope your journey back to Arkansas is a pleasant one.”
With that, Alice departed the meeting room, leaving the thirteen transformees to their own devices. She knew it was hopeless, but she knew they would have to find that out for themselves. As wretched as her life was, she would never do anything to threaten the lives of her children. She would do the best she could.
After a mediocre dinner at her motel she returned to her room. She had an early bus to catch from Bridgeport to La Guardia. Then it would be a long flight to DFW before catching the regional jet to NW Arkansas Regional Airport. Many thoughts raced through her mind as she showered. She examined her body. Like the doctor had said, she had the body of a twenty-five year old woman. She was a baby making machine. She was in her fourth month of pregnancy, and doing some quick calculations, she realized she’d been pregnant for more than fifteen years.
She’d left a lot of milk for her last born. Little Elizabeth was seven months old. She never had a problem producing milk for a one year old and a newborn at the same time, but it was twins this time, so she’d have to wean Elizabeth as soon as possible.
She was horny, and that was always a problem. She couldn’t refuse her husband even though the final results were seldom pleasurable. She brought herself off in the shower.
“I hope you were watching, you old son-of-a-bitch. I know you know exactly what’s going on. I figured that out right away. There was no way my husband was going to let me go to Connecticut on my own, but he did. He even gave me spending money. I’m not sure what you have in mind for them, but please don’t be too hard on them. They don’t have a chance. I know that.
“You may not be aware of it, but I bet you are. I’m not that unhappy with what you did to me. How many women ever gave birth to twenty-five children and knew that they will all probably reach adulthood. I love my children. I never want to lose the memory of them regardless of what you have in mind for me. I’m certain you are not through with me.
“I don’t know that much about the others; however, it would be nice if you gave Barbara her mind back and let her escape that horrible fate you left her to. Show some mercy, please.
“Ladies, I’m sorry that Alice didn’t work out; however, she’s not the first to cowardly retreat. Are you still with me?” Everyone but Barbara voiced their assent. Barbara was lifting her breasts, obviously testing their weight.
“We have to put an end to this evil, evil man. He has stolen our lives and the lives of countless others. For what purpose? To only satisfy his perverted sense of justice. There is only one solution. We are going to have to find him, trick him, and kill him. It won’t be easy, but I’m sure we can do it.
The Wizard turned off the big screen TV and turned to Cindy Brewer, Randi Lewis and Charli Brewer.
“What do you want us to do with them?” Cindy asked.
“Not a thing: I can handle them without a problem. I’ve probably ignored them too long as it is.
“Here’s the problem, or rather four problems,” The Wizard said as he turned back to the once again activated screen.
The young women watched as four high school aged youths appeared.
“There’s your problem.” The Wizard said. “They are seniors in high school here in Bridgeport. They are quite intelligent, but each is living with inner and external demons, some of whom you’ve already seen. They are going to have quite an adventure. You will know when to step in; however, I suspect it will be less and less as things unfold.
“Now, here’s what we need to do.”
Chapter 1
‘Another fucking school,’ Tom Isaacson thought as he walked the as yet unfamiliar halls of his new school. He’d gone through a brief orientation the previous week when he and his mother had visited as part of his registration process. It was the same thing for as long as he could remember. Every year, two years at most, they would pull up stakes and move to a new location. He could never understand why. His father, a true computer geek, was a web site designer and worked out of their home. His mother had a small import business, and she did the same. They both worked out of the home.
Tom and his father got along pretty well. Tom was very computer literate, it was hard not to be with what his parents did, and he and his father had a great time with computer games: his mother, not so much. His mother was the driven one. She seemed to be restless and was never satisfied with where they were. There was always something wrong with where they lived. It never made sense. They could live anywhere. Why not find the right place and settle down? That was a question Tom never got a satisfactory answer to. When he asked, his parents always avoided answering.
Attractiveness seemed to run in his family. His younger sisters were going to be beauties, and his parents were already worried about his fifteen year-old sister. At six feet, two inches Tom was a slender, but well-muscled young man. He was a good athlete, but never felt the desire to be a team player. He liked to play golf, and to his credit was very good. He played to a six handicap. His true love though was the natural sciences, in particular, geology. Maybe that was the good thing about moving so often. He was able to see and experience the wonderful and varied geology of his country. Most people didn’t get it, he thought. People would drive to work or wherever they went with a blind eye to their surroundings. The world was a wonderful place, and most people didn’t see it. It was just there.
“Hey watch where the fuck you’re going, geek!”
“What? Excuse me,” Tom said as he looked up to see someone with a leather vest accompanied by two others similarly dressed. There were a number of tattoos covering their skin, and Tom briefly thought about what might be hidden underneath their clothing.
“Geek, we think you need to be taught a lesson. Isn’t that right boys?”
“You bet, Mefisto. We think you need to explain to him who’s in charge here.”
Tom who was very non-confrontational, turned to leave as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, in his haste, he tripped, striking his head against the lockers. That was the last thing he remembered for a while.
“Shit, the fucking coward knocked himself out,” one of Mefisto’s companions said, stating the obvious.
“I don’t care if he’s down or not. I think I will leave him with something to think about the next time he sees us,” Mefisto said as he started to kick Tom in the groin.
“I think you should stop right there,” a very pleasant voice said catching Irving Mefisto completely off guard. It was as if a steel band was wrapped around his legs. He couldn’t take a step, and realized his cohorts were in the same sort of fix.
He turned to see where the voice came from and was confronted by three of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. They were cheer leaders. That was obvious from the uniforms they were wearing. The pleated skirts came down to mid-thigh, and revealed three pair of exquisite legs. Their light sweaters served to accentuate three beautiful bust lines.
“You and your friends need to stop this bullying, now!” the tall golden blonde said. She’d been the one who had spoken before. Her two friends, a platinum blonde and an auburn haired girl were about the same height. The dark haired girl might have been about an inch shorter; however at this point, Irving Mefisto, he hated the name, and his friends weren’t paying much attention to the girls’ differences in height.
“What’s it to you, bitch? I ought to rip those clothes off of you right here and fuck some sense into you.” In truth, he’d never had sex with a woman.
“Irving, I know that’s an idle threat. You wouldn’t know what to do if I gave you the chance, not that I ever would. Besides, the thought of having sex with a man who can’t control his bladder is something I couldn’t do.”
“What the hell are you talking about,” Mefisto said. He’d stopped shouting and was a bit concerned that he’d not been able to take a step since the cheerleaders had shown up.
“Randi, why don’t you show him.”
“Sure, sis, how about one second?”
“I think that might get the point across.”
The platinum blonde turned to the three frozen in place boys
“Boys, you are going to pee for one second.”
“I don’t think so, bitch,” one of Mefisto’s cohorts stated.
“Jesus, Clyde, shut the fuck up and look at your pants.”
Clyde looked down to see a silver dollar sized stain appear around his fly. He looked up to see that his companions had similar stains. “Holy shit, we’ve pissed ourselves.”
“We could make it worse, if you’d like,” the auburn haired beauty said. “You might be dry enough by first period that no one will notice. Why don’t you leave now before we really get pissed off? Just go away.”
The three, released from their paralysis, took off down the hall.
“Cindy, how’s Tom doing?” Randi asked.
“He’s fine. He had a minor concussion, but I cleared it up. He’ll be awake and none the worse for wear in a few seconds.”
“Cindy,” Charli whispered, “someone’s coming. We’d better disappear.” The three ‘cheerleaders’ vanished.
Tom Struggled to sit up. His head seemed to clear up pretty quickly. He looked around to see where his adversaries were.
“You okay buddy?”
Tom turned to see a strange looking boy kneeling next to him. The boy was wearing a camouflage outfit, but it wasn’t like he was trying to imitate a soldier. It was somehow different.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I think so. Some bullies were going to attack me. I think I fell. I might have tripped. I don’t remember much after that.”
“Yeah, that was Mefisto and his henchmen. I chased them off.”
“Thanks.”
“They don’t stand a chance with me.” Of course, the three cheerleaders were taking in the entire conversation.
“So, rescuer, who are you?”
“Dimitri Papandreou, at your service. Most just call me Pappy. I take it you’re new around here as you don’t know about Mefisto and his gang.”
“Yep, arrived last month. I’m Tom Isaacson. I’m a senior. My sister will be a freshman, she’s a looker. I have another sister who will be in middle school.
“So, you know the ropes around here, and why the strange outfit?”
“I’m a bird watcher. I’m going to be a famous ornithologist one of these days. I was going to go down to the estuary after school. Someone sighted a rare tern down there, and I want to get it on my life list. I have close to five hundred birds on my list. I just got here last summer, but I ran into Mefisto and his bunch down at the mall. They tried to get me, but I let them know who was in charge.”
“I want to be a geologist,” Tom replied. “I love the out of doors, too. I like to watch birds, both the feathered kind and the two legged, mammalian variety; however, for the near future, I want to be a geologist.”
“Dimitri, we think it’s time you started to tell the truth instead of embellishing everything. Until we say so, you are not going to be able to say a thing.”
The two boys looked up to see the three gorgeous cheerleaders standing next to them. “What the heck?” Tom said while Dimitri was mumbling something and grabbing at his lower jaw.
“Dimitri needs to learn a lesson. Until he promises to tell the truth, he’s doomed to silence,” said the stunning blonde, who appeared to be the leader of the group.
Dimitri was running around, mumbling and trying to pry his jaws open. He wasn’t succeeding.
“Who are you? I don’t think you’re cheerleaders. I’ve never seen anyone pop out of nothing like that. That’s crazy.”
“We’re going to be around for a while. I guess you could say we’re witches; however, you won’t be able to tell anyone. We’re going to be looking out for you. There’s quite a bit going on right now that we can’t talk about. You won’t be able to talk about it either. Right now, just go with the flow. You will be tested many times over the next few days.
“Charli, why don’t you see if Dimitri has learned his lesson?”
Dimitri was futilely trying to open his mouth while continuously mumbling something unintelligible.
Charli approached Dimitri who was staring wide eyed at her. She was actually a bit taller than he. She grabbed his hands and kissed him fully on the lips. The kiss lingered for a while. It was obvious that Dimitri’s jaw had been freed, but the kiss lingered for a while longer.
Charli finally released Dimitri, and he stepped back feeling his mouth and lips.
“Not bad, Pappy,” that was the first time anyone had used his nickname, “however, I’m not the one for you. She’s out there; maybe closer than you think. You’ll find her when the time is right.
“Classes are going to start soon, and you and Tom need to get ready for band,” Charli said while turning to Cindy.
“Tom, I’ll piggy back a little on what Charli said. There is someone out there for you, too. She, too, may be closer than you think. You’ll know when it’s time to know,” Cindy said. And with that, the girls disappeared.
“If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Tom said. “Are you all right, Pappy?”
“I think so. My goodness that girl can kiss. I almost embarrassed myself.”
“What happened to you?”
“All of a sudden, I couldn’t open my mouth. It was like it was glued shut. When that girl, Charli, kissed me, it released the spell. I guess I’m supposed to tell you the truth. I didn’t save you from those bullies. Although I didn’t see it happen, I think those three did. As far as fighting Mefisto, I ran from him when he threatened me at the mall. I think I have only 200, make that 176, birds on my life list; however, if I spot those terns this afternoon, I can make that 177.
“What’s your first class?”
“Orchestra, I play the flute and piccolo. What about you?”
“I’m in Orchestra and Band, too. I’m a percussionist. I play the xylophone, marimba, keyboard, timpani, and anything else that makes noise when you hit it.
“I think that was the warning bell. We’d better get going.”
They grabbed their bags and headed for the first day of the rest of their lives.
Alright, so I borrowed the story line. It was originally written by Emanuel Schikaneder, although he may have borrowed it, too. I imagine many of you already know what story it is. Did anyone attempt to translate ‘Gräber’? That was as close as I could come to the name I was looking for.
We’ve met the first two of the four people who will become the main characters of this story. They are going to have quite an adventure. In the next chapter we will meet the other two.
This is the longest, by far, of the stories in The Cynthia Chronicles. It is a bit over 48,000 words long.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Our four protagonists finally meet. It doesn’t take long for them to determine that there is something very serious going on, and that their parents are deeply involved. The question is why. The SRU Wizard has to be involved somehow.
The group of conspirators loses a member. They don’t take it lightly.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 2
As first days of school went this wasn’t much different than any had been in the past. Almost every year it had been room after room of unfamiliar faces. One had caught his attention immediately. There was a guy. At least, he thought it was it was a guy. He confirmed that during their second period English class.
“Hi, I’m Ivan, Ivan Papadopoulos. I think we had Calc together last period. Mind if I sit here? I’m new at this school, and I figured I should try to get with someone who knows the ropes.”
“Ivan, I’m Paul Knight; however, if you want to know what’s going on around here, you picked the wrong guy. We just moved here last month. We used to live in Phoenix, Arizona, but Mom decided she wanted to live here. I don’t really know why. I liked Phoenix just fine, but for some reason, she decided Bridgeport, Connecticut was the place to be.”
“What did your dad think about moving?”
“I don’t have a father, er, dad. He was out of the picture before I was born. Mom’s a contract lawyer. She does work on the internet. She’s some sort of specialist, and has clients from all over the country.
“You say you just got here. Any particular reason you moved here?”
“I don’t really know why we moved,” Ivan said. “Mom’s a writer. We were fine in Bremerton, Washington. Then we yanked up stakes and came here. I don’t understand why we have to do this. Two years ago we were in Alameda, California. Before that, we were in San Diego. Before that, it was Victoria, Texas.”
“Shit, that’s just like what my mom does. We can’t settle down anywhere. I had a good friend several years ago, but we had to move. I wonder about him, but haven’t heard from him in a while. He said he was moving, too.”
“If you two are through discussing your life history, we’d like to start class,” a loud voice said from the front of the room.
“Sorry, sir,” Paul said.
Lunch probably wasn’t any different at Harding High School than it was at countless high schools across the northeastern US. The football team had been preparing for the first game of the season since the previous spring. They would be playing their bitter rival, Central High, that Friday night.
The freshmen and new students were probably unfamiliar with the school cheers and yells; so it was the responsibility of the cheer squad to teach the yells to the new students and lead them in a short rally. School spirit was very important. After all, the team had only up to go. They’d won only two games the previous year.
Normally, the pep rallies were held in the quadrangle; however, because of a late summer rain, the rally was being held in the cafeteria. The noise was almost deafening.
The short rally was finally over, and Dimitri and Tom returned to their lunch. “Pappy, did you notice anything unusual about the pep rally?”
“Other than the fact the trombonist was creating more clams than could be eaten at a clambake, not really.”
“What about the girl cheer leaders?”
“Cute, especially that little redhead. Oh shit, they weren’t there. Those three we met this morning weren’t there. I’m sure that squad was the full complement, I can’t be sure, but I can’t imagine those three wouldn’t be there. I mean every one of them was prettier than those that just performed.”
“That just confirms what I was feeling earlier,” Tom said. “There’s something very strange going on.
“That was weird about what those three said about there being a girl out there for us. I wonder what they were talking about. I’m certainly not looking for a girlfriend right now. What would be your ideal girlfriend? Let's take that one step further. What would you want your wife to be like?"
Pappy didn't give his response much thought, "Of course she would be pretty, nice tits and ass, maybe blonde or a redhead. I want a woman to be there when I come home from work. She might even have a drink prepared for me. She would be there to prepare my meals, warm my bed, bear my children, support my work….”
"So, where is this June Cleaver you want so much? What about her life? What would she want, need from you? This is a two way street, you know. You might want someone to keep you happy, but unless you keep her happy, you have no marriage."
"If you know so much about love and women, tell me what you want in a wife or companion."
"She would have to be intelligent; probably my equal or better. She would have to be able to encourage me, and I her. We would have to be partners in every respect. I see us as professors in some university, or at least professionals. Maybe that's not that important. If she was able to do what she wanted, and I could do what I wanted, that would be alright."
"Okay, so you have this smart wife. What does she look like? How's she in bed?"
"I think it would be wonderful if we got along very well in bed. I would hope I could make her happy."
"How have you done so far? The girls like your performance?"
"Never had the chance to find out; I haven't found the right one."
"What about you? How've you done in the bed department?"
"Not bad, I've, murff," Ivan's jaw started to tighten up a bit. "Actually, I've never found the right girl, either.
"So, what would this ideal girl of yours look like?"
"I've never had much of an image in mind. When I found the right girl, then the package would become that person."
"Come on, there has to be something in your mind's eye."
"I don't know. Short, tall, slender, stocky, blonde, brunette, or redhead: it doesn't matter."
"What a cop out. You're as pitiful as you claim I am."
"I give up. See that girl sitting over there with that guy wearing the cami shirt. Shit, I don't believe it. There are two idiots dressed in camouflage in this place. She would look like she does: tall, slender, the rest doesn't matter."
"Er, Tom, that's a guy."
Tom took a second to concentrate a bit more on the two he'd picked out of the blue. "Shit, I know who that is. Come with me. I'll introduce you."
They made their way to the couple sitting by themselves against the far wall of the cafeteria.
"Hi, Paul, long time, no see."
"Holly shit," Paul jumped to his feet to give his old friend a hug. "What are you doing here? How long have you been here?"
"We moved here last month.
"I never get introductions right. Mom's always on me about that. This is Dimitri ’Pappy’ Papandreou. He just moved here, too. I'm Tom Isaacson," he said to the as yet unintroduced boy in the camouflage shirt.
“Hi, I’m Ivan Papadopoulos. Jesus, two Greeks wearing camouflage; it must be an invasion. Not to be left out, we just moved here last July. I’m not sure why, but here we are.
“So, why the get up, Pappy?”
“I heard that someone sighted an Elegant Tern, Sterna elegans, near the estuary. I’ve never seen one before. That would give me 177 on my list.”
“I saw them out in California all the time. I saw them in the San Francisco area and around San Diego. I’d love to go with you and see the Atlantic species. I have only 160 birds on my list.”
Pappy was impressed. “Wow, another birder. This is going to be neat.”
“I think I’m going to go into fish and wildlife, maybe be a ranger naturalist.”
“Cool.”
“Wait a minute,” Tom exclaimed, “have we all been on the west coast recently?”
“I haven’t,” Pappy said. “The closest I’ve been is Las Vegas and Boise. We were in Denver a few years ago. Why?”
“Paul and I went to the same school in Alameda. Where were you going to school three years ago, Ivan?”
“I was in LA.”
“Do all of our parents work at home? Mine do, and I know Paul’s mother does.” Tom said.
“Mom’s an interior decorator and importer of decorator goods, and Dad’s a boat designer and builder,” Pappy said. “She has an associate who lives somewhere else. They get together a couple of times a year.”
“Interesting,” Tom said. “My mother is in the import business. My dad is a web designer. Paul, your mother is a lawyer, right? I seem to remember that.”
“That’s right.”
“My mother’s a writer,” Ivan said. “I never knew my father.”
“I think there is something going on here,” Tom said. “We’ve been geographically close over the years, but only Paul and I have met before. All of our parents work out of our homes, but for some strange reason we keep moving all over the place. Two of our mothers are in the import business. My mother goes off to strange meetings with unknown associates several times a year. I’d be willing to bet that your mothers do the same thing.”
Tom’s supposition was met with three affirmative head shakes.
“I thought so. I’ll bet there was one last Wednesday night, wasn’t there?”
Again three nods confirmed what he was thinking.
“So much for coincidences. There is something very strange going on, not to mention the witches.”
“Yeah, witches,” Pappy said. “Tom and I met three this morning. Hell, they could be here right now. They appear and disappear like magic. They can control you with their minds, make you do things. They are three of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. They were dressed like our cheerleaders, but they’re not really our cheer leaders.”
“You’re kidding,” Ivan said.
“I’m not kidding in the least. They cast a spell on me. If I start to fib, my jaw locks up. Tom can verify it.”
“He’s not kidding,” Tom said. “They have to be witches. There’s no other way to explain what we saw.”
“If I get the gist of what you’re saying,” Paul said. “The reason we’re here in Bridgeport is because our parents are involved in some sort of scheme, and have been for a number of years. Not only that, there’s magic involved. There are three beautiful witches who pop in and out of existence. Of course the whole idea is preposterous. That’s why what Tom is saying makes a lot of sense. I’ve wondered what’s been going on for years. This is the best answer that’s come up so far.
“I just wonder what the hell is going on?”
Chapter 3
“Pappy and I have Advanced Biology next,” Tom said. “What about you guys?”
“The same,” Paul replied
They slid their trays into the dish washing window, picked up their bags, and headed for what they hoped would be an interesting class. They hadn’t been disappointed so far.
The classroom was quite nice, and Tom and Paul were immediately impressed with the availability of equipment at the lab desks.
“This is way cool,” Pappy said.
“Class, please take your seats. We will have ample opportunity to check everything out over the next few days.
They took their seats, and waited for what they expected to be another boring lecture. “I am Mr. Temple, and I will be your mentor over the next year. This is a two semester class, and I think you will find it very interesting.
“Each of you is in this class because you asked for it. Your past academic performances were looked at very closely. Only thirty percent of the applicants made it as far as you have. We expect that every one of you will continue on to a university. I will be conducting this class as if you were graduate students. I am doing this for two reasons. The first is I want to challenge you. The second is I want to learn. The day I stop learning from my students is the day you can start throwing dirt on my grave.
“For the next two weeks I will be going over some basic ecological principles. There are twenty-four students in this class. I want you to form up in four person teams, and come up with an ecological study. I will have to approve of what you want to do; however, I will give you considerable leeway. You will author a paper of at least ten thousand words…”
At the proclamation a number of groans and sounds of protest game from the class.
“Ten thousand words is nothing, especially if they are well put together words. We will spend part of the next few months on how to put together a good research paper. When your project is completed, you will present your paper to the class. I expect the class to tear your paper apart: not with malice, however. I expect you to defend your work.
“We’ll have some of this other required drivel, too. I will have to administer some tests, and as boring as it may be, I will have to present some lectures. I will be accessible 24/7 if you have a question. More times than not, my answers will be in the form of questions.
“Okay, let’s take role. I can count, but I need to make sure that the right people are in this class. Last year, we had a student go through an entire semester showing up for the wrong classes.”
After going over the various rules of class conduct, Mr. Temple asked the class members to sit tight and do whatever they needed to do before the bell rang for the next class. He couldn’t release them to roam the halls.
“Papadopoulos, Papandreou, Knight and Isaacson I need to see you in my office.”
“Shit, we haven’t even done anything, and we’re already in trouble,” Pappy muttered.
The office was between two classrooms. The four followed Mr. Temple into the small area packed with books and other scientific paraphernalia. They sat where Mr. Temple indicated.
“Welcome to Harding High.”
“Thank you,” Paul answered.
“Normally, when we do these projects, I try to separate the participants a bit. You know, get a good mix of experience, gender, new and old students; however, I was asked to see if the four of you would mind working on your project together. I know you are new here. I noticed Isaacson and Knight went to the same school three years ago in California; however, Papa, er Papadopoulos and Papandreou never met Knight and Isaacson before today. Is that correct?”
“Yes sir,” Ivan said.
“Would you have any objections working together on a project?” Mr. Temple asked.
“I wouldn’t,” Tom said. “I think we’ve discovered already that we get along pretty well.
“What do you guys think?”
“I don’t have any problem,” Paul said. “I think I can speak for everyone.” Two other heads nodded assent.
“Good, give it some thought before you decide what to do. Of course, I have to approve of every project.
“Okay, there’s the signal to dismiss class. I’m sure you’ll find this to be a very interesting experience
It turned out that they had their last two classes together: English Literature and Gym.
This is just all too convenient Tom thought. Something is going on.
They didn’t do anything for gym other than get their locker assignments, and get the clothing requirements explained to them.
“Where do you guys live,” Tom asked. “For any number of reasons, I think we need to get together and talk about things.
It turned out they lived within about a two block radius of Tom’s house. That did nothing to dissuade Tom from his previous concerns.
“Let’s go over to my house, and talk things over,” Tom Said. Is everyone driving their own car? We might as well carpool from now on since we’re so close together.”
“I rode my bike,” Pappy said.
I did, too,” Ivan said.
“I took the bus,” was Paul’s reply.
“Tom, Ivan and I want to go down to the estuary to see if we can spot some birds. How about we get together after dinner?”
“I don’t think that would be a problem. Let’s get each other’s phone numbers and email addresses, so we can keep in touch about things.
“Paul, would you like a lift, or do you have somewhere to go, too.”
They exchanged information before the two birders headed for the estuary.
Walking to the car, Tom spotted a note under his wiper blade. It was from his sister. She’d found a ride home with a new friend.
“Well, that didn’t take her very long. She could make friends in a morgue. At least we don’t have to wait for her. Her punctuality clock runs in a different dimension.
“Paul, I’m so glad you showed up. I thought I’d have to try to make a whole new group of friends, although I’m not that much into that, as you know.
“Want to stop by the house and say hello to the folks. I know they’d be glad to see you.”
“Sure.”
“How’s your Mom?”
“Mean as ever. You know what I mean. She’s obsessed with her work. She’s never abused me. Quite the contrary, she treats me quite well. She’s promised to get me a car. The problem is I am not able to talk to her about anything really important. You know like ….”
“You mean you still haven’t told her.”
“She deliberately shuts off any discussion about anything like that. If a famous person comes out on TV, she’ll change the channel or just walk away. Of course we had the talk about sex a long time ago, but if something comes up about gender, the wall drops.
“I’ll be eighteen next spring, and with or without her support, I am going to start my transition. I’ll probably have to move out. I’m hoping that I can get a scholarship. I might be able to get my pre-med done without her help.”
“Still not shaving, I noticed.”
“You would notice that. Thanks to the internet, I have a good supply of spironolactone and Finasteride. I have a lot of estrogen hidden away, but I’m not taking it; at least not yet. With or without her support, I’m going to do this.”
“You’ve hardly grown over the last here years. You were tall then, not so now. You need to see a doctor.”
“No shit! But, my hands are tied. She’d never pay for it.”
“You know I’ll always be there for you. I think I understand what you’re going through; however, it’s certainly not on my bucket list.”
“No girl friend?”
“Not even close. It’s funny, though, one of those disappearing cheer leaders said that the right girl was out there for me. Another one, the dark haired girl, said the same thing to Pappy.
“They really did appear and disappear just like Pappy said they did. They said so, and I have a feeling that we will see them again. There’s something strange going on, and our parents are involved.
“I’ve always believed there was magic out there. It just seemed right for some reason. Now we’re being involved in some sort of mysterious activity.”
“Don’t you mean our parents?”
“Perhaps, but I can’t help believe we’re involved.
“Well, here we are: home sweet home; for how long, I have no idea.”
“Mom, Dad, I brought a guest home,” Tom announced as he headed to the kitchen where his parents were fixing dinner.
