From: SRU: Identity Crisis Date: Sunday, February 13, 2000 12:19 PM SRU: Identity Crisis By Bashful The little brass bell tinkled over the door as it was opened and closed. The young woman was prettier than most, long, dark brown hair and just enough makeup to make an attractive face beautiful. She was well dressed in a tan cashmere sweater and matching wool skirt that covered her knees and dark brown boots that extended above the hem of her skirt. She was carrying a winter coat. It was no more than 15 degrees outside but the mall was warm, as was the inside of the little shop. She looked around, confused and unsure. The old man was scowling at a tax form he was working on. He hated tax season, it made him angry to have to pay some of the pitiful amount of money he made into the Council, like they ever did anything for him. It was what they were capable of doing to him that caused him to make sure he paid his Incantation Tax each year. The woman was looking around, not sure if she had come into the right store when the Wizard stood up and spoke to her. "Hello Leslie, how are you today? You're a brave soul to venture out on such a raw and windy day but you seemed to have dressed for it. Now, what can I do for you?" He smiled at her, trying to make her feel more at ease. She was troubled but that was why she was there. "I've heard about you, that you seem to know everyone who comes into your store. I've come hoping you can help me, I'm not sure you can, I feel so silly but I also feel so…so…" "Desperate?" the old man suggested. "Yes, desperate. It's my husband, Carroll. He's a good man, that is, he has a loving heart and in his own way he loves me but he's very unhappy. He feels as if he's a woman trapped in the body of a man. He's seen a psychiatrist and a gender disorder specialist and they agree he's suffering from a gender identity disorder. They've both suggested he enroll in a pre operative transsexual program and get the treatment he needs to determine if he really wants to be a woman." Leslie paused here and began crying softly. The old man guided her backwards to a chair that wasn't there a moment before and helped her sit down. Another chair appeared and he sat down near her. He held her hand and waited for her to stop crying. When she had regained her composure, the old man spoke. "But he won't enter the program because of his parents, am I right?" "Yes, he confessed to me that he married me to make his mother happy. I love Carroll but he doesn't find me sexually attractive. We've only made love twice and we've been married over a year, once on our honeymoon and then on our anniversary. I can't leave him, I love him too much. He can't get the help he needs because his parents would never let him. Carroll works for his father, he'll inherit the family business but he's never done anything else, getting another job that pays as well would be almost impossible. The help he needs is so expensive. We can afford it now but if he tells his parents what he's doing, they'll disown him. They've made it very clear what they think of people who change their sex." "What do you think would be a solution?" the old man asked. "If Carroll wasn't so conflicted, I think he'd be happy. I've heard that you can cast spells, can you turn Carroll into a real woman?" "Would that make you happy?" "It would make Carroll happy and I'd be happy for him, or her that is." She tried to smile but it was a losing effort. "Leslie, you love Carroll and he loves you. Why don't I turn you into a man and Carroll into a woman? Then you could be together." "I have no desire to be a man, I love being a woman and I want to have children someday, children that I carry." "Hmmm…well, I always try to give my customers what they ask for." He rummaged around under the counter and pulled out an old wooden box. It was once painted red but now only a little of the paint was in evidence. The hinges were made of leather and one was nearly worn out. The Wizard carefully opened the lid and reached into the box, he lifted out two small bottles. One held a blue liquid the other was filled with a clear fluid. "Leslie, the blue potion will change Carroll into a woman, a real woman who can become pregnant, if she wishes. The clear potion is for you. It will help you forget how much Carroll meant to you as a man and help you accept her as a woman. First, have Carroll drink his potion then you drink yours, that will be $25.00 please." Leslie gratefully handed over the money and placed the bottles in her purse. She smiled with feeling for the first time since she had walked into the store. "Thank you, I'll never be able to repay you for what you've done for me and Carroll." Leslie walked out on the shop, her heels clacking on the wooden floorboards. The bell tinkled again and then it was quiet in the store once more. Another young woman stepped out of the backroom, Dannie walked out behind her. "So that's it? She has the potion and she'll become a real woman now?" "Yes, Rebecca, not many people would do for their brother what you've done for yours. Not many people are accepting of such a radical change," the old man said. "Well, 'she' is my brother. Carroll's inability to accept our parent's deaths has been a great concern for me. He retreated into this fantasy world where he thinks he got married. He thinks the accident was the result of his confessing his condition to our parents. The drunk that ran over them in the crosswalk had nothing to do with what Carroll told them that afternoon. They were shocked but they told me they would support him anyway they could, he was their only son. Are you sure the potions will work? Money means nothing to me, I just want Carroll happy again," Rebecca said. "I always guarantee my products, they will work, just exactly as I've said. After 'Leslie' drinks the clear potion, she'll cease to exist in Carroll's mind. He'll have no more need for an alter ego," The old man assured her. "The first time I met Leslie, I thought she was Carroll's girlfriend, he's that convincing. If he wasn't pretending to be his own wife, he could probably fool anyone. I hope I'm doing the right thing. I've talked to his doctors and they all agree that if he would just embrace the program as Carroll they would approve his surgery after the minimum time in a real life test. Carroll just won't admit to being Carroll when he's dressed like Leslie though." "I decided to seek out another solution when I saw how depressed Carroll got when he had to be male to run the family business. I began to fear for his safety. That's when I came to you and you arranged for Leslie to 'find' your shop. Thank you…I'm afraid I don't know your name," she said. "No, you don't and no thanks are needed, your check was sufficient," the old man said. Rebecca left and Dannie was staring at the Wizard with a smirk on her pretty face. "Getting soft aren't we?" she said. "Don't you have some work to do in the back room?" he snapped at her. Dannie turned on her stacked heel and walked through the curtain into the backroom. She went back to work on the inventory that the old man needed for his taxes. The old man closed the lid of the old wooden box and placed it back under the counter where it belonged. "Dannie, would you come here please?" he called out. His assistant walked out of the backroom, looking warily at him, concerned she had pushed a button better left un-pushed "Yes, Master," she said. "Cut that out, you only call me master when you want something or if you've screwed up. Like that troop of Boy Scouts you turned into Campfire Girls for a week. I bet you thought I didn't know about that?" Dannie's eyes got big and she started easing herself toward the front door. "Oh, relax, I fixed it and they don't even remember how they got merit badges for 'Girl's Hygiene'. What I wanted to say was I'm sorry, I didn't need to snap at you. Yes, I was soft on that woman and her brother because they've never done anything that warrants me using a trick on them. Carroll was days away from suicide, his sister doesn't know how close she came." "Remember this for when you have your own store and a similar situation comes up. Not everything I do is perverted or mean-spirited, I require a target that deserves that sort of treatment. You know, like a smart mouthed little assistant who never finishes her inventory without being told again and again." "But you called me…" "Back to work young lady, while you're still young. Maybe being sixty-five years old for a while would make you feel more like getting the job done?" he said. Dannie dashed back to the backroom, hoping she was still a teenager when she arrived but happy the old man wasn't really mad at her. Just then, a young, athletic looking man wearing a college sweatshirt walked into the shop with a grin on his face. "Hey old man, I hear I can get something from you that'll guarantee I get laid tonight?" "Yes, Bob, I can definitely help you with that, came right this way," as he dug out the old red box from under the counter. The taxes could wait for a few minutes, this would be fun. The end Bashful