Later that night,I found myself sitting on the end of my bed, nervously fingering the stone as wild thoughts raced around my mind like Kentucky Derby champions. I didn't consider myself a bad person, although I reflected that nobody probably considered themselves evil. Still, I could do literally anything I wanted and if I was careful, there would be no consequence to speak of. I don't care how good you are, it's hard not to let that go to your head a little.
Still, as I gazed down upon it, images of Karyn and her poorly worded, poorly timed wish came to mind. If I was going to do something with this, I was going to have to be careful. I'd known that from the start, but Karyn's experience earlier today had served to emphasize that point. I turned it around in my hand, reflecting on what I could do, what I would do. I knew that with this tiny piece of earth, I could work toward ending world hunger, or help to bring about world piece. I guess it's just a reflection of human nature that most of my ideas were taking on a slightly more selfish form.
There were things I wanted, desperately needed. I knew that I'd promised to save any more wishing for when Karyn was around, and that promise hung heavy in my mind right now as I contemplated my next move. She was my best friend, and I really did want to share this with her. I knew that what had happened earlier had been an accident, and one that she probably wouldn't repeat at that, and I really wasn't holding against her. Still, as long as I'd known her, as close as we'd become over the years, there were some things that I couldn't even share with her.
That was really what this was all about. I glanced around my bedroom. It was a nerd's haven. There were posters on the wall, most of them science fiction or fantasy related, and a few that reflected my tastes in Japanese Animation. My bookshelves were decked out with books like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and almost everything that Issac Asimov had put out, to name a few. Of course, it wasn't really the nerd label that was bothering me. I caught a fair amount of crap for it, but probably not anymore than Karyn did. That was one of the things that had bound our friendship together over the years. She was into a lot of the same things I was. I wondered if that would change.
If I actually had the guts, actually went through with this wish, the thing I wanted more than anything in the world, would it affect our friendship. I'd have to make the wish without her around, because I couldn't bare the thought of her finding out. Being out of her range of hearing also meant that the effects of the wish would impact her too. I would remember everything, it would be almost like I'd lived two lives, but she would only remember what the wish let her remember. I wondered if I wanted this more than I needed her friendship.
Honestly, I wasn't completely sure. I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking about all the good times we'd had together. Was the release of this pain I'd carried around worth that potential loss? Finally I nodded and opened my eyes. I could hear my family downstairs, and I could tell they were getting dinner ready. If I was going to do this, it was going to have to be now. If I stopped, took the time to go down and eat, I knew I'd probably lose my nerve, and I couldn't bare the thought of that happening.
My mind made up, I closed my eyes again and wrapped my hand tightly around the stone. As I began to say those fateful words, "I wish..." I felt the stone begin to warm my flesh.
