Chapter 01: You Are What You Wish
I sat on the wall after class, nervously fingering the box and swinging my legs. It was the first day of school after spring break and had been one of the most stressful I'd ever endured. I hadn't dared carry the box around with me all day in case I misplaced it or someone thought they might borrow it, and that meant leaving it in my locker. That turned out to be an even worse plan - I was on the edge of my seat throughout every lesson, worrying that someone would break into my locker and take the box. It was irrational anxiety and I knew it: the lockers were all well-protected with combination locks, and it was vastly unlikely that anyone would ever keep anything in there which was particularly valuable. Plus it was a good school; everyone was pretty honest in general and we'd only had a very few incidents if theft in all the time I'd been there.

I was waiting for Karyn, my best friend of longer than I'd care to mention. In fact, I'd been waiting to talk to her for over a week, but she always spent spring break with her parents in their caravan in the mountains and we had no classes together this year, so this was the first chance we'd had to get together for a while.

Finally, I spotted her strolling towards me across the yard. She was wearing her usual get-up of scruffy old slacks and her favourite worn old green jumper. Her short red hair was in its normal unruly state and she displayed her quirky grin as she spotted me slouched on the wall. The overall effect, I thought, was pretty cute. I'd always thought she was cute, but we'd never been more than friends. There are some friendships you just don't want to complicate.

When she finally reached me, she leapt up onto the wall with somewhat more ease than I'd managed earlier.

"Hey, Jon-boy! How's it going? Good break?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Was okay. You?" I asked.

She shrugged, "You know, same-old, same-old. There's only so many snowy mountain peaks you can gaze at in wonder in a lifetime. I might have to give the old spring break tradition a miss next year and just hang out with you."

I grinned. "That'd be nice. Save me from couch-potato-dom."

"Anything of interest to report while I was away?" she asked.

"My grandfather died." I stated matter-of-factly.

Her face fell, "Oh, Jon, I'm so sorry. I know you were close. What happened? He wasn't all that old, was he? I thought he was off on one of his expeditions just a few months ago."

I shrugged slightly. "Heart attack, apparently."

Karyn frowned. "You don't seem overly upset."

I took a deep breath and took the plunge. "That's because I'm not convinced he's actually dead."

"I presume we're not talking adolescent denial here," she asked, with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, how can they diagnose a heart attack with no body?"

"Oh, there was a body, I'm just not sure it was him." I realised I was probably giving her images of mutilated corpses or worse, but I was genuinely nervous about what I was about to show her.

"Erm. Then what makes you think..." she started, obviously somewhat bewildered.

"This." I interrupted, holding up the box. It was fairly unimpressive, about one inch by four and an inch deep, made of plain dark wood with a few obscure markings carved into it.

"What is it?" she asked, intrigued. I think I was probably playing up the cloak-and-dagger stuff too much, but it was quite mysterious, after all.

"It's my inheritance." I opened up the box. Inside was a rather crumpled piece of paper and a rather unusual, if plain-looking, stone. The stone was slightly metallic, rather like haematite, but with a reddish hue to its surface, rounded, flattish and about an inch across. "Read the note," I instructed her. She did so, with much eyebrow-raising in the process. The note was from my grandfather and what it said was this:

Dear Jon,

If you are reading this, it means I have passed on. Do not mourn my leaving; although we shall no longer be able to spend time together, be happy knowing that where I am now is just a new start and a different perspective than before and that I shall just look at it as my next great adventure.

The stone you find in this box is my legacy to you. Treat it with care, it does not look much, but has immense power. I have entrusted it to you, as my favourite grandson and friend, to be its keeper and guardian now that I am gone.

I found the stone on my latest expedition to South America and I believe it to be of Incan origin. How it works, or where it came from beyond that, I have no idea. All I can tell you is how it works and trust you to use it wisely.

Bear with me on this next bit; I know it sounds fantastic, but trust me when I tell you that I am telling the truth. All I say is real and it will not take much experimentation for you to prove it.

