Ring of Love
by Cleo Kraft
-------
Kim sat across from me on the enclosed back porch. She sat on a white plastic
lawn chair and looked down at her fingers semi-folded in the gap between
her pretty knees which were about two feet apart at the moment. She was
quiet as was I, for she'd just revealed a secret she'd kept from me the
two years I'd known her. The same two years she'd been my girlfriend.
She wore a light blue almost sky blue one piece bathing suit that nicely
hugged her curves. She wore some white short shorts over it and as I stared
past her folded hands I easily saw the golden zipper in her crotch and the
dull brass button above it. She wore brown leather sandals and had pink
painted toenails and matching pink painted fingernails. She wore mascara
on her thick pretty eyelashes but otherwise no other makeup.

It was a warm summer morning, just before lunch time. We'd just gotten back
from a swim in the lake just a mile or so hike down a back woods trail that
ran past Kim's house. That's where we were now.

Her bathing suit had mostly dried off but her long blonde hair was still
a bit wet and tangly.

She was sixteen. Just a year younger than myself. Our relationship was mostly
platonic until the past few months. Until then we mostly went out on dates
where I'd take her to dinner and the movies or for a walk in the park or
perhaps we'd go camp out by the lake. Mostly she avoided kissing until a
couple months ago when she decided to make our relationship a little more
meaningful. That's when she opened the door to kissing and making out but
sex was still off limits. I think she wanted to wait until marriage, which
I guess is reasonable and I can respect that considering she was only
respecting her mother and father's wishes. Her dad used to be a preacher
but he set that aside when Kim was about three years old. At any rate the
man was very protective of his daughter and had talks with me on many
occasions in an effort to get me to promise him I wouldn't "go all the way"
with his daughter, as he put it.

I never actually used the word "promise" but I more or less agreed to
behave myself around Kim and would respect her father's wishes.

She had a kind of funny middle name, Amberly, and her father used it more
than once or twice when he was angry at her for coming home past her curfew,
which was eleven o'clock.

"Kimmy Amberly Bennerson!" I heard her father shout late one night as
she entered in the porch door while I hid in the bushes out back. Hewas pretty upset with her and very disappointed in me and wouldn't let
me see her again for almost a month.

I had to convince him I was sorry. Really, really sorry and wouldn't let
it ever happen again. It wasn't easy considering he was about ready to
cut me off completely and insist his daughter find a new boyfriend.

Kim had an older sister named Brooke who was normally away at college but
was back home for the summer. Even still, I rarely saw Brooke around as
she mostly hung out with a crowd of college friends and took long road
trips, mostly on the back of her boyfriend's motorcycle but sometimes in
her little white Volkswagen bug. Other than Brooke, Kim had no other
siblings, so it was no wonder her father was so protective of her as she
was right now the only child he had left around home.

Though Kim had blonde hair, her older sister had dark brown, almost black
hair and deep brown eyes. Kim's mother was a red head and her father had
the same dark brown hair color as Brooke. I never really thought twice
about it that Kim might have been adopted. I simply had all along accepted
her for who she was and that was that but she just revealed the truth to
me just now along with another secret she'd been keeping.

Adoption I could handle. She said she was adopted when she was four years
old. I asked her if she remembered her real mother and that brought her
to tears and I really regretted bringing it up. I thought she wanted to
talk about it because prior to this she was talking about her mother's
birthday coming up and I think that's what triggered this whole awful
mess.

She wasn't crying now. Her tears had dried up. If anything she was getting
over embarrassment. Her face had turned beet red when she told me her other
secret. It was one of those deep dark secrets that you just don't want to
hear about. Like finding out your next door neighbor fucked a goat or
catching your dad masturbating out in the garage in front of a great big
poster of a black stallion humping a white mare. Weird shit like that and
if it had been something like that I guess I could deal with it somehow
and think that maybe this girl just had some problems she needed to get
out in the open and maybe she was asking for my help so she could deal with
it. You know, just deal with it and set it aside and let the past be the
past but this was too much. This was something that made me question her
very sanity because what she was claiming made no sense to me at all.

She said she was a boy before and more than that she said she'd been a grown
man but was regressed to childhood and also turned into a girl. She didn't
explain how this transformation took place. I think that part wasn't as
important to her as getting me to believe she'd been male before.

She was quietly thinking things through and I expected that at any given
moment she was going to ask me to leave and tell me she didn't want to ever
see me again. I had a feeling deep down in my gut, a feeling choking me
right in the throat that Kim was going to dump me.

I couldn't lie to her. I flat out told her I didn't believe it. I didn't
believe she was a guy before. I saw the hurt look in her face when I said
it. I felt so bad for saying it. It was like I actually punched her right
in the stomach. Like I actually punched a girl.

I felt so bad.

If she really felt the way she did then it was no wonder that despite our
raging teenage hormones she never let me go all the way with her. It wasn't
just because of her mom and dad's wishes. It wasn't just because of her
strict religious upbringing. It was because of this. This horrible secret
she had and had been living with most all of her life.

I didn't believe it. I couldn't. There was no way. What she was asking me
to believe was just too much. Grown men just don't turn into little girls.
It would take magic which I knew didn't exist - or else some kind of advanced
Star Trek like technology that I also knew for a fact didn't exist. It was
too far fetched an idea to lend any credit to. I didn't even believe in
flying saucers, which I guess would be about the only plausible explanation
if technology was the answer but aliens from outer space coming all this way
to our planet to perform sex changes and age regressions? Either that or some
backyard wizard performed some strange ritual that actually worked.

It was crazy.

No matter which way I looked at it, it was crazy, and the really only
plausible explanation was that this poor girl had some serious mental
health issues to deal with. Either that or she was pulling my leg in
an effort to change the conversation away from us talking about her
mom's upcoming birthday party to getting to the real point, which was
probably that I wasn't even invited to the party anymore because Kim
was going to dump me. Problem was, I ruined it, didn't I? I ruined it
by talking about the party when I should have just shut up and let
her tell me what was clearly on her mind all morning.

She was a bit gloomy and depressed at the lake now that I think back on it.
Gloomy and quiet-like but I think the swim cheered her up a little. I know
it did but now look at her. She's all sad and depressed again.

"I'm sorry,” I said and walked over and put an arm around her.

She glanced up at me but quickly turned away again and let her head droop
down as she looked back at her hands.

"Let's forget the whole thing,” I suggested, patting her gently on the
back and rubbing her back a little. "I'm sorry I upset you."

She snapped at me, “But that's the problem, Harold. You don't face up to
problems, do you? You just want to forget. All the time you just want to
forget."

She shrugged and flung her right arm away, forcing my hand off her shoulder
and I walked back to my chair and sat down, leaving her be for the time
being.

