The Gift Of Teiresias

The Gift Of Teiresias by Paul 1954

1 ... Pride and Joy

Stephen Walker lay back on the sunbed and gratefully soaked up the early morning warm Mediterranean sun. This was the life !. He had arrived in Skiathos, a small Greek island in the Aegean sea, with his family late last night for the start of a two week holiday that his father had treated them to out of the last of his redundancy money.

His father had been through a rough time recently after being laid off from the factory that he had worked in since he had left school and was now struggling to find a job. He still had his pride however.

This time last year he had promised the family a holiday abroad to celebrate Stephen's anticipated graduation from University - Stephen had always been the brains of the family and his parents had made considerable financial sacrifices to ensure he had always received the best of education - and he was determined to see this through even though he knew there would be very little money left from his redundancy after this break.

Although Stephen, and his younger Sister Imogen, had argued that this wasn't necessary his father, Bill, ignored all their protestations and booked the holiday anyway.

They were a tight knit family and although Stephen, 22, was his father's pride and joy Bill loved Imogen, 18, no less. Imogen worked as a secretary/receptionist in the same company where Stephen had just accepted a job offer and although she was nowhere near as clever as Stephen she was happy with her life and looked forward to being a wife and a mother one day, just like her own mother Clare. She was certainly no career girl ! For the time being she wanted to just enjoy life and have fun.

These night flights had always upset Stephen's metabolism and he had woken early after only three hours sleep to find the fine shafts of sunlight filtering through the dark metal blinds of his room in the small hotel they were staying in. He stretched his stiff body and, yawning widely, walked to the blinds and pulled them open. He was greeted by a wall of light and heat as the early morning sun imposed it's influence over the land.

Stephen felt so good to be alive. He put on his swimming shorts, walked to the small and basic kitchen, and then poured himself a glass of fresh orange juice and walked out to the hotel pool where he found that he was the first sun worshipper of the day.

He had soon fallen asleep and had spent an hour relaxing when a loud splash from the pool aroused him. He jumped with a start to see Imogen raise herself from the poolside wearing a cobalt blue skimpy bikini cut high to the hips.

He had always adored his Sister, in a Brotherly way of course, and sat there appreciating the sight before him wishing that she wasn't his Sister but another holiday maker like himself who was, most of all, available.

She was gorgeous ! He took in the sight from the bottom up. She stood about 5'5" with graceful and slim legs which led up to wide, but sensual, child bearing hips that were without an ounce of unnecessary fat on them. Above the legs her slim waist led to a pair of full beasts that were just about contained within the top part of her bikini. She had delicate shoulders and a graceful neck which was topped by the most perfectly almond shaped face and beautiful , just below shoulder length, cascading natural blond hair.

The cold water from the pool had made Imogen's nipples stand erect and they were clearly visible through her bikini top. He felt himself becoming aroused, and guilty at being so, at the sight of this vision. She was so beautiful - she would make some man very happy one day and Stephen felt a momentary pang of regret that it couldn't be him.

She was well aware, as any young and vivacious female would be, at the effect that she was having on Stephen and smiled gently and affectionately at the sight of Stephen hastily attempting to cover the swelling bulge in his shorts.

"Hi Bro" she called out to him, "up with the sun I see" she giggled as she sat down on the sun lounger next to him.

"Hi Sis - nice cossy - God this is s.o..o.o glorious, I'm glad we let Dad have his way. We've got to help them out when this holiday is over though, they have both done so much for us over the years" he said referring to his parents.

"Oh absolutely" said Imogen, "but in the meantime I think the best way that we can help them is if we thoroughly enjoy ourselves, it's what they've arranged this holiday for and we mustn't let them down. I know it's early but have you got any plans for today - I fancied going down the beach and seeing if there's any talent followed by an evening down that night-club we passed last night?".

"No nothing yet but I'd love to do a bit of exploring at some time, maybe we could hire a scooter and take a trip around the island. According to the holiday brochures you can do the whole island in a day. Do you fancy joining me - how about tomorrow ?" said Stephen.

"Yeah - I'd like that, but only if you take me to the club tonight - I can't go there on my own, I'd look desperate".

"Don't worry Sis, I'm sure you won't be alone for long but I'll join you anyway - I could do with a good night out myself - I feel like I've had no time to indulge myself over the last couple of years and I feel in the mood to chill out a little. You never know, I might just get lucky tonight myself !".

2 ... Night Out

Imogen returned from the beach in time to join the family for a meal before preparing for the evening ahead. Stephen had taken a bus down to Skiathos town and had returned with a hired scooter ready for the next day's excursion around the island.

"Hey Sis, are you still up for tomorrow? I called into some tourist shops while I was in town and virtually all of them recommended taking a trip around the North West side up into the mountain that overlooks Skiathos. Apparently there is a ruined village, Kastronissia, that dates back thousands of years and was finally abandoned following the German occupation in the second world war. After the island was liberated an earthquake caused extensive damage and the local's never returned" he said trying to pique her interest.

"Sounds good to me Bro and, oh by the way, you don't have to worry about escorting me tonight. I met a local boy, Marius, down at the beach and he will be taking me. It seems like the locals here have a thing for blondes - lucky for me - all the Greek women are natural brunettes. You don't mind do you, I don't want you cramping my style?" Imogen said a little guiltily.

"I suppose not, I still feel a little tired anyway and could use an early night before setting off tomorrow. You take care tonight, we don't want the locals thinking English girls are easy do we?" he joked as Imogen slapped him gently in mock indignation.

Imogen returned to her room to start the long process of getting ready for the evening ahead. Stephen could never understand why women took so long getting ready but had to admit that, with Imogen, the results were well worth it. She came out of her room wearing her most seductive make-up, a shimmering white sleeveless mid-thigh length dress that was bare legged along with white sling-back sandals. With her matching clutch bag she looked ravishing.

Stephen felt a pang of jealousy as he thought of how lucky Marius was and how he wished how he could have been in his shoes this evening. He hoped that Imogen would not succumb to his charms too easily.

"Now you take care Sis, don't let him take advantage of you".

"Get off my back Bro, I'm old enough to take care of myself now - besides - Marius has been the perfect gentleman so far and so romantic with it. I'm sure that he just wants to have a little fun with me and won't try anything on" Imogen said resentfully.

"Brother" thought Stephen, "girls are so gullible" knowing only too well exactly what any normal man would want to do to Imogen given half the chance. He knew, however, that she was one tough cookie and was more than capable of defending her virtue.

3 ... A Day Out

Stephen hadn't heard Imogen return having fallen into a much needed deep sleep. She had spent a wonderful evening with Marius and, true to her expectations, he had been nothing but chivalrous towards her. She suspected

that he was just warming her up for the main course tonight, he had already asked to meet her again, and she was happy to be courted like this. He was so handsome and she had never had anyone pay her so much respect and attention before.

She still managed to rise early and after having a light breakfast was ready to join Stephen for their island trip. She had dressed herself casually in a sleeveless tee-shirt and a pair of light pink denim shorts. As usual she looked extremely feminine and totally desirable Stephen thought upon seeing her.

Stephen fired up the scooter's ignition and, with Imogen on the back holding on to him with her arms locked tightly around his chest, set off towards the mountain. He enjoyed the feeling of her soft hands grabbing onto him and especially the feeling of her breasts pressing into his back. It was another beautifully warm morning and both Stephen and Imogen enjoyed the cool citrus scented breeze as they drove through the lemon groves and row after row of olive trees. They were soon into and through the town and were following a dirt track up into the, so called, mountain road he had previously identified on the map.

It would be a huge exaggeration to describe it as anything resembling a road. Skiathos only had one recognised road on the whole island with the remainder consisting of poorly marked dirt tracks. This, however, only added to the sense of adventure as they wound their way up the mountain track until they paused for a break.

As they got off the scooter they took in their surroundings. The view was absolutely stunning as, half way up the mountain, they looked down upon the island's airport to see an aircraft 500' below them bringing in another cargo load of holiday makers. The sense of peace and tranquillity was intoxicating as they listened to the bees buzzing around them searching for nectar in this warm sunshine.

Resuming their journey they carried on for another twenty minutes before coming to the end of the marked track that was supposed to lead to the village. It had been hard finding this track at all as the maps were a law unto themselves and tracks seemed to come and go in all directions.

"According to this map the village should be about a mile or so off to the North" Stephen said trying to relate what the map told him to the actual surroundings. The footpath, which they could just about make out, took them through thick undergrowth and eventually led them along to a coastal walkway. Walking along the path for another fifteen minutes they came to a causeway which led to a narrow natural bridge about 150' above sea level. On a raised rockland they could see what appeared to be buildings, or at least what remained of them.

"That must be it over there - come on Sis, let's go" Stephen said impulsively.

Looking down was a long drop to the seashore with rocks scattered wildly about. The village had obviously been joined onto the mainland at some point and natural erosion, along with the frequent earthquakes experienced here over the years, had obviously taken it's toll and left just this 2 foot wide access. Swallowing deeply Stephen said "well I don't know about you Sis but I'm going across - I haven't come all this way to stop here. That village look's amazing, , if we hadn't approached it from this pathway it would have been invisible to us - come on, let's get across".

Imogen was less sure about this. "Oh lucky lucky us" she mumbled under her breath not having the same enthusiasm for seeing an old pile of rubble as Stephen obviously had ! "There he goes again, typical man, plough on regardless and don't think about the consequences" she thought to herself as she followed him onto to the bridge being more nervous about remaining here on her own.

They crossed the bridge with no trouble. Once on the other side Stephen considered it strange that they hadn't seen anyone else since leaving the scooter. He did not dwell on this thought too long, however, as he stood in awe of what lay before his eyes. All around in various states of disrepair were the remnants of houses and habitats from both ancient and recent times. Some of the outer buildings were in a very precarious condition and very few of them still contained roofing or doors of any description.

