In the middle of the night, Jon stirred unusually.
That dream That horrible dream This stone is going to be bad news for me. He breathed, having seen horrendous sights, weird alternate realities and grotesque transformations.
Realizing that he needed to do something, he grabbed the rock one last time.
"I wish this stone would go away, to someone who could use it, and never come back to me, and that I would never remember having it."
As he closed his lips, the rock disintegrated. Reality furiously rewrote itself. The stone was someone else's inheritance, another person's toy and problem now.
Jon, awakened by something but not sure what, sighed and went back to sleep.
***
A package landed on Keisha Casey's doorstep.
"Huh, what's this?" she inquired timidly as she bent down to pick it up. She shivered a bit. Is it gonna be somethin' from those folks who try 'n prank me? she wondered.
It was a small box, about the size of a book. Her 14-year-old sister Samantha sauntered over.
"Whatcha got girl?" she teased, flipping her ponytail a bit and looking at her sister, two years older.
"Well, I dunno, silly. Gotta open it first!" She smiled and opened the box to find a small-size rock and a note.
"Keisha,
I know you may be wondering what this is, but I found it while going through your grandma's stuff after she died. She was a very powerful witch in her time, and I think you will appreciate it.
The note that went with it said it was a wishing stone, that can grant wishes. It only has a few important restrictions:
#1. Its wishes apply in a limited area where you are.
#2. Only you and people who hear your wish will remember that something changed.
#3. Wishes cannot be reversed.
Best adventures!
Aunt Rachel"
She took the stone and nestled it in her chocolate brown hands. "Hmm, how should I test this ?" At that moment she realized that it probably was not a good idea to have this out in front of the family, so she motioned for Samantha to follow her back to their shared bedroom.
It was a tight squeeze. The two had slept in bunk beds pretty much all of their life. One side was Keisha's, painted a beautiful and mature shade of lavender, perfect for a 16-year-old. The other was Samantha's, where everything was either silver and glittery and pink.
Suddenly, the older sister had an idea. I've hated having straight hair. "What would you think if I decided to rock curls?" she asked her older sister. "That way I can try things out."
"Sure. I can just think you'll look great."
She held the stone and tentatively whispered to it, "I wish I had curly hair." She looked a moment later in the mirror, and her straight hair had turned into longer, curly locks. "It works!"
"Maybe now " Something dawned on Samantha, who was an aspiring cheerleader but whose main concern was the suffering her big sister faced at the hands of bullies - invariably male, invariably bigger than her, and who had put many bruises on her in high school.
"Maybe I can finally figure out how to solve my problem of being bullied by boys. Stupid boys," Keisha replied. She wondered if she should make a wish now, but she decided to wait it out.
