Spanking

Haven't really done the old school Christmas routine since 2000, but Christmas Eve was almost always up at Grandpa W's house, where we would open presents from mom's side of  the family. Christmas morning was opening presents from Santa, with brief visits with who we could from dad's side of the family. I'd rather not get into Christmas from 2001-2012.... From 2012 to about 2019, I'd work and try to find somewhere to get food on Christmas morning, if possible.  Call mom, dad, sister maybe, Church, bedtime. Nowadays, I'll go up to the kinfolk on the northside of town, thought that might be a different now that they've separated, church (I'm the lead usher, and I assign myself to the lead post.) Aside from all of that, it's just another day, though I get time and a half for working on Christmas day.

“Consider it a punishment, but it won’t help you. If you consider it a lesson and stop fighting, the lesson will be over,” Annie replied. “As you wish,” Annie shrugged and left the room, leaving Kayla in the middle of the next temper tantrum.

I'll chip in my twopenn’orth, for what that's worth, although you've got a pretty good response already. I spend most of my life in cloth nappies these days. I've no experience of pull-up cloth nappies, although I doubt they're compatible with long-term wear without substantial support to stop them pulling down again of their own accord as they get heavy.  I wear either velcro nappies or terry squares folded in the Chinese fold (aka origami or butterfly fold). That gives a built-in soaker pad in the crotch. I also add extra soakers (generally 50cm terry squares folded in 3, and more than 1 of them).  This will get me through most days and every night - I only use 2 nappies per 24 hours. Occasionally my nappy gets too sodden for safety in the evening, and then I change into my night-time nappy early. When I'm in a disposable I also add a soaker, and then I can always get through the day OK - ie I've got a bit more confidence a high volume disposable will last the day than cloth will.  But cloth does the job fine, and that's what I'm always in, unless we're away with no washing machine available.  In my experience velcro nappies will stay up better than pinned-on nappies, but all that's dependent on body shape.  Hips can be very useful if you've got them. And onesies are essential imho. Plastic pants need to be big enough so the nappy can't peek out, with a seriously wide crotch - many are too narrow to work properly with a bulky cloth nappy. Good luck! Over and out.

The big advantage with cloth is that you can keep adding layers as long as your plastic pants fit over them.

Hey everyone! Sorry about the lateness of this post. This chapter turned into a much longer one than I was initially anticipating. Lots to cover and go over and with everything I wanted to touch on without robbing you all, I think it will be longest of this story. As such, I also realized I could end it in a different place a little earlier than I was initially thinking, so the next part will in fact be a chapter and not just an epilogue as I was kind of thinking it was going to be originally. With any luck, this chapter should be out on Friday barring any emergency or unexpected delay. If that does happen, I’ll let you all know on here as soon as I can and the poll will continue until Saturday instead. Also, as a quick note for this story, there might be a part that could get a little tricky to read or follow along with. It should be intuitive with what I wrote, but if not, “***” means a full break and “*” means a little break within the larger break. Again, it should be fine with how I wrote it, but just in case… Next, just as a reminder, a new poll is up for you all to let me know which story you all would like to read next. Story options can be found back in the beginning of chapter 2, and the link can be found there and chapter 9 as well. As I mentioned before though, if you feel more comfortable leaving a comment here or as a private message to me, I will count these as well. Being the second to last part of this story, the final chapter will likely be posted on Friday, and as such, the poll will end that day (if not, see above). So, if you all have any care whatsoever about the next story I write, make sure your vote is counted before then. Last but not least and as usual, I hope everyone enjoys this penultimate chapter of my story! Chapter 16: An Experience Unlike Any Other… Arriving at the shop, we all stare at the sign swinging in the now cold November air, and I can tell there’s uncertainty in all our faces as the sun begins to set for the day. All day, I’ve been seeing dozens of ghosts all around… even in the daytime as the veil between our world and theirs thins even when the sun is out. At first, it was a little disconcerting, and for more than a few, I had to promise to help them another day without looking like I was just talking to myself as if I had lost my mind. Still, stopping here now with both Abigail and Susan by my side, at last, I can take a breath. I know stepping inside will be a whole new world and challenge to tackle, but at least we’re all here. For a while there, I wasn’t sure if that was going to happen… But Gwen soon comes to the front door of her shop, still sporting her purple ghost seeing glasses. Despite her still somewhat youthful looks, they give her a more refined and oddly sophisticated yet spunky appearance. Oddly though, she’s wearing a long black robe with a single cord of rope tied at her waist. Still, seeing her at last, I smile and wave as she opens the door. “Hey everyone! But let’s see here…” She looks carefully at the three of us. “Good. Everyone made it. I can check off the first step of the night.” “Yep! All here, but… is everything prepared?” I ask, hoping she says yes, but internally based on all the previous conversations we had, I also know just what that will mean when we see it. “All ready to go upstairs,” she confirms. “I just finished the last touches per what you all previously discussed. And let me tell you… finding some of those bedding covers wasn’t exactly easy.” “But you found them?” Abigail asks with anticipation and wide-eyed hope. “Even the one’s with the unicorns?’ I quiver a little at the notion of what I’m walking into, but there’s still a bit of internal relief as well when Abigail nods her head. “Yes. One of the reasons that it was so challenging. I had to use a few spells to mend what I found in a thrift shop.” “Gwen… you didn’t have to do that,” I say, feeling a little guilt over the amount of effort she’s putting into this plan of mine. But she shakes her head. “Nonsense!” She then beckons us all inside. “This needs to happen today and everything needs to be perfect so that we don’t need to redo all this. It’s going to be a lot of work on the Supreme’s part to lasso in everything we’re going to need for this.” “So, she’s here?” I question, looking around the shop. “She is,” Gwen hastily confirms before going behind her counter to her hidden safe and plucking something out of it. “But first, before you even meet her…” She then lays out four large pieces of parchment, each laying on top of each other before producing a single glittering yet swirling with some black inside vial of liquid. “The formalities…” My eyes scan over the topmost document. “Oh… the agreement. You said you needed…?” I don’t even want to say it, and I wince at the almost devious look Gwen is now giving me. “A bit of your blood, yes.” She then smiles and pats me on the shoulder. “Relax. It could be one of the Mayan agreements instead. That could cost you your whole finger to satisfy those requirements. This, however…” She pauses and produces a single long but extremely sharp and shiny needle. “…is just a little prick from the end of your finger. One drop of blood right on the page. It will be over really quick. Promise.” I nod as she then turns to Abigail. “And for you… your ectoplasm on the dot.” Abigail nods before Gwen steps back and looks at us both. “But first… a negotiation. You two… have you determined what is on the table for today? Or do you still need to hash that out?” Abigail looks at me and then gestures to the pen. Sighing, I pick it up and shake my head. “No… we talked yesterday and we already know what’s on the table that I’ll allow. I looked at the list you gave me for the don’ts for you as well… but that won’t be a problem. Not a lot you won’t do for this, honestly…” Gwen blushes a little bit but then hands me the pen. “For you only, sweetie… for others in the past… well, that list is a lot shorter. But since you know your limits and what is allowed already, write them down on the lines right below agreement number three.” I look down at the page at the blank lines, take the pen, and begin furiously scribbling. Several of them make me blush, something that Gwen only comments on with her hand rubbing my back tenderly. A few though… I make a quick mental list again of things that maybe I would want to try. Three months ago? Forget it. Now though… my mind feels more open and certainly willing for a couple of them… if I could ever muster the courage beyond all this ghostly business to even ask someone in the first place. ‘But who would I even trust to ask if I did find the courage?’ Regardless, finally dotting the last period, I look back up and hand the pen back to Gwen, but she stops me cold. “No, you sign at the bottom. Then me… and then Abigail. She can temporarily guide your hand, and we’ll count that as her signature.” Nodding, I do as she instructs and sign my name on the first line… though I do notice a little circle right next to it. ‘Should I be checking that box, or…?’ But Abigail then snatches the pen and stack of papers from me before I can even finish the thought. One sweeping cursive motion later, and her signature complete, she passes the pen back to me. “Your turn, sweetie,” she says to Abigail, who then comes in unsteadily toward me. “So, we just… merge?” she questions after a moment of fumbling around with my hand. Gwen shakes her head. “No. Liam, you line up your hand and relax.” I do as she instructs once more before she gestures for Abigail to get in a different position immediately behind my right side. “Now… you hunch over, bite down almost, squeeze, and then put your hands right into Liam like a glove.” “Like a…?” Before I can even finish my question, Abigail does as she’s instructed and pushes right through me. I feel icicles practically form throughout my body and almost immediately, I feel my hand move around with the pen still firmly grasped between my fingers. For a moment, my hand feels numb… moving like some spastic twitch not under my control. ‘Shit… is this what tonight will feel like?’ At last, Abigail jumps away and we both shiver from the sensation. “Gosh, that was so weird!” she exclaims. “You think that was weird?” I flex and shake out my fingers, still feeling cold and just barely on the warmer side of numb now. “I felt like a puppet… like the Snow Miser was shoving his hand into me and making me dance for him!” Gwen chuckles. “Yeah… it’ll do that to you. Fortunately for tonight, if everything goes well, you should feel much better… though no more in control.” I sigh at the news. “Well, that’s something at least. So, what now? Do we…?” But my eyes already catch onto the long shiny needle waiting ever so patiently for my fingertip. “Oh…” “Relax, honey,” Gwen says as she guides my finger over to it. “Squeeze your eyes shut if that helps. But we’re going in three… two…” Before she even gets to ‘one,’ she plunges my finger right over the needle and pricks my fingertip good. “Hey!” I shout, recoiling my finger and now with the urge to suck on it for comfort. But Gwen is already pricking her own finger after wiping the tip clean with a baby wipe. “There. One and done. Just rub your finger in the blank circle next to your name,” she tells me without a care in the world before sighing as she sees my likely visibly betrayed face. “Sorry, Liam… it’s best to go fast with something like that. Just be thankful I didn’t let Bonnie choose the needle. She brought her own… pretty sure it’s a relic from the Salem witch trials period… also pretty sure that thing hasn’t been cleaned since then.” I can only shudder at the thought, but with a sigh after, I comply and rub my finger right into the blank circle by my name, leaving a smear of crimson smudge behind. Smiling, Gwen hands me a band-aid, me completely moving on from the fact that it’s got Elmo all over it, and she smudges the blank circle herself. “Okay… now you, Abigail.” This time, it’s Susan who comforts her, and with a little strain, she moves over to the blank circle and smears a little of her own ectoplasm over the circle. “That enough?” Gwen nods. “That will more than do, sweetie…” She then smacks her hands together and pulls out the cork stopper from the vial she placed beside it earlier. Pouring it over, the papers immediately begin to glow a golden shimmer. Smiling, Gwen opens her previously closed eyes and chants slowly. “Bind dessa signaturer från det jordiska riket och riket bortom. Bind oss till dessa regler och andar och förfäder och själva marken hör oss