She couldn’t just appear one day and announce that she’d been a girl all along; it wouldn’t wash. No, there had to be a way.
Six
After Connie had left her on that first introduction to the torc’s powers, Keira was desperate to know exactly what she was capable of. She was still chuckling about the wild story of the alien impregnation of her mother, and wondered if Connie really was as gullible as she appeared.
On taking off the torc, she steeled herself for the change back. She didn’t actually mind, as she knew that it was only temporary.
Kenneth examined the torc, but found it revealed absolutely nothing about its functions, capabilities or origins. There were no markings, no cracks, seams or any features visible.
The metal was smooth and curved into a ‘C’ that left too small a gap to fit a neck. He tried bending it, and failed. But, when he held the orbs at each end, the metal gradually warmed to his body temperature and very gently it straightened and allowed him to place it back around his neck. Once on, it remained warm and closed gently, so it fitted neatly. There was no way it could be removed, except through decapitation. She wondered if anyone else could make it bend or straighten. She made a mental note to ask Connie to try, just so she knew.
Keira was used to the tingles now, and took them in her stride. She just felt it a shame that she had to hide away indoors when she so wanted to go out and live as a girl.
She held that thought.
She was not exactly the same as Kenneth, so there was nothing stopping her going out of the house. She just had to make sure she was Kenneth when she came home to her parents or met anyone who knew her, him, or whatever.
She wanted to go and buy herself proper girl’s clothes and just do girl’s stuff. She paused, realising that she had nowhere to keep the trappings of a second life. It was bad enough being an only son, but to be so constrained by pushy parents made anything like this hard to manage.
The clothes she wore were all boys’ clothes. She had no decent underwear, and really hadn’t a clue about makeup or anything like that.
Oh! Why was everything so complicated?
She glanced at the clock and swore. It was almost five-thirty, so her mother might be back at any moment. In any case, she needed to get her homework done.
She went back to her room and opened her school case. She groaned, as it was French homework. She didn’t like French, so reluctantly she took out her books and settled at her desk.
She got a small thrill every time she saw her breasts pushing her shirt outwards; equally, when she brushed against something unexpectedly it made it very hard to concentrate. She was about to stop and change back, when she idly read a passage of French.
Miraculously, the passage translated itself in her mind. She tried a different passage, and almost as quickly as she read it, the translation popped into her mind. After doing her homework in about four minutes, she went on the internet and found an Italian website.
As she read a passage, she instantly was provided with an accurate translation. It was the same with a German site, and even a Japanese site.
She placed both hands on her torc.
“You little beauty!” she said, grinning from ear to ear.
“Okay,” she said to herself. “What exactly can you do?”
She took out a piece of paper and began to write.
CHANGE GENDER
TRANSLATE LANGUAGES
ASSIST IN FLYING/LEVITATION/ANTI-GRAVITY?
MOVE OBJECTS/TELEKINESIS
SHOOT BOLTS OF ENERGY?
Then she stopped.
“Is that it?” she said, reading the short list. Actually, just the top one would have done her, she thought, but the others were a neat bonus.
She looked down the list, at each in turn. When Connie had likened her to a comic-book superhero, she had dismissed it, but actually, it wasn’t far from the truth. Yet superheroes were fictional, weren’t they?
Basil the dog sat on the rug, looking at her, hopefully.
“Do you want a walk, Baz?” she asked.
Baz wagged his tail, looking enthusiastic.
Okay, now, what can I wear that is okay for both a girl and a boy? She thought to herself.
In the end, she wore a tee shirt and a pair of shorts. The trainers were plain white and didn’t discriminate, except she thought that her feet were slightly smaller as a girl
She ran down stairs and left a note for her mother, just in case she came home early.
Homework done. Taken Baz for walk.
Leaving it on the kitchen table, she attached a lead to the dog’s collar and led him down the garden to the gate at the bottom. There was a public footpath than ran along the bank of the river, so she turned left and let the dog off the lead. Basil ran on ahead, heading towards the fields.
It was a lovely September day, almost warmer than it had been in July and August, so she enjoyed feeling the sun on her face. She felt the joy of fulfilment bubble up in her chest and released it as a laugh. An elderly couple coming the other way frowned.
“Sorry, but isn’t it a lovely day?” she asked them.
In the end, both smiled and agreed. Remarking how nice it was to see a young person who wasn’t morose and miserable.
“But everything is wonderful!” she said, leaving them staring after her.
She came to where the path entered a field that broadened out with woodland beyond. Basil knew this area intimately and set off to explore the place where he had found rabbits in the past.
Keira sat on the grass and watched the river flow past. Several boats were on the river, the occupants of which waved and nodded amiably at her, which she returned.
Idly she thought about this gift she now possessed. She was intelligent enough to realise that if handled badly then there would be those who would seek to find out what she had and try to take it from her. She regretted letting Connie know, but perhaps that could be turned to an advantage.
She touched the torc with her fingers, wondering how it came to be, and what sort of hands put it together, and why.
Was it an ancient artefact from a lost civilization like Atlantis? Or, was she quite right in thinking it was from an alien visitation to Earth?
She wondered how old it was. There was no indication obvious just by looking at it. The question arose; was it magic or scientific?
She never used to believe in magic, but that was before she could lift a car with the power of a single thought. It didn’t seem heavy or hefty enough to contain such power, but maybe all it did was accentuate power that was already there.
Regardless, she felt an overwhelming gratitude towards the unknown maker or makers. In one crazy moment, her dreams were fulfilled, her prayers answered and her ambitions formulated beyond her imagination.
The world was hers to do what she willed, now, and she was not going to pass up the opportunity.
Using her finger, she pointed at the water and made patterns as if her hand actually touched the surface, while in fact she stood ten feet from the edge. She looked around and saw too many people, either on the water in boats or walking dogs. She wanted to try to see how high and fast she could fly, but knew she’d have to wait until later.
Basil came trotting back after she called him. He did not seem to either notice or mind she was now a girl. She started back, returning along the same path that she had taken to get here.
As she reached the gate, she met her neighbours, Ruth and David Watson with their Labrador - Ben.
“Oh shit!” she muttered. She did not have the time nor the opportunity to take the torc off and allow the few moments to change back.
“Hello Basil,” said Ruth, making a fuss of the little dog who greeted her as an old friend.
“Oh, hello; I thought for a moment you were Kenneth,” she said as Keira approached. “But I see I was wrong. This is Basil, isn’t it?”