Lake Otherlife: Epilogue (Patreon)

The story is now finished! I hope you enjoy this sweet little epilogue. Tomorrow I shall be putting up a poll for our premium subscribers to decide the content for the next ongoing TG story. I also have some Premium content upcoming over the next few weeks!

A visit to a mysterious outback lake results in a big change for George and Holly, who are already undergoing relationship troubles of their own. Now, with their genders and lives utterly altered, will their romance last?

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Lake Otherlife: Epilogue

Harry:

I couldn’t believe it had been an actual year. It felt like so much longer, and yet at the same time, barely a flash. I’d been a woman all my life, and yet in just three hundred and sixty five days I had come to know what it was to be a man, in action, in thought, and certainly in bed.

I couldn’t help but chuckle a little at that last thought as I drove across the great outback landscape. Kakadu National Park was as gorgeous as I remembered it being. The land was bathed in wonderful red hues, and the sky was deep ocean blue, utterly cloudless. I drove the powerful four-wheel drive over the track, passing around the mountainscapes, admiring their ancient formations, and enjoying the cooling wind that rushed through the open window on this hot day. My arms were only a little sunburnt. I knew I should have listened to Gabbie about reapplying some sunscreen. She can be such a fusser over that. A far cry from how she used to be. But then, so am I. The appeal of a nice flannelette shirt and a pair of shorts is too appealing for a bloke like me on a day like this.

“What are you thinking about, mi amor?”

I turned to see Gabbie smirking at me, her perfect features admiring me. I couldn’t help but grin as I looked back at her.

“Oh, you know. Just reminiscing.”

“Well, keep your eyes on the road, idiota, I don’t want us to end up lose in the middle of nowhere, again.”

I chuckled, and placed a hand on her thigh, enjoying its warmth. She placed a perfectly manicured hand over mine, keeping it there as I drove with the other.

“I can’t believe it’s been a year,” I said, after a moment. “Can you believe it?”

“Si, but then, I count the weeks and months much better than you. I have much more reason.”

I nodded. “Good point. I hadn’t thought of that.”

She scoffed. “Men.”

“Oh, don’t start with this ‘men’ business! You used to be one, and quite the alpha male too. Thank God we sorted that out.

She flicked my hand off my thigh and gave me a playful punch on the shoulder.

“Estúpido! We didn’t ‘sort’ anything out.”

I looked at her in astonishment. “Oh yes, we absolutely did! It’s literally the reason we were transformed, remember? To work out our relationship. So you wouldn’t be such a hard-headed male?”

She stared back a moment, then broke into a girlish giggle. “Oh, you’re right! Dios mio, stupid feminine hormones making me feel all irrational. But you also changed!”

“I did. I got a lot more understanding of your male pride, that’s for sure. And a lot more confident. And willing to communicate with you.”

“And I with you,” she replied, placing her hand on my thigh this time.

“A lot of changes,” I said. “And after a bit of an adjustment period, I think we turned out for the better, didn’t we?”

“Mmhm, yes we did. Quite a lot of changes.”

“Mental, emotional, maturity changes.”

“Mhmm. I also grew boobs. Big ones. Really big tetas.”

I coughed laughing. I hadn’t expected it. My naughty wife gave me a look that would be downright illegal in some countries, and I couldn’t help but stare at the way her magnificent breasts pressed against her top. They were even bigger than they had been a few months ago, and even more wonderful for it, though from time to time she still got a bit self-conscious about her amazing rack.

At times like this, however, I think she just enjoyed me staring.

“Eyes on the road,” she reminded.

“Sorry, I was just hypnotised.”

“It’s the best part of having breasts, I’ve found. They hypnotise men. It makes up for a lot of the power I lost as a man.”

“Well, I for one quite enjoy that power. Plus, I think we both like our new positions.”

She gave a sweet smile. “A bit too much, mi amor.”

My wife took my hand and placed it on the other large bump that defined her front, the one that was now bigger than the other two put together.

“He’s kicking, can you feel?”

I could. It was the best feeling in the world.

Gabriella:

Harry was being utterly impossible as we got out of the car. Yes, I was pregnant - his fault, anyway - and I was having to be careful now that I was approaching the end of my second trimester, but he didn’t have to coddle me! I’m not incapable of movement. I just . . . lose my breath a lot more easily, have less energy, get way more tired, experience big mood swings, get unexpected kicks from my little passenger, deal with aching big tetas, and need more water breaks.

Oh, and pee breaks. So many damn pee breaks! Whoever thought getting pregnant was a good idea?

“Make sure you wear a hat, too,” Harry said, passing me one as he helped me out of the car.

“Gracias,” I said, falling back into my ‘native’ Spanish, and putting on my head. “Just remember, you’re the pale one in the relationship. You burn easily, I at least have olive skin.”

“And what lovely skin it is,” he remarked. “You sure you’re up for walking?”

I rolled my eyes dramatically. “Waddling, more like, but yes. I can do it. I just might need some - ngh! - help at times.”

He placed a hand on my belly in a way that was soothing, rubbing it gently. Our little boy must have sensed his father’s presence, because he calmed a little.”

“Okay, we’ll keep you hydrated. We won’t be long.”

“Better not be! I’m walking for two here!”

My husband laughed.

