What Wish?

It felt like Christmas or one of the best birthdays I ever had. I walked into the thrift store over in the next town to look around for some new used clothes: well, new to me. I frequent the store and old Mrs. Flagstone knows my name. She looked up from the large box she was going through as I walked through the door.

“Good morning Corey.”

“Good morning Mrs. Flagstone. What do you have there? Did a new consignment arrive?”

“Well yes. It’s from one of my neighbors. Mr. Flagstone just brought it in. Terrible thing.”

“What’s terrible?” I asked. Something the box?”

“Oh no, nothing in the box. Our neighbor's daughter died last month.”

“That’s horrible. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“She contracted some form of fast-growing cancer. The poor thing was only twenty-five. Shame for someone that young to die. These are most of her clothes.” She pointed to two other huge boxes on the floor. “There’s so much here. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Corey, we’re finally retiring. We’ll be closing up the shop in a couple of weeks. We’ll be trying to sell as much as possible. What we don’t sell will go to charity.” She turned her attention back to the box. “These are so nice.” She took a red dress out of the box and shook it to get the wrinkles out. “She must have worn this to a dinner party.” She folded it and put it back in the box. “I doubt they will all be sold before we close. I have to go through the boxes, sort everything, assign prices. They won’t be on the racks for long before we close.”

“Can I have a look?”

“Oh sure. There are dresses, skirts, tops, some accessories, it’s practically a whole young woman’s wardrobe. Maybe you’ll find something for that sister of yours.” She smiled at me.

I walked over to the box and looked inside. I agreed with her. A complete young woman’s wardrobe was sitting there waiting for some lucky person to buy and take home. If the other two boxes had similar contents, it was my lucky day.

“These are nice.” I picked up a skirt and a top to get a better look at it. It was high-end merchandise. I picked up a pair of heels and noticed they were in my size. I definitely had come at the right time. I put the shoes down and thought for a second. “Why don’t you sell the box as is?”

“You mean without going through it? Oh no. I always check everything. Anything not passing my examination will get tossed. I couldn’t just sell it as it is.”

“It would save you a lot of work. How about if I take it off your hands.” I had come out today expecting to spend about $300 for a skirt, top, some heels, and maybe a dress. From what I saw in the box, it contained more than what I’d came out for and was better quality. Besides that, all the clothing was color coordinated. “I’ll give you $250 for all the boxes. You don’t have to do any work. It’ll be potluck.”

“Do you think your sister would like these?” She gave me that smile again.

“I’m thinking she would love these clothes. Anything she doesn’t like, I promise will go to charity.”

“Well, maybe I could sell the boxes. I haven't looked in the other two boxes. How about $450. That would be $150 per box.”

We haggled for a few minutes. We finally agreed on $350 for all three boxes. I would have given her the $450 if she had held out. Soon the boxes were packed in my car and I was on my way home.

I could barely contain my excitement. I had just bought a whole woman’s wardrobe for myself. Not too unusual, you say? Well, I’m a guy. I’m a crossdresser, a transvestite. I didn’t lie about having a sister. She knows all about my crossdressing and has helped me out at times. She is the only person who knows about my closet activities.

Don’t go getting any ideas. I don’t want to be a woman. I’m not gay. I don’t want to go out with men. I just like wearing woman’s clothing. I have wanted to go out dressed, at times, but never have. I have worn panties, pantyhose, and a well-concealed bra out on occasion. Other than my crossdressing, I’m entirely heterosexual. I was excited about getting home and opening the boxes to examine my new wardrobe.

I finished bringing in the last of the boxes into the house. It was the house my sister and I grew up in. We both continued to live there after our parents died. It was paid for and taxes and maintenance were a lot cheaper than paying rent for an apartment. It was one of the many ways our parents had provided for us. I put the boxes in the living room, sat on the floor, and began to go through them.

“I thought I heard you come in. Did you find anything?” my sister asked. She came down and stopped at the bottom of the steps. She looked at the boxes surrounding me. “What’s all this?”

I told Debbie about my luck at the thrift shop.

“You’re kidding?” She went to another box and opened it. “You got all this for how much?”

“Three hundred and fifty dollars. I couldn’t believe my luck. It’s like a wish come true.” I pulled out the red dress I had seen at the store. “I told Mrs. Flagstone, I was buying it for you.”

