Come morning Zoe and Katrina were just as hospitable as ever.

They were both clad only in large black nightshirts, while I wore a pair of loose track-pants and a t-shirt. Neither of my hosts drank coffee so they didn't have any in the house, but Katrina didn't hesitate to 'pop out' and pick something up for me.

The coffee was perfect, and I couldn't shake the suspicion she'd gone all the way to Seattle to get it. Although I was certain both Zoe and I would have felt a little less uncomfortable about Katrina's brief trek if the impulsive brunette had thought to put on some pants before teleporting halfway around the world and back.

After fetching my coffee Katrina made breakfast for the three of us. It wasn't anything too fancy, but it was tasty. And it was nice having a home-cooked meal with the young couple who insisted on treating me like an old friend.

As I enjoyed my bacon and eggs, the brunette offered "I can make you more if that's not enough, but my suggestion is you're better off with a light meal now. Doing the spell on a full stomach can be a bit uncomfortable. We can always do something fun for lunch afterwards."

"Thanks," I smiled. I'd already heard that suggestion about not over-eating prior to the magic, but it was nice to know my hosts were thinking ahead and looking out for me. "I appreciate the tip. And the food, thank you very much for breakfast."

"My pleasure," the brunette smiled. She and Zoe enjoyed their meals as well, and when the three of us were finished eating Katrina took care of the dishes.

Zoe and I retired to the living-room, and I wound up sitting on the recliner again while the catgirl curled up on the sofa.

There was just under an hour left before the full moon, and I could feel the anxiety building. Actually doing the spell here in the home of Cindy's girlfriend -- and for that matter I still strongly suspected that Katrina was actually the legend herself -- it was beyond my wildest dreams.

"You look nervous Tam," Zoe commented. She had a friendly smile on her face her tone was compassionate. "I know it's a big deal, but I hope you're not worried about Katrina or myself? We'd never interfere. If anything we're happy for you, and for everyone else who uses Cindy's spell. If there's anything we can do to help just ask."

I smiled back at her. "Thank you Zoe. You and Katrina have already done more than I'd have ever asked, or dreamed. I appreciate your hospitality, and letting me stay and do this here with you. If it's ok with you, I'd like to set up my laptop and audio recorder, and treat the event like an on-the-record interview or report?"

The catgirl nodded, "Sure. I'll have a word with my wife so she knows not to get carried away."

"She's a little impulsive isn't she?" I asked with a grin.

Zoe smiled, "She certainly can be. She can be serious too, but it was her mischievous impulsive side that I fell in love with first."

At about half past nine I got to work. We moved the coffee table into a better position and I got my laptop plugged in and set up so the camera had a good view of me on the recliner. I put my audio recorder next to it and made sure the microphone had good coverage of the sofa so it would pick up any comments my hosts made.

Neither Zoe and Katrina bothered to dress, the two young women stayed in their nightshirts for now as they cuddled together on the sofa and watched.

And I remained in my loose track-pants and t-shirt. I had a bottle of water with me and I took a few gulps of that as my mouth had gone dry. Then I settled into the recliner and looked at my image on the laptop screen to verify it was recording.

It was an odd feeling, knowing this would be the last time I saw that face on the screen. Odd, but good. I was forty-seven years old, and I kept in decent shape. My appearance was almost as ambiguous as my name, but my square jaw, my voice, my height, and my broad shoulders were the main things that gave me away as AMAB.

My face bore no whiskers, over two decades ago I spent the time and money and endured a few painful years of electrolysis sessions to take care of that. My wardrobe was carefully chosen to be as androgynous as I could get. Even my once-black hair that was now streaked with grey was kept in a style that would work for either a man or woman.

For a long time people regarded me with confusion, or suspicion. More than one person asked or assumed that I was trans. The last few years people started to assume I was non-binary, gender-fluid, or gender-non-conforming. I never confirmed or denied anything. Until now, that is. I addressed the laptop and began my coming-out speech.

"Good morning. I'm Tam Stevens, recording from the living-room of Zoe and Katrina Zaitsev. It's Tuesday July first, nine-forty-five in the morning, local time here in Victoria, Australia. Back home in Canada it's still June thirtieth for a few more hours. More importantly, the full moon will peak in about seven minutes. And by now just about everyone on Earth knows what that means."

"The window's already open, and by the time it closes roughly two million more people will have used Cindy's spell. And today I'm going to be one of them. Folks who've known me for a while have wondered if I was trans, or non-binary. Personally I haven't worried much about finding labels. I've been content to be ambiguously androgynous for the past two decades. Most of the aspects of my body I disliked have already been addressed through conventional means, and I lacked the will, motivation, and perhaps the courage to confront the rest."