He held Imogen's hand protectively as they entered one of the houses. There was very little inside except rubble and some evidence of where there had been a fire at some point. As they explored other buildings the same picture emerged. Anything of any value whatsoever had obviously already been taken he surmised, most probably either during or after the German occupation.

Finally they decided they had seen everything worth seeing and realised they had already spent more than enough time here and should be heading back. Imogen certainly didn't want to be late for her date with Marius and they did not want to get caught here after sunset being unsure as to whether they could find their way back through the pathway if it got too dark.

Just after they started to make their way through the village Imogen spotted one building that still possessed a door. This was unusual enough to make her exclaim :

"Hey Steve, look over there. That building has still got a door attached. Let's go and have a quick look before we leave, you never know, there might be something interesting in there".

"Unlikely Sis, it's certainly a lovely setting here but anything that may have been of interest has long gone. Let's take a look anyway" he said as they walked over towards the building.

Approaching it cautiously he pushed open the door and peered inside. It was dark with very little light entering through the windows and it took a couple of minutes for their eyes to adjust to the change from the bright sunlight outside. He could now clearly make out a room beyond the one they had entered and there appeared to be light filtering through from a hole in the roof. As they entered it Stephen suddenly put his arm across Imogen and called out "stop here Sis, this floor looks dangerous to me" as he peered into what seemed to be a crevice running the length of the room.

He stepped forward slowly, testing the floor cautiously when all of a sudden Imogen stumbled onto him bringing them both crashing down onto the floor. The floor around them immediately began to break apart and they fell six feet onto a rocky floor below. Stephen was winded as Imogen fell heavily on top of him.

They began to pick themselves up and, looking around, found themselves in what was left of a dark tunnel. Stephen dusted himself down and looking up said "come on Sis, I've had enough of this, let's get ourselves out of here".

"Wait a minute Bro, look over there" pointing along the dark tunnel to a bright shaft of sunlight about 20 feet away. "That might lead to another way out of here. If we try to clamber up to the room above we might just find that more of the flooring gives way and I'm sure I've already got enough bruises from the last fall".

"Well let's give it a try but it doesn't look very hopeful to me" Stephen said as they started to walk along the dank and dark tunnel. They followed the tunnel into the room and could see a large crack in, what appeared to be, a cave wall from where the light was entering from the seaward side of the rockface. Looking quickly around there did not appear to be anyway out. There was, however, more broken rock which appeared to be covering another hole

"In for a penny, in for a pound" said Stephen as they clambered past the rocks into another chamber. This was more interesting. There still did not appear to be an exit from here but, as their eyes again adjusted to the change of light, they could see this room was relatively intact and must have been hidden from visitors for a considerable period of time.

"This must have been some sort of place of worship, look over there, it seems to be an altar" Stephen said walking over to the far corner of the room.

"Look over there, there are statues set back into alcoves. Each of them seems to have a marble plate underneath with some writing on it" Imogen said moving towards the nearest alcove. Looking closer in this dim light they could see that each statue seemed to be different but all depicted some act which looked connected to the ancient Greek gods. The nearest one to Imogen was a statue of a young and beautiful women, the nearest to Stephen was that of a man striking a snake. As they looked around, taking care not to touch anything, they saw the first statue depicted what must have been Zeus, Stephen recognised enough of the writing underneath to confirm this. Next to this appeared to be a statue of Hera.

"These look to be made of marble, or alabaster" Stephen said as he ran his fingers along the female statue. He tried to move the statue to ascertain it's weight but couldn't shift it. It was almost as if it were actually a part of this chamber. As he touched the statue of the young female it almost seemed to crackle causing him to pull back sharply.

"Hey did you see that Sis - this thing's alive ! " Stephen said cautiously approaching it to see if it would do it again. "Here help me with this, let's see if we can move it between us - I'm sure this is a real find and we need to take something back as proof of what we've discovered.

"I'm really not sure if we should Bro, can't we just go back and let the authorities know about this".

"Look, they're never going to come all the way out here on a couple of tourists say so without some form of concrete evidence. Come on, help me with this stupid thing" he said as she finally conceded and reached out to grab the statue from the other side. As they both touched the statue the crackling returned and was accompanied by a brilliant phosphorescent light that surrounded and blinded them. They both collapsed to the floor and passed out.

4 ... The Gift of Teiresias

Stephen was the first to wake. He groaned in a strange and unfamiliar way as he pressed his hands hard against his eyes in an attempt to relieve the pain and felt disorientated and light headed as he tried to push himself up from the chamber floor. "God, what was that" he thought as he shook his head trying to shake himself awake.

He felt something hitting the side of his face with the shaking of his head. His sub-conscious realised it must be long hair and as he pushed himself up from the floor he knew something was wrong ... something was very wrong. His whole centre of balance had seemingly shifted and he could feel a strange feeling of both tightness and movement from around his chest.

He raised his hands to, almost instinctively, flick away the hair from the side of his face and, even though his eyes were still recovering, he gasped as he saw what appeared to be slim and refined hands. His confusion was absolute when he felt what seemed to fingernails scratching against the side of his face.

He fell backwards on his bottom in shock and, again, felt totally alien feelings from this area - it almost felt like he had fallen on some sort of padding!

He started to sob almost hysterically and was starting to hyper-ventilate as he called out "S ... Sis, Sis ... h .. h... help me" before he pulled up short as the sound of a soft and high-pitched voice echoed in his ears.

As his muted sobbing stopped he could hear movement next to him. He was frozen with apprehension and he didn't want to hear his voice, or feel any movement from his body, that might confirm the unthinkable that his addled mind was beginning somehow to accept as fact - HE WAS A GIRL!

The movement next to him started to shape itself into a recognisable form as it raised itself from the floor. "Bro ... Bro, what happen ..." and stopped. Stephen couldn't believe his ears at the deep and raspy sound that came from what he was expecting to be Imogen's mouth.

He recomposed himself quickly and looked closer as the shape redefined itself into a larger and more angular outline than he had expected. As his eyes finally cleared he again gasped in horror and his brain went into overload finally blacking out as it attempted to deny what it could see - he had been staring straight into his own face and this mirror image did not move with him !

Imogen had been greeted by a similar sight to Stephen, that of looking straight at her own familiar image although, even in this maelstrom of emotions, she almost calmly observed how different she looked from a different viewpoint. Her first thought was for her Brother. The only other person in this chamber was this girl who looked just like herself - she had also called her 'Sis' so she assumed that this girl must be him! She tried to compose herself and went over to him (her ! - this was starting to get confusing) and lifted him up from his (her!) back with an ease that surprised her.

"Bro, Bro ... come on, wake up now" she said while gently slapping him around his face. "Come on now Bro - I need you". She started to feel a sense of dread herself as she heard her own deep baritone voice that sounded remarkably like her Brother's. She looked closer at the arms and hands holding this girl's body and realised that they were strong and powerful just like Stephen's. She also realised, looking down at her flat chest, that she seemed to be wearing Stephen's shirt - "HOLY MOTHER OF GOD" she gasped aloud - "I AM STEPHEN".

"Wh ... what happened - where are we" Stephen stammered in his girlish voice as he started to come around. He again started to experience the warning signs of a panic attack as his heart started to race at the familiar sound that same out of his mouth - it was the sound of his Sister!

"Easy Bro, easy" Imogen said as she put her, now seemingly, long arms around Stephen's now slim and, seemingly fragile, shoulders. "God, was I this delicate ? - it certainly didn't feel like it from the inside" Imogen thought as she marvelled at the new feelings and strength she felt coursing through her. The strangest feeling of all was that of a swelling accompanied by a new, and never before experienced, feeling of intensity and urgency from around her groin as her male body reacted to a helpless female in it's arms.

Everything suddenly came back to Stephen as he stared into his own concerned face. He again realised, a little more rationally now, that if he was a girl and if that was himself looking at him then he must be ... Imogen ! He immediately stared down and again looked at his girlish hands and slim nails - he could immediately see the denim shorts and bare legs that Imogen had owned only a few short minutes ago. He finally had the courage to look at his chest and saw, from a different angle this time which seemed to exaggerate their size, his Sister's breasts which he had so admired only yesterday!

"S ... Sis, what's happened to us - we seem to have swapped bodies - we... we've got to change back, we've got to change back. I can't live as some weak girl" Stephen stammered as he again started to panic.

Imogen grasped him firmly around the shoulders and steadied him, how easy it had seemed. "Hey, enough of the weak girl malarky, that's me you're talking about here" as she got slightly annoyed at his reaction. Weak indeed! Mind you though, she had to admit that the girl she was holding certainly did feel light and fragile, had she really seemed like this to Stephen ? She certainly wasn't feeling the same sense of panic that he obviously was ! She did observe, however, that she HAD been prone to such attacks in the past - "maybe it comes with the body" she thought!

"Sorry Sis, I ... I don't know what's come over me" he spluttered in embarrassment. He had never felt so vulnerable before, he was usually so confident and self assured !

All of this upset and nervousness manifested itself in a new sensation that Stephen recognised as the need to relieve himself. It seemed to come from a different area now and was certainly more insistent.

"Sis, I'm sorry about this but I've got to pee - how ... what do I do".

"Oh brother" she thought raising her eyes to the ceiling. "Go back into that tunnel over there - you're going to have to squat somewhere around the corner - I'm sure you'll find it all comes quite naturally" Imogen said sympathetically. As he walked away she called out "and HEY - no peeking!".

He went into the tunnel until he felt he was far enough away to get some privacy, but not so far away to lose the feeling of protectiveness he now wanted. Removing Imogen's denim shorts Stephen thought "God, how am I going to do this - it feels so strange". He lowered Imogen's panties and tried to squat while supporting himself against the tunnel wall.

