Still, there was only one way to really know for sure. Taking one last look at the girl in the mirror... the ME in the mirror, I turned. It was dinner time, and I was about to find out first hand if anybody noticed. I walked over to the door, slowly adjusting to how differently this body moved than my old one had. I was just about to open it and make my way downstairs when I heard something behind me.
"Not bad," the voice said. "Did it help? Do you feel better about yourself?"
Slowly I turned toward the voice...
Sitting on my bed was a young man, probably almost twenty. He had short black hair that looked like it had probably never seen a bad day in his life, and dark green eyes the color of emeralds. His nose was rather petite for a guy, but he had a strong chin. He was wearing a black suit and shiny dress shoes that completed the ensemble. For a moment, before I thought about the fact that there was some strange man in my room and I had no idea how he'd gotten there, I thought he looked kind of cute.
Finally my mind caught up with the situation. "Who the hell are you?" I asked crossing my arms protectively over my chest, "and exactly how the hell did you get in here?" I did my best to keep my voice down to a whisper. I still wasn't one hundred percent sure that my family wouldn't notice the difference when I went down to eat. I certainly didn't need them thinking I was crazy on top of everything else.
Before he answered me, if you could call what he told me an answer of any kind, his emerald eyes twinkled and I could feel the warmth in my cheeks as I started to blush. When he smiled, I tried very valiantly not to let myself be taken in by it, but there was something extremely charming about this man.
"Straight to the point," he said as he stood up. He was probably almost half a foot taller than my new five foot, six inches, and even beneath the suit and white button up dress shirt, his body looked as though it was in good shape. I had to shake away some of the thoughts that were running through my mind. "I like that," he finally said. Slowly he began to walk toward me. I started to back up.
"I'm a..." His eyes drifted upward, and the expression upon his face told me he was deep in thought. "Well," he finally continued, "I'm not sure your language has a direct translation." He paused a moment, still slowly approaching. That was when I felt my back press up against my bedroom door. "I suppose you could call me a guardian." He smiled softly.
"Guardian?" I asked softly, my breath slowing as he approached. I could feel unfamiliar things going on between my legs and that scared me. "What's that mean? Guardian of the rock?"
He was right in front of me now, our bodies only inches apart. I was doing my best to fight the terrible urge to lean into him, offer myself to him. He was definitely a hottie, and I knew that I'd have been more than willing when I'd been male.
"Yes... and no," he told me cryptically. He ran a hand through his hair, and then began to lean in and I realized he was preparing to kiss me. A million thoughts ran through my head. My entire family was downstairs! There was no way I could let this happen. And yet, I was doing nothing to stop it. Our lips were little more than an inch apart, and I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. My heart began to race, and I started to hold my breath.
"Uh-huh," I whispered, incapable of anything more intelligible than that. He leaned in closer, and just as our lips were about to connect, he pulled sharply away. I felt the entire weight of my body collapse against my door.
"I guess," he began, turning and walking back toward the bed as though nothing had happened, "You would call me a Memory Guardian." He turned and sat back down on my bed, facing me.
"Memory Guardian?" I asked, my body beginning to calm again. "What does that even mean?" I asked, doing my best not to make direct eye contact. I knew that he had to have done something to me. I couldn't believe I was that easy.
"You possess the stone," he began and I nodded, stepping a little closer as I felt my knees could bear the weight again. "When you make a wish, you and anybody else who might be within earshot are unaffected, right?"
I nodded again.
He smiled, "I also remain unaffected."
"If you're in earshot?" I asked slowly, "Of course, nobody who hears the wish is..."
He cut me off, "No, it's not that. I exist outside the stone's abilities."
A sudden thought began to come over me, "Are you the one..."
Once again, he cut me off. It was beginning to become a habit, "No," he told me, "I did not create the stone. I don't possess that kind of power. I've simply been charged with... I guess observing would be as good a word as any."
"Observing the wishes?" I asked, intrigued now.
"More or less," he told me. "It's my job to keep track of the changes that are created, the ripples in reality if you will." He shrugged, and appeared a little put out, "That's not exactly it, but I don't know how to word it any better."
I had another thought, "Did you know my grandfather, because he didn't mention you in the letter."
He chuckled, "I'm afraid your grandfather had to get rid of the stone in kind of a hurry." He paused, "He probably didn't have the time to go over every little detail."
"You know what happened with him?" I prodded.
He simply smiled, "I know much that I'm afraid I'm unable to tell you as of yet. Quite simply you're not ready."
"What do you mean not ready?" I asked, trying not to let my irritation show through. "Do you know what this stone is? Who created it?"
"Yes and yes," he told me simply. "Unfortunately, I cannot reveal either of those things at this time."
I was about to approach him, possibly to grab him by the collar and force him to tell me what I wanted to know, when I heard my door open loudly. I turned around to see my older sister Jill looking at me.
"You coming down to dinner Nat?" she asked, "We started eating already and mom wanted me to make sure you were alright and... um..." I followed her line of sight toward my bed, wondering how I was going to explain this...
