NOTE: Please make sure you read up to this chapter to understand the "rules" for this branch.
I looked at her. She was starting to look very scared. I felt like crap for doing this to her.
"I wish you were your real age again," I said softly to myself. Instantly, Frieda returned to adulthood. Then, I spoke to her, calmly, reassuringly (I hoped).
"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to change you or do anything else to you. I didn't mean to do any of this to you. I just ... " (Careful, don't want to tell her about the ring) " ... got some, well, powers that I didn't think would actually work. If I'd known I was really going to make you naked on the street, I wouldn't have done it."
"Wait a minute," she said. "What do you mean 'powers?'"
I looked at her. She had a full head of dark, brown hair. I said "I wish you were a blonde."
Immediately, her hair turned a dazzling shade of yellow. Looking at herself in the mirror, she gasped. "How did you do that?" she asked. "Did you use some kind of dye on me?"
"No. You're probably blonde, um, all over. I'll turn around and you can check."
I faced away from her and heard a snap, a zip, and clothes rustling. Then, there was a gasp. After more rustling, zipping, and snapping, she said "You can turn around."
She stared at me in wonder. Her fear was going away. I was worried her anger might come back, but it didn't.
"You can get what you wish for?" she asked.
"Mostly, yes. I can't go back in time and change the past, and I can't affect the mind. I only brought you here to try to reassure you. And I want to make it up to you, if I can. I think I can make it so you can win the lottery. Or just about anything you want."
She thought for several moments, then ...