The Gift 176

Editor's note: this story contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sex.

*****

Amelia strode down the sidewalk after a long day in the bakery. She was at a bit of a loss. Her brother would be celebrating his eighteenth birthday today and she had nothing to give him aside from a card. Truth be told, Amelia was a spendthrift, happy to pour every last dime she made at the bakery into boots, blouses, handbags, and various trinkets and not saving a dime. She knew full well that she should have put some aside for this day, but there was this darling leather skirt she just HAD to have... She wondered what to do. She certainly did not want to return home empty-handed. Especially because she knew her parents had bought Joey a Mac Book Air to take with him to college in the fall. She also suspected that her dad would gift him with grandpa's car, now that the old man had decided that he simply wasn't up to the demands of driving anymore. How could a simple card compare to either of those things?

What she DID have was a coupon for a free reading at Madame Wu's, the gypsy's place on the corner, that one of her customers had presented her in lieu of a tip. "Maybe that gypsy woman can tell me where to find some money fast so that I can buy Joey a present on the way home?" she thought avidly. The walk was not long.

Inside, a scent she could not identify permeated the air of the tiny, almost stuffy shop. Amelia walked through the curtain of beads and settled herself on one of the comfy chairs in what was obviously the waiting room. Images of tarot cards and mystical symbols lined the walls. "All your troubles relieved" stated one phrase. A ceiling fan forced the strange scent close and oppressive about her. Just as Amelia was about to leave, having considered the very idea of finding a solution to her problem here, more than a bit absurd, a beguiling looking dark-complected woman in a headscarf entered the room from behind the door marked private and addressed her in an alluring accent. "Enter, young one."

"Well...er," Amelia produced her coupon.

"Ahh, I see you were referred by one of my regulars. Enter young and pretty one and tell Madame Wu your problems. Madame Wu will find a solution."

Nervously, Amelia allowed the arresting-looking woman to take her hand and lead her towards the door. A crystal ball was visible on the table beyond.

**

Diane Saunders looked at her watch. Where was that Uber driver? The interview, a few blocks away, had gone very well, Diane was sure that the job was hers. She did not want her new employers to know that her family was car poor, so she had chosen this spot to be picked up. She'd be able to buy that second car now! The beautiful strawberry-blonde wife and mother wanted one thing. To get home and celebrate with Jeff and the kids. She couldn't be more visible, she raged. "How hard is it to miss a hokey gypsy's window?" she asked the vastness about her. She peered at her cellphone once more, then the world went dark.

**

Despite the fact that Madame Wu was a stranger, Amelia found herself confiding even the most intimate details of her life to the older woman. While not a lesbian, Amelia found herself taken with the alluring gypsy. Not so much her looks, which were divine, but her confidence, composure, and sincerity. Almost as an afterthought, the chippy young brown-haired, pale-skinned woman brought up her current dilemma. She explained about the much-needed gift that would please her brother. She discussed his likes and dislikes, his hobbies, and what other gifts Joey would probably be getting.

Madame Wu made some passes with her hands over the crystal ball, which seemed to light up inside, and lit some black candles that emitted an even more noxious odor. "You realize young one, that trouble lifted from one may befall another?"

"So, if I get a present for Joey, someone else must go without?" asked the young woman.

"In a matter of speaking. What Madame Wu does cannot be undone."

"I'd hate to rob somebody else of a present, but I DO want to make Joey happy. I know! I will give some of the money I earn for the next month to charity. That's not so bad then is it?"

"No, young one, but save up your money into one bundle and give it to Madame Wu, she shall see that it goes to someone deserving."

"OK Madame Wu, I will do that very thing!"

"Excellent Amelia, now take my hands and wish with all of your might."

The gypsy woman's hands felt like liquid silk in Amelia's grasp as Madame Wu recited a mystical incantation and stared fixedly at the front wall of her tiny shop. A moment later, she declared, "It is done!"

