Mysterious Changes - Part 3

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An Indian fortuneteller changes my brother into a girl then babbles something about walking and talking and demands that my father let her go. It didn't make any sense at all.

"S, Steve?"

"Yeah, Lucas."

"What am I gonna do? I don't want to be a girl."

How was I to respond to that? There were still tears in her eyes and her lower lip was trembling. She looked as if she was about to curl up into a little ball and die. I hadn't seen Lucas even cry since I accidentally hit him in the head with a baseball when he was ten. But this slip of a girl he had become looked ready to burst into tears if I said the wrong thing.

"We'll have to find a way to get you changed back," I told her. It was hard to think of Lucas as a guy anymore. All the pronouns were changing in my head. I supposed if we couldn't find a way to change her back that I would have to start calling her Lisa.

I must have said the right thing, I thought. There was actually a little look of hope in her eyes. "Do, do you think she would change me back?"

"Sure," I said confidently, although I didn't feel confident. "We'll go over there in the morning before school and demand that she change you back. Remember, Dad's on the City Council. We've got some leverage."

"Let's go now," Lucas suggested brightly. "I think I know which trailer is hers. It's the one that says 'Madame Laura' on the side." In a frighteningly feminine gesture, she swept the long hair out of her face and grabbed her purse.

"We can't tonight," I told her, grimacing as the sad, tortured look returned to her face and her shoulders slumped.

"Why not?"

"It's almost eleven," I pointed out. "I don't think Mom and Dad would let me out of the house this late on a school night. They're certainly not going to let my little sister out that late."

I regretted calling her that as I did it, but I had to say it. If it were possible for her to look more abject, I don't know how she would have accomplished it. By calling her my little sister, I had driven home her new status. She knew at that moment maybe for the first time that the freedom she had enjoyed as a male had just been seriously curtailed. If she remained female, she'd be subjected to earlier curfews and expected to conform to the usual female norms.

"I don't think I can stand to wait until tomorrow," she said, barely above a whisper. "If I do, I'll have to get ready for bed and"

I knew where she was going with that. She'd have to see herself naked.

She'd have to acknowledge her growing breasts and the void between her legs. If she had to go to the bathroom, it would involve sitting to pee. She'd have to dress herself in something soft and feminine and go to bed with the knowledge of who and what she was.

"You can do it," I assured her.

"But what if she won't change me back?"

"Then you'll just have to be a girl. At least our parents think you've always been a girl. Maybe Ron and I are the only ones who know you used to be a guy. Maybe it's because we were fairly close to you when you transformed. Maybe everybody in your class remembers you as a girl."

I knew that was an unsettling thought to her, but it was probably even more unsettling to think about going to school and having all her classmates realize she had been changed. I had no way of knowing who would remember Lucas and who would not, but at least my theory sounded more palatable to her than being made fun of by her friends.

"If you're right, then Dave will know," she pointed out. "He was there tonight."

"Dave's your best friend," I reminded her. "If anybody is sympathetic to your, situation, it should be Dave."

"Maybe you're right," she finally sighed. "I'll just go to bed and try to get some rest."

"Good idea," I agreed, getting up from the bed. "I'll see you in the morning. Get up about an hour early and we'll go down to the fairgrounds."

As I started for the door, she called after me, "Steve?"

I stopped and turned, surprised by the quickness of her small form as she leaped from the bed and threw her arms around me. "Thanks, Steve."

Uncomfortably I put my arm around her. She seemed so small and frail compared to the broad, developing shoulders I remembered on Lucas.

"That's what brothers are for."

I got ready for bed myself, avoiding the bathroom I shared with Lucas so that she would have the time to examine herself without interference. I knew that would be what she would do. I didn't know if Lucas had ever seen a naked girl before, and she wouldn't miss what was hopefully her only opportunity to do so.