His new body's urgent needs stopped any further prevarication as he felt the hissing stream of urine releasing itself from his body in an undirected spray. He felt it splashing on his legs and didn't have a clue on how to direct it away from his body. As the flow ceased he still felt wet around his groin and guessed that he should now wipe himself - the trouble was that there was nothing else here to wipe with. He was also scared to look too closely around his unexplored genital area - he really didn't want to admit what was there yet !

He pulled up the panties and shorts and felt disgusted at this horrible damp feeling "Yuk, this is really horrible - I really hate this girl stuff".

Walking back into the chamber he saw Imogen returning from the corner. "Hey, I've just done the same as you - you men really have it so much easier don't you - just unzip it, whip it out and bingo" she observed.

Stephen looked like he was going to burst into tears again.

"Look it's all right, don't worry" Imogen said as she held Stephen's small hand. "Let's sit back here for a minute and think about what's happened. You said the statue made a crackling noise when you first touched it and then when we both tried to loosen it we were suddenly engulfed in a ball of light. It's obviously the statue that did this to us and I suppose it's the statue that could change us back" Imogen said almost with an air of reluctance. As she searched her feelings she realised it might be a bit of a blast to see what life was like from the other side of the fence for a short while. "Stephen could certainly do with a bit of experience in appreciating what life was like for a weak and feeble girl" she mentally snorted to herself.

"Well come on then, let's go back to the statue and see if we can reverse this" Stephen said dragging himself (herself!) up from the floor and walking in a strange, to him, swaying motion towards the statue.

Imogen joined him figuring that she had better not indulge her little fantasy - she did enjoy being a girl and wouldn't want to remain like this for too long. They both held the statue in the same way as before but this time nothing happened.

"Oh my God" said Stephen, "it didn't work, what are we going to do now?" he asked on the verge of tears.

"Well I think that we should return back to the hotel before it gets to dark - if we stay here much longer we won't be able to find our way back" Imogen said walking back to the tunnel to see if they could climb out.

"Wait a minute - if we leave here how are we going to find a way to change back ? And another thing, I can't go back as you - I can't be a girl" Stephen started to wail.

"Well I've got news for you, unless you want to spend the night in this dump we will have to go back as we are - you don't want to have Mum and Dad up all night worrying about us do you ? And another thing SIS, face facts - for the time being you ARE a girl so you had better start getting used to it until we find a way to change ourselves back. Now come on, let's get out of here" Imogen said as she went back pulling Stephen along with her by the hand.

Stephen quickly screamed while trying to pull away "wait, just wait a minute - if we can't take the statue then lets take the nameplate underneath it, or at least copy it, it might be helpful in trying to find out more about what happened here". They ending up copying the wording by writing on the back of the scooter hire documents with an eyeliner pencil from Imogen's bag.

"Now come on, let's go" Imogen said again pulling Stephen along by the hand.

Stephen meekly complied and felt a little humiliated as Imogen easily lifted him above her (his!) head and pushed Stephen back up into the room with the collapsed floor. She easily pulled herself up after him and they left the house back towards the bridge.

Imogen seemed all right crossing the narrow bridge back to the mainland but Stephen was very apprehensive feeling the difference in his centre of gravity more acutely. they finally got back to the scooter with about 30 minutes of daylight left.

"One thing Bro, or should I start calling you Sis, I don't know how to drive this thing" Imogen said as she contemplated the scooter.

"OK then - I guess I'll have to drive" Stephen said mounting the bike. It was a very different feeling for Stephen as they drove back to the hotel. This time Imogen's hands, formally his, were held firmly below his breasts and Stephen had to keep all his concentration to remain on the dusty tracks in the fading light as these distractions were close to, literally, driving him over the edge.

As they made their way down to the bottom of the mountain Stephen pulled over for a moment and turned off the engine.

"What are we going to tell Mum and Dad, we're going to be stuck like this at least until tomorrow when we are going to have to return here and see if there's a way to change back ? " he said pulling on some stray strands of blond hair.

"Look, I really don't want to worry them too much at this stage. It would ruin their holiday and you can just imagine how upset Dad would get if he thought his darling little boy was now a darling little girl" Imogen said firmly. "I think we would be better off just seeing the night out as each other and hope nobody's the wiser. We can hire the bike again if we go into the town early tomorrow and we might be able to find something out about the writing that we copied down that may give us a clue on how to change back".

"I suppose that makes sense - it shouldn't be too hard being you for one night I guess" Stephen responded.

"Good, let's get going then - don't you forget, you'll need a hour at least to get ready for your date with Marius tonight" Imogen laughed.

"DATE WITH MARIUS" spluttered Stephen sounding ridiculous to himself in this high pitched squeaky voice. "There is no way I'm going out with your new boyfriend for you. This is bad enough as it is without some local Romeo trying to get into my ... your, oh I don't know what I mean, my pants - think again Sis".

"You think again SIS - you are not going to lose me the best looking piece of talent on the beach for the rest of this holiday. When I get changed back I've got plans on having some serious fun with him. You'll do as you're damn well told !".

Stephen was speechless at Imogen's outburst. How could she be so stupid to think he'd go through with this. It's one thing trying to keep some emotional pain away from his parents, it was totally another thing trying to fend off someone who thought he was God's gift to women for the evening. It wasn't like he had even had a gay thought in his head!

It would over his (her!) dead body before he'd do this for Imogen.

5 ... That Evening

"God Imogen - how much longer is this going to take" Stephen whined as Imogen tried to finish putting eye shadow on him. "It must have taken us hours to get ready - I can't take much more of this".

"Just stop moaning will you - a girl's got to look just right for an important date" she said as she started to layer this girl's eyelashes with mascara. "I'm not having it look like you can't be bothered to make an effort for him. And another thing - stop calling me Imogen - we agreed that YOU are now Imogen, at least until tomorrow when we can try to get this mess sorted out. Have you got that clear IMOGEN" she said brow beating Stephen into submission.

"Yes, let's just get this over with and get the evening over Stephen" SHE said caustically.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Stephen, now Imogen, couldn't believe that he had let himself get bullied into this farcical situation. He had put up a token resistance but had been shocked at how easily he had capitulated to Imogen's demands. It was almost like she was enjoying this situation and wanted to maximise any humiliation he might feel.

They had managed to fool their parents without too much trouble by being fairly non-committal when asked how their day had gone and by rushing to get Stephen ready for his date with Marius. Stephen had started to go into his room when Imogen pulled him up sharply saying "your room's over there now" pointing to the room that she had occupied for the last two nights.

Stephen started to walk to her room when Imogen said "I'll be over in a minute to help you get ready - I want to make sure that you're presentable and sexy for Marius".

"Sexy ! There is no way you're going to make me sexy for anyone" Stephen wailed.

"Imogen" said the real Imogen, "Oh and you had better start getting used to that name - I thought you were going to give the game away when you didn't respond to Dad earlier - you already ARE sexy ! Being in your body and seeing myself through your eyes has made me realise just how desirable I am" she laughed.

"Well I'm glad you've kept your sense of humour anyway" Stephen said indignantly. "And now I am going to go in there to have a shower and I would rather shower in private thank you very much" he said slamming the bedroom door behind him.

"You've got nothing I haven't seen before" Imogen laughed going into Stephen's room.

Stephen started to remove his clothes. He marvelled at his new reflection in the mirror as he stood there looking at Imogen's body in just a white lacy bra and panties. The bra was difficult to get off but he actually enjoyed the sense of freedom he felt as his unfettered breasts swung free. As he removed his panties he stopped to look at the smooth mound that was covered by a light thatch of blond pubic hair.

Looking at Imogen's naked body he ran his slim fingers along the soft skin of his breasts and down to the groin, this skin was so smooth and soft, so different to what he was used to, that he experienced a momentary feeling of eroticism. "No, this is wrong - I really shouldn't do this" he thought to himself and decided to shower now to prevent any further exploration of her body. Before doing this he sat down on the toilet to relieve himself. It was much easier this time around and he found it much more comfortable sitting on a seat and letting the flow leave his body rather than his earlier experience back in the tunnel.

Showering the dirt and dried up body fluids away from this body raised Stephen's spirits a little and as he dried down he almost forgot his problems for a brief second until he heard a knock on the bedroom door.

"Hey Sis, can I come in" he heard from his own familiar voice. It was strange how your voice always sounds different when the words aren't coming direct from your own mouth - a little like hearing yourself on a tape he pondered as he opened the door.

"Yeah OK, wait a 'sec though" Stephen replied as he struggled to put on a coral pink bra he had found in the top of Imogen's drawer. Finally finishing he also pulled on a pair of matching panties almost enjoying the feeling as they pulled snuggly into his flat groin "so different than his usual boxers and what they held!" he thought sadly, and opened the door to let himself (!) in - this was all still so confusing !

"Oh no, no that will never do" said Imogen as she looked Stephen up and down. "You're going to have to take those off - they'll never go with what you're going to wear tonight".

"Oh look, do I really have to go through with this" Stephen pouted sulkily.

Imogen paused a little shocked for a second. Looking at Stephen standing there with his weight shifted onto one hip and sporting a moody pout he looked every inch a teenage girl. He would pass all right - the only issue was if he could pass as her. She was sure that for anybody who didn't know them too well it would not be a problem - the real challenge would be in keeping up this pretence with their parents - they would both have to really start getting into their roles, and that starts now.

"Yes you do" Imogen said, "and we had better stop calling each other by our real names and assume the names from our adopted bodies - we are bound to slip up otherwise. From now on I'm going to start calling you Imogen and you had better start calling me Stephen. Start thinking about yourself that way and also start thinking of yourself as a 'she' - it'll be easier - all right Imogen" 'he' said.

