It all began as any other day. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and my sister and I were fighting. Again.

"All right, that's ENOUGH!" Mom screamed, totally exhausted. "Ginny, go to your room. Roni, come with me. I think it's about time you had a little dose of reality."

And with a firm tug on my ear, I was led into Mom's room, to face my punishment.

"Why do you ALWAYS have to pick on your sister, especially now?" Mom asked.

"I don't know, really," was all I could weakly mutter. "She's just so... so... I don't know. Mean? Crabby? Bossy? I just don't understand her any more. Not since IT happened. It's like she totally changed overnight. We're not as close as we once were, and it's driving me nuts!"

My sister and I had always been close, every since birth. We were fraternal twins, with her being born four-and-a-half minutes before me. We used to do everything together- take walks in the woods, ride bikes, climb trees, dig for worms and go fishing- everything. Yeah, she was a tomboy, and I, her younger brother, was all too happy to keep her that way. But every since IT happened, she's become moody and withdrawn towards me. Almost as if she blames me for getting her period. It's not my fault I was born a boy. Thankfully.

"You know she always has a rough time of it, Son. With the cramps, the pain, everything. You COULD try to be more sympathetic, you know. I suggest you go to your room and think of a way to make it up to her. Until you do, there's going to be NO..." and then she just stopped, mid-sentence.

"No what?" I asked, even though, in my mind, I already knew the answer.

"Just no," was all Mom said. "No phone, no TV, no movies, no video games, and no allowance."

"But Mom!" I wailed. "It's almost Christmas, and I was saving up for that new game I wanted!"

"Right now, Son," Mom said, "your sister is going through a rough time. She hasn't got used to her body changing each month yet. Maybe you could go easier on her. Maybe quit being so selfish and think of HER for a change. You never know. You may even regain some of that special closeness back."

"OK,Mom, I'll try," I conceded, as if I really had a choice.
~~~~~~~~~~
The next day, as I was walking home from school, lost in my thoughts, I took a wrong turn. I found myself in a completely unfamiliar shopping plaza. There were the standard shops- a Subway, a pharmacy, a Dollar Tree, and a mini-mart. Nothing really grabbed my attention- at first. Then, I saw IT- the little curio shop in the corner. And, as if an answer to my prayers, a collector's copy of Mutant Assassins was in the window. I don't know how, as from what I read, the game wasn't scheduled to be released until Christmas Eve- over three weeks away.

"So, you like my display, do you?" a rather gruff voice exclaimed. "Good. I chose it just for you. You can have it- on the house- on one condition..."

"Why are there always conditions?" is what I SHOULD have thought, but at the time, I really didn't care what they were. The one object of my desire lay within my greedy grasp, and I just KNEW I had to have it, regardless of any "conditions".

"Name it," I said, perhaps a little TOO eagerly. "I'll do ANYTHING to have that game!"

"Anything?" the odd man questioned. "Hmm... Perhaps I had better not. It's not healthy for one so young to give up so much for a mere toy..."

"Wait. What?" I said. "I said I'd do ANYTHING, and I meant it. As long as I'm not harmed or have to do something dangerous, that is."

"I can see you're quite eager, lad." he said, stroking his goatee. "All right. Your task is quite simple, really. I want you to wear these moccasins I just made. Try them out, just for 24 hours, and see if you like them. Come back this time tomorrow, to let me know how you liked them, and the game's all yours. Simple, huh?"

I knew there had to be a catch somewhere, but I just couldn't find it, try as I might.

"OK, sure. Whatever," I mumbled as he handed me the package. "But how will I find my way back here? I was lost when I found you this time..."

"No worries," the man laughed. "You'll know how to find me, when the time is right. Sayonara!"

And with that, he pushed me out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~
What else could I do? I started walking back the direction I thought I had come. When I turned around to look back, the entire shopping plaza was gone! I was standing at my bus stop, less than three blocks from home. But how?
~~~~~~~~~~
I ran to my room, just glad to be home. I threw myself on the bed, dropping the shoe box to the floor with a loud THUD in the process.

"Oh, yeah. Right!" I exclaimed. "In the excitement, I'd forgotten about these." I laughed a little as I lifted the lid. Inside was the most beautiful pair of buckskin moccasins I had ever seen!

