I walked through the door just as the second bell rang and sat in my accustomed seat next to my best friend Elly. She was already busy at work on her latest drawing. Our art teacher Mrs. Smith sat at her desk with a cup of coffee and a bored look on her face as usual. She didn't have much left to teach the handful of students that were in her advance class and she knew it. I pulled out a blank piece of paper trying to decide what to draw. Elly was busy drawing a rather macabre picture of a naked half spider half woman eating her mate while a colorful butterfly woman watched over her shoulder... she was always drawing crazy shit like that. But then, that was one of the things I admired about her, she was always original. I decided to draw her, I had been meaning to practice my figure drawing skills some more.
My eye scanned her form as I tried to decide where to begin. She was a tall woman at 5'11" with short spiky black hair and ice blue eyes which were always animate with whatever emotion she was feeling at the moment. She wore a pair of smart black rimmed glasses and a button up striped shirt which she'd always roll the sleeves up whilst she was drawing. A pair of jeans and comfortable boots always finished off her ensemble. As a matter of fact I'd never seen her wearing any other sort of outfit in the four years I'd known her since we'd met in our first freshman art class. I started by drawing her eyes and then traced out the rest of her body as best as I could. I was no master artist but I was getting better and soon the figure on my paper began to take shape. From her perfect fingers and thin arms to her long legs and dimpled smile. I spent an embarrassing moment trying to get the curve of her B cup breasts just right feeling like everyone must be staring at me drawing my best friend's boobs. But I needn't have worried, everyone was too absorbed in their own projects to watch me at mine.
Elly finished her drawing and looked up with a startled expression as if just realizing she was in a classroom full of people. She blinked a few times before looking over at me. "Oh, hey Reese. I didn't see you come in." I smiled to myself. She was funny like that, she'd get so wrapped up in her art that nothing else existed. She watched over my shoulder for a bit and I started to feel nervous. "Wow your work is really improving, that looks just like me!" I just smiled, I wasn't feeling very talkative. I just wanted to finish before the bell rang and I was forced to go to another class. Once I walked away from a drawing I never seamed to finish after. Why'd my school force me to attend so many pointless classes and only give me an hour for art? Useless. "So have you found a date for Saturday's dance? I really want to go to this one. My mom helped me buy a dress and everything!" I couldn't help but burst into laughter at this. "You in a dress?" I laughed. She gave me a playful glare, "well I am a girl you know." This just made me laugh more, it was impossible to imagine her in a dress. She was just too... well, too butch. "Elly, that'd be like me wearing a dress!" I teased. She got a little indignant at this last remark and looked away with a hurt expression. "Is it so hard to believe that for one night I'd like to be pretty?" she said. I felt bad, I hadn't meant to hurt her feelings it was just so hard to picture my tough bad ass friend in a fancy dress. I tried to change the subject, "so have you asked Alison yet?" She'd been mooning over this pretty blond girl in her English class for the last couple of months. We'd talked endlessly over rather or not Alison was gay before deciding that she definitely had to be... probably... most likely... well, maybe...
This dance had become a big deal to Elly. I'd never seen her get so worked up over something like this. Every day she swore she was going to ask Alison out and every day she went home looking defeated. The truth was that neither of us were exactly what you'd call popular. Elly was an out and proud lesbian and I was... well, everyone assumed I was a closeted gay man. I wasn't, but nobody really believed me when I told them, not even my family, not even Elly. She looked at me with this sad look on her face. "I asked her out yesterday. You'd already left for your dentist appointment so I didn't get a chance to tell you..." she trailed off. "Yes?" I asked expectantly. I so badly wanted to hear that Alison had said yes. There wasn't another lesbian in our entire school, or at least one whom was out of the closet, and she so badly needed to feel like she wasn't the only one. I understood that feeling all too well. Still a secret part of me knew I didn't want Alison or anyone else to go out with Elly because I was in love with her. "No, she said no... She even got angry and slapped me," she said in an uncharacteristic broken tone of voice. I wanted to hug her and try to make her feel better but I wasn't good at that sort of thing, I always felt uncomfortable showing affection, I always felt too different. "Elly, I'm so, so sorry." I worked up my courage for a bit and then said "why don't you and I go, you know just as friends?" She looked at me for a bit like she was thinking about it when the bell interrupted her thoughts. I sighed and put my drawing away in my portfolio along with my other half finished drawings. Time to go to another horrible day of math and science. "Well?" I said as we exited the class. "That's ok Reese, I don't need any pity dates" she said with a little more bitterness than I felt was necessary as we parted ways for our different classes. Little did she know how badly her words hurt my heart.