“Gloria left me a note saying she got a ride with a new friend.”
“They came by a while ago,” his mother said. She was mixing margaritas. Tom’s father was julienning some green beans. A group of thick lamb chops had been seasoned and were on a platter warming to room temperature. Something his father insisted on doing with lamb and steaks.
“Hello Paul,” Nancy Isaacson said. “How was school?”
“Excellent, Mrs. “I”. I was very surprised to see Tom there. We made some new friends, too. We’re going to be partners in a group project that’s going to take two semesters to finish.”
“We aren’t going to move before then, are we?” Tom asked.
“I don’t think so. It’s rather nice around here. We’ll just have to see,” his mother replied.
The two boys made their way up to Tom’s room. Paul had left a message on his mother’s voice mail telling her where he was.
“I see you are still into gaming,” Paul said as he looked around the room.
“Yeah, it’s sort of a project. I have the newest X-Box system. I do a lot of shit on my computer, too. I’m not the best player, but I’ve been doing a lot of research on the history of computer games. A lot of the modern games don’t require a lot of brain power. Some of the old games without the graphics are really neat. They require a lot of thought.”
“Your mother didn’t seem to be too surprised to see me, did she?”
“Of course not, our four families are in on this, whatever it is. I think Mom and Dad seem to be a bit blasé about the whole thing. I just wonder what they’re up to.”
“Do you think they’re planning a bank heist or an armored car robbery?” Paul said, half jokingly.
“Certainly not, our folks are too well off for that sort of nonsense. No, I think it has something to do with magic. This area of the United States was the center of magic and witchcraft hundreds of years ago. Then due to the Salem thing and a bunch of other stuff it disappeared. I don’t think it disappeared entirely; I think they just got smart and stayed hidden.
“I see this stuff on the internet all the time about there being witches out there. I know it’s ‘on the internet’,” he said forming quotation marks with his fingers, “but I’m beginning to find some supporting information.”
“I know what you mean. I’ve been doing a lot of research both clinical and in the common lore about my ‘problem’,” Paul said using the same quote gesture. “There are literally thousands of tales about people having magical sex and or gender changes. Knowing what you told me, and what I’ve suspected, I’m beginning to think there might be some truth in some of them.
“Margot, I’ll be with you in just a moment.”
Margot Chenoweth peered around the shop she’d inadvertently entered twelve years before; although, knowing what she knew now, she wasn’t too sure how inadvertent that had been. It might have been her imagination, but the shop seemed to be a bit neater than it had been before.
“I have a helper now. She’s a bit of a neat freak, but I’ll have to admit that I’m not losing things like I used to.
“By the way, I took the bullets out of your gun, not that you’d have been able to do anything with it anyway. Come on to the back room with me. I have some great Tollhouse cookies and coffee just the way you like it.
“So how’ve you been?”
“I imagine you know. You seem to know everything else.”
“I do have a bit of an advantage there, don’t I? Coffee okay?”
“Perfect.”
“So, you and the others want to kill me. Why would you want to do that? I certainly didn’t do anything to make your life worse than it was before. If I remember correctly, you were indicted for bilking several charities out of millions of dollars. You would have been convicted in case you are wondering.
“Of course in your current reality, none of that happened. You’re just a 35 year old accountant. You make good money, but you don’t have much of a life other than doing tax returns for several hundred families.
“That young millionaire, what’s his name, oh yes, Donald Epperson, is rather sweet on you, you know. You keep turning him down. I’m not really sure why.”
“I was a man, for Christ’s sake. Then you did this to me.”
“You did come to me asking for help.”
“No I didn’t,” Margot replied.
“I distinctly remember coming out of the back room, and asking if there was anything I could do for you, and you said, ‘You could make me disappear.’
“If I recall correctly, the indictment had just come down and there was a warrant out for your arrest. The conviction was a sure thing. I think you would have received about 20 years. You never would have made it out of prison alive. Your short stature and delicate appearance would have doomed you to a very unpleasant existence. You would have died during a riot that you had no involvement in starting.”
“You know all this? You’re not just guessing?”
“Consider what has happened to you. You can’t deny that. Why wouldn’t I know what might have happened in an alternative universe.”
“You have a point.”
“Look at what I did for you. I erased all your criminal activity. You weren’t a bad person. You were just weak. You are an attractive woman ….”
“But, I was a man, and you took that from me.”
“What are you now?”
“I’m a man in a woman’s body.”
“Are you sure? Your makeup is perfect, you are very nicely dressed, and your deportment is perfect.
“Tell me, how were your relationships before? Did you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?”
“No, there’s never been anyone. I had a few drinking buddies in college. I’ve never kept in touch with any of them.”
“Why not?”
“We never had anything in common.”
“What about now? I’m not talking about the fourteen of you who meet every other Wednesday.”
“You know about that?”
“Of course I do. I’m a Wizard and I ….”
“… know these things. Yes, I should have known. We don’t stand a chance, do we? That’s what Alice said. What are you going to do to us?”
“Each, well most, of you will come to me as you have. I don’t think I will have to do much of anything. I’m sure there will be adjustments, but I’m not going to make things worse for you.
“I’m going to have a young lady come here and tell you something. This will take just a minute.” The Wizard turned to his computer.
“Cindy, Margot Chenoweth is here. Could you drop in for just a second, I think she needs to hear something from you.”
“Sure thing.”
Margot looked up to see a young woman suddenly appear in the middle of the room. There was no one there one second, and the next second she was walking towards Margot with her arms extended.
“Hi Margot, you don’t remember me, but I remember you from before. I was about twelve at the time. I must say, you certainly look nice.”
“You wouldn’t say that if you knew I was thinking about killing your friend a little while ago.”
“You never would have done it even if you could have. I can see that. I’m Cindy Brewer by the way. The Wizard and I have been friends since I was about nine years old.
“I think he wants me to tell you something. I’m a witch by the way; in case you hadn’t figured that out. I’m getting this witchcraft thing down pretty good right now, but on the non-witchcraft side, I’m taking my residency in psychiatric medicine. I’m going to approach this from two points of view. I have the ability to determine when someone’s gender is in conflict with one’s sex.”
“I knew it,” Margot stated rather strongly. “I am a man trapped in a woman’s body.”
“Oh no, there’s no conflict now. There was that conflict though when you came in here thirteen years ago. You were in denial then just like you are in denial now. Deep inside, you have always been a woman; well, a girl at first. I saw that more quickly than His Wisdom did. My best friend was there too, and she saw it.
“Look at you. You say you are fighting your change; however, you’ve embraced it. I think you need to get on with your life. There’s so much more out there to enjoy about life. He gave you a second chance, and now you need to look forward. That past you left doesn’t exist.”
Cindy embraced Margot, kissed her cheek, and disappeared.
“Margot, I have it on good authority that Donald Epperson is going to call you tonight and ask you to go out to dinner with him. He is a very nice man with two small children who lost their mother in a horrible accident. I promise I won’t do anything with your mind. This is up to you; however, chances like this don’t happen very often.
“Ladies, I regret to inform you that we’ve lost Margot Chenoweth. She called today to pass on her regrets. She says she’s in love with a man, somebody she’s known for a while. That Wizard, damn him, got to her. Well, there are still twelve of us. We can still take him down.
“Myrtle, would you please read the minutes from the last meeting.
Alright, so I borrowed the story line. It was originally written by Emanuel Schikaneder, although he may have borrowed it, too. I imagine many of you already know what story it is. Did anyone attempt to translate ‘Gräber’? That was as close as I could come to the name I was looking for.
Our four protagonists are now together and they are very quickly putting two and two together. The group of conspirators has lost a member. Maybe they weren’t as dedicated as some thought.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?
Our protagonists have to go to the mall to pick up supplies for their project. Paul and Pappy are accosted by Mefisto and his pals. The three witches step in once again. The bullies are forced to undergo a transformation; but are they forced? Paul comes out to Pappy. They meet The Wizard, and in spite of all the parental warnings find him to be quite nice.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 4
“Class, I’m very pleased with the project ideas you’ve submitted to me. I’ve made some suggestions, and they are noted on your submissions. Team four, I need to see you after class,” Mr. Temple said. “We need to go over a few things just to make sure we are on the same page.”
Tom, Pappy, Ivan and Paul stayed behind as the rest of the students left class.
“I am more than pleased with the project you submitted; however, it’s going to be very difficult, and I am convinced you are up to it. The idea of interfacing cave ecology with surface water recharge zones and discharge areas is quite a bit to chew.
“I don’t know how much you are into caving; however, there are some good sites in the area, and in spite of the population growth, there are some relatively unexplored caves that might be ideal for the project you have in mind.
“Here’s a topographic map of an area I would suggest you consider. I think that area has all the features you would require for your project. I’ve put together a list of things you would probably need to make your exploration go well.”
Tom looked over the list. “This is quite a bit of equipment. I’m not sure it’s available anywhere around here.”
“You shouldn’t have any problem getting what you need at the mall. There’s a new outdoor supply store there. I think it’s taken over the place that used to be occupied by the Hallmark Store. I searched the internet, and it came up immediately. According to the website, everything you will need will be there. Let me know if you have any problems.”
“Mom, my team and I are going to the mall to get some supplies for our project.”
“That’s nice. Oh dear, the mall; you Tom, Ivan and Dimitri need to be careful. Remember what I said about some of those people who work at malls; they’re not to be trusted.”
“Trusted about what?” Paul asked.
“There’s an evil man who runs a shop. He moves from mall to mall looking for victims he can transform into his slaves.”
“You’re talking about magical transformations?”
“Yes, magic, the most evil kind.”
“Why haven’t you talked about this with me, before?”
“We didn’t think it was time; however, we think he’s very close by. All the evidence points to that.”
“That’s what your little meetings are about, aren’t they? I know you know about Tom and his parents being close by; however, I never mentioned Ivan and Dimitri by name. We suspected something for quite a while, but now you’ve confirmed it. There’s something going on, and you and their parents are involved. Exactly what is going on?”
“I knew I should have told you sooner, but I was afraid to. We all were afraid to. We are planning to kill a wizard. He has done terrible things.”
“Such as?”
“I can’t talk about it right now; however, you need to know that you should avoid him at all costs; however, if you and your friends do run across him, you need to take note and let me know where he is, immediately. If the opportunity arises, kill him. Use whatever means are available.”
“If this Wizard is so powerful, that might be a difficult task. After all, I don’t think we’ve ever been taught how to deal with magic.”
“You don’t seem to be having any trouble accepting the idea of magic.”
“Mom, we’re almost eighteen, and we’re pretty capable. Over the last week, we’ve seen evidence of magic. Well, at least Tom and Pappy have, and the corroberating evidence they presented is pretty convincing. There is something very magical going on.
“We’ll let you know if we see anything. Meanwhile, we have a major project to work on. May I take the car? I was going to pick up Pappy. Tom and Ivan are going to meet us there.”
“Not a problem, I have a number of contracts to work on. Remember, if you see anything strange, let me know.”
Pappy was waiting at the curb when Paul pulled up. “I told Mom we were aware that our parents were meeting. She confessed that magic had something to do with it. Now, get this. They want to kill some evil wizard. She wouldn’t say why.”
“Yeah, Mom essentially told me the same thing. Your mother called just a little while ago. They’re worried about us, but they are afraid to say why. She said there’s this evil wizard who hangs out around shopping malls. I guess he’s some sort of pervert. Well, I’m not into that sort of stuff, anyway.”
“I’ve only been in this mall a couple of times. I don’t remember an outdoor supply store. I guess we might as well take the closest entrance. I see a parking spot right there. How convenient.”
“I don’t see anything,” Pappy said as he looked over the rather large listing of stores. “Wait, there it is. I guess I missed it. I could have sworn that was a Hallmark Store. ‘Survival R Us. That has to be the place. Man, it’s clear down at the other end of the mall. Let’s get going. The guys are probably there already.
“I gotta take a leak. I think the rest rooms are down that corridor.”
“Well, well, well, it’s that weird faggot and his faggot friend who have been spreadin’ lies about me and my friends.”
The voice sent chills down Pappy’s neck. That was all he needed.
“Well if it ain’t Irving Mefisto. What the hell do you want?”
“Clyde, Melvin, grab his friend and hold him while I take care of shithead here. I don’t like people saying things about me that ain’t true.”
“If I recall correctly, Irving, someone else said you were scared off by some cheerleaders before you could beat up Tom who’d been knocked out. Somebody else said it looked like you and your friends wet their pants.”
“Nobody scares Mefisto.” He reached into his jacket pocket and brought out a set of brass knuckles. I think these will help get the message across.”
“Guys, take care of Wimp while I finish off Dork, here.”
“You never learn, do you?”
Clyde and Melvin had released Paul and were pointing in terror behind Mefisto from where the voice had come. It was the lead cheerleader and her associates.
Mefisto recognized the voice, and slowly turned.
“I think we’ll let someone else take care of you in a permanent fashion; however, that will have to wait. What are we going to do?
“How about we give them curly blonde hair and dress them in tutus,” Charli said. That would be fun.”
“I have a better idea,” Randi said. “Let’s not use magic. Let them do it to themselves. I’ll just give them a little push.
“Boys, I have put $150 in each of your wallets. I want you to go down to the ‘Cut ‘n’ Curl’ and pick out the most feminine hairstyles you can imagine. Of course you will all want to be blondes. After you have had the full treatment, including perms, you may leave. Tell Terri we sent you. She will look out for you. Now, here’s the good and bad news. Once you’ve gone through the process, only you, Terri and a select few will be able to see what has been done to you. Each time you look in the mirror or at each other you will be able to see how nice you look. No one else will see anything but the scruffy delinquents you are. You will report once a week to have your roots done. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for it.
“Okay, hurry on, Terri’s waiting for you.”
The three hoodlums left their intended victims and headed for the ‘Cut ‘n’ Curl’.
“Wow,” Pappy said as he looked at his rescuers. “You guys are something else. Thanks for the rescue.”
“We told you we’d be looking out for you, and we keep our promises,” Cindy said.
“Tom and Ivan haven’t arrived quite yet; they’ve been held up in traffic. So take your time getting to the shop. You might want to talk about some things. We have some other things to take care of.” Then they were gone.
“Well, if I didn’t believe it before, I certainly do now. Wow, what three positively gorgeous women.”
“Yeah, and Charli, the dark haired one can kiss like a Dyson vacuum cleaner. I wish I could find someone like she is.”
“You mean, a witch?” Paul asked.
“Tom and I talked about it the other day, you know, who would be your ideal woman. I gave him a typical juvenile response. I know that now.”
“What was his counter?” Paul asked.
“He said the only important thing was that they were intellectually compatible. He said she would have to complement him, and he her.
“Now this is the strange thing; although you may not think so. Maybe you would. I kept after him; asking what she would look like, and he said, ‘short, tall, slender, stocky, blonde, brunette, or redhead: it doesn't matter.’ I pressed him a bit more, this was before I’d met you and Ivan, and he said she would look like she does: tall, slender, the rest doesn't matter. He was pointing at you. He didn’t realize it was you until he took a closer look.”
“Oh shit,” Paul said quietly. He sat at the closest chair in the food court.
“I’m sorry, Paul, I didn’t know. It’s okay if you’re gay. I don’t care. It doesn’t change anything.”
“I’m not gay. This isn’t for public distribution; however, Tom is fully aware of the situation. I’m transgender,” Paul said very quietly.
“I think this puts a whole different twist on things. I’ll stick my neck out here, but you love Tom, don’t you?”
Paul nodded.
“He doesn’t know?”
“That’s right. We’re very close, but I don’t think he understands.”
“I’ll keep your secret. I certainly don’t want to mess up your friendship.
“We’d better get down to that store.”
“What a mess,” Tom muttered as he parked his car. “There had to have been at least a thousand pumpkins spread across the highway. I’ll have to run the car through the car wash before I go home. Fortunately, I have Mom’s credit card. Let’s see if we can find that shop before it closes, and Paul and Pappy leave.”
“If they were going to leave, they would have called us,” Ivan replied. They’ll be waiting.
Their entrance was much like the others. The large store directory pointed the way to ‘Survival ‘R’ Us. It was down the long corridor where several other corridors met.
“Oh, my, gosh,” Ivan said as they stepped away from the directory. Standing only a few feet away were the three cheerleaders.
“Hello ladies, to what do we owe this pleasure?”
“We were just visiting an old friend. Your destination is just around the corner. He’s really a very nice man. I think both of you, all four of you, will find him to be very interesting. We’ll see you later.”
“Pappy was right about one thing,” Ivan said. “They certainly are beautiful. Did you notice that no one else around us was paying any attention to them? I have no doubt they are real; however, they are very powerful. There are hundreds of people around us, and not one batted an eye when three of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen are standing right there.
“Tom, there’s some weird shit going on, and we’re in the middle of it.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been saying all along.
“Okay, according to the mall directory, this should be the spot, but that’s a Hallmark Store. Maybe it’s down to the left.” A search in that direction found nothing.
“I could swear those cheerleaders said it was right here. Let’s look down the right hand corridor.” That search proved equally fruitless.
“Look, there’re Paul and Pappy,” Ivan exclaimed.
“Hey guys, where you been?” Paul asked.
“We were looking for the ‘Survival ‘R’ Us’ store.
“Look, there’s Mr. Temple, and that’s the store. He must have just come out of it.”
“Hi, kids, I was just heading down to get some supplies at Petco, and thought I’d drop in here to make sure he had what you needed. I think he’s ready for you.
“He’s a great guy in spite of what you may have heard about him. I’ve known him for close to 18 years. I have the greatest respect for what he does. As you get to know him, I think you will agree.
“Well, I gotta go. The cats will be very unhappy if I don’t get the right litter for them.
The door opened inward which wasn’t as much of a surprise as the door itself. It was wood with a six panel window. Some would call the door ‘shabby chic’, but the chipped paint and grout spoke of something different. The sound of a little bell tinkling as the door hit the actuator. There was something right about it. And yet, it was not right. Paul knew that immediately. He noticed Ivan’s unease as the door shut behind them.
“Boys, I’ll be right with you. Your packs are on that table. I think everything you will need is in them. Give Wolf a cookie. They’re low calorie. We’re watching his weight.”
“Holy shit, what is this place?” Pappy said quietly. The shelves and racks were crammed with all sorts of outfitters’ gear. Mountain climbing accessories were on one wall, camping equipment on another. Several rubber rafts and kayaks decorated the ceiling. One whole section was dedicated to bird watching; another to fly fishing.
“Excuse me,” a rather rough voice said, turning their attention back to the counter where a rather large wolf was sitting on his haunches. His tale was slowly wagging. “The boss said I could have a cookie. You’ll have to get one for me. As I explained to Simoné, I can’t open the jar. I don’t have opposable thumbs. I won’t tell if you give me two.”
“Go ahead and give him two, he’s been a pretty good wolf, today.” The owner of the voice was parting a beaded curtain hanging in the doorway obviously leading to the back room. The man of an undetermined age looked a bit like someone from ‘Duck Dynasty’. His camouflaged jump suit was perfect for the role; however, the boys realized there was no hunting equipment to be sold in the shop.
“You’re correct, Dimitri, or I should say Pappy, I don’t sell hunting supplies, and the fishing gear is mostly for catch and release.
“Well, welcome to my shop. I think I have everything you’ll need for your class project. Mr. Temple explained where you will be going and what you would require. I must say, I admire the work you’re doing.”
Paul and Ivan had been taking everything in, and realized very quickly where they were. “Your Wisdom,” Paul said, “I’m certain you know what’s been going on, and I’ve been putting two and two together over the last few days. My mother told me you were in the area, although at first I wasn’t exactly sure whom she was talking about.
“You know she wants to kill you. She told me to kill you if I had a chance. Of course, that’s the furthest thing from my mind.”
“So, this is the one Mom was talking about,” Pappy said under his breath.
“Tom,” Paul said, “We don’t have to worry about a thing. At least I don’t think we do.
“This is the man, the reason all of our families have moved to Bridgeport.
“Your Wisdom, may we get rid of all this?” Paul said while pointing around the shop.
“Certainly, we’ll just go somewhere else. Let’s go to the back room, have some refreshments, and go over a few things.” The shop reverted back to the way Paul had always thought it would appear. The Wizard was now wearing the proper wizard’s robe. Paul also noted that the mall was no longer visible through the windows.
“I know that two of you don’t know much about me; however, I assure you I mean you, your parents and their associates no harm. It will take a while, but everything will be straightened out to everyone’s satisfaction.
“You are going to be involved in some adventures, one of which is academic. In the meantime, I have to take care of a bit of a problem for which I am partially responsible. As you said, Paul, your mother and friends think they want to kill me. I need to convince them otherwise. So far, things have been going fairly well.”
“Who are the cheerleaders?” Tom asked.
“Three of my associates whom I’ve tasked to make sure things don’t get out of hand. They won’t always be right there, but they are watching when they need to. Cindy’s a medical student. Actually, she’s now a doctor in her residency. Randi is Cindy’s younger sister. She’s 18 and starting her Master’s in chemistry at MIT. Charli’s a freshman at The University of Connecticut. She’s Cindy’s sister-in-law. She will be going into Veterinary Medicine.
“You will meet them and their families when this is all over. You are mostly on your own; so don’t think you can rely on them to bail you out all the time.
“Don’t forget your packs. You’ll have to go out the back door. We’re currently in Albuquerque.
Chapter 5
“Wow, what an honor!’ Ivan exclaimed. “Imagine meeting The Wizard. I wonder … “
“Not now, Ivan, you and I need to talk: later, okay,” Paul said while raising his eyebrows.
“Oh,” Ivan said realizing the implications of his comments.
Tom and Pappy were a few steps ahead, and hadn’t heard the comments.
Their attention was diverted by three rather startling appearing blondes exiting a beauty shop. Their hair was perfectly styled, their faces made up as if they were going to the theater, and their previously chewed nails were perfectly manicured with nice extensions. They were trying to slink out of the closest exit, hoping no one would see them. The other patrons of the mall hadn’t seemed to take notice of the three, but that was not the case of their four previous victims.
“Hello boys,” Paul said. “I must say you look very nice; quite an improvement, really.”
“Oh shit, you can see us,” Mefisto said.
“Certainly”, Tom said. “Why wouldn’t we be able to see you?”
“Mefisto, be quiet for a moment. Wait right there and don’t move a muscle. Tom and Ivan don’t know what happened to you,” Paul said.
“Mefisto and his two buddies tried to attack Pappy and me when we first showed up. Our three witch friends stepped in and put a stop to it. They told the boys to go to that beauty salon and get done to them what you see before you. Actually, I think they got a little extra. I imagine they will have to keep their good looks up until our friends release the spell.”
During the conversation, Mefisto was looking at his reflection in a store window. He was arranging his ash blonde curls just a bit. Then he reached into a pocket, found a tube of lipstick and retouched his lips.
“You know, this color really suites me. When I saw Terri’s hair, I just had to have that color. She told me hers is natural, though.”
“Mefisto, what the hell are you talking about,” Clyde said, almost shouting. “When I get home, I’m going to shave my head.”
“Clyde, you will not be able to do that until the spell is removed,” Paul said. “You might as well get used to it.”
“I don’t know, Clyde,” Melvin said. “I think she, er, he looks very nice. I just love the light pink tint Terri gave me. She said it would wash out and I can use other tints. I would love to have hair that looks like that golden blonde witch. She sure is pretty. I sure don’t want to miss my appointment to get my roots done.”
“Guys, you’d better get home. I’m sure you will come to some sort of solution eventually. There’s always the chance your parents won’t notice,” Paul said bidding the three former adversaries adieu.
“What the hell happened to those three? I wouldn’t have believed it unless I saw it. That must have been one hell of a spell,” Tom said.
“In the case of Mefisto and Melvin,” Paul said, “I think Randi just released a lot of inhibitions. She gave them a pretty good push to make the initial changes. As far as Clyde is concerned, Randi added several strong compulsions; however, Clyde might always be Clyde. Maybe he will learn a lesson, maybe he won’t.
“Ivan, I need to talk to you in private.
“Guys, we’ll catch up to you in a minute. We’ll meet down at the game arcade.”
Paul pulled Ivan to an empty table in a remote corner of the food court.
“Ivan, you seem to know quite a bit about The Wizard and his shop. Nothing seemed to faze you about him. That can mean only one thing.”
“Actually, two,” Ivan responded. “You know as much as I do. Does Tom know about you?”
“Yes, he’s known for years. He is very supportive.
“Are you going to tell Pappy about you? I think I know how you feel about him. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Pappy knows about me. I told him a while ago, and he seems to be pretty cool about it. Tom doesn’t know that he knows; however, if we’re going to be working together for the next year I don’t think we should be keeping these thing a secret.”
“Paul, about the Wizard, Do you think …?”
“Of course I think about it all the time; however, I don’t think we need to worry or obsess about it. All that machinery has already been set in motion. You know as well as I do that The Wizard works by his own rules. I think we need to worry more about the problems at hand.
“Oh shit, I just realized something. Why are our parents here? Why are they wanting to kill The Wizard?”
“I think I know,” Ivan said. “They’ve met The Wizard in the past. They’ve all been affected in some way or other by The Wizard. I would say there is a good chance that our mothers had probably been boys or men in the past. Apparently, they’re not too happy about the changes, and they want to get revenge.”
“My thoughts exactly. I’ll bet Tom and Pappy have figured it out, too,” Paul said.
“I don’t think so. They were impressed by The Wizard, but I don’t think they understand his reputation. We may have a bit of educating to do about us and our parents. We may have to feed it to them a little bit at a time.”
“Please make yourself at home Eleanor, you too, Lindsay. I’m just heating up some water for your favorite tea. I’ll be out there in just a minute. I’d have you get some cookies for Wolf, but he, his wife and kids are out for the evening. There, that should be ready pretty soon.”
“Well, to what do I owe this pleasure? Surely, you’re not thinking of doing something rash?” The Wizard said as he parted the curtains.
“No, we think that’s all past,” Lindsay said.
“Let’s go to the back. I imagine we have a lot to discuss.”
“We know that you are aware of what’s going on,” Eleanor said as she smoothed her skirt beneath her thighs as she sat. “Sandra has this idea that we can bring you down.”
“Others have thought the same, and I’m still here after nearly a thousand years. I don’t think anything’s changed other than we understand better how all this magic works. So what made you think you could get away with this plan?”
“Sandra is quite the motivator. When we saw her ad in the paper we thought what the heck, we’d see what it was all about. It would have been different a few years ago right after what you did to us happened; however, things had really been going quite well for us,” Lindsay said as she reached over and gently took Ellie’s hand.
“We know we are not very attractive, and we know that was your intent. We had become parodies of what we thought lesbians were. My god, even our gay friends pity us; however, they support us. We learned very early about how much our preconceptions were wrong.
