I could only gape in amazement as the girls clothes vanished before my eyes, leaving her completely stark naked. I could feel my face growing hot with a mix embarrassment and excitement. What was even more amazing was that it wasn't up until that moment that I realized I knew who she was.
Her name was Tabitha and she was my incredibly beautiful neighbor and she was a sight to behold now that she was exposed to the world. A thin, well-trimmed body, smooth alabaster skin, luscious hourglass curves, long red hair that came down in soft curls to the center of her back, luminescent green eyes, and a flawless face that could only belong to a goddess. I had always had a bit of a crush on her since we were young and we had always gotten along quite well, but she was a senior and I was still only a freshman. I had to admire her from afar while I watched her go out with one idiot boyfriend after another over the years. I had to live my whole life living with nothing but my fantasies and daydreams of the girl I liked, but now here see was in all her glory... on a sidewalk in the middle of town... with people staring at her as she attempted to cover her naked body... and she screamed her head off in both terror and humiliation.
Oh Boy, were the first words to come to mind.
It suddenly dawned on me how big I had goofed up and felt ashamed of making such a dumb wish. Of course, I couldn’t have known the ring was real magic, I was just fooling around. As far as I knew, the old woman was just some senile old nut or didn’t realize I was too old for stupid kid’s games about wishes being real. Well, it was real, alright. I knew that much for sure and I needed to fix my mistake, fast.
I took a moment to formulate my wish, not knowing what kind of limitations and rules were applied to the ring. Hey, I’m no expert on magic. This stuff’s entirely new to me. After a few seconds I came up with a good wish and just in time, too. A police car was pulling up and Tabitha had managed to gather enough sense to do something else other than stand in the open and wail like a banshee: run away.
I knew I had to be quick before things got any more out of hand, so I took a deep breath and said, “I wish Tabitha was fully clothed again and everyone but me forgot all about her being naked.”
I added that last part, just in case, so I didn’t forget about the power of the ring and end up making a repeat performance of Tabitha’s unintentional peep show or unknowingly cause some other, possibly far worse, incident in public. Plus, it would have been a shame to lose such a wonderful mental image of her awesomely bodacious bod. I was going to remember that one for a long time to come.
The wish took effect immediately. Tabitha’s clothes reappeared like they had been there all along and she nearly tripped over her own feet as she clutched her head, her memories rearranging themselves. A moment of silence came upon the busy street as a similar effect washed over all those present. The two officers, halfway out of their vehicle, looked around confused, wondering why they were getting out to begin with and simply shrugged it off without a second thought.
It worked!
I was so stoked. I had repaired the damage I’d done, I got to see my dream girl in the nude, and, best of all, I was in possession the coolest ring ever. With this little beauty on my finger, the possibilities were endless! I could have my every desire fulfilled! For a second, I toyed with the idea of seeing Tabitha’s body again, this time with a much more well thought out wish, but I wondered if that was a good use of my new found power. Perhaps I could use it for more nobler purposes and change the world for the better, like some cheesy hero on a mission.
On the other hand, I could have a lot of fun with this at school and around town. I could even get revenge on a few troublesome bullies at school or play some funny pranks on random people, just for the fun of it. But every single time, my mind would slowly drift back to Tabitha. I had always wished we could be more than friendly neighbors, but it had been nothing more than a pathetic dream that had no chance of becoming a reality… until now.
I had the power to do whatever I wanted, but what did I want the most?