“Can’t make a liar out of you. You are lending me some of these.” She held up a sleeveless top. “These are expensive clothing and shoes!” She slipped off her loafer and tried on a pair of red heels. She turned her foot this way and that. “They fit pretty well. What else do you have in there?”

“I’m not sure. I only saw the contents of one box. The other 2 were bought sight unseen.”

“I’ll leave you to continue going through your treasures. I’m keeping the shoes for my date Saturday.”

“You might want the dress.” I threw her the red dress. She caught it awkwardly.

“Nice, you might be right,” she said. She took the dress and shoes and went upstairs. Soon she came down and put on her flip-flops that were by the door. “I’m heading to get my hair done and a mani-pedi. Want to come?”

“I’d love too,” I said. I have gone with her to get a manicure and a pedicure at times, with clear nail polish, of course. “I think I’m gonna go through my treasures as you called them.”

“Suit yourself,” she said. Soon I was alone with my boxes.

I was delighted by almost everything I pulled out of the boxes. The dresses were beautiful and of varying lengths. There were a multitude of skirts. I couldn’t believe the number of tops, pullovers, and button-downs. A collection of jeans were in another box along with almost as many leggings. There were quite a number of workout pants and sport-bras. Almost three-quarters of the last box were shoes. There were heels from 2 to five inches and flats in a dizzying array of colors. Some sandals, flip-flops, and sneakers rounded it all out. I was amazed that almost everything seemed like it would fit. The rest of the box held a jewelry box with earrings, bracelets, rings, all were good quality but not expensive. I understood that. We kept our mother’s expensive jewelry when she passed away. There were also other accessories and knickknacks.

I brought all the boxes upstairs to the spare bedroom. I kept most of my cross-dressing apparel there out of the way. I put the clothes away and put many of the accessories in my accessories drawer. I looked in the box to see what was left. It was mostly sentimental junk. I’m sure it meant a lot to the daughter. I was closing the box when I spied what looked like a small oil lamp. It looked like one from the story of Aladdin. I smiled. I could imagine the daughter holding the lamp and making a wish while rubbing the lamp. I silently hoped her wishes had come true. I put it on the top of the dresser. I didn’t put it down solidly and it immediately fell to the floor. I picked it up and checked it for damage. I rubbed away a spot of dirt. I stood still for a moment when I realized I had rubbed the lamp. I waited. Nothing happened. I know it was silly to think there would be a puff of smoke and a genie would appear. I smiled to myself and went to get some lunch.

~~0~~

After lunch, I decided to try on one of the outfits I had purchased. I was heading up the steps when the doorbell rang. I walked over and answered the door. There stood a petite young woman holding a clipboard, wearing a sleeveless tee, tight jeans, and 3-inch heels. She had earrings that dangled to almost her shoulders. She had red lipstick and her fingernail polish matched her lips. Her long blond hair was in a high ponytail. She had quite a mysterious look about her. For some reason, I could not look away. I stood there looking at her, spellbound.

“Corey? Corey Drumming?” she said. “I’m from Wisher International, Inc. in response to your wish query. May I come in?” I still was in a daze as she walked past me into the living room.

I closed the door as she took a seat on the sofa.” Excuse me,” I finally managed to say. “Where did you say you were from?”

“Wisher International, Inc,” she said. Her green eyes looked up at me through very long eyelashes. I couldn’t turn away.

“Wisher International, Inc?” I said.

“Yes,” she said. She checked her clipboard. “As I said, I’m here in response to your wish query. It seems we couldn’t make out your wish so I’m here to find out what your wish is?”

“I don’t understand. My wish? I didn’t make a wish. I’ve never heard of Wisher International.”

“Not many people have. Now back to business. Tell me, what is your wish?”

“My wish, I don’t have a wish.”

“Oh come now. Everyone has a wish. You rubbed the lamp, I’m here to grant your wish.”

“Rubbed the lamp? What are you talking about?”

She saw the confusion in my face. “Oh my! You really don’t know? Oh wow.”

“Don’t know what?”

“Sit down Corey. May I call you Corey?” I didn’t get a chance to respond. “You are in possession of a very special lamp. The lamp will grant you a series of wishes. All you need do is rub the lamp, think of what you want and your wish will be granted, within limits of course.”

“Limits,” I said.”

“Yes, you can’t wish to harm anyone or yourself or make someone love you and you can’t ask for money.”

“Why not money?”

