Metamorphosis (Chapter 18)

“What did you just say!?” I gasped, unable to believe my ears.
“I said that if you’ll calm down and come with me, I might know how to turn you back.” James replied. I quickly climbed off my bike and ran over to him, grabbing him by the shoulders. I glared into his eyes with so much intensity that he must have been intimidated, because he started to back up a little.
“James…I swear to God above that if you’re lying to me, I will never forgive you.” I growled.
“I’m not lying Chase! I mean it!” James said. “If you come with me, I might be able to help. I can’t make any promises…but we gotta try right?” I felt my knees going weak and I almost collapsed from the delight I was feeling. It was as if all the depression and fear I had felt was being lifted from my aching shoulders.
“Oh my God…I could be a guy again!? You mean it!? I’ll do whatever you say! Just tell me what to do!” I cried.
“Follow me.” James said, walking down the trail. “We gotta get out of the park and to my aunt’s place.” He said.
“How are you going to turn me back? Will it be like a drug or a potion or something?” I asked, excitement in my voice and step.
“I dunno yet. See, I gotta take you to see my aunt.”
“Why?” I asked.
“My aunt isn’t related to my family by blood…she was adopted from Haiti a long time ago, and she’s real big into voodoo and mystical stuff. I know it sounds crazy, but she’s the real deal. She can look at you and know exactly how to fix you!” James laughed. “She’s a little crazy though…I hope you don’t mind that.”
“Hey, if she can make me a guy again, she could be Marvin the Martian for all I care!” I laughed. We hurried out of the park, me being a little slower because I was pushing my bike. We crossed the street and hurried into the town.

“Just to warn you, Chase…” James muttered. “When you meet her, she’s going to ask how it happened. So…she might dig a little into your privacy.” I felt myself tense up a little at that. I should have expected that, seeing how most doctors usually do have to ask you personal questions to get to the bottom of the disease…but this really was a very personal matter. All of this happened because of a stupid family misunderstanding. No…more like a family falling out. Dad ruined my life because mom’s life was ruined because of a miscarriage…although it was all unintentional, now neither my mom or dad were speaking to each other and both were trying to regain my trust. How could I possibly lay that all out on the table?
“Oh I…I see.” I groaned. This was going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. But if it meant I could be turned back, I’d take it. We walked for a while longer until we came upon a small wooden house near the Eastern part of town. I recognized the street we were on, and I realized that I was well outside of the normal route I took to go biking or running. We were almost on the other side of town. The house had a sign on the front that read “Herbal Remedies and Palm Readings. The Doctor is IN.”
“This is your aunts place?” I asked.
“Yeah, she’s a little…eccentric.” James said. “Look…I’ve never gone through what you’re going through…but I do know how some of her remedies work. If she can fix you, it may not be painless.”
“I’ll deal with it.” I said.
“What I’m saying is…we don’t HAVE to do this.” James said quickly, standing between me and the door.
“What?”
“Look, I’m sure it’s not the ideal choice for you…but the things my aunt does…some might consider a bit…well…unorthodox or unnatural. If you’re not comfortable with that, it may just be better to…stay this way.” James offered. I just glared at him and looked down at myself. Stay a girl? Really? Would that be the better option? After all the suffering and pain I’d gone through with my family, could I stand the pain that might come with turning back? After all, even if I do turn back, it’s not like it would change what my parents did. So…was it really worth it at this point?

