---

 
 
Chapter 3 to 10 ..revised :)
 
 

=

Anna woke Adam as they came closer. He had been dreaming again, his last year hadn't contained that many dreams but the last two days had been as opening the floodgates.

Dream after dream reliving the time on the streets with him sometimes directly involved, but mostly standing as some ghostly spectator watching himself getting beaten. And more often than not dressed in woman's clothing?

The sexual abuse had left its marks, his ability for trust was vitiated, and even when in the arms of Anna, or perhaps just because he was in the arms of Anna, he dreamed, horrible scary dreams where he saw himself getting mutilated or even killed.

Before Anna, dreams had been a luxury, and even when he had them, difficult to remember afterwards. Being on the run did that to you. It narrowed your perceptions, forcing you only to see what was nearest to your immediate survival, with everything else losing its importance.

And he was worried. He was pretty sure that he wasn't gay. There had been no guy he ever known that had excited him like Anna did. But this dressing up, and the way the girls made him feel. He liked the intimacy it created with them.

So, okay, not gay then, but the clothes?

That one was stranger, and he had no real answers either. Maybe he just liked the way they made him, and the girls, feel? It all seemed to boil down to if one still could be a real man if one liked woman clothing's? But what the hell was that?

A real man, was that the swine in the shop then? Or those assholes that couldn't be bothered if he starved to death. He was quite sure that bullying and abusing didn't constitute it. And it didn't really seem to have anything to do with his sexual preferences either.

He decided that he would have to discuss this with Anna and Katrine, well, Anna at least.
==
 
  
 

As they went in they at last let loose their shop'a'holic shopping spree. Katrine left them to go to the camera shop, she wanted to buy a camcorder. The one they had was old and clumsy, she wanted a new one, maybe with a Blu-ray, if there now was one like that. With one of those you could store up to 50 gigabytes per disc, no bigger than a DVD.

They agreed to meet at the coffee shop after they had finished. Katrine giving Anna a visa card in her name that she had gotten just for this kind of situation, warning her to use common sense when buying.

"We don't really need to buy the mall Anna."

"Why? I've always wanted my own mall." Quipped Anna brightly.

She smiled at her mother who now was studying her visa, darkly mumbling.

"Perhaps I should change the name to Amanda, should I, Anna?"

"Relax mom. Go and have fun. We’ll be cool."

Katrine gave her daughter a brief suspicious look before nodding reluctantly.

"I’ll trust you to be just that Anna. And you Amanda, you better make sure that she doesn't do anything stupid now."

As they left her in the camera store them she was so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she never noticed herself walking right into the young lady standing beside the doors.

"Oh I'm sorry. I'm so clumsy." She excused herself as she tried to help her up.

Doing so she had this strange feeling that there was something not right.

Suddenly she realized what it was. One of the young ladies breast seemed slightly askew, like if it was going of on a journey all of its own? Quickly guiding her away from the inquiring eyes noticing their disturbance she stopped behind some shelves, coolly appraising the young lady.

"I'm so frightfully sorry dear, I'm Katrine, and you?"

"Sarah."

"Sarah, what a lovely name." She leaned a little closer to whisper.

"Sarah, your boobs, are they trying to run away?"

The man, she was now quite sure it had to be a man, looked down at his bosom, clearly frightened that she would make a new ruckus about it. She smiled at him reassuringly, enjoying their closeness.

He had to be around thirty, she thought, and quite nice looking too, definitely no pro at crossdressing though. 'Now, what would the odds be of meeting another crossdresser like this' she wondered as she watched his futile attempts to fix it.

"Don't worry, look at me, I'll shield you from the others. Fix your boobs now Sarah. What did you use, socks?"

Almost laughing as he franticly tried to fix it, getting that glazed look just like a rabbit finding itself under the full glare of a lorry, stuck on the highway. Witnessing his tears of frustration as he only succeeded in making it worse, she at last gently put her hand over his.

"Calm down Sarah, here, let me do it for you."

And once again she did what to her felt as the most natural thing in the world, commandeering others. As she finished she saw the manager approach them, frowning and looking as if he had a bad taste in his mouth.

"Ladies, we don't need your kind here, please leave our premises."

"Kind?" Omigosh, she realized. ‘He thinks we were necking.’

"You know."

Katrine shook her head, no, she didn't know.

"Lesbians, dykes, whatever you are. Please leave peacefully, or do I need to call on the guards?"

Katrine gave him her sweetest smile as she lifted her gold visa for him to see.

"And you're sure you don't want us?" She asked as she waved under his nose. It almost looked as if his nose was twitching, sniffing the money, his eyes longingly following her visa card.

"No, I mean yes. Please leave."

Katrine nodded pleasantly at she gave him her visit card from her legal firm, identifying her as a lawyer.

"I aim to take action against your shop." she informed him. "You have no legal ground to throw us out, and you're also mistaking us as something we're not."

The man worried started to back down. 'Damned emancipation, dykes and gay's thinking they own the world'. But Katrine refused to listen to his excuses as she once more with a steady grip steered her newfound friend out of the shop
==
 
 
As soon as they got out she stopped to look at him, his color now competing with the Christmas advertising, the same color as Santa's suit, but at least his bob's was alright again.

"Come Sarah, let's have a coffee, you do drink coffee?"

The man slowly relaxing now that they were out of the danger zone nodded sheepishly. Katrine studied him, more and more liking what she saw. It was obvious that he had gone to considerable efforts to create his feminine persona, as obvious as how badly he had overdone it.

"Good girl, oh, you look perfect, don't worry." She lied as she bought them the lattes.

"But you could use some advice."

As she drew him into a conversation she saw how he started to relax, and smiling she let him start to take over. He soon forgot that they were strangers, telling her about his work as a teacher, trying to explain his appearance as a dare from a coworker.

"Well, I could use that money you know."

Smiling at her, relaxing even more as she didn't question him. As he chatted with her he was of two minds. On one hand he wanted this whole embarrassing situation to end as quickly as possible, on the other he couldn't help but finding her highly attractive. He guessed that she had to be his age, but with a personality making him think of a dynamo, as filled with energy and somehow in constant control.

He was no teacher, well, he used to be, but now unemployed. When they had found him crossdressing they had thrown him out. He could have stayed and sued of course but then the whole school, and community, would have known it. As it was everybody kept their mouth shut, but with the end result being him out of a job. And he didn't really wanted to give any references to his former workplace either as he searched for a new.

He wished he had been more like this woman instead, unmistakably successful in her profession, relaxed and self assured, but he wasn't. He would soon have to sell his car. Moving to a new town he had hoped to find some work, but so far there was nothing. And his cash was rapidly dwindling, soon to become just another memory. She seemed to read his thoughts as she said.

"Well Sarah, it's been fun meeting you. Here, take it."

Giving him one of her visit cards, writing her phone number home on the back of it.

"Sarah, you're always welcome to us, you got to promise to give me a call, will you?”

"Sure, but please Katrine, Leonard, not Sarah."

"No Sarah, that will only sound ridiculous. Well, I need to find my daughter. How about it, want to join me? Us romantic dykes, we could elope together?"

He stared, once more thrown of balance. She was taking some time getting used to, Katrine, but damn, it was nice to have someone to laugh with. Looking at her card again he saw the 'Mrs.'. Married, ‘just my luck’ he thought, he guessed she wouldn't be interested in a guy like him anyway. Smiling at her he shook his head.

"You're quite fun Katrine, but no, I need to go home. I was only here because of the bet. And I think I've won it now, but thanks all the same. I'll call you, bye."

Katrine nodded and smiled, a little disappointed.

She had found him a pleasant, even if fabricating, man. It seemed as if she scared more men than she attracted those days she thought philosophically, watching him walk away, 'nice buns though' she found herself thinking ‘is he gay?’. Smiling at her own lack of maturity she checked the time. Oh yes. Definitely time to stop Anna from buying the mall.
==
 
 
Anna and Amanda had after her sailing through every lingerie shop she could find, constantly making Amanda try on new daring flimsies finally ended up in the men's department. There they went around buying Adam, what to him felt as, a whole new wardrobe.

He had protested in vain, Anna overruling him with the ease hard won from experience.

"You need your own clothes Amanda." she whispered fiercely.

"Do you want to look as a girl all the time?"

Talk about cutting to the cheese he thought. Did he? Shit, No, he didn't. It was a lot of fun, but not all the time.

"Okay Anna, you win."

"I usually do."

And that was no empty boast either he thought as he saw her picking clothes for him to wear. It seemed as she didn't really trust his taste. On the other hand, when it came to clothes, he wasn't sure he did either. To him clothes was first practical things, then esthetic, well possibly so?

So that was where Katrine found them.

As they went home the car looked like some overheated salesman's wet dream. They had so many clothes in it that the girls found themselves forced to sit on them to get a place. Normally Adam hated shopping, and malls only used to give him a headache, but doing it with Anna was different.

They had had so much fun that he even forgot how he was dressed. It had only been when someone called him 'Ms' that he had remembered.

He liked being a girl, it was cool and you could act so much freer with your feelings. But it also made him feel real weird, as if he was losing something? He couldn't pinpoint what it was though, it was just a feeling.
===
 
 
As they left the small town, taking the back roads she saw a car parked aside the road, with its warning lights flashing. As they drove on she suddenly saw that it was Sarah walking there, along the road, very alone and weary looking. She stopped beside him to open the passenger door from the inside.

"Fancy meeting you here Sarah. Get in girl, was that your car we passed?"

