Wishful Steps

10

The hours of the day passed, and Demerval settled for eating fruits, cheese bread, and cheese croissant that Tina had brought from brunch. Despite wanting to push his thoughts away from what had happened in the early hours of the morning, they persisted, parading before his eyes as if in a fantastic movie. He didn't want to forget the details, especially the most frightening ones. No one would believe it if he told them. Perhaps that's why the Wishing Grotto remained untouched. Few people believe or have faith that their wishes can come true.

Night fell, and on the way back, Guilherme promised to stop by Tina and Demerval's bungalow to go together to the ball. He even handed over the dress he had taken from the grotto to Demerval since he had no company to go with. It was agreed that they would go together at least. After all, Guilherme had already become fond of Tina and Demerval.

Demerval left the calculator, papers, and pen on the bed, walked around it, and stopped in front of the dress that his wife had thrown on the bed. He picked up the dress and smelled it. It had a musty smell, but it wasn't moldy. For a moment, he wanted to know who wore it, what wish they made, and what object they took in exchange. He would never know. Although his wife found the dress tacky, he thought it was beautiful. "Guilherme has good taste," he thought before placing the dress on the bed. Then, Demerval crouched down and looked under the bed. There were the objects he had brought from that weird place.

There was a pair of high-heeled shoes studded with sparkling diamonds. He held one of the shoes in front of him and admired it for a long time. "Who would get rid of such a beautiful shoe?" he wondered. Then he had an unusual idea. He took off his pajamas and reluctantly put on the sequin dress. He looked at himself in the mirror and felt strange but extremely comfortable. There he was, an old man wearing a dress and feeling surprisingly free. It was then that he put on one of the shoes and felt taller and strangely happy. He chuckled at his own craziness of wanting to try on women's clothes. He turned away from the mirror and put on the other shoe. They were incredibly comfortable. He took a few steps forward just to hear the sound of the heels tap on the floor. When he turned to face the mirror again, he found himself looking at a young woman in her twenties, tall, slim, with long red hair. He looked at the feminine hands, lifted the dress, and noticed that the protrusion below his pubis had completely disappeared. He didn't know whether to laugh or be frightened by what was happening.

During this moment of joy and astonishment, he heard three knocks on the door.

"Guilherme."

He looked around thoughtfully. He looked at the mirror and felt beautiful. Speaking to himself, he said, "See you later, Demer." He opened Tina's makeup bag, took out a lipstick, and applied it to his lips as best as he could. He smiled at his reflection and said, "Hi, Val."