Printer-friendly version

300 Rains

by Heather O'Malley

Geoff was an Anthropologist studying a newly discovered tribe in the Amazon. After getting a bit more involved in the tribe, he joined in on a sacred ritual. That is where things began to go very wrong a spiral out of his control. Now the tribe is gone and he is left with making sense of this until the tribe returns in 300 rains.

Nine

October 4

The chemises felt a bit weird but they managed to keep things from chafing and it looked like his breasts were still growing. They looked like small hills now as opposed to simply puffy spots in his chest and he could well imagine the kind of breasts they would become. His family tended to be rather top heavy and that scared him, as he did not even want breasts in the first place. Dr. Neuman had mentioned that usually the breast growth reached a maximum of a size smaller than mother or sister. That really made him uncomfortable. He could imagine these great flabby mounds of flesh just hanging there. He shuddered at the thought. The suggestion of a compression vest to help hide these developments was a suggestion that he immediately followed.

What he had gotten was basically a sports bra but it did help hide the developments some. This way their development would not interfere with his teaching as best as he could manage. That was all he needed, trying to come up with a valid reason for him to be going through this that he could tell the classes he was teaching. No, he needed to keep those hidden as best he could to keep his job safe.

What also was also not helping his mood or anything else for that matter was that as his breasts got bigger Fae seemed to be growing slightly more distant. He had barely noticed it when things started and if he had not been worried about her growing distant in the first place then he was not sure what or when he would have noticed. When he had asked her about it Fae had denied it categorically, but it was hard to ignore when your wife hugged you less and had trouble looking at your body. Geoff was really at a loss as to how he should proceed in this situation.

Realizing that he was a bit out of his depth, Geoff managed to get an appointment with a shrink, and he was hoping he could unburden himself enough to work out some answers. It was what Dr. Neuman had suggested and it seemed logical enough. The only part that worried him was the idea that he just might need the shrink to teach him how to be a woman. That mere idea made him shudder.

He grabbed his keys and got to the car, glad that classes were over and he could leave campus. The drive to the doctor’s office was not that long, just across the river and somewhat close the where he lived. That was a good thing, as he wanted to get back to work at home as soon as he could. He was almost ready to send off his article and needed to g over it one more time to ensure that everything was correct.

After a short drive, he found a parking spot in the Medical Park area and headed inside. The waiting room was nice, with somewhat bright walls and comfy looking chairs but all it had were women magazines scattered in discernable piles. Geoff frowned, as he really had no interest in Better Homes and Gardens or Cosmo and Vogue. It made him a touch uncomfortable to be surrounded by the signs of what was to come since all it did was remind him of his inevitable change. That was certainly not what he needed.

After sitting there a while, the therapist, a older gentleman with a gray somewhat thin and grizzled beard stood in the doorway and called him back, “Mr. Greenfeld, could you come with me please?”

He followed him down a very short corridor and into the room. The walls were a warm wood paneling and the desk looked organized. There was an office chair and then a very comfortable looking recliner. Geoff figured that the chair was to help patients to relax. There was not much chance of that happening with him right now.

Before they sat the Therapist extended his hand, “Mr. Greenfeld, I am Dr. Winslow, but you can call me Robert.”

They shook hands and Geoff noticed how relaxed the grip was. It was a bit different from the usual man handshake. “Okay. Thank you Robert.”

“I read over the letter Dr. Neuman sent over and I must say that I am rather surprised by what is occurring to you. I usually get patients who are trying to transform, not people who are being forced to change for some unknown reason. I think I can help with you coping if what Dr. Neuman says is true then you are also going to have to deal with becoming a woman. I can help you with that but there are other things we will need to deal with as well.” They both sat and relaxed into the seats.

Geoff nodded along with Robert, grimacing when the doctor mentioned what was going to happen. Why was this whole mess happening to him? “That should help. I mean, there are a lot of things going on in my life but this transformation is one of the big ones, if not the biggest one.”

“Alright, I will do what I can to help you through this. I am sorry that there is no way to stop the process but we can make sure that you don’t have to be completely freaked out by it. So where do you want to begin, the issue of coping or something more specific to your transformation?” Robert sat back in his chair, jotting down a few notes, paying attention to what Geoff was not saying.

“Well, in all honesty, I am having a lot of trouble dealing with this change. I mean, it’s not like I planned for this to happen? I never wanted to become a woman. Hell, I had never even thought about it before and now thanks to some freak incident with that tribe and I am becoming Academic Barbie.” The irritation bordering on outright anger was clear in his voice

“So, you see this change into a woman as a demotion of sorts?” asked Robert in a calm voice.

Geoff was quiet a moment while he pondered that. It was something that he had never thought to ask. “Well, I’m not sure I would say anything like that but yeah, I guess.”

“Are women lesser than you?” asked Robert, his voice nice and relaxed, as if they were merely talking about the weather.

“I… well… uhm…” Geoff paused and thought about that question. Were they lesser than him? They were weaker, daintier, prissier, and such, but they were just as smart and just as capable, except maybe for opening jars, which he was now having trouble with. So other than strength and size, were they lesser? It was something he had never thought about before. He ran through his mind all the women he knew and had to concede that they were not lesser. “Uh… no. Women are just as competent and such, just not as strong.”

“So does that make this transformation about becoming something less than you were or something else?”

Geoff paused again. Was it the woman thing or something else that really was making him crazy? He really had not thought of this, mostly griping about the change. So what was it? “I’m not sure. I think it might be because I am afraid of becoming someone else, of losing who I am. I mean that I look in the mirror and I kind of feel like I don’t know who is looking back. My body is changing and that disturbs me. Hell, I am starting to look less like me everyday. I don’t want this but there is nothing anyone can think of to stop this.”

Robert made a few notes, thinking. “I see. So, is your brain changing as well?”

Geoff shrugged, “Probably.”

“Do you feel different? Have any of your thoughts changed? I mean, in how you see yourself?”

Geoff shrugged. “Not really. I feel the same as before, just trapped in this change and overly emotional.”

“So, your thoughts are the same but your emotions are looser. Well then, if you look at it that way, you aren’t changing but rather your body is. You aren’t really losing you at all. You mind might change but that doesn’t mean that you change.” Robert looked pointedly at him to gauge his reaction.

Geoff pondered this, letting his thoughts roll. Maybe what Robert said was true. Maybe he was not changing on the inside but his outside was? Was that enough to let him relax over this? This was a rather traumatic experience and one that really disturbed him. He was not sure if he could simply let go of his fear and anger and that made him frown in consternation.

“What are you thinking?” asked Robert.

“I’m not sure that is enough to get me to stop worrying about this whole crazy situation.” admitted Geoff, speaking slowly, focusing on each word.

“If it was, I would be worried about you. This is a major change to your life that you have no control over at all and if you weren’t stressed over this than you would probably have had some sort of gender issue and would be seeing this as some sort of blessing. Since you aren’t thinking that way, I have to admit that your worry over this whole thing is a sign of sanity.” explained Robert.

Geoff sighed. There certainly had to be some truth to that. “Well, so I’m sane. That’s not much help at this point in all honesty. Sane doesn’t help me deal with all of this.”

Robert chuckled. “There is that. All I can do is to help you think through your problems and help you find workable solutions, nothing more. You can get as much help out of this that you want, or as little help. I am here to help you get to the root of things.”

Geoff nodded, figuring that this was the best he could do, all told. “Okay… I think I can deal with that.”

“So, do you want to talk about the event itself and you transformation or how this is affecting your relationship with your wife? Either is a good place to start.”

Geoff smiled. He liked this guy. Maybe he could actually help him manage to get through this in one piece.