At lunch I sat next to her as usual but we didn't talk, we just ate in silence. Her mood was still piss poor and mine had sunk about as low as hers. I hated my life and I was tired of smiling and acting like everything was fine. I was tired of trying to help her and everyone else with their problems while feeling helpless and alone with mine. At the end of the day we met at the usual spot to begin our walk home. It wasn't that far and our houses were pretty close to one another's. I let out a long sigh. "Thank god it's Friday and I can sleep in tomorrow. So did you find anyone to accompany you tomorrow night?" I asked. She didn't bother to answer, we both knew no girls would be willing to take on that social stigma at our redneck school any time soon and accompany another girl to the dance. I wanted to make her feel better, I made one last attempt. "Can you believe four years has passed so quickly? We're both 18 already and in only a few months will graduate and move on to college. Hey, I bet in college you'll get more pussy than you know what to do with!" Still she didn't respond. We both knew college was just around the corner but it still didn't feel like it. It still felt a million years away and it still didn't help her get a date for Saturday's dance. Her eyes which were usually so brilliant and full of life looked like empty glass today. I shivered despite the day's warmth. It was hard to see my friend like this. It was hard to find myself like that. We reached the corner where we split to go to our respective houses. "Keep your chin up!" I shouted lamely at her retreating figure, but what else could I have said?
I got home to find my older sister sitting on the couch with a bowl of cheerios watching cartoons. Definitely a college student I smiled to myself. "Aren't you a little old to be watching The Little Mermaid?" I asked her as I walked past the living room. She stuck her tongue out at me and called me a booger face. I laughed. For a brother and sister we'd always gotten along pretty well. She'd come home for a weekend visit late the night before but then mom had had to leave early this morning for an emergency business trip. She was always busy since dad had left but she made good money as a lawyer and neither my sister nor I would have to worry about scrounging for scholarships. So it was just me and Meg. I made myself a bowl of cereal and joined her on the couch. "Can't we watch something a little more grown up?" I asked. She picked up the remote as if she were going to actually change the channel but then simply turned the volume up instead. I rolled my eyes at her when she flashed me one of her annoying little grins. I'd never admit it, but The Little Mermaid was one of my favorite movies as well.
I got out of the shower that night and started to wrap a towel around my chest before sighing and wrapping it around my waist. Why did acting like a guy come so unnaturally to me? I walked into my room and dried off in front of the mirror. I stared at my reflection. 6'1" large belly, short brown hair, brown eyes, yellow teeth, and a large... I sighed again. I couldn't stand what I saw. My sister looked like my mother- elfin with fiery red hair, but I looked like our dad- fat and hairy. Disgusted I turned from the hateful mirror and pulled out some pajamas from my dresser. I stared out at the stars in the night sky through my bedroom window. I started to cry, Ariel got her legs, Cinderella became a princess, Pinocchio became a real boy... The magic of fairy tales I'd wished for every day of my childhood. I crawled under the covers and tried to stop the tears, but they just came harder. I tried to tell myself I didn't believe in magic anymore but the truth was that I didn't believe I was worthy of it. I didn't believe I was worth anything anymore. I stared through blurry eyes at the night sky. I saw a star go falling to the earth and I gave a heartbroken wish just before sleep over took me. I wished I could be a normal girl...
I awoke with a start. I heard this strange ringing in my ear. It sounded like the tintinnabulations of a hundred tiny bells. I opened my eyes feeling a tremor of fear. My room was filled with a soft silvery light. A distant corner of my mind noted that the clock read midnight. I was just a little afraid to notice a small ball of light floating at the foot of my bed. While I debated on rather I should make a bolt for the door or duck under the covers as if I were five, the sound faded with most of the strange glow and the ball seamed to morph into the shape of a beautiful woman. I stared totally dumbstruck. The woman looked at me with the calm loving eyes of a mother... or maybe a grandmother? ...or a lover??? I couldn't quite place how she made me feel exactly. In some sort of vague way she reminded me of a full moon surrounded by endless stars. "I have many names" my strange visitor spoke "but tonight for you, just think of me as your fairy god mother." I laughed a little hysterically, I was loosing my mind. Her expression softened a bit and she said in a kindly voice "no, not yet daughter. Tonight we are going to save it. Come here." She beckoned me forward. I made no move to get up. "Come now, I don't have all night." She said and then waved her hand in an imperious gesture. I suddenly found myself beside her staring at my reflection in the mirror. "Why don't you take off your clothes," she half asked, half commanded me. Still I made no move to comply but she simply waved her hand and said "don't be shy girl, nothing I haven't seen before." I found myself standing naked beside a glowing woman claiming to be my fairy god mother. "Look in the mirror," she commanded, "and speak your wish again." I looked at the mirror, and said, "I wish I were a normal girl." I blushed and stared at my feet. "Again," she said. For the third time that night I spoke my wish out loud. "Good," she smiled at me, "let's begin."
