Tails

by Lhynn Cooper
Chapter 15

.......... "Serves you right." She said playfully. Then she said. "I didn't say I never come when we 'screw', as you so delicately put it, it sometimes happens, though not always. But, it always feels good, even if I don't." She paused. "The only time I ever tried a dildo was when I was in college. My roommate had one and when she went home one weekend, well, I was horny that Saturday night and tried it. It definitely wasn't the same."

.......... "In college? Why didn't you just call me?" I asked, pretending to be hurt. "I would have helped you out."

.......... She smiled. "I didn't know you then. That was before you asked me out. Remember I told you, being attractive can have it's drawbacks. Everybody assumes that you already have a date or that you must have some big football player for a boyfriend." She paused for a moment. "I spent more than a few Saturday nights alone." She paused again, and said softly, "I wish I had known you then. I wouldn't have needed to try the dildo."

.......... "You know," I said. "Before, I never would have been able to understand how sex could be satisfying without a big orgasm at the end. It seemed like that was the whole point of the thing. I would have thought, why get all excited and worked up if there wasn't the big finish to make me feel good and relieve the pressure. But now, I'm beginning to see a whole new side to this sex thing. I hope I can remember all of this when I get changed back."

.......... "I hope so too." Samantha said. "Imagine making love to a man who really understands what a woman wants. Just thinking about it is exciting, I can hardly wait."

.......... "I guess you'll have to give me some more lessons, then." I whispered in her ear. "To kind of reinforce what I've learned, you know, so I won't forget."

.......... We hugged each other and slowly drifted off to sleep. As I nodded off, the last thing I remember was wondering what it would feel like to be screwed.

.......... We slept late on Sunday and had a leisurely breakfast. Sam showered and I had a relaxing bath. Bob and Linda came over later and Bob and I spent the afternoon watching sports on TV. Linda and Samantha quickly lost interest and went out shopping. I was stretched out on the couch and Bob was in the big easy chair that used to be my domain on Sunday afternoons like this. We still kidded around and referred to each other as "good buddy' and that sort of thing, but every so often I would notice that Bob was spending at least as much time watching me, or more specifically, my tail, than he was watching the game. I hadn't bothered to cover my tail. I figured I might as well let him see what he wanted, that he would probably become used to it over time. He didn't say or do anything to make me uncomfortable, it was just that I was all too aware that no matter how we tried to ignore it, things were definitely not the same. I was now, physically at least, a female. We were on opposite sides of the fence, and although we could talk across the fence, there was now a recognized, if unspoken, barrier between us. Our friendly, evenly balanced foursome of two and two, had become three and one.

..........

.......... Linda and Samantha returned. Each had bought a few things and Samantha had bought me some clothes. She had bought me some bras of my own, that were one cup size bigger than hers, 34C instead of 34B. She also bought me a couple of simple, long, skirted dresses. She thought they might be easier for me to wear than the skirts and tops of hers I had been wearing. With my tail, they were really the only things I could now wear. Sam only had a couple of the long skirts, and I had worn both of them. I needed more clothes to wear or I would be doing laundry almost every day.

.......... I was embarrassed to have them show me what they had bought for me, particularly the bras, and there was no way I was going to try the stuff on with Bob there. It only emphasized how things had changed between the two of us. In some ways, my transformation had brought Samantha and I closer together, but, on the other hand, I had lost my best male friend. Neither of us said anything about it, but I think we both realized it.

.......... After a take-out pizza dinner and more conversation, Bob and Linda went home and left us alone. We slowly got ready for bed and Samantha got her clothes ready for the next day. She had me try on the stuff she had bought and everything fit. I was just glad she had chosen solid, darker colors. I was not ready for anything that was blatantly feminine, or colorful, or anything that fit too snugly and would emphasize my new shape. The new bras fit a little better than the one of Samantha's that I had worn, but they still fit more snugly than I would have liked. According to Samantha, that's how they were supposed to fit. When I got changed back, the one thing I definitely was not going to miss was wearing a bra. I supposed that I would eventually get used to wearing female clothing, but it sure didn't feel like that time would come soon. It all still felt really funny and odd to be wearing such things.