“Too many problems now. Money suddenly appearing in your bank
account raises too many flags. It was much easier before computers.”

“Wait, you’re telling me I have a lamp that will grant me a wish? A magic lamp?”

“Yes, you can call it that if you wish.” She giggled.

“And you’re the genie?” I said. “How come a genie didn’t pop out of the lamp when I rubbed it?”

“Oh please, that is such a cliche. Living in a lamp or bottle when out centuries ago. Besides, do you know how many people had heart attacks when a genie suddenly came out of the lamp? It really was quite embarrassing to put someone in the hospital or worse. We have simplified things. Now you rub the lamp while making your wish. No more genie appearing. It’s so much better not living in a lamp.”

“Okay, I rubbed the lamp so why are you here?”

“I am here to find out what you want and grant your wish of course.”

“You’re joking right?”

“Corey, I am serious.”

I was still trying to get a handle on what was going on when the door opened and Debbie walked it.

“Corey, I’m back.” She walked in and saw me on the couch next to the genie “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. Who’s your guest?”

‘Um, Debbie this is…” I stopped and realized I didn’t know her name.

“I’m Lizandra, from Wisher International, Inc. Call me Liz” she said. She stood up to shake Debbie’s hand.

“Wisher International…”

I explained to Debbie what was going on as quickly as I could.

“Wow, a real wish? What are you going to wish for?” Debbie asked.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to ask him since I got here. Is he always like this?”

“Only when unexpected genies come around asking him what his wish is.”

“Look,” Liz said as she stood up. “I don’t have all day. Corey, you have a wish coming. I’ll give you till tonight to decide on your wish. When I come back, I need to know your wish. Please have one.”

“What if I can’t think of one? What if I can’t decide?”

“Then you lose the wish and the lamp will no longer work for you.” She walked to the door past Debbie. “By the way, I love your nail polish.”

“Um, thanks,” Debbie said. Liz waited for Debbie to open the door before walking out.

~~0~~

Debbie plopped down on the couch next to me. “That was unreal. You have a real wish. You think she’s legit?”

“I don’t know, I mean, I was alone in the room when I rubbed the lamp. No one saw me. Then she rings the bell.”

“You actually rubbed the lamp?”

“Not really. I dropped it and was cleaning up a spot of dirt.”

“Yeah right,” She said. “So what are you going to ask for?”

“I really don’t know.”

“Well, you could ask for money?”

“Not allowed and we don’t need it.”

“It’s not allowed? You’re kidding. How about a girlfriend?”

“Can’t ask for love.”

“Shit. How about fame or something like that?”

“I guess. I don’t want to be famous though.”

“Oh, I’ve got it. How about reservations for that restaurant we want to go to. They’ve been booked for months.”

“I don’t want to use my first wish for reservations. It’s a wish after all. Almost anything I want. I just can’t figure out what I want. I’m going to have to think about this.” I left to go to my room. There was really very little I wanted. Maybe I could ask for world peace. Wait, that would probably be against the rules also.

~~0~~

I was no closer to a decision when we began making dinner. As we were eating Debbie looked at her phone. “I need to take this.” She picked up her phone. “Hey, Alan. Sure, okay, what? For tomorrow? I don’t know… I can try. No promises. Bye.” She hung up with a sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“We were going to meet with Alan’s friend Carl and his girlfriend tomorrow. Carl’s girlfriend canceled on him. Alan wants me to find Carl a date for tomorrow.”

“That’s short notice. Good luck.”

“I’m gonna need it.”

After dinner, Debbie went about trying to find someone to go out with Carl. I went to the spare room to think. I decided to try on one of the outfits from my purchase. I put on a bra and panties and slipped into a black skaters skirt and paired it with a three-quarter sleeve red plaid top. I found a pair of black 3-inch heels and put them on. I went to look at myself in the mirror. I liked the way I looked from the neck down. I sighed. While I loved wearing the clothes, I could never look like a woman. As I was checking myself in the mirror, I felt that rare urge to be able to go out dressed in woman’s clothing. To let everyone see me and not be worried about repercussions. “I like looking like this,” I said to no one. “I just want to wear woman’s clothing whenever I wanted, anytime at all, all the time, without any problems.” I stopped. I realized that was a wish! I could actually make that my wish!

“Debbie!”, I yelled. I heard her outside the door. “Come here. I think I got it.”

Debbie opened the door and saw me in my outfit. “Nice outfit. You want me to do your makeup?” She giggles as she came over to me.