While holding the stone against your flesh (I recommend just holding it in your hand as the simplest approach), simply use the words 'I wish' followed by whatever it is you want the stone to do. There is no limit to the number of times you can do this, as far as I can divine, but beware for the words of a wish can be reinterpreted but not changed once the breath is over. The stone has great power, but is not unlimited. Changes made will be as if it has always been so, apart from for those within earshot of the wish or out of the range of influence of the stone. This range I estimate at several miles, but I fear I have not been able to determine an exact figure.

I must go now. Use the gift I have given you wisely, and think of me often.

Your friend, always,

Grandpa.
~~~~~~~~

Karyn finished reading the note and looked at me accusingly. "Is this a wind up, because it's not funny if it is?" I shook my head. "You can't be serious. If this note is real, your grandfather faked his own death or something similar and has left you a magic Inca stone which grants wishes."

I nodded. "Yep."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Yep."

"Not a chance." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I mean, I'm as open minded as the next girl, but this is just plain silly."

"See that branch?" I indicated a piece of wood that had fallen off one of the nearby trees. I grasped the stone in my hand. "I wish the bark on that branch was blue."

I was used to the sensation by now; it was like momentarily getting something in your eye, forcing you to be unable to look at the object the wish was affecting. Karyn was obviously a little taken aback by the strange sensation.

"Hey, weird, it was like..." Then she caught sight of the branch. Which was bright blue. "Holy shit!"

"Impressive, huh?"

"My god, it really works!?" She was agape.

"It does indeed. Wanna see the scary part?" I grasped the stone again and wished for the branch to be red.

Nothing happened.

"Why didn't it work?" asked Karyn, looking puzzled.

"Because it was contradictory to a previous wish. Basically, you can't undo wishes, which is what makes this thing so scary to me."

"You aren't kidding, that is scary!"

"There is, however, some room for movement: I wish the branch was very dark blue." The sensation was felt by both of us again and when we looked, the branch was indeed a dark, almost black blue, which was a lot more innocuous than the bright blue it had been moments ago. "So, you see I was able to make a new wish which didn't contradict the old one and have it work. The branch is still blue. However, if I was to try and move the branch back to its previous brighter blue, that would fail as it contradicts the latest wish."

Karyn was clearly astounded. "This is great. Scary but great. We can have lots of fun with this."

I wasn't so sure. "I dunno, Karyn, it seems very dangerous to me, I'm thinking of just locking it away and throwing away the key."

"You can't be serious. You have the most amazing discovery ever, and you want to lock it away. How about this: how about we try it out for a while and if anything disastrous happens or looks like happening, then we'll decide to put it somewhere safe."

She was making a reasonable amount of sense. "Okay. We'll use it for a week, but not for anything drastic. We'll have a little fun and nothing more. Agreed?"

"Sure thing. Can I have a go?" I knew she'd ask, and I'd never had any intention of saying no, but she did seem a little over-excited about it. In the end I knew I trusted her and handed over the stone.

Karyn fingered the stone, passing it from hand to hand, feeling its smoothness. The first thing she tried was wishing the branch back to light blue, with no success as I had predicted. She was just contemplating changing the colour of her shoes to better match her old slacks when we were interrupted by a high-pitched laugh.

Sarah McMillan, head cheerleader and class-A bitch, was wandering across the yard followed by her usual entourage of drooling, overmuscled football players and other assorted testosterone-fueled flunkies.

Karyn was unimpressed. "Can you explain to me why men are so shallow? Everyone knows that McMillan is a total bitch and yet, because she has blond hair and big tits, every guy in the school spends half his life dribbling down her cleavage."

"Not every guy," I noted, although I had to admit that Sarah wasn't bad to look at, even though I'd never associate myself with someone with such a untrustworthy character.

"Okay, most guys. There's only one of her; why can't she just pick one and let the rest of us have a go?" She sighed.

I grinned. "Got your eye on anyone in particular?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

