Metamorphosis (Chapter 20)

The air was bitter cold. I hugged myself tightly and shivered against the vicious bite of the wind. I knew that it was winter and all, but this was the coldest it had been in a while. Now I was grateful to my mom for buying me all those winter clothes. I was wearing my white shirt under a heavy black hooded jacket with my white scarf tied around my neck. I had decided to tie my hair in a pony tail to keep it out of my eyes due to the blowing wind. If there was one thing I was sure I’d never get used to, it was all this ridiculous hair! I was standing outside of the shopping mall, where Grandpa and I were going to meet.
As I got lost in my thoughts, my boots crunched over frostbitten grass and I paused a moment, looking out over the road as headlights flashed by like burning eyes. The people driving by knew nothing of the difficulty I was going through…they didn’t know anything about where I was, who I was, or what I was going through. I wanted to cry, but knew that doing so wouldn’t solve my problems. Drying my puffy eyes, I ran inside of the mall. I wanted to get warm and to escape this gripping fear of being trapped in this form.
As I walked inside, I hurried to the book store down past the merry go round that I used to love when I was a kid. As my boots clomped on the hard tile ground, I could hear the faint echo of my own footsteps move through the building. There was hardly anyone in this part of the mall because of how late it was. I scanned the area, hoping to find my grandpa somewhere and finally, after a few moments of searching, I saw the man I was looking for.

Grandpa was a tall and broad man. Though he was in his 60’s he looked more like a man in his 50’s. He had dark, close cut hair and a thick mustache that hid most of his upper lip. Grandpa always dressed professionally, no matter what it was he was doing, and now was no exception. He had on a white button down shirt under a green sweater vest with a dark over coat over that. This man knew how to dress, and I always admired him for that. People always used to say he looked a lot like Tom Selleck. A real irony in my opinion, because he seemed to me to be just as tough. Grandpa had always been the voice of reason when things got out of hand around mom, dad, and I…and no doubt he’d be able to help this time. He was sitting by himself, an umbrella by his side, and he was looking for me. His eyes passed over me once or twice, and I was surprised he didn’t recognize me…and then I remembered…he wouldn’t.
“Grandpa!” I called, running towards him. Grandpa glanced up and when he saw me, he did a double take.
“...Chase? Chase is…is that really you?” I stopped short of him, a little heartbroken by his disbelief.
“Yeah…Grandpa it’s a really long story and I don’t know how to tell you…”
“How did you become a girl?” Grandpa asked. “This can’t really be you…it’s impossible.”
“Please Grandpa just listen…I’ll tell you everything.” And so we sat down and I talked.

I don’t think I’d talked that long in a very long time. I lost track of time as I recounted every single horrid event that had transpired. From the moment I woke up to discover my new body…to mom taking me shopping. I told him about going back to school and my conflicted feelings about Naomi. I told him about my butt being pinched and how I’d kneed the bastard in the head for it (he laughed at that). I told him about how I’d had my period and I tried not to go into too much graphic detail about the pain…I was in tears just remembering it. I then told him about the party and learning the truth about how dad had bought that potion hoping it would calm mom down. As he heard this part, Grandpa muttered darkly under his breath, but I couldn’t make out what he said. I continued my tale and when I got to the part about the voodoo Auntie, he smirked a little.
“What is it?”
“I know who that woman is…that’s all.”
“How do you know here?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you later. All you need to know is that you can trust what she said to be true. Now continue please.” So continue I did. I told him about Mom running away and leaving Dad and I alone. I explained how Dad was in a depressed state and had told me to contact you. And when I finally finished my story, Grandpa was leaning back against the bench. He sat like that for a long moment, the silence being too much for either of us to bare, but too intimidating to dare fight back. So in silence we sat. After a moment, Grandpa leaned forward and pulled out his old pipe. How many people even still smoke pipes? Well Grandpa did…it was an old habit of his, one that mom never liked, because she told him it wasn’t healthy.
“Don’t tell your mother.” He whispered with a chuckle.
“Trust me, I won’t.” I giggled. The humorous moment seemed to finally warm the air as Grandpa sighed and puffed away.
“That’s quite a story, Chase…and I can’t tell you how sorry I am that this happened.” He said. “Your parents should have told me about this right away.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t tell you.” I admitted. “Grandpa, I don’t know what to do! Auntie said that I have to correct the problems with my family to reverse the potion…but with things the way they are, I have no idea how I can do that.”
“Yes, it does seem hopeless when you lay it all out, doesn’t it?” Grandpa said darkly. “Your mother has always acted emotionally…and she’s had a serious issue with holding onto the past…as for your father…he’s a good man, but sometimes he has a little trouble with thinking before he acts.”
“Oh no kidding.” I snapped through tears as they began to build again. I felt a warm, strong arm wrap around my shoulders and I looked up at Grandpa, who was smiling behind his mustache with that loving twinkle in his eyes.
“Don’t think too harshly of them, Chase. You know they didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“I guess…” I sighed. “But what do I do now Grandpa!? I’m so lost and confused! I don’t know what to do!” Grandpa shrugged his shoulders and sadly puffed from his pipe again.
“I wish I could tell you Chase.” He sighed. “But I can’t say that I’ve ever dealt with something like this. I think the only option we have is to do what Auntie said.”
“But how do I do that?” I asked. Grandpa furrowed his brow and hugged me close with his strong arm. I could smell his jacket…that familiar aroma of sawn wood and fresh bread…it was just like Grandpas house. I loved that smell. It made me feel like sleeping. But now was not the time for naps.
“I’m not sure yet, Chase…we’re going to do all we can do. Have a little faith, Chase…we’re going to make things right.”
“That’s what my dad said too…and look at him now.” I grumbled.
“Well…it’s a good thing I’m not your father, huh?” He laughed. I giggled too.
“No you’re not…you’re my grandfather.” I laughed. What was it about my grandpa that warmed my heart so? He’d always been there to hold my hand as a child, and I knew that he would always support me if I needed it. It was his strength and his warmth that had encouraged me to be outgoing enough to try sports in the first place. Why had I not come to him before now? It felt so obvious as I sat here with him.

