A young man tries to find a way to put his broken family back together.

Finally a new story. Part one is mostly background and the transformation is in part two. This is a bit of a tribute to a FTM friend of mine who had things pretty rough although it will include a tranformation in both directions.

Part two is nearly finished and should be posted within a week. Comments and criticisms are welcome.

To Save A Family
By Bruce

I carefully slipped the covers over my mother making sure her head was set so shouldn't choke if she happened to vomit. In spite of my sore face I still bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek. She was still my mom, even if she got too drunk too often, I still loved her.

I moved to the kitchen to clean up the mess she made. Had to make sure I wasn't bruised also. She really didn't mean to get me in the face with her elbow but many people would take it as a sign she was abusive. That was an extra problem we didn't need, especially now, especially when I was so close.

Ir was in fact a night like this when I first got the idea that things could be fixed. Prior to that I had almost given up. Dad was gone and clearly not coming back, and I still hadn't heard about the whereabouts of my sist...err brother. I still have problems with pronouns sometimes. Mom had come in drunk and I had tried to help her but she fell and took me down with her. I got the worst of it and had a sore shoulder for a week after. It wasn't that which led to me having some hope but what came after. I finally got mom up to her bed and dressed in her nightgown when she said those words:

“I'm so sorry Mary. Oh god I'm sorry, please forgive me”

This was the first time I had heard remorse. I thought she was drinking because she felt sorry for herself or for Dad having left. I thought she hated my sibling.

I still remember how it all went down like it was yesterday. I knew first, of course, since me and Mary were really close. She was 1 year younger than me and she always wanted to hang around. I thought it was weird since sisters usually don't want to hang around with their brothers especially after puberty. Puberty was almost a dirty word with her. She wore whatever she could to hide her body, got her hair cut really short and seemed to move between being really angry and really depressed most of the time. Dad tried to make her be more feminine and when she resisted he called her a “dyke”. I should probably be honest and say I'm glad hes gone.

One day I came home from school and wanted to show her a new Xbox game I got walked into her room and she was trying to bind her breasts. Somehow looking at her right then I knew and she could see it in my eyes. She broke down and told me she couldn't be a girl anymore, that she was meant to be a boy. She knew she was getting pretty and she hated it. She wanted to be like me. I just sat with her and told her I loved her boy or girl. I promised not to tell Mom or dad until she was ready and said that I would help her with anything I could. I really did love her

From that day she had more trouble keeping her feelings inside but I did my best to help her. I would share my clothes with her, I would help her work on her voice and mannerisms. I tried to call her him and Mike whenever my parents were not around. I let him (I really have to remember that) talk things out with me whenever he wanted to. Heck, I even shared my porn since he was a guy in that way too.

It was wonderful to see Mike happy again; it had been so long. Unfortunately it couldn't last. One day Dad found his porn collection. It was awful, he kept slapping Mike and asking if he wanted to be some sick lesbian. Eventually Mike broke and explained he was transgendered. The room went silent after that. Both of us were sent to our rooms but we could still hear the shouting. Dad screaming at mom and hitting her. Telling her it was all her fault. How she had bad genes and he should have never married her. He walked out that very night and never came back.

Mom got support payments from Dad that were more than enough for us to live on but it wasn't the same after that. She blamed Mary. About a week later we had come home from school and Mom had tossed out all of Mike's guy clothes and guy possessions. Her closet was filled with skirts and dresses and extremely feminine shoes. She had also painted the walls pink and dragged in some feminine furniture. She declared that it was time Mary was a proper girl. I was told that I would be punished severely if I tried to aid her in being masculine and that she also had school officials told to inform her if Mary tried to come to school dressed “inappropriately”.

Mary tried to deal with it for a while but she really wanted to be Mike. More than wanted...needed. One day after begging Mom to let her be who she wanted and being refused she just vanished. A 15 year old runaway. Mom never even reported her missing.

I spent a lot of time alone after that. I was sad Mike never told me where he went but I could not blame him for leaving. It was hard though. Mom started drinking and I had to clean the house, pay the bills make the food and pretty much take care of everything. I assumed Mom hated Mike/Mary since she blamed him often enough. Until I heard her regrets that is. That's when I formulated a plan.

I needed to reunite our family. Minus Dad of course; he could rot. Step one was finding Mike. Rough part was I didn't even know where to begin.

I tried talking to Mike's old friends. Even pre-high school friends that knew Mary. Sad part was Mike never had many friends other than me. Of the few acquaintances who even remembered him none had heard nor seen him since he left. That led me to plan number two which was checking in the big city. Whenever I had a chance I would slip up there and visit homeless shelters and soup kitchens. I tried contact family services but they didn't have Mary in the system. I carried pictures of him both as Mike and Mary and showed them around. Eventually, after about two months, I got lucky.

