The stone continued to warm itself as I finished speaking and I had to close my eyes against the blinding flash of light. Even though the flash had gone, and the rock once again felt cool against my palms, I found it difficult to open my eyes again. What was I going to find? Had it worked? If it had, then what?
After a moment that seemed to stretch itself out into an eternity, I finally worked up the courage to open them...
When I did finally open them, I had to close them and open them again to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Now, understand, I'd made a few small wishes even before I'd introduced Karyn to the stone. None of them had been much bigger than the little color trick with the twig though. They'd been experimental wishes, testing the boundaries of what this little rock was capable of. I'd seen it make little changes, the largest being Karyn's new endowments. Even after seeing that though, I'd never imagined it was capable of anything as impressive as this. My wish, unlike the other small offerings I'd played around with, had changed the fundamental nature of my existence, and I'd half expected it to crap out on me.
I'd been wrong.
The room I found myself looking at was a far cry from the Nerd Haven I'd been sitting in a few seconds ago. It was the same size, but that was where the similarities ended. The bed I was sitting on, for one thing, was larger and far more comfortable. The blankets were white and a little lacy near the top and felt so soft against my palms. The posters were all gone, at least the ones I'd had up before. There were still a couple up, but unless I was mistaken, my arsenal of posters and memorabilia hadn't contained anything having to do with the Jonas Brothers. I had to admit they were kind of cute though.
The old furniture was gone and I have to say I didn't mind very much. My computer desk, even my night stand and bookshelves had all been about ready to fall apart before. Now I had a rather nice computer desk with sleek black laptop computer, and a CD rack amongst other little features. My nightstand had a tiny statue of a horse next to a creme colored lamp and a light purple alarm clock. The bookshelf was hard to read from my position on the bed, a position that I was having a hard time giving up. I hadn't even been able to bring myself to look down at my new body yet. My pulse was already racing enough. From here though, I could see the hardcover editions of the Twilight Novels.
Against the far wall, at a slight angle that prevented me from catching a glimpse of my reflection, was a large dresser about two and a half feet tall. On top of it were, well from what I could tell, many of the tools of the feminine trade. I could see tubes of lipstick, and mascara lying about amongst other things.
It worked! I thought, a mixture of glee and fear passing through my body. I still couldn't believe it. This has to be a dream, I thought. There's no way this can be real.
"Time for dinner!" I heard my mother shout from downstairs.
"I'll be down in a minute!" I shouted, followed by a gasp. The voice that had shouted down to my family hadn't been my own. It was much softer and the pitch was a little too high.
"It really worked," I whispered softly. "I can't believe it." I shook my head nervously. I'd avoided looking down at myself because I wasn't sure I could handle it. Now I decided it was time to face this full on.
Slowly, trying to muster a courage I wasn't sure I possessed, I stood up. I noticed right away that I was a little shorter, and my body felt lighter, at least in places.
"You can do this Jon," I whispered encouragement to myself as I slowly made my way toward the mirror. My balance was definitely a little off, and if this had truly worked, I had a pretty good idea why.
Finally, I walked up to the mirror, standing beside it just outside it's range for a moment. Taking a deep breath, I stepped in front, not exactly sure how to prepare for whatever might greet me.
