SRU Wine BY Bashful 12/7/99 Darrell Singleton was lonely and depressed. He always got this way around the beginning of December. The start of the holiday party season. He was a nice enough looking guy and his friends and co-workers liked him. But he didn't get out much. He was shy, especially in large groups and around women. It had always been that way. This year, he was determined to do things differently. He was going to learn to mix with people and maybe find himself a girlfriend. His destination this morning was the B. Dalton in the local mall. He has read about this new self-improvement book that would help shy people come out of their shells. His mission was to buy the book and read it today. There was party tonight and he would put the lessons he learned into practice. Turning the corner, Darrell found a different shop where the bookstore used to be. It wasn't new, at least nothing about it looked new. It looked very old and out of place for the clean and shiny mall. The sign above the store read Spells R Us. Darrell looked around and found a mall information kiosk with a mall map. It listed the B. Dalton as being in space A-233 but this strange little shop occupied that space. "Hell,' he thought, 'they never update the damn maps anyway.' Darrell started to walk away but then something made him stop and look at the shop. He was drawn to enter the store for some reason. Once inside, he wondered what the owner did for a living, surely no one paid money for this stuff. Most of it looked like just junk. "Hello Darrell, how are you today?" a voice asked. Darrell turned to see an old man wearing an old blue bathrobe with the most striking blue eyes he could recall. "How did you…" before he could finish the question the old man raised his hand and suddenly a swirl of blue smoke formed his full name in mid-air! "I'm a magician, a sorcerer, most commonly, I am called a Wizard," The old man said. "Okay, why not, what kind of magic do you deal in, black, white, purple?" Darrell asked with a chuckle. He knew he was being tricked, it had to be some stunt. "Magic does not come in colors young man, the purpose to which it is put determines its real worth. Like any power, it can be corrupted or abused. I deal in magic that is not in and of itself harmful. If those I sell my wares to choose to misuse it or fail to follow the simplest of instructions, they may be dissatisfied with the results, but that does not make the magic evil or harmful. Do you see?" the old man said. Strangely enough, Darrell did see. He understood perfectly. "The responsibility is with the user, not the seller," Darrell said. "Exactly," the Wizard exclaimed, his wrinkled face lit up and he beamed a smile at Darrell. "You are a very intelligent young man, I would like to make you a gir… I mean I want to give you a gift. This is will help you with your problem much better than any book ever could," the Wizard said. He handed Darrell a very small bottle of wine. "Thank you very much, but I don't think drinking is a solution to any problem. I just want to get over being so shy around women." "I agree with you. This is not alcohol though, it's a non-alcoholic wine with a very special potion that will make your problem meaningless," the old man assured him. Darrell was raised to be courteous so he accepted the bottle and thanked the Wizard. "Darrell, I know you don’t believe in magic but it will not hurt you to try my special SRU wine. One sip is all it will take to make this evening one you will remember for a long time. The instructions on the label are very important, follow them carefully," the old man said. Darrell left the mall and headed home. He had been in the store much longer than he had thought apparently, he just barely had time to get ready for the party. Darrell put on a pair of soft slacks and a comfortable sweater. He splashed a little cologne on his face and checked the time. He picked up the bottle of SRU wine and read the instructions. "Warning, read all instructions before opening this bottle. Not responsible for failing to read and follow all instructions." 'Okay, we talked about being responsible for what happens if you're not careful but he brought that up. This is some kind of a joke but what the hell,' Darrell thought and read the instructions. "One small sip will cause nearly instant effects that will last until sunrise the next morning. Your results may vary. Do not exceed recommended dosage!" There was more but it was very small print. 'Probably no deposit, no return, yadda, yadda, yadda. Time is a wasting, I need to get to the party.' Darrell opened the bottle and poured out about half a glass. He took a small sip as the Wizard told him and waited. Nothing happened. He counted to ten and still nothing. He felt the same. He wasn't more any confident and the thought of starting a conversation with a woman scared him just as much as ever. Feeling foolish, he tossed down the rest of the wine in the glass. He then felt himself get warm. Suddenly he felt the room spin for a second and then he looked down. He was now dressed in a dark purple velour top and pants set with a pair of black leather high heels on his feet. He could taste lipstick on his lips and smell perfume. He felt long hair move on his shoulders, a necklace laying on his chest and earrings dangling from his earlobes. The front of the soft, stretchy top was pushed out by what he assumed to be breasts, respectable sized breasts as well. He could see his hair hanging down the front on one of his shoulders. It was blonde. His hands were smaller, the fingers long and slender, tipped by tastefully sculpted nails painted a pale pink. Darrell turned around and looked it the mirror. He was now a woman, young, attractive, maybe even beautiful. Her name was Darlene and she was looking forward to the party tonight. The room she was standing in had shifted to a neater, more feminine décor. A long fur coat lay across the couch near the door with a black shoulder bag lying on top of it. She checked her slim ladies watch and saw it was time to go. She primped her hair once more and slipped the fur on, picked up her purse and left. Walking comfortably and easily in the three-inch heels. At the party, Darlene discovered she was relaxed and confident. She spoke to everyone with ease, male and female. One man in particular caught her eye and she his. They sat and talked, danced and even took a stroll in the moonlight until the cold drove them inside. But not before they shared a few passionate kisses. Why do you think they went outside when it was so cold? Darlene wished the night would never end. She had never felt so free. It was glorious. When Jack asked to drive her home, her heart skipped a beat. 