“You know as men we weren’t that bad looking. We couldn’t understand though why we had no success with women. I think I said it in this very shop before you lowered the boom on us when I said a woman was a life support system for a cunt. We were chauvinistic assholes.”
“How much did you screw with our minds? I always wondered about that,” Ellie asked.
“Not much at all. I gave you some artificial memories so you could cope with some basic things like feminine hygiene; really just some basic skills. I have some associates who gave me some advice on what you might need.”
“So, you didn’t make us fall in love with each other?”
“You did that on your own. When you need love, it’s not always where you think it might be. I think you’ve made some great strides over the last five years.
“So, why did you come here this evening?”
“We think you know,” Lindsay said.
“I do, but I’d rather hear it from you.”
“Could you make us a bit more attractive; just so people don’t turn away from us?”
“You don’t mean turn you back into men?”
“As you said, you didn’t change our minds that much,” Ellie said while continuing to hold her lover’s hand. “We’re still not attracted to men, and we’re sorry to say that if we were men, we would not be able to physically love each other. We would be friends, but we couldn’t have the relationship we have now. We don’t want to lose this. It’s too important. We are truly happy, thanks to you.”
“Well, well, I’ll tell you what. I might make a few alterations, nothing much I assure you; however, there is a price. Would you trust me to initiate these changes without me telling you what they are before I do them?”
“I think so,” Ellie said turning to Lindsay. Lindsay nodded her assent.
“You won’t know what I’ve done to your appearance until you return to your hotel room. I don’t think you will be unhappy. Now, this is the price. It is already done. You have no choice in the matter. You are both pregnant, and you will be pregnant several more times. We are in the process of saving embryos that were aborted. I suspect both of you will have three or four children each over the next ten years or so. You may have more if you desire.
“Oh my god, this is wonderful,” Lindsay said almost bouncing up and down in her chair. “We’d talked about having children. We just didn’t want to go about the process in the normal way.”
“I knew that. Would you like another cup of tea? By the way, you both have appointments with your doctor.”
“Yes, and those wafers are delicious.”
They discussed a few more pleasantries before they bade The Wizard good evening.
The taxi driver was quite pleasant to them when he asked their destination. The doorman tipped his hat and held the door for them as they entered the lobby. Their heels clicked across the marble floor as they headed for the elevator. A man held the door for them at the elevator.
The realization of what had happened to them didn’t hit them until they entered their room.
“My god, Ellie, you’ve got boobs, and you’re a redhead, and you’re tall.”
“I always did have a thing for tall slender blondes. Look in the mirror,” Ellie said as she turned her lover to the dresser mirror.
“What did we do to deserve this?” Ellie asked as the tears started to flow. They were nice tears.
“I think we were honest with him. Besides, he can read our minds like a book. I think we have a lot to learn about motherhood over the next few months. However, right now, I want to make love to you.”
“Ladies, I’m sorry to report that Ellie and Lindsay have gone over to the dark side. They got married at the courthouse yesterday, and are honeymooning in the Virgin Islands. Lindsay said they are both pregnant and couldn’t be happier.
“We’re down to ten, but we can still do this.
“Myrtle, would you please read the minutes from the last meeting.
“Irving, what have you done to yourself?”
“I couldn’t help it, Mom. Some witches made us do it. Me and Clyde and Melvin were harassing some guys at the mall when these three gorgeous witches made us stop. They’d stopped us from doing things before. They gave us money to go to the beauty salon and get our hair done. We couldn’t resist. We had to pick out hair styles. I picked out this one and the color. I really love it. What do you think?”
“It’s quite nice, but you’re a boy.”
“I don’t think so, Mom. I think that’s what’s been bothering me. I think that’s what’s been bothering Melvin, too. His hair is really beautiful. He’s got a pink tint.
“Mom, it’s like a whole new world opened up to me. I can’t, don’t want to, go back. This is who I’ve wanted to be for a long time. I was just afraid to tell you.”
“I think I knew. You’ve been wearing my bras, haven’t you?”
“Er, yes, but I don’t have boobies.”
“That won’t happen for a while. I think we need to see a doctor who will help us with this. This isn’t going to be easy. I knew something was going on, but this is a bit more than I expected. What are you going to do about school?”
“They told us that not everyone can see what happened. Only a couple of guys noticed what we looked like. I think I need to get different clothes.”
“I am so sorry you got those tattoos. They are going to be very difficult to hide.
“Well, I guess I’m going to have to call Melvin and Clyde’s mothers, and see what they think about all this. Witches, you say: now I’ve heard everything.
Our adventurers are on their way. They have met The Wizard, and they know he is fully aware of what’s going on. Well, of course he is. The three bullies, Irving, Clyde and Melvin at Randi’s urging have undergone an amazing transition. I wonder what’s in store for them? I also wonder who will be next in abandoning the cabal?
The action will definitely start to pick up. Tom realizes that the area of their study isn’t really in Connecticut; however, he recognizes the location even though he’d never been there except in his mind’s eye. Our bullies will undergo another transition, probably their final one. Then there are some strange things about their packs.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?
Our four protagonist discuss what they are going to do in light of what they’ve discovered. They decided to press on. They realize why their parents are trying to kill The Wizard. The three newly blonde bullies and their mothers meet with Dr. Bettencourt, aka The Wizard. The mothers want the best for their bad boys, as long as the boys really want it. Guess what? Two more conspirators drop out.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 6
“I think this whole idea of ours to include a cave in our ecology study may not have been that good an idea,” Tom said. “We may be biting off more than we could chew. Not only that, there just aren’t that many caves in Connecticut, let alone close to where we are. It takes a bunch of limestone under the right conditions to allow caves to form. There just isn’t that much limestone around here. If we were in Maine, it would be a different matter.”
“What about the map that Mr. Temple gave us,” Ivan asked. “Didn’t he indicate a place that would be perfect for our project?”
“He did. Let me look at that map,” Tom said. “You’re right. He’s put a big red X on a place about 10 miles north of here. I don’t think the geology’s right there, but we certainly can take a look.”
The four had gathered at Tom’s house on Sunday afternoon. They’d discovered that they all enjoyed computer gaming, well Paul not so much. Paul liked the more intellectually challenging games that didn’t require a lot of action. Tom was a bit in between. Pappy and Ivan could really get involved in some of the action fantasy games.
“We have a little time before we really need to get to work; however, we’d better get down to the nitty-gritty. Mr. Temple wants an outline of what our plan is in three weeks. I think we need to check out that area out as soon as possible,” Tom said
“There’s plenty of time this afternoon to at least take a look at the site. I want to make sure it can provide us with the opportunity to put together a good project. Each of us has our set of strengths. We’ll be able to see things from different perspectives.”
“I’ll let the folks know we’re going out for a while. You might want to do the same.”
As Tom said, the drive to the proposed site was not too difficult. The map Mr. Temple provided was quite detailed, and led Tom to a country lane. Just past a small cemetery they found a gravel road leading to a small valley. An official appearing sign indicated “Advent Cave State Park”. In addition to the main sign, an information board at a small parking area posted some rules for visitor conduct. It included admonitions against damaging cave features and littering.
“This is really strange,” Tom remarked as the group looked around. “The geology changed considerably when we left the road. I wouldn’t have expected this type of terrain; however, here it is.”
“What do you mean?” Ivan asked.
“This is karst limestone: perfect for cave development. That looks like a small sink hole over there. That’s a major indicator of cave development.”
The group followed Tom as he led them down a slight hill. They stopped next to a stone building that had a small stream running out of an opening. The stream ran across a meadow and disappeared down the slope of another sinkhole. A nearby sign said “No Unauthorized Entry to Advent Cave”.
They opened the creaky door to the stone house. There wasn’t much to see in the dim light that came through several openings near where the stone walls joined the roof.
“That’s what I thought,” Tom said as he peered around the room. “We’re not supposed to be here yet.”
“I think I know what you’re talking about,” Paul said. “This is magic, isn’t it?”
“No question about it,” Tom replied. “This is all being set up for us, and Mr. Temple is involved somehow. Our parents, that Wizard, those witches, even those three morons are all involved in this. This is really going to be interesting.
“Has anyone gone through those packs we bought the other day?” The others shook their heads.
“Well, I did. It’s impossible to get everything that is in them in them. I half-filled my bedroom with stuff that came out of that bag. There must have been a hundred pounds of stuff in there. It couldn’t possibly fit, but it did, and it weighed only twenty pounds when filled. We could go on a safari with what’s in there.
“Okay, next Saturday we come back with our packs. Believe it or not, there’re hard hats with lamps in there. We’ll need those before we enter the cave.
“Please come in ladies. I’m Dr. Bettencourt. Boys, you will wait in the reception area. Do not touch anything. You may read the magazines and watch TV if you wish.”
Dr. Bettencourt looked very nice in slacks, pressed shirt and lab coat. His long grey hair was in a neat pony tail, and his beard was trimmed neatly close. “Right this way ladies. I can see we have quite a bit to talk about.” He led them to a pleasant office where there were four chairs already set up with a ‘master’ chair facing three comfortable looking chairs.
“From what you told me, Mrs. Mefisto, this whole thing happened rather suddenly.”
“Yes, Doctor, two nights ago I came home to find my son looking like you saw him. I had been pretty sure that he’d been sneak wearing my undergarments, something he freely admitted to me. He said some witches told him and his friends to go get their hair done.” The two other mothers nodded in agreement.
“The funny thing was he seemed to enjoy it. He said it was something that he wanted to do for a long time. As you undoubtedly noticed, he insisted on wearing one of my dresses when he came here. He even wore it to school. The funny thing is that no one but a select few seem to even notice his change. My macho husband hasn’t said a thing. And apparently, no one at his school has noticed anything unusual. He said he’d been in deep conflict, and that was why he’d been such a trouble maker. I didn’t think he even knew what that meant.”
“Let me add something,” Mrs. Davis, Clyde’s mother said. “I came home to find my son looking like a princess. He was checking himself out in the mirror, and he kept saying, “I don’t want to be a girl. I don’t want to be a girl.”
“The thing is, I’m not sure he meant it. Clyde has been a problem ever since his father and I divorced four years ago. If you want to know the truth, he is the real ringleader of our bunch of potential hoodlums. He’s been making Irving do the dirty work because Irving is bigger.”
“I agree with Shirley,” Melvin’s mother added. “Clyde has been the ring leader. Melvin has mostly been looking for a place to belong. I tried to get him interested in more constructive things; however, he seemed to be more interested causing trouble with the other two. When he got those horrid tattoos I was beside myself.
“Then he walked into the kitchen looking like that girl from Grease with his pink tinted blonde hair all up in little curls, his face all made up, eyebrows plucked and nails painted. I don’t recall ever seeing him happier than at that moment.”
“Assuming that the three are not that distressed about what they did. What are your feelings about this?
“Mrs. Mefisto, you may go first.”
“I wish I had known many years ago that this was something he wanted to happen. We might have been able to get him some of the right type of counseling and medical help. I don’t think any transition at this point would be very satisfactory appearance wise.”
“I think we might be able to do something very satisfactory, if you and Irving agree to it.
“Mrs. Davis, what are your thoughts about Clyde?” Dr. Bettencourt asked.
“I would love for Clyde to be happy. He has not been happy for a long time.”
“If Clyde were to become a girl, what would you think about that?”
“I don’t think it’s so much about what would I think. It’s what would Clyde think. I’ve often thought about having a daughter, but I can’t have children. Besides, I don’t have a husband.
“Clyde said some witches made him do what we see. If it isn’t his decision, I don’t see him staying with his appearance like it is.”
“Mrs. Douglas, what are your opinions about Melvin, what has happened to him, and his reaction to it?”
“As I said earlier, I’ve never seen him happier. If something could be done to allow him to satisfactorily become the girl he thinks he is, I would be all for it; however, I could never afford the costs involved.”
“Cindy, what do you think about our current situation?” Dr. Bettencourt said addressing someone who was behind the three mothers.
The mothers turned to see an extremely attractive young woman sitting behind them. She had a very pretty Siamese appearing cat in her lap. The cat had a yellow ear and hind foot that indicated non-Siamese parentage.
“Where did she come from?” Mrs. Mefisto remarked.
“Ladies, this is Dr. Cynthia Brewer. She is currently taking her residency in psychiatric medicine. I’ve known Cynthia for many years, and she is very, very good at what she does.
“Cindy, tell them what you’ve observed,” Dr. Bettencourt asked.
“Ladies, I have had several opportunities to observe your children. As you may have suspected, there is more to going on that what first appeared. In addition to being a doctor, I am specializing in gender studies by the way, I am a witch. I am the one who encouraged your sons to do what they did.
“I have encountered many transgender children and adults over the years; however, this is the first time I have ever encountered three like your three daughters at one time. Yes, I said daughters. Melvin and Irving only needed a little push to let them see the truth about themselves. Clyde is still in a bit of denial, but with the support of his friends and mother, I believe you will find that she will be a lovely daughter.
“Since I was nine years old, I have had the ability to detect when a person’s gender is in conflict with his or her sex. The brain sends certain signals. I can read minds, by the way. Those three want and need to be your daughters.
“Your Wisdom, I think it would be a good idea if you revealed your true self.”
“Certainly.” The Wizards appearance and garb changed to that Cindy had been familiar with for most of her life.
“Oh my,” Mrs. Douglas said, “you’re Albus Dumbledore.”
“Actually, we are just cousins; but he resides in a different universe. I am a wizard, though. I’ve been around for nearly a thousand years. As soon as we settle a few things I’ll let you see my shop the way it really looks.
“Based on the fact you didn’t go ballistic with all these revelations, I am going to assume that you understand quite a bit of magic is being involved in this. I’ll be very honest with you. I can through means that I will not discuss, alter reality in limited ways. I can change your sons physically into functionally perfect young women. I can alter their appearances. They could be natural blondes, if you and they so liked. I could make them physically very attractive. I could make them unattractive. I don’t do the latter very often.
“Under these circumstances, we want only positive outcomes. I could leave them as sixteen year olds; however, Cindy and I agree that they should be given an opportunity to learn what it means to be young girls before they become young women. They are not emotionally prepared for womanhood in spite of their mental genders.
“We feel they should be given a chance to start out at about six or seven. What do you think, Mrs. Douglas?”
“I find it difficult to believe that you can do what you say you can. I think this is all smoke and mirrors,” she said while waving her hand around. “I mean, I would love to have a daughter, especially with what I’ve had to put up with Melvin these last few years.”
“Mrs. Davis, what do you think?” The Wizard asked.
“I want what’s best for my child. If allowing him to become a functional girl would turn him around, I’m all for it. I just can’t see how anything like what you say you can do is possible. He would have to agree to anything we decided if it is possible, though.”
“Mrs. Mefisto?”
“I’m already convinced that Irving would welcome the change if it were possible. I know it would benefit him if he could start over. He’s so immature as it is. I think I could do a lot of good for him if he were to start over as a six-year old girl. I wouldn’t make some of the mistakes I made before.”
“Alright, I think you’re pretty much in agreement that you would prefer that your boy were girls. I guess the only thing we need to find out is what they think.
“Cindy, ask the three boys to come in here so that we may talk things over.”
“Certainly, Your Wisdom.”
Cindy place the little cat, the most beautiful and intelligent cat in the world, by the way, on the chair and opened the door to the waiting room.
“Your Wisdom, I think we have a problem. It appears as if they got into the jelly beans.”
“Not the pink jelly beans?” The Wizard asked.
“I’m afraid so, and I think they finished the entire jar.”
Mrs. Mefisto jumped to her feet and raced for the door. Three six-year old girls were where three sixteen-year old boys had been a short while before. The girls were dressed in almost identical pinafores. Their Maryjane shoes were like new. She could see the resemblance in the little blonde girl to her son, but the tattoos were gone. She was reading a copy of ‘Seventeen’.
“Hi Mommy, something happened to us. I think I like it. I think I’m a real girl.”
Another little girl with blonde hair fixed into two pig tails secured with pink ribbons was working on a coloring book. She briefly looked up and smiled as the room filled with the adults. The third girl stood in front of a mirror obviously placed there for their benefit. She was running her fingers through her long, wavy, deep auburn hair. She was repeating over and over, “I think I like it, I think I’m okay.” She turned to see her mother standing there with her jaw hanging open.
“It’s me Mommy. I don’t know how, but it’s me, and my name is Cleo, now.
“Well,” The Wizard said to the little girls, “see what happens when you don’t do what you’re told to do. I told you not to touch anything but the magazines and the television.”
“But they looked so good, and we were hungry. We couldn’t help eating them.” By this time, little Melanie Douglas had put aside her coloring book and had grabbed her mother’s hand. Her smile was almost ear to ear.
“I think I’m Iris, now,” the previous Irving Mefisto said to his astonished mother. “That pretty lady’s a witch. I think she’s a good witch. What’s Daddy going to say?”
“I know this may be quite a bit for you to take in,” The Wizard said. “However, this is pretty much what they wanted. Dr. Brewer, her sister, sister-in-law and I did a very thorough study. We are very adept at reading minds, and we were certain that deep inside this was what they wanted; well, almost. They did have some images that were influenced a bit by some of their previous male fantasies of some rather well-endowed young ladies. Of course, as we said earlier, they are not ready for that life. It’s up to you as their mothers to take care of their education in that area.
“Speaking of education, they are enrolled in the St. Agnes School for Girls. Your good fortune with the lottery will pay for their education. They should be ready enough by the time they are twelve to face the world and attend public school.
“Obviously, many things will have to have changed, but no one outside this group will ever be aware anything has happened. You will never be able to discuss what happened except among yourselves. The girls’ memories are intact, but they are no longer important to them; their future is. Their changes have gone far beyond what you see just here. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, your girls have always been little girls. There are other changes that will become apparent over the days, weeks and years, but we don’t need to go into those right now.
“One other thing, I will be needing to borrow your little girls every once in a while for a project we have on going. I assure you they will never be in danger. I think they will enjoy it.
“And, Ms. Davis, you need to see your gynecologist.”
When the mothers assisted their young daughters with their baths that night they discovered one other thing about them. Each had a birth mark on her left shoulder in the shape of a small butterfly. Of course they were too young to have tattoos; however, the details were perfect.
Chapter 7
“I see what you meant about the packs. That is certainly another example of the magic we’re dealing with. Somebody has quite a talent with manipulating space and mass. I’ll bet there was close to a hundred-fifty pounds of things, including ropes and harnesses that are probably for climbing cliffs. I repacked it and put the hardhat and flashlight at the top. There’s enough dehydrated food for a month, and some of it looked pretty good.”
Paul was with Tom in Tom’s bedroom, where they’d been working with Tom’s new tablet computer. He’d had spent several hundred dollars on a CAD software program that would allow him to draw in three dimensions. He knew that their compasses should work underground as long as they didn’t encounter any large ferrous masses, and this would allow them to map their underground journey. They’d also purchased a small laser measuring device.
“You seem to know an awful lot about this Advent Cave for not ever having been there before,” Paul said as Tom rebooted his computer, after having installed the CAD program.
“I have been there before, or at least I’ve been to several variations of it. This whole thing is some sort of test for the four of us. It’s more than just a school project.
“The Wizard, His Wisdom as you call him, is at the core of this,” Tom said.
“Without a doubt, he is,” Paul said. “I am considerably more familiar with His Wisdom than you are. I’ve known about him for years. Ivan knows about him, too.
“Before I go any further with this, I need to call Ivan.”
“Hey,” Paul said as Ivan answered the call, “Tom and I have been talking about His Wisdom. I think we need to let Pappy and Tom in on what he’s all about; or at least what we think he’s about. There’s probably a lot more to him than we realize, though.”
“Can we come over there?” Ivan replied. “Pappy’s with me, and I just told him that there was more about me than he’d realized, too. He’s cool.”
“Excellent idea, we’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”
It didn’t take long for the four friends to be together behind the closed door of Tom’s bedroom.
“I need to say something,” Paul said, “before we get into this other matter. Tom has supported me for the entire time I’ve known him, especially after I came out to him. He knows about hormones and the surgeries that are necessary to make someone who is in the wrong body complete. I have been taking testosterone blockers for several years. My mother doesn’t know about it. Maybe if she’d paid more attention to me she might have noticed that my puberty stopped quite a while ago. Tom noticed right away.
“Pappy, you’ve been wonderful, too, and maybe someday we’ll get everything straightened out.
“Now, back to our problem at hand. I think the first thing is that we need to be on the same page about The Wizard. As we said the other day, the main reason we are in Bridgeport is that our parents, at least our mothers, are conspiring to kill The Wizard. Of course, they won’t be able to; however, His Wisdom seems to be content to let them think they can.
“The big question is why our parents and their friends are bent on doing this? After all, murder is rather illegal in this country.”
“That’s exactly what I was wondering,” Pappy said.
“I’ll get to that in just a minute,” Paul said. “I think we all agree that The Wizard exists, as do the three witches. There is no question that there is real magic going on around here. Look at what they made those three morons do. By the way, I haven’t seen them since Monday. Has anyone else?” There were three shakes of the head confirming what Paul had observed.
“Now that we are out to everybody in this room, Ivan and I want to tell you some other things about our parents. We think we are on pretty good ground with this, and it explains quite a bit. The Wizard is probably close to a thousand years old, and he is very powerful. He can travel to alternate universes, and he can on a small scale alter reality. He has the power to change people. He can make them older or younger, and he can change their sex and gender. You saw what he can do on a small scale. Believe me what you saw is nothing.”
“How come you know all this?” Pappy asked.
“For many who are like Ivan and I are, we go to many places for help. The internet is a great tool as you are aware. It is also a source of myth, unsubstantiated information, as well as pure bull shit. It also supports many of us as we can communicate with each other. There is quite a network out there among the LGTBQI.
“The internet was where Ivan and I first learned about The Wizard. At first, it just seemed he was another bit of fiction; however, more and more evidence kept popping up that supported the fact The Wizard may be real. As you know now, he is.
“Enough about that for right now. The important thing is why our parents are involved in this conspiracy. I will put it very bluntly: our mothers used to be men or boys.”
“You’re shitting me,” Pappy said.
“I don’t think so,” Ivan said. “It makes a lot of sense. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tom’s and your fathers used to be women. They have to know what’s going on.”
“So, what do we do,” Tom asked.
“I think you know the answer to that,” Paul replied. “We continue to do exactly what we’ve been doing. He has his reasons for putting us through this. Although, at times I’m not too sure if he is the one in charge. I suspect there are others who may be on a different plane of existence who actually are controlling things. I know this. We are definitely not in control. He might be trying to keep us away from our parents when the shit hits the fan, so to speak.
“Sometimes, I feel he might be tormenting us. Then again, I’m not too sure. Then, there’s Mr. Temple. What does he have to do with all this? He’s definitely in on it, but he can’t be magic. It doesn’t work that way. He’s not a wizard, although he knows him, and he can’t be a witch.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a knocking on the door.
“Yes.”
Mrs. Isaacson opened the door. “Boys, Mr. Isaacson and I are going over to the Knight’s for a while. We ordered pizza for you. It may be a while before we’re back.” She gave Pappy a strange look and shook her head before she left closing the door behind her.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Papandreou, I’ll be out there in a minute. If you have it in your heart, you may give Wolf a wolf biscuit. Marissa Lewis made them especially for him.”
Wolf was nodding his head up and down while wagging his tail rather vigorously. He probably couldn’t control the latter.
“Please,” he begged.
Sherri Papandreou opened the jar and gave one of the rather large bone shaped biscuits to Wolf.
“Thank you,” was his muffled response.
“What do you think?” The Wizard asked as he parted the beaded curtains.
“It is certainly a lot neater than it was before,” Ted Papandreou answered.
“That’s mostly Randi’s doing. She helps me out around here. She’ll be running a branch shop one of these days, but that will be for only high volume periods.
“Let’s go to the back room. It’s much more comfortable back there.”
“I take it you are about ready to abandon Sandra Knight’s project.”
“We already have,” Sherri said. “We’ve been talking about it for a while, and we just don’t see any point in it, and you proved your point quite a while ago. I was so wrong about child birth both from a negative and positive point of view. We had wandered into your shop, not by accident I imagine, and were arguing about having another child. As the husband, I wanted one; however, Ted, then Sherri, said she wasn’t too sure. Dimitri had been a difficult birth for her. I poo-pooed it saying that was a woman’s burden.
“She commented that I wouldn’t have the guts to go through what she did. It was two weeks later, two days after we’d made love that we woke up in each other’s bodies. Three weeks later Ted told me I was pregnant. I was.”
“I will give you credit,” Ted said. “You held up very well. I know Margaret’s birth wasn’t as difficult as Dimitri’s was, but giving birth is seldom easy. You got a good taste of what it was all about. As much as you hated it, you loved it. You liked breast feeding as much as I did.”
“I think Sherri felt angry about what had happened to her, and I felt you had taken the right of motherhood from me. When we saw Sandra’s advertisement, we thought this might be a chance to get back for what you had done to us. The thing was, Sandra’s bitterness began to wear thin with us. We just didn’t see how killing you would serve any purpose.
“I think Alice’s comments really hit home. What did we really have to be angry about? We have a wonderful family, two intelligent and relatively well adjusted children, and a good, secure life. We’re tired of moving, tired of trying to find you so that we can exact an undeserved revenge. We realized what we really want. We want more children. We have several good child bearing years ahead of us.”
“I would say at least ten,” The Wizard interjected.
“I want to be a mother again,” Ted said.
“And I do too,” Sherri added.
“I think that could be arranged. I’ll just fix it so that each time one of you gets pregnant, you will switch. Would that be satisfactory?”
“I think that would work very well,” Sherri said. “I do have another question. What about our children. They’re sure to notice the changes in their parents.”
“Dimitri already has a good idea of what’s been going on,” The Wizard said. “There are four smart young adults out there, and they have just about figured everything out. You should be very proud of them.
“We have quite a while before everything works out, and unless I’m wrong, I seldom am, everything will work out to just about everyone’s satisfaction.
“I don’t understand it. I thought Ted and Sherri were with us all the way,” Sandra Knight was furious. She’d thought the Papandreous were solidly behind her; however, Sherri had called her that afternoon to say that they were withdrawing from the group.
As soon as she’d ended the call she sent messages to the remaining members calling an emergency session. There had to be a way to stop him before he got to their children any more than he already had.
“Myrtle, I think we can dispense with reading the minutes from the last meeting.
“Folks, disaster is looming. That creep has pulled two more from us. As you can see, the Papandreous are no longer with us. We must stop him. Does anyone have any ideas?
“Myrtle.”
“I was just thinking that since he may be influencing the children we might be able to use them as a diversion. I used to be a sniper. I could get in position and, while his attention is elsewhere, take him out.”
“But wouldn’t he hear the shot?” Agnes asked.
“I could take him out from a mile away. He couldn’t read me from that far away, and the bullet travels at about four times the speed of sound.”
