Witching Hour   Part One: The Change   by Roberta J. Cabot   I wasn't a fan of the show. Even though I knew what I knew. Now, I don't know. My sister was. But she's gone now. Has been for a while. I miss Kaye. Sometimes I miss her more than usual. Sometimes less. But I miss her.

---

 
*** Kim, before Kaye went away ***

Kaye's hands felt so cold. "How do you feel," I asked her.

She tried to breathe deeper. "OK, I guess. Nothing hurts. Actually I feel sleepy. And light, you know? As if I weighed maybe only ten pounds or something." She sighed. "I just can't seem to catch my breath."

I kissed her on the cheek. "It's gonna be OK. Diane and Cassie are here." The two moved closer to the bed. I moved back to give them room.

Cassie leaned over, holding her long red hair away. "It's the spell, sweetie," she said. "That's what's making you sleepy."

"Then it won't be long now, huh?"

Cassie nodded. "Yes, dear. Not long." She started crying. Kaye raised a frail hand and touched Cassie's cheek.

"It's OK, Cassie," she said. "It's not anyone's fault." She looked to Diane. "And don't worry, Diane. Kim's here."

"Kaye," Diane responded, kneeling by her bedside. "I know what you said. But it can't be Kim. It's..."

Kaye made a shushing motion. "It is. HE is."

"He's a man, Kaye. How can it be him?"

"Trust me. I know. I feel it. Give me your hand." She reached for Diane.

Diane gently held Kaye's right hand in both of hers. After a while, Kaye sighed. "Can you see it, now?" Kaye asked. "It's as plain as day."

Diane closed her eyes and tried to see what she saw. Her hands shook with concentration, but it was useless. "I'm sorry, Kaye. I..."

Kaye's eyes clouded over. "Oh, Diane." Her voice fell in sorrow. But, suddenly, she looked up at the ceiling, and her attitude changed as if she was listening to someone.

Slowly, she smiled and looked back at Diane. "Never mind. She says you'll have no choice but to believe when the change happens."

"What change," Diane asked. "Who are you talking to?"

"When Kim changes, silly!" Kaye giggled.

"Who were you talking to?" Diane repeated her question.

"My mom," she smiled a happy smile. "I'll be with her in a bit. Right?"

"Oh, Kaye..." Cassie sighed, and started to cry.

Kaye looked at Cassie. "Oh, Cassie, don't cry, my love." Cassie errupted into a full-tilt bawl.

"Cassiopea!" Diane exclaimed. "Stop it!" She stood up and went to Cassie. "Stop it," she hissed. "If you really love her, you'll stop." Cassie nodded and swiped her arm across her eyes.

"Diane?" Kaye asked softly.

"Yes, my dear?"

"I need to talk to Kim now. Can you leave us for a bit?"

"All right, dear. Let's go, Cassie." Diane reached up to pat the tall girl on the cheek. "Let's go, hon."

Cassie nodded, and went to Kaye's bedside. She gave her a gentle hug. "I love you," she said, and gave her a tender kiss. "I'll love you forever."

Kaye smiled and nodded. "I know. I'll love you forever, too."

Before she stepped through the door, I stopped her.

"Cassie," I said, "I didn't approve before, but she told me she loves you. And I think you do, too. I’m sorry. For not understanding. For not accepting."

She looked at me straight in the eye. I didn't know any other girls who were tall enough who could, except for Cassie.

"Thank you, Kim. That means a lot."

"It’s no big deal," I said. "You're family. Have been for a while. I guess I was just too narrow-minded to accept it."

"Kim?" Kaye called plaintively.

I shooed her out. "Go now. I'll call you if..."

Cassie nodded, and stepped through the door. I closed it and went to her side. "Hey, Big Sister. You okay?"

"It's really time now, Kim. But I have to tell you some things Momma told me."

She was delirious, poor girl. I played along. "What did mom say?"

"Did you bring the tape recorder that I asked for?"

I pulled the little device out of my jacket pocket and showed it to her.

"Turn it on." I switched it on and placed it on her bedside table.

She sighed. "That's good. I might not be able to say this again so it's good that we have a recording."

"Kaye, that's..."

She waved my protests away and continued.

"Mom says that the changes will start a couple of minutes after I'm gone, so be ready for it. The changes will happen all on their own so Diane and Cassie just need to keep you comfortable.

"The physical changes won't hurt but Momma says it would be better if you were asleep for it. Tell the girls. It will all be done in just a couple of weeks. But she says it will take a while for you to understand and control your powers, and that you will need Diane and Cassie's help." She smiled. "Especially Cassie's. Oh, you lucky girl."

"Girl?" I thought.

"Momma won't tell me what kind of powers you will have, though. I But I have an idea." She smiled merrily at that. "Anyway, she says they are important to the work you guys will be doing. So you better learn how to handle them as soon as you can." She sighed again. "Oh, it's so hard to breathe!"

"Kaye..."

"It's coming. I have to do this fast." I held her hand and wiped the tears from my eyes. "Momma says that you have to trust your instincts, and not to fight the changes. Your life will be so different from before, but it will also be a good life if you want it to be."

She smiled her mischievous smile. "I wish I could be around to see your face when you see yourself!" The old grandfather clock started tolling twelve o'clock. Witching hour. Kaye sighed again. “Everything that’s mine is now yours, Kim. I just wish…”

"Kaye?"

"I love you Kim..."

"Kaye!"

"Promise that you’ll be strong for me. And don't forget that I love you..." And she closed her eyes.

