I sat on the wall, holding the box and waiting for Karyn to show up. I reflexively smoothed out my skirt for the tenth time. I had been holding onto the box all day, afraid to let it out of my sight. I had been keeping it in my purse, thankful that the school allowed us to take them into class. I knew that it was unlikely that it would get stolen if I had left it in my locker. Finally, Karyn showed up.
"Hey, there, Zoe," she called out. "How was your break? I'm still tired. There's only so much skiing you can do." Karyn lived next door to me. She and I had been friends as long as we could remember. She was wearing her usual jeans and T-shirt. She kept her red hair cut short, and her shoes perpetually looked scuffed up, even when they were brand new. A bit unusual for a goth like me to be friends with her, but...that never mattered to us.
"I guess," I said.
"What's wrong, Zoe-girl?" Karyn asked. "Having a bad period?" In fact, I had been having a bad period. My menstrual period was usually pretty bad, and the cramps made me irritable. But that wasn't what was worrying me. It was the box that mattered.
"No, I'm fine," I said. "I just have something else to show you, but not here. I want it to be private."
"Sure thing." I slid off the wall, stopping to adjust my skirt quick. We went out behind school. "So what's this all about, Zoe?"
"My grandfather died last weekend," I explained.
"That's horrible," said Karyn. "What happened? He always seemed pretty healthy. Didn't he just go on an expedition?"
"Heart attack."
"You don't seem too upset." Karyn scrunched up her face, confused.
"I'm not sure he's dead," I explained.
"Why do you say that?" asked Karyn. "They must have had a body."
"I'm not sure it was him."
"Then what makes you think that the coroner made...that big of a mistake?" Karyn asked, tossing her hands up.
"This," I replied, pulling the box out of my purse. The box was a few inches square on each side and was decorated with Japanese characters. "I got this from my grandfather in the mail just before we were told that he had died. Go ahead, open it."
Karyn opened it up and pulled out a stylized animal. "What's this?" she asked.
"It's a little kitty cat figure," I answered. "They're for good luck or something like that. My grandfather could have told you more. Now that he's gone, I wish that I had studied this stuff more."
"There's a note. Can I read it?" She held up a small piece of paper.
"Go ahead," I said.
Dear Zoe,
If you're reading this, it means that I've passed on. I know that you'll miss me, but just look at this as my next big adventure.
I want you to have this as part of your inheritance. I acquired this cat many years ago when I was doing archaeological research in Japan. She may not look like much, but the kitty has great power. It can grant wishes. Simply hold the cat in your hand and begin your wish with the words 'I wish.' Once the wish is made, it will be as if it had always been true. Only people who have heard the wish will remember the way things had been before.
But be careful with this power. Wishes, once made, cannot be reversed. They can be modified or reinterpreted, so with difficulty, it may be possible to return reality to the way it was before. But be careful, for as I found out myself, poorly thought out attempts to change reality back may be worse than the original changes. Use this power well.
Grandpa
"So, what," said Karyn. "Your grandfather may or may not have faked his own death and given you a wish-granting cat figure? Well, it is black, so it'll match pretty much everything you wear..."
I couldn't help but laugh a bit. "That's what I think."
"So you could make anything change, and people who didn't hear the wish would...think that it had always been that way?" Karyn was trying to piece everything together.
"As far as I can tell, yes," I said. "Check this out." We walked over to the school. "I wish the school was painted black." The paint job changed from battleship grey to a deep shade of black. Karyn was impressed.
"So no one but us will know that the paint changed," Karyn said. "They'll always think that it was black."
"Yes," I said.
"So you could do anything you wanted. Even something like, say, have your little brother Jon be our age and you'd be younger?" asked Karyn, incredulous.
"You think I'd do that?" Jon was my little brother. He was kind of, just... there. At least I had some personality, friends I liked, and I loved how I looked in makeup. "I almost want to have him be more like me. Then he wouldn't be so...plain. I dunno how people like that get on. If it weren't for the irreversible part, I might have done it."
"All right, all right," Karyn sighed. "Don't go busting out of your corset."
"All right, I'm sorry," I replied, calming down. Karyn was right. I was overreacting.
"So, can I make a wish?" asked Karyn.
"Maybe," I said. "I was thinking that we could make a few small wishes, just to test it out and have a little fun. Nothing that could hurt anyone. Like Grandpa wrote, wishes are irreversible, and even if we figure out a way to get things back to normal, it may make things worse for us."
Karyn sat, thinking about what she wanted to do. Suddenly, one of the other students exited the school and walked toward her car. It was Sarah McMillan, head cheerleader and school bitch. She had long, blonde hair and DD cup breasts. Despite the fact that she was a total jerk who treated others like dirt, she always had a gaggle of boys drooling after her cleavage.
"God," said Karyn. "Why do guys have to go drooling after Sarah, just because she's got big tits? I wish she was more like you... Then maybe boys would notice me more then."
"Come on, don't—" Suddenly, the cat statue flashed. We realized that, intentional or not, Karyn had made a wish, and that silly kitty thing had granted it.
Sarah's blonde hair had gone pitch black. She had a more pale complexion and was clad in all black and purple, though her body shape hadn't changed. Suddenly, she shifted from walking toward the parking lot to walking toward the two of us.
Karyn paced somewhat awkwardly, trying to hide that she was in shock at what she was seeing. "What have I done?"
"Hey girls," Sarah called out to us. "You ready?"
I couldn't say what I was feeling, but I could certainly think it. Fuck.
