“Are you ready for this?” Carla asked as they turned into April’s neighborhood.

“No.”

Ester squirmed in her seat and yawned.

“We don’t have to do this,” Carla said, “We can just go home. I’ll hide you in my room until tomorrow.”

“That won’t work,” Ester said, wringing her hands, “I have to do this. I owe them that much.”

“If you’re sure,” Carla muttered, pulling her car to a stop outside April’s large house. “Let’s go.”

Ester took a deep breath and stepped outside. She folded her arms and glanced around, as if someone was waiting to spring out of the darkness. A shiver ran through her.

When they got to the door, Ester whined.

“Knock for me,” she begged Carla.

Carla sighed and obeyed. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal Isaac. Ester looked down, her shoulders sagging. She was caught off guard by the sudden hug.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” he said, “Come inside.”

Ester was ushered into the house, and Carla followed them. Stephanie was sitting in the living room. Once she saw Ester, she stood up and rushed over, grabbing Ester in a hug herself.

“Thank God you’re back,” she muttered.

“Hi,” Carla said, waving awkwardly, “I’m Carla. I’m Ester’s sister.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you,” Isaac said, “Thank you for bringing her back to us.”

Stephanie let go and asked Ester, “What the Hell were you thinking? We were worried sick for you!”

“I’m sorry!” Ester sobbed, “I thought you’d hate me!”

“We’d never hate you, honey,” Stephanie promised her.

Isaac cleared his throat and added, “You shouldn’t have run away. You could have gotten very hurt.”

“But you don’t understand,” Ester cried, curling up against Stephanie, “You only like me because of the magic. I don’t belong here. You’re going to kick me out as soon as the curse is broken.”

“No, we’re not,” Isaac insisted, running his fingers through her hair, “We love you, kiddo.” Ester shook her head, but he continued, “April told us what happened. I promise you, no matter what, you belong here with us.”

“Our home is your home,” Stephanie insisted.

Ester sniffed.

“I don’t want to leave,” she mumbled.

“You don’t have to,” Stephanie assured her, but cast a glance up at Carla.

Ester looked over. Carla was fidgeting. She tried to smile at Ester, but it looked fake. Ester pulled away from Stephanie and grabbed Carla in a hug. Carla whined a little, but returned the gesture after a moment.

“I promise I’m not leaving you,” Ester said.

“I know you’re not,” Carla told her, “I think this might be the best thing for you. Better you stay here than with mom and dad, at least.”

“I’m sorry, Carla.”

“You haven’t done anything wrong,” Carla said softly.

“I wish you could stay here with me.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ve only got another year before I’m an adult and finally free. I’ll survive. Just promise me that you’ll take care of yourself, Fofa.”

“I will,” Ester promised, then turned back to Stephanie and Isaac and told them, “I’m sorry that I didn’t trust you more. I was just so afraid. Can you ever forgive me?”

“Already forgiven,” Isaac said. Stephanie nodded.

Ester blinked and tears ran down her face.

“I don’t deserve you guys as parents,” she said, “I really hope I’m still me when I wake up.”

“There is something else that you have to do,” Stephanie said, “April is upstairs. You need to make things right with her.”

“I know,” Ester said, taking a deep breath, “I’ll go do that.”

“Be careful what you say,” Isaac said, “She’s in a very rough place right now.”

“Can you come with me?”

“No,” Stephanie said, shaking her head, “You need to do this on your own. She doesn’t want to see us right now, and we’re trying to give her space.”

Ester walked over to the stairs and stared up. She gulped and curled her hands into fists, trying to steady her nerves. April wasn’t going to be thrilled to see Ester.

She took the steps slowly, folding her arms and fidgeting. When Ester got to April’s door, she stopped and placed her ear against the door. There was no sound inside. That didn’t put Ester at ease.

“April?” she asked softly.

There was a shuffling sound, but no answer.

“Are you okay in there?” Ester asked.

She heard a muffled, “Go away.”

Ester placed a hand on the door, but it was locked.

“April, please let me in,” she said, “I need to talk to you.”

There was no response.

“April, open the door,” Ester pleaded, “I’m sorry, for everything. I don’t blame you for what happened.”

The door unlocked and opened just a peep. April’s face was streaked with wet tears. She glared at Ester, but her composure was cracked.

“You’re lying,” she croaked, “It’s my fault. I did this to you. I was selfish and I ruined your life.”

Ester gingerly pushed the door open so that she could step inside. April wouldn’t look directly at her. Her hair and makeup was a mess.

“Why did you come back, Ester?” April asked hoarsely.

Ester stepped forward and raised her arms to hug April, but she flinched and stepped back.

“I’m sorry,” Ester said, “I should have never revealed the truth like I did. I never wanted you to hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” April replied, “I hate myself.”

“April… please don’t.”

Tears welled up in Ester’s eyes.

But April continued, “If I hadn’t made that stupid wish, you’d be back in your old life and happy and you wouldn’t have to put up with me. So just… go already.”

“I’m not leaving,” Ester insisted, “I don’t blame you.”

