The Other Side Of Dreams
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Take two young people: - John in England and Amy in California. Take a common factor: - both recognised that they had been born into the wrong gender. As they grow up, they realise that their bodies are in imminent danger of changing into something neither wants.
Result: - Two very unhappy souls.
Their dreams are the only place they can find solace. Then they start to dream of each other, and to get a little glimpse of the other’s life. Over time they learn how to crossover at will and not just when asleep. They start to leave childhood behind as puberty beacons. The lines become blurred, who is where?
Solution: - One of them takes the bold step and suggests they try to live each other’s lives. Will it work?
Find out……………………….
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!
Originally written in 2006 - never posted, Reworked & Revised in 2009.
The Other Side Of Dreams Chapter 1
Author:
Audience Rating:
Publication:
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Character Age:
TG Themes:
Other Keywords:
Permission:
By Tanya Allan
Take two young people: - John in England and Amy in California. Take a common factor: - both recognised that they had been born into the wrong gender. As they grow up, they realise that their bodies are in imminent danger of changing into something neither wants.
Result: - Two very unhappy souls.
Their dreams are the only place they can find solace. Then they start to dream of each other, and to get a little glimpse of the other’s life. Over time they learn how to crossover at will and not just when asleep. They start to leave childhood behind as puberty beckons. The lines become blurred, who is where?
Solution: - One of them takes the bold step and suggests they try to live each other’s lives. Will it work?
Find out……………………….
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!
Originally written in 2006 - never posted, Reworked & Revised in 2009.
The Legal Stuff:The Other Side Of Dreams ©2006, 2009 Tanya Allan
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited.
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
Chapter 1
John first knew he should have been a girl when he was quite young. The funny dreams may have started at about the same time, but he couldn’t really remember. All he knew is that if it hadn’t been for the dreams, he could well have become yet another sad statistic that would have ended in up in life’s gutter.
To begin with, he started to remember his dreams. Now, usually, he was aware he dreamt, but would forget the dreams very quickly.
He also dreamed in colour, despite hearing somewhere that people could only dream in monochrome.
In his dreams he was always in sunshine, always with other children, all of whom were laughing, and he was always a girl. He knew this because he had long hair, wore dresses and just felt like a girl. It felt right.
However, the first dreams were wispy and vague, just leaving him feeling that there was more, somehow. He always felt happy immediately after the dream, but then became depressed as he realised he had to go back to the real world and being a boy.
He will never forget the first dream that had any substance.
It came at the end of a really bad day.
He was nine. It was 1987 and the school he went to was a small primary school in a small village, deep in the Cotswolds. As schools went it was no better or worse than any other.
The school had a big front door and two side doors. One of these side doors was marked ‘Boys’ and the other marked, ‘Girls’. He recalled the school being huge, but when after recently returning, it now looked very small and rather shabby.
Memories are funny things.
This particular day was one he tried to forget, but repeatedly failed. It was early September and the sun was still warm enough for the children to be allowed to take off their red pullovers at playtime. He had a friend called Jacquie. His parents knew her parents, so they had been friends ever since they could remember. However, on this day, they found themselves in breach of one of the worst unwritten rules in this particular school.
“Thou shalt not fraternise with the enemy!”
The ‘enemy’ being anyone having the appearance of being of a different gender.
The pair, both being completely innocent of this rule, sat comparing picture cards that were to be found in a particular brand of sweeties.
He had a selection of racing drivers, footballers and film stars. Jacquie had some film stars, some Star Wars cards and a host of others. They were sitting cross-legged in a secluded corner of the playground, when some shadows fell across them.
John looked up and saw Kenneth Myers, a rather large and particularly unpleasant boy whose father drove the local refuse truck. Two others boys were with him. They were followers and Kenneth was the leader.
To a nine year old, an eleven year old is almost an adult. Kenneth was larger than most eleven year olds, yet he unfortunately had the intellect of a five year old.
“Wot you doin’?”
“Looking at cards.” John said.
“Gimme!” he said, snatching the cards from his hand.
“No, you give me them back,” John demanded, trying to get them back from him.
Kenneth simply laughed and punched the smaller boy in the tummy.
It was the first time John had ever been punched, so it came as a real shock. He was winded, but not really hurt. The surprise made him sit down hard and he started to cry.
Jacquie turned on Kenneth and told him he was a bully. John didn’t hear the actual words, as he was too busy being sorry for himself.
Ken simply laughed, saying, “Boys and girls mustn’t mix. He had it coming.”
One of the others said something, so Kenneth reached down and grabbed John’s shorts.
“Let’s see if he is really a girl, he certainly cries like one.”
With that Ken tugged at the shorts and pulled, but was unable to remove them. At this point Mrs Hepburn came over and grabbed him by the ear, pulling him off the crying boy.
“Kenneth. You're a revolting little bully. What did I tell you about picking on smaller children?” she said.
Kenneth was now the one crying, but threw the cards onto the ground. He had scrunched them up in his hands so they were now almost all ruined.
He was taken off to see the Head Teacher, so John and Jacquie picked up the scattered cards. Jacquie was so cross, but John was more ashamed of himself than anything else.
She helped him pick up the cards, and then they tried to straighten them out.
“He’s a pig,” she said, to which John had to agree.
“Mind you, you do look like a girl,” she said, as he went bright red.
“It’s because of your hair. I think your mum should cut it. Mind you, I’d rather be a girl than a boy. Boys are horrid things,” she said, smiling knowingly. “Except you, that is.”
When one is nine, one’s gender is not an overbearing concern. It wasn’t the first time that John actually thought about it, but he could hardly voice his feelings. He actually agreed with her, as he thought he would much rather be a girl too.
He had an older brother, Miles, and a sister, Rebecca. Miles bullied John unmercifully, as he was ten and a half, while twelve year-old Becky was always the little lad’s idol. She was kind and considerate, so would always protect him from Miles. He adored her, but loathed his brother.
“I’d rather be a girl!” he said, rather rashly and unwisely considering that Kenneth’s mates were still hanging about. But it was heartfelt, which as he got older, became an all-consuming part of whom he was.
When it was time to go home, he had more or less forgotten about the incident. As Jacquie and John walked home after school, Kenneth and one of his cronies intercepted them. Jacquie only lived 400 yards down the street, and on the same side of the road. They had to pass the village shop, and it was there Kenneth ambushed them.
“You got me into trouble,” Ken said accusingly at them.
“You did it by yourself. If you hadn’t stolen my cards and hit me, nothing would have happened,” John said.
Kenneth hit him again.
This time he hit him in the face, causing his nose to bleed.
With both hands at his face and tears in his eyes, John didn’t see Jacquie as she went for Ken like a terrier after a rat. He was told later that she just ran at him and raked his face with her nails, and then kicked and slapped him so much that he ran away.
They pair managed to get to her house, which was closer by about fifty yards, and John was sat on the kitchen draining board as her mum, Anna, saw to his mortal wounds.
Actually, it had stopped bleeding by the time they got there, but she helped clean him up, and made him feel better.
He had never cried like that before, when the breaths seem to come in great gulps and it was almost like whooping cough.
Anna called John’s mother, Kathleen, who was round like a shot. He was her baby, so she did mollycoddle him a bit. She was all for going to the police.
John’s father was a neurosurgeon who worked in the Oxford NHS Trust in Oxford itself. There were several hospitals in Oxford, both NHS and private, so he divided his time between the two. By the time he got home from work, John’s mother was on the verge of calling the Chief Constable of the Thames Valley Police at home.
His father, James Brightwell, was a rock steady, realist of a man, so in a way he was actually quite pleased that his son had had his first fight and lived to tell the tale. He knew that life was tough at times, and no amount of protection would prepare a child for the big bad world.
“Ye hae te realise, Johnnie, nae ayebody will be a friend, an’ if ye want te get through life, then ye must recognise friends and enemies fast. Now ye hae te learn how te take care o’ yersel’!”
It ought to be explained that his father was a Scotsman, but despite being married to an Englishwoman and having lived in England for sixteen years, his accent was straight from many miles north of the border.
Wee John adored his Dad, as he was always there for him, so despite other things being pressing, James would always make time to do stuff with his boys.
So much so, that John would try hard to talk like his father whenever he was with him. His mother found this amusing to start with, and then got a little annoyed, but it was a fad, and one that would pass, she thought and hoped.
When John went to bed that evening, he was not happy. It had been a bad day and, if he was honest, it was the first bad day he ever had. It wasn’t going to be his last.
He lay there, listening to Miles fidgeting in the other bed. He had long ago learned to keep very still and pretended to go to sleep instantly, so as to avoid any interaction with Miles. Such interaction usually ended up with John in pain and crying.
He listened as his brother’s breathing settled down, so gauged him to be asleep. He was free now to expand into his own make-believe world. His imagination knew no bounds, as the wonderful thing about his world, was that he could be whoever and whatever he wanted to be.
He thought about the things that had been said to him and about him. He thought about what Jacquie had said about him looking like a girl, and that boys were horrid. He decided then and there that he should have been a girl, so tried to imagine how different life would be.
For a start, Jacquie and he could be best friends forever. Miles would be outnumbered by girls, two to one. Kenneth only bullied boys, so he would leave him alone.
He could wear pretty dresses and have long hair tied back with different coloured ribbons. He could play with dolls without Miles teasing him and calling him a sissy.
As he drifted off to sleep, he smiled at the thought of how much nicer life would be.
He awoke with a start.
You know those strange times when one wakes up and for some reason everything is strange for a moment, and then one’s brain catches up and one remembers?
Well, that was how he felt.
Only this time, his brain didn’t catch up.
He sat up in the darkness, his heartbeat sounding loud in his head, as he tried to find something familiar to bring his brain back on track.
HisMy eyes slowly became accustomed to the darkness, but his heart rate increased. He wasn’t in his room any more.
Miles wasn’t in the other bed, because there wasn’t another bed.
He fumbled for the light, but even that wasn’t there. There was a wall where his table and light used to be, but where the wall had been, there was a void.
He stepped into the void and felt his bare feet on a rug. He fumbled with his arms until he found the door, feeling around to locate the light switch. When he found it, even the switch was of a different type.
He turned on the light and looked around.
There was a girl in the room. She was staring at him with horror written across her face.
She was about his age, dressed in a long pretty nightdress with teddy bears on it. She had very long fair hair and big blue eyes. She was standing with a door behind her, as he did.
John’s heart almost stopped. For there was only one door in the room, but it was behind him.
He was looking into a mirror that was on the front of a large wardrobe.
The pretty girl was him!
He stood there, frozen to the spot, when the door behind him, or her opened.
“Hey Honey, did ya have a nasty dream?” this strange woman asked. She was wearing a skirt and top, so either she had yet to go to bed, or it was time to get up. Her next few words signified the former.
The girl stared at the woman in complete confused amazement.
“Is she okay?” said a male voice from outside the room.
“Sure, she’s still half asleep. She’s had a nasty dream. I’ll just put her back to bed,” said the woman.
“Come on Amy, back to bed, hun. You’ve school in the morning, so you need all the sleep you can get.”
John let the woman drag him back to bed. She then tucked him in, kissing him on the temple. She put on a small night-light that was fitted to the socket on the wall by the door.
“Sleep tight, Honey-bun. Don’t let the bugs bite,” she said and walked out.
John lay there in the dim light. He saw some pictures, and a dressing table. A My Little Pony with a purple mane was on the dressing table next to Barbie and a make up model face with real hair. The latter was still in its box.
This was a girl’s room.
The woman was American, as was the man who never came in.
Her parents?
The girl (that John dreamed he was) got out of bed and walked to the window, looking out.
There were some hills in the distance and a street below the window. It was a street like lots of movies, lined with trees at regular intervals and neat lawns. Individual detached homes, in a nice neighbourhood, with driveways, sprinklers and letterboxes on poles. It was a well-to-do neighbourhood, but the cars were all strange because the steering wheels were on the wrong side.
The car on their driveway had a blue number plate with pale letters. The word California was above the letters and numbers.
John smiled.
This was a really cool dream!
He went to the mirror and looked at the reflection.
His smile became bigger.
The girl was really pretty.
Almost guiltily, he watched as the girl’s hand lifted the hem of the nightdress. The girl’s eyes became very large as the total absence of male genitalia was exposed.
John stood there, disbelieving his eyes. Her eyes? He looked at the girl in the mirror and swallowed. He took a pinch of skin and tweaked.
“Ow!” the girl said. Her voice was very loud in the night.
The girl touched herself, feeling her new gender for the first time. A look of wonder came over her, while the smile threatened to split her pretty face.
She went back to bed, snuggling down under the unfamiliar duvet and wondering how she could manage to make this dream last forever. She slept, the smile fixed on her face.
Amy was woken up by a strange noise.
It was a sort of buzzing noise.
She frowned and sat up, feeling disorientated.
The frown deepened, as things were all wrong. There was a wall to her right, so she wondered why someone had moved her bed in the night.
Then she saw there was another bed in the room, from which the annoying noise was emanating. There was someone in the other bed and he or she was snoring.
It was then she realised that somehow she was wearing pyjamas. She had pleaded with her Mom to let her wear PJs, but her dear Mommy insisted that her little girl only wore night dresses. She felt conflicting emotions when she thought about her mother. She loved her, but also despised some of her values and attitudes.
Mom had kept insisting she take part in child beauty pageants over the last few years, yet Amy hated them all with a passion. She had everything that mothers desired in their daughters; - a cute face, beautiful golden curls, a lovely voice, poise, a super smile and a charm that money could never buy. However, she was also stubborn and lacked the will, so reluctantly, her mother had finally given in and stopped entering her.
How come she was now wearing PJs?
She knew she’d had to slip on a night dress when she’d gone to bed, although she’d have loved to wear PJs, she knew she hadn’t. Had she?
She got out of bed.
She looked down in the gloom and grinned. These were boys’ PJs. They had tie tops and a split for their wieners to escape at toilet time.
She placed her hand into the split and froze to the spot.
She had a wiener!
She pulled the pants down and stared at the perfectly formed penis and small scrotum that lay close to the skin of her (his) crotch.
“What are you doing?” said another voice.
“Huh?” Amy said.
“What are you doing, you maggot?”
“Maggot?” Amy asked incredulously. She didn’t know who this guy was, but he was going the right way to get a beating.
The other boy sat up. “Are you wanking?” he asked.
“Huh?” Amy was confused.
“Oh, has little diddums had anudder nashty dweamy weamy?” said the boy, childish sarcasm dripping off every word.
Amy pulled up her (?) pants.
“Get stuffed Bozo!” she said, getting back into bed.
“Bozo? And what’s with the fake Yankie accent?”
“Hey, asshole. Go screw yourself!” Amy said. What was the point in having four older brothers if you couldn’t pick up their vocabulary?
The other boy was out of bed in a flash.
“What did you say? You little bugger, I’ll teach you to cheek me,” he said, almost snarling the last words.
Amy saw the boy raise his fist in a rather childish and ineffective way. She swung her legs out from under the duvet and kicked him in the groin.
As he went down, she punched him on the nose, hearing a satisfying ‘crunch’ as he fell back.
Needless to say, all hell let loose.
The boy screamed and howled, so within a few moments the lights came on. Two completely strange adults came in, both talking at once, asking what happened.
“He hit me!” the other boy said, pointing at Amy (or at the boy in whom Amy found herself).
“Oh yeah, like you didn’t come over here with your fist up, saying you were gonna beat on me first,” Amy said.
Both the adults looked at her.
“John, what did ye say?” asked the male.
“Huh?” she said, confused, as the man’s accent was real weird. And who was John?
“Miles, get back into bed. You aren’t hurt. What did I say to you about bullying your wee brother?”
“He hit me first!”
“Miles. How come you’re the one out of bed and over there, yet John is still in his bed?” the woman asked.
“He swore at me. He called me an asshole!”
There was stunned silence. Amy was aware that these people spoke a whole different English, particularly the man.
All were looking at her, so she decided she’d try to look innocent and lie.
“I didn’t. He’s lying,” she said, keeping her voice as neutral as she could. It seemed to work.
“Enough, both of you! If this goes on much longer, we’ll hae to separate you and convert the loft for another bedroom,” said the man.
The light went out and they left.
Amy lay in bed, with her heart thumping. She had always wanted to be a boy, but this was not they way she had wanted things to work out. She couldn’t remember a night when she didn’t pray for God to make her just like her brothers.
“Maggot! I’ll get you tomorrow,” the other boy whispered. Miles, was it? What a dumb name.
“Oh yeah, you an’ whose army, asshole,” said Amy with a grin.
That silenced Miles, who was frowning in his bed. It was the first time that John had ever stood up to him, so he found he was a little afraid, as the smaller boy had hurt and surprised him. It was bad enough having a weedy little brother, but he wasn’t sure he wanted one who fought back.
Amy held her new genitals and suppressed a giggle. If this was a dream, it was a hoot. If it wasn’t, she started to frown. If it wasn’t, then life could have just taken an unexpected turn.
She lay awake for ages, hoping that she could have the best of both worlds, her own home and family and a wiener. She drifted off to sleep, holding her crotch in case anyone would steal it.
Amy woke with the sunlight streaming through the window. As she blinked, she looked around her and noted the familiar old room and the trappings of her mother’s ideals of girlhood. She suppressed a sob of frustration. The dream had been so real she had almost believed it. Just as she struggled onto her elbows and looked at her hated dress that her mother had laid out for her to attend school in, she sighed.
Why couldn’t she have been a boy? She asked herself.
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and thought about the dream. She wondered who the boy had been she had kicked and punched. She went to her small desk, and took out her diary. She sat and wrote down everything as she remembered it, and looked at what she had written:
|
She put her diary away just as her Mom came in.
“Morning sweetie. Are you okay after last night?”
“Last night?” Amy asked, as goose-bumps started to prickle her back.
“You had a nasty dream and we found you out of bed. You looked at us as if we were total strangers. Don’t you remember?”
Amy shook her head.
“Well, you were standing by the door, with the light on and seemed to be in some kind of shock. Did you have a dream or nightmare?”
Amy decided to admit to nothing until she knew what was going on. If she dreamed she was a boy somewhere else, so then was it possible that the boy dreamed he was her?
If so, then he would have got the shock of his life to be a girl.
Amy shrugged and shook her head, going to the bathroom. When she appeared at breakfast, dressed and looking very pretty, her Dad kissed her and went off to work.
“Mom, can’t I wear pants like some of the other girls?”
“Honey, you will be able to wear what you want in good time. But while I get a choice, you will look like the pretty little girl that you are.”
“But Mom, these dresses are so lame.”
“Amy, some people want everyone to look the same. I happen to believe that God made us different for a reason, so we should celebrate that difference and not try to look the same.”
Amy knew she was fighting a losing battle. She had four older brothers, the eldest being a US Marine and the youngest was still five years older than she. They were all her idols, but she so wanted to be like them.
However her mother had wanted a daughter from the outset, and Amy believed that if she hadn’t been a girl she would have kept going until she had had one.
Amy was the complete answer to her prayers. With beautiful blue eyes and golden curls, she was a truly beautiful baby, and was turning into an exceptionally beautiful girl.
Thus, Amy was feminised to the ultimate extreme.
Her hair was as long as it could be, and her clothes were the finest in frills and lace.
Her mother had entered her into every “Little Miss” competition and junior beauty pageant that existed, and she had won several trophies. Amy had hated each one more than the last and had put up such a fuss at the last one that her mother reluctantly agreed with her father to give it a rest for a while.
Her father had recognised that his wife had yearned for a girl, so was to a certain extent re-living her own youth through her daughter. He also recognised the complete disgust that Amy felt over the whole process, to such an extent he was aware that lasting damage was possible.
Whenever possible, he encouraged her to be the tomboy. All her brothers, without exception, adored her. She was affectionately known as Daddy’s little Spitfire and could mix it with the best of them.
She took part in all the activities that her brothers did and, much to her mother’s anguish, there was rarely a day when she didn’t appear with a new cut, bruise or a rip to her clothes.
She set off on the bus to school as usual, where she met up with her friends. All her friends were boys, as she found the girls were pretty insipid and mainly concerned with things that didn’t interest her at all. It was a real conundrum, as she was often the prettiest and dressed in the most effeminate manner, yet of all the girls in her year, she was the least feminine in outlook.
In fact, she had taken to packing a pair of jeans and a tee shirt in her backpack and changing on the bus. One or two of the girls were reasonably friendly, but her tomboyish antics made her less popular with most.
“Yo, Amy, how’ya doin’ girl?” said Paul Ross, her best friend.
“Hey Paul, I’m okay. Had a cool dream last night.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I dreamt I was a boy.”
Paul and a couple of the others laughed. Amy may look like a girl, but all who knew her recognised that at heart she was more of a boy than most of the boys.
She sat in her seat and took her jeans and tee shirt out of her pack. She struggled into her jeans while still wearing the dress, but then whipped the dress off and put on her tee shirt.
Stuffing her dress away into her pack, she then tied her long hair back in a ponytail and relaxed for the first time.
She proceeded to tell Paul about her dream.
“So this guy, John, d’you think that he switched with you?”
She shrugged.
“I dunno. I guess. Because, how else can you explain the fact that Mom says I got out of bed and I can’t remember it?”
“This is weird,” Paul stated.
“Yeah. I’d really like to be a boy, but I don’t know if I want to leave my mom and dad.”
“That sucks. Why not stay as you are? You’re cool as a girl.”
Amy shrugged, as she didn’t really know how to explain it. She knew what she felt, but didn’t have the words.
The bus pulled up outside the school and so another day started.
The Other Side Of Dreams Chapters 2 - 3
Author:
Audience Rating:
Publication:
Genre:
Character Age:
TG Themes:
Other Keywords:
Permission:
By Tanya Allan
Take two young people: - John in England and Amy in California. Take a common factor: - both recognised that they had been born into the wrong gender. As they grow up, they realise that their bodies are in imminent danger of changing into something neither wants.
Result: - Two very unhappy souls.
Their dreams are the only place they can find solace. Then they start to dream of each other, and to get a little glimpse of the other’s life. Over time they learn how to crossover at will and not just when asleep. They start to leave childhood behind as puberty beckons. The lines become blurred, who is where?
Solution: - One of them takes the bold step and suggests they try to live each other’s lives. Will it work?
Find out……………………….
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!
Originally written in 2006 - never posted, Reworked & Revised in 2009.
The Legal Stuff:The Other Side Of Dreams ©2006, 2009 Tanya Allan
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited.
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
Chapter 2
By the time Amy was getting up, John was having lunch.
Like Amy, he was excited by his dream. He was also worried, but wasn’t sure why. He was also a little perturbed at his elder brother’s attitude towards him when they got up. Miles was usually nasty, but he glowered at him dreadfully this particular morning.
“Are you okay?” his dad asked, just before he left for work.
“Yes thanks, dad. Why?” John replied.
“Well after last night, you seemed a wee bit strange.”
“Last night?” John asked, his pulse quickening.
“Aye. You and Miles had a spat. Do ye not remember?”
“A spat?” asked John frowning.
“Aye, a wee fight. Miles was by your bed and he said you hit him. He also said you called him nasty names,” James said looking at both boys.
Miles looked daggers at John, who looked blank and completely innocent. James repressed a smile. His wee boy was somewhat of a shy and rather quiet boy, so he was well aware that Miles was the more aggressive of the two.