A working girl downtown recognized Mary's picture. And yes I mean Mary. Said she had longer hair and dressed more feminine but she was sure it was her. I was skeptical but she told me where I could find her. I almost prayed she wasn't right but she was.

Mary was a working girl. I found her not much further up the street. It seemed to go against everything that was Mike. I just couldn't understand. She recognized me right away and told me she couldn't talk since she had to work and I agreed to pay her for her time.

I could barely contain my questions as a watched a scantily clad sexy Mary lead me into a cheap hotel room. She cried as she explained how things had been since she left. After arriving in the city she tried to make it as a guy. She tried to get work but no one wanted to hire a short feminine looking guy especially one her age. She was forced to stay in shelters or live on the street and what money she did make doing day work tended to go to a small bit of food or paying off people so she wouldn't get robbed or worse. She couldn't afford a therapist, or hormones, or even a place to live. Eventually one of the street girls found her and made friends with her and told her if she cleaned up she could make some decent money for herself with her good female looks. It even worked for a bit.

Eventually one of the pimps in the area took issues with her freelancing. Now she worked for him. He gave her enough to get by and a small amount she could save. With no high school and no other options she had to keep doing it. She hated herself and felt she was betraying her inner being by being a woman this way. She just saw no other choices. The despair in her voice was clear to me.

I told her I would fix it, I also promised to sneak her what money I could but she had to stay in touch with me. I tried to get her to come home and speak with Mom but she wouldn't believe that Mom didn't hate her. I could tell she still loved Mom but she couldn't face Mom's disappointment. I was even more sure now that something had to be fixed.

The plan I came up with would probably be considered crazy by some. I knew Mom needed Mike and Mike needed Mom, there was just so much pride and hurt that getting them together was going to be a challenge. I knew Mike didn't believe Mom would accept him and I knew Mom wasn't emotionally up to reaching out to Mike. I had to get them together but they were a city away. No amount of convincing would move the other so I needed to turn to something else. Something to force the issue.

Magic.

I decided to find out what I could. I went to libraries, occult shops, used bookstores and even the internet. I found out everything I could. Tried more than one spell at some personal cost but nothing worked. My college grades started to suffer so after first year I took a leave of absence to work on my project. Mom never even noticed.

Finally I found something I could use. One of my contacts put me in touch with an old mystic who said he could help. I drove a few hours away to his shop in the city and met with him. What he offered was a book on demonology. Specifically summoning. A demon would grant me what I needed but I had to pay the price. My soul.

I bought the book. I couldn't leave it there. I read the spell and gathered the ingredients. I didn't even question what I was doing once. If sacrificing myself would save my mother and my sister it was worth it. Which brings me back to where I started. With mom safely unconscious I can finally begin to set things right.

I set the circle and began the summoning....

Matthew makes a deal with magical powers to try to save his broken family.

In part 2 the bargains are made and the transformation occurs.

My first new story in a while and my first to go to this wonderful website first.

Btw, about pronouns. The slipping between genders and names for Mike/Mary is intentional. I have found in my life people have had trouble adjusting to mine and since the family hasn't stayed in close contact it would be even harder and this is written from their point of view much of the time.

To Save A Family Part 2
By Bruce

I honestly believed that the summoning would work but I was still surprised to see the smoke and the light. Perhaps I was just startled that finally my hopes were coming true. What I can honestly say I did not expect to see was a girl in the center of the circle. Maybe if it was a demon of some sort, a tail or horns or something, but it was just a blonde girl, well dressed and pretty.

She smiled at me. “Not what you were expecting was it? The boss feels no reason to be intimidating at a friendly bargaining session so we try to come in a form that is less threatening. You can call me Sara.”

I could not contain my enthusiasm. It had worked! “You have to help me! My family, I need...”

She put a finger to her lips. “Shhh. I know why you called. We even have a plan to help you.” She grinned. “But first there is a bit of red tape. I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Don't worry I will pay any price...honestly I...”

“Calm please. We will get to that part. Question number one is why? Why are you willing to pay such a price for your family. Your mother has not been the best of moms and your sister went away from you. Why on earth would you help them?”

“I love them. I know mom hurts me but she can't help it. She's hurting so much inside. And Mike is my brother not my sister. I don't care what shape he takes. He did what he had to do to survive. They need me, they are both lost and they are my family.”

“Well, they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” She dramatically flared her arms around the circle. “I am not sure they would do the same for you. Actually that gives me an idea. Instead of the standard transaction perhaps I can have a little fun with this. See how your love holds up in the face of the reality of your family. I will even give you an escape clause at the end. You up for a little game?”

This made me a bit nervous. “What kind of game?”

“I will set a way to reunite your sister and mother. It will involve a great deal of hardship on your part. After they are reunited you will get to decide if you want them together or want things back the way they were. If your love holds up you have your family again with the only cost being yours. If not I will put things back the way they were at no price to you personally. Sound good?”

