The air felt fresh and pure as Eddie started down the trail, and breathing in felt almost like he was tidying up his insides. There was a slight moist breeze that gently tickled his cheek, and the re-emerged sun felt pleasantly warm and inviting, rather than scorching. He soon realized there was a spring in his step, and as he came around a corner into a small clearing, he was thrilled to see a magnificent rainbow radiating across the sky.

He stopped and let out a little gasp, the beauty of it was so breathtaking. The colors were more vivid than any rainbow he'd seen before, and it made his heart burst a little bit. Just then a motion to his left distracted him from the rainbow, and he turned his head to see a glorious multitude of butterflies darting to and fro, and forming a cloud around him. Yellow ones, pink ones, orange ones, light blue ones, white ones, even purple ones. They swirled around him, and once more he ached from the delicate beauty surrounding him. As if it wasn't enough, rain droplets still suspended in the air added a sparkle to the scene, and he felt his eyes start to moisten up from sheer joy.

The blissful swarm accompanied him a ways as he strolled down the trail, and eventually dispersed, just in time for a pretty bluebird to take their place. It swooped and flitted, circling Eddie with a friendly air. He grinned as two more bluebirds joined the first. Then, from nowhere, appeared whole flocks, a veritable melting pot of all varieties of birds - wrens, thrushes, orioles, finches, tanagers, doves - all choreographed in a graceful dance around him. The chirping and tweeting and warbling were wonderfully varied, but somehow perfectly in harmony with one another, a glorious symphony. Eddie was awestruck, not only by the loveliness, but by the gentle warmth exuding from them. It was like they had found the tender core of his soul, and rather than asking him to build a wall around it, as he'd been encouraged his whole life, they instead beseeched him to open it up, to commune with their own tenderness. A flood of softness filled his heart, melting the bricks and bars and wire that had never belonged there in the first place.

Then, as the trail rounded another bend, the birds all lifted as one, becoming a beautiful cloud rising up to the heavens. He watched it recede off into the distance, ever graceful. As his eyes returned to earth, another dazzlement awaited him. The meadow he was entering was awash in wildflowers. Every conceivable color was represented, and they almost pulsed from their vibrancy. And yet, despite that, the feeling that rose up from them was serene rather than manic. The softness within him became even more tender.

A slight breeze rolled across the floral cornucopia, and gently lifted the sweetest fragrance up into his nostrils. The scent was intoxicating. He tried to put a word to the way he was feeling. It didn't come to him immediately, but soon it became clear. Feminine. He wanted to melt into the flowers and float away on a perfumed girly cloud. He'd always wanted that, but the resistance he'd put up against it was finally fizzling away, and he could now embrace it.

He continued walking through the flowers, and now snow white bunnies flanked him, hopping happily alongside. His heart swelled as bliss overtook him. Something was changing, something fundamental, he could feel it. He skipped along the rest of the trail, until it reached a large grassy meadow at the end of the flowers. On the other side of the meadow he saw what must be the end of the other part of the loop, emerging from a much different looking part of the forest. Intuitively he knew it was time to stop and wait there for Mickie to arrive.

He reflected as he waited, and looked down at himself. His body was still that of a boy, but something absolutely was different. He had always felt like a girl deep inside, but that had been smothered, buried, always trying to poke through the surface but forever stifled. Now the blanket had been whisked away, and it was clear as day. He could no longer think of himself as himself. He may still have the same old body, but he was unmistakably a she. The barnacles of years of conditioning and squelching and pretending had finally been fully chipped away, and she could no longer think of herself as a boy.

Eddie let out a deep sigh of contentment, closing her eyes as a serene smile formed on her face. Something soft rubbed against her ankle, and she opened her eyes to see one of the bunnies nuzzling up against her. She reached down and picked it up, cradling it in her arms and rubbing her cheek against its fur.

Something caught her eye, and she looked up to see Mickie emerging from the other side of the meadow. Mickie walked forward with a confident stride, a slightly mischievous smile on her face, and a strength in her bearing. She approached Eddie with a steady gaze.

"You seem different," Mickie said, still staring intently.

"I feel different. You seem different too."

"I am. I guess I don't look like it yet, but I'm a boy. I'm all sorted out inside."

"Yeah, me too. I just... I can't think of myself as a boy anymore."

"Cuz you're not. I can see it in your eyes."

"I can see it in your eyes too Mickie..."

A rush of unfamiliar sensations filled Eddie. Her friend Mickie, he's a boy now, and she felt... nervous? Like being around a boy was something a little bit mysterious, that she wasn't quite sure how to deal with. It was utterly absurd, and yet...

"That was so amazing," Mickie marveled, "I was running with a pack of wolves! And I wrestled with a bobcat!"

"Oh wow!"

"What about you, what was your welcome walk like?"

"Well," Eddie felt suddenly sheepish - the soft joys she'd experienced might not sound impressive to Mickie. "There were beautiful butterflies, and birds, and the best smelling flowers you could ever imagine!"

"It sounds nice," he said, with no hint of dismissiveness. He grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's head back." They started back down the part of the trail Eddie had walked. It looked like normal forest, without any of the wonders she'd encountered on the way up, but it didn't feel normal. It felt extraordinary, she was returning as her true self, despite her lagging body. And her hand was enveloped by the gallant fingers of her friend, her protector, this fierce boy who had just wrestled a bobcat.