She pointed at my reflection and waved her hand again. The image of myself seemed to take on a life of its own and started making various feminine poses and turning around in a rather girly sort of way that looked hopelessly ridiculous on the ungainly male body. "So, what would you change?" she asked me. I stared for a moment, noticing the severe hairiness of my body. "I'd be hairless," I whispered. With a wave of the fairy's hands every last hair on the reflection disapeared. None on the legs, none on the arms, no wiry patch above my... none on the chest, as the figure turned again I saw there was no more of the embarrassing black hairs on the posterior either. There wasn't any on my face even my eyebrows and eyelashes. "Accept my eye lashes and eyebrows," I said quickly. The image blurred a little and eyelashes returned only darker and longer, and the eyebrows came back- but no longer were they the thick unibrow I'd always had but instead two symmetrical thin lines arching over my eyes. "My hair," I said, "on my head, would be luscious and silky and long... and, and... RED! ...And so would my hair down... there..." I finished the sentence with a quick glance and a hot blush at the crotch of the image in the mirror. Immediately the image changed. A small triangular patch of soft curly red hair appeared at the crotch and gorgeous long red hair grew out all the way down to its back. I stared in amazement for a little bit and then a huge smile spread across my face. I really got into it then and excitedly shouted out directions. Bit by bit the image changed. It got shorter and thinner until it was a petite 5'7" and the skin became soft and pure with a few light freckles. The muscles faded and the legs got just a little longer and a little more shapely. It's face changed slightly with a smaller nose and fuller lips. The chin changed dramatically loosing it's square shape and the well defined cleft that had looked so hopelessly male. The teeth became white and perfect. It's eyes became a deep green. The hips filled out a little and the figure took on a feminine hourglass shape. With each new change my choices wrought on the image I became more and more excited. Finally I got to the best part I'd saved for last. "Her breasts should be about a C cup" I said. Suddenly gigantic breasts appeared on the person staring back at me in the mirror. She looked decidedly top heavy. I blushed, obviously that was a little much for such a small body. "Eh, maybe just a full A..." I said a little more subdued. The breasts shrunk to a small but well proportioned A cup. I nodded in satisfaction, they looked good on the girl's frame. At last I said, "she'd have a small soft normal looking vagina..." I held my breath as my fairy god mother smiled and the last change took place in the strange doppelganger in the mirror. Now it was just a normal looking young woman. "oh, and it's very sensitive," I added as an after thought. The image didn't change anymore but it did look at me and wink which just made me blush in embarrassment.
"So this is the woman you'd want to be?" the glowing woman at my side asked with a gentle voice that sounded like eternity. I nodded mutely. She smiled and hugged me, "well daughter you already are, for if you recall, you are looking at your own reflection." With a start I realized that the woman in the mirror was no longer moving and posing with a life of its own but only standing there doing what I was doing as a proper reflection ought. I waved at the mirror and the girl waved back in unison. I took a deep breath and looked down, almost afraid of what I might find. I was the woman in the mirror! She WAS me! I hugged myself tightly feeling the small breasts there and I stared at the space between my legs where the perfect soft mound of flesh gave way to the folds of my vagina. IT was gone! I was so happy. The angel at my side laughed and once more I heard the sounds of a hundred ringing bells. She kissed me lightly on the crown of my head and told me to sleep. As she faded away into the night she handed me a small silver ring with an opal set in the middle. Inside the prismatic stone was trapped a silver pentacle. "For luck," she whispered. My eyes began to shut of their own accord and the next thing I knew I was opening my eyes in the full light of morning.
