The ancient gods.

The car broke down in the middle of the desert. With no cell phone reception, Jason stood by his vehicle for nearly two hours, seeing no other cars. He knew he should stay with his car and that help would come sooner or later. But feeling certain that no one was out there, he decided to venture in the direction he was driving, hoping to find a gas station or a ranch house. He felt hot, sticky, and dizzy as he stumbled down the baking tarmac. Just as he thought he could go no further, he spotted an old farmhouse.

As he got closer, he saw that the place was practically ruined but still standing. To his relief, there was a hand pump in the corner of the kitchen. He eagerly drank from the water, feeling the coolness run down his hands and across his parched skin. Exhausted, he sat down on a pile of old straw and passed out.

When he woke up, it was hot, and he felt strange. There was a weakness, a lightness, a softness about him that he just couldn't quite pinpoint. He stood up, unsteady on his legs, sensing unfamiliar movements. As he stepped outside into the sunlight, he collapsed to the ground. There, he noticed a sign on the door: "Do not drink the water." Looking down at himself, he realised his clothes had vanished and been replaced by a skimpy bikini; his trainers had vanished as well, replaced by a pair of cowboy boots. His masculine body had transformed into one of feminine beauty, and he was startled to find a pair of magnificent breasts where there had been none before.

Confused and unsure of what to do, he was startled when a voice said, "Good morning! Is that your car broken down on the side of the road, four miles back?" He looked up into the eyes of an old man standing nearby. Nodding his head, he replied, "Yes." The old man offered him a lift and draped a coat over his scanty clothing.

"I see you didn't read the warning on the door," the man said. "You drank the water. The ancient gods were kind to you, giving you a pretty body and a lovely face." Jason, still processing the situation, asked, "Am I not the first person this has happened to?"

The old man replied, "Many travellers have spent the night there, drank from the well, and found themselves transformed into a woman or a man, depending on their original gender. It was a curse of the native tribe that owned this land; they poisoned the water to scare off the white man. No matter what the local town does to get rid of the building, it comes back when someone is in need."

"What do I do now?" Jason asked, feeling lost. The old man looked at him and said, "Just do what I did when I stopped there in my twenties. I was a beautiful young woman back then, but after drinking from the well, I became a man. Start your new life in your new gender. Forget who you used to be, as there is no way back. This is who you are now."

Overwhelmed by his emotions and the situation, Jason put his face in his hands and began to cry uncontrollably.