“Why not?”

“Because I want to be your sister, April.”

“You’re just saying that because of the magic!”

“But I’m not. Or maybe I am. I don’t care anymore.”

Ester said down on the bed. April stayed standing and folded her arms.

“I don’t want to break the curse anymore,” she said, “I haven’t for a long time, not really. I just hated the thought of it not being my choice. But I want to be your sister. I really hope, more than anything else, that I’m still a girl when I wake up, and that I want to be a girl, and that you all still love me. I wish I could take back what you said, so I didn’t have to roll the dice and could just stay like this for sure.”

She bowed her head and started to openly cry. After a moment, April walked up and sat down next to her on the bed. For a bit, they just sat there. Then April wrapped her arms around Ester.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, “I’ve got you. Everything is going to be okay.”

“I don’t want to leave!” Ester sobbed.

“You don’t have to,” April promised.

Ester sniffed and leaned up against April, who ran her fingers through Ester’s hair. Ester yawned and closed her eyes. She didn’t really want to fall asleep. Ester didn’t want to wake up as someone else.

*****

Then Ester was standing in an open field. A warm breeze blew by her and rustled the trees around the clearing. She was…

A boy.

Ester looked down at her big, manly hands and curled them slowly into fists. Her shoulders drooped. She was a boy again, with big hands and hairy legs and short hair and rough, loose-fitting clothes.

There was a rattle behind her. Ester turned around to see a shadowy figure standing just a few yards away. Ester gulped and curled her hands into fists. But the creature didn’t charge at her.

A loud clapping noise filled the air, and Ester turned to see someone else standing nearby.

“Well done,” the young woman said, “I really didn’t think you’d do it.”

“Hold on,” Ester said, and winced at the sound of her male voice, “I know you. You’re the ticket girl at the movie theater.”

A few gears clicked into place.

“Hold on!” she cried, “You cursed me?!”

“Congratulations.” The woman squirmed a little bit and two large dragonfly wings sprouted from her back. “I’m the one who cursed you.”

“But you work at the theater!”

“Everyone needs a day job,” the faery replied, rolling her eyes, “I know the stories you tell about us, but you can’t really be that dense.”

In a small voice, Ester said, “You made me a girl.”

“I granted a wish,” the faery replied with a shrug, “That’s all.”

Ester curled her hands into fists and replied, “But now I can go back to being a boy.”

“If you want.”

The faery gestured toward the shadowy figure, which still hadn’t moved.

“Why?” Ester asked.

“You were a bit of a brat,” the woman replied, “But I could tell that you were honestly unhappy with your life. I could sense the wish potential in the coin you gave me. It seemed fitting to use the opportunity to grant you a new chance at life.”

Ester growled, “So you did this for my own good?! Everybody turned on me! I was the freak! The outcast!”

“But you’re happier now, aren’t you?” the faery asked.

“…my parents kicked me out because of you.”

The woman narrowed her eyes and took a few steps closer. Ester gulped and took an instinctive step back.

“I did three things,” the faery said quietly, “The spell was always going to make you a girl, it was always going to make you okay with being a girl, and it was always going to create a sisterly bond between you and your friend. Everything else was up for each person to decide for themselves.”

“So April only likes me because of the magic?”

“No, all I did was create the same bond with her that already existed between you and your existing sister. How she nurtured it was entirely her own doing.”

Ester’s heart sank.

“So my parents…”

The faery nodded, then added, “Everyone else, too. All genuine.”

“You’ve been watching,” Ester replied coldly.

“It’s what got me caught,” the faery admitted, rubbing her neck and scowling, “That bastard hits hard. Shouldn’t have underestimated him.”

“So if I break this curse…”

“The curse is broken. When you wake up you’ll go back to being male,” the woman agreed, “And you and your new sister will go back to just being friends, if you both want. But you will still have the support of her parents. As for how your original parents will react…”

She shrugged.

Ester folded her arms.

“So, when I wake up, I’m a boy again.”

“If you want,” the faery repeated, gesturing to something behind Ester.

She turned and saw a door standing in the middle of the field.

“Go through there and wake up male,” the feary said, “Or embrace the shadow and return to being a girl, this time by choice.”

“Why would I do that?!” Ester cried.

“Because the curse is broken. But your self image hasn’t returned to the way it used to be. You still think of yourself as a girl.”

Ester winced.

“So if I go back,” she muttered, “I’ll be a girl in a boy’s body.”

“For the time being,” the feary replied, “It may change again with patience, but you wouldn’t be a girl in your head right now if you didn’t want to be. Do you really want to go back to being a boy? Do you really want to go back to being treated like a boy by all your new friends and family?”

Ester took a good, long look at the specter, still floating in the middle of the field.

“I… I like being a girl,” she admitted, “But you said that was because of the magic.”

“The magic made you comfortable with being female, child. But even I didn’t expect you to fall in love with the idea. I expected a long road to middling acceptance. You really surprised me. I guess that’s the only reason I even care what you decide.”