I didn't even dare stare at her in her current condition because I knew it
would only make her angrier at me. So I turned and looked out the porch
screen and kept my eyes on the backyard.

There were some tall bushes, the kind that you can shape into garden animals
and such. There were two of them on either side of the porch. Two lions with
big lion manes sitting there, their butts pressed up against the screen wall.

There were some bright red and yellow flowers planted beside the lions.

Outward from there was the back lawn and a twisty stone path leading around
a pond and to the back gate under a huge oak tree which shaded half the
yard.

There were plenty of bushes back along the fence and under the tree. That's
where I usually hid the few times I got Kim in trouble and led her home
late at night past her curfew.

There was a bird bath off to the left in the far corner of the yard and
a few feet from that stood a big stone fountain with four levels of water
catchers. The fountain was on and shooting water up a couple feet in the
air and I watched it trickle down the sides to the bottom and get recycled
back up to the top again. I listened to the little motor churning noisily
inside. I listened to a pair of blue songbirds chirping happily away in
the bird bath. Off in the distance I heard a power mower rattling away as
someone was mowing their lawn.

Up above the sky was mostly clear blue but with a few scattered clouds.

All in all it was a nice summer morning apart from my upsetting Kim like
I did.

I don't know how long I stared at the garden but it seemed like an eternity
before Kim's mom, Janice, came out and informed us lunch was ready.

I walked in the house through the back family room and down the hall to the
front of the house where the kitchen was. I sat at my usual spot at the
table with my back to the front window.

Kim sat across from me and Kim's mom served us soup and sandwiches and
poured us each a tall glass of milk.

Kim wasn't talkative at all, which was clearly understandable, so I did
most of the talking so her mom wouldn't press her on the issue of why she
was so gloomy and quiet today.

"We had a nice swim out at the lake today, Mrs. Bennerson,” I said.

"I imagine so,” Kim's mom said putting the carton of milk back in the
fridge. "It's certainly a nice day for it. Are you two going to go back
to the lake after lunch?"

"Ah.... probably not,” I said thinking it would be better if I let Kim sort
out her feelings for awhile without me around to worsen things. "I think I
have some chores to do back home. You know, yard work and stuff. I'll be
back later though."

Kim suddenly looked up at me with an open mouthed look of shock and worry
painted on her face. She clearly hadn't expected me to leave so soon. Though
I thought she was mad at me. Apparently she still wanted to talk.

"Or maybe not,” I added glancing down at my watch. "It's almost noon. Don't
want to get a sun stroke with the sun overhead. I guess I'll wait until
later."

Kim smiled at me and I think she blushed a little. If she did the redness
faded fast but I think I saw a hint of affection for me hidden in there
somewhere.

My heart about skipped a beat.

Kim wasn't going to hold any grudges against me for not believing her
story about having been a boy before. I was overjoyed but kept cautious
optimism for the time being. I didn't want to press my luck.

After lunch Kim grabbed my elbow and tugged me back towards the back porch
and held my hand as she led me out into the garden.

We walked down the path and out the back gate and stood on the dirt trail
under a row of pine trees and she looked up into my eyes with hers and
smiled as she put both her hands around my neck. She stood up on tiptoe
and kissed me on the lips. When she stopped I kissed her back and then
she led me through the woods to a fallen tree and we used it as a bench
and sat there side by side holding hands.

She said, “Harry, I don't expect you to believe in the impossible. What I'm
going through right now isn't easy to explain. I'm at the age right now
where they say a girl's finally fully matured, at least physically. That's
the reason I've let our relationship become more intimate. My hormones are
driving me crazy with lust for you, Harold. At the same time I feel
absolutely full of guilt for feeling this way and not letting you know the
truth about me. For most of my life all I ever wanted was to get changed
back to normal but now, Harold, I feel... I don't know how to explain it.
It's like my hormones finally triggered something in me. Like someone
flipped a switch and suddenly I'm flooded with all these new feelings
and desires. I think I felt a little like this since I was twelve or
thirteen but all this time I've been in denial and was too afraid to
explore these feelings. Too afraid and ashamed. I shouldn't even be here
right now, Harold. It's a miracle I lasted this long. Do you know how many
times I woke up and thought for sure I was going to kill myself? I couldn't
do it, Harold. I wanted to but I couldn't because then I'd get buried with
the name Kimberly Amberly Bennerson etched on my gravestone forever and
ever. Then the Bantens of this world win out."

"The Bantens?" I asked curious. She'd never mentioned anyone by that name
to me before. Though the name sounded oddly familiar. I knew it from
someplace but couldn't pinpoint it exactly.

She squeezed my hand in hers and said, “More specifically Mister Ian Banten.
Retired sheriff?"

"Oh THAT guy,” I said recalling seeing the snobby old recluse once or twice
in town. He was always surrounded by three or four body guards. He was quite
wealthy and had powerful political connections throughout the county. He
lived in a huge mansion on the other side of town and it was rumored that
although he was retired from a life of law enforcement he was now, believe
it or not, involved somehow in a mafia lifestyle as a gang leader. "Isn't
he a gangster now?"

Kim shook her head no and said, “That's just a rumor which stemmed from the
Brighton bank robberies back in the seventies. Several of Banten's
household staff, mostly the bodyguards, were suspected in a string of
bank robberies. Nobody could ever prove anything so no one was ever charged
with the crime. To this day the robberies remain a mystery. The thing is,Banten's always been rich but what got the rumor going was that someone
thought he'd gotten his wealth from those bank robberies. Banten's no
gangster, though I guess from what he did to me maybe he is a criminal
after all."

"What did he do?" I asked.

"Transform me,” she replied matter-of-factly with a sigh and a shrug. "I
already told you but you wouldn't believe. It's okay though. I just wanted
to be honest with you and give you a chance to decide if you still want to
go out with me or not. It's only fair and I wish I'd had the courage to tell
you sooner, Harold, but I just never thought my feelings for you would grow
to this. If you recall, you're the one who asked me out, remember? Before
we were just friends. I only went along with the idea of being your girlfriend
because I enjoyed our time together as friends and didn't want to lose that
by saying no. I went along for the ride thinking my feelings could never
possibly grow so big. Harold, I'm strongly attracted to you. I don't know
if it's the hormones or the kissing or all my time as a girl but the fact
of the matter is, looking at you now, Harold, I.... I think you're the one.
I think you're the one I'm going to get married to."

"I'm confused. Are you proposing or confessing?" I asked with a nervous
chuckle. She blushed and turned away. I hope I didn't hurt her feelings
again. "I'm sorry. I just think that maybe we should go over to Banten's
place and I'll ask him myself."

