Live Long and Prosper             by: Brandy Dewinter              © 2000, All rights reserved

 

Chapter 15 - "Wishing Well"

Tirce sat there for a long moment, regarding us. I clutched at Ethan’s hand and tried to decide what to do, what to say. Part of me wanted to jump up and run away, and I might have done that if Tirce were still the nasty old woman she had been before. This Tirce, though, was so refined and elegant; it was hard to believe she would do anything bad to us. Yet, that might just mean that she was totally pathological, without any hint of conscience.

She smiled at me, amused at something she chose not to share, then took a sip of her drink. Leaning back in her throne-like chair, she said, "What brings you back to my island? And don’t say, ‘The Twilight Breeze’."

A joke? From this woman of untold power and unknown motivations? So much for my resolution not to be surprised by anything. Her eyes were still on me, compelling me to respond.

"I, um, don’t know what to say. If you’re a mind reader, why do we need to, um, say anything?"

"Oh, child, don’t worry about that. What I receive is more on the order of impressions. When you first arrived, I could feel your appreciation for the way I looked, even a bit of envy. I must say, being envied by a young lady as pretty as you is quite a compliment."

Then she chuckled in a very sophisticated way and said, "Why, that is in fact the exact truth, isn’t it? For as soon as I sensed that thought, I did indeed tell you about it. Oh, my, I don’t remember the last time I surprised myself. For that alone, dear, I am in your debt."

She took another sip of her drink and shrugged, making the next revelation seem unimportant despite the power it showed. "I also have what used to be called second sight. I can observe from a distance. Think of it as one of those nosy camcorders hovering unseen but recording the sights and sounds even as you see them."

That brought a blush to my cheeks, and an even brighter one to Ethan’s, which in turn triggered another chuckle from Tirce. "Oh, don’t worry. At my age, there is little that I haven’t seen. However, now that my secrets are all revealed, let’s get back to my question. It takes little insight to discern that it deals with the way your wishes turned out."

All her secrets revealed? Yeah, right. I was still trying to absorb the implications of her powers when she pulled out the two slips of paper that we had written on with our wishes.

Considering them in turn she read, "’I wish for my husband to have a long, happy, and healthy life.’ ‘I wish for my wife to be happy for all of her life.’ Such compatibility. I can see how you two could manage to survive a year together on board a small boat." She was smirking in an elegantly condescending sort of way, as though mildly impressed with the antics of a neighbor’s child.

"Do you think I have granted those wishes fairly?" she asked, suddenly transformed from amicable neighbor to probing interrogator.

I realized I was still clutching Ethan’s hand. This was the critical moment. This was when I would risk the wrath of this powerful woman, if indeed she was even really a woman and not some awful creature from nightmare. Somehow, that thought stabilized me. There was no use in worrying any longer. Now it was time to take action instead, even if that action were ‘merely’ words. I released Ethan’s hand with a casual pat, then reached for my own drink.

Leaning back in my seat to match Tirce’s posture, I said, "Since you obviously do, just as you obviously know we did not expect this result, why don’t you tell us how wise you were in interpreting our wishes?"

For the first time, at least on this visit, Tirce’s super-sophisticated demeanor cracked. It was only when she laughed that I realized I had been holding my breath.

"My goodness but you are a tough one, aren’t you?" she said, continuing to laugh with full, unrestrained humor. "My compliments."

I just nodded silently, playing at her game of sophistication despite a building worry that I was going to lose control of my bladder. I was wishing with more fervency than any past prayer that I had worn something that hid instead of revealed my new, taut belly, because I knew it was quivering. At least holding my drink in both hands kept them from shaking too visibly.

"Why did you quit your job, your career?" she asked suddenly, still focused on me.

"My job?"

"Yes. Why, after thirty years, in a profession which is as much a reflection of a person’s life as any other, did you just drop it and walk away?"

Good question, for all that it seemed a stunning non sequitur. At the time, it was more a case that I could quit than that I had made a conscious decision to change my way of life. I had enjoyed being an engineer, and as Tirce recognized there is a mindset that engineers have that makes the profession much more than just a way to earn money. Yet I had not hesitated when the time came, just dropped it all and walked away. Well, sailed away.