“When were you a sniper? We haven’t had any significant military action since Viet Nam.” Glynnis asked.
“I served four years in the Marines. I was a damn good shot when I went in, and I was even better when I got out. I was a paid mercenary in Africa. I don’t know how many people I took out. When the people I worked for decided not to pay me I went to the other side. They paid a lot better, and I took out the guys who wouldn’t pay me what they owed me. I would love to take that bastard out,” Myrtle said with more than a little animosity.
“What sort of gun can shoot and kill someone from a mile away?” Sandra asked.
“I had one before he changed me; however, it went away with everything else. I have contacts, and it won’t be too hard to get what I need.”
“This is beginning to sound interesting,” Agnes said. “Where would you do this? You certainly couldn’t do it in a mall.”
“We’d have to get him outside; somewhere where there’s plenty of open area and still a place to hide.”
“Well, there is that place where the children are doing their research project for school,” Sandra said. “I don’t like that, though. If we involve them in this, there’s a chance they could be shot, too. I imagine a large bullet going as fast as you say could easily penetrate one person and go on to kill someone else in its path. We need to think of something, else.”
“I don’t think anyone has come up with a better idea. If someone else gets hurt, that’s just the cost of war. We need to get rid of that bastard. If we take some losses, so be it.”
“That’s easy for you to say, Myrtle,” Nancy Isaacson said. “You’re not a parent.”
“I don’t want anything to do with the little monsters. I’m surprised to hear this from a woman who used to be a man. What happened to your spine? What sort of wuss are you?”
“Regardless of my origin, they’re our children,” Nancy said.
“I agree,” James Isaacson said. “I will not support any action that might put our children in jeopardy. There has to be another way.”
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Barbara Boom-Boom Reynolds said. “I just want to get my mind back.”
Things are starting to heat up. The cave is looming just a little ways off. Things may get very serious, not that trying to kill The Wizard isn’t.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?
Paul confronts his mother about what The Wizard may or may not have done to her. He’s pretty much on the mark as to what actually happened. Since he has her attention, he’s finally able to come out to her about his being transgender. She’s not happy and is convinced it’s The Wizard’s doing. Myrtle is convinced she can take The Wizard out. Tom confronts his parents about what caused their animosity. They didn’t read the instructions!
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 8
“How’d the meeting go? You guys figured out a way to kill The Wizard, yet?”
“I don’t think I want to discuss it, Paul. Besides, how do you know what we’re trying to do?”
“For one thing, you’ve already told me as much. You told me that he is evil and that I should try to kill him if I got the chance. That’s a hell of a thing to tell your seventeen year old son; to tell him you would like him to be a murderer.
“Mom, we need to talk about some things. It’s time you stopped avoiding talking about things I’ve tried to bring up to you. You’ve been a good mother. I know you’ve had to work hard to get where you did with my father leaving before I was born, but I need some answers and I need to tell you some things I’ve been trying to tell you for a long time.”
“Things, what sort of things?” she said as she turned to her son. Sandra had been cleaning up after the meeting, and was placing the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
“Oh, like what the real reason is behind why you are so intent on killing The Wizard. We’ve met him by the way, and he seems like a pretty good fellow. I think he’s been very honest with us. Things like why we have to keep moving around so much. Things like my gender.” Sandra’s eyebrows raised and her eyes widened at that statement. “And things like who the hell were you before The Wizard changed you into a woman.”
The plate Sandra had been holding crashed to the floor, shattering into many pieces.
“How, what, when did you ever come up with a ridiculous idea like that?”
“Let’s cut the bull shit, Mom. You’re not trying to kill him because of his politics or his fashion sense, which I admit is lacking. You are not trying to kill him because he is illegally keeping a wolf as a pet. By the way, Wolf, not very original but that is his name, can talk quite well. Everyone in that group of yours was changed by The Wizard into someone of the opposite sex. I’m not sure about their genders being changed. I mean you never have seemed to show any interest in anyone of either sex. Your main interest I know now is your obsession with getting rid of His Wisdom. Yes, that is the proper form of address, in case you were wondering, and I probably know as much or more about him than you do.
“Mom, I love you very much, and I doubt that will change. I am nearly eighteen, and I think it’s time you told me the truth about your origin and mine as well. Who were you and what did you do to cause The Wizard to change you into this very attractive workaholic with a murderous bent. You can’t put this off any longer.”
“Paul, he is an evil, evil man. He’s done some horrible things to people against their wishes.”
“Mom, I know what he does, and as far as I know, he’s never murdered anyone. There’s frequently a lot of irony in what he does. I know there are many tales out there about him; however, evidence is lacking as far as being able to verify many of them. Based on writing styles and the preoccupation with certain things that some authors write about, I’d bet 80 percent or more of the tales out there are purely fabrications of the authors’ imaginations.
“Okay, I’ll ask again. What did you do to make him turn you into an attractive, intelligent, and eaten up with her work mother?”
“I don’t think I want to tell you.”
“Okay then, I’ll tell you what I think. Of course you’re welcome to correct any errors in my guessing. I imagine you raped some poor girl and ….”
“Please stop. I never raped anyone. I’ll tell you what happened. Let’s go into the dining room.” Sandra poured a glass of wine for herself. “Would you like some?”
“I don’t think so; we had a couple of six packs at Tom’s house.”
“Paul!”
“Just kidding, we just had some soft drinks.
“So, what happened?”
“I was your age and starting quarterback for my high school. I had everything, a college scholarship at Stanford and a potential pro career. I also had a very willing girlfriend. She was cute, intelligent, but not too smart, if you know what I mean. She thought she was in love with me, or maybe she saw me as a ticket to wealth. I don’t really know for sure.
“Maybe we were both caught up in the sex thing. She was my first, and we couldn’t get enough of each other as far as sex was concerned. We used condoms most of the time; however, I forgot to get some when we went on a date. She didn’t want to have sex because she was afraid of getting pregnant; however, I had learned my lessons well and knew all her hot buttons. She was putty in my hands. Needless to say, she called me two weeks later to say she was pregnant.” Sandra took a sip of her wine.
“School was over, and I had a job as a life guard at our country club. Thankfully, her parents weren’t members. I didn’t really know what to do. She kept calling me, but I refused to answer. I was in the local mall when I saw her, and I ducked into guess who's shop. That was more than eighteen years ago. I remember it like yesterday.”
“Come in Sanford. Help yourself to a soft drink. They’re in ice in that tub. I’ll be with you in a moment.”
Sanford (Sandy) looked around the quaint shop with aisles and shelves filled with things he had no idea what for. His attention was brought back to the elderly, strange looking man who had parted the curtains. He was followed by what Sanford thought was an enormous German Sheppard.
“Anything here I can interest you in?”
“No sir,” Sandy said. “What do I owe you for the coke?”
“Consider it part of the deal. Just ducking in for a moment? Too hot out there for you?”
“No sir, I just didn’t want to meet someone.”
“I understand. Are you okay?”
“A little dizzy all of a sudden. May I sit down somewhere?”
“Sure, come to the back. You’ll be over it in a minute.”
“That was an understatement. I sat on his couch as the changes set in. I didn’t realize at first what was happening. Then I looked down and saw my breasts pushing out my blouse for the first time. I had become a young woman.”
“You won’t be able to do or say anything for a few minutes, Sandra," The Wizard said. “That is your name now. You have always been Sandra Knight in this universe. You still have the same family, the same house, the same country club, and scholarship to Stanford. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to use the latter. It seems you are pregnant.
“Getting drunk at that party was a poor decision on your part. No one will ever know but you and I, and anyone else you tell, who the father is.”
“Who is the father?” I managed to say.
“Why, you are my dear, and that girl you dumped is the genetic mother; however, the honor of motherhood is yours. I have given you some memories to help you get on with the rest of your life. It won’t be easy, but things might work out very well if you apply yourself.
“Your ex-girlfriend was never pregnant in this universe, and you were barely acquaintances. You should be ready to face the world in a few minutes. Your car is where you left it. It is a bit more conservative than it was before.”
“I left the shop, and almost in a trance, found my way to my car, a newer model Edsel.
“I had to tell my parents about my pregnancy, and I was essentially disowned at that moment. I was lectured about the usual things. You’ve heard it all before. The car was mine. Your grandfather gave me ten thousand dollars, and paid for my medical expenses. I never saw them again. I went to work in a fast food restaurant, you want fries with that? They gave me time off to give birth to you. I balanced raising you with my job, and going to school at night. As you remember, at twenty-eight I had my law degree, passed the bar, and set up my practice.”
“So, actually, you are my father as well as my mother.”
“I was the contributor of the “Y” chromosome. The “X” chromosome came from Carol. So, genetically, she was your mother, except in this universe, that never happened. If they ever looked at your genetics, I sure it would drive a geneticist crazy.”
“Mom, I don’t understand what you are so mad about.”
“My future was taken from me. I probably would have gone to the NFL.”
“Other than the fact you never played college football, how did you know that would have been the case?”
“Suppose you’d never walked into that shop and just left my mother to her resources. Who knows what might have happened? I hate to think of the alternatives. I might never have been born. You might have been maimed playing football, and never had a career at all. This is where we are today, and I think you did very well. I’m very happy that you decided to have me. You’ve been a pretty good mother in spite of not listening to me when I wanted to talk to you about things.”
“I don’t think I understand what you mean.”
“Mom, how old am I?”
“You’re almost eighteen. Why?”
“Look at me, really look at me. How old am I?”
“I know you’re not maturing as quickly as some your age, but you look fine to me.”
“I stopped my puberty three years ago. I still haven’t started shaving.”
“Stopped your puberty, how can that happen.”
“I’ve been taking testosterone blockers.”
“You’ve what!”
“Mom this is what I’ve been trying to tell you for all these years. I’m transgender. Inside I’m a girl.”
“That son-of-a-bitch got to you, didn’t he?”
“No, Mom, he didn’t get to me. I’ve been this way all my life. I didn’t even know about The Wizard until six or seven years ago. I’ve been studying about him ever since. That’s why I know so much about him.”
“This shit stops right now. I want those pills. I’m going to make an appointment with my doctor for you. We’ll get you straightened out right away.
“I can’t imagine what your friends will think when they find out about this. You will be a laughing stock.”
“Tom has known for more than three years. He’s cool and so are Ivan and Pappy.” Paul was not about to mention that Ivan was also transgender. Then he realized The Wizard had to know, too.
Later that night Paul could hear his mother sobbing in her bedroom. I guess that didn’t go as well as I’d hoped it would, he thought.
Chapter 9
The next morning Paul gave his mother his complete supply of Finasteride.
“You don’t have any more of this,” she asked.
“No, that’s it.”
Paul had never in the past done anything to deceive his mother; however, there was a first time for everything. He maintained his goal of preventing any further masculinization and doubled his dose of spironolactone. His studies had revealed that it was estrogenic and might even increase any feminization already occurring. Once his mother had calmed down a bit he would tell her that when he reached eighteen, he would continue with his transition. He was definitely not going back, and she could do nothing about it. Meanwhile, he’d have to keep the peace as best he could. It was not going to be easy.
“Mom, Dad, we need to talk.”
“Sure, Tom,” his Father said, “you know you can always talk to us about anything.”
“That may change after what you hear me say.”
“That serious,” his mother said. “You haven’t gotten some sweet young thing pregnant, have you?”
“No, nothing of the sort; we need to talk about your past and why you are so hell bent on killing The Wizard.”
“Oh,” was the simultaneous reply from his parents.
“Look, Paul, Ivan, Pappy and I know what’s going on, and we have a very good idea about everyone in that group of yours. For reasons we don’t know, every one of you was changed. I don’t really care about what happened or why. We just want you to know that it doesn’t matter. I guess what bothers us more is why you think it’s necessary to kill The Wizard.
“We’ve met him and talked with him, and he doesn’t strike us as being particularly evil. Paul and Ivan know quite a bit about him, and they’ve told Pappy and me what he does and what to expect.”
“I’m curious,” Tom’s mother said. “What is your relationship with Paul? Are you gay?”
“Paul is my best friend. He just happens to be transgender, and, no, I am not gay. Why?”
“Sandra Knight called a while ago, and she is very upset. Apparently, Paul, told her about his being transgender, and she is certain The Wizard caused it.”
“I don’t think he works that way. If he wanted to do something to Ms. Knight, he would have done it to her. Being transgender is just an accident of birth. There’s not much that can be done about it other than to try to make physical corrections to allow you to get your body in the correct alignment with your body.
“If he wanted to turn Paul into a woman, he would have done it just like he did to a bunch of the members of your group. He would never harm Paul because of a bone he had to pick with Ms. Knight. Paul’s being transgender has nothing to do with what’s gone on with the others in your group.”
“Why do you know so much about your friend’s condition?” his father asked.
“I think you just answered your own question. Paul is my friend. He confided in me many years ago. I will support him any way I can. What he is experiencing is not easy. Friends help friends. I intend to help Paul any way I can.
“There is something going on that involves all of us. It is very complicated, and The Wizard is at the core of it. I don’t, we don’t think we need to fight what’s going on.
“How many of the group have you lost over the last few weeks?”
“Six, not including your mother and me. After the meeting last night, we’re thinking that we’ll drop out, too. Some of the actions suggested are far too severe and dangerous for everyone, especially the four of you.”
“I’m curious about something. What did you and mom do to get you into this situation.”
“We didn’t read the instructions.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Isaacson, I’ll be right with you. Don’t mind Wolf and Padrona, and the puppies. If the puppies start jumping on you, tell them to stop. They understand English quite well. They are a bit spoiled. If you give them some dog biscuits, they’ll behave. They’re only three, and you know how three-year olds are.”
Jim and Nancy Isaacson looked at the six puppies who were politely sitting in front of them. Three of them looked like the enormous wolf, and three looked like the rather large Rottweiler-Bull Mastiff mixed breed. They were politely sitting to one side while Jim opened the large cookie jar containing the dog biscuits. By this time the puppies were sitting on their haunches in a cute begging position. Jim handed a biscuit to each of the puppies, and they immediately began to devour them.
“Children,” Padrona said, “remember what I taught you.”
“Thank you Mr. Isaacson,” the six puppies said in unison before returning to their snacks.
“I’m glad you got to see them,” The Wizard said as he parted the beaded curtain separating the front and back of the shop. “They’re usually traipsing all over the Arctic with some of their cousins this time of year.
“Now, what can I do for you?”
“I’m impressed,” Nancy Isaacson said as she watched the canine family retreat to the back of the shop. “That’s quite a ventriloquist act you have going there, and they are so well trained.”
“Oh no, they are really talking. I’m a pretty good ventriloquist, but I don’t do it very often. There just isn’t any need to do it these days with Ed Sullivan gone.
“I think you came in here looking for something to spice up the romance in your bedroom. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“How did you know that?” Jim asked.
“I’m a Wizard, and I know these things. Drat, I get so tired of trying to explain this to everyone.
“Okay, I think I have exactly what you need. Now where did I put those?” The Wizard started rummaging around in a cabinet. “Oh my, I’ve been looking for those for year,” he said placing a box on the counter as he continued to look through things.
“Ugh, what are those?” Nancy said peering into the small box filled with what looked like dried up lizard tails.
“Dried blue tailed skink tails, first harvest. They’re the finest. Second growth tails would never do. I’ve been looking for those for over fifty years. I really need an assistant to help me get this mess straightened out.”
“What on earth are they for?” Nancy asked.
“They’re great for removing ear wax. I have a jar of that somewhere around here. They’re also good for removing warts and relieving menstrual pain.
“Ah here they are right under the box of belly button lint.” He placed two small boxes on the counter and put the lizard tails back where he’d found them. The rectangular boxes had a clear plastic tops, and through them, Jim and Nancy could see two fancy garters, very similar to what one would see brides wear at their wedding as ‘something blue’; however, in this case, one was blue and the other was pink.
“Let’s see,” The Wizard said running them by a scanner. “They’re $19.95 each, but I have a special on these. It would be $29.95 for the pair.”
“What exactly do they do?” Sam asked.
“You wear the pink garter on your arm when you make love, and Nancy wears the blue one. Each of you will feel what the other feels. There are some other things, so be sure to read the instructions. There are no warranties implied or otherwise; however, I assure you that they will work as I said.”
“As you are well aware, your mother and I enjoy our bedroom activities very much. We were young, this was before you were born, and we couldn’t wait to try them out. What The Wizard said was absolutely true. Neither of us had any idea what the experience was like for the other. It was so good that we did it three more times before passing out.
“We decided we’d try it the next night without the garters so that we could compare notes so to speak. The problem was that nothing seemed to work right. I was like impotent –nothing – I literally couldn’t feel one bit of sexual sensation. Your mother was feeling, or not feeling the same thing. Then we discovered if we played with the other’s erogenous zones that the feelings of arousal were transmitted back to us. It got very complicated, but we found we could make it work.”
“When did you read the instructions?” Tom asked. It was a bit embarrassing discussing his parent’s love life with them.
“That afternoon, needless to say there was an admonition about wearing them only once a day when making love, and resetting them the next day by switching garters; again only making love only once while wearing them,” his father said.
“There were many other things, implications that we didn’t understand until much later,” his mother added. “Once we got into the rhythm of things, we made it work quite well. The first hint of impending disaster was a couple of weeks later. Your father became very grouchy, not at all like himself, and then I realized my period had started and hadn’t been aware of it.”
“I think I can see where this is going. You got pregnant with me didn’t you, except you didn’t feel it,” Tom said looking at his father and mother.
“You have that right,” his father said. “I experienced everything: morning sickness, swollen breasts except they weren’t swollen, labor pains, the full experience.”
“And, I felt very little other than the weight gain. I was a bit sore after giving birth to you, and your father walked real funny for a few days. I felt very little while nursing you and your father suffered from the constant stimulation of my uterus. We tried to find The Wizard, but were unable to until I was pregnant with your sister. He was sympathetic, but as we had failed to follow the instructions, there wasn’t much he could do. We felt he didn’t really care, and I was devastated that I could not experience most of the physical sensation of carry a child, giving birth, and nursing.”
“And, I was certainly sympathetic to what a woman goes through; however, I am still male,” his father said. “Somehow we’ve managed to have two more children; however, your mother would like to experience carrying a child, and I’m a bit tired of it.”
“I’ll bet His Wisdom can fix things if you approach him the right way.
“There’s something else going on here that doesn’t make sense. According to Paul, Wolf’s wife had those puppies just a few years ago. Magic animals seem to mature much more slowly. The Wizard must have gone back in time to give you those garters. He knew exactly what was going to happen. You were set up.”
“Well we’re down to six, maybe we’d better make that five,” Sandra said while glancing toward Barbara. Barbara was texting one of her sister dancers, telling her that she would be returning to Las Vegas the next afternoon. As sympathetic as the members of the group were, they realized that Barbara was barely functioning at a fifth grade level. She never would be able operate at a level they needed to carry out what they intended to do.
“Myrtle, were you able to get what you needed?”
“Piece of cake. Even though I’ve changed, my old acquaintances haven’t. Besides, money talks. They don’t think I can handle it, but I proved them wrong. I haven’t lost a thing. I tried it out at a private range. That wizard is dead meat. We just need a place to pull this off.” Myrtle was rubbing an obviously sore shoulder as she spoke.
“Here’s a copy of a topographic map my son obtained for the nature project they’re doing. There are some good elevated positions that have line of sight to the parking area and some sort of structure. I imagine you’ll want to check out the whole area.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that ASAP,” Myrtle replied while taking the map from Sandra.
“I’m going to talk to my son’s friend to see if we can convince him to cooperate in helping us get rid of that old SOB.
Tom couldn’t help checking Ms. Knight out as she let him into their nice two story home. She had called a few minutes before saying that she wanted to talk to him in private while Paul was out running errands for her. She was definitely a MILF. Her figure didn’t show any excess fat even though she was probably in her middle thirties. Her coal black hair accentuated her perfect complexion, and she was definitely stacked. Tom remembered his hormonal reaction to her the first time he’d met her nearly four years before. She was just as attractive now as she had been then.
“Would you like something to drink? I have some iced tea.”
“Thank you, unsweetened please.”
“I wanted to talk to you about Paul. He told me some rather startling things about himself, and I thought as his best friend, you might be able to enlighten me about what’s been going on.”
“I’m not sure that I should. I mean that is personal information.”
“Tom, you are an intelligent young man, and you shouldn’t be afraid of me. But you know that as a mother of a young man I have a right to be concerned.
“I feel that The Wizard has done him a terrible thing about making him think he is transgender. Were you aware of that situation?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“How long has he had this fixation, these thoughts?”
“From what he told me, all his life. I knew four years ago.”
“He told me he was taking drugs. I took them from him this morning. Were you aware he was taking drugs?”
“They’re not really drugs. They’re just something that keeps him from turning into a man. I told him he needed to see a doctor.”
“Thank you for doing that. We have an appointment for later this week. I just don’t know how I can undo what that horrible wizard did to him.
“I don’t know what I did to make that wizard hate me so much that he would hurt my son the way he has. If you can do anything to bring him back to me I would be eternally grateful to you.”
“I’ll do my best, Ma’am.”
“Thank you. How’s your project going?”
“Very well. I think we’ll start more detailed exploration this Saturday. We’re going to have to lay out plats so that we can plot our data, and we want to take a preliminary look at the cave. Mr. Temple obtained permission from the park service to allow us to enter the cave. I think the local park superintendent is going to meet with us. He’s Ranger Bettencourt. We’re going to meet at 8:00 AM.
“Who’s this Mr. Temple?”
“He’s our instructor. He’s a very nice man. He’s young like you are.”
“Thank you, for the compliment.”
“Paul, it went almost exactly like you said it would. She is definitely worried about you. She’s convinced The Wizard has done that to you.”
“I think suggesting going to the doctor was a good idea,” Paul said. “If he’s any sort of doctor at all he’ll know what being transgender is all about. Maybe he can talk some sense into Mom so she’ll drop this whole thing.
“I found out something interesting. Mom is actually my genetic father. He got a girl pregnant with me, and The Wizard changed him into Mom and put me inside her. Mom’s pissed because she never got to play football in college or with the pros. Here she is a beautiful, high paid lawyer. She could have everything, and she’s pissed because she can’t play football. Jesus, I wish she’d get a life.”
Next: Barbara meets The Wizard in Las Vegas. Things go very well. Sandra Knight meets Bob Temple after the Friday night football game. Things do not go quite as well. She finds out he’s known The Wizard for a long time. What possibly could be Bob Temple’s interest in Sandra Knight?
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?
Barbara gets her mind back. Myrtle finds the ground where she will carry out the assassination. Ivan explains to Pappy that she will do nothing to foul up the project because he believes it will lead to his transition. Tom explains to the others what he believes the cave is about, and Ivan agrees. He and Tom have been there before. Bob Temple asks Sandra to have a drink with him. It doesn’t exactly go well.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 10
“Barbara, I’ll be right with you. I have to complete a conference call. Help yourself to some milk and cookies if you’d like.”
Barbara was absentmindedly scratching Wolf’s ears. She was carefully going over the speech she had rehearsed many times. She just hoped she wouldn’t stumble over the longer words. It had become very difficult for her to communicate in anything but the shortest sentences and words.
She had gone to the mall to get some cosmetics, there was a Clinique special, and was garnering the stares and wolf whistles she usually garnered when she was out in public. Then she saw the sign – Spells-‘R‘-Us. She panicked for a moment before gathering up the little resolve she had. She would confront The Wizard and plead with him to give her mind back to her. She knew she’d been intelligent, but now it was all gone, and she couldn’t even spell intelligent.
When The Wizard came out of the back room he couldn’t find Barbara, but he could hear her giggling, and could hear the patter of little puppy feet. As he came around the corner of the counter, he found Barbara sitting on the floor playing with the six puppies. They were licking her face as puppies do and their proud parents were sitting by watching.
“Oh, Mr. Wizard, I’m sorry. They’re just so cute and I couldn’t help it.”
“That’s quite alright. Let’s all go to the back room. I think we have quite a bit to talk about.”
Barbara stood while trying to straighten out her skirt and blouse which at the moment was displaying a rather large amount of cleavage.
The Wizard led her to a comfortable chair before sitting opposite her.
“What can I do for you Barbara?”
“I, like, wish ….” At this point she broke down in sobs. It took a few minutes for her to regain her composure. The Wizard passed a clean linen hanky to her. After blowing her nose she was able to start talking. “I had a speech memorized, but I forgot it. I don’t seem to be able to remember things like I used to.”
“It was a very nice speech, Barbara. I know you worked very hard on it.”
“How?”
“I’m a wizard, remember.
“Barbara, I was very hard on you, maybe a lot harder than I should have been. If I remember, nothing was working correctly that day. I had just dealt with a rather unpleasant pedophile. That’s no excuse, though. I think I need to fix some things.
“I think I will bring in one of my assistants, if you don’t mind.”
The Wizard turned to his desk top computer. “Charli, are you very busy? I need your assistance. I need to set some things right with a certain young lady out here in Las Vegas.”
“I’m never too busy when you have a project like Barbara. I’ll be right there.”
The Wizard turned to Barbara. “Charli is my makeup and hair consultant. She doesn’t mind me telling you this, but she used to work the streets. I know you never did anything like that; however, you’ve lived pretty close to that environment. Charli was almost killed when we rescued her, she was a boy at the time; however, with her concurrence we allowed her to start over as a six year old girl.”
They were interrupted by Charli suddenly walking out of the broom closet. She was carrying a bag of cosmetics.
“As you can see, she turned out pretty well.”
“Charli, I was just giving Barbara a little bit of your background. I was trying to put her at ease. I have a number of things in mind here. Barbara is very intelligent. I’d given her a little block, but that’s gone now.” The Wizard turned back to Barbara.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better than I’ve felt in a long time. What did you do?”
“Alice Gräber asked me to give you your mind back. That’s just the beginning.
“So, what do we do about her hair, Charli?”
“Of course the style is atrocious. I’ll show you what a college student should look like.” She ran her hands around Barbara’s head, and the bouffant hairstyle was replaced with long straight hair held in a nice pony tail. Charli worked a bit more with the style until it suited her.
“Of course, the color is terrible, but you will have to take care of that. I would suggest you take her back to her natural color. I don’t know how you can make someone grow hair that looks like it’s been bleached, and I don’t want to know.”
Barbara’ hair was suddenly a light brunette with natural streaking.
“Oh, that’s so much better. There’s absolutely no reason to mess with your color, Barbara. It’s perfect.
“Your Wisdom, the boobs have to go. I don’t see how she can even walk with those things cantilevered out there like that. I’d say a very full ‘C’. On her frame that would be perfect.”
“Not a ‘D’?” The Wizard sounded a bit disappointed.
“No, a full ‘C’, after all, you tortured her with those monsters for four years.
“Okay, how’s that?”