It was strange, really, to think of Harry as my husband. Some days it still seemed utterly loco. He was kind, caring, deeply handsome man, and ever since that date night we’d stopped pretended we couldn’t have an amazing sex life in our new bodies too. But still, when our wonderful little ‘accident’ occurred, and I ended up nauseous and with sore boobs and strange mood swings, we knew we had to hurry up and get hitched.

It was the plan, after all. We knew we wanted to get married sooner than later, whatever our bodies were, but there was still the slight hesitation over our new roles in that regard. But a little life growing inside me - unexpected and terrifying and yet captivating at the same time - we ended up just barging right ahead and doing it.

And what a day it was. I missed the alcohol, of course, so our friends instantly guessed the reason for the season, as they say. I didn’t make it a secret either, though, and soon the wedding was also an impromptu congratulations for a family already expanding.

It felt so alien to be walked down the aisle by my father, wearing a beautiful wedding dress, and being given away to a handsome man at the front. But as soon as we exchanged our vows, I knew it was meant to be.

A far cry from the person I was. And, in many ways, a good change that has been.

Still, it didn’t help me much now, as I trudged awkwardly, clutching my big belly and feeling my tetas wobbled against my tight shirt. Harry held my arm, helping guide me.

But when we crossed over that ridge, we both gasped in amazement.

Somehow, we both had convinced ourselves it wouldn’t be there.

But it was.

Lake Otherlife had returned.

Harry:

It was just as picturesque as I remembered it being. The Lake was bluer and shining beneath the sky, though at least the sun was beginning to set. It placed a wonderful shaded area around it that we moved towards, and I helped my very pregnant wife settled on a rock as we gazed at the mystical waters around us.

“Wow,” I said, and she echoed the sentiment.

“It is something,” she said.

We sat there for some time, simply taking it in, this lake that had so deeply changed our lives, made us anew in frightening ways, and yet had done us a service. Now, not only were we married, but we were expecting a child together - a fact that still made me chuckle sometimes when I thought of the old Gary stuck in this fate!

But the truth was, sitting there in the afternoon light, the sky slowly growing pink at the horizon, Gabriella looked like a fertility goddess, her figure perfect, her face serene, her hands gently rubbing her rounded stomach. She may have once been a hard-headed, stubborn man, but now she was all woman, and undergoing the most womanly experience of all. And she carried it well, and with eagerness, and just the smidge of occasional embarrassment.

“Well, here it is,” I said after another pause without speech. “Are you ready?”

“Just give me a moment long, mi amor,” she said. “I want to imagine diving into the lake.”

I gave her a curious glance, but didn’t say anything. I could see from her eyes that she was a little wistful. Both of us knew that all it would take to go back would be to jump into those waters. There was no telling what would happen to her child - none of the information even our Aboriginal friends gave us could say, and they knew the most about the mysterious lake, as far as we could tell.

But I got the distinct impression that Gabriella wouldn’t change back anyway. She was simply farewelling an old life.

“Okay,” she said, grunting as she rose awkwardly. I helped her remain standing as she swayed a little. “Let’s do this.”

Gabriella:

I reached into my purse and retrieved what I was looking for. It took a while for me to find a good space. Upon the reddened cliff wall were numerous engravings, some in foreign languages, others in ye olden English, others still as ancient as the native cave murals sacred to these parts. The Lake, whatever it was, was ancient beyond understanding. Perhaps it was part of the land, an active agent of change itself. It was impossible to know, but I liked to think that perhaps it was a force for good. It certainly had been for this senorita.

I found a spot that was bare, and took out my rock chisel. I didn’t have a lot of strength these days, and so I knew I would - so like a woman! - ask my husband to finish the job, as I often asked him to open the pickle jar these days, but I wanted to be the one to start it. After all, we had both changed, but I liked to brag that my changes had been bigger. The little bebé squatting on my bladder was evidence of this.

And so I scraped my message upon the wall. And when I tired of it, wiping my soft brow, I passed it to Harry to finish. My wonderful strong husband. He scratched away, as so many other generations of strangers had, leaving our own personal interpretation of Lake Otherlife’s power and possibility. When it was done, we both stood back, cradling one another, him behind me and holding my belly. One family, taking it all in.

Accept the Change Life Brings.

Gabriella & Harry (formerly Gary & Holly)

“Is it too much?” I asked, turning to my husband. “I feel the message should be longer than the attribution.

He snuggled me closer, rubbing my belly as he loved to do.

“It’s perfect, my love. Just perfect.”

We admired it for some moments, silently, even as the sky turned a little darker.

“We should get back to the car,” Harry said.

I nodded, but didn’t move. Instead, I turned and looked across the mystical lake, glowing slightly in the shade, its magical beauty captivating my attention. Truly, it was a special place.

“Love? Did you hear me?”

“Si, mi amor, I heard you. I just wanted to look at this place one last time, and never forget it.”

I took in every detail, every piece of shade, every tree, every rock. The Lake probably changed its appearance for a lot of people, but if so, then this was our Lake Otherlife, and that made it even more special.

Finally, I took my husband’s hand, and he helped me move back up the incline and over the short trek to our rented car. The first stars were beginning to appear opposite the setting sun, and it made the sky itself an image of change, or transition from one state to another. Our little baby shifted within me, still sleeping: a mother knows. I rubbed my belly, and pressed my body closer against my husband as we continued to move away.

Before the lake disappeared over the lip of the rocks, I turned back one final time to look at it.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

We made our way back to the car, and from there, back to our lives as Gabriella and Harry, who we would be until our final days.

The End