"I've just GOT to try these babies on!" I thought to myself.

Quickly tearing my Nike's off, I slipped my feet into the soft, leathery shoes. They fit my feet like gloves. I've NEVER had a pair of shoes that felt as comfortable as these did.

Suddenly, my feet- no my entire body- began to get white hot! There was a blinding flash, and I was out.
~~~~~~~~~~
When I came to, about an hour later, I knew something was horribly wrong. There was an uncomfortable pressure- and heaviness- in my chest. Something I hadn't felt prior. I felt flushed all over, and uncomfortably warm. Every fiber of my being ached, from the tip of my head to the soles of my feet.

I felt queasy, as waves of nausea enveloped me, roiling over me as waves of a hurricane-tossed sea are fraught to do. And the cramps! My God! could ANYTHING be THAT painful? It was like someone had tore my insides apart, put them in a blender set to puree, and forgot to turn the blender off! I felt like a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle, with 18 pieces missing!

When I opened my eyes, it was as if I was staring into the sun itself! Searing pain shot through my temples, threatening to split my head in half. Every sound was magnified a thousand times, and the beating of my heart in my ears sounded like great peals of thunder. My ragged breath sounded like cannons!

"Mom!" I cried, because I didn't know what else to do. "I don't feel so good."

Mom came rushing into my room. "Is it the cramps again, dear?" she asked. "Here, these will help." she said, placing two Midol in my hand and handing me a glass of water. "It'll be alright in a few days, Ginny. Just rest. I'll bring supper up in a while."

"Thanks, Mom," I said, as I lay down on the feather-down bed.

Mom kissed me on the forehead and slowly walked away.

"Wait a minute!" I thought. "Did she just call me Ginny? And I don't have a feather bed..."
~~~~~~~~~
The Midol soon took effect, and I fell into a deep, very troubling sleep. I dreamed I was walking in the woods, yet I wasn't really me. I was my sister Ginny instead. I talked the way she talked, thought the thoughts she did, and in every way imaginable, acted the same way she did. For all intents and purposes, I had actually BECOME my sister! But how?

I couldn't shake the disturbing thoughts in my head. "You're ugly. And FAT!!! No one will ever love you... You should just curl up and die. You're useless and unwanted. Unloved..."

I heard a voice in my ear. A voice that sounded vaguely familiar, although I couldn't quite place it.

"Never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins," it seemed to say.
~~~~~~~~~~
I awoke with a start, my body drenched in cold sweat. It had all been a dream. Or had it? I quickly got up and ran to my bathroom to check. A cursury glance in the mirror ended my fears. I was still me.

Washing my face, I quickly went back to my room. this time, I slept soundly, and had no further dreams.
~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, I quickly got dressed and left the house, determined to make things right with Ginny. But first, I had to return the moccasins to that strange little man...
~~~~~~~~~~
I tried to retrace my steps of yesterday, and soon found myself again on Mulberry Street, facing the curio shop.

"So, the grasshopper has returned," the man mused. And raising his arms above his head, he made the moccasins disappear. In their place were- once again- my Nike's.

"As promised, your game. And a little something extra, for your sister. Merry Christmas, Roni."

"Just who are you, anyway?" I asked.

"A friend," the man smiled. "Kato Chigiri. Come. Have a cup of tea..."

He motioned me to a tea cozy in the corner, and pointed to a velvet cushion sitting on a bamboo tamani mat. He offered me a jade cup with some steaming amber liquid inside. I cautiously took a sip...
~~~~~~~~~~
And with that, I was back in my bedroom. "Dinner!" I heard Mom yell at the foot of the stairs.

"Be right down!" I yelled back. But first, I needed to take care of something...

I grasped the earring box firmly in my hand as I knocked on my sister's door.

"It's open," she said, through her tears.

"Hey sis," I said, trying to comfort her. "I know lately I've been a real ass. I'm sorry. I never gave a thought as to what you might be going through. Can you forgive me?"

I handed her the box, and as she opened it, she began to smile- the first smile I'd seen from her in months.

For inside the box were two dainty earrings- a male and female angel.

"They're beautiful, Roni," she wept, as we hugged in a tearful embrace.