“Your Wisdom,” Charli said in a scolding tone, “not a ‘D+’, a full ‘C’. Yes, like that. That’s much better. Now let me work with her makeup.”
When Charli was through with her work she turned Barbara to a mirror. “What do you think?” Charli asked.
“You’ve made me look human. I don’t know what to say. I guess thank you would have to do for now. I do have a question though. Obviously I am no longer Barbara Boom-boom Reynolds. Who am I?”
“You are just Barbara Marie Reynolds, freshman student at U Conn.”
“I guess Ben Reynolds is gone.”
“In your current universe he never existed. In that alternate universe where you started, Ben Reynolds was shot and killed by an irate husband who found him in bed with his wife. The wife was also killed by the same bullet. You had no future there,” The Wizard said.
“We have done a little manipulating with events. It required a bit of adjusting things over the last century; however, I think you will find that your father is not quite the bigot he was before. You do have an older brother; however, he is not you.
“As Charli said, you are now a freshman at The University of Connecticut. I gave you six years back. You could go back to physics, you would do well; however, we think you are better suited for veterinary medicine. It’s your decision.
“Charli is your roommate for your first year. She’s going to act as your mentor until you get your feet on the ground.
“By the way, your former self in Vegas has mysteriously disappeared. They will find your car at the boat ramp at Lake Mead. It was the easiest way to explain your disappearance. You were a person unknown when you arrived, and that’s how you will have left. I also transferred the money from your bank account, quite a bit by the way, to your college fund. It should cover your post-graduate work.
“Now, Charli needs to show you your new room.”
The Wizard watched as Charli led the somewhat bewildered Barbara to the broom closet Charli had exited from a while before.
“Boss, you are a real softy,” Wolf said.
“I know, but we have more serious things to take care of.”
“Yes sir, this should be fun.”
“Serious fun,” The Wizard said.
The sun was barely creeping over the horizon as the four wheel drive SUV pulled into the parking lot. The driver, dressed in a jogging suit did a few warm-ups before taking off on a slow jog down a well-marked trail. About a half mile down the path, the jogger turned off the path towards a knoll. A lesser used trail led to a clearing near the top of the knoll. She looked for a position that gave her a clear view.
“Damn,” she said to herself. “The whole area in front of that building is blocked. This location will never do. Time to check that other knoll.”
It was a few hundred yards to the next possible position. ‘Much better,’ she thought. ‘I have a clear view of the entire area. This will be a piece of cake. Now, let’s check the range.’ She turned on her compact laser range finder and took a few measurements. ‘Fifteen hundred yards, that old bastard’s going to be dead meat.’
She jogged back to her car and headed back to her apartment. She failed to notice one thing as she proceeded down the country lane. The knolls, the valley, the entire area for that matter could not be seen. From the road, they just didn’t exist.
“What did you think when I told you I was transgender,” Ivan asked.
“I was a bit surprised,” Pappy said. “I never would have guessed; however, I’m pretty ignorant about that sort of thing. Paul was the first person I knew about who was like that.”
“We work hard sometimes to hide it. It does complicate things. Does it bother you that I’m a girl?”
“Why should it? You are the same person I met on the first day of school. Nothing’s changed. It’s sort of like finding out you don’t like peanuts when I do.”
“I like peanuts.”
“Maybe that’s not the best example. I mean, look at all the things we like to do. We added five birds to our life lists. We like gaming. We’re Greek and like Greek food. You’re really cool. I don’t care if you’re a guy or a girl.”
“What if I were a real girl?”
“That might get interesting. Do you think that could happen?”
“That all depends on The Wizard, and there’s no use taking that idea any further.”
“But you wish he would?”
“Of course I do. There hasn’t been a day go by that I haven’t wished for that magic pill, that mysterious artifact, the genie in a bottle, or that wizard that I now know for sure exists, to make my body match my brain. The only difference is that I know that there is real hope, a real chance that it might happen.
“I’ll tell you this. I will do nothing to screw things up for Paul and me. If The Wizard wants us to play a game, I’m going to play it to the hilt. This is a very complicated game. Paul and I talked about it yesterday. Then, there’s still that other thing.”
“What would that be?” Pappy asked.
“What does Mr. Temple have to do with all this?”
Pappy hadn’t realized it at first, but Ivan was very strong and determined. He was considerably more take charge than he was, and he seemed to be quite relieved when he found out that his parents had given up on that insane project to kill The Wizard. As near as they could tell, there were still several people left in the group, and unfortunately, one was Pappy’s mother. They were pretty sure there were three others including Paul’s mother.
Chapter 11
“Guys, I’ve done quite a bit of research, as you know, about the history of interactive computer games. One of the very first interactive games invented was developed by a fellow named Willie Crowther. I believe he was at Princeton University. The game caught on very quickly and was played by many on the earliest forms of the internet. You were given a scenario and from that point on you were basically on your own. You typed in basic commands, and based on the answers, you progressed to the end. Which, by the way was not that easy to get to.”
“I’ve played it,” Ivan said. “I was never able to figure it all out. I took a lot of notes, but they were lost during one of our moves. It’s a lot of fun.”
“Paul and I installed a three dimensional CAD program on my tablet. We’re going to take it with us when we enter the cave. We’re going to plot every nook and cranny. I have a laser range finder that should help us.
“I wasn’t able to solve it either, but I did get quite a bit of it done. I don’t have my notes, either,” Tom said.
“I’ve never heard of this game. What is it?” Pappy asked.
“It’s so old most in our generation never have heard of it. It’s too simple. It’s just that it isn’t that simple.
“I knew as soon as we drove into that ‘Park’ what was going on. That place doesn’t exist in the real world. The game was called “The Adventure Game” or something like that. There are several versions, and who knows what version that crazy wizard has concocted for us. As soon as we left the main road everything changed; the terrain, the geology, even the plant life. We were suddenly in central Kentucky, not western Connecticut.
“The whole intent of this project is for us to solve the problem of the cave. I’m not sure what it is; however, I’m sure it has nothing to do with an ecological study. One other thing, we are in this together. We won’t do anything without the concurrence of all of us.”
It was the after game pizza at the favorite local pizza parlor. Tom and Pappy were in the marching band, and they put on a good show. The best part was that their team won; beating a rival from a nearby city.
“Remember, the first time we looked into the spring house? There was nothing there. That’s when I knew we weren’t ready for this adventure. Many more things have had to come together before we are allowed to start. I think we should be prepared to go into the cave tomorrow. The rest of what we planned to do is just extraneous action. I’ll know if we’re to go ahead as soon as we get to the spring house.”
Across town a meeting of a different sort was taking place. Sandra Knight was having a drink with a man. Ever since her change she’d steadfastly refused to have relationships with men, or women for that matter, however, when this rather handsome, balding man approached her as the stands emptied after her son’s school’s victory, she felt compelled to listen to him.
“Ms. Knight, may I have a word with you?” he’d asked.
“I guess I’m at a disadvantage here. May I ask who you are?”
“That’s only reasonable. I’m Bob Temple. I’m one of your son’s teachers.”
“Oh yes, you’re his teacher for that class where they have that big project. What may I do for you?”
“I would like to talk with you about your son and his friends.”
“Have they done something wrong?”
“On the contrary, they are doing everything right. Your son is quite brilliant, as are the others. Look, this is not the place to talk. May I buy you a drink? I know a respectable place where no one would question your presence. I know your son and the others are going to have pizza. It will be a while before they go home. I would just like to talk with you about a few things.”
“Alright, Mr. Temple, I’ll have a drink with you. Where is this place you’d like to go to?”
“O’Flaherty’s down by the river.”
“I know the place. I’ll meet you there.”
“Thank you.”
Sandra wondered what it was about. What could this teacher know about her son and the others? She’d found a recently vacated parking spot near the front door. She and Paul had eaten there when they had first moved to Bridgeport that summer. Their meals were excellent if not a bit pricey. They had not been back since. There wasn’t the need to.
Bob Temple was waiting for her at the entrance to the bar area, and held the door open for her. The bar was a pleasant change from some she’d been in over the years. Not present were the wide screen TVs that seemed to dominate so many chain restaurants and bars. In one corner a man was playing a Gershwin medley on the piano. He led her to a booth not far from the piano. A young couple was sitting at a small table for two, and they waved to Bob as they approached.
“Hi Bob, I hear our team won; better start than last year,” the very attractive blonde said.
“Yeah, maybe we’ll have a chance this year.
“Sandra, I’d like you to meet Cindy and Don Brewer. They were both students of mine many years ago, and now Cindy’s a doctor in her residency in Boston, and Don’s a lawyer.
“Cindy and Don, I’d like you to meet Sandra Knight. She and her son just moved here. Paul’s in my advanced biology class.”
“Sandra,” Cindy said as she extended her hand, “welcome to Bridgeport. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other often.” Sandra felt a strange but pleasant warmth as Cindy took her hand. Some of her apprehension about being with Bob disappeared.
“What a lovely couple,” Sandra said as Cindy and Don left.
“Yes they are. They went through quite a bit to get where they are today. They fell in love during their junior year at school. I’ve seen many infatuations come and go during my career as a teacher, but I never saw a stronger love than theirs has been.” Bob seemed to get a bit emotional, and Sandra could hear his voice catch briefly.
“I was an assistant coach back then, and we recruited Don as a walk-on place kicker. I never coached a finer young man. He set the state record for place kicking. No one has come close to his field goal record. Then they went off to Boston College where he set the NCAA field goal record. The pros offered him a fortune. He turned it down. Instead, he went to Harvard Law School.
“Cindy might have been Valedictorian except for one of her best friends, Myrna Mankowitz. She and her husband are PhD candidates at MIT. She is doing amazing things in DNA research. Avery is an up and coming expert in alternative energy sources. I am very proud to know them.
“Enough about my students. I think I invited you here tonight to talk about other things. I always wanted to be a teacher. I received my Master’s in Education from Cal Berkley and moved here shortly afterwards. I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
“Wife?” Sandra asked.
“Nope, never could find anyone who’d put up with an academic neat freak. Besides, I didn’t belong to The Hair Club,” he said making an obvious reference to his bald pate.
“I don’t think that’s a problem.”
“What about you?”
“I was an unwed mother at eighteen. There never has been a Mr. Knight. There, that’s out in the open.”
Bob didn’t say anything, but continued to listen.
“My parents disowned me. They paid for the medical costs and gave me $10,000 to help get my life started. I worked the hamburger joints and got my degree in six years. Fortunately, there was daycare at the school. I went to law school after that and passed the bar on my first try. I specialize in contract law, and have built up a very good clientele on the internet. I have neither heard from nor seen my parents since the day they kicked me out. They’ve never seen their grandson.
“Such a sad story, but you have seemed to have done very well. Paul seems not to have suffered.”
“I’m not sure. I may not have been the best mother, but I love my son. He’s never been in trouble. I think he wants to be a doctor. I know he’s tired of moving. I am, too.”
“Why this bent? You have a good life. Why not just settle down and enjoy what he’s given you.”
Sandra was shocked. She stared at the man she was beginning to like.
“You’re one of them aren’t you?” she said deliberately keeping her voice low; however, the tone was not missed by Bob.
“I hardly qualify as one of them. I know The Wizard, and have known him for a number of years. He’s not a bad man in spite of what he may have done to you, and I don’t know what he did. I do know this, whatever plans you have, please consider those four children.”
“Consider the children,” her voice raised a bit, and a few heads turned their way. “Do you know what he’s done to my son? He’s made him think that he’s transgendered, that he’s a girl in a boy’s body. He’s tormented me for nearly twenty years and now he wants to torment my son.”
“As far as I know, The Wizard has never made someone transgender. He certainly wouldn’t do it to someone to get at his or her parent. That’s the last thing he would do. He fixes that problem whenever he can. If you would let him, The Wizard could fix your daughter’s problem.”
“Paul is my son,” Sandra said quietly but emphatically.
“I think you need to have another talk with Paul. Take him to a doctor, a specialist.”
“I’m sure he will have reached the doctor, too. It’s obvious I can’t trust anyone around here.
“Thank you for the glass of wine.”
Sandra picked up her purse, and stalked out of the lounge.
Bob watched her leave. ‘My God, she’s beautiful,’ Bob thought. ‘That may not have gone as well as we wanted, but it’s a start.’
“Lover’s quarrel?” the waitress asked with a smile as Bob handed a twenty to her.
“Perhaps,” he smiled as he headed to his car. ‘We’ll just have to wait and see.’
“I see what you were saying about Sandra Knight,” Don Brewer said as he and Cindy climbed back in bed after a shared shower. They were staying at her parents’ home for the weekend. “She certainly is an attractive lady.”
“Watch it buster, or I might not let you have your way with me for a while.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it. She’s much too old for me, and she seems to have a boyfriend.”
“That’s not a sure thing, but the signs were good. Sandra still has a lot of anger to get over. She’s very defensive at the moment. I was able to detect several things during our meeting this evening. She’s definitely past the tipping point. She’s totally female, and His Wisdom had nothing to do with it. I wasn’t around when he transformed her, but I would be willing to bet her infatuation with football was due to overcompensation. She had to prove her masculinity to her father. Of course in their reality, she never was a boy. Her father had never wanted a daughter. When she showed up pregnant, he just got rid of her. What a jerk.
“You know, I think her being abandoned is the source of most of her anger.”
“What else did you sense with that ‘spidey’ sense of your?”
“I knew this the first time I met Paul. He is carrying the witch trait and so is his mother. That should have been, but you never know when The Wizard starts messing with things. I confirmed his mother’s status this evening. In that first meeting I also confirmed Paul is transgender. It’s very strong. His friend, Ivan, is also transgender and also carries the witch trait. The neat thing is the four of them know it. At least they know about the transgender issue. Tom has known about Paul for a long time. Ivan came out to them a while ago. Pappy’s cool about it.”
“The Wizard will take care of their problems won’t he?”
“I suspect so, but you never know. I’ve never known him not to when a transgender person was involved. He’s not a cruel person; a bit strange, but never cruel.
“Good night my handsome husband; tomorrow is another day.”
Across town, Sandra had finally cried herself out, and was asleep before Paul came in from the after game pizza and strategy meeting.
Sandra goes a bit over the top trying to convince Paul to kill The Wizard. Lois Papadopoulos tells Sandra what happened to her and why she’s giving up on the project. Bob Temple asks Sandra to have lunch with him. She agrees. Our four protagonists enter the cave.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?
Paul tells his mother that her quest is futile. The intrepid four enter the cave, and soon discover the importance of each treasure. They also discover that their time in the cave is different than outside. Lois Papadopoulos comes to Sandra to tell her she’s out of the group. She tells her what happened to get her where she is. Sandra agrees that their venture is futile. Tom is selected as leader. Ivan is second in command.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 12
Sandra was having a cup of coffee when Paul came into the kitchen to fix breakfast.
“We need to talk,” she said as she placed her cup on its saucer.
“Sure, Mom.”
“Are you still planning on carrying on with this project of yours?”
“Certainly, why wouldn’t I? It’s part of my high school curricula.”
“It’s nothing of the sort. That evil wizard is just using you to get at me.
“Hell is too good a place for him. He has caused me nothing but despair and agony, and his death is the only way to fix things. It would be only right that my son who he is trying to turn into my daughter would kill him. He would never get a chance to complete his evil agenda.
“The vengeance of hell boils in my heart.
“If you don’t try to kill him, then you are no longer my child.”
“Mom, I think you’re being a bit melodramatic. Of course I won’t try to kill him. You of all people should realize how futile this thing you’re trying to do is. I think The Wizard is trying to help you, not harm you.
“At any time, he could put a stop to what you and the others have been planning, and most of them have decided not to continue. I think a better solution would be to meet with him.
“Tom just drove up, so I’ll get breakfast on the way out there. I imagine we’ll be back late this afternoon. We won’t be able to call you from the cave, but we probably will call when we’re outside it.
“I love you, Mom. You mean so much to me, but you have to get rid of this hate. He didn’t steal your life. He gave you one – me.”
He kissed her tear streaked face and left.
“Where the hell did all this fog come from?” Pappy asked. There hadn’t been any fog until they turned off the main road; however, one could call it ‘pea soup’.
“I wouldn’t worry about it.” Tom said. “Where we’re going there won’t be any fog.
“I think we’ll know for sure when we get to the spring house if everything is ready for us. He won’t let us go in if we’re not ready.
“Okay, there’s Mr. Temple’s car; so far, so good.”
Mr. Temple approached as Tom opened the trunk to get their packs out.
“Guys, I got the keys to the culvert from the Park Superintendent. Once you open it up, take the keys with you. I wouldn’t want anyone locking you in. Of course there won’t be any cell phone reception once you get in the cave. So you might as well leave your phones in your car.”
“Is there any problem if we take them with us? They can also serve as minicomputers?” Pappy asked.
“Probably not. Take them with you if you want. Who knows, you might need them.
“I noticed another car parked back there along the access road. No one else is authorized entrance into the cave today. It might just be a jogger or some bird watcher.
“Okay, you’re on your own.” Mr. Temple returned to his car and departed.
“He certainly didn’t make much of an attempt to make this sound like a school project, did he?” Paul said as the car disappeared into the fog.
“Not one bit,” Tom replied. “All right, it’s on to the spring house. Everything starts there.”
Previously, the sunlight coming through the ventilation ports at the roof line had allowed adequate visibility. The dense fog this time plus the early morning light made it very dark inside. Immediately in front of the door were a paper bag, an old lamp, and a bottle of water.
“Well, this is pretty much what I expected,” Tom said looking around. “Whoa, what do we have here?”
They looked to where Tom was pointing. Three little girls were standing there. It looked as if they were wearing long flowing dresses; however, Paul quickly realized they were wearing night gowns. They were three very pretty little girls. Two were blonde. One blonde had very curly hair. The other little blonde girl had her hair done in pigtails with pink ribbons holding them in place. The third girl had very dark hair. Had it been a bit lighter inside the building, they would have realized her hair was dark auburn.
“And who do we have here?” Ivan asked on top of what Tom had already said.
“Hi Tom, hi Paul, hi Pappy, hi Ivan, I’m Iris, this is Melanie” the little girl said pointing to the other blonde.
“And I’m Cleo,” the dark headed girl said. “The Wizard said we should give you these.”
Cleo handed Tom a long closed case. Iris handed Pappy a smaller squarish box with a handle coming out of one side.
“We have to go now. We had a sleep over last night, and the cartoons are coming on.”
And with that, the three little girls disappeared.
“Who in the world were they?” Pappy asked.
“I know,” Paul said. “Those were our former adversaries Irving Mefisto, Clyde Davis, and Melvin Douglas. So that’s what happened to them. I guess The Wizard got to them. They certainly seemed happy.”
“I think they really are,” Ivan said. “Somehow, I think that was what they really wanted all along.
“What did they give you?” Ivan asked.
Tom opened the leather case. “Oh my God!” Inside was a flute, and based on its weight it was made of solid gold.
“What do you have, Pappy?”
“I think it’s a music box. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”
“I think you’ll know when the time’s right,” Paul said.
Tom opened his pack, and was able to slide the encased flute easily inside. Pappy was able to do the same with the small music box in his pack.
“I guess we’d better get going,” Tom said shouldering his pack. “We’ll need the light and keys. We’ll need this other stuff later on.”
The four explorers, not sure of what they’d find, headed down the creek that quickly disappeared through a crack in the limestone. Beyond in the dry creek bed was the sink hole with the locked grate they’d seen the week before.
“Everyone okay?” Tom said as he unlocked the grate. He and Pappy pulled it back. In the dim light allowed by the dense fog they could see what amounted to some boulders and limestone forming a rough stair leading downward into the dark abyss.
“From now on it’s hardhats and chin straps. I’m not sure if the lights on our hardhats will work or not. As I said, the only light mentioned in the versions Ivan and I’ve seen is this lamp. If our head lamps work, fine. If they don’t, we may have to rely on this ancient lamp. All right, it’s down we go. Turn on your lamps.”
They gathered at the bottom of what appeared to be a rock fall from above. A low passage lead to what Pappy said was the west. They would have to crawl for an undetermined distance. According to the range finder, it was about a hundred yards. Paul noted the distance on the CAD program. He also noted the altimeter readings Pappy got off his watch. It read the change in barometric pressure as they descended. It wasn’t that accurate, but it would have to do.
“Look at that,” Pappy said, “some jerk left an old bird cage. I wonder if he thought he’d be able to catch bats and put them in there.”
“Nope, that’s part of the game. We’ll need that in a few minutes,” Ivan said as he picked it up.
“What about this? Some jerk has scratched this nonsense into the limestone.”
In rough block letters was ‘Magic Word – XYZZY.’
“Nope, that’s part of the problem, too. That word will transport us back to the spring house, but it only works between here and there,” Ivan said. “We could have tried it back at the spring house; however, I needed to verify it here rather than take the chance. We’ll use it when the time is right.”
“So, what’s this old piece of pipe doing here?” Pappy asked.
“Take a closer look,” Tom said. “We’ll need that later, too.
“Ivan, what did you do with it?” Tom asked.
“I took it to the next area and dropped it there. I figured out what the problem was. I don’t think it would matter if we took it with us. We just need to put it down so he can’t see it.”
“Who’s he?” Pappy asked.
“We’ll see in a little while,” Tom said. “I really have no idea about distances in this place. We’ll know when we get there.”
They continued west, according to the compass, down a long sloping passageway that finally opened into a fairly large room. They’d been hearing some strange noises for quite a while, and now the source of the noise was in front of them.
“Oh my God, a Paradisaea apoda,” Pappy said. “Can we count that, Ivan?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t think this counts as an accidental,” Ivan said.
“Put the rod down where the bird can’t see it,” Tom said. “Then put the cage down near the bird.”
Pappy placed the cage near the bird, and not too surprisingly, the bird hopped into the cage. Pappy closed the cage door. Tom picked up the rod.
“Is the bird a treasure or something like that?” Pappy asked.
“No, it’s a tool. Depending on the scenario that’s been set up for us, we may need the bird more than once.
“Get the rod. We’ll need it later on. Let’s keep going in the only way we can go.”
Several hundred yards further on the relatively level passage ended in a small room with a pit at its center. Stairs led downward to an area they couldn’t see.
“Now I know this isn’t real,” Tom said as he tried to project his light downward. I want to try something. I’m going to turn off this lamp, and turn it back on. I’m talking about less than a second.
“Ready, lamp off.”
Immediately, all the lights went out.”
“Lamp On.” All the lights came back on.”
“Okay, we have enough light, but this lamp controls everything as far as light is concerned.”
“We’ll have to be very conservative as far as its use,” Ivan said. “In the computer game if you use too much time wandering around, the lamp will run out of power. You can buy batteries, but you use up part of the treasure. That’s why mapping this place out while we go is so important. We’re not going to get to ‘save game’ for a place to come back to.
“This is beginning to come back to me. I remember a lot of the tricks. What about you, Ivan?”
“Yeah, same here. Let’s get started.”
“I thought you said there wouldn’t be any fog down here,” Pappy said as they started down the stairs that looked as if they might have been there for five-hundred years.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ivan said. “It’s just special effects.”
“Now what do we do?” Pappy asked. “The fog seems to be getting even thicker.
“That’s because this is called the Hall of Mists,” Tom said as Paul entered the data into the tablet. I think we need to go south into that low passage. We have a lot of choices here. We don’t have to do things in any particular order, at least as far as this level, is concerned.”
So, they headed south. At least that was what Paul’s compass said. After fifty or sixty yards of dodging stalagmites they arrived at a low ceilinged room that had no apparent exit other than the way they came.
“Holy Shit!” exclaimed Pappy. “Look at the size of that gold nugget.”
“That’s treasure number one,” Tom said as Pappy picked it up.
An eerie voice filled the room. “You won’t get it up the stairs.”
Tom and Ivan had expected the words, but Paul and Pappy were obviously startled. However, there was more to it than that. Paul shook his head and sat on a nearby rock, and Ivan briefly leaned against the wall.
“You guys okay?” Pappy asked.
“I think so,” Paul said. “I think I’m just hungry. How long have we been down here anyway?”
“A little over four hours,” Tom said checking his watch. “Let’s eat lunch. I think we should go back to the Hall of Mists.”
The seemingly bottomless packs quickly produced some MREs and water.
“I gotta take a leak,” Pappy said. “Where am I going to do it?”
“How about over there,” Ivan said pointing to a pair of doors that certainly hadn’t been there before. One had a logo of a man, and the other a logo of a woman. Pappy quickly headed for the correct logo. Inside was a light switch that activated an exhaust fan. He washed his hands before returning to the others.
“I can’t believe they’d put a place like that down here.”
“They didn’t,” Paul said. “The Wizard put it there. Besides, it really isn’t there. I imagine that as soon as we leave this area, it will disappear; just like that trash can will after we’ve finished cleaning up.”
Ivan pulled Paul aside. “What happened to you back there when Pappy picked up the gold?”
“I had a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. Then it went away.”
“And?”
“My testicles are gone. It’s going to happen isn’t it?”
“I think so. He did the same thing to me, and that’s just what we can see. Who knows what else is happening. Obviously, our changes are tied to the treasures. We have a long way to go.
“Do we tell them?” Paul asked nodding towards Tom and Pappy.
“They’ll find out soon enough.
“You know Tom loves you. He’s hoping for this almost as much as you are.”
“What about you and Pappy?”
“I like Pappy; I like him a lot; however, he has a lot of growing up to do. I’m going to have to find out how trainable he is before I commit myself to him. I think there is hope, though.”
Chapter 13
Sandra hadn’t heard from Myrtle, and felt she’d just better leave her to her own resources. She’d finished breakfast a little while before and was now just staring at the wall, and fiddling with a piece of toast crust. She used it to wipe some remnants of jam off the butter knife before slowly chewing it up.
Her cell phone vibrated across the table. “Hi Lois, what’s up?”
“We need to talk. May I come over?”
“Certainly, I’ll brew a fresh pot of coffee.”
Five minutes later Lois Papadopoulos was at the back door.
“Sandy, I’m out. It’s over. This is totally futile. We’re in way over our heads.”
“I think I’m beginning to realize that,” Sandra said taking a sip of her too hot coffee before rapidly putting the cup back on her saucer. “What are we going to do?”
“I think we need to tell The Wizard that we’re giving up.”
“He probably already knows,” Sandra replied. “What are we going to do about Myrtle and the other two? I think nothing would please Myrtle more than to take him out. I think Agnes and Glynnis feel the same way. They’re consumed with getting their manhood back.”
“I think The Wizard can take care of himself. I don’t know if he can nullify Myrtle’s sniper rifle, though.
“Ivan left me a rather long letter this morning. It explained many things, some of which I expected. Ivan said he is transgender; that he is mentally a girl. I think I’ve known that for a while. I wish he’d brought it up to me before. He’s desperately hoping that the Wizard will change him. I’m hoping he will, too. Maybe my daughter will be able to have children. Something that I will never be able to do.”