Ester’s heart fluttered a little. She looked back down at her hands and winced. This was not the body she wanted to see in the mirror every day. Could she ever get used to people seeing this as her? Or would it always feel like they were looking at someone else?

“I don’t know what to do,” she said, “What if I go back to being happy being a boy?”

“Then you become happier for it,” the faery replied, “But is that what you want now?”

“I guess not.”

“Then why do you have any reason to believe it’s what you will want in the future? The magic is already gone. What you feel is really what you feel.”

Ester gulped. She looked back at the specter. After a few moments, she took a deep breath and walked up to it. As she got close, the specter seemed to waver and then sharpen. Color washed over it and when Ester had reached it, it was a copy of herself. Her real self, as a girl in her favorite dress and heels.

“Was I always trans, and just didn’t know?” she asked.

“Only you can say.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I was…” Ester admitted, “But I’m definitely a girl now, magic or not. And I don’t want to be a girl everyone thinks is a guy. It’s been hard enough having people see me that way for such a short time. And I don’t think I want to go back to being happy as a guy either, after enjoying girlhood this much.”

The feary didn’t respond.

Ester held up her hand, and the specter returned the gesture. Ester looked between its hand and hers, and could feel tears in her eyes. She didn’t want this guy body anymore. Ester pressed their hands together, and a sudden warmth spread up her arm. She closed her eyes and let it fill her up.

When she opened her eyes, the specter was gone. Ester looked down at her hand. She blinked and tears rand own her cheeks. Her hands were back to normal. Her body was back. Her breasts and long hair and shaved legs were all back. She was wearing her favorite dress and heels.

“Thank you,” she said.

When the feary didn’t answer, Ester turned around, but there was no one else there. She was alone in the field with a gently rolling breeze playing with the skirt of her dress. The only other thing around was the door. Ester started walking toward it, grateful that her body moved and felt like it was supposed to.

She reached the door and placed her hand on the handle. With a deep breath, she swung it wide open.

*****

The buzzing of an alarm clock jerked Ester awake. Where was she? What was going on? She yawned and rolled over, falling off the bed and hitting the floor.

“Dammit!” she cried out, pulling herself into a sitting position.

“Ester?”

Ester shook her head and looked around. She was in April’s room. April was on the bed, having just woken up herself and looking worried.

“Are you…?”

Ester looked down. She was still wearing her clothes from the day before. She still had breasts, and hips, and squeezing her legs it felt like she finally had all her girly parts too.

“I’m still me,” she realized, then squealed loudly and jumped to her feet.

April was surprised by Ester’s sudden hug, but returned the gesture after a moment.

“I get to stay!” Ester cried, but then her heart skipped a beat, “I get to stay, right? You still want me, don’t you?”

“Yes!” April assured her, “I want you to stay.”

“Good, because my parents would not accept me like this.” She paused. “Oh my God. Where’s Carla?”

They bounded down the stairs, waking up Carla who was lying on the couch covered with a blanket. She needed a moment to shake her head clear. When she saw Ester, though, Carla stood up and walked up to her.

“So you’re… you’re still a girl?” she asked, “This is what you want?”

“It is,” Ester replied, “I’m sorry.”

Carla grabbed Ester tightly in a hug.

“As long as you’re happy,” she said, “That’s all that matters.”

Stephanie and Isaac were coming down the stairs. When they saw Ester almost hopping with joy in Carla’s arms, both seemed to relax.

“Hey…” Ester said, “I’m still here. Is that okay?”

Stephanie started to chuckle, and Isaac strode forward to give Ester a hug of his own.

“That’s perfectly fine.”

“So I can stay?”

“You can stay for as long as you want,” Stephanie promised her, “We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Ester buried her head in Isaac’s chest and started to cry. What did she do to deserve a family this good?

“Carla,” she said, turning to face her sister, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Fofa,” Carla told her, waving her hand dismissively, “This is the best thing for you.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly, tears flowing freely down her face, “All of you, so much.”

“Um…” April said, “Shouldn’t we be getting ready for school?”

Stephanie scoffed, “Forget about it. School will be there tomorrow. I’m going to call in sick to work. Let’s just spend the day together as a family.”

“I’m good with that!” April declared, pumping her fists in the air.

Carla chuckled and said, “I guess I’ll let you enjoy your day. I should head to school myself. See you tomorrow, Ester.”

“No, Carla,” Isaac said, “You’re welcome to stay if you want.”

“Huh?”

“You’re Ester’s sister,” Stephanie told her, “You’re part of the family too, as far as we’re concerned.”

Carla looked stunned. Her expression began to waver, and tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She turned away from them. Ester stepped forward and pulled Carla’s head onto her shoulder to let her cry openly.

“Thank you,” she stammered, “Thank you so much.”

“Absolutely,” Ester told her, “Welcome to the family.”

There weren’t enough bathrooms in the house for everyone to take a shower at once. Carla didn’t have any clean clothes, but between Ester and April they were able to piece together an outfit for her. It wasn’t half as embarrassing as she made it out be. Before long, the family was laid out in the living room and waiting for Chinese food to arrive.

Ester had never felt more at home.