“He called me an asshole,” said Miles, who couldn’t resist a dig at his brother.
John looked at him blankly with his mouth open.
“I did not!” he said, quite firmly and emphatically.
“Did too! And you put on a silly American accent.”
John remembered his dream.
He remembered the American lady, the nightdress and the girl bit.
He sat down and went a little red.
James arched an eyebrow. Was this an admittance of guilt?
“John?” his father asked.
“I had a dream, but Miles wasn’t in it. I’d never hit him, he’d only hit me back.”
“Well, what was the dream, son?”
“I dreamed I was in America and I was in someone else’s bedroom,” he said, but left it there.
“Was anyone else in the dream?”
“Just a girl and her mother.”
“No fighting or monsters?”
John shook his head.
“Just a girl,” he said, a little wistfully.
James, knowing when John was telling the truth, let it go there.
By lunchtime John was still able to remember the dream in its entirety. He sat next to Jacquie, noticing that Kenneth and his brother were keeping their distance.
“Are you okay?” she asked, realising he was even more quiet than usual.
“I had a dream last night,” he said, as he opened his lunch box.
“Oh yes?”
“You know you said I was more like a girl?”
“Only because of your long hair,” she said.
“Well, I dreamed that I was a girl. Only I was in a strange bedroom in America. I was alone and wearing a pretty nightdress with teddies on it. The room was the same size as mine, but Miles wasn’t there. When I looked in a mirror, I saw someone else. I was a strange girl with very long yellow hair. There were girl’s things everywhere, but still in their boxes.
“I even saw the American cars in the street outside the window, and they had Californian number plates.
“A strange woman came in and put me back to bed. She must have been the girl’s mother, but I’ve never seen her before. It was really strange.”
“How do you know you were a girl?”
John went red.
“I lifted up my nightdress, and I had girl’s bits.”
“How do you know they were girl’s bits? You might have had your own bits stuck between your legs.”
John had a little smile.
“It was girl’s bits. I had a crack and everything!”
Jacquie stared at him. He was unusually specific.
“How weird. What did it feel like?”
He smiled. “I liked it. Miles wasn’t there and I was a girl. It felt so right.”
“Why didn’t you stay in the dream?” she teased.
“I wish I had,” he said, with such a sad expression that Jacquie felt sorry for him.
Just after lunch Kenneth appeared and made to strike him. John flinched and Kenneth had laughed and walked off, calling him a sissy.
School came to a close without further incident, but Miles had already left as usual by the time that he and Jacquie made their way home.
“Do you want to come in for a bit?” she asked.
John knew that Miles was home first and would be a pain, so he agreed.
“Hi kids. Are you better today, John?” Jacquie’s mother asked.
“Yes thanks, Mrs Mann,” John replied.
They went up to Jacquie’s room and sat on the bed.
“So, what was this bedroom like?”
John took out a pencil and a piece of paper and drew a floor plan of the room as he remembered it. He told her where the make up head was, the pony and the Barbie in its box.
“It looked as if she never played with any of them,” he said.
Jacquie went to her cupboard and produced a head just like the one he had seen in the other room.
“That’s it,” he said.
“No it isn’t. It’s one like it,” said Jacquie, ever correct.
She showed him how it worked, with the special make up and hair products.
“Have you ever worn makeup?” she asked.
“No, why should I?”
“I just wondered. I think you’d look really pretty with makeup on,” she said.
John was confused. He knew boys didn’t wear makeup, yet he was inordinately curious to know what he would look like. He also didn’t want to appear eager.
Sensing his inner conflict.
“Look, lots of boys wear makeup, all the pop groups do, and they aren’t sissies,” she told him.
Twenty minutes later, she had made him up. Eye shadow and lipstick, nails and clip on earrings. She had been right, as he looked gorgeous.
John stared at his reflection in awe.
“She was prettier,” he declared.
“Who was?”
“The girl in my dream.”
“Oh.”
John was transfixed by his reflection.
“Why don’t you try on one of my dresses?” Jacquie suggested.
John was torn again.
“It’s just some fun, and no one will notice,” she said.
With a small smile he agreed, so she took out a pale blue dress, helped him out of his shirt and shorts and into the dress.
John was transported to another realm.
For the first time in his life (apart from the dream) he felt content with who he was. He had never known why he felt something was missing, or what that something had been. Now he knew.
“Gosh, you look just like a pretty girl. No one would ever know you were really a boy,” Jacquie said, actually meaning it.
“I can’t call you John, so what do I call you?”
John thought back to his dream.
The woman had called the girl Amy.
“Amy,” he said.
“Why Amy?” asked Jacquie, baffled.
“That was the girl’s name from the dream,” he explained.
“Hi Amy, I’m Jacquie,” said Jacquie with a big smile.
‘Amy’ smiled back and John slid into the back of his mind for a couple of hours.
Jacquie was delighted, for the first time in ages she had another girl to play with and they played proper girl’s games. There were six other girls from the village who were in their class at the school, but they weren’t really the kinds of girls that Mrs Mann wanted Jacquie to play with. The other girls, some of who were friendly with Jacquie, lived outside the village, so they only got together when arrangements were made with parents.
Jacquie kept looking at her companion, and was quietly surprised as to how much like a girl ‘Amy’ was.
“Kids! John ought to go home for tea,” Mrs Mann shouted up the stairs, bringing the game to a close. They had lost themselves in Barbie’s world, and John (Amy) had never been happier.
Jacquie helped John become the little boy again, but as he walked home in his shorts and shirt, he felt he was missing something.
Tea was subdued, as Miles was still cautious of his brother. As John showed none of the defiance he had displayed during the night, after tea, Miles started to tease him over anything and everything he could.
“What did you do at Jacquie’s?” his mother asked.
“Nothing much. Just played with some of her stuff,” John replied.
“Girl’s stuff! I bet you liked playing with dolls and sissy things like that,” said Miles, with a nasty tone to his voice. He saw the look his mother gave him and wisely shut up.
Much to his mother’s surprise, John was eager to go to bed, and he required no second telling. Miles, on the other hand, procrastinated and almost had to be physically taken upstairs. As she watched them getting into bed, she wondered how it was possible for two boys of the same parents to be just so different.
Miles was an independent boy, but he was bright and with the exception of his treatment of his brother was actually a nice boy and got on well with nearly everyone. He was keen at sports and was showing particular aptitude for soccer and cricket.
James would offer to take his sons to football matches at the weekend, but usually found that John was reluctant to go. He simply had no interest in those sports that other boys seemed to be so keen on.
John was her baby. And a more placid and delightful child she couldn’t imagine. Sometimes she wished he would display some of the sheer objectionable nature of Miles, just to prove he could. But he was more than content to do what he was told. His only stubborn streak was when he was told to go to bed and he was reading.
He loved his books and he was a more advanced reader than his older brother. But not tonight.
He was in bed, washed and teeth done before she managed to get Miles up to the room.
Eventually Miles was in bed, and she kissed them both goodnight.
“Now, no mucking about tonight. I don’t want any repetition of last night,” she said sternly, looking at Miles.
“It was him,” he muttered and then was quiet. He knew that his record was such that she would never believe that John could start anything.
She turned the light out and left them.
Miles thought about getting a quick strike in before they went to sleep, but decided against it.
John had his eyes closed, and was trying really hard to go to sleep. He so wanted to dream again.
California is about ten hours behind the UK, so when John was going to bed, Amy was having lunch.
She sat with a small group of friends and, like kids everywhere, they swapped the contents of their lunch packs amongst themselves. What Moms considered good for them and what they were prepared to eat was often poles apart.
The dream had affected Amy more than she would admit. At one point in Math, she was almost unable to concentrate due to her preoccupation with her memory.
“Miss Standen, would you care to join the rest of the class?” her teacher jolted her back to reality.
“Sorry Miss Bruce, I guess I had a moment,” she said, smiling sweetly. Miss Bruce was a sucker for sweet smiles.
“Well, let’s hope the moment has passed. How about the problem on the board?”
So life went on.
Paul was eager to see what drink she had, as his Mom always gave him fizzy water on account of the E numbers in soft drinks.
Amy wasn’t that bothered. In fact she preferred water, so happily swapped her jungle juice.
“Wazup?” asked Paul, clearly aware that something was bothering her.
“I dunno. I can’t help thinking about the dream. It was so real.”
“Hey, wouldn’t it be great if it was a body swap. You could have a movie made of it,” Paul said.
She smiled weakly.
“Fool,” she said, and he grinned.
“So, what was this guy like? The guy you changed into, I mean.”
She shrugged.
“I dunno. I never got to look in a mirror. He was about my age, I guess. The other boy was nice looking, but he was real mean. He was a little bigger than me, so I suppose he was a bit older.”
“So, what ya gonna do if you get in there again?”
She shrugged.
“I guess I could leave a message, or something. I’d like to get to know him. Wouldn’t it be neat if we became pen-friends or something?”
“What if he’s an alien and is after your body?”
“Shut up Paul, don’t be a wise-ass.”
Paul grinned.
“So, if you wanna be a boy, do you reckon he wants to be a girl?”
Amy hadn’t thought about it.
She shrugged again.
“I dunno. I guess, maybe. I can’t think why. Being a girl sucks,” she said, and Paul laughed.
“No one else seems to mind.”
“No one else has my Mom,” she said.
The bell went and they made their way back inside for afternoon classes.
“Oh no, I hate Geography,” she said.
“Just chill, sleep with your eyes open,” suggested her friend. Amy grinned.
They sat down, and Mr Willis wheeled in the TV and VCR for a showing.
“Hey guys, we’re going to look at Hydro electricity. I have a real fine film on the building of some famous dams and how they make Hydro-electric power.”
The lights were extinguished and the class settled down to watch.
Amy lasted five minutes. The mere sight of the construction of the Hoover dam sent her to sleep.
Chapter 3
Amy immediately knew she had ‘crossed over’.
This time, she simply lay there in that strange bed, knowing that she could wake up any second back in the classroom. She searched out with her hand, finding the penis inside the PJs. She grinned in the dark. Hoping that John was in her Geography lesson, she sat up and listened to the breathing of the other boy.
As far as she could tell he was asleep, so she slipped out of bed.
She crept past his bed and opened the door. She could hear a TV downstairs, so she tiptoed across the landing and into the bathroom. Luckily the door was open, so she could tell which one it was.
She shut the door and switched on the light. There was a mirror on the front of the cabinet above the basin. She looked into in and a good looking little boy with freckles looked back at her.
She smiled.
Not too bad, she thought.
He had grey eyes and a slight frame. His light brown hair curled down past his ears and collar. Amy judged that he was about the same size as she. She dropped the pants.
She giggled when she saw the equipment, spending a couple of minutes examining them in great detail.
“John, is that you?” the woman’s voice asked, making her jump with surprise.
“Yes,” she replied, with her heart beating rapidly. She quickly flushed the toilet.
“Are you okay?”
She opened the door and smiled, looking at the woman closely.
She was a nice looking lady. The same sort of age as her own mother, but less fussy about clothes. She was wearing jeans and a pullover.
“Can’t you sleep?”
“I’m fine,” she said, trying to copy her clipped English accent.
“Okay. Back to bed, there’s a good boy.”
She then bent over and planted a kiss on the top of the boy’s head.
Amy went back into the room and got back into bed. The other boy was still asleep.
She waited for the footsteps to go back downstairs, and then, sitting up, she looked round the room.
On her bedside table were a clock, a bedside lamp and a flashlight. She picked up the flashlight and, shielding it with her hand, she switched it on. She found a pencil and a small note pad.
Not knowing how much time she had, she started writing.
She managed several lines and then thought carefully about where to put it so no one else would find it.
She hunted through the small drawer and found a little diary. She opened it.
She found that the boy had filled out the front page.
She read that he was called John Robert Brightwell. His date of birth was three weeks ahead of her. He was born on the 7th March 1978, while Amy had been born on the 2nd April of the same year. He went to a school called the Churchill Village Combined School, whatever that meant.
They lived in the village of Churchill and it was in Oxfordshire, England. The house was called the Pines, and it was at number 2 Stowe Road.
She memorised it all and then got back into bed.
She wondered how easy this was going to be, and how often it would happen.
She worked out that the crossover happened after both were asleep at the same time and woke up. They crossed back when they fell asleep for the second time.
She panicked, because she was due to finish the Geography lesson any minute, so if she (as Amy) didn’t go back to sleep, then they couldn’t cross back!
She lay there, but sleep just wasn’t coming.
She started to panic, because she had been here for at least half an hour and the lesson must be ending soon.
She tried to imagine what was happening and it was totally mind-blowing.
John would be awake in her body and in a strange classroom in America. He would be dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, but wouldn’t know to change back into the dress. Then he’d have to get the bus home, have supper with Mom and Dad.
OHMYGOD!
Her pulse quickened, and she felt herself become lightheaded with worry. She had no choice but to lie there and fret.
John felt odd.
He had been lying down in his bed, but now he was sitting in a chair. It was a very hard and uncomfortable chair at that.
He then noticed a fuzzy TV screen in front of him, but it slowly swam into focus. He was dreaming again, he thought. However, he slowly became aware of the fact that he wasn’t alone, as he was one of many in a classroom and they were all watching a TV show on the Hoover dam.
He had seen a similar programme before, and as there was an atlas on his desk, he worked out which subject was being taught. He loved Geography in any case.
The fact he was back in the girl’s body again dawned on him, as soon as he felt the ponytail swish about when he turned his head. He slowly received full awareness of everything. He looked down, noting that he was wearing girl’s shoes, a pair of jeans, a pale blue tee shirt and that there was a backpack on the chair back.
The TV show ended and the lights came on.
“Okay kids. Paul, wake up! Come on now, this stuff is important. We need to learn about how we get our power, and all the other ways apart from using the oil and gas. Who can tell me some other ways of getting power, apart from oil, gas and hydro?”
John/Amy stuck up her hand, automatically.
“Amy?” said Mr Willis in some surprise. This was the first time she had ever put her hand up in his class.
“Wave, wind, nuclear, solar and fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. Sir”
Mr Willis was shocked into silence, and there were several titters around the class. He walked over to see if she read it from a book, but found nothing open on her desk.
“Very impressive. And can you tell me an example of some of these?”
“Coal, Didcot power station, Oxfordshire, England. Wind, well, there are several, some in Arizona, some in California, north east England, Germany, and Holland. Nuclear, they are all over now, Sellafield for one. I’m not sure about wave, but I saw a programme about them making the things called ducks. They are the things that bob up and down and act as generators. They are called ducks because they are shaped like a duck’s head, and pivot on the broader end.”
There was silence in the class. Amy had spoken with no accent at all. Or rather, she spoke with an English accent, so Paul started getting a creepy feeling.
He looked at his friend, observing that something was very odd. Her usual expression of controlled boredom was missing. She was smiling and there was something odd about the way she held herself.
No one seemed to notice that her accent was different, as most were dumbstruck by her actually taking part in class. This was a first!
“Thank you Amy. Welcome back to planet Earth. I hope you will stay a while before your next trip,” Mr Willis said with a smile.
The bell went, so the class erupted into action.
“Homework. Produce a paper on hydro electricity. As on page seventeen of your books,” shouted Mr Willis over the noise.
John/Amy sat in her place, looking confused and a little nervous. Paul watched her carefully.
Within moment everyone had gone.
Amy stood up and picked up the backpack.
Paul was still watching her as he put his books into his bags.
“Are you okay, Amy?” he said, making her jump.
“Yes…. No….. Oh! I don’t really know,” she said. Her voice trembled and she sounded so English.
Paul walked over to her.
He looked into her eyes.
“I’m gonna go on a limb here. Are you John?”
Amy stared at him in terror and stared round the now empty classroom.
“How… how did you know?” the girl asked very quietly, her lip quivering, so Paul judged her about to cry.
Paul nodded and sat next to her.
“Look. Amy told me about her dream. So, she fell asleep in class, and somehow you’re here. It’s crazy, but we can’t tell anyone, or you’ll both get locked up.”
“Where are we?”
“Glendale, California. L.A. is not far away.”
“L.A.?”
“Los Angeles, where have you been, girl?” he asked, and then remembered.
“Sorry,” he said.
“What should I do?” the girl asked.
“Well, we can’t stay here and we gotta get the bus, so come on,” Paul said, so the pair of them left the room.
They walked down the corridor and Paul stopped.
“This is when you go change,” he said.
“Change?” asked the confused girl.
“Yeah. Amy doesn’t like dresses, yet her Mom always makes her wear a dress to school. She brings jeans in her backpack on the bus and changes before school. So, now you go to the girl’s washroom and change back.”
The girl stared at him for a moment and then at the door marked ‘Girls’.
“In here?”
“You can’t go to the boys’ room,” he said.
She nodded and pushed open the door.
Much to her relief, it was empty. She found a dress folded in the bottom of her pack. Fearing capture, she quickly stripped out of her jeans and tee shirt and slipped on the dress. She stared for a moment at her reflection, smiling uncertainly.
She joined Paul in the corridor moments later.
“Cool. That was almost quicker than Amy does it.”
The girl smiled again, but she was still not sure about anything.
They ran to the bus, which was now waiting for them. They clambered aboard and took the remaining two seats.
“Look, you gotta talk like us, otherwise everyone will get suspicious,” Paul whispered.
“How?”
Paul shrugged.
“I dunno, just copy me, I guess.”
“O-kay,” she said, in a passable accent.
He grinned.
“This is way cool!” he said.
“What happens now?” the girl asked.
Paul shook his head.
“We go home and do what we normally do, I suppose.”
“And that is?”
“Heck, homework, supper, some TV and I guess we get some time to play. You know, kid’s stuff.”
“What do I call you?” she asked.
“I’m Paul, and don’t forget to talk right,” he said and then looked at the girl.
“Are you okay with this?” he asked.
John/Amy thought for a moment and then nodded, with a little smile.
“Yes, I suppose you’d better call me Amy. I don’t want to make trouble for anyone. Also, can you tell me who everyone is?”
Paul spent the next few minutes pointing out the kids on the bus and their names. He also pointed out buildings and places as they passed them.
“This is hard to take it all in,” she admitted, trying really hard to copy his accent.
“Well, your accent is a bit better.”
“Where do I live?”
“Across the street from me. We get off in about five minutes. Don’t worry, I’ll help. We hang out together in any case.”
John/Amy smiled. She looked down at the dress, liking what she saw.
Paul was watching her.
“Hey, Amy. Hair!” he said.
“Huh?” she asked, and Paul smiled. That was a real Amy sound.
“Amy, your hair, you have to lose the ponytail, as your Mom doesn’t like it,” he said, and then helped her remove the scrunchie.
“There should be a brush in your bag,” he said.
She delved into the bag, found a brush and brushed out her hair. It was very long, almost to the small of her back. She grinned, as it felt great.
“You actually like this girl bit, don’t ya?” Paul asked with an expression of undisguised disbelief on his face.
She smiled and nodded.
“Weird!” Paul said, shaking his head.
“What’s she like?”
“Who, Amy?”
“Yes.”
“She should’ve been a guy. She likes all the guy things, football, baseball, bikes, fishing, skateboards an’ everything. She hates all the frilly girl stuff because her mom used to make her go in for these beauty pageants for kids. Used to win too, but she hated it so much that her dad stopped it.”
“She’ll like being me then,” she said.
“So, what’s it like, this body swap?”
John/Amy thought for a moment.
“I’m not sure yet. It’s all so strange. Last time it was for a few minutes. This is longer, but it must be tough for Amy as I was in bed at night. So she will be lying there just worrying about when she could get back. There must be a big time difference.”
She looked at her watch and saw it was four pm. It would be at least midnight in England.
“I have to try to sleep. That way she will come back soon,” she said.
She relaxed and shut her eyes, but nothing happened.
“Not working?” Paul asked.
She shook her head.
The bus pulled up, so Paul grabbed his friend by her hand.
“Come on, our stop.”
They got out and stood watching the bus disappear.
“Now what?” she asked.
“Well usually we go back to one of our homes and have cookies and stuff.”
“Okay. Whose home?”
“Well, we better go to yours, that way you’ll know where you live.”
She followed him as he set off up the road.
He took her up a driveway with a station wagon parked next to a Jeep.
“The Jeep belongs to your eldest brother Jeff. He’s a US Marine; he comes home for a few days a month. I guess the other car is your Mom’s.”
“Oh. How many brothers have I got?”
Paul stopped and thought.
“Uh, there’s Jeff, Martin, Kyle and Steve. Jeff is twenty two, and Steve is fourteen. Steve is at Junior High.” He said.
“Oh. Do I get on with them?”
“Sure. They are way cool. Martin has a real neat bike.”
“Oh.”
“Here we are. Are you ready?”
“I suppose so,” she said, with a weak smile.
“That’s too English, Amy says, ‘I guess’ a lot.”
“I guess?”
“That’s better, but not like a question.”
“I guess.”
“That’s good. Shall we go in?”
“I guess,” she said with a smile. “But, what do I call them?”
“Mom and Dad or Daddy. Usually Dad, unless you want him to do something.”
She smiled and pushed open the door.
The woman she had seen the other night was there.
“Hi kids. Good day at school?”
“I guess,” said John/Amy, so Paul sniggered.
The children walked into the kitchen and sat down as Helen Standen poured them a glass of milk each. She put the glasses on the table with the cookie jar.
“Just two, okay?”
After they finished the milk. Amy took the glasses to the sink and washed them up. Her mother watched her in silent disbelief. Amy never cleared up anything, much to her disgust.
The girl then dried up the glasses and placed them on the side.
She saw her mother was watching.
“What did I do?” she said, as Paul burst out laughing.
Helen went over and gave her a great big hug.
“Thank you Honey, that was real nice of you.”
John/Amy stood there, completely confused.
She just smiled, hoping someone would enlighten her.
“Go and do your homework, then you can watch TV. Paul, are you staying to do your work?”
“Uh, sure, if that’s okay?”
“Sure, I’ll just call Sue and tell her you’re here. Go on, then. As soon as you do it, then you can do what you guys want to do.”
The pair ran upstairs. Amy recognised the room as soon as she arrived.
She stood there, as the dream came flooding back.
“What’s up?”
“I’ve been here before,” she said.
“This is so weird!” Paul said.
Their homework was to list the different types of power, and draw pictures of each example.
Amy sat down, got out her books and had started before Paul realised what was going on.
“What ya doin’?” he asked.
“Homework. Why?”
“Now?”
“Yes, is something wrong?”
“Amy, we never do homework straight off. The idea is like this, you leave it until bedtime and then say it’s not finished, so they let you stay up late to do it.”
She looked at him.
“But if I do it now, I can do what I want later and not worry about it.”
Paul stared at her in disbelief.
“Now I know you should have been a girl!”
Amy looked hurt, so he felt bad.
“Hey, look, I’m sorry. But man, this is so weird!”
“You said that already,” Amy said.
Paul stared at her. She was sounding more like the old Amy again.
He shrugged and got out his books.
The new Amy was better at drawing than the old one, as her pictures were exceptionally neat.
She looked back at Amy’s handwriting, trying to copy it as best she could. Actually, she improved on the original, so she smiled as she looked at her page and the pictures.
“Finished,” she announced.