I was almost ready to turn out the lights when I remembered something I should have remembered earlier, but the furor surrounding my brother's transformation had pushed all other thoughts from my mind. Marty had a date with the fortuneteller. Of course, there was no reason to assume that she would change him into a girl. After all, she had caught Lucas trying to steal her crystal ball and punished him. Marty was in a whole different situation, wasn't he?

It was very late. Our parents had already gone to bed, and I had heard the door to Lucas's room close as well. I imagined the same scenario was in play at Marty's house. I couldn't call him without pissing off his parents. Besides, like me, he was a senior. His parents might have cut him a little slack about what time to be home. He might still be out with the fortuneteller. Well, I thought as I drifted off to sleep, like Lucas's situation, it would just have to wait until morning.

I was awakened the next morning by a feminine yelp or scream. I wasn't sure which. I jumped out of bed, thinking at first it was my mother. Then as I reached the door, I remembered what had happened to Lucas. I threw open the door to her room and was greeted by another scream. She was standing there with a white nightie at her feet. She was wearing nothing but a pair of white panties, her small breasts exposed. In a gesture so feminine that I think it shocked both of us, she threw her hands over her breasts.

"What's the idea of barging in here?" she asked angrily.

"Sorry!" I quickly turned my back. "I heard you screaming."

"Oh, yeah," she said, a little chagrinned. "I just forgot what had happened when I woke up. I looked down at myself and screamed before I realized what was wrong."

That was understandable. I probably would have done the same thing, I realized. "I'm sorry, Lucas. I just wasn't thinking."

"It's okay," she sighed, and I heard the soft rustle of clothes. "You can turn around now."

When I did, I saw she was wearing a light cotton robe. It was peach-colored, and I had to admit she looked damned cute in it. If she remained a girl, she'd be a real heart-breaker someday.

"And maybe you'd better call me Lisa," she suggested. "The rents might not understand if you start calling me Lucas."

"Okay, Lisa." I hadn't thought about our parents. Had they heard us?

No, I didn't think so. It sounded as if Dad was in the shower and Mom must already be downstairs fixing breakfast. Both of our parents were early risers. Even given that Lucas er, Lisa, and I had gotten up an hour earlier than usual, we still hadn't beaten them up. In fact, Dad was usually gone before we even rolled out of bed.

"I really should take a shower," Lisa mused.

"We need to get out to the fairgrounds," I pointed out. "You can shower later."

"No, I'm going to take one now," she said decisively.

"Well, no arguing with a woman," I reckoned.

For that, she threw a pillow at me. "Rat!"

I went back to my room and got dressed. I'd shower later at school. One of the advantages of being on the football team was that I had access to the locker room.

I was a little unsettled, though. When I had talked with Lukas the night before, she had acted as I would have expected anyone in her position to act. She was frightened and confused, but she still sounded like Lucas. By morning, though, something about her had changed. Oh,

she still remembered who she had been, but she was starting to act like a girl. First, she had covered her breasts. Well, I supposed that was natural enough. She was probably embarrassed to have them. Then she decided to take a shower. While Lucas wasn't exactly one of the unclean, he would never have put off our mission just to take a shower.

And finally, when I insulted her, all she did was throw a pillow and call me a rat. A rat! The old Lucas would have tried to pound on me while calling me names that would make a pimp blush.

Maybe there was something about her transformation that transcended the physical. I knew from my studies that the body uses sleep time to sort and file the experiences of the day in the mind. Perhaps the experience of being a girl, complete with the new balance of chemicals running through her mind, was causing her to be more like the girl she appeared to be. Or maybe it was just part of the spell. Or then again, maybe she was just flipping out. Well, whatever the reason, we needed to get out to the fairgrounds and find that fortuneteller.

"You're up early," Mom said as I rushed into the kitchen. "Yeah," I agreed, grabbing a box of cereal, a bagel and some cream cheese.  Mom was just finishing her coffee, but she stayed at the table to talk with me. She said it was the only time of the day she got to talk to me alone. "Did I hear you and your sister arguing?"  I grimaced. It was so difficult to have her refer to her as my sister. It seemed somehow sad that she didn't even remember Lucas.

