Al doesn’t realize it but her journey is ending and at the same time, just beginning. She and her companion return to her original world, or at least the world where she had been Maddy. They witness a near drowning and then everything suddenly becomes much clearer. If The Wizard needed a hanky, you might need one, too.

Hopefully, there haven’t been too many violations of the universe created by Bill Hart perpetrated in the revelations in this story. Robert A. Heinlein proposed that each time an author takes to the pen, a new universe is created and I guess I will beg the number of the beast that this universe is just a variation of SRU.

Thanks again to Holly for her enlightening editing.

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

They passed back through the tunnels, if it was back. It may not have been the same tunnels for that matter. All Al knew for sure was that they were going to somewhere and somewhen. She was going to have to take her companion’s word that they were where it said they were when they arrived.

The scene before them certainly appeared to be similar to the area Al had called her home. It was winter, and there were crusty low drifts of snow wrapped around stems of winter browned grass. The sky was mostly overcast, and there were a few flakes of snow falling. It was the kind of snow that could elicit arguments from the local population as to whether or not it could really be considered snowing. It was a rural area with widely separated houses; each perched on its four or five acres attached by their umbilical driveways to a winding country road.

The snow was deep enough in some areas to allow sledding, and some children were taking advantage of it. They had found an area near a grove of leafless trees where the snow had drifted. Some of the boys, obviously future engineers, had collected additional snow and constructed a toboggan run. They had managed to add some banked turns which added to the excitement. The snow had become packed enough that the sleds with runners could also use it. The run started near a road where an elevated berm gave the sleds a speedy start. It paralleled an old stone wall, curved along a copse of trees and ran out along a small creek.

The area along the creek was ideal for alders, willows and cottonwoods and a family of beavers had found the area particularly to their liking. The all-year creek had cut a natural channel that was five to six feet below the fairly flat terrain. The beavers, with their innate wisdom, had dammed a narrow area and raised the level of the pond that formed so that it spread out over perhaps an acre. The pond was frozen out to the creek channel; however, the beavers and current kept a narrow band of water open.

At one time, it had been particularly cold, the sled run terminated on the frozen pond. That had ended when one of the sledders went through the ice. No one was hurt; however, the parents put an end to sledding out onto the ice and made sure the run ended away from the pond.

The children would ride two or three at a time on the toboggan and it was a fun run with just enough speed to make it exciting.

Al watched the children playing. It was something she was never able to do while she was growing up and now she was so sorry she had missed out.

The spirits were gradually drifting toward the bottom of the hill to an area between the end of the sled run and the pond. A group of three girls was careening down the frozen path. There were screams of mock terror and loud laughter. The toboggan finished its run and the girls tumbled into a snow bank just for fun as the sled halted.

Al saw it at the same time one of the girls did. Close to the edge of the frozen pond there was a small furry form. At first she thought it was a squirrel and then she realized it was a small kitten. Someone may have abandoned it, or maybe it had wandered away from its mother and littermates. Where it came from was not important. The important thing was that it was there.

Some dried leaves were being caught in the light breeze and were tumbling across the smooth ice. The kitten took after one and managed to gain some speed. The leaf briefly stopped and the kitten did not.

“Look at that! That kitten is sliding toward the water!” The kitten didn’t get quite that far, but it was in a precarious position. Some water had splashed on the ice and it had not yet frozen. The kitten’s feet were wet. It took a few steps and the wet fur around the pads froze to the surface of the ice. The kitten couldn’t move, and it was terrified.

One of the girls, without saying a thing, grabbed a fallen limb and raced for the edge of the pond. The ice was thick enough to bear her weight, just barely. She gingerly walked toward the kitten, and the ice creaked ominously. She tried to extend the branch to the kitten; however it was firmly fastened to the ice and could only cry pitifully. The little girl got onto her hands and knees and crept towards the little ball of fluff. She was finally close enough and gently slid her hand under the body. She gently pried the paws off the ice, leaving a little fur behind. The little kitten was firmly in her grasp as the ice gave away. Without much thought for her own safety, she turned and tossed the kitten to the more secure ice.

