“A... can of coke?” She stared at me with one eyebrow raised. “Really?” “Yep.” “That’s it?” “Well, chilled would be nice, but it won’t be a dealbreaker if it’s not,” I said. “I’ll take what I can get.” “And that’s really what you want the most?” “What else would I want?” “I dunno.” She stared at me. “Most people have a litany, and a coke is usually pretty far from the top.” “What’s usually on the top?” “It varies.” She thought briefly. “Money’s popular. Power. Sex.” “Well, I do like those things,” I admitted. “But you like Coca-Cola more?” “I think the price is right,” I said. “It’s a wish,” she said. “It’s free.” “No,” I insisted. “I’ve heard this story. The Monkey’s Paw, and who knows how many others. Every time someone just gets what they want for nothing, there’s always a terrible downside, and the bigger the wish, the more terrible it is. Like, if I wished to be spectacularly rich, I’d have to deal with...” “With what?” “I don’t even know!” I said. “And that’s how it gets you, isn’t it? People are willing to make wishes for huge things because they don’t see the problems. Then they get blindsided.” “But a coke won’t have a price?” “Well, if it does, I’m willing to pay for a can of coke,” I said. “It’s pretty cheap compared to things like fortune and fame, and if I get rid of my wish now, I won’t be tempted later. I think I’ll just stick to what I can afford and be done with it. I wish for a can of coke.” “Well, then.” There was a sun-bright blinding white flash, and when I could see again she had a red can in her hand. “Here you go.” She tossed it to me with a gentle lob. I caught it by reflex. It was cool, already wet with condensation. Faint bubbling pinged inside from being thrown. “Great,” I said. “Now it’s shaken.” “You didn’t specify not shaken.” She smirked. “Every wish comes with a terrible downside, remember? Your words.” “Well, you lawyered me,” I said, with a self-satisfied smile. “Told you you would.” “I didn’t [i]have[/i] to. I’m just messing with you because you expected it.” “So you wouldn’t have if I hadn’t expected it?” She stared at me. “I’d have given you what you wished for,” she said slowly. I looked at the can in my hand. “Technically, you did give me what I wished for.” “So what’s the difference?” “Wait.” I tried to make sense of that. “You’re saying that if I hadn’t expected a terrible price, there wouldn’t have been one? Or there would have been one anyway?” “You know...” She paused, cocking her hip and putting a hand on it. “For all the talk about how there’s always supposedly a horrible catch, you didn’t ask the question that could have actually told you.” “I’ve read the stories,” I said. “Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes. “Do you think even a single one of those authors has ever actually been granted a wish like this? How would they know?” “So... what should I have asked?” “If anyone ever actually tried to make that big wish for what they wanted most.” She sighed and shook her head. “All the years the ring’s been around, not one person yet has asked me what the last person wished for, how it turned out, whether it was a good idea or not... nothing about the past. And, you know, those who forget history...” “Fine. What did the last person wish for?” I asked. “You don’t want to know,” she said. “How’d it turn out for them?” I pressed. She crossed her arms and frowned. “You [i]really[/i] don’t want to know.” “That bad?” “Or maybe that good.” She shrugged. “Was it good?” “Nope, not answering.” She shook her head. “I got you your coke. That’s all I’m on the hook for.” I studied the can, red and white painted metal coated in glittering dewdrops. It was making my hand cold. There was also a sinking feeling in my stomach. “Suddenly I’m wondering, did I overpay for this?” “That,” she said matter-of-factly, “is entirely up to you.” “I guess it—” I looked up. She was gone. Over the years I’ve examined the ring more times than I can count, but never discovered anything in it other than the mundane, and I never saw that strange woman again. At least I enjoyed the coke.