och håll oss vid dem!” All at once, the top paper burns up and leaves the other three behind, though this time, despite not being marked before, they now share an uncanny similarity to the top copy. When Gwen goes to erase her own bloody mark though, the stain stays firm. “Perfect.” Picking up the three perfect copies she deposits them in her safe before turning back to us. “A little worried about my Swedish there, but… these documents are now binding in this world and the next. I will hold onto them for now, but no matter what happens tonight, we each will have a copy… if it’s still needed…” I hear the hope and near ominous warning in her voice, but gratefully Abigail and I nod in clear understanding of the stakes of what just happened. Violation of any rule will be at our own peril… Seemingly satisfied with the agreement now in place, Gwen beckons us to a different door in the back just to the right of the séance room… this one actually leading to a staircase which we all climb up. Coming to one final door, Gwen pauses, but then pushes through. On the other side, the FCC and one other youthful woman are all talking together. Around them are candles and chalk lines and all sorts of feathers, stones, pieces of glass, and even some dried flowers. There are some curious decorations around, like framed photos and even a ‘Home is Where the Heart Is’ hand-painted sign. And between that and the light fixture and ceiling fan in the middle of the room, it almost reminds me of a living room… just mostly emptied out now. Most curiously though, there’s a faint purple mist hovering around the room emanating from a nearby pot. Even more interestingly, Gwen removes her glasses… as if everyone can see the ghosts due to this mist now… As soon as we step into the room and before I can ask any questions however, everyone stops their own small conversations and stares right at us… or more specifically, to the two ghosts entering behind me as well. Normally, I wouldn’t be very intimidated being stared at like that in a room, having delivered hundreds of presentations to large groups before, but the sea of black robes like Gwen’s that everyone is wearing is more than a little frightening. Stereotypically bad or not, I’m almost imagining one of them pulling out a dagger and stabbing me or a chicken at any moment now. After a moment though, Agatha comes up and clutches Gwen’s hands. “Is… did everything go well downstairs? The B-L-O-O-D and all, I mean?” I frown. “I can spell, you know… I’m not three!” Everyone in front of me laughs a little, including Susan. Abigail and I do not… Gwen smiles and shakes her head. “We understand that sweetie. No need to get worked up. Just a bit of… fun, is all. A joke and a prep of sorts for what’s to come…” “Oh…” I quickly realize that with what’s coming for me… or at least for Abigail through me, Agatha was only testing the waters and talking to us as if we were really two. Everyone else got it apparently… Abigail and I apparently did not… I don’t know why, but that bothers me a little. Still, I shrug it off. “Okay… so, is everyone here or…?” “Almost…” the unknown woman announces with pride before stepping forward with an outstretched hand. “Jane Beaufort,” she says, a few hidden wrinkles pressing through her youthful glow. To be honest, judging her age feels more difficult than the others. “Good to finally meet you. And these are…?” She leans behind me and stares at both Abigail and Susan. Susan, not clamming up like Abigail, floats over and gives a little wave. “Susan. Here as support and a backup for Abigail. Died in 1954. Helping out where I can now.” “Oh, I see,” Jane says, a little quiver in her eye showing just how unusual all this really is. From what I can guess, witches and ghosts repel each other, whereas tonight, everyone is coming together… and to bind me back to a ghost no less. Abigail then shuffles forward and all eyes immediately retarget on her. “I… I’m Abigail,” she says shyly, causing Susan to quickly hover by her side and give her a little side hug of support. This time, Jane smiles wide. “Ah yes… the ghost we’re all here to help tonight. Good to finally meet you as well. But… please. Don’t be shy on our account, sweetheart.” She says with a smile in her eyes… feeling almost like a performance of sorts… like she was actually talking to a young girl who just wants to hide behind her mother’s skirt. After that, and maybe sensing the tension herself, Gwen claps her hands. “Okay, places everyone! In the circle please. Take your spots where you’ve been assigned. There should be six of them… for us at least.” I look as each of the witches then disperses to their own corner of the drawn chalk lines on the floor. To the side, I see one empty space, and in the middle, I also see two empty spaces facing one last empty space near the head of everything. Considering the arrangement, I nearly gesture towards Abigail to take one of the spots in the middle. But Agatha beats me to it. “Come on, honey.” She stares at me after coaxing along Abigail towards the center. “You too, Liam. This is a rebinding and repairing spell. Takes two of you.” “And me?” Susan questions, still standing slightly awkwardly by the door. “Over here!” Bertie calls out, her old hand waving quickly at her. “You’re the support. You come by us and swoop in if things go wrong. Plus, once they’re doing their thing, we call all reminisce about the 50’s. God do I miss poodle skirts and 5 cent coffee!” Bonnie smacks her sister, but seeing the two of them, Susan only smiles and heads right over. She seemed hesitant at first, but with the talk of the 50’s, her attitude changed right away. ‘I guess she doesn’t get to talk to too many people from that time now…’ Jane then claps her hands and the lights grow dim. “And now… we begin.” She starts to announce things as if she’s announcing a wrestling star about to enter the ring. It would be nearly humorous if I didn’t start to feel a buzz of sorts in my fingertips. I nearly fade off with so much fluff being given but quickly perk up when I hear the next thing she calls out. “Now, I give to you… the Supreme!” Her voice echoes around the room and beyond a pair of curtains, a woman enters. Her skin radiates with youth, but her eyes show a picture of age and wisdom. Practically floating herself, her long white dress and coat flutter around her as if she was creating her own breeze. In the dim room with her outfit and all her shiny metal jewelry, she nearly stands out like a star in the night sky floating overhead. Stopping on her own spot, at the head of the seven-pointed star, she rests