"Then two years ago Cindy released her spell to the world. It caught my attention but even then I wasn't quite ready to try it. I kept an eye on it though, and like most people I watched with wonder and amazement as more and more folks around the globe took advantage and benefited from that magic."

I had one eye on the clock in the corner of my laptop so I was ontop of the timing, and saw I needed to pick up the pace.

"So this will come as a shock to those closest to me. Last year I was diagnosed with a fairly aggressive cancer, and the prognosis wasn't great. I was given about eighteen months, of which thirteen have already passed by. At the time I was told it was inoperable, that I could try radiation or chemo but both have their drawbacks and neither guaranteed success. I decided to pass on treatment and just ride it out to the end. Until four months ago, when my oncologist suggested another tactic. He told me to use Cindy's spell. A medical professional with many years experience handling terminally-ill patients prescribed me magic as a cure to an incurable disease."

"So here we are. I spent a month mulling over that prescription, and another three months working on what would otherwise have been my very last assignment. And now in the last few minutes before the full moon reaches its peak, I'm going to take my doctor's advice and use the spell. For my physical health, my mental health, a little bit because I'm curious, and I want to try being the person I couldn't be when I was younger. So here we go."

I had the spell memorized, along with the results I wanted to achieve. I closed my eyes and began quietly reciting the strange words. I knew the clock was running down but I went slowly and patiently. When I was finished I kept my eyes closed and focused on the new me.

Just like I'd read countless times, it took a second or two. Then I felt that stored magic shift deep inside me. Even with my eyes closed I was aware of the swirling light that surrounded me. And when it faded, I felt different.

The first thing I noticed was the absence of pain. It usually wasn't that bad, but it had been a constant companion for nearly three years. I'd gotten used to it, such that I was only really aware of it when it flared up. Yet having it suddenly gone felt like a massive weight was lifted from my shoulders.

I took a deep breath then opened my eyes. There was already a smile on my face as I focused on the new image on my laptop's display.

When I spoke my new voice was clear, the pitch noticeably higher than before. And the sense of wonder and joy was obvious in my tone, as well as from the smile on my lips and the sparkle in my eyes.

"My name is Tamara Stevens. Young, healthy, and cancer-free. On behalf of myself, and the millions and millions of other people around the world who've benefitted from this gift, I would like to say thank you. Cindy, wherever you are, thank you. You set out to change the world and you've absolutely done that. I have no idea where that change will take us, but thanks to you I'll be alive to find out. And I hope wherever you are now, you're still watching and still cheering us on."

Zoe and Katrina stayed quiet through the whole thing, but they were both smiling. I probably should have got them involved, asked them some questions, done my job as a reporter, but I decided not to. This was my moment and I kept it for myself.

That was pretty much everything I'd planned to say in terms of my before and after speeches. I leaned forward and stopped the laptop's recording and saved the video file, then excused myself and left the living-room. I needed to see myself in the bathroom mirror, the image on my little laptop screen wasn't enough.

I turned on the washroom light then stood there and stared at the stranger in the mirror. That was a fascinating experience. I was literally a different person now.

The first twenty years of my life I'd lived as a guy. The next twenty-seven years I'd been ambiguously androgynous. Now I looked twenty again, but I was undeniably a girl.

My whole life I had black hair and dark eyes, a square jaw, wide shoulders, a low voice, and my over-all body shape and size was definitely masculine. Now I was petite, about the same size as my hosts. Five-foot-four, with a cute round face, hips, a waist, a butt, and yes, boobs. I had narrow shoulders, my arms and legs were smooth and slim. My hands and feet were small, delicate even. And I had blonde hair and blue eyes.

Most of my professional life I'd gone by the pseudonym Tam. Now people would know that was always short for Tamara.

I probably spent ten minutes studying my new face in the mirror. I didn't look anything like the old me. There was no family resemblance, no hint of Tam whatsoever in my appearance as Tamara. I did that intentionally, I wanted a clean break from old to new.

Eventually I tore myself away from the mirror and stepped into the guest room. At the bottom of my travel bag were the clothes I'd prepared for this moment. I dug out the plastic bag then stripped off my ill-fitting track-pants and shirt.

As per all the advice people shared, my new outfit was mostly stretchy. You never knew exactly what your size would be, so having some leeway was always important. I pulled on the pink cotton panties, then the matching pink sports bra. Next were the patterned white and purple leggings, and finally the large purple top. A pair of small white footie-socks covered my delicate feet, and a pair of small white sneakers with pink accents completed the outfit. The shoes proved to be a bit large on my tiny feet, but they'd do for now.