The water was deep where she went through, maybe six or seven feet. She struggle to get back on the ice, but the sheets didn’t offer any hold. Her clothing was quickly absorbing the water, and her buoyancy disappeared. It didn’t take long, but it was inevitable, and she disappeared below the surface.

Some of the children ran to the closest house where someone was able to call 911. Two of the children had tried to get to her, but the ice gave away immediately and they were soaked to mid thigh. One of the nearby residents brought a ladder to support his weight on the ice but there was no way to tell where the little girl had gone.

Her distraught parents arrived shortly after the first adults and one of the children handed a terrified little kitten to the girl’s mother.

“She was trying to save this kitten. I don’t think it belongs to anyone. It looks like some that live in that abandoned shed over there.”

The girl’s mother held the kitten to her chest and realized it was shaking. She opened her blouse and placed it between her breasts. The kitten’s little feet were like icy-hot pokers. She closed her blouse and wrapped her coat around her.

It took thirty minutes for the rescue crew to arrive. A man with a dry suit and scuba gear found her less than five minutes later. She had a very slow heartbeat and they restored her breathing in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Once again Al felt desperation. She had watched the scene unfold, and there wasn’t a thing she could do. They had observed the scene from a little distance, but close enough that Al recognized the girl’s parents. They were Stan and Marissa Lewis, his employee and wife in his previous existence. ‘So that was how she drowned, or almost drowned,’ Al thought. ‘How awful that must have been for them'.

Instead of following the ambulance on to the hospital, they returned to that non-world they had travelled through to so many places and times.

There was silence for a long time as Al pondered all she had seen. “I have a question, Spirit. You told me that my problem was due to the fact I was inadvertently inserted into the wrong body. Based on what I’ve experienced and seen in this adventure, I have to believe what you’ve told me, but what about people, men and women who are gay, lesbian or bisexual? I don’t see how any mistake could lead to someone’s behavior being that way.”

“Al, behavior in a population where there are two genders varies considerably. There’s a wide distribution of behaviors, and they may vary from one corporal occupation to the next. Some male spirits may find their orientation is strictly towards other males. They remain strongly masculine in behavior. Some male spirits feel more female in their attraction to other males. Some of these may eventually become female in spirit. The same thing happens for some female spirits. Some feel very female, but have no desire for sexual relationships with males. They are attracted sexually only to females. Other female spirits feel more and more male in their relationships and may eventually become strictly male. Then there is the other group who finds mutual attraction to both sexes. Some wish to maintain either the male sex or female sex, and others go back and forth. Sometimes they are male, and sometimes they are female. These are not mistakes. Unfortunately, some societies cannot accept anything except pure heterosexual roles. That is unfortunate.

“The big problem is those like you where the bodies and mind are in such conflict. That’s where we try to make the corrections. It’s just that there are not enough available to make the changes happen. In some worlds, there are medical procedures that can make superficial changes and some changes that are far from superficial; however, these are not the changes those souls desire, but it’s as close as they can get. For some, it is not close enough. Unfortunately, there are many societies that stigmatize what are real conditions, not perversions.”

Al filtered these apparent facts and had to accept them. It wasn’t that he had a problem with being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or even heterosexual. He just had never given it much thought until he had experienced what he had over the recent months. His previous transgendered state was his only concern until recently.

“Al, your aura seems to be getting particularly bright. I think it’s time now.”

“Time for what?” Al asked.

“You have an appointment that must not be missed. It’s time.”

“Do you mean you’re going to torture me further? I’m not sure I want to go through any more of this. You have shown me so much sadness, happiness and kindness. I used to have hope for something, and now I’m not sure what I want. I think I just want to get to the end of this tunnel or what ever it is, and face whoever or whatever has been putting me through this.”

“I can’t take you there, and I’m not sure anyone can. That is something that just happens when the time is right. I can’t explain it. Okay, we’re here now.”

