"We wait."
"Excuse me?" asked Jen.
"The stone has been used non-stop, right? Well, maybe we should just wait. You know, so it has time to recharge itself."
"Is that how it works?"
"From the reading that I've done ... yes. Otherwise, how do you think it's survived all these years, or even centuries? It waits for its next user and recharges itself while its waiting. But you got it right after your grandfather had it. There was no waiting period."
"Zoe, I'm not sure it really works that way."
"Hey, you asked for my advice and I gave it to you. You don't have to like it, you know."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's obvious that you don't want to wait. You want to use the stone now, not later. I can see it in your eyes. Don't deny it."
"Okay, well, you're right about that. But if the stone keeps messing things up, why bother using it?"
"Okay. Well, you should put it away now, Jen. Give it a rest."
Jen wasn't listening to Zoe. She was looking at Karyn, who was walking their way. "Hey, here comes Karyn. Wait, what happened to her?"
"What do you mean?" asked Zoe.
"Her breasts are back to normal, and her hair."
"Back to normal, how? As much as I remember, she's always looked that way."
"Well, she did, originally. But she made a wish yesterday, when I showed her the stone, to have big breasts and blond hair, like Sarah used to have. But now she's back to normal."
"So?"
"The tomboy wish that Mom made reversed the wish that Karyn made. The stone isn't supposed to let you do that. You can't reverse wishes. That's one of the rules."
"Apparently not anymore. Jen, that stone is bad news. If this new piece of info doesn't tell you that, then nothing will. Put it away. Give it a rest."
"For how long?"
"A while."
"Days?"
"More like months ... or years."
"Years?! I can't wait that long."
"You're gonna have to. Unless you want to make messed up wishes come true."
"What if it was an emergency? You know, times when it really couldn't get much worse."
"If you want, but I still suggest that you wait."
Karyn crossed the street, waving at Jen and Zoe. "Hey guys!"