“What did he do to you, Lois?”
“Nothing I didn’t deserve.
“I was an alcoholic; something I wouldn’t admit to myself. I was coming home from a party and I ran a stop sign. I killed a little girl and badly injured the members of her family. The Wizard was nearby, but since the little girl was dead, he couldn’t do anything for her. He switched our bodies. I became a badly injured little girl, and she became my dead self. I probably would have killed myself one way or another anyway. So in a way, he did me a favor. I just didn’t realize it.
“My body was so badly injured that they had to take my ovaries and uterus. I’ve been on HRT since I was nine.”
“Ivan’s adopted, obviously,” Sandra said while trying to keep the tears back.
“I told him as soon as he was able understand. I was a literature major, and started writing while I was still in college. I sold my first book before I graduated. I discovered I very much wanted to be a parent, and I think that was his major punishment for me. It’s what would have happened to that little girl had she lived.
“I adopted Ivan when I was twenty-two. He’s as Greek as I am. It’s easy sometimes even for a single parent to adopt a child from an impoverished country. So, here I am, a single mother with no hope of marriage, with a son who desperately wants to be a woman, and I am not going to do anything to prevent it. I hope he knows that.”
“I wonder if that’s a coincidence. Paul told me he’s transgender. I’m such a great mother that I’d never noticed he was taking hormone blockers for the last three years. I did some reading that indicates he could still go through male puberty if the blockers were stopped. He gave me his supply of finasteride, but I don’t think he’s going to go back. I made an appointment for him to see my doctor. We’ll have to see what he says.”
“I don’t think you’ll ever see your son again. I’d be willing to bet we’ll both have beautiful daughters by the time this is over, and he won’t be doing it to punish us. Our punishment has been over for a long time.
“Where to leader?” Paul asked Tom.
“I didn’t know I was the leader. I don’t recall that being picked as leader of this nefarious group.”
“I think you were picked by default. De fault no one else wants the job.”
“If that’s the case, I want Ivan as a second in command. He knows this cave as well as I do.
“If that’s the way it is, we need to take the bird with us down to the next level. We have quite a bit more treasure to find.”
After what must have been more than a hundred steps, they arrived to what Tom called The Hall of the Mountain King. Very faintly they could hear what sounded like Edvard Grieg’s Pier Gynt Suite being played in the background. That was the good part. Across the way there was a huge green snake slowly making its way in their direction.
“That’s the biggest viper I’ve ever seen,” Pappy exclaimed. “It has to be venomous.”
“Put the bird cage down,” Ivan said.
Paul set the cage down and opened the door.
“Right,” Pappy said, “that little ol’ Bird of Paradise is going to kill that big snake.”
“Watch,” Tom said.
Like a shot the bird flew straight at the snake, attacking its eyes. The snake became very confused looking this way and that before giving a very loud hiss and disappearing down a hole in the floor. The bird strutted proudly across the floor, hopped onto its perch in the cage and began to preen its feathers.
“We may or may not need the bird again depending on what version we’re playing. We can leave the bird here. It will be fine. Let’s go south. There will be something there for us.”
A small entrance led them to a room-like chamber where a rather impressive assortment of jewelry was sitting on a pedestal. Pappy immediately picked the jewelry up and placed it in a pocket on the side of his pack. Paul winced as another strange sensation overtook him. Ivan seemed to steady himself against the wall of the passage leading back to The Hall of the Mountain King, a name they had decided on. When they got there, the bird was gleefully singing a few bars from Grieg’s Piano Concerto.
“Ho, ho, me harties, I’ll just take that gold nugget and jewelry and put them in me chest, thank you very much.” Addressing them was a man in a ridiculous pirate costume.
“You may have them, sir,” Tom said.
“Pappy, give the nice pirate the gold and jewelry.”
“Thank ye very much. I’ll be off now,” the pirate exclaimed as he rapidly disappeared down the passage.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ivan said. “We’ll probably get everything back later on. Hopefully, we won’t have to deal with him again. That could screw things up for us.”
From there it was west to another chamber where they found a pile of gold coins. Tom placed them in his pack. The feeling that hit Paul was almost orgasmic.
“Are you okay?” Tom asked.
“I’m fine,” Paul responded. “In case you haven’t noticed, Ivan and I are changing. Every time we find something we go a bit further in the right direction. I’ll not go into details right now. What do you think?”
“I think it’s wonderful. It’s just that much more important that we complete this project.” Turning to the other two, “We need to take that passage to the north. There’s another treasure there and another way out.
“Are you alright, Ivan?”
“Getting better by the minute.”
Pappy seemed a little puzzled by that last remark.
The North passage seemed to wander a bit; however, the general direction according to the map they were making was north. Around a bit of a corner they came upon a pair of spectacular sterling silver candelabra made by Tiffany. At least that was what the placard placed on the table in front of them said.
The set was pretty massive, and when Tom picked them up, both Paul and Ivan gasped. For the first time, Pappy realized something was going on that was pretty serious.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked Ivan.
“I’m fine. It’s just that every time we find a treasure Paul and I change a bit more into women. I’m not going to show you the changes – yet. You’re just going to have to take my word for it. I’ll just say they are very definitive.
After several hundred yards of dodging rock falls, stalagmites and stalactites, they came to a room with a large Y2 carved into one wall.
“This is our exit,” Ivan said. “Sometimes, a voice will say a magic word. We won’t say it yet. I want to verify with Tom that we agree on the word.” Ivan wrote a word on his pad and showed it to Tom.
“It doesn’t have an ‘O’ in it; just a ‘U’.”
“I think you’re right,” Ivan responded.
“Everyone grab hands. We’ll be coming right back to this spot in a little while
“Plugh”
They were back in the well house.
“Turn off your lights, Tom said as he turned off the lamp.
A rather large table was located to one side, and they place their treasured there.
“What if someone steals them?” Pappy asked.
“What the fuck,” Ivan suddenly shouted. He was standing at the door looking across the foggy valley. “How long have we been down there,” he asked.
“A little over nine hours; we went in at 9:00 AM. It’s 6:15 now,” Pappy answered.
“Take a look at your cell phones. It’s only 9:15 in the morning according to my cell phone. According to my phone we’ve been down there for only 15 minutes. It’s still foggy out there, and from those faint shadows I know it’s still morning. My wrist watch says what Pappy’s does.”
“A period of time was never specified in the game,” Tom said. “The life of the lamp seems to be governed by how many bad turns we make: how much wasted motion we do. I think we’ve been very efficient so far. The game never specified how long it would take to finish it. Based on what Ivan and I know, it could take us as long as five days. I think the intent is for us to stick it out until the end. I suspect in real time that might be until sometime this afternoon.”
“That’s why we have so much food and water. We’re going to be down there for quite a while, and I guess we’d better get with it. We’ll need that bag of food and that water bottle.
“Grab hands. Plugh. Turn on light.”
They were back at Y-2.
“Okay ladies, this is where we take care of that son-of-a-bitch. I have a clean shot at just about every spot down there except inside that building. I was back in the woods when those kids showed up this morning. That teacher of theirs gave them some stuff. They messed around in that building before they followed that creek. They opened up a grate over a hole down there, and they disappeared down there.
“I just got this feeling that everyone’s going to show up here, and I have just what will do it.”
“And what’s that?” Agnes asked.
“I checked out that building a while ago. I found this,” Myrtle said holding up a cell phone. “I’ll just send a text message saying they’re in trouble in the cave. I’ll bet everyone will come running, including that wizard.
“Pappy, where’s your phone? “Weren’t you carrying it in your back pocket?” Tom asked.
“Shit, I left it on the table. It should be there when we make the next drop. At least my battery won’t be as low as yours. There really isn’t much we can do with it while we’re down here.”
“You’re probably right. We need to go back the way we came back to The Hall of the Mountain King. We should probably spend the night there.”
Their packs revealed several surprises, Among them were sleeping bags, air mattresses, a catalytic propane stove with fuel, bottled water, changes in underwear, a bath towel, soap, tooth brushes and toothpaste, dental floss, and many other things. Much to their surprise, well maybe not, a pair of restrooms appeared at the far wall.
“I definitely think the intent is for us to stay here for the night,” Tom said.
“But what about the lamp,” Pappy asked. “Shouldn’t we turn them off?”
“That would not be a good idea,” Ivan replied. “Because we haven’t violated the usage rules for the lamps, we haven’t been warned. If the lamps are off for too long two bad things can happen. We could be eaten by a grue or we could fall into a bottomless pit. With either of those the game is over, and we’re dead. No, the intention is for us to spend the night or nights down here. It’s our making mistakes that might be the end of us, and I don’t think he wants that to happen. We just have to be smart.”
“Ivan, there’s a shower in the rest room,” Paul said. “I intend to use it later on.”
“Right, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
The adventure in the cave begins. Fortunately, Ivan (how long will that name last?) and Tom are remembering much of the cave from their previous experiences with the game. Ivan and Paul are changing with each treasure the group finds. Now they know how critical it is that they finish the ‘game’; however, it’s much more than a game. Sandra Knight realizes who Bob Temple is.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?
Bob Temple asks Sandra Night if she would have lunch with him. She doesn't find it difficult to accept. During their conversation, she suddenly realizes who he was. He's known who she was for quite a while; just that he didn't know the whole story. They agree to talk to The Wizard. Many changes are occurring in the cave, including changes in names.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 14
“Sandra, Bob Temple. I know things didn’t go very well last night; however, being the eternal optimist I am, I was wondering if we could have lunch. There’s a nice place in the mall that serves very nice lunches. I know I’m stumbling a bit, but I’d really like to talk with you.”
“Bob, you caught me a bit off guard last night, but I think I would like to have lunch with you.”
“After lunch, would you mind if we met with an old acquaintance of yours?”
“No, I don’t mind. I think it’s time we had a talk.
“What time?” Sandra asked.
“How about 12:30?”
“That would be fine. Where should we meet?”
“Maziotti’s. It’s down by the Hallmark store.”
“That will be fine.”
Sandra took a little extra care with her makeup. She’d never had to use much because, in truth, she didn’t need it. Her pale complexion contrasted her coal black hair. She’d religiously avoided overexposure to the sun, and other than her 30 minute jogs in the morning, she spent little time in the sun. Most of the rest of her days were spent on the internet dealing with clients
Bob stood as Sandra approached the table. She held her hand out for him to take, and he didn’t disappoint her. He was very strong without a doubt, but he was gentle at the same time.
“Thank you for coming. After last night I wasn’t sure if you’d ever talk to me again.”
“I think I got over it very quickly for some reason. I wondered if The Wizard was messing with my mind.”
“He told me he wouldn’t do that for any of your group, including the children. He told me the adults would just have to work things out for themselves. He wasn’t about to let anything bad happen.
“Would you like to have a glass of wine before lunch? I think the waiter would like to take our order.”
“Yes, Pinot Grigio please.”
“And, I’d like a pint of the Bitburger draft, please.”
“Their pizza’s supposed to be very good. It even comes in individual sizes; which means you will have enough left over for dinner.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I think I will have the porcini and prosciutto,” Sandra said.
“I’ll have the four meat pizza. Please add artichoke hearts, black olives, green olives and anchovies. I would like the anchovies on the side. Don’t cook them.
“Sandra, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine as soon as I get that bottle er, glass of wine.
“Last night you said you were from out west, but came back here when The Wizard made you an offer you couldn’t refuse. May I ask where you’re from out west?”
“Milpitas: that’s a little town northeast ….”
“… of San Jose. I know it very well. Well bless his little pea picking heart. You’re one of his victims, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say I was a victim. I was a girl who desperately needed to prove her sexuality, even if it meant laying every boy on the football team. I also was a close companion to several of the cheerleaders. It was all pretty empty. My first was the quarterback, but he moved away. I moved on after that. I was getting quite the reputation. I started cratering after a while. It was getting to the point that I thought of killing myself.”
“May I ask who you were?”
“Carol Johannesen.”
“God, I am so sorry I did that to you.”
“You didn’t do anything to me in that world. The only Sandy Knight I knew was the most beautiful girl, now woman, I’d ever seen. You lived in a different world of country clubs and debutante balls. I was just that easy girl who lived in the wrong part of town.
“I was seriously contemplating suicide when I wandered into his shop. Of course he knew everything. He said he would do what he could to straighten my life out, but it would come with a price. Part of that price is the person you see before you.
“The saddest thing was that I lost my family, but the change kept me from being with them when they collided with a gasoline truck on the 280. Had I not been changed, I would have died with them. I was a pitcher for the baseball team and was playing ball when it happened. I was very upset with him, but he showed me that they would have died in the alternate universes. The event was too big to make disappear. In a sense, he’d saved my life twice.
“The insurance money left me very well off as did the out of court settlement. Now that I was relatively wealthy, I thought I’d try to find you, but you’d disappeared off the face of the earth. I also changed my last name to get away from all the scammers and crooks.”
“I wouldn’t call San Jose off the face of the earth. As I told you last night, I was flipping burgers while I went to college.
“What brought you back here,” Sandra said as she bit into a piece of her prosciutto and porcini pizza.
“I received an offer from the school system here after I received my Masters in Education. I’ve been here ever since.
“May I ask about Paul’s father?” Bob asked.
“Certainly. He’s provided one hundred percent of Paul’s support throughout the years.”
“So, where is he?”
“Looking at you.”
“What?”
“I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out. The Wizard works in mysterious ways. I hate to break it to you, but you’re Paul’s mother,” Sandra said taking a sip of wine.
“Rise and shine everyone,” Tom said rather loudly. We have a full day ahead of us.”
It didn’t really matter which restroom they used as Tom and Pappy had already taken care of things including brushing their teeth. The Wizard had outdone himself overnight. The two toilets were now the latest thing out of the Far East, and included a warmed seat.
Paul looked down at what wasn’t there and what was there. It hadn’t been a dream. He, no strike that, she had the vulva of a girl entering puberty. There was no question about it. There was even a sparse growth of hair at its top. She had discovered the night before what ‘jilling’ was about, and it had been very enlightening. She realized as she sat there that she was considerably broader in the hips than she’d been the night before. Additionally, her briefs were now girls briefs and her girl’s Levis were very form fitting. They felt wonderful. Then she realized that her shirt was also a girl’s shirt with the buttons on the other side. She was disappointed that there wasn’t a training bra. Maybe that would come later in the day.
Ivan had also undergone similar changes, and the two boys were have trouble not staring at the two new girls.
“Men,” Ivan said, “the first order of the day after breakfast is our names. Obviously, those other names are no longer appropriate. I’ve chosen Aurora. I think my mother will be okay with that.”
“As prosaic as it might be, I’m sticking with Paula,” the new Paula said. "All I have to say is that it will only get better."
“Let’s get on with this treasure hunt. We have quite a bit invested in its success.”
Once more their exploration took them downward into a very dirty and dusty passage. They then headed west around a jumble of broken rocks covered with dirt and dust.
“There hasn’t been any water in this area in a while,” Tom said. “The last time there was water it must have been sitting in here for quite a while. The area hasn’t been washed clean in centuries. At least that’s the way it looks.
“I think we’ll take this passage down.”
The passage led them to a room with a number of passages going in a number of directions. “What do you remember about this, Iv..., er, Aurora? Sorry about that.”
“No problemo, I think we need to go west. See that limestone that is streaked in a crisscross pattern. I think they called it ‘bed quilt’ in the version I did. Once we’re in there, we’ll turn south for quite a while." They finally came to a large room where a huge slab of limestone had fallen from the ceiling. At the far end there were two pits and a very peeked looking plant that was faintly calling for water.
“This is ridiculous,” Pappy said.
“Pappy, whether or not it is ridiculous doesn’t matter. We have to play the game. If we don’t Paula and I are not going to reach our goal, and you certainly won’t reach yours. Just keep that in mind.
“Take that water we got at the spring house, climb down there, and pour it around the base of the plant.”
The somewhat chagrined Pappy did as he was told. After getting the water, the plant started demanding in a much louder voice, “Water. Water.”
The startled Pappy scrambled out of the pit. “What do we do now?”
“We give it more water,” Tom said trying not to laugh.
“We have several bottles of water. Let’s just pour some of that,” Paula said.
“That’s a good idea, but it probably won’t work,” Tom said. “Go ahead and try it. I don’t think any harm will come of it.”
Pappy took a bottle from his pack. Their bottles had mysteriously been filled over the previous night. Dropping into the pit, he poured the bottle of water on the base of the plant.
“Yuck!” the plant yelled. “That is chlorinated tap water. Gag me with a spoon. I require nothing but the best spring water.”
“That’s what I thought. So now we have to find the right type of water. This is going to be a long trip,” Tom said as he shouldered his pack. “Let’s get going. We’ll probably need to stop for lunch after a while and we still don’t have any of the important stuff.”
Back at the slab room Tom led them to a passage that went north. They hadn’t noticed it on the way down, but Tom obviously knew it was there. They headed north through a room with highly polished walls, and then on to a very large room with a large lake.
“This is the water we need. We should need only one bottle, but we might as well fill the bottle Pappy emptied, too.” Then it was back to the plant. Pappy poured the water on to its base and before Pappy could get out of its way, the plant shot upward to an area almost out of sight of the light provided by their lamps.
“My god, it’s a fucking bean stalk,” Pappy exclaimed.
“I’m not just any beanstalk,” the plant replied. “I am an heirloom beanstalk. There are none better than I.”
“Glad to know that,” Pappy answered politely. He realized that the plant was probably a bit sensitive.
“So, do we climb the beanstalk, now,” Paula asked. She was subconsciously rubbing her chest.
“No we’ll do that later. First, we need to go to the bottom of the second pit.” Aurora led the way down a flight of steps where they came to a pool oil bubbling out of the rock. “We’ll need to fill that water bottle. Pour out that extra water. Now we can go up the beanstalk. Back to the other pit.”
If there was any time not to think about heights, this was it. The leaves and tendrils were arranged in a spiral around the stalk. It was really a spiral stair case with a lot of space between the steps. They were just about at the end of the stalk that kept muttering something about being tickled when they came to a passage leading to the north.
“Oh, oh, I knew it was too good to be true,” Tom said looking down the passageway.
At the far end of the reach of their light they could see a group of what could only be described as elves. They were brandishing swords and axes.
“I’ve been worried about this, too,” Aurora said. “What Tom means is that we should have been attacked long before this. The way the game worked was that you are attacked by an elf or dwarf. He throws an axe at you and it misses. You use the axe to kill additional attacking elves. I don’t know if you actually kill them as they disappear in ‘a cloud of oily smoke’. After you’ve dispatched of about a half dozen you’re not bothered by them anymore.”
“That reminds me,” Tom added, “we may have to deal with the pirate again; however, this matter is a bit more pressing. It won’t matter if we retreat or not. They,” indicating the elves, “will press us until they kill us or we dispose of them. The question is, how do we kill them?”
By this time the evil looking elves were less than a hundred feet away.
“Look in your packs,” a trio of sweet voices said.
They turned to see the three little girls no longer dressed in night gowns, but instead dressed in matching play clothes. They wore matching pink sneakers, and were obviously dressed for the playground.
“What you need is in your packs. The Wizard said it will ring true for you.” With that, the three little girls disappeared.
They realized that the girls hadn’t actually been there, that they were probably a holographic projection; however, now was not the time worry about that. The elves were only fifty feet away.
“Shit, it’s the bells in that little music box. Where the hell did I put it?” Pappy was furiously digging through his pack.
“Here it is.”
“Stop talking about it and play it,” Paula shouted.
Pappy cranked the handle and a delightful little tune sprang forth. It was a march and entirely too loud to be coming from the little box. The tune’s effect was instantaneous. The elves snapped to attention and started marching in place. Then they sang a little song.
“That sounds so pretty, that sounds so fine!
La ra la la la la la ra la la la la ra la.
Never did I hear and see anything so sublime!
La ra la la la la la ra la la la la ra la.”
At the end of the song, in perfect step, they marched off the edge of the abyss, eschewing using the vine.
“What the hell was that,” Aurora asked.
“I think it was Mozart,” Pappy replied. “That means the flute is magic, too.”
“That may or not be the end of the dwarfs, elves, or whatever they are,” Tom said. “They took their weapons with them; so we are still basically defenseless. We have a lot to do, and we still don’t have any treasure. Let’s grab a quick bite, then head on.”
After a quick lunch of tuna sandwiches, they headed down the passage from where the elves had come. A sign proclaimed ‘Giant Room’. It wasn’t particularly large; however, against one wall was a large nest filled with golden eggs. Carved into wall above the nest were the words “Fee Fie Foe Foo”.
“Somebody can’t spell,” Pappy remarked.
“Paula, put those words exactly as written into the tablet. We don’t want any mistakes. This is critical, as Tom will attest,” Aurora said. Tom nodded.
“Pappy, get the eggs.”
“Sure.”
Pappy picked up the eggs, and started to stuff them into the pockets in his pack.
“Fee Fie Foe Foo,” Aurora said.
“What the fuck,” Pappy exclaimed, “where did they go?”
“Look in the nest,” Aurora said.
Chapter 15
The Hallmark Store was gone. At least it was for them. Bob held the door for Sandra as she entered the shop she hadn’t been in for nearly nineteen years.
“Bob, Sandra, we’re in the back. I’m sorry Wolf, Padrona and the puppies can’t be here; however, they’re involved in some other business at the moment.”
Parting the curtains, Sandra saw the man she’d tried so hard to hate, but was now finding it more and more difficult. He had three guests. One was Cindy Brewer. The other two were a bit younger. The stunning platinum blonde had to be Cindy’s sister. She was no bimbo blonde (Poor Barbara, Sandra thought). Her eyes sparkled with a keen intellect. An equally gorgeous auburn tressed girl smiled up at Sandra and Bob.
“Sandra, I know you know His Wisdom and Cindy Brewer. This is Christine Miranda Lewis, but she prefers Randi. She’s Cindy’s sister. And this lovely lady is Charli Brewer, Cindy’s sister-in-law. I have their permission to tell you they are witches.”
“Oh my, there was no coincidences about our meeting last night, was there?”
“Ms. Knight, we have been looking out for the four children since they arrived last summer. We want you to understand that absolutely no harm will come to them. They are involved in a project of self-discovery and enlightenment. I think you will be very proud of Paula.”
“You mean Paul, don’t you?”
“No, it’s Paula. That was her choosing, by the way. There are some wonderful things going on right now. His wisdom had nothing to do with Paul’s being transgender, by the way. You need to believe that. My sisters and I experienced that, and it can be very difficult. We’ll give you all the details in a little while.
“Obviously, His Wisdom, and others we’ve never met, allowed us to be who we are today. That has happened for Paula and Aurora, too. You see, they are very special. They don’t know it yet, but they are also witches. There was a little genetic manipulation here. As a male you carried the witch trait in your ‘X’ chromosome. Bob as Carol also carried the witch trait in one of her ‘X’ chromosomes. Don’t ask me how they do that. Our friend Myrna Moskowitz can explain it better than I can.
“The same thing was done for Aurora. But in this case both her parents were carriers. That was very easy to fix. Aurora’s sisters could have been witches, but her mother is deceased and never bore more children.
“So I don’t have any choice in this?” Sandra asked a bit contemptuously.
“No more choice than Paul would have had had he been gay. There is no choice. Paul would always be transgender and miserable. Paula is no longer transgender, and she is no longer miserable. She’s very much in love by the way, and Tom is in love with her. He’s already come to terms with the fact that Paul is now Paula.”
“What will Tom, Dimitri, and Aurora’s parents think when they find out about this?” Sandra asked.
“They already know,” The Wizard said. “They left a little while ago. We had a very nice chat.”
“All of us will meet out there when they come out of the cave. That should be at 5:06 this afternoon.”
“What do we do now?” Pappy asked.
“We take the gold eggs and hope that the pirate doesn’t find us again. We should continue north from here,” Tom said.
“What happened to you?” Aurora whispered to Paula.
“My nipples are itching like crazy. I think there’s a lot going on in there.”
“Yeah, me too. It’s kinda great isn’t it?”
“You have that right.”
It was another hundred yard according to the range finder when they came on an iron door that appeared to be quite rusty. Tom pulled on the large ring handle, but nothing happened. “We need to oil the hinges.”
Pappy poured some oil on the hinges and they waited. Tom gave the door a hard pull. It creaked and maybe moved an inch. Pappy poured a bit more oil on the hinges and they were able to get it about halfway open.
“Leave the oil, we shouldn’t need it again,” Tom said as he squeezed through the opening. He gave the door a push from the other side and it opened another foot. They continued north for a while until they could hear the roar of water. Coming around the corner of a boulder they were greeted with a large waterfall that plummeted beyond what they could see.
“Isn’t that a pitch fork?” Paula asked pointing at something that lay against a large rock.
“Nope, that’s a trident, and we will definitely need it,” Aurora said as she picked it up. “Things are going to get interesting, now.”
They headed west for a while before going down a long sloping passage. From there it was southwest and still on a downward slope, then finally upward to an open area with a large chasm disappearing in both directions. A rather rickety bridge crossed the chasm and a sign rather rudely nailed to a post said, “Pay the Troll.”
Before they could take one step on the bridge, a rather ugly troll appeared. “If ye want to cross, ye gotta pay up.” He really was quite ugly and seemed very proud of it.
“Throw the eggs to him. We’ll get them later.”
Spying the eggs, the troll grunted, “That’ll be three eggs apiece if you want to cross.”
Pappy tossed the eggs to the troll who raced off with his booty.
“Are we coming back this way?” Pappy asked.
“Most likely,” Aurora answered. “That’s part of the puzzle.”
They headed in the only direction they could go until they came to a fork in the cave.
“We’ll go left first. I don’t think it really matters,” Tom said.
The tunnel ended in a small chamber where a small chest sat on a flat spot on a boulder. Inside were carefully labeled bags: each containing precious spices. There must have been a pound of saffron.
Heading back to the fork, they took the other path that dropped down and east where they came upon a rather large bear who immediately growled and stood on his hind legs. Fortunately, he was secured to the wall with a bright gold chain locked in place with a gold padlock.
“First things first,” Aurora said. “I need the lunch in the brown paper bag. I believe Paula has it.”
Paula handed the bag to Aurora who opened it, unwrapped two large sandwich subs, and gave them to the bear. The sandwiches disappeared rather rapidly, and the bear immediately became very docile. Aurora took the keys she’d carefully kept in her Levis and unlocked the chain from the wall.
“Okay, he’s our friend for life. We’ll need him in a little while.
“Come on bear, you’re going to have some fun in a little while.”
They made their way back to the chasm and the troll who immediately barred their way.
“You don’t cross until you’ve paid,” the troll exclaimed.
“Here, have a bear,” Aurora said as she released the chain from the bear’s collar.
