Edward is a child at heart and after he tries saving the SRU wizard from being mugged, he is given the gift of his greatest desire.

This story was originally written in 2000.

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Sighing, Edward watched the credits roll on his TV screen, almost disappointed that the movie had ended already. Labyrinth was one of his favorites. Reaching for the remote, Edward started the rewind, then got up and went to look at what movie he wanted to watch next. Some of his favorites caught his eye as he looked past them, trying to decide. Willow, Hook, Legend, The Dark Crystal, The Wizard of Oz, and several others. Mostly all fantasy or children’s stories.

Edward smiled and picked the old Disney classic of Alice in Wonderland out. Something about these stories always made him feel better. At 29, Edward Fox felt embarrassed sometimes by his choice in entertainment, usually preferring Disney or Don Bluth films to the ones his co-workers enjoyed. His ex-wife used to mock him about that, calling him immature and childish. Edward preferred to think of himself as just being a child at heart. He supposed that was one of the reasons that they’d divorced after only two years together.

Seeing that the tape had finished rewinding, Edward put it away, getting ready to put the next one in. "First some popcorn." Edward said to himself, deciding that something to munch on would certainly make the movie even more enjoyable.

However once he went into his kitchen, he realized that he was all out of snacks. Even a thorough search through all his cupboards failed to up anything to munch on. Sighing, Edward was about to give up on the snacks, knowing that going without wouldn't kill him. Especially not with the few extra pounds he’d accumulated in the last few years. But after realizing that he was out of milk as well, Edward decided that a quick trip to the store was in order. After all, it was only a couple blocks away. Once his mind was made up, Edward grabbed his coat and hurried out the door.

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Edward huddled in his coat to keep himself safe from the chill. The sun had already set and it was beginning to get a little cold out. Fortunately it still wasn’t very late yet and the store would still be open for some time. Trying to keep himself warm, Edward hurried up his pace and quickly got to where he was going.

After he’d picked up everything he wanted, Edward started the cold walk back to his home, this time carrying a semi heavy bag of groceries to slow him down. Taking his time, Edward amused himself with thoughts of Vicki, his ex. Mostly of her dying so that he could stop paying the damn alimony. Having to pay alimony to her really pissed him off since she was living with some rich shmuck in a penthouse and was practically rolling in money while he was just making ends meet. Sighing, he knew that injustices like that happened all the time. In fact they were one of the reasons that he preferred innocent fantasy to reality at times.

Suddenly Edward stopped, seeing something ahead of him that only served to prove his thoughts of moments before. Some old man in a bathrobe was been harassed by a couple punks who looked like they were trying to mug him. Edward stared at the scene in disgust, knowing that if he interfered in the slightest, that he would most likely be a victim as well. Edward was tempted to turn away and ignore what was going on, but he just couldn’t do that.

Getting angry, Edward ran over to the two young men, yelling "I’ve just called the cops."

They turned away from the old man and glared at Edward, making him gulp in sudden fear. As they stepped towards him, looks of menace on their faces and knives in their hands, Edward felt his legs were going to buckle under him. One of them asked "How bout you giving us your wallet too?" Edward paled, glancing at the old man, whom he noticed didn’t look worried at all.

Suddenly angry, Edward started to step forward, earning him another threat from the two punks. Edward stood where he was, pleased to suddenly hear a police siren. The two punks looked at each other then turned and ran, leaving Edward to sigh in relief.

"I really wish people wouldn’t do things like that." he said aloud.

The Old Man chuckled, which Edward thought was funny for the circumstances. As far as Edward could see, he didn’t seem the least bothered by what had happened. "Don’t worry about those two." the Old Man told Edward, "They’ll be getting their just desserts soon enough." The Old Man looked in the direction the two assailants had run, chuckling to himself. Turning to Edward, the Old Man said "Thank you for trying to help an old man in distress. I know that it took a lot of courage to risk yourself."

"It was nothing." Edward said embarrassed, looking at his own feet.

Shaking his head, the Old Man said, "No, it wasn’t Edward. That took something that is far too lacking these days. A sense of compassion." The Old Man smiled at Edward.

"How did you know my name?" Edward asked, suddenly suspicious.

The Old Man just chuckled then said, "I’ve seen you around." He ran a hand over his robe, which Edward thought was strange. Who would wear a bathrobe on the streets at night? Especially when it was getting pretty cold outside. "Actually," the Old Man said seriously, "I’m a wizard. You tried to help me, so I’d like to do you a favor."