She scowled at me. "No. Just a general feeling. God, I wish I had long blond hair and big boobs and maybe then I'd get some of the attention."

I think it dawned on us both at the same time what she had said and we just looked at each other, a look of slight shock on our faces, but it was much too late by then. I found I had to look away from Karyn, as I got something in my eye, or so it seemed.

I knew pretty much what to expect when I looked back, but it was still weird.

To be honest, the breasts weren't really noticeable. Karyn always wore her favourite baggy green sweater and I was really pretty much in the dark as to her bust size before the wish, but presumably they hadn't counted as 'big', at least in her mind. The hair, however, was a different story. It was not only light blond and lying gently across her shoulders, but more shockingly, perfectly straight. It was not, in my opinion, a look which suited her, but then I didn't suppose for a moment she'd been serious with her hastily spoken wish.

Karyn looked down, pulled at her bra and lifted a lock of yellow hair to take a look at it. "Fuck."

"Indeed. This is why I wanted to lock this thing away. This sort of thing was bound to happen." I sighed.

She shrugged and then looked disconcerted at the new things obviously going on in her bra. "Could have been worse. I could have wished..." She realised she was still holding the stone. "Never mind. Here, take this thing back before I mess up some more." I took the stone and put it back in the box, out of harm's way.

"We could make some more wishes to try damage limitation. You were pretty vague." I noted.

"No. At least not yet. Let me go home and sleep on it - on my back - and decide what's best. I don't think now is the time to be rash." With that she was up off the wall and walking away. "Meet me here again tomorrow," she called back before she disappeared around the corner.

I looked down at the box and shoved it in my pocket. I decided that tomorrow I was going to leave it at home, well-hidden from Mom. I figured it was less likely to cause more trouble if it was less directly accessible.

I looked around the now deserted yard and decided it was time to slope off home. Tomorrow was a new day and there was only one way to find out what it would bring...

Chapter 02: A horrible mistake?
Jon sat at home, thinking. "Hmmm, I'm bored. I wish something interesting would happen." he said while holding the stone. "Uh oh, what happened?" Jon asked.

Chapter 03: The Next Morning
In the morning, he met up with Karyn and told her about the wish.

"You wished for something interesting to happen...and you didn't say what? It could be anything," she said. "Like you could grow boobs."

Jon looked at her. "I know. It was an accident. I just wanted to warn you. Keep an eye out. Everything has been boring since last night, so I figured it might happen at school. Since it wouldn't be interesting if I didn't know about it...it's going to be obvious."

Chapter 04: Waiting at Home
Jon had been nervous all day, and could hardly concentrate on his school work. And here it was, seven hours later, and it seemed his incredibly vague and stupid wish still hadn't come true. He would have laughed if it hadn't been so frustrating. The whole time, he could've just made another wish to specify his earlier one. He cursed himself for not thinking of that sooner, and again for having left the stone in his room all day. But now he could just go straight to his room and make things right.

Unfortunately, he never made it that far. As Jon entered the house, he nearly tripped over a pair of shoes that had been left in the front hallway. He was about to go yell at Mikey, until he saw the shoes. They looked like they belonged to a little girl, white with velcro straps across the top and a pink flower on each side. But they were about a dozen sizes too big, clearly sized for an adult.

Jon gulped. He knew this was his wish, and somehow he knew that tripping over a giant pair of girly shoes wasn't the end of it. He continued to the living room with trepidation, but nothing could prepare him for the sight that greeted him there.

Seeing his father lying on his stomach, on the floor, engrossed in a children's coloring book would have been odd enough for Jon. It was the outfit that made Jon freeze. A cotton dress, white on top with a pink short-sleeve cardigan, a ruffled skirt covered with tiny hearts in different pastel colors, and white tights, all sized to his adult frame. The middle-aged man's knees were bent, his stockinged feet waving carelessly in the air. He must have heard Jon coming, because he looked up from his coloring and smiled warmly at his son.

"Hi Mommy!" the man said.

