Emmanuel is watching his mother from a corner. He is holding the extra wash soap she had asked for. She is dancing. She is so beautiful. The water is dancing along with her, mimicking her movements. Left, right, it's dancing in circles around her.
She sees him standing there and the water returns to the bucket.
She is smiling.
"Oh my beautiful boy" she says as she walks towards him.
He is smiling as she gets closer and closer. He wants to close the gap but he can't move.
Just as she's about to touch him, she bursts into flames.

He wakes up sharply. It's morning and the sun is shining through the blinds.
He brushes hair away from his face and behind his ear which he's never had to do before.
He groggily leaves the very comfortable bed. He's suddenly dizzy when he's on his feet. He is very weak.
He walks past the large mirror on his way to the bathroom and doesn't recognize himself out of the corner of his eyes.
He returns to examine himself. His face looks different. Not that you can pick out anything in particular that's changed, just all-around minor things that give it a weird appearance.
His usually short slicked back hair is a disheveled mess that encases his face coming down to below his cheeks.
He takes off the large sweater and is shocked by the changes to his body.
The light hair present yesterday is gone and his skin has achieved a new smoothness. He feels smaller all around except his hips and butt which are increasingly pushing against the tights, he couldn't help but feel feminine.
He does a twirl and mentally slaps himself.

He washes his face and heads downstairs.
"Morning, sleeping beauty" Theresa says without turning to him.
There is a lot of noise coming from the streets outside.
"Morning" he takes a seat at the table and a cup of tea is placed in front of him "What's going on out there?" he asks as Theresa retreats into the kitchen.
"Oh isn't it wonderful?" She replies smiling as she drops a plate of toast and eggs in front of him "The festival of new beginning!"
When he doesn't reply, she continues.
"It's celebrated every year on the day the ritual is meant to happen. But it's especially important today because there's actually a ritual to perform. Of course, the people don't know what they're celebrating. It's happened for so long now, it's long since become a part of our culture"
He takes a bite before going to the window. There are people marching the streets, shouting and singing.
"That's really something" he says.
"It is, isn't it?" she walks up to the window to stand beside him "You should go"
He looks outside again. He wants to.
"Are my clothes dry?"
"No sorry, but my daughter had so many clothes" she laughs "too many if you ask me"
"I can't wear her clothes" he says turning away "Not outside"
"Nonsense. What are you so afraid of?"
"Uh that people are going to laugh at the boy wearing a dress?" he gives her an expectant look.
"Well, nobody is going to see a boy wearing a dress"
"So you see it too?" he exclaims "I'm changing, aren't I?"
She puts on a motherly look "Oh honey" she places a hand on his cheek "change can be a good thing. But that's not what I meant. With a little makeup, you'd make such a pretty girl"
He blushes "Not a compliment"
"Don't worry about that. Now eat and go and get yourself cleaned up. I'll be over shortly with some clothes" Theresa says smiling.
Without any more defiance, he finishes his breakfast and leaves for the room.

Emmanuel is out of the shower, his hair is slightly wet. He is sitting on the bed with the large towel over his chest to cover the embarrassing flesh. He looks over to his phone near the bed lamp.
Sometime yesterday, he must have turned his phone off but he doesn't remember it. He turns it on and he's greeted with 3 missed calls from Susie.
It rings for a few seconds before she answers.
"Are you okay?" he hears her familiar voice.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh I don't know, you go to meet a mystery woman and I don't hear from you again. You said you were coming back yesterday"
"You're right, I'm sorry" he says adjusting the towel around his chest.
"I'm not mad. Just worried" she says.
"I'm sorry for making you worry, I just decided to stay longer. Get to know her better"
"That's nice. Are you coming down with something, you sound different?"
"Do I? I don't know"
"Everything's fine? How long are you staying?"
"It's been amazing, Su. I feel closer to my mother than I ever did"
"That's good. You never talked about her"
"I know but that's because I didn't remember anything about her or her family or even this place. I feel like it's all coming back"
"Do you need me to drive over?"
"No, it's fine. I'd like to spend some time with my aunt"
"Okay babe, call me"
"I will"
"Love you" she says expectantly.
"Love you too" he replies after which he hangs up.
He wanted to tell her everything like he always did but he didn't want to worry her.

He walks up to the mirror with one hand holding the towel up. He is awestruck at how different his thighs look after the towel stops high above it. His free hand goes to his waist and he admires his form.
He thinks that he shouldn't be standing there like this but he shrugs it off.
"You will make such a pretty girl" he hears Theresa say behind him.
He turns sharply. He wants to bring the towel down to his waist in a typical boy fashion but he doesn't want to reveal his new body problems.