A shiver passed through him as Stephen's mind, in Imogen's body, started spinning. He wished he could control his feelings like he used to be able to and to stop feeling panic ridden and confused all the time. "Do we have to, I'm beginning to feel I'm losing my identity. Why don't we just tell Mum and Dad, I'm sure they'll be supportive".

"Oh I do wish you'd stop whining, you're sounding just like a girl already - constantly moaning and sulking - just give it a break Imogen" 'Stephen' said pointedly. "Anyway, this may be only for one night- we've already agreed on how to play this, just keep your nerve and spare Mum and Dad the grief. Of course they'll be supportive, they always have been - let's just not worry them unnecessarily - they're really enjoying themselves and need a carefree break. They will soon be back in the real world".

She continued, "Now come on, Marius will be here in 45 minutes, we've got a lot to do" said 'Stephen' going to 'Imogen's' underwear drawer and pulling out a black lace underwired bra and panty set. "now get these on and we can start with your make-up".

"MAKE-UP !" thought Imogen as she struggled to think of herself as a she. She didn't argue too much already feeling a little sheepish after the telling off she had just had from Stephen. She just went along with whatever her Brother, God this was so hard, wanted to do with her. Why was she giving in to everything so easily ?

'Stephen' led 'Imogen' over to the dressing table and started to prepare her for the night ahead.

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"Finally" 'Imogen' sighed to herself. She was still finding it hard to think of herself as a she, as the new Stephen led her over to the mirror to see the results of his handiwork. She stepped back in amazement as she took in the sight before her.

Stephen had dressed her in a 'little black' sleeveless dress, held up by delicate spaghetti straps, that highlighted every aspect of her femininity. Her long golden hair cascaded down to her shoulders in silken ripples which framed her almond shaped face perfectly. Her bright electric blue eyes looked so seductive with the subtle eye shadow and mascara topped by finely arched eyebrows.

The sleeveless dress accentuated the sleek and graceful neck and delicate narrow shoulders - this had been his favourite part of a women when he had been a man, it tended to highlight the softness and vulnerability of the female of the species for him. The almost sculptured aspects of her bustline and how the narrow waist flared out into womanly hips sent shivers down his back. The dress stopped just above mid-thigh leaving little to the imagination as the gorgeously slim and shapely legs led to small and delicate feet. He inwardly gasped at the dark red nail varnish that was visible through the 2 inch heeled sandals.

"God almighty Steve" she said angrily. "What on earth have you done to me, I look absolutely ravenous - no man without 100% total control over himself will be able to keep their hands off me. I ... I ... I can't believe this - why .... why, I can even feel myself getting damp just looking at myself and it isn't a nice feeling" she said fearing the night ahead. Looking down at him 'she' could see that she had even got a response out of 'Stephen'.

"Yeah, I must admit if I wasn't more respectful of your, sorry my, honour I would consider a bit of incest myself". Just then they heard a knocking on the door. "Come on then Sis, that must be your date for the night. Now don't forget - be on your best behaviour and don't do anything I wouldn't do" she laughed softly enjoying the irony of that statement.

They heard a call from the hallway, "Imogen, Imogen ... come on now, you've got a young man here already to take you out".

'Imogen' could feel her heart pounding and almost felt her knees trembling as 'Stephen' pushed her out into the hallway to face her date. 'Stephen' gave her a final push and said to her "go on there girl - don't let me down" as she almost floated towards him thinking, as if detached from this whole scene, that it was strange how she was able to walk so easily in heels - maybe the body remembers !

Marius saw 'Imogen' and took her delicate hands in his saying "Imogen, you look perfect. I thought you were beautiful yesterday but today you have surpassed yourself" and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips before she had time to think or react.

Her mind was again a maelstrom of confusion as she took in so many sensations in just a fraction of a second. The initial feelings of revulsion that he would have expected quickly turned to feelings of pleasure as a voice inside her seemed to think that this was quite nice really! The feeling of being defenceless turned into feelings of WANTING to fell defenceless and to be protected by this handsome (!) man. All this happened so fast that her male mind could not acknowledge these feelings and she soon found herself responding to the messages her body was giving her. "I've just got to go with the flow" she thought as Marius led her out to his car, "I've just got to get through the night- that's all (I hope!)" as this horrible thought crept into the back of his mind.

Getting into the car was yet another new experience. Marius walked around to the passengers side and held the door open for him. This was so strange , she was used to being the one to do this ! She stood there for a moment wondering how she was supposed to get into this car without giving Maruis, and anyone else who happened to be looking, a free show before thinking back to girls he had seen and been with. They usually went in backside first and swung their legs around afterwards, 'Imogen' attempted the same tactics and, amazingly enough, managed to negotiate this hurdle in a slightly ungainly, but successful manner.

She could have sworn she could see 'Stephen' watching from behind the blinds. "I bet he is really enjoying this she thought as Marius started the car and pulled away.

6 ... Imogen's Nightmare

The evening was everything that 'Imogen' had feared and expected. As Imogen later reflected on the evening she realised, with some trepidation, that there had been elements that she had enjoyed as well!

It had started fairly harmlessly as Marius had taken her to a small Greek Taverna where they enjoyed a candlelit meal. She had eaten fairly lightly, mostly eating seafood, but found that this seemed to be enough for her reduced appetite. Marius was the perfect gentleman, he had shown her to a seat and poured her a glass of the locally produced white wine which she sipped slowly at first.

Soon, without realising it, they had finished a bottle of wine between them as they completed their meal. This would normally have had no effect on Stephen but it was a different proposition now as Imogen began to feel a little light headed. She found herself giggling slightly at some of Marius's pigeon English but appreciated the effort he was making all the same.

She was starting to enjoy the evening as the alcohol and Marius's attentiveness left her feeling less apprehensive and also a little flattered.

By the time that Marius had driven them to a night club and they had enjoyed another drink, a pink lady for her, she wasn't finding it so difficult to relax and was happy to let Marius put his arm around her. She rationalised this in her own mind by telling herself that she was only doing what the real Imogen had asked her to do. She was starting to adjust and accept her temporary role as a girl much easier now that the alcohol had loosened her up and decided to try and enjoy this once in a lifetime experience.

This time as Marius pulled her towards him she was not surprised and accepted his kiss. The taste of a man was vastly different than what she had expected and, despite herself, she found that she was returning it. She lost all sense of time as she melted under this onslaught and felt giddy from the whole experience. She noticed that this kiss seemed to penetrate her senses much more deeply than when she had been a man and noticed, with almost a detached amusement, that these feelings were having an effect on other parts of her body as she felt her nipples becoming much more sensitive and hardened, almost like mini erections. Marius pulled her up onto the dance floor and she fell into the female role so easily during the slow numbers that she started to get scared at what this all meant. Her male instincts returned swiftly as she felt Marius's erect penis pressing into her stomach and she quickly said "excuse me, but I have to go to the little girl's room" and almost ran into the ladies restroom. She quickly found a cubicle and sat herself down on the toilet seat in a confused muddle. "What on earth was I doing back there, for God's sake - I was enjoying that until his cock shocked me back to normal" she thought as she started to calm down.

She felt the urgent need to relieve herself and, raising her bottom, lifted her skirt and pulled down her panties. After finishing she wiped herself dry and noticing her bodies sexual secretions as well as the remainder of urine droplets. She realised that she must have become quite aroused and that she had better get home before she lost control completely and did something her real sister might regret. This was becoming a nightmare !

She told Marius that she felt a little ill, feigning that seafood sometimes left her like that, and asked to be taken home and really apologised profusely so that she wouldn't spoil the real Imogen's future chances. To ensure this she returned Marius's goodnight kiss with a good imitation of passion to help soften the blow she was sure Marius must have felt. He must have thought he was home and dry with her after their dance !

She found 'Stephen' downstairs sharing a late night drink of scotch with her father- something that she had always enjoyed as an intimate part of male bonding she thought ruefully - God, she hoped she would be able to enjoy it again soon.

"How did your evening go Sis" said Stephen with a big grin on his face. "I've been out with Mum and Dad for the evening and ended up shooting a few games of Pool with Dad".

"Yes, and you know for once I beat him. That's the first time in years" Dad said with relish. "He seemed to be right off of his game tonight for some reason. Never mind, better luck next time eh son" his father said as he topped up his glass with whiskey.

"Well Sis, you haven't said anything yet about your evening. It seems like you must have enjoyed yourself from the look of your smudged lipstick" Stephen laughed uproariously.

"Oh ... O ... Oh, y ... you go and mind your own business" she said with venom as she stormed off to her room.

Father and son both looked at each other for a split second before spurting their drinks out in laughter and saying in unison "women ... I'll never understand them".

'Imogen' heard this and felt so helpless and frustrated that she broke down and sobbed into her pillow before falling asleep from both physical and emotional exhaustion.

7 ... Next Day

'Imogen' woke up first the next morning with the sun already streaming through the cracks in the blinds. As she walked over and opened them the heat hit her fully again instantly awakening her fully. She went over and checked the alarm clock next to the bed and gasped as she saw it was already 11:15am - everyone had slept in today. It must have been a combination of the lack of sleep they had experienced following their night flight and the alcohol they had all consumed last night.

She quickly grabbed a clean pair of shorts and a full length tee-shirt, again marvelling how it seemed that she looked lovely in whatever she put on, and went to knock on 'Stephen's' bedroom door.

"Stephen, come on - the morning's nearly gone already - come on get up" she called realising that there was no way that they could get back to Skiathos town, re-new the hire on the scooter and also get back to the village before it got too late to find their way back. This would mean another day as Imogen she realised with horror!

She heard Stephen groaning "Oh, my head". After a few moments the door opened and he stepped out. Imogen wondered if he had really looked that bad after too much to drink !

