Suddendly Mike had a horrible thought. What if attempting to change himself into a man caused Damia to change instead?
He couldn't wish that on the poor girl...dammit, only one thing left to do. He stepped on a rock as he made his way back into his house, which made him wish he had a pair of shoes that would fit.
The phonebook was no help, so he went online, and luckily found a "spells r us" entry on yellowpages.com.
He called, and it rang several times. "C'mon, c'mon..."
The line was picked up. "Jehosaphat, don't you realize I'm closed!? Come by tommorrow!"
"Wait, hold on, you have to help me!"
"Good grief young lady, what's the matter?"
"Um..well...this is Mike Carson."
"Mike Car...oh yes. Ha, turned yourself into a girl, eh? Didn't see that one coming."
"It was an accident! But I can't stay like this, my son will be home soon with his girlfriend!"
"Mhm...now I did warn you that you might not be able to change back. Still, I'll look into it. As to your immediate problem, the guitar might be able to make it so you can blend in."
"Blend in? How? I look like my son's girlfriend!"
"Interesting choice, not just some random girl then..."
"Never mind that!" Mike's new body was full of female hormones, and he felt himself becoming hysterical.
"Calm down, calm down. The enchantment is powerful, and very subtle. You see, memory works in response to stimulus. You see someone you know, your mind starts gathering pertinent facts for you." The wizard paused, then continued.
"What the spell I have in mind does, is alter this process. The cues that would make people think of "Mike Carson" simply get replaced."
"So wait, if my son sees me, he'll just think of me as his dad? That makes no sense!"
"Right, it doesn't, so as to avoid a paradox, any conflicting facts will be replaced by new ones. The spell will note this, and make sure everyone's image of you will more or less conform. The end result is that your old identity will vanish, and be replaced by this new one."
"Hold on...wouldn't that make it impossible to ever change back? I mean, you'd forget who I am!"
"Hmph, I'm a wizard, it's not that easy. And you'll remember the way things really are, even though you'll be affected as well. Now the fact you look like your son's gf may cause some complications, but I'm sure it will turn out."
"Ugh.."
"Enough of that 'young lady', go play that guitar of yours while you still can, and make yourself disappear. I'll be in touch."
And with that, the phone went dead.
"Great, just great."
Taking the steps two at a time, Mike made it to his little studio. One good thing, he seemed to have lots of energy in this body.
Sitting down, he tried to put the Gibson in his lap. Ugh, the thing was big and heavy...but even as he tried to manage the guitar, it seemed to shrink and become lighter, until he could handle it easily.
"Right...magic."
He played a few chords, afraid that his transformation would alter his playing ability. But if anything, his slender fingers hit the chords with even greater precision.
Now, what to play?