and closes her eyes. Taking a breath and bowing her head, she suddenly opens her eyes wide and raises her arms. In a second, every candle flames to life and bathes the room in an unearthly pale yellow and orange. Flickering in the now subtle breeze, the Supreme wavers around and stares at Abigail and I with focused and drawn eyes. “Abigail… Liam…” she says at last, her voice straining yet fully powerful and direct. “Having made the bond… do you all still consent to the rebinding of your souls here tonight?” “We do…” we say after a moment of nodding to each other and then looking back at the Supreme. “Very well…” There’s almost a sadness in her voice coupled with a small amount of admiration and respect. It sticks in my head but seemingly resolved to go forward now, the Supreme begins to breathe heavily in and out… the candles ebbing and flowing with her breath creating a sort of visual pulse to the room. “Tonight… from antiquity in Arabia, we use our mortal powers and call on the dead and the living to witness the reunification of these two souls!” she announces to the heavens, offering her arms up and calling to the sky. “Tonight, we rejoin what was tossed asunder. Tonight, we rejoin the two realms before us. Tonight, we call on the spirits to guide us.” As she bows her head, everyone else does as well. In that moment, while her form still has no substance to it, I still feel the icy and yet inwardly warm touch as Abigail quickly clutches her hand around mine. Looking up at her after I see our hands touching, she looks at me with both a worried and apologetic look. Sighing, I mouth to her five simple words: ‘It’s going to be okay.’ Smiling back at me, we turn back towards the Supreme, now mumbling and chanting. After a moment, her eyes then shoot open once more and staring right at us, she tosses a ball of smoke at our feet. “nahn nastadei al'arwah wal'ajdadi! nastadeikum alan!” Before I can even take another breath, I feel a sort of crawling sensation come over my arms and begin to creep around me completely. I feel electric sensations running through my body, and most strangely, like I suddenly feel a hole in my body as if my chest and rib bones had been plucked away where everyone can see my beating heart. Not painful to my relief… just the awareness of something missing from me… only now to be slowly filled in. Looking over at Abigail, it doesn’t take a genius to know what. “'aeiduu 'iihya' alraabitat alati mazaqanaha. 'aeiduu lm shamil hadhayn alshakhsayn kama kana fi alsaabiqi. amla'uu alfaraghat wa'aslahuu alealaqata,” the Supreme begins to chant again, the purple mist enveloping the room swirling faster now as it begins to encircle Abigail and me. Like a shadow being restitched to its body like something out of Peter Pan, I can only gasp out when I feel my body being stuffed somehow. And then, before my very eyes, the ghostly form of Abigail begins to restitch itself into me… her body getting stronger and yet disappearing into my body. Her fingertips begin to vanish and in each of mine, I feel her… a tingling sensation begin at first then turning warm and strangely complete… like I was the empty glove now being filled once more. The Supreme then begins to sway back and forth, the rest of the witches soon following her. They begin to chant, low and slow… a bond of mysticism forming and uniting them like one large entity getting ready to strike out in the wild… and that we are their prey. I see panic in Abigail’s eyes as her chest then begins to disappear and I try to give her comfort… but very soon, only her neck and head remain. She cries out… but no sound echoes… only an odd strain in my own throat as our bond feels further unified. The Supreme then screams and shouts at the heavens once more, her hands waving the purple mist around like she was gathering a dough to be kneaded. “whhd baynahuma waghfir lana wanahn nanqul sharayie allahi! whhdhma fi kian wahidi... jasad wahid waruh wahidatin, alan wa'iilaa 'an yatahaqaq waeduhuma. atm eahdihima wala tadae 'insanan 'aw rwhan yufsiduh maratan 'ukhraa hataa yaktamil mithaquhuma!” All at once, the whipped up purple smoke coils and wraps in her fingers, seemingly slithering like a serpent ready to strike. On her last utterance, the smoke snaps and piles into Abigail and me. In an instant, Abigail’s face disappears as she mutely cries out one last time. I fall to the ground, gasping and now feeling suddenly whole. Instead of like before of ice running through my veins, I now feel warm, happy… complete. The emptiness… like some phantom limb missing from my body has now been healed… sealed away with mine and Abigail’s bond complete once more. ‘Abigail?’ I question in my own mind. I then hear a gasp of air in my head followed by a cry of elation. ‘Yes! Yes! I am here! It worked, Liam! It worked. I feel all of you again. I feel the floor, the air… everything!’ I smile on the floor and slowly begin to pick myself back up. The Supreme falters back a little and Jane and Bonnie attend to her… but the rest quickly crowd around me. Gwen chases a few of them back but then quickly comes to me and begins checking me over like the mother hen that she’s become to me. “Liam! Liam! Are you there?” Before I can answer she begins to poke and prod me. “Open your mouth for me.” Again, before I can, she does it for me and then shines a light from a pen light she pulls from her pocket. “All good there. Liam… are you there? Did this work? Are you okay? Answer me!” I shove her off and back away. “Yes, yes! I’m good! Just… give me a minute to speak!” Several others laugh and Gwen falters a little with a tiny blush, her maternal instincts seemingly rampaging a little too much right then. “But yes… it worked. Abigails in here.” Coughing for a moment, I’m finally able to right myself upward. “Now that we’re back together… what happens next?” Everyone, including Susan, looks back at Gwen. Nodding to the group, Gwen backs up and quickly begins to shed her robe. I know we talked about it all, but there, staring right back at me is a blue checkered gingham dress seemingly screaming right out of the 1950’s. I almost wonder if Abigail was at all influenced by Susan in a few of her decisions… namely with what Gwen agreed to wear. No one questioned even for a moment why she already had the dress though… Still, looking back at her, I get a little weak in the knees. “Wow. You look, uh…” “Oh look, girls, someone’s blushing!” Agatha points out, causing everyone to laugh and coo at my expense. Already though, I can feel the sensations of elation coming from Abigail house in my body… which I then realize that I’m not hearing the sounds of mockery. Instead, the women in the room are cooing and laughing over my reaction like they would to a little kid.   