"Really?" asked Amelia in a bewildered tone, "Where's the present?"

"Young Amelia, you will find what you seek on the curb outside my shop but move quickly!"

"How much do I owe you, Madame Wu?" asked Amelia.

"You will no doubt return to my shop, fair one with the money you have saved up. We will discuss whether any further payment is required at that time. In the meanwhile, spread the word about me to all your friends and coworkers. I have helped you feel much better, have I not?"

"Yes, yes you have!" returned Amelia.

"Excellent! Now hurry girl!"

Amelia strode out of the tiny shop feeling much better, even if her problem of what to get Joey was seemingly unresolved. She took a few steps and... there was a long white box sealed with a red festive ribbon sitting or the sidewalk in front of Madame Wu's shop. It even had a tag reading, "Happy Birthday, Joey!" in calligraphed script!

"How in the world?" thought the puzzled young woman. She wanted to rush back into Madame Wu's shop to ask about the package but stopped herself wondering if that would ruin the magic and cause the present, whatever it was, to vanish in a puff of smoke. Amelia gently shook the box but could tell nothing from the sound it made other than it was probably not much smaller than the box itself. Looking at her watch, Amelia realized that she had to hurry home to make it to the party in time. She hummed a merry tune as she slid the box under her arm and hopped onto the city bus for the trip home.

**

Diane Saunders had no idea what was going on. One moment she was fingering her phone, trying to trace the route of the Uber driver, and the next... she was lying flat on her back in a very dark place feeling very strange indeed. She found that she could not move a muscle, try as she might, she could not even wriggle her toes nor could she speak or make any sound at all, but she still seemed to be breathing, the blackness was so total, she honestly did not know if she had been struck blind as well. Her hearing seemed intact, at least, she could discern muffled sounds beyond her. Had she suffered a stroke? At her age? What could have possibly happened to her? There was a sudden sensation of movement, a rolling motion, but unlike an earthquake. She seemed to be lying in a soft substance, that crinkled a bit as the blackness about her moved. Was she in a hospital bed? If so, why were there no lights and no noise of medical equipment? Diane was overcome with panic. She felt her breath tighten and her heart race. "Oh, God! This is a nightmare!" she silently cried.

There were a steady thud and roar seeming to come from beyond the darkness. The panic and the horror overwhelmed Diane and her mind and body compensated as best it could by taking her out of herself and plunging the attractive wife and mother into a comparatively blissful state of unconsciousness.

**

Amelia hummed to herself on the way home. Her thoughts quickly transitioned from the eeriness of her encounter with Madame Wu to the anticipation of her brother's party. "Whatever this is I hope Joey likes it." She said to herself as the bus traveled the few kilometers to her house. "I can't wait to find out what it is!" she replied to the bus driver as he inquired about the box as Amelia stepped off the bus. She practically bolted home. She set the box down on the living room table and hurried up the stairs to change and spruce herself up for the party.

Downstairs, her mother had put music on, and the smell of her mom's freshly baked cake still permeated the house. Amelia felt certain that her mother could teach her employers a thing or two about baking! With a laugh, she shrugged off her uniform from the bakery and put on a pair of designer jeans and a DKNY polo shirt.

When Amelia returned downstairs, her family was assembled in the dining room. Sitting at the head of the table, in his glory, was Joey, her tall, somewhat handsome but quite nerdy brother. She smiled at him. He nodded at her. Joey was delighted with the Mac. Sure enough, her dad presented his son with the key fob and title to his father's late-model Toyota. Amelia insisted that he save her gift for last.

**

In the darkness, Diane's mind began to resurface. All movement had stopped. It was still pitch dark but now, she could hear peppy music in the distance. She had pretty well resolved herself to the fact that she was in some sort of paralytic coma. She thought about Jeff and her children. "To think it ends like this! No messy divorce from Jeff sleeping with his secretary or me with the insurance man. No, just a sudden exit with the goodbyes never said!" It left her feeling overwhelmingly melancholy. She had the cry she had so desperately needed from moment one. Although her eyes did not actually tear up and her gasps were not audible, it gave her a cathartic release...

