Lyle's problems continue

After breakfast Emma put on a serious look and brought up the current state of affairs, "So I believe that you are Lyle, but I still know Lyle as a blonde, blue eyed, white guy. Your wish changed your body, but not your identity. Unlike your wish for a new job because I can only remember you trying to make it as an artist since you finished university.

Which means we need to do two things. Make Lily exist and make Lyle disappear "

Lyle looked at her confused, "Huh? Why does Lyle have to disappear?"

She rolled her eyes, "Think about it. Besides me is there a single person in the world you could convince of your identity?"

He shook his head, "Probably not." If his parents were still alive maybe them, but he didn't really have any close enough to him that would believe such an outrageous story.

"So sooner at later the world notices Lyle is missing and some chick is living in his apartment. I know you are a bit of a loner but still, at some point a neighbor calls police for a wellness check or something and suddenly it's a missing persons case. And who would be the primary suspect?"

Lyle sighed, "The girl with no ID living in his apartment..."

"Exactly. Which is why it's not enough to create a new identity for you, we have to get rid of the old one."

"Can't I just wish that everyone always thought I looked this way?"

Emma nodded, "Sure. If you want to try that...but remember what we know about the candle. Changing you is easy, changing others is hard. When I made you give me control is was a test. Well...ok I also wanted to be able to dress you up like a doll but still a test. I measured the candle before and after and it lost about 1/4 inch and is just under 10 inches tall now. Do you remember how big it was initially?"

He shrugged, he hadn't thought to measure, "Maybe 15?"

"So your wishes used it up at a faster rate. Probably because your first wish changed reality for many people and your second changed you physically. I bet your third wish used very little."

Lyle was catching on, "So a wish for everyone to remember me like this might use a lot of wax."

She nodded, "And if we use too much we won't be able to fix things we might have missed. I was thinking we don't need to create an identity for Lily in the minds of others. All we need is like...a birth certificate and a social security number right? We don't need to convince people you exist, just a few computers."

Lyle leaned back and scratched his head, "Ya. Really I don't have many friends, more like friendly acquaintances. I'll be fine if nobody but you remembers me as long as I can still interact with the world."

"And as for Lyle...we could try making a corpse. Wait don't get mad, hear me out. We make a body appear in your room and call in the welfare check ourselves. The world moves on from Lyle and you get to go to your own funeral, how cool is that!"

Lyle stared at her. Oh all the choices they had..."You want...to kill me..."

Emma sighed, "Just for pretend. Come on, it wraps things up neatly don't you think? You'll have no obligations from the past. You can become Lily without being weighed down by Lyle."

Lyle was taken aback. He shook his head, "But I am Lyle. I don't want to be Lily. I want a way to fix this, not kill my old life."

Emma adopted a serious tone, "I really think you should listen to me."

If Lyle didn't know better he'd almost think she was threatening him. He stood up, "Thank you for your help but I think I need some time to think. I'm going to head home for a while."

"That's not a good idea. What if someone sees you? What if you get in trouble and someone thinks your an illegal immigrant?"

Lyle scoffed, "Nobody is going to come up to me and ask for my papers and I don't plan on voting in any elections today. I think I'll be fine."

He was almost at the door when she called to him, "Wait! Take your new clothes. You may wear any of them."

Lyle noted that she didn't give him blanket permission, so no putting on his old male clothes. But at least he could make some decisions. "Ok. Thanks." He grabbed the bag and left.

Lyle spent the afternoon painting. It was strangely relaxing for him. At least something good had come from his wishes so far, this best slinging coffee any day.

Well...it did so long as he could eventually sell these. His fridge was empty and so was his bank account. He supposed even if it wasn't empty he might have a hard time spending it. He could only buy so many things online until he was **** to present his bank cards in person.

He thought about what Emma had said. She was right even if he didn't like her methods. He knew he couldn't just wish to get his own life back, not with the candle as it was...wait...that store. Could they fix this?

It wasn't that far of a walk. He put on his new running shoes and hurried out. It took him longer than he expected to reach it. His new legs were just too short and could only move so fast. Besides even with a bra there was just too much bouncing for his comfort if he went above a certain speed. He groaned as he realized he would have to buy a sports bra at some point.