“You know I don’t care for makeup.”

“So what’s up?”

“I think I found my wish.”

“Cool, what’s it going to be?”

“I’m going to wish that I can go out dressed in women’s clothing anytime I want without any repercussions. You know I’ve wanted to go out dressed. I’m going to wish to do that.”

“Really? That’s your wish?”

“Think about it. I’ve watched you for years, getting yourself ready for dates. I’ve been with you while you shopped for clothing. You know how much I’ve wanted to try on some of the things you were trying on. But I can’t go to a store and ask to try on a skirt, a pantsuit or a dress. I can’t go try on heels. It’s always pick something I think will look good, something I think will fit. Take it home and try it on and return it if it doesn’t fit. If I wish for this, I can wear my wardrobe anytime and not just behind closed doors.”

“Makes sense. You could ask for world peace.”

“Thought about it. Probably against the rules.”

“If that’s what you want, then go for it.”

~~0~~

I had changed into a pair of tight jeans, a cropped sweater with the word RULES in a font that made it look like it was melting and a pair of black wedges. The couple's daughter had great taste. I kept it on and went to the kitchen. Debbie was there, on her phone still trying to find Carl a date.

“Okay, thanks, Clare. No, I’m not upset. It’s short notice.” She hung up and put her head on the table.”Shit,” she said.

“No luck?” I asked. She lifted her head.

“No, so far everyone’s got a date. Hey, nice outfit. Those pants fit you well.”

“Thanks. I didn’t think they were going to fit when I pulled them out. But they fit great.”

“That dress you gave me fits me too. So did the shoes.”

“Really? I thought the shoes were more my size. Sorry about you not having any success getting Carl a date. He’s a nice guy. Anything I can do to help?”

“Not unless you use your wish so I can get someone to go out with Carl,” she said.

“Not a chance.”

My phone's ringer went off. I looked down and saw it was a call from Wisher International. “Hello,” I answered.

“Corey? It’s Liz. I’m going to be popping over now. Is that okay?”

“Um, sure.” There was no reply as I heard the phone disconnect. “I’m going to change, Liz is popping over.” I no sooner got the words out of my mouth when Liz was there sitting across from Debbie.

“What the…” yelled a freaked out Debbie.

“What the fuck, Liz? You couldn’t use the door?”

“I told you I was popping over. Hey, I like the outfit.”

“I can explain…”

“No need. I’ve seen it all over the centuries. Oh, I heard you talking to your sister about the clothes. They will always fit the wearer.”

“What do you mean always fit the wearer?” I said. Liz turned to my sister.

“He really is thick isn’t he?” Debbie didn’t say anything as she was still recovering from Liz’s sudden appearance. “They have a spell on them. The former owner of the lamp asked to always have the clothes she bought fit. The clothing has been enchanted to always fit the wearer. She was worried about putting on weight and later about losing too much weight. It was one of my better spells.”

“Wait, why didn’t she ask to be healthy?”

“That’s another wish that’s not allowed. You can wish to feel better, which she did.”

“Let me ask a question. How many wishes do I get… one, two, three?”

“You get unlimited wishes for as long as you own the lamp. However, you get one wish a month with no carryovers. Now can we get on with it? I’m here to grant your wish.”

“You’re early. I wasn’t expecting you until late, like 9 maybe 10 o’clock. Why are you rushing me to make my wish?”

“We’ve got rules. I’ve got till the end of the day to grant your wish. You rubbed the lamp and need to make a wish and I need to grant it. I don’t want to look bad. Now can I have your wish please?”

“Okay, okay, I feel so rushed. I have thought of one. I want to be able to go out wearing women’s clothing anytime I want to without repercussions.”

“I totally understand. Your society frowns on men wearing women’s clothing. Silly concept. Are you sure that’s what you want for your first wish?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“You seem to have thought it through. I can’t tell you the number of times I get asked for world peace. As if anyone could accomplish that,” Liz said. “Okay, I need you to make your wish by saying ‘I wish’ first.”

“Didn’t I just give you my wish?”

Liz turned to my sister. “He really is thick.” Liz turned back to me. “You told me what you were going to wish for but you didn’t say I wish first. Got it? You already rubbed the lamp so we’ll skip that part.”

“Okay, here goes.” I took a deep breath. “I wish to always be able to go out in women’s clothing without repercussions.”

