The stone began to flash. In the new reality the stone had created, Jon and company were merely a figment of Jenny's imagination, a story invented by a mind that had not completely forgotten the way things were. But by wishing for the story to be real, Stephie had unintentionally returned Jon and other residents of Lake Point to existence.
But the effects of the wish was not a mere reversion to normal. The new reality had arisen from a wish, and the wishing stone could hardly contradict itself. Thanks to the loose wording of Jon's wish, however, certain liberties were allowed to be taken to allow for both wishes
Jon awoke the morning after his wish to find himself in his bed, with no evident signs of meddling on the stone's part. Jon felt a little disappointed, but the more he thought about it the more relieved he felt. That sort of wish would likely have ended badly.
Glancing over at his clock, Jon realized he had woken up earlier than usual. It was only a little after dawn, so early he doubted even his mother was awake yet. He got out of bed and pulled on some clothes before walking downstairs. He pulled out some cereal and milk, and after pouring himself a bowl realized that, since he was the first one up, no one had gotten the newspaper yet.
Stepping outside, Jon walked to the end of the yard, scooping up the paper from its usual place by the sidewalk.
As he turned to head back inside, Jon was disturbed by a familiar voice. "Hey Jon. You're up early." He turned, and found himself standing face to face with Jenny Melina, his next door neighbor. Jenny lived with her older sister and her family, an attractive Hispanic librarian in her early thirties that Jon had a crush for quite some time. Jon idly wondered if he was actually awake, or if this was some sort of particularly lucid dream. It would not be the first time he had a dream with Jenny in it, and all his Jenny related dreams tended to end one way.
Snapping out of his fantasy, Jon returned his focus to Jenny, who seemed real enough and judging by her outfit was on an early morning jog. "Um yeah. Just getting the newspaper. Sorry, I'm still a little groggy."
Jenny gave a smile. "So I noticed. Well I'll leave you to it then. Say hi to your family for me."
Jon nodded, and then returned inside to his house. He ate his breakfast, read through the sports and comics sections of the newspaper, then headed back upstairs. Returning to his room, Jon wondered what exactly his wish had done. He took out the stone, looking the reddish rock over before making his wish.
"I wish I knew what my wish last night did," Jon said. The stone glowed, and Jon's mind was flooded with a plethora of information. According to the stone, he and various other citizens of Lake Point had been changed into entirely different people. It even said that he had become Jenny Melina!
Jon was puzzled by the stone's answer. If that were the case, how was he still normal, and what had happened to the original Jenny? "I wish I knew how I was myself," he said. Again the stone glowed, and the stone gave him the answer through knowledge inserted into his mind. Apparently a young girl who had once been Steve Farber had made an unintentional wish with the stone, and returned Jon and everyone else changed by Jon's wish to reality.
But the strangest bit of information was that the new people still existed alongside the old. But of course that meant that meant that numerous other people around town, Jenny Melina included, were all had once been other people, and had been created as result of Jon's wish for something interesting.
But Jon remembered Jenny, just as he remembered Tim and Ms. Ross and other people the stone said were from his wish. If he was the one who wished them into existence, shouldn't he remember the old reality. "I wish I knew why I remember the people from the altered reality," he said, and again the stone provided the answer. Apparently the two wishes by Jon and Stephie, when put together, had not only created a hybrid universe, but had done so retroactively, so that even before the stone had come into Jon's possession the people from both realities existed.
Jon set back and scratched his head. So apparently he had accidentally wished almost half of Lake Point into existence, who were all members of a reality where his wish had changed him and dozens of people he knew into new people, who now coincided with their previous selves?
Jon rubbed his forehead, feeling as if he was going to have headache. This was all way too weird.
