The Third Wish

Chapter 3
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As Tom stood in the bedroom, waiting for Evelyn to return, he considered the possibility of fleeing the house and asking someone for help. But what would he say? His claims about magic lamps and genies would be easily dismissed as the wild fantasies of a small child. Nobody in their right mind would believe him, he could scarcely believe it himself.

When Evelyn returned to the room she was carrying a large brown box, which she placed on the bed.

"Good job mom didn't give these away to the thrift store," she remarked, "now we can use them as hand-me-downs," she added.

He cringed at the thought of wearing Levi's old clothes, but what else would he wear? He knew that nothing else would fit him.

Evelyn rummaged through the contents of the box and Tom watched on warily.

"Hmm this would look cute," she said.

At first he couldn't see what Evelyn was looking at, the rim of the box was too high up for him to be able to see inside of it. He watched her run her fingers over something and then pick it up, he thought saw a flash of blue fabric, but he couldn't make out what she was holding.

Then Evelyn turned around to face him and he realized that she was holding a set of blue pajamas, they were decorated with pictures of Marvel superheroes. He thought that he could remember Levi wearing them when he was a toddler,

"Come on, this isn't funny anymore," he protested.

She discarded the pajamas on the bed and then turned her attention back to the box, what she saw made her gasp in surprise.

"Oh my god, this is perfect," she exclaimed.

When she reached back into the box Tom heard the sound of rustling plastic and seconds later she was cradling a brightly colored package in her hands. He gulped, suspecting what she might have found.

When Evelyn turned to face him he saw that she was holding a half empty package of Huggies Pull-Ups. She grinned mischievously and Tom sensed that a plan was forming in her mind.

"Okay I'll...I'll wear the clothes," he stammered, "just please don't make me wear diapers," he added.

Evelyn removed one of the pull-up diapers from the package and tossed it on the floor in front of him. Tom took a step backwards and stared at the cartoon Mickey Mouse on the front of the diaper. He blushed, then looked up at Evelyn with pleading eyes.

"Please," he repeated.

"You either put it on yourself, or I'm gonna put it on you," she warned.

He hesitated for a moment and glanced at her arms, they were longer and thicker than his. If she did try to put the diaper on him, he didn't think he stood much chance of being able to fight her off. He wondered what would be worse, putting on his own diaper in front of his sister, or having her physically force him into it.

"I guess I could use my third wish to make you think that you're a baby, then you'd want to wear it," she threatened.

He knew that she wouldn't be able to toy with him indefinitely, their mom was due home the following day and at some point before she returned Evelyn would have to make a decision. He decided that his best option would be to bide his time and allow her to play her silly games.

He took a reluctant step forwards before bending down to pick up the diaper. He held it for a moment, stared at the cartoon Mickey Mouse, then unfolded the diaper and stretched out the waistband. It would fit him perfectly.

He placed the diaper back on the floor and used his hands to hold the waistband open, before guiding his feet into the leg holes. Then he pulled the diaper upwards until the waistband was secured snuggly around his waist.

"Good boy, you did it all by yourself," teased Evelyn.

He blushed again and then balled his hands into fists, he wanted to scream at her, but he managed to restrain himself. Although his private parts were now covered, he felt no less exposed than he had done when he was naked.

Evelyn picked up the pajamas and then dropped them on the bedroom floor, before peering down at Tom in anticipation. When he gazed at the pajama top a cartoon Spider-Man that was emblazoned on the front of it seemed to stare back at him. He briefly considered asking her if there was anything else that he could wear instead, but he realized that it would be pointless. If he attempted to protest, she would become more determined to make him wear them.

"Levi will be awake soon, do you want him to see you wearing a diaper?" asked Evelyn.

Tom had been so shocked by his sudden transformation that he hadn't even thought about Levi. What would he say to the boy? What would Evelyn say to him? He wasn't sure, but he decided that he wanted to be clothed when he did encounter him.

Tom picked up the pajama pants and guided his feet into the leg holes, then pulled them up to his waist. He felt more comfortable now, less exposed, but he couldn't help noticing that the rim of his diaper was poking out from under the waistband of his pants.

"Evelyn? Where are you?" Levi called out from another room.

Tom quickly picked up the pajama top and pulled it over his head, before guiding his arms into the sleeves and pulling it down over his torso.

"Evelyn," Levi called out again.

"I'm in Tom's room," she replied, before opening the door.

Tom froze, like a rabbit caught in the headlights. He glanced nervously at Evelyn and then at the open door, wondering what she might say.

