Chapter 1: Sarah Is Born

There were three points in Simon Lindley's early life, whereby if certain events had taken a different course, things would not have turned out as they did. This was the first of these.

"Goodnight darling, we'll be off soon." It was his Mother, Clair.

Simon was six years old and just beginning to realise how complicated life could be. He was a quite, thoughtful child who would suck in the knowledge of the world around him and ponder on its meaning until some conclusion or other floated to the surface. He would then often nod to himself, almost imperceptibly, as something fell into place before moving on to the next mystery life was ready to reveal. He was slightly shorter than his friends of the same age with thick, dark-brown hair, which was just too long for a boy, and a serious look until he smiled that is, when his whole face would glow and he would become a different person. Everyone who knew him liked him, especially for his easy going nature; he never had a bad thought about anyone and would always find something nice to say about the most loathsome of characters in his class. This earned him the respect of all who knew him.

His features were soft for a boys' which, as a baby, caused many to mistake him for a girl, something that continued into childhood when, on the odd occasions, he wasn't wearing what were obviously boys' clothes. Simon got his soft looks from Clair, who whilst not a great beauty was extremely attractive, keeping her figure slim through excise and dieting, something her husband, Richard, was externally appreciative of. They will still very much in love, always holding hands or kissing, which Simon's friends' parents never seemed to do at least when he was around anyway. Clair was in her early thirties and worked at a solicitors office in Warwick, where they lived. She was tall and always looked elegant spending time choosing the clothes that suited her best. She kept her hair short which accentuated her features and her make-up was always immaculate. If was as if the professional approach required for her job spilled over into how she ran her life and the appearance she needed to foster. Simon, of course, had no idea what a solicitor was but knew she worked hard and he loved her very much.

"Della is downstairs with her boyfriend, so be good." What else would he be, wasn't he was always good when the babysitter was around?

Della had been looking after him on and off for about two years and they had got to know each other quite well and she liked him a lot. Simon was not at all like her own brother who was slightly older and forever causing her problems. She had just had her sixteenth birthday and was turning into a pretty young woman which had the side effect of attracting boys to her just as the chimes of an ice cream van stir the taste buds of eager young children. Clair remembered what it was like when you had a boyfriend but nowhere to go and so she was happy for Della to have someone to keep her company while she looked after Simon. However she didn't need to be an oracle to know what they probably got up to once Simon was asleep.

"Daddy will be in soon to say goodnight and don't read for too long," Clair said kissing him on the forehead.

"'night Mum," Simon continued reading his new comic which was all about Cowboys and Indians, his favourite stories. A few minutes later Richard, his father, came in and sat on the bed.

"Hi ya champ," he beamed stroking Simon's cheek with the back his strong fingers, "we did good today, well done. Don't know what I would have done without you."

They had been fixing the plumbing and Simon's job was to look after the tools and to hold all the important, tricky things that were too small for grown-ups to handle. He loved it when his dad called him champ. He sat up and gave his Dad and big hug. Richard worked as a factory manager not far away to the north of Warwick and had spent a lot time with Simon during his early years. Simon loved the attention and was in awe of how much his Dad seem to know about everything. There was hardly a question that he put that Richard didn't have some sort of response to and what was even better, Richard always seemed to get him to figure the answer out for himself first which made him feel great when he managed to.

"'night Dad, see you tomorrow." He loved his Dad as well, of course, but in a different way, much more like best mates.

It was Clair and Richard's seventh wedding anniversary and they were going to a new restaurant in town. Simon heard the front door shut and went back to reading his comic. As he turned the last page he put down the comic and turned off the light. He considered going to sleep for a few minutes but did not really feel tired and was wondering what to do next when he heard a giggling sound from downstairs. He got up and crept along the hall very quietly pretending to be a Red Indian tracker just like the one he had been reading about in his comic. He silently made his way down the stairs to the lounge and could see Della and her boyfriend through the gap in the door, cuddling and kissing on the sofa.

"Stop it you'll wake him up," giggled Della. Her new boyfriend was tickling her and she could not control her laughter.

"What do you mean him, I thought you were baby-sitting a girl. Didn't I see her last time I was here?"

"No silly, that was a boy, his name is Simon."

"Well never mind about that now give' us a kiss."

