As soon as I wished to know her identity, I was transported into an old fashioned living room with old but
well taken care of looking furniture. There was a coffee table with doughnuts and scones on it. Sitting across
from me, naturally, was the old woman.
"So, you finally got around to wondering about little old me."
I was about to speak up, but the woman raised her hand, as if to politely silence me.
"I know all about it, Josie. How did you think I knew that you were the young man I gave my ring to
yesterday?"
"You know all about Haley and--?"
"Yes. And your sister, Ruthie. Great idea giving her access to magic, by the way. Once she gets over the
thrill of merely possessing it, she'll either get bored and throw the wand away, or abuse her power until she
ends up really hurting somebody. Don't worry about though, I trust your mother. She will be a good teacher for
her. She'll focus better with an instructor. Of course, I never needed one. I'm entirely self taught in the
art of magic."
"You're a witch?" I asked, not too surprised.
"I prefer the term 'sorceress', but yes. I'm Livia Blacksmith. Welcome to my home."
So I learned all about Livia, the ring, and how she was more or less a real life version of Doctor Strange,
protecting the world from supernatural threats. She told me how she was looking for a replacement in her old
age, and was slowly scattering magic items across the world to see who was most worthy of becoming the next
guardian of this plane. So far, she said, I was doing a fair enough job. I had self control, and didn't abuse
my power, which meant that I was pure of heart. Whether I did any solid good for the world, and for it's
citizens, was still up in the air. Maybe I would become her successor, maybe not. I was just glad to have the
ring, not just because it was the coolest toy ever, but because I made Haley's life happier since I became her
girlfriend. We talked for hours, and she assured me that when we were done, I would be in class as if no time
at all had passed.
...
"The ring also slows down the aging process. You obviously have the potential to live on forever,
indefinitely, but if you choose to never wish for eternal life like I didn't, you will still naturally outlive
all of your classmates, your children, your children's children, so on. Unless you decide to spare them from
death as well. Guess how old I am."
"Well, you look ninety, but I'm guessing your older?"
"Much older, but a woman never reveals her age." She smiled coyly.
"I thought a woman never LIED about her age. That's how I heard it", I say.
"Well you heard wrong, missy. Trust me, being over a thousand years old will be a turn off to any man or
woman, no matter how kinky they are.
"I wouldn't bet on that. Ever hear of Rule 34 on the internet? And besides, Haley isn't that shallow. She
seems like the type who believes in commitments."
"Have a look into the future and see for yourself."
Silently, you wish to see what your future with Haley will look like...