“No…I need to do this.” I answered. “Now move aside or open the door.” James nodded and opened the door up.
“Auntie, it’s me! James!”
“Oh James!” I heard a heavy accented voice come from somewhere in the house. Suddenly a tall young black lady came walking out. She was wearing very find garments like a stereotypical gypsy or voodoo witch would with a bone necklace and big earrings. She had a big smile on her face and she ran out to meet James, giving him a tight hug. “How nice of ya to come and visit!”
“Hey Auntie! It’s good to see you too…but I’m not here for me.” He said.
“Then what is it child? You sick?” She asked.
“No it’s…my friend.” He said, turning to look at me. His aunt looked up and saw me. Her eyes widened at the site of me and she put her hands on her hips.
“MmmMM! Suga’ you brought home one fine young lady!” I blushed furiously at her words and shook my head.
“NO! NO, it’s not like that!” I gasped.
“Auntie, stop!” James groaned. “She’s not my girlfriend! She’s…she’s not even a girl!”
“Well suga’ she sure looks like one. Let me get a good look at ya.” She stepped towards me and looked at me closely.
“Auntie, she’s under some kind of spell.” James explained. The voodoo woman placed her hands on my cheeks and turned my head in different directions to get a look at me.
“Hmmm…oh sweetie, now I see. Yes…yes I feel a bad mojo comin’ off of this one.” She said. I felt my heart skip a beat at her words.
“You can tell?!”
“Oh yes…dis is STRONG magic. Come with me child, we’ll get this all figured out.” She took my hand and lead me back into the house. James came to follow when suddenly she stopped him.
“What?” James asked.
“You can’t come in sweetie. Don’t worry, I’m just gonna examine her and see what I can do.” Without another word, she rushed me into her bed room and shut the door, locking it.

“Okay, dear…now what is your name?” She asked.
“My name is Chase Thames.” I answered.
“Oh yes…you were dat boy James said was sick…but I see dat wasn’t quite the case, was it?”
“N-no ma’am.” I answered sadly. She walked toward me and smiled.
“Don’t you worry none…I’m gonna help ya. Now go ahead and get undressed. I need to give you a physical exam. Tell me when this happened and how, if you please.” I blushed and, for the first time in my time as a girl…I undressed in front of someone else and told everything I knew. I started with the day that it happened and how I had woken up in this body. How my mother had treated me like a dress up doll and how dad had been more and more distant as the days went by. I talked about visiting school as my “cousin” and learning about what others really thought of myself. I told her how my father had accidentally done this to try and help my mother overcome the pain of the miscarriage so many years ago that she wouldn’t let go. I told her about the party and how I had exposed them. I finally told her about meeting James in the park, and at that point, I felt tears on my cheeks and pain in my throat. The whole time I had been talking she’d been poking and proding me, testing my reflexes and skin and other things. She just stared at me and looked my body over.
“Honey, the pain you’ve gone through…I would not wish on ma worse enemy.” She whispered.
“I know.” I sighed. “But…but James says you can help me. That you can turn me back.”
“Well hon…there’s a lot of things I can do. This though…will not be easy.” She sighed. “A spell is reversible…but potions are not so easily countered. Your father used some kind of potion to do this…and so there’s only two things we can do now.”
“What!?” I asked. “What is it?” She closed her eyes and looked down, deep in thought.
“Put your clothes back on child…then meet me in the kitchen.” I did as I was told and quickly ran out of the room, fully dressed. She was sitting at the kitchen with James next to her.
“So, how are you going to fix me?” I asked.
“Honey…I’m afraid there is not much I can do.” She said. “There are only two ways to turn you back. You must either drink the antidote…which I do not know how to make. Or you must fulfill the purpose of the potion.”
“Purpose?” I asked in bewilderment.
“What she’s trying to say is that potions don’t work the way they say they do in the movies. A potion is infused with magic that is given a job or purpose to do. For example, if I made a potion with the job of making you win a football game, the potion would make you stronger, fitter, and more durable, and anything else it needed to in order to win. The magic of the potion would make the necessary changes to obtain the necessary results” James explained.
“Yes, and you said that your whole family drank it?” Auntie asked. I nodded in response. My father stated that he had indeed given us all a bit of the potion.
“Yes, Dad says we all had some.”
“Then based on what your father said…and how your father stated it would ‘fix your problems,’ I can only assume the potion you all drank is trying to fix the problems your family is suffering from. Its primary job is to make your family happy again. Your mother suffered the loss of a daughter, your father suffered the misery of his wife, and you suffered from not understanding yourself…so the potion chose to fix the issue by turning you into the daughter your family wanted. This way your mother would have her daughter and no longer be miserable, and you would be given the rare opportunity to learn more about yourself.” Auntie explained. As she spoke, I felt all the puzzle pieces sliding together…all of it starting to make a cruel and twisted sense. She was right…all of it was spot on. After mom had the miscarriage, she’d never been the same and Dad, of course always got the end of that stick because he was always trying to comfort her. I on the other hand was struggling with finding my identity in school and with learning about how others saw me…and turning me into a girl had, for all attempts and purposes, fixed those three major issues!
“But that doesn’t explain how the potion didn’t affect mom or dad!” I retorted.
“It didn’t need to.” James said. “Like I said, the potion is infused with magic, and the magical energy is universal. When all three of you drank, the magic decided the simplest course of action to fix your problems.”
“Couldn’t it have just changed our moods? Make Mom forget the miscarriage or something?”
“It’s not that simple. The potion has to make a physical change. It can’t simply alter personality or temperament. That’s messing with the mind and brain, and no magician or alchemist is crazy enough to try and meddle with that.” Auntie muttered.
“Damn it…” I groaned. “Then…you mean there’s no way to reverse this?!”
“There is, child…the only way you can is to fullfil the potions’s objective.” She said.
“What? But I thought it had.” I argued.
“Are your families problems fixed?” Auntie asked.
“Of course they’re not! This stupid potion did nothing but make everything worse!” I spat.
“Then the potion will continue to keep you this way until it fullfils what it was meant to.” She said.
“You mean the only way for me to turn back…is if my family can fix its problems and all of us can be happy again?” I asked. “That sounds…too simple. Are you sure?”
“Sweetie, I’ve been doin’ this a long time.” Auntie laughed. “I know ma stuff.” I giggled myself, but then looked down at my feet, desperation itching back into my mind. Could I really fix the problems that this potion had caused between myself and my family? Even if I could…how would I know what to say or do? Mom and Dad were at each others throats right now, and I wasn’t sure they’d even believe me if I told them that a voodoo priestess told me all this. They’d probably tell me I was losing my mind. But regardless, I had to try…it was my only chance.
“Thanks Auntie.” James said. “We really appreciate it.”
“I’m sorry I  couldn’t do more sweetie.” She said, putting her hand on my shoulder.
“No, it’s okay…thanks for telling me.” I said.
“Before ya go…I’ll give ya a little something that should help you.” She hurried off into her bedroom again, leaving me with James.
“I’ll just wait for you outside.” James said. With that he hurried to the door. Shortly after he left, Auntie returned and held out a small golden ring.
“Here, child…put it on.” I held out my hand and she slid it on my ring finger. “As long as you wear that, you shall be protected and given safety.” I smiled at the sentiment. I didn’t really buy into voodoo hexes and stuff, but the fact that she was looking out for my well being was very kind.
“Thank you ma’am.” I said.
“Oh dear, call me Auntie.” She laughed. “Now hurry on home, it’s getting’ dark out!” I nodded and climbed to my feet, hurrying to the door. I walked out and saw James at the bottom of the steps.