"Hi Bro - sorry Sis" he said as he rubbed his sore head. "I'm sorry about last night, I really didn't mean to upset you. I'd had a few too many whiskey's last night and got a bit silly. It was when you came in all nervous looking, and with your lipstick in a such a state, that I knew that you had been getting to know Marius better, much more than I would have imagined possible. I never really thought you would kiss him and, with all that whiskey inside of me - well - I just couldn't help myself. Never mind, it'll all be back to normal soon". As an afterthought he said "Hey, you did only kiss him didn't you - you didn't go any further I hope?".

"NO, I certainly did not" Imogen stamped her foot in irritation. "How dare you".

"Yeah, yeah" said Stephen dismissivily, "I suppose you're going to tell me that you're not that kind of girl in a minute as well!" as he walked off to the kitchen to pour himself a cool glass of orange juice.

Imogen followed him still feeling angry with his attitude "God, men can be such pigs sometimes" she thought and then mentally kicked herself, "I don't believe this - I'm starting to think like a girl now! - I've got to get changed back soon! ".

"Anyway", she continued, "there is no way that we going to get this sorted today - there's just not enough time. Oh ... come on, think of something - I don't want to spend another minute like this let alone another day" Imogen moaned.

"OK OK, 'Stephen' said unwilling to start an argument in his current delicate state. "Look, just face up to it - we're going to have to spend another day like this whatever - I can live with it, you'll just have to as well. Let's get some breakfast and we can think about what we're going to do".

Over breakfast Stephen suggested that they should make their day productive and, after renewing the hire on the scooter, they could do some investigative work and see if they can find any details of the village they had found and if there were any legends or superstitions associated with it. They could also see whether the Greek writing they had copied meant anything.

Calming down a little Imogen agreed that this seemed like a good idea and after finishing breakfast they set off to Skiathos town.

By the time they had gotten into town and had finished re-hiring the scooter for another two days it was nearly 2:30pm. They walked around town for a short while and inquired in the usual tourist centres about the history of the island. All they got was the usual high level information that you get in the guide books. Nobody really knew any more details about Kastronissia than what Imogen had already picked up when she had been Stephen.

They had begun to get disenchanted at this lack of success when they came upon a small museum that had just re-opened again after lunch. They looked inside and found a number of small rooms dedicated to the island and each room displayed a different period from the islands history.

It didn't take much more than a few minutes to find a room containing information about the Greek Gods and how they had been worshipped by the islanders. There seemed to be a lot of general information about Greek mythology but one recurring theme was that of the myth of Teiresias and the Greek spelling of this was exactly the same as the writing that they had found underneath the statue. They began to get excited as the read about the Myth.

Stephen read the English translation of the legend aloud :

"Teiresias was a Theban seer. During his youth he came upon two snakes coupling on a mountain near the city. He struck the female with his staff and walked on. He immediately found himself transformed into a woman. Seven or eight years later, coming upon the same snakes engaged in the same activity, Teiresias struck the male and returned at once to his masculine form. Not long after, while Hera and Zeus were debating whether a man or a woman takes the greater pleasure from sex, it occurred to them to call in Teiresias as arbiter, since he was the only man on earth who could answer the question from first hand knowledge. The young man responded that women experienced nine or ten times more pleasure than men. This reply infuriated Hera, who blinded Teiresias on the spot. Zeus, on the other hand, rewarded him with the gift of prophecy and gave him long life as well".

They were stunned as they read this. This account tallied with the tale the statues had appeared to depict. They immediately went looking for the curator to see if he could shed any more light on why this should be so relevant to this island.

He invited them into his office and in excellent English confirmed the legend and expanded on what it meant to Skiathos. "Skiathos was indeed rich in history having been invaded many times in the past by Romans, Persians, Byzantine's, pirates, Turks - it seemed like everyone had invaded it at some point" he said "Through all of this the original Greek dwellers of this island, and their descendants, had remained true to the 'old' religion. When the Romans invaded legend had it that the native inhabitants

built new housing over existing chambers of worship, where the ruined village of Kastronissia now stands, to keep them hidden".

"Due to the devotion of his worshippers, they remained the last bastion of Greece to continue to worship Zeus and his fellow Gods, Zeus decided to reward the citizens of Skiathos. Zeus had decided that the reward should be spiritual rather than providing them with riches and, following the experience of Teiresias, considered that the greatest spiritual gain that any Skiathian could receive would be to experience life from all aspects, even if this was for just a brief period of time. Therefore Zeus fashioned a mystical chamber on the North West side of the island pointing to Mount Olympus, where his followers could gather to worship him and effect the necessary transformations".

Stephen and Imogen sat in the curator's office spellbound as the curator continued his story.

"Zeus, in all his wisdom, decreed that any two members of the opposite gender who approached his chamber and, jointly, touched the statue of the female Teiresias would have their souls transferred into each others body. This ability to experience life from each others perspective would help the young couple, for it was usually those who had chosen to wed who made the change, appreciate both the joys and tribulations they would each encounter during their life".

'Imogen' had a bad feeling about this. She desperately hoped that the curator was going to continue and tell them how a change back could be made - it didn't make sense that a strong and powerful man would want to spend the rest of his life as a female in times when women were virtually men's servants. She was getting nervous and wanted more than anything else in the world to go back to being Stephen again.

She asked him hesitantly "d ... did they ever swap back to their original bodies, they surely didn't remain like that did they?".

The curator laughed softly "no, no my dear - this was merely a short term experience - there were two conditions imposed. The first was that one of the pair should be no more than eighteen years old, usually the female. The second condition was that after one sunset and before three sunsets had occurred since the time of the transference, the couple must return to the chamber and re-enact the ceremony by holding the female Teiresias statue. If they did this then they would be returned to their bodies of birth far richer for the experience".

Stephen quickly leapt in "if, you said if they returned to the chamber and held the statue then they would be restored - does this mean that failure to do this meant that they ended up staying in their new bodies?" he questioned nervously.

"That is correct my son" the curator said. "Indeed, some of the transferees found they preferred life in the other gender and decided to remain as such. If they didn't reverse the procedure before the third sunset then they would never be able change again, ever - the transfer of souls would be permanent. Oddly enough this was usually prompted from the former male. This was truly a unique gift that Zeus allowed Teiresias to make".

"Was the chamber ever found?" asked Imogen with a mixture of relief at knowing it was possible to reverse the change and fear at realising that they had to find the chamber and to both hold the statue again - fear because they had to do so by tomorrow before nightfall else she would be Imogen forever!.

"No my dear, at least not in a very long time. Legend, as I mentioned earlier, says that it lies under the ruins of Kastronissia. The last recorded use of the chamber was during the 13th century following the invasion by the Byzantine's. Wholesale slaughter of villagers from around that area meant that the location was either lost or forgotten - it was a very jealously guarded secret, a gift from the Gods is not to be given away lightly!" he exclaimed.

"Now my friends, I thank you for your interest in our lovely island and its myths but I now have to return to tend to the museum - there are likely to be others that may need my help" he said as he shook their hands and bade them goodbye.

Stephen and Imogen went back outside into the bright sunlight. It would soon be getting dusk. As they looked at the setting sun they were both very aware of its significance. This would be the second and last sunset they would be allowed to experience in their new bodies and if they hadn't changed back before sunset tomorrow there wouldn't be another chance if the legends were true. In their heart of hearts they knew that they were - they were living testament to that fact.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@

After leaving the museum they decided to share a meal together, they had often done this in the past but never in such unlikely circumstances. Imogen decided to give the wine a miss this time and stuck to mineral water - she was not in the mood for drinking and didn't want to risk losing any semblance of control whatsoever.

Neither wanted to even think about not finding the chamber tomorrow and there was very little conversation as they pondered their futures.

As they returned to the scooter Imogen went to the front and was about to mount when Stephen said "here Sis, let me -I think I'll drive us back".

Imogen stepped back "but you can't drive, you haven't even got a driving license".

"Wrong Sis, it's YOU who hasn't got the driving license now. I was thinking over dinner that if we got stopped and you were driving they might hold us at the Police station for a while. They would certainly confiscate the bike and if either of these situations happened tomorrow that would put paid to our chances of getting to the village".

"You're right, it's too big a risk to take. How are you going to ride back though - you've never done anything like this before" Imogen said passing Stephen the ignition key.

"I know, I suppose you'll just have to give me a 'crash course' if you'll pardon the pun" Stephen chuckled trying to see some humour in their situation.

Imogen took Stephen to a quiet back street and within half an hour had taught him the basic's of riding a scooter. "As long as he doesn't go too mad it shouldn't be a problem" she thought. She had so easily lapsed into thinking of the real Imogen as a 'he'!

Stephen got them back to the hotel safely. It had felt strange sitting on the back with her thin arms wrapped tightly around what had been his own chest. It had felt even stranger to feel her breasts pressed firmly into his back as she hung on for dear life. The bumps over the road made them bounce slightly and, despite the worry, she found it was not a totally unpleasant feeling.

They decided to remain in the hotel for the night so that they wouldn't risk sleeping in too late in the morning. Their parents had already gone out for a meal by the time they had returned and they didn't see them again until just before they went to bed. They were going to bed early to get a good nights sleep so they would be fresh for tomorrow.

"What are you two doing tomorrow" their Mother Clare said putting down her handbag and putting on the stove to boil some water for a hot drink.

"Eh, well - we thought we'd go exploring again tomorrow - we wanted to see if we could find that village again" Stephen said yawning.

"Off together again !" their father said incredulously. "It's nice to see you two getting along so well. I know you've always been close in the past but never as close as you seem to be now - this holiday is doing us all good" he said happily.

"Yeah right Dad" Stephen said ironically, "I feel just like a new man" he said flexing his muscles in the mock pose of a body builder.