.......... When we had gone to bed and while we were laying side by side, Sam and I talked, and I told her how I felt about the change that I had noticed in the relationship between Bob and I. She and Linda had also noticed the difference in the way Bob and I interacted, but we both realized things had changed and there was not much anyone could do about it.

.......... That night, for the first time since the change, I actually had a dream that I could remember some parts of in the morning. As a man, I virtually never remembered dreaming. It bothered me more than a little, that in my dream, I had been female. I dreamed of swimming as a mermaid and I was swimming with someone else, another mermaid. At times in my dream, the other mermaid had Samantha's face and at other times had Linda's. I tried to discuss it with Sam in the morning, but she was so wrapped up in getting ready for work, that she had very little interest in what I was saying to her.

.......... Monday was a repeat of the previous Thursday and Friday. Another tedious day, broken up by a trip to the restaurant at lunch with Linda. She laughed about how everyone must think that she had a lover, as she had to run off every day at the same time to meet with a friend. Again, no luck at the

.......... restaurant. We had to leave the restaurant a little earlier than I wanted to because I had need of a bathroom, and although I am sure the restaurant's bathrooms were handicapped accessible, I didn't think they would be mermaid friendly. Living like this was getting to be a real pain.

.......... The next day, Linda called early and wanted to come over and pick me up right away. She had to go out and see a customer about some pictures they wanted to buy and she said it would make the distance she had to drive much shorter if I were at her house at lunch time instead of having to come all the way out to ours and then back to the restaurant. I told her I didn't mind and the change of scenery would be welcome. I also would be able to enjoy the wider bathroom doors in her house where I could move my wheel chair right up to the toilet instead of having to drag myself across the floor.

.......... I dressed in one of the new outfits that Sam had gotten for me, and one of my new bras. As usual, I just combed my hair back into a ponytail. Linda picked me up and left me at her house where I unsuccessfully tried to get interested in daytime television again while I waited for her. Around eleven in the morning, the phone rang, and I answered it, thinking it would be Linda.

.......... It was the woman who owned the art gallery where Linda worked. She said she had been expecting to get Linda's answering machine so she could leave her a message. I told her I was an old friend of Linda's who had just moved out here from back East and that I would take a message for her. Linda had given me her cell phone number last week, and I figured I could call her or give her the message at when she picked me up at lunch time. The woman said Linda had mentioned friends moving out here and she supposed it would be okay to give me the message.

.......... The message was that a woman had come into the art gallery, and while looking around, had seen some photos that Linda had taken of what appeared to be a mermaid. The gallery owner said that as soon as the woman had seen the photos, she had insisted on talking to whoever took them. She explained to the woman that she couldn't just give out employee's phone numbers or addresses, but would give her the message. The woman insisted that she try calling right away and leave a message. She wanted to talk to Linda right away and seemed somewhat upset, every time she looked at the photos that Linda had taken.

.......... She started to say something and I could hear the other woman talking in the background. They seemed to be talking back and forth and then the gallery owner asked if I would mind talking to the woman, who was quite insistent that she talk directly to me. I was confused but said I would talk to her, what could it hurt to talk to someone over the phone.

.......... The woman came on and asked if I was Linda, or if I knew who the model in the photographs was. I hesitantly asked why. The woman stopped for a moment and then asked in a much quieter voice, "Do you know anything about a broken doll, a broken mermaid doll?"

.......... I was stunned, almost speechless, but I managed to cautiously answer, "Uh, maybe. Why do you ask?"

..........

.......... "My daughters doll was broken a week or so ago," She said, "And I think she may have done something about it. Something she shouldn't have done." She paused again and then asked, "These photographs I'm looking at, do you have any idea who the model is?"

.......... This had to be the woman. "I'm the model." I said. "Linda took those of me last week." I was almost trembling as I asked, "It there something you can do about what your daughter did to me."

.......... The woman on the line lowered her voice even more, so that I could hardly hear her, and asked, "I was right, it isn't makeup, is it?"

.......... "It most certainly is not!" I answered. I sure hoped this was for real. "Uh, can you, uh, do something about it?" I was really shaking now, and I felt a little light-headed.

.......... "I have to see you first." She said. "Can you tell me where you are?"

