Although John was busy pondering what path he should take this evening, he could not help but marvel over the sudden appearance of Eli and his “sister” Alicia. The main distraction was John knew full well that Eli did not have a sister.
John Brady had first met Eli Briggs at the beginning of the school year. Both were freshmen anxious to start their college lives and leave their less than stellar high school memories behind them.
John recalled the moment when Eli had entered their new dorm room for the first time with his parents closely following. Unlike John’s parents, who had declined to join him on his send-off to college, Eli’s parents, Frank and Joan, had made the journey so as to ensure their eldest child would not find himself roomed with some social degenerate. They had been overjoyed to learn Eli would be spending the year with someone like John.
The Briggs family had taken John out to dinner that evening and he was quickly anointed as being “part of the family”, an honor which John was very happy to accept. Frank and Joan were very loving and caring. They also lived only a few hours drive from the Maschen University Campus, whereas John’s family lived halfway across the country. During the school year, John had spent many weekends at the Briggs house and had grown to know the family very well.
Frank and Joan Briggs had been childhood sweethearts who had married at the ages of 22 and 19 respectively. Almost nine months to the day of their wedding, Eli had been born. This had always been the source of many ribbings in the Briggs household as claims of Eli being the cause of a “shot-gun wedding” were often made. However, these jokes were all in jest. Frank and Joan clearly married out of love. Pictures of their years in high school lined the walls of the house. It looked as if the two were inseparable from the moment Joan had begun her Freshman year. There were pictures from every notable holiday during that time period and in every one the two were together. You could almost follow the two throughout their lives and it was really quite romantic. Even now, 19 years later, at the ages of 41 and 38, their affection for one another was still obvious to all.
Three years after Eli’s birth came a younger brother named Peter who was now a 16 year old Junior in high school. Peter was a good kid who John actually enjoyed hanging out with when he visited the Briggs’ home. He had to admit at being a bit envious of Peter, though, as the younger Briggs had begun to date, an experience John had never had while in school.
Yes, John knew the Briggs family very well, definitely well enough to know that there was not an older sister named Alicia who could possibly be a 22 year old Senior at the State University. In fact in order for her to truly be Eli’s sister, it would mean that Joan had to have had her at the age of 16. Such an event would have caused a scandal in the close-nit church going community the Briggs were from. While they certainly were not prudes, they were quite religious, and it was doubtful any pre-marital sex had been going on. Beside, the numerous photographs of Frank and Joan on display in the home made clear that Joan had never been pregnant during her high school days.
Even if a pregnancy and birth had occurred and somehow been kept a secret from everyone, that would not explain the way Eli had just brought Alicia into the room in such a nonchalant fashion and made her available for John’s taking.
As John was pondering what to say next, he glanced over at the picture of Eli’s high school graduation which sat upon the bookshelf to their right. John had seen this photo a million times since college had begun and he knew it well. There was Eli in the center, dressed in cap and gown, and then Peter in front of him with Frank and Joan on either side. Now, there was suddenly a new addition to the mix which had never been present before. There was Alicia, in all of her beauty, standing to Eli’s direct right, smiling with her arm around his shoulder. Frank now stood to Alicia’s right instead of directly by Eli’s side.
All of these observations had taken only a moment of time, and neither Eli nor Alicia seemed aware of John’s amazement or delay. Perhaps this was the work of the Voice. So John took another second and asked for the answers he was seeking. He thought to himself: “Ok, care to explain?”
The Voice responded: “Well, you did wish for an eventful evening that you would enjoy. So, I searched your mind and found a fantasy you used to have — quite a bit I might add — during high school that once you escaped that place and came to college, you would have a roommate with a beautiful sister that you would hook up with. Well, here you are in college, with a roommate. But, since he did not have a sister, I had to create one.”
“Create one?” John asked. “I knew you were powerful, but this is amazing. How is this possible? Won’t people notice?”
The voice chuckled: “You still don’t get it John do you? I am all powerful. I can warp reality to anything you desire. As far as the entire world is concerned, there has always been an Alicia Briggs. Unfortunately she has never been able to make it home when you visited, but she has heard nothing but good things about you, and has really been looking forward to finally meeting you. Oh, and don’t worry about her parents. Their past is pretty much intact. Joan now gave birth at the age of 16, but it didn’t cause any stigma or backlash against her. In fact, Alicia’s birth was seen as a normal, healthy and very happy occurrence in their community. And no, I haven’t made it normal for 16 year old girls to go out and get pregnant. I’ve only altered things so that this one pregnancy was perfectly accepted by all. Otherwise, life is exactly as it was before you made your wish.”
“Now,” the voice concluded, “Stop worrying about what I did and how I did it, and start enjoying yourself. The important thing I need to know is if Alicia meets your expectations. If she doesn’t, I can alter her. What do you think?” |