“"Um, yeah." Edward replied, looking around and seeing that the cops had already driven past them. "Shouldn’t we be going so those guys don’t come back?"

"Don’t worry about them." the Old Man assured him, "They’re being taken care of as we speak." The Old Man chuckled. "Now, as for you. If I’m not mistaken, you like children and children’s things."

"How did you...?" Edward asked in surprise.

"If you could be a child again," the Old Man interrupted, "would you want to?"

Edward chuckled, thinking that he might as well play along. Thinking about the question seriously for a moment, Edward finally said, "No. I don’t think so." The Old Man looked surprised at his answer. "There are a lot of good things about being a kid, sure. But then again, I remember being a kid myself. It had a lot of bad things as well. Being bossed around by parents and bullied by other kids. I like kids and all, but I don’t think I’d really want to be one again."

The Old Man looked thoughtful, then asked, "Is there anything that you do want? Any wishes granted?" He grinned mischieviously, "Maybe not having to pay alimony to your ex-wife again?"

Shrugging, Edward said, "Nothing that I can really think of."

Sighing, the Old Man looked a little impatient, then started digging around in his robe, pulling something out a moment later. "Take this." he said, handing a golden necklace to Edward. It looked delicate and beautiful. "Once you decide what you really want....what you really desire, this can give it to you. Just clutch it tightly, and it will give you whatever it is that you truly desire. Just remember to think about it, about what you really want before you use this."

"Um." Edward started nervously, "Thank you."

"No" the Old Man said smiling, "Thank you. And if you have any problems, I have a shop at the mall where you can find me." Edward thanked the Old man again, then started back home, thinking the whole time how strange that had all been.

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When Edward got home, he fixed a bag of microwavable popcorn, then sat down. He couldn’t get what had happened out of his mind. First those punks trying to mug that old man and him, then the eccentric old man himself. Edward shook his head, looking at the necklace that he’d been given. It looked so delicate and had a red gem in the middle of it that he hadn’t noticed before. A small red gem wrapped up with gold wire. Edward whistled, knowing immediately that such a thing must be worth a lot. It certainly looked valuable. "I wonder just who that old man was." Edward mused to himself as he set the necklace aside. The whole thing about it being magic sounded nice, but Edward was afraid that real magic didn’t exist.

Sighing, Edward got back up, remembering that he was going to need another movie to go with the popcorn. After glancing to where he’d set Alice in Wonderland earlier, Edward thought about it and changed his mind. He didn’t feel like Alice at the moment. Something just a little less silly, he decided. Once he’d decided, Edward put the new movie in, then sat back and started getting comfortable.

After watching the animated Peter Pan for awhile, Edward was feeling good again. Something about that kind of adventure always appealed to him. It let him forget about his alimony payments and all the injustices in the adult world. Fantasies like that almost made him believe that real magic could exist. At least for the moment. And Peter Pan was one of the best. Edward loved the idea of struggling to retain the innocence of childhood, of refusing to grow up. It all struck a personal nerve with him. That was why he loved the whole Peter Pan story. From the old Disney cartoon, to the movie Hook.

Without realizing it, Edward had picked up the necklace and was rubbing it in his hands. The sight of Tinkerbell flying around on the TV made him chuckle. That was the kind of magic that was missing. Pixie dust and happy thoughts. Edward thought, "If only magic like that could exist in real life." Smiling at the movie, Edward felt happy. He’d always loved kids, and had been disappointed when his marriage hadn’t produced any. Once he used to look forward to the day when he’d be able to share the magic of some of these stories with his own kids, but it wasn’t meant to happen.

Suddenly Edward realized that the necklace in his hands felt warm. It was tingling somewhat. "Huh?" Edward gasped, looking down to see that the necklace was glowing as well. The red gem in the center was emitting a glow, with swirls of golden light seeming to float around it. Startled, Edward tried to drop the necklace, to let go of it, but his hands wouldn’t respond. Though he was startled, Edward didn’t feel afraid. Instead, he was sure that he felt a warm pleasurable feeling. It was almost as if the necklace were sending out feelings of warmth, of joy and of....innocence. Edward stared in amazement at his hands, seeing the golden bands of energy swirling up them. A golden glow soon enveloped him, covering him from head to toe. "Amazing." Edward said, delighted to realize that he was witnessing real magic. The kind that he’d only dreamed about. The kind that he’d longed for his entire life.