Despite the trauma she had been through during the last two days even Imogen laughed at this. If her parents hadn't known any better they might have thought the laughter was verging on hysteria as she continued laughing as she walked to her room.

"What's she finding so funny" Bill said turning to Stephen quizzically.

"I don't think I'd know where to start" he said wryly.

"Maybe it's women's problems or something like that - she certainly looked like she didn't feel herself last night" Bill said taking a cup of tea from their Mother.

"You've never seen a truer thing" Stephen said under his breath as he walked to his room. "Goodnight Pop's" he said shutting the bedroom door.

"Pop's?" thought Bill. "That's what Imogen always calls me - I don't know what's gotten into these two tonight".

8 ... From Dawn 'til Dusk

Imogen had risen by 7:00am having spent a restless night tossing and turning. She just wanted to get today over with and get back to normal. She knocked on Stephen's bedroom door to make sure he was awake and was relieved to hear him answer.

He joined her in the kitchen for a cup of coffee but neither of them felt like eating. Stephen noticed that all the pictures were off-centre and observed that there must have been a some minor earth tremors here during the night - they were quite common around these parts apparently. Imogen was not really paying much attention to this - she had other things on her mind.

Imogen had dressed in a pair of jeans and a baggy 'V' necked tee-shirt that seemed to hide most of her assets. The outfit was finished off by a plain pair of sneakers. She didn't want to feel too feminine today, she just wanted to concentrate on the task at hand. She shivered as they stepped outside and went back for a denim jacket. The sun had only just started to show itself and hadn't yet warmed the air.

They mounted the bike and set off for the mountain. Stephen found the ride exhilarating and as the sun rose started to enjoy himself. He would never have done this before the change and in the back of his mind thought that being Stephen was a lot of fun sometimes. He still missed wearing the pretty clothes and putting on make-up, and the general feeling of being feminine, but this had been compensated by the feeling of strength and confidence he would never have believed possible. He was still committed to changing back however, he was still the real Imogen inside and loved her Brother dearly - he could never intentionally hurt him.

As Stephen was feeling these thoughts Imogen considered her situation. She was looking forward to changing back but, as they were nearing their goal and she was feeling more confident, she had to admit there were some aspects of being Imogen that she had enjoyed. The feeling of the night air on her bare legs, when she had worn her black dress was a treasured sensual experience. The feeling of being defenceless and enjoying Marius's kiss was harder to accept but, if she was being truthful to herself, she had also found it enjoyable.

They had arrived at the point overlooking the airport and paused for a break again. It was now 9:30am. They watched a 737 landing and thought about how much had changed since two days ago when they had done this the last time.

Stephen drove along what looked like the same track that the real Stephen had taken the first time. They had been going along it now for about thirty minutes and hadn't yet come to it's end. This was obviously a different road! The route had looked different from the front seat and Stephen decided to return to where they had stopped off and to try and find the track to the village again. As they were returning he spotted a sign facing them. It had been hand painted and bore the legend 'Kastro'. They would never have seen this when they had approached from the other direction. Looking again at the map he saw that the map also had Kastro written alongside the longer name Kastronissia - "this must the local name for it" he thought.

"It looks like it must be that way Sis" he said to Imogen as he towards the new track.

"It won't be Sis for much longer Bro" she said relieved to see this new sign.

They continued along this new winding track for about 40 minutes, they couldn't go too fast on this dry and dusty road in case of an accident. They were starting to feel a little nervous, would this track never end, when they came upon a small village where two old men and an old woman were sitting at a table in the street outside one of the old stone houses. Looking around them there only seemed to be no more than a dozen houses comprising the village. Along the track they could see another old woman carrying a bundle of sticks on her back and walking back to the village.

Stephen stopped the scooter and turned off the engine. These few inhabitants eyed them suspiciously, they were not used to getting anybody whatsoever coming through here let alone two non-islanders, one with long blond hair.

They both got off the scooter and, Stephen carrying the map, walked over to them and said "this Kastro ?" feeling ridiculous trying to talk in pigeon English. All he got from them was a blank stare. "Great" he thought, "I suppose it would be asking too much for these to speak English!".

He laid the map out on the table and repeated, pointing at the map "Kastro, here ?". Again, all he received from the two men was a blank stare. He elicited a more energetic response from the old women - she shrugged her shoulders as if this was all too much trouble.

"Oh this is stupid" Imogen wailed petulantly, "we're never going to find the bloody village at this rate. It'll soon be noon and we are no nearer to finding the chamber than ever. Come on bright boy", she said sulkily, her frustration mounting, "think of something - I just can't be stuck like this for the rest of my life".

The tension between them was palpable for the first time since the change had occurred.

Stephen's temper rose in a burst of testosterone "For Christ's sake woman, I wish you'd just bloody well stop moaning and going on - Jesus wept, you're beginning to sound and act just like a bloody nagging woman - and all this after only two days ! I can't wait to see you when you get your PMT and go through your period if this is what you sound like now - you'll be a barrel of laughs I bet !" he said feeling the frustration himself.

His, her, oh whatever, Stephen's feelings and pride had been hurt as well. Stephen continued his tirade at the new Imogen - "besides, I don't like you referring to my body as you've been doing. I don't consider it to be the worst thing in the world to be in my body and I am taking great offence that you consider that you may be 'stuck' in it as if it would be some kind of punishment. I suppose you think I'm lucky to have won your body as if it's some sort of prize. You're not that damn good you know!".

As Stephen ran out of words he moved his eyes and looked around him in embarrassment remembering where they were - the village inhabitants had not even batted an eyelid!.

He looked at Imogen. She was standing there in a stunned silence. A million thoughts were swirling around her head and she, again, felt close to panic as she tried to make sense of them - something she had consistently struggled with since the transference - it must be something to do with the brains chemistry she considered.

All of a sudden she burst into tears and ran sobbing to Stephen "I ... I .. I'm so sorry Bro - I didn't m .. mean to give you a hard time - I know you're doing your best" she stammered between the tears. "It ... It's just that you wer ... were brought up in this body - it's YOUR body not mine and it ... it's a very beautiful body, anyone would be proud to possess it - oh I don't know - I don't know quite what I mean anymore".

Stephen hugged his Sister beginning to feel a little ashamed at his outburst. He was so used to his former brother being strong, making decisions and seeming to know all the answers that he hadn't anticipated how sensitive he now seemed to be in his former body. All of these new, new to them, hormones were driving both of their thoughts in a different way now and he understood what she had meant - he had never lost his temper in such an aggressive manner when he was Imogen - he had almost felt out of control for that brief period of time and, analysing his thoughts for a moment, he realised that he had actually been patronising to her - something he had despised in men when he had been Imogen.

As Imogen's tears dried into his chest Stephen felt a whole new flood of emotions that neither he, or she as Imogen, had ever experienced before. He felt incredibly protective towards this Imogen he was holding and felt almost a knot in his chest as he realised the love he felt for this girl. It wasn't arousal or lust, it was just a love for whoever she was - either Stephen or Imogen - and he felt so guilty at the hurt he had caused.

"Oh Sis, Sis - come on now - I didn't mean to blow up at you so badly. I'm really sorry, I should have had more understanding about what you're going through right now - I, of all people, should have had more empathy with you. After all", he continued "I'm going through something similar myself although I think it must be harder for you. I think you're finding something of how complicated life can be for a woman and, having experienced life through your eyes now I am more fully aware of it, the fact that being a girl can sometimes can feel so limiting as if you're always following life's events - never really controlling them".

"I think we'd better make a move now if we're going to find that chamber" he said leading a puffy eyed Imogen back to the scooter.

Stephen hadn't realised that part of his reaction to Imogen's weeping was that of nearly all men when confronted with a crying female - he had capitulated fully at the first showing of this most devastating of all the weapon's in a girl's armoury.

As they disappeared further along the same track the villagers just stared. One of the men moved slightly, stared at the old women and then turned back. As the sun beat down on them the little drama that had suddenly entered their lives was soon forgotten.

9 ... The Chamber

They carried along on this same track for almost another full hour when, just as they were starting to feel desperate, they came upon a recognisable road. Stopping and turning to the map Stephen said "well, there's some good news and some bad news. The good news is that, according to that sign up there we are here" he said pointing to a junction on the map - "we have found a landmark at last. The bad news is that we have come down on the other side of the mountain. We had got totally lost up there and could have spent hours meandering around along the hundreds of tracks we could have taken at any time. I think we would be better off following the main road round and going back up the original track where we started from".

"You mean we've wasted all this time for nothing" Imogen said despairingly. "We've got to get it right this time - we're running out of chances".

"I know, I know - let's get going then" Stephen said just a little irritably.

They eventually got back to the point overlooking the airport. Imogen couldn't believe that they had wasted half the day and gotten nowhere. This time they followed the maxim of 'more haste and less speed' and found the original track at the second attempt. They parked the scooter and set off down the track to Kastronissia first trudging through the thick undergrowth until they, as the previous time, found the coastal pathway.

The time by now was 4:00pm.

They walked on for another fifteen minutes before coming to the bridge which joined the raised rockland to the pathway they were on. As they moved closer to the bridge they noticed that some more of it had crumbled away since their last visit. "It must have been the earth tremors last night" thought Stephen.

A hand painted sign had been erected with a warning attached in Greek, English, German and French warning visitors not to cross onto the rockland.

"I just don't believe this" said Imogen in exasperation. "It's as if the God's have already decided our fate but I'm not giving up that easily - I'm going across anyway, this'll be our last chance".

"I'm with you Sis" said Stephen walking cautiously to the bridge. It was still possible to cross the bridge but they would have to be extremely careful. They nervously crossed, trying not to look down at the 150' drop.

