A 30 year old guy buys a stone inside a store in Chinatown, and accidentally makes a wish that ...brings out his feminine side.
A - H I - P Q - Z Newest Files
An Erroneous Wish Chinatown New York. I always did love shopping there. Even if it was cheap little stuff, or oriental trinkets of little value, it was still amazing to walk through. Once, I had found a little red book of communism that Mao Tse Tung had given out to the people. It was authentic. And for ten bucks, it was mine. Lots of little things like that; a grocery store here and there that sold god knows what to its loyal Asian customers, or a sushi bar, I just loved the culture. Last August was especially rememberable. For one very major reason. I was walking down some small ally near the banking district of Chinatown when I spotted this small hole in the wall store. It was set up like all the other stores, but struck me as strange being this store in this inaccessible ally. You probably couldn't see it from the street, you'd have to venture back here. It looked like the standard tourist kind of stuff, sunglasses, a folded up kimono, a bunch of gold and silver watches in a tray with a small sign that said "$10 each," you know the kind. And of course, this smiling old Chinese man standing outside waiting for any questions and maybe even make a sale. I don't know what made me go over to that store to look around. I had been to a thousand stores just like it. Maybe its because he probably doesn't get a lot of business out this way, and I couldn't stand walking passed him. Hell, it'd probably break his heart. So I went up and started going though the watches. He smiled and spoke in his hurried Chinese accent. "These ten dollar! You will not find better some other store I think." He was so enthusiastic it was almost funny. So I tried blowing him off. "Do you have anything else besides watches and stuff like that?" I asked. He gave me an odd stare, still smiling away, and said simply "Come with me, I think you will find what you want." I followed him into the dimly lit store, where an old woman, probably his wife was putting some small trinkets onto some shelves. I think it might have been little statuettes of Buddha or frogs or something like that. The store was small, with two rooms branching off from it in front of me, and to the left. The room in front of me had rows of clothes hung up and in plastic bags. Most were dresses, American style, nothing unusual. My first thought was that perhaps she had a dry-cleaning business on the side. He must have saw me looking for he spoke up. "My wife is a dress-maker. She does beautiful work. They sell at market for twenty, even forty dollar." She smiled kindly, and nodded her head. I tried to venture to the next room, which I thought may have some swords or something else Chinese for me to buy and get on with my day, but he motioned for me to go into the room with the dresses. "You buy one for wife I think?" he asked. "No, I'm not married, and I don't have a girlfriend or any sisters." I said flatly, trying to rule out any possible choices. I think I must have scolded myself for not saying "mother" too, but everyone has a mother, so that wouldn't work. "For you then?" he said. I chuckled a bit at the thought. "No, unless she makes men's clothes I don't think I could wear any of those." I said, smiling politely. He persisted. "We don't care what you do yourself. We sell to the gay man many time." "I'm not gay either." I said, and turned away to the door to the other room. He grabbed a dress off the clothing rod and followed. I looked at some of the things on the shelf. "Same old same old" I thought to myself looking at the ceramics. He came up behind me and took the dress out of the plastic. He glanced at me and told me "hold still." "I don't think that will fit me." I said, thinking that would get me off the hook. I'm not a cross dresser, and I didn't like the idea of some tourist coming in here laughing while this guy was sizing me up. Besides, it looked like a child's dress. But it was in an ally in the middle of nowhere so I whined a little and held out my arms as he motioned for me to do so. He held it up against me. "You are much, much too tall." he said. I was relieved. I thought that was the end of it. "Oh well, I'm too tall, and I don't have anyone to buy it for." I randomly picked something off of the shelf and handed it to him. "I'll take this, how much?" I said, wanting to get out of there. He put the dress down and took the item. He looked at it smiling as usual and said "You make good choice I think! This give you good luck and wishes!" "Wishes huh?" I didn't act amused anymore. By now I was plain sarcastic. The item was a little stone in the shape of a pyramid. It was nothing special, it didn't have any carvings, it was limestone grey, and rough. I took it from him and gave him a twenty. "Will that cover this little magic thing?" He took the bill and nodded his head. "This will buy both the stone and the dress if you like." he said. "Gee, you know what, I wish I could, but you see I don't wear dresses, so how about just getting my change, huh?" His disposition had gone from smiling to concerned. He looked over at his wife sternly, who in turn ran quickly to the back room as if she knew exactly what to do, and then he looked back at me. At that instant, I felt tired. The room seemed to slow down, and I felt confused at this sudden feeling of calmness. It was euphoric. I felt happy, and scared at the same time. His voice was low and steady, but it was distant and soft, as though I was farther away. "So be it" he said, and his wife came from behind him with a pillow and stepped behind me. I panicked, but it seemed like everything was slow motion now, and I fell backward into the pillow, and sank away into darkness. I woke up in a bed in a hospital somewhere in Manhattan. My eyes felt groggy and the world seemed blurred. As the room came into focus, I turned over onto my side toward a window. It was a large plexiglass sort of window with large vertical blinds, which were open a little enogh