She drops the stack of clothes on the bed and hands Emmanuel a bra and panties set.
"You didn't say anything about girl's underwear" He says.
"You're not wearing briefs under a dress" she replies firmly.
"You didn't say anything about a dress either"
"If you're going to be difficult, I'll cast a compliance spell on you"
He takes a breath. "Could you please turn around?"
"It's nothing I haven't see before"
He shakes his head and turns around letting the towel drop to the floor, he steps into the panties which have no problem falling into place after which he picks up the bra.
He turns around covering his fleshy chest with one hand. Theresa doesn't say anything about this.
"I don't know how to put this on"
She smiles. "Put your arm through the straps and turn around"
After he's done this, she clasps it firmly behind him. It's only then he realizes what the bra is doing. Pushing the flesh up to give him cleavage. It's very embarrassing as he thinks about all the times he's looked at Su's or another girls'.
He turns around slowly and again Theresa doesn't say anything.
"Good. Now for your make-up"
She sits him down in front of the large mirror, covers it like she used to with her daughter and begins.
She starts by adding foundation to his face. Then she goes on to add a bronzer to parts of his face for a little color. She curls his eyelashes and uses tweezers on his eyebrows. After applying mascara and a rosy pink lipstick, she's done and she is happy with the result.
Emmanuel has never felt this way before. He loves the attention and the feeling of everything being applied to his face. He doesn't admit it but this feels right.
"Now for the dress" Theresa says smiling.
He stands and she helps him into the vintage style lace dress carefully so as to not ruin his makeup. His makeup.
The dress has a strap just wider than the bra's and comes low enough that his cleavage is visible. His cleavage.
It is a short white lace dress with a green tint which pairs very nicely with a very lightweight mint cardigan that Theresa hands him.
"Are you ready to see yourself?" Theresa asks.
He smiles.
"Ta-da" she says smiling as she pulls the cover from the mirror.
He is speechless. He is very pretty and he knows it. His right hand gently touches his face. His hair that cutely encases his face is just icing on the cake. It's hard to believe that that's him.
"I told you no one would think that you're a boy in a dress. What do you think?"
'Why does this feel so right' he wonders. Theresa is standing beside him smiling and he wonders if they'd always been the same height.
"It's perfect"

The thought that nothing has been right before returns and he feels at peace. He feels guilty for never really feeling like he belonged with the Pemroses. He loves them to death, but it wasn't quite right
When his mother died 9 years ago and the state couldn't find any records of his father, he was put into the foster system.
He had bounced from one to another until be was 12 when the Pemroses adopted him.
You see, Bernard Pemrose was new money.
His father had stumbled unto an untapped oil well about 30 years ago and had built an empire on it.
Bernard had inherited his millions and the group of companies and had gotten married to Mary not long after.
Mary had been in an accident as a teen. She had survived but she wouldn't ever have any children of her own.
Everyone considers Emmanuel the luckiest foster kid because he will most likely inherit all those millions and the Pemroses love him and he loves them right back but he always knew something was wrong. Something was out of place.
"You look a lot like she did at your age" Theresa says.
"Really?"
"Yes. And that's totally normal too. The first offspring and the vessel always looks strangely alike"
Another batch of marchers passes the house, shouting and cheering.
"It's really picking up. You should get going" Theresa says. "Your sandals are by the door. I'll get your bag"
Emmanuel steps into the white sandals looking into the mirror at the finished look. He smiles as he takes his phone and wallet and heads downstairs.
Theresa meets him downstairs and hands him a bag.
"You need to be back here at 7" she says as she goes behind him to clasp his mother's necklace again "Tonight is very important"
"Okay, aunt Theresa" Emmanuel says.
She gives him a loving look. "You've grown up beautiful. Mady would be proud"
Emmanuel smiles. He feels all warm inside,
"Now get going. Go have fun" she says as she hurries him out the house.

The festival is in full swing now. It is mid afternoon and there are people everywhere. It feels like the whole town has come out for this. There is a large platform carrying show girls and performers which Emmanuel follows to a carnival.
He's simply looking through all the attractions when he starts noticing all the looks from people of all ages. He starts getting self conscious when boys are staring at him.
He is thinking about going back home when a hand taps his shoulder. He turns to find Harriet.
"I can't believe you're here. Isn't it amazing?" she says enthusiastically.
His heart leaps to his throat "You know who I am? Can everybody tell?"
She smiles "No, not at all. We're drawn to eachother"
He calms down.
"You look amazing by the way. I'm loving the new look"
He had wanted to see her again but not like this.
"Thanks, it's a long story"
"I'm sure it is. Come on, the others are this way" she says grabbing his wrist pulling him
"Others?" He asks panicked as she takes him to meet other people