“So, do you think you can fix the problems at home?” He asked.
“I’m gonna try.” I replied. “I don’t have much choice.”
“Yeah…sorry about everything.” James shrugged.
“It’s no trouble…at least I know what to do now…sort of.” I laughed. James smiled back. “James, I really can’t thank you enough. If you ever need anything.”
“Actually…there is something you could do.” James said. “You…know about that school dance going on in a few days right?”
“…Yes?”
“Well…if you’re still a girl when it rolls around, would you…be willing to go with me? Just as friends of course.” James flushed and looked away.
“James…you do realize I’m a guy at heart, right?”
“Yeah I know, it was stupid of me to ask…I just…well I figured that you could use the chance to get out and socialize a little, ya know? And I could certainly use a date.” James said. I groaned and tapped my foot, my arms crossed. It was embarrassing…but I couldn’t see the harm in it. After all, I might actually be turned back by then anyway.
“Okay James, I guess I do owe you one. If I’m not back to normal by the time of the dance…I’ll go with you.” James perked up at my response and grabbed my hand fast.
“Thank you! I haven’t been able to find a girl who would go with me all week long!”
“Yeah…um…no problem…could you let go of my hand now?” I asked with a blush.
“Right…sorry.” He laughed. He released my hand and I climbed on my bike.
“Guess I’ll see ya later, James. Thanks again!” I called. I didn’t listen for his response as I sped off towards home. Sure, the whole dance thing was a little unexpected, but I could stomach that. Besides, there were more pressing things on my mind…like what to say to my parents when I got home. How do you start fixing a broken home?