"Can you give me a wish of my own?"
Ty sighed. Courtney was a good person and had always been kind to him. Surely giving her one wish couldn't cause too much trouble. And besides, he could always use his magic power to undo any damage she might cause.
"Okay, Courtney. I'll give you a wish. But just one wish, okay?" asked Ty.
Courtney's head bobbed up and down eagerly.
Ty loudly cleared his throat. "I wish that the next thing that Courtney wishes for would be granted."
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. You are the best sister ever, " said Courtney, hugging Ty uncomfortably tight. "Now I just have to think of what to wish for. There is so much to choose from. I really wish that I had your wishing power - you know, so I could make as many wishes as I wanted. Then it wouldn't be so hard....."
Courtney's words began to fade as Ty's whole body tingled and his vision dimmed. When his eyesight returned he was shocked to see his body standing in front of him, talking to him.
" .... to choose, " finished Courtney, now in Ty's body.
"What the hell!?" exclaimed Ty, now in Courtney's voice. He looked down at his body and saw Courtney's slender dainty hands and his body wearing Courtney's clothes. He quickly realized that Courtney's errant wish had caused them to switch bodies. It must have been the only way the magic could grant her request for his wishing power.
"Oh .... my ...... God. I am so, so sorry. I did not mean for this to happen, I swear, " said Courtney innocently. "I mean, I really didn't want to be in your body. This is really weird."
"Tell me about it, " said Ty, still examining his new body. "Hey! Wait a minute! What is wrong with my body?"
"Well, to be honest you are kind of plain. And your body sort of looks like a boy sometimes. I mean, I can barely fit in this dress. I really wish that this body was prettier - you know, more girly - so I could fit in this dress and it wouldn't be so uncomfortable!"
Ty watched in horrid fascination as his body began to change. His androgynous features melted away to become more feminine. His skin grew softer with a light tan hue that almost shone. Long, curly blonde locks trailed down from his head and rested on his back. Courtney opened her eyes to reveal large blue sparkly doe eyes highlighted by long luscious lashes. Ty was awestruck by her beauty.
"Wow. That felt really weird. Good, but weird, " said Courtney as she looked over her improved body.
Ty began to panic. He didn't like the changes he was seeing in his sister. It was almost like the power was corrupting her. He remembered the old saying: absolute power corrupts absolutely. He decided that he needed to put a stop to it before she really got out of control.
"Okay, Courtney. You have had your fun. Now wish us back to our old bodies, " said Ty nervously.
"In a minute, in a minute. I mean, you had this power your whole life and I have only had it for a short while. It hardly seems fair to give it back so soon, " mused Courtney thoughtfully.
Ty was getting really worried now. This was not the kind, generous Courtney he knew. He decided to press the only advantages he had left: his size and his age. He stood over Courtney, looking at down at her in his smaller, younger old body, and crossed his arms.
"We don't have time for your nonsense. Mom and Dad will be calling us home for supper soon and we can't go back like this. Change us back. Right. Now, " said Ty with all the authority he could muster.
Courtney looked up at him with a strange smile. "You know, it's really weird being the younger sister. I don't think I like it. In fact, I wish that I was the older ...."
Courtney stopped midsentence and smiled wickedly at Ty, wagging a finger at him. "Naughty, naughty. You were trying to trick me and get me to swap us back. But I won't be fooled that easily. I wish me in this body was taller, bigger and older than you."
Ty's heart raced as he watched his sister began to stretch taller and taller. In truth, he had not been intentionally trying to trick his sister. He had hoped that the good foster sister he remembered would willingly return the power and his body back to him. But as he watched her body continue to grow and mature, tearing through her childish dress as it got bigger, he realized that the wishing power had corrupted her, altering her mind as well as her body. A body that was now almost a full head taller than him with a fitness model's physique. Her previous wish was still in effect, so her body only continued to get more beautiful as she matured and grew older. She looked like a teenage model. Well, she would have if she still wasn't wearing that tattered pink child's dress. Courtney quickly wished that she was wearing clothes more appropriate for her body and the dress morphed into a fashionable teen outfit.
"What have you done to my body?" asked Ty softly.
"Oh, quit complaining. You should be thanking me. I have improved your body, made it truly beautiful. Or I guess I should say MY body now," said Courtney with a loony giggle.
Ty was about to protest when he heard his Mom calling for them to return home.
"Well, sounds like it is dinner time. Race you home .... Courtney, " said Courtney.
"I'm not Courtney. I'm Ty, " whined Ty.
"Not anymore. At least not tonight. Unless you want Mom and Dad to think you are crazy and lock you up in a nuthouse. See ya at home, " said Courtney as she raced off.
Ty struggled to keep up with Courtney, but even his new long legs were no match for Courtney's longer and toned legs. By the time he made it home, Courtney was already happily dining with their mother and father.