A tingling feeling swept through Edward’s body, then a few seconds later, a much more ticklish sensation. Edward couldn’t help but laughing, almost giggling. It felt so strange and amazing. Then he realized suddenly that everything around him seemed bigger for some reason. In amazement, Edward saw that the chair he was sitting in was much bigger as well.

"I’m shrinking." he said amazed, knowing that he should be frightened by such a strange thing, but he wasn’t. "I didn’t see anything that said drink me." Edward said chuckling to himself. Everything around Edward continued to grow, or as he realized, he was continuing to shrink.

Suddenly it sped up drastically, then stopped just as sudden. Edward looked around in absolute amazement, seeing that the chair he was sitting in seemed absolutely huge. "God I’m small." Edward said aloud, surprised to hear his own voice. It didn’t sound right at all. And as Edward thought about it, he realized that he didn’t feel right either. For one thing, he felt something on his back. Though he tried to turn around, he didn’t see anything. Then he looked down and gasped in surprise. Quickly he examined his body, seeing that he had changed into Tinkerbell. "What the hell?" he asked aloud, though received no response.

Edward saw that he was wearing tiny green shoes, and had long legs. He was wearing the short green dress that the Disney’s Tinkerbell always had on, and he knew then that he probably also had blonde hair. And the weight on his back immediately convinced him that he had wings as well. And after double checking, he saw that he had a slight yellow glow as well. Edward felt afraid for a second, then it passed. Curiosity took over.

Sitting down, Edward examined himself. His legs felt so long and smooth. He stared at his hands, amazed at how delicate and feminine his fingers looked. Then he grabbed his breasts through the dress, feeling that they were real too. Finally he pulled the dress back and looked at his crotch. It was definitely a woman’s crotch all right. There wasn’t a sign of his manhood, and he hadn’t expected to see any. Though Edward was a little stunned by the loss of his sex, by turning into a tiny woman, a pixie....he was more excited to have been touched by magic. Real magic. The very thought left him feeling giddy. Gently he touched himself, pushing one tiny finger gently into the slit. After gasping in amazement, Edward pulled his finger back out and covered himself back up.

Chuckling to himself, he said "That was something old Walt would never have drawn." Then he thought about it and added, "At least not for the kiddy audience."

Edward thought about his wings next, thinking that if he had wings, then he could probably fly. He knew that the whole thing seemed far-fetched, but it was real. He knew it was. And if for some reason it wasn’t, he didn’t know if he really wanted to know.

"That necklace was real." Edward said to himself, only then realizing that there was no sign of the necklace. Or any of the clothes he’d been wearing when he started changing. "Wow.”"

Shaking his head, Edward tried focusing on the wings again, finding that he could make them move just by thinking about it. He tried to fly, but at first nothing happened except the wings moving a lot. Edward frowned, then decided to try thinking a happy thought. That was supposed to work. But what to think about, he wondered, realizing immediately that magic being real was all the happy though he needed.

With that in mind, Edward found himself flying off the chair, noticing as he did so that he was glowing yellow even more. Feeling ecstatic, he flew around the room, delighting in the ability to defy gravity at will. At the freedom the ability gave him. It felt so wonderful that he couldn’t believe it. Laughing, he flew circles around his living room, realizing that he’d never felt more alive. He felt so light, so limber and most of all, so free.

After flying around for half an hour, just testing his ability to do so, Edward landed in front of a mirror, amazed at the reflection. It looked just like a human version of the cartoon Tinkerbell. Edward giggled, unable to help himself. It was just so amazing. He put his hands to his waist, just noticing how tiny it really was. "Talk about wasp thin." he said cheerfully. Shaking his head, he just smiled and posed in front of the mirror for several minutes. "Truly amazing."

While staring at himself, Edward started thinking about the movie Hook, and the Tinkerbell in that one. Suddenly Edward felt a slight tingling that only lasted for a second, then he realized suddenly that the reflection in the mirror had changed. It looked like Julia Roberts staring back at him.

"What the....?" he asked himself, noticing that he even sounded like Julia Roberts. Somehow, he’d changed from a human version of the cartoon Tinkerbell, to looking like the one Julia Roberts played on Hook. His wings looked completely different, his clothes were all different and brown instead of green, and also, he noticed, he wasn’t glowing. As soon as he thought about glowing though, he started doing so. Amazed at yet another new discovery, Edward started flying around the room again, noticing that he didn’t really feel any different. At least not much. It still felt awesome.

