Dreams, Secrets, and Transformations: Beyond the Enchanted Looking Glass

it's time ch6

Roger understood. This was a lot for his sister to take in. He wiped away the tears beginning to trickle down his cheek, and tried to compose himself.

"I understand. Take all the time you need. I'll be here when you're ready to talk about it. In the meantime, I'm still the same person you knew as your brother, no matter what I look like." He offered her a small, hesitant smile. "However, what are we gonna tell mom and dad?"

His sister sighed heavily, her eyes cast downward. "We have to explain everything when they get home. I mean, they're obviously gonna notice something is different. Maybe we should both talk to them, together?"

She paused for a moment, thinking about how their parents would react. They were always very traditional and conservative. "I'm sure they'll be upset at first, but I think they'll come around. They love us both, after all."

Roger nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I hope so. It's just... do you think they'll ever accept me as their daughter?"

His sister's face softened as she reached over and squeezed his hand. "Of course they will, silly. Especially mom, once she sees you have a va-jay-jay now. And then she'll take care of dad.  They may take some time to adjust, but they'll come around. You said it, yourself, you're still the same person inside, just in a different body, right?"

Roger nodded, sniffling a little. "Yeah, I guess." He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. "So, what do you think we should call me? I mean, if I'm a girl now I can't very well continue going by Roger. You got any better suggestions than Rhonda?"

"Yeah, absolutely,"His sister replied. "I definitely dontv like Rhonda. Let me think about it." She thought for a moment, then smiled. "How about... Ellie? You know, short for Eleanor? It's a nice name, and it's sort of like the opposite of Roger. Plus, it's close to your old middle name, Elliot and it'sa lot better than Rhonda."

"I was thinking Ramona or Raleen or Yasmin or Sapphire," Roger's eyes lit up and a big cheeky grin formed on his face, "Or Trixie.... Bunny....Honey....Candy....or Diamond?"

Dana laughed, "Oh, so you wanna be a stripper now? Talk about a change."

"No,  not really. It was a joke. But yeah, I think I like your suggestion. Eleanor...El...Ellie...," he repeated, trying it out.

"How about Mae for a middle name?"

"Ellie Mae? Hell no."

"Janet?"

"Janet. Ellie Janet. No. Jane? Ellie Jane."

As they sat and discussed names and possibilities for the future, Roger couldn't help but feel a small sense of relief. He knew it was just the beginning of a long and difficult journey, but at least he had someone by his side.

"Hey, Ellie,' Dana spoke.

"Yeah," Ellie replied with a grin upon hearing her sister use her new name, her new feminine name.

"Where do you think that mirror came from?"

Ellie shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it was just some old antique that mom and dad picked up at a garage sale or something. Could have been there when they bought the house."

"Maybe, but you said you found this book about it in a trunk on the opposite side of the attic, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Ellie replied, frowning in thought. "You know, when I picked up the book, the mirror started glowing. I wouldn't have ever put the two together otherwise. Didn't even know there was a mirror on the other side of the attic, covered up with a sheet."

"Interesting,  it's almost like you were chosen. Wow. I mean,  it's magical. It could have magically showed up, just in time to save your life.  We will definitely have to ask mom about how we ended up with it. Hey, I wanna see it. Show me the mirror."