Paul looked at her in disgust, then at her work.
“Hey, how did you do that?”
She smiled. “It’s my favourite subject. We did it last term at my school.”
Paul copied her work, and was pleased for the first time.
“Amy is a real duh at Geography.”
“I’m not.”
He smiled. “Okay, so what do you want to do now?” he asked.
“I don’t know. What do you usually do?”
“We could ride bikes in the neighbourhood. I could show you around?”
“Okay,” she said, smiling.
They started to go downstairs.
“Uh, Amy, don’t you want to change?”
“Why?” she asked.
“Your dress may get dirty.”
“Do I usually?”
“Yeah, if your Mom lets you.”
“Then I’ll ask.”
Amy went into the kitchen and saw Helen unloading the washing machine.
“Mom, can I change so we can ride bikes?”
Helen looked at Amy. For the second time, her daughter had surprised her. Normally she was petulant and demanding, so this polite approach was a whole new development. She was instantly suspicious and wondered what the girl’s game was.
“Sure, if you want to,” she said cautiously.
Amy smiled. “Thanks Mom,” she said, running out.
Helen watched her and shook her head. Kids!
Paul ran home to collect his bike. He told his mother that he was going for a ride with Amy. Sue did not wholly approve of this friendship, as Amy was quite a little tomboy and was more likely to get into scrapes than most of the boys in the neighbourhood.
However, she got on well with Helen, feeling she had to support her in her constant battle with her wayward daughter. She looked out of the window and waved at Amy who was sitting on her bike on the driveway.
She was wearing her jeans and a tee shirt, and she waved back with a smile. She was such a pretty little thing, Sue thought it was such a shame she was such a tomboy.
The nine-year olds rode all around the neighbourhood, and even went to the mall at the end of the road, but didn’t go in. Paul was dismissive of the mall.
“It’s just got shops ‘n stuff, we don’t go there.”
He took her to the dell, which was a small gully with trees and shrubs. There was a small clearing at the bottom, where the younger kids would hang out. There wasn’t anyone else there today.
They sat on a stump and Paul looked at Amy.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Yes. I think I like this, a lot.”
Paul frowned. “What about Amy?”
The girl frowned too, as she was obviously thinking about something.
“I want to try something. Can you help?” she asked.
“Sure, what?”
“I’m not sure. But I don’t see why we have to be asleep to do this. So I want to try and crossover without going to sleep.”
She sat on the ground and placed her back to a tree. She smiled and closed her eyes.
“What do I do?” Paul asked, feeling spare.
“Shh. Just watch, and if she comes back, help her.”
The Other Side Of Dreams Chapters 4 - 5
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By Tanya Allan
Take two young people: - John in England and Amy in California. Take a common factor: - both recognised that they had been born into the wrong gender. As they grow up, they realise that their bodies are in imminent danger of changing into something neither wants.
Result: - Two very unhappy souls.
Their dreams are the only place they can find solace. Then they start to dream of each other, and to get a little glimpse of the other’s life. Over time they learn how to crossover at will and not just when asleep. They start to leave childhood behind as puberty beckons. The lines become blurred, who is where?
Solution: - One of them takes the bold step and suggests they try to live each other’s lives. Will it work?
Find out……………………….
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!
Originally written in 2006 - never posted, Reworked & Revised in 2009.
The Legal Stuff:The Other Side Of Dreams ©2006, 2009 Tanya Allan
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited.
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
Chapter 4
Despite being trapped in a strange body, in an equally strange place, Amy was dozing when she felt something or someone calling her by name.
She experienced a floating sensation, which, although disconcerting, was not unpleasant. She somehow knew she was between being awake and asleep, but the place she found herself wasn’t part of the material world. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see herself. She felt as if she was lying down, but it was as if she was weightless and her own body was standing in front of her.
“Hi, I’m John,” said her body.
Weird!
“I’m Amy,” she replied. “Hi.” Her voice sounded odd, different somehow. Then she remembered her dream-like adventure to a strange place. The panic she’d experienced earlier was missing, as she wasn’t the least bit afraid, although it was very disconcerting seeing her own body used by someone else.
“I know who you are, hello,” said the girl called John. “I’ve worked out how we can change at will.”
“How?”
“It needs three things. First, you have to be relaxed, then you need to want to change, and finally you have to match exactly with the other person. I guessed you would be all three by now because I was in bed when I left. So it was easy.”
“What time is it at home?”
“Nearly supper time. Paul and I are in the dell. I’ve done your homework,” the girl said, with a smile.
“Cool, thanks. What was it?”
“Geography. I did a piece on the Hoover Dam.”
“I hate Geography!”
“I know. Just as well I don’t, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to come back?” the girl asked.
“Yeah, I guess, but I’d still like to have a day as a guy, just to see what it’s like.”
“Look, if you want, we can stay like this for twenty-four hours, and I’ll meet you same time same place tomorrow?” the girl said.
“Uh, you like being a girl?” The question had overtones of disbelief.
John/Amy smiled, so Amy/John could sense that the girl was happy.
“Okay. I’ll see you same time tomorrow. Has Mom guessed?”
The girl shook her head.
“No, but we both have to speak with different accents.”
“Your Dad speaks real funny.”
“He’s Scottish. Just try to copy him. It drives Mum mad, but he likes it.”
“Your brother, he’s a real asshole.”
“Yes, I know, what did you do to him? He acted really strange yesterday.”
“Nothing much. I just kicked him in the gonads and punched him on the nose.”
“I wish I’d seen that.”
“Hey, that’s one thing we can’t do,” Amy said.
“Not yet, anyway.”
“That’s true. Hey, that’d be cool.”
“What would?”
“We could get together and share stuff.”
“It’d be very strange, but fun.”
“Hey, I’d better get some sleep. I never thought we’d have such a difference in time.”
“Okay, look after me, won’t you?” the girl said.
“Sure, same to you!”
The mists subsided and Amy was back in bed, inside John’s body. The panic was gone, as she looked forward to a new adventure.
She, no, he smiled, slipping off to a dreamless sleep.
Meanwhile, in the dell in Glendale, Paul was staring at his companion. He suddenly was looking into her open blue eyes.
“Amy?”
“No. Amy is staying there for another day. She wants to see what it’s like.”
“No shit? You talked with her?”
The girl nodded, holding her hand out. Paul took it and pulled her to her feet.
“It was very strange, but we can sort of meet in the middle of nowhere. We talked for what seemed ages. How long was I out?”
“A couple of seconds.”
“Cool!” she said, grinning.
This time Paul found himself following her, as they made their way home.
They stopped outside her house.
“Okay, I have to go home for supper now. Are you gonna be okay?” he asked.
The girl smiled and nodded.
“If I have a problem, I’ll call you. What’s your number?”
He told her, so she said, “See you later,” and then turned and went in.
Paul shook his head and returned to a normal house.
Amy’s father was home. He was out on the deck starting the barbeque.
Amy went straight upstairs, changing into a skirt and pretty pink top. She grinned as she looked at her reflection and then brushed her hair. She returned downstairs, going into the kitchen and asking her mother if she could help.
Helen almost dropped the salad bowl, but recovered quickly.
“Why yes, Honey. Lay the table please,” she said, before the girl changed her mind. She then noticed that Amy was wearing a skirt.
“How many for?” the girl asked.
“Huh?” said her mother, lost for words.
“How many place settings?”
“Oh! You, me, your father, Jeff, Steve and Kyle.”
“Inside or out?”
“Out, I think.”
“Okay,” Amy said, and started going through the drawers finding the tableware.
As Amy went out, her father came into the kitchen.
“Hi Spitfire!” he said.
“Hi Daddy,” the girl said, kissing his cheek.
He stared after her, also noticing the skirt.
“What’s gotten into her?” he asked Helen, after the girl had moved out of earshot.
“Beats me,” she said. “She’s been acting real strange all afternoon. She washed up her glass, asked if she could change and, you’ll never believe it, but she actually asked if she could help with dinner. And now, she’s changed into a skirt without being asked!”
“Amy?”
“Yes, Amy.”
“Is she okay?”
“Neil, don’t say anything. It’s wonderful. If you try to meddle, we may get the old Amy back,” she joked.
Amy returned.
“Shall I get drinks for everyone?” she asked, as her parents exchanged meaningful glances.
“Amy, how come you are speaking like that?” her father asked.
“Like what, daddy?”
“Like a real English princess.”
She smiled, but inside her heart almost stopped. She’d forgotten about the accent. She thought quickly.
“We learned in English that the American influences are negative, as the slang that has been introduced is destroying the language,” she said.
“Did you, now?” he father asked, a large smile on his face. “Well, ten bucks says you can’t keep it up until bedtime.”
“Okay, that’s a bet,” she said, and started filling a pitcher of water.
Her father shook his head and went back out to the barbeque.
Amy brought him a cold beer in a glass and sat watching him, her big blue eyes were almost mesmerising. She was growing into a stunningly pretty girl.
“So, what’s gotten into you?” he asked.
She smiled and shook her head.
“Nothing,” she lied.
“Your mom is confused. She says you’re being too nice,” he said.
She smiled again.
“I guess I’ve been a pain, huh?”
Neil Standen looked at her.
“Amy, is something bothering you?”
“No.”
“You’d tell me if there was, right?”
“Sure.”
“So, you’re okay?”
“Fine.”
“Good. What did you do today?”
“Went to school, came home, did my homework, went for a ride with Paul, and came back again.”
“You’ve done your homework already?”
“Yes, why?”
“Amy, you always leave it until bedtime. So what is with all this nice stuff?”
“Nice stuff?”
“Look, this I have to see. Can you show me what you did?”
He watched as she ran indoors, returning with her Geography book.
He turned the steaks and then flicked through her book. He looked at the most recent page, but then flicked back again, comparing the reckless scribbles on previous pages with the meticulous notes and fine drawing on the most recent entry.
“You did these drawings?”
“Uh huh,” she said, nodding.
“And this is what you wrote, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Did you copy it or what?”
“I just remembered my lessons, so I wrote what I’d been told.”
Neil stared at his daughter. He prided himself on being able to tell when one of his children lied to him, but he would swear that she wasn’t lying. He made a decision.
“That is really good, sweetheart. I’m pleased that something seems to be going in at last. I know you don’t like Geography that much.”
He was rewarded by an enormous smile, so his heart melted.
“Come here,” he said, giving her a big hug.
Dinner was a good-natured event, the boys were noisy and Helen was surprised, again, by her daughter as she fetched and carried stuff throughout. When she suggested it was bedtime, the girl kissed her and her father, going upstairs without a murmur.
Helen followed to say goodnight, finding her in bed already, washed and hair brushed, wearing her nightdress without complaint for the first time ever.
“Sleep well, honey.”
“Thanks Mom. Oh, and Mom?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m sorry for being a pain.”
Helen felt a tear come to her eye, so she kissed her daughter again.
“You aren’t sweetie. You’re just you.”
She turned the light off and went down stairs.
Neil was settling down in front of the TV.
“You owe your daughter ten bucks,” she said.
“Oh yeah, she made it. Is she okay?”
“Never better!” said Helen with a grin, as Neil went up to give his princess a kiss and ten bucks.
A pillow landed in her face, so Amy flung up an arm to push it off.
“Come on maggot, out of your pit,” said this nasty voice.
“Call me that again and you’ll regret it.”
“Maggot!”
Miles never saw the kick coming, so he just collapsed silently as all the air left his lower abdomen.
He stared up at his younger brother, who was now standing with both fists clenched.
“More, asshole?”
The door opened.
“Oh, you’re both up already, good. Hurry up, breakfast is in five minutes,” their mother said, leaving them without noticing Miles’ discomfort.
Miles struggled to his feet, trying hard not to cry. John had never struck him before this week, but now he had done it twice. Maybe he should stop bullying him?
Both boys were at the breakfast table in four minutes. Amy/John was grinning, he was allowed to wear pants and decent leather shoes.
“No shorts today, John?” his mother asked.
“Nah, pants are fine.”
James looked over his newspaper at him.
“I beg yer pardon, young man?” he said.
Amy/John realised that the American accent was going to be real hard to lose.
“Uh, too cold for shorts. Um, pants are better,” he said, hoping it was acceptable.
“Pants?” his father asked.
The boy struggled to remember any English TV or films that could help with the vocabulary.
“Uh, trousers?”
“That’s better. You must stop watching all those American films,” his father said. He pronounced films as ‘fillums’.
Amy/John sat and ate his cereal in silence. At least they had the same cereal brands. He wondered come they called what they spoke here the same as what they spoke in America. He was going to have to keep his mouth shut and listen to everyone if he was going to learn.
“Bacon and eggs?” his new mother asked.
“Uh, sure.”
James looked at him again.
“Um, yes please,” he said and smiled.
He was served a plate of bacon, eggs, and sausages. He wolfed it down as quickly as he dared. It was really good. His American Mom wasn’t into food like this!
Miles was out of the door first, so John followed. There was a girl waiting at the gate. Miles went on ahead, as if to be seen walking with either his brother or a girl would do his reputation irreparable harm.
“Hi John.”
“Hi,” he replied cautiously, at a complete loss.
“Do you want to dress up in my stuff again after school?”
“Huh, what are you on?” he asked, the disgust very evident in his voice.
She looked at him sharply, as he walked into the street.
“Hey, where’s the bus-stop?” he asked, looking around.
“Bus-stop, are you all right? What’s with the American accent?” she asked.
Amy/John swore quietly, but this girl suddenly grinned at him.
“You did it!” she said, as they started walking along the street.
“I did what?” he asked, cautiously, trying to be as British as he could.
“You swapped! You must be the girl. So you’re Amy?” the girl asked.
“Shh, do you wanna get me locked up?” Amy/John hissed, trying to see if anyone overheard.
The girl giggled.
“This is great!” she said.
“Who are you, anyways?”
“I’m Jacquie. I’m John’s best friend.”
“Figures,” he muttered.
“Why?”
“Back home, my best friend is a boy. It figures that his friend is a girl. What’s with the dressing up bit?”
“I think John should have been a girl. So did he.”
“Well, he is now.”
Jacquie giggled.
“This is going to be so funny.”
“Why?”
“It just is.”
They arrived at the school, where Kenneth was straight into John’s face.
“Pansy boy! Mind you, keep out of my way,” he said.
“Go screw yourself!” the new John said.
There were many large intakes of breath by all around. Kenneth shook his head as if he couldn’t actually believe what he’d heard.
“What?”
“You heard, or are you deaf as well as stupid and ugly?”
There were a few nervous laughs. It never paid to be seen laughing at Kenneth.
“Why you little bastard!” said an enraged Kenneth, who had just learned the word. However, just as Mrs Cooper, the head teacher, walked through the gate, he took an almighty swing at the smaller boy.
Mrs Cooper stared in horror, but John ducked, raising one hand to successfully block the second punch, then he turned sideways and lashed out with his right leg, catching Kenneth just on the knee.
Kenneth howled and fell over. The onlookers gasped at seeing the goliath of the school yard defeated, but then scattered as the Head approached.
Mrs Cooper marched over.
“John, Jacquie, go to your classroom, this minute! Kenneth, get up and stop bawling. You deserved that. I’m calling your mother. You’ve been told, time and time again, about picking on younger and smaller children. I only hope this has taught you a lesson.”
The snivelling Kenneth was dragged away. Amy/John found himself on the receiving end of some surprised and admiring glances.
“What I do?” he asked and grinned. There was a new John in town.
Morning lessons were okay. No geography.
Lunchtime was different, but he found that the lunch pack was okay, and the kids here swapped just as much as back home.
He found it easier not to say anything, as Jacquie spoke for both of them. John was obviously a quiet kid in any case, so no one noticed.
It was PE after lunch. Mr Symes took them onto the playing field. The girls went up one end and played a game with a net like basketball, but it was called netball. The boys went onto the soccer pitch. A soccer ball was produced and, much to Amy/John’s delight, the boys actually played soccer.
Amy had mucked about with her brothers and friends, but never got to play with boys for long. For one thing her Mom didn’t like her playing soccer, and the other girls were really pathetic at it.
Mr Symes watched with quiet amusement. John had never shown any inclination for soccer, or any games for that matter. Yet he entered into everything with uncharacteristic gusto today.
In fact, he displayed a rare talent and courage in going for tackles that made him gasp in wonder. His ball control and accuracy in passing was quite remarkable.
Was this the same boy?
By the end of the game, he called John over.
“Where did that come from?” he asked the boy, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“Dunno. Just was,” the boy said, a little out of breath.
“You played well enough to get into the team for this Saturday. I’ve been told that Kenneth is not allowed to play, do you fancy it?”
The boy’s grin became even wider, if that were possible.
“Sure, that’d be real neat!”
“I’m sorry?” asked Mr Symes, frowning.
“Uh, yes sir, that would be fine,” said a more Anglicised John.
By the end of the day, quite a few people were more than a little surprised at John’s strange turnaround. But being English, nobody said anything.
Jacquie was waiting for John as usual, but this time he arrived with three other boys and was talking about going for a kick around after tea. She realised with some sadness that her old friend was gone.
John still walked home with her. He sensed her loss, so grinned at her.
“Hey, I still need someone who can help me. Do you fancy being my special friend? I’m not like John, but as long as you can keep the secret, I guess we’ll get along,” Amy/John asked.
Jacquie smiled.
“I can see how come he swapped with you. He should have been a girl, whereas you should have been a boy,” she said.
John grinned.
“It’s way cool! I get to wear pants all day and play soccer.”
“That’s trousers and football,” she corrected.
He grinned again. “That’s why I need you,” he said and she smiled.
They stopped at her house.
“Are you coming in?”
John stared at the house.
“Should I?”
“You did yesterday.”
“Nah, I’ll go home and get used to my new family. I think I’m gonna have to fight that jerk Miles again soon.”
“Do you like fighting?” she asked, frowning.
“Not really, but sometimes that is the only thing assholes understand.”
She giggled again.
“You are so rude!” she said, delightedly.
He grinned again. He felt at ease with who he was.
A shout from across the road disturbed them.
“Hey, John, are you playing?”
It was Mike, one of the boys he played football with.
“Yeah, let me tell my folks,” he shouted back.
“Hey Jacquie, what do I call my folks?”
“Dad, Mum, and then there’s Miles and Becky. She’s older and at the high school.”
“Thanks, see ya!” he said and ran into his own house.
Kathleen Brightwell was sitting reading a magazine in the kitchen when a small tornado came in.
“Hi Mum, I’m off playing football with Mike. What time’s supper?”
“Six thirty,” she said before she registered that it was John and not Miles.
He was gone before she could say anything.
She frowned, shaking her head in wonder. He was really behaving oddly these days.
John was in heaven. The fact that he could do boy things, with boys, as a boy was just perfect. He missed his own family, but it was worth it.
He was ten minutes late for tea. His father frowned and told him to go wash. But he wasn’t cross. In fact, he was delighted that at long last he had taken an interest in football.
“I’ve been picked for the team on Saturday. Mr Symes told me I’m good enough,” he said with a mouth full of lasagne.
Everyone at the table was stunned in to silence.
“You?” said Miles.
Miles was not even good enough, so this hurt badly.
“Yes, that’ll teach you to call me a maggot,” John said, and stuck his tongue out.
James looked away, suppressing a smile. It was like the answer to prayer, but Kathleen shook her head rather sadly. She knew this day would come, when her baby would grow up a bit. Still, it had been nice while it lasted.
Eventually James had to drag John in from the garden, where he was kicking a football against the back wall again and again and again.
“Have you done your homework?”
“Haven’t got any?”
James checked, and then made John sit down and do the maths that he should have done. As a result he was half an hour later to bed.
John was smiling as he went to sleep.
Chapter 5
John and Amy met up again at the same place as arranged. John had had a wonderful day as Amy, having worn the dress to school. All lessons had gone well, while Helen was completely bowled over with her daughter’s complete transformation.
“We gotta have a strategy!” Amy/John said.
“Okay, like what?”
“Well, I like sports, math, and science. You like art, music, Geography and all that boring stuff. We gotta work out how to crossover real quick, and take the lessons that we’re good at. That way, both our grades will be good.”
They discussed tactics for a while. Paul was getting worried as the girl he was with seemed almost dead to the world.
They practiced a quick crossover.
Paul looked and saw she was awake.
“Amy?”
“Hi Paul.”
“Shit, which one are you?”
“I’m in a dress?” she said with disgust.
Paul grinned.
“Welcome back, Amy.”
“Hell, I’m not here for long,” she said, closing her eyes again.
A few seconds later, they opened again.
“Amy?” he asked, dubiously.
“Nope. But it’ll do!” said the girl, smiling at his confusion.
“Man, will you guys stop this? It’s driving me nuts!”
She twitched slightly.
“Paul?”
“Amy?”
“See ya!”
“Hi Paul.”
“Amy? “
“No.”
“SHIT! I’ve had enough!”
In the end, he was not certain who went home with him, as Amy wanted to see if he could tell the difference between them. As soon as she got in and disappeared up to her room without acknowledging her mother, Helen suspected that the brief episode of delightful behaviour was probably a flash in the pan.
However, it was only a couple of hours before Amy reached out to a sleeping John to see if he wanted to swap.
“I can’t take this,” she said. “Besides, I’ve gotta practise my soccer.”
John played for the football team on the following Saturday, scoring two goals. The team lost, but only just, and the opposition were very surprised at the skills level of the small village team.
James had been there to watch, along with Miles who scowled for the first half, but found himself cheering when his little brother scored his goals. James could hardly believe the change in Wee John over the last few days. He had no idea what prompted the change, but he hoped it was here to stay.
Meanwhile, several thousand miles to the west, Amy seemed to blossom at school and, much to her mother’s delight, even started to make friends with other girls. These girls were naturally a little cautious, so it took a few weeks for them to accept that she wasn’t suddenly going to appear in camouflage combat gear, and force them at gun point to shoot hub caps off moving cars on the freeway with her BB gun.
“I promise that I’ve changed,” the new Amy told them. “I’ve grown out of all that.”
Melanie and Kerry-Anne were her two better friends. Her first trip to the mall with other girls was an education. Melanie’s mother was with them and, like the girls, was suspicious of Amy’s intentions, half suspecting her to do something outrageous, just for a laugh.
Amy’s mother had given her some money. She had had a lovely day and, in one store, she had even agreed to have a full facial and junior makeover which was on special offer.
She then bought a new dress, some shoes and a pretty top. Her whole appearance was of a developing young woman and no longer a little girl.
She stared in wonder at the reflection in the mirror and her heart sang all the way home.
Paul and Jacquie were no longer able to keep track of who was who. Jacquie just called the boy — John; while Paul called the girl — Amy, regardless of who was inside, so to speak. If the world knew that they swapped at least seven times a day, doctors and scientists would have sold their mothers for a chance to examine the young couple.
As time went on, they perfected their crossovers, that they could literally manage it within the blink of an eye. They could, and did, communicate telepathically frequently, as there was much to learn about the other’s life.
It got to the point that the communication replaced the swap-overs. If Amy needed help she called out to John, and vice versa. They were able to partially swap so as to ‘see’ the problem, and then advise accordingly.
They’d pass on what they’d been doing and it became increasingly hard for the original to maintain what the other had done on their behalf. John was completely useless at football, and Amy felt like an interloper in her own home. There seemed to be an expectation that she undertook chores without even being asked!
