For the third night in a row, Jon lay with Karyn in her bed.
She was already sleeping, breathing slowly and deeply against him. With one hand, he stroked her side absentmindedly.
With the other, he was holding the rock. He could never get used to it's unnatural smoothness, the way his fingertips slid over it so easily. The way it looked in the orange glow of Karyn's lamp.
He went over the rules again in his mind. He and Karyn had talked them over thoroughly, and in the end, the set they had agreed on was small and simple:
- No changing other people's lives, for any reason.
- No altering the mind.
- No interfering with death.
- No telling anyone else about the rock.
Their lives would be different forever. They would live to a ripe old age, free of disease. But power like this was simply irresponsible to use elsewhere. No matter how good a wish seemed, no matter how wonderful their plans for the world looked, they knew that bending the laws of nature to enforce their ideas could only end in disaster.
Of course, that didn't rule out a little fun.
Jon's talks with Karyn had been pretty serious for the last two days. They had mostly considered wishes with extreme significance. But now that things were settled, Jon wasn't scared anymore. His mind was free to consider smaller, more personal wishes.
Slowly and quietly, he slid out of the bed. She made a little noise as he left, but didn't wake up. Jon opened her bedside drawer and took out the little pad of paper and pen he knew she kept there. He scribbled a quick note:
"Karyn, had to go home, didn't want to wake you. Might not see you tomorrow, leaving the rock with you. -Jon <3"
Jon grinned to himself. This was going to be a little strange, but he thought Karyn would enjoy it too. Once she found out, of course. He put the rock on her dresser so it wouldn't fall, and touched it with the tip of his finger.