Sarah smiled, relieved that it was just Katrine. He had started to doubt his womanly disguise as the cars just kept driving past him. One had stopped, just to give him the finger as he drove off, leaving him in a cloud of dust and dirt as he ran up to it. He looked down on his light blue dress, now marred with spots of grey and black, feeling tired and defeated.

"Yes, I'm not sure what it was, it just died on me?"

"So, where're you of to?"

As they talked she found out that they lived in the same town, and seeing how tired he looked Katrine decided that he should go home with them first, it would give her a chance to see if he was what she thought too.

"I insist Sarah. We'll have some nice food and then I'll drive you home, and I'll fix a tow truck too."

"No please don't, I don't have the insurance. I'll just try to fix it later."

He wasn't really sure how he would fix that though. And looking at him she nodded thoughtfully. She started to suspect that his boasting about his work just was that, boasting.

"Sarah, don't worry. I'll take care of it. I know the company and they will give you a good price. No, not a word more."

And Sarah did stop complaining, because now a new thought struck him. He would have to face her husband, and dressed as a woman too. Nervously he wondered what her man could be like, considering Katrine's attitude her man had to be even more compelling he guessed. He already cringed mentally considering what that man might think of him.

"Katrine, can’t you just drive me home, please."

She looked at him, again wondering what it was with her that so scared all men she meet. She sighed.

"Now I'm disappointed Sarah, I thought it would be fun?"

He smiled a little tired. He couldn't really say what was on his mind, could he? Not with two young girls listening to every word. "I'm sure you and your man will manage without me Katrine."

The girls in the backseat who up to that had been quiet as a pair of church mice tittered.

"She's not married Sarah. And she likes you." Said Anna, who directly had realized that Sarah wasn't a Sarah at all.

Adam wasn't sure, but her breast had looked a little strange as they picked her up, hanging at an angle like that? But it could be a mastectomy? Anyway, it was no business of his.

Now both Sarah and Katrine blushed. Katrine because it was true, and Sarah because, well, because of a lot of things. He realized that the young girl in the backseat knew that he was a man, also that she had understood why he had tried to wrangle himself out of Katrine's offer. On the other hand, she hadn’t sounded offended about it.

"Thank you, Anna was it?"

"Yes, and mom, drive us home now. Amanda needs to change her clothes and I'm tired."

"You heard her Sarah." Said Katrine. "She's the boss."

Sarah nodded as he tried to relax in his seat. It could have been worse he though philosophically. Instead of walking he had gotten himself a ride, and an invitation to eat, and that with a most interesting woman too. There were some drawbacks though, he did find it difficult to act all manly and confident dressed like he was now.

On the other hand he wasn't sure that she would have been much impressed by his efforts. She seemed quick to see through such attempts.

"Well Katrine. It seems I have no choice then? And you're right Anna, I did think that your mom was married, and. ."

"We know Sarah. Be cool." Said Anna resting her head on Amanda's shoulder.

"My dad liked crossdressing too."

So he had been right, thought Adam, suddenly very interested, she was a he. Sarah, who didn't have the stamina to once more go through all his half truths just nodded dejectedly, accepting the suggestion.

"Thanks Anna." He said. Looking at Katrine apologetically.

"You guessed it too, didn't you."

She sympathetically patted his hand.

"Of course I did Sarah, but it's okay, I sympathize with you, explaining crossdressing to a stranger that just helped you find your boobs."

Now both Anna and Amanda sat up in their seats, all ears, hoping for more revelations, but sadly there were none forthcoming. Katrine looked at Sarah, her eyes a sudden brilliant violet in the last rays of the sun with him helplessly looking back, mesmerized by her eyes.

"As long as you follow me home, dear."

And now she smiled, a warm predatory smile metaphorically swooping down on him, while gently patting his hand. With our friendly field mouse sinking back in his seat, closing his eyes as he at last found for good to give in to his destiny.
==
 
 
As they arrived home Katrine soon had a quick dinner fixed for them, just for her and Sarah. Anna and Amanda had disappeared upstairs as soon as they arrived, Anna smiling conspiratorially, nodding wisely behind our field mouse’s back before leaving them alone.

"Have fun now kids." Was Anna's parting words as they left.

Katrine thoughtfully studied her daughter’s lofty gait up the stairs, mumbling in mock surprise.

"What monster have I raised?"

"You better behave too, you know" she called after them.

"We won't do anything you won't mom." Anna answered cheerily, with Amanda helplessly starting to blush as he looked at her.

For once Katrine found herself speechless. And Sarah who had had listened to them with a wakening interest couldn’t help wondering. Were those two girls lovers? That young? Ah well, time would tell.

He was happy any which way. Just to be sitting here, with one of the most interesting and lovely women he had meet, was more than he ever would have dared hope for.

"Thanshs for inshiting me Katrine." He said lifting his glass again.

"A shoast for the mosh sharming woman Ih've meet. Cheers." swallowing it all in one hefty swoop.

He wasn't really used to drinking, but after the first two glasses he had started to find it quite relaxing, the only problem being the glasses increasingly small size. He studied his empty glass a little surprised. He had been sure there was more in it? He looked searchingly at it again trying to catch as it shrunk.

Katrine smiled pleasantly, sipping her own, she too had noticed this thirst of his, but considering it she guessed he badly was in need of calming himself. After all, he had been exposed by her, thrown out of a shop, then had his car break down and people humiliating him, and then being exposed again by her daughter.

But she still wished that he could slow down a little, he was already on his second bottle.

"How do you feel Sarah, are you okay?"

"Shnever bestter lihle shishter, a little tirhed pershapsh."

Katrine started to clean up after the meal. "Sarah, why don't you try the couch then? I'll come join you in just a moment." Smiling warmly at him as she sent him away with his new glass of wine.

The last she saw of him, was him acting extremely concentrated, carefully balancing his glass in both hands just to be sure at the same time as he in vain tried to remember where he was supposed to be going.

As she came in a little later she found him snoring in the couch, his wine untouched. She took of him his shoes and sat gown, his head in her lap. And looking down at him she felt quite satisfied.

As he slept his face suddenly seemed younger, the worried frowns disappearing as if by magic. She smiled as she lightly touched his cheek, she had already decided to keep him. That was, if he wanted it of course.
==
 
 
As Anna and Adam went up Anna looked at him questioningly.

"Do you want to change?"

"Why?"

"To your boy clothes, stupid?"

"Oh." 'Shit, forgot it again' he thought, but no, he had this feeling that it excited her somehow seeing him like this. To be honest, it excited him too, he wasn't sure if it was the idea of him wearing them, or if it was seeing her get all worked up by it, but he decided to keep them on anyway. And as they came into their room he got this crazy idea.

"Do you think I'm sexy?" Singing and pouting, as he tried to look at her soulfully.

Anna just dropped her clothes on the floor taking him in her arms.

"God, You're so hot Amanda." Dragging him with her to the bed. And as they lay there they could hear Anna's mother going about her tasks, talking and even singing for herself.

'She's right' he thought. He was becoming quite hot as they laid there. In more than one way too, wishing that the evening could be over soon so that they could get into bed. He also realized that it might become harder than he had thought, in more than one way, not making out with her for real.

"Anna."

"Yes baby." Cuddling him.

"We better stop this, or I'm afraid something gonna happen."

"Like what?"

"You know."

"No." Totally innocent as she caressed his tummy, her hand under his dress.

Some fateful silence.

"Anna."

"Yes."

"I have to."

"Yes?"

"I'll be back, soon."

Rushing to the bathroom, thankful for the dress hiding the mess.
Anna smiled satisfied. It was the first time she had made a boy do that. And she hadn't even touched him, well, maybe his tummy then, but that didn't count, did it? As he came back she gleefully studied his beet red face, acting all innocent and modest.

"Come here baby." Patting the bed beside her. “I’m freezing.”

"Where's your pants, sweetie." A little later, her hand up his skirt again.

"Forgot them."

The worst lie of a century.

"You're plain naughty, admit it."

"You knew." Accusingly.

"Knew what?"

'Such a nice color'' thought Anna smiling at him. Of course she knew, but it was so delicious teasing him.

"Is that mom's coming baby? I think it's her washday, got any laundry?"

"Shit. ." Desperately running back to the bathroom, and the washer.

Oh yes, she had great fun, and he? Well, if nothing else, exercise?

===
 
 
The next day was sunny with a weak winter sun as Therese and Laila came over. Katrine sent them straight up, and coming into her room they found Anna and Adam sleeping, their faces turned against each other.

Laila and Therese just stood there looking, for quite some time, before Laila at last sighed.

"They're in love." She stated, badly wanting the same, fearing that she already was and in the same boy too?

Therese just nodded, dreamily. After looking some more they finally went back down to tell Katrine that they hadn't had the heart to wake them, asking her if she could tell Anna that they would come later instead. Katrine was still in the kitchen as they left, making their breakfast. Looking out she though that it would be another fine day, and thinking of the rollercoaster she and the kids had experienced yesterday she was happy that it all had worked out so well.

She was still worried for Adam though, wondering what to do about him. She wondered about the possibility of adopting him, at least that would keep him with them, but there was also that question about how the authorities would treat it. The law was one thing, but those interpreting it were another. She wondered how many that knew about the abuse done by the orphanage, and how far up it went.

In the end she decided that it was time to wake them up. As she came up she found them in the same position as the girl had seen, pressed against each other, Anna’s arm around Adam and his under her neck. She stood there silently watching, thinking that they almost looked ethereal under the weak morning light, falling in from the window.

"Sleepyheads." She whispered.

