Sing a Healing Song, Chapter 3

As I slept, I dreamt of the goddess who had changed me. We were standing in a beautiful green field, and she said to me “Speak your need, my daughter.”

“Being a daughter is my problem. I never had a girlfriend, because I was too sick, So I don’t know anything about girls, much less how to be one.”

“Have no fear. I’ve given you all you need. Just focus on your situation, and the answer will be within. To assist you, the girl you have become would be described as a ‘tomboy’. Whether she stays that way will by your choice, of course.“

I suddenly realized something, and said, “I ... I should thank you. I ... I’m grateful not to be dying, even if I have to be a girl.”

“You are the last of the line that served me, centuries ago. It was my pleasure to repay your ancestors’ loyalty. It was as worthy a last act as I could have.”

“Last ... act?”

“I am fading from this world. In human terms, I’m dying.”

I found myself weeping. “You healed me, I healed my dad. Cant I heal you? Can’t you heal yourself?”

“Even a goddess has limits, my daughter. It’s ... time. But I was permitted to do this one last service before I go.”

I bowed my head and wept.

She came over and held me tight, and said “Live well, my daughter.”

I simply let her hold me until the dream faded.

In the morning, I woke and dressed in another simple jean-and-t-shirt combo, and packed my suitcase, as we were supposed to go home today.

I had just finished when I heard a soft knock at the door.

“You ready?”

“Sure, Dad.” I said, and opened the door.

He came into the room rather shyly, checked to make sure we had grabbed everything, and then escorted me out. As we headed downstairs for breakfast, I reflected on his new attitude towards me, and realized he was just the first person who was going to treat me differently because I was a girl. I told him about the dream I had, and he listened without commenting, except to give me a hug when I started tearing up when I said she had told me she was going to die.

Once breakfast was over, we went to our rental car and drove to the airport. Once there, we checked in, and found a place to wait as we had almost twenty minutes before we could board our plane.

Once we were seated, my dad pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket, and showed it to me.

“What’s this?”

“Its an acceptance letter for one Fiona Kathleen D’Arcy to attend J. Percy Page High School for her grade 12 year. I found it in my suitcase when I was packing this morning.””

I looked at the letter. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to go back to the school for the disabled. I guess the goddess knew it too, and prepared for it.”

“What about your friends there?”

“Honestly, Dad, I didn’t have very many. I think people were scared to get too close to me ... you know, in case ...”

“In case you ... left them suddenly?”

“Yeah. Besides, looking like I do now, I cant exactly go up to my former classmates and say, ‘Hi. I used to be Matthew.’ could I?”

“Probably not.”

I shook my head. Going to a new school was going to be interesting, to say the least. I was going to be the “new girl” with both the “new” and the “girl” parts to deal with for the first time.

I said so to my dad, and he said, “It will be okay. You’ve got the rest of the summer to get used to the girl thing. And after a couple of months, you wont be the ‘new girl’, but just another student, I’m sure.”

“Thanks dad.”

“For what?”

“Everything. Taking care of me all these years. Being willing to try something crazy to try and find a healing for me. And for being there for me since I transformed.”

“All part of the job description. You’re my child. I love you.”

I hugged him, and cried a little.

It seemed like moments later they called for passengers of our plane to line up for boarding.

Going through customs had been very different than when I had come from Canada. Then, I was a sick young man in a wheelchair, and they gave me only the most casual attention. Now, I was a healthy (and attractive) girl, they were a lot more careful to make sure I was not carrying anything dangerous before they had let me through.

But finally, we were allowed to board the plane, and settled into our seats. I had noticed that even though I was in a simple t-shirt and jeans combo, many of the men took a peek at me, and some were out-and-out staring at me as I had come onboard. I had some mixed feelings about this. I was a little creeped out thinking about what was probably going through the minds of some of the guys. I hadn’t really thought of girls often as a guy, but I knew that was probably because of my illness rather than any virtue I had possessed. But I had been in enough locker rooms to know that guys, at least some of the time, could turn into horndogs really easily. Now I was the potential object of their attention, and I was just going to have to figure out the best way to deal with it.

But, frustratingly, I also found myself being slightly flattered by their attention. I had judged myself as a pretty attractive seventeen-year old girl, but the reaction of the guys on the plane had confirmed it, and there was something rather nice in being regarded that way. If I had to be a girl, being an attractive one seemed like a good choice. But something reminded me that there could be dangers involved in being an attractive girl as well.

I just hoped that I was up to the challenge ...

I had other things to think about as well. There was the whole issue of my ability to heal. How could I use that gift? Would people trust me to heal them? Did I have limits, and if so what were they?

Finally, I gave up worrying about it. There was going to be time to get a handle on things, I tried my best to get comfortable in my seat, and closed my eyes and tried to rest.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - my home and native land, was several hours away ...

Eventually, we finally were taxiing to the terminal at the Edmonton International Airport.

Although in my opinion it doesn’t really deserve either of the first two parts of that name - most flights out were shuttle trips to southern Alberta, so not really “International”, and the airport was outside the city limits, so it shouldn’t be called “Edmonton” either.

Regardless, we finally were allowed to disembark, and went into the car park and found our car.

It was getting dark by the time we finally pulled into our own driveway, but we had made a side trip to a local fast food place to supplement the horrible airline food we’d been dealing with on the plane. Food eaten, I took my suitcase up my room, which had changed significantly. I no longer had the special bed I’d needed, or the oxygen tank and I.V. stand that had become a standard part of my life. Now, I had a simple dresser with nine drawers, a twin bed, a closet, and the only obviously feminine addition - a vanity, although there was a laptop on it so it was possible that makeup wasn’t something this girl I had become worried about often.

I put my clothes in a hamper in the closet, and changed into a set of yellow pj’s before crawling into bed.

I fell asleep quickly ...