Finally he stopped. It was there. Rather, it wasn't. He stared at the two stores that had bookended Celestial Delights, now side by side. He stopped forward and touched the rough brick between them...it had been here...

Well...he supposed a store that magically appeared and sold magic items could reasonably disappear as well. Crap. There goes that idea.

Dejected he made his way back to his apartment. He made it inside and slumped onto the bed. "Fuck..." He whispered. Then he wished he hadn't. The feminine voice just freaked him out when he was all alone.

Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door. He considered ignoring it, but if anything it would probably make things worse. He got up and opened it.

Standing there were two police officers. Their name tags said Harris and Martinez. "Excuse me we are looking for Lyle Reed. Is he home?" Harris asked.

Lyle gulped and tried not to look suspicious, "Uh no. He's not, can I help you?"

Martinez looked at him suspiciously, "Do you know when he'll be back?"

Shit. If he said something they might return and then what would he do? He shook his head, "No. He said he need inspiration so he went hitchhiking up towards Tahoe. I don't know how long he'll be, guess it depends on if he finds it or not."

The officers exchanged a look. Something told him they didn't entire believe him. "And who are you? You live here too?" Harris asked.

"I'm his girlfriend," He said quickly. Then he wondered if roommate would have been better. They also suspect the partner in a missing person case, right? "And ya I recently moved in."

"Your name? And do you have ID?"

"Lily. And no." He said. He couldn't exactly say Lyle and Lily was what Emma suggested.

"Just Lily? And no ID at all? That seems unlikely..."

Shit. Lyle tried to think. Of course he could give any name, but would they think it suspicious if his name didn't match his body? Of course there was no reason why an Asian-American couldn't be Smith or Jones or whatever. He didn't even know what culture he was supposed to be from. "Jones." He said finally. "Lily Jones. And no ID. My last place flooded and I haven't replaced them yet."

The officers stared at her for a little bit. Then finally Harris nodded, "Alright. Here's my number. Have Lyle call when he can. We still want to hear from him. We just want to make sure he's alright, one of his neighbors was pretty concerned."

Lyle nodded, "Thank you officers. I'll tell him as soon as I can."

When they were gone he shut the door and sunk down against it. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck..."

Ok. So maybe Emma had been right...had he really messed everything up by coming here? He groaned. Should he stay or go see Emma? Would the police come back soon? Would they follow him to Emma's? His head hurt just thinking about it. He decided not to do anything today and to worry about it tomorrow. He changed into pajamas and went to bed.

The next morning he remembered that he had no food. He was searching his cupboard for something, anything to eat when there was a knock at the door.

Dreading the return of the police he slowly opened the door.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so upset?" It was Emma and he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked at her closely...she was going to work today right? Her outfit was a little...risqué? She caught him looking at his chest and smirked but said nothing as he quickly **** his gaze up to her eyes.

"Sorry. I was worried you might be someone else...come in and I'll explain." Lyle said.

Emma stepped inside and he quickly explained everything that happened with the police the day before.

"Oh no. Are you ok?" Emma asked, putting her hand over his, "I'm sorry that happened...but I think it proves my point. It's not safe for you to stay here."

Lyle sighed and nodded, "Ya. You're right. Not that I can afford to rent a new place."

"Nonsense you can stay with me for as long as you like. Sorry but I really can't stay. I have to get to work but I just came by to give you this," She reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. She opened it and retrieved a small key, "It's a key to my place. I think you should get out of here today. Just let yourself in and I'll be home around 5. Oh and take this," She pulled a stack of bills out of her wallet, "For food, uber etc. Oh and why don't you go shopping too? I know we bought some clothes but you have to replace a whole wardrobe after all."

Lyle looked at the money. Then frowned, "I can't repay you..."

She winked at him, "Repay me by wearing something cute when I get home. How about a dress? But I really have to run. See you tonight." She winked at him as she did up the buttons on her blouse. Then she waved bye and hurried out.

Lyle left his stomach growl. He really was starving...and he did have money now. He looked around his apartment. He'd have to come back later to pack up. He put on the same clothes as he wore yesterday and head out to get some breakfast.