Gone in an Instant

"C'mon, Robin! This isn't funny anymore!" Erin rushed down the stairs, clearly annoyed. She wasn't wearing much: pantyhose and a pair of biker shorts, which were barely visible beneath a sweater that a couple sizes too large. In her hand was a piece of paper, which had already been crumpled up and flattened out several times. "I'm serious! Change me back right now!"

Erin looked around the room. She knew something was off the moment she came home, and now she knew why. Her roommate, Robin, was a terrible housekeeper, always leaving her stuff everywhere. Tonight, though, the house was almost spotless, as if Robin had packed up and moved away in just a few hours.

Which wouldn't surprise me, Erin thought. I guess you get used to the impossible when you live with an actual witch.

Erin had certainly had her fair share of adventures since she met the red-headed witch years ago. Most usually involved Erin - or "Aaron," as she was know most of the time - getting turned into a girl at one point or another. It was something he/she was actually getting used to. Still, Robin's never done anything like this before...

Just half an hour ago, Aaron had come home and went straight to his bedroom. Robin may have come up with a lot of crazy schemes, but she wasn't much of a prankster (that he knew of), so Aaron never expected his door to be booby trapped - in more ways than one. As soon as he entered his room, a bucket of water tipped over and drenched him. As if that wasn't enough, he recognized the now all-too-familiar process of his body shifting into its female form. As untrained in magic as he was, Aaron - now Erin - realized Robin must have mixed a sex change potion into the water.

Erin noticed some clothes laid out on her bed - the same clothes she still wore as she frantically searched the house, room by room, for the third time - no doubt a part of whatever ploy Robin had cooked up this time. Still, experience had taught Erin that it's usually safer to just play along than to try and resist (she still remembered the time Robin set her up on a date with her childhood friend, Alex). After pulling off her soaking clothes and drying off, Erin slipped into the outfit Robin had prepared for her and sat on her bed, waiting for Robin to move on to the next step of her plan. It wasn't until some time later that she noticed the tear-stained letter that had fallen on the floor.

"I'm telling you, Robin, if this is all part of some elaborate prank, you are so dead!!!" Erin wheeled into the kitchen, opening all the cupboards and drawers, thinking that Robin may have used a shrinking spell on herself. "If you don't show yourself, I'm going to tell everybody about you! Do you hear me!? EVERYBODY!!!" Erin came back into the living room, which felt unusually empty without Robin's typical clutter.

"Not just Alex and the others, either. I'm talking government, media, corporations; anybody and everybody who will listen to me! No more keeping magic - no more keeping yourself hidden from the world! You and all your magi friends will be exposed! What happened last Halloween, the cat-girl epidemic before that, the genie uprising we barely averted. Everything magical that you guys have been keeping secret from the world will be out in the open! I know you can't let that happen, but I'm going to do it if you don't show yourself right now!"

Erin stood there for a minute that felt more like an hour. The only sounds were the ticking of the clock and the crackle of logs burning in the fireplace. Getting no response from her friend, Erin let out a scream and leapt onto the ottoman, burying her face in the cushion.

"Dmt," Erin's muffled voice could barely be heard. "Whr is sh?" Deep down, she knew that Robin - the odd girl who pulled Aaron out of his overly-shy exterior and lethargic lifestyle, who showed him that there was so much more to the world than most people ever imagined, whom he loved and hated at the same time - was really gone. When this realization struck her, Erin couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

Erin lay there crying for quite some time, her blond locks shrouding her face from the outside world. When she left the house earlier that day - still Aaron at the time - he didn't think there was anything unusual. He figured he'd come home to the usual clutter, with Robin either playing a video game, upstairs practicing a new spell, or trying to cook without using magic (which was always a disaster). Aaron expected that by the end of the week he'd either have to bail her out of some scrape or get dragged along on some madcap adventure, like always.

Instead Erin now found herself living alone, in a house that felt eerily empty without Robin. The craziness she'd grown accustomed to had been whisked away, gone in an instant. No more getting to travel to exotic lands in the blink of an eye. No more being the test subject for Robin's new potions and spells. No more of either of them trying to hide that they harbored romantic feelings for each other, even though they both new it was true. Life just didn't feel right for Erin anymore. Not without Robin.

