It was a plain old ordinary day. Certainly not a day where you would expect to find something that would change your life. But while walking you tripped face first and landed on the floor. You didn't like tripping but at least you didn't hurt yourself. On the ground, you saw a shiny round object. Curious you picked it up. The moment you did you instantaneously knew all about it. You knew that it was called The Golden Mind Control Orb and that it gave you the power to manipulate the minds of everyone around you. You could read people's thoughts or put thoughts into their heads or change their minds in any way you wanted. You knew it wasn't hypnosis, it was much more powerful than that. There wasn't any doubt in your head that this would work the orb made sure of that.

Feeling a little mischievous you decided to test it out on the first person you saw. This worked out well since someone saw you on the ground, a man of about thirty-five and he came to help you up.

"Are you alright?" the man said.

"Sure, I am fine, it was just a little trip."

"Good," then the man offered his hand to help you up. You took it.

"Thank you..." you said. "Um, what if your name?" Then as your first test, you put into the man's head, "Your name is Gertrude." You knew his name was not Gertrude, no one has named their kid that in probably sixty years and certainly no one would name their son that.

"Oh, I'm Gertrude."

"Thank you, Gertrude. My name is Laura."

"You're welcomed, Laura." Then when the man was sure you were OK, he walked away.

"It worked," you thought to yourself. "This magic orb thingie is cool." You decided to go to the mall to test it out some more.

In the mall, there was a restaurant with an attached bar. Most of the people in the bar were there to socialize although several were there waiting for a table at the restaurant. You went into the bar and saw the scene from the beginning.

A man, looking into his mind you saw his name was Ashton approached a very pretty young woman who was twenty-three-years old. "Can I buy you a drink?" Ashton asked.

The woman, Janell, politely said, "No." But the man wouldn't take the hint and kept hitting upon Janell.

Janell's boyfriend Wesley arrived at the scene soon thereafter. He was carrying two drinks that he had retrieved from the bar for Janell and himself. "The lady said she isn't interested," Wesley said defending his girlfriend's honor. Janell and Wesley had been living together for several months now. Wesley thought he could whip this creep easily and was going to make him eat his words. Wesley had been filled with liquid courage long before he had purchased the drinks he was now carrying.

You could see that it would come to blows although you checked inside each man's mind to confirm that neither was going to back down. You decided to take action. You lowered the maturity in Wesley's mind. He didn't think of himself as a strapping young man in his mid-twenties defending his girlfriend anymore. He now thought of himself more like a small five-year-old boy with his mommy.

Wesley's history with Janell was changed his mind. When Wesley had met Janell she knew how he really was at heart even though Wesley didn't know it. She took charge of everything and made all his decisions. Wesley quit his job and moved in with her and she took care of him. She bought his clothes, made all his meals, decided where he went and what he did. Janell protected Wesley from the big bad world and Wesley felt safe with her. Soon his actual maturity had diminished as he let Janell take care of him. He would try and be a good boy for her all the time.

Looking at Ashton, Wesley knew that this bad man was going to hurt him. Wesley retreated behind Janell. He ducked down behind her with his hands on her back and peering over her shoulders at Ashton. He looked very scared. "Mommy, Mommy the bad man is going to hurt me," Wesley said. Simultaneously Wesley dropped the drinks he was carrying and let his bladder loose in fear. Wesley thought that had fetched the drinks because Janell had told him to. Before this incident, Wesley was happy that Janell allowed him to get the drinks all by himself. He rarely left Janell's side when he was in a crowded room full of adults. Janell had a 'Manhattan' and Wesley had a ginger-ale, with grenadine and a slice of lemon. This was how they made a Shirley Temple at the bar. To Wesley, his Mommy could help and protect him from all problems. Wesley remembered that boys had picked on and hit him before knowing Janell but now his 'Mommy' would always protect him.

