Author's note. I was hoping to have completed this in two chapters, but it looks like there will be one more (at least). This chapter does have several sexual/sex scenes, but I did my best from turning it into smut. I hope you all enjoy reading, and will stick around for the conclusion that hopefully will be forthcoming soon. ;)

I arrived at the location of the yard sale to see several people already rummaging through the unwanted wares, and nowhere to park close by. I ended having to park almost a block away and walk to the house holding the sale. I lit a cigarette and braced against the chill of the morning breeze and started walking.

My heart sank a bit when I made it to my destination. Just looking at some of the stuff for sale it was obvious that it had belonged to an old man. Most of the items seemed to belong in an antique shop, and there was no sign of any clothing or jewelry. I was tempted to just turn around and leave, but a voice in my head said 'you're already here, you may as well take a look'.

My disappointment faded when I came across a small table with bricks of playing cards, many of which were branded with logos from casinos in Las Vegas, and several single decks.

I was looking through the various cards when a woman asked, "Do you do magic?"

I turned to the woman, she was in her late forties or early fifties. "A little. It's more just a hobby than anything."

"My dad was a performer back in the day. He always wanted to make it big, but he gave it up as a career when he found out my mom was pregnant with me. He would still do the odd shows for birthday parties or whatnots. You know, I still have no idea how any of his tricks work, he never told me."

I could tell that talking about her dad was difficult for her. "It sounds like he cared a lot about you."

"Do you know that one trick where the same card keeps ending up on top of the deck? It was always one of my favorites."

"Sure." Is what I said. 'Who doesn't know an ambitious card routine?' is what I thought as I grabbed my cards out of my purse and began my impromptu performance. Of course, I started drawing attention from the few other people and soon I had a group of seven that I was performing too.

When I finished my set the woman had tears forming in her eyes. "Come with me. I want to show you something." She led me into the garage and to a trunk that had definitely seen better days. The leather was faded and cracked, the latch long broken, and the hinges wanting to rip off rather than actually open. "I don't know if you'd be interested in any of this, I don't even know if any of it is even worth anything, but if you want it… say fifty?"

Taking a quick look inside the trunk revealed what very well might have been several hundred dollars worth of props and gimmicks when it was all new, but just like the trunk none of it seemed to have aged well. There were a few opened decks and about six or seven books, a few of which I recognized. Expert at the Card Table, which is revered as a 'magician's Bible' so to speak, Expert Card Technique, Sleight Unseen, and Bertram on Sleight of Hand.

I doubt the contents, in its current state, was worth that much but for some reason I couldn't say no. Even though I wanted to haggle the price down, or get a deal on the twenty decks of cards I was already wanting, all I could say was yes. I left there seventy dollars lighter in the pocket, but the new cards alone were probably worth more than that so I was happy. I did feel kind of guilty having her husband carry the trunk and load it in my car though. I still need to get used to the 'women don't do heavy lifting' stereotype and I'm still not a hundred percent used to being seen as a woman.

After getting home any earlier guilt of having someone carry this trunk for me was gone as I was struggling to get it up the stairs. It wasn't so much the weight itself, it was that it was a big, bulky trunk that was now missing a handle ever since I first tried pulling it out of my car. Eventually, I did manage to complete the task without the need of a 'big strong man' and I was then sitting on my bed while pulling out the various contents. The books were the first to come out and those were set aside on my nightstand, along with any other pieces of paper or booklets. The next items I pulled out were the cards. There were a couple stripper decks, a gaff deck, and a half remaining deck of blanks, all in either the classic red or blue rider backs (the design on the back of Bicycle playing cards you can find literally anywhere).

Chinese linking rings came out of the trunk next, and then three brass cups and two large bags of sponge balls, one was all red and the other was filled halfway with red but had green, blue, and orange mixed in as well. There was a small wooden cigar box that contained several coins, some looked like quarters, but there were also silver and gold dollars, some casino chips, and a small handful that looked like they were once part of a pirate's treasure. There were several other items in the trunk, such as thumb tips, colored handkerchiefs, and several other props that I assumed were all gimmicks but none of it held any interest for me so I grabbed a small box to dump them all in.

I had hoped that the trunk would have been significantly lighter, but it seemed to me that it was heavier than before. As I started to dump the trunk over into the smaller box that I had grabbed I noticed that it had a false bottom that was now coming loose. Now empty, I pried out the false bottom to reveal a rather ornate mirror and a note. The note was covering the majority of the mirror, blocking me from seeing my reflection. The note read,

'My dearest Catherine,

If you are reading this, then I would assume that I am no longer a part of this world, save for the memories you have of me, and for those reasons I will always be with you. You can believe this or not, the choice is yours, but regardless know that you are more important to me than anything else this world could ever give. The mirror below has the power to grant your heart's deepest wish. I don't know where it came from, but it fell into my possession long ago. I used it to become what I wanted most in life, a father. I won't go into the details, but medically I should not have been able to father a child. The mirror changed that. When your mother told me she was pregnant I hid this mirror away, never to stare into it again. I don't know what would happen if the mirror ever broke, and I didn't want to ever change a single memory that I had with you. If you do decide to use the mirror, my only advice is to be cautious, as nothing comes without a price. For me it was the desire to be famous. I still enjoyed performing, but the thought of fame now disgusts me. In the end it was worth every moment.

I will always love you,
Jonathan

I didn't know what to think. I've always hated the magicians that insist on other worldly powers, or that they themselves have real magic powers. To me that is just as bad as all those cheats out there using their skills to swindle and cheat people out of their money. All magic is inherently a lie. Us magicians just know something that our audience does not, we have ways to mask our deceptions through misdirection or hidden actions or through gimmicks. But when I pulled the paper off the mirror and gazed upon my reflection, my breathing stopped and my heart skipped a beat.

