Introduction: This is another story in the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Charli and the Girl Cave, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling, Randi and the College Professor, Adam and the Three Wishes, Lisa and the Culinary Quest (aka Howard and the Completed pass), Cynthia and the Solicitous Sisters-in-Law, Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight, and Cynthia and the Dropped Ball. The time frame of this story follows about three to four years after Charli and the Girl Cave. This story takes place a little more than a year after Bobbie Anderson wins the (British) Open and about ten years after Simoné and the Second Time Around.

Marti returns home after she and Lanu have consolidated the details of the upcoming family reunion. Marti brings her mother in on what’s happening. Needless to say, Marissa overcome with emotion. The word goes out that there will be a family reunion. The recipients don’t know where. Randi is brought into the know.

“Marti, what do you think about Arnold and his family? We’ve been ‘talking’ with them almost every night. From what I know about raccoons their behavior is definitely out of the ordinary.”

“I would say that it’s centered on Rhonda. She may not be a witch, but she does have certain talents. It reminds me a bit about Charli and Tommie. They’re cousins and both of them demonstrated the ability to communicate with animals before their transformations. Did you get the impression that The Wizard seemed to be, I don’t want to say familiar, let’s say very open to her. I have a feeling he’s going to do something. We probably don’t need to be talking with her about it. If he’s going to do something, he’ll do it in his own time and way.”

Ginny sent emails to both Wanda and Penny welcoming them to their new home and family. The Wizard had added two bedrooms with baths and a second floor to their house. Of course, no one in the neighborhood noticed the addition. Putting Penny with Ginny had been a very good decision as Ginny had undergone a similar transformation many years before. She had been a department store Santa, about ready to have a fatal heart attack when Cindy and Bobbie had discovered him and brought in The Wizard to perform an emergency transformation. She took the place of a recently deceased child and helped heal a family.

Although not magic, she frequently came to the assistance of The Wizard and his East Coast friends. She knew she owed them that and more. Her husband was more than happy to assist.

Penny had 9 young women to assist her if any questions came up. She was very pleased with the instruction program The Wizard had given her. Marti explained that in the past he had relied on many of his prejudices when providing instruction to a transformee. Cindy, Bobbie, Randi, and Charli put together an instruction program that would adapt to the age and coloring of an individual. For makeup, all one had to do was look into a mirror, think about what she needed to address, and the instructions would pop right up. The ‘girl’ things such as hygiene were there, also. Sex education was also well developed. Ovulation would not start for 90 days if the new girl was past menarche. All in all it had turned out to be an excellent program, and any MTF transformees would get a copy. The program did not overwrite the transformee’s personality, and once that person’s skills were well developed the program went to an inactive file. They had developed a similar program for FTM transformees. It was more concentrated on basic hygiene and sex education.

“Marti, have you ever seen someone as happy as Penny is. That girl is smiling from the time she gets up until she goes to bed. She’s even smiling in her sleep.”

“That happens quite frequently. I’ve never seen anyone unhappy after their transitions. That is not quite right. Four years ago, there was a group bent on killing The Wizard because of what he’d done to them. Twelve of the fifteen finally realized that he’d given them another chance at life and they were far better off than they had been before. There were three of them who went as far as trying to shoot him. Of course, it didn’t work. As he put it, he’d been too lenient the first time. He sent them all the way back to being embryos. What’s ironic is that they were born to three of the women he’d previously changed. They were fully aware of that fact, and they are determined to raise their babies the right way. So far, so good. Their little girls have been doing fine. The Wizard might let them remember their previous lives one of these days. I don’t think he will, though. All three had been hired killers. I think finding that out might be too traumatic for them. I don’t think that will come up for quite a while. I could be wrong. It’s difficult to outguess The Wizard.

“His Wisdom has been very hands off so far about the revelations we’ve uncovered. I know he will be ready to help us at a moment’s notice, but I think he wants us to put together a plan. I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit since we’ve taken care of these other problems.

“If this is going to be a surprise, I don’t think we can pull it off without help from the inside. There’s only one person whom I can think of that I want to get involved. This is going to be big: major big.

“This is what I want to do. First ….