I started to turn over away from the sunlight streaming through my window but my hair caught under one of my arms as I moved my head and I had to raise up... My hair!?! With a start the events of the night before came back to me and I threw the covers back to gaze in awe and wonder at my new body. I was now an attractive young Irish woman like my sister and mother. I felt the weight of my new breasts and explored briefly the new crevice between my legs. I began to cry tears of joy, I was so damn happy, finally the endless nightmare that was my life was over. I could finally be happy. I started to think of all the stuff I could do now. I could buy a bikini. I could braid my hair. I could give my friends hugs without worrying what others would think. I could cry. I could sit in a hot bubble bath with a good book and my sister wouldn't tease me about it anymore. I could be a cheerleader if I wanted... well, not that I actually would want to, but I could! I could, I could be a mom! My heart swelled at the idea of being pregnant and having a baby, they'd be twins... I'd name them Larson and Zoe... I shook my head and laughed at myself, I was getting a little ahead of myself. For now I was still just a young high school student with classes and friends and dances to worry about. That's when it hit me, the dance! I could go to the dance tonight with my best friend whom I'd been in love with for the last four years. I jumped out of bed and stared at the reflection of my still naked self in the mirror. I could go with Elly and for once she'd give me that starry-eyed look she'd given that bitch Alison and all the other oblivious girls before her.
I started to think though, I still didn't know just how much the magic had changed me. Was it just physically or had it somehow changed my entire life? Would my friends know who I was or see me as a stranger? Would I open my closet and find it full of dresses and skirts or would the clothes that fit a six foot tall boy still be in there? I looked around me room. It looked unchanged. I found the small ring I'd been gifted from the Lady in the night sitting on my desk and absently put it on. I opened the closet and inside I found all of my boy's clothes still where I'd left them, mostly on the floor. Obviously my life hadn't changed, only my body. What was I going to do? I would need help. I really didn't know what to do. I tried to pull on my pajamas which were still in a heap on the floor but they were just too big. I gave up and wrapped my large blanket around me before walking across the hall to my sister's room. I knocked on her door and stood there shifting back and forth nervously. She didn't answer so I knocked again louder this time, "Meg, I need your help," I shouted in a musical feminine voice I was pleased to hear coming from my lips. What was I going to say, "Good morning Sis, it's me your brother. Guess what, I'm a girl now!?" I was still thinking about it when the rumpled face of my sister poked her head through the door. "What are you on about Reese? It's not even noon yet, why would you want to wake me up at this ungodly hour!" This really was early for her, she'd set up all of her classes at college so that she wouldn't ever have to roll out of bed before 12:45. "I need your help..." I mumbled, unsure as to what to say.
She opened her eyes a bit further and shook her head. "You sound funny Reese, are you getting sick? If I didn't know better I'd say I was speaking with another girl..." Her voice trailed off as she woke up enough to actually bother opening her eyes and got a good look at me. A long uncomfortable silence followed. "Who the fuck are you?" she asked in a startled gasp. "It's me, Reese," I pleaded. She looked me up and down, "Reese is a six foot tall man, you're a petite woman. Who the hell are you?!" This wasn't going so well. "Meg, it's me, my fairy god mother came and granted my wish last night." I had told her about my wish before, she was the only person I'd ever trusted enough to tell, I'd never even been able to tell Elly before. Meg stared at me for a long time and I could almost read her mind, I was sure she was wondering if she could still possibly be high from the weed she'd smoked last night before bed. "It's me Meg. Remember when we were six and you broke mom's lamp but I took the blame for you because you gave me five dollars but then mom made me pay for the lamp and it cost me ten but I still never told? And remember when we spent all of our allowance to buy a huge bag of chocolate gold coins and then buried them in the corner of the backyard by the tree because we were playing pirates? And remember the time you were 16 and snuck that guy into the house and mom saw him and I told mom he was just my friend from school so you wouldn't get in trouble? And the time mom found the bottle of beer you'd left in the trash and I told her it was mine? I've always been there for you and I need your help right now..." I said in a quick pleading tone. She stared at me, "It really is you in there isn't it Reese?" I smiled and nodded.
We went into her room and set on her bed talking. She still wasn't totally convinced and I spent a lot of time trying to think of stuff that only I'd know to help convince her. Eventually she accepted the situation and began to help me plan out what to do. Neither of us could come up with anything for the long term as far as school and telling mom and such but for the short term she agreed to take me to the mall to help me get some new clothes. She lent me some jeans and a purple t-shirt to wear that didn't fit too well but were good enough. Standing side by side we looked in the mirror and it was very obvious with our red hair, green eyes, light freckles, and our half smirking smiles that we were related. We were sisters. I felt great.
