If Only

"Mike! Come on! You gotta come see this!" Charlie said excitedly, her wide eyes bright as she looked back at her friend.
"What is it?" Mike asked, panting as he ran to keep up with his friend.
"You'll see! We just gotta.. Otherwise all the other kids'll know!"
Mike shook his head at the confusion as he ran along after his friends.

"Watch this!" Charlie said, picking up what appeared to be a completely normal stone from a bowl in the centre of the otherwise deserted field.
"Wha..." Mike started to say, going silent as his friend opened his mouth.
"If only I could have a bouncy ball," there was silence a moment before a ball appeared on the ground between them.
"Woah!" Mike said, staring at the ball, then his friend and finally, the stone.
"You have to be holding one of the stones from the bowl," said Charlie. "Here, you try. It'll give you anything you want, so long as you say if only."
"If only we had apple juice." A moment later, a glass of apple juice appeared in both their hands.
"Apple juice?" Charlie asked, staring at him.
"What?" Mike asked. "I was thirsty! And you did make me run. Besides, it's nice. I'll have it if you don't want it."
"No," said Charlie without a moment's pause, pulling the glass close. "I'll have it."
Mike shrugged and dipped his head back, finishing his juice in a single gulp. "If only these glasses would go away," said Mike, and sure enough, they disappeared.

"How are we gonna keep this to ourselves?" Mike asked. "if any of the other kids see..."
"I know," said Charlie, shuddering at the thought. There was a moment's silence before she started frantically stuffing the bowl's contents of powerful, magic stones into her pockets.
"Woah! Wait, Charlie, what are you doing?"
"Well, we can't let anyone else get them, can we?" Charlie asked as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world.
Mike stood, thinking it over for a sheer second before he followed Charlie and started to stuff the stones in his pockets. Between the two, they could take all the stones, and nobody would ever know.

"Mum! Look at this!" Charlie said quickly, pulling a stone from her pocket and holding it up for her mother to see. "All you have to do is say if only and they give you whatever you want,"
"Alright," her mother said uncertainly as Charlie and Mike ran upstairs to play. "Just don't let the power get to your head!" she called after them.
"Kids," said Charlie's mother as she turned back to her husband. "Such great imaginations."

Upstairs, Charlie and Mike sat, seriously mulling over what their next wishes should be.
"I want to do something nice for Mummy," Charlie decided. "If only Mummy had Lyla back," she said and smiled at the satisfied gasp she could hear coming from downstairs.

"It's not is it?" her mother gasped at the sight of her other, now eight year old daughter standing in front of her. She'd gone missing years ago. She hadn't thought she'd ever see her again.
"Hi Mum," said Lyla, smiling back at her mother as if nothing had ever happened.
"Lyla? Oh my! I don't believe this! Wherever did you go? What happened to you?"

"What do you want to do Mike?" Charlie asked upstairs. "What do you want to wish for?"
"I don't know.." Mike sense, dissolving into silence as he thought hard. "Wait, I do know. I know exactly what I want."
"What?" Charlie asked.
"If only I could have a puppy," said Mike and one appeared before him. "I'd think myself so very lucky, that's what I always used to say."
"Now you've got one!" said Charlie excitedly, bending down to give the puppy a pat and laughing as it licked her fingers. "That tickles!" She declared through laughter.

"I've got myself a new best friend," Mike said, smiling as he knelt to allow the puppy to lick his hand.
"New best friend?" Charlie asked quietly, tears forming in her eyes.
"Charlie.." Mike said, looking worriedly up at her. "Charlie, I didn't mean like that, I..."
"What did you mean then?" Charlie asked as a few tears began to fall.
"I meant that I have another best friend,"
"Can you?" asked Charlie. "Can you have two best friends."
"Sure you can," Mike said. "Besides, he's a dog, and you're a kid, like me. So I have two different types of best friends. One dog and one kid."
"Ok," Charlie said after a while, shrugging. "So what're you gonna call him?" she asked, looking at the puppy sitting obediently between them.
"Chip," Mike answered without a moment's thought. "That's what I always said I'd call a puppy if I ever got one."

"What are we going to do with the stones?" Charlie asked suddenly.
"I say leave 'em here," said Mike. "In case we want to make any more wishes. It's more likely to be found at my place. Dad snoops."
"How's he gonna handle Chip?" Charlie asked worriedly.
"I'll tell him I found him," Mike said and Charlie shrugged, a smile forming on her lips.
"Ok. Will you bring him back to play tomorrow?"
"Yup," Mike said, patting Chip's back. "Come on boy," he said. "Let's go home. Think up more wishes. "