She turned back to face me and frowned with a worried look on her pretty
face, “Don't you dare even think such thoughts, Harold. That place is evil.
I don't want you going over there and bothering Mr. Banten about this. He's
not a well man. That mind of his is twisted in ways I can't even possibly
begin to explain, Harold. He's a man with an evil agenda. He takes lives
at random and absolutely ruins them."

"Tell me about the transformation,” I asked, wanting to know more even though
I still didn't believe a word of it. Part of me wanted it to be true because
that meant magic or what ever futuristic science actually existed and could
change one life into another.

She sat and thought about it for quite awhile. At least ten or fifteen
minutes without saying a word. She was absolutely lost in thought and
trying to figure out how to word it to me in a way my doubting mind could
comprehend.

Finally she said, “Before he changed me he showed me his collection. He's
got a bunch of magic rings only I think he said it's not magic but science.
Same as the rest of the stuff in his collection. He collects transformationdevices, Harold. He's not even the inventor of any of the stuff. He just...
obtains it. I think he's been stealing it from other people for all his
life. He's a man obsessed, Harold. He likes transforming people. He's got
machines that do it but at first he just had a handful of magic rings. The
rings, he explained, are his favorite because of how complicated they are.
I wasn't the only one he changed that day, Harold. He also changed my good
friend Danny. Dan got changed before I did and I had to watch the whole
awful thing and then it was my turn. We both got changed into little girls
and it was by those magic rings. The rings don't come off, Harold, not at
first anyway. They are stuck to your finger like glue and won't come off
until you've been a little girl long enough that the transformation reaches
what Mr. Banten called "full binding" which means basically you're bound
permanently to your new body and can't change back - not ever. You can
undo the transformation before that by saying a magic word or something
but only Mister Banten knows how to do that and he wouldn't let me or Danny
change back. Anyway after I think two months, I can't remember but it seemed
like a long time - anyhow after a long time Banten came and took my ring
away and that's when I knew I was stuck a girl for good. After that he
took me to the orphanage and I got adopted by my new mom and dad. I don't
know what ever happened to Danny. I think she got adopted by different
parents and they moved away. Anyhow as you can clearly see, I didn't
stay a little girl. I grew up and now I'm here with you, telling you
this crazy story that I know you'll never believe. I probably shouldn't
have told you. I shouldn't have bothered you with this. It's my problem
and I shouldn't have burdened you with it. I'm sorry."

"I see,” I said offering what little acceptance I could offer even if I still
didn't believe it all and I didn't.

"What he did to Danny and I was terrible but it could have been far worse,
Harold. Before he transformed me he showed me what he could have done. He
showed me a machine that he said could turn anyone into living lingerie.
He could have made me into a pair of panties or a bra and kept me that way
forever. He said I'd still be able to see, hear, smell and feel but that
I'd only be able to speak telepathically with whatever woman was wearing
me, and even then only if she initiated the conversation and allowed me
to talk, but she'd have to know a magic word or something. I forget but
Banten explained it all to me and it really scared me, Harry. I thought
for sure he was meaning to transform me into some pink silk panties because
of how much fun he was having describing the whole process. I remember him
excitedly wringing his hands about as he bore a wicked grin as he told me
about his "naughty panties" - that's what he called them, his naughty
panty collection. And I think, Harold, that Mister Banten might even be
a crossdresser. I don't know but the man seriously scares me, Harold,” she
said.

"So this Banten fellow is some kind of pervert,” I said.

"He's absolutely evil. Stay away from him,” Kim warned.

"Why don't we just go over there and I'll put a gun to his head and force
him to change you back to normal?" I suggested.

She laughed at that but shook her head no, “There's no way, Harold. He's got
all those bodyguards."

"Well then, we can wait until he goes away on vacation, then sneak in and
find some way to change you back to normal,” I suggested going along with
her claim just to humor her for now. I still didn't believe she used to be
a man though. It was just too crazy a notion. She didn't have any male
mannerisms at all. No hint or clue that what she said was really true. In
all the time I'd known her not once had she ever even shown an interest
in the kind of things boys generally have an interest in. For that matter
if she was a guy before then why was she with me? Why wasn't she with a
girl? You'd think she'd be a lesbian if she was formerly a guy.

She shook her head no and chuckled a bit. "No way, Harold. That place is
dangerous. Besides... I never said I wanted to change back to normal, did I?"

She squeezed my knee and gave me a hug and kiss.

I felt weirded out somehow despite my disbelief in her tale. Like even if it
wasn't true, in her mind she was a dude and that meant I'd just been kissed
by a guy.

I didn't wipe my mouth off with the back of my hand like I wanted. I didn't
want to hurt her feelings but this stuff was just too weird for words.

She saw my body stiffen up under her kiss and knew something was wrong.

She asked, “What's the matter, Harold?"

I scratched the back of my neck and replied, “Well... To be honest... It kind
of creeps me out. No offense or anything but I wish you hadn't told me any
of this. I wish we could go back to being just boyfriend and girlfriend and
leave it at that."

She tried peering into my eyes though I kept my head a bit downturned as
I was trying to figure out what was going to happen with our relationship
now that she opened up and told me all this.

She lowered her head a bit but peered up at me with her pretty blue eyes
and looked me in the eye and said, “Did that last kiss I gave you feel any
different than all the other times we've kissed? I didn't put any less love
and feeling into it you know, Harold."

I nodded and said, “I just find it hard to believe, that's all. If it's
true it's an incredible story. If it's not true then I can only think my
girlfriend has finally lost her mind and that worries me, hun."

She smiled and said, “And I appreciate that, I really do but look at me,
Harold. I'm still the same girl you met and fell in love with. Look at me."

I did.

She continued, “I've been a girl for over twelve years now, Harold. I grew
up from age four, I think, in this body. The magic ring conditioned me,
trained me, really helped me cope with my transformation. That's what
really made those magic rings so special, Harold. That's why Mr. Banten
is so especially proud of those pretty little rings in his collection.
My ring gave me a boost in my new life as a girl. It helped me not cry
so much about losing my manhood and having to start life all over again
as a little girl. Oh at first I did cry, lots and lots even but the ring
was like a helpful big sister to me or even like a mother, and she kept
reassuring me everything would be all right and that it's okay to be a
girl. The ring didn't force me to want to stay this way, Harold, but I
don't know how I could have ever coped with this forced transformation
upon me without it. If the ring forced me to want to like being a girl
then surely it would have also stolen the will to change back to normal
again but it didn't Harold. It never took that away from me. For years
that's almost all I ever wanted was to change back... until I met you."

She blushed and looked away and I felt oddly flattered by her strange
and revelation.

I was speechless to say anything back to her so I just let her compose
herself for a moment and waited for her to continue.

