While Ben may be an orphan, life still goes on and that does not leave much room for wallowing and self-pity. He awoke in the sounds of cars honking and the smell of smoke upon the tarmac. The city is waking up, and he is along with it. His bed creaked as he left it. But as he did, he noticed something glinting by the window. The glimmering rays hit him in the eye and he had to reach out his arms and block the light so that he could reach it.
Ben knew his words and stuff - the thing he just grabbed is a Cabochon, a polished gem as opposed to having facets. It is colorless but the rays from the sun give it life with multitudes of colors. It is warm to the touch, and a magnificence to behold. Someone utterly generous or equally dumb must have left the precious thing in the middle of the night. For whatever purpose, Ben could only imagine. The paramount truth, however, is that this gem is mine. Finders keepers are one of the rules of this orphanage, and he thanked his dumb luck that he was the first to find the gem.
Ben was about to pocket the gem when he heard this faint whisper isolated from the thrums of the city. The voice came from somewhere and Ben is oblivious to where it is coming from. As the voice grew stronger, Ben realized the source. It was inside his head.
"Wish upon a star, and wish ye shall receive. A gem of power. A gem of desire. A gem of change. Empty one's mind and think of a person one desires. At the toll of midnight, both lives will experience a change of a lifetime but lucidity is but to the beholder of the gem. But beware, the gem is powerful but nay, it is not infinite. Three chances and three chances are all one shall have. Wish upon a star, and wish ye shall receive oh child of solitude and pity."
Ben is an orphan, but he is not stupid. The voice in his head may have used flowery expressions but he got the general gist of this gem. It may seem far-fetched but hearing that voice in his head made this whole thing legit. As unbelievable and crazy it might sound, this gem allows people to change. Into what form, Ben does not know. And he has only three chances to do it.
Is this it? The change that Ben desperately needed. By fate or by luck, he thanked the voice in his head but received silence in return. No matter. Ben clutched on the gem-like his life depended on it and went to the next part of his day.