"Time to wake up." Kissing her daughter and then, for good faith, Adam too.

As the pair in the bed woke up the first thing they saw was each other. And both seemed to relax at that sight, as if they had been afraid that it all had been a dream. And as Adam opened his he once more found Anna’s eyes gently exploring his.

"Hi." Said Adam a little sleepily looking at his newest, onlyest and most fantastic girlfriend. "Don't move."

She studied him as if she tried to engrave each line and each contour of his face in her mind, seriously and without guile.

"Hi yourself." She answered sounding mildly surprised.

"What's your name?"

She laughed at his expression and gave him a quick kiss before looking at her mum.

"We'll be down in a minute mum. I just need to make sure he gets up."

Katrine took a last look at them, doing her best to burn in the memory of them in her mind, before closing the door behind her. They dressed quickly and as Adam came down to the kitchen he proudly wore the totem of his tribe, The all male clothing.

It was a relief to find him normally dressed again he thought, although Anna seemed to find him no less distracting. Katrine smiled as she saw him at the breakfast table, all dressed up, looking cool and collected next to her daughter.

"Nice to be back Adam?" she asked her voice filled with a hidden merriment.

"You look quite the guy there."

He looked at her a little unsure if she was teasing him. She started to laugh.

"Don't worry, I mean it. You look good. My daughter seems to have inherited my impeccable taste."

"Thanks ma'am, Katrine I mean. Where is Sarah?"

"She's still sleeping. I'll wake her later."

Anna looked at Adam and found that she had to agree, he did look good, although she wasn't that happy about his new clothes, to constrictive she thought. For her at least, if not for him.

She wanted to touch him but the jeans and that baggy, hey wait. She got a fiendishly smile as she moved closer to him snuggling in, letting her hand sneak in under his shirt to caress him.

She sat so her mother shouldn't be able to see it, but glancing at her she realized that her mother knew exactly what she was doing, and, what was even better, didn't seem to mind.

Had she been able to hear Katrine's thoughts she would have realized that Katrine actually enjoyed seeing them so taken by each other. This was in fact the best she could have hoped for. Her daughter finding someone that she loved under her own roof, instead of running around getting drunk in the houses of strangers.

She remembered her own days as a teenager all to well, it was mostly luck that she had found someone to love before losing her virginity. This way both would be safe and Adam was just the right kind of guy for her.

She was no hypocrite and she didn't mind them cuddling, as long it didn't go any further. And the expression on Adams face as he tried to act unconcerned whilst her daughter, what was it she was doing?

Oh my God, his nipples was it? What a sight to see, unforgettable in fact, she would need that camera. Watching them added a whole new dimension to sitting down to breakfast.

"Anna." Said Adam, almost begging, desperately trying to sound normal. " You want some more milk, don’t you?" Without waiting for her answer he stood up, making her lose her grip as he hastily went to the fridge to get more milk.

"You don't need to, there's milk on the table." Said Katrine motherly. "But it's sweet of you."

Anna pouted disappointed as she saw him sneaking away. 'Typical' she thought, 'always sneaking away when its gets interesting'. But watching him she softened slightly smiling at him.

"Thanks Adam."

He felt himself unwinding a little as he heard her. He didn't mind her playing with him, hell, he wanted it just as much as her, but not in front of her mother. Even if they had gotten themselves a crash course in relations it still felt as too much, too soon.

And he couldn’t help finding Katrine intimidating. Maybe it was that he wanted her respect too, he had already gathered that she didn't seem to mind but Anna was sort of making him feel easy, and he didn't really enjoy that feeling.

It gave him a headache trying to understand how he, a certifiably one hundred percent red blooded male, could be made to feel easy though. Wasn’t that reserved for girls? But there it was. Maybe it was this Amanda thing that spooked him?

"You're welcome."

He sat down beside Anna leaning over to fix a strand of her hair falling down in her bowl. As he did so she seemed to listen to something that only she could hear, while fondly smiling at him.

"I love you, don't you ever forget."

She whispered it fiercely in his ear as she seemed to glide into his arms. Suddenly he had a whole lot of girl in his lap wiggling happily, with his hair falling into her eyes, and Katrine and the world else just zoomed out for him, leaving only them to consider.

"I love you too, I loved you before we even meet." he told her in a low voice, inside their own universe now, safe and sound.

Katrine decided that she needed that camcorder badly, preferably a voice steered one too, did they have that? She was already wondering where she could place it unobtrusively.

"I just didn't know it." He whispered in that tremendously honest voice, not hearing the obvious implausibility of his statement. But listening to them Katrine noticed that her daughter seemed to find him perfectly lucid, as she enthusiastically threw her arms around his neck.

“Oh, Amanda.”

She couldn't help flashing back to her memories with Jake, she knew how important memories could be. Life gave no guarantees, and no allowances. Getting that camcorder was, more or less, her personal way of warding and protecting her daughter’s memories.

More than once she had wished for something to remind her of Jake too, something more than just her stills. Looking at them she suddenly remembered that she too, at last, had found someone she liked. Even if he seemed quite confused, and possibly not all that bright? But he was cozy to crawl up to, warm and nice, she sighed a little.

Adam couldn't understand how anyone could have this power over him, it scared him. And as he drew her closer he realized that they were doing exactly what he had tried to put an end too just before. But as he glanced at Katrine he saw that she too was lost in private remembrances, suddenly wistful and vulnerable. He decided to get the proceedings on a more even keel, loudly clearing his throat.

"Anna, don't you think it's time that Anna and Therese knew?"

"They don't need any invitations silly." murmured Anna dreamily in his ear.

"But, have you checked your phone?" asked her mum listening.

Anna had to admit that she had had it on charge, for over two days.

"Well, don't you think it's loaded now?" asked Katrine sweetly.

Anna rushed up to their room to call. As she looked, she realized that they had called her several times, and texted. As she called them they told her that they had been over yesterday finding nobody there. And as Anna hadn't answered they had became quite worried.

"I'm sorry, we were at the mall. Yeah, my mum already knows about Adam, but it’s cool."
===
 
 
It didn't take long for them to show up, but as they saw Adam in his new clothes, they instantly took Anna away whispering angrily. As Adam stood there by himself, he couldn’t help but feeling left out again. After a while Anna came back with them. They looked at Adam.

"Yes?"

"We want Amanda."

"What?"

"We're going to have a sleepover tonight, and we want Amanda."

He studied them wondering why, but they seemed quite serious.

"Why?"

"No boys Adam, Amanda is okay though." Then they smiled at him, sweetly waiting.

He knew when he was licked. "Sure, any preferences?" Recognizing blackmail when he saw it

Now the girls became just as last time, transforming into all smiles and sweetness. Faster than you could say 'what!', or even ‘no way!’ they had him down to his drawers again, and as he watched his new clothes being taken away he started to feel as if he had been there before.

And as he stood there in his drawers, listening to their pleased discussion about what Amanda should wear this time he suddenly realized that he could get used to their attentions and pampering, and that scared him even worse.

But as they once more started to fuss with him he gave up, he would have to consider his manliness some other time. It was just too hard considering it when getting your toenails painted in, what they promised him to be, a most heavenly pink color.

As they finished he had an all too short black skirt ending before his knees. And to that a short blouse with a lot of frilly lace leaving his navel bare, white short socks up to his knees in some strange girlish pattern, and his hair made into two tresses.

He had a suspicion that Laila and Therese had planned this even before coming over, as they had had brought with them some strange extra hair that they somehow succeeded to plait to his own, and it being the right color too? His plaids went almost down to his ass, and he felt totally and utterly ridiculous as he stood there as some life sized doll, judiciously studied by three pairs of young female eyes.

"Something, something." Muttered Laila, shaking her head.

"Yeah, I know." Said Therese a little unhappily. There was something that didn't fit. He was such a good, patient boy, and now an even better girl, but?

"Moom, can you come." Called Anna. "We need help."

Not Katrine too, thought Adam despairingly. He could only thank God that they didn't call for Sarah too.

As she came up she stared at him surprised.

"Amanda, you look really good girl. But? Those drawers." She said as she started to laugh pointing to the uneven lump under his skirt.

"That's it" said Anna, coming at him as if she was going to rip them of immediately.

Adam took three very fast steps to Katrine, crouching behind her, feeling even worse as he realized what he was doing. Hiding behind a woman, but hell, he needed some protection here. When Anna got like that he wasn’t even sure that her mother would be able to stop her.

"Girls, why not let Amanda change herself?"

The girls could understand the general idea, but they felt cheated just the same. After all, they had already seen him, hadn't they? Of course they had. They didn't care, did they?

No, this was plain silliness from Amanda's, and now Katrine's, side.

But as they studied Katrine they weren't as sure that she would see the good sense in their approach, so, grousing a little they gave after for her wishes.

"But, to that skirt you need something nice."

Said Therese, wistfully laying something frilly and almost transparent on the bed. It looked more like a small lacy hanky than a pair of panties, thought Adam, once more fiercely wishing that Katrine wasn't there to watch them.

Katrine found the girls quite racy, they had made him out like something from a bizarre manga magazine she thought, with those white thin socks going up to his knees, and his shiny black Mary Jane's.

The only thing missing now was him sucking one of those really big lollipops she realized. 'Oh God, I really need that camcorder.” She studied the room, now where?

"Ah yes girls, I was thinking of going to the mall later. Would you like to come?"

But she had already started to question her sudden need of documenting it, seeing how Adam shrunk away at the mention of going to the mall. And noticing Therese’s choice, she feared that the girls already were passing a border of no return.