'Why not?' she thought. Jack proved to be gentle, kind and generous. Darrell had never had sex before, he was just too shy. He never would guess his first experience would be with a man and as a woman. Words could not describe the feelings he experienced. There was never any fear or second-guessing. Knowing the magic would last for only one night made Darlene do things she might never have done. She enjoyed herself immensely. As did Jack. The evening ended when Jack kissed her goodnight before dressing and going home. Darlene lay in bed, basking in the afterglow of her first sexual encounter as man or woman. As the old man had promised, it was a night she would never forget. She drifted off to sleep with the taste and feel of Jack's lips on her own. The sun woke Darlene as it usually woke Darrell on Saturday morning she lay awake, enjoying the feeling of well being. She was relaxed and well rested, her evening exercise having worked out all the kinks that had built up over the years. Darlene lost her warm fuzzy feeling when she realized that the sun was up. She should be Darrell again. She jumped out of bed and discovered moving too fast with unrestrained 'D' cup breasts was a bad idea. She put on the pink robe lying on the end of the bed and slipped on the fuzzy pink slippers she found on the floor. She raced downstairs and found the bottle of wine. She had replaced the cork in it last night. She quickly read the instructions, at least she tried. The instructions were now in Arabic or some similar tongue. 'The instructions said read all instructions before opening the bottle and I didn't, I glossed over them like everyone else does. Now what?' Darlene thought to herself. She sat down and automatically crossed her legs, just as she did last night whenever she sat down. All her movements and mannerisms were female and graceful. She remembered her entire life as a little girl as well as her life as Darrell. But Darrell's life was not as clear or detailed, more like a book she had read once, long ago. 'I spoke to that old Wizard about the power of magic being neither good nor evil but based on the use it was put to. He promised me an evening I would never forget and now I won't be able to. I am now in this position because I laughed at the concept of magic despite his best efforts to prove to me that he was genuine. Who do I have to blame but myself?' Darlene said to herself. She stood up and looked in the mirror on the wall at the lovely woman she now was, apparently forever. The gentle blue eyes, the soft skin and delicate features, the long blonde hair that needed a good brushing but still complimented her face. How did she feel about the situation she was in? She considered her options: find the store and demand a reversal? Or… the phone rang breaking her train of thought. "Hello Darlene? It's Jack, I was wondering if you would be interested in breakfast?" Darlene considered her answer carefully, it would be very important. Last night with Jack had been magic, literally. Was it real or just smoke and mirrors? Before last night, when had she really enjoyed herself or himself for that matter? "Jack, how do you feel about breakfast in bed?" she said. The holiday season was looking brighter all the time. ****************** "Okay Dannie, lets pack it in, we move to another mall tomorrow. As the Lone Ranger used to say, 'our work here is done'. Well maybe not the Lone Ranger but someone like that used to say that," the old man told his apprentice. "Who's the Lone Ranger?" the extremely cute young girl asked with a look of pure innocence. The old man sighed, 'one of the problems with apprentices is they are too damn young,' he thought "Never mind Dannie, it's time to shift to another reality for some practice where you can't do any real damage, like what happened last week in New Jersey," the Wizard said. "I feel really bad about that. Do you think anyone will notice?" Dannie asked. "Notice that Newark now has a totally female population now? Naaa, why would they?" the Wizard said with a straight face. Dannie looked at him and wondered if he was kidding. It was so hard to tell if he was. He had secretly reversed the mass feminizing spell she had accidentally released but not before about thirty new women found men across the river and got pregnant. Oh well, they wanted to try out being women, they got their wishes filled, along with something else. "I thought we were going to wait for Miss Singleton to come back in? You said the argument would be a good one and if she held her ground long enough you might…" "She made other plans for today Dannie, not everyone finds themselves unhappy with their new lot in life. You seem to be adapting rather well. Is that young man from the multiplex coming down to take you to dinner tonight?" he asked her. Dannie blushed as a former young man, dating a boy was still a new and somewhat scary prospect. "Yes, will we be back in time…oops sorry, of course we will," she said, slightly embarrassed. Shifting reality allowed them to return anytime that they wished. That was why Darrell thought a ten-minute visit lasted four hours. "Uh…your not going to turn him into a girl too are you? I kind of like him and…well after the last boy that came by and all…" she paused, hoping she hadn't said anything to make him angry. He'd never gotten angry with her before but he did lose his temper. Like he did with the other boy, Nick. Nikki was now a good girlfriend to Dannie but that wasn't the point. "People who steal from me feel my wrath," The old man said. "Will this Frank try and steal my stock?" "I'll make sure he doesn't. Any chance your going to change Nikki back? She keeps asking." Dannie inquired. "Maybe, when she has learned to respect other peoples property, maybe then," the Wizard said and under his breath added, " and when pigs can fly." "Enough small talk, lets go." The little shop disappeared from view. The End.