“What are we going to do now?” I asked finally.
“I’ll take you home with me…you’ll stay at my place for a while until I can find your mother. Once we do, we’ll get all three of you to sit down and talk.” He said.
“What about dad?” I asked. “He seemed so…out of it when I saw him. It was scary! What if he does something…that he can’t take back?”
“Chase, I’ve known your father for a while now. He’s not the kind of man who would take his own life. Drink himself into a gutter? Maybe…but he wouldn’t kill himself. But just to be sure, I have some connections still in the police department. I’ll have a detail run by and check on him tonight. Sound fair?”
“Okay.” I whispered. “Thank’s Grandpa.”
“I love you, Chase. You’re still my grandson and I’ll always look out for you.”
“Don’t you mean granddaughter?” I asked.
“Well you’re not stuck as a girl yet, are you? Try to have some faith, kiddo.” He chuckled. “Now, what would you say if we went to go get some supper?”
“I’d like that.” Taking my hand he helped me to my feet and I followed him out of the mall and to his car. I climbed in quickly, hoping to escape the burning cold. He climbed into the driver seat and pulled out his phone to call the police detail he mentioned earlier. When he finished with the call, he kicked the car into gear and drove out toward a nearby Cracker Barrel, by favorite restaurant.

“Grandpa, you never told me how you knew Auntie.” I pointed out. Grandpa laughed and winked.
“Oh yes, I didn’t did I. Well it was a very long time ago, back when I was still just a street cop. My partner and I were pursuing a suspect. His name was William Broker, and we’d gotten a call that he’d broken into a house and made off with some valuables. We tracked him down to this small neighborhood when suddenly he pulled a gun on me and my partner.”
“What!?” I cried.
“It was the first time in my career that a perp pulled a gun on me, and I wasn’t ready for it. My hands started shaking and I had no cover available…so I began to panic. My partner was a bit more experienced and tried to talk him down…but it wasn’t working Broker was hysterical and accidentally shot me in the chest.” I gasped despite myself and I looked at his chest, as if I could see the bullet hole for myself. “I fell and Broker made a break for it. My partner stayed with me to try and stop the bleeding, but he was too far from his radio to call for an ambulance. That was when she showed up.
“Auntie!?” I cried.
“Yes. She was much younger then. She identified herself as Maria too…but it hardly mattered. She saw what was happening and ran to help. She took charge of the situation and told my partner to hurry and radio for an ambulance. The moment he left, she pulled something form her purse…and she put in on my wound. She then began to pray or chant or something.”
“What did she do?”
“I don’t know…but I know it wasn’t natural. She ordered to keep my hands over the wound until I got to the hospital. I did as she told me. When the ambulance finally showed up, they took a look at my wound…to find it had closed for the most part.” Grandpa explained. “While I’m not sure how she did it…she saved my life.”
“Did you ever see her again?” I asked.
“Oh yes. After the event, I looked for her to thank her. I found her not far from where I’d been shot. I asked her how she saved my life…and she just told me it was a family secret.” He chuckled. “We stayed friends from that day on. I hadn’t heard from her in a while though…I hope she’s well. But she told you the only way to help you was to fix the problems with you and your parents?”
“That’s what she told me…and I feel so afraid, Grandpa. I feel like everything is crashing around me…I don’t know how to do what I need to do. I barely know what it is I should do!”
“Chase, you’re thinking a mile a minute, cool down.” Grandpa ordered. “For now, we’re not going to worry about any of that. We’re going to eat supper…we’re going to talk about everything else that we haven’t been able to…and then tomorrow we’re going to figure out first steps, deal?” I sighed, knowing that it was pointless to argue this with him. I reached out my small hand and shook his.
“It’s a deal. If only this problem were as easy to fix as your bullet wound was.” I giggled.
“Well…you’d be surprised what can happen. I was in a desperate situation, and a solution presented itself to me. You’re in a pretty desperate situation yourself…let’s see if a solution doesn’t show up for you now like it did for me.” I smiled and hugged Grandpa quickly before hurrying inside with him to enjoy a quiet and worry free supper. I couldn’t help but feel that the air was a little less bitter cold as I held my Grandpa’s hand.