.......... For a second, I thought, maybe, I should ask her to wait until I could get in touch with Samantha or Linda. What if this was not for real, but somebody who had somehow seen me or found out about me and was just trying to find out where we lived. But then, I decided, I couldn't afford to lose this chance.

.......... I would rather have had her meet me at our own house, but there was no way I could get there on my own. So, I gave her Linda's address and told her how to get there as best I knew. She said she would be right over.

.......... After I hung up, I sat for a moment and thought about what had just happened. I was going to get my legs back, and my manhood. Although I was excited about that, I did feel a little bit of sadness that I would be giving up some of the feelings that I had enjoyed in this shape, the feeling of swimming freely in the lake, and the sexual sensations that this body had in abundance, not to mention the multiple orgasms. But, my self image was still male. I missed the strength I had before and in spite of the enjoyment I had felt during sex this past week, I still missed playing the masculine role.

.......... I tried to call Samantha, but got no answer at her office, just her voice mail saying to leave a message. I left one telling her to call as soon as she could, saying that I thought we had found 'The Woman'. I then called Linda's cell phone number. It rang a few times and I was just about to hang up when she answered. I told her what had happened and asked if she could come home as soon as possible. She said she was with her customer now, and would get away from her in a couple of minutes and get home as soon as she could. She sounded almost as nervous as I felt.

.......... I waited. I was so nervous all I could do was roll the wheel chair back and forth in the living room, looking out the front window, first one way and then the other. After a few minutes, I stopped and realized that this may be the last time I would feel these breasts and have female sex organs. As much as I wanted my old body back, it seemed very important to be able to remember what this felt like. I touched and rubbed my breasts and nipples, feeling, certainly for the last time, what it felt like for them to get hard. I felt the feeling of wetness come to my groin and I reached under my dress and

.......... rubbed and caressed that area, inserting a finger into my vagina and stroking my clitoris. It did feel good, but I was so nervous that way before my body was ready to come, I heard a car pull into the driveway.

.......... I looked out the front window and saw it wasn't the car that we had seen on that day. It was a different model and color. I saw the driver looking at the house for a moment and then begin to get out of the car. As she came up the driveway, and up the front walk, I realized, it was not the same woman.

.......... "Uh oh!" I said to myself. "Now what have I done?"

.......... The doorbell rang and I almost didn't answer it. Maybe she would go away if I didn't answer.

.......... It rang again. I pulled the blanket I always kept with me from the couch and draped it over my lower body, hiding the fins and tail that could be seen below the hem of my dress. Against my better judgment, I rolled over and opened the door. A woman of medium height, with brown hair, and wearing a black pant-suit stood there. "Oh, hello." She said. "I'm Katherine Anderson, may I come in?"

.......... "Sure." I said, backing away from the door into the living room. "I'm Terry."

.......... She came in and closed the door, staring at the blanket over my tail. "Just call me Kathy."

.......... She stood and I sat, neither of us knew exactly how to start. Finally, I nervously said, "You're who I just talked to you on the phone? You said you could fix what your daughter did."

.......... "I, uh, I'm not sure....." she licked her lips, then said, "Uh, Terry, can I sit down? I'm really nervous."

.......... "Oh, I'm sorry." I said. "Sure sit down, make yourself comfortable." As she sat, I asked, "Mrs. Anderson, I mean Kathy, you said your daughter did something, but, I'm confused. You're not the woman who was at the restaurant. The one with the little girl and the broken doll. How do you know what happened?"

.......... "No, no." She said. "I wasn't there. That was my sister, Carrie, she was watching my daughter for me. The little boy was her son." She kept glancing at the blanket. "My husband and I went away for the weekend. My sister and I baby-sit for each other so we can take turns doing things like that in weekends now and then. Carrie usually has no trouble with Patty." She fidgeted on the couch. "Patricia, I mean, that's my daughter, we call her Patty."

.......... She looked down and I was about to say something when she continued. "Carrie said that Patty told you she was a witch, and, that I was one too."

.......... "Yeah, she said that." I responded. "Apparently, it's true, isn't it? Either that or I've completely lost my mind and I'm having one hell of a hallucination. Do you know what she did to me?"