"Kaye!" I put my ear against her chest, and I couldn't hear anything. I took her wrist and looked for a pulse, but I couldn't find any. I looked at her beautiful, fragile face and started crying. “I love you, too,” I whispered. “I promise…”

The clock had finished chiming twelve.

As my silent tears coursed down my cheeks, I could feel Diane leading me away. I gestured to the bedside table, and Diane switched the tape recorder off and pocketed it.

Cassie rushed passed us, almost bowling us over. She kneeled at my sister's bedside and great wracking sobs filled the room.

As Diane led me to my own room, the private nurse that she had hired rushed into Kaye's room. I neither had the strength nor the will to tell her. She'd find out soon, anyway.

Diane tucked me in my bed and passed a hand over my eyes. I could feel the magic flow. And I blissfully fell asleep.

- - - - -

I vaguely remember the dream. Mom and Kaye having tea by a window where a bright yet soft white light shone through gossamer pink curtains, bathing them in a light peach-pink glow. Pink was Kaye’s favorite color.

Mom lifted her teacup and I saw that it was the teacup from Kaye's little tea playset when she was little, the flowers circling the rim. I remember the pattern so well. But this time the cup was full-sized.

Oh, how I loathed that tea set when I was young! Kaye would force me to play with her, and we would drink imaginary tea and eat air-cookies for hours on end. But now I recalled those times in a better light because they were times that I got to spend with her.

"Mom?" I said.

"Oh, Angel. Shoo! It's not yet your time. You have so much to do, yet." She waved an impatient hand to shoo me away, a gesture from my childhood I recall so well, when she wanted me to leave Kaye and her as they baked those wonderful muffins that Kaye and I would eat later in the porch with tall glasses of ice-cold milk.

"Kaye?" I asked.

"It's all right, Angel. We'll see each other again. Now, go."

"Angel? Who's Angel?"

"Why you are, silly!" Kaye giggled merrily.

I woke up, then. I opened my eyes, or rather fluttered them open, and made a small yawn. And Diane and Cassie were there, as if they've been waiting there for me to wake up. I wondered why.

 
*** Cassie, seeing Kimmie for the first time ***

Diane and I had played the tape over and over again, and followed Kaye's instructions to the letter, only half believing. Diane had put Kim in his bed, and he had been asleep for two weeks, now, so something's due to happen today.

We had tried to wake Kim up before, but he just wouldn't snap out of his deep sleep, even with Diane's spells. So we buried Kaye without him. And that was all more than a week ago.

When we got back from grocery shopping, we put the bags of stuff away and went up to Kim's room, expecting to see Kim still in his deep sleep. What greeted us was this angelic little blonde curled up under the blankets, wearing Kim's pajamas.

We stared at her open-mouthed. She couldn't be more than fifteen years old tops. "That can't be Kim," murmured Diane.

"Gorgeous!" I exclaimed. I couldn't help it. She had on the most beautiful gentle smile I had ever seen. I just wanted to hold her and cuddle her.

She turned in her sleep, making a sleepy little murmur, like "mmmmph," and stuck her thumb in her mouth. I giggled. So cute!

Her turn had pulled the pajama top tight against her, and it outlined the most beautiful pair of breasts I had ever seen. Their large size, compared to her apparent youth, forced us to re-evaluate her age, to maybe something like an eighteen-year-old girl - a very well-developed eighteen-year-old girl.

Kim's pajamas were definitely too big for her. The blanket was pushed to the side revealing that the pajama pants had been kicked off, leaving her clad in Kim's jockey shorts, smooth and sexy legs on display.

"That can't be Kim," Diane repeated.

"I don't care," I said. "She's so pretty..."

And then she woke up. She fluttered her eyes, bringing attention to the long eyelashes surrounding those incredible blue eyes. She yawned bone-crackingly, and made a noise like a little purring kitty. I think she saw us, but she closed her eyes again.

She sleepily reached up and got one of the pillows, curled around it, hugged it to herself, and purred.

Smiling, Diane approached the bed and pulled the pillow out of her grasp. She curled up again, murmuring in soft protest.

"All right, little miss. Time to wake up," she said.

"Awww, Mommy," the girl said, "just a few minutes more."

"Kim?"

"Mmmmm..."

"Kim!" Diane exclaimed.

"All right, already!" she mumbled in sleepy irritation, and sat up on the bed, just like a typical teenager. She sat effortlessly in a crosslegged lotus position, yawning and stretching hers arms, and wiped her hair away from her face.

She fluttered her eyes open again, and looked at us.

"Hi," she said mildly.

Diane and I looked at each other. "How are you feeling, Kim," I asked. I deliberately used his name as a sort of test.

"All right, I guess," the girl answered. She responded, so it must be Kim... Diane and I looked at each other, and we finally believed Kaye.

"I feel good, actually," she continued, "I feel so rested. How long have I been asleep?" Her voice was so cute.

"Two weeks," Diane said.

Kim looked shocked. "That woke her up," I thought.

She looked down at her lap, in deep thought. "Kaye," she sighed.

"We buried her more than a week ago, honey," Diane said gently.

"Kaye," she whispered again. Her eyes sparkled as she tried not to cry.

We looked at her in sympathy.

"I want to visit her," she murmured. We could feel the change in her demeanor: she's trying so hard it almost made me cry. She sat up on the edge of the bed.

"Kim..."

"Please..." she said, almost begging us.

Diane and I looked at each other. I nodded.

"All right," Diane said. "But not until you take a bath and we all have some breakfast."

