She chuckled at the absurd imagery, but I saw the seriousness creeping back into her eyes. "Yeah, you're right. We need to be careful. So... how do we do it?"
I shrugged, thinking aloud. "We start small, I guess. Local issues. The food bank, maybe, or the homeless. But again, how do we phrase the wishes? We can't just wish there was no hunger or homelessness. That's too vague. We don't know how the stone will interpret it."
"We could start with specific individuals," she suggested. "Like, I wish Mr. Henderson had a steady job, or I wish the Johnsons always had enough food in their pantry."
"But wouldn't that just be putting a band-aid on a much bigger problem?" I countered. "It's a start, sure, but we need to aim bigger."
She nodded, deep in thought. "Alright, let's brainstorm. What about wishing that the food bank had enough resources to feed everyone who comes to them? That's specific, but it still targets a larger issue."
"And that it never runs out of resources," I added. "I think we're onto something here. But what about other issues? Education, healthcare, climate change?"
"I wish our school had the funding it needs to provide quality education," she mused, "or I wish our hospital had the staff and equipment they need to treat everyone effectively. But climate change... That's a tough one. It's so broad and global. We can't tackle that alone."
"Maybe we can wish for greater awareness and action in our community," I suggested. "I wish for increased environmental consciousness in our town. I wish our local government implements effective sustainability practices."
Karyn nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "This... this could actually work, Jon. We could make a real difference. But we need to be cautious and take it slow. Are you ready?"
I breathed out, nerves fluttering in my stomach. I had an incredible power, and now, a plan. "Yeah, Karyn. I'm ready."