"No." she said resolutely at last, sternly looking at Therese.

"That won't do at all Therese, where ever did you get such an idea from?"

She knew that the girls wouldn't dare to have such naughty stuff for their mothers to see. She wearily shook her head. 'They're growing up too fast nowadays' she thought as she looked at them.

Both Therese and Laila blushed. It was Therese that had bought them on a dare but, as Katrine so rightly had guessed, had kept them hidden until now.

"Amanda, it’s your choice really, not theirs. Come girls." Taking them with her, right out of the room.

"I know you like him girls, we all do. But he's not a new doll. He trusts you. What do you think will happen if he realizes that he's being fooled?"

She looked at Anna as she said that last. And she saw Anna slowly waking up to what might happen.

"Mom, I didn't think. We just wanted to see what she would look like."

The other girls, realizing that they too had overstepped their bounds reddened feeling terribly self conscious.

"Maybe we should change her skirt too?" muttered Therese embarrassed.

"I don't know." Said Katrine. "Would you go to the mall looking like her?" she pointedly asked Laila.

Laila blushed. No, she wouldn't, to an anime festival perhaps, but not to a mall.

"Okay, so we stay home." Said Anna, deciding for them all, already wanting to go back to Adam.

Katrine nodded. "Or, you help Amanda into something less revealing, it's up to you."

After some talk the girls decided to skip the mall, they had put too much work into shaping Amanda to their fantasies to let it go. And, of course, that sweet sense of power coming from deciding someone else's choice. But they also knew that they couldn't take her with them looking so, well, frankly flashy.

"Don't fool yourselves, it will only come back to bite you." warned Katrine as she left.

As they came in Adam stood their in his blouse, Mary Jane's, and the short shirt looking like some anime dream with his artfully applied makeup. The girls found that they had trouble to look him in his eyes.

"Would you like to change?" asked Therese softly. "You don't have to be a girl for us, really."

Laila nodded. "We were just being silly."

"But you looked so hot." admitted Anna wistfully.

And he knew. He had heard most of their discussion, but he had also looked at himself in the mirror, several times. And between that and the discussion he had realized that he still found it exciting.

He had never imagined that he would become any girl’s wet dream? It gave him a certain satisfaction to know that those three standing in front of him now, would have dreams about him tonight. Was that how a girl felt?

He sat down on the bed, purposefully letting them see a glimpse of his panties as he pouted his perfectly shaped, deeply red, lips at them. Deliberately he lisped, dead pan studying them

"Whelse my lolly. Manda wantsh'a slopshlickle"

The girls stared at him, furiously blushing. Seeing him smiling rapaciously as he patted the bed, calling his pets to him, for once obedient.

"It's only us chickens." Muttered Adam, as he satisfied studied their new and severely subdued appearances, sitting obediently beside him.

He took hold of Laila and Therese, drawing them with him down on the bed, holding them.

"I like you too." He said. "And Katrine was right, I do trust you."

The girls froze.

He turned to Laila and kissed her. She tensed up at first, but as he kept on kissing finally yielded under his impact. As he felt her getting all soft and juicy he broke their kiss and turned over to Therese, giving her the same treatment and getting much the same response.

"I never thanked you properly, did I?" He said to her as they lay there, still dazed in his kiss. He smiled at Laila who seemed to have trouble remembering where she was. Then he looked at Anna, who now felt miserable, the only one he hadn't kissed. "Feels good, doesn’t it?"

"No."

"Well, I didn't want you to either."

As he saw her whipped puppy eyes he relented slightly.

"Cause, I love you Anna. And yes, I do trust you, all of you. But, can you trust yourself?" He thought a little more trying to find the right words.

"I don't mind to dress up for you, its kind'a fun, weird but fun, but where will it end?"

He laughed, a little hysterically. "When I looked in the mirror, I almost wanted to make love to myself. And you lot liked it too, didn’t you?”

“So, what do I have here? One, two, or three girlfriends?" He wearily stood up, sighing. "I'm going down to the kitchen, I want some ice cream. And I hope you’ve sorted it out before I'm back."

As he walked out the door he made sure to swing his hips and make his skirt flip, giving the girls that little extra to remember.

Hell, he couldn't help it, he did feel sexy, a little depressed, yes, weird, oh yes.

But sexy.

==
 
 

===

As Adam sat waiting for the girls to finish their powwow he quickly started to get bored. 'Strange how fast one can get used to things' he thought as he sat down in the couch, unconsciously smoothing his skirt so not to wrinkle it, while using the remote to zap around for a football game.

Here he was, acting as if he always had lived here, when the truth was that he had been living on the streets just a week before. He wondered what he would have thought then, if he would have seen himself like this.

Shit, he would never have believed it. To be honest he wasn't too sure it was real now either, but hey, at least the ice cream was. At last he could hear the girls coming down the stairs chattering and giggling. They seemed happy as they came up to him.

"We have decided to share." Proclaimed Anna as she stood before him, smiling benignly.

The girls were giving him a real hard time, in ways more than one, as they stood before him, the sunlight highlighting their contours through their thin negligees. He crossed his legs, it might be uncomfortable he thought but considering the alternative he felt he had little choice in the matter. ‘Down boy, down’.

"Share?"

The girl’s heads bobbed up and down. It was kind of eerie to Adam, watching them bob so perfectly synchronized.

"I'm Monday and Tuesday." Said Laila smiling seductively at her little boy rabbit.

"And I'm Wednesday and Thursday." Said Therese, a little more shyly, looking at her cuddly teddybear.

"And the rest of the time your ass is mine boy." Said Anna in an almost feral growl.

"Well, you can rest on Sundays, but you don't need to, do you?" Hopefully.

"Ah this 'sharing thing', does that mean that I have three girlfriends now?" he asked, still unsure.

Anna looked unhappy, but then she reluctantly nodded.

"It's not fair otherwise." She explained. "We’ve shared everything, our whole life. And we found you together and took you home."

"And you're sure you're okay with this Anna?" he looked at her searchingly.

She started to shake her head, but stopped to nod again.

"They like you a lot too Amanda. I don't know what to do, but I can share if I must."

Adam smiled at them.

"Okay girlfriends. You're already ready for bed, right. How about us going back up?"

And so they went, making that first prolonged sleepover of many.
===
 
 
Sarah woke up in a strange room, screaming of femininity, not that it was all made in pink, but to his mind there could be no doubt about it. 'Femininity warning' ringing all red through his mind as he tried to remember through his growing headache. And he did remember, mostly, but as it came to the moment where he sat down at the couch it all became dark.

As he listened to the girls discussing outside the room he started to wonder what he had fallen into. Now there were more girls, definitely more. Forcing himself up from the bed he peeped out, one, two, three, four girls, and three of them sharing the fourth?

Strange, very strange, and she being dressed like some Japanese anime too, with the others mostly looking like Lolita’s in their thin negligees.

Was it some high end sporting house for the depraved? With him, undressed now, in only his slip and panties, being their newest goods? Where was he?

He had fallen totally for her he had to admit, her and that caring sweetness, but now he started to question it all, his temples throbbing mercilessly.

Katrine was it? Where was she? Was she trying to press him into some kind of 'work'? Well, he had been looking for work, hadn't he, but? Not like this. And how would it look on his resume?

"Yes sir, eight years at Arlington heights teaching history and mathematics, and three more as a high-class lesbian prostitute? "

Shit, he couldn't even expose her filthy business, not without blowing his real identify. He could just see the headlines. 'Crossdressing lesbian' wait, wasn't he a transvestite too? No, or yes? This was confusing. Let's see, oh yes, now he could see the first page.

'Crossdressing Lesbian transvestite bravely exposes sex-ring, bob's cockeyed.'

"Where the hell did that one come from." He muttered listlessly as he listened to the conversation in the living room, still searching in vain for his dress.

And did Anna just call her a 'boy'?

As Leonard listened on he became more and more enraged. So, he wasn't the first crossdresser here? But, those kids were clearly underage? And now they were going up to some sex orgy, were they. He realized he had been stuck in a trap.

She had served him that drink, there had to have been something in it. Thinking off it he realized that he still felt dizzy and strange, at least now he could see her plan. Well forewarned is forearmed, right?

So, as Katrine came back in from the breakfast he sat in the bed staring at her hard eyed and cool. Well, as hard eyed as you can be having the katzenjammer of a millennium and being dressed, or undressed as it was, totally inappropriate for ‘getting to the bottom’ of it. And as he saw her he sort of lost it.

"So? What do you plan to do with me?"

Plan him to do what? Katrine stared. “Did he want her to?”

"Would you like to do breakfast?" she asked confused, looking around, seeing the mess from yesterday. "Sorry, we really should get this cleaned up."

My God, she wanted him as her maid, he had heard about those, vile, absolutely vile.

"Do I have to wear a uniform too?" He asked, realizing that there was no way out. She was just too hard a nut for him to crack dressed like this, and he, he already knew too much about her operation.

"Uniform? I'm a lawyer Sarah. Oh, your uniform you mean? Why would you need a uniform?”

Does she want me to do it naked?

As she looked at his depressed demeanor she couldn’t help wondering if he still was ashamed of yesterday. So he wanted out of here, did he? Did he want her to play along too? A one night fling then? She felt her disappointment gathering like a dark cloud at the horizon as she valiantly tried to smile. Well, okay.

“Oh I see, A cop then, undercover? Well that explains it, and now you got to go, right. Criminals to catch, things to do, that sort of thing right? Well don’t let me stand in your way then."