.......... "I think so." She said. "Actually, from what I've seen so far, you're pretty lucky."

.......... "Lucky!" I almost shouted. "You call this lucky!" I pulled the blanket off and lifted up my tail fins so that my tail was sticking straight out. I pulled up the skirt of my dress and exposed my tail as far up as my former thigh area. I wiggled it up and down.

.......... Her eyes grew very wide and she silently mouthed the words 'Oh my!'. She swallowed and managed to pull her eyes away from staring at my tail. "That

.......... didn't come out right." She said quickly. "What I meant was that it could have been a lot worse. Patty was actually trying to turn you into a doll, a mermaid Barbie doll. Like the one that broke." I stared at her with my mouth open. She continued. "You could have wound up being about a foot tall and made of plastic. If she had done the spell right, the way she wanted to do it, you would have been alive and aware, but unable to move or talk or anything. You would have been living plastic."

.......... I was so shocked, that for a moment I couldn't speak, but then I managed to get out, "But how, why? What kind of kids are you raising? She's dangerous." I stopped, realizing I probably shouldn't have said that.

.......... "You're probably right." She said. "But let me try and explain this all to you as best I can. Please don't stop me until I'm done. This isn't easy for me, please."

.......... "I'm sorry." I said. "I'll listen." This story I had to hear.

.......... She swallowed and hesitantly began. "You may find this hard to believe, but," She looked down at my tail, swinging back and forth in the wheel chair. "Well, maybe you won't, but, anyway, yes, I'm a witch and so is Patty. Witchcraft still exists in the world, and it runs in families, it seems to be an inherited ability. There are only a few dozen families left in the world that still have this talent, or ability. It seems to be slowly dying out and not every member of our families inherit the talent any more. In my family, it seems to show up only in the female side and then only about one girl in four or five develop the gift, as we call it."

.......... I broke in. "You call the power to mess up peoples lives like this a gift?"

.......... "That's what we've called it for generations. Please don't be too quick to judge until I finish." She seemed to be having such a hard time I almost felt sorry for her. She seemed so nice and normal, not at all what you would think a witch would be like.

.......... She went on to explain that not only were fewer and fewer members of these families developing witchcraft powers, but that those that did were doing so later in life and the powers were getting weaker as the generations passed. She was almost the only one of her generation in her family that had developed significant powers but that hers seemed to be quite strong. She had not expected her daughter to develop any at all, and in any case, in the last few generations, it was almost unheard of for these powers to develop at all before someone reached their late teens or early twenties.

.......... She explained that in most of these families, and almost all of them around the world kept in touch with each other, the children were not told about their heritage until they became adults, or until they exhibited some sort of talent. "I was not as careful as I should have been, and my daughter saw me cast a spell. I had to explain it to her, and I told her that she should never tell anyone or try anything herself. She's never been a problem until now. I don't know what's wrong with her lately. She just doesn't seem to listen, and she's so moody sometimes. Kids just don't seem to mind their

.......... parents anymore." She paused, then went on. "Do you have any children, Terry?"

.......... "Uh, no we don't" I answered, and then I asked, "I don't want to seem rude, Kathy, but can you change me back now? Then we can talk, okay?"

.......... "I'm coming to that." She said. "It's not as easy and straightforward as you think. When a witch casts a spell, she's the only one who can remove it. To put it bluntly, my daughter is the only one who can change you back."

.......... "Well, where is she." I was beginning to worry. "Get her over here and let's do it."

.......... >From the expression on her face, I could tell she was as nervous as I was. "I don't quite know how to tell you this, Terry, but, well......,"

.......... "What is it?" I asked.

.......... "She doesn't know how." I almost passed out when she said that. "She really doesn't know how she cast the spell, and she doesn't know how to remove it."

.......... "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, intending to sound angry, but actually sounding more scared than anything else. "Does that mean I'm stuck like this for good?"

.......... "No." She said. "Not for good, but, well, it's like I've got good news and bad news for you." I started to say something but she held up her hand to stop me and continued. "Let me finish. The good news is, she can and I definitely will make sure she removes the spell. The bad news is, she can't do it just yet."

.......... "Okay, when."

..........