There were loud voices and a sudden return of brightness. Diane was instantly alert. After a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden assault of returning brightness, Diane's blood ran cold. Staring down at her was the acne adorned countenance of a teenage lad. He was gazing at her first in puzzlement, then in wonder, then with something else, a look that, always a head-turner, Diane had encountered from strange men often!

For a long moment, nothing happened.

"It's Pepper Potts!" the boy exclaimed. "Oh, thank you, Sis!"

Amelia played it straight. "I know how much you love action figures, Joey!"

That much was certainly true. Joey had a huge collection of figures. The expensive ones were where Joey's money went. True, he usually didn't collect female action figures, but he did own Iron Man! This action figure certainly looked like Tony Stark's assistant from the movie. Flowing, shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair, designer tight blue silk blouse, black knee-length skirt, nylons, and fashionable yet sensible low heels with an eel-skin pattern. "She dresses better than I do!" mused Amelia, causing everyone to laugh.

Joey ran his hands through Pepper Potts's hair, it felt wonderful. He noted as he brushed her leg that the doll was clad in authentic nylons. He wondered how his sister had acquired it. Action figures like this sold for hundreds even thousands of dollars! Pepper was already the star of his action figure ensemble. Joey had heard rumors that some of these elite action figures were anatomically correct in exacting detail. He could hardly wait to find out if that was true! Joey reluctantly placed Pepper back into the tissue paper-lined stiff white box.

**

The house was finally quiet. Joey had been feigning sleep for hours, the curiosity about the Pepper Potts action figure burning a hole in his psyche. The Mac would be great for surfing the web and for writing papers when he got to college. The car was nice, even if it would forever give off an "old man vibe" every time he got behind the wheel. No, what had really fired his imagination from today's bonanza, was his sister's enigmatic gift! Joey opened the box and gazed anew at the expensive action figure. The bright light woke Diane from her slumber. The inability to move on her own had produced an outsized lethargy on the shrunken woman.

"Come here!" said Joey in a voice he hoped was appealing to the opposite sex. Diane was fully awake now! Joey prized off the action figure's, tiny, low-heeled shoes. "Don't you DARE!" squealed Diane in silent horror, almost imperceptibly her now tiny body flushed crimson head to toe. Joey didn't notice, his mind was elsewhere. It was now residing in a place where teenage boys' minds quite often resided. Under the bright light of his desk lamp, he began the delicate maneuver of parting the buttons of the tiny pink blouse revealing a pair of nicely stacked tits restrained by a lovely and quite lacy brassiere. Diane was praying fervently that the earth would open up and swallow her as Joey manipulated her arms to remove the blouse. She felt the fevered fingers of the strange teenager's hands struggling with the catch of her bra and Diane knew exactly how this evening would end. Silently, she began bargaining with the universe for some sort of release, any release at all... The universe remained remote and impersonal.

Joey tweaked each of the tiny boobs surmounted with chance pink nipples and light brown areolas. Though, to this point, Joey had no first-hand experience in this area himself; he was positive that these boobs felt just like the real thing! Extremely interested at this point, Joey focused his attentions on the zipper in the tiny skirt atop the miniature woman's pert bum. The button and zipper came open with little fuss. Delightedly, Joey tugged the skirt down until it was on the desktop next to the cast-off blouse and tiny brassiere. "What legs!" gasped Joey as he surveyed Diane's mighty fine pins. Clad now in just her panties and self-supporting thigh-high stockings, Diane knew that she would not retain either for very long. The bulge in the teenage giant's undershorts told Diane exactly how much more wretched this worst day ever was going to end! Something deep inside her broke. Somewhere, the universe was laughing, reveling in her torment. Joey's hands strayed to the hemline of the sexy white panties...