Monthly Drawing 10: Aftermath...

It's a bit late, but hand-coloring takes time. 11" x 14" full color!

The Story:

“Marta?” Jane gasped,” I mean… Martha! You’re… um…”

“I’m… better, I think” The reindeer girl’s voice was Martha’s but deeper “and I, um, I think it’s ‘Marta’ now. That sort of feels right”. 

Marta smiled at her friend. Her new face felt odd but, the smile felt natural and it felt good to have an expression,

Jane did not even try to hide the tears of joy as she jumped up and ran to embrace her friend. Marta was bigger than she’d been as a human but, even as Jane hugged her, she felt that her friend was back, human or not.

The next year was turbulent. It was later called The Year Magic Came Back. Nobody was ever sure why but, magic was now, in small amounts, loose in the world. The magic mistletoe had affected dozens of people in the state. All survived their weeks-long ordeals and some lucked out (Such as the two lovers turned into their own ideal versions of themselves and stayed that way) and some didn’t (as with the drunk who kissed a lesbian at a party and did not turn back to his own self). Quite a few, for one reason or another, ended up like Marta, humanoid animals. The lives of all the transformees were unfortunately interesting in the next year.

Legal battles raged. When the government detained the victims for study, the ACLU stepped in and filed a class-action lawsuit on their behalf. Soon it was judged that they were all, including the humanoid animals, the people they were and were entitled to all of the rights they once had. 

Marta was set free. Her family, though stunned, slowly began to accept their new hairy, antlered daughter. The presence of Jane helped, of course. Marta accepted a series of non-invasive studies from the local medical school for a large sum of money. With a few investments, she had a good, steady income. 

This was welcome as, though she could have stayed in school, she dropped out of college. Somehow, being a reindeer had relaxed her, brought her back to earth. A degree in political science didn’t seem important anymore. Even the cultural things she felt tied to no longer held her interest. She now felt more comfortable outside in nature and hard work was a meditation for her. 

So, she went back to the tree farm and obtained, for room and board, a job as handy-beast and semi-mascot. She learned to tend the trees and the greenhouses that kept the farm in business all year long. Her prodigious strength and amiability made her a favorite of the entire staff. She still considered Sven a friend, even if communicating with him is not as easy as it was. 

 It was her presence at Christmastime that made the farm a destination. For an extra fee, it would be Marta who would cut down your tree with you and carry it back to your car. Of course, every child wanted Marta to cut down their tree. Marta could never say no to a polite request for a ride on her huge shoulders.

Jane completed Med school and accepted an internship at the nearby teaching hospital. She did make sure to adjust her schedule to allow each Sunday night free. Because each Sunday night, she and Marta would get together in Marta’s private room in the barn. Marta would lounge on the large hay-filled mattress and Jane would sit on the old, overstuffed chair and read out loud until they fell asleep.