“So be it!”, Liz said.

I stood there waiting for something to happen. There was no sound, no puff of smoke, nothing except a strange feeling throughout my body.

“Um...Corey?” Debbie said. She looked at me kind of strange.

“Go on outside,” said Liz.

“Corey, you should…”, Debbie said.

Without answering my sister, I opened the front door and boldly went out for the first time dressed completely as a woman. Our next-door neighbors were getting in their car. They saw me and waved. I walked further down the block past another neighbor. “Hi, Corey. No date tonight?” Not tonight, Mr. Higgins.” I smiled. My voice sounded different. I figured it was from my excitement. I almost ran back to the house. No one had any reaction to the way I was dressed.

“It worked! No one said a thing. This is amazing.”

“Um… Corey. You need to go to the mirror and look at yourself.”

“Why, I saw myself in my clothes.” I walked over to the mirror and did a double-take. The reflection in the mirror was a woman’s face complete with makeup and shoulder-length hair. I gazed down at my reflection to the open part of my top. “I’ve got cleavage!” I screamed. “Why do I have cleavage?” I turned to face Debbie and Liz. I raised my hands to my now ample breasts. “I have breasts!” As a sudden thought hit me, I lowered my hands to my crotch. “My penis, my balls, they’re gone. What did you do to me?”

“I gave you your wish. You can now go out in women’s clothes anytime you want to,” Liz said.

“This isn’t what I wanted! I didn’t want to be a woman!”

“It’s exactly what you asked for. By changing you into a woman, you can always go out in women’s clothing anytime you want to and no one will say anything. Other than the three of us in this room, no one will ever remember you as a man. Everyone’s memories are of you as a girl.”

I ran over to the fireplace mantle where there were pictures of me and Debbie as kids.
My image had been replaced with a girl in a dress. My prom picture showed me in a prom gown with a guy. My graduation picture was a portrait of a woman. I came back to the kitchen shaken.

“But….”

“But what? You didn’t expect me to change society's attitudes, did you? Wish granted.”
She stood up to leave.

“Wait, you can’t leave me this way.”

“You do get another wish in 30 days. Unfortunately, you said you always wanted to go out in women’s clothing. I’m afraid this wish is permanent. You will retain your memories as a man. They will co-exist with your experiences of being a woman.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s see,” she said. Liz walked over and picked up the prom picture. “Take the memory of your prom. You will remember you taking a girl to the prom and you will also remember going to the prom with your best friend, oh, and losing your virginity.”

“What?”

“Oh my God, Corey, she’s right. I remember you coming home and telling me all about it.”

I stood there transfixed as that new memory flooded into my brain. I remembered the whole event as if it had actually happened.

“But, but that didn’t happen.”

“You know that and we know that but anyone at your school will remember that it did. By tomorrow you will have all the new memories. Go through your old family pictures and yearbooks. That will trigger the memories. Now, I have to go. You now know the drill. Hold the lamp, think of your wish while rubbing the lamp. Ta-ta.”

With those final words, Liz was gone.

“I can’t believe this. I’m never using that lamp again,” I said. I walked over to the mirror and looked at my reflection again.

“What am I going to do?”

“Well, now you can wear all those clothes you bought. You also know they will always fit and you can wish for all the new clothes you buy to always fit. You can make that wish for my clothes too.”

“But I’m permanently a woman. I’m a girl!”

“So, I’m a girl. Nothing wrong with that.”

“But you’ve been a girl all your life.”

“As far as we both remember, you’ve always been a girl. I even remember you teaching me about makeup. Oh my God, I remember you helping me when I got my first period. You told me about you getting yours. Oh, this is so weird.”

“What am I going to do?”

“You’re almost as pretty as me. Just relax and go with it. Don’t try to fight it.”

“I guess. There’s nothing I can do about it now.” I sat down crossing my legs at the knees as if I’ve been doing it all my life. “I just realized, I don’t have a date for tomorrow.”

Debbie sat up and her eyes got wide. “You’re in luck. Steve’s friend Carl needs a date for tomorrow. We could double. You remember Carl, don’t you?”

I searched my memory. I did remember Carl. I always thought he was a nice guy when he came over with Steve. These thoughts were accompanied by how good looking and cute I thought he was. “Yeah, I remember him. He’s kind of cute. Sure, I’ll double.”

“Great! I’ll call Steve and let him know.” I heard her giggle as she made her call.