"No," I replied, pouring a large orange juice for myself. "I just told her we needed to hurry this morning." After a moment's thought I added, "There's an assembly at school." That should be enough to keep her from being too curious, I thought. Otherwise, she'd ask a dozen questions about where we were going so early in the morning.  That was, assuming it was still early in the morning when we left. Lisa's shower looked to be a long project.

Fortunately, I had ducked in and out of the bathroom before she got in there. It was going to be a pain in the butt sharing a bathroom with a girl. There was another reason to get her changed back to normal as soon as possible.  The doorbell rang suddenly. "Get that please, Steve," Mom said. "I'm still in my robe and I don't even have any makeup on."  I shook my head. What was it with women and makeup? I'd never understand.  As I opened the door, I saw a woman I had never seen before. She was fairly tall and about forty.

She was attractive to an older woman, although not what I would call beautiful. Her hair was a dark but vibrant brown, pulled back into a loose ponytail. She wore a white lab coat over her dress with the words "Winter Veterinary Clinic" emblazoned on the pocket.  "Hi, Steve," she said with a bright smile that made her look even more attractive. "I was going to give these pictures..." She thrust a packet into my hand. "to your father last night, but I got called out to the Henderson farm to treat a sick horse. Just tell him these are his copies.

I developed them for him. I got some great shots. I even took a couple in the evening when it was all lit up."  "Uh, sure."  "Hi, Doc," my mother called from the kitchen door.  "Hi, Linda," the woman's mother called Doc replied with a smile.  Doc?  She smiled again. "Well, I'd better get to work. Nice to see you again, Steve. I'll talk to you later, Linda." She wiggled her fingers in a classically feminine goodbye and turned to get back to the Ford Explorer I knew Doc Winter drove.

I just stood there in the doorway, watching her go. It wasn't just that I was following the motions of an attractive woman. It was that I was following the motions of an attractive woman who shouldn't have existed. Doc Winter was a man or should have been. He should have been a guy about six-three in height, balding, and somewhat angular. Doc was divorced with no kids and considered by my mother's single friends to be something of a catch.

Or at least he had been.  And either this Doc Winter was a very good actress or she had no idea she had ever been anyone else except the person she now was. Was this going to happen to Lisa? Would she forget who she had been and start to act more and more like a girl? I hoped not. I had too many good memories (and a few bad ones) of my brother that I would rather not lose or have Lisa lose.  And speaking of Lisa, she came bounding down the stairs, hair bouncing as she did.

To my surprise, she wore a denim skirt, sandals, and a rather revealing white top. She even had a bracelet, necklace, and a couple of rings on. And she was wearing makeup. It wasn't a lot just a little eye shadow and lipstick, but it was makeup.  She noticed my open mouth. "Look, bro, I've got to play the part, don't I? What if we don't find the fortuneteller and everyone remembers me as a girl?"  "I suppose," I said with a shrug, although I suspected there was more to her appearance than that. "Are you sure you want to be changed back?"  "More than anything," she replied. "Look, I can't explain why I'm thinking the way I'm thinking.

I know it doesn't make any sense to my male side either. In some ways, that makes it all the worse. I feel as if there's another person inside me pulling all the switches. Up in my room, I wanted to call you a. Well, let's just say I wanted to call you something worse than a rat. But it just didn't seem like a good idea."  "Can you say, cocksucker?" I asked seriously.  "Sure," she replied. "Cocksucker. See? There's nothing magical keeping me from saying it. It just when I had the opportunity to call you something, 'rat' seemed about right and cocksucker seems not right.

So are we going?"  "Don't you want something to eat?" Lucas had an appetite greater than my considerable one, but Lisa shook her head.  "Let's go," she said heading for the door. "I want to find that fortuneteller and get back to normal."  I had been so intent on getting Lisa back to normal that I hadn't considered how carnival shows operated. Since their crews had worked late into the evening getting set up, not much was going on in the early morning light. A few people were moving around, but for the most part, there was no activity.

