[ WP ] You have a relic that you can touch once a day , and when you do so it grants you a random wish , such as `` stop raining '' , `` have new shoes '' or `` massive world destruction '' .

Simon never had much in life. He was born into a poor family and endured a childhood no child should. 
 
 Sure, if he needed new shoes his parents would do their best to get him some. Even if they *were* second hand. Sometimes he would get called names for not having the latest brands, or for having clothing a few sizes too big for him, or having patched up holes - but it was okay, because one day he met a stranger that would change everything for him. 
 
 His mother did laundry for people, and so one day asked him to deliver some freshly laundered clothes to get himself something nice. After passing under the bridge and through the field, with water seeping through the holes in his hand-me-down shoes, he arrived. Mrs Haroldson was very generous on this occasion, handing Simon a crisp five pound note, and telling him to not spend it all at once. 
 
 Heading back through the bridge staring, bewildered at the note in his hands. He had never owned so much money! Suddenly he heard someone hurriedly approaching him - turning around he saw a cloaked figure with a dark faded hat that shrouded his face in darkness. 
 
 `` What do you have there, boy?'' this man asked in a raspy snarl. Simon told him about the five pound note, saying it was his. `` What a coincidence,'' the man snarled `` I happen to be selling this magic rock for just five pounds.'' A grin spread across what little of his face was shown, giving Simon a glimpse at his missing or blackened teeth. 
 
 Seeing Simon was about to run, the man loomed closer until the darkness from his shadow enthralled Simon, and presented a small rock with strange colours running through it in his clawed hand. Drawn in by the strange appearance of the rock, Simon quickly snatched it from the man, thrust his money towards him, and ran home as fast as he could. 
 
 At first Simon wondered what magic the rock could conjure. As the weeks and months went by he would keep in in his pocket, holding it at times trying to make it do something, *anything*. Then one day he was heading home through the fields near his home when his feet became chilly from the cold water seeping in through his shoes. *I wish I had new shoes to keep my feet warm, * he thought to himself. Suddenly he felt his feet tighten and upon looking down, saw brand new boots tightly laced to his feet. Shocked, Simon dropped what he was holding and bent down to pick it up. Among the dark mud of the field he saw his magic rock, with a line of glowing crystal running through it. 
 
 That was far from the last wish that Simon made. He would ask for mundane things like his favorite meal for supper, or for the regular bullies to be home ill from school on the days his clothes were a shabbier than usual. Sometimes he tested the magic of the rock by for things like a monster showing - but only his father would come through the door, shouting at his mother or smashing his way to bed. 
 
 One day Simon was sat in class when he felt things being thrown at him from one of the regular bullies when the teacher was not looking. He ignored it, hoping the teacher would notice - but he never did. 
 
 On his way home he heard voices calling his name, laughing, catching up to him. Keeping his head down, and trying to stay calm he carried on walking. He felt something snap across his leg, and fell into the mud. Looking up he saw the bully who was throwing junk at him in class. `` We were talking to you!'' he smirked. `` Do n't ignore us!'' Clenching the rock in his pocket, he was thinking of a wish when a boot in his ribs tore his thoughts away. `` Do n't ignore us!'' the bully was shouting, as his entourage laughed along. *End them all now, * Simon begged in his mind. *Make everything stop, * he desperately thought as the kicks continued. 
 
 The last thing he remembered was seeing a strange object in the sky, aflame, blocking out the sun. Suddenly the earth beneath him crumbled as if it had turned into an ocean of lava, and then, nothing. Darkness. 
 
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 This submission is part of my **1,000 words a day challenge**. See more over at /r/asoxus!