They spent Christmas morning with their own families as their original genders. However, because their hearts were rooted in their new genders, they were not really able to come to terms with the person that the other was making them.
Amy found her mother gave her dresses and clothes for Christmas, while John unwrapped a new pair of football boots. They were back where they felt they belonged within a few hours.
John found that he was no longer bullied at school, and even Miles was almost friendly. Jacquie was so used to them crossing over that she was a good friend to both, although she missed the original John. This new John was too much a boy, but she knew that there might be an advantage in remaining friends. In California, Paul experienced a very similar scenario, with Amy turning into a very alien creature.
As 1988 arrived, the pair began to cross over less and less. John preferred to be Amy and Amy was definitely happier as John. It was the original Amy who started feeling tired first. She was expending enormous energy playing football and just having the time of her life as John.
Then it started to take its toll on John too, but he was so content as Amy that he felt it was worth it. The time difference was the root of problem, as neither child was getting a full eight to ten hours sleep each night. It had become so much of a problem that their parents observed how tired and drawn they both were appearing, and both kids would drop off to sleep in the strangest places.
School work was the hardest part, as the time difference meant that both kids were missing out on sleep to help out the other. Teachers were bound to notice something was odd, as their grades fluctuated unpredictably as they came and went with no real pattern. It was at this point that they all decided that Amy and John should become pen friends, which could legitimise contacts with the families. To keep things neat, Paul and Jacquie could do the same as well.
They met at more or less the same time every day for a chat in that in-between place they had found. Amy retained John’s image, and John was always Amy. Neither was that keen on returning to their original self. Just after they had spent their 10th birthdays with their respective families, they came to a decision.
It was a very easy decision to make, and they both smiled as the came to it.
“I’m changing!” John/Amy said.
“Huh?”
“I’m starting to grow breasts and turning into a woman. I want to stay.”
Puberty was hitting the girl first, in the body at least.
“Oh.”
“I love my parents, but I like yours too, and your brothers are really nice,” the girl said.
The boy grinned.
“Me too. Your folks are great, your dad in particular. Even Miles is getting better. So, do we stay, keep swapping, or go back to where we belong?”
The girl smiled.
“I know where I belong,” she said, looking at her pretty dress.
“Yeah, me too.”
“So, do we stay like this?” she asked, hardly daring to hope.
The boy shrugged. “Why not? At least for a while, as we can always see how things go,” he said.
They grinned at each other.
“Let’s try to get the families together, that way we get to see our real parents,” suggested the boy.
“Deal!” said the girl. “By the way, I’m Amy.”
“Hi, I’m John,” he replied, both laughing at the strange formality of their decision. Both had similar mid-Atlantic accents, so both were now capable of blending in perfectly with the other’s environment.
So it was, that on a bright July morning in 1988, two young people decided to play out the cards that life had dealt the other. They would continue to contact each other regularly, but crossovers were now a thing of the past - almost.
They were both about to start their final year at their junior schools, and both were more than happy with the identities they had assumed.
Amy was up early, dressed in a really pretty red and white dress. The school had broken up a few days before, so vacation time had arrived.
She was at the kitchen table, writing a letter when her mother appeared.
Helen frowned for two reasons. It was so unlike Amy to be up early when there was no school and, her mother noted with deep surprise, she wearing her best dress. In the old days, it almost took a team of horses and a case-opener to get the girl out of bed before noon, let alone wear a dress!
The girl looked up as she came in. Helen noticed she was wearing a touch of makeup.
Amy was a very pretty girl, so finally, at ten, permitted herself to be the girl that her mother knew was there all along. As her mother noticed the gentle feminine curves that had started to develop, she put down her attitude changes to her hormones and her physical body becoming a young woman.
Certainly, the last few months or so had seen the most profound change in her. All her teachers had been quite clear that something had changed for the better.
“Morning, Honey, you’re up early. There’s no school today, did you forget?”
“No, Mom. I just wanted to write my pen-friend.”
“Oh yes, and where does she live?”
“England, and she’s a he.”
“What’s his name?”
“John Brightwell. He lives in a village in the Cotswolds. It is in Oxfordshire.”
Helen picked up the scrap of paper on which his address was printed.
“How did this come about?”
“A group of us at school thought it would be neat to find out about kids in other countries, so we took names from a hat. I got John.”
“Oh, that’s nice. How old is he?”
“A few days older than me, I think. I don’t know a whole lot about him yet, just his name, age and address.”
“Has he written to you yet?”
“No, this is my first letter.”
Helen smiled. There had been a time when she had thought that Paul would have been her son-in-law. Nevertheless, recently, her main worry was that Amy was going to be turn out to be a lesbian.
“So, who else is writing?”
“I’m not sure. I think Paul is writing to someone in England as well.”
“Have you had breakfast?” Helen asked, having exhausted that subject.
“Yes, and I washed it up,” Amy said without looking up.
Helen smiled, shaking her head. Wonders will never cease. She made herself a coffee and put a bagel under the grill.
“What are you doing today?” she asked.
“Whatever. I’ve nothing planned,” Amy replied, still scribbling.
“I have to go shopping, all the boys are due back this weekend, do you fancy coming with me?” she asked. She was almost positive the answer would be negative, so Amy surprised her once more by simply saying, “Sure, what time?”
They reached the mall by ten, so it was still quite empty. Helen realised that her previous forays into stores with Amy usually ended in frayed tempers and a screaming match. On this occasion, however, Amy seemed content to stay with her mother as she went round the large supermarket collecting enough provisions for a squad of Marines.
Helen watched her daughter surreptitiously as they walked up and down the aisles, and later once they’d left the supermarket and ventured further into the mall. Amy was very relaxed, so Helen noticed she took any and every opportunity to look at her reflection in any window or mirror.
She moved with real feminine grace, such a grace that Helen despaired of ever seeing in her. It was all so sudden, for only a few months ago she would fight like a wild cat even the suggestion of wearing a dress and trying makeup. Yet now she had put it on with no prompting, yet subtly enough for a girl of her age, which was unlike many young girls who wanted to emulate the movie stars or singers.
Amy was blissfully unaware of her mother’s scrutiny. Ever since she had agreed with the original Amy to take her place, she had felt it was like coming home.
Helen and Amy shopped for most of the morning, and then enjoyed a light lunch at one of the many restaurants in the mall. Surprising her mother seemed order of the day, for instead of the usual pizza or burger, Amy settled for a tuna salad. They then talked about clothes and makeup, so Helen found herself getting to know her daughter as if for the first time.
It was surreal, almost as if she was a completely different person.
She even said as much when Amy made a statement about one particular paragon of fashion who minced past their table on heels that were too high, a skirt that was too tight and too short for her rather too robust thighs.
“Hey, Amy, are you sure you’re my daughter? I get that surreal feeling that I’m out with a complete stranger.”
Amy had given her that sweet smile of hers, but then put on a robot-type voice.
“But I am, Mom-my dear. I am a com-plete-ly diff-er-ent per-son. Aliens snatched your daugh-ter a-way, and put me in her place, so I have had to learn ev-ery-thing about her life from scratch. My real name is X35 and I am a hu-man-oid an-droid de-signed by the six-legged be-ings on Tenth-rad Three,” she said.
Helen stared at her with an open mouth for a second, but then both of them dissolved into tears of laughter.
Helen found her ‘new’ daughter very refreshing.
“Honey, what’s made you change so much so quickly?” she asked.
Amy shrugged, wondering how she should reply. She’d been expecting to have to explain her change at some point, but this was rather sooner than she was prepared for.
“I don’t know, Mom. I guess I was tired fighting and my body was telling me that I’m a girl, so I sort of gave in to be the person I should have been.”
Helen smiled, as judging by the admiring looks Amy was getting from the younger males, she was developing into a very attractive young woman.
After lunch, Helen took Amy to the hairdressers.
“Now we’re into double figures, it’s time for missy here to have a grown up style. If you can keep it long, but make her look like the stunning teen instead of the cute little girl,” she instructed.
After two hours, Amy was amazed that her hair could reflect light in such a way. Shelly, the hairdresser, had cut quite a lot from it, but she had also styled it beautifully, so as to accentuate the shape of her head and frame her face.
Then her Mom had treated her to some new clothes and more grown up underwear, as well as some pretty shoes with slightly high heels.
When they got home and emptied the car, Helen taught Amy a little about makeup.
Helen had never attempted this before, as the Amy she knew would have simply run into the yard and hidden at the very suggestion. However, having seen that Amy had attempted some makeup earlier, she felt it was time.
Now she found the girl interested and actually quite adept at applying it herself. Then, she stayed with her mother in the kitchen, being helpful and even trying to learn about cooking.
Helen smiled at Amy as she said a little silent prayer of thanks for the exchange of an angel for her old daughter.
As the days passed, Helen found that even angels have their bad days, for Amy wasn’t always delightful, as occasionally tempers frayed. Even so, Helen would never complain about the Amy now, compared to the one of a short time ago.
The vacation passed and, as agreed, the pair never re-crossed over, but they communicated frequently. They were able to seek the other’s advice about people’s identity, or places with which the other was familiar.
For example, at a family function that Amy attended, she had to get the original to tell her who everyone was and answer some questions. For John in England, often it was with schoolwork that he needed assistance. The time difference was a real pain, for usually these questions came when the other was sound asleep.
All in all, however, they were very successful. More importantly, they were both blissfully happy with the arrangement, except for one thing. Despite becoming very fond of their new parents and families, both missed their original parents and siblings. To be precise, John missed his brothers in the States, while Amy was quite happy not to have Miles breathing down her neck any more, but found she missed her original parents dreadfully at times.
The holidays passed very quickly, during which John and his family went camping in France for two weeks. The lad adored the place, as there was every sport known to man, almost. He canoed, swam, windsurfed, cycled, rode horses, learned archery, played soccer, and even cricket. Although he’d attended a Scottish school, his father had played cricket for his school First XI and was still interested in the game as a player, although not so much as a spectator.
Miles was feeling a little left behind. From being the only sporty person in the family, he suddenly found himself with serious competition. His younger brother was now a tough competitor and refused to give up even when seemingly losing. As a result Miles had to try harder, so the battles moved from the bedroom to the sports arena, where they developed healthy respect for each other. They almost became friends.
Rebecca was astounded at the change in her younger brother, and was unsure how or why it happened. For so profound a change, she felt that something must have been wrong with him.
Not that he had been ill, but she was just not able to accept that anyone could change so much in such a short space of time. It was almost as if he had become a different person. She had not been around during much of the transition period, although it was short, James and Kathleen had been present throughout, so Becky missed the gradual change and suddenly found herself sharing a home with a completely different boy.
Amy and her family had always spent time in the mountains, camping as it should be done. When the British family arrived at their campsite in France to find a fully equipped tent already erected, with all amenities on site to a four star standard, John was amazed as the Americans had to take everything with them.
The amenities were what they could carry, but Amy really loved the real outdoors. Her brothers were great, although slightly disappointed that the tomboy had been replaced by a more feminine version, she was still good fun, so she got to know Kyle and Martin much better.
Helen really came to appreciate her new daughter on this holiday. Whereas before, she had been the only female, as Amy had been an honorary boy for the duration, behaving no differently to her brothers. In fact, she seemed more macho and slightly worse than the boys, who would at least do their share of the chores. Chores were allocated, but Amy’s policy of doing hers so late or so badly in the hope to be released from having to do them, was trying in the extreme.
However, now Amy shared her mother’s traditional chores and bullied her brothers to do theirs as well. Neil and Helen looked on in pure incredulity as she almost took over the domestic management of the campsite.
When the holidays ended, Amy was actually looking forward to school, and in the first few weeks made loads of new friends.
John however was less enthusiastic about his schoolwork. He adored his sports, so made the most of every opportunity to play anything he could.
His schoolwork, however, was not so wonderful. He had been a quiet and quite industrious child before, but now he was extroverted and rather a clown. In those subjects he had excelled, he now barely passed a decent grade.
His circle of friends increased to the extent that Jacquie was rather peeved, as she preferred the old John who had been her special friend. The new John was always playing football, or some other sporty or energetic activity, rarely having time for her, let alone her pastimes.
He responded to positive role models, such as Mr Symes the PE teacher. The rather dull and softer women, such as the geography teacher Mrs Hannay, he ignored and so his grades dropped alarmingly.
His father, as a surgeon, was in a well-paid job, decided to look at a different school for him. The local State schools were all right, but John’s grades were causing him concerns. At this rate, he would dip below standard on the Eleven-plus. Therefore, James and Kathleen looked at a local private school that offered excellent opportunities in sports and vocational qualifications as well as the standard academic exams.
On the adjacent hill to the village of Churchill is the picturesque campus of Kingham Hill School. Set up with a Christian ethos, and designed to offer a well-balanced education for all levels of achievers, it was a perfect setting for a boy whose sporting abilities needed nurturing and whose academic abilities had yet to be really tested or nurtured.
The fees were well within James’ means, particularly as John would be a dayboy and not a boarder. Miles, a bright boy, who seemed at achieve middle to upper grades in all his work, was already in a good secondary School in Chipping Norton, where he was doing well. Nevertheless, James thought that it would do them both good to be separate for the duration of their secondary education.
John found himself taken up to ‘The Hill’ and undertook a comprehensive entry test. He had seen the extensive facilities, and though he fancied rugby, he had not yet played the game, as he watched out the window as the boys played on one of the many pitches.
There were girls here too. Although a fraction of the boys, they still had a significant effect overall. He was given a tour while the tests were scrutinised.
He liked the atmosphere, even if it was so removed from anything he had experienced before. The main positive thing was that he was unknown here. No one who had known the old John was here, so he could really be himself for the first time ever.
The several hopefuls were brought together, each being interviewed one at a time by the headmaster.
After it was over, John and his parents were informed that he had passed, and that a place would be available for him in the following September, one year from now.
When John went back to his school, he suddenly felt as if the pressure was off. However, instead of switching off, he relaxed and his grades started to improve across the board. They were nothing special, but more acceptable than before.
The Other Side Of Dreams Chapters 6 - 7
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By Tanya Allan
Take two young people: - John in England and Amy in California. Take a common factor: - both recognised that they had been born into the wrong gender. As they grow up, they realise that their bodies are in imminent danger of changing into something neither wants.
Result: - Two very unhappy souls.
Their dreams are the only place they can find solace. Then they start to dream of each other, and to get a little glimpse of the other’s life. Over time they learn how to crossover at will and not just when asleep. They start to leave childhood behind as puberty beckons. The lines become blurred, who is where?
Solution: - One of them takes the bold step and suggests they try to live each other’s lives. Will it work?
Find out……………………….
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!
Originally written in 2006 - never posted, Reworked & Revised in 2009.
The Legal Stuff:The Other Side Of Dreams ©2006, 2009 Tanya Allan
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited.
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
Chapter 6
It was a large white cake with a pink ribbon around it, adorned with thirteen pink and white striped candles.
“Happy 13th Birthday AMY!” was written in beautiful script in red icing sugar on the top.
Amy grinned but went bright red as everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her and then she blew the candles out in one large puff.
“Make a wish, Honey,” said her mother, so she shut her eyes and smiled.
It was an easy wish, to simply stay as Amy for the rest of her life.
It was her third birthday ‘away from home’, so she had almost forgotten what it had been like as John. A lot had happened in the three years. In particular, she had changed considerably.
When she was eleven, she suddenly started to shoot up, so now was about five foot six. Her figure continued to develop and she was the first in her year to menstruate.
That day had not exactly been her favourite, so ever since she shudders whenever she recalls the events.
Typically, she had been at school and had been feeling a little lethargic and bloated for a day or so. They were on the sports field playing softball when she felt stomach cramps come on. Strangely enough she was quite good at sports, as the level of expectation was different, as were the types of sport. She didn’t want to let her team down, so she had struggled through.
After the game, she was having a shower when one of the other girls started screaming.
“You’re cut. Look at the blood!” Melanie shrieked.
Amy looked down and almost fainted.
Fortunately, one of the coaches was present, so she immediately knew what had happened. She wrapped Amy up in a towel and managed to sort her out.
When she got home, she found that the school nurse had called her mother, as a result Helen felt really guilty that she hadn’t prepared Amy properly.
They had had a mom/daughter chat, in which Amy was introduced to the harsh realities of womanhood.
“So I get this for the rest of my life, huh?”
“Well, almost, certainly until you are fifty-five or so. It’s the price we pay for being allowed to be women. Otherwise we’d be men, and would that be just awful?” Helen said, joking.
Amy had smiled weakly. “I guess,” she said.
“Is it very sore?” Helen asked. She herself was quite fortunate with a light period and little or no discomfort. She knew, however, that many women went through hell each and every month.
“Not sore, just heavy and uncomfortable. I feel kinda bloated and sweaty,” Amy said, trying to describe how she felt. “I feel dirty, somehow, is that right?”
“Honey, it’s the fact the body is getting rid of the lining to the womb, so it’s all bloody and yucky. I guess it’s just something you get used to. I’m sorry, but we never get a choice about these things. I was planning to tell you, but you sort of beat me to it. I’m so sorry.”
Amy smiled. For she had been given the choice and she would still make the same choice today, even now that she knew about periods.
That was in the past, almost two years ago now, so she opened her eyes again after making her birthday wish.
The room was full of her friends, the majority of whom were girls, but there were several boys, notably Paul, who despite not really finding as much in common with this Amy as the last one, he was still one of her best friends.
As he looked at the very pretty teenager making her wish, he was full of conflicting emotions. She was wearing a pale blue denim skirt and a pretty red and cream top. With her make up she looked nearer fifteen and her hair was shining, looking absolutely gorgeous.
On the one hand, he missed the old Amy, the tomboy. This Amy was too girly for him, or had been until quite recently!
Over the last few months, he had become very aware that she was no longer a little girl but a young woman, with a body that went in and out in strange places. He also knew that when she smiled at him, he felt a funny feeling in his tummy and he liked hearing her laugh.
He had always known that Amy was what grow-ups called pretty, but now he understood what they meant. She was by far the best looking babe in their year, and judging by the other years at high School, that went for the one above and below as well.
Nothing was ever said and no one thought to question the situation, but everyone assumed that Paul was Amy’s boyfriend. They seemed to always be together, as they almost lived in each other’s homes.
Paul’s mother, Sue, was another person who was surprised by the change in Amy, often remarking about it to Helen. Most of these remarks began with, “I just can’t believe..”
Paul had given Amy a bracelet for her birthday. She was opening the presents as he watched. In the pile, was a mysterious package from England, but Paul knew from whom it had been sent. He also knew that John and Amy were constantly in touch with each other, even now some three years later.
He felt an unfamiliar pang of jealousy, but then experienced guilt for feeling jealous. He knew that the pair of them had something special between them, as they had to keep in touch in order to get through the deception game they played.
He also knew that the need to keep in touch was less now than at first, yet they actually liked the contact and needed each other to be there. He wondered how the real Amy would fare if she had to return to being this young beauty. He grinned as he thought of her reaction, shaking his head. Perhaps it was just as well she wasn’t going through this, as she’d just hate what this girl had become.
He imagined the same would happen if John was forced to return to England. Paul imagined him suddenly returning in the middle of an important game of soccer and throwing a complete fit.
Raul nodded quietly to himself. Yes, things were probably for the best. He wondered if they were going to be able to remain like this or whether they would have to return.
Amy was opening his present. She took it out of the box and put it on her wrist.
“Paul, it’s gorgeous!” she said and, before he knew what was happening, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.
“Thanks!” she said, while the others cheered and catcalled.
Paul went bright red, but felt inordinately pleased for some reason.
Amy’s Dad grinned from behind the large video camera, and Helen was so proud of her very attractive teenaged daughter. Now the same height as she and filling out very nicely, Amy was becoming very beautiful. However, much to Helen’s delight, the girl was neither vain nor haughty with it.
She had seen lots of teenagers who blossomed into pretty girls who had used their looks to such an extent that they became shallow and petty minded. Amy was neither, retaining her sense of fun and down to earth goodness, so that although she never tried to be popular, she was anyway.
Amy was opening the package from England. Helen was mildly surprised that the English pen pal was still writing each week and Amy wrote back. Not just little note either, they seemed to write reams and reams to each other, so Helen found it quite romantic.
The box was opened and there were gasps of amazement. It contained an antique lady’s watch. It looked to be made of gold.
Paul immediately felt that jealousy creep upon him once more.
There was a note in the box.
“What’s he say?” shouted Kerry-Anne.
|
There was a communal- ‘Aaaah!” by the girls, and Paul was slightly cross with John.
“Isn’t that sweet, Honey?” Helen said to her husband.
“Sure is, should we ask this boy and his folks to spend some time with us in the summer?”
“That sounds nice. Maybe they could come camping with us?”
“Yeah. Don’t tell Amy, but I’ll write to this boy’s father. He’s a surgeon, or something.”
“Don’t be too pushy, you know how reserved the English are,” Helen said.
“I won’t, don’t worry.”
The age of children’s games was long past, and at six o’clock the disco started. The grown ups decamped to the deck, while the kids just got on with it.
Helen and Sue sat on the swing seat.
“Amy looked real pretty; she is so grown up now. You must be so relieved?” Sue asked her friend.
This was an old conversation, so didn’t need a reply. Helen simply smiled and nodded.
“Paul was a little put out by the watch the English kid sent to her,” Sue observed.
“Yeah, poor boy. They’ve been friends for so long, I almost see them as brother and sister. Mind you, the looks he gives her are hardly fraternal!”
Sue laughed.
“In a way it’s a pity, because he won’t look at another girl as long as she’s around, yet she never gives him any encouragement.”
“She doesn’t have to, Sue. She sees Paul as a friend, but I don’t think it would enter her head that he was attracted to her.”
“Well, I know he’s very fond of her.”
“Amy’s fond of Paul, but they’re only thirteen, for Pete’s sake, give them time before you marry them off.”
Sue chuckled.
“Is Paul still writing to his pen pal?” Helen asked.
“Oh, Jacquie, yes, funnily enough, he is. They write each week, just like Amy.”
“What’s she like?”
“Who, Jacquie? Oh, quite a pretty little thing. Her last photo came through a few weeks ago. She was on horseback. She adores riding and activities like that.”
“We’re thinking of inviting Amy’s pen pal and his family over in the summer. I have to admit that I’m intrigued to meet a boy she has never met, yet spends hours writing to him every week.”
“Mmm, me too. I don’t think Jacquie’s family would make it. Her mother is a midwife, while her father runs a cattle-feed company. I seem to remember saying that they only get a week away in the summer, because time off for her mother is tricky.”
“Does Jacquie know John?”
“I should think so. I think that they’re neighbours and used to go to the same school.”
“That’s right. I remember now. Amy told me that John goes to a private school now, but is annoyed that Jacquie and his other friends don’t see him so much. Well, what if we offer to have Jacquie as well? That way all four kids could get together, we could even take Paul away camping with us, if you like?”
“It’s an idea, as we were wondering how to keep him out of trouble this summer. Now he doesn’t have Amy leading him astray, he mixes with the Bolton boys.”
“Hasn’t Jack, their father, been arrested again?”
Her friend nodded. “Yeah, DUI, last week. Shirley in the grocery store says he was nearly three times the limit.”