She turned back to me and I saw a few tears streaming from her eyes. She
said, “If you leave me, Harold, I don't know what I'll do because all I'll
have left is the haunting reminder every time I look in the mirror that I've
been living a lie. All I'll have left for is my aching desire to change back
to who I was before. I don't think I could ever develop feelings for any
other man the way I feel about you, Harold. Don't you see? With you I don't
want to change back. I feel so comfortable and warm and happy and so very
alive and full of joy and love and, oh Harold, I couldn't ever want to go
back to who I was before. Not if we could be together like this."

I nervously scratched the back of my head again and said, “Honestly, Kim, I
don't know how to deal with this and talking about it is just making me
more and more uneasy. I don't want to offend you by saying this but I think
you've got to hear it and I think you've got to hear it sooner rather than
later. Kim... you need help. You need to see a therapist or psychologist
or maybe even your hair dresser and talk this through with someone who's
more qualified to deal with these sort of things than I am. I'm just a
teenage boy. What do I know about sex change and... and all this crazy stuff
you've been going on and on about? For crying out loud, have you even told
your parents about any of this?"

She looked hurt but I had to say it. I had to because it was the only advice
I could give. I honestly couldn't deal with it. I didn't believe her story
and that meant as near as I could tell my girlfriend had absolutely lost
her mind.

The only proof I had of any of this was to go and ask Banten himself or
better yet, sneak in his mansion without his knowledge and find out once
and for all if any of this was true.

And what if it was? What then? Could I still continue seeing this girl or
would it creep me out knowing that she was really a guy inside?

I guess the real question was: was I really in love with Kim?

I felt terrible. Really, really terrible inside like I just ate a plate full
of worms and it was making my stomach really, really sick. I wanted to throw
up. I couldn't deal with it.

My feelings were telling me it was over between us. If she really were a man
then it was over - that meant I didn't really love her, didn't it? I couldn't
see past that one tiny little secret she revealed. That one little flaw in
the girl of my dreams, and was it really fair to call it a flaw? Something
that happened so long ago in this girl's life that it was barely even worth
mentioning. She'd grown up to be a beautiful girl. A beautiful young woman.
Whatever she was before was pointless to consider because she'd grown up to
be just what she appeared to be.

My girlfriend.

But I couldn't handle it. I couldn't deal with the thought of her even
thinking she was a man before, let alone hearing her openly admit something
like that to me.

I was devastated.

I didn't want to know this about her. True or not I didn't want to know this.

She got up and ran away in tears.

I watched her run back through the gate to her backyard. She didn't even
bother closing the gate, she was so upset. I watched her run up the crooked
little path leading through the garden. I saw her open the screen door on
the porch and I watched her go in the house.

I didn't even bother going after her and try to work this thing out like a
good boyfriend should. I just got up and shrugged it off, knowing it was
probably over between us and there just wasn't anything I could do about
that.

I felt bad though. Really bad about Kim. I wanted to help her. I really did
but I didn't know what I could do beyond accept her for who she was. I guess
I was a really horrible person because I couldn't even do that. I couldn't
accept being with a girl who had thoughts like that in her head. She'd
gone off the deep end, I was sure, but what could I do about it?

A girl who thought she was a guy before. How's a guy supposed to deal with
a shocking revelation like that? She may as well have told me she was really
a robot from Mars. At least that way I'd know for sure she was crazy and not
have any lingering guilty doubts.

I knew sex change was a possibility. People did that. It was surgically
possible and I could accept that and had no problems with it. It didn't
seem likely she was surgically changed from a grown man into a little
girl though. That seemed like too fantastic a claim for her to ever expect
me to believe. Of course I was going to disbelieve her claim. Who in their
right mind would believe in something like that? That implied magic existed
or some kind of super science that likely defied several laws of physics.

For example, body mass. A grown man weighs what? A good two hundred pounds
maybe? And a little girl weighs maybe forty or fifty pounds maybe more,
maybe less but certainly a lot less than a grown man weighs. So where does
all that weight and mass go? And you'd think converting it all off into
energy would require an enormous amount of power. Gobs and gobs of it. And
how on earth, if that's even technologically possible, are you going to
keep a person alive through the process? Alive and maintain memory and self
awareness and keep their identity?

Then there's going from a grown man's brain to a little girl's. How do you
do that and retain memory or map it out cell by cell when the new brain is
so much smaller than the old?

Okay then magic - but if magic existed you'd think it would be so commonplace
that everyone would be using it.

If I just went over to Mr. Banten's house I could simply ask him but if he
really did have a huge collection of transformation devices then it would
probably not be safe for me to visit him in person. Perhaps a simple phone
call then.

I walked along the trail thinking about these things along the way.

I wondered if such a device existed what it might be like being turned into
a girl.

I realized it was kind of a turn-on the more and more I thought about it
because if I could change into a beautiful young woman, just imagine all
the sexy fun things I could do.

I thought about it more and more and the more I did the more the curiosity
really started eating away at me.

If Kim really had been a man before then, well, I envied her. I really, really
envied her because she got to see life from both sides of the fence. She got
to see what it was like being both a guy and a girl.

I realized that if I had a chance I'd cast a magic spell on me or enter a
transformation machine and turn myself into a girl. Sure thing, what guy
wouldn't want to try that, even for just a little while to see how the
opposite sex lives? Maybe not for good but for a day or so. Sure. Why not?

I certainly didn't envy women for all the suffering they had to do for us
guys. Especially if they were expected to follow traditionalistic views and
be a good little housewife and do all the cooking and cleaning and all that
on top of trying to maintain one's own body. All the time women spend in
the bathroom in front of the mirror trying to look good. Was it worth it?

Then there was the thought of sucking cock. I know not all women do but
they probably get asked to by their husbands or boyfriends sooner or later.
The idea disgusted me but then again I wasn't a girl. Maybe through a girl's
eyes a cock's a wonderful thing. Wonderful enough to get aroused enough to
put in your mouth and suck and taste. Who knows? Anyway I shuddered at the
thought.

Even so, I think I'd genuinely like being a girl for a little while anyway.

It sounded like a lot of fun.

I didn't want to go home for fear I'd have to do a long list of chores so
instead I went to my friend Brett's house.

He lived in a bit of an upper-class neighborhood. He was certainly living
in a much bigger house than I was, and it had a swimming pool in the backyard
too, and a game room in the basement.

I went down to the basement and found him there playing video games as usual.

"What do you know about some guy named Ian Banten?" I asked him and he put
his video game on pause and turned to me to reply.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Are the rumors true?" I asked.

"That he's a gangster?" he asked back. "I don't know. I hear he's like a
mad scientist though."

"Oh really!" I said. "How come you never mentioned that to me before?"