On the other hand, that was probably a good thing. It meant the fortuneteller was probably in her trailer.  As we approached the trailer, I began to feel my confidence draining. Usually, I got what I wanted when I tried. I was smart, reasonably good-looking, and athletic. I came from a good family that was locally prominent and I had a predictably bright future, so most people could be convinced to see things my way.

But as I knocked on the trailer door, I began to realize I just might be out of my element. The fortuneteller was capable of magic something I hadn't realized even existed. Not only was there a danger that she wouldn't turn Lisa back into Lucas, but there was the distinct possibility that she might do something to me as well. I decided the best course of action was humility. Bluster wouldn't help in this matter.  The door opened slowly and cautiously.

Peering out was a woman, but not an Indian. The woman was blonde, but there were enough dark roots to indicate that she certainly wasn't a natural blonde. Her hair was brushed but not carefully as if she had been up for a while but hadn't expected visitors. I estimated her age to be about thirty, and she wasn't unattractive, but she did have the look of a woman who had not had a particularly easy life. She was wearing a robe which she bundled more tightly around her when she saw me.  "Yeah, what do you want? It's a little early to have your fortune told." Her voice was a little sultry.

I could imagine that when she was fully awake and dolled up, she was probably quite attractive and looked every bit the part of a fortuneteller.  "Uh sorry to bother you," I said quickly. "We were looking for the other fortuneteller the Indian one."  She frowned. "What Indian? Have you kids been smoking the funny stuff?

There's barely enough business in these little towns for me, let alone another fortuneteller."  "But there was an Indian woman in your booth last night," Lisa insisted. "She said"  "And what the hell were you doing in my booth last night?" the fortuneteller demanded. "And what was this Indian doing there?"  "Maybe we made a mistake," I said in a placating tone. "I guess everybody just assumed she was the fortune-teller.

Maybe she does something else with the show. Do you know who she might be? She's an attractive woman, long dark hair, Indian ancestry..."  "Look, kid, there's nobody like that with the show, and I've been here three years so I'd know if there was. You, kids, look like she owes you money."  "Something like that," Lisa mumbled. "Are you sure you can't help us?

We'd really appreciate it."  That last statement came out sounding like a forlorn little girl trying to get someone to help her find her doll. Either it was a great act or Lisa was becoming more girlish than I could have ever imagined. I prayed it was just an act.  "About the only thing I could do is tell your fortune," she grinned. "For whatever good that would do."  "Thanks anyway," I said. "Sorry to have bothered you."  "Now what?" Lisa sighed dejectedly as the trailer door closed.  "Let's check with the carnival office," I suggested.  "Maybe this Indian was just pretending to be the fortuneteller. The office may know who she is."  But that didn't do any good either.

The show manager said there was no one with the show to match the description we gave him. He also told us that Wanda the blonde fortune-teller had last been seen going for a walk about sundown, so anyone who saw her go could have known it was safe to be snooping around her booth. So it could have been anyone.  "Steve, I'm getting scared again," Lisa said, clutching my arm as we walked back to my car. "What am I going to do?

I can't go to school, like this!"  I felt very badly for her. I had promised to help her and she had depended on me. But nothing had come of it. When I got to school, I'd talk to Marty since he had a date with the supposed fortuneteller. That is if Marty was still Marty. I had a bad feeling that he and Lisa were in the same fix.  "Maybe it won't be so bad," I told Lisa. "Maybe everybody remembers you as Lisa just like our parents."  "Maybe," she admitted, but I could see that she didn't really believe it.  We drove silently to school.

I could see Lisa turning paler as we approached the parking lot. I think I had more respect for my sibling than I ever had before. She had agreed to tough it out and go to school as a girl. I wondered if I would have the same resolve if I were in her shoes.  "Do you want me to go with you to your first class?" I asked her.  She shook her head. "I gotta do this by myself."