At the mall I bought what I needed rather quickly after I determined my size. I didn't have that much money so I could only get the bare necessities anyway. I got a soft baby blue bra and matching panties, gray sneakers, some socks, a pair of low rise boot cut jeans, a simple black belt, some hair scrunchies, and a dark blue top with a butterfly on the front. I felt like a butterfly. I was out of money by this time but feeling really good as we sat at a table in the mall's food court eating burritos. Meg and I were talking excitedly about what I was going to do when mom got back on Sunday when I noticed Elly walking into a clothing store across the aisle carrying a blue-gray dress. She was returning her dress she'd gotten for the dance! I stopped what I was saying mid sentence and stared. Meg noticed where I was looking and turned in time to see Elly disappear into the shop. She looked at my quizzically so I explained about the dance that night and how excited Elly had been. Meg nodded and to my surprise she got up and walked toward the shop.
I watched in astonishment as she too disappeared through the shop's doors. I sat there at the table with my forgotten burrito and tried to decide if I should get up and follow or just sit and wait. Ten minutes later I saw Elly exit the store still in possession of her dress and walk away. I waited but still there was no sign of Meg. 20 minutes later she finally emerged holding a bag with the ends of a couple of white boxes poking out. She walked up to me with a big grin and told me it was time to be getting home. I wanted to ask her what she'd been up to but before I could she was already off and walking to the car. I wrapped up our food as quickly as I could and hurried to catch up to her. The whole walk to the car she was insufferably quiet and smug. Every time I asked her a question she'd just give me a knowing look and ignore me. Finally in the car seat belts buckled and on our way home she broke down and told me her news. "I got you a date!" she smiled. On the way home she told me the whole story. She'd gone in and talked to Elly asking about the dress and claiming surprise to hear she was returning it due to lack of a date. She pretended to get excited (at this point she stopped to go on and on at great length about her acting ability until I was about ready to explode and became indignant when I tried to make her rush the story- it was like the scene with Juliet and her nurse in Shakespeare's play) and mentioned that her "cousin Renee" was in town visiting them and just so happened to be gay and single and she was just positive that the two of them would make a good match... and so I had a date for the school dance that night. She finished her tale just as we pulled into the drive way. I ran around the car to her where she was getting the mysterious bag out and gave her the biggest hug I could while jumping up and down excitedly. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" I shouted in-between bounces. And then it dawned on me, "what will I wear?" "Well why don't we go inside and I'll show you," she said.
Inside I was presented with two white boxes. In the first one was a simple pair of nice dress shoes with only a slight heel to them. Meg explained that she didn't want to put me through wearing heels on my first day. In the second box I found the most beautiful dress I'd ever laid eyes on. It was forest green with a low cut and spaghetti straps. I held it up and saw that it would come just a little past my knee. It was just too cute. I couldn't wait to try it on so I ran up to my room to change. When I emerged I thanked my sister about a million times for the thoughtful present. Once I'd finally settled down a bit she took me into the bathroom and helped me do my hair and put on a little lipstick. I didn't really feel I needed any makeup and I knew that Elly thought that girls who wore a lot of makeup were silly. Suddenly our doorbell rang. I quickly brushed my teeth as Meg went downstairs to let my date in. My date! Elly was MY date! I smiled as I smoothed out my new dress and went down the stairs.
As I came around the corner into the living room I saw Elly sitting on the couch talking with Meg. She jumped up to her feet and then stared nervously at the ground when she saw me walk into the room. I giggled, it was too much seeing Elly nervous, she was usually so confident and in control. And in that dress she was so incredibly beautiful. I'd never seen her looking so feminine before and yet she still looked like the bad ass I adored. I couldn't help but stare. Meg stood up smiling too and introduced us. "Elly this is my cousin Renee, Renee, this is our neighbor and good friend Eleanor." "Oh you can call me Elly though," she said as she walked around the couch looking a little scared. I smiled at her shyly as I noticed the flowers she was holding. Elly's gaze followed mine to the flowers she was holding and she seamed to notice them for the first time. "Oh, uh, I got these for ya..." she trailed off and nervously pinned a small corsage to my dress and then handed me a single red rose. "It's beautiful," I said still a bit shyly. "So are you!" Elly blurted out more than a little awkwardly and a moment later her face turned beet red. I smiled and by way of thanks I gave her a small peck on the cheek. I thought she might faint then and there. For that matter, I thought I might swoon at any moment. We stood there staring at our feet for an embarrassing eternity before Meg finally got up in disgust and walked over to the front door. She opened it wide and said "You girls have fun tonight." We finally came out of our reverie and Elly took my arm and walked me down to her car.