“Well, you’re going to have to tell me all about it. I can certainly tell that you had a great time. This new friend of yours sounds very interesting.”

The airport shuttle had been waiting for Marti as she exited baggage claim. She’d had a wonderful time and couldn’t wait to tell her mother about what had happened. She’d just have to present what she knew in such a way that would get her mother totally involved. She went over the plans she and Lanu had put together. She couldn’t see anything wrong with what they’d decided to do. Still, it would all depend on how her mother reacted.

The shuttle had driven all the way to the top of their driveway. Of course it wouldn’t have stopped half way. Her mother was waiting for her as the van stopped. The driver retrieved the luggage and Marissa gave him a handsome tip. They rolled the two bags into the kitchen. The bags would stay there for a while. Marti knew her mother would be okay with what she was going to tell her. After all, a tremendous hole in her life was about to be filled up.

“Yes, she is wonderful. We hit it off immediately.”

“I have the feeling that there is a lot more about her than you told me in your emails and texts. You deliberately avoided telling me quite a bit, didn’t you.”

“Yes I did, and you will understand why in just a minute. This is so exciting. Here’s her picture. What do you think?”

“What a beautiful young woman. She’s Polynesian, isn’t she?”

“She’s half Polynesian and she’s a witch. She’s from American Samoa. Look at her ears and eyes. See anything familiar?”

“My goodness, if it wasn’t for her fuller lips, nose and complexion, you two could be sisters.”

“What do you think of this picture?”

“Where did you get this? I never wore a dress like this. Did someone photo shop this?”

“No. Lanu had a similar reaction when she saw your picture. Mom, this is your twin sister, Elizabeth. Lanu and I are first cousins.”

“Oh my God. I’ve often wondered about that. This is remarkable. I have a sister.” The tears were starting to flow.

“She’s in Samoa, and she doesn’t have a clue about you. As difficult as this may be to believe, this is only the tip of the iceberg.”

“Does His Wisdom know about this?”

“Yes, and he was as surprised as we were. He’s letting me and Lanu, her full name is Lanu’ese’ese Vaeaolesau, work this thing out.”

“All right, take a look at this picture. Who is this?”

“Oh my, that looks quite a bit like Simoné. It isn’t, is it?”

“Nope, that’s Margaret Simard Vaeaolesau. She celebrated her 206th birthday last year. She was hurt in a shipwreck and doesn’t remember anything about Simoné or Bev. She’s lost thirty years or more of memory. I’m sure The Wizard will fix that in due time. She is Lanu’s great-great-great-great grandmother.

“Mom, you have two nieces and two nephews, and they are all carrying the witch trait. Lanu’s sister is also a witch. There is something else. They are also carrying the wizard trait.”

“What does His Wisdom think about that?”

“He’s ecstatic. That means in a few generations there might be several more wizards. Myrna has already confirmed the trait is there. She’s hoping to go to Samoa soon so she can track how many are carrying the magic and wizard traits. This is a tremendous opportunity for all of us.”

“Since The Wizards seems to have put you and your cousin in charge of this, do you mind telling me what you have in mind?”

“Mom, when was the last time you and Dad took a vacation; a real vacation?”

“It’s certainly been a while. We had a nice weekend over in New Bedford when Tommie was brought into the circle. That really was a wonderful weekend. Tommie has become a beautiful young woman.

“As you know, we had a coven meeting there last week. Everyone asked about you.”

“Mom, you and Dad haven’t had a real vacation in more than four years. Bobbie’s parents haven’t either. Mr. Brewer is a workaholic. Sometimes I think he thinks he’s still in the Air Force.”

“What do you have in mind? As if I didn’t know.”

“We’re going to have a family reunion in Pago Pago, and everyone is going to be there. I mean everyone. Not everyone’s going to be able to take a slow boat to Samoa; however, I’m sure His Wisdom will be able to work out the transportation for those who can’t take the time off.

“Obviously, some of us are going to have to know what’s going on. Lanu is going to handle things on her end. I was thinking about how nice it would be if we could take a cruise over there but there’s just not enough time. I’m afraid we’ll have to ask His Wisdom to help.

“Okay, here’s the guest list.”

“My goodness that is quite a list. Where’s everyone going to stay?”

