After a brief recess, Judge Fallon returned to his bench. "Be seated." he stated wearily. Looking out over the assembled people, he blew out a breath. "This case has been full of esoteric questions. Has Christina been abused by being made to live as a boy, even though she didn't seem to mind much? Did the plaintiffs ever have custody of their child, even with no birth record? Thusly, can parental rights be reinstated, even though they were never legally severed to begin with?"
As Christina walked into the courtroom, she was nervous. Living with her grandparents these last five days had been both wonderful and heartbreaking. That first day they'd been loving toward her, but after her grandmother knew the truth of who she was and told Walter, she'd lost all hope of acceptance.
Climbing out of the car, Lyle knew he was on shaky ground. Officially, as an FBI agent, he had no reason or jurisdiction to be at the inspection of the home Ruth's parents had rented in order to take custody of Christina. Still, he hadn't been able to shake the feeling in his gut that if he didn't look into it, something terrible might happen. After twenty years of first being a cop and then an FBI agent, he'd learned to trust that instinct as it'd saved his life countless times. His hunch had paid off when he'd looked into Nancy's file.
CAUTION - Emotional Abuse and Discussed Physical Abuse
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Looking in the mirror, Christina sighed and tried to bring her smile back. It had been two weeks since she'd last seen David or Ruth and her optimistic attitude had begun to wane under the stress of missing them.
Waiting for word from her parents, Christina sat with Kathy in her room at the Grants'. When Linda suggested she write the letter, she insisted that she not lie, even insisting on taping the Q-tip she swabbed inside her cheek to the paper herself. Leaving to return to the Grant home, she and Kathy spent the time watching videos online. Hearing the phone ring though, she jumped up and practically ran out into the living room.
"Wait a minute." David interjected with a puzzled look. "You propose we have this girl's DNA tested to see if she's our daughter to prove that she's actually Walt turned into a girl by an angel?"
An hour later, Christina emerged from the bathroom clean, in new clothes that used to be Kathy's, and with her hair dry and styled nicely. Making her way over to the dining room table, she saw no one there.
Sitting at the Grant's dining room table, Christina felt the weight of her change weighing on her more with each passing minute. Kathy is still in love with me, but she can't even face me! Mother and Daddy don't even know me, I have no future, no past... no hope. If I didn't promise Mrs. Grant I'd wait, I would just leave. Biting her lower lip, she waited.
Scared and alone, Christina huddled in the dark of her best friend's bottom drawer, unsure how long she would have to wait there. Praying silently, she tried not to cry.
Staring into Kathy's eyes, Christina knew her best friend had listened in on the conversation with her mother. "You... you remember Christina? Kathy! I'm sorry I didn't tell you! I didn't think you'd believe me!"
Pacing her exam room like a caged animal, Christina had a fist balled up and ready to strike out again at the next person to touch her, even as her other hand held up the loose-fitting pajama bottoms and boxer shorts. Her breath came in rapid intakes through her nostrils and out her mouth.
Stirring slightly, Christina was in the wonderful middle ground between dreaming and waking, still not fully conscious, but no longer asleep. God, that was a beautiful dream! she mused sleepily. It all felt so real!
Looking around her room, Christina smiled. Well, it's as clean as I can get it, anyway! Wiping her hands together, she turned to leave the decidedly boyish bedroom, catching sight of herself in the mirror that was the door to her closet.
Walter Cocoran had a secret. Inside, she was Christina Joy Cocoran instead of the eleven-year-old boy everyone thought she was. In her quiet desperation, Christina tried to be the best girl possible. She did everything her parents told her to do, even the stupid boy things, and did them happily. Every night, she would pray that she would wake up a normal girl. The purity of her faith was noticed and she was given a choice; one that sent her life, and countless others, in a much different direction than she could ever have possibly imagined.
Set in Phoenix, Arizona in 2017, The Wisher's Paradox is a fantastic novella that acts as a catalyst for exploration of magical transgender transformations and the idea that the things that make us who we are and how others perceive us cannot be easily undone without unraveling the fabric of our own lives.
Chris has been friendzoned just again. Christmas is coming and as he doesn't want to spend it alone he's returning to his parents. Yet he's not destined to arrive.
(In order to make a more detailed and complete universe, I wanted to focus on the stories of the other major characters of Ithycca. This one will be in the point of view of the Angel from the previous chapter, taking place from her realm of Heaven. Enjoy!)
A long time ago, the Earth blessed four spirits, making them gods. The gods of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, oversee their realms, creating sentient creatures to help cultivate their lands. These beings constantly fought each other for supremacy, eventually driving the servants of Water, the Merfolk, to extinction. Millennia later Kyle Weathers receives a gift from an old and mysterious lady while working in Haiti. This gift will change his life forever.
Melanie Ezell's big closet ultimate writer's challenge — Heaven's gift
A tribute (with somewhat shameless 'borrowing' from the 1978 film starring Warren Beatty), with a few inevitable changes of my own, although I've done my best to set it around the same time.
Hey, if the entire film's up there on YouTube (start off with 'Heaven Can Wait (FULL FILM)Part 1' if you're interested), I don't see why I can't get away with this.
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Joyce Melton
1001 Third St.
Space 80
Calimesa, CA 92320
USA
Note: $6000 is the operating, maintenance and upgrade budget. Amounts received in excess of the $6000 will be applied to long term debt accrued over the last 19 years.