She actually opened the door for me and I slid into the passenger seat of her small green car. When she had gotten it she had gone on and on about how fast it could go and the gas mileage and what tires she wanted to get for it. I had feigned interest, but all I knew was that I liked the MP3 player. I almost groaned when she settled in beside me and started telling me about how cool her car was. As she pulled out of the driveway I changed the subject to something with a little more mutual interest. "So, Meg tells me you're quite the artist?" Elly turned to me and smiled, "I do alright," she said, "but not as good as your cousin." I stared blankly at her a moment before belatedly realizing she meant me... as in Reese. "Yeah, he's pretty good but I bet you're better judging by the way he's always talking about you." Elly's face looked genuinely flattered at the thought that I- that is Reese, thought so highly of her. "Well if you really want to my portfolio's in the back..." I turned around and found it there on the back seat. I'd seen everything in there before but really I couldn't get tired of looking through it. She was just so much more creative than I would ever be.
I flipped through the pages now and then complimenting her as we made our way to the dance. I came to the last page and found a drawing she'd never shown me before. It shocked me. It was a portrait of myself only how I'd have looked as a girl... that is to say it was a feminized version of how I actually looked rather than of a drop dead gorgeous body obtained through a fairy god mother. Elly noticed what I was looking at and said in a rather panicked tone, "Oh please don't tell Reese about that one, it would really hurt his feelings!" Hurt my feelings? Why would it do that? Finally there was a piece of evidence that Elly had actually seen me for who I really was. "Why did you draw it?" I asked. "I don't know, I was just watching him draw one day and the idea popped into my head. It's kinda silly really." I shook my head no, "I like it, I think it rather suits Reese. You should show h... ...him." She shook her head emphatically, "nah, he'd get really embarrassed by it, I'm sure." Well I couldn't argue that, I would have gotten very nervous if she'd shown me this but certainly I'd have been touched as well... I let the subject drop and retuned her art to the back seat as we pulled into the school parking lot.
She came around to my side of the car and pulled the door open like I was something special... well, I guess perhaps I was now. Or more accurately, it was easier for the two of us to see it now. We walked up the steps to the gymnasium and I opened the door for her, "Beautiful ladies first," I smiled. Her expression was priceless- first shocked and bewildered, then blushing and smiling. She wasn't used to being called beautiful or being treated like a lady. Neither was I for that matter, I was blushing too, it didn't seem like either of us would be stopping anytime soon. I was pleased to note as she entered the room that the familiar spring was back in her step. She walked confidently into the room full of dancing teenagers who hated her guts and looked as calm as if she were sitting alone in her room. That wonderful smile was back on her face. This was the Elly I remembered.
All eyes were on us but we acted as if we didn't notice. I was beginning to feel quite nervous about the fact that this was a dance. People were supposed to dance at dances and I wasn't a dancer. I was about to make a B-line for the punch when she grabbed my hand and gestured to the dance floor. It was too noisy to talk but she was speaking with her eyes anyways. That sparkle in her eyes I loved so much and her devil may care grin made my unwilling feet follow her to the dance floor. Everyone was swaying and jumping around and they all seamed to have some idea of what they were doing. I hadn't even started to dance yet and already people were staring at the two lesbians on the floor. I wanted to run as fast as my new legs could carry me but Elly's hands reached out and encircled my waist pulling me closer. Those arms might as well have been chains so tightly they bound me to her side. The song ended and a slow one started up. The couples around the room paired up and snuggled close. Elly held me stiffly, formally at first as we attempted to dance. Little by little, inch by inch, we drifted a little closer until at last my head rested against her strong shoulder and her arms wrapped tight around me. She felt like safe harbor in a storm. A haven in a once hopeless life. She made me feel warm and loved. We were enchanted. We swayed back and forth all thoughts of actual dance lost. There was only us, only her and I. The stares faded and the music faded too. We swayed back and forth like this through fast songs and slow until at last it was time to go home.
It was about 11:00 when we made our way back to her car. The ride home we spent in a sort of happy daze. She held my hand the whole way and we just didn't say anything. The fleeting moments were too precious for words. As we pulled into the driveway our mood began to darken a little- the night was almost over for us and neither she nor I was quite ready to admit it. We walked up the steps of my porch and sat on the front swing. In one of those cheesy sort of gestures she yawned and stretched and then let her arm fall down across my shoulders. I smiled a little shyly and nuzzled closer to her. We avoided words, simply content to enjoy each other's touch. The star and moonlight came down and caressed her features like a scene in one of those romance novels I'd secretly borrowed from my sister. Happily I reflected on my life saving fairy godmother from the night before and gave silent thanks that my wish had finally come true. Like Ariel and Cinderella before me tonight I was a princess.
