“I am afraid there's not much I can do,” Uncle Edmund answered slowly.
“But Uncle...”
“Look, Paulie – it isn't that I don't want to help. And it isn't that I don't understand your situation. I
think I get exactly what's taken place. But, listen to me: this happened when you were fifteen?”
“Yeah, and apparently things have been screwed up ever since–”
“Yes, yes, I said I get that part, Paulie. Don't interrupt your elders, boy. Look, there's such a thing in
magic as a... oh, how should I put this?... a statue of limitations, y'see? Now undoing a colossal foul up
like the one you managed to create, and doing so years after the fact is possible – but very, very tricky.
There's no way an amateur like yourself could do it. You'd only make matters worse.”
“But Uncle Edmund, listen. I don't want to undo it. I want my wife to still be my wife. We just don't want all
the bad karma of leaving this innocent third party, this poor old woman trapped with a life and a personality
and memories that aren't really her own.”
“Look, Paulie – what you're asking is already impossible for all practical purposes. And now you're gonna toss
in additional rules and conditions on top of everything else? I never should've loaned you that spellbook boy.
You're in so far over your head!”
“You mean Eve has to go back to being Timmy?”
“Did I say that? Clean out your ears, Paulie! I said there's no gol' durned way I'm aware of for you to fix
this mess so many years after the fact. But, you may have to accept that if – and this is a big if – now if
there's a method to fix your screw up, it very likely involves Eve becoming Timmy, and the old woman... I
dunno. She'll either go into the afterlife where she belongs or...”
“No! Uncle Edmund, don't say it!”
“There's a good chance she'll become Eve. I'm sorry. That's just the way these sorts of things sometimes work.
But shaddap and listen to me. I can't help you in any event. You're going to have to plead your case to
someone a lot more powerful to me. I can't say what answer you might get. I just wanna warn you, boy: you
might not like the results from this.”
“Who do we need to go see?”
“You really wanna go through with this? Well, it's probably for the best. I'm no spring chicken myself, so I
sympathize with this poor old lady whose life you've turned upside down. I wish you kids the best. Anyways,
you need to go see...”