to see the World Trade Center towers. It was cracked open a little bit. Under it was a brown paper bag that said "Kitochi Gifts - New York, New York" in a circle around some Chinese symbol. I reached over to get it, but found it was farther away than I had thought. I got up out of bed and got the paper bag. I looked inside and there was the dress, folded up into a neat plastic wrap with a little cardboard box on top, that had printed text on top. Wishing stone large 3 wishes Wishing stone med. 2 wishes Wishing stone small 1 wish The last one was circled in red. "Great" I thought. " I get the cheap one and a dress, woo hoo." I lifted up the box, and it was very light. I opened it up and there was a little white feather inside with a rice-paper note rolled up next to it. I reached in to get the note. The note was scribbled in barely legible black ink. "Your wish has been granted. You may feel surprised. To undo your wish, you must place the feather in your mouth for just a second, and the wish will end." "What wish?" I jumped back at the sound of my voice. It was a bit high like if it were to crack when you have a cold. I cleared my throat. "Why do I sound funny?" I was scared now. My voice wasn't going back down. I felt very sick at that moment. I ran into the bathroom on the other side of the room and vomited into the toilet. I rested my head upon the toilet, trying to grasp what had happened. I tried lifting my head back up from the toilet, and felt a tug on the back of my head. I reached back to find a ponytail stuck between the toilet seat and the toilet. I pulled it out and stumbled back against the wall. I looked down at the rest of my body, covered in a blue hospital gown. I felt ill again. I stood up and looked out in front of me. I couldn't see myself in the mirror because it was too high. I really panicked now. I started putting my hands though my long hair, wondering how and why it had happened. I ran to the bag and pulled out the note again. "Your wish has been granted?" I whined. I thought back to what I had said and the terror shook me. "...I wish I could, but I don't wear dresses..." I knew right then what had happened. I wanted to feel and see my body to make sure, but somehow I already knew. I was shaking now. I stood up and looked at my hands. They were small, very small, and hairless and smooth. My arms were the same, and I reached with them to the back of my gown to untie it. It fell off to reveal everything, but my eyes were closed, afraid to see. My hands moved slowly downward, and I felt first my stomach, my belly-button, and then to my horror, a void where my penis used to be. I began to cry. My hands went further and felt the smooth, hairless surface of my new organ. I finally opened my eyes and looked down. My sobs became greater now, and I fell back into the wall with my hands searching for what was lost. I fell asleep crying. When I awoke, it was the next day. I had been crying for some time, my eyes and throat were sore, and that alone told me it wasn't a dream. The shades where drawn on the window. I lay there groping myself, still amazed and saddened at what happened. A nurse walked inside my room with a cart full of food, and some syringes of something. I looked up at her with big wet eyes. She was very attractive. Full breasted with a short skirt and sheer hosiery; chestnut hair and a pleasant smile. I was surprised at my empty feeling of what would usually accompany an erection. I felt like I had been made not a girl but a gay man, for at that very moment, I was uninterested in what used to be a life obsession. "Sit up, young lady" she instructed kindly, and I obeyed, although I was apprehensive at the "young lady" part. She put the food on my lap, and I flinched. The void was still there, and I wasn't used to it at all. "What's the matter?" she asked. "Oh don't be afraid, its just food, now eat something." I picked up the plastic fork next to the plate and began to eat. I must have drank more than three glasses of water, my throat couldn't seem to get enough. She picked up my arm and poked me with one of the syringes. "What's that?" I asked. "This is to make you a little better, honey. You have been through a lot." I left it at that, for I didn't want to hear my own voice anymore, it was too much for me. The nurse left and I remained sitting up, finishing off the food she had given me. I glanced in the bathroom and saw a stool in front of the sink and mirror. They must have placed them there after I had passed out. I got out of bed and walked over to the stool. I stepped up and glanced into the mirror. It didn't seem like me. It wasn't me at all, although it moved like me. It was a little girl, about 10 or 11 starring back through that glass. Long hair, no longer tied up in a tail, but let down to a little more that shoulder length. I became frightened again, and then calmed. It seemed like the more I thought about this the more I wondered about it, and yet the more I accepted it. I reached down into my hospital pajama pants they had fit me into while sleeping. The empty spot was still there, with a sensitive new spot behind it. I didn't go further, I was afraid to. I went back into bed and got underneath the covers, head and all. I took off all my clothes and stared at what I saw. My legs were smooth and hairless. My thighs seemed thicker and my knees were less obvious. My feet were so tiny, I was surprised I didn't fall before when I tried to walk. My chest had two small pieces of fat I guess where supposed to be breasts, but again, I didn't look like a woman, I looked like a young girl. That hit me all at once. Why don't I have pubic hair? How am I going to pee? Do I like guys now? Why am I so young? How the fuck did this happen??? I started sobbing again, and I heard a door shut in the room. I poked my head out of the covers, and he was already at the foot of the bed, reading the chart. I looked back at my body, and fell back onto the pillow. "It's alright, little girl. You'll be on your way shortly." Watch for Part II of this series CtrlAltDelete21@aol.com