Kim suited words to action. "Sounds good to me," she said hoarsely, and climbed off the bed. She went to a cabinet, got a towel and some of her old underwear, and headed off to the bathroom.

"The flighty girl is gone," I thought with some sadness. "The old Kim's back now."

Suddenly, we heard a high-pitched girlish scream coming from Kim's bathroom. Diane and I looked at each other, with an idea of what just happened. "Well, she's not gone completely," I thought wryly. We rushed into the bathroom and saw Kim naked, except for a pair of men's jockeys, gaping and pointing at her reflection in the bath's mirror. She looked so sexy. "She's so beautiful," I said to Diane.

"What's wrong, Kim?" Diane asked innocently.

She mutely continued pointing at her reflection.

"Cute, ain't she?" I giggled.

"Is that me," she quavered. "Is that the change?"

"Apparently so, dear," answered Diane.

And then she fainted.

 
*** Kim, seeing himself after the change ***

I woke up in my bed again, with Diane and Cassie sitting on the bed on either side of me. All of us had our feet under the covers, with Cassie and Diane sitting up against the headboard.

I was curled up against Diane, my arm over her lap. I looked up to see her sitting against the headboard looking back at me, smiling gently.

"Hi, there," she said.

"Hi, Mummm... ah, Diane." I had this urge to call her Mommy.

I felt Cassie rubbing my back, and I wriggled in sleepy, indolent pleasure. "Oooh, that feels good!" I said. Cassie giggled, which made me smile.

I sat up and yawned, stretching my arms wide. I could hear my bones cracking. "Nobody could feel this good, this contented," I thought.

I saw my pajama sleeves fall away from my arms, and saw how thin and smooth my arms were. I looked at my left hand, studying the fingers and the general lithe elegance of it.

Then I noticed the light-pink color of the pajama sleeves. I looked down and realized I was dressed in a girl's shorty silk pajama. Maybe Kaye's. And then I noticed my chest. "My God, I've got gorgeous hooters," I thought, which brought everything crashing back down on me. I stiffened in fright.

"You okay, Kim, honey?" Cassie asked.

I nodded, trying to get my brain around the idea that I was a girl now. I tried to get into a logical frame of mind, and started with the basics.

"I need to pee," I thought, "soon."

I felt the sleeves of my pajama, and felt how nice the silk was against my skin. Then I had a thought.

"Who changed my clothes?" I asked.

Cassie giggled, but Diane was the one who answered. "We both did, actually," she said. "You like?"

I nodded, and studied the rest of my outfit. I looked at Diane.

"I wanna see myself, Mumm... Diane."

Diane smiled. "Are you sure, sweetie? You didn't react well the last time."

I nodded my head emphatically, and had this sneaking feeling I was acting like a little girl.

"Wait," Cassie said, "I'll bring the mirror from Kaye's room so you don't have to get up." She kissed my cheek and went out of the room.

The mention of my sister's name brought it all back, but I tried to control my grief. I hugged Diane again.

After a few moments, Cassie came back, with Kaye's full-length mirror tucked effortlessly under an arm, as if it were just a bunch of books she was bringing to school. I wondered where that image came from. But, it couldn't distract me from the fact that the girl was strong. In her other hand, she was carrying my sister’s old polaroid camera.

Cassie put the camera on a table, set up the mirror at the foot of my bed, and adjusted it so that it caught mine and Diane's reflection.

In the mirror were two gorgeous girls, the older one with long, straight raven-black hair impeccably combed, and horn-rimmed glasses that emphasized her blue-black eyes and scarlet lips. She was wearing a light-yellow top with a white collar, and jeans, the front of the blouse molding against her beautiful breasts as she sat on the bed hugging the other girl.

The younger girl was even more gorgeous - a platinum-blonde nymph dressed seductively in a light-pink pajama, her long hair in a tangled mess. But far from making her look disheveled, it made her seductively sexy, like she just woke up from a satisfying sleep.

"That's me," I whispered. I looked over the top of the mirror at Cassie. She nodded gently.

I looked at Diane, who I still had clutched around the hips. "Yes, it is, sweetie," she said.

"I have to go pee," I said suddenly. And they both laughed at the non-sequitur.

"I'm serious!" I said.

"Well, then go pee. Nobody's stopping you."

I pushed the bedclothes away and stood up. I scampered to the bathroom on my tiptoes, feeling my bladder was about to explode.

When I got to the bathroom, I paused a bit and tried to figure out what to do. I took off the pajama bottoms, throwing them away from me. I pushed down the sheer panties I found I was wearing, sat down and let go. At least the muscles I needed to use were about the same.

I sighed in relief. I was about to get up when I felt how wet my butt was. I thoughtfully got some toilet paper and wiped carefully. I dropped the paper in the bowl and flushed.

Rising, I pulled up my panties and went to the sink to wash my hands. As I was washing, I looked at myself in the mirror above the sink.

I was beautiful. Amazingly so. In fact, I couldn't help but start getting turned on in a major way. I had a cute nose, sexy pouty lips, beautiful blue eyes with incredibly long lashes, almost translucent eyebrows in little half-moon shapes, a long and slender neck, and pale yellow hair that reached all the way to the top of my butt - I could feel it tickling my back and the tops of my bum. God, I wanted to fuck me so bad! But I shook my head to take such thoughts away. My long hair rippled sexily and I couldn't stop a moan from coming out.

I swiped at my hair, pushing the mass of silver-yellow tendrils from my face with a dainty movement of my hand and arm. That inadvertent gesture made me pause. I shook my head again to banish such thoughts, and took a deep breath.