He snorted. "No one would take you for a police Katrine. Not with this." He made a sweeping gesture. "filth." He murmured a little more quietly, suddenly ashamed of himself. She had helped him after all. But this house was much too expensive for a cop.

What was that last word she said?

"Did you say undercover? Me? No, I swear, please, don't get any goons." Laughing nervously as he studied her. Only God knew what kind of connections she might have.

Collecting what courage he had left he stood up.

"But, know this Katrine. You may have me in something of a bind here. You may make me your maid. You may force me to call you mistress." Desperately wishing that he had had something more appropriate on him than this silly frilly slip.

"But I will fight you every step of the way, I will fight you on the beaches, I will fight you on your landing ground, and I will fight you in the kitchen. I will. ."

He had to sit down again, his head in his hands, his headache now growing into gigantic proportions, feeling slightly moronic as he replayed those last words in his mind.

Katrine now started to worry for real, had she let a madman into her house. And him, who had seemed so nice? Looking at him she saw that boob slipping again. It gave her a vague feeling of surreally to argue with someone having one boob flagging at three quarters, and the other one pointing straight up to heaven.

"You're not very used to alcohol, are you Sarah?" she finally guessed, studying his appearance.

Now? ‘What the hell had alcohol to do with anything?’ He wondered listlessly, ‘if she had spoken about headache instead,’ he thought, ‘that would at least have made some sense.’

"Sarah? Why do you want to work as a maid? For me? That's so sweet of you, but I already have a housekeeper?" Could he be a little kinky she wondered as she sat down beside him holding him, trying to comfort him as he sat there, his head still in his hands. "And Sarah, what goons? Do you like men too?"

It took them quite some time to work through their misunderstandings. With Katrine solemnly swearing to never, ever, tell anyone about their little conversation.
===
 
 
So, now you might think that this story will be all sugar and spice? Well, it could be, if it was another tale, but it's not. There were things in motion. What Adam didn't know about his parents and his trust could cover a book of its own, which should come as no surprise considering his age.

In this world as in most others there are some obvious powers, and others not so obvious. Some of them already on the prowl, wanting him badly. Why? Well, there is an answer to that, or if you like several.

One of the more obvious was his trust. It was a trust larger than anyone knew. There is always someone knowing of course, but in this case those who knew had their own reasons for keeping their mouths closed. And no, the trust was about more than just money too.

The world is seldom a thing of beauty. Don’t get me wrong here, Earth is, but the world? The meaning of worldly we all know, to be attuned to the flesh, and to live in and by its pleasures. Most of us stay there, never batting an eyelash at what other possibilities there might be, to no great surprise. It is, as always, a question of how you were raised. Upbringing, stability and education.

Until his parents death Adam had had all three, bereft of them he had none. Some of those sitting in the shadows wanted it to keep on being so. They had with a twisted pleasure watched him escape from the orphanage just, as they had hoped, to fall in their hands. But he had fooled them, himself unknowingly, by choosing his escape at a night of the full moon.

For those of you not knowing the importance of a full moon I recommend the tractate 'A full moon and all its phases.' By Lorrimer Strangly DM. PH. FWOPK. DTT. It will bring to your attention the rudiments needed for any further study.

But in this particular case, and for those to lazy to prevail, it will suffice to say that the new and full moon is important for several reasons. The one helping Adam escape being that whatever magic is done under a full moon is likely to misfire, as the might of that moon will influence even the most carefully woven spells.

So he escaped, much to the disappointment of those wanting him. So there was not only the Government out looking for him, and the police, but also those, more deviously shaped forces. Now, I don't know how many of you that believes in a heaven and a hell? You see, to me that too will be a question of upbringing, stability, and education. To those without those three bases hell will exist, one hell when they live, and the other, depending on beliefs, awaiting their death.

Those of us more or less blessed with all three mostly refuse to believe in them, although in this, as in most other situations, your upbringing will be what tips the balance. To that I might add that I have troubles seeing a more refined hell than what we seem to make for each other.

In every generation there are only a very few born having those three prerequisites, succeeding in threading the narrow path of compassion. Most of us stumble on our way, repeatedly.

And for those that walks the shadows only hell is existent. So in a way both the most ignorant and those knowing too much share their vision of hell, but each from an opposite side of the scale.

Shadowwalkers believe themselves the doers of destinies, shapers of fate, with you and me my friend only as the base metal, waiting for their furnace. If you would meet one of them they would hide behind a friendly countenance, smiling at you as they signed your death warrant.

Most probably they would give it to you in a sealed envelope making you promise to bring it to the guards notice. Oh yes, they do exist and I've seen them. Most probably you have too, if you cared to search your memory.

So, Adam and his new family unknown, there were already several unwholesome powers searching for him, turning each and every stone.
==
 
 
Up in their room Anna and Amanda sat on the bed with Therese and Laila. They were just talking, having fun. The girls made Adam relax to a degree where he even found himself telling them about his parents and upbringing. He had grown up in a small town, not unlike the one they had visited going to the mall, but even smaller.

"Yeah, it was strange. Sometimes when I went to school the streets would change. I'm not sure how but sometimes they were just, different. And you never knew when it would happen. My mom used to tell me a story about a young boy going home trying a shortcut that hadn't been there the day before. She told me that he just disappeared."

The girls listened to him, watching his face intently for signs of him making it up.

"You sure about this?" asked Anna incredulously, finding it hard to believe. ”I mean, moving streets? You sure you weren’t on steroids or something?”

Adam shook his head, his hair covering his eyes again. ‘Shit.’ he thought. ‘This haircut freaks me out.’

"No, I'm not. When I try to tell someone about it I can't, and when I try to remember what I want to say, it becomes foggy. You’re the first I’ve been able to tell it too. But I'm not sure, I remember it this way, and I believe it too, but it makes no sense.”

He looked down at his hands as he continued.

“When they threw me into the orphanage the school was three blocks away and every day the first weeks I used to watch the streets, learning them by rote so I would know if they had changed. But they never did?"

"Well, usually streets only change when they build." Said Laila trying to make light of it, but for Therese it felt as something out of a ghost story, listening to him.

"Weren't you frightened Amanda? To get lost I mean, like that boy did?" Asked Therese.

"No, not really. The first time I was afraid was in the orphanage, and after that there were the streets of course. But the orphanage was the worst."

The girls remembered how he had looked as they found him, bloody and beaten up. And they couldn’t help wonder why he thought the orphanage worse than that.

"Yeah." Said Anna at last, protectively moving closer to him.

"That was bad, but now you have me."

"And me."

"Me too." Said Therese.

Now all three sat close hugging him, whispering in his ears. Finding no way out of their tightening embrace he tried to tickle them. It worked better than he ever could have hoped for, but then Laila treacherously attacked him with a pillow.

From there sheer bedlam broke lose, well, not really. But it was a very good pillow fight without any clear winner. Even though Adam tried his best to prove himself the overall champion, with the girls ganging up on him, laughing derisively.

As they lay down exhausted the girls started to do things with, and to, him. Not that he complained, he was doing much the same to them. To Adam it was his slice of heaven having three nubile young bodies to play with, and being played by. And deeming by the sighs and pleased murmur's drifting his way, he thought his new girlfriend's to share his vision.
===
 
 
Now, there are different kinds of shyness. The one most common one is the one you see when someone tries to be invisible, having a hard time to say more than three words. But there exists other types too. Like those presenting you with a perfect surface, letting you believe that they are exactly what you see, easy talking, laughing and sharing.

But when you come closer to them you find them gliding away, their 'self' untouchable even in the closest relations. More often than not that is a coping mechanism protecting things hurt, sometimes so deep that the person acting doesn't know it himself, or is able to remember it. And so I believe it was with our Sarah.

Sarah hadn't lived on the streets, but she had grown up with her mother. A mother forced to always be the first to lose her job whenever the economy took a dip, and the last to get that new one, constantly moving. As well as chasing that perfect man and family provider. Most unfettered men shy away from marring a single mom. Why that is? Good question, but it is a known fact.

And that was the main reason he hadn't stayed to fight either. To him it was not only his crossdressing that might become questioned but his whole personality, all that he was. On that deep instinctive plane he knew that to stay could be the beginning to his end, therefore he had no choice but to leave.

Don't mistake that for cowardice. Few heroes has never been afraid, and loosing what persona you so laboriously have constructed for yourself under your years growing up? Would you yourself be prepared to lose that, over a mere job?

The real problem Sarah faced, wherever she went, was just that dual nature. Her ability to be that extrovert open person on the surface, shielding her real self from all, including herself. Somewhere inside her there was a child crying, but she had long ago lost the ability to hear it.

But Katrine could. How some unique persons can be, and do, such is another question I don't have an answer too. I'm sure most of you have seen that famous character Dr. Phil on your television, setting lives right like broken bones, by the hour.

Imagine your absolute counterpart to that, someone that won't tell you in three simple steps what you need to do, but listens instead. Someone that hear you so well that your words lose their meaning. That was Katrine.

You might argue that if it was something Katrine was good on then that had to be taking over other persons lives, commandeering them. And I would tend to agree, but that was just another aspect of her ability. She could see what you needed and make you find it just by being there for you. And most of all, you could trust her.

So, what would you deem the most precious, rare, commodity on Earth?

Platinum, gold, diamonds, uranium?

You're right. Trust.

To have trust and to find that one that won't betray. Even heroes will betray at times. Only lesser works gives you a hero without faults, the exception possibly being religious tomes.

