Far, far away on Earth, Van and his sister Odette were wandering lazily down the sidewalk, enjoying the warmer weather. Odette had grown significantly, and often had to lower her neck to avoid hitting low tree limbs.
"If April's not back within a week," she told her brother, "I'm gonna make a move on her boyfriend."
Van shook his head. "That wouldn't be nice. What if April still wants him?"
"If she doesn't see him for a week," Odette responded, "then either she's no longer interested in him, or she's dead."
They moved on, Odette walking and Van rolling, in silence for a moment.
Van spoke up hesitantly. "I don't think this is working, Odette."
"What's wrong?" asked the swan girl. "Can't your big sister be your best friend?"
Van looked down at his knees. "Since we've been together, all you've done is talk about boyfriends," he went on. "I think you'd rather have a boyfriend than spend time with me."
"You read my mind," said Odette flatly.
Van sighed, looked down the street, and noticed that two of his classmates were approaching from the other end of the block. "Hey, there's Arthur and Francine," he said, hope returning to his voice. "They don't look like they're doing much. Maybe they'll let me hang out with them."
"I still say you should find yourself a new girlfriend," Odette called after him as he revved his wheelchair forward.
The swan girl watched dutifully but impatiently as Van struck up a conversation with Arthur and Francine. "Where are you going on this beautiful day?" he asked politely.
"To Augusta's place," replied Francine.
"Augusta...?" Van swallowed. "You mean the witch lady?"
"She used to be a witch," said Arthur. "Now she's a mom."
"You can come along if you want," said Francine with an inviting smile. "Have you seen her new baby?"
"Uh, no," said Van. "Sure, I'll come."
The duck boy was nervous, as he had never been inside Augusta's apartment before, and had heard strange stories. Still, he thought, it's better than listening to Odette talk about her crushes.
Francine and Arthur walked quickly, so he had to run his chair at full speed to keep up. They arrived at Francine's apartment building, and Arthur rang the bell at Augusta's first-floor apartment.
The rabbit woman, her face a mask of weariness, welcomed them inside. Petula lay in the crib next to the shelves of magical substances, waving her tiny limbs and whining uncomfortably.
"You're just in time," Augusta told the kids.
"For what?" Van asked her. "The witching hour?"
"Very funny," said Augusta, taking a seat in front of her desk. Before her stood an apparatus assembled out of multicolored stones and held together with duct tape. Cradled within the object was the now-dimmed unicorn horn that had belonged to the late Greta von Horstein.
"We heard you lost your job," said Arthur helpfully. "Is there anything we can do?"
"I'm afraid not," said Augusta with a resigned tone, "but thanks for offering. No, I've decided upon my own solution."
"Hey, I remember that thing," said Van, peering suspiciously at the horn. "I tried to make a wish on it, and I ended up with enough back pain to sink a whale."
"Uh, Van?" said Francine. "That was your fault. You wished you could fly, and wings started growing out of your back."
"Geez," reflected the duck boy. "I'd look like a total freak if I had wings."
"What's your solution?" Arthur asked Augusta.
The woman gave him a serious look. "Angela's right," she admitted. "As much as I love Petula, I'm not ready for motherhood."
"Then what will you do?" asked Francine, concerned.
"The only thing I can do," Augusta replied. "Give her up for adoption."
Arthur looked downcast. "That must be the toughest thing in the world."
Augusta strained to speak as tears filled her eyes. "You've noticed that I still have the unicorn horn. I've placed it in this mystical field generator to make the remaining magically charged particles gravitate to the pointed end. If the concentration is high enough, I may be able to get one more wish out of it."
"Wow," Francine marveled. "I didn't know you could do that."
"What will you wish for?" asked Arthur.
Augusta's cheeks became wet. "To be changed into another form, so that my love for Petula won't be as strong as it is now."
Francine gaped. "You want to turn into a man again?"
"No," replied Augusta, wiping her face with a cloth. "If I do that, I won't get another chance at motherhood. I intend to turn myself into a little girl."
"Why a little girl?" asked Van curiously.
"Because," said Augusta, lifting the unicorn horn from its support, "I can't be a true mother, let alone raise a daughter, if I haven't experienced growing up as a girl myself."
"How little?" inquired Arthur. "Five? Six?"
"I think ten is a good age," said the rabbit woman as she raised the horn into the air. "Maybe I'll get to join your class."
Omigosh, thought Arthur and Francine at the same time. She's gonna make the wish right now...
Augusta didn't bother to even stand. "I wish to be transformed into a ten-year-old girl," she uttered.
The kids held their breaths, but nothing happened.
"I said, I wish to be a ten-year-old girl," Augusta repeated, but she remained as she was.
"I guess it's only three to a customer," Francine remarked.
Dejected, Augusta lowered the horn and gripped it tightly with both hands. "It was worth a shot," she said quietly.
Van rolled forward slightly. "Maybe it didn't work because you wished for something you don't really want," he suggested. "Let me take another whack at it."
"Here, you can have it," said Augusta in discouragement. She passed the apparently useless horn to the duck boy, who held it up in front of his face.