Landing back in front of the mirror, Edward looked at himself, or at least the Julia Roberts look alike in the mirror. "I wonder what she looks like naked." Edward found himself asking aloud. Grinning mischieviously, he decided "I guess I’ll just have to find out."

Quickly he was stripped from his clothes, standing in front of the mirror naked, seeing that he looked quite a bit different from when he was the blonde Tinkerbell. His hair was dark instead of light, and most of all his figure was a lot more realistic. Even though Hook was one of Edward’s favorite movies and he liked that version of Tinkerbell, he decided that he wanted to try being the other one again. As soon as he thought about it, he found himself changed back.

Edward laughed aloud, seeing that it had worked. Curious if it would work again, he tried changing back to the Julia Roberts Tinkerbell, and did so. He changed back and forth several times, finding that he could do so with ease. However when he tried making himself look like someone else, it wouldn’t work. He hadn’t yet tried to change back to normal and was afraid to, fearful that if he did it would be permanent. That the magic would be gone. Still, he had to know. With utmost concentration, Edward focused on turning back to normal, only to find that nothing was happening. It seemed that he could only become those two different versions of Tinkerbell for some reason. He didn’t know why, but then again, he didn’t know why he turned to Tinkerbell in the first place. After thinking about it for a few minutes, he decided that it was probably because of his enjoyment while watching Peter Pan, and perhaps some desires he wasn’t completely aware of.

Edward flew around the room a few more times, settling down on the chair again and noticing absently that the movie was still playing. He couldn’t help but giggling when he saw the Tinkerbell on the screen. Shaking his head, he looked around. The whole room seemed so different now that he was such a tiny size. In some ways it was a little frightening, but on the other hand, it seemed like it just offered new things to explore. Where before there was a ceiling light, now there was a balcony.

Amazed at how strange even the familiar had become, Edward continued to explore his home for most of the night. When he got bored, he struggled with the bathroom sink, finding that easy things were now huge chores. After some work he managed to get the sink plugged, then the water turned on. When it was finished, Edward had his own swimming pool.

Eventually Edward got tired and started to feel worn out. He flew to his bedroom, thankful that he’d left the door open, then landed on his pillow. His own bed now seemed like a field to him. Yawning, he stretched out on the pillow, gently feeling the smoothness of his legs, then touching his small but pert breasts. Smiling he gently ran a hand over his wings, amazed at the texture and how fragile they looked, but at at the same time, at how strong they seemed to be.

Reluctantly he thought that if he went to sleep, he might wake up completely normal the next morning. Finding that he whole thing had been a dream and that magic didn’t really exist. That worry haunted him even as he finally drifted off to sleep.

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Edward woke up bright and early the next morning, overjoyed to find that he was still Tinkerbell, that the magic had been real and not just a figment of his overactive imagination. Delighted he flew around his home, dodging and darting everywhere and feeling alive. Completely and truly alive. After he’d spent time rejoicing, Edward went to the kitchen and struggled with a box of cereal, finding that he could only eat one piece of cereal. As he sat with a single Cheerio in his hands, seeming the size of a bagel, Edward couldn’t help but laughing at the silliness of it.

Once he’d eaten, and found that he now liked sugar a lot more than before, Edward tried to think of what was going to happen to him. "Somehow I don’t think they’d like me back at the office looking like this." Edward mused to himself.

After a minute, Edward remembered that the eccentric old man who’d given him the necklace said he could be found in the mall. Feeling excited, Edward flew to his window, struggling with it for several minutes before he could get it open and be on his way.

For the first time since he’d turned into a pixie, Edward was free from his room and able to cut loose with as much speed as he could. He enthusiastically flew as fast as he could, seeing the burning glow of light around him.

Laughing aloud, he called out, "Look at me. I’m a firefly from hell." Still laughing, he flew straight towards the mall.

When he arrived at the mall, he dodged through one of the front doors as someone opened it, then made sure to fly by the ceiling where he wouldn’t be noticed as much. Quickly he started flying down the mall, suddenly realizing that he could feel something odd. Frowning slightly, he followed the direction of the odd feeling, finding himself led to the front of a store with a huge sign proclaiming it to be Spells R Us.

"Of course." Edward laughed, "What else would the store be called?" Still feeling amused, Edward waited until a man left the store, then flew in while the door was closing behind him.