“How did she know?” Helen asked.
“Her husband is in the police department. Those Boltons have always been trouble. I was at school with Kelly Leary, as she was then. She was always the first to get into trouble. As it happened Jack Bolton got her pregnant with the eldest boy and they had to get married.”
Neil was sitting listening to the conversation, drinking a cold beer.
“I remember Jack when he was at High School. Didn’t he drop out?” Helen asked.
“Yeah, and it was the drink even then. He was a promising football player. If he hadn’t been so wild, I recall the coach saying he could have gone pro,” Neil said.
“Well, if we can take Paul away from them, we shall,” Helen said.
“That would be great, Helen, I’m sure he’d love it.”
“We’ll talk nearer the time,” Helen said, standing up. “I should just check on the kids.”
Neil placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Leave them, Honey. They’re old enough to be left and young enough not to fuss about,” he said.
They talked through their idea to invite the English children and John’s family over.
“What if they don’t get on?” Neil asked.
“Then we never need repeat it, but we should at least ask,” his wife stated.
“Okay. Who knows, it might be the start of an annual exchange,” Neil said with a grin.
Inside the house, Paul was dancing with Amy. His brain was in a whirl, as she seemed to be sending out really confusing messages to him. The kiss was the first, so he was still in shock over that one.
These days, he never thought of Amy as having a boy in there somewhere any more. It had been tough at first, but as time progressed he came to understand that this Amy was ten times the girl of the old one. It had taken him a while, but now he just saw a pretty girl with whom he was a best friend.
As he watched her dance, he experienced feelings he had never felt before. He liked watching her and he enjoyed being with her. He liked the way she moved, as she was so graceful. Whenever she touched him, it gave him a little thrill. Paul was falling in love.
Amy, however, contrary to her mother’s opinion, knew exactly what was happening. She liked Paul a lot, so was learning how to use being a girl to her advantage. She enjoyed the power that she had over boys and Paul in particular, as the response she got from a single smile warmed her heart. She would never abuse that power, but she was not fully aware of how powerful she was.
Paul was not the only one who saw her as a young woman. Jake Carlton, another classmate, was equally smitten, but he knew that she would never consider him a worthy boyfriend.
Jake was small and more academic than sporty. He and Amy shared a common interest. Computers.
They had managed to acquire a 286 PC at school, and were both eager to learn programming. Amy was given an Amiga 500 for her last birthday, but after discovering Paul had no interest in computers at all, apart from the occasional game. She had come across Jake who was really keen to understand everything about them.
He watched as Amy danced with Paul and then with a couple of the other guys. A few moments later, and to his utter amazement, she stood in front of him.
“Come on Jake, wanna dance?” she said.
Jake had never danced with anyone apart from aunts at Christmas, so was embarrassed and was about to decline when she grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the floor.
She danced with him for a couple of songs. Although he was flattered and pleased to be with her, he felt terribly self-conscious.
As the second song ended, she started getting everyone up into a conga, so they snaked their way around the house and out into the yard. Amy led the way with Jake firmly attached to her, holding her hips. The sight of her pert bottom jiggling around in front of him was to keep him awake at night for weeks afterwards.
John’s birthday was more subdued than Amy’s was. He had gone with his father and brother to Twickenham to watch the final of the Six Nations rugby tournament. Then the three of them had gone out to a local Chinese Restaurant for a splendid meal.
Kingham Hill School was the making of John. He was able to pursue the sports he loved to his heart’s content, yet he managed to get down to serious work when he needed to.
He found rugby his ultimate dream. He adored it, so now, at thirteen, he had grown and put on a little weight. He was displaying great promise, as the rugby coach already had his eye on the youngster.
His one regret about Kingham was that his old friends seemed to distance themselves from him. It was a social thing, as he was now a public school boy, and they weren’t!
He persisted for the first two years, so managing to be accepted by most of his old friends. Jacquie was the only one who had always been there for him, so he was very grateful. They were teased about their relationship, so it was widely believed that they were ‘going out’ together.
Just as with Amy and Paul, Jacquie and John enjoyed a unique relationship which drew them closer than most friends, and their gender was largely irrelevant.
Or, it used to be irrelevant!
Jacquie was developing along similar lines as Amy, so was certainly now a pretty girl. John was a sturdy boy, with that leggy appearance of boys who look as if they are about to grow six inches in a couple of months.
He still had almost a pretty look about him, with his fair unruly hair and almost perfect features, which were ruined in a particularly brutal game of rugby. He had experienced a scrunching feeling in his nose and then terrific pain. Someone’s boot had broken his nose!
Several trips to doctors and the hospital cleared the blockage, but left him with a bent nose. He wore it with a kind of pride, feeling that it was similar to a battle honour. For some strange reason, he couldn’t bring himself to tell Amy.
Jacquie hadn’t been included in his birthday celebrations, yet she gave him a card and a small gift anyway.
He had come round to her home on the day after, as it was the Easter holidays.
“Thanks Jax! Cool stopwatch,” he said.
Jacquie smiled. “I couldn’t think of anything else I could get you.”
“It’s brill. Ta!”
She smiled at the complete absence of Americanisms in his voice these days.
“Did you like the card?”
“Yeah, did you make it?”
She nodded, pleased with her efforts.
“It was cool.”
“Did you get anything from America?”
He grinned and pulled a chain out from under his shirt.
Amy had sent him a neck chain in gold with a small heart with Amy on one side and John on the other.
Jacquie experienced a sour feeling. She was sad that Amy had this tie with John, but although she understood, she didn’t understand why she should feel so bad about it.
“That’s nice. What did you give her?”
“Gran’s old watch. Amy’s broke, so Mum said she could have it,” he said.
Jacquie nodded.
“I see,” she said, failing to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
“Oh, Jax, don’t be jealous. You know how it is?”
She smiled a sad little smile.
“Yes, I know. I don’t have to like it, do I?”
“You know that you’re my best mate.”
She nodded again and changed the subject.
Despite knowing the truth, there was nothing of the girl in this John. In fact, the old John had been more a girl, so in a way, Jacquie missed him dreadfully. This John was too much a boy.
As she watched him playing with the stop-watch, she saw he had changed too. He was self-confident and quite a strong person. After he had seen off Kenneth, he had earned a reputation of being well able to take care of himself. He never had to suffer bullying again.
She knew that the other children in the village thought they were an ‘item’. She actually enjoyed it and, if she was honest, she actually wished it was true. However, at their age, being suspected to be an item was almost as good as actually being an item.
“So how is she?”
“Who, Amy?”
“Yup.”
“She’s fine. It was her birthday yesterday, so I dropped in for a chat. She liked my watch.”
Jacquie smiled. John treated his ability to communicate across the world as if it was natural.
“She thinks her parents are going to try to invite us all over in the summer.”
“What, your whole family?”
“Us and you too! That would be great, wouldn’t it?”
Jacquie grinned and nodded.
“I’d love to see her, and Paul,” she said.
“We would go camping in the mountains. That is way cool. I haven’t been real camping since I left.”
“Are there bears in the mountains?”
“Yeah, and mountain lions, rattlers and all kinds of critters,” he said with an evil grin.
“You’re teasing,” she said.
“Not really, but the rattlers stay out of the way most of the time, and the lions are so rare you’d be very lucky to see one, let alone get attacked. There are bears, but they smell us miles off, and keep well away.”
“Do you miss your home?”
John looked wistful for a while staring across the valley at his school on the hill.
“Sometimes. The life I have here is better for me. I feel that this is my home now. I get to go back and talk to Amy whenever I want, and I know my folks are okay.”
“Could you go back?”
John smiled and shook his head.
“Nah. Amy is stacked. I mean she is a seriously good-looking babe. She’s just changed so much, so I could never be that.”
Jacquie put her hands on her hips.
“And I’m not?” she said, in pretend rage
He grinned.
“Hey Jax, you’re a real sexy babe too,” he said, as a trace of the old voice crept in. She smiled and stuck her tongue out at him. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a sexy babe, but the way he said it pleased her more than it should.
She was a pretty girl, her hair more auburn than fair; and her high cheekbones giving her a Nordic look. She and Amy would be a similar height, but Amy was slightly more slender, as Jacquie had inherited her mother’s slightly generous behind.
“Are there any nice girls at your school?”
“A couple, but in the sixth form. Why don’t you change schools?” he asked,
“I’d love to, but we can’t afford it. It’s okay for you rich people, but we have to slum it,” she said, teasing him again.
He was mildly annoyed with what the British called the class system, as it wasn’t really a class system. Like America it was a wealth system, them with and them without.
He had learned in History that the people who kept coming into Britain, like the Romans, the Danes, the Saxons, the Normans and others, all doled out the best bits to their chums. That way, wealth and power was re-distributed quite often. ‘Upper class’ simply referred to people who had inherited their wealth over a few generations.
England was a strange place, as in the States, one’s accent was a giveaway as to where in the country one came from. If one claimed to be upper middle-class or upper class, then one had to strive to speak with an accent devoid of any regional clue. The was called the Queen’s English, and John’s Dad, as an eminent surgeon was certainly high up the social ladder, but fiercely proud of his working class roots and his Scottish birth.
John liked James’ accent, and was equally proud of his stance against the snobbery of the public school accents. Therefore, John had developed a slight Scottish accent just to show solidarity with his father, and to wind up his mum who was a terrible snob. In fact, he’d developed a real talent for accents, and could switch accents as it suited him.
John adored his adopted Dad. He was as nice as his original Dad, so he couldn’t have chosen a better one if he’d had the opportunity.
James always encouraged and was there for him. He believed in discipline and never let his sons get away with anything. As a result the boys learned self discipline from a young age, so John found his time at Kingham was the easier because of it.
John was due to start Army cadets in September, which he was really looking forward to. With an American background he had always regarded the British forces with respect. The British had a reputation of being damn tough fighters and very professional.
He had seen bits of the Falkland’s War on TV, and the Royal Marines with their seventy-pound packs. These were mean SOBs, and their green berets and the red berets of the British paratroopers, were copied by several US Special Forces.
He then thought about his brother, his other, American brother, Jeff, who was in the US Marines. He missed him.
“Life is so unfair,” he said, after a few moments lost in thought.
“Are you okay, or were you visiting Amy?” she asked.
“I’m fine. I was just thinking about stuff.”
“Your accent is so silly,” she said.
“Why?” he asked, slightly hurt.
“Because you aren’t Scottish.”
“I am, my dad is, so I am!”
“John, your dad is in America,” she reminded him.
“You know what I mean,” he said grumpily.
She grinned and he realised she was teasing him. He reached out and grabbed her, intending to give her a dead leg.
She wriggled in his grasp and he looked into her eyes, her arms were around her neck.
Before he could do or say anything, she kissed him.
He was stunned and froze.
“Why did you do that?”
“Because I wanted to,” she told him.
“Yeah, but why?”
“Why not?”
John realised he was not going to get a proper answer.
“Didn’t you like it?” she asked.
He shrugged. Actually he had, but wasn’t sure if he should have done.
“It was all right, I suppose.”
“Or do you prefer boys?” she asked.
In answer, he leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn’t a very good kiss, but neither of them had any experience so it hardly mattered. It was enough, and sexual awakening had arrived in the picturesque village of Churchill.
They had been inseparable before, and now they became almost Siamese twins. They were also very self-conscious about it, and thought they were being subtle.
They weren’t as subtle as they thought, and within a few days Jacquie’s mother found them kissing in Jacquie’s bedroom. They were unaware that she had seen them, as she had smiled and quietly crept away.
Whenever they were alone, they’d hold hands and experience that first excitement of touch that all young lovers go through. There was nothing said between them, but John found that things just seemed to progress naturally, but somehow he felt that it was just expected almost.
As much as Jacquie felt excited about what was happening, she also had a niggling doubt. It was as if by becoming a little intimate with John, they were in danger of losing something intangible.
However, apart from the occasional kiss and holding hands, they didn’t progress beyond that, as they both seemed more than happy for things to remain the same. They also were reluctant to be seen doing either.
Chapter 7
James frowned when he looked at his post. There was a letter addressed to him from the USA - Glendale, California, to be precise. He was quite used to letters with that postmark for John, but not for him. He’d almost set it aside for his son, but then noticed it read James and not John and wasn’t written in Amy’s neat, rounded handwriting.
He opened it and took out the single airmail sheet. With his half-moon spectacles on, he started to read, and then a small smile came to his lips. He glanced at John who was guzzling his breakfast as if he wasn’t getting fed again for several weeks. The lad had grown again in the last few weeks, he was sure.
Miles had already caught the bus to his school, but John cycled as it was so close. As the boys seemed to get on so much better these days, Miles was given the choice to go to the Hill as well, but he declined as he was happy where he was.
“John, hurry up, dear, you’re running late,” Kathleen said.
The lad picked up his toast and folded it over. Then he grabbed his bag and coat.
“Bye Dad, Mum. See you later,” he said, rushing out, stuffing his toast into his mouth. He stopped briefly for the statutory kiss from his mother.
They saw him whiz past the window on his bike, peddling like mad.
“What I’d give to have his energy,” James said.
“Oh, you aren’t that bad,” Kathleen said, giving him a kiss. She saw the letter and frowned.
“Who’s that from?” she asked.
“This is an invitation by Neil Standen for us, the Brightwells, to go an’ stay with them for three weeks in the summer. Also, they want to know if we fancy going on a week’s camping trip into the Sierra Nevada mountains.”
“Who the hell is Neil Standen?” she asked.
“You would know him better as Amy’s father.”
“Amy, as in John’s pen friend?”
“Aye, that’s it. It seems that this is planned in secret, as they want to know if young Jacquie is able to come too. Her pen-pal is a neighbour of the Standens, so they are trying to get them all together this summer.”
“What a super idea. I’ve never been to California,” she said.
“I went to a conference in San Francisco once. Never saw much outside the hotel really.”
“What’s Becks up to this summer?” she asked.
“God knows, we’ll have to see. But it would be fun, I think. Certainly different.”
“Miles has arranged to go camping with his friends in Wales. Is he included?”
“It doesn’t mention him. We should ask.”
“He was telling me how much he was looking forward to it; his first holiday away with his friends with no parents,” she said.
“I’m sure we could ask him and see what he wants to do.”
“I do hope the kids get on okay. I’ve heard of horrific examples of when penpals meet and really detest each other.”
“They’ve been writing for what, three years now?” he asked.
“A little longer.”
“Then I think they should be all right. The only problem may be keeping them apart,” he said with a smile.
“Why?” she asked, and then saw his smile.
“Oh! I see. Well they are growing up fast.”
“The last photo of Amy shows her as a very attractive young lady. You never know this might be the start of something big,” he said.
“Don’t be silly, John is infatuated with Jacquie.”
“You reckon?” he asked.
“Yes, they are always together.”
“I disagree. They are best friends, but I accept she is infatuated with him, but John doesn’t see her as a girl, not really.”
“Then you are on a different planet. I happen to know that they are a lot closer than you think,” she said with a smile.
“How come?”
“Her mother saw them kissing the other day.”
“What, wee John and Jacquie? Never!”
“Fact!”
“Well, I’ll be blowed.”
“Not by me, you won’t. Beside, there isn’t time, as you’re late enough as it is.”
James chuckled and kissed his wife.
“So, do we go to the States in the summer?” he asked.
“Why not? It’ll be fun.”
“You speak to Miles and Becky. I’ll see you later,” he said, kissing his wife.
James collected his case and left for work.
Amy, Melanie and Kerry-Anne were in the Standen’s dining room making their costumes for the Local Parade. Their school class had a float. The theme was of the first pilgrim settlers, who risked everything to come to a new land and enjoy the freedom to worship without fear of persecution.
Using old paintings and pictures, they had designed smock style dresses with big wide white collars, and white bob caps. The boys had the dark suits, breeches and the big black hats. Helen had helped and they were putting the finishing touches to their dresses.
Paul was making whoop-whoop noises and frightening the little kids from up the street. He was one of three Native Americans on the float. He was painted with a tanning cream, and had war paint smeared all over his face and torso. His dark hair had a band around it and he had some turkey feathers stuck into the band.
Neil came in, as he had got off work early so he could see the parade.
He drew Helen aside.
“James Brightwell replied this morning,” he said.
“And?”
“They’d love to come, and they’ve spoken to Jacquie’s mother. It’s as we thought, she can’t make it. So they’ll be bringing her too. It seems the older brother and sister are doing other things, so it’ll just be the pair of kids with James and Kathleen.”
“Oh that’s great, Honey. Do we tell Amy, or not?”
“Not yet, let it be a surprise.”
Helen grinned and went to help the young people with their costumes.
There were twelve floats in the parade and the weather was glorious. Amy sat in her seat on the back of the decorated truck and smiled and waved as the procession made its way slowly from the park to the church.
Helen and Neil walked alongside. Neil had his video camera trained on his daughter for most of the time. The boys were home for Easter and were in the crowd as well.
It had been Kyle who had said it all, as he watched his little sister getting ready.
“Amy isn’t a little girl anymore,” he’d said.
She wasn’t.
She was a very pretty teenager, and all the brothers could see that they were going to have to keep the boys away with large clubs.
All that is, except Paul.
He and Amy were very close, so already all their class mates were convinced that they were ‘going out’ with each other. It suited Amy, as she liked Paul, and the lad was party to her great deception. Poor Paul, however, was confused.
His friend had been gone for nearly four years, and he missed the original Amy and her wicked little ways. The girl he had come to know in the last few years was so very different. Yet because she retained the physical element of Amy, he had felt obliged to be her guide and friend.
This friendship had developed, but as the girl transformed from a skinny little thing into a soft and very feminine teenager, Paul found their friendship itself changing accordingly.
They would hold hands and steal the occasional kiss whenever they felt safe. This had not gone un-noticed by most of their relatives and friends, which only confirmed their apparent attachment.
However, Amy was not as sold on the idea as their outward show of affection would appear. She liked Paul, but as a friend and confidant. She was so enjoying being a girl, but she did not really want to be tied to one boy. However, as Paul was special and knew so much about her, she kept their special relationship for as long as she felt he needed her and it suited her.
As she sat on the float, waving at the people who lined the route, she wondered how John was getting on. She let her mind float across the void to touch his, just as he was eating breakfast.
<Hi!>
<Amy! How are you?>
<Fine. We’re having the parade, and I’m on a float.>
<I bet you look great!>
She smiled and watched Paul as he chased a couple of little kids with his tomahawk. She laughed.
<What’s so funny?>
<It’s Paul, he’s dressed like an Indian and he just chased a couple of little kids.>
<How is he? I’ve missed him.>
<He’s great. Everyone thinks we’re dating!>
<Are you?>
<Not really. We are just good friends. How’s Jacquie?>
<She’s fine. We have the same problem,> John admitted.
The pair opened each other’s minds up to the other, so they saw the first kisses and feelings of fondness and friendship.
<Gross, you kissed Paul!>
Amy laughed. <He was a good kisser!>
<I’m better!>
Amy was silent.
<Amy?>
<I’m here.>
<You went quiet.>
<John, are you coming over?>
<I think Dad got a letter from your Dad. I mean, Dad this end got a letter from America.>
Amy smiled.
<I know. They think they’re being so secretive. So you are coming?>
<Yeah, and Jacquie is coming too.>
<Brilliant! When?>
<In the summer. I guess we’ll all go camping together.>
<Are Miles and Becky coming?>
<No, they’re both doing other stuff. So it’s just us>
Amy felt a little sad that she wouldn’t see Miles and her sister, but felt that it was a start.
<That will be so cool!> she said, excitement welling up inside of her.
John shared the feeling. He frowned. He thought that he wanted to go to see his original family and Paul again. He did, however, he realised that he mainly wanted to meet Amy for the first time.
Amy smiled, as he was totally transparent.
<I want to see you too. This is nice, but I want to see you face to face and touch you. Besides, I want to check out what you said,> she told him.
<Check out what?>
<Whether you’re a better kisser,> she said.
<AMY?>
But Amy wasn’t there any more.
The parade was a great success. Helen was overwhelmed by the amount of people who came up to her and remarked about how lovely and grown-up Amy looked. Helen knew that she had, but was rueful as she realised that Amy had done this by herself with very little help from her mother.
Neil took about two hours worth of video footage, and the family prepared themselves to be bored stiff with yet another ‘I love Amy show’.
The days that followed seemed to be an anticlimax for Amy, who was really looking forward to the July holiday. She and John had agreed not to tell Paul and Jacquie about the holiday, that way it would at least be a surprise for someone.
School dragged on for another few weeks, and the only thing that kept Amy going was her frequent ‘chats’ with John.
Paul found her irritating, to the point that they had a real row.
She had been in her room, lying on her bed with a blissful smile on her face. Paul had come over to see if she wanted to go to the ice rink. Amy adored skating and was very good at it. Paul liked being with her, but would have preferred ice hockey, but he noticed the envious stares of the older boys when he partnered her on the ice.
She was in communication with John, so she blanked Paul completely.
When she finally realised he existed, she dismissed his suggestion to go skating with hardly a second thought.
She then spent twenty minutes telling him what John had been doing.
Paul’s temper broke.
“For crying out loud, Amy, I don’t give a shit what he’s been doing! I’m here and you’re here, and he’s thousands of miles away. I was your friend, and yet you treat me as if I don’t exist sometimes. It’s ‘John this’ and ‘John that’, what about ‘Paul this’ or ‘Paul that’?”
Amy stared at her friend, her mouth open, as he stood in front of her, his anger and frustration so obvious from his body language and expression. She hadn’t been aware of his feelings at all, so was completely mortified at how self-centred she’d been. The tears silently fell from her eyes.
Paul’s anger died as soon as the tears started to well up in her beautiful eyes. They overflowed and cascaded unchecked down each cheek. Paul realised that she was completely oblivious to the depth of feeling he had for her, so he instantly felt so guilty that he had never actually told her how he felt.
She cried silently, while Paul felt awful.
“Oh shit. I’m sorry Amy. I didn’t mean it like that,” he said.
“Yes, you did. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“How you felt. I didn’t know.”
“Huh? Everyone else in town knows. My folks know, your folks too, I reckon.”
She shook her head, as he watched, mesmerised, as her earrings refracted the light and sparkled.
“Amy, I guess I like you a lot,” he stammered.
“I know that. You’re my best friend.”
“No. Not that kind of like. Like a boyfriend-girlfriend like.”
She smiled, even though the tears were still there.
“There are a lot of likes there,” she said.
“Look, I’m not good at saying what I feel, as I’m not sure what I feel. It’s just I’ve seen you grow up and become someone so different, I guess it’s kinda hard to remember what the old Amy was like. You aren’t the same. You’re just, I don’t know, so much a girl!” he said, emphasising the word ‘girl’, so she smiled.
“That’s the nicest thing anyone could ever say to me,” she said, leaning over and kissing his cheek.
She agreed to go skating and never mentioned John again that day. They went to the ice cream parlour by the rink and had a sundae together. Paul noticed the glances the other boys gave Amy, so he felt pleased and proud that she was with him.
School days started to drag, as Amy was so looking forward to the Brightwells’ visit. It was more than that, as she also was really looking forward to seeing Jacquie again. She was the one person she could talk to about what had happened over the years since the change became permanent. She wanted to share how wonderful it was to be a girl.
