Kelly thought about going to the store alone, but she knew her 'mommy' would be in a panic if she didn't ask her to go with her, that and it would look very bad for a six year-old girl to be wandering around alone.
"Mommy, can we go to this place I saw a while back?" Kelly asked Katie finding her again.
"I suppose so, what's it called?" Katie asked her daughter.
"It's called 'Spells R Us'." Kelly replied.
"I don't know, it sounds like it just sells a bunch of junk at high prices." Katie thought aloud.
'Junk, right, says the woman who was my age just a few hours ago.'Kelly thought.
"Please, mommy?" Kelly begged with a cute little smile.
"Oh, how could I say no to that face. Okay, we'll go there." Katie agreed.
They walked around for a little bit before finding the store. Once they got inside, Kelly was astonished by everything she saw in the store. She thought the store would sell what you might find at a flea market not high priced treasures.
"All this stuff looks like something you would see in a museum. But you know something about this place feels familiar to me." Katie said to herself.
'Gee, I wonder why that is? Kelly thought sarcastically in her head.
"May I help you two?" Came the voice of the shopkeeper. They both saw what looked to be a middle-aged man wearing ordinary clothes.
"Do you run this place?" Kelly asked.
"Why yes little lady, I do." The shopkeeper said.
"How, uh, how long have you been here?" Katie asked sounding a little shy.
"A...long time. But I think your daughter had a question she wanted to ask me?" The shopkeeper asked.
"Yes, how did you know?" Katie asked sounding astounded.
"I very good guess. Would you mind if I talk to your daughter alone?" The shopkeeper asked Katie.
"No, not at all. I just hope I can have a little chat with you later is all." Katie smiled as she walked away.
"Okay mister, listen I wanted to ask you..."
"About the ring and wishes, correct?" The shopkeeper asked.
"Y-yes, but how did you know?"
"I'll let you in on a little secret. My name is actually Merlin, and before you ask, yes, that Merlin. Now I assume that you are not that woman's daughter and are in fact her mother and she is actually your daughter and the two of you have swapped ages due to that ring you have on you?" Merlin stated.
"Wow, you're good. But you see, my mother, uh, daughter, was wearing this ring and just as I managed to get it off her, she inadvertently wished that I never had to grow up. So now I'm going to be a kid forever and never grow up. I'll never be the woman I was before, I'll never be able to be Katie's mother again, she can become little or old no matter what, but because of her little wish, I'll always be a child." Kelly said with a little sniffle.
"There, there little one. It's not so bad, listen I can do something to fix this. As long as you are the way you are, the wish will be in affect and you'll never be able to grow up. But I can fix it in one of two different ways. I can either make it so you have no memories of the woman you were and will always remember yourself as Katie's daughter and you'll grow up normally, or I can make it so Katie has just become pregnant with you and she just stopped by to look around." Merlin offered.
Kelly looked at the ring, then at her adult daughter, who was looking around at all the antiques Merlin sold in his shop. Kelly thought that he must've lived here alone for a long time and had no family of his own. Which made Kelly have a thought to consider.
"So what is it you wish to do?" Merlin asked Kelly.