Edward gasped in surprise at everything inside the store. There looked like lots of antiques, lots of new things, costumes and almost everything under the sun. And all of it emitted that strange tingling feeling that Edward had followed to the shop. "Is that magic?" Edward asked himself amazed. Edward took almost everything in with a quick look, concentrating instead on the Old Man behind the counter, still wearing the bathrobe from the night before. No, Edward realized, not a bathrobe. A wizard’s robe.

When the Old Man looked up at Edward, he asked "Can I help you?" Then he looked surprised suddenly. "Edward? Is that you?"

"Yep," he said cheerfully, landing on top of the counter in front of the now giant old man.

"Oh dear." the Old Man said frowning, "I’m dreadfully sorry. I don’t know if I can turn you back to normal, but I’ll try."

"Oh no!" Edward yelled, "Please don’t."

The Old Man looked surprised again, then started to examine Edward more carefully, making him feel uncomfortable with the scrutiny. Finally the Old Man seemed satisfied and just chuckled, saying "Interesting."

"Isn’t it though." Edward chuckled. "What was that necklace you gave me? I thought you said it would grant a wish, and I certainly didn’t wish for this. Not that I mind you understand."

"That," the Old Man said sighing, "was a powerful talisman. It didn’t grant conscious wishes, but desires instead." When Edward looked back puzzled, the Old Man explained, "When you are feeling your desires and holding the necklace, it will grant them. It will find some way to give you what you most desire in the world, even though it might not be a way that you like or expect."

Edward looked down at himself, saying "I certainly didn’t expect this."

The Old Man chuckled, saying "No, I don’t suppose you did. Apparently it sensed your desire to be touched by magic. To be able to share it with others, and your love of children. Somehow it decided that this would satisfy those desires." Edward nodded.

For several minutes Edward talked with the Old Man, who seemed rather friendly. The Old Man frowned, then told Edward "I can understand you fine since I’m a wizard, but most people aren’t going to be able to." Edward realized that he still looked like the Disney Tinkerbell. That version couldn’t talk normally, only sound like tinkling to humans. Edward realized with a start that though he could hear himself talk, no one else would. After a quick glance at the Old Man, he revised that to almost no one. Chuckling to himself, Edward changed form suddenly, once again looking like a tiny Julia Roberts. Once again the wizard looked surprised, "I hadn’t realized that you could do that as well."

"Well you can hear me better, right?" Corey asked grinning, and the Old Man assured him that being heard was no longer a problem.

"I must admit," the Old Man said chuckling, "that you are an interesting case." He looked thoughtful for a moment, then said "It seems that when you thought of Tinkerbell, you didn’t think of her as just one version. You thought about two different entertainment versions." Edward agreed that this was the case, and the Old Man continued, "So when it decided that turning into Tinkerbell would somehow grant your desires, it gave you both versions that were in your mind."

"Cool." Edward said, looking at his feminine body again and chuckling. He always did like both Tinkerbell’s. Then Edward asked, "But what am I going to do now? What can I do?"

The Old Man thought about it for a moment, then said, "You can go that way." and he gestured in some direction.

Edward looked in the direction the Old Man was pointing, realizing that if he 'listened' he could feel a vague tug. Grinning, he asked the Old Man "Second star to the left and straight on till morning?" The Old Man nodded, assuring that there would be a Neverland to go to.

"Or," the Old Man said grinning, "I have some friends who would be more than happy to have your assistance, and I believe that you would be very happy as well." Edward listened to the Old Man’s suggestion then laughed. It was perfect.

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The little girl giggled excitedly as she floated off the ground. Edward cheerfully reminded her to "Think happy thoughts."

Smiling, Edward looked around at the several other children nearby, all of them happy and excited. He loved it. Edward loved his new job of working in Disneyland, of bringing real magic to visitors. Especially the children. Even though most of the adults who saw him thought he was just a special effect, Edward felt that he was bringing a touch of youthful magic to their lives as well. Even if only temporarily.

Sighing, Edward landed on a tree branch, looking up at the sky. He could feel the slight tugging when he put his mind to it. But as curious as he was to go there, to see a land of magic and wonder, he knew that there would be time for that later. For now there were so many people on Earth that he could make happy. That he could bring the magic to. The Old Man had been right. That was the place to do it in and Edward told him as much in the last postcard he’d sent. Yes, Edward thought happily as he looked over his tiny feminine body, then at all the smiling children, it was definitely worth it.

The End