Jon finally connected all the dots. The little girl was his transformed mother. She had to be! It all fit. The only problem was that she'd transformed herself into the little sister that Jon never had and so she now had all the mischieviousness of a bored 5 year old. And she had the wishing rock!
Jon bounded outside for another round with her. There he saw the 'new' family member: Magic the pony!
"You wished for a pony???" he asked incredulously.
"Yeah! Ain't he coooool!?"
"Isn't" Jon corrected the child.... Correcting grammar was another trait of Karyn's.
"He's not cool?" she said sounding hurt.
"Huh? Oh... Yeah... He's cool... I mean there's no such word as 'ain't'. You should've said 'isn't'."
"Oh" she replied uncaringly.
"Listen, I was thinking...."
"I can't hear you 'thinkin'" she said.
"No... I MEAN I was thinking and I want you to LISTEN to what I thought of! Sheesh!" Jon replied becoming annoyed by his child mother.
"Oh..." she said.
"Since Mom is gone wouldn't it be cool if you were mommy while she was gone?"
"I dunno? Why?"
"Well... ummm ... because! Doesn't that sound fun? You'd be in charge!"
"I think I'm in charge anyway 'cuz I got the wishin' rock!" she said giggling.
"Yeah... wellll... uhhhhhhh.... geesh! You'd still have the rock. Just wish to be mommy again" He said.
"Again?" she asked.
"Oh... uhhhhhhh yeah... uhhhhhhhh You were uhhhhhh.... welll... Just make a wish to be mommy, OK?"
"But I don't wanna be mommy when I grow up!" she complained listening to the boys playing across the way "I wanna be a cheerleader like on TV!"
Jon turned to see the TV on in the house. "But if you were mommy, then you could be what you wanted to be." Jon said, brushing his long hair from his face.
"I don't want to be mommy." Jon's young mother said. "You are a girl and think being mommy is so much fun, you be the mommy and I'll be the cheerleader."
"No. I don't want to be mommy." Jon said. "You'd make a better mommy." He added trying to put a positive spin on being a mother. "I'd be a bad mommy. I am not female enough." He added in a whisper that no one was to hear.
But his young mother heard. "You are too girl enough. You are pretty. I wish you were my mommy and would let me be a cheerleader when I grow up."
Jon started to shout "No!" but it was too late.