The troll screamed as he turned to run down a narrow path alongside the chasm with the bear at his heels.
“Time to cross,” Tom said. He stopped at the far side of the bridge and fiddled with the sign.
“What are you doing?” Aurora asked.
“In one of the versions I played the sign came off a nail. I hung the chain on the nail and climbed down there,” he said pointing at the rushing waters many feet below. “I went along a narrow ledge before ending up in an accounting office. There was a deed to the whole cave. The only problem was that I couldn’t take the deed unless it was signed. There was ink but no pen.”
“The bird,” Pappy exclaimed. “You had to take a tail feather from the bird. It became the pen. That’s cool.”
“Very good, Pappy, I had to die several times before I figured it out.”
They pressed on through the sloping corridor and the large low room where they were very thankful for their hardhats. They turned southeast and found a room decorated with very fine oriental carpets and fixtures. A very ornately painted oriental vase stood on a pedestal.
“Don’t touch the vase,” Tom said as Pappy started to reach for it. “It’s a trap. You’ll see what I mean in a little while.”
They moved on to an area where the limestone was full of holes, and looked exactly like supersized Swiss cheese, except it was gray. Past there they came to where they had been before, the bed quilt formation, and Paul was able to close a loop in the diagram. From there they went to the complex junction and headed to the north. After climbing a considerable way, they came to a giant clam sitting in the middle of the floor minding its own business.
“Now what?” Pappy asked.
“We open the clam with the trident,” Aurora stated.
It was relatively easy to pry the clam open, but when she did, a large pearl popped out, fell to the floor and rolled out of sight.
“Don’t worry about the pearl. We’ll get it in a minute.”
The clam snapped shut and refuse to react to any more probing. Following the route the pearl had taken, they dropped several levels down before they found the pearl up against a far wall. It didn’t seem any worse for wear, and Paula put it in her pack. They returned to the shell room and then south to the complex junction. From there it was past the dirty rocks and dusty passage to Y-2.
“Are we together,” Tom asked as he took Paula’s hand in his right hand and Aurora’s in his left. They, in turn, were holding hands with Pappy.
“Plugh.”
“Lights off.
“How long were we gone his time, Pappy?” Tom asked.
“I don’t know. I can’t find my phone, but all our treasures are here.”
“According to my phone we’ve been gone a little over an hour. By my watch, it’s been a bit more than a day,” Aurora said. “I’m hungry and need a shower. I think we’d better return.”
“I agree,” Paula said looking at Aurora. Her face and skull had changed considerably. She no longer looked like a teenage boy. She was definitely a young woman. She also had a developing bust line as did Paula. It was going to be time for further exploration.
They left their acquired treasures and the trident (Tom felt that it might have another function later on), held hands, turned on their lights, and returned to Y-2 where they would spend the night. Of course the restrooms were now installed in the opposite wall.
Tom and Paula were fixing dinner over the small catalytic propane stove. The food wasn’t bad. Some of required reconstituting by soaking it in water. They picked an Irish stew for the main course and a peach cobbler of sorts for desert.
“How are you feeling?” Tom asked Paula.
“Very good. How do I look?”
“Quite nice, I see the old you; however, you’re now a very attractive young woman. I would say physically you look about 13. You have a ways to go before you catch up to your actual age.
“It really is happening isn’t it?”
“Yes, all the external plumbing is definitely female. I’m pretty sure things are changing internally, too. My hips are definitely wider. I have little boobs now. I hope they grow a bit more.”
“I think you are at least an inch taller than you were when we started. It’s funny, I think Aurora’s at least an inch or two shorter.”
“Yeah, but she’s as cute as a bug. Pappy’s going to have his hands full with her. I mean that in a figurative sense in case you were wondering.”
“What about us, Paula? Is this going to change our friendship?”
“More than likely,” Paula said.
“Oh,” was Tom’s worried reply.
“You know I love you, don’t you?” Paula asked. “I have for a long time.”
“I think I said it in the cafeteria that first day of school when I pointed you out to Pappy. I felt something inside when I realized it was you. I knew then and more so later on that I was going to be at your side while you transitioned. I think I knew then that I loved you and that we’d have to face the world together. I know this whole thing makes things easier for us; however, my feelings haven’t changed. Regardless of the outcome, I want to marry you if you will have me. I’ll make that official when we get out of here.”
“I accept your unofficial proposal,” Paula said as she planted a kiss on Tom’s lips – a kiss that lingered for quite a while.
“They seem to be getting on quite well,” Pappy said as he watched the two in their affectionate embrace.
“Hell, that was written in stone. I hope they use protection.
“What? You mean they’re going to do it?”
“Eventually, the times not right now, though.”
“What about us?”
“That remains to be seen.”
Things are happening rather quickly, and all four protagonists are determined to successfully complete the adventure. Alice Gräber is surprised when she returns home. What is the translation of Gräber?
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?
Romance is beginning to show up in several places, and not just the cave. Sandra knows for sure that Paula is now her daughter. There is no trace of the former Paul. With only a few treasures left to find, the four adventurers know that there is no room for error. Myrtle is in position to take out The Wizard and as many of the others she can.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 16
Tom and Paula shared a kiss as they headed to bathrooms the next morning. Tom saw additional changes in Paula, and she would see them soon enough, although she was already aware of some of them. She was carrying the bra she’d found earlier in the pack. She’d also found a dispenser of birth control pills with a prescription made out to her. The implications were enormous. She smiled as she took one. As she threw out the paper cup she’d used, she realized that the prescription indicated that it was number four of twelve. That meant she’d been taking the pills for at least three and a half months.
The bra proved to be no problem, and she was happy to see she was a 34B. She looked at her profile, and tears almost came to her eyes. She was definitely a woman. She had to be close to five-nine, maybe a bit on the slender side, but definitely all woman. Because she’d been taking blockers before her change, her voice had not dropped into a lower register; however, she realized her voice was no longer a boy’s voice. It was definitely a young woman’s voice.
Aurora was waiting for her as she exited. She was about five-five, and definitely bustier than Paula. She had a sultry appearance that spoke of her Greek ancestry.
“I may have trouble keeping Pappy under control. I accidently flashed him when I got out of my sleeping bag. Look at these girls. I’m a 34C. It’s hard enough keeping his hands off of me as it is.”
“Is that little package what I think it is?” Paula asked.
“Yeah, and I’ve been taking them for a while, apparently. You?”
“The same.”
“Look, just because I’m taking the pill doesn’t mean I’m going to have sex with him,” Aurora said defensively.
“If you change your mind, at least you know you’re protected,” Paula replied with a smile.
They had a major discussion during breakfast.
“This next stretch is very complicated, and there are many opportunities for error. Aurora and I remember most of it; however, there are pitfalls both figurative and real. We will have to be on our toes. The entire time.
“Okay, time to head the way we’ve been before.”
They headed south in the low passage while being careful not to bang their heads on the occasional stalactite. Then it was down to the dirty jumble of rocks, and west to the Dirty Rock Room. From there it was down again to the Complex Junction, west to Bed Quilt and on to the Swiss Cheese Room. From there they went northwest to the oriental room.
“May I take the vase now?” Pappy asked.
“Nope, be patient,” Aurora responded.
They wandered north and west for a while. “This is going to be a bit strange,” Aurora said, “but we’re going to have to leave the lamp here. We can’t take it through that narrow passage. Don’t ask why. It’s just the rules.
“We’ll have enough light without it.” They could see an eerie green light coming from whatever was beyond.
“Damn! I wish I’d played this game before,” Pappy muttered.
They proceeded east through the narrow passage. The green light had been emanating from a large emerald the size of a plover’s egg. At least that was the thought Pappy had when he looked at it. Paula picked it up, wrapped it in a hanky, and put it in her pack. They headed back to the alcove where they’d left the lamp.
“Uh, we have visitors,” Paula said pointing to the exit. A half dozen elves stood between them and the way out. All of them were brandishing rather wicked looking knives.
“Any ideas?” Tom asked. “We don’t have any weapons.”
“Play that flute those little girls gave us,” Pappy said. “It has to be for something.”
By this time, the elves were advancing on them. Two had thrown knives, but the knives had fallen well short of their intended targets.
“If playing it doesn’t work, at least I can use it as a club.” Tom quickly assembled the flute, and blew a few practice notes before starting the first melody he could think of. Surprisingly, the elves stopped their advance. They waivered for a few seconds before collapsing on the cave floor. Tom continued to play as they passed around the snoring elves.
“What in the world are you playing?” Paula asked.
“Brahms Lullaby.” Tom said. “I guess I’d better keep this closer at hand,” he said indicating the flute. He picked up the lamp as they exited the room.
They headed northwest before the passage turned them south where they arrived in the oriental room. “It’s okay to pick up the vase now, Pappy. Just be extremely careful with it. If it breaks, we’re done for, and neither Paula nor I are quite done yet.” Pappy got the meaning immediately.
They continued on to the Swiss cheese room before turning east into a room Tom called the soft room. In the center was a small beautifully decorated pillow. Taking the pillow, they turned back west through the Swiss cheese room to the two pit room. Once again they made the difficult climb up the bean stalk that apparently didn’t feel like talking to them. They proceeded down the long narrow tunnel to the Giant Room.
“You may do the honors, Pappy,” Aurora said.
“Fee Fie Foe Foo,” Pappy said a bit melodramatically.
The eggs, as expected, appeared in the nest, and Pappy quickly scooped them up and put them into his pack. They then headed back to the bean stalk and down to the Two Pit Room and then up and west to the slab room. From there they headed up into the secret north/south canyon that no one would have known about if it hadn’t been for Tom. This time they went south for quite a ways before entering a large room with an equally large dragon sprawling on a large oriental rug.
“Holy shit, what do we do now?” Pappy asked.
“Why, we kill it.”
“With what, your bare hands? We don’t have any weapons.”
“Yes, with our bare hands. Who wants to try it?”
“Tom, you seem awful confident about this. Are you sure it will work?” Paula asked. “I’m not sure what I’d do if you got killed. Why don’t we just quit now, or maybe look for a weapon. There might be something around here.”
“There never was in any version I played. Since you guys made me in charge, I guess I’ll have to do it.”
Tom approached the dragon that appeared to be sleeping, and launched himself at its neck. The startled dragon thrashed about briefly as Tom put an arm lock around its neck. It gave a brief burp of smoke and expired.
“The game never said how to do it. It just says you kill it with your bare hands. That was far too easy.
“Now, what are we going with the rug?”
“First we roll it up,” Pappy said. “Then we put it in one of our packs. I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. Who has the least stuff?”
“I think I do,” Aurora said. “All we can do is try.”
Removing her pack, she moved some of the contents at the top to one side. Tom and Pappy had tightly rolled the nine foot by twelve foot rug, and after carefully aligning it with the opening of Aurora’s pack, gradually slid it in.
“How’s the weight?” Pappy asked.
“Not bad, maybe a couple of pounds. I guess we’d better move on.”
“This took me forever to figure out,” Tom said.
“Figure out what?” Paula asked.
“When we got the emerald I could see another room beyond. It was very dark. Without the lamp, there was no way to continue on. You might ask why we didn’t do what we’re going to do before; however, if someone is playing this game for the first time, they wouldn’t have the knowledge.
“Pappy, you and Aurora are the bird experts. What did you think when you saw the emerald?”
"It reminded me of a killdeer’s egg. They’re quite pointy on one end so the parent birds can tilt them up when the ground’s hot so the eggs won’t get cooked. It’s kinda neat. They don’t have much of a nest: just a scooped out spot on the ground,” Pappy said.
Aurora added, “They’re a type of plover….” She was gone.
“Quick, grab my hands,” Tom said. They did. “Plover.”
They were in the room where they’d previously retrieved the emerald, and were standing next to a very frightened Aurora.
“Are you okay,” Pappy asked.
“I think so. So that was the magic word. I should have figured that out, but I hadn’t advanced this far when I played the game.
“That was scary, very scary. You don’t last very long around here without a light.”
“You know, all this treasure isn’t worth shit if I lose you,” Pappy said as he took Aurora’s hand. She didn’t flinch; instead she gave Pappy’s hand a gentle squeeze.
They headed northeast according to the compass to the previously dark area. Of course there had to be a treasure; Tom already knew there was. Sitting on a pedestal under a glass cover was a metallic pyramid.
“The honor is yours, Aurora,” Paula said. “I need to catch up on getting some info into the tablet.”
Aurora uncovered the pyramid, setting the glass cover on the ground. She started to pick it up and found it to be much heavier than she thought it would be. “What the hell is this? It can’t be gold.”
“It’s platinum. It’s worth as much as gold. I think that’s enough for today. We need to get this stuff back to the spring house before the pirate finds us again.”
Two magic words later they were back in the spring house. Tom turned the lamp off. “The first thing is to put the pillow down on that table.” Paula did.
“Now, Pappy, carefully hold the vase over the pillow and set it on the pillow." The vase slipped from his hands, but gently settled onto the pillow.
“Damn, I almost dropped it.”
“That wasn’t your fault. That’s built into it. I kept dropping it and couldn’t figure out why. I was extremely careful, but it broke anyway. Then I stumbled onto the pillow, and it all made sense,” Aurora said.
“Same thing here,” Tom said. “It was so damn frustrating because I would be progressing very well, but breaking the vase killed the game.”
They unloaded their treasure, and for want of room on the table, spread the rug on the floor.
“We were down there for an hour and a half according to my phone. My watch says 24 hours,” Paula said. “What do we do now?”
“There’s one more treasure in addition to our stolen treasures. This is something I’ve never been able to do. I’ve been through several areas of the cave where we haven’t been this trip. In one version there’s a dictionary down there. I was never able to figure out what to do with it,” Tom said.
“I had the same problem; except it was magazines. Obviously, we’re supposed to do something with them,” Aurora added. “I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“Speaking of bridges,” Tom said, “there’s another area we need to go to. There’s this damn maze where no matter where you go everything looks the same. Sometimes I’d end up where I started. One time I ended up at a vending machine where I could buy batteries for my lamp. I used the gold coins, but I realized I could do a lot of exploration even if I lost some of the treasure.”
“We’ll enter at a different place this time. We’ve been there before.
“Hold hands. Xyzzy.”
Chapter 17
Sandra was astounded by what had changed. All the pictures that had previously shown her handsome son, now portrayed an attractive young girl or woman. It was very easy to accept what she saw. She would have to, regardless, because that was the way things were. She wondered if Paula would be happy with her changes. Of course she was. The pictures said it all. Her smile was radiant.
Her bedroom was obviously a girl’s room. It wasn’t over the top girly with pink curtains and the like. There weren’t any posters of handsome movie entertainers. It was neat, but all girl. The closet was a shocker. Her daughter’s wardrobe was extensive, but tasteful. Using a mother’s prerogative, she checked her dresser drawers. Everything was neatly placed just as her son had done. “34B: on her that’s probably just right for her frame. She could still grow some more. She’s not eighteen,” she said to herself.
She returned to the first floor where Bob Temple was waiting for her.
“It’s all changed,” she said. “There’s no trace of the former Paul. I don’t have any doubt that this is what she wanted. I just wish I’d been more supportive instead of being caught up in this other crap. I’ve wasted a lot of time.
“It seems that we are parents of a young woman, Bob. What the hell are we going to do?”
“I think we need to get to know each other a bit better. After all, we have to overcome the merging of several realities and nearly nineteen years of being apart. We also need to get to know our daughter a bit better
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll pick you up a little after 4:00, and we’ll join the others when our daughter comes out of the cave.
“I’m sending a distress message by text to the Papandreous. I’ll make them believe that those kids are trapped and the Papandreou kid is hurt. They’ll all come running. We’ll get that wizard for once and for all. I’ll take out as many of those cowards as I can. They’ll never figure out who did it.
“I got something else. I got a silencer for this beauty. I’ll be able to get a lot of shots off, and those sorry bastards will never know where they are coming from.
“I’ve waited a long time for this, and now, we’ll just have to wait a little while longer. I want that sun behind us; just a few more hours.
They headed for the debris room as Tom turned the light on.
“Get that rod. We’ll need it shortly.
They kept going west to the small pit, and continued down to the Hall of Mists.
“I think the intention is for us to camp here for the night. Check out the rest rooms,” Pappy said pointing to two restrooms. Each door had a male/female logo.
Both couples seemed a bit on edge as they finished dinner. It had been a rather difficult day. Pappy disposed of the trash in the convenient trash can while Aurora and Paula headed for the showers. They both exited wearing robes that must have been in the shower because they certainly weren’t carrying them when they went in.
Tom and Pappy decided also to shower. Tom was searching through his bag for clean underwear when he came upon a small box of condoms. He certainly hadn’t put them in there and he was wondering if Pappy was trying to play some sort of crude joke. His mind drifted away from that thought as he entered the warm bathroom. It was quite a bit larger than before, and it was now equipped with a double sink. There was also the lingering touch of perfume in the air. He noticed two hangers on the back of the door. One was empty; the other had a robe with his initials on it.
The shower was great, and maybe he lingered a bit; however, he didn’t think The Wizard would let it run out of hot water. It was obvious to him now. They were being set up, but somehow he didn’t think it was wrong. This had to be a part of the whole thing they were going through. If Paula didn’t want it to happen she would say no, and he would honor her wishes. She certainly hadn’t seemed too disturbed when she left the bath wearing the robe. That’s when he noticed her nightgown lying on the counter.
At the other end of the counter by the sink was a razor and shaving cream. He knew that hadn’t been there when he got in the shower. He put it to use.
The lamp had conveniently dimmed each night, and he had been very worried that first night; however he checked the battery meter, and it had indicated a good power level. He checked it religiously every hour or so after that, and when they’d set up camp that night it still had more than half power left. He wasn’t worried about the dim light when he left the shower; however, there had been some changes made. Their sleeping areas had been separated a bit, and his bag and Paula’s were very close together. In fact, they were now zipped together as one double bag.
“Shut your mouth and get in here. I’m lonely,” Paula said.
Tom removed his robe and set it on a convenient rock next to Paula’s robe.
“You might as well get rid of the rest of that stuff. It will only get in the way.”
Tom felt no unease as he took off his t-shirt and shorts. He was quickly becoming aroused, though.
He slid into the partially open bag, and she quickly pressed her cool skin against him. He was in heaven and she was an angel.
“I have to do this, Tom. If we screw up and don’t finish, I could never go back without making love to the man I have loved for years. All I ask is that you go slowly. I’m not sure if there’s much in the way or not.” She had taken his hand and pressed it against her breast. He was gently caressing her as she talked.
He silenced her briefly with a kiss as her hands wandered to his erection.
“Very nice, I think.”
“What about Aurora and Pappy?” Tom asked.
“Don’t worry about them. She’s so horny she can’t stand it. So am I for that matter.
“Something very interesting has happened. We were talking about our noise bothering each other, and I thought wouldn’t it be nice if I could put a sound proof screen between us. Something just came to me. It’s difficult to explain. I did some things in my mind and suddenly I isolated their bed from ours. I’m sure they’re making a lot of noise; it’s just that we can’t hear them. I think I’m magic.”
“If that’s the case, I love my beautiful witch, but now I would like to try some magic of my own. Please be patient. I’ll just tell you that I’ve read some interesting books.”
The next hour was beyond their expectations. If there had been any hymen, it was no problem for either of them. He made love to her gently and patiently. When he was sure she was ready, they slowly joined before the rhythm of love making took over.
Paula cried a little, but it was okay. Tom held her to him, savoring the contact of their bodies before they gradually drifted off to sleep. They made love once more early the next morning. It was just as good the second time. They had been awakened by Pappy and Aurora leaving one of the bathrooms together. The light had caught them briefly. They weren’t wearing any clothes.
There was some embarrassed silence the next morning as they prepared breakfast.
“Okay guys, I think we need to get over it. Pappy and I made love last night, and it was wonderful. I suspect it was for you, too. Look, in most countries we’re considered adults. Let’s be adults about this. We’re in love, and what could be more natural than making love. It may be a bit difficult to explain to our parents, especially for Paula and me since we’ve changed quite a bit over the last few days. I have a feeling that Paula’s and my mother already know what’s happened, though. His Wisdom is usually pretty good about making sure everything is taken care of.
“Our most important task after we clean things up is to finish the problem at hand.”
“I have a question, Tom,” Paula said. “You said that every room of this maze you got into looks exactly the same.”
“That’s right.”
“We’ve been carrying a lot of extra crap around with us. Why don’t we leave a piece of that crap in each room? I can carefully log each piece so that we will know where each passage leads to. That way we can avoid going over the same ground again and again. We’ll keep going in directions we haven’t been before. If we have to come out the same way we went in, we’ll know. If there is a different way out, we’ll know it, too.
“That pirate has to have hidden our stuff where we can find it. The game wouldn’t work, otherwise. Let’s find it.
“By the way, Paula,” Aurora said, “that little thing you did to make our areas quiet, I can do it, too. This is really getting to be interesting.”
“Okay,” Tom said, “we’ll go west from here to a fissure. I figured this out early when I first played this game. I just thought that the order we did things was faster. It’s moot.”
The nasty looking crack in the ground was obviously too far across to jump. Tom took the rod and waved it at the fissure. A crystal bridge, ala Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, crossed the chasm.
“Just don’t look down,” he said as he started across.
Once across, they immediately found a jeweler’s filing box. Inside were envelope after envelope of the highest quality diamonds. Additionally, there were two other envelopes. One had ‘Isaacson’ printed in neat letters, and the other said ‘Papandreou’. Each held a rather nice diamond engagement ring. They put the box in Paula’s pack.
“This certainly makes this easy. I proposed to Paula several days ago. Thankfully, she accepted. So, without further ado, I ask again. Paula Knight, in front of our best friends I ask, will you please marry me?
“Of course I will. Although I imagine we’ll have to wait a while. Mom’s going to have to get used to having a daughter first.”
He slipped the ring onto her ring finger. It was sized perfectly, of course.
Pappy didn’t miss a beat. “Aurora, I know you seduced me; however, I was in love with you a long time ago. We had so much fun bird watching, and you were so cool about my stupidity.
“A few weeks ago,” he said to everyone, “three beautiful witches cast a spell on me. If I start to tell a fib or exaggerate my jaws lock up. I told Aurora I loved her very much. That was after I thought we’d lost her. The words flowed easily. Last night was just as easy. I meant every word.
“Aurora, would you please marry me and make me the happiest bird watcher in the world.”
“I certainly will. You clean up pretty good, you know.”
Like Paula’s, the ring fit perfectly.
“We’ll have to celebrate later. We seem to be losing battery power.”
They headed west, then a bit south, and they were in the maze. It took nearly two hours, but they finally found their way to the far end of the maze. At the end of the maze they went northwest and there was the pirate’s chest with their stolen treasure. Back tracking, they found a spot where they could drop down to the Bird Chamber without too much difficulty. They headed up the way they first came in while realizing they would not be able to take the chest up through the grate.
That was no problem. “Xyzzy.”
They were in the Spring House. “Lamp off.”
They put the chest with their recovered treasure on the rug. The filing box of diamonds was placed on the table with the other treasures.
As far as the four adventurers know, they have found all the treasure; however, they still haven’t solved the puzzle. There has to be more to it. The only solution is to return. Speaking of returning, Alice Gräber is in for quite a surprise when she returns home. There is only one solution. She will seek out The Wizard. She and The Wizard come up with a very satisfactory solution to her ‘problem’. The next posting completes the adventure.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?
Alice Gräber finally finds a satisfactory solution to her problem. Our tale finally comes to a close.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey
This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter 18
“Mr. and Mrs. Gräber, please make yourselves at home. I’ll be right with you.”
“David, this is Wolf. In spite of his ferocious appearance and size, he is really quite gentle.
“Aren’t you, Wolf?”
“Thank you Alice, may I call you Alice?”
“Certainly.”
“The children and wife are in Antarctica. Otherwise I’d have you meet them. Padrona’s trying to explain the difference between the North and South Pole to them. The easiest thing is to go there.”
“David, Alice, let’s go to my sitting area so we may talk about things. When Alice came to me a few days ago, she told me that you had a lot of things on your mind and needed to talk to a professional about them. Well, when it comes to problems like yours, I’m as about professional as they come and I’m sure I can help you.”
“David, what in the world are you doing?” Alice had been able to catch an earlier flight from DFW. She hadn’t been able to contact her husband, so there was no one to greet her at the airport. It wasn’t that much of a cab drive to their spacious “starter castle” just outside Bentonville in the little community of Centerton. The Gräbers always said they lived in Bentonville just because it was easier to locate. Besides, it didn’t really matter. But, back to the problem at hand.
David was wearing one of her ankle length dresses; however, it came to mid-calf on him. He was made up, and judging from his appearance, he’d had a lot of practice. Other than the short hair, he didn’t look too bad.
“Well, well, this is a surprise. Do you want to talk about it?”
“I’m sorry, Alice, it’s not what you think it is.”
“What is it? Are you dressing for a role in a play? I thought the only role you had was to keep me pregnant. I’ll have to admit you’re pretty good at that. If it wasn’t for that TV show we’d be starving to death and be on welfare. I forgot, you don’t believe in welfare for the unfortunate.
“You’ve been living a lie, haven’t you? Here you are a spokesperson for your intolerant church, it’s not my church and never has been, and yet, you can’t personally abide by its teachings. I just wish you’d had the courage to tell me how you felt. Just so you know, I’m not very disturbed by this. Had I known, about your interests a bit earlier, we might have been able to break away from that church a bit sooner than we are. And believe me, we are.
“Do the children know about this?”
“I don’t think so,”
“You might be surprised. Regardless, you’re going to come out to them. That should rock your church to the roots. You do realize that three of our children are gay. They’ve been afraid to tell you because they are afraid of you.
“Is this outfit a bit of wishful thinking on your part or just a turn on for you?”
“It makes me comfortable.”
“Alice, I’ll be honest with you.”
“It’s about time.”
“I jealous of you. I stick my penis in you and I ejaculate a few minutes later. I know most of the time you don’t get anything in return but another pregnancy. You get to bear the baby, or babies. You get to nurse them. I don’t get to do anything.”
“I’ve had three, even four babies in diapers at one time, and you never once offered to help me change them.”
“That’s not a man’s place. That’s the wife’s job. If I ever stepped across that line, I would be ostracized.”
“The church doesn’t have a fucking thing to do with it!”
“Alice, please.”
“Please; fucking bull shit. I have been a prisoner of this hypocrisy for twenty years, and I deserved every year of it. For some reason, a few months ago I was set free. You’d better sit down, because you’re going to have trouble believing this. I was just as much a hypocrite as those your church turns out by the thousands.”
“Alice, it’s our church.”