They strolled silently, each one processing the shift that had taken place in their souls. Eddie struggled to make sense of what had changed. There had always been a conflict within, a battle between the way she felt inside, and the way she looked on the outside. Now that she felt so unequivocally female on the inside, that disconnect with her body ought to be even starker. But there was a surprising sense of calm - the internal struggle had been resolved. She knew exactly who she was now. Sure, her body wasn't lining up with that, but the storm that had raged inside had subsided, and she felt ready to take on whatever fight her body was planning to wage with her.

Her focus shifted from her internal drama to the hand that was clasping her own. She glanced over at Mickie's face. He was obviously making his own attempt to sort through the mutating layers of his psyche. But it wasn't a troubled look, just a thoughtful one. He was clearly unconflicted about the path they were going down, and determined to carry it through the rest of the way.

"Mickie?"

"Yeah Eddie?"

"When will this be finished? I mean, I'm a girl now, and it seems a lot of people think of me that way already, but when I look at our bodies, they're not... I mean..."

"I know. It will happen soon, maybe tomorrow, but I just don't know for sure.

"I wonder why it's so slow like this."

"Who knows. It's magic, I guess it's supposed to be mysterious."

"Well anyway, I'm glad I'm not going through this alone," Eddie admitted. "It's nice to have someone who understands what it's like."

They stopped briefly, and Mickie looked into Eddie's eyes. "Yeah, it is nice. I'm real glad we're doing this together. It's like a... connection that we'll always have. And that we'll never forget."

The look lingered, and Eddie felt that unfamiliar feeling again. Just as the awkwardness was about to force Eddie to blurt something out of her mouth, Mickie turned forward and they began walking again.

They returned to the bicycles and started pedaling back to town. Eddie pondered what awaited her back at home. This clicking in place that had happened inside her - had it happened inside others too? In her dad? In Rev. Bremer?

When she arrived home and walked through the front door, her mother rushed out from the kitchen.

"Oh sweet peach, where have you been? I've been worried sick!"

"It's OK Mom. I was just out at Grady's Ford. I'm sorry I'm late for supper."

"It's so unlike you! I just started to worry. A young girl out alone..."

"I wasn't alone Mom, I was with Mick-"

"Marian!!" Eddie's father roared. "Enough!! You need to stop with this 'young girl' nonsense! Let him sow his wild oats!"

Marian looked at Leo, perplexed. "What on earth are you talking about? I think you need to see a doctor!"

"You're the one who needs a doctor!" Leo fumed. "You're off your rocker!"

"Come with me Eddie!" Her mother grabbed her and ushered her upstairs to Eddie's bedroom, closing the door behind them. She held Eddie tight.

"I don't know what's taken hold of your father," she sobbed. "He always wanted a son..."

Eddie's heart plunged. The elation from the welcome walk was replaced by a mixture of desolation and resentment. She had the distinct suspicion that her father's resistance was what was holding back the magic somehow. A continual foot in the door, preventing it from closing off her earlier life.

"Mom?" Eddie asked. "Do you see me as a girl?"

Marian gave her an odd look. "Why of course honey! Don't let your father make you doubt yourself!"

"But my body..."

"What about your body?"

"Well, it's not a... girly body... "

"Honey, you're on the cusp of changing, you know it's almost here." Eddie knew her mother meant something very different, but her words rang true. "Before you know it, you'll be blossoming."

"But what do we do about Daddy?"

"We're going downstairs to have a nice supper together, and he's not going to start any trouble, I won't allow it!"

Marian took Eddie's hand and they walked back down the stairs. Leo was sitting in his chair fuming.

"Now we're all going to sit down and eat this nice meal I've prepared before it gets cold," Marian announced, "and I don't want any arguing or unpleasantness!"

Eddie and her mother sat down with Rosemary, who had been already sitting there nervously. Leo slowly got up from his chair and walked into the kitchen and sat down glumly.

"What were you doing out at Grady's Ford?" He asked Eddie roughly.

"Um, Mickie and I went on a hike," she replied.

"You could learn a thing or two from Mickie," Leo grumbled. "I bet he's going out for football."

Eddie almost jumped in her chair. He's seeing Mickie for who he is, but can't recognize me, his own daughter? This is so topsy turvy!

"Tell you what, Eddie," he continued. "How about we go out to the rifle range tomorrow. It's high time you learned how to shoot a gun."

"Leo, what did I tell you!" Marian objected. "Leave her alone!"

"What objection can you have to that? Why, even you have gone shooting! I can't teach my own son about hunting?"

Marian stood up. "Eddie, let's go, I'm taking you to Grandma's." Her eyes were steely.

"Wait Mom, it's ok," Eddie said. "I'll... I'll go shooting with Daddy." As confused as she was, and as much as she appreciated her mother's support, she couldn't bear to tear the family apart. Maybe some time with her father could help him to understand?

"Eddie, you don't have to do that!"

Rosemary started to cry.

"It's OK, I'll go, let's please just don't fight."

Marian consoled her younger daughter, and sighed as she resigned herself to the situation. A heavy silence set in and they all finished up their supper. After helping with the dishes, Eddie headed for the stairs.

"We'll leave tomorrow at 11," Leo barked.

"Yes Daddy," Eddie replied, and leadenly climbed the stairs up to bed.