To find that one in your own life that steadily refuses to betray, your bulwark against corruption, is according to my calculations somewhat less probable than to find that famous needle. Approximately on the level with hell freezing over, giving away free skates, muffler's and hot chocolate.

And in many ways that refusal is an innate thing, of the soul, not achieved through learning. So you might say that Sarah was lucky, she had at last found her safe harbor. But to find home, is that the same as recognizing it?

What her hurts was? I don't really know, and if I did I doubt I would discuss them. But with her mother becoming increasingly unstable coming into her middle age, and also having been a great many men in her life, grandiosely promising her marriage?

And who those men were, and what they did, or didn’t? I don't know. But we all know the end result. That's right, our Sarah. Cool and shy, open and friendly yet inaccessible, just not there for you on that deeper plane. Now you might wonder what this has to do with her crossdressing, I would say nothing, or maybe?

It all depends, we contain multitudes, all of us do. But I hope our tale will allow us to see. Remember though that not all wounds are needed to break open, the pus emptied. Some might better be healed from the inside, with us looking to results instead of their sources.

Katrine and Anna both, they were good at that.
==
 
 
So there they sat, Sarah and Katrine. Sarah staring to feel like the most ungrateful jerk in history, with Katrine looking at him as she couldn't decide if she was going to have a screaming fit or console him. In the end she did both, taking him in her arms while scolding him as if he was some misbehaving child.

When she had cooled down some she found the ungrateful son of a gun almost asleep at her bosom. She shook him angrily, not satisfied with his response.

"Did you listen to anything I said?"

"Sorry, The headache is killing me Katrine."

"Oh, bother."

He took the chance to put some more weight to her, elevating them both down on the bed in a more comfortable position. She wanted to scold him some more but as she noticed his pained expression she realized he wasn't joking.

"Why did you drink so much then?"

"Don't know, nervous I guess, it just got out of hand."

She had told him about how Amanda had come to be, and though he had problem imagining it he had no doubt she was telling him the truth. He looked at her, begging her with his bloodshot eyes to let him be.

"Katrine, can't we rest a little while?"

She nodded.

"Thank you." closing his eyes again, snuggling into her.

Well, it was she who had invited him after all. She looked down at him wondering as he started to snore. What was it with this guy? The only thing he had done since arriving was getting drunk, snoring loudly, then accusing her of having a bordello and now, snoring again?

But she still had hopes for him, under it all he seemed quite decent, and she liked that. As she thought about it she too slowly glided into sleep, never noticing.
==
 
 
As Sarah woke up he found her sleeping. And as he looked at her he felt a strange nebulous gentleness suffuse him, making him at peace with the world. As he idly looked around he noticed the photo of a young lady hanging at the wall.

Carefully entangling himself from her embrace he went over to take a look at it. At first he had thought it to be her daughter Anna, but noticing subtle differences, as well as the older type of cars portrayed in it, he at last realized that it had to be a photo of Jake.

He stood there transfixed, studying him. So that was what he was competing against. And comparing himself against the picture he started to doubt himself anew. He looked back to the bed, she looked peaceful and warm he thought, but what did she need someone like him for?

She already had it all, hadn't she? Her own firm, money, a loving daughter, or daughters? After all, he was just another loser? One of the riff raff, like some waste momentarily floating up to the surface, just to sink again. It felt wrong to him, he hadn't a thing to offer her.

Maybe she just had taken pity to him. Felling his depression gather its force again he quietly started to look for his clothes, wondering how he would make it home. As he looked in his purse he saw that he still had some money left, not as much as he had hoped but enough for a ride home. For a moment he thought of waking her and ask if she could lend him some money, but no. To have to ask her would just be too much. He would rather walk.

Katrine, who had wakened when he got up, saw him look at the photo, his sadness obvious. She just couldn't understand it, she would have thought that most guys would be happy being with her, but not him?

There he was, looking for his clothes again, planning to sneak away again even before they had gotten to know each other for real? Was she that revolting to him? Well, if that was what he wanted she wouldn't stop him.

But thinking again she couldn't help but finding both him and Adam to be much the same. Both seemed to have a very prickly conscience and an immense, even if slightly misdirected, pride in them selves. Then again she reflected, perhaps pride is the last thing to get stripped of you? Well, that and hope of course. As she saw him turn back to her she closed her eyes.

Sarah went back to the bed, looking down at Katrine. Silently he sat down beside her. She still seemed to be asleep and he thought her very beautiful. He had by now became convinced that he had to stop imposing himself on her. But as he sat there he wished that he could find some other way than to just run away. He felt cheap, cheap and a little dirty under the cold light of his own reflections.

"I wish." He muttered touching a strand of her brown hair, slowly tracing it down to her neck.

"I wish I had something to offer you Katrine."

"You already have Sarah." She answered opening her eyes, two whirlpools of violet staring down his soul.

"You."

He stopped, that wasn’t what he had planned for, her to hear him. And as he sat there, suspended in time she laid her hand on his, pulling him closer to her.

" Do you think we would be here If I didn't like you, Sarah?" she asked him quietly, searching his eyes.

"I don't know." He answered, feeling lost as he looked down at her. "I can't compete with all of this." Making a grand sweeping gesture with his arm while looking at Jake's photo again.

"Everything I've done so far has turned wrong, it's not only you Katrine."

She smiled and stopped him by dragging him down besides her, lifting her head to be kissed. And as he did he found them inexplicable melting into each other, words suddenly redundant.
===
 
 
 
 
If you could look outside their house now, perhaps soaring over it in a balloon, you could look down on their own little quarter of neighborhood, with their well cut lawns, and nice looking houses, all in discrete similar colors, each one with their own little carport. Side by side in never ending rows of self satisfied middleclass serenity. A suburban wet dream came true you might say. All trusting to that this was the only way it could be, and always had been.

Raising higher, expanding your view you would slowly see the little town come into perspective, materializing under your eyes, with its rich and poor quarters, its small industrial zone and its malls. But, if lifting your eyes, you might also notice the darkness building around the town.

That wall of darkness isolating it, as if the town now found itself resting inside the black eye of a hurricane, staring down on them, judging them mercilessly. And if you listened real hard you might even hear that particular darkness ripening, vibrating, like immense power lines curled, slowly constricting the town, raring to unleash their raw power.
===

 
========
 

Mrs. Andersen living next doors to Katrine was the one that saw them first. Although dressed like humans there was something to the way they walked she though, when getting out of that non descriptive car, its discreet colors blending in with the asphalt making it all an indescribable grey.

Something indefinable and quietly disturbing with the way they looked around, whipping their heads around almost snakelike in their movements. And then there was also the way the smaller man constantly seemed to lick his mouth, his tongue fluttering in and out as if tasting the air.

They were both dressed in dark business suits, white shirts and blazingly red ties. Their polarized sunglasses, effectively hiding their eyes, reflected a weak light, making Mrs. Andersen feel as if she was staring into empty pools of darkness as they looked at her, while the taller man presented himself.

"Ah, so pleased to meet you Madam. My name." Presenting his visit card with a elegant gesture. She looked down on the immaculately engraved card. It was red, with the letters made out in an electrical blue, making it quite hard to read. 'Damien O. A. Faustier. Certified Investigator' And in larger letters 'TLOD.'

Now the smaller man opened his mouth showing their pearly white small teeth, not unlike a rodents.

"Eliah madam.” Bowing stiffly.

“We are looking for a boy. A runaway in fact." Smiling at her, his incredibly white teeth as reefs, protruding out of his wetly red ocean.

“Perhaps you’ve seen him, perhaps you are the one that can help our inquiry?”

As she tried to smile back she couldn’t help notice his leathery skin, drawn taut and smooth by some unremitting sun. As he stepped closer his skin seemed to be giving of a weak odor, reminiscent of a slowly mummifying corpse, not that she ever had been near any mummy. And as she felt herself slowly losing her grip on reality the man in that whispering cold voice, devoid of any emotional content, continued.

"We are so disappointed in him madam, disappointed indeed." his tongue flickering out, as if some tasty fly just passed by.

Now the taller man smiled too, also having those perfect gleaming teeth. Such ones that is so popular those days, not real of course, and yet realer than life itself. Flashing her that perfect goal of neatness and power every time the men smiled, trying to impress on her the same impression that their 'power suits' wanted to present.

"Yes brother Eliah, so right again, we are indeed looking for him. We are worried that he might come to hurt. We're working for the ‘orphanage of the blessed saints’, perhaps you've heard about us? Lots of good work madam, bringing the sheep’s back. Let me present you a photo of the young man. We would be most pleased if there was any way you could help us?”

As she looked at the photo she saw a young boy, smiling. In the background she saw a car and a small house, with an overgrown lawn behind him filled with trees and flowers, ‘summer’ she thought, ‘full summer’. She could also see a dark shadow falling at the side of him looking like some woman's, ‘a dress?’ she thought, ‘his mother perhaps?’

"I'm sorry but I don't recognize him." She said curtly.

Vaguely apprehensive as she said it, cold shivers creeping up her spine as if they were blotting out the sun, just by mere appearance.

"Ah Madam, not as sorry as we, I assure you."

As she tried to give him the photo back he shook his head.

"No Madam, please keep it, no, I insist. On the back of it you will find a telephone number. If you would see him please contact us. His uncle would dearly want him back."

The smaller of them smiled, giving the illusion of a leathery mask suddenly splintering into thousands of small strands, each one trembling with a life of its own. Like thin brown maggots quivering, unable to crawl.

"Yes, we are also happy to inform that there is a matter of a gratification, isn't that so, dear brother."