As they entered the village they started looking around for the building which covered the chamber entrance. They searched where they had thought it had been but everything looked the same this time. They were starting to get a little desperate. They racked their brains trying to figure out what had made that building stand out the last time that they were here when suddenly Stephen called out "wait, I remember now. The last time we were about to return to the hotel, God how I wish now that we had done that, when I spotted a building with a door".

"That's right - it was over to the West of the village near the cliff edge - remember the crack of light and the sea we saw from the inside of the room above the chamber" Imogen said suddenly alive again and eager with anticipation. "Oh come on, let's hurry - it's nearly six o'clock now it'll be sunset in another hour".

They hurried off in that direction and found the group of buildings they were looking for.

As they approached it they paused in horror. The earth tremors had taken away some of the cliff in a landslide. As they looked around they saw that some of the buildings had disappeared into the sea and prayed that the building they were looking for wasn't one of them.

They searched frantically and found it still standing although the cliffs around it looked very precarious - some of the rockland behind the building had already slipped into the sea.

All of a sudden they heard an almighty roar and some more rockland 100 yards away slipped into the sea. They both hurried along without comment balancing the danger they were in against the importance of their goal.

Entering the building they walked into the far room taking care with the fragile floor. They easily found the crevice that exposed the tunnel. Stephen dropped himself down and called up to Imogen "come on Sis, get down here we haven't got much time left - it's only 30 minutes to sunset".

Imogen looked on nervously and hesitated. Stephen shouted this time "Oh, for God's sake hurry up - here climb down on my shoulders and I'll catch you" he said edging over to the side.

She started to clamber down but slipped. As she fell Stephen managed to catch her and held her in his arms. She felt so helpless and girlish as Stephen carried her away from the side of the tunnel and put her safely back on her feet. This helpless feeling was almost bitter/sweet as she both enjoyed it and felt humiliated at the same time. She thought that maybe the humiliation added to the enjoyment somehow, and she had definitely enjoyed feeling girlish. She had come a long way in accepting some powerful new feelings she could never have imagined as Stephen. She wanted to keep hold of these feelings somehow when they changed back.

Stephen also thought, momentarily, that it was nice being so strong and that he would really miss this aspect of manhood. He also thought back to the previous night in bed when he had masturbated bringing himself to a massive orgasm for the first time. He had really loved the female orgasm that he was used to but had found this new experience intoxicating and the powerful intense rush that was focused into just one small area of his body was an experience he was not looking forward to losing. There were indeed some really good aspects to being a man. He regretted that he would never have the chance to experience sex with a women despite the fact that he had felt no real desire for them yet. He was sure it would be a blast!

They both walked through the hole and into the chamber and gasped as they saw that parts of the side wall had fallen into the sea taking some of the statues with it. Other statues had been scattered around the chamber floor and Imogen prayed that the statue they needed was still there.

After searching desperately around the rubble strewn floor for twenty minutes Stephen called out "there, there - it's over there underneath that rock that's fallen by the altar".

They carefully walked over to the altar and thanked the God's for their good fortune. The sun, now clearly visible through the collapsed chamber wall, had only a quarter still left showing as it visibly sunk towards the horizon.

"Oh Stephen, come on - quick - let's get to it and swap back - we've got less than a minute left at this rate" Imogen cried in desperation looking at the ever sinking sun.

There was not enough room for both of them to get between the rock and the altar and Stephen had to try and move some of the larger rubble away to give Imogen a chance of reaching it at the same time as himself. There was no way he could lift and move a solid three foot statue!

Imogen looked at the sun which now had only the barest fraction remaining above the horizon - it had to be now or never. She launched herself towards the statue attempting to force herself into the narrow space and grasped the statue's legs shouting desperately "NOW STEVE NOW - GRAB HOLD OF IT". As Stephen tried to raise himself to touch the statue the force of Imogen sent him sprawling backwards momentarily. He raised himself quickly and grabbed the statue's head.

To their intense relief the statue started to crackle and they waited for the transference to start. The blinding flash of light never happened as the crackling fizzled out and then ceased completely to their total despair.

They both looked up in shock to see the sun finally set beneath the horizon and into the sea.

There was nothing to be said as they both looked at each other and the former Stephen, who was now Imogen forever, started to weep. Stephen wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly until her trembled sobbing ended.

They made their way back to mainland in total silence, neither needing to say anything to each other. They managed to reach the scooter before total darkness fell and, using it's feeble headlight, made their way back down the track to the main road.

Reaching Skiathos town they found a public phone and left a message at the hotel reception for their parents to say they were going to stay over in the town tonight and would be back tomorrow - they could just not face them tonight while they talked and thought about their futures and what they held.

10 ... The Gift of The God's

After the initial shock had faded the new Imogen and Stephen looked around for a quiet taverna, or restaurant, where they could have a private meal and discussion about what they were going to do now. They had now spent two days in each others bodies and had experienced both the upside and the downside of being the opposite gender.

Stephen ...

For Stephen it had mostly been the upside - there had not really been any part of being Stephen that he hadn't enjoyed yet and he was already starting to accept the inevitability of the situation. He had enjoyed the constant subconscious feeling of pent up strength his body now seemed to have.

When she had first become Stephen it was always at the top of his thoughts as he found he could cope automatically with things he had, and would have, struggled with as a girl - simple things like undoing a tight jar top and lifting a suitcase to the top of the bedroom wardrobe. For the first day this was a constant marvel to him but it was already fading into the background with just the awareness that it was there if needed. He thought that you would have had to have grown up as a girl to really appreciate this - he felt it gave him the confidence to achieve anything.

Other aspects he had enjoyed were the sudden highs and the rush of adrenaline that he felt when taking a deliberate risk or achieving something his former body would have found impossible. He had realised how limited he had felt before without ever being aware of it.

There were things he was going to miss. That luxurious and exotic feeling of being sexy when, as Imogen, he had first tried on a frothy and light dress to wear on a special occasion with a new boyfriend - the smell of an expensive perfume on her skin, the taste and feeling of lipstick. That special camaraderie that only women felt with each other, almost like being a member of the largest exclusive club on earth. The lack of pressure from not having to bear the expectations of being a male and having to succeed at everything - it was expected of you!

Stephen resolved to keep these as treasured memories but not to dwell on them. He had been given an opportunity to see life from a new perspective and was determined to take advantage of it.

He was going to remain a male for the rest of his days and his thoughts, from now on, would be strictly male he determined. He would never refer to, or think of himself, as Imogen from this point forward. He looked at his beautiful sister and smiled thinking how attractive she looked.

Imogen ...

Imogen sat staring at the man sitting opposite her smiling. She couldn't imagine what he had to be so happy about!

As they waited for the food to arrive she thought about what the future would hold for her now - she considered how different it would be from the plans she had formally held. On the downside she had no driving license, no marketable qualifications, a feeble body compared to that she had previously enjoyed, and an overall - and unjustified - sense of inadequacy.

There were some compensations however.

She thought back to two nights ago and her evening with Marius. She would now be considered fair game by every single man as well as some married men, and with the beautiful body she now owned she was sure that she would have every opportunity to find out exactly how a girl would cope with that. She had already noticed that men tended to talk to her breasts. She had also noticed heads turning whenever she passed a man.

Surprisingly, she found that she quite enjoyed this power she admitted to herself, feeling slightly scandalised and a little flushed at this thought.

She also remembered the feelings of submission and surrender as Marius had kissed her and the girlie feelings she had felt when her Brother had carried her earlier. Again, she could almost admit to herself that it had, in fact, been rather enjoyable.

She started to think how the real Imogen had looked that first morning in the bikini, and how her nipples had been so prominent through the bikini top. She remembered how aroused she had felt when she was Stephen and vividly remembered trying to hide his erection.

She felt her groin becoming warm and slightly damp at the thoughts of her old bodies erection. "This is weird" she thought as she tried to figure if her current feelings of arousal were because of her former feelings at seeing his sister looking so erotic, or because she was remembering her former erection that would now be sported by the handsome man sitting opposite her. She was slightly scandalised by the fact that she could regard any man as handsome, let alone her former body. "I must be adjusting already" she smiled inwardly to herself.

Above all she was fatalistic. She rued the loss of her former life but had to accept the inevitability of being Imogen.

She was not looking forward to her period, due in ten days time according to Stephen, and still considered the daily demands of being a female, such as make-up etc. etc., both trivial and irksome.

She was, however, never going to mentally refer to herself as a 'he' or as Stephen again. She couldn't change what had happened - she now had to look forward.

11 ... Decisions

With this decision made she returned Stephen's smile and took hold of his hand and squeezed it gently.

"I'm OK with this Bro, I am going to accept this and be happy - what about you?".

"Oh Imogen, thank God - I'm so relieved. I've decided that I am going to enjoy being you - no looking back eh Sis!".

"No looking back Stephen - I'm going to love having a big Brother to look after me" she said as she reached across the table, hugged him, and gave him a long sisterly kiss.

To all the world they looked like two young lovers enjoying an intimate meal.

They decided not to tell their parents what had happened - there seemed no point in upsetting them - nothing could be done to reverse this. They also decided to let nature claim the statues and tell no one about them - there was far too much potential for trouble.

12 ... Down by the Pool

They returned back to the hotel just in time for lunch. Their parents were already sun bathing down by the poolside and called for their children to join them. Stephen and Imogen had gone into their rooms to change when it occurred to Imogen that she would be expected to make an appearance in a bikini. This very nearly unhinged her there and then as she remembered the real Imogen's appearance on that first day and how arousing the sight of her had been. She decided to stop that train of thought immediately - "I AM Imogen now, I wasn't going to think like Stephen again - I promised I wouldn't do that!" she stated defiantly.

She stripped out of her clothes and, taking it out of her drawer, got ready to put on her blue bikini. Before she did this walked over to the mirror and critically examined herself. She stood sideways to look at her profile and was still shocked at how beautiful she looked. She just could not believe that she had inherited this wonderful body !