Her grades were way above average and she was considered a model student. She spent as much time as she could in communication with John, so as a result often seemed distracted. John relied on her a lot more than she did on him for school work. It could be true to say that he put a lot more effort into his sport and let Amy help him through his academic work.
Paul was only too well aware of Amy’s rather vague state, but was completely unprepared for the truck.
They had caught the school bus as usual, and were on their way home. Paul and Amy were sitting together, as always, and Paul knew that Amy was updating John on the events and gossip of the day.
They arrived at their stop. Amy was miles away as she alighted from the bus and simply stepped in front of a moving truck.
There was a squeal of brakes. Fortunately, the truck wasn’t travelling fast as it overtook the yellow school bus, but it still struck the girl. The driver was reading a map at the time; otherwise, he would have not overtaken the bus at all.
Amy was flung forward and her head hit the tarmac with a sickening crunch.
Paul felt his life was over as he ran to her side. A thin trickle of blood seeped from her head, as she lay there unmoving. Someone screamed.
Eventually the Police and paramedics arrived. Paul almost had to be prised from her side as she was treated and strapped to a board before being rushed to the hospital. Paul ran to her home and told her mother. Helen felt sick as she called Neil at work. He told her to go to the hospital and he would meet her there.
Paul was beside himself and was almost in tears, so Helen asked him to come too. The boys were all out, so she needed someone to help her get through this. Paul told his mother where he was going and sat in silence as Helen drove to the hospital.
Amy was in ER when they arrived. A few minutes later Neil arrived and immediately hugged Helen. It was too much for her and she broke down into tears. Paul was really upset and just sat looking at the swing doors.
It was the not knowing, it was crippling!
John felt the pain as if it had happened to him. It was midnight and he was in bed at home. He loved this time, as he was able to find out what had been happening in America and update Amy as to what had happened in Britain. He no longer thought of America as home, and although he still adored his old parents, his new ones were just as nice, and his new Dad was brilliant.
They had been in mid conversation when everything went black.
<AMY!> he mentally screamed.
He sat up in bed, and was clearly desperately upset.
There was no response to his call.
<AMY, please talk to me!>
Nothing.
His heart rate increased and he felt panicky. He knew something dreadful had happened, but was completely powerless to do anything about it.
“What’s the matter?” Miles asked from the other bed.
“Something has happened to Amy!” he said.
“What?”
“It’s Amy, something has happened to her. She’s hurt!”
“You’re bonkers, go back to sleep,” Miles said, rolling over.
John couldn’t go to sleep. He was trapped by his own predicament. He was thousands of miles away and totally helpless. It was the worst night of his life!
The Other Side Of Dreams Chapters 8 - 9
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By Tanya Allan
Take two young people: - John in England and Amy in California. Take a common factor: - both recognised that they had been born into the wrong gender. As they grow up, they realise that their bodies are in imminent danger of changing into something neither wants.
Result: - Two very unhappy souls.
Their dreams are the only place they can find solace. Then they start to dream of each other, and to get a little glimpse of the other’s life. Over time they learn how to crossover at will and not just when asleep. They start to leave childhood behind as puberty beckons. The lines become blurred, who is where?
Solution: - One of them takes the bold step and suggests they try to live each other’s lives. Will it work?
Find out……………………….
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!
Originally written in 2006 - never posted, Reworked & Revised in 2009.
The Legal Stuff:The Other Side Of Dreams ©2006, 2009 Tanya Allan
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited.
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
Chapter 8
It was a terrible night for the Standens too.
Sue arrived at the hospital at around eight o’clock to find that Amy was still unconscious, so she took Paul home. He cried and pleaded to be allowed to stay, but there was nothing to stay for. They were all just waiting for some news. A sombre Doctor Phillips told the family that Amy was still unconscious, but they were doing all they could. She had a serious head injury, but no one was able to predict which way it would go!
Paul refused any supper and ran up to his bedroom. Sue was so worried about him. She knew he was fond of Amy, as was everyone in the neighbourhood, but had no idea as to the depth of feeling her son had for the girl.
Paul lay on his bed and cried. He cried real tears for his friend. He also cried for himself, for without her, he felt empty and he couldn’t imagine life without her.
He stared at the ceiling, but couldn’t get the picture of her lying on the road out of his mind’s eye. The blood and her deathly pale face seemed to emphasise the horror of the situation.
His phone rang. He let it ring, but whoever it was wasn’t going away.
He answered it.
“Go away!” he said.
“Paul, it’s me!” said an unfamiliar voice with a strange English accent.
He frowned. Then he realised who it was.
“John?”
“Yeah. Look, I can’t stay long, it’s three in the morning here, and my folks will kill me if they find me ringing the States. I gotta know, how’s Amy?”
“Shit, you know?”
“Yeah, we were talking when she stopped. What happened?”
“She got hit by a truck, man!”
“How is she?”
“I dunno. Last I heard she was still unconscious with a serious head injury!”
Paul’s tears weren’t far away, yet he heard the other boy sob on the other end of the phone.
“It’s all my fault, man, I was talking to her at the moment it hit her, so she was distracted!”
“No, it’s my fault. I should have been keeping an eye on her,” said Paul.
There was silence.
“I can’t bear it if anything happens to her,” said John.
“Me neither. I love her, man.”
“So do I!”
“She’s the best!”
“Yeah, she doesn’t deserve this.”
“She’s a better girl than you ever were!” Paul said.
“Ain’t that the truth? Can you make sure you let me know,” John’s voice broke, “like either way?”
“How?”
“Shit, just call this number, and say she’s okay or not!” John said, frustrated.
“Okay, what is it?”
“What is what?”
“Duh, the number?”
John gave him the telephone number.
“Hey, how are you? This is the first chance I’ve had to talk to you. How come you haven’t called me before?”
“I dunno. I was too busy learning how to be me, I guess.”
“What’s it like?”
“Brilliant, up to a few hours ago. Hey look, I gotta go! Please call me when you know anything?” John said.
“Sure.”
There was a click and John was gone.
Paul was alone again, so he lay on his bed and wept.
Helen and Neil were holding each other as if their lives depended on it. Neil had called the boys, and actually spoke to two of them. Jeff was away with the Marines and Martin was at college and non-contactable.
Helen was crying soundlessly, but found her tears had dried up. The anguish in her soul was so great; she felt she would never get over it.
With every person attired as a medic who came through the door, they became alert, but when they moved off without meeting their gaze, the depression hit home a little harder.
Neil had no words of comfort for his wife. His own heart was breaking, plus he needed every ounce of strength to keep himself controlled.
Ten o’clock came and went. Still no word came from the doctors.
Eleven o’clock loomed and the doors opened. A very weary looking Doctor Phillips walked towards them. They searched his face for hope, or the unthinkable. They read nothing, except exhaustion and fatigue.
He sat next to them and smiled briefly.
“There’s no way I can say anything other than as it is, I’m afraid,” he said wearily.
“Amy is still unconscious. We’ve x-rayed her to find that she suffered a fracture to her skull, so a piece of bone threatened both her brain and her main artery. We’ve operated and managed to remove it, so she is comfortable and out of immediate danger. As far as I can make out, although this piece of bone pressed on the brain, through the membrane, there was no perforation into the brain, but she cracked her head real hard. I’d be lying if I told you that I expect a full recovery, as these things are very uncertain. I do feel she has a better than even chance to come out of this, but you have to be prepared for some brain damage.”
Helen held her head in her hands and cried. Neil shook his head.
“Have you any idea when she could come out of it?” he asked.
“There’s no way of telling. The human body has natural reactions to such as the trauma Amy has experienced. It could be hours, or then again it could be months. I have no way of predicting how long she’ll be in a coma.
“If necessary, there are tests we can do. Look, it’s early, so just let her rest, as every day she hangs in there, the chance for recovery is greater.”
“Yeah, but what about brain stem death?”
“Neil, we’re not in that area at this time. We are getting response from her, but she’s in a deep coma, so you have to be prepared to wait for as long as it takes. I’m sorry I can’t be more precise, but while she breathes, there’s hope.”
“Is she on a ventilator?”
“For the moment, yes. I will review it tomorrow and see if she can breathe by herself.
“If you want, go and sit by her bed. Talk to her, it could be enough to bring her round. But it’s late and you’re both in shock, so I’d urge you to get some rest tonight. Tomorrow will be another long day, so you’ll need as much strength as you can get.”
He left them, eager to get to his own bed, so they went to Amy’s bedside.
She had a large white bandage around her head and there were tubes and monitor cables attached to her arms and torso. Catheter tubes disappeared under the blanket, but the reassuring bleeps of the heart monitor reminded them of the fragility of life.
“She looks so peaceful,” Helen said, taking her daughter’s hand and clasping it as tight as she dared.
“Her hand is so cold!” she remarked.
They sat, watching their daughter fight for her life.
John had cried himself to a very fitful sleep.
He awoke when he heard his name being called. He was very tired and slightly confused.
“What?” he mumbled, and then opened his eyes to discover that it was still dark.
He glanced at the clock. The red digits glowed menacingly at him: 04:36.
He raised himself onto his elbows and glanced at his brother. Miles was snoring away, oblivious of his brother’s misery.
John frowned, but it dawned on him that he must have been dreaming. He lay down again, closing his eyes.
<John!>
He opened his eyes. That was no dream.
<Amy?>
<I’m lost, can you help?>
<Shit, Amy, you’re still here!> The relief he felt was almost tangible.
<Where am I?>
<What do you mean?>
<I can’t wake up. I’m confused John, why can’t I wake up?>
<You were in an accident. I called Paul and he told me you got hit by a truck. You got taken to hospital, don’t you remember?>
<I remember getting off the bus. You were telling me about something you did at school, then nothing. It’s as if I can’t find my body. I’m afraid John, how do I get back?>
<I don’t know. You hit your head. Your body is in the hospital, can’t you find your way back there?>
<It’s all dark, John. I can only find you.>
<Then I have to take you back. Somehow, you have to stay with me, and I’ll take you back to your body.>
<How? You’re in England and I’m in the States.>
<There has to be a way. But you have to stay with me until I can find out how!>
He felt a curious feeling as she literally moved in with him. It was very weird, but it was as if, finally, they were together as they should be.
<This is weird!> she said.
<Yeah, but don’t you go away until we have found out a way to get you back where you belong!>
<I won’t.>
<Do you need to sleep?> he asked.
<I’m very tired.>
<Yeah, me too. Look, I have to be up in a couple of hours. I have school this morning, so just hang in there, everything will be fine.>
<Okay, thanks John,> she said, and he could feel her trust and warmth. John fell asleep with a curious smile on his face.
Kathleen found John very deeply asleep when she went in to wake the boys up for school. Miles was up and dressed, but John was still fast asleep when she popped her head round the door to check on them.
Even when she woke him up, he looked sleepy, with great dark circles under his eyes.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“I didn’t sleep. I had a terrible dream. I dreamed that Amy got hit by a truck and is unconscious in hospital,” he said.
Amy, inside his head was feeling very emotional at seeing her mother for the first time in a few years. Their last cross over had been a long time ago, so she had become so wrapped up in her new life that she had not really missed her old one.
Now she felt like crying, so John had to struggle hard to keep control.
Kathleen, mistaking her son’s contorted expression for something it wasn’t, gave him a hug.
It made them both feel better, so he managed to get dressed.
<Amy, you have to try not to get too emotional. I need to get through today, okay?>
<I’ll try, but I haven’t seen her for so long!>
<I know, I guess I’d be the same if things were reversed. I don’t know how I’m gonna get us back to America. We aren’t due to fly out for six weeks yet, and I can’t face the idea of you lying unconscious all that time. Mom and Dad will be beside themselves!>
<Have you got any money?>
<Yeah, a couple of hundred in the bank, why?>
<You could always buy a ticket and just go.>
John thought for a while.
<That wouldn’t work. I’m thirteen, they don’t let unaccompanied minors just wander onto flights. You have to be at least sixteen before they let you onto a plane without questions.>
<Miles is sixteen and you’re both the same size. You even look similar. Why don’t you take his passport and then bluff the rest?>
John went down to breakfast, oblivious to the fact that his father said good morning to him.
Kathleen explained about the dream, so James restrained from roasting his son for bad manners.
“Had a bad dream, then, wee man?” he asked.
“Huh? Sorry?”
“Yer Mum tells me you had a bad dream. What was it about?”
“Um, it was so real, Dad. I dreamed that Amy was hit by a truck and is still in hospital. It was awful. Do you think we could call them and see if she is all right?” he asked, hopefully.
James looked at his watch.
“It’s gone midnight in California. I don’t think they’d appreciate a call at this time.”
“Dad, please?”
“Well, you can call, but if they get angry, you explain, okay?”
John grinned and nodded. He raced to the phone, and dialled Amy’s home number.
It rang and rang, and finally was answered by a male voice.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is Amy hurt?”
“Who is this?”
“It’s John from England. I dreamed she was in an accident.”
“No shit? Hello John, I’m Steve, Amy’s brother. Mom and Dad are at the hospital right now, and your dream was right. Man! Is this spooky? Amy was hit by a truck after getting off the school bus yesterday. She’s still unconscious, and it looks real bad at the moment. The truck driver that overtook the school bus was arrested for reckless driving.”
“Is there anything I can do?” John asked, already knowing the answer.
“Pray, as much as you can. The doctors don’t know whether she will come round, or even if she will ever be the same again.”
John thanked Steve and put the phone down. It all came too much for the lad and the tears started.
Kathleen and James looked at each other. Kathleen hugged her son, but found he was inconsolable.
“I have to go to her, Mum. I can bring her back, I know I can!”
“There’s nowt ye can do Johnnie. Leave it up te they doctors. I should know,” his surgeon father said.
“You don’t understand, Dad. This is not about doctors and surgeons, this is about getting her back!”
James raised his eyebrows. This outburst was uncharacteristic of his son, and he frowned.
“Enough. Now, I know yer upset, but life goes on. Off te school wi’ ye, and none of this fiffle faffle!”
It was an awful day for John. It was made better by the fact he had Amy along inside his head. He kept talking to her all day, so he was repeatedly admonished for not paying attention.
<They don’t understand!> he said.
<Well, you can hardly tell them, can you?>
<What can we do? They’ll turn the life support off and then you’ll be stuck!>
<I’d be with you!> she said, and he thought he heard a giggle.
Jacquie was waiting for him at the gate when he got home in the afternoon.
“Your Mum told me about Amy. I’m so sorry,” she said.
<It’s Jacquie!> shrieked Amy. John winced
<Don’t shout! Duh, I know, I’m not blind!>
<Say hi to Amy from me!>
<I can’t, she’ll know.>
<So? What can she do about it? Go on, tell her hi.>
“Um, er, Jacquie, er. Amy says, ‘Hi’.”
Jacquie looked at him with a strange expression on her face.
“You what?”
“Um, well, Amy’s here, and says, hi,” he said, embarrassed.
“Here?” she asked, looking all around.
“Here!” he said, pointing to his head.
“In there? How?”
He shrugged.
“I dunno. After it happened it all went quiet, and then in the night she came and found me. She can’t get back into her body, she’s lost.”
Jacquie looked deeply into John’s eyes, as if she could see Amy if she looked hard enough.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Just checking. I can’t see anything.”
“There’s nothing to see, you daft bint!”
Jacquie grinned and came up close to John.
“Ask her if it was worth it?”
“Was what worth it?”
“You know, the swap!”
“Oh.”
<Tell her — yes, a hundred times, yes!>
“Um, she says, yes, a hundred times.”
Jacquie grinned and clapped her hands together.
“Look, Jax, don’t look to bloody happy, Amy is in a coma, so keep the happy stuff down, okay?”
“Sorry. Hey, I wish we could talk!” Jacquie said into John’s ear.
“Jax, cut that out. She hears what I hear, so just act normal, okay?”
“Okay. But, there’s so much to talk about.”
John looked up at his house.
“You’d better come in - we’ll go into my room. Miles won’t be back for an hour yet.”
The pair went into John’s house. Kathleen was in the kitchen, so she shouted out as they went to go up stairs.
“John, love, are you all right?”
John stopped and grimaced. He turned and went back down and into the kitchen.
“I’m okay, Mum, but I can’t seem to concentrate.”
“Mrs Sheffield called from school and asked me whether everything was all right. She said you seemed distracted and wondered whether we were having any problems.”
“Mum, is there any way I could get over to Glendale, I’ve enough in my bank account?”
Kathleen was surprised.
“When, now?”
“As soon as possible. I just feel I could help somehow,” he said, knowing it sounded pretty pathetic.
“Johnnie, don’t be silly. What could you do that the doctors aren’t doing already?”
John stared at his mother.
“I could get her back,” he said.
Kathleen started to laugh and then stopped abruptly. Her son’s face was deadly serious, and his eyes reflected a strange light.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, she’s lost, and I think I could get her to come back to her body.”
“The dream?” she asked.
John nodded.
“Look Mum, I can’t explain it, but I really think I can help. If I don’t go she could be lost forever!”
Jacquie watched the interaction with fascinated interest.
Kathleen put an arm round her son’s shoulders.
“I know you are upset, but I’m sure they really are doing everything!”
He shrugged her arm off.
“They aren’t! They’re just keeping her body alive. They don’t care about her spirit!” he said, turning and running upstairs. Jacquie felt embarrassed and smiled weakly.
“Go and make sure he’s all right, dear. He thinks the world of that girl, so this is all very difficult.”
Jacquie followed John and knocked on his door.
“John?”
“Come in, Jax.”
She went in, to see John sitting on his bed.
“She doesn’t understand. None of them will understand. Why can’t they see?”
“Unless you tell them the truth, they never will.”
“Oh yeah, like they’d believe me,” the boy said bitterly.
Jacquie sat down next to him.
“Can I talk to Amy?”
He looked at her.
“I don’t see why not. I’ll let her take over for a while. The next voice you hear will be her.”
John closed his eyes for a second. A slight tremor shivered through him, and then the eyes opened again. His whole demeanour changed and a smile lit up his face.
“Jacquie!” he said, the voice feminine and with a distinct American accent.
“Amy or John?” Jax said, frowning.
“Oh, I’m Amy now. John is long gone!”
The two hugged each other, both speaking at once.
After an hour of constant chatter about clothes, friends, music, boys and make up, John shuddered a little and shook his head. Jacquie felt a little put out.
“Okay Jax. It’s me again. Jeeps, what the heck do you two find to talk about?”
A car pulled up on the drive, so Jacquie ran over to the window. She looked out.
“It’s your Dad,” she said.
“Huh, he’ll just get all snotty about his professional colleagues in America. How can I get them to understand, Jax?”
Jacquie shrugged.
“I don’t think you can,” she said.
“It is so frustrating!”
Jacquie sat down on the bed and took his hand.
“I understand, John.”
He smiled at her.
“I know you do, Jax. I’d go spare if it wasn’t for you. Hell, we’d both go spare if it wasn’t for you!”
They sat in silence for a while. Jacquie sensed that John and Amy were sharing each other’s thoughts.
“John?”
“What?”
“What’s it like?”
He frowned.
“Well, you know when you talk to yourself?”
“Yes.”
“It’s like that, but the answers don’t come from you. It sounds weird, but we seem to be able to share thoughts and stuff instantaneously.”
Jacquie had a strange expression on her face.
“What?” he asked.
“You could always let her come and be with me for a while,” she suggested.
“Thanks Jax. That a cool offer, but it doesn’t work like that. I guess we can only fit in the bodies we were given, and some freak of nature allowed us to swap. I don’t think we could change or go anywhere else. I tried, but it just doesn’t work.”
“John?” his father shouted.
“Shit! I suppose I’d better go.”
John got up and went out onto the landing.
“What?” he shouted down to his father.
“Come down son, I want to talk to ye,” his father said, not unkindly.
He went down, so Jacquie followed.
James saw the girl and smiled.
“Hullo Jacquie, how are you?”
“Fine thanks, Mr Brightwell. John is a bit down, though.”
“Aye, I’m aware of that. Look, I called the hospital when I was at work,” James told his son.
John stared at his father.
“Which, in America?”
“Aye. I thought I’d speak to the man in charge. I am a neurosurgeon, after all, so it seemed appropriate.”
“Thanks Dad. What did they say?”
“Well, they found it remarkable that you dreamed the whole thing. Then they said almost exactly what you told us,” he said.
John looked at his father, sensing there was something he wasn’t telling him.
“And?” he asked.
“Well, their Dr Phillips is of the opinion that is the lass gets sufficient stimuli, there’s a better chance that she will pull through.”
“Stimuli?”
“Aye. You see, the subconscious is a funny thing. We never know exactly what the victim actually does hear and sense around them. Now, everyday sounds, like parents and the TV just aren’t often enough. What is needed sometimes is a special stimuli, enough to shock or surprise the person back to consciousness. They have to want to wake up, and well, that’s what I want to talk to you about.”
“Me?”
“Look, you are completely distracted about this, and your mother tells me that you seem to want to spend all your savings to fly out and be with her.”
John looked at his feet.
“I just think I can help. The dream was so real and, Dad, I know this sound mad, but I know I can get her back!”
James looked at his son.
“Well, here’s what I intend to do. I called Neil Standen and offered my services, as a friend of the family and one of the top specialists in the field in the UK. I’m prepared to fly out and see if my professional skills can’t be of some help. I will take you, son, on the understanding that you bring your work from school, and do your studies every day. Depending on what happens, Mum and the others will fly out later.”
“Others?” John asked, his (and Amy’s) mind was in a whirl.
“Aye. It was supposed to be a surprise, but we were going to fly out with young Jacquie for a camping trip with the Standens. I suppose that may well be academic now, but we will just have to see.”
“When?” John asked, hardly daring to breathe.
James smiled and looked at his wife.
“Tomorrow. We're getting an early flight to L.A. from Heathrow.”
John could not believe it. It never occurred to him that his father was one of the foremost surgeons in his field, or that his field was in the area which now so affected Amy.
He turned and raced upstairs.
“Come help me pack, Jax!”
Chapter 9
Neil was overwhelmed on putting down the phone in Dr Phillips’ office.
“Well?” Helen asked, surprised to see he husband crying.
“It’s amazing, but James Brightwell is willing to drop everything and fly out here!” he said, not fully understanding the enormity of what had just been offered.
“What?” his wife asked.
The doctor smiled sympathetically and answered her.
“James Brightwell is the top neurosurgeon in Britain, if not the world today. I attended one of his lectures in Baltimore a few years ago. His procedures with deep coma cases are revolutionary, so if anyone can make progress with Amy, he can. He’s flying out here just because his son wanted to help. Can you believe that?” Dr Phillips told her.
Helen smiled and then burst into tears. Everyone was being so kind, it was getting to her. She and Neil simply held each other and cried.
They returned to Amy’s bedside and their vigil. There had been no change in her condition. No deterioration was a good thing, but no improvement was frustrating.
“It’s like the lights are on, but no one is at home!” Neil said, as he stroked her pale brow.
“She is just so beautiful, it seems so unfair,” Helen said, clasping the girl’s hand tightly.
They maintained their vigil all day. Steve came in after school and relieved them for a couple of hours. They went and had a meal in the nearby diner, but then returned to her side after talking to Martin and Jeff on the telephone.
