Me and mom wound up sitting together on the living-room sofa. I had a can of cola, she opened a bottle of wine. Her first glass didn't last very long, now she'd just started her second.

When we sat down I sat at the far end in my usual spot, and I was slouched back like I'd usually sit.

Mom sort of looked at me then cleared her throat and commented "You're uh, going to have to get used to sitting differently now that you're a girl. Especially if you're going to be wearing dresses."

It took a moment or two to sink in, before my face went beet red. I'd been slouching with my legs spread wide. If there'd been anyone sitting across from me they'd have got a pretty good look at my crotch.

Before I could respond, Lily took over completely. It was sort of like being in the back seat of a car. I could watch what was happening, I was aware of everything, but I was powerless to actually do anything.

My posture changed as I sat up and brought my legs together in a smooth fluid motion. I shifted on the sofa so I was sitting with my back up straight. I adjusted the hem of my dress skirt, then 'I' apologized, "Sorry mom. I definitely have a *lot* to learn about being a girl."

Mom watched all of that with wide-eyes, then had another deep sip of wine. I felt really embarrassed, and I still wasn't used to Lily taking over like that. I definitely didn't like it though.

After another minute or two of awkward silence, mom asked "So um... You said you're going to start calling yourself Mara? You seem really calm about all of this."

She paused a moment then frowned slightly, "I mean, I really don't know what's more shocking? You died and were brought back to life? Or you died and got brought back as a girl. I guess that's what I'm trying to ask? Why aren't you upset? How are you staying so calm?"

Lily asked, "Would you like to answer that, or shall I?"

For a moment I was almost cringing waiting for my mom to react, before I remembered that when Lily talked like that it was inside my head.

My cheeks were still bright red and I was still embarrassed. I worried though if Lily responded I'd wind up even more embarrassed, so I gulped and started answering my mom's question.

"So I guess I'm not freaking out about the whole dead-or-not thing because it was all way too surreal? I mean, it didn't hurt. I don't actually remember dying? It was just like, one moment there was an SUV like right there and the jackass behind the wheel was staring at his phone, then it was like *blink* and now the SUV is over there and it's stopped and there's an ambulance and cops and stuff? And the whole time I was still just standing there, like woah what just happened?"

I shrugged and continued, "Then I saw my body get put in the back of an ambulance, but like I didn't see anything nasty? There was a sheet over me so all I could see was my shoes. You know my favourite black sneakers with the purple laces? Anyways it was all just really surreal and almost dream-like. And I didn't really have time to freak out and worry about it."

Mom looked sort of thoughtful as she listened, and she drank some more wine but didn't interrupt.

I paused for a gulp of cola, then took a deep breath and said "As for the uh, girl stuff..."

My cheeks heated up more and I almost wanted to sink into the sofa and hide, but I knew if I didn't say it myself Lily would probably speak up and make it worse. "I'm uh, not freaking out about it because it's uh, something I kind of wished for a lot? It's a little like a dream come true, I guess..."

Mom nearly choked on her drink. She sputtered and coughed a few times, then finished her second glass of wine.

She finally looked at me and asked "So you're uh, you're happy like this?"

"I really don't know yet," I admitted with a sigh. "It's literally all been a blur so far, mom. Like I mean, it feels like it hasn't even been an hour yet since it happened? I died, saw my body hauled off in an ambulance, Lily offered to bring me back to life, I woke up in bed here, discovered I was a girl, then you got home and had a shower then walked into my room and now we're here. It's just been nonstop."

Mom gave me a sympathetic worried look, "I'm sorry hon. It feels like a blur to me too. I can't even imagine what you must be going through."

I wasn't sure what to say, so I just had another gulp of soda.

After another little awkward silence mom suggested "It's nearly two in the morning. I think we should both get some sleep, ok? I'll fix us up something nice for breakfast in the morning."

"Ok mom," I got up with her, then before she turned to head for her bedroom I stepped closer and gave her another hug. "Thanks for believing me. I don't know what I'd have done if you didn't."

She hugged me back, "You're still my son. I mean, my child. Daughter? I'm sorry."

I suppressed a giggle as she struggled to pick the right words.

"What I mean is, it doesn't matter what you look like. I know who you are on the inside."

After another few seconds we both let go of each other. Mom turned out the living-room lights and we headed down the hall to our bedrooms.

"Goodnight hon," she said as she went into her room.

"Goodnight mom," I replied and stepped into mine.

I closed the door behind me, then it took me a minute to figure out how to get out of the dress. It turned out to be fairly simple, I just pulled the whole thing off over my head. Getting out of the tights wasn't complicated either, though it proved to be a novel experience.

I left them both draped over the back of my chair, then turned out the light and slipped into bed.

"Hey Lily?" I asked quietly. "Are you still there?"

Her response was almost immediate, "Always."

"That magic you did to my shirt and track-pants," I kept my voice down as I talked, so I was almost just whispering. "Can you do that to all the rest of my clothes too? So I have something else to wear tomorrow?"

"Of course," she replied. "I'll ensure you have a full wardrobe by the time you wake in the morning."

I smiled, "Cool, thanks. What about my phone, can you fix that?"