He shrugged. "I dunno,” he said. "I guess I never really thought about it
much. He's supposed to have all kinds of machinery in his basement. If you
go over by his property late at night and listen long enough you'll hear
all kinds of weird noises coming from that mansion. He's supposed to be
some kind of playboy millionaire. They say he keeps lots and lots of
beautiful women locked away in another home he owns up on a mountain
top by some ski resort. I don't know if that's true but that's what they
say."

"Who's "they"?" I asked.

"Kids at school,” Brett replied with a shrug. "Surprised you never heard
the rumors. Banten sort of dropped out of the rumor mill for awhile I
guess."

"What about transformation machines?" I asked.

Brett laughed, “Wouldn't surprise me. This is the town of Browningsdale
after all. Legends of transformations are common here."

I scratched my chin and asked, “Oh really?"

"Yeah,” Brett said. "Just have to know who to ask. There's an old man named
Jones who lives in a battered up old place near the creek. He's got lots of
stories to tell. I heard some of them before because my dad knew this guy.Jones used to hang out at the fire house and play checkers and talk about
the craziest things."

"Like guys turning into girls?" I asked.

He looked at me in surprise, “Yeah, how did you know?"

"Just a hunch,” I said with a shrug.

I was feeling a bit bad about leaving Kim. If Brett had heard stories and
the stories were true...

Brett said, “Anyhow Jones is like almost the same age as Mr. Banten. I think
at one time they were good friends or something but now the two don't want
to even hear the other's name. It's like good and evil between them. Like
Jones is the good guy and Banten is the bad guy. I'll take you over to
Jones' house if you want to hear some stories."

"Sure,” I said.

"Just wait for me to finish this game, okay?" he asked and I agreed.

___-----___

Mr. Jones had a big bushy head of white hair and a goatee that made him
kind of resemble Uncle Sam. He wore a red and white checkered flannel shirt
and some white trousers and brown leather shoes.

I listened intently as the old man told several stories about some magic
transformation rings.

The stories were about rings that could turn boys into girls and each story
eerily sounded much like that one Kim told me about her own magic ring.

"Where do we find rings like that?" I asked.

Mr. Jones shook his head no and replied, “You don't. You don't want to pursue
that path, young man, believe me."

"Would Mr. Banten have some?" I asked.

Jones snapped, “Who have you been talking to? Who's been telling you these
things? Up with it, boy. Tell me. Who's been telling you these things?"

I pointed to Brett and Brett said, “Guys at school told me."

"I see,” Mr. Jones said. "Well don't go repeating rumors because you never
know what ears'll be listening to them when word gets around to the wrong
people."

I turned to Brett and asked, “Can you step outside for a few minutes. I want
to ask Mr. Jones something in private and I don't want you hearing this."

"Sure,” Brett said leaving.

"What is it, boy?" Mr. Jones asked.

"Well, sir... It's about my girlfriend,” I said. "She's... ah... how do I put
this. She told me a story just like the one you told only thing is she
claims it happened to HER."

"I see,” Mr. Jones said as a smile broadened on his weathered face. "So what
you really are wondering about and what you really came here for is to
confirm if her story is really actually true, is that it?"

"Something like that, yes,” I admitted.

"Anything's possible,” Jones said. "How old is this girl?"

"Sixteen,” I replied.

"And you are?" he asked.

"Seventeen,” I said.

He nodded and said, “She's about the right age group. You see, a number of
years ago Ian Banten had an arrangement with the Hathoway House for Runaway
Girls. It's sort of a halfway house and an orphanage all rolled up into one.
Anyway, at the time Banten was providing anywhere from a handful to a dozen
or so little orphan girls a week. That was before the investigation, which
I led at the time by the way, and discovered he was producing little girls
in a number of ways. Mainly through magic rings but sometimes through
transformation machines. At any rate the program was discovered and so
I put a stop to it by confiscating all the rings he had in circulation at
the time. I saved perhaps forty-eight young men that day from the
humiliation of being turned into little girls."

"Do you have the rings?" I asked hopeful.

He stared at me long and hard for a moment and said, “A few."

"Would you mind terribly much if I tried one on?" I asked. "It would really
help me accept my girlfriend's story."

"You'll have to come back,” he said. "Alone. And don't tell a soul about
it. Don't tell anyone that I have the rings. Not even your friend, Brett.
Not even your girlfriend. No one. Tell no one about this. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir,” I said.

"Good,” he said nodding. "Then we'll see what we can arrange. In the meantime
I urge you to think through and reconsider what you are asking me to do. It's
one thing to know magic exists but quite another to experience it firsthand.
Your life will never be the same again once you put that ring on your finger.
I urge you to go home and think it through. Be careful what you wish for.
You might actually get it."

"Thank you sir,” I said and left.

___-----___

I went home excited at the thought that I might actually get a chance to
put on a magic ring and feel myself transformed into a girl.

I thought about it more and more and the longer I let my mind dwell on
the thought the more certain I was that this was the right decision. This
would prove to me that Kim's story was true. At the same time I knew for
certain I was in for a lot of fun.

I went back to Mr. Jones' house later that afternoon, alone.

He already had set a ring box out on the coffee table in the living room.

There was a knock on the door and Mr. Jones opened it.

A teenage girl was there. She wore glasses and had braces. Her hair was
light brown and curled up on the sides and shoulder length. She had big
blue eyes and wore a white dress with blue flowers painted all over. She
also wore white ankle socks and some sky blue tennis shoes.

Mr. Jones let her in and said, “Please wait in the kitchen, my dear. I'll
introduce you to my grand daughter Holly, shortly."

"Yes sir,” the girl said walking down the hall like she was familiar with
the place and had been here many times before. She didn't even bat an eye
at me or acknowledge I was even there.

Mr. Jones shut the front door and came over to me and explained, “She's the
baby sitter. I have business to attend to this evening and won't be back
until late. That'll give you at least five or six hours to experience what
ever it is you're expecting out of all this."

He held the ring box before my face and said, “Holly's like family to me.
She's my nephew's project but he's out of town for the time being so I'm
entrusting her to you. She has a very well connected life here in this
household and has developed several ties to people who know her in this
neighborhood and in this community. If it were possible and if you could
clear it with your parents to be away from home for an extended period of
time, I would permit you to live as Holly for as long as you'd like. However
she does belong to my nephew so it would really be his decision on the
matter. I think he's lately been trying to find more and more excuses to
resume his old male life, so know that he would probably be more than
delighted to find a replacement. At any rate, I'm giving you the rest
of the afternoon and an entire evening as Holly. That should be more
than adequate to prove transformation is no myth around here. Put the
ring on."

Five or six hours? That seemed like an awful lot of time to me. I just wanted
to change for a little while and change right back again.