At ten in the evening, they reluctantly decided to go get a night’s sleep. The nurses promised to call if there was any change.
Neither could get to sleep easily, so they held each other, wrapped up in their joint misery and anguish for their little girl. Eventually, each dropped off into a fitful sleep, waking a few short hours later, feeling just as tired, with the pain just as sharp!
Meanwhile, James and a bemused John Brightwell were in the first class cabin of a British Airways flight due to land at L.A. International in a few hours time.
Amy and John were excited at the prospect of reuniting Amy with her body. John was finding it very tough to maintain a worried and miserable expression. The movies helped, even if Amy wanted to see the chick-flick, Sleepless in Seattle, while he wanted to see Die Hard on the other channel.
He had control of the fingers, so he won. Then he felt sorry for her, so changed it to her choice.
As it happened, there was sufficient time to see both, but Amy realised just how nice John could be.
They landed and the plane taxied to stand. Forty minutes later, he followed his father through Customs and into the arrival hall.
He immediately saw his original father, Neil, waiting in the crowd with a card saying BRIGHTWELLS. He was wearing an old sweatshirt and blue slacks. He looked tired and very drawn. There was some grey at his temples that John thought was new.
“Dad, over there!” he said, pointing.
They fought through the crowd and Neil sized up the trim Scotsman. James was in his usual impeccable Saville Row suit, while John was in grey trousers, a dark blazer and his Dad had made him wear a tie. All because they were in first class, and ‘standards should be maintained!’
“Hullo, ye must be Neil? I’m James Brightwell,” James said, holding out his hand.
Much to James’ embarrassment, Neil simply embraced him in a bear-hug and was almost in tears.
“You have no way of knowing what this means to us!” Neil said, but then noticed John, who was almost crying too. He had never seen his Dad, either Dad, cry, so it affected him deeply.
“Are you John?”
John nodded. He so wanted to hug his old Dad, but knew he couldn’t.
“You dreamed of our Amy?”
He nodded again, as the tears were so close now.
The man pre-empted him, enveloping him in a hug as well. The floodgates opened, as John wept for Amy and everyone else.
It was some time before they could compose themselves. Neil led them out to the parking lot and to his Ford station wagon. He placed their bags in the rear and they all got in.
“Do you guys want to go to our home to freshen up first, or would you rather drop in at the hospital?”
“Hospital!” said John.
Both men looked at him. Both smiled.
“Aye, the laddie’s right, let’s go see the wee lass. We were well looked after all the way, so the hospital is fine,” James said.
The journey was uneventful. James had been to L.A. before, and for John, he was literally coming home!
His chatter with Amy almost ceased as they pulled into the parking lot in front of the hospital.
<What happens if we can’t?> she asked.
<We will!>
<No, but what if we can’t?>
<Amy, we have to!>
<But, what if?>
<Then we will be together forever. Now, shut up and let’s get this done!>
Neil led them into the building and up to the unit.
John saw Helen by the bed and then saw Amy. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was really beautiful!
<Thanks!>
He shook himself.
<Huh, that could have been me.>
<Yeah, but it isn’t, so there.>
He smiled as Helen looked up. She took one look at her husband and then at James. She burst into tears again.
Neil held her, as James spoke briefly to the doctor who appeared.
John went to the bed and took hold of Amy’s hand.
He stared at her face and felt really odd. It was the first time he’d looked at his own birth body, yet it was like looking at a stranger.
<Amy?>
<What?>
<I’m holding your hand, can you feel that?>
<No. Wait, maybe. God, this is so hard!>
John was unaware of the fact that everyone was watching him. He spoke aloud, without thinking.
“Come on Amy. You have to try! You can do it. You can come back. Try, please try. Everyone wants you to come back. I want you to come back,” he said.
James watched his son in amazement. He watched as the boy gently touched the girl’s forehead. He had an expression of such devotion and tenderness that he found tears welling up in his own eyes. He glanced at the Standens, to check if they had noticed, and saw, with some relief, that they too were watching John with tears in their eyes.
“Come on Amy. Try! Just push your way through the dark, you have to try,” John said; his voice very loud in the stillness of the unit.
Dr Phillips felt so sorry for the family and these wonderful friends from Britain. Just as he was about to ask them to be a trifle quieter, the monitor attached to Amy’s scalp caused a wavy line to increase in motion.
It was her brain wave monitor.
<I think I see a way back!> she told John.
“Go on Amy! You’re getting there, try harder!” John said, almost jumping up and down with emotion.
Helen and Neil couldn’t move, they watched the monitor, as Amy’s brain sent impulses to show that something positive was beginning to happen for the first time since arriving at the hospital.
“Come on Amy!”
Helen moved to the other side of her bed, taking Amy’s other hand in her own.
“Come on sweetheart, you can do it, come on!” she said, and smiled through her tears at John, who grinned unashamedly.
<I’m tired!>
<I don’t care! You’re nearly there! Don’t give up! Come on!>
“Come on, Amy! Not far now, come on!” he said, not knowing what was in his brain or out loud anymore.
He found his words being echoed by her parents and even his father, Dr Phillips and three nurses who had been drawn by the noise.
As they all shouted, others gathered, and soon about twelve people were all encouraging the girl.
<I can’t! It’s too hard!> she complained.
“Yes, you bloody well can, you silly woman! Of course you can! You have to!!!” John virtually screamed in frustration.
The was a moment of silence, as John bent over the bed with his eyes closed, as if willing her to make the move.
<I’m back!> she said at last to John. He could sense she was exhausted, so he managed to mentally slip in beside her and gave her some of his strength.
<Oh John, what would I have done without you?>
<Hey, Amy! I’m never gonna leave you!>
<I love you!>
<I know! I love you too. Now you gotta open them eyes and let everyone else know you’re okay.>
John looked around, noticing for the first time that everyone was staring at him.
“She’s back,” he said, looking down.
They followed his gaze just as the girl opened her eyes.
She looked at the crowd gathered around her bed, yet her gaze settled on a good-looking, fair-haired boy, who stared at her with such a soppy expression that she smiled.
“My God, your nose, what happened to your nose?” she mumbled.
“What did she say?” asked her father. John saw that no one else had heard those first words.
“I’m not sure,” he lied.
“Hi John, Mom, Dad!” she said, her voice a little stronger this time. The cheer could be heard half way across town.
James surreptitiously wiped his eye on his silk handkerchief, staring in some amazement at his son. It was as if he didn’t know the lad at all. He knew he had seen something momentous, but was unsure exactly what. There was one thing he was in no doubt about; his son John had brought the girl back!
Neil came over to James and the two men solemnly shook hands.
“I have a question,” the big American said.
“Aye?”
“How come Amy knew John instantly, and yet they’ve never met?”
James looked at the girl and then at his son.
“I think we ha’v just seen something that happens ver'ra rarely, but when it does, we just thank God and accept it gracefully,” said James with a smile. “One day, we mighta get ta the bottom uv it, but ta be honest... does it ma'tar?”
Neil smiled.
“No, sir, I can’t tell you what this day means to us. Please excuse me, I need my daughter!” Neil said, kneeling by his daughter’s bed.
Amy had closed her eyes again, but Dr Phillips was satisfied that she was simply asleep.
John came back and stood beside his father. Despite looking very tired, he had a huge grin on his face.
“See! I told you I could get her back,” he said.
James reached out and hugged his son.
“Aye, ye did, laddie. I’m sorry I doubted ye. Ye ha’e no idea how sorry.”
John smiled, sitting down, looking exhausted. James sat next to him.
“Will ye tell me w'ut realla happened?” he asked.
John smiled.
“You’d never believe it.”
“Try me?”
John looked at James.
“No, Dad. Not yet. One day, maybe. One day.”
James smiled and nodded.
“When yer ready, son. I just wan' ye ta know t'at I am so proud of ye!”
John cried again and hugged his father.
That evening at the Standen’s home was very different.
The family had spent all day at the hospital while James discussed the case with Dr Phillips. John sat by Amy’s bed, holding her hand. Helen and Neil went for a walk, pleased to get a break, and pleased to have an opportunity to try to get their emotions in check. Somehow, the very presence of the English boy filled them with confidence.
They returned to find Amy awake and laughing at something John said. They still held hands and her eyes sparkled with an extra dimension of life.
Paul and his mother arrived, and Sue was just so pleased that Amy had come round. Helen told them about the ‘miracle’, and Paul gazed at the newcomer with undisguised jealousy.
John turned round and met his gaze. Then he totally disarmed Paul buy smiling and saying, “Hi Paul!”
“John?”
John grinned and stood up. Amy watched from the bed. Paul glanced at her and then at John.
He walked over to Amy and smiled, placing a small bunch of flowers on her side table.
“Hi, I’m real happy to see you’re okay!” he said, and she reached out and took his hand. She had John’s clasped in her other hand.
“Oh, Paul. I have two of my favourite boys here, isn’t this wonderful?” she said.
As Paul looked at John, he recognised the smile as somehow familiar from his old friend.
“John, this is cool, man!”
John grinned and held out his hand. They high fived, as memories flooded back.
He grinned at the English boy.
“Good to see you at long last!”
“It’s so good to be here,” John said, and the three of them exchanged secret smiles.
Sue was watching, surprised at how well the kids got along.
“My, my, I half expected a fight!” she said to Helen, who laughed and nodded.
“Me too, but it’s so weird. It’s as if they are all old friends, and somehow there’s no friction,” Helen said.
They watched. Clearly, both boys were equally smitten by Amy, yet she was obviously very taken with the English boy. Yet there was no animosity and no aggression shown by either boy.
“Boy, could some older boys learn from these two!” Sue said.
“Most men could, if you ask me,” said her friend.
Dr Phillips eventually turned everyone out, stating that Amy needed peace and quiet. They all returned to the Standen’s home, where Steve lit the barbeque. Jeff had returned on Special Leave from the Marines, as had Martin from College.
Cold beers were released from close confinement in the refrigerator. James and John were shown the guest room, where James was persuaded to change out of his suit and into a pair of shorts and a sweat shirt. Neil and Helen felt that an enormous weight had been removed from their shoulders, but both became exceptionally emotional.
John and Paul went up to Amy’s room.
“Shit! This has changed,” John said, looking around.
“You’d better believe it. She’s so much more a girl than you ever were!”
John smiled and looked at his old friend.
“It really is good to see you, Paul.”
“Yeah, you too, man. You look good. I often tried to imagine what kind of a boy John was. Now I know.”
John was a very sturdy boy, still retaining some ganglyness that promises to develop into height and strength in a few short years. At thirteen John was tall for his age and very fit due to the sports he loved. He was a good five inches taller than Paul, so he grinned wickedly at his old friend.
“I’m sorry about Amy,” he said.
Paul looked at him and slowly nodded.
“Yeah, I kinda knew I never had a chance. I do love her too... you know?”
“I know and she knows. It’s just we have something special. I can’t explain it. It’s just the way it is. If I could change things, I would. I just can’t.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
“Hey, you know me. There’s no one in the world I’d rather have her than you. You’re special, man, to me and to her!”
Paul smiled slightly and said nothing.
He held his hand out and they shook solemnly.
“Friends?” Paul said.
“Always. Can I ask a favour?”
“Sure.”
“Will you be our best man?”
Paul grinned.
“Of course, I thought you’d never ask,” he said, and they both started to laugh.
They went down and joined the others. It was very hard for John, being so close to his original parents and not being able to say anything. However, James sensed a disquiet in the boy, and came over to him.
“Are ye okay, son?”
John looked at the man who was, to all intents and purposes his father. As he glanced at his other parents, it dawned on him that this was part of the consequences of the decision he and Amy had made all those years ago.
“I’m fine, Dad. I think it’s just the reaction to everything!”
“Ye can tell me if ye want?”
John smiled.
“Yeah, I know. Maybe, in a few years, when I understand it better myself.”
James smiled and drew his son to him and gave him an uncharacteristic hug.
“I love ye very much John. Words canna’ describe how much tat’ is,” he said.
John felt the familiar feeling of tears gathering, so he hugged his Dad back.
“Me too, Dad.”
John was never going back now.
It was a very different group that burst into the small private room in the hospital the next morning. Amy had been moved out of the intensive care unit a few hours before. They found her sitting up in bed.
Her parents, four brothers, James, John, Sue and Paul were all delighted to see her with an enormous smile on her face. They had spoken with Dr Phillips prior to coming up, and he was pleased to tell them that all tests had come back and there was no lasting damage.
Her skull would heal, as would her two fractured ribs. John was careful to let Helen and Neil say hello first, but then he was allowed to move forward and give her a hug — gently!
Her eyes twinkled mischievously, as they leaned close to each other.
<My hero!>
<Hi. You okay?>
<I am now! Oh, it’s so good to be back!>
<Yeah, ditto!>
<Never leave me?>
<Apart from going home and back to school and living my life... Never!>
<You know what I mean!>
<Yeah... I know. Paul has agreed to be our best man.>
<You asked him?>
<Of course.>
The adults were confused, as the two young people were simply embracing in silence. Only Paul knew that they were deep in conversation.
The last statement caused Amy to burst out laughing, so they came apart, both laughing.
“Oh, it is so good to be back!” Amy repeated aloud, and then her mother gave her the flowers she had brought.
They kept her in for a couple more days, because of the head injury. John went to visit every day, spending as much time with her as he could.
Her homecoming was another excuse for a party, to which the whole neighbourhood attended. Amy went up to her room early, as she was feeling tired and her ribs ached terribly. John went in and sat on her bed. They didn’t get much opportunity to be alone, so they made the most of it.
It was really strange seeing the body in which he had been born being used by someone else, and being used so much better.
He shared this feeling with Amy and she agreed.
“No regrets?” she asked.
“I used to, some. I used to miss my folks, my real folks, but I guess that’s over now. I also miss my brothers. Miles was a real asshole, but even he’s better now. As we’re at different schools, we don’t have a lot to do with each other. And then there’s Jax. I have some good friends now, but I miss Paul, as he kept me sane before the swap.”
“I adore my new brothers, and my new parents are as lovely as my old ones. I miss Jacquie, but have made loads of new friends at school.”
“Girls?”
“Of course, I only have one true boyfriend.”
“Who, Paul?”
She smiled. “Okay two, but one special and unique boy, whom I will keep for the rest of my life!”
“I’ll kill that Paul!” John said with a grin.
“What are we going to do?” she asked, her pretty face gained a serious expression.
He shrugged.
“Heck, we’re thirteen! We can’t do diddlysquat. I suppose we’ll have to wait a while, get through school, college, and then see what happens.”
“We will marry, won’t we?” she asked.
He looked at her in some surprise, as if there was no question of anything else happening.
“If you want me?”
She smiled.
“You know I do. But things change.”
“We won’t!” he said with such confidence that Amy’s smile returned.
The Other Side Of Dreams Chapter 10
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By Tanya Allan
Take two young people: - John in England and Amy in California. Take a common factor: - both recognised that they had been born into the wrong gender. As they grow up, they realise that their bodies are in imminent danger of changing into something neither wants.
Result: - Two very unhappy souls.
Their dreams are the only place they can find solace. Then they start to dream of each other, and to get a little glimpse of the other’s life. Over time they learn how to crossover at will and not just when asleep. They start to leave childhood behind as puberty beckons. The lines become blurred, who is where?
Solution: - One of them takes the bold step and suggests they try to live each other’s lives. Will it work?
Find out……………………….
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!
Originally written in 2006 - never posted, Reworked & Revised in 2009.
The Legal Stuff:The Other Side Of Dreams ©2006, 2009 Tanya Allan
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited.
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
Chapter 10
James Brightwell stood on the crest of a hill, looking into the wilderness of the valley beyond. The sun was hot, so being the summer, the land had a dry feel to it, although there was much greenery to be seen.
These mountains were almost as beautiful as the Western Highlands where James had spent many a summer as a boy. He smiled, as it was a heck of a lot warmer and dryer here, in California. The normally pale and serious surgeon was tanned and looking healthier than he had in ages.
Turning, he looked down into the valley from which he’d just ascended. There were five large tents pitched on a grassy spit that jutted out into the lake. The water was dark blue and sparkled in the sunshine. The shouts and laughter of the young people rang out across the intervening distance. He watched Kathleen and Helen as they sat on the grass and watched the four kids in the water. Kids! They weren’t kids any more. The girls were both stunning young women and the two boys were growing at least an inch a week these days. At sixteen, they’d all come along way since that first summer, just after Amy had her accident.
Neil was by the barbeque, ably assisted by Kyle, or was it Steve? James still got the brothers’ names mixed up.
He saw Amy swimming with Jacquie. He smiled, for cavorting off the rocks were Paul and John, both trying to show off to the girls in the water. Miles was fishing a little further away with Jeff’s assistance. The older lad was on leave from the Marines and he was an excellent role model for Miles, who, as this was his first visit, was feeling a little excluded, particularly as he was that much older than the two pairs in the water. Becky was sitting under a tree, laughing at something Martin said. James smiled, as Becky had just finished her first serious relationship with a rather unpleasant young man back in England, so seemed to be coping with it very well, with Martin’s assistance, of course. James was so pleased that both families got along so well.
It was 1994, and this was the third year they’d come over the pond to spend a summer with the Standen family. He remembered that first holiday so well, as if it had been just yesterday.
He recalled standing on this very spot back in 1991, amazed to see Amy swimming in the lake, for only a few weeks previously she’d been at death’s door in hospital. He still wasn’t sure what has happened between John and her, but hopefully, one day, the lad would tell him.
It had been their last day in the mountains, but James had relaxed more during that holiday than at any other he could recall. He was also surprised with the ease that he and Neil had formed a close friendship, despite not really having a great deal in common.
The camping trip was intended to have been low key, mainly because of Amy’s delicate condition. But in the end, it turned into a major expedition involving Neil, Amy, Helen, two of Amy’s brothers; James, Kathleen and John Brightwell, and finally Jacquie and Paul.
Kathleen and Jacquie flew out once the school term was over, to be met at the airport by her husband, who introduced her to Neil. Kathleen was surprised at how close the two men appeared to be, as James was normally reserved and slow at making friends.
“Hullo dear, how was your trip?” James asked, kissing her.
“It was okay. Is John not with you, and how’s Amy?” she asked.
“John’s with Amy, they’re almost inseparable, but she’s fine, she’s made a remarkable recovery, thanks to your son and his father,” said Neil with a smile.
“Och, I didna do anything. Yon hospital has some very fine doctors. Hullo, Jacquie, how are ye doin’?” he asked the young girl who was feeling slightly excluded.
“Fine. Is Amy okay, and John?” she asked.
“Aye, they’re both grand, but I’m glad ye’re here, as John’s no been doin’ his school work, and that Amy is distracting him too much, if ye ask me,” James said, causing Neil to smile.
Jacquie felt that familiar burning jealousy sensation, so tried to quell it as soon as she recognised it. Instead of saying anything she might regret, she simply smiled.
The journey to Glendale didn’t take long, as so soon the newcomers were being introduced to the rest of the family. Amy waited for the initial introductions to be over before taking Jacquie to her room.
“Wow! What a room, this is fantastic, not like your old room at home,” Jacquie said.
Amy simply grinned, hugging Jacquie.
“It’s great to see you at last!” she said to her old friend.
“You’re so, so, I don’t know, so American, I suppose,” Jacquie said, which caused Amy to burst out laughing.
“How has John got on, really?” she asked.
“John? Amazingly well, considering. Once he learned to speak properly, he was fine. Oh, and you heard about Kenneth, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, and Miles.”
“He and Miles get on okay these days. They’re at different schools.”
“I know,” Amy said, smiling.
“Of course, you know just about everything,” Jacquie said, feeling a little foolish.
“Not everything, only what he tells me. How are you, Jacquie?” she asked, looking serious for a change.
“Me? I’m fine.”
Amy smiled sadly. “Yeah, right. Look, if it helps, poor Paul feels the same way.”
Jacquie frowned, so Amy continued, “I do understand, and so does John, I think. You two are just so special, it’s almost that you’re too special for us to, you know.”
“I do?” Jacquie asked, completely confused.
“Yeah. Like, I know you’d like to be John’s girlfriend, and I know Paul wants me to be his girlfriend, but it just can’t happen, not yet anyway. It’s like your friendships are too important to be ruined by relationships involving, you know what?” Amy said, being deliberately vague.
“You mean, you know what?”
“Yeah,” Amy said, relieved not to have had to use the word sex.
They weren’t alone for long; as the others found them and dragged them back down to join everyone else. A little later, Paul found himself sitting next to Jacquie. He regarded the girl surreptitiously for a moment, liking what he saw. She wasn’t as striking as Amy, but she was still very pretty and a bit more solid.
Jacquie was still confused, as she recognised that something had happened between Amy and John, but also recognised that their bond was very different to what most people experienced. She’d met Paul and had initially been slightly annoyed that John and Amy had manipulated events as if to pair Paul off with her. However, after a while she’d been drawn to the darker haired boy, who was more serious than she’d been led to believe and also quieter.
“Cool trick, isn’t it?” Paul said, quietly.
“I suppose so,” she replied, assuming he meant the swap.
“I wish I’d known John before he swapped. I’d get an idea as to how different they are,” Paul said.
The pair watched Amy and John interact with Martin.
“John should have been born a girl,” Jacquie said.
“Amy wished she never had been, every day and in every way,” Paul said laughing at the memories.
“John says he’d have gone mad without you to help,” she said.
“I heard the same about you.”
“Do you get pissed off when they just phase out to have their chats?” she asked.
“Completely. It’s as if we don’t exist. I mean, one minute they’re chatting away, and the next, they’re off on a different planet.”
Jacquie agreed, adding a couple of examples of her experience. Within moments, both were chatting away as if they were old friends.
James smiled at the memories. It had been such a successful holiday that it seemed natural to ask the Standens to England for the following year.
James asked them at the airport as they prepared to check in for their return flight. It had been hard enough to leave the Standens’ home, but as Helen, Paul and Amy had come to say goodbye as well, he knew it was going to very tough to separate the young.
Neil had thanked him for the offer, but with the complications of some of the older brothers’ schooling and college, it was likely to be difficult to arrange.
“Say, why don’t you guys come back here? We’d love to have you, and once the boys get independent, we’ll come over with just Amy. Oh, and Paul, of course,” Neil had said.
Helen had looked at James and nodded imperceptibly, so they agreed.
The farewell was strange, for it was Paul and Jacquie who appeared the most upset at the parting of the ways. James was so pleased that these two had got on so well. So well, in fact, James was wondering whether he’d have a problem with John when they got home, as clearly the girl was more than taken with Paul.
He needn’t have worried, for so strong was their friendship that once they’d returned to the cooler and damper England, it was as if they’d never gone anywhere, except perhaps they were less tactile with each other.
So it had happened like that. James and Helen returned to California with John and Jacquie the following year, 1993, and then again this year. However, this time they’d brought Miles and Becky who felt they were missing out and expressed a desire to come too. James and Helen, recognising this as an unusual request by two young people who were bucking the trend of kids that would never go with their parents unless they could avoid it, agreed happily.
It had been a real education to watch all these young people grow up. He found it quite amazing as to how mature and seamless John and Amy’s relationship appeared to be. For two people who only saw each other once a year, they were amazingly well informed about each others’ lives and seemed simply to carry on from where they left off the previous year. James had seen profound changes in both their physiology and outlook, yet they seemed to hardly notice the changes, like Amy’s increased bust and John’s sudden broadening across the shoulders and deeper voice.
