Although Zoe already remembered the current situation as normal, there was one new thing she certainly didn't think of as normal. Her mother said she was a guy and she had never acted like that before.
Because of the previous wish she knew that it was true, but she still didn't want that to be part of her life. So she wished it away.
"I wish everyone except us Zoes doesn't know about this stone and doesn't know that Mom was anyone other who she is now!"
Jon scratched her head.
"Mom?" said Zoe #2. "Is something wrong?"
"Yes, dear, something is very wrong. What's your answer?"
"To what?"
"To what both of us just finished telling you and your cousin. Are you going to clean up the hair dye on the bathroom floor?"
Zoe started to suspect what had happened. She sighed, as if she would if that had actually been why they were called in. "Yes, Mom," she said.
"And you?" said Sherry to the other Zoe.
"I'll do it," said Zoe, a little puzzled, but playing along.
In one of their rooms, Zoe #1 looked at Zoe #2. "Well, that's one thing you have that I won't. A magic stone's a lot bigger deal than a poster."
"Don't be silly," said #2. "I wish," she said, "that this stone belongs to both of us and that we'll share it with each other forever."
Zoe #1 hugged her cousin, smiling... but then noticed that something had changed. There was a small box on the bed that hadn't been there before.
In the box was a piece of paper, which Zoe #1 unfolded and they both read. The paper was, of course, a statement that their grandfather had willed the stone to them, and his description of exactly how to use it. Soon they not only knew exactly how to use the stone, but they figured out what had gone on.
"I see..." said Zoe #1. "When you used the stone it changed reality. It didn't just wipe our Moms' minds, it changed reality so they never knew... which means that they called us in for some other reason. The hair dye. And then when you wished it belonged to both of us... well, it was willed to both of us, and we got the instructions."
"Right," said Zoe #2. "But I think we can wish away the mess in the bathroom. We never did it, anyway."
"We never really did anything," said Zoe #1.
"Yeah," said #2. "Not like we are, anyway. This explains a lot. What are the odds that we're as similar as twins, even if our Moms are twins? And that we're named the same? I mean, it could happen... there's no law against naming someone the same as their cousin... but it doesn't happen a lot."
"It doesn't matter," said #1. "We've lived a life as identical cousins. If we just discovered that we're really similar because we're the same person, then that's great. It makes it a little less strange. And now we have a magic stone."
"... which can do anything," said Zoe #2. "Let me try one other thing." She picked up a picture of Jon, Sherry, and both Zoes, and said "I wish that Mom and I had red hair for the next five seconds."
The wish worked. Zoe (#2) became a redhead. So did Jon in the picture.
"It doesn't go with our clothes," said #1. At about that point, the wish ended and the other Zoe had dark black hair; and the picture changed back.
Zoe #2 handed the stone to #1 and said "You keep this for a while. I just wanted to test something."
She took the stone, and said "I don't know what... wait, I get it. You wanted to test the wish about being the same."
"Exactly," said #2. "Wishes can't be reversed. A wish made us similar. I was worried that that means we can't wish to become different, or make our Moms different."
Zoe #1 nodded. "But the wish just said that Mom and Aunt Sherry have to be more like each other than before. It didn't say how much more. As long as they're at least a little bit more alike, we can make any changes we want."
"Right," said Zoe #2. "So nothing we do to ourselves will contradict that wish. Most things we do to them won't contradict it either... even Mom just being a woman is still enough to make them a little bit alike. We can pretty much use our stone as we want. By the way, got any ideas for it?"
Zoe #1 looked at the stone, and thought....