It was still me looking back, but it wasn't me at the same time. The woman staring back at me was stunningly beautiful. My light brown hair was now raven black and my golden brown eyes were as blue as the ocean. My features were also softer, as was my skin. On closer inspection there was no evidence of any facial stubble and my throat was smooth. My eyebrows were more sculpted into a very feminine curve. My ears were also pierced in three places each.

I was lost in my reflection until an immense pain struck me. It felt as if my entire body was being crushed and lit on fire. The pain was gone as abruptly as it started, but then I felt myself falling. A series of memories flashed through my mind, memories that were mine but from a different me. Some of them brief recollections, but some were as vivid as having just lived through them.

It was my sixth or seventh birthday and the theme was princesses. I was so happy to have had my first pony ride, up to the point where I looked down to see my pink princess dress covered in mud. I spent what felt like the next few hours in tears. Next I was eight and attending my first gymnastics class. My first kiss on the cheek by a boy at age nine. My first time putting on a tutu at age ten to attend my first ballet class.

These memories were vivid, but there was a disconnect with the emotions. I know how I felt, but I couldn't feel it if that makes any sense. My next memories were a little more real. I remember waking up in the middle of the night when I was twelve, with a pain in my stomach. I remember the dread as I felt the wetness and thought I had wet the bed. I remember the horror when I turned on the light and saw the blood. I remember the look of shock as my dad entered the room after I woke him up with my scream, and my mom calmly explaining what to do with the tampon.

I remember how my heart was beating so fast I thought it would explode in my chest when I had my first kiss. Tommy Denton, and we were at my first boy girl party, I was fourteen. I remember the first time I touched a penis at fifteen. Somehow I knew exactly what to do and ended up giving my first blowjob to a one Daniel Roth. While the experience was new and exciting, it seemed lacking, and I don't mean that gratification was one way. I remember fingering myself that night watching lesbian porn and having the best orgasm of my life (to that point). While I still got excited looking at guys and from 'regular' porn, I know from that moment on I was more interested in girls.

I remember the first time I kissed a girl, Aisling (pronounced Ashley, don't ask, it's Irish) Whalen. She just transfered schools, her dad was in the Marines and just got stationed at Camp Pendleton, and she had red hair and freckles that both went down to the top of her breasts, which were gorgeous by the way. It took me six months to build up the courage to finally do something about the crush I had on her. I was sixteen and she had just turned seventeen two months ago. We had spent the day shopping at the mall (and by shopping I really mean just going into a store, trying different things on and leaving them in the 'I don't really want this item after all' pile, and moving onto the next store to repeat the process and then buying one or two cheap somethings at the end of the night to have that sense that the day wasn't a total waste) and we were walking to her house from the bus stop. She was talking on and on about something but I was tuned out.

"Kyla. Kyla! Are you listening? You're kinda spaced out right now."

"Sorry. My mind is… There's something I..." I was looking at my shoes, but looked up to see her staring at me, her expression was that of urging me to explain further. "Fuck it." I said in an almost whisper as I dropped the little bag I was carrying and grabbed her face with both hands and pulled us into a kiss. Her lips were so soft and tasted like strawberries. To me, that kiss lasted an hour, but I'm sure it was over in just a few seconds. When I pulled away she was frozen, as if my kiss stopped time but she never unfroze. "I'm sorry. You must hate…" I was cut off by her lips pressing against mine and I felt her tongue press against my lips seeking entrance to my mouth. I met her tongue with mine and we were two kids lost to the world.

It was a catcall from someone in a passing car that brought us back to reality and when we broke the kiss we both started giggling like… well, schoolgirls. When the giggles ended she grabbed my hand and said "Come on." as she pulled me along at almost a running pace.

When we got back to her house we went straight upstairs to her room. As soon as the door closed behind us our lips met again. Somehow we made it to the bed, and I was already missing my shirt, and a few minutes later she was pulling off my pants. I laid there, watching in awe as she straddled me, as she removed her shirt and then her bra. We kissed and fondled for a while and she ended up riding my face to orgasm. I remembered loving her dominance of me in that moment.

After she regained her senses, she returned the favor. My breath was caught and my heart was racing as she slid down my panties. I remember the electric jolt when her tongue first touched me. She had me screaming her name, my hands clenching blankets, pillows or her hair as she brought me to the peak over and over. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remember being glad that her parents were at some sort of military party and not there to intrude, but I also remember not caring if we were caught, as I was lost in pleasure. I remember the mind shattering orgasm that I finally had. I'm pretty sure I passed out for a moment because the next thing I remember was her staring down at me, smiling.

I remember us coming out to our parents. Mine were first and they were very accepting. My dad even complimenting me on landing such a looker, which got an elbow to the ribs from my mom. Her parents were more understanding than she had thought, which relieved us immensely. I remember our sex life evolving, her taking a more dominant role and me being more than happy being more submissive. I remember looking up the meaning of her name and thinking how perfectly it fit her personality. Aisling Nessa Whalen translates to dream not gentle wolf. She really is like a dream come true for me, and while she can be extremely loving and caring, she can also have a mean streak to her and she's a demon in the sack and very predatory. I remember her taking me to a tattoo parlor as a graduation present. I got a heart with angel wings with her name across it, and my tongue and nipples pierced. She got a rose tattoo over her heart with the script of my name forming the stem. While my name came from my great grandma, who was half jewish, and means regal woman, in gaelic it translates to beauty and a rose symbolises that beauty.

A few weeks later we were off to college, we both got accepted to UCLA and are set to be sharing a dorm room. We were both happy to be setting off on our own while still having the security net of our parents being within a half days drive.