"You are so right father Elias, and to a most substantial degree too, if I may add. For the one, or ones, locating and bringing our poor young sheep into the fold. Safely, that is, in the arms of his grieving uncle. Able to transform your deepest dreams madam, that amount. But now, alas, by your leave."

Both bowing, lifting their hats simultaneously.

As they left the sun slowly seemed to come to life again. She looked as they came to next house, unmoving as some mannequins while waiting for the front door to open. As the door did they magically seemed to come to life again, like some strange kind of automata winding themselves up by the doors motion.

She suddenly felt herself in dire need of a bath, or at least a shower, but in the end she contended herself with washing her hands. She also had a distinct feeling that she had seen that boy recently, or at least someone quite like him.

But it didn't really matter, all she knew was that those men were not out to help him, and that if she ever saw that boy, they would be the very last she would call on, reward or no reward.
===
 
 

Under the day everything seemed as usual, people rushing through their daily lives, acting as if everything was normal, but as the light waned and they slowed down? Nothing was as normal anymore. If you by some magic could have watched them, each and every one, in their homes? Well, you would have seen them gathering together, drawing strength from each other, the teenagers for once not needed to be told to behave.

I would have liked to write that it blew up to a storm outside, but that wouldn't have described the truth. It was rather as if there was a sudden silence and calm permeating the community, the silence you get inside that eye of a hurricane. A threat of something waiting, undefined yet but all the same infinitely dangerous. And if you ever have lived poor you know what I mean about the family gathering together, finding their strength in each other.

There were other types of family's too, not all living in that close harmony. As the Livingstone's for example. Theirs was a sorely disturbed life. With their father one of those clearly unable to act as a father should, instead manipulating and abusing. And their mother you ask? Well, not all mothers are paragons of strength, she was weak, unable to stand against him, and their two children? The main victims, as their mother.

And as the dusk laid its velvety hand upon their little town we, if we now had that ‘God like’ sight, would find the two strangers inside that house, presenting their findings to the monster living there.

"Sorry Sir, we couldn't find a trace of the little brat."

"But the photos are out and circulating?"

"Yes Sir."

"Good, I'll report your findings. Keep up the good work."

As Elias and Dante went back to their rented room the man sat down to think. As his wife came in to inform him that the dinner was ready he brusquely showed her out, ordering her to call for the children to come. As they arrived, two scared youngsters, each one wondering what wrongs they had done this time, he smiled at them.

"Patricia, Daniel. I have work for you."

"Yes dad?"

"Do you see those boxes. Take a box each, tomorrow I want you to start to talk to all kids you know. The kid in the photo is important and I want him found. Tell them that there is a reward, everyone wants money, don't they baby."

He looked at Rachel, a guileless predatory smile plastered all over his face. If you ever have seen that used cars salesman coming for you out on the prowl. Or, better still, have had your hand shaken by that politician staring earnestly into your eyes, you might have some weak resemblance to what I'm talking about. As Rachel listened to her dad, and part time 'lover', she once more faltered under the uselessness of living, it’s weight almost crushing her.

She hated him, she loved him too. After all, he was the only father she had known. Perhaps all fathers were as him? And Andrew then who, although not being sexually abused himself, yet, had been forced into the position of becoming the witness of it all? In his case that love already had eroded, long ago, leaving only emptiness, and a mute scream in the dark.

His sister kept doing her best to keep their father away from him, but both knew that it only was a matter of time. And, in the end, leaving them both without hope.

Both kids wanted out from the whole sordid way of life their father had forced upon them. Rachel was fourteen now, and had been her fathers plaything since she became eleven, Andrew was twelve. Andrew wanted them to leave, arguing persistently for their need, but he also knew that this would leave their mother as their father’s final victim. And in the end neither he nor Rachel could cope with that.

Both of them loved and cared for their mother, even though that love was mixed with a great deal of contempt. Contempt for how she allowed their father to abuse her, and them. But as they saw her, constantly cringing from his smallest rebukes, always eager to please, they knew that they couldn't refuse her need for them. And what their mother thought?

Once more I find myself without words. I wish we both knew, as if we did perhaps me, or you, could have helped her to make that decision, so long overdue.

"Sure dad." Answered Rachel, smiling back.

Her life, and his fists, had quickly taught her that the more she conformed, the less abuse would be heaped upon her. Those few times she had refused him, he not only took it out on her, but on the whole family. Andrew just kept his silence as he once more felt his hate and fear build.

Their dad studied them some more. He enjoyed the complicity and adaptability his little boy-toy showed. He had her trained real good now, he even had played with the idea of having both her and her mom in his bed, simultaneously pleasing him. But he wasn't sure they were all ready for it yet, but soon, he thought as he studied Rachel, soon.

As for Andrew he already had his future staked out. There had been an expressed interest from his superiors, and delivering young boys was a fireproof way of winning their favor, and promoting his interest. It wasn't as the boy had any promise anyway.

No, as far he was concerned the faster the little brat got out of the house the better. And what better use of his family than to better their fathers prospects? To him there were no real family members to be found, only thralls, and his superiors of course.
==
 
 
But in his hometown he was, as most perceived it, a true pillar of the community as well as of the faith. A regular churchgoer, never missing the Sunday mass, and real easy to talk with too with a ready smile for each one needing his advice. A man of importance and weight indeed, whose recommendations and thoughts were taken most seriously. Even a member of their regional Lions Club, there seen as a true champion of the weak and downtrodden.

Now, what can that tell us? That people only see what they want to see perhaps? As for how people becomes like him I’m not sure, maybe we all have some reminiscence of it left in us. But their life’s must be as black holes, forever sucking in what light and goodness they meet, leaving only empty despair.

But, even if we all share this to some degree, most of us choose it away at an early stage, most not even remembering. And even amongst those abusing there are differences, one of the last bastions being your own family. But for those overstepping that last boarder there is little redemption to be found in my eyes. As so it was in Andrews too.

"Scoot." Their father told them as he turned to call his own masters.

==
 
====
 
Laila was slowly untangling herself from her new lovers embrace.

"I have to go now, it's already dark." Laila reluctantly told them as she started to dress.

Anna looked at her clock.

“Strange, it’s only half past three.” She said, trying to look out the black window plane, only reflecting the warm light inside the room.

Adam couldn’t stop looking at Laila, admiring her. Somewhere under their festivities she had succeeded to loose most of her clothes, as if by magic. And as she stood there beside him in her slip he found her shape, and smile, increasingly alluring.

"Please don't." he said. Can't you stay the night Laila?" imploringly

"No, my mother made me promise. She's really down, her new boyfriend turned out to be a real jerk. They broke up yesterday."

As Anna listened she found herself unwilling to loose the company of Laila too. She was surprised over herself, to share as she they had decided, that had to bee the hardest decision she ever had made in her young life. But it had all turned out to be as simple and natural as swimming, when she finally had found the courage to allow it to happen. Suddenly she had another of her wicked ideas, well, our Anna had no shortage of them.

"Therese, don’t you think your mother needs a sleepover? I mean, doesn't she get tired of all those relatives running around?"

She looked at Therese nodding meaningfully. Therese looked at her surprised, but suddenly, by some extrasensory perception only girls can have perceiving Anna’s devious plan she nodded, looking pleased.

"Don't know really, do you think I should call her and ask? But your mom, shouldn't you talk with her too. And what about Sarah?"

"Don't worry girl, you take care of your mother, I'll take care of mine, and Sarah too."

Laila who had listened to Anna's new plans became increasingly envious hearing them discussing. Here she was, forced to go home, only to listen to her mom telling her what a loser her new boyfriend had turned out to be. While they, and their moms, were going to have the best sleepover ever, having all the fun. Probably lasting for weeks too.

Anna who surreptitiously had studied her reactions, started to smile, feeling satisfied. 'Yes, the lure is working. And Laila firmly hooked, just a little...'

"Laila, why don't you call your mother too? She would have a lot of shoulders to cry out on here." She suggested sweetly as her smile grew. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Laila studied Anna thoughtfully, her smile staring to beam too, as a small sun, radiating that sudden good humor at the same time as she a little sourly commented.

"As if you didn't plan that from the beginning Anna." Snorting. "You did. Admit it."

Anna looked as her, innocent as a doe under the gun, but to no avail. Laila had her pegged and her smile just grew. Adam looked at his Anna, once more realizing his incredible luck, or if it now was the other way around? 'Never mind' he decided. “I’m glad she exist.” He leaned over to kiss her, whispering.

"You're the best girlfriend I know, ah, you too." Looking a little sheepishly at the others.

"You too girlfriend." Answered Anna as proudly as she caressed his, or to be true, hers pajamas. ‘It’s tailor made for him.’ She thought as she admired his litheness. When he had gotten it on she couldn't remember. She remembered her getting disappointed over his unwillingness to go the whole way though, ‘maybe that was his security?’

"When ever did you get that one on you sweetie." She asked, a little surprised.

"Who." said Therese a little pedantically, blatantly choosing to misinterpret Anna's question. "Get 'whenever did you get who on you', you mean."

Adam looked at Anna, then at Therese. His face one single question mark.

"Sorry, I don't get it." he complained.

As they just laughed at him he sighed. "Girls." He muttered darkly, but then he sneered getting that gratified, most self-satisfying, look.

‘They thought they could remake me did they?’ He thought as he looked at them triumphantly.

“I'm still myself. Yep, a man, and damned proud of it too." Muttering it, as he studied them a little smugly.