They get to a group of kids all about the same age talking. The talking stops when they see Emmanuel and Harriet.
"Who's your pretty friend, Harriet?" One of the boys asks.
Emmanuel blushes.
Harriet laughs turning to Emmanuel "This knucklehead is Will"
Will is a really handsome guy. He already has a full beard and his short messy hair is parked under a cap.
He laughs as he hops off the platform the group sits on.
"Wilmer Lund, pleasure to meet you" He says as he walks up to Emmanuel taking his hand and kisses it. "And you are?"
Emmanuel doesn't know how to feel about that. It's oddly satisfying.
"Emma" He replies not really sure why he does that.
Wilmer looks around the group before continuing "That's Perry and
Cyrus"
'Emma' waves at them.
"Those 2 lovely ladies are Jenna and my beautiful girlfriend Stacy" He grins as he leans in to kiss her.
Jenna drops from the platform and hugs Emma. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. We've heard so much this past week"
"Yeah, like you're supposed to be a boy" Stacy says as she breaks away from Will.
"Yeah" Jenna adds "I said that was crazy. A vessel can't be a boy"
Emma takes a deep breath.
"I'm actually a boy" He says.
"Well you don't look like a boy" Stacy says.
"Guys" Harriet starts "What does that matter? Emma is just here to do the ritual then he's gone. Let's be nice"
'This is so fucked up' He thinks.
Emma and Harriet both take a seat on the platform during which Emma has to remember to smooth the dress and keep his legs closed.
He notices the boys looking at him.
"So are you two--?" Emma begins to ask but is interrupted.
"Yep, I'm the air vessel and Jenna is earth" Stacy cuts in.
"So you knew nothing about this?" Jenna asks
He shakes her head.
"My mum says a vessel needs years of training to properly fulfill her duties" Jenna adds.
"What duties?" Emma asks turning to Harriet.
"Don't worry, Magnolia just gets really intense with this vessel stuff" Will says laughing.
"You know our parents hate it when you use their first names" Harriet says sharply.
"What does it matter?" Stacy says "They're not here"
Perry speaks for the first time "Ms. T is probably listening' He chuckles.
The group laughs.
Harriet notices the puzzled look on Emma's face.
"Theresa has the sight. We don't really know how it works but she sees and hears things"
Emma nods.
"You guys wanna go do stuff?" Cyrus asks.
After everyone mumbles their agreement, they are off.

The group spends the next couple hours trying to have fun, trying whatever activity they come across. After a while, Jenna gets sick and starts throwing up.
Harriet and Stacy takes her to go get her cleaned up. Emma is sitting under an old tree when Perry joins him.
"You shouldn't feel out of place anymore" He says as he takes a seat beside him.
Perry is also really handsome. He has short beautiful hair and a very defined bone structure. Unlike Will, he is clean shaven.
Emma smiles. "It's hard not to. All I've ever wanted was to belong somewhere. Now I'm not even one of the guys or girls"
He laughs "It's an odd predicament you have here"
Emma lets out a brief laugh "It is"
"For what it's worth, I think you're pretty cool" He replies charmingly
"Do you really?"
"Yeah! The way you're handling this whole thing. Most people would be running scared"
"Trust me, it's unlike me" Emma says looking at his nails.
"I doubt it" Perry is looking straight at him.
They sit there for a while enjoying the evening breeze. Most people had retired for the night and at this point, the carnival is almost over.
"Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if you grew up here?" Perry asks.
Emma shook his head. "Up till last week, I'd never thought about this place. The memories of my mother are only just returning."
Perry thinks for a few seconds.
"That sounds like a memory block"
"A memory block?" Emma asks confused.
"I don't know for sure but it can't be a coincidence that your memory is only just returning"
"My memory was blocked? That's why I couldn't remember her all those times I tried?"
"Probably"
"Why am I remembering now?"
"I honestly have no idea. You're better off asking Harriet's or Jenna's mum about that stuff"
Emma sharply turns to him. "Will you tell me what you know about her?"
Perry smiles. "Of course. Whatever I can"
Emma turns to listen intently.
"I don't know much except that she was totally badass. She learnt how to manipulate the waves like no other vessel ever could. She was also a master at using spells and sigils. She is a legend. One day, she was just gone. I don't know why"
He doesn't but Emma does.
He is suddenly saddened. He feels he took all of that away from her.
"There you are" Harriet calls out. "We need to go get ready. It's almost time"
Emma turns to say goodbye to Perry who is already standing.
"Good luck" he says slightly nodding.
Emma smiles. "Thank you"
Perry hugs him which feels odd and first but nice and safe. He feels his chest pushing into Perry's which isn't something he's felt before.
"I'll come see you before you leave tomorrow"
Emma smiles and nods and breaks the hugs.
He walks over to Harriet. He is shaking.
"You ready for this?"
He nods and they are on their way.
He had fun today. He even enjoyed wearing this dress. And he is saddened that he leaves soon. But he can't shake the feeling that everything is about to fall apart.

Which do you prefer, magical transformations or realistic transformations? Or are you like me and you prefer an androgynous guy wearing a girl's clothes? Let me know!