[Rei-Lin]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PART IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sally woke up on Monday, the same as usual, got up and did her morning chores. By noon she saw her parents coming down the driveway and decided it was time to show them the coin she'd found. She went outside and welcomed them home, helping them bring their luggage inside. They asked the usual questions about how things went, and Sally told them just fine as usual. Once her parents had gotten settled back in, she asked to talk to her mom for a minute in the kitchen to which she agreed. Once there, Sally pulled the coin out of her pocket and showed it to her mom, asking her if she recognized who it belonged to. Her mom looked it over and when she saw the side with the moon she gasped and looked up at Sally. Sally asked her mom what was wrong, and her mom replied that she thought she'd lost this coin years ago. Sally asked her mom what she meant and her mom told her that this coin was something that had been in their family for a few generations. It was passed down to her from her mother, and passed down from her mother's mother. She said it was a good luck charm, and at one time had been set into a ring so it could be worn on the finger. Sally asked her mom why she found it out near the barn and her mom told her that years ago when a nasty storm set the horses scattering around the field, they went out to heard them into the barn. She had forgotten to take the ring off before running out there, and in the confusion the coin much have gotten dislodged from the ring mount and trampled into the mud by one of the horses. She told Sally they looked all over the field for days, and that losing the coin made her feel really bad because it was a family heirloom.

Sally thought that it was good fortune that it had become uncovered from the traffic in and out of the barn, and she was glad to have found it for her mom. Her mom smiled and said that it was no longer hers, since the good luck of the coin was obviously meant to shift to Sally. Sally told her mom that it was her pleasure to have found it and that she should keep it, but her mom insisted that Sally take it, saying that she was old enough for it to be passed to her now as her mom placed it back into Sally's hand. Her mom smiled and gave her a hug, saying she hoped the coin would bring her good luck through college. Sally smiled and thanked her mother for the gift, and said she was sure it would always bring her luck. Sally headed back upstairs, closed her door and grinned from ear to ear. She was overcome with joy that after all the worry she had all summer long, the coin was actually hers now. The next full moon would be just a couple days before her college classes started, and she was full of excitement as to what her next wish would be. She would think hard this time, unsure what direction she would go. She wondered if she could wish for money, or world peace, or just about anything else she could think of. As she thought about it though, things like that would be pretty selfish things to wish for, though she figured she should at least try something small, to sort of test the waters. She wouldn't want to use her wishes for the wrong reasons, or jump the gun and make a wish that could hurt or even kill somebody, especially if it was made out of anger or jealousy.

Sally laid back onto her bed and decided to think about the great gift she had been given, and how she would use it next time. She thought she'd have to be careful, especially in college, since she'd be around many other people. She shuddered to think what might happen if she asked to transform into some animal and a roommate or friend happened to walk in on her as she changed. Needless to say, she was sure it wouldn't be a good thing for her. Then she came up with a good solution, that being she'd get a decent part time job and pay for a small apartment off campus, that way on the full moon nights, she could be alone to test out whatever wish she wanted. Sally grinned and giggled just as her mother walked into her room, commenting that her daughter seemed in high spirits. Sally agreed with her mom, and said she was happy about the coin being given to her after thinking it belonged to one of their customers. Her mom just smiled and mentioned that next weekend they'd go into town and find a nice ring mount that could hold the coin in a better way so Sally wouldn't have to worry about the coin getting lost again. Sally nodded in agreement and told her mom her idea about getting an apartment in college, to which her mom also nodded in agreement, since in fact, her mom had thought about doing that anyway.

The rest of the week was normal as could be, Sally helped her parents with the chores, and Sally did runs into town to pick up groceries and supplies for the farm. During the week several of their customers returned with their horses needing some serious attention in the way of grooming and cleaning. Sally always felt sort of sorry for some of the horses as some of their owners didn't seem to care much about the horses outside of just riding them. Some owners weren't like that of course, but Sally did wish they all cared just as much as she did about such beautiful animals. By the weekend only a few horse owners hadn't brought their horses back and things were mostly back to normal as Sally prepared for college. As her mom had told her, they drove into town on Saturday, down to the local jewelry store to find a mount that would hold the coin far better than her last mount. The jeweler took a few measurements and it didn't take him long to look up a couple different designs for mounts that would work. They all cost a few hundred dollars, but Sally's mother didn't mind at all about the cost, and got the best mount she could. The jeweler took the coin and mount into the back room to get to work getting it mounted, but just before he disappeared into the back room, Sally made sure to tell him to place the moon side of the coin up. The jeweler said it wouldn't be a problem.

While they waited, Sally and her mom had idle conversation about her up and coming college classes, and what Sally was thinking of doing with her future. Sally was thinking of going into a medical field, or perhaps becoming a veterinarian, since after all she already had quite a bit of experience with animals. Her mom gave Sally a quick hug and told her she loved her, and that she'd make a great veterinarian if that was what she really wanted. Sally thanked her mother for the ecouragement, but admitted that it was still a little early to make the decision concrete. Thirty minutes later, the jeweler came out from the back room and allowed Sally's mother to check over the coin in it's new mounting. She seemed very satisfied as the coin seemed to shimmer in it's new gold ring setting, and handed it to Sally to try it on. The ring fit perfectly onto her finger, and she smiled wide, thanking the jeweler for his excellent work. They followd the jeweler around the counter and paid the $475 for the mounting. Sally thanked her mother again for the mount and she said it was worth it to have the coin back where it belonged. They walked out of the jewelry store and headed for home. The rest of the evening, Sally helped her mom make dinner, then after having dinner, helped her was the dishes before heading to bed. Sally didn't take the her new ring off, deciding that she'd keep it on from now on, except if she made a wish that might change her into something other than human. Sally giggled a bit, knowing that before she had found this coin that she'd never have been thinking about actually becoming something that wasn't even human, and here she was trying to make sure she didn't ruin the ring or even her clothes with her wishes of transformation. Sally drifted off to sleep, dreaming of her last wishes and in minutes she was already in a deep sleep.