"Be careful, Van," Arthur cautioned him. "You might get what you wish for."
Van gazed at the spiraling horn and took a deep breath. "I wish I..."
Before he could finish, the horn blew to bits in his hands.
The force of the explosion knocked his wheelchair onto its side, and left him sprawled on the floor. Arthur, Francine, and Augusta screamed in terror.
When she had recovered from the shock, Francine hurried to the side of the fallen boy, whose entire right side was covered in a fine gray dust. "Van! Are you okay?"
The duck boy quivered and moaned. As Augusta righted his wheelchair, Arthur and Francine turned Van over and tried to assess his condition.
"I don't think he's hurt," said Arthur, although something seemed different about his friend--something he couldn't put his finger on.
Van coughed up a bit of dust, then bolted upright. "Did you get the license number of that nuclear warhead?" he asked the other kids.
"I'm glad you're all right," said Francine, brushing dust from the boy's beak.
"Not half as glad as I am," said Van with a giggle.
"What happened to your voice?" asked Arthur. "You sound different."
"Yeah, I do," Van acknowledged. "That weird powder must be irritating my throat."
"Help him into his chair," said Augusta, rolling Van's wheelchair up to his back.
Francine and Arthur grabbed their friend's arms and pulled up with all their might. To the astonishment of all three, Van heaved himself upward using his own legs.
"Huh?" said the duck boy in wonder. "What did I just do?"
"Yeah, Van," said Arthur. "What did you just do?"
He and Francine slowly released their grip on Van. Everyone in the room gasped in amazement as he straightened his knees and stood up under his own power.
No one said a word as he put one sneakered foot ahead of him, then another. "I...can...walk," he muttered in disbelief.
"It's a miracle," said Arthur, his eyes nearly bulging through his lenses.
"I can walk! I can walk!" cheered Van, hopping and waving his arms. "I got my wish!"
"Omigosh, Van," gushed Francine, tears of happiness filling her eyes.
Augusta, noticing something seriously amiss, approached the boy just as he ran impetuously forward and collided with the wall. "Let's have a look at you," she urged him.
"I'll wash myself later," said Van, trying to dodge her hands. "Right now I want to walk, and run, and jump, and do somersaults, and..."
As he was making a long leap, his eyes widened in consternation.
Augusta caught him as he landed. "Into the bathroom with you," she ordered.
"I...I don't feel right," said Van as the rabbit woman ushered him through a doorway.
The washroom door closed as Arthur and Francine looked on. "Think we should call an ambulance?" said Francine.
Arthur opened his mouth, but a high-pitched scream cut him off.
"Oh, gosh, he's hurt!" exclaimed Francine.
Throwing propriety out the window, she threw open the door and charged into the bathroom, Arthur close behind. Van stood next to Augusta, his face frozen in shock, his pants lying around his ankles. The lower part of his body was naked, so Arthur and Francine instantly perceived what was ailing him. Horrified, they put their hands over their mouths.
"Somehow he got my wish," Augusta told them.
She pulled Van's pants around his waist as Arthur and Francine slowly backed out of the washroom, not wanting to believe what they had seen. They stared wordlessly at each other while Augusta carried the petrified Van to the couch and set him down gently.
"How do you feel, Van?" she asked the frightened boy.
"W-weird," Van stammered. "R-really w-weird."
Arthur and Francine took seats on each side of him. Seconds later, he relaxed his muscles and started to speak freely.
"I don't get it," he said softly. "I didn't wish to be a girl. I was about to wish I could walk, and the thing blew up in my face."
"I don't know how to explain it," said Augusta apologetically. "All I know is, it's my fault. I'm sorry."
"Please make another horn so I can change back," pleaded Van in a girlish voice.
Augusta only shook her head weakly.
Van lowered her face. "Am I...am I stuck like this?"
"I'm afraid so," said Augusta, "unless another one of Francine's unicorn friends dies."
"Hey!" Francine snapped at her.
Arthur could only gape slackjawed at his newly female friend. "Oh, geez...I don't know what to say..."
"Well," said Van with a bit more strength, "I'd rather be a girl who can walk than a boy who can't."
"You're already an honorary girl," said Francine, attempting a grin. "Now you're a real one."
A smile spread over Van's lips. "I don't care if I'm a girl," she said. "I just want to try out my new legs, in case the spell isn't permanent."
Leaving the wheelchair behind, Arthur and Francine escorted the transformed Van to the apartment building's exit, where Odette was waiting. When she saw her brother-turned-sister walking independently, she had to grab a drainpipe to steady herself.
"Look, Odette," said Van proudly. "I can walk. It's magic."
The swan girl gaped as Van performed a pirouette before her eyes. "Van...your...wheelchair..."
Van bounded onto the grass, only to stumble and fall. She looked down to find that one of her sneakers had fallen off. "I'll have to get new shoes," she said casually. "These don't fit anymore."
Francine and Arthur lent their shoulders to brace up Odette. "No, you're not dreaming," Arthur assured the stupefied girl.
Van, wearing only one shoe, limped toward her older sister. "Can you teach me how to do girl things?" she requested.
----
to be continued