"No. It's too complicated. I'll see about getting you a replacement though."

I frowned slightly, "Oh. Ok. I guess I'll have to go out to the store or something? They're expensive though, I don't have that kind of money. Neither does my mom."

"Leave it to me, Mara." Lily sounded quite confident.

I nodded slightly, then stifled a yawn. "Ok... How about my ID and stuff? Can you fix it so it's got the right name and picture and stuff on all my cards and things?"

Lily was quiet for a few moments then answered "I'll see what I can do. Now get some sleep Mara, I can tell you're tired."

"All right," I mumbled, as my eyes fluttered closed and I drifted off.

• • • • •

I drifted awake in the morning to sunlight streaming in through my bedroom window and the smell of bacon cooking. I smiled a little, mom was making us a special Sunday breakfast.

According to my bedside clock it was just past ten, Sunday morning. I felt good, like I had a really good night's sleep. I didn't remember any dreams or anything, so I figured I must have a really sound sleep.

I stretched then pulled the blanket away and sat up, and I was instantly wide-awake again as yesterday and last night suddenly came back to me. For a few moments there I'd forgotten all about it and thought I was my usual guy self.

It was real though. I died and got reincarnated as a girl. Lily's amulet was still hanging from my neck, resting in between my boobs. I wound up sitting there staring down at myself for a minute or two. It was hard to believe, but the evidence was undeniable.

Finally I got to my feet and had a look in my closet. I needed to use the washroom but I didn't want to walk around the house naked. Normally I'd have pulled on some track pants and an old t-shirt, but none of my old clothes would fit.

Except that wasn't a problem now, because none of my old clothes were here anymore. My closet was now full of girl clothes. Tight jeans, dresses, skirts, blouses.

I stared for a few moments, then went to my dresser to look in there. My underwear drawer was now full of panties and bras. My sock drawer still contained socks, but now there were also stockings and couple pairs of leggings. My t-shirt drawer was still full of t-shirts, but now they were in my size.

One thing I was relieved to notice was a distinct lack of girly colours. There wasn't any pinks or pastels or flower-patterns or anything cutesy. Not that I had a problem with cute stuff, but I wouldn't have been happy if that was my only option. Instead almost everything was still in solid colours rather than fancy patterns, and the colours themselves were all dark and muted, like they were before. It was just the styles that had changed.

I didn't have time for an extensive wardrobe review though so I grabbed something that looked suitable and pulled it on as I hurried across the hall to the washroom.

I sort of braced myself for that to be a weird experience, but it actually wasn't anything that far out of the ordinary really. It was all just sort of natural and automatic. When I was done I washed my hands then went to the kitchen to see how my mom was doing.

Mom was still dressed in her track pants and t-shirt, but she'd put on her comfy slippers. She was standing in front of the stove, with eggs in one pan and bacon in another. The toaster was going, and there was an almost-full pot of coffee in the machine.

"G'morning mom," I greeted her. "Anything I can do to help?"

Mom sort of stared at me for a few seconds. I figured it was all just sinking in again for her too that this stuff really happened and yes I was a girl now.

She finally replied "Good morning uh, Mara. Could you set the table please? Breakfast's almost ready."

"Sure thing," I gave her a smile then got started.

As I set out the plates and cutlery it hit me, that was the first time mom called me by my new name. I found myself smiling again. It felt really nice to hear her use my name.

I went to grab a glass so I could have some juice and got another reminder of how short I was. I actually had to get on my tiptoes and stretch to reach that shelf. Then once I had my juice poured, I topped up mom's cup of coffee. When the toast popped I got it all buttered and put it on the table, and by then the rest of the food was ready too. Mom served it up then we sat down together to eat.

I stared at all the food in front of me and grimaced, "Thanks mom. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to eat as much as I used to though."

She'd given me three eggs and six pieces of bacon. I could easily eat that much before, but I had serious doubts I'd manage it now.

Mom blushed, "Oh... Of course. Sorry hon. Eat what you can, don't worry about the rest."

I figured the bacon would be easiest to keep and eat later, so I set it aside and just had the eggs. And three of them along with a slice of toast turned out to be a filling breakfast.

As we ate, mom asked "Where did you get that nightshirt? It's cute."

I smiled and blushed a little at the compliment. "Oh uh, Lily did more of her magic thing last night? She updated my whole wardrobe."

Mom looked surprised, and impressed. And maybe a bit jealous.

After breakfast I put the left-over bacon in the fridge then helped mom do the dishes. She got herself another cup of coffee, I got some more juice. Then the two of us went into the living-room to relax.

This time when I sat down I remembered to do it right, legs together, back straight, all that stuff.

After a minute or two, mom asked "Mara? What are you going to do about school tomorrow?"

I froze up with that deer-in-the-headlights look again. I hadn't even thought about that yet. There were three more weeks till graduation. This week would be finishing up projects and assignments. Next week would be review and studying. And the last week would be exams.

Except they were expecting dead-me, not girl-me. I couldn't just show up as Mara and expect the whole school to just shrug and accept me.

"Uh," I shook my head slowly. "I have no idea?"

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