"And we have a bigger brains too. It's scientifically proved" he added as he saw their disbelief, belatedly realizing that they had heard him. Pleased as he remembered that it actually was true too.

He wasn't prepared for Laila's sudden onslaught though when she threw herself upon him.

"There Amanda, do you see, the girls was right. We're upon, as always."

But Adam could move too. Faster than you could say 'Ipety bibety boo' he turned her around, for once getting on top.

"All ways girl? No ways."

"Oh yeah? Says who" Said Therese as she joyfully joined in the brawl, throwing herself into the fray.

As Anna too joined up, he once more found himself buried under their nimble young bodies. Not that he complained, heck, as far as he was concerned they could stay like this for ever, but in the end he found it for best to capitulate.

"I give up, you win, let me breath. Hey, shouldn't you talk with your mothers?"

The two girls, suddenly remembering their long lost master plan, frantically rushed to their phones, with Anna running down the stairs to talk to, no forget that, rather instruct her mother and Sarah about the imminent invasion by foreign bodies, namely Katrine's best friends.

‘I’m sure Sarah will love it’ she thought, indulgently congratulating herself. ‘And Mom can show of her new man.’

Or should it be. .? Never mind, it was still a cool idea.

===
 
 

She found Katrine and Sarah in the bedroom, under the covers sleeping. As she stopped to look at them she got an idea. They were so cute with Sarah's arm protectively draped under and around her mom, with Katrine breathing in his ear, making his hair flutter with each breath she took.

She took up her phone and, as quietly she could, she turned on the lights while taking her photos. As they opened their eyes, awakened up by the sudden light, Sarah found Katrine's daughter Anna standing beside the bed, smiling as she took yet another photo of him, her smug expression flashing an unholy joy.

"I have the evidence Sarah, Or, should I call you Leonard? And the proofs of your blatant deviations with my innocent mother will be revealed for all, unless.." as she continued to photograph him as he stared back at her."

He felt as if a heart attack rapidly was approaching, again, But as he looked at her he realized that she only had on her that flimsy nightgown, and not much more. He flushed as he hastily looked away.

Anna flushed too, suddenly realizing that the mirror at the other side of the bed would expose her too in the photos. Understanding why Sarah had looked away she collected herself enough to smile, pouting her lips, and then slowly gave him a wink.

As Sarah realized that he still was looking on her, but now in the mirror, he wanted to scream as he dived under the covers, drawing them over his head. As she took her last photos, proud to be able to save that last expression for eternity, Anna satisfied assured herself that the photos taken this time, was taken by a master, a pity that she couldn't show them.

But Adam was family now, wasn’t he? She had to think about this some more, perhaps some gentle persuasion would help Sarah see the light? She thoughtfully looked at Katrine, who now had gone the whole way, from being surprised to annoyed, to laughing, as she at last realized the sheer hilarity of Anna’s new prank.

"Anna, I thought I had brought you up better than this." she reprimanded her, doing her best not to shame poor Sarah, who by now once more, was bound to wonder what kind of death trap he had fallen into.

"Can't you see that you're embarrassing me, and Sarah."

"Pah, I know you're keeping her. And now I have proof too. Unless. ."

"Unless what? And we need those photos Anna" said Katrine, quietly pleased over the memories they would give her and Leonard.

"Unless Laila's and Therese's mother can come. We have already called them. Mom, please, pretty pretty please, can't we have a sleepover with all of us?"

As Sarah listened under the safety of his cover he got goose skin all over, wondering where it would end this time. Here he was, dressed in a slip, photographed repeatedly by a girl young enough to be his daughter, well nearly young enough, he had to correct himself as he remembered that beguiling figure she had presented him.

'Not that I saw anything anyway' he quickly corrected himself, urgently trying to blot out his memories of her. Desperately forgetting what it now was that he didn't remember? And introducing two more women to him? With the girls upstairs too?

He had thought himself to be in trouble before, before coming to that mall? But looking at it now, he could only laugh cynically at the naiveté of it ‘They are witches, all of them are. She is going to sell them. I'll be in all the morning papers, again.' Forgetting that it only had been in in his overwrought imagination that last time.

He desperately tried to decide his best approach. A sudden assault perhaps, grabbing the phone and then run like hell? In a slip, nah, he would look like an idiot and the papers would love it. He fervently hoped that it only was about money though. If it was she could have it all, and good riddance to it.

He only had a few thousand anyway, and his money from selling the car, if now nobody had stole it of course? Considering his luck lately that wouldn't surprise him a bit. But, they were rich? Why would they need that pitiful amount of dough? ‘Hell, who know how witches think anyway?‘

Ever since he agreed to go with Katrine things had become turned upside down, nothing made sense anymore, the only relief that his headache becoming a little more manageable. Perhaps? Perhaps it was a nightmare? He closed his eyes again, burying his nose in Katrine’s backside, thinking ‘Damn her, why does she have to smell so good’ as he burrowed into her warmth, hoping and praying for him to wake up, home, in his own bed.

As Katrine thought about Anna’s idea, she had to admit that she would have loved to have them coming over. It was just that she wasn't sure that Sarah could take it. The surprises had just kept tumbling down, all over him like an avalanche, ever since they first had meet. And if the truth was told, she was starting to feel a tiny bit guilty about it, not that it was her fault though?

And then there was that way he made her feel, making her want to stay in bed, preferably for the whole vacation. ‘Too much to do,’ she thought wistfully as she felt his warm breath at her back, ‘and too little time.’

"I don't know dear."

"Moom." Complained Anna, now thinking real quick. Trying to find that watertight argument that at last would make her mom surrender. "Laila's mom is threatening to kill herself." But as she saw Katrine flinch she hastily modified her remark.

"Not kill, I meant she is home crying her eyes out. Her boyfriend was such a jerk, a real louse, you wouldn’t believe what he did.” She studied her mom surreptitiously to see if the bait was taken, yes, mom was perking up.

“She really needs to talk to you. Please mom, she literary begged me to come and talk it over with you. She said you were the only one who could understand."

Katrine looked at her, more than a little suspicious, before crawling under the cover with Sarah to parley.

"Sarah, would you mind if they came over? They are quite harmless, really, they are. They knew Jake too."

He looked at her mumbling. "So she’s not going to blackmail me then?"

"Blackmail, what for? Oh, the phone you mean? No dear, Anna will give them to us, won’t you?” She lifted the covers enough for them to watch Anna nodding eagerly, but not eagerly enough to stop her from taking that last sweet photo.

“Or too you, if you like? But I would love to see them too. It's memories Sarah, our first memories. And Anna is right. You belong here, not in that ugly empty apartment, or do you want to make me cry? You wouldn’t want that on your conscience, would you? Making two women crying their hearts out?"

As Sarah thought it over he found that he too had hoped to keep her, and Anna too, even if he found himself hesitating a little thinking of Anna. That girl was a constant danger to his equilibrium, but so was Katrine, thinking of it. But how could he show himself in that dirty dress?

"Katrine, my clothes are all filthy." He protested feebly, praying that Anna wouldn't hear.

“And I wouldn’t make two women cry Katrine. One at most, and that’s you, not that I would. I mean, be reasonable, one at most Katrine.” Once more wondering why it was that women always could make you feel guilty. Even when you knew that it was you being in the right.

Anna who stealthily had advanced to the bed listened, a most profound and satisfied expression now finding its proper place, placidly adapting itself to her face. 'Just a little nudge now.' she thought to herself. 'You can do it mom. I know you can.'

"Oh, don't worry dear. You and Jake is almost the same size. Why don't I go up and look. He had a lot of nice clothes."

'Yess' thought Sarah, to become Leonard again. It would be a relief, this crossdressing had became a greater nightmare than he ever had expected. "Please do." he said.

"And Katrine? You would. . Would you have liked me as Leonard too?”

Hearing the sudden vulnerability Katrine took some time thinking over her answer.

"Yes." She said finally. "But it would have taken us a lot more time to get to know each other Leonard. I for one, are rather happy that we meet as we did. Isn't you too?"

"Yes Katrine, maybe I am." He answered, already having thought about it, just not being sure of what would have happened if she had met him as Leonard.

"And you are sure she will give me all her photos?" he whispered not wanting Anna to hear.

"Of course I will silly. Hurry now Sarah, let my mom run up to find you some clean clothes."

“Shit.” He muttered, ‘why me?’ As he realized that Anna had been the willing participant to all they had whispered about, once more feeling his heart attack just seconds away again.

"No shit at all." Promised Anna outside his, once so safe, hidey-hole.

"I’ll download the photos on a CD as soon I'm back up, promise. And only you will see them, and Mom if you like? Please Sarah, can’t you hurry up a little, they will be here any minute."

Crawling up again, out of the covers, feeling as the very old and depressed turtle he was, he watched her finely shaped back retreat out the door. Followed by Katrine's more fully, enchanting figure. As they left she turned slightly, looking over her shoulder, giving him that last encouraging smile before disappearing.

Promising him in that, cloyingly buoyant, bubbly voice. "Don't worry Sarah, it will be fun."

'For whom?' was Leonard's last thought before firmly shutting down all traffic in his brain. Closing his eyes as he wordlessly started to pray for his deliverance.
===
 
 
 
 
----Acronyms----------

Lorrimer Strangly.

DM = Dramaturgical Magus.
PH = Penial Holder.
FWOPK. = For Want Of Phucking Knowledge.
DTT = Damn The Torpedoes (full speed ahead)
 
 
-
D. O. A. Faustier. Well, D.O.A, right.
TLOD = The Legions Of Doom.

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