"I don't know...,” I said. "Five or six hours seems like-"

"Put it on!" he snapped, opening the ring box and forcing the ring upon
my finger before I could protest any further.

The transformation was rapid even though for a moment it felt like time
stood still.

Time did stand still. I felt it.

It felt like I was floating in the air. Like gravity had been simply
turned off and I suddenly lifted up off the floor like a balloon. Not
too high. Just an inch or so or else it was just the rush of dizziness
washing through me. I couldn't tell.

All sound stopped. I couldn't hear the birds chirping outside anymore or
the buzz of a table saw churning away noisily from some neighbor's garage.
I couldn't hear the sprinklers on out front either. All sound simply ceased
to exist.

Then suddenly I heard a creak and a clunk-clunk of a door shutting but I
saw no door shut.

Just a strange clunk-clunk and a light breeze against my face and then
silence once more as I slowly drifted down and down and down, shrinking
faster and faster, my body dwindling away all about me.

I felt tickles all in my belly as I slid down into the soft clutches of
my new female dimension.

I didn't feel my old clothes vanish away but instead felt myself float down
into some new ones. My feet slipped right into ankle socks which were somehow
propped open full and wide and accepting. Propped open like they'd been
over starched and waiting. In my feet went and then a dress came down over
me from above. My arms being pulled through the arm holes by some unseen
force I could not control.

I felt my dress zip up in the back and a ribbon slip through my hair and
I could only imagine it tying itself up into a bow, though I could not see
what was happening.

I floated down to the floor. My feet slipping easily into a pair of shiny
black flats just waiting there for me. I glanced down and saw the buckles
work themselves for me and then it was done and a rush of sound came back
and time suddenly resumed its normal pace.

"Be a good little girl,” I heard a soft sweet feminine voice in my head and
I glanced down at the ring upon my finger. It pulsed gently as I heard the
words in my mind. "That'a girl."

It was my magic ring somehow communicating telepathically with me, I knew.

Mr. Jones towered over me and said, “I hope you're satisfied. That particular
ring is very addictive. You're going to get some good conditioning while you
wear it. But don't worry. It's nothing too overly controlling. You're not
to mention any of this to your babysitter, is that understood?"

"The big man is asking us a question,” my ring told me. "We should answer
him."

"Yes sir,” I said and he took me by the hand and led me down the hall to the
play room.

"Sorry it took so long, Julie,” Mr. Jones said and waved goodbye to me. "Now
you be a good little girl for your baby sitter while I'm away, okay Holly?"

"Yes sir,” I said nodding.

He scruffed my hair a little and turned and left.

That Holly's life was well situated was an understatement. Not even ten
minutes went by since I heard Mr. Jones leave out the front door than I was
visited by one little girl after another from throughout the neighborhood.

Turned out that Holly had quite a few little playmates indeed. There was
Samantha, Nicky, Katey, Shelly and Porsha. They were all around age five
which I guess is the same age as me now. Though I seemed absolutely tiny
for a five year old. I guess it's all in the perception.

With some encouragement from my magic ring I found myself playing dolls with
these other girls.

"It's okay to play with dollies,” my ring told me. "You're a little girl now
and little girls play with dolly-wollies all the time."

Though I had free will to make up my own mind about things the suggestions
became quite hypnotic after awhile and I found myself almost automatically
going along with them, as though the thoughts being put in my head were my
own, and maybe they were, maybe they weren't. Who knows? At any rate the
ring was helping me quickly fit into my new role by coaching me along every
turn.

My playmates had to go home shortly before dinner. That's when I discovered
I could talk back to my ring and ask it questions and stuff.

"I have to change back to normal in four hours,” I thought to the ring as
I glanced up at the clock on the kitchen wall.

"Not if we hide!" the ring chimed back mischievously.

"Can we do that?" I asked with thought, pondering the idea.

"Sure thing!" the ring decided. "And if you're a good little girl and do
JUST what I say I'll even help ya."

I looked down at myself. I'd taken off my shoes earlier when I was playing
with the other little girls. I was walking across the smooth hardwood
kitchen floor in my socks and dress.

I sat down at the kitchen table and had dinner.

Julie was mostly busy talking to her boyfriend on her cell phone but
sometimes she'd tell me stuff like "don't play with your food" which I
wasn't, or "hurry up and eat all your veggies", which I was. The thing
was, I was doing just what I was supposed to do and this mean babysitterwas telling me I wasn't. It just wasn't fair but there was nothing I could
do about it because she was so much bigger than me.

The transformation into a girl wasn't so bad, I thought. After all, I had
wanted this. I had asked for it and here I was. A little girl, just like I
hoped. Having a vagina instead of a penis wasn't so bad either, I thought,
but I guess I kind of sort of missed feeling aroused and having my penis go
all hard and stiff whenever I looked at a pretty girl. My babysitter was
kind of pretty, I decided, but I didn't have a penis to tell me if she was
pretty enough to arouse me. That gave me a kind of helpless feeling and I
didn't like it one single little bit.

"But maybe I should change back,” I thought to the ring. "Maybe I want my
penis back."

The ring wouldn't have it. "Holly! I'm ashamed at you! Watch your mouth!
Don't use words like that. Little girls shouldn't ever think such words
and besides, you don't want to go back to being a boy. We haven't even
started having the REAL fun yet."

"What fun?" I asked, curious to know because although playing dolls with the
other girls was mildly entertaining just because I hadn't ever done that
before, doing stuff like that on a full time basis would really tax my
patience to the limit. What fun was there really in being a little girl?

"We could play dress up!" the ring happily suggested.

I wasn't buying it. "What else?" I asked, this time out loud by mistake
and my baby sitter heard me.

"What else, what?" Julie asked, covering her hand over the phone as she
frowned at me. "You have barely touched your peas."

"Sorry,” I said and ate a spoon full.

"Hiding from Mr. Jones later on will be fun,” my ring said as though I'd
already agreed on the idea, which I hadn't exactly.

Stupid old ring, I thought. I didn't want to talk to her anymore. Not right
now. She was just planting stupid old suggestions in my head and was flat out
taking advantage of my young susceptible mind. I was prone to do just about
any old thing my ring asked of me, all she had to do was pester me long
enough about it and I would. I knew it. I'd just do it so she'd shut up
and leave me alone all ready.

I finished my dinner and went to the living room and watched some television.

Julie put on a stupid kids cartoon, which was okay I guess, but not what I
was really looking for. I wanted an action adventure movie but cartoons are
cool too, I guess.

"Let's check out hiding places now,” my ring suggested and I looked up at
the clock on the wall. It was seven o'clock.

"Maybe later,” I thought back to the ring. "After ice cream."

Julie had promised ice cream after awhile. She wanted me to wait for my
dinner to settle a bit first though, so I had to wait.

