Stacy rolled her eyes as she saw the name of her ex boyfriend flash across her screen. She answered begrudgingly, expecting some whining or begging for another chance. “What do you want you pathetic creepy loser?” Stacy snapped into the phone. “Hey, Stacy! It's me, Jerry.” her ex said on the other line. “Listen, I just wanted to apologize for how things ended between us. I realize now that I was a bit of a jerk and didn't treat you right.” Stacy furrowed her brow in confusion - this wasn't like Jerry at all. But before she could respond, he continued speaking. “But hey, on the bright side, things have really turned around for me.” Jerry said with a hint of pride in his voice. “I got my act together and landed an amazing job working as a music producer in LA!” Stacy couldn't believe what she was hearing - this loser who had always complained about never being able to hold down a steady job was suddenly successful and cool? “Yeah…that sounds great.” Stacy responded skeptically. The more they talked however, the more impressed Stacy became with Jerry’s newfound confidence and success. Eventually she found herself feeling genuinely happy for him instead of irritated by his presence on the phone. As soon as they hung up however, Stacey began to feel something odd happening inside of her head. Her memories started changing too- As if it was always true that everyone loved him despite their past relationship troubles. “I was completely wrong about him, he moved far away and made something of himself instead of slowly turning into a piece of crap..”
Stacy was taken aback as the world around her seemed to shift and change. Suddenly, Jerry appeared in front of her, looking disheveled and desperate.” Stacy, please” he begged. “I just need a little money to buy a sandwich.” Stacy recoiled at his appearance - his expensive suit had become dirty rags on his body, and his teeth were missing or stained yellow. It was as if all of the success that the ring had given him before was being stripped away in an instant. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if this was another trick of the ring's power. But when she looked into Mark's eyes once more, there was no mistaking that he really did seem genuinely downtrodden. Fishing through her bag for some cash, Stacy handed it over reluctantly, watching as Mark scurried away quickly with muttered thanks.
Stacy couldn't believe what she was seeing. Jeff, the man who had just moments ago been successful and confident, was now on his knees in front of her father in his parking lot, begging for money in exchange for sexual favors. He looked even more downtrodden and disheveled than he had before - with greasy hair and bloodshot eyes. Stacy wanted to look away, but something about the strange power of the ring compelled her forward. She approached them slowly, not quite sure what to do or say. “What…what are you doing here?” She asked finally. Jerry’s eyes widened as he turned towards her. “Stacy! I-It's not what it looks like!” he stammered out. Her father merely grunted and handed over a few crumpled dollar bills before shuffling off down the street without so much as a backwards glance at his daughter. As soon as he was gone, Jerry collapsed onto the ground in humiliation a block down the street. “Please don't tell anyone about this” he begged quietly “I'm sorry” Stacy didn't know how to respond - part of her felt disgusted by what she had seen while another part still felt sympathy for him despite it all.
Whatever the ring's power was, it seemed to be affecting Jerry in a particularly cruel way. As she watched, his clothes disintegrated off his body into nothingness, leaving him completely naked and exposed on the sidewalk. He looked even worse than before - his skin was pockmarked and thin, his veins standing out purple against the sickly white flesh. But that wasn't the worst of it. In front of Stacy's very eyes, he pulled out a small pipe from his sphincter filled with crack rocks and proceeded to light up right there on the street corner. The smell of burning chemicals filled her nostrils as he sucked in hit after hit hungrily. Stacy felt sick to her stomach as she watched him deteriorate further by the minute. This cursed ring had taken everything from him - success, dignity, even basic human decency.
Stacy watched in horror as Jerry’s body convulsed violently on the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head. She took a step forward to help him but stopped short when she saw something strange happening to his body. It was as if all of the muscles were contracting at once, squeezing him tighter and tighter until he started shrinking down smaller and smaller. In a matter of seconds, Jerry was reduced to nothing more than a small pile of dog shit lying on the pavement. Stacy could hardly believe her eyes - how could something so strange happen right before her? Was it really all because of this cursed ring? She looked around nervously, wondering if anyone else had witnessed what had just happened. But no one seemed to take much notice - people walked by without even bothering to look twice at the strange pile of mushy brown substance sitting in front of them. Feeling disgusted and overwhelmed with emotion, Stacy turned on her heel and bolted away from that spot as fast as she could go. She didn't know what kind of trouble she had gotten herself into by putting on that cursed ring, but whatever it was…she knew deep down inside that things would never be quite the same again.