(Yes, I realized my own chapter had a mistake...)
The past nine months had been strange.
Some of it was because Sarah's wishes had changed reality just like any other stone wishes. First of all, Karyn had had sex with Jon less than a day before the time of the wish, and Jon's sperm was inside her. Jon himself had died in a car accident immediately afterwards. So as far as everyone knew, the child was Jon's. Nobody knew that that history was fake and the child really was Jon.
Then, Karyn had been discovered paralyzed. That had happened because Sarah had wished Karyn would freeze. Sarah couldn't reverse the wish, so Karyn stayed frozen. In the new reality this was caused by a mysterious illness that, fortunately, cleared up after a few days in the hospital.
But the biggest strangeness was Sarah.
Sarah had had nine months of free use of the stone. Or did she?
Sarah needed someone to gloat to, and stopped by to wish that Karyn would remember reality no matter what change she makes. Jon would remember too, but Jon was in her womb and in no condition to do anything about it.
Then every day or so Sarah dropped by just to gloat. Sarah was now the head cheerleader. She was a straight A student. Her rival had been changed into a boy, was the captain of the football team, and was dating Sarah. There was a party held in Sarah's honor because everyone liked her....
Except a week later, Sarah didn't come by. When Karyn asked her friends about it, nobody could understand it. She had mysteriously disappeared. Sarah's family was searching frantically; Sarah's picture was on the Internet and even had been put up on signs asking "Has Anyone Seen This Girl?"
Of course, even wishes that would normally cause Sarah to be erased from history could not. After all, she had wished to be a straight A student, had wished to be dating a particular person, and a whole bunch of other things. She couldn't do or be those things if she didn't exist, so no wish could make her stop existing--it would reverse the other wishes. Wishes would have to happen in other ways--"Straight A Student Mysteriously Disappears" would leave her as a straight A student, just a missing straight A student.
Or in this case a petrified one. A few months later, Karyn was wheeling a carriage with her through the park, carrying the newborn Jennifer. It was February (since it was 10 months after spring break), but the weather was mild in this area. Jennifer began to cry, and Karyn guessed why, since her diaper had just been changed.
Karyn picked up the newborn Jennifer and pulled her shirt and bra aside. "I'm sorry, Jennifer," she said. "I know this is embarrassing..." The bay nodded, but still eagerly drank from Karyn's breast....
When she had cleaned up and Jon was back in his carriage, she went farther on into the park--a place where she hadn't been while pregnant since she couldn't walk very far. And in front of her was a statue--one she recognized.
Sarah McMillan.
Sarah was stone. Apparently, although people still remembered Sarah, nobody connected the statue to her. And why would they? Nobody who didn't know about the stone would ever have suspected that someone actually did turn to stone--they'd think it was a crazy coincidence. And the statue of Sarah was holding onto a rock that, of course, Karyn recognized.
Karyn touched the rock. She tried to pry it loose, but it wouldn't budge. "I wish this rock would come loose and fall into my hand."
The rock came loose, leaving the Sarah statue clutching nothing.
"I wish I knew why Sarah is stone."
It was another stupid wish, the kind that an arrogant person like Sarah might make if she kept making wishes without thinking about the consequences. Sarah had wished that she would turn into stone until she decided not to be stone any more. But when she turned into stone, she had no thoughts. Which meant she couldn't decide anything... so it was permanent.
There may have been a way to reverse that, but Sarah got what she deserved. Besides, there were bigger problems. Like, Jon was now her child Jennifer. And the wishes were too specific... she couldn't make Jon not be a girl or not be her child. She couldn't even wish Jennifer could talk, since she had to act her age and babies her age can't talk. But then, Karyn got an idea. "I wish...."