"Get a grip, Kim old boy," I thought, and giggled. I definitely wasn't a boy anymore.

As I thought about it, my giggling died out. All this giggling and making girly gestures was starting to worry me. The changes are apparently more than just physical. "I need to talk to the girls," I thought.

I made a face and stuck my tongue out at myself, but it just made me look more unbearably cute. I sighed in defeat and turned to the door. I stepped out of the bathroom, walking on the balls of my feet.

I suddenly noticed this and stopped. I looked at my feet. Or tried to - my new breasts blocked the view. So I had to look from the side.

They looked like ordinary feet, albeit very sexy girls' feet attached to long and very sexy girls' legs... And they were standing on tiptoe... I also noticed that I kept my hands away, bent at the wrists and pointing away from my hips. I also belatedly noticed that I forgot to put my pajama bottoms on, leaving me naked from the waist down, save for my barely-there panties.

There was a bright flash and I looked up to see Cassie, with the camera still aimed at me. Just as I looked up, she took another picture. I gave her a raspberry, but she just giggled and took another picture of that.

I consciously brought the heels of my feet down, and I started to walk normally. But it took a deliberate and conscious effort to walk normally. If I didn't think about my walk, I'd start walking on the balls of my feet again. I walked to the foot of my bed slowly, deliberately putting my heel down on the carpet after every step.

"Darnit!" I exclaimed to Cassie. "What's wrong with my feet?" And then I gaped at her. "Darnit?' I said to no one in particular.

Cassie giggled again. I looked up at her, starting to get pissed with hands on my hips. And then I realized how tall she was. "Ohmigod," I said involuntarily. "you're, like, so tall!"

Cassie giggled again. "So what else is new, Shorty?" She ruffled my hair.

"Don't call me that!" I said, batting her hand away.

Cassie grinned. "OK," she said amiably, and gave me a casual kiss on the cheek. "But that brings up a question. What do we call you now, anyway?" She held my arms out and swung me around. "You definitely not Kim, anymore."

I thought about it, unconsciously sticking the tip of my tongue between my teeth.

"Well," I said, "the quickest solution would be to just keep on calling me 'Kim' but this time with an ‘I’ and ‘E’ at the end."

"I guess we could do that," Diane said. "But you know, witches are always given new names when they join a coven. They are usually given names by their new sisters that reflect who they are, and it is by these names that they are known in their coven.

"We witches believe that, by doing so, we bind their powers to them. But, to the outside world, they are still known by their old names."

"We can do this for you, if you want," Cassie said.

"Does that mean I'm a witch, too, and I'm a part of your coven, now?" I asked.

"Well, duh!" said Cassie.

"That means, when I twitch my nose, I can cast a spell?"

"Sure, you can cast spells," Diane said. "Plus a few other tricks. The nose-twitching is totally optional, of course."

"But we wouldn't mind if you twitched your nose," Cassie said. "I think you'd look like a cute bunny if you do that."

"I want my own broom this instant!" I giggled.

Diane laughed. "Well, we prefer to use cars, nowadays, Brooms are just a little too passé."

"So, what else can I do?"

"We don't know, yet," Diane said. "but most witches have the power to levitate things, to influence people, or to cause certain things to happen.”

"But, for you, we won't know what your powers are until they manifest themselves," Cassie said. "And that usually happens over time."

"How about you two? What can you guys do?"

"Cassie and I, and another girl named Tamara are called the Elementals. The things that we can do complement what the others can do. I think that you are..." She stopped herself and shook her head. "Let me start again, so I can explain it better," she sighed.

"Our coven is a little different - those that join us are given new names, just like some of the other older covens. But, for us, we only get our new names when our powers come out. Also, we are all required to use our new names in the outside world, too. That practically means changing our identities altogether.

"Traditionally, we are given names from Greek or Roman mythology. That was the way with both Cassie and me."

"What was your name," I asked. "you know, before."

"When I discovered my powers and joined the coven, I was given the name Diane. But before that, my name was Joyce."

"Joyce," I said, trying it out. "No," I said. "Diane suits you better."

"I'm glad you approve," she said, and smiled at me.

I turned to Cassie. "How about you," I asked. "What was your old name?"

"I've always been Cassie," she said, and hugged me.

Diane stood up and walked over to us. "Well, what really happened," she said, "was that we were having trouble divining a name for her. We don't pick the names at random, you see. The names come to us. With Cassie, it was different. Her name just wouldn't come.

"Cassie then gave us a suggestion - she wanted to be called Cassiopea, after one of the constellations in the night sky. She picked the name so that she could still use her old nickname. And it was the right name."

"What was your old name anyway?" I asked Cassie.

"Cassandra," Cassie dimpled.

"I like Cassiopea better," I said.

"Well, if you like it, I like it," she said, and kissed me again.

"How about you," asked Diane. "Any thoughts?"

I thought about it some more. Suddenly, there was another flash, and Cassie squealed, "that's so cute!"

I belatedly noticed that I had stuck the tip of my tongue between my teeth. "Stop saying that!" I said in irritation, "and stop taking my picture!".

Cassie pouted. That little gesture made me feel so guilty, I hugged her. "I'm sorry, Cassie," I found myself saying. "It's just that I'm so scared. I used to be a guy. I don't know how to act like a girl. I'm ending up saying the wrong things..."

Cassie hugged me back. It made me feel good. "I don't know about that," she whispered in my ear. "I think you're doing okay. Especially for a new girl."

