A brother asks for a favor from his sister who struggles with his request

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Callie hung up the phone and looked at the bed where her brother lay quiet. She reread the text she’d received 15 minutes earlier,

I need you to come to my apartment. It’s urgent. - Calvin

When she’d arrived, she found the door unlocked and her brother lying on the bed. Two notes were on the bedside table, one with her name and the other marked “To my family”. Callie opened the letter addressed to the family.

Mom, Dad and Callie,

I know this was selfish and for that I am truly sorry. I can’t explain my actions but I saw no other choice. I love you all and wish I could spare you the pain I know this will cause.

PS – I’ve attached my will and ask that Callie be my executor.

Love, Calvin

Tears fell freely from Callie’s face as she opened the second note.

Callie,

I know I am asking a lot but I need one last favor from you. Go to my bedroom and get the green suitcase. Please do not open it now or tell anyone about it. If you’ve already called 911, please do it now, as I only want you to see the contents. Don’t worry about leaving me, I’ve been planning this a long time and it is too late to save me.
Your loving brother, Calvin

Callie could hear the siren’s approach so she did as her brother asked and put the suitcase in her car. She ran to join the paramedics when they arrived but they confirmed her fears. It was too late.

A large crowd gathered at her parent’s house. Most of their high school friends showed up and they all tried to make sense of a senseless act. The crowd grew smaller as the hours passed until only Callie and her parents remained.

Her father told her. “Your mother needs to get some sleep. I really would like it if you stayed in your old room tonight.”

Callie lied and said that memories would make it too tough and that she’d sleep better in her own bed. Her dad looked disappointed but he didn’t insist she stay.

She knew he was worried about her. Everyone was worried about her as they all knew how close she was to her twin brother. Thoughts that linked a lifetime filled Callie’s head as she drove home but she steeled herself as she entered the driveway. She pulled the suitcase from the trunk and sat on her living room floor to open it.

Calvin had filled it with a variety of items and on top was another note.

Big sis,

She smiled despite her tears. Even though they were twins, Calvin had called her ‘Big sis’ for as long as she could remember as she was born five minutes earlier.

I’m sure this is tough but I need you to be strong. Inside the suitcase you will find a few things that I’m sure will shock you. The first thing you should know is I have been cross-dressing for years but it’s a lot more than that. In recent years I’ve come to realize that I’m gender dysphoric and feel like I’m trapped in the wrong body. I’m sure that idea sounds pretty stupid to you but you have no idea how hard this had been for me. It started when we were young. Do you remember the matching outfits that mom used to make us wear to church? You got to wear a pretty dress and I had to wear a suit. I asked mom a few times if I could wear a dress but she always scolded me,

“Don’t be silly. Boys don’t wear dresses”.

I hoped my obsession would lessen as I got older but it actually got worse. By the time we got into high school your closet became my refuge and your makeup table became my playground. I did my best to break myself of this curse during college but It got worse and I even started going to the clubs dressed as I wished. After we graduated, the expectation was that we’d would start our careers then have children of our own but I couldn’t do it. Every day I was living a lie and I couldn’t continue. I considered all my options but could see no other alternative. Please don’t share this information as it would probably kill mom or dad if they found out.

I don’t expect you to understand but I hope you will help. I want to be able to spend eternity as I wish and not how society dictated. I don’t know how to do this without anyone else knowing but I trust you will find a way.
Inside the suitcase you will find an outfit and all the accessories I want to wear. I’ve included a few pictures as a guide. There’s also an envelope with the remainder of my savings that should help. Ideally the funeral director will be able to accommodate my request and keep my secret.

Please don’t be sad and know that my last thoughts were of you, Mom, and Dad.

Little Cal

Callie wiped her tears and did her best to accommodate her brother’s wishes. It felt like part of her had died and as she made the arrangements she barely kept it together. The toughest test was looking down on his casket in the funeral home. Calvin was wearing a nice blue suit and striped red tie that her mom had picked out. The suit was a recent graduation gift from their parents to help him with his job search.

Callie felt the whole room staring as she said goodbye. As she walked to sit next to her mom, she felt naked in their glares. She dabbed her eyes with a tissue as the well-wishers streamed by to offer their condolences. After a few hours, the place emptied and the funeral director locked the doors. As they pre-arranged, Callie stayed behind.

He asked, “Are you sure you want to do this? It doesn’t matter either way.”

“I have to. It was his last request.”

“Do you have the items?”

She handed him the suitcase.

“Do you have the money?”

She handed him a stack of bills.

The funeral director smiled. “Follow me.”

They went downstairs. Callie waited in the next room and tried not to look as the funeral director worked on her brother. About an hour later he called her in to view the result.

Calvin was lying in the same casket but now instead of the suit, he was wearing a bright floral print that hung down just past his knees. Breast forms amply filled out the bra that was barely visible through the dress. His hands were folded just underneath his breasts and on each finger the director had glued the press on nails that Calvin had pre-painted bright red. Small hoop earrings hung from each lobe and a necklace with their birthstone hung around his neck. His face was mixture of colors that made him almost unrecognizably feminine. The director was affixing the brunette wig as she watched.

He asked, “What do you think?”

Callie took a quick look at the picture from the suitcase and held back tears at the realization that she was seeing her brother’s true self for the first and last time.

“It’s perfect.”

They held the closed casket service the next morning. After a short speech by the minister, a group of Calvin’s high school buddies carried the casket to the hearse. A short drive later, the same group carried Calvin to his final resting place. The minister said a few more words and the body was lowered into the earth. People started to leave but Callie found herself unconsciously walking to the grave. She fell to her knees and then knelt on the ground.

She had known for years about her brother’s ‘curse’ but hadn’t said anything. Did he think she wouldn’t notice that her clothes kept disappearing? Over time, she began to think of the thefts as a bit of a game and tried to read his mind about the types of things he might like. She even asked his opinion from time to time and it always made her happy when the item disappeared a few months later. She didn’t care that Calvin was wearing her clothes. If those things made him happy then she was happy. She was his “Big Sis” after all. A few times, she considered confronting him but in the end, she decided to respect his privacy. After all, he had to know she knew about his secret. He’d taken too many things over the years for her not to notice. She decided that if he wanted to talk, he would tell her. After everything they had been through together, he had to know she was always there for him.

Callie fought her memories and rocked back and forth. The sadness she had fought for days hit her all at once and she couldn’t stop crying. She was oblivious to the stares and soon began wailing repeatedly,

“It’s all my fault. I should have known. It’s all my fault, I should have known, IT’s ALL MY FAULT!”

The crowd scattered knowing there was little they could do to help the grief stricken girl. Only her mother dared approach.

She put her arm around her daughter and whispered in her ear. “It’s not your fault honey. It was a selfish act by your brother and he is the only one to blame.”

Callie wasn’t listening and continued her cries.

Calvin’s spirit watched the proceedings from a distance, his corporeal form now wearing his favorite dress and high heels. He was glad he’d been able to follow his sister for the last few days and she had come through for him. He only wished he could have stayed until the end of the service. Unfortunately, as his body lowered into the ground, he felt a pull on his spirit that he could not ignore. His last sight was of his mother and sister sitting by his grave. He wished he could hear what they were saying but they were too far away.

Then everything faded.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE - I know this isn't a very fun story. I finished it after reading about Lucy Meadows, an English schoolteacher who was harassed by a newspaper after going public with her decision to transition. She committed suicide soon after. Sometimes there is no perfect answer for some as the fear of being outed is greater than the will to live in a society that chooses not to understand their pain.