They stopped, if it could be called stopping. The wall of the tunnel became translucent, then transparent, then faded completely away. They were at the far wall of a room that had to be patient’s room in a hospital. A child was on the bed and a couple who had to be the child’s parents were sitting at either side. The woman was holding the little girl’s hand and quietly crying.

“We have only a little time and we are synchronized with this world now. I want you to follow me closely, because I know the way. We’re going to get you in place and then I will have to leave. This is the end of your journey for now.”

Al looked at the two adults and recognized them immediately. They were Stan and Marissa Lewis. The little girl on the bed had to be Cynthia, and she was still in a coma and hooked up to several machines.

“Come on, we don’t have a lot of time. They’re going to remove life support in a few minutes, and you have to be ready.”

Al suddenly realized they had entered the little girl’s body. Somehow there was light, and she could see an endless network of cells and blood vessels.

“Great! Everything has been fixed. There won’t be any problems. All this over here got messed up, and that’s why I had to leave. I couldn’t make anything work.”

Al was quickly putting two and two together. “You’re Cynthia! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Actually, I’m not; at least not any more, and haven’t been for a long time. I was Cynthia when I resided here, but now I am moving on. It was my time, and you’re not taking anything from me. When you became available, this was the ideal place for you. You just weren’t ready and Cynthia wasn’t either. Now you both are.

“Okay, just slide in here. You just about have it. Here, let me help. That’s it and none too soon. You’re going to have to work a lot of this by yourself; however, most will be automatic, and it should all kick-in in a few seconds. You’re on your own now, Cynthia. I’ll check on you every once in a while. You’re going to have a birthday next month and you’ll be nine. I’m not sure when I’m scheduled to be back in this sphere, but if I do get back, we might get together. You never know. And, please, stay off the ice.”

There was a brief blending of spirits and then she was gone. For the first time in a long time Cynthia, for she truly was Cynthia, felt the need to breath. It wasn’t easy, and she almost coughed. She felt her mother’s grasp, and squeezed back.

“Stan, Stan, she squeezed my hand! Oh my God! She’s breathing! She’s off the respirator and she’s breathing on her own!” Marissa was punching the call button, and at the same time yelling, “Nurse, Nurse, Doctor, somebody! She’s alive, she’s alive!”

Cynthia realized she still had her old memories, or at least many of them. She also had all of Al’s memories, including everything she and her companion spirit had done over all of those days, weeks and months. She realized, though, that much time could not possibly have passed. She tried to open her eyes and found she could. She saw her mother and father’s tear stained faces. Her mouth was dry and her throat hurt. Still she managed to croak, “I love you.”

It took many weeks of therapy before Cynthia had most of her strength back. The weeks of immobility had caused much atrophying of her muscles and there were times she was still a bit unsteady, but it was hardly noticeable now.

The little kitten she had saved from drowning had grown under the care of her parents and little brother while she was in the hospital. The first day she was home, the kitten sprang into her lap as soon as Cynthia was settled in an easy chair in the family room. Then it did something unexpected. It clambered up her chest until its little face was directly in front of Cynthia’s. It sniffed Cynthia’s breath, half closed its eyes and bumped Cynthia’s nose with her nose. Then it curled up in her lap and went into a purring sleep. That night, the kitten moved from Cynthia’s parents’ room into her room, where every night after that, until Cynthia married, it curled up under the blankets against her chest.

Her parents and brother had not named the kitten. They had been worried about other far more serious things. They thought the immediate attachment the kitten had to their daughter was unusual but didn’t think a whole lot about. It was the next day when her mother approached her. “Have you thought about a name for her, Dear? She does seem rather attached to you.”

Cynthia seemed a bit thoughtful before responding, “Her name is Madeline, but we’ll call her Maddy, with a ‘Y’.”

Hearing her name, the little cat raised her head, gave a little chortle of agreement and returned to her nap.

The happy family was shopping at the local mall and had stopped outside the Hallmark Shop to eat the ice cream cones they had purchased. Cynthia looked up at the store. “Mommy, may I go into the shop? I need to get a card for a classmate who is having a birthday party next week. They might have a present for her, er, him too. I have some money. May I please?”