Tirce could see my mind churning, probably listen in on it to some extent, and when she knew I didn’t have an immediate response, she provided one. "You were bored. You were not challenged. You had reached the point where you were no longer solving real-world problems - the essence of engineering - but refereeing people conflicts you thought were silly. Shall I go on?"

"No. You’ve made your point. And you’re basically right."

"Very well. Now, why did you decide to sail around the world?"

"What?" Geez, I don’t know. Because it was there? Why does anyone do anything like that?

She didn’t repeat her question, instead supplying another answer. "Because it was new and different, because it was a challenge, because it would require you to solve real-world problems with a minimum of social contact with silly people."

"Ah, well, I suppose you are right there, too." I admitted.

Tirce turned to Ethan and asked, "Why did you agree to go along on this voyage of isolation? Do you find people and social situations to be a waste of time, also?"

"No, not really," Ethan answered. "I’ve always been more of a people person than Adam. I came because that’s where Adam wanted to be, and I wanted to be with Adam."

I turned to Ethan in surprise and said, "You mean you haven’t enjoyed our journey?"

"No. I have enjoyed it. But I have to admit, I’ve enjoyed the many ports of call more than days spent alone on the sea."

If I could have melted into a puddle, I’d have done it. I was so selfish I hadn’t even realized I was being selfish. I mean, I had known Lainey liked visiting the places we had seen, but I had just assumed she had breathed a little sigh of relief, as I had, when we finally escaped back to sea each time. Dear God, a year wasted on something that should have been the best we could do for both of us.

I closed my eyes to keep the tears from spilling out, unable to look on Ethan’s handsome features. Damnit, if I hadn’t insisted - no, insisted is not the right word because there had been no argument requiring an implacable position - if I hadn’t assumed this was what we should do . . . Ethan would still be Lainey! None of this would have happened!

I felt Ethan’s hand take mine, and raise it to his lips. "Anya, beloved, if you hadn’t taken us on this journey, we would never have become what we are. I am very happy to be Ethan. Aren’t you happy to be Anya?"

"Of course," I blurted out, my eyes snapping open to find the blue depths of his hovering close by. "But, it was still wrong of me to have been so blind to your own desires, seeing only what I wanted to see."

"Seeing what I showed you, which is all that you should need," Ethan said. "Trust me, beloved, if I had really wanted something different, I would have told you. Because I do know that you love me and would not require something I hated. Your satisfaction was reward enough for the times I felt . . . less than thrilled."

"Oh, Ethan, I love you so much," I said, reaching for him.

"Ahem," Tirce interrupted. Ethan and I both jerked like we had been splashed with cold water, which might have been necessary in a few more minutes. It might still have been a good idea, to put out the fires in our cheeks.

That condescending amusement was back in Tirce’s smile, but I didn’t care. As long as I had my beloved, regardless of the envelope within which that loving heart lived, a little thing like a witch with seemingly limitless power to do good or evil was not really important. And that was a beautiful, precious thing to know.

Tirce took another sip of her drink, her motion making it clear she was about to start interrogating us again, and asked, "Ethan, what did you want more than anything in the world when you were growing up?"

Now it was his turn to lean back in his seat and ponder a question so basic it was too ingrained for his heart to see clearly. Finally, he spoke in a low, tentative voice, "I suppose it was to be . . . respected. I wanted people to think I had done something worthwhile, or could do it if I needed to."

"Anya, what about you?" Uh, oh. I should have seen that one coming.

After a moment I had an answer, though.

"I think I wanted to do something that needed to be done, solve some challenging problem."

Ethan slipped his arm around me gave me a quick, encouraging hug.

"I’ll bet the two of you are congratulating yourselves on your compatibility again, aren’t you?" Tirce asked. "But you’re wrong. Those desires are not really the same at all. Do you see the difference?"

Different? They were the same, I thought. Not realized, really, for either one of us, but much the same goal. What was different?

Tirce chuckled again at our fruitless concentration, then supplied her own answer. "Ethan’s desire could only be fulfilled through the good opinion of other people. Yours, Anya, required only your own knowledge that you had succeeded."

I nodded, as did Ethan. It was obvious once she had pointed it out, of course, though I don’t think I’d have ever seen it on my own.

