"Jon? What the hell happened?" Karyn asked, with wide eyes.
"I ... I don't ..." Jon stopped. "I wish I knew what happened," Jon said. But the stone didn't do anything. There was no flash, and no urge to look away or close his eyes. "I think there's something wrong with this."
"You think?" Karyn grabbed the stone from him and looked closely at it. "The stone didn't have black specks on it before, did it?"
"What? No, it had a reddish metallic look to it."
"Not this one. Jon, this isn't your stone. I think that's why it didn't grant my wishes right." Suddenly, the stone glowed, causing them both to look away. "Well, that confirms it."
"What?"
"That wish you made just got granted, but to me instead of you, because I was holding the stone. Jon, this is called a Delay Stone," she said, holding it up. "The wishes are granted with an unspecified time delay."
"Well, if that's a Delay Stone, then what happened to my stone?" Jon asked.
"I don't know," Karyn said. "Maybe I could wish ..."
"No way. I don't think anyone should use that thing."
"Well, what about your ... uh ... new look?" Karyn asked. "You don't want to stay like that ... do you?"
"Of course not. But who knows what would happen if I try to make a wish to fix this? Am I supposed to keep the stone with me the rest of my life? What if I lose the stone and someone else gets it and my wish is granted to them instead?"
"That's a good point. But maybe we can word it so that the wish will only affect you," Karyn said.