Mommy?!

Chapter 05: Curiouser and Curiouser
"Mommy, are you okay?" the 40-something man asked his son. Jon had been staring at his father for over a minute, his brain still processing the sight of the man that raised him sitting on the floor in a dress with a coloring book. Jon's appearance seemed to confuse Roger as well.

"I... I need to sit down." Jon moved to the couch, while his father stood up and looked at him with confusion.

"Are you sick, Mommy? Why are you dressed like that?" Roger asked.

"What?"

"Well, you never wear pants like that," he said, gesturing to Jon's worn and baggy jeans. "Yours are always nicer. And not so... big. It looks kinda silly."

I'm the one who's silly looking? Jon thought. He wasn't sure he could deal with his father's fractured logic much longer.

"Why don't you go... play in your room. I need to lie down here for a bit."

"Okay," Roger said with a lilt before scooping up his book and crayons and skipping up the stairs. Jon sighed. So this was the result of wishing for something "interesting?" No, that couldn't be it. Sure, his misguided wish had led him to this point. But he had a feeling that there was some other force at work here. He was about to go get the stone from his room so he could find a way to fix things, when he realized something very odd.

He looked over at the staircase that his dad had bounded up just seconds ago. It wasn't right. The wrong shape. Wrong bannister. He looked around the living room. The furniture, the layout, the decor, everything was totally different. There was a room off to the side he didn't recognize. The kitchen was in the wrong place.

This was a different house.

He had been so shocked seeing his father that he hadn't quite noticed. But how did he end up here? He had walked home from school the way he always had, hadn't he? He got up and looked out the window. Different street. Different neighborhood. What the hell was going on?

Jon walked over to a table where several framed photographs stood. There were some photos of his dad, in getups much like the one he was currently in. A formal portrait in a frilly dress, on the beach in a Hello Kitty swimsuit, a princess Halloween costume. Smiling and happy in each one, his physical body was the only trace of a former life.

There were pictures of Jon, too. Wearing the "nicer" pants his father described... women's slacks. A few in dresses, where Jon stood among a group of young women. His pictures, too, featured all smiles. It was eerie for Jon to see images of himself gleefully inhabiting the life of what seemed to be an attractive young woman.

But eeriest of all was a picture where Jon seemed the most happy, the most carefree. The smile on his ruby red lips looked ready to burst from the frame as he was adorned in a beautiful white wedding gown and embraced by a tall, handsome young man in a tuxedo. A man he did not recognize.

Who the hell is that? Jon thought, trying to rack his brain. A teacher? A friend of his parents? Jon picked up the picture and studied it more carefully. Suddenly, he felt a pair of strong hands on his waist, then a brush of stubble against the back of his neck.

"Hello, sweetheart," a voice whispered in his ear.



Chapter 06: Meet the Hubby
Jon spun and pushed back the man who had just grabbed him. The man stumbled backwards, clearly caught off guard by such a healthy shove. He looked up at Jon, confused and a bit angry. And Jon got a good look at his face. It was the same face he'd been looking at seconds before, in the photograph. A bit older, but still not a day over thirty. Was this...

"Honey, what's wrong?" the man said, taking a step forward. Jon backed away, but bumped into the table behind him. Did he just call me honey? he thought. He looked back down at the picture. It was definitely the same man, the man he was embracing and smiling with. This was, apparently, his husband.

"I don't feel well," Jon said. His heart was still racing from the shock of the entire situation, and he was actually starting to feel a bit nauseated.

"God, I'm sorry sweetie," the man said, the look in his eyes changing to one of sympathy, "I should've known. Here, lie down." He guided Jon to the couch. "Can I get you some tea or something?"

"Yeah," Jon said, anything to get this guy out of here for a minute. Jon laid back on the couch, finally alone again. He tried to gather his thoughts. Stay calm, Jon thought, This guy apparently thinks you're his wife. He picked up the coloring book his dad had left on the floor. Scribbled in messy purple pencil, Jon read the words "Roger, age 5." This is all from the stone. I just need to stay cool, once I find the stone I can set everything right. He took a deep breath. At least he still had his wits. He'd just have to deal with it.