“Not by a long shot, it never was my church. I was forced through some interesting processes to assume the role of a virgin bride. As hard as you may find it to believe, twenty-four hours before you married me I was a twenty-one year old roué. I had impregnated close to two dozen women and girls. Well, He put a stop to that. Here I am the mother of twenty-three, soon to be twenty-five, children, and there’s no end in sight. At least there isn’t if you keep sticking that thing inside me. You see, He made it impossible for me to refuse having intercourse with you.
“Who is this ‘He’ you keep referring to?”
“The Wizard, of course. That’s right, even if you knew about him, you wouldn’t believe in him. Your church says his kind doesn’t exist, and if he did, he would be in league with the devil. I’ll tell you this, if the devil existed, and I doubt he does, The Wizard would give him a run for his money.
“I got exactly what I deserved. I have twenty-three children whom I love dearly. I would never do anything to harm them. I am stuck in this existence, but I intend to make the most of it.
“Where are the children, by the way?”
“In school or at the day care. We’ve run out of breast milk.”
“We had back up formula.”
“I’ve never fed any of the babies, remember. The folks at the daycare take care of them until the older children pick them up after school. Then the girls take care of them. I have to work on the scripts for the next show.”
“This is ridiculous. If you only knew what I have to go through.” That was when the idea hit her.
“That’s pretty much it in a nutshell, Your Wisdom”
“David, is that correct; you’ve had a hidden desire to be a woman all this time?”
“Yes sir, but it’s so much against God’s Will.”
“As difficult as it will be for you to believe, God doesn’t have the time or interest to deal with the minutia of this miserable little planet. There are nearly a million planets in this galaxy alone with some form of sentient being. Some are more advanced than we are; many are not. There are billions of galaxies with plus or minus a few hundred million planets similar to the number in this galaxy. God allowed this universe to develop along what some physical parameters allow. We have a choice. We can either enjoy the wealth he has given us, or we can screw it up. On this planet we’re pretty much on our way to doing the latter. I’m trying to help turn things around.”
“You’re Jesus?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just a very old man who can do some things many others cannot. I will have a helper in the not too distant future; however, that’s of no concern here. What is of concern is what to do about your problem.
“You know, you’re pretty much an open book to me. I mean that in the literal sense. I can read your mind. Would it be acceptable if I made some of your innermost desires come true?”
“What do you have in mind, Your Wisdom?” Alice asked.
“I think the first thing is to have a meeting with your children. Both of you need to be honest with them. What’s discussed there will never become public knowledge.
“Think of your reality TV show. Suppose you made a public announcement that you and your family were leaving your church. I imagine some of them would stay although I don’t know why. I think by last count that might have been three. That would be an opening for two of your boys and one daughter to come out as gay. Of course the youngest are a bit too young to understand; however, they would in time.
“I think we all agree that the old David has to go.”
“You don’t mean kill me, do you?” David was beginning to wonder if things were going a bit too far too fast.
“Of course not, well not as far as you’re concerned. It will have to be some sort of spectacular exit. Suicide is out. That just wouldn’t look right, and it might hurt your ratings. After all neither of you is prepared to earn a living any other way. You will need to do something to bring in a larger, more eclectic audience,” The Wizard said.
ENTERTAINMENT TV: “Well it has been shock after shock out of northwest Arkansas. The notorious Gräber family announced just last week they were resigning from the church organization they’ve represented for the last ten years with their hit television show “Is Twenty Three Enough?” It seems the title had increased by one or two every year since its beginning, and now they are expecting numbers twenty-four and twenty-five.
“If that wasn’t enough, three of the Gräber children have come out as gay, and only three have decided to remain with their church.
“Then, this afternoon the family had gathered in front of their spacious 30-room mansion to announce a new contract for the upcoming year for their TV show. There was talk that they would be traveling across country to visit migrant worker housing facilities and homes for estranged Rainbow Children.
“As all this was going on, storm clouds gathered over the area, and just as David Gräber was going to make a final statement, lightning struck him. The blast was caught on the video, and as you can see, nothing was left other than a few sparkling embers.
“The Widow Gräber was heard to remark that if one had to go that was the way to do it. Then before returning to the house she said, “One must get on with her life.”
“Word came out of Virginia Beach that God had missed his chance to get rid of the lot of them. Surely lighting should strike the house he was heard to say.”
“Will Daddy still sleep with you now that that nice wizard turned him into a girl,” little Ramona asked.
“Yes Dear, Dahlia, remember that’s her new name, has a lot to learn about being a new mommy. I have to teach her many things.”
“Will she be able to have babies?
“Yes, she wants very much to have babies. We know that she will be having a baby girl in nine months.”
“Who is the daddy? You can’t be a daddy, can you?
“No I can’t. I can only be a mommy. You know what being pro-life means, don’t you?”
“Yes Mommy, we don’t want to hurt unborn babies.”
“Well, The Wizard is saving those tiny little embryos that no one wants, and Dahlia and I will be their new mommies. That’s where Dahlia’s new baby came from.”
“Will Dahlia be able to nurse her babies like you do?”
“Certainly, that was something she asked for.”
“Is that why her boobies are so big?”
“No, that was just something extra The Wizard gave her.”
Chapter 19
“I can’t think of anything else to do other than go to that area where Aurora and I played around forever until we ‘died’” Tom said.
“We’re not going to die this this time. I won’t allow it,” Pappy said. “Maybe there is more to this place; however, from what Tom and Aurora said, this cave doesn’t fit the more complicated versions they’ve played. It has to be something simple, but easy to overlook. All we can do is try.
“Everyone ready?”
They held hands, and Tom said, “Plugh.”
He turned on the light. They were at Y-2. From there it was the tedious walk and crawl they’d done several times before: south to the north/south passage, down to the Dirty Broken Passage, west to the Dusty Rocks Room, down to Complex Junction, and then finally to the Anteroom that Tom and Aurora had referred to several times.
“See, there are the magazines, Spelunkers’ Journal, I believe,” Tom said.
“They’re addressed to T. Witt. Who’s that?”
“I don’t know,” Aurora said.
“What’s down there,” Pappy said pointing to the east.
“It’s quite a ways down there. There’s a room with some chairs, end tables, and some lamps that don’t work,” Aurora said. “How’s the lamp holding up, by the way?”
“I think we have enough power for today. That’s it.”
“Did that place down there have a name?” Pappy asked.
“I think it was Witt’s end,” Aurora said.
“Shit,” Pappy said. “I think we need to deliver some magazines.”
After walking a considerable distance the passage turned south, and as Tom and Aurora had said, there was what looked like a waiting room. Pappy placed the magazines on and end table. Paula and Aurora felt it at the same time. A shiver ran from their tail bones to the nape of their necks. Paula gave Aurora a thumps up.
“I think we’re through here,” Paula said. “I think we need to go back to where we found the magazines. Aurora and I just felt something. I think we did what we were supposed to, and now we need to find out where we go next.”
For want of anything else to do, they headed for the Anteroom. As they arrived, a voice boomed out as if it were coming from unseen loudspeakers, “The cave will be closing in fifteen minutes. Please be prepared to leave.”
“Well, we’re either finished or finished,” Pappy said while looking around for the speakers.
“So, what do we do now? I don’t think we’re supposed to go out the way we came in.”
Suddenly, lights throughout started to flicker on. They buzzed like mercury vapor lamps.
“The Cave is now closed. Please proceed to the nearest exit.”
A loud rumbling came from the wall opposite where they stood. A rather stylized crack appeared, and two halves of the wall slid open revealing a huge, well-lit cavern that according to Paula’s CAD drawings shouldn’t be there. That was a moot point. It was there.
“I think we need to explore a bit,” Tom said, “but we need to stick together regardless of the light.
“Paula, based on what you have in the CAD program, approximately where are we in relation to the spring house?”
“I would say somewhere to the west, about where that first knoll is.”
“That makes sense. That stream is probably the source of the spring. What we have to do is figure out how to get through that wall.
“The Wizard said you must keep your lips sealed until you know the time and place are right. Say nothing. Seek and find a noble gift.”
They turned to see the three little girls sitting on a swing suspended from the ceiling.
When they finished delivering their message, the swing was pulled up out of sight; probably out of the immense cavern.
“So what the hell does that mean?” Pappy asked.
“Shhhhhh,” Aurora admonished.
“Oops.”
The cavern was immense, probably covering a half dozen acres. Even though it was well lit, they stayed close together as they had no assurance that the lighting would stay on. After searching for a bit more than an hour, not knowing what they were searching for, they found evidence that someone had been there before them. A wooden box lay up against the far wall. The side panels were tightly dovetailed. The top that had been nailed on lay to one side. The box was empty other than some powdery substance that looked like sawdust. More sawdust was piled around, evidence there had been other boxes in the past.
Tom motioned for Pappy to assist him, and also putting his finger to his lips to remind Pappy to maintain silence. They gently picked up the box and set it aside. Against the back wall, partially buried in some old sawdust was what Tom had been looking for. The eight inch waxy cylinder looked relatively harmless, but Pappy knew what it was immediately.
Tom pointed to the tablet and Paula brought up the latest image. Tom indicated the four of them before pointing to the diagram. Paula indicated one end. Tom spelled O-U-T with his fingers, and Paula indicated the far wall.
They took the stick to where Paula had indicated. Tom placed it against the wall, and motioned for everyone to go back where they’d found the stick. He had them sit behind a large rock.
“Now, Pappy, tell us what you were thinking when Paula indicated that the way out might be through that wall,” Tom said pointing to the far wall where they had just placed the stick.
“I was thinking we might be able to blast ….” He was never able to finish his sentence. A bright flash followed almost instantly by an ear stunning explosion finished the sentence for him.
“And that was why we had to maintain silence,” Aurora said rather pointedly. “Any word remotely sounding like ‘blast’ or its synonyms would have set off the dynamite. We might have set it off when we were holding it. Just as bad, we might have set it off prematurely as Pappy’s unfinished sentence would have had he said that when we first got in here.
“I guess it’s time to see if that little explosion did any good.”
Light was coming through what appeared to be a passage. To where it led, they were not sure. They quickly moved some rocks and debris and the next thing they knew, they were outside. Quite a few people and other oddities were waiting for them. All of them were cheering loudly. Two dozen elves carrying a large banner saying “CONGRATULATIONS” were on one side. A large dragon, a huge snake with a Bird of Paradise sitting on his head were next to the dragon. Next to them was the troll and a rather large bear. In the middle were the Papandreous, Isaacsons, Lois Papadopoulos, and Sandra Knight. Holding Sandra’s hand was Bob Temple. It was 5:06 PM.
Paula and Aurora were immediately rushed by their mothers. For a while there were just hugs and tears.
“As long as you’re happy, I’ll be happy,” Sandra said holding her daughter at an arm’s length. “Are you okay with this? I mean it happened so fast.”
“Mom, for us it’s been five days. When the changes started to happen it just gave all of us more incentive to get to this point.
“I love him, Mom. I want you to understand that. This is not one of those teenage romance things. Reality has shifted a bit, and it seems I’ve been on the pill for a while. I’m a woman, Mom. I’m complete, and one of these days we’re going to make you a grandmother, but that won’t be until I’ve completed medical school.”
“You mean you and Tom …?”
“Yes, Mother, we made love, and it was wonderful. The Wizard made things very accommodating while we were down there. We didn’t want for anything.
Paula could see Aurora and her mother going through a similar discussion. She could also see Mr. Temple politely standing a few feet away.
“Mom, when we first came out of the cave I could swear I saw you holding Mr. Temple’s hand.”
“That’s true, after your football game last night, Bob asked me to have a drink with him. Several things came to light last night, and I was a bit upset. We had lunch again today, and got to know each other a bit better. It seems we went to the same high school in Milpitas.
“Bob, come here. I think we need to explain some things to our daughter.”
“Mom!”
“All will be explained. It’s complicated.
“Look, here comes The Wizard, now. He has a lot of things to discuss.”
Paula turned to see The Wizard followed by Wolf and his family exiting the Spring House.
At just under a mile away, Myrtle was putting the cross hairs on The Wizard’s head. This was going to be so easy. She squeezed off the shot like she’d done hundreds of times before; however, the results were not what she expected. The Wizard made a swatting motion with his right hand. Looked at something, then turned and looked directly at Myrtle. He winked at her. That was when she knew it was over.
“We have to get out of here or we’re done for.”
“It’s already over, ladies,” a voice said.
Myrtle, Agnes and Glynnis turned to four rather attractive ladies standing there. The speaker was the oldest of the four. She was a stunning blonde, and had Myrtle had time to think about it, she would have realized that she was the mother of two of the other three. It didn’t really matter. It took her a few seconds to realize that the gun was gone.
“We’re going to meet His Wisdom in his office. So,” she said gesturing to the terrified three, “please come with us.” The seven disappeared with an audible ‘pop’.
“Thank you for the warning, Sandra. This was what Myrtle had in store for us,” he said as he handed the half-inch in diameter, inch and a half long copper jacketed slug to her. She quickly passed it to Bob who looked at it appreciatively.
“Marissa and the girls have been with them since early afternoon. They wanted to make sure that they didn’t do anything else stupid before it came to the showdown. When Ted and Sherri got a text from Pappy’s phone, they alerted us that those three were getting ready, and they’ve been with them ever since. They’ve taken them back to the office. I’ll deal with them later.”
Turning to the group that had gathered in front of the Spring House, he said, “I want to thank everyone for their help in making this project possible.
“Dragon, you were really a good sport about all this. I put your rug back in your lair. I had it cleaned.”
“Thank you.”
“Snake and Bird, you were really great. You both deserve best acting awards.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“Elves, we couldn’t have done it without you. I’ve had all your knives sharpened and axe handles repaired. I also told the Grue to stick to his own cave or I’d turn him into a newt. Additionally, as part of our bargain I’ve installed those bathrooms in your residential areas. Perpetual hot water is part of the contract, plus I installed a state of the art sewage treatment plant and lift station. All of your hydroponic greenhouses have been upgraded, too.
“Once again, thanks to everyone for their help.”
With the dragon leading the way, the group marched, flew and crawled through the opening in the hill. The opening closed up behind them.
“The treasures with a few exceptions have been returned to the cave. We’ll worry about the rest, later.
“Now, we need to go our separate ways until this evening. Sandra has graciously offered her house for a little get together. I believe the caterers are already setting things up. Meanwhile, I have three problem children to take care of.
“I haven’t killed anyone in centuries, although a bit more than ten years ago I condemned a murderous pedophile to the life of a steer. At least he ate well while he lived.
“I guess the question is what do I do with you three? I gave you every opportunity to make something worthwhile of your lives, and you blew it.”
“Go ahead and kill me. I don’t give a shit,” Myrtle spat.
“The thing is, I think you do. The mistake I made with all of you was not taking you back to an earlier age. This time I’m taking you back all the way. I’m going to find a good home for you where you will be brought up in a loving atmosphere. I should have known you wouldn’t change as adults. This time we’ll make sure it works.”
And with that, the three women disappeared.
“Where are they,” Charli asked.
“Right now they are in stasis, they’re embryos and their spirits are being held elsewhere. After they’ve been implanted and developed enough, their spirits will be reinstalled. It will be a few years but they will grow up in a large loving family. Actually, I did a little time adjustment. Myrtle is already implanted, and things look very good. Glynnis and Agnes will be joining her in a few years. I know things will be a lot better this time.
Chapter 20
“How in the world did you come up with a name like Aurora,” her mother asked.
“Aurora is the Roman goddess of the dawn. These last few days have been my dawning.”
“It’s a lovely name, if not a bit of a mouthful; however; you’re Greek.”
“I know, but Eos just didn’t sound very feminine to me. And, believe me, I feel very feminine. Besides, Pappy and I have picked out a nickname for me.”
“What might that be?”
“Poppy. It just seemed right.”
“Poppy and Pappy, that is a bit unusual.
“Tell me about this ring you’re wearing. If that were real, it would be worth a fortune.”
“He gave it to me when he proposed. As far as we can tell, it’s exactly the same as the one Tom gave Paula. They were part of the treasures we found; however, we’ve been allowed to keep them.
“Yes, it’s real, by the way. We’ll have to get it insured.”
“Proposed! The next thing you’ll be telling me is that you’ve had sex with him.”
“I wouldn’t call it having sex; it was more like making love.”
“Oh my God, you’ve been a woman for two days, and you jump into the sack with the first man, er boy available.”
“He’s the only one, Mom. I teased him a lot, but I knew it was right. I knew it a long time ago. Under that hokey veneer is a man with a kind and gentle heart. He’s real intelligent, if not a bit off the wall, and that’s fine with me. Another thing is that he will never lie to me, not that I would ever have to worry about it.
“I’m going to have to rely on you to teach me many things. Apparently, I’ve been on birth control pills for quite a while. The first time we made love was the first time for both of us – me obviously. But there’s all this other stuff. You’re going to have to teach me about makeup and periods and stuff.”
Lois turned away as the tears started to flow.
“Shit, I’m sorry, Mom. That was stupid of me.”
“I didn’t mean to do that, but I seem to be getting emotional for no reason over the last few days. My stomach’s been upset. I feel bloated. Then on top of everything, my son is turned into my daughter, and it’s right. I know it is. I’m so damn happy for you.”
“Mom, I haven’t told you about everything I know about The Wizard. I’m making a guess here, but I think I know what your problem is. This will take about 30 seconds. I’ll give you a clue. That first night Pappy and I made love, I found a package of birth control pills in my personal items. I found something else, too. Let’s check your bathroom.”
Aurora led her mother to her bathroom. She opened up a drawer that was between the sink and the toilet and pulled out a package.
“I thought so,” she said as she handed the package to her mother. “Your period’s starting. As soon as you figure out how to use them, you’ll need to teach me.
“Mom, he fixed you, The Wizard fixed you. You can have babies. Now, we’re just going to have to find a husband for you.
Things were not going quite as smoothly at the Isaacson home. Tom’s sisters could tell that their parents were not very happy about something that had happened between him and his girlfriend. They liked Paula, and were very happy when they found out that Paula lived only a few blocks away. Maybe they could stay here for a while.
“Do you mean to tell us that as soon as Paula had completed this magical transition that you jumped into the sack with her?” his father shouted.
“Well it wasn’t that immediate, and she invited me. You need to realize something. Everything we did down there was tied to Paula’s and Aurora’s changes. I mean everything.
“I’ve known Paula for a long time, and I know how much this means to her. I told her I would stand by her regardless of how successful our adventure was. You see, I’ve loved Paula for quite a while. If the only way she could have transitioned was through surgery and hormone treatment, I still would marry her. We don’t have to worry about that, now.
“We will get married in three or four years.
“If I remember, correctly. You were the same age as we are now when you took that same step. So I’m not really sure what the problem is.
“I think a more important thing is to see how The Wizard is going to fix your ‘little’ problem. I bet he will; just this time, read the instructions.”
The party was more like a house warming, and The Wizard made sure that all the right people were invited. He had acquired the services of a catering company, and strangely, all of the servers closely resembled the elves. They were very efficient.
“Your Wisdom,” Paula said prior to the guests’ arrival, “apparently Tom’s sisters don’t remember about me. I think they need to know for several reasons. I was talking to Cindy about this a while ago. I know I’m magic, and I want to thank you for making that possible. Aurora will tell you the same thing. We’re looking forward to getting a lot of instruction. Cindy said that his sisters are carriers of the magic trait, and I feel it’s very important that they know the legacy they carry. They’ve always liked me and I don’t think it’s necessary to hide from them what my origin is. In fact, it might be very important that they know what they might be able to pass on. It could be a great help for what you’re trying to do.”
“How do you know I’m trying to do anything?”
“The evidence all points to it. You’re trying to save magic. It was almost lost a few hundred years ago. The world may not be quite ready for it, just like the world hasn’t been ready for a lot of other things; however, someday we might be more acceptable to the world.”
“You will be a great doctor one of these days,” The Wizard said. "I think there will be a place for you in Cindy and Bobbie’s clinic.”
“Who’s Bobbie?”
“Ah, here’s Tom now.”
Tom put his arm around Paula’s waist before giving her a quick kiss.
“Tom, I have a question for you.” The Wizard asked.
“Yes Sir.”
“Who is that attractive redhead talking to Cindy?”
“Oh my God, that’s Bobbie Anderson. What’s she doing here?”
“She’s Cindy’s best friend, and she wants to take five strokes off your handicap. She says you have great potential.”
“What on earth are you talking about?” Paula asked.
“She’s just the greatest golfer in the history of women’s professional golf. She’s playing on the men’s tour, too, and she’s won there.
“Come on, we need to meet her.”
Unseen by the pair, The Wizard winked at Bobbie.
Margo Chenoweth arrived fairly early, but not too early. She had Donald Epperson with her, and it wasn’t clear who was hanging onto whom. She looked positively radiant. They stayed for about a half an hour before heading off on a dinner date.
Alice and Dahlia had skyped Sandra earlier in the evening. They promised to get with everyone, but perhaps the best thing to do would be to have a get together in Centerton as baby sitters were difficult to come by for their large brood. They asked Sandra to pass on their best wishes and thanks to everyone, and no, Dahlia was not yet experiencing morning sickness.
Ellie Singleton and Lindsay Snider were two very happy ladies. They showed off their wedding rings, and proudly announced their joint pregnancies. They stuck to fruit punch. They wanted to get home to continue with the unpacking as they had permanently moved to Bridgeport. They had purchased a large daycare center, and were eager to get started.
“Jim, Nancy,” The Wizard got their attention before indicating they should talk in private. They retreated to an outside deck. “I wanted to let you know that the original garters were recalled by the manufacturer. I had yours replaced. They should be able to correct your problem. I just ask that you please read the instructions before you do anything.”
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” they said in unison.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was when Charli showed up with a very attractive, wholesome looking young woman. It took Sandra a minute to realize who she was.
“Oh my God, Barbara, it is Barbara isn’t it?” she asked.
Barbara shyly nodded. “I’m Charli’s roommate at UConn. I haven’t picked out a major yet; however, those puppies (indicating Wolf and Padrona’s brood) have convinced me that I might go into veterinary medicine. That’s Charli’s intent; so we could be working together.
Marriage came to Lois Papadopoulos a bit more quickly than she and anyone else had expected. Her literary agent wanted to talk to her about a producer in Hollywood who wanted rights to make a movie of one of her romance novels. This was the first time she’d been close to New York City during their professional relationship. He told her he was going to be in the area, and would like to take her out to dinner to discuss business. He was five years older than she, and the sparks flew. No one would ever accuse either of being a fortune hunter. They were both multi-millionaires.
Lois was pregnant when they married three months later. She hadn’t told him before he proposed. It didn’t matter. Aurora thought her step father was a wonderful man. They took a while breaking him into the magic world. He had no problems with accepting things. He had moved to Bridgeport immediately after he proposed.
The golden flute was returned to Sir James Galway; although he was never aware it had been missing. The music box was returned to the prop room at the Vienna State Opera House.
The ecology project was completely revised, and pertained to the real world. The state park disappeared; however, there was a very nice stream running through some farmland, and the four were able to turn in an exemplary project based on stream ecology.
Sandra and Bob were married in a civil ceremony six months later. They’d sent an invitation to Sandra’s parents, but it was never acknowledged. They weren’t missed. They hadn’t waited until after their marriage to make love; however, they hadn’t rushed into it. They might have been a bit hesitant as neither had ever had sex before in their current bodies. It took a little while before they got it right. Their third daughter was also a witch. Their sons along with their daughters carried the magic trait to pass on to another generation.
Pappy and Poppy married in their senior year of college. Tom was Pappy’s best man, and Paula was Poppy’s maid of honor. Two months later the roles were reversed. The brides wore necklaces with a single large teardrop shaped pearl. The giant clam had worked overtime.
.
My thanks go to Emanuel Schikaneder for originally putting the story together; although, he may have taken ideas from a work by Karl Ludwig Giesecke. Schikaneder’s story was put to music by an Austrian composer of little importance named Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. The original story is very racist and sexist. I think I fixed most of that.
The original Adventure Game was designed/created by Willie Crowther. There are at least four other versions of the game out there. The version followed in this story was probably close to the original. I first came across the game around 1985. That version was a bit more complicated. There was another maze with twisty passages all looking different, there was a dictionary, and there were several more treasures and puzzles; some of which I referred to in this story. The trident also had another use, as did the bird.
I took the game back to my office where all of us would play it at lunch on our primitive computer supplied by the Air Force. We learned from each other. Each of us had a saved version we worked from. The Dictionary was tougher than the magazines to figure out as a clue had been removed. I never figured it out, but somehow found the answer in reading something somewhere. The dynamite was a bit easier. I only killed myself once or twice. I had the whole place mapped out with all the steps written down for the best solution. The game was on a floppy disc. I gave it to someone. I threw out all my maps and notes, and soon regretted doing it.
The original and at least one other version are available for downloading or playing on the internet. The solutions and some poorly drawn maps are also available. Beware, there is some randomness built into the game.
Who are the original members of the conspirators?
Barbara Boom-Boom Reynolds, previously Ben Reynolds, bimbo stripper. Became Barbara Marie Reynolds, college student.
Alice Gräber, mother of 25 children, renounces her church, her husband willingly is transitioned by The Wizard. Their family will continue to grow.
Sandra Knight, lawyer and mother of Paul/Paula, discovers love with a version of the former girl, now man, she’d left pregnant 19 years before.
Myrtle Hightower, secretary and ex-Marine sniper; determined to kill The Wizard and others. She will start over.
Ted and Sherri Papandreou, boat designers and decorators, parents of Dimitri (Pappy). They are switched by The Wizard’s magic. They decide to continue to switch.
Margot Chenoweth, bookkeeper, embezzler. She wished she could disappear, and The Wizard obliges.
Ellie Singleton and Lindsay Snider, former chauvinist pigs of the worst order; now lesbian lovers and mothers to be many times thanks to The Wizard’s ‘correction’.
James and Nancy Isaacson, software engineer and importer of small goods, parents of Tom. They didn’t read the instructions.
Agnes di Lammermoor, past hit man for the Irish mafia. She did not learn her lesson. Back to square one.
Glynnis Roberts; past enforcer for the Miami mafia. Same as Agnes.
Lois Papadopoulos, writer and mother of Ivan/Aurora (Poppy). Past alcoholic switched with the little girl she killed. She finds love.
Carol Johannesen was Sanford Knight’s girlfriend. A version of her becomes Bob Temple.
Cast of Characters From the Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte):
Sarastro – The Wizard
Tamino – Tom Isaacson
Pamina – Paul/Paula Knight
The Queen of the Night – Sandra Knight
Papageno – Dmitri (Pappy) Papandreou
Papagena – Ivan/Aurora (Poppy) Papadopoulos
The Three Ladies – Cindy Brewer, Randi Lewis, Charli Brewer
Monostatos – Irving Mefisto
Two Armored Men – Clyde Davis, Melvin Douglas
Three Child Spirits – Iris Mefisto, Cleo Davis, Melanie Douglas
Speaker of the Temple – Bob Temple