"So," Tirce continued, a smugness in her tone that said she really did think she had been wise, "Lainey wanted respect. Adam wanted a new, stimulating challenge, even one where no one else knew the nature and magnitude of the challenge. Each of you needed the other, so any future happiness must leave you as a couple. Lainey didn’t want to give up her enjoyment of people, which meant that for true compatibility Adam needed to enjoy it more. Of course there were other things like young, healthy bodies that would support your happiness, but I think that captures the basic needs to be met by your wishes, don’t you?"

"I, um, guess so," I murmured, trying to absorb that capsulation of, well, a whole life’s goals and aspirations. Ethan nodded, too, a look of inner contemplation on his face that showed the same sort of thoughts.

I began to see where she was going with this, where in fact the path she had laid out for us had led all along. I guess the part of me that was still so analytical had to taste the words in my own mouth to make them real, because I started to speak in a soft, methodical voice, "So, Lainey’s respect, the kind she wanted and not just the notoriety of a movie star, would be enhanced if she were a man, a tall, strong, handsome man. If Ethan walked into a room, looking so fit and trim and rugged, people would automatically assume he was . . . competent, a man who could get things done. It would not be tied to some business position, where indeed women can earn great respect, instead it would be based on his physique, leaving us free to do whatever we wanted. In fact, a trophy wife would enhance that respect as well. So that’s why I became, um, Anya."

"Don’t sell short my fulfillment of your own wish," Tirce said, a smile on her face showing she was not angered by my conclusion about my own needs. "If you can define for me a greater challenge than becoming a woman, especially for a no-nonsense engineer like Adam, then I’ll reconsider the way I have granted your own wish - or actually, the way I have granted Elaine’s wish for your happiness. In addition, you’ll find that being a pretty girl is a very powerful passport to greater comfort in social situations. Men and women will flock to be with you. Any awkwardness you feel will be put down to quite-becoming shyness, and you will respond to the flattery with the enjoyment of any other person - man, woman, or undecided."

"Oh, no," I said quickly, trying to catch up to the offer that was in her statement. "I don’t want anything else. Even if there were something better for me, personally - and I honestly don’t know what that might be - I can see that there is no option that would also provide the sort of respect Ethan deserves."

"’Deserves’ is right," Tirce said, nodding. "You will find, both of you, that Ethan truly is highly-competent, a problem solver. He will be less analytical than Adam perhaps, which is not entirely a bad thing, and he will bring to the problems he attacks a gusto that builds on his more out-going nature. The respect that comes automatically to such a man will not be misplaced in Ethan’s case."

I nodded, and sagged a bit in relief. I knew I wanted to be Anya, and now I knew it was ‘right’ in a way that truly fulfilled Ethan as well. I don’t know whether I glanced at him, or whether Tirce was snooping in my mind again, but her next words were for me.

"Anya, child, once again I tell you that you will find a fulfillment at least as great at Ethan’s. You have about you a sense of competence, too. Yours is based on your analytical mind, but that foundation has a lifetime of supporting data to prove itself, at least in your own heart. In truth, as a pretty girl you will be discounted by many men," she said, a warning tone in her voice. Then a deliciously self-satisfied grin made her regal features seem almost child-like as she said, "but I may just have to eavesdrop on you every now and then, to see how you handle those who underestimate you. It will be . . . noteworthy."

"*That* I can believe," Ethan said, laughing.

I slapped his arm, lightly, but in truth the idea of deflating a few blowhards who underestimated me was intriguing. I had enjoyed doing that when I was younger, before I had made my reputation, and the weapons I now had to, um, confuse and distract should be quite . . . effective. And fun.

"So, can I take it that you are satisfied with my fulfillment of your wishes?" Tirce said, the formality of her words undermined by the twinkle in her eyes.

"Oh!" I blurted, reminded of the wish we had come back to make. I looked at Ethan for support, finding a blush on his cheeks that was at least as bright as the one I felt burning on my own. He was gathering himself, mentally, to address the topic that no doubt made him uncomfortable, but it was really my problem, so I spoke first - not very coherently I’m afraid.

"Well, um, Madame Tirce, there is one, ah, problem." Lordy, I just thought I was blushing before I tried to actually talk about such an intimate thing. "I, um, well I don’t think I’m . . . that I can stretch enough to . . . accept . . . Ethan. I think I must not be . . . complete yet."

