Taboo

Chapter 3
Ending 2

Chapter Description: The second ending.

They both awoke the next morning to the sound of an electric can-opener and the smell of syrup-drenched pancakes - both wafting upstairs and into the bedroom. They first thing they noticed, opening their eyes, was how far apart they were. In fact, they now slept in separate beds.

“What’s going on?” Nathan asked, his voice still high-pitched. Pulling himself up, he caught a glimpse of Katie as she disentangled herself from the covers. “Katie, is that you?”

“Yeah... errr...” she mumbled, confused, “wait...what happened to my voice?!”

“Oh, no,” Nathan uttered, his hopes sinking fast. “I think you better take a look at yourself.”

“Why?” Katie panicked, kicking the covers to the foot of the bed. “Oh my god, I’m little!”

Before either knew what to do, a woman in a holiday-themed cooking apron appeared in the doorway. Katie soon recognized the fluttery, endearing voice.

“You two need to get cleaned up before you come down to breakfast,” she said.

“Mom?”

“Now, come on. You’re already late,” she advised them. “Nathan, get your clothes on.” With that, she waddled back down the hallway.

“What went wrong?” Nathan asked, breathless. “Why are we both little kids?”

“I... I made another wish,” Katie sobbed. “Right after I woke up yesterday.”

“You wished for us to be brother and sister?”

“No, I wished... that... our relationship wasn’t so taboo.”

The two second-graders stared questioningly at one another, then at the walls lined with watercolor bunnies and Valentine’s Day decorations cut from construction paper.

“Well, sis, I think we just got a lot more normal...”