"Yeah," I said. "I've been a girl for all of thirty minutes." I pushed away from her. "Diane," I turned to the brunette, "how did this happen, anyway?"

"I think it was triggered by you walking in on us that night, and getting in the way of our spell," Diane said.

"Originally, we wanted to use the spell to awaken the power of the fourth element," Cassie tried to explain, "to see if Kaye was the one to complete us."

"Fourth element?"

"In mythology," Cassie explained, "there were gods called the Elementals, who could control or influence the elements of nature - four of which were earth, wind, fire and water. In our coven, for every generation, there have always been four witches which had influence over these so-called elements. We called them Elementals. For this particular time, the Elementals were us."

I was struggling to absorb what she was saying.

"Cassie," she gestured to her, "can control the wind." Cassie obliged with a small demonstration - she whipped up a brisk draft that whipped up my hair into a golden halo. I shrieked in momentary fright as Cassie giggled and snapped another picture.

"I," continued Diane after the wind died down, "can influence the Earth." Diane closed her eyes as if concentrating, and I looked at her expectantly.

"Nothing's happening," I whispered to Cassie.

"Better look behind you," she responded. I looked, and was confronted with my old little potted fern on the windowsill - it was twice as big as normal and still growing.

"Diane, you better stop, or you'll tear a hole in the roof!" Diane's eyes snapped open and the plant stopped growing.

After a moment of shocked silence, I whispered, "Wow! Way cool!"

Diane smirked. "I think so," she said. She was about to gesture at the potted plant again.

"Wait," I exclaimed involuntarily.

"What is it?"

"Like, what are you gonna do?"

"I'm going to shrink your fern back to it's original size. What did you think I was going to do?"

"Umm, I don't know... Go ahead, I'm sorry for stopping you..."

Dianne grinned and gestured again, and the fern shrank back to its former approximate size, but this time a lot more healthy-looking. "You should take care of her better," she said, "and water her more often. She doesn't like it when you forget."

"Her?"

She pointed at the plant. "Your fern," she said simply.

"Oh." I scampered to the fern, dragging Cassie along by her hand. "Look at that, Cassie!" I squealed, and giggled. "Do you think I could do that when I grow... ummm," I stopped myself short. "when I grow into my powers, I mean..." I wondered what was happening to me. "I'm twenty-nine, for gosh's sake," I thought, "not some five-year old... now, why'd I say "gosh?" Even in my thoughts, I wasn't thinking normally. The tip of my tongue popped out between my teeth again, as I thought deeply.

"Kimmie?" Cassie asked. "Are you OK?"

I shook myself out of it again. "I'm fine," I said, and smiled brightly at her just to show her how fine I was.

"So I'm the fourth?"

Cassie nodded emphatically, whereas Diane agreed, but more sedately. “Well, we hope you are,” she said.

"Well,” I said, “if I'm the fourth," I said, "who’s the third?"

"You haven't met her," answered Cassie. "Like Diane said, her name is Tamara. She's from Japan, but speaks English really well."

"I can speak Japanese!" I dimpled.

"Then I guess you'll get along real well." I clapped my hands happily.

Diane looked at me, with an eyebrow raised.

"What?!" I asked. She just shrugged. I looked back at Cassie again.

“She is… a little difficult to get to know,” said Cassie.

“I’m sure that’s not true. Any friend of yours, and all that.”

Cassie shrugged.

 
*** Kimmie, getting dressed for the first time ***

Diane took my hand and dragged me to the bathroom. “All right, young miss. You need to finish your shower.”

“Shower, Mumm… ah Diane? No bath?”

“No time for a bath, dearie,” Diane said. “So a shower will have to do. Now, scoot!” She paddled my behind lightly.

“’Kay…”

Cassie stuck her head in the bathroom. “Kimmie, just give me a holler if you need a hand in there, okay? You know, to show you how to wash your new parts?” I stuck my tongue out at her, and she giggled.

When the door clicked closed, I pushed my panties down and stepped into the bathtub naked. I looked up at the showerhead which was mounted so impossibly high. No chance for me to reach it and adjust it properly. Anyway, I turned on the water, adjusting the temperature so I can get it just right.

Instead of adjusting the showerhead, I moved backwards so that the water hit the parts of me I wanted to wash.

I took a small washcloth and lathered it up with the bar of soap I found, probably Kaye’s since it smelled a lot like her. I then started scrubbing. “Ow!” I inadvertently exclaimed. It seemed my new skin was really sensitive. I lathered up the washcloth again and rubbed my skin more lightly. Aside from my new boobs, washing up was pretty much the same as it used to be. Curious, I used my hand to try and cup one of them, but my palm couldn’t gather the thing fully. I got big boobs, I said to myself, amazed and a bit turned on. I gently washed both of them, and as the washcloth grazed the nipple, I shuddered involuntarily. Girl parts are fun, I thought. And as my hand was about to explore further, Diane called through the door.

“Honey,” she called, “I’m putting your outfit on the bed, some stuff of Kaye’s that I think will fit you. Just give me a call if you need some help. Cassie and I will be downstairs.”

“All right. Thanks!” I called. At the mention of Kaye, any desire for further “exploring” disappeared. I squeezed some shampoo onto my hand and scrubbed my new blonde hair. But there was so much of it, I had to use maybe a third of the bottle. I rinsed it out for what was probably fifteen minutes and then finished washing up the rest of me quickly. I stepped out of the tub dripping wet, got one of the towels from the cabinet and started drying myself. Though the towel was thick and fluffy, my skin protested at the scrubbing. All I could do was to pat myself dry.

