Epilogue

Cindy took a final stroll down the main street of her hometown. So many years she'd spent here, and now it was finally time to say goodbye to it. It was a little scary, this had literally been her whole world for as long as she can remember. But no more. It was time to expand her horizons. The rest of her were extremely excited about this. She felt...fulfilled, walking down this lane, saying goodbye to it and its people, perhaps for the last time. Melancholic, but good.

She had promised her parents she would call every night. She was about ready to jump into the family car, that her grandfather had given her as an early parting of her will he is leaving her, even though her grandfather is still very much alive and kicking, much to her father's annoyance.

She only needed one final stop.

It had been a strange couple of days. Cindy felt like she had grown so much. Which is large part to do with the fact that, yes, she had actually been able to experience being different people these last few days. Or were they all aspects of herself? Cindy wasn't certain. She tried not to dwell too much on that part, she had done things that made her cringe now. What she was sure about was that Cindy was a different person now than the one who had entered the book. It was even noticeable in her appearance:

It was noticeable, and Cindy has gotten stares, mostly from her family and friends. Some don't mention it, others its enough to just say that she is trying something new. To the most sceptic, Cindy admits to having done plastic surgery. People usually don't really know the limits of plastic surgery and don't know the signs to look.

It was finally time to do what she had promised herself: leave the things that held her down behind and see the world. Only the final stop left.

Cindy walked up to the apartments, but noticed a woman already waiting for her downstairs on the street. Cindy joined her and the two women kissed.

"Ready to leave?" The woman asked Cindy.

"As ready as I'll ever be. You?"

"No. Not really. But I've made up my mind."

Cindy smiled. "Good! Who are you feeling about the body?"

The woman took a deep breath. "Better. Not ideal, and certainly annoying at times, but I'm getting the hang of it. Bra's are nice. And I should probably start wearing sweaters when we get someplace where the weather is colder. And I've decided to go with just Dee for the name. That shouldn't confuse people too much."

Cindy had changed noticeably these last days. But nothing compared to Dale. They had both left the book looking like their night club versions, to Cindy's delight and Dale's horror. Dale hadn't even attempted to tell people who he were. Now he was just going by as a completely new person. Dale was now Dee.

But Cindy couldn't deny that she liked the way Dee looked now.

"I just wished I knew why it had left us like this and not the final look or something?" Dee complained.

"Thank god it didn't leave us like the last version. I quite like my hair, thank you."

"And I don't really look forward giving birth to any kids just yet. But still. And why a woman? It seems oddly specific."

"Maybe you're just become more comfortable as a woman, so the book didn't know if you wanted to stay like that or not?

Dee twisted her face. "You're suggesting I want to look like this?"

"No! No, of course not. I just..." Cindy's mind drifted off.

"Look," Cindy started, I'm still not sure about this whole thing."

"You mean us?" Dale looked.

Cindy nods. "Just practical things like being attractive to a girl instead of a man..."

"You seemed pretty into girl me in the book."

"AND other things, but this is like, it's you, Dee, and I'm not sure I can love a friend. I don't mean to sound rude, I just want to give you a heads-up in case I pull the plug one day."

Dee took this in. Then she turned to Cindy and took her hands. "I hear you. But like I told you. I love you and I'll keep following you every step of the way. Let's take it slow, and see how we each feel. And just take it one day at a time. I've haven't left the town before either, so even though I'm not as excited as you, I'm still interested in exploring the world. Together?"

Cindy meet Dee's eyes. They were kind and loving. And Cindy found herself smiling suddenly.

Wherever they would end up at, Cindy had to admit, it felt good to face it with a true friend.