A sudden sharp cramp running through my abdomen and a second right after running along my chest brought me up short. "Are you OK Renee?" Elly asked in a shocked wide-eyed tone. I started to reassure her when I got another couple of jolts and a sinking suspicion came into my head. At midnight Cinderella's magic had faded... My hand cramped and I looked down to see that my left hand was now a good deal larger with rough callused fingers that had hideously familiar black hair on the knuckles. I wanted to break down and scream right then and there but all I could think was to get away from Elly before she watched me change into the form of her best 6 foot tall friend wearing a skimpy green dress. I mumbled an excuse and swung the door open. Elly was still very concerned. She tried to grab my hand as I ran inside and came away with the small ring my strange visitor had gifted me. I left her alone on the porch.
I slammed the door shut and the tears started flowing. My sister was sitting in the living room reading one of her college books. She looked up in alarm and watched surprised as I staggered for the stairs. As I started the long climb in between the horrible stabs of pain her voice trailed after "...ou OK? Reese, answer me..." I could hear loud knocks on the front door from a concerned Elly. I made it into my room and collapsed into a hysterical ball on my bed. Meg came running on my heels just in time to watch the sickening reversal of the spell. My body grew large and the beautiful new dress split around it's sudden bulk. The hair came back all over my chest and legs even as it fell out of the top of my head to be replaced by the original short brown hair I'd had only the night before. I couldn't think and was dangerously on edge. I couldn't help but eye the scissors on my writing desk and think of stabbing myself. How could She grant my wish and then take it back like this? It was so very cruel. Meg held me through the night until I passed out exhausted. Elly must have finally gone home at some point but I didn't remember hearing her car leave.
In the morning I woke up feeling little better. It was as if it had never happened. Meg had already disposed of the ruined dress but the clothes I'd bought at the mall were still sitting on my chair where'd I tossed them the night before. It had happened. I got up and pulled some jeans and an old T shirt from the closet before stumbling downstairs. I found Meg in the kitchen drinking a cup of Coffee. Had she even gone to bed yet? She saw me and immediately got up and ran over to hug me. I couldn't stand it I started crying all over again. It just wasn't fair, not at all. I spent the day in a haze. I cleaned my room and the house and mowed the lawn and washed the windows and did my laundry and a million other tasks just to keep my mind busy and off of this terrible, terrible gut wrenching loss.
In the evening I sat exhausted on the couch staring at the wall and doing my level best not to think about anything at all when there was a knock at the door. Meg got up and answered once she realized I wasn't in any hurry to move. I heard Elly's voice from the door. "Hi Meg, is Renee here?" "Renee is... she went home this morning..." came Meg's reply. I turned to see Elly's stricken face and knew that she was feeling about as bad I was. I called out for her to come on in. As she walked through the door I motioned to the stairs and started for my bedroom. A moment later Elly followed me up. "What's wrong Reese? You look a mess today." I shrugged in a non committal sort of way before sitting on my bed. She sat beside me.
"So can I get Renee's number?" she asked without preamble. Obviously she was a little too preoccupied to push me to reveal my troubles right then. I made up a story, I told her that Renee had left suddenly. I said she was moving with her folks and they didn't have a phone yet. I said I'd try and get it for her when I could. Elly's face was so crestfallen I could barely stand it. She looked to be fighting back tears. "Is she OK?" she asked in a near whisper. "I don't know," I answered as best I could. She pulled out the strange and wonderful fairy ring from her jeans pocket and fingered it with a pensive look on her face. "I only just met her last night but she felt so familiar. Like I'd known her all of my life. I know this is crazy but my heart fell for her the moment I saw her." Tears came unbidden to my eyes and I fought vainly to hold them back. Elly was staring at the ring now and still talking, "It felt at once wonderful and shocking and new and yet old and comfortable like it had always been there. I don't understand. I don't believe in love at first sight... but..." "Maybe you met her once before but never knew it?" I said tentatively through the tightening in my throat. She shook her head, "no, I'm sure I've never laid eyes on her before last night. I felt like she was my best friend, like she had always been there for me. I don't understand it. Actually she felt a lot like you do Reese. You know, someone you can just be with, you know?"
