Mere seconds later, Odette burst through the door of her house, breathing heavily and frantically. "Mom! Dad!" she called to her parents, who were working together to dress baby Megan. "Van's walking! I saw him!"
"Yeah, right," said Dallin, who was playing a video game.
"You sure it wasn't a Bigfoot?" said Logan. Her older brother was relaxing on the couch with a copy of The Great Gatsby, which his high-school English class required him to read.
"See for yourself," said Odette as Arthur, Francine, and the stocking-clad Girl Van sped past her into the Cooper home.
Excited beyond measure, Van performed leaps, twirls, and jumping jacks as her astonished family looked on. Mrs. Cooper dropped the baby jumper she was holding. "It's a miracle," she said under her breath.
"Dude," marveled Logan, stumped for words. "It's like…dude."
"How…how…" Mr. Cooper stammered, jumping aside to avoid the running duck girl.
"Isn't it great?" said Arthur with a grin. "This is how the unicorn horn was supposed to work."
Dallin leaped to his feet and chased after Van, who was hopping over every piece of furniture she could find, knocking down several potted plants in the process.
"Where's his wheelchair?" asked Mrs. Cooper as she scooped up the dirt from the floor.
"It's at Augusta's place," Francine replied.
The duck woman narrowed her eyes. "The witch lady?" she said suspiciously. "What was he doing there?"
Finally tired, Van collapsed onto the couch next to Logan's feet, panting with delight. "This is awesome," she gushed. "I'm so excited, I completely forgot I was a girl."
"A girl?" Mrs. Cooper blurted out.
"Oh, I forgot to mention that," said Van in a casual tone. "The same magic spell that made me walk turned me into a girl. That part was an accident."
"Dude, you sound like a girl," said Logan, intrigued.
Mrs. Cooper scrutinized her son/daughter carefully. "You are a girl," she acknowledged. "Who are you? Van doesn't have a twin sister."
"I am Van," said the duck girl, rising to her feet with ease. "I'm gonna need new clothes—shoes and dresses and stuff. It looks like I'm gonna be a girl for a long time."
"It's true," Arthur assured the woman of the house. "Francine and I saw him change."
Mrs. Cooper folded her arms. "This is some sort of silly prank," she said sternly. "Where's the real Van?"
"I'm right here!" said Girl Van, emotion building in her voice.
"She doesn't believe us," Arthur said to Francine. "Let's go get Augusta."
"Right," said Francine incredulously. "Like she's gonna believe the 'witch lady'."
Van hurried to the side of Dallin, who had picked up his joystick. "Dallin knows who I am," she said hopefully. "Who am I, Dallin?"
Her little brother looked up. "A strange girl wearing Van's clothes," he said matter-of-factly.
"I am not a strange girl!" insisted Van. Her eyes started filling with tears as she approached Odette. "You know who I am, Odette. Tell them."
"I don't know who you are," said the swan girl, who sounded confused. "You look like Van, you act like Van, but Van's not a girl."
Distraught, Van began to weep. "What a wuss," said Logan derisively. "Van never cries like that. You can't be him."
The sobbing duck girl fled from the house, passing between Francine and Arthur, who promptly followed. Leaving the Coopers' front door open, they located Van in the sandbox, wiping her eyes with her fists.
"They don't believe it's me," she wailed. "I can finally walk again, and my family doesn't even care." She sniffled, sucking up the mucus from her beak. "Why am I crying? I don't cry."
Francine took a seat in the sand next to her. "Girls have more feelings than boys," she explained. "If you want, I can teach you how to bottle up your tears."
"What can I do?" said Girl Van dolefully. "I don't have a home anymore. I'm so scared."
"What do you mean, you don't have a home?" asked Odette, who had followed the trio to the sandbox. "Are you an orphan?"
A tear rolled out of Van's left eye as she gazed up at her sister. "Uh, yes," she lied. "I'm an orphan. My parents were killed in a…a can opener accident."
"Who are you?" inquired Odette gently. "Why are you wearing my brother's clothes?"
Van wiped her beak with her sleeve. "My name's…my name's…"
"Her name's Vanessa," Arthur chimed in. Francine nodded in agreement.
"That's right," said Van, sniffling. "I'm Vanessa. I'm wearing Van's clothes because…because I didn't have any clothes, and he loaned me his."
"Where is he?" asked Odette.
"He should be easy to find," Francine joked. "Just look for a naked kid in a wheelchair."
"You said you were at Augusta's," Odette recalled.
Her parents emerged from the house, determination on their faces. "Then that's where we're going," announced Mr. Cooper.
They marched toward the family Buick as Arthur and Francine helped Van, now known as Vanessa, to step out of the sandbox. "Imagine what they'll think when they get to Augusta's and see your wheelchair there," said Arthur to the duck girl.
"We'd better get there before they do," said Francine.
"You're right," said Vanessa, looking at her stocking feet through moist eyes. "But if we're gonna outrun a car, I'll need some new shoes." She reached down and pulled up her jeans slightly. "My pants are loose, too."
"Maybe I have some pants that'll fit you," said Arthur.
"I'm a girl now," Vanessa reminded him. "Let's go to Muffy's. She has lots of clothes and shoes."
"You want to dress like Muffy?" said Francine in bewilderment.
"Why not?" said Vanessa, starting down the sidewalk. "She has great fashion sense."
Francine followed, hoping to discourage her. "Not everybody knows you're a girl," she warned. "If they see you in one of Muffy's dresses, they'll laugh."
"Yeah," said Arthur, flanking Vanessa on the right. "You still have boy hair. The unicorn spell didn't make it longer."
"It'll grow out," said Vanessa. "When it's long, maybe I'll braid it like Muffy does."
The duck girl described her future plans to them as they walked quickly to the Crosswire condominium. "And then I'll get a ballet dress, and ballet shoes, and take ballet lessons so I can dance as well as Odette does."
"You just turned into a girl," Arthur marveled, "and you're already interested in girl stuff."
"Well, I don't want to be a tomboy," said Vanessa. "I don't like tomboys. No offense, Francine."
The monkey girl gave him a blank look.
"I don't mind being a girl, if it means I get to walk again," Vanessa continued. "Sure, I have to sit down to pee, but that's nothing new."
They reached the corridor where Muffy's condo was located, and Francine rang the doorbell. They waited half a minute, and no one answered.
"Looks like nobody's home," said Arthur.
"Give them a minute," said Vanessa. "They don't have servants anymore."
Francine rang the bell again, but no one came. She pressed her ear against the surface of the door. "I don't hear anything," she stated. "Everyone must be away."
"Where could they have gone?" Arthur wondered.
"Let's try Fern," said Vanessa, carefully holding up her jeans. "She's about my size."
to be continued