"And so you sailed all the way back to my island to ask me to give you a looser cunt?" Tirce, said, the crude word sounding terribly wrong from her elegant lips and even more incompatible with the smirk they wore, yet somehow forcing us to confront the issue with that same bluntness.

I sat up straighter and nodded my head. "Yes, Madame, or whatever else is needed so that Ethan and I can . . . join as a man and woman should."

"And you were going to use your wish, assuming I granted you another, for that?"

"Yes, oh, um, not if you . . I don’t mean to seem ungrateful, but if you grant us only one wish, we need it for something else."

"And that would be?" she asked.

Oh, God, I hadn’t really thought of how to word that wish! If Tirce were of a mind to twist the words, I could make things even worse for poor Reyna. Yet, I had to try. The image of that too-thin girl, curled up on the seats of the Breeze and sobbing her heart out, was just too terrible to allow to continue, regardless of the cost.

"No," Tirce said, interrupting me before I could speak, the smirky little smile banished behind an angry frown. "Despite the so-vivid image in your mind, Reyna got what she deserved. You don’t know the whole story there."

"Then tell us," suggested Ethan. For the second time that day I saw a cherished part of Lainey in him. He had a look, an attitude in his body language, of infinite patience again, this time willing to sit forever if that was what it took to resolve things. Patience at that level is indistinguishable from stubbornness, as I knew to my oft-remembered frustration. Lainey, for all her love, could be most . . . steadfast when she felt the need. It was clear in that instant that Ethan would be much the same.

"Do you suppose I allow just anyone to find my island?" snapped Tirce. "Those who come here either need me, or others need them to find me despite their own desires. You were in the former category, while Phillipe and Reynaud were definitely in the latter."

Tirce began to relax a little, committed now to telling us her side of the story Reyna had begun. "I do not know how many young girls those two had assaulted before they came to my island. I only send my perceptions out randomly and have no idea when they started their reign of terror. But when I did notice them, I watched for several weeks, every evening. In that time, they kidnapped and raped six girls, children really, no older than Reyna appears now and some even younger. They preyed on orphans, or girls without fathers in the home, anyone they considered weak and vulnerable. Between the two, they were quite skilled, both at their basic abductions and at covering their tracks."

"I sent an urge to them, to have them come to me. And then I granted them their wishes, just as they asked. I could, in justice, have killed them both. Instead, I was merciful. Both still live though on the path they had chosen they would have died long ago." She leaned back in her throne-seat, no longer angry, but implacable in her decision.

I looked at Ethan, and in his eyes I could see an agreement to something we had no need to coordinate with words. It was another sign, I think, that inside was still Lainey. Whether my own motivation was driven by the Adam I was or the Anya I had become was less clear, but it didn’t matter, because my own decision was as firm.

"Madame Tirce, is it your intention to grant us a wish, based on the work we have done to help you keep your island beautiful?"

She nodded abruptly.

"Then, Madame, our wish is that you retract your curse from Reyna, and do so in a way that she comes to no further harm. Allow her to live out a normal life starting from her current situation, if you will, but allow her to find an eventual end to the torment you have inflicted upon her."

"You will not reconsider?" asked Tirce. "I could offer you things you cannot imagine, powers that you would not believe. Material wealth and eternal life would seem as tawdry baubles next to what I can grant to you."

"We have stated our wish."

Her eyes flicked to Ethan, who nodded gravely. She settled back into her seat and closed her eyes. I didn’t know what that signified. Perhaps she was even then working her magic in some way. In any event, I certainly didn’t want to disturb her. So it was something of a shock when she began to quietly speak though her eyes remained closed.

"Must you two always spend your wishes on someone else?"

Her eyes opened, pulling the corners into a small smile that was much more reassuring than the one that showed on her lips. "Perhaps you are right. Indeed, that Reynaud was little more than a child himself, and Phillipe was the real instigator. I promise you that I will find something else to do with Reyna; something she will find pleasant, and you would find satisfactory."

She straightened up into the icon of propriety she had been when we arrived, then smiled more genuinely. "At least you make me feel I was right to allow you to find my island, too. It is more of a pleasure to grant wishes that satisfy than those that punish, and God help me if it ever ceases to be so."

"Speaking of which," she continued. "What will you have for your second wish?"