After crying for a good ten minutes, Erin began fumbling with Robin's letter again. There's still so much I don't understand. She wiped her face dry with her incredibly loose sleeve. I wish you were here to explain it to me. Taking a deep breath to keep herself from sobbing, Erin braved another look through Robin's last words.

Dear Aaron/Erin,

If you're reading this, then I must have left before you got back. I wanted to be here to explain things in person, but my coven needs me for something really important and I can only keep them waiting for so long.

I've told you this before, but I don't know if you remember, so I'll say it again. Everything that does or ever has existed has "mana," a kind of mystical energy that powers everything magical. Normally, mana is spread pretty thin, and utilizing it takes a lot of skill and practice. Some areas, such as ley lines, serve as focal points for large quantities of mana, which makes magic easier. Every once in a while, though, a person is born with an unusually high capacity for mana. These people have been known by many names throughout the ages: angels, elves, and witches, to name a few. Most people in today's magical community prefer the term "mages" or "magi."

Now for the stuff you probably don't know. In the past, magi have been a pretty rare occurrence. In recent generations, though, a lot of young magi have been born. The elders think this is because a lot of mana is accumulating on Earth. They're worried that we're on the verge of some big magical event, one that could change the world as we know it. This event will probably be accompanied by a "mana surge," making magic much more commonplace than it's ever been. Because of this, we need as many experienced magi as possible to train new magi and to look after the "normies."

That's where we get to you. See, there are some people (a lot more than you might think) whose magical abilities are linked to their gender.

Including you.

I could feel it the moment we met. You have a lot of mana laying dormant inside you, even by magi standards, but it seems that you're only able to access it while female. I probably should have told you long ago, but I was afraid you wouldn't want to give up your identity just to learn a few "parlor tricks," as you used to say.

Instead I turned you into a girl a few times, just so you could get used to it, but I always made sure to change you back before your mana fully awakened (it's complicated, so I'll gloss over the details). As time passed, I noticed that you were actually quite comfortable in both genders, plus you developed more respect for the magical world. At that point I felt more confident that you'd be willing to become a witch, but... I guess I just felt bad for keeping all this a secret from you for so long. So I kept hiding it, hoping that maybe you'd find out somehow without me having to tell you.

That was a mistake on my part. I mean, it's been years since we first met, and you're only now finding out. Or maybe you're sharper than I thought and have already figured it out for yourself. If so, you haven't acted any differently. Either way, I'm sorry for deceiving you for so long. I'm also sorry I forced you into girl-form like this (or did my little trap not work right?) Like I said, we need as many capable magi as possible for whatever's coming. In your case, that means we need Erin, not Aaron.

I should have told you the truth long ago, so I could train you properly. But that's not an option anymore, so I had to do the next best thing. Do you remember Ms. Jerra, that old lady on the other side of town? She's a witch, too. I filled her in on the situation, and she agreed to train you whenever you're ready.

In the meantime, you'll need to take measures to keep your mana under control. You see, most magi are taught how to control their mana at an early age, before it's fully developed. You didn't get that luxury, so I left you a little present. If you haven't noticed already, there should be a pair of pantyhose on your bed (believe it or not, I know about your little "hose" fetish). They've been enchanted so that they'll stunt your mana while you wear them, or at least until you're strong enough that you don't need them anymore. I'd recommend wearing them as much as possible; I've heard some scary things about what happens to magi who can't control their mana.

I'm sorry. This letter is the last you're guaranteed to hear from me, and I waste all our time talking about what "needs" to be done, not what I "want" to happen.

I really wish I didn't have to leave, Erin. I'll admit, I only ever talked to you because I could sense your magical potential. Still, I enjoyed the time we spent together, more than I ever thought I could. Heck, I'd trade all the magic in the world if we could just stay together. I guess I just took it for granted that we'd always be together. But I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

I hope we meet again, someday. If we do, I hope you'll forgive me for showing up and ruining your life. And if we don't, I just want you to know that I love you, Aaron, and I always will.

