Looking in the mirror, he saw his reflection. Jon was almost exactly the same. Same brown hair, though it was longer now, pulled back into a tight ponytail which reached halfway down his back. His eyes were still blue, though they'd darkened; the countless horrors and trials of a thousand lives, and precious few triumphs, in only fifty short years were reflected in his eyes. No one could bear to meet his gaze. He was pallid, with black circles around his eyes from so many sleepless nights.
The stone was embedded in his skin now, a place made for it next to his heart. Karyn had loved to hold his hand and wish. She had loved to do many things with him. So had his brother, when he found out, and his sister. His parents as well. He hadn't trusted them at first but their wishes were simple and pure. Selfish, some of them, but they had heeded his warnings where he himself hadn't.
His stride was heavy as he wandered aimlessly through his house, the same house his family had once lived in, and Karyn, for the shortest of times. Upon his shoulders was the weight of so many failures. He had seen the light and the hope leave so many eyes. And for it all, Jon was to blame.
Jon found himself longing for any sound but his own footsteps in this empty, silent house. A murky reddish light shone through the windows, one of the many unexpected remnants of a wish. The sun was never there, nor was the moon. They had become child's tales. Though the stone had a range, he'd found many ways to get past that. Closing his eyes, he thought back. A sharp, shuddering breath escaped him as he remembered... everything.