Abigail, instead of laughing though, goes right to work and comes straight up to me and cups my head in her hands tenderly. “Easy there, Liam. We just go one step at a time. But… while everyone else waits out here, you, me, and Abigail are going to go in the next room. But for right now… close your eyes, sweetie…” I hesitate, but a warm and encouraging smile from Gwen is all it takes for me to comply. Feeling her hands in mine, I’m then led away as I hear a single door open and my nose immediately be assaulted by lavender, baby powder, and other arrays of cleansers, disinfectants, and soft smells of calm and relaxation… something befitting of the room I know I’m walking into. “Okay,” Abigail says as I hear the door close behind me. “Open them!” I do, and again, while I know I agreed to everything, the nursery staring back at me is a sight to behold. The pinks go nicely along with the blues, and I quickly spot the unicorn bed sheets all lined up in the crib and waiting for their first occupant. Scanning over, I already see the outfit that Abigail requested… the thick and pink unicorn diapers lined up on the massive changing table… even a few hair ribbons. Admittedly though, I’m still curious about those in particular with my relatively short hair… at least when it comes to putting anything in it. “It’s… wow…” I feel speechless though the pulsating anticipation I feel burning up from the back of my head, I know just how excited Abigail is over seeing it all and taking it all in. “So… you like it, and… Abigail likes it?” Gwen questions, as if she had been nervous this whole time that one of us could reject it at this point. “I… I’m doing this for Abigail,” I say politely. Despite many features in here being something of my interest now… the pink still really isn’t me. “But Abigail… well, I feel an itch running though my body. I think someone wants out now…” Gwen smiles but then nods gravely. “Well… this is up to you, sweetie. Right now, it’s just after five, which means you have just under seven hours to divvy up to Abigail at your discretion. The terms of the contract were deliberately vague on that on purpose. You want to go slow with all this… go for it. You want to go fast… go for that.” I pause for a moment, looking over everything in front of me now… but I already feel a pulling sensation in the back of mind as if Abigail was tugging me to the side for a private conversation. ‘Please! Please, oh, please, Liam! Let me out! I’ll… I’ll be really, really good. I promise! Just… please let me play!” I can nearly feel her squirming and bouncing around like some kid trapped in their seat as they view an amusement park in front of them and all their friends are calling them out to play and go have fun. Sighing, I know all this time is precious. While all this isn’t necessarily bad… I also want Abigail to achieve her unfinished business tonight. Otherwise… she goes out at midnight, and we have to do all this once again… Scratching my head and dancing about in place, I know what I need to do… just not the ‘how’ exactly. “Alright… let’s just jump into this. I want Abigail to be happy and all, so… more time the better. We can always pause, right?” There’s a look of hesitation about her for a moment, but Gwen does eventually nod. “That’s right. Just… some people when they give over control… well, you can… pass out I guess is the best word for it.” “Pass out?” We had never discussed this before and I immediately feel my palms get sweaty. “Yes,” Gwen says coming over to me and holding my hands firm to assure me as much as she can. “It’s not for very long… but you might only get brief glimpses. I can usually tell when that happens. I’ve seen it before. Abigail is still bound by the agreement, and if there’s ever something new that you hadn’t discussed before… I’ll stall until I see you’re back.” She then reaches into her pocket and pulls out the purple seeing stone that I had seen before. “Just in case… I can check with this.” Holding it up to her eye, she nods. “Right… just what I thought. Right now, I can see Abigail in you. When you two switch, unlike the glasses, this will actually show me the truth and who’s… driving, if you will. So…” She puts the stone back in the upper right pocket of her dress. “If you’re good with that… we can begin…” I hesitate, still feeling a little queasy now that I know that, but I look back at Gwen… her reassuring smile and kindly eyes telling me to trust her. I’m nervous as hell, but between her and the agreement signed in blood and ectoplasm back downstairs protecting me, I nod. “Let’s do this.” Giving me a little extra smile, Gwen takes my hand and sits me down on the floor near to the changing table. “Okay… this is pretty easy. Think of this like hypnosis. I’m basically putting you under, but… it’s a little easier, guaranteed to work on everyone, and when you ‘awake,’ you’ll be in the passenger seat of your own mind if you will.” Taking a deep breath, I focus on my spot and nod back. “Go on…” Smiling and sitting down in front of me, Gwen takes both of my hands. “Okay… follow my breathing. In… out… In and out… easy does it. Follow me…” It’s pretty simple so far, and I’ve done this technique dozens of times before… but this time, I feel myself already nodding off as Gwen is mouthing something and rubbing my palms between her instructions. “Focus on my voice… focus on your breathing. You might feel a little sleepy,” she confirms to me, giving me a little relief that this is normal. “It’s all going to be okay. But… I want you to release. Release your burdens. Release your grip. If you need to close your eyes, you can. Just focus on me and my words and your long, deep breaths… Very good, Liam. Keep going…” Each of her words keeps getting longer… slower… more distant. I feel like she’s talking at me through a tunnel and soon my eyelids begin to droop. “Good… keep going. Focus on my words. Breath in… and out. Very good. You’re a good boy, Liam. Just keep going and relax… relax…” Her words are like soup sloshing around my ears, and she continues to rub my palms, occasionally tracing lines up my fingers. It isn’t long before I can’t even feel my fingers… though I see them moving on their own now… “Perfect… you’re doing so good for me, sweetie. Just keep breathing… and relaxing,” she coaxes me further. “Now, when you’re ready, I want you to let go. Don’t worry what that means… just let go. Let go and relax… let go and relax… Let go…” I feel myself