Love, Robin

P.S. Don't make the same mistakes I did. If you find someone you really care about, whom you really trust, there are two things you need to do. First, value every moment you have with them, because you never know when, or even if, you'll see them again. Second, don't keep secrets from them. Ever.

"No, no, NO!!!" Erin crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it across the room in frustration. "Robin's not like that. She'd never do something like this!" Erin buried her head in the cushion again, trying hard to stifle her sobs. There was something else about the letter that bothered her, though. No, Robin. You're wrong. You didn't ruin my life by entering it. You ruined it by leaving.

Still, you're right about a few things. Erin let her mind wander back to the first time Robin introduced Aaron to his female alter-ego. Back then, Aaron considered every moment he spent as Erin to be a kind of personal hell. Before long, though, Aaron discovered that he actually enjoyed being a girl, although he didn't know if he'd want to be female permanently. Still, he never told Robin this. He knew that the young witch loved a certain degree of playful, harmless torture, so Aaron continued to complain, as much to keep Robin satisfied as to make sure she didn't stop turning him into Erin.

Even today, Erin wasn't sure why she enjoyed being female as much as she did. It certainly wasn't something that ever crossed her mind before meeting Robin. One thing Erin learned, though, is that girls have a bit more freedom than boys. Sure, there was a lot of pressure for women to look beautiful, but even those who didn't could only legitimately be labeled as "tomboys" at worst. Men, on the other hand, couldn't afford to act feminine at the risk of being considered a queer, if not outright gay.

Of course, there was something else about being a girl that appealed to Erin. Sure, she could continue to act masculine if she wanted to, but for some reason she didn't want to. Somehow, being an attractive female appealed to her more than simply looking at them. Erin had slowly adopted more feminine mannerisms over time. She'd picked up on walking and acting like a girl fairly quickly, and had discovered she had a certain flair for fashion.

That was probably what really hooked Erin: the clothes. She couldn't explain why, but she really liked dressing up. In fact, Erin couldn't remember ever wearing the same outfit twice; Robin had taken her shopping so many times that Erin's wardrobe had nearly tripled in size. She even had to get rid of some of her old "boy clothes" to make room in her closet. Everything from casual to formal wear, varying in modesty from prude to flattering to downright sexy. She also had a lot of foreign fashions, "souvenirs" from their trips to other countries (and sometimes other worlds). She even had a few cosplay costumes lying around somewhere...

Erin's musings were interrupted by a knock at the door. Whether through sheer hope or stubborn denial, only one thought passed through Erin's mind.

"Robin, that had better be you!" Erin shouted over her shoulder. She half-rolled into a sitting position before getting up. I swear, if she had this planned from the start, I am going to make that witch's life a living hell!

Erin almost skipped over to the front door. As mad as she was, she was also relieved to think that Robin had returned after all. When she flung the door open, though, Robin wasn't there. Instead there was a young man, a person whom Erin had known all her life.

"Alex!" Erin unconsciously pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Robin called me. She said you were in town, and that you might be feeling lonely." Alex stepped past the blond girl and looked around the room. "By the way, where is Robin? I rarely see you two apart."

"She..." Erin took a deep breath, trying not to cry in front of her oldest friend, even though he didn't realize Aaron and his out-of-town "cousin" were the same person. "She had to leave. Aaron, too. I... I don't think they're coming back."

Alex scratched his head. "That's weird. I mean, they do go on a lot of sudden trips, but Aaron would never move out without telling me."

"Yeah, well..." Erin shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order. She had enough trouble talking with Alex while female, but tonight's events just made things worse. At this point, Alex was all she really had left, and there was so much about her life that Erin had kept secret from him.

That's when Erin remembered the last thing Robin said in her letter, about keeping secrets and valuing the time she has. "Actually, Alex, I would appreciate some company. In fact, there's some things I've been wanting to talk to you about." As they sat by the fireplace, Erin proceeded to tell Alex everything that happened over the past few years: Robin's magical abilities, the adventures they went on together, and most of all that she is Aaron.

No more double life for me, she thought. This is who I am, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I'll always hold Alex and Robin close to my heart, but beyond that my life as Aaron is over. As of this instant I vow to leave the past behind me and make a new future as Erin, witch-in-training!