STEPPING OVER
Copyright © Tracy Lane 2005/2021
All rights reserved

Kim continued along Memorial Drive until he reached the trail winding down to the Park. This was his doorway to the other side, the path leading into Kitty's world. Pinecones and woodchips crunched beneath his feet as he descended through the trees, fresh woodland scents prickled his nose. Checking his watch, he saw it was nearly twelve. J & S would probably be on their way right now, so he had to get a move on.

It was time to Step Over.

That was how he thought of it - taking one giant stride into another land, like in the story of the seven league boots. Even now, almost a year since he'd started migrating, the whole process had a bizarre, surreal quality about it. Some days, it was like waking up in some weird, never-ending fairy tale. Then again, there were times - such as today - when it all seemed completely normal.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he disappeared into the pine glade that bordered the playground. He had to find an isolated spot where he could be certain no one was watching. Kim wasn't sure what actually happened when he Stepped Over, but he didn't want any witnesses all the same. For all he knew, he might actually vanish into thin air - and that would have been downright impossible to explain.

Once inside the Glade, Kim stood quietly in the shade, preparing to make the transfer. He had to clear his mind, reach across that vast, yawning chasm separating their two worlds. It was like looking up into the night sky and feeling yourself fall into it; reaching that instant of perfect balance dividing a dream from reality. Crazy Mata had called it the Point of Tau, a state of perfect equilibrium between all the universal forces. It was something Shinto monks took decades to achieve through fasting and meditation, but Kim had a natural ability for it, according to Mata. And that was what made it all possible.

The transfer took place in a fraction of a second.

Kim felt the universe shifting around him, the barriers of reality dissolving like a mist before the sun. More than that, he felt his body melt and run inside its skin. Long blond hair swept down past his shoulders, unrolling like a platinum curtain. He was changing, altering. His clothes faded from his limbs as the transformation took effect. Looking down, he had a blurred image of naked flesh morphing between genders. Her clothing flickered back into existence, too fast for the eye to follow. First the underwear, materializing out of nowhere; then the dress, running down her hips in a golden wave. Glittering lights swept across her field of vision, blinding her momentarily -

And suddenly, she was standing beneath a grove of Cypress trees, blinking into a cool April morning. The transfer was finished, she'd Crossed Over from Kim's world.

Looking down, Kitty saw she was wearing a bright yellow sunfrock, the kind with buttons down the front and puffy sleeves on the shoulders. It was one of her favourites, sheer and light as summer breeze. It was funny; jeans and sweatshirt felt perfectly normal back on the Other Side, but once she'd crossed over, Kitty tended to view boy's clothing with vague distaste (particularly the underwear - who in their right mind would want to wear something so indisputably hideous as a pair of jockey shorts?!)

Checking the rest of her wardrobe, she concluded that everything was in the right place - hair tied back in a long, blond ponytail; garishly pink runners with frilly white ankle-socks. Business as usual. It was silly, but sometimes she half-expected to see Kim's clunky old Doc Martins adorning her tiny feet. Kitty understood that that would be impossible, but being a child, logic wasn't her strong point.

Glancing around the grove, she started down the bicycle path (woodchip trail in Kim's world), heading for the playground. She had arranged to meet her friends around twelve thirty, and it was getting on to midday already. It would take around fifteen minutes to make her way through the grove, which was somewhat larger than the pine glade on the Kim's side. With any luck, J & S would be waiting for her at the swings, same as most mornings.

In Kim's world, Janet and Suzie were just a couple of girls who lived five blocks down the road, but over here, they were Kitty's best friends. She's known them since the first grade, back when they used to play hopscotch everyday after school. Kitty guessed they were getting a little too old for Barbie dolls and jump-rope these days, but they still hung out together, watching TV and gorging on chocolate cookies like there was no tomorrow. Not that the future was a big concern for any of them. The best summer of their lives was spread out before them - and when you're a child, the summer never seems to end.

Emerging from the Cypress Grove, Kitty walked over to water fountain, scanning the playground as she bent over to take a drink. The field was empty except for a small group of boys playing catch on the other side of the oval. That was nothing out of the ordinary; Coronation Park was usually deserted this time of day. Most of the kids she knew lived over on the Westside. Kitty decided to test out the swings while she waited for her friends. It was only quarter past twelve; they'd probably still be finishing lunch.