Ashton recognized the fear in Wesley's face, but instead of letting it go like that, Ashton wanted to show Janell what a real man was. He was going to take care of business with Wesley. But before Ashton could do anything, he wasn't at the bar anymore. He was reliving a memory. It was a dark night and his car broke down on a deserted road. Ashton didn't feel like the same man anymore, in his soul, he was more of a woman. Ashton had forgotten to recharge his cell phone and it was dead. He could be a real ditz sometimes. Without any other recourse, Ashton started walking down the road looking for help. The night air was chilly so he took his shawl to cover his exposed shoulders. He was wearing a light green strapless dress with a full skirt. He walked as quickly as he could which wasn't fast since he was wearing heels. Suddenly a man was behind him. He knew that he wasn't there to help so he quickened his pace. The man started jogging toward him so he started to run. But he realized he couldn't run in heels so he kicked them off. His stocking feet could feel the hard surface of the street below him. It would have been painful to run but he was too panicked to notice. He was glad that he hadn't worn that pencil skirt so he could run without restriction. But it was no use the man was too fast. He forced him to the ground. His skirt rode up exposing the tops of his thighs and his pantyhose tore. The man turned him over and pushed the skirt of his dress up. He reached down and pulled down his hose and his panties. Ashton tried to fight, but the man was too strong. He knew what was about to happen. He looked away focusing on a light in the distance. He waited for it to all be over. He imagined he wasn't there. Then he was back in the bar.

Ashton looked at himself, he was wearing men's clothing. Ever since 'that night' he stopped wearing pretty clothing and makeup and he tried to be a man. He tried to act like a man too. The animal had taken so much from him. That rapist had changed him in so many ways from a pretty young woman he felt like to someone scared to show who he really was. He hid his entire feminine side. That is what his psychiatrist had told him. Ashton had to reassert the womanhood from within him. That was his true self, being a macho man was a lie.

He couldn't let that animal win. He had to stop dressing like and acting like a tough man, that was just an act. He wasn't going to do that anymore. He was going to be a man... well man wasn't the right word adult was a better word. He was going to be a person who did as he pleased. He would do what he wanted not what people expected of him. He was going to be the soft, feminine creature that was his true nature. From now on he would only wear dresses and skirts like he used to. Even back before 'that night' he would wear pants on occasion, but now he wouldn't wear pants ever. He had always felt better in dresses. He had to show the world he was tough enough to be himself. He would show his softer side again. That was his real side.

He would start flirting with men again. Men weren't the enemy, he could love them. The right man would bring out the best in him. He would start wearing makeup and he would start styling his hair again in pretty styles after letting it grow. He would color his hair blonde and add soft curls. He might also have some plastic surgery to make him feel more like himself. He had always wanted boobs...big ones...well not too big, he didn't want to be a caricature of a woman. Maybe some work on his face. He could make his nose smaller and his cheeks higher and of course his lips fuller. Yes, he would make himself back into the sweet, friendly, and feminine person he was before. He resolved then and there to go home and throw out all his clothes and start over. He turned to leave the bar, no longer wanting to prove how much of a man he was anymore. "The best way to be a man was to do whatever you wanted regardless of what others thought." This was going to be his motto from now on. Without saying a word he left the bar.

Janell looking at Wesley didn't see him as a boyfriend anymore. She saw him as a little boy. It didn't matter that he was taller than she was. He was her cute little boy (her little man) who she had to protect from the big bad world. She loved the way his eyes lit up when she bought something just for him. It didn't matter if it was just a cheap toy from the dollar store. Not only did he have a kind heart, Janell knew that Wesley didn't have a mean bone in his body, She knew he had to be protected from those who would take advantage of his kind soul but that made her love him all the more. Looking at Wesley, she saw that he had had a little accident. She had to get him home to clean up. "Looks like my big man had a little accident," Janell said with a smile, "let's get you home out of those wet things. I'll make my big man some mac and cheese." Janell didn't want to eat at this restaurant anyway. It was nice, but there were better choices if she was going to bring her 'little man.' She took Wesley by the hand and led him out of the bar and towards her car and then back home.

Only you knew that you had changed the three people involved. The fight never happened so very few people noticed anything strange at all. You knew that the lives of the three people would never be the same. Ashton would probably make himself into the most feminine person he knew. He certainly would avoid a fight from now on. Wesley would act like a five-year-old for the rest of his life, but he was lucky to have a 'Mommy' who would always take care of him. Janell would have a man who would love her unconditionally for the rest of her life, although it would make dating other men difficult. You caused great havoc in the lives of three people yet no one knew you had done anything at all. Your adventure had just begun.