I remember when I was young I would kind of slowly saunter past the dress shops and shoe shops, pausing as long as I could without being suspicious, pretending not to be looking at the gorgeous dresses or the elegant high heels inside. It was not done for a boy to be interested in those things, let alone enthralled, but I couldn’t help myself.
The years went by and I got married to a wonderful girl, who I loved with all my heart. I never told her of my deepest, darkest secret, which was that I wished I had been born a girl.
We would go shopping and she always thought that I was just indulging her when she was choosing clothes or shoes and helping her to find the right outfits. Well, I was, but I was sitting waiting while she tried things on and wishing it was me coming out of the dressing room wearing something fabulous.
I did advise her what looked good on her and she thought I had an unusually good eye for women’s fashions. I just told her that she had such good taste that I had an easy job. She thought that I was very patient to sit and wait for her, while actually I was admiring everything on the racks and wishing some of it could be mine.
We were walking through a mall one day when she spotted this Arabian lamp in an Op Shop. You know, the ones from Aladdin. She also loved odd trinkets and space-filler decorations for our rooms, so she declared that she must have it. Naturally I indulged her, so we bought it. At $50 it was not a steal but it kept her happy.
When we got home, as women do, she had to polish it, and, you’re not going to believe this, but out popped a genie or a djinn. It looked around and asked who released it. It had a kind of androgynous appearance and did not seem at all worried about being in our living room.
We, of course, were both in a state of shock. I mean, who believes in fairy stories and magical beings?
“Well,” said the djinn, “Who released me?”
“I suppose I did,” stammered my wife.
“OK, then you’re entitled to one wish,” replied the djinn.
There followed a lengthy silence, probably a few minutes.
The djinn started to get agitated and tapped its toes and drummed its fingers.
“Make your mind up. I haven’t got all day.”
My wife looked at me and gave a sad smile. I must have been giving off some kind of vibes that indicated that I wasn’t totally happy.
“We’ll fix things,” she said and turned to the djinn.
“I wish for my husband to be happy,” she commanded.
“Done,” said the djinn, and instantly I became a woman.
My dream was fulfilled because of my wife’s unselfish wish.
The only downside was the look on her face. Clearly she had not expected this. This would mark a huge turn in our relationship. I knew that she was totally heterosexual, so how was she going to cope with me as a female partner. I didn’t think a lesbian partnership was on the cards.
The djinn was beginning to fade when I grabbed the lamp and rubbed it.
“What now?’ asked the djinn. “I’ve fulfilled the wish. I can go.”
“No you can’t. I’ve rubbed your lamp. You owe me a wish too. I’ve also released you.”
“Bloody humans, never satisfied. All right, what’s your wish?”
“I’ll need a little while to think about that.”
“Don’t take all day. I’ve got places to be and people to see.”
I looked at my wife and she was in a state of shock, but definitely not happy with my transformation into a woman. Wishes with a djinn do not guarantee satisfaction.
So I thought long and hard about my wish. She had wished for me to be happy and I was. What could I do for her?
It came to me, and I hoped I was not going to fall into that trap where the djinn turns your wish into a curse.
“I’m ready,” I told the djinn.
“About time. What is it?”
“I wish for my wife to be happy with the way that I am now. I want us to be soulmates.”
“Done. Can I go now?”
I looked at my wife and the love was back in her eyes.
From that day to this, our love has never failed. It’s not lesbian or anything sexual, although we do enjoy our bodies occasionally, and it’s definitely not platonic. I think the word for it is agape. It is a love that transcends all bounds.
The lamp is the centre on our mantelpiece.
When we go shopping these days I don’t have to feel jealous.
2024-11-17 07:30:41 -0400
Comments
One of the hardest things
One of the hardest things about being trans is coping with our simple human need for acceptance, companionship, and love. Hugs, Joanne!
Emma
I am human too.
Amen
Jill
That's The Most Important
We are human. Being trans does not disqualify us from the human race.
Thanks for commenting, Jill.
The Things We Agonize Over
Those basic needs, but our society often condemns us for being who we are. Look at the Sarah McBride situation, spurred by a couple of female idiots and condoned by a whole segment of male toadies (or just plain toads).
Thanks for commenting, Emma.
It is a love that transcends all bounds.
very nice!
Agape
Is the love not based on sexual attraction, but the merging of souls.
Thanks for commenting, Dorothy.
Often the simplest thing is the best answer
The problem, whichyou have achieved, is thinking simply enough to express it.
Lovely!
Dave
In Many Genie/Djinn Stories
The problem is overthinking and complicating the wish. As you say 'Keep It Simple, Stupid'.
Thanks for commenting, Dave.
I think that you have expressed……
The relationship between my wife and I. It took us a while to get there, and a lot of heartache and tears, but arrive we did. We I transitioned, I thought I had lost her. She actually went to an attorney and started divorce proceedings; we separated for some time. But she realized that it wasn’t what I looked like or the clothes that I wore that made me who I am.
We have been together for nearly 40 years, the last ten of them after my transition. Like the story, my wife is very heterosexual, but we are both also very monogamous - so there is no one else for either of us. And we are more in love now than we were before my transition, albeit a different kind of love.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
I Evidently Did Some Good
Not intentionally, but in describing true love, which comes from the heart, not the loins. Neither partner can be truly happy if the other is not. The first wish was not really fulfilled by the djinn as one party was not.
Dallas, I am happy that you and your wife found an avenue to acceptance and happiness. May it continue for the rest of your lives.
Thanks for commenting.
Sounds like your $50 was well spent
And that was some shrewd dealing with the Djinn.
If it had slipped away after your wife's one wish then that wish
wouldn't have been fulfilled anyway, because you wouldn't have
been happy knowing your finally having the right body left her unhappy.
so the second wish was necessary for your wife's wish to really come true.
Pointing that out to the genie might have been a good strategy too...
So yay, this genie encounter had a happy ending with no dirty tricks on the entity's part
(though it was kind of a jerk) but it does show how bad this inflation has gotten.
Was a time people got THREE wishes out of a genie bottle for the same price.
(But yeah, that would've padded this short sweet tale unnecessarily...)
~hugs, Veronica
What borders on stupidity?
Canada and Mexico.
.
Yeah! Whatever Happened
To three wishes? Did the genies/djinns' union decide that they were dispensing their goods too widely, or did the fun monitor step in because they were enjoying the foul-ups that humans made a little too much?
As usual, Veronica, you got to the heart of the situation, but this time we had two unselfish people doing the wishing, so the outcome was good. It could probably be argued that there was a loss of free-will in the to-and-fro, but who would argue with the result.
The djinn was a bit nasty in not highlighting the downside of the first wish, but we all know they are very literal.
If only $50 could really buy happiness.
Thanks for commenting, my dear.
How could I have missed this?
How could I have missed such a moving piece of fiction that was written by one of the most talented writers on this site?! Once again, you have shown me there is still magic left in this community. This was a moving piece of fiction, and each word that I read fell on my parched soul like a blessed drop of rain. So I want to thank you for writing such a lovely story. And I also want to thank you for making such a wonderful story public for the general readership!
Always So Generous
Ah, Rebecca, flattery will get you most places! I wrote this for the contest because there seemed to be a paucity of entries and I don't think it's my best, but I'm happy that you enjoyed it.
Thanks for commenting.
Love Story
Unashamedly, I am a big fan of a love story, and this is gorgeous. Joanne you have captured on paper exactly how I view true love. It's all about wanting your soulmate to be happy.
I'm afraid your story made me cry. Actually I'm not afraid. I'm proud your story made me cry.
Lucy xx
"Lately it occurs to me..
what a long strange trip its been."