Les was watching the television.
Not much was on to his liking, though he rarely watched anything other then the news. A lot of shows were changed, under the new sunlight conditions given even actors were not immune to it. Some shows were re-examined if they could be broadcast without offence... personally he thought people were not that thin-skinned. How in the world did they think Bugs Bunny might be offensive now?
As always the thing that intrigued him were the debates on just what caused the sun to... do what it did. The debate had a audience of just about every possible demographic. Religious cults, scientists, but there was also surprisingly a number of others that gave their own unique belief. Science fiction fans, gamers... pop-culture analysts... at the moment the floor was open to a group claiming it was due to the Internet, or media in general getting out of hand- somehow that translated into people turning into things. The theory was obviously crazy.
Leslie smiled just a bit- but at the moment, it was probably as good a theory as any. He would normally scoff when people saw patterns in things that were just not real. Everything had a logical explanation. The sunlight was no exception- though yes, it did escape reason at the moment. He clicked the television off with the remote control as he gave the problem further thought.
"Les, we need to talk" said his wife walking into the room.
"What's wrong dear?" Asked the elder man. He then looked worried. "Did something happen to Lilly?"
Mrs Gordon bit her lip, as she decided on how to explain this. She knew her husband would freak but she could not keep it from him. "She- forgot her name."
Les got up suddenly from the sofa. "Well- didn't you remind her?" Were they already too late?
"No. Honey, listen to me..."
"But we have to-"
"No," Mrs Gordon said flatly. "She didn't ask for it. Honey, we can't put so much pressure on her holding on to how things used to be. It isn't fair on her..."
Leslie looked to his wife with a fearful expression. But at the same time... wasn't she maybe, right? "But if she can't remember her name- what about who she was..." The elder man looked with concern, and even a little bit of fear. Leslie sat down again on the sofa burrowing his hands into his face. "What will happen to m-my- s-son," he said shakily.
"You can let it out honey," said his wife. She knew how hard it was for the intellectual man to express such emotion. "What are you worried about.. your son hasn't gone anywhere. He's.. just now Lilly. That's all." A mother always knows her son, she told herself. Lilly was her child, no matter what.
"But- Lilly-" This was getting very confusing for the man. "What happened to the boy I raised for sixteen years?" Was all that just meaningless? He loved his son more then anything in the world. But the sun took him away and replaced him? It wasn't that he had anything against 'Lilly'... but... his son... "I- I- just don't know, love. I-"
"Les, I know what you are thinking. I love Billy as well. He... she has not gone anywhere." She emphasised that into the air, as a basic fact. "He's still there, if you look into Lilly's eyes. Billy was a stubborn boy- and believe me Lilly is a very stubborn girl. Talk to her, you'll see just- a different side to Billy maybe. She's our son, that has become our daughter..."
Leslie sighed. He wasn't sure he could handle this. But for his son- daughter, he would do anything. Absolutely anything. Maybe he had put too much pressure onto her. He just didn't know what to do, so thought of it as an 'illness' to fight. She didn't want her son to become some girl-animal thing... an object of ridicule to be teased or tormented. "S-shouldn't we tell him to hold on though? The cure..."
"-might never happen, my love" She said delicately, hugging him. Her husband could handle that bombshell, even if she couldn't say it to Lilly. "We have to face that fact. This is.. just beyond us. Even you. We should be thinking of how to let Lilly live her life."
Leslie felt a rise of some anger at the helplessness of the situation. "But her memories. What if she forgets... even more?" What if she lost everything?
"I don't think it works like that, honey. This might be simply... nature's way of dealing with the situation. You know how much the mind is affected by a body. Billy has been Lilly for months now. Her mind is at the mercy of being both undeveloped, and all the hormones in her that are actually going to be telling her certain things by instinct. We can't stop that. We can't stop her being what she is. It may do more harm then good."
"What... should I do?" the man asked, feeling a little resigned.
"Talk to her honey. You might not realise it, but her approval means the world to you. Just let her know you'll be there for her."
"She knows I love her," Said Leslie a bit shocked. Where did this come from?
"She does, but... maybe she needs a little reminding, sweety. You two haven't really spoken as father and- daughter. Just try it for a while, and reassure her... there's only so much I can do as her mother. She still looks up to you." She smiled encouragingly.
Leslie nodded.
Morgan stepped out into the sunlight. She hoped... oh how she hoped that she might change. Just- a little bit more into something exotic. Instead she was essentially human, with just oddly coloured hair. In some way's she felt cheated. She actually wanted it! She shook her head. Well, there was nothing to be done about it now. Some people just had all the luck.
She thought she heard something odd though in the air. Like a tiny voice.
"Hello!"
Morgan glanced around. There was an orb of light in front of her. She smiled a bit. It was a cute little fairy! "Aw. Well Hello there." Morgan said politely. "Who are you?"
"My mother and father sent me to you. I'm your new companion!" She gave a little smirk- of course she knew the story of this child. Every fairy did... just about.
"I don't need any fairy companion," said Morgan. "I got a lot of homework to do anyway."
The fairy continued to follow her. "Wait- Morgan isn't it? You've got a lot of questions right? You see things that don't really make a lot of sense right?"
The child didn't stop or increase he pace in her walk. Just kept moving with that vague march of certainty. Each foot perfectly synced in two. "If the world started to make sense, I would begin to question where I was," Said Morgan frankly. Still she was curious of this changed person. Fairy's were quite rare. "What's your name little pixie?"
"I'm fairy Princess Vertex. Feel free to call me Princess Vertex."
Morgan looked blankly, wondering if she should just go home. She heard some of the changed people went a little crazy. So a fairy thought she was a princess too... well, it could have been worse. "It's nice to meet you, Vertex." She paused glancing around. "Though I really must be going..." The young girl started to walk.
"Hold on! I haven't gotten to the best part yet! You want to learn magic right?"
Morgan stopped and turned. "You... can teach magic?"
"But you gotta promise to use it for good!" The fairy giggled.
The young girl tilted her head. "Oh... I promise."