I should have acted surprised, of course, in order to show proper gratitude. But I had hoped for and expected this from the moment I saw the flower bed that needed weeding, a so-convenient second chore that we could do. So perhaps I can be forgiven for blurting out our desire.

"Oh, Madame Tirce, please do, um, whatever needs to be done so that Ethan and I can . . . make love."

"Child, you already knew as Adam that making love is not dependent on the mechanics of sexual intercourse. But I know what you mean. Nonetheless, I will not be granting that for your second wish on this visit."

"Why not?"

Tirce laughed, real pleasure in her tone, now transformed from the condescending neighbor to a favorite and generous aunt. "Because I already have, of course. Believe me, if you place your trust in Ethan and are patient, you will find the experience quite rewarding."

I could feel a frown of disbelief on my face, but, I mean, Ethan was so . . . and my, that is, it felt so . . . tight even on just my finger.

"You silly girl!" Tirce said. "Think of what it will be like when a baby passes through that opening. You can accommodate even one of Ethan’s . . . gifts with no more than a little discomfort, and that quite transient."

"A baby?!" I repeated, too shocked at that concept to react to the rest of what she had said.

"And why not? Did I not promise you that you would find stimulating challenges in being a woman?" Tirce said, now chortling almost continuously. She grinned and said, "Oh, I’ll grant you a time, say a year, of safety so that you don’t have to worry about having a baby while you’re at sea, but after that . . . you better be prepared for ALL the challenges of being a woman."

"Oh, my," I whispered. Lainey had never been able to have children. Not that we ever really considered that necessary to our happiness, but that particular aspect of being married had been so long discounted in my plans that I had completely overlooked it now.

"Anya, darling, you don’t have to face that, if you don’t want," Ethan said softly. "Use our wish to . . . avoid the problem."

"What? No!" I said reflexively. The idea was frightening, but, wow. Even more than my fascination with the thought of sex with Ethan, the idea of having a baby . . . just, ‘wow’.

I looked up at my handsome spouse and repeated, "No. We don’t have to do that. We have a year to make up our minds, and if we decide not to have children, well, it won’t take magic to fix that." I tried to sound all reasonable and said, "It would be a shame to make a decision now we might regret later, when the alternative might come to be . . . rewarding."

"Besides," I continued, an impish grin tugging at my mouth. "It would be a sin and a shame to deprive the world of your genes. Oh, the genes for these bodies will breed true, won’t they, Madame Tirce? I mean, the babies will look like him, right?"

"Lord no, they need to look like her," Ethan said, interrupting before Tirce could speak.

"They will look like both of you, of course, just like all children do," Tirce confirmed, then she smiled like that generous aunt again and continued. "But that does remind me; while your physical transformations are complete - those last little bits of gray hair will be gone by morning, Anya - there are still a few loose ends to tie up."

She rose from her seat and moved to a small side table. "In this world, you cannot really be happy without the proper forms - inevitably filled out in triplicate, at least. It was easier to create new documents than to reach into your boat and transform the ones you hold, so you’ll need to get rid of those. But here are new passports, ownership papers for the Twilight Breeze, and so on. Anya, you could hardly pass for an engineer retired after 30 years of faithful service, so I’ve changed your source of income to the proceeds of an inherited trust fund. And Ethan, you will find that you have actually written a series of books for adventurous teens rather than for children. Perhaps you will write another based on your records from this voyage. You will also find that others whom you knew will find nothing unusual with your new identities."

Tirce handed most of the documents to Ethan and seated herself again, holding one back in her hands. "There is one more document, one on which I did not feel I should make the decision for you, considering the way customs have changed in America."

She turned it around and held it out to us. It was a blank marriage license, full of seals and authorizations from the closest seat of government in Taiohae.

Maybe I was still thinking about the idea of a baby growing within me, because for just a moment I missed the significance of that piece of parchment. Ethan didn’t, though. In a heartbeat he was pulling me to my feet, then kneeling before me.

"Anya, love of my life, will you marry me?"

"Oh! Um, sure," I said. Of course, I would blurt out something that meant I would spend the next fifty years kicking myself for such an unromantic response. I don’t think Ethan minded, because before I had a chance to say anything more, he had me in his arms and my lips were much too busy for speech.

 

(continued in Part 16)

 

 

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Live Long and Prosper © 2000 by Brandy Dewinter. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.