"I wish my mom was back." But, of course, nothing happened. Since the wishes that were given to Fred obeyed the same rules as the stone, wishes could not be reversed, only modified. He already wished away his mom, so it was impossible to bring her back.
"Mom? What mom?" his real father (Thomas) asked. "You mean your biological mother?"
Fred's eyes lit up. "Yes, that's what I mean." Maybe his dad remembered his mom after all.
"Fred, we talked about this. I don't know who your mom is. The adoption agency wouldn't tell ..."
"Adoption? What do you mean? I'm adopted?"
Thomas and Stevie looked towards each other, a look of concern on their faces.
"I think I need to use the bathroom," Fred said, then turned and headed out of the kitchen. He didn't really need to go to the bathroom, but he wanted any kind of excuse to get out of there. He needed some air and some time alone.
Locking himself in the downstairs bathroom, his mind ran over everything he witnessed in the kitchen and what his real dad said about him being adopted and all. Wait a minute, he thought. If I'm adopted ... He turned towards the mirror over the sink and got a surprise. He looked different. In fact, he didn't really look like he belonged to the Orr family. He was still male, but everything else looked different.
In the mirror, he saw ...