I couldn't help it anymore, my tears burst from my already watery eyes and I started sobbing uncontrollably. Elly looked totally astonished. I'd never once cried before in all the years she'd known me and here I was bawling like a baby. She hugged me and held me until the tears finally subsided. She pushed the last one off of my cheek with her finger and stared into my eyes. "Are you alright? What's wrong Re-" she trailed off catching a fleeting thought in her mind's eye as she stared into the depths of my eyes. She pulled back shaking her head and I watched hesitantly. After a moment she took my hand and pushed the ring into my palm. "Is this yours?" I smiled then, a really big heart felt smile. I put the ring on and hugged her tight. "You noticed, you noticed. Oh I love you so much! Oh Goddess you noticed!" I spoke in a happy jumble of words. A gentle breeze rustled the curtains and a beam of moonlight peaked through the window for a moment resting on my face before the curtain fell back into place. And I changed again. Once more my body morphed into the beautiful miracle it had been the night before.
Elly stared in a daze but seemed to accept the fact that she'd just seen magick right before her very own eyes. She held my hand in one of hers while the other reached out and pulled on the back of my neck bringing my head forward for our first kiss. Her lips were soft and tender and hungry. It started off light, a gentle peck followed by a fiercer and still fiercer kiss before it finally became a full on heart stopping, toe curling, soul melting, warm and fuzzy, hot and heavy, sensuous, oh dear Goddess! sort of kiss. I nearly swooned... but her arms held me tight. The breeze came again and brushed passed my ear. "True love's kiss renews the spell" it whispered. I smiled and kissed the bemused face of my love again.
As we kissed her hand gently traced circles on the newly soft skin of my arm and somehow found its way to my chest where it gradually caressed and finally cupped one of my breasts. My breath was coming hot and heavy now. Her other hand worked through my silky hair and I leaned into her touch. The next thing I knew she was pulling off the now giant t-shirt over my head revealing my bare breasts beneath. When her hands once more began to explore the curves of my bosom I gasped involuntarily. It felt quite good and made me start to get moist between my legs. I made a half hearted tug at her shirt but was in too much of a happy swoon to really accomplish anything. She practically ripped it off and then tugged my pants off which I didn't even need to undue as I was now wearing a pair that was several sizes too big. The hated "tighty-whitey's" came next revealing the sensual form of my nude body. She pushed me down on the bed and continued kissing me. Her kisses trailed away from my lips and down my neck. After a moment she began nibbling my ear. I moaned loudly. How could that feel so DAMN good?! My hands clung to her back as she continued her playful nibbles. I tugged at her jeans a good deal more forcefully than I had her shirt. She responded quickly by kicking off her shoes and tearing the pants off along with her pink(?!?!) cotton panties. The sight of her naked body left me breathless. Tall and athletic and perfect. I grabbed her and yanked her back down on top of me. We continued to kiss and play and tease a while longer before her kisses found their way to my belly and began slowly going south. Before I knew what was happening her lips were leaving spine tingling warm traces along my inner thighs. I could feel her hot breath against my sex and I was near to loosing all control when finally I felt the soft hot touch of her tongue. The amazing sensations it created wracked my body with pleasure. She'd dart her tongue in and out in a fast flicker and then trace long circles around my clitoris. I could feel it explore the folds and depths all around my vagina and tease my wonderful body into a state I'd never conceived of. When the moment finally came I had my fingers wrapped in her hair and pressed firmly against my bucking hips. It was so wonderful, so momentous and it went on and on and on as I just moaned and basked in the glow of its pleasure.
A bright light suddenly flashed through the room and for the second time that night I heard my godmother's voice. "A maiden's pleasure seals the spell for the rest of your days." When the light faded I was still lying there on my bed with Elly but everything was different. My sheets were baby blue instead of a tiger print. The wallpaper trim along the top of the room was a pretty floral design instead of the old sports one my dad had put up when I was 7. Peaking through my open closet were piles of female clothes instead of the old boy ones. There still seemed to be more on the floor than hanging up though. The picture on the nightstand of me and my mom and sister now showed three red-heads smiling for the camera. It would seam that the magic had transformed the rest of my life now too and given me everything I needed to start my new life. Elly looked around wide eyed at this second but no less remarkable display of magic. She opened her mouth to say something but I put a finger to her lips to silence her. I pulled her back down on the bed and snuggled into the crook of her arm to simply enjoy the moment when all of our dreams had come true.
Epilogue
It wasn't happily ever after. Life was still life and nothing was perfect but through it all me and Elly were always together. Eventually we got married once it became legal in our state and started our own family. My daughter grew up watching all of the Disney movies I'd secretly loved as a kid. I made sure at every opportunity to teach her that magic was real if you just believed strong enough and hoped hard enough. It was just waiting for you to have a little faith. I never saw my fairy god mother again but on nights when I look up at the full moon I feel like she sees me and I'm sure she smiles at the gratitude in my heart. For me and Elly, the real magic is that we are finally happy.