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Joy nearly got lost on the root knotted red dirt path off highway 99, losing sight of the gaps between the live oaks and spanish moss that fanned across her hood and windows like fingertips. Driving back to her family's cabin twenty years later reminded her that the woods had rarely been restful to her.

Once, Dad had made her play outside instead of sitting on the cough with her Virginia Hamilton books, and she'd stepped in an anthill up to her shin. she howled so loudly from the vicious stinging that Dad and Mom heard her all the way from the lake, and when they reached her, expected to find her half dead. She'd never forgotten that wild and frightened look in their eyes.

No, Joy did not like the woods.

As she parked the car near the cabin, the air grew colder. The cabin itself seemed untouched by time, its wooden walls weathered but sturdy. The wishing pool lay beyond it, a small murky pond surrounded by stones. Joy remembered the stories her grandmother used to tell, the pool was a gateway to other worlds and a place where wishes come true.

She stepped closer, her breath visible in the chilled air. The water rippled, and she saw her own reflection but a face older, wearier than she remembered. She thought of her childhood wishes, the ones she'd whispered into the pool, hoping for magic, for escape.

Joy bent down, her fingers grazing the water's surface "I wish" she began then hesitated. what did she truly desire now? Fame? Wealth? Love? or simply a way to undo the past?

The pool responded, a whisper or a promise. Joy closed her eyes and made her wish.

When she opened them, the world had shifted. the cabin was gone, replaced by a grand mansion. Joy stood in a ballroom, the air heavy with perfume and music. A masked stranger approached her, his eyes familiar yet unknown.

"Welcome," he said, his voice echoing, "You've entered the realm of wishes fulfilled."

Joy's heart raced. "Who are you?"

He smiled. "A guardian of desires. You wished for a chance to change your past to relieve those moments.

Joy remembered the anthill, her parents' fear. "Can I"

He nodded. "But every wish has a price. For each memory altered, another one fades."  

Joy hesitated, then stepped onto the dance floor. The music swirled around her as she danced with her father and her younger self. she whispered apologies and promises. The anthill vanished, replaced by laughter. 

But as the memories shifted, her grandmother's face blurred, her stories forgotten.

Joy returned to the pool, tears in her eyes. "Undo it," she pleaded. "I want my memories back."

The guardian shook his head. "Wishes are irreversible."

The pool shimmered, and Joy felt a weight lift. She walked away, memories intact, knowing that life held both anthills and magic.

And somewhere, in the depths of the wishing pool, her grandmother's smiled lingered.  

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