"Mommy! Look at daddy go!" exclaimed young Morgan, jumping and clapping her hands gleefully. Her mother, Margot, was less excited. She asked the Madame a question, looking and sounding just a tad anxious:
"Madame, is my husband, ... is he, um, ... dead?"
It was hard to get the question out in the open, watching the robot vacuum cleaner making its rounds around the stage. The Madame answered with a hint of attitude.
"Dead? Alive? He's inanimate! What do you want me to tell you? He's intact and functional. If you're asking whether he's still himself, I can assure you he's still conscious in his own way. In fact, I think he's going to enjoy being a vacuum. And don't worry: reality outside this tent has been already been altered, so no one will remember the human Mark or ask you what happened to him. He really is your household appliance now, nothing more or less."
Mary Anne heard this and smiled, "So Dad's cleaning the floors from now on? That's one less thing I have to do all alone? And he won't be spilling beer on the floor after I mop? I can live with that!"
Margot was starting to smile, too. It was finally sinking in that her husband was still around, but not in a way that would hinder her life or stifle her children any more. "Thank you, Madame! Thank you for freeing me from my marriage. I don't know how to repay you."
"Well, you won't have problems paying anyone from now on, because reality has changed in other ways, too. You are now the president of that company you work at. And that company is multinational and famous now. You have the job you've always wanted, and you can easily afford as much housekeeping or childcare as you need."
Now Margot was crying. "I just hope I can find a man who will be could with my kids. Someone I can trust."
"I don't think you'll have trouble attracting a man now," said Madame with a smile. "But let's keep the show going on. Margot, you still want a man, and Mary Anne, you still want a simpler life. Ashley and Morgan, do you still want to share a room and play together?"
"Yeah!" the kids shouted.
"Do you still want to be a girl, Ashley?" asked Madame.
"Yeah! Can you make it happen now that Daddy can't say no now?" asked Ashley
"Yes, I can, sweetie, don't you worry."
Ashley's face and hair started to change subtly, becoming more feminine and younger. His clothing started to change, from a dinosaur shirt and jeans to a yellow dress. He and his dress got smaller, until he was a five year old girl just like Morgan. The two girls screamed for joy and hugged each other. The audience sounded moved by the cuteness.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Illusia announced, "Morgan wants to play with her brother, who is really her sister, all the time. Morgan's mother wants her to stay adorable and not grow up. Well we can make that happen, and still keep Morgan and Ashley together."
An cloud of confetti and coloured smoke exploded from the spot where Morgan had been standing. The audience gasped. Was the little girl okay? As the scene cleared, they saw a small but beautiful and expensive doll with a whole tiny wardrobe of clothes sitting on the stage where the youngest of Margot's three daughters had stood. They knew that, like Mark, she was likely still aware able to appreciate what was happening to her. And they suspected that she would probably like it, just as Madame had said Mark would.
Ashley reached down and picked up the doll. "Morgan, is that you? You're such a pretty doll! You're going to be in my room always and we'll have so much fun together! You'll can sit next to our teddy bears at your tea party when we get home."
"Aawwwww" moaned the audience warmly. Now, two of the five family members were objects. Margot opened her mouth in shock, reaching out toward Morgan's plastic hand.