My thick new hair was another problem. I leaned over the tub and actually squeezed water out of it. I tried the usual rubbing but all it did was frizz out my hair and not dry it much. I went to the medicine cabinet and found a small hair dryer. I was skeptical if it could do the job.

“See?” Cassie said, walking in nonchalantly. “You did need my help.”

I shrieked and hastily wrapped my towel around my torso. “Cassie!”

“What, dear,” she said, and stepped up to me uncomfortably close.

“Don’t you know how to knock?” I said indignantly. “I’m… naked…”

Cassie giggled. “We’re all girls here, hon. You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before. Although I wouldn’t mind if I did see.”

I was blushing up a storm. “Still, you should knock next time…”

“Yes, sir,” she said comically, and saluted.

“Well, now that you’re here…”

“Can I help my little princess with anything, then?”

I smiled at her calling me princess, but more than that, inside, I felt so happy she said I was her princess.

I gestured at the top of my head. “I can’t figure out how to dry my new hair! There’s so much of it! Maybe I should get it cut.”

“Don’t you dare!” she said and carried me into my room like a little child, plunking me down in front of my dresser table with the mirror. “Sit here and I’ll take care of it.”

I sat and adjusted my towel a littler better since it was about to fall off. When she came back, she had a hairbrush in her hand as well as a big, wide-toothed comb.

She pulled up a chair behind me and started untangling knots in my hair with the comb. As soon as she started doing so, a warm breeze seemingly coming from below surrounded me. I shrieked in delight as I watched Cassie in the mirror combing out my hair as well as drying it out with her powers. It was like I was surrounded by a golden halo, which was actually my hair.

In less than five minutes, my hair was dry and smooth, no tangles at all. Cassie then used the brush to tease some body back into it.

“There,” she said. “Now you’re back to being gorgeous again, instead of being just plain beautiful.”

I giggled at the compliment, and gave her a thank you hug.

“So do you want me to go, or would you want me to help you with getting dressed?” she gestured at the clothes on the bed.

I stood and went over to the bed and saw the clothes laid out. A very smart looking woman’s suit in black, with a low-neckline white sleeveless blouse, and the usual accoutrements. At the foot of the bed was a pair of calf-high stiletto boots.

“Diane’s sorry for the heels,” Cassie said, noting where I was looking at. “But it was the only pair in Kaye’s closet that could remotely fit you. Don’t worry, though. We’ll get you your own stuff later.”

I remembered the jacket and bootcut pants as something Kaye wore for a job interview, and I remembered commenting how smart she looked in them. My heart felt like it was being crushed at the thought of my sister. I picked up the jacket and held it close. I could smell the faint perfume, the kind Kaye always wore. But I had to be strong. I promised.

I squared my shoulders and dropped the towel. I heard Cassie gasp but I was concentrating hard on putting the clothes on. I picked up the sheer pair of dark-colored satin panties and put them on. As they slid up my legs, I couldn’t help but shiver a little at their satiny smoothness and softness. As I snugged them around my waist, I felt them gently cup my sex. I rubbed my thighs together, enjoying the feeling.

I then picked up the matching black satin bra. I stopped, trying to figure out how to put the thing on, and then I recalled how Kaye used to do it. I put the strap around me, clipped it at the closest set of hooks in front, spun it around and fitted the cups around my breasts. I then put my arms through the shoulder straps, settling them on my shoulders. Kaye had a pretty hefty pair herself, though not as large as mine, I thought, and her shoulders a little narrower than mine, so the cups were a little snug and the cut of the bra squeezed them together. I looked down and saw the most incredible-looking cleavage I ever saw. I pushed my breasts together even further and giggled at how I probably looked. I was sure I’d get the attention of every man I passed today. (I faintly heard Cassie say something like, “good god!”)

I then put the blouse on, buttoning it up the best I can. But since it was fitted for Kaye’s smaller bosom, I couldn’t button it all the way up. My resulting cleavage was very prominent, and with the dark color of the bra, you could just see the bra underneath the thin white material of the blouse. I wondered if Diane deliberately did this.

I put on the jacket and, thankfully, it somewhat camouflaged my chest when I had it buttoned up. I then bent over to pick up a pair of nylon knee-high stockings (Cassie’s gasp barely registered with me as I concentrated on getting dressed), and sat on the edge of the bed, sliding the things over my feet and lower legs. I still didn’t have the technique down pat as I had trouble putting the pair on but eventually managed to do it without ruining them. I then took the pants, slid them on and tried to get them over my hips. Thing was, as much as I tugged on them, they just wouldn’t get passed my hips.

As I was jumping up and down trying to get the pants on, I finally noticed Cassie. She was there through my whole performance, and was looking at me slack-jawed. I blushed fiercely. “What?” I said gruffly, or as gruffly as my cutie-voice could, and tried to cover up my embarrassment.

“My god, Kimmie,” Cassie said. “You’re so sexy…”

I cleared my throat as I turned a further shade of red. “I think there’s something wrong with these pants. Either that or my butt’s bigger now than Kaye’s.”

Cassie finally looked up at my face. “Huh? What? What’d you say?”

I harrumphed (in a cute, feminine way). “I said these pants are too small? I think I need to change outfits.”

Cassie shook her head, as if trying to clear it of errant thoughts, and, without saying anything further, left the room.

As I started getting worried, wondering where she went, she came back with another article of clothing, this time a plain, short, stretchy black skirt.

“Try this,” she said. “It’ll still match your outfit and it’s stretchy so it’ll be sure to fit you.”