When I returned to the living-room, both Zoe and Katrina were still smiling at me. As I sat down Zoe commented, "You look wonderful Tamara. And I don't just mean physically attractive. You look happy, and excited."

I still had that smile on my face and I nodded, "You're right. I'm happy, and I am excited. Like I said, I've been thinking about this for two years. A year ago it became more important. And I've been planning it and looking forward to it for three months."

"What happens next?" Katrina asked. "I mean in terms of your work, this assignment you're doing, and long-term?"

I sat back in my chair and had a gulp of water, then shrugged. "I guess I'll wrap things up here then head back home to Canada. I'll touch-base with my editor, let him know what I've done, who I am now. Then I'll get to work compiling everything I've learned over the last three months. I've pretty much made my mind up, there's more than enough to get a book out of this. That's what I'm going to tell my editor, and we'll see how it pans out."

"Are you worried this change might negatively impact your career?" Zoe asked. "Like we discussed yesterday, you were picked for this because you hadn't used the spell."

I smiled, "Maybe? I'm not going to worry about that for now. If I get dropped, I'll just go ahead and write the book anyways on my own. It's important. People deserve to know how much Cindy really did for us. And a lot of people want to know."

The catgirl looked thoughtful as she asked, "How's the story going to end? What's the conclusion? You set out to learn about Cindy's life, right? Where does that story finish up?"

I considered it for a few moments, and I couldn't help but glance at Katrina. I was still almost positive the strange brunette was once Cindy, but something told me there was more to it than that. If she really was the enigmatic blonde teen, she didn't just change her appearance and her name to become Katrina. It felt like something deeper or more profound happened.

Everything I learned about Cindy told me she was brave, brash, cocky, reckless, and outspoken when it came to her cause. Katrina certainly seemed impulsive and mischievous as far as I'd seen, but apart from some teasing she didn't come across like the Cindy I'd been researching.

Eventually I concluded, "I'll tell people what I've learned. The spells she's known for were only a fraction of what she did for the world. She sacrificed herself to save us from war, and she committed herself to seeing the world become a better place. And whatever really happened to her, wherever she is now, I hope she's watching and she sees that the change she started is still going on. The world is getting better, slowly but surely, thanks to her."

Both Zoe and Katrina looked pleased with that answer, but neither commented yet.

I finally reached out and picked up my audio recorder and switched it off. I set it with my laptop, then looked at Katrina.

"Off the record, will you tell me the truth? Are you Cindy?"

The brunette had an arm around Zoe's shoulders, the two were still cuddling together. She looked back at me and shrugged slightly.

"Off the record?" she replied with a straight face and a level voice. "Who and what Cindy was is now a part of me. Much of her personality, most of her memories, and for lack of a better word her soul or her essence, all that lives on inside me. I, or more accurately we, are made up of what remains of Cindy, merged with Aeronwy and Aeron. One physical body, three formerly-separate entities. Together we call ourselves Kat. Together we are two Goddesses and a sorceress."

I found myself staring at her...them. "How? And why?"

Kat replied calmly, "As we said, Cindy sacrificed herself. She sacrificed her existence for Aeronwy. In return, Aeronwy sacrificed her individuality to try and save Cindy. They merged, and Aeron came along for the ride."

The brunette paused slightly and I saw some pain in her eyes, which was mirrored in Zoe's expression as well.

Kat continued, "It was not a smooth or easy process, and Cindy was almost lost. We had to piece her back together as best we could, but it wasn't perfect. Like we said, most of her personality and memories exist as part of us. But we aren't really her. We can 'be her' at times, and we can do it convincingly, but it's easier to just be ourself."

Zoe took over, "I hope you understand Tamara, this is very much off the record. We won't threaten you, but I'd like to think we can trust you to keep the personal information to yourself. The bottom line is Cindy's gone, and Kat and I are retired from the sort of life Cindy and I led. We've settled down here, and we just want to have a quiet, peaceful, private life."

I nodded slowly as I looked back and forth between the two.

"I understand. And you can trust me."

Kat smiled, "Thank you Tamara. And if it's not already obvious, you can consider yourself a friend of ours. We wouldn't let just anyone into our home, let alone invite them to spend the night. We like you and we're already looking forward to reading your book when it comes out."

My cheeks coloured but I smiled back "Thank you Katrina. And Zoe. Thank you for everything."

~ The End ~

PurpleCatGirl

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