... very sexy, but no one I’d ever seen before.
She was screaming. I wished she would believe that there was nothing wrong with her being naked on a public street in broad daylight.
She kept screaming. And I realized this really wasn’t right, so I wished that her clothes were back on her, and then I wished that she and everyone around would forget what happened.
Her clothing reappeared on her body, and she stopped screaming. But, the way she looked at me and everyone around her (and the way everyone was looking at her), made me realize she hadn’t forgotten what had happened.
“I wish I had never made that wish,” I whispered to myself, not realizing what I was saying. But, when I did, nothing had changed. I was still there, the woman was still there, everyone was still there and everyone knew what had happened.
I decided to try one more time. “I wish it were a few minutes ago, just before I wished that this lady’s clothes had disappeared.”
I looked at my watch as I made this wish. Again, nothing happened. The hands kept ticking on as always.
“I wish I knew why my wishes didn’t work just now,” I said.
And then, I did know.
The ring could not affect the mind. The ring could not undo what had already been done. The ring could not send me back into time or change time.
So, the ring did have limitations, rules, even.
And that meant I had to be very careful when I used it. But, could I be that careful? Could anyone?