Levi traipsed into the room carrying a stuffed animal under one arm, he was still wearing his pajamas and he looked like he was still half asleep. When he saw Tom he didn't appear surprised at first, he glanced up at Evelyn and was about to say something, then he stopped himself and jerked his head back in Tom's direction.

Levi's eyes widened and he gaped at Tom for a few moments, then he asked "who is that little boy?".

Tom was astonished by the boy's stature, he couldn't be sure without moving closer, but he thought that Levi appeared to be taller than he was.

Evelyn stooped down and placed her hands on Levi's shoulders, then looked him in the eye, "can you keep a secret?" she asked.

The boy nodded, but he looked bewildered.

"I've found a magic lamp, there was a genie inside of it," she revealed.

"You....you mean...like Aladdin?" Levi stuttered.

"Yeah, like in Aladdin," she replied, "the genie gave me three wishes, so I used one of those wishes to turn Tom into a little boy," she went on.

Levi shook his head, glanced at Tom and then looked back at Evelyn. He was only six, but he was old enough to understand that his big sister was probably playing a trick on him.

"But Aladdin is just a movie and mommy says that TV isn't real life," he said.

"But you believe in Santa Claus right? Santa is real?" Evelyn asked.

Levi nodded solemnly and although he didn't say anything, it was apparent that he was thinking 'duh, of course Santa is real,'.

"Well they make movies about Santa, so sometimes things in movies are real," she explained.

Levi screwed up his face and Tom thought that he could practically see the cogs turning in the boy's head.

"Why don't you ask the little boy, he'll tell you who he is," she suggested, as she removed her hands from his shoulders and stood up straight.

Levi turned to face Tom, bit his lip and then quietly asked "what's your name?".

Tom wasn't quite sure what to say, but he knew that he would have to somehow confirm that Evelyn was telling the truth. The only way that he would be able to retain any authority would be to acknowledge that he was in fact an adult, or at least that he had been an adult up until that very morning.

"It's me...it's Tom....you're big brother," he stammered.

Levi shook his head in disbelief, "nuh uh,".

"I'm Tom, when you were playing with your toys yesterday I was sat on the couch, I sneezed and nearly spilled my coffee," he said, "I swore and you laughed, you remember that right?" he asked.

Levi's eyes widened and his skin turned pale, he looked frightened and in that moment Tom knew that the boy believed him.

"See, I told you," Evelyn grinned triumphantly.

But Levi wasn't grinning, he appeared to be confused and scared, for a moment Tom thought that the boy might cry. Realizing that she hadn't quite got the reaction that she had expected, Evelyn stooped down again to reassure him.

"Don't worry, everything will be okay," she promised, "I can turn Tom back into a grown up before mom gets home," she added.

This seemed to calm Levi down a little bit, but he still clutched his stuffed animal tightly under one arm.

"We're going to play a game today," she announced, "Tom is going to be the little brother, you can be his big brother and I'll look after you both," she continued.

Levi glanced questioningly at Tom, who shook his head in disapproval.

"Levi, look at me," she instructed, "I'm the oldest now, which means I'm in charge until mom gets home," she added.

Levi didn't look convinced, but the color had returned to his face and although he was still bewildered, he was no longer frightened.

"Wouldn't you like to be a big brother for a change?" Evelyn asked.

Levi shrugged his shoulders and then mumbled "I guess,".

"You're not the youngest anymore, doesn't that make you feel grown up?" she questioned.

Levi nodded, but he appeared reluctant to assume his new role, "will mommy be mad when she finds out?" he queried.

"She won't find out, I promise," replied Evelyn.

Levi frowned, her promise had not reassured him, "but what if Tom tells on us?" he asked.

Evelyn turned to face Tom and placed her hands on her hips "he won't tell on us, will you Tom?" she quizzed.

For a moment Tom contemplated saying 'yes, I'm going to tell on you both'. He knew that it would strike fear into Levi and deter him from participating in Evelyn's scheme. But it wouldn't solve his predicament, Levi couldn't turn him back into an adult and enlisting the support of a six year old would be of limited use. Evelyn's final wish would still be hanging over his head like the Sword of Damocles and he didn't want her to make any rash decisions. So what else could he do?

"I won't tell on you, as long as you turn me back before mom gets home," he replied.

Levi gawked at Tom in stunned silence, that wasn't the answer that he had expected. Although Levi didn't say anything Tom guessed that the boy was probably thinking 'why is he letting her do this?'.

Then Levi looked up at Evelyn and asked "can we have McDonald's today?".

"Sure, we'll order a takeaway for dinner," she replied.