“Lanu is making all the arrangements. She has a copy of the list. We have two weeks to get ready.”

“Ivana, I just received a strange email from Marissa. We need to set a week aside to take a trip. She says we need to pack our swim suits. I hope no one cares about my baby bump.”

“Sissy,” Ivana had started calling Simoné Sissy several years before. She’d learned the name from Simoné’s sister. Simoné had no problem with it. “Sissy, I love your baby bump, and no one is going to care one bit about it.”

“Well, you get to show off your fabulous figure while I waddle around with this protrusion.”

“It was your turn. We agreed on that. Besides, you are going to get all the attention.”

“I don’t think so. Terrie’s pregnant, too. I think she’s expecting around Christmas.

“About this trip, Marissa says the destination is a surprise; however, it’s very important that we go. The Wizard will supply the transportation.”

“Tom, I just received a note from Marissa. Apparently there’s going to be a very important meeting somewhere, and she’s asked that all of us, including the kids, be ready to take a trip somewhere to be revealed at a later date.”

“I won’t have any trouble getting off. I’ll just have to let them know the dates. Are Rosemary and Lisa invited?”

“I don’t think so. Apparently, this is a family thing.”

“Family? How can this be a family thing? We’re not related to the Lewis’s.”

“I don’t know; however, we’re invited. There must be a reason.

“Oh, I just received an email from Bev. Wow! It seems that she and Debbie have been invited, too. And here’s a note from Mom. Yep, she and Dad have been invited. This is really getting weird.”

“Cindy, I just received a note from your mother saying that there is some sort of family meeting at a place to be disclosed later. She’s sent a note to you and Don’s family.”

“I just received it, too. Apparently, this is something very important. I wonder why you’re included. I know we’re as close as sisters, but we’re not related. Is Andy invited?”

“All of us are. I was checking the dates, and Andy isn’t playing that week. He’s resting up to get ready to defend his FedEx Cup Championship. Your mom says we should bring our clubs, too.”

“I see we’re supposed to meet with all our baggage and passports at a place to be revealed later. The Wizard will be there. Obviously, he’s involved.”

“What do you think is going on?”

“Bobbie, I don’t have a clue.”

“Frank, are you and Avery able to get off for about a week in two weeks? Myrna and I just received a note from Mom saying that we’ve been requested to attend some sort of meeting somewhere.”

“Yes, Avery told me all about it. Apparently Myrna has known about this for a while. She’s very excited according to Avery.”

“I think I’d better see that young lady in person. She didn’t say anything to me about anything special.

“Are you going to be able to be home for dinner? I’m fixing lamb chops. After that steak of yours the other night, I had to think of something special. If you’re real nice, I might have something special for you after dessert. Betty’s staying overnight with a friend.”

“I’ll be there my randy Randi. You can bet on it.”

“Careful, I might just change my mind.”

“Oops.”

Myrna’s office wasn’t far from Randi’s. It was only a short walk from the Chemistry Building to the Biology Building.

“Okay Myrna, just what is going on? Frank says you’ve known for quite a while that something was up.”

“Just this,” she said turning her computer screen to Randi. “I know you won’t have any trouble understanding it.”

It took Randi only 10 seconds, probably less to decipher what she was seeing.

“Holy shit! How many people know about this?”

“Marti discovered it. It seems your cousin, previously unknown even by The Wizard and his group, whoever they are, showed up at the same camp as Marti. It didn’t take long for them to figure things out. Take a look at these pictures.”

“OMG, they are identical. I don’t think I would be able to tell them apart.”

“I want you to look up this line. There are many blanks to fill in; however, take a look at this picture.”

“She certainly looks familiar.”

“She should. One of her daughters lives in Braşov, Romania.”

“But, everyone thought she was dead.”

“Nope, alive and well, she will be celebrating her 207th birthday in a few weeks.”

“So, who knows about this?”

“You, your mother, Marti, Lanu, His Wisdom, and me. Marti brought me in immediately. She even sent a DNA sample to me via His Wisdom. I haven’t been so excited about something since Avery, Jr. stopped trying to bite through my nipple. I think he learned it from his father.”

All good things must begin somewhere. Tissue alert.