I took off the pants and put on the skirt. I got it up to my waist and, when I was about to snap the closure, Cassie stopped me.

“This is supposed to go on the side, Kimmie,” said Cassie.

I nodded and spun the skirt around so that the clip was on my left side, and clipped it closed. I felt a zipper, so I zipped that up. When it was properly clipped and zipped, I tugged on the bottom of the skirt to smooth it down, and looked at my feet.

“Here,” Cassie said, and kneeled down.

I put my hands on her head for balance as I stepped into one of the boots. The stockings helped to make my foot slide in smoothly, and I did the same with the other, still using Cassie for balance.

When I had both of them on, Cassie reached to zip up the left boot.

She did it slowly, and as the zipper slowly went “zzzip,” I felt so sexy. In a way, Cassie’s zipping up the boot was so erotic. It wasn’t so much the feel of it, as it was the act of zipping me up in the sexy boots.

She did the same thing with the other boot, and I almost moaned.

After zipping me up, Cassie stood up slowly, holding on to my waist and sensuously running her hands up my sides as she stood up.

By then I was breathing hard.

She pulled me back to my dresser again and had me sit.

She felt my earlobes and found that they were already pierced. She put in a couple of thin hoop earrings, and put a necklace with a ruby pendant around my neck. The pendant was a little cold at first but warmed up pretty quick, nestled in my cleavage.

To finish my look off, she put a gold ladies’ watch around my left wrist and a half-dozen thin gold bangles around my right one. She took my left hand and slid a gold ring around my finger. I looked at the tiny ruby set in the middle.

“It was a gift from me to Kaye,” she said in a melancholy way. “It’s yours now.”

I looked at it, and then at Cassie. I gave her a hug. “I’m sorry, Cassie. I miss her, too.”

She hugged me back.

We decided not to put makeup on me, for which I was eternally grateful. Cassie joked that my constant blushing was enough. I swatted her playfully on her butt, and she went, “ow!” I was immediately contrite, but Cassie giggled and said she was just fooling with me. I stuck my tongue out at her again.

“Girls,” Diane called from downstairs. “If you’re done getting dressed, come on down. Lunch is ready.”

Cassie called back, “Yes, mommieee,” and giggled.

I echoed her, “yes, mommy.” I stopped on the stairs and thought that over. I wasn’t joking. I was being earnest. I really called Diane mom…

These changes were really messing me up in the head. “Oh, big sister,” I thought. “Is this really what you wanted me to be? To be such a girlie-girl? Oh, if you could see me now…”

In my mind’s eye, I could see Kaye smiling her little crooked smile, giggling happily. “You’re doing fine, Little Sister,” her image said in my mind.

“If you say so, sis,” I thought back at her imagined face.

Downstairs in the kitchen, I sat down with Diane and Cassie - Diane at the head of the table, and Cassie sitting right beside me, again uncomfortably close. We had chicken salad sandwiches and hot bowls of tomato soup.

I picked up the spoon with one hand and a sandwich in the other. Cassie tucked a napkin in my collar, or more appropriately in my bra (the blouse top was still unbuttoned), and I noisily slurped the soup, holding the spoon handle in my fist, and took a big bite of the sandwich. “Mmm…” I said. The soup and sandwich were delicious.

“Go slowly, Kimmie,” Diane said. “I know you’re really hungry, but it’s not ladylike of you to wolf down your food like that.”

“Okay, mumm… ah, Diane.”

Diane looked back, and after a moment, stood up and crouched beside me, to get her face level with mine. I was a bit worried.

“Kim,” she began.

“Yes, umm, Diane?” I answered worriedly.

“Why do you keep calling me Mommy?”

I looked down. “I… I don’t know. I’m trying hard not to…” I put down my sandwich and spoon. I was about to cry.

“Is it the change that’s making you do it?” she asked gently.

“Yes… no. Oh, I don’t know!” I started crying. “I just… need you to be my mom. I’m sorry! I’ll try and stop.”

Diane gently took my face in both her hands and made me face her. “I wouldn’t mind if you did, you know. I’d be flattered.”

“Seriously? Honest and true?”

She giggled. “Honest and true,” she said, quoting me.

I felt my heart almost bursting. I threw my arms around her neck. “Oh, thank you, thank you!”

She hugged me back, and after a bit, she let go. “Now,” she said, clearing her throat a little, eyes shining bright, “let’s finish lunch so we can go already. Okay?”

“Okay,” I answered happily.

I took my spoon and finished off my soup, one hand firmly holding on to Cassie’s right hand. Cassie looked at me as I picked up my sandwich and polished that off as well.

“I’m done, Mommie,” I said.

“Okay, dear,” Diane answered. “Put the dirty plates in the kitchen and wash up.”

“Should I also wash the plates and bowls.”

“Leave that for later.”

“But it wouldn’t take long. Lemme wash the plates.”

“All right then. But use the dishwasher, okay? We are in a bit of a hurry, after all.”

“’Kay.” I stood up, took off my napkin-bib, wiped my mouth and stacked the bowls and plates into one stack so I could carry it back to the sink in one go.

“Careful,” Cassie said.

“No biggie,” I said. “Piece of cake.” I went to the sink with the dirty plates.

 
*** Cassie, talking to “Mom” ***

I looked back at Kim as she expertly maneuvered in her skyscraper heels with bowls and plates in her hands, no less. I shook my head disbelievingly.

“What do you think of that,” Diane whispered to me.

