Jon grabbed his phone and called Karyn, bracing himself for whatever reaction she might have. She wasn't supposed to remember the previous reality. No one was, except for himself anyway.
"Jon?" Karyn asked over the phone.
"Karyn, are you okay? I ..."
"What the hell did you do to me?" Karyn demanded. Yeah, she was having a bad reaction.
"Karyn, listen. I'm sorry for whatever happened. But it wasn't my stone. I think someone stole mine and replaced it with this other one."
"It's a different stone?" Karyn asked, settling down a little. "How is it different?"
"People's memories don't change to fit the new reality. They all remember things as they were before the wish. And the stone won't let me change people's memories either. For some reason, it's a contradiction to the function of the stone."
"So, let me get this straight. You were going to make me this way anyway and make me think it was normal?" she asked, her anger returning.
"Karyn, I changed everyone in town, not just you."
"And that makes it better?"
"There's a time limit."
"What is it?"
"A day. In a day, you'll be back to normal. Everyone will. I swear."
"Good, because I don't want to spend the rest of my life as ..."