“Sure, we’ll wait right here.”

Cynthia skipped to the wooden door with the glass panels and pushed it open. The sound of the bell’s tinkling sent pleasant shivers down her spine. “Mr. Wizard, are you in there?”

“Just a moment, Cindy, I’ll be right with you.”

Cynthia looked around the shop she had first entered only weeks before. She found the wolf in his usual place, and pounced on him. His tail thumped loudly on the wood floor as Cynthia threw her arms around his neck. He gave the side of her face a slurpy kiss. She started scratching his side, and was pleased to see his scratching response.

“Well, Cindy, how are you doing?”

“I am doing great Mr. er, Your Wisdom. Mommy and Daddy are great, and my little brother is okay. I am so glad you’re here and I have to thank you. I was so angry with you at first. It took a while, but I finally realized what everyone was doing. It was a tough row to hoe.”

“Cindy, that sounds more like Al talking. I think we should have taken care of that. It will only take a minute. I just have to find that spell.”

“Please don’t take my memories. Al needs to be inside me. As much as I am Cynthia now, I am Alfred too. The other Cynthia was/is a different person. I am not her.”

“I’m not going to take your memories. I am just going to tune a few things down a bit. It seems you’re a special case. You have, and are going to have, some special talents. You’re going to need all that knowledge and some more in a while. Do you know what a ‘familiar’ is? Never mind, we’ll get to that later.”

Shifting away from the subject of adjusting her memory, she added, “I told my parents I was here to buy a present for a classmate. He’s Bobby Schmedlap and he is just like I was. Is there something I can get him so he won’t be as unhappy as I was?”

“Come on to the back room with me. Let’s see what we can find out about this friend of yours.” They carefully stepped over the wagging tail and passed through the beaded curtain. The crystal ball was cloudy, but the wizard made a few passes over it and it cleared up. Cynthia couldn’t see anything, but the wizard obviously could.

“Ah, here it is. Oh dear, a typical case, just like yours. Let’s see. She was scheduled for about ten years from now, but I don’t see any reason we can’t speed things up. They tell me the earlier the better and we can avoid a lot of the problems you had.

“We don’t want anyone to get something that’s not intended for them, so I think a gift certificate would be the best way to go. He will have to bring it in here to redeem it. I’ll personalize it, and you can give it to him, ah, her next week. I see here that you two are going to be great friends, and no one but the two of you should ever need to know what happened.

“I think I’m going to send a memo up. I don’t have to change nearly as much if I do these things early. That will save a lot of time and expense.”

“What’s this going to cost? I can’t afford what you charged Al last time,” questioned Cynthia.

“Well, I just got a notice that there was a ten percent rebate on major transformations last month. Why don’t we just apply that and call us even. By the way, there’s a finder’s bonus that we pay each time you bring in a customer for a transformation. You may apply it any way you wish. It could go towards future pro bono work that you might want to do.

“Okay, here’s the certificate and birthday card from Hallmark.”

‘Where did they come from?’ thought Cynthia as the wizard put the card, along with the gift certificate in a nice Hallmark bag.

“Cindy, you are going to have a beautiful life.”

Cynthia looked up and saw what she thought might be a tear in the old man’s eye. “I know I will,” she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. “I love you.”

Picking up her bag, she skipped to the door. Turning to wave, she saw the wizard putting his old linen hanky into the pocket in his robe. As she waved, ‘Spells ‘R’ Us’ faded into ‘Hallmark’.

“Who were you waving at?” asked her mother as they walked away.

“A friend, a good friend.”

EPILOGUE

If one could see such things, there were four bundles of energy hovering near the family. They followed the four for a while and then returned to the worm hole they would travel through.

“That certainly went well,” said the spirit that had once been Madeline Franken.

“Yes, our little girl is finally where she belongs. If only we had known.”

“Come on,” said the spirit that had once occupied Cynthia, “We have to get to that planet 10 light years the other side of Alpha Centauri.”

And they did.