Kitty rode the breeze for several minutes, leaning back and pointing her toes towards the clouds. A light wind whipped up her thighs, inflating her skirt and revealing her underpants. Smiling with pleasure, she kicked her feet in mid-air, enjoying the touch of the air on her skin. Like most girls her age, she loved riding the breeze in the early afternoon; it left her feeling cool and tingly all over.

"Kitty!" someone called, "hey, Kitty!"

She looked around to see Janet and Suzie approaching through the oval. Raising her hand in casual greeting, she waved a reply over her shoulder. The girls wandered over to the swings, chattering with the easy banter of childhood. All three swung in unison, as if sensing some universal rhythm, their ponytails streaming carelessly out behind them.

The afternoon passed in a patter of girlish conversation as they swung happily through the sky. Kitty's frock billowed up over her waist several times. She kicked her long legs every time her skirt rose, pretending she was a cancan girl. That was one of her favourite bedroom games; she often danced before her mirror with her skirt up to her chin. The very thought of showing off her panties in public made her heart race with excitement. Sometimes she wore her pink satin panties, the ones with the lacy frills around the derriere. She felt so breathtakingly naughty when she bent over and threw her skirt over her head, revealing her pantied bottom to the mirror.

"Wanna go play on the jungle gym?" Suzie asked no one in particular. They'd been on the swings for a good thirty minutes by now.

"Okay," Janet said, and hopped off the swing. Kitty followed a moment later, dropping catlike to her feet. The three walked over to the monkey bars, chortling happily away amongst themselves. Suzie reached the gym first, swinging to the top with a kind of unconscious grace. Kitty followed her friends along the bars, clambering hand-over-hand in quick bursts. Her heart was thudding in her throat. This was the part she enjoyed the most.

Reaching the centre of the grid, Kitty hooked her knees over the bars and slung herself upside down. Her dress immediately flipped inside out, exposing her undies all the way to her belly button. She felt a blush rise to her features: everything was on display now. It was embarrassing, but it was also kind of nice, too - that tingly feeling was spreading though her entire body now. Flicking her tongue over her lips, she glanced down (or rather up) to see what she had on.

Her panties were white nylon briefs with a little bow on the front. Most of Kitty's underpants were either pink or white (the only colours her Mommy bothered to buy, for some reason). Kitty absolutely loved showing them off. As far as she was concerned, it was a crime to hide something so pretty. The frock slid slowly down her torso, revealing several inches of smooth tummy and a hint of cotton singlet. The skirt hung limply over her face, blocking her view of the playground. She had to push it aside with one hand to see what was going on.

Suzie D'Antonio was sitting on top of the bars, idly studying her friend's underwear. There was nothing illicit in her gaze, just childish curiosity. She'd known Kitty for over four years and must have seen her panties like a zillion times. Anyway, there wasn't much else to look at, all she could see were a pair of splayed thighs and silky white gusset. Everything else was hidden behind a fall of yellow cotton. Overhead, the clouds wheeled across a perfect sky. The conversation drifted onto the usual topics - mermaids, unicorns, boys and teachers. Kitty rocked gently back and forth beneath the scaffold, her frock inching steadily toward the ground.

Janet was also hanging by the knees, although she wasn't revealing anything. The quintessential tomboy, Janet Connor never wore anything except shorts and jeans. Like Suzie, she was used to seeing Kitty's underpants every time they hit the playground (or anywhere else, for that matter). Young as she was, Janet understood that her playmate loved doing "girlie" things. It was just another side of her personality, no different from her preference for ultra-cutsie plush toys. As a matter of fact, Kitty Taylor must have been about the "girliest" little girl she'd ever met.

As for Kitty herself, she would have hung upside down all afternoon if she could have. Having her panties on exhibit always made her head spin with delight. It was something that Kim could never do back in his plane of existence, so she always seized the opportunity whenever it arose - making up for lost time, so to speak. It was sort of like the cancan thing; she loved that sense of impish pleasure that accompanied the act of baring. There was something else too, a kind of breathless arousal, but she was still too young to put a name to that.

At some point, Suzie lost all interest in Kitty's underwear and swung down between her friends, reaching out to take their hands in her own. Janet hummed a tune from a popular soft drink commercial and the other two joined in without even thinking. Gravity had its way with Kitty's dress until it was all but falling off her shoulders.

And holding hands beneath the wide, clear sky, they rocked their way through the early afternoon.