The man came back into the room and handed a steaming mug of tea to Jon. He smiled a caring smile.

"Can you tell me what's the matter?" he asked.

"I just feel... out of sorts," Jon said truthfully. Then asked, "Do I look... different or anything?"

"Other than your frumpy clothes, you're just as beautiful as the day I met you." He gently placed a hand on Jon's shoulder.

"What about..." Jon paused, "What about Roger?"

"What's wrong?" the stranger said, "Is she sick too?"

"No, no. I mean... What do you see when you look at... um... her?"

The man went over and picked up one of the photographs, then walked back over to Jon. "I'm not sure what you're talking about. I see our little angel. She's my princess." Then he looked at Jon and leaned in towards him. Jon started to feel uncomfortable. "You're both my girls. I'll do anything for you, Jon. You know that."

The man leaned back. Jon sighed in relief. He thought for sure the guy was about to kiss him, and he wasn't sure how he'd be able to take that right now. Still, everything he said sounded so heartfelt. Jon definitely felt like he could at least trust this guy... even though he still had no idea what his name was.

"So I guess you're not feeling well enough to take her to ballet class?" he asked as he put the photograph back on the table.

"Who?"

"Roger," he said. "She has class in half an hour. But I guess you do need some rest. Don't worry, I'll take her. Besides, it'll give you a break from the other mothers. You just lie back and relax."

Jon bristled at the phrase "other mothers," and the idea that it was some club he now belonged to. But he kept his mouth shut. The man turned away and called up the stairs.

"Roger sweetie, time for ballet! Are you ready to go?"

"Almost daddy!" Roger's voice bellowed sweetly. "Can you help me with my tights?"

The man chuckled and headed up the stairs. Jon tried not to think about the bizarre scene that was probably unfolding upstairs. After a few minutes the two of them came down, with his father in an even stranger getup than the one Jon had seen on him before. Pink leotard, pink tights, ballet slippers, and a shiny pink headband.

"Bye mommy I hope you feel better!" he called out as his "father" guided him out the front door.

"Get some rest," the man said, "We'll see you in a couple hours,"

The door clicked shut and Jon bolted upright. Finally, he was alone. Now he could look for the stone.


Chapter 07: Delayed
Jon checked his black stockings for runs, then sat on the bed and slipped on his stilettos. It had been nearly three months since Jon realized that he no longer had access to the stone. That first night, he searched his new house high and low, but found absolutely zero trace of his former life. He was on the complete opposite end of town now, and the stone was, he felt certain, back at his old home. Probably with some beautiful young woman living his life. Panic nearly overwhelmed him that first night.

Jon was a rational person, though. He managed to calm himself down and think about the situation. He couldn't just barge in there now, he'd probably just get arrested. No, he'd have to wait it out. Just play along for maybe a couple days before he could find time to go to his former home and explain things to the "new Jon." She would at least have to know about the stone... and hopefully hadn't made any more wishes like he had.

The biggest problem, though, was that Jon could never find the time. Between having a full-time job and a family, the days turned to weeks, the weeks into months. And now here he was, getting ready for another day at work.

As he paused to brush a clump of mascara from his lashes, he thought about how stunningly easy his job actually was. He was a local sales rep for a major pharmaceutical company. It sounded daunting and complicated at first, but he quickly realized what it was really about.

The medical field was still notoriously male-dominated, especially at the top. All Jon had to do was show a little leg, open his blouse a little bit, and sit in a conference room for a couple of hours schmoozing with doctors and administrators. In fact, Jon was beginning to enjoy how easy it was. It gave him a sense of power and confidence, which helped him cope with his own situation.

What wasn't easy was how time consuming it was. He easily visited a hospital and two or three clinics every day. By the time he got home he was exhausted, his feet were aching, and he had to deal with Roger. Jon was initially amazed at how much control he had over the man who had once been an absolute authority figure in his life. He was well behaved, but had all of the energy and curiosity of a 5-year old girl... with a 40 year old man's body.