“I don’t understand what the change is all about,” I said. “Naturally, she had to be changed to a girl, otherwise the magic wouldn’t work. But what’s with this girlie act?”

“It’s not an act, Cass. Kim has really been turned into a real girlie-girl.”

“But she knows she was a guy before!”

“I know, Cass. Still – there it is.”

“She acts like she’s what, five or six at most.”

“That body of hers is far from a six-year-old.”

“Tell me about it,” I said. “It’s all I can do to keep my hands off her.”

“All we can do is to play along and try to understand what this all means.”

We quieted down as Kim came back to get our glasses.

“Excuse, please,” Kim dimpled and grabbed the glasses to bring back to the sink.

When she was out of earshot again, Diane gestured at Kim.

“I have to think that this is all part of the plan. We just have to trust that all of this is part of what Kaye, or the Goddess, intends for us.”

“So, ‘mom,’ how does it feel to be a mother to an eighteen-year-old hottie that acts like she was six years old?”

Diane looked at me. “Tell the truth, Cassie,” she cocked her head to the side, thinking, “I think I like it. When I found out what and who I was, I gave up the idea of having any sort of normal life, of having a family – a husband and kids. This sort of makes up for that.” She looked at me merrily. “And, besides, Kim is a sweet girl.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Mind? Why would I mind?”

I looked at her, and sensed something deeper. I think she really wants this. A sense that this fulfills something deep within her. And if I was right, I felt happy for my friend. I still felt Kaye’s loss, and I guess I will never get over that. But the fact that Kim’s here – it’s allowed me to think of life without Kaye as a possibility. I guess both of us had a lot to be thankful for. I gave her a hug.

When we broke, I saw Diane a little teary eyed, as I suspect I was, too.

“Mom,” Kim said. She was standing right beside us. “What’s wrong? Please don’t cry.”

The both of us grabbed her in a three-way hug, and Kim said, muffled by our arms. “This is nice and all, but I think I’m getting squished.”

 
*** Kim, saying goodbye to Kaye ***

Diane parked her car right beside the well-manicured lawn. The cemetery was one of those new ones, with very few tombstones to mark the graves, most being marble markers lying flat against the turf. The cemetery had more of a park kind of feel, with trees in the periphery rustling in the wind. I stayed in the back seat a bit longer, savoring the peace and solitude.

“Are you okay, Kimmie?” Diane asked.

“I’m okay, mom. I guess we better go.” I opened the door and stepped out. Mindful of the soft turf and my stiletto heels, I kept to the cement paths that meandered through the park. Diane and Cassie held both of my hands and led me to Kaye’s marker. Cassie handed me the big bouquet we bought at the corner florist’s. It was hard to get pink and white carnations the florist said, but I batted my eyes at him and he relented. Somehow he was able to produce half a dozen white and half a dozen pink carnations. Carnations were Kaye’s favorites.

I looked down at Kaye’s simple marker, with her name, date and a simple motto: “Our Beloved.” We never knew our dad as he died when we were kids. Mom’s favorite line, when she wanted to tell us something important, or was feeling mellow, was to begin whatever she was saying with “my beloved.” It was a special thing for us, and I’m glad Cassie decided to use it.

“Hi, sis,” I said to Kaye, wherever she was. “I’m sorry it took so long to visit. That little whammy you left me with really took a lot out of me.”

I knelt on the grass, and picked out the little stray leaves and twigs that fell on the white marble marker, and laid the bouquet down. “I hope you recognize me. I changed a lot since you last saw me. Look!” I spread my arms. “I’m a girl!” And I giggled. “Only you can play a trick on me like this.”

I sighed and touched the marble. “I hope you’re in a better place now. And maybe mom’s with you. Is she there with you? Oh, how I want to hear your voice. Even just once.” I couldn’t stop my tears from flowing. Cassie tried to hand me a little flowered handkerchief but I shook my head, not wanting to mess up Cassie’s nice clean hankie. I seem to have an aversion to getting things dirty now.

“Cassie and Diane are here,” I said. “They’ve been helping me out. And they explained the situation a little bit. Is this what you really meant for me? I’m scared, sis. I don’t know if I can do this alone.” I used the heels of my hands to wipe my eyes, and sniffed back the tears.

“If only you can tell me, if only I can be sure that you can hear me, hear me tell you that I love you. You went away too quick and I wasn’t able to tell you. I love you Kaye. My beloved Kaye.”

As my tears hit the marble, it was like each drop hit water instead of marble. The marble rippled like the surface of water in a pond being hit by raindrops, and as each ripple faded away, the surface went back to marble, except that where the ripples were, the white marble turned to pink.

I giggled a little. “Wow. Is that you doing that, sis?” I sniffed and my tears tapered back as I looked on in amazement at the magic of the changing colors. The few tears of mine that fell continued to make the marble ripple, and after a while, the entire slab of stone had turned pink. I curiously touched the marble again. It was slightly warm and a little textured, somewhat like touching felt – not really, but almost.

And then I heard a whisper coming from somewhere. “I heard you the first time, little sister,” Kaye whispered. “I love you, too. Everything will be all right. Trust me. I love you little Angel.”

I looked up at the sky. “Kaye…”

I looked back at Cassie and Diane. “Did you hear her, too?” I asked them. Diane held my hand and nodded. Cassie knelt and hugged me.

“Yes,” Cassie said. “I heard her, too.”

- - - to be continued - - -

 

click here to read my old Working Girl Blogs, click here to read all of my blogs, click here to read my stories in BCTS, and click here to see my profile & know more about me.