Down below in the beautiful lake, Jacquie was swimming close to the edge, so she splashed Paul. In retaliation, he bombed her from the rock on which he’d been sun-bathing. She screamed and tried to remove his shorts.
This initiated the girls versus boys splashing match, in which Amy lost her bikini top and Paul was forced to head for deep water as Jacquie ran laughing onto the small beach holding his shorts. James frowned slightly, but saw Neil shout something at them. Paul got his shorts back and Amy managed to reattach the poor excuse for a bikini top without revealing everything to the entire world.
John looked up at his father and waved. Smiling, James waved back and then disappeared out of sight as he began to climb the next rise.
“What’s your Dad doing?” Jacquie asked John, as they all left the water, suitably clad.
James. “Dunno, I think he just likes it up there,” he said.
“He loves it here, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, heck, we all do, don’t we?”
“Mmmhuh,” she replied, smiling.
“You have no idea how great this is. I never thought I’d get to come back here again. It’s like I have the best of both worlds now.”
Jacquie said nothing, as she knew why her friend was so content. Amy reflected similar feelings, for during this short time, both teens were able to be close to both sets of parents, siblings and, for John at least, a return to his old world. Amy came over to them, with a towel wrapped round her waist.
John couldn’t avoid looking at her substantial chest, restrained, just, by a couple of triangles of damp material and some string. She sat down close to him, drying her hair with another towel. Although Jacquie was built on similar lines, if anything in slightly more generous proportions, John only had eyes for Amy. It didn’t take Paul long to realise he was the only one still in the water, so he too left the lake and joined his friends.
“So, are we doing this again next year, or what?” Paul asked, as he sat next to Jacquie. She smiled at him and took his hand.
“I think it must be your turn to come over to us,” John said. “I know my Dad wants to act as host and show you guys London.”
Paul smiled. “So, aren’t we gonna be dragged up to the Highlands and go hunt haggises?”
They all laughed.
“I heard him talking to Amy’s dad last evening. I think they believe we’ve outgrown camping and feel that a more cultural trip might be in order. I did hear mention of the Edinburgh festival, but that may be too close to school time in September,” John said.
“That’d be so cool!” Amy said.
Jacquie knew that Amy ached to go back to Britain and would love to go up to Scotland to see where her first father came from. Her one frustration was that she had yet to go back, in person, to visit her old home and visit the old familiar places.
John got up, looking up at where he’d seem James a few minutes ago.
“I’m going to find my dad, anyone else coming?”
I will,” said Amy standing and wrapping a skirt-wrap around her waist.
“You two?” John asked.
Paul ginned at Jacquie.
“No, we’ll stay here. You guys go,” she said.
John took Amy’s hand and they set off up the hill.
A short distance away, Helen and Kathleen watched the young interact.
“It’s so weird seeing them like this,” Helen admitted.
“In what way?” her English friend asked, frowning.
“Well, there was a time I was convinced that Amy was going down a very different road. She was such a little tomboy that we anticipated real problems at this age.”
“She’s delightful; I can’t imagine her as a tomboy.”
They watched the girl for a moment.
Her long hair was drying in the sunshine, so streamed down across her shoulders and back as she walked with John. Gently tanned and wearing that ridiculous bikini, she looked the epitome of health and femininity. Her face radiated sheer contentment as she laughed at something John said. She was quite simply beautiful.
“They make a lovely couple, don’t they?” Helen said.
“They certainly do, but, I’m sorry, I don’t see tomboy,” Kathleen said.
“No, thank God, I don’t anymore, but there was a time.”
Kathleen watched her son as he leaned across and stroked Amy’s shoulder. The girl turned towards him smiled and then they kissed.
“It’s strange, but now you come to mention it, John was a bit of a pansy when he was little,” she said.
“Your John? Never?” Helen asked, surprised.
“Yes. Miles was the sporty one, oh, I suppose right up until they were nine or so. I don’t really think I was aware of it at the time, but John did have a girl as a best friend and never was that interested in sports or mixing with the other boys.”
“What happened?”
“Well, it was literally overnight. I think it started with a fight. Miles used to pick on John, simply because John never fought back and was a soft touch, I think. One night, I suppose Miles was doing his usual and John just flipped. He actually fought back and shocked all of us, particularly Miles. Really from that moment he changed. He suddenly took an interest in sport and was actually very proficient. His school work suffered, as his personality changed. From always doing his homework and what he was told, he became stubborn and procrastinated at every opportunity.”
Helen laughed.
“Amy used to be just like that. Never did her homework until the last moment at bedtime, so then had to stay up for another half an hour to do it. She’d never get up until the bus was almost at the stop, and I could never get her to dress pretty.”
She frowned.
“Come to think of it, she changed almost over night as well. I remembered her waking up with a bad dream. That in itself was unusual, as she rarely woke up. But I’m not sure if it was the next day or a few days later, but she suddenly started washing things up and actually helping around the house. Her father teased her because she spoke like you guys for a few days.”
“Like us?” Kathleen asked.
“Yeah, you know, with an English accent.”
Kathleen’s blood ran cold. No, it couldn’t be! Then she remembered John using words like asshole and calling his trousers pants.
No, it couldn’t be!
“Kath, what’s the matter?” Helen asked, concerned that her friend had gone very pale all of a sudden.
“Can you remember exactly when Amy changed?” she asked.
Helen frowned as she tried to remember.
“Not exactly, but, let me see, it must have been in the early fall of 1987; either September or early October. Why?”
Kathleen had a far-away look on her face. When she turned towards Helen, her eyes looked troubled.
“That’s the same time as when John changed.”
“Really? Wow! How creepy,” Helen said, but didn’t appear to make anything more from it.
“This is going to sound really mad, but you don’t think….?” Kathleen’s voice trailed off, as she was unable to ask the question, as it was so daft to be completely unthinkable.
“What?”
“Nothing, I was being foolish for a moment.”
“No, what were you going to say?” Helen persisted.
“You’re going to think me completely off the wall, but it just occurred to me that we both had children that seemed out of place in the lives they were born to, but suddenly both seemed to find their place. Yet, both exhibited unusual characteristics, like the behaviour and accent of the other just after the change. And, that time when Amy was hit by a truck, how did John know? He said it was a dream, but was it? And then, despite the best surgeons available, how come it’s a thirteen year-old boy who seemed to get her back - one who had never seen her before? We were all so pleased that Amy recovered that I don’t think it occurred to any of us just how weird it was. Stranger things have happened. But have they?”
Helen’s immediate reaction was to laugh, but for some reason the laugh died in her throat.
Over the next few minutes the two mothers shared all the characteristics of their children, both before and after they’d been through the change. It came as a great shock that the lists were almost identical, which meant only one thing. Both women knew that what they were discussing just couldn’t have happened.
Amy and John reached the top of the hill to find James sitting under a tree staring into the beautiful wilderness that stretched as far as the eye could see beyond.
“Hey, Dad, what a view, eh?” John said.
“It certainly is,” James replied, strangely pleased that the two kids had come to join him. “What brings ye two up here?”
John shrugged, breathing the freedom of such a wilderness.
James looked at his son and then at Amy, who was equally smitten by the breathtaking wonder that lay before them.
“Dad, you know you asked me how I managed to get Amy back, you know, after the accident?”
“Aye, what about it?”
John looked at Amy who nodded.
“Well, we think it’s time we told someone.”
The Other Side Of Dreams Chapter 11
Author:
Audience Rating:
Publication:
Genre:
Character Age:
TG Themes:
Permission:
Take two young people: - John in England and Amy in California. Take a common factor: - both recognised that they had been born into the wrong gender. As they grow up, they realise that their bodies are in imminent danger of changing into something neither wants.
Result: - Two very unhappy souls.
Their dreams are the only place they can find solace. Then they start to dream of each other, and to get a little glimpse of the other’s life. Over time they learn how to crossover at will and not just when asleep. They start to leave childhood behind as puberty beckons. The lines become blurred, who is where?
Solution: - One of them takes the bold step and suggests they try to live each other’s lives. Will it work?
Find out……………………….
Viewing Note: This story should be viewed with the Edwardian Script ITC font installed on your Windows platform in the c:/Windows/Fonts directory. Microsoft Word installs this font automatically.
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!
Also, Tanya has a new website where she will display her latest works first and then to BigCloset TopShelf a few weeks later is here at Tanya Allan's Tales .
Originally written in 2006 - never posted, Reworked & Revised in 2009.
The Legal Stuff:The Other Side Of Dreams ©2006, 2009 Tanya Allan
This work is the property of the author, and the author retains full copyright in relation to printed material, whether on paper or electronically. Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited.
This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism, and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.
The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone. If you wish to take offence, that is your problem.
This is only a story, and it contains adult material, which includes sex and intimate descriptive details pertaining to genitalia. If this is likely to offend, then don’t read it.
Chapter 11
It was a very thoughtful and distracted James who joined the gathering of the families at dinner that evening. Wisely, he’d been entirely non-judgemental after John and Amy had told him their very strange story. He was actually very pleased that he hadn’t reacted, apart from saying, “I see’,” at the end.
Helen and Kathleen were behaving strangely, but he was so distracted that he failed to notice their conspiratorial looks and whispering. Neil was barbequed up to his red-rimmed eyes, so he couldn’t see anything amiss, even if he’d wanted to.
It was a very logical tale, albeit impossible.
What had staggered James was how suddenly Amy dropped her American accent, so her voice sounded so like John’s had been, prior to his voice breaking.
In fact she’d started the story.
“It began back when I was bullied at Churchill School,” she said, which caused him to frown.
“Before you say anything, please hear us out. I have to start if you want to get the truth. You see, I was John, so this is really hard for me, as I hear him call you dad, yet I feel I want to.”
The girl seemed close to tears, so James decided that saying nothing would be the best course of action for him at this stage.
“D..d.dad, my goodness that sounds so weird! I know I was always a disappointment to you, but you see, I always knew I should have been a girl. Jacquie knew my secret, and I think mum did, in a way. Anyway, I was particularly unhappy, so the best time of the day was when I was in bed and able to become, in my mind at least, the person I knew I should have been. One night, I dreamed that I was in a different bed, in a different house. As there was only one bed, Miles wasn’t in the dream. I woke up, got up and found that I was a girl, wearing a night dress and in a girl’s room.
“I looked out the window and saw funny cars with different number plates and the steering wheels on the wrong side. A woman came in and thought that I had had a strange dream, so put me back to bed. Except, I wasn’t asleep and I wasn’t dreaming.”
At this point John took up the story.
“I was the girl called Amy. It was to my room that John ended up, in fact, it was my body she invaded, while I crossed the Atlantic and ended up in John’s body,” he said. James couldn’t get used to his son admitting that he was a girl called Amy. Still he said nothing. Amy picked up the story.
“We crossed over several times, each time for longer and longer. It was fun, at first, but we always came home, as that was where we belonged. But then we got to like our lives in the new bodies more than our original ones. I suppose I was the first, because my body changed more than John’s. I was becoming a woman, so I realised I wanted to stay like this.”
“And I was having too much fun. I was good at football, I’d changed schools, so she’d have had to learn all my new friends, and that would never have worked. I missed my folks and my brothers, but I didn’t want to go back to being a girl. I was so much more content as John.”
“And I was so pleased to feel my outside was the same as what I felt inside. I would have stayed only because of you and Mum, but knew I’d be miserable. I suggested we stayed at we were,” Amy said, with a sad smile.
“And I heartily agreed,” added John.
“Did ya not think that we, yer parents, hadda right ta know and perhaps hav’ a say?” James asked.
“It wasn’t possible at the time. By the time we’d sort of got stuck at who we were, it was too late,” Amy said.
“Besides, we didn’t think you would either understand or let us continue. Then we may have had to do it anyway. We’re who we want to be now, so even if you protested we would stay as we are.”
The pair of them stared at James, looking uncertain but unafraid. James knew what they’d told him was impossible, but he believed them. No one could ever make up such a story. Besides, all the evidence supported it. His mind went back to the day that John suddenly fought back against his elder brother; the same day that he spoke with a silly American accent.
All of a sudden, other memories rushed in and overwhelmed him with evidence that supported the story.
“Whut about that gol’den weddin party? Ya knew ever’one, and we’d nat seen most of them since be’fore ya say ya swapped?”
“I was there too, briefly, just to tell John who everyone was,” Amy admitted.
“So ya went lassie? Nat him?”
“No,” John said, “but Amy dropped in and told me what I needed to know.”
“How?”
“Telepathically. We’ve been talking like that since we stopped swapping,” Amy said.
James shook his head.
“I’m can’fused, do ya think of ya’selves as ya new lives or rigin’als?”
“New ones,” they said in unison.
He nodded, as that made sense. Then he frowned again.
“So the time Amy had t’at accident, wut…?”
“She came to me and stayed in here,” John said, tapping his head.
“So, when ya said ya could get her back, she was with ya all the time?”
“Yup.”
James smiled, shaking his head and rubbing his hair with his hand.
“I knew that sumetin funny happ’ened, but wouldda nev’r hava thought it was like this. Does anny’un else know?”
“Paul and Jacquie, but no one else,” John said, holding Amy’s hand.
“This pen-friend thing? T’was yer idea?”
“Mine,” said Amy. “I wanted to keep in touch and give us a genuine reason to be in communication.”
James stood up and rubbed some feeling back into his numb behind, for he’d been sitting on the hard ground for quite a while.
“Why tell me naw? Ya couldda kept it se’cret fer as long as ya wanted,” he asked.
The couple glanced at each other.
“I don’t think we could. We both were getting quite emotionally stressed out by seeing our old families and not being able to relate to you guys as we wanted to,” John said.
“We’re both getting tired of pretending,” Amy added. “We felt you’d understand.”
“I’m nat complainin’. I’m pleased ya felt ya could tell me. As ta whe’ther I unner’stand, I dun’t, quite frankly. I hear whut ya say and accept that whut ya say is whut happuned. I accept whut happened. I dun’t unner’stand how ner why, but I do accept it’s true. But, the others need ta know as well.”
“The others?” the pair said together.
“Aye. All the parents, as it’s a only right. So Neil, Helen and Kathleen need ta know, ta start with. I dun’t suppose ya have ta tell yer bruthers an sister just yet. That can wait a while, as the fewer that know, the better. We need ta sit down an discuss what happuned, just ya two an us parents. In a way, yer deception has the power ta hurt us, so this needs ta be done care’fully.”
They nodded as John stared at each of them.
“Phew! Whut a bombshell, eh? It makes a daft kinna sense now that I think about it, but it’s nat somethin’ I ever imagined I’d have ta deal with,” James admitted.
Both of the young people looked sheepish but adamant that they’d done the right thing — for them.
John laughed with little humour.
“Okay. So who’s ma son?”
They glanced at each other and then John looked him in the eye.
“I am. I’m John and I’m proud to be your son. I always will be,” he said.
“I’m your daughter, if you want me?” Amy said, with tears in her enormous eyes.
James, feeling tears not far away in his own eyes, said nothing but opened his arms, enveloping both in an embrace that sealed their relationship.
“You’ll nat find me arguin’ with either of ya about this, but best we keep it ta ourselves,” James said at last. “We’d bet’ter get back, as tha others willa start gettin’ worried soon.”
Dinner was quiet. Neil produced masses of food, so that Kathleen never thought it would be all eaten. Yet again, she was surprised as every last sausage and hunk of meat seemed to disappear, as did the mountain of salad, bread and baked potatoes. Miles and Jeff wanted to see if they could catch some deep water trout, so took the boat onto the lake. A group was playing at one of the bars in town, so Rebecca and the other two boys took off in a pickup to go listen to it. That left the parents, Paul, Jacquie, Amy and John, so James nodded at John.
Try as he might, James still saw John as his boy, despite knowing the truth. However, as he looked at Amy, he realised that he’d gained a daughter, as he had deep paternal feelings for her as well. He shook his head, this was so strange!
John cleared his throat.
“Dad, Mum, everyone. Amy and I would like to tell you something,” he said, looking distinctly uncomfortable, as he scratched his head.
Helen looked at Kathleen quizzically, but the other woman shook her head and shrugged, for she was as much in the dark as Helen.
Amy stood up next to John and took his hand.
“It’s not like we’re getting engaged, or anything, but it’s kinda strange, so bear with us, as we might not tell it right,” she said.
Haltingly, and not without some tears, they told their story. They took it in turns, sharing their feelings at the time, the weird experiences and the exceptional abilities that had been bestowed upon them. They were careful to explain how important their parents were to them and how the hardest part was to leave their birth parents to try to enjoy a better life as the gender they both imagined they should have been.
“I know it sounds as if we’re ungrateful, but we’re not in the slightest. We love you all so much that it became a nightmare trying to decide what to do. The question was - do we stay where we started and be miserable, or do we leave our parents and find fulfilment as the people we should have been, but knowing we might never see our real families again,” Amy said.
“That’s why we started the pen-friend thing, as we hoped that something like this could happen and we’d all get together,” John told them.
It was Kathleen who broke the silence.
“I bloody knew it!” she said, smiling at Helen.
Amy and John were relieved and not a little surprised that the two mothers had figured it out and had even been discussing the very subject earlier that afternoon.
James was a little miffed that Kathleen had almost figured it out, whereas Neil was hit straight between the eyes and was sitting in his chair with a bewildered expression on his face.
Needless to say, it wasn’t that simple, because there were many questions, a few accusations and some expressions of hurt feelings. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that regardless of all the love in the world, a transgendered child is still miserable while forced to be something they clearly aren’t.
Paul and Jacquie breathed a joint sigh of relief as they escaped to the lakeside to let the two families settle things.
“Thank God!” said Paul, lying back on the grass.
“I never thought they’d actually tell,” admitted Jacquie.
“I’m so goddamn relieved that I’m not the only person who knows,” Paul said.
“You never were the only one!” Jacquie said, poking him in the ribs with her finger. He laughed, grabbed her and pulled her close to him, kissing her. She put up no resistance, enjoying being close to him.
“Do you think they planned for us to get close?” he asked.
“Probably. I think they feel guilty about us, so hoped we’d, um, you know?”
“You mean make out?” he asked, chuckling.
“I don’t know, do I?”
“I think you do. I’m not sure I’d feel right making out with Amy, as I know, deep down, there’s a guy in there!” he said, semi-joking.
Jacquie simply laughed and snuggled close to Paul. They lay there a while, looking at the moon reflecting on the surface of the water, so everything was bathed in a silvery wash. A light bobbed out on the water, showing everyone where Jeff and Miles were in their boat.
“Jacquie?”
“Mmm?”
“You reckon they’ll marry?”
“Probably. I mean, they’ll have to as they’re so bloody close, they’re almost one person.”
“Where does that leave us?” he asked.
She looked at him. He was frowning and seemed troubled.
“Where do you want to be left?”
“I’m not sure. I mean, I know what I want, but I’m not sure how things will pan out.”
“What do you want?” she asked.
Turning towards her, he kissed her.
“You.”
“Then, just for this night only, you’ve got me. And, if you’re lucky, things may last a little longer than that, but, hey, we got the rest of our lives!”
Epilogue
It was sunny in California, but then it is most days. James Brightwell was too warm, as were his wife Kathleen, elder son Miles and daughter Rebecca. They were much more used to the English climate, and March was a cool month, normally.
The church was full, with the majority of the happy congregation there as friends or relations of the bride. There were only about twenty or so from the UK. James felt rather self-conscious dressed in his kilt and seated in the front pew, where everyone could see him. His elder brother, Bruce, was wearing a kilt as well, and they looked fine, feeling pride in their national dress.
However, two of the ushers were also wearing kilts as they were in the dress uniform of his son’s regiment, being his fellow officers.
There was a buzz amongst the people and they turned round to see three men enter the church. At the front was their son, Wee John, and his best man, Paul Ross, closely followed by another colleague of John’s, Andy McLeish. Both the Scotsmen were wearing full dress kilts, as they were subalterns in the Black Watch. Paul wore a smart tuxedo, but was outclassed by the other men. Andy shook his friend’s hand and went off to help the ushers.
Their uniform was splendid and, although the American guys mocked them, it was a little half-hearted because all the local girls had other ideas. There was nothing the slightest sissy about these two rugged looking soldiers. With their dress swords strapped to their sides, and their well-muscled and hairy legs on display for all to appreciate, already the girls were speculating as to what really was worn under the kilt.
Wee John was still called that in spite of now being six foot five. He had been selected to play rugby for Scotland under twenty-ones. Unfortunately, he had decided to go to Sandhurst and obtain his Commission in the army instead. However, in compensation, he had represented the Army against the other services and civilian teams many times.
His short but unruly sandy hair had a rumour of ginger in there somewhere, while his broken nose actually made him better looking. It took away any suggestion of prettiness, to which his otherwise handsome face may have alluded.
Andy was almost as tall, as was Paul, and they made a fine pair. The mainly American bridesmaids had seen Andy at the rehearsal, and one in particular was more than interested in the young Scot.
Unusually, one of the bridesmaids wasn’t American, and although dressed identically, Jacquie Mann, was feeling a little outnumbered, but she did have a special relationship with the bride, and with the best man, as it happened.
James felt his chest swell with pride as he looked at his son, now greeting some relatives who had flown in from Scotland that morning. There was Aunty Jean, who hadn’t seen the lad for nearly ten years.
Mind you, there had been a time when he thought that the poor wee man was going to be in a right mess. However, by the time he went off to secondary school, he suddenly blossomed and there was no looking back. He shook his head as he now understood what had happened.
John came up to his parents.
“Hi Ma, Dad. Good to see you!” he said with a grin. James smiled. The lad had a slight Scottish accent, despite the fact he had never lived in Scotland.
“Becky, you look fantastic. If we can’t find a husband for you here, we never will,” John said, kissing his sister. Rebecca grinned and gave her favourite brother a big hug. The two were very close, which couldn’t be said for the other brother, Miles.
He stared at his brother and held out his hand.
“Miles. Good to see you, man. I’m chuffed you got time off for this.”
Miles looked up at his younger brother as they shook hands. He was a good four inches shorter, and he knew that any advantage he had over John was now in the past.
He smiled.
“No problem. It isn’t every day that your wee brother gets wed.”
John and Paul took their places at the front of the church, and the organist started to play in the bride.
John turned and watched his bride as she made her entrance, holding tightly to her father’s arm. She was shaking slightly and couldn’t help smiling. This was the culmination of her dreams for the last sixteen years or so.
Amy was absolutely stunning.
Her dress was an original creation of a personal friend of her mother’s. She was a designer based in Beverley Hills, and well used to supplying the rich and famous. It had a hint of Gone with the Wind, but the low cut bodice and the embroidered veil was more contemporary.
She met John’s eyes, noticing that they shone with love, desire, humour and complete happiness, reflecting what was in her own eyes. He smiled at her and she ached for him. She was utterly content. Not only was she marrying her dream boy, she was back amongst the extended family in which she knew she belonged.
She walked up the aisle until she was beside him, and she looked sideways at him.
His smile was infectious and he glanced at her father. A strange look of understanding, even affection and approval was exchanged, and Amy smiled as her eyes locked with James.