settle into what I can only imagine is a little puddle of my body. No bones and no support… just some soft bit of clay for Gwen to mold however she wants. I feel no pain or sensation except for hearing her words and feeling the air enter and exit into my lungs. But my diaper suddenly warms. But I don’t care. I only care about Gwen’s fading voice… the darkening of the world around me… the sensation that my body isn’t my own anymore. I’m just a puff of thought… a whisper in the dark. My eyes shut… everything becomes black… and everything is lost… *              *              * Things blur in and out. I feel sensations all around me and as if I’m being lifted or maybe I hear laughter… but I’m just not sure. I feel joy and happiness and time pass, but I feel like I’m underwater… or in a dream maybe. I’m not really sure of anything really. At least until things start to come back into focus. Except it’s like I’m watching a 4D movie of sorts. I see the picture before me, and I even feel certain sensations and the smells all around me… except I have no control. I panic for a moment… especially when things come into focus even more and I see Gwen smiling right back at me as she laughs and holds a doll in front of my face. “And is Jane going to carrots for tonight’s meal?” she questions me. I want to answer her… or even question what’s happening to me, but instead, I hear a voice call out for me. I nearly feel my own lips move… but they aren’t my words… it’s not even my own voice. “Oh, yeth, Mrs. Thaatery!” The words come out in a high-pitched and lispy voice. Oddly, it sounds like. ‘Holy shit! It’s Abigail talking!’ ‘Shhh!’ I hear her shout back at me in our shared mind. ‘It’s all okay, Liam. Just… keep calm and try not to yell or curse. It’s… it’s distracting me.’ “Sweetie? What’s wrong?” Gwen asks. “Are you maybe having tummy troubles, or…?” She looks back at me closely and then plucks her seeing stone from her pocket. “Oh… yep! Just tell me straight or if you need to, only nod for me, sweetie… is Liam back now?” Without pause, Abigail nods… and in a nearby mirror, I see my head move. ‘Or I am I nodding? Or… my body through her?’ I feel myself panicking but I don’t feel my breath getting any worse… though my mind panics even more now when I see that I guess magically, in a nearby mirror, I see my hair has grown long and my face almost strangely looks a little like Abigail’s. ‘Holy shit! All this is… is oh! I’m I still me, or is Abigail now me forever? Am I still me in here? What if I’m trapped? What if there’s other changes to my body? Am I girl now? Or… or…?’ ‘Shhh!’ she internally yells at me again. ‘It’s okay, Liam. Just try to take a breath. Your body is still you… just a few magical changes. Nothing permanent. Promise. But also… I’m not doing anything bad. Just… think of this like a vacation or a movie and let me have my fun. Please, Liam? Please? I’ll be really good and maybe you’ll even have a good time. Just… please, Liam! Let me stay! Please?’ I sigh and remember our agreement in full. All this is a lot to take in, but when I start to feel more grounded and my mind calms down, I realize that I’m still okay. Not what I was expecting for sure… but okay. ‘Yeah… sorry. Just a lot all at once. I’ll… I’ll try and keep my thoughts to myself now. Just… weird is all.’ ‘Thank you… but you don’t have to be quiet all the time. I kind of like having an invisible friend. Just… no screaming.’ Abigail, or her in my body, then nods again back at Gwen. “Yes, mommy. Liam’s back but he’s all okay. Just confused and I was answering him…” “Oh, okay. That’s very… nice of you, honey.” She then looks deep into her eyes. “Just take a breath inside of there, Liam. Remember, if there’s a problem, let Abigail know. Per the agreement, she’ll have no choice but to tell me.” I feel a little nervousness from Abigail, but after a moment, she goes right back to playing with her dolls with Gwen… or I guess her mommy now. It’s a strange sensation, but by the time they even get to tea, I’m fading again. * Coming back around, the transition is less jarring and slow, but the image I come to is no less strange with how I feel and perceive the world around me now. This time, Abigail is strapped in a highchair. A bib is fastened around her neck and Gwen is shoveling in bite after bite of small finger foods or even just straight-up baby food into Abigail’s, and unfortunately, my mouth. ‘Yuck! What was that?’ I question after a few more bites of some green muck, not being able to take another second of this without at least questioning the choice of flavors. ‘Sorry, but Geesh! Is she trying to poison us?’ Abigail giggles between bites. ‘Nope! Just some apple, pea, and kiwi. Not very tasty, is it? Mommy said she knows best though and we trust Mommy.’ Seeing Abigail giggle, Gwen stops and places her hands and looks at us questioningly. “Something funny, sweetie? Did mommy make a strange face?” Abigail shakes her head. “No, mommy. Liam just said something funny in my head just now. I don’t think he likes the flavor either!” “Oh, he doesn’t, does he?” She gets this really playful yet wicked smile over her face. “Well, babies need their yummies and part of that sometimes is swallowing food that’s good for them… but maybe not for their itsy-bitsy tastebuds.” Not even hesitating, another dollop of the green goop is shoveled into Abigail’s mouth. She has the power to open and close her mouth or move her tongue, but unfortunately, both of us taste the full-throated flavor being presented to us. If I could have vomited, I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did. Instead, being as powerless as I am, I just have to endure the rest of the jar. Not long after that, and sadly before the flavor can be washed away, I fade once more… though not before feeling some strange alien feeling in my gut… and then one not long after in the back of my diaper. * I can only sigh internally as I come to next. I don’t know why I didn’t recognize the sensation… or figure that this would end up happening, but my consciousness comes back right in the middle of a diaper change. I stay silent, but I feel everything. Every wipe of disgusting mess off my rear end… I guess loosely deposited by Abigail. With her level of control and knowing her history, no control at all of something like that only makes sense… I guess I was just hoping this could be avoided. But much to my surprise, there is no grimace over Gwen’s face… quite the opposite actually. Instead, she’s just grinning from ear to ear and cooing down at us the whole time. Each wipe she does is followed by a playful “Stinky little girl!” or a “That must feel so much better, huh?” Curiously, I find it hard not to imagine myself in that same scenario… even with control, somehow, I don’t think I would hate this or want the moment to end. Fluffing out another thick pink and highly girly unicorn diaper though brings me out of my fantasy though. The thick and soft material going underneath my butt is a wonderful sensation I can feel both Abigail and I share equally though… something I want to feel again. Something… I want to feel from Gwen again… Sadly though, right as Gwen starts to babytalk to us once more as she thoroughly powders our butt, I fade once more. * When my mind comes back once again, this time Abigail is situated snugly in the crib, her pink sleeper zipped over and even from under that and the fuzzy blanket she picked out specifically, I still see the bulge of the diaper we were placed in earlier. If I had to take a guess, Gwen probably used a stuffer as well. I was surprised when Abigail wanted to take a nap with her time already being so limited, but as Gwen hands us a bottle of warm milk and begins to read us a story… I get it. I love books but reading them just always seems to slip my grasp these days with the amount of time in my day. Hearing the story out loud though, I feel fuzzy in a way I can’t quite describe. Abigail coos around her bottle and I feel the milk sloshing around in our belly… heavy and luxuriating and lulling us into a hazy sleep. By the time of the third book, I can already feel Abigail slipping away, my mind drifting in a sea of calm and serenity as well. “…And a little toyhouse… And a young mouse… And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush… And a quiet old lady who was whispering “hush…” Goodnight room… Goodnight moon…” There is only darkness once more. * My mind comes back again, but this time, Abigail is awake and playing on the floor with a large stuffed elephant. It makes me miss Mr. Snuggles, still left back home for safekeeping in his proper place in my bed… waiting for me to return. Strangely and worrying this time though, I feel different. The sights and sounds around me are clearer. I can flex my hands… almost as if I had control… though still feeling like a puppet when my control was pulled back deftly by Abigail as she pretended to play house with Gwen and the other stuffed animal friends surrounding us. But that was another thing… with each fur pelt I touched… each bead in the eyes or the carpeted floor as we scootched around, there was more. A bigger, more expansive feeling in my hands. Whereas before I felt the sensations of like I was wearing a thin rubber glove, now, I feel it all… almost as if the connection between Abigail and I is fading. I panic. I want to communicate with Abigail with our thoughts to ask her what’s wrong… if Gwen did something while I was fully unconscious or if she needs to change something. I think of everything I can to maybe figure it out first though. Wet diaper? Maybe damp but not bad and certainly not messy. Full tummy and warm and cozy and clearly having fun. I want to ask, but I fear the slightest notion of bad will set her off and ruin the night. So, I stay quiet. But the most curious sensations ripple throughout my body. Instead of worry or anguish or pain… I feel only joy. The happiness and giddiness that comes from total abandonment of all cares and worries… when a person just gives in to whatever they’re feeling. For Abigail, her ghostly form always felt like a raw nerve being pulled one way or another, but this… this feels more like she’s abandoning herself to frivolity. To satisfaction in a way that feels almost… complete. “Come on, Abby!” Gwen says cheerfully. “Let’s get fluffernutter off to bed. Tomorrow’s a big day at work. Those blocks won’t stay themselves, you know?” “Okay, mommy!” Abigail goes to stand to follow her but then stops dead. For a moment, I worry that she’s about to mess herself again… this time with my conscious mind fully aware and at the forefront. I want to scream at her to do anything but that at this juncture and to see just what’s going on or if I can help… but only darkness follows. *              *              * All at once, what feels like only a dream suddenly pops away. I’m me and I see a giant burst of blue erupt from my body… it’s Abigail. Seeing Gwen standing right where she was before the darkness swept over me, I know not much time has passed. Looking at Abigail’s ghostly form though, I fear the worst… that something went terribly wrong and I didn’t catch it or try to intervene when I could have… but I look at her in fear… fear that all this just went terribly wrong and was a waste of time and effort. But staring at her closely, with her little smile and near warm glow, all that looks back at me is happiness… contentment. “It’s okay, Liam,” she says now floating above Gwen and me. She then turns to the door. “Susan… come in…” Before I can even blink, there’s a commotion outside before Susan bursts through the door, not even bothering to open it. Soon after, it opens and the coven is staring back us in panic. “It’s okay! It’s okay!” Gwen shouts at them. “No harm. I… I think we’re… okay, I guess?” she questions a little, now looking back up at Abigail. Abigail laughs cutely and nods to confirm. “Everything is good… wonderful even! I… I feel different. Lighter… happier somehow.” Susan steps into the room more and stares back at Abigail. “Is it a tingling sensation, perhaps? Like electricity running through you… a current of giddiness and pure joy that you can’t quite place?” she asks, eliciting a nod from Abigail. “Like that everything you ever hoped and dreamed for is now complete or no longer matters. Like your bond is cut from this world?” That last question gets Abigail to pause for a moment and think deeply, but after some clear pondering, she looks back at Susan and nods. “Yes, actually… but… what does that mean?” Susan sighs but smiles brightly. “It means you did what you needed tonight. You achieved your happiness with Gwen and through Liam. You completed your unfinished business.” “I…” But before she can even finish, her body lights up like thousands of lightbulbs have suddenly flicked on. Looking on, everyone gasps in total awe of the moment they are witnessing. “It’s begun…” the Supreme says, now peeking in as well. “She has achieved her purpose, and she is ready to move on… happy and satisfied.” I look back at her, and sure enough, like I had seen so many times before, there’s an unearthly but majestic glow all around her… a little vibration and only the biggest of grins