Months of time passed, and now I rarely saw Sarah. Part of me was brokenhearted about this (she WAS my best friend), but on an intellectual level...I knew it was best. Sarah was unpredictable and scary as heck...and had the ability to enforce her crazy opinions and desires on me.
Granted, I did spend quite a while wondering what she was doing. Some days, she didn't even attend school. Others, she'd be there...but be too busy for me or her other friends. She must have been using the wishing stone for something, but whatever it was I couldn't even guess. I'd only had it for a very short while. Maybe it was having some strange effect on her that I couldn't understand.
One year later...couldn't care less.
Sarah vanished for some time at school, and reappeared on occasion for short periods. She was the President for a few weeks. The Queen of the World after that. She was a pop diva...then a movie star...then she was our God for a few weeks. Each time things changed, only I was somehow aware of the previous reality...but each time everyone else accepted it as if nothing was unusual. And each time...Sarah eventually grew bored with whatever she'd done, and things went back to normal.
Meanwhile, I was busy with my life...my family...and my career. My parents were always happy, and I often heard Carol and Karyn in their room, making love. I begrudged them nothing, and nolonger had an inkling of what it must have been like to have sex with Karyn. My little sister was old enough to vocalise, and the day she called me "Gabby" I almost cried for happiness. The idea of sweet, innocent Ramona ever having been my father was starting to seem crazy...even though I knew it to be true. She was such a darling. So cute and happy, and my moms loved her so much. I sometimes wondered what I'd do if I ever had the stone again, and...I knew I'd never change my family. My mothers and little sister were too important to me.
And without Sarah there to bedevil me...things were wonderful. Even with the many strange changes in my life, I was easily the most feared and popular girl in school. With my eternally pink outfits, big blond hair and bright red lipstick - paired with my unique voice and accent - I was more 'character' than person. A couple of the girls and I had an idea for me to host a cable access program that was seen by a local network...and picked up as a morning show. "Gabbing with Gabby" ran all through the summer vacation, as a morning chat and call-in show. With my unique appearance and bright pink set (we were sponsered by Mary Kay), as well as ingratiating and chummy personality, we were a big hit. But...I wanted to finish school...and after that, collage...
She appeared out of the blue, one day. I came home, tossed my books on my desk, and there she was. Sitting on my bed and reading my column on the local papers website. Even with my show on hiatus for school I was a popular local figure, had a nightly segment on the local news, and my gossip column "Gabby" was syndicated.
I squealed and waddled to Sarah, arms spread wide in delight. She smiled up at me, and hugged me with almost a mothers affection. I was shocked to see she was crying. I slipped into talkshow mode, lit a cigarette and slid next to her, taking her hands in mine and saying "Hey, doll...what's the trouble, huh? Here, cuddle up wit' Gabby an' tell her all about it."
Sarah shook her head, and said "Nothing I can think of makes me happy. I've been so many things..."
"I remember that..." I said, smiling and tweaking her nose. She smiled and I coaxed a giggle out of her with "...I speant a few weeks prayin' ta you when you made yourself God. Th' church had your statue in it an' everythin', babe."
"That's just it!" she wailed, and I hugged her tightly, letting her cry on my shoulder. I never once thought about how scared of her I should be. She was obviously in misery, and she WAS my best friend. I rocked her, soothed her, and she quieted down, sniffing and wiping her nose "I fucked you all up, twisted your family and made you...made you a joke, and you're HAPPY! I...I'm always unsatisfied with whatever I do, and yet tou seem to be doing great. HOW? Please...tell me how? Tell me how to be happy...like you? I just wish..."
I put one fat finger over her lips and said "Hush, honey. If you're gonna made a wish, you'll do it...but think first, will ya? If wishin' didn't make you happy before, then how will it now? We can't just wish ourselves happy. We gotta take holda th' reigns to our own destiny, an' MAKE our own happiness. You gotta do it in here..." I tapped her chest "...an' here..." I tapped her forehead "...not in wishin' an' stuff. Sweetie, that wishin' stones jus' a crutch, if all you're goona do it change the things aroun' you. Babe, You gotta change yourself."
Sarah snuggled closer to me, and I laid her head against my bosoms. She stopped crying, sniffed a bit, and said "You're wonderful, Jon."
I blinked at that. "Was that my name, honey? Sounds kinda silly now. Jus' call me Gabby, will yah."
She kissed me. It wasn't a quick, darting thing I couldn't avoid. She raised her face to mine, and leaned in. She kissed me slowly, wincing a bit at the taste of tobacco, lipstick and candy that lived forever in my mouth...then slipped her tongue inside. I kissed her back, not missing my penis...but feeling a moistness growing between my cumbersome, keg-thick thighs. She closed her eyes and I saw her raise the stone. I watched it. It was plain and common...but the most powerful object in the world. Maybe the universe. I didn't reach for it.
"I wish..." she muttered, looking into my eyes. "...that I was a lesbian...and that I loved you more than I loved...myself."
A light came into her eyes, and she smiled up at me. She kissed me again, and this time didn't flinch. In fact, she pressed closer...and slipped a hand under my skirt. She undressed me, and I lay on my bed, legs spread and naked. She gasped at my nakid, cumbersome body. A vast, pale girl. Nearly 400 lbs of wobbling, pale blubber...
"You...you're so...beautiful..." she gasped in extacy...and she came to me...the stone slipping from her hand and clattering to the floor...