They snuggled up on the sofa and the noise diminished but there was something odd going on. His hand was right up inside her skirt and Simon could see Della stocking tops just like his Mum sometimes wore. He almost laughed out loud at the scene and had to put his hand to his mouth quickly to stop the noise. Why would anyone want to put their hand up a girls skirt? Yuk, he thought, some people are really strange. He watched for a few more minutes and then went back up stairs deciding to stop off in the bathroom on his way to bed.

As he stood by the toilet bowl waiting for something to happen he noticed Clair's clothes on the chair. There was the skirt she had worn that day and her blouse, her funny bra thing and her tights and panties. Her high heeled shoes were also under the chair. He picked up the tights from the pile and rubbed them against his cheek, feeling how smooth they were and remembering how they looked when they were on his mothers legs. He wondered what they would feel like to wear. He went over and locked the bathroom door and then slipped off his pyjama trousers. He put his fingers in the leg part just like he had seen his Mum do and then pulled it over his toes and up his leg. It was a strange feeling and quite nice. He did the same with the other leg and pulled them up over his waist. They were obviously too big for him but the leg parts fitted snugly. He turned and looked in the mirror. His pyjama top looked a bit like a short dress and with his long hair he noticed that he definitely had the appearance of a girl. It was a very nice feeling. He then decided to try on the shoes which were also too big and very high. How did girls walk in these he thought? He took a couple of steps around the room and looked again in the full length wall mirror. It was odd. He knew he was a boy but could see a girl moving around where Simon should have been. It really felt quite thrilling. He heard another noise downstairs and quickly got undressed, put all the cloths back on the chair and flushed the toilet.

Simon had enjoyed the feeling of wearing his Mums clothes but curiously he only did it two or three more times before forgetting about it completely until many years later. However a significant line had been crossed which would dictate his ultimate future. Something inside his sub-conscious now recognised that he had enjoyed the feeling of being a girl and the sub-conscious never forgets these things.

The second significant event occurred just a few years later. Clair worked in the centre of Warwick and usually dropped Simon off at school on her way in to the office. During the holidays when Clair and Richard were out working Clair's friend Janet would look after Simon. She worked from home which was convenient for everyone. Janet had a daughter, Sally, who was eight, a year older than Simon but they got on together very well and were best friends even if Sally was occasionally just a little too bossy.

One day during the Easter holidays when the weather was overcast and cold, Sally suggested they play at 'Schools'. Janet was busy in her office next to the conservatory downstairs so Sally and Simon played in her bedroom at the top of the house out of the way. Simon liked Sally's bedroom, it was full of soft clothes and soft colours.

"OK, what do we have to do?"

Sally got her blackboard and easel from the cupboard and put it near her desk. She placed a chair in front of it.

"I'll be a teacher at my school and you can be the pupil. I have just thought of a problem though," Sally said looking thoughtful and holding her chin with her knuckles.

"What is it?" asked Simon.

"My school is only for girls, you will have to be a girl too. Come on you can wear my school uniform," she got up and went to the wardrobe.

"Here you are, get undressed and put my school dress on, you're the same size as me." Simon did as he was told but looked odd in his boys' shoes and socks.

"Oh dear, that just look's silly," said Sally as she went to her chest of draws. She rummaged around and then handed him a pair of her school tights and knickers. "Put these on too while I get some shoes."

Simon was dazed for a moment but then slipped down his own pants from under the dress. He pulled up Sally's pale green knickers and then slipped the toes of her black tights over his feet and pulled them up his legs. Sally returned with the shoes and he put then on too.

"That's better, you look just like a girl now, except..." She went to her table and found a blue plastic headband which fitted nicely over Simon's long hair and framed the soft features of his face. Simon was so caught up in what Sally was doing he hardly had time to think although he knew he was enjoying being Sally's girl friend.

"Perfect. Now sit down while I give you a spelling test."

They played together for the rest of the morning until Janet cane up to tell then that lunch was ready.

"Oh! What are you doing?" she asked alarmed at what she saw as she entered the room.

"It's alright we're just playing schools, that's all," said Sally casually.

"I hope you're not making poor Simon do something he doesn't want to do, young lady."

"It's OK Aunt Janet," said Simon from the behind the desk, "I like being Sally's school friend, it's fun."