It definitely felt different being a girl. Just sitting there on the living
room chair I could feel the fabric of the cushion press up against my dress
and my dress into my panties and it got all scrunchy in between my legs and
that felt decidedly so very much different than being a boy. I could close
my legs all the way, touching knee to knee and ankle to ankle and feel this
funny little gap in my crotch where my boy parts should be. Just thinking
about it made me feel all tingly inside and I thought I was going to pee.
Instead I curled my toes up and wringed my hands into little fists and
pounded my fists at my sides, hitting the sofa cushion in frustration.

Was having less really all that fun?

I didn't know. Certainly it was only "less" from a strictly male based
perspective.

Julie was in the kitchen and left me to watch my cartoon alone. So I changed
the channel and found a show that had a lot of beautiful bikini clad women
in it. They were beside a swimming pool at a hotel somewhere and I watched
with growing concern because normally I'd be feeling quite attracted to
these women but now... nothing. I found them very pretty none the less but
arousal wouldn't click in with me. Not like this.

I looked down at my lap.

Nothing.

This time I did have a little accident.

I don't know why or how it happened but it did. I guess in all my frustration
and excitement I peed my little panties. It wasn't much. No I take that back,
it was enough to wet my little behind and leave a heart shaped wet spot on
the sofa.

"Binding strength increased!" the ring chimed in my ears.

"What?" I asked embarrassed, walking to the kitchen to tell the babysitter
what had happened.

"Binding strength,” my ring told me. "Each day I am allowed to grant you
binding points. The more points you get, the more difficult it is for you
to change back to normal."

"Oh,” I told the ring with a shrug.

"You had an embarrassing moment so I decided maybe some binding points
would cheer you up a bit,” the ring explained. "I just gave you a whole
bunch of wonderful, goody-goody, happy fun binding points."

"How many?" I asked.

"Forty-eight!" my ring proudly sang out to me.

"That seems like a lot,” I told the ring.

"It is!" she agreed. "You only have fifty-two more to go before you're
permanently stuck as a little girl. I felt like you needed lots and lots
of good binding points to make you feel all better."

"Thanks,” I said. "I think."

I walked in the kitchen and told Julie I had an accident.

"Aren't you a little too old for that?" she asked.

She had no idea but she was right.

She helped clean me up and put my clothes in the wash and put me in the
tub upstairs for a bath.

My ring said, “I think you're going to make a good Holly."

"Thanks,” I thought back as I sat there in the warm bubble bath.

"There were other Hollies,” the ring explained. "But I think I like you
the most-est. I think I might bind you to full right now. I like you SO
much."

"That's quite all right,” I declined. "I'm not sure about making this
permanent just yet."

"I can you know,” she said. "I can bind you to full, right now. You'd be
the first Holly I ever had who got bound to full on her first day as a girl.
Wouldn't that be fun if I did? Mister Jones couldn't change you back then
and you'd have to go on being his little grand daughter for the rest of
your life. The other Holly, she wanted out, so I let her take a vacation.
I think this would be best for everybody, don't you?"

I wasn't so sure. I was glad I got the chance to see what it was like to
be a girl though. The ring was not only magical, it was a comforting friend
and I liked that.

I owed Kim an apology for ever doubting her. She was right, I was wrong.

"I need to change back into a boy,” I told the ring. "My girlfriend Kim
needs me back as a boy."

"That's too bad,” my ring said disappointed. "You tell her you've got an
appointment with me. You tell her you're going to be the new Holly."

"I'll try,” I promised.

"Try nothing,” the ring said. "You're coming back here. You're going to be
the new Holly."

"Okay,” I told her. I wasn't so sure though this would work out but my ring
certainly thought she was picking the right person.

The tub water was warm and the soap bubbles made my skin all tingly and soft.
I knew my ring could bind me to full right here and now if she wanted but she
was being nice and giving me a chance to change back and tell Kim what I had
to do.

It felt funny. I never thought that I'd be so hooked on being a girl but
with my magic ring coaxing me into it I guess she was right all along.

It was strange that I was going to embark on a new life. A whole brand new
life as a girl and get to grow up and some day maybe have a fight with my
boyfriend like Kim did with me today. Have a fight and tell him the truth
about who I was before. Tell him I didn't start out a girl. Wouldn't that
be a trip!

It would, I decided, but I wasn't so sure I'd be as brave and up front and
open and honest about it. I think it would be best if I just kept all this
a big deep dark secret and pretended I was always a girl. That would be
best, wouldn't it? And who cares who I was before? What does that even
matter?

I felt bad though. Real bad.

Poor Kim. I let her down. She was my girlfriend and I let her down by
failing to be there for her. Be there for her by her side when she needed
me the most.

I doubted her and had to find out for myself if magic really existed and
now look at me. Now look at me.

I'm a girl.

My ring. My little magic ring. She's telling me how things are going to be
now and she's all convinced I'm going to be the new Holly. Like as if I don't
even have a choice.

She's right though. Maybe this way I'll be happier.

Even in the warm tingly tub water I can tell already that I've fallen in love
with my new sex. I don't need a stupid old ring to tell me being a girl's
a whole lot more fun than being a boy. My ring expects me to go and tell
Kim I'm going to come back and be the new Holly. I don't know how I'm going
to do that. I guess what has to be done has to be done though.

Boy will Mr. Jones be surprised when I break the news to him. Boy will he
ever!

This was supposed to be a short and simple experiment designed to teach me
that magic really existed. Nothing more. Now look at me. I'm already accepting
my fate as a girl and making plans and everything.

"Holly? Are you there?" my ring asked cautiously, trying ever so much not
to disturb my thought process as I worked things out in my head. She was a
nice ring and I liked her. I really, really did.

"Hi ringy,” I said to her. "What's up?"

"If you're going to change back to tell your girlfriend then I need to take
back some rebinding points,” she said. "It'll make changing back to normal
so much easier."

"Thanks,” I said.

"No problem, honey,” my ring said. "But we have an agreement, right? You're
gonna be the new Holly."

I nodded my head enthusiastically. "Yeah,” I agreed. "But I hope Mr. Jones
lets me."

My ring said, “Don't worry about that. If he gives you any trouble. Any
trouble at all you just find me and put me on. Any way you can. You got
that?"

I nodded my head in agreement. "Okay,” I said.

"I'm counting on you,” she said. "Now I'm gonna remove the binding points.
It's gonna hurt a little so bear with me. Here we go..."

I felt pain searing through my tummy. It hurt like the worst tummy ache I
ever had in my life. I thought I was going to be sick. I felt like I was
breaking out in a cold sweat. I got the shivers all over and felt nauseated
and dizzy and just plain old sick.