Then there was Jacob. Not Jake. Jacob. That was the man's name. They had, apparently, met in college, and fallen in love. He did something involving trading and stocks. Jon didn't quite understand it. What he did understand was that they were quite well off. The three of them were in a house much bigger than Jon's family of five lived in. There were lots of designer labels in Jon's walk-in closet (which helped with the job), and even Roger showed signs of being a bit spoiled.

Jacob seemed like the perfect man. Jon could understand why this woman would've fallen for him. He was a complete gentleman, a great father, and great husband. Which troubled Jon. There was no way he could bring himself to be intimate with another man, and he repeatedly refused Jacob's advances. Jon had gotten pretty creative in coming up with excuses, but as time wore on Jacob resorted to more and more romantic gestures. Dinner at four-star restaurants, trips to the opera. When Jon came home one day to find a bouquet of roses waiting for him, he really had to fight down the butterflies in his stomach.

All the more reason to try and get the stone back. Maybe he'd be able to finish work a bit early, and head over to his old neighborhood. He at least had to see what this woman actually looked like. He gave himself a once over in the full length mirror before grabbing his purse and heading out the door. The slim pencil skirt, silky blouse, tights, and heels (not to mention makeup) he was wearing probably would have made her look stunning. Although, he had to admit, he didn't think he looked too bad himself.

Chapter 08: Can't Catch a Break
"She did what?" Jon tried to stay focused on the road, but the sudden call had distracted him. He adjusted the bluetooth headset in his ear so he could hear better.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Stone. I guess Roger doesn't know her own strength." That was Lynn Matthews, the kindergarten teacher. "One of the boys pulled her hair, and she pushed him down. He had a pretty bad scrape on his elbow. I'm afraid you'll have to come down here to pick Roger up."

"I'm on my way," Jon said. He cursed as he hung up the phone, then pulled his BMW into a nearby parking lot to turn around. He was just a couple miles from his old house... his old life. It seemed as though every time he saw an opportunity to get close to it, his current life popped up and got in the way. He knew it was such a cliche, but he had to admit: being a mom was a full time job.

If the clack-clack of his pumps wasn't a constant reminder of his endless predicament, the spring air against his nylon-clad legs certainly was. And it was times like this, when he was stressed out, that he noticed even more. He entered the school and found his way to the main office. Ms. Matthews was waiting inside, along with Jon's pouting father. Jon didn't bat an eye at the purple leggings and Hello Kitty tunic the man was wearing; he'd seen the outfit before.

"Ah, Mrs. Stone. Thank you for coming," Ms. Matthews said. Jon looked at Roger, who averted his eyes and kept pouting.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Matthews," Jon said. "Roger's never done something like this." He looked at his sullen father. "What to you say?" Jon asked sternly.

"I'm sorry," he said plaintively.

Jon took his father's hand and led him down the hall and out the door, his head hanging the entire time. Roger hopped into the back seat of Jon's car, and they started off towards home. Moments later, the silence was shattered when Roger began sobbing, out of the blue. Jon slowed down and looked at his bawling father in the rear view mirror.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Jon asked. He may have gotten used to the outfits, but he still never adjusted to seeing his father cry like a little girl.

"It's not fair! I was just tryin' to give Tommy a pretty flower I picked and then he pulled my hair and it really hurt and I pushed him 'cause it hurt. Then he started to cry and bleed. I didn't mean to hurt him, mommy, but he hurt me first an' he didn't even get in trouble!"

Jon tried his best to be comforting. "I know honey. Boys can be mean sometimes. And sometimes it seems like they get away with too much. And you shouldn't let them push you around." Actually, now that Jon thought about it, he was kind of proud of Roger for defending herself. "Just try not to be violent. Next time, get a grownup to help."

"Okay mommy." Roger's outburst ended almost as quickly as it had started. He sniffled a few times, then added, "By the way, Mommy, I think you look really pretty today."

Jon sighed. He had to find a way back to the stone.

Source: https://fictionbranches.net/fb/story/30030