Confession to the Saint

Tom sighed heavily. Then he slowly walked over to the bed, put a coin on it and hugged his wife as gently as he could.

Alice clung to him silently, sensing that something important was happening and letting him collect his thoughts.

It took Tom about five minutes to start talking.

"This coin... Do you see your silhouette on it? It's a magical thing. Look at your nails, what do you see?"

"Um... Well, expensive manicure, wine color, not very long - I'm not some kind of vulgar slut!"

"Look" - simply said Tom, taking a coin in his hands.

"I wish that my wife Alice's manicure would become as vulgar and slutty as possible, while nothing else should change, and Alice herself should notice the change, as well as I."

Alice, with her mouth open in surprise, saw how her fingernails went blurred for a split second, after which they turned into terrifying false claws, almost five centimeters long, painted in the vulgar pink color, and even decorated with some primitive strasses.

It took the girl a few minutes to fully comprehend what had happened.

"So. Wait. With this coin - you can do magic? But - only if I'm involved, right? That's why it has my silhouette on it?" - this Alice was also extremely smart.

"Yes, now don't interrupt me please. It's already hard for me. I did something stupid. Or rather, a couple of stupid things. First, I agreed to take this coin. Second, I decided to try it in action. Let's say your hair color is not original. Initially was the usual, light chestnut" - Tom sighed.

"Well, if the color of the hair is the least of the problems - I can sleep peacefully. I definitely like my luxurious honey curls more" - Alice tried to defuse the situation.

From the first meeting with her eyes, Tom felt an incredible connection, so he felt how tense she was inside and how she was going through. However, even in this situation, she thought first of all about how to protect him, her beloved husband...

"If only... When I changed your hair color - I discovered that the coin can change reality in a retroactive way. That is, change things in the present - correcting the past. So I made my next wish just to test this theory. And - the result was you." Tom covered his face with both hands. He was excruciatingly painful and excruciatingly ashamed to move on to the main part.

"Ah... And what I was BEFORE your desire" - Alice leaned forward.

"Well, you were a little shorter, noticeably thicker - you were 41 years old, this was reflected in your appearance. You were not as loving and gentle as you are now. We swore a lot, which I don’t remember in this reality, but I wished to remember both realities ." Tom paused again.

"That is, you made me younger, more accommodating and incredibly beautiful ... And, let me guess, most likely our wealth is also a consequence of your desire. Am I right? That is, I already know the answer - what's the problem...." - Alice for the first time showed the pain that she had previously kept in herself.

"Yes, and we had children. Already adult children - we lived together for twenty years. And now they are gone. With my ill-conceived desire - I was wipe them out of reality. And now I don’t know what to do, because already I love you even more than I loved before the transformation. You have become my absolute ideal" - Tom quietly cried.

"I... I don't even know whether I should rejoice or die of pain now. I see your love, I believe you. And I know you, the real you, even despite all the changes in reality - you remained the same, maybe a little more daring. I'm willing to bet that the project you climbed up had a place in your reality too, right?"

Tom tossed his head. Yes! After all, his graduation project was about the development of AI, and if he had ventured then to create a company with a friend .... But he did not have the determination to take a loan and start a business ... And then ...

God! Here it is, the bifurcation point! It turns out that in this reality he differed from himself in that one - only with greater courage, determination and assertiveness!

"I didn't think about it, but yes... It is." Tom shook his head.

"So. I know, do not even argue that my Tom - and you are MY Tom (she emphasized the word "my" by intonation), would never, for anything, do something evil against me or .. Or ... Or against our children" - Alice sobbed, barely holding back her sobs.

"You just wanted to make our lives better... Don't blame yourself, my silly. You are the most wonderful husband in the world and I'm glad that I could live with you for these 7 years"

Tom's heart sank - he already knew what would happen next.

"I understand everything. In order for the children to live, I must .... die. Cease to exist ... Well, in any case, it will not hurt. You gave me a whole day of happiness ... With you. I hope you you can love me the same way again. Tu me. I want to believe that we have the same soul ... "- Alice could not stand it and sobbed. Tom wanted to press her to him, but she gently and gently pushed his hands away, made an effort on herself and was able to continue:

"You can't even imagine how much I want to tell you that you would destroy this coin, let me live, breathe you, love you, snuggle up to you, hug you ... And in any other situation - I would say so But - these are our children .... And therefore there is no other choice - otherwise it will be more painful. Therefore, take this muck as soon as possible "- Alice picked up a coin and thrust it into his hand - "Now come on, use your "rollback" or "backup "... I know that you, was think about the consequences, foresaw something like that backup. You are my Tom. And I know how you think, how you breathe, how you look ... .Only ... Just tell me about them, please. I want to remember our children... Before I cease to exist."

Tom clutched the coin in his trembling hand. Eyes filled with tears. There were many difficult situations in his life that required tough decisions to be made. But this was the first time.

He hated himself for what was happening. He didn't understand what to do.

He loved this holy woman more than anyone else in the world.

But at the same time, he realized that nothing could be the same if he did not return the children ....

"They... They were wonderful... Two sons and a daughter. Our eldest, Jack, decided to go to the Marine Corps before going to college. The youngest, a future lawyer, like you, John, is going to enter the Ivy League, although you and I were against it - that is still a hotbed of leftist ideas. Our daughter - she is beautiful with us. She went to Atlanta, she is studying to be a doctor, "said Tom through tears.

"They are wonderful... I know it... I can feel it... Bring them back, love... They must live. They have much more right to it than I... And don't be sorry - I'm nothing more than fleeting phantom. The real me stayed in that reality, with them. Just love that me as much as you love the current me, promise?" - a timid but full of warmth and love smile broke through Alice's tears

"I promise" - whispered Tom, squeezed the coin and made a wish!