“It sounds too good to be honest; but I'm desperate. You have a deal.”

She smiled. “Tomorrow find your sibling. I will show myself and your test will begin. Do not try to summon me again. I will come when the time is right.” With that she vanished.

Sleeping that night proved impossible. Before it was even dawn I headed for the city. I knew where I could find my sisters apartment. I stepped over the homeless man sitting in the door and tried not to wake him and climbed up the stars doing my best to ignore the smell. I knocked on the door and heard my brother/sister from inside...

Mike:

It has been another long night. I hated working the street. It felt like a betrayal of everything I was. I was supposed to be a man. It was damned if I do damned if I don't I guess. I needed the money for a therapist, and hormones, and clothing and surgery. The list seemed endless. I didn't have much talent or skill for anything else. Dad and Mom saw to it that their “little girl” didn't learn anything that might be a useful other than for a housewife. I also have to admit I couldn't focus at school either so that wasn't an option. Mind you I don't feel like I'm stupid; I just couldn't focus. Too much going through my skull.

My one big mistake was running into Dave. He didn't like girls working what he called “his streets” without permission. I had bruises for a while to prove it. I learned pretty fast that I had to give him his cut or I would wind up like one of those other girls that just vanishes. Moving somewhere else wasn't an option either. There was a code in town. Different pimps want different parts of the street. I tried once to relocate. Another beating and one final warning got me back to my corner.

It was hard to get ahead. I had the advantage that I wasn't hooked on anything like a lot of the other girls. I also didn't smoke and I didn't try to have a television. Strictly no frills for me, I had my eyes on my goal. It still didn't leave me much to put away for myself. After Dave took my stash when he first found me to cover his “cut” for the months that I was working I had gotten a bit smarter about where I hid things. Fortunately he also slept in most morning so I was able to slip away and deposit my money in a bank account my parents set up for me when I was little.

I still hated my life. I was dressing up more femininely than I did even under my parents roof. I was also being used by men. I am really not interested in men at all. There were many nights all I could think about was ending it all. Maybe I would be a guy in heaven? Although I am pretty sure if I end it all I would not go up there. I would probably end up in a place just like this. Only this time with no way out.

Seeing my brother Mathew again was one of the few things that gave me hope. From a practical point of view he gave me money that helped me build my stash much much faster. It was more than that though, it was someone who loved me. Someone who made me feel I was worth something not just some sick freak. He came as often as he could and we would talk and I would feel almost normal. Only problem was he always wanted to talk about Mom.

He seemed to think Mom still wanted me. I knew differently. He hadn't seen all of the fireworks between us. I couldn't even blame Mom for hating me either. I made Dad leave. I am surprised Matt didn't hate me for that also but he seemed to have a pretty low opinion of Dad to being with. A part of me still loved both Mom and Dad. That was why I couldn't go back. Seeing the disappointment in her eyes hurt me more than a beating from Dave. I didn't want to take anything more away from her and I was also pretty sure that I couldn't contain the part of me that was angry with her.

Today was going to be a visit from Dave so I tried to get home early. Meant I had to work extra hard to get clients so I could cover Dave's end of things for the night. It wasn't easy either since I had been sick for a while and had lost some weight. Had to put in extra effort to try and look good. Took me a good while to get to sleep even getting home a bit early so I was pretty put out to hear the banging at the door at the crack of dawn.

“Who the hell is there?”

“It's me Matthew! Let me in!”

I dragged myself out of bed and went to the door flinging it open. “Do you have any idea what time it is?” He rushed in past me. He looked about ready to burst. “Something wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong! Just the opposite I have found a way to get you back together with Mom!”

“Matt, I have told you again and again she doesn't want to see me. I don't have any way to get there anyways and you know what Dave would do if I vanish?”

He smiled. “What if I could guarantee that she would see you? What if I could guarantee she would welcome you home?

I shook my head. “How can you possibly guarantee that?”

A flash appeared and suddenly there was woman in my room. “Why that would be me. Your big brother here decided to make a little deal with me to get you and mommy dearest back together. I promised him you would be welcome home and you will be. The only cost would be his.”

My mouth hung open, what was going on? Suddenly she snapped her fingers. Another flash of light blinded me and suddenly everything felt different. I was across the room and I saw myself. It was weird seeing my body from the outside and the expression on my face was one of horror and disbelief. I looked down at the body I now wore. I was Matthew.

The woman smiled at me, “Now you should have no problem visiting Mommy.” She turned back to Matt in my body. “As for you we will settle up later.” She winked at him then vanished.

What had Matthew done? Why? Did he understand what he had gotten himself into. I was afraid for him but I was feeling something that might be even worse than that.

Looking down at my own body... a male body. I felt joy.

Comments and criticisms are welcome! Part 3 should come soon!