She started to run her hands down past her hips and around her shapely bottom as she held her shoulders back to see her firm young breasts standing proud. She was starting to get aroused and called out to Stephen "Hey Bro - you tell mum that I'll be out in half and hour, I've got a few things to do here first" as her hands came around from her bottom and started running through the blond thatch of pubic hair.

"Anything I can help you with?" he shouted back in reply.

She laughed softly to herself thinking that there most probably WAS something he could do to help her - the trouble was it was illegal and she was not yet ready for THAT.

"No my dear Brother - I've just got a few women's things to sort out" as she walked over to check that the bedroom door was locked. She certainly didn't want disturbing.

She heard Stephen, it was getting much easier to think of him as Stephen now, walking to the pool and went over to the bed and lay down. She held her hands up to her face and felt thrilled at their refined and delicate smoothness. She sight of the red varnish excited her. This was heightened as she looked down to the slim girlish feet she now possessed and she felt deliciously naughty at the sight of the matching nail varnish on her toenails.

Her left hand strayed to her breast and she idly played with her hardening nipple as her other hand started to explore her warm and dampening vagina. She slowly traced her fingers around the folds of her vaginal entrance and felt a curiously throbbing sensation from just above where she was rubbing - it was almost like a mini-erection !

She felt no guilt whatsoever at feeling her body in this way. That first night in the shower she had not considered this to be her body - she had still thought of herself as Stephen and it had seemed all wrong! This time she accepted that she was now Imogen and would always remain so.

She idly pushed one finger into her moist tunnel and felt her vaginal walls grip it tightly. This feeling of being entered was wonderful and she wondered what a man's cock would feel like instead of her finger. Her arousal heightened as she wondered where that thought had come from. One of her other fingers was rubbing her clitoris and keeping a consistent rhythm going while she slipped another finger into her vagina. Her soft and feminine moans excited her to a frenzy - she had always found a vocal girl exciting!

Another five minutes continuing the same massaging and she came to a shuddering climax which completely overwhelmed her. She found it surprisingly easy to repeat this exercise and came again.

She was bathing in the afterglow of these sensations and, pressing her hand against her groin, was a little surprised at the amount of moisture she had produced when she heard a knock on her door.

"Hey, are you all right in there ? I've got a cold beer waiting for you outside" Stephen called.

She replied dreamily "Yes Bro - everything is just fine - right now it just couldn't be better. I'll be right out" she said raising her self from the bed. After an experience like that she thought she could learn to live life as a woman just fine indeed! She KNEW she was going to be OK.

She decided to just wipe her vagina dry and take a quick dip in the pool to freshen up - she'd save a shower until after she'd finished sun bathing. She pulled on her blue bikini and walked out of her room, checking in the mirror first to see if she was still flushed from her rather pleasurable exertions, and as soon as she'd reached the poolside she dived straight in.

She'd stayed under the water for about 20 seconds and surfaced into the bright sunlight feeling exhilarated. She swum to the far end of the pool where her family were sitting and pulled herself out of the water and walked to the sun lounger Stephen had saved for her.

She felt an incredible sensation of deja vu as she looked down at her breasts, her breasts - it was still a strange concept to her, and saw her nipples hard and erect from the cold water. Remembering this same scene from three days ago she looked up to see Stephen looking at her knowing he was thinking the same thing. She looked at his shorts to see him trying to cover the tell-tale bulge indicating his arousal and laughed at the irony of this situation - she knew exactly what he felt!

13... Career Girl

The holiday continued and both Stephen and Imogen used this time to help them come to terms with their new selves. Imogen went out with Marius again

but, after refusing to go any further than she had already been with him, Marius decided that he would not waste any more energy on this English girl and moved on to try his luck with someone else.

Imogen had been hurt at first but was mainly relieved - it was too much too soon for her to accept her femininity to this degree!

Stephen had appeared to thrive in his manhood, much to Imogen's chagrin, and it had only taken a few days before he was spending time with another young English girl from the same hotel.

When they returned from their holiday Imogen returned to work to pick up the threads of, what would be to her, her new job. She found the role of being a secretary/receptionist very limiting and felt a little bitter that her Brother Stephen would be reaping the rewards of all of her studying and hard work although she wasn't angry with him - after all, it wasn't his fault! She decided that she would stick it for a while to give her the best chance of adapting to her new life without the additional pressure of job hunting.

The hardest part for her was the day that Stephen started his new job at the same firm. She was sitting on reception the morning that he first came in and had to take him through to the Managing Director's office. She led him through the large main office feeling very small and girlish alongside this tall good looking man and was aware of the looks that Stephen was getting from some of the other women. It was funny, she seemed so aware of these things nowadays, she would never have noticed this before.

He was greeted warmly by the MD and was taken outside to be introduced to rest of the management team that he would be joining. Imogen got quite flushed when the MD asked her to go and make a pot of coffee and left the team that she should have joined to prepare the coffee for them in the kitchen - this was all so unfair!

She served the coffee and went to the ladies rest room. After relieving herself she went to the large mirror to check her make-up, this was second nature to her now, and three of the other girls from the office came in. They went straight to the mirror and the first girl said "Hi 'Gen - who was that gorgeous hunk you just showed in to the MD - knowing you I'll bet you've already got a date set up ? "

She wondered for a moment just what sort of reputation Imogen had left for her!

She quickly replied "Hi Trish, no I don't think I'll be making any moves on this one" through stiff lips as she put on a fresh coat of lipstick.

"I am surprised" Trish said while she brushed a stray hair from her shoulder. "He's the best thing in trousers I've seen around here for a long time".

"My dear, you are more than welcome to him" she said coolly as she silently laughed to herself. She wasn't going to tell them anything about him - let them work for their gossip - they would find out he was her Brother soon enough.

Harder still for her was the time, after he had been there for four months, that she had been loaned to Stephen for a week to help him prepare an important presentation for a new client. He had treated like he would have done any other secretary and had not even apologised or acknowledged that he owed all this to her! "The arrogant sod" she thought "the nerve!".

@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The months went by and Imogen was still working at the same job. Working towards developing a career had seemed less and less important to her as she settled into the routine of a woman's life. She just did not have the drive or desire to push herself.

She was finding a new type of desire however. She had grown to accept her female life now, and was even starting to enjoy it. The idea of a relationship with a man no longer seemed taboo. She had started casual dating a few weeks ago but last night she had finally taken it deeper and had lost her new found virginity to an old University friend from her former life, Alistair, that had been here visiting Stephen.

It had seemed strange meeting an old friend in these circumstances, she had remembered getting drunk with him and trying to chat up women on many occasions, now she was the target of his attentions.

What was even stranger was that she actually enjoyed it !

They had made love the next night after Alistair had wined and dined her. It was the most moving and wonderful thing that had ever happened to her. The sheer overwhelming sensation of submission and surrender as she had spread her legs wide and the wonderful feeling of helplessness as she was penetrated by a man for the first time, was something she wanted to experience again - often!

She felt pure joy and completeness as she felt herself being filled and dominated by a man's cock. The desire to give yourself over completely to somebody was something she could never have understood when she was a man.

It was this that finally made her embrace her womanhood and to lose any lingering resentment at losing her masculinity - she would not have had it back now at any price.

14 ... Two Years Later

Imogen was sitting in her car - she had a license now - outside her parents house and feeling a little nervous about entering - she wondered what her Mother's reactions to her latest news would be. As she sat there delaying the moment she would have to face her she thought back to all that had transpired since that fateful day almost three years ago now !

The new Stephen and Imogen had kept to their word and had never told their parents about the events of those first few days of their holiday.

Stephen had forged ahead with his career and was very happy at how everything had turned out. He would occasionally take Imogen out for a meal, his treat - he earned a lot more money than her - and they would talk happily about old times but with no regrets.

He was moving in with his girlfriend next week and had everything to look forward to.

Imogen was thoroughly enjoying life as a woman and, after a few casual relationships with other men, had finally decided to settle down now accept Alistair's latest proposal. It was this news she had come to tell her Mother.

"Hello dear" her Mother said as Imogen walked in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You're looking full of the joys of Spring today - how are you".

"I'm fine Mum, now sit down a minute - I've got some great news for you" Imogen said as she held her mothers hand.

"Alistair proposed to me again last night and this time I've decided to accept" Imogen said almost shyly.

"Oh my dear, that's wonderful news" her Mother said as she flung her arms around her and hugged her. "I am really so.. so happy for you Stephen" her Mother said unexpectedly looking straight into Imogen's eyes.

Imogen had not been called or even thought about being Stephen for a long long time. She was stunned and struggled to find any words to say. The tears started to fall.

"M ... Mum, y ... you called me Stephen. H ... how ... how did you know ?" she asked disbelievingly at what was happening.

"Oh come here my dear" she said as she pulled her tearful daughter closer to her bosom. "A mother always know her own children - I have known about this since the holiday in Greece, you didn't need to tell me".

"Why didn't you say anything?" Imogen said regaining her composure.

"If you both didn't want to tell me at the time then you must have had a good reason. All I needed to know is that you were both my flesh and blood and, what ever's happened to you, you still are. I love you both very much and I am so proud of you my dearest daughter" Clare said as Imogen wept softly again.

"Oh Mum, I love you so much - you're really special. What about Dad - does he know?".

"Well you know your Father, if he couldn't see it for himself then I wasn't going to tell him. Besides", she said smiling, "he is still dead chuffed to keep beating Stephen at Pool - it seems Stephen has never really played the game well since Greece".

Thinking back to her Mother's first comments she felt a warm glow in her bosom - "A Mother always knows her own children" - she thought of Alex longingly and wondered when she would experience this herself.

The End