plastered now on Abigail’s face. For the first time since I’ve ever really seen her, I seen joy. Pure joy. Nothing holding her smile back anymore. No worries from her life or her death or facing an eternity alone. Fulfillment and the happiness of a complete life in her mind and ready to move on. Just as she begins to break up… like dancing glittering butterflies flying off into the night, she turns to me, Susan, and Gwen, her grin still wide and unfailing. “You all… thank you. Thank you so much. I don’t think I can ever repay any of you ever. I… I… want to help you in some way but… but…” She looks down at her feet, already forming into sections to fly away and move onto the next stage. Her look says it all. She wants to help, but from our actions, she won’t be here for much longer. And we all know that’s a good thing. So, very quickly, Gwen holds up her hand and shakes her head. “Think nothing of it, dear. This was our pleasure. You were a joy to be a mommy to tonight. You were lost and scared and… and I shouldn’t have been so hard on you. I should have seen what you were going through, and… I apologize for that.” She winces briefly. “But you go on now. This is the way of things. Your slate is cleared and you should have no guilt over leaving now.” She smiles and nods in her thanks to Gwen and then turns to Susan. “Susan… I… if it wasn’t for you… I… I…” She almost begins tearing up but reaching out to hold her hand one last time, Susan shakes her head. “No, honey… you go on. We both made bright spots in our lives after life. I’m glad I met you, but now… you move on. You go to that next place. And who knows? Maybe when I move on as well, we’ll see each other then…” Abigail smiles and squeezes her hand one last time before letting go. “I’d like that…” But she then turns to me, her face guiltier than before. Her happiness fading slightly, I nearly worry that her light will fade away and she’ll be stuck longer… instead though, it only seems to speed up. Noticing this, she turns from looking at her ever increasing glowing body and back towards me. “Liam, I… I… I’m so sorry for what I did to you! I was angry and scared, and I found you and I… I just couldn’t let go. I pushed you too hard and I… I…” She begins to shake all over and I quickly get up from the floor and go over to her, trying to ignore the sodden diaper now bowing between my legs. “It’s okay, Abigail… I understand now and don’t worry about me. I have time left on this Earth, and… well, if it wasn’t for you… I wouldn’t have met anyone here. I would still have been sad and I…” I shake my head. “I don’t even know where I would be now. You go in peace and happiness. Don’t feel guilty for me. I… I have my life and you have your happiness, and… and that’s enough.” Abigail sniffles, though this time, her tears look like happy ones more than sad this time. She nods and her body begins to shimmer, but she then quickly snaps back towards me. “Wait! Liam! I… one last thing…” I see her body begin to flutter apart and I know she doesn’t have long. “Yes? What is it?” “Frankie…” Never having said her name before, her utterance of the word makes me weak in the knees, and I’m only kept up by a quick-thinking Gwen supporting me from behind. “I… I… I saw more into your memories and I thought you knew, but…” She pauses, the fluttering away of her body already done with her legs and rapidly moving upward. “I saw her. The night she died… I followed you two. She paused for a moment and then… well, I don’t think she any unfinished business left. She… she moved to another plane of existence. Looked like me right now…” “She… she…?” I try to question, the words not forming yet my head burning with a thousand questions. “She moved on, Liam,” she repeats. “And… and maybe you should do the same.” Then, looking around, before she fades completely, only her shoulders, neck, and head remaining, she dives into towards me. Taking one last breath, she whispers into my ear. “Maybe… maybe what you’re missing is just what’s right in front of you. Don’t waste your life. Don’t have any unfinished business yourself. Seize your moment and…” I see her lips moving, but with her neck now gone, it only takes seconds more for her to flutter completely away. No pain though… just happiness. And, just like that, she’s gone forever into whatever waits for us on the other side. Standing there stunned, the onlooking crowd slowly disperses around the room and begins muttering to themselves, many seemingly knowing and hearing and seeing everything that just happened. Turning around even, I see Gwen, but unlike the others, she’s more or less frozen into place. Not from some accursed spell, but more like a form of shock from what she just heard or witnessed. Confused and seeing the Supreme begin to leave back to presumably go for good, I call out to her. “Wait! Wait!” The Supreme turns to me and smiles. “Yes, my dear? Is there something more I can help you with? Are you…?” She then pulls out her own purple seeing stone, though this one looks far older and mystical in the wavy lines blurred into the hard surface. “No… nothing more remaining that will harm you on the spiritual side…” I shake my head. “No… I mean, that’s great and all, and thank you. Thank you so much, but… that!” I shout. “What was all that? And…” I quickly think back to all my questions, namely the warm glowing sensation I’ve been feeling for so long now. It all feels strange and wonderful, but now with her here, I see my one chance to answer my question. “I’ve been feeling this warm sensation… glowing almost like a little sun inside me sometimes. I… it feels good but… I don’t know what it is. Am… am I still in danger or is there something wrong with me, or…?” But the Supreme’s smile catches me off guard and I stop suddenly with my thousand and one questions that I have for her. Stepping closer to me, she runs her wise but youthful-looking hands across the side of my face. “Oh… isn’t it obvious, sweetie?” I try to think, not wanting to look like a fool in front of her, and maybe it’s the spells around me, or the still swirling purple mist… or just the fact that I had been ridden now for nearly seven hours looking at the clock about to strike midnight… but I just can’t figure it out. So, I shake my head. Chuckling a little, she looks at me deeply. “Why… it’s as perfectly plain as the nose on your face, honey! What she told you and what you’re feeling…” She smiles, lines in her face showing off her age along with her eyes, but her youthful splendor still bounding around her. “They’re one in the same, dear. You’re glow, sweetheart… it’s Frankie.”