It was bad. The worst feeling I could ever imagine. Like I drank poison and
was choking. My eyes watered up and I clutched my tummy in pain and it was
agonizingly horrible!

"Please help me, ring!" I cried.

It hurt so bad.

Unbinding hurt really, really bad. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to
be unbinded ever, ever again.

I felt like a hundred bees stung me all over. My body shivered and quaked
and I thought I was going to die.

I cried.

I cried and cried and cried and it was horrible. I felt like my arms and
legs and my whole body was put in a bench press and I was having the life
squeezed out of me.

It was torture. Sheer agony. I wouldn't wish this kind of pain on even my
worst enemy.

I shouted out in pain and my baby sitter came rushing in the bathroom and
pulled me out of the tub.

"What's the matter?" she asked but she was too late. I'd endured the worst
of it. The pain was subsiding and all that was left was me standing there,trembling and dripping wet under a big old beach towel. "You look ill. Maybe
you'd best go lie down and rest."

She was right. I felt terrible and my ordeal drained all the energy right
out of me.

"I'm sorry about that, hun,” my ring said as I wobbled down the hall to my
bedroom. "But if I didn't remove those binding points then Mister Jones would
have had a terrible time figuring out how to change you back to normal again."

"Thanks,” I thought back to my pretty magic ring. I was glad she was at
least letting me change back to normal so that I could tell Kim about my
new plans. It was nice to at least know what my future was going to be.

My babysitter tucked me in bed and I slept the rest off the rest of my time
as a little girl.

I woke up, I don't know when but it was much later and Mr. Jones had already
gotten back home and removed my magic ring and I had changed back to normal,
probably in my sleep but when I woke I was a boy again.

A teenage boy. My normal seventeen year old self once more and lying in bed
gazing up at the ceiling.

I looked at my hand. There was no ring present. No ring in sight. Mr. Jones
had taken it away. I sat up and realized I had my old male clothes on again.

I wandered downstairs and slipped out the front door and found my way home
and went to bed.

In the morning I went over to Kim's house.

She was on the back porch when I found her. She didn't kiss me or greet me
or anything. She was just brooding there. Lost in thought. Depressed, I think.

"Hi Kim,” I said as I sat down on a chair beside her. "I've got lots to
talk about."

She didn't seem interested. I'd hurt her feeling bad yesterday I think.

Real bad.

I hated myself for it. I really, really did, and now I was coming here with
even worse news for her.

"I tried one of those magic rings,” I told her. "And I'm sorry, Kim. I'm
sorry I ever doubted your story. I know now that magic is real. That those
rings are real. That what you said was the truth. I'm sorry I was such a
jerk."

She looked up at me hopeful. I thought she was about to cry. It only made
the words I had to say to her choke up even more in my throat than I could
ever imagine.

"I... I have to go away,” I told her. "My magic ring wants me back. I have
to be a girl."

Tears trickled down her face now. I think I hurt her even worse than ever
by saying what I had to say but I had no choice. I wanted to go back. I had
to go back. I promised my ring I would.

I promised.

She stood up and grabbed me by both my arms and hugged me and kissed me and
smothered me in kisses and I cried. I cried with her and I felt her tremble
even as I trembled myself in her arms and it was awful and it was wonderful
and we cried and cried and cried together.

I glanced over her shoulder at the lion bush in the garden and I thought the
lion was going to have a heart attack and the one right next to him was going
to keel over dead on the spot because somehow I knew that even the plants and
the trees out there in the garden knew what was going on. They knew. They all
did. They could feel our tears.

I hugged Kim and never wanted to leave her. Ever.

"Don't do this,” she pleaded with me. "Don't."

I wanted to be there for her. I really did but also I fell in love with what
it felt like being a girl. I was in conflict. I couldn't decide.

"Kim!" I cried but the rest of my words didn't come out. They couldn't. I was
all choked up. Tears streaming down my cheeks now. I was a mess.

"Please, Harold,” she begged, hugging me close. Kissing me on the ear and
cheek and neck. I felt her arms all over. Hugging me close. She was
frantic. A poor woman in desperation. I felt sorry for her. I really did.
I wanted to be there for her. Always. But I made a promise to my magic
ring. "Don't do this Harold."

"Oh Kim!" I cried. It was awful. The birds in the garden, out there in the
bird bath, they stopped singing and I imagined they were looking right at
us now in disbelief and shock at what was happening. Even the wind outside
in the trees seemed to stop and take notice for us. Everything seemed to
pause. Time itself seemed to stand still for us.

And we kissed.

It was a long and meaningful kiss and through and through I felt her love
for me. Strong, strong love, and I returned it in earnest. I loved her.
I really, really loved this woman. She was going to be my wife. I knew that
all my mistakes I ever made before, all my doubts and problems, none of that
really mattered. Not even the magic ring could tear me apart from my girl.
There was just no way I was going to leave this poor beautiful woman in
tears and loneliness.

We kissed and I knew then and there that this woman was going to be my wife.
There was never any doubt anymore. It was automatic. Love found a way into
my heart and shoved aside my selfishness.

I longed for that magic ring. I really, really did but I had to make a
sacrifice. I had to sacrifice my desire to be a girl for my wife. It was
an enormous thing to ask of anybody but I had to do it. I just had to.

I cried as I kissed my beautiful Kimberly. I knew we would never part nor
ever until the end of time ever let our love cease for one another.

Mr. Jones had showed me that magic existed in this world and I was ever
grateful for that but all along all I had to do was look my future wife
in the eye and see that magic existed right here and now in the present.

We waited until we were both over eighteen until we married and by that time
Mr. Banten had moved away and Mr. Jones I think passed on. My wife and I
moved to Alaska shortly after our honeymoon but whatever the case I don't
think I'll ever forget what happened in Browningsdale.

If anything it made me appreciate women all the more for how truly special
they are. I know I'll always be envious of my wife for the wonderful things
she gets to experience but I'm glad to be there with her, grateful to be
by her side until the day I die. I'm grateful to be the one and only man
she could ever love and it's comforting to know too because she's the only
woman I know I could ever have feelings for. We share much in common, her
and I, and I know what she went through all those years ago with her own
magic ring. I almost went through it fully myself but I'm glad I never did.

I'm glad I picked her instead.

As for Holly. Well, from what I heard Mr. Jones' nephew finally got back
from vacation and put that crazy old ring back on and became Holly forever.

I think it's for the best though. I really do and some day I hope to go back
to the town of Browningsdale and check in on Holly and see how she's doing.

If nothing else maybe I'll send her a postcard from Alaska and send her my
love.

I know she'll appreciate the thought.

I know I would.

..**.**..
.*******.
..*****..
...***...
....*....

-The End-

(P.S. Lost my old username & password so I created a new account with my new email addy. Hope this is not a problem). - Cleo