The Three Wishes (A Story Everyone Should Read)

February, 2, 2010

In one fell swoop, everything turned to darkness as Hannah felt someone cover her eyes from behind. She was about to protest when she heard a voice behind her.

“I’ll give you three wishes.”

Hannah’s first thought was to yank the hands off her face but the thought of having three wishes excited her. The more she thought of it, the more she liked the idea. What did she stand to lose?

As she stood by the side of the Aso bridge, her mind began to wonder who could be behind her. It could be her brother whom she had come to spend some time with. This had always been one of his favourite jokes since they were kids.

Or Danny. Yes, it could be Danny. She and Danny had been seeing each other for a while and he promised her a surprise visit. Maybe he was the one. Her heart began to race.

But it could be Nancy. Mischievous Nancy. The hand felt soft. She didn’t want to fall prey to Nancy’s antics so she tried to take the hands off her face.

“Just relax. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want you to make three wishes. Any three wishes.” The unfamiliar voice tried to assure her. It certainly wasn’t Nancy as it sounded like a man’s voice. Or Nancy could be playing a trick on her…

“Aright, I’m losing my patience. Do you want to make your wishes or not?” Came the voice behind her as Hannah felt the grip on her face gradually loosen.

“No, wait!” She was surprised at her own voice.

“Okay, I’m waiting”

“First, I want Danny to marry me.” She said with a shy smile, secretly wishing it was Danny behind her. He was a shy guy who obviously needed some prodding.

“And why do you want Danny to marry you?”

“Because…” She thought for a while. Why did she want Danny to marry her? Everyone thought they were a good match. Father liked him. He was handsome and had a good job at the bank. He was…

“Why do you want Danny to marry you?” Came the impatient question that broke her thoughts.

In that moment, Hannah began to question if she really loved Danny or just enjoyed being with him. From there, it was only a second before she wondered if he even loved her, at least in the way she imagined. She shifted her weight to the other leg as she weighed his actions over the past few months. She always said Danny was shy, but was he really shy? From the start, she had always been the one pushing him forward, giving him signals. She was even the one that hinted that a surprise visit would be welcome. Her legs were straining but she was deeply engrossed in her thoughts to pay attention to them.

So maybe their relationship wasn’t as great as she imagined. What was she supposed to do? Say she didn’t want him to marry her any more?
She rued the voice inside of her that screamed a YES. She didn’t know who was behind her. It could be Danny. He could be the one with a ring in his pocket and she could just ruin everything with her fear and indecision. Well, she didn’t have to say anything, did she? She was to ask for three wishes. One down, two more to go.

“I want to be truly and unapologetically loved.” She offered as her second wish.

“Hmm. What do you mean?” The voice asked, much to her discomfit. Was this a game? She didn’t like games. She moved to the side to rest her body against the railing. Her legs were aching already. But she felt a stronger ache in her mind. What did she mean when she said she wanted to be love? …to be truly and unapologetically loved? It sounded like something she would write in a term paper.

“What do I mean?” She asked as she struggled to gather her thoughts. She remembered the movie she had seen earlier that morning and her reaction towards it. It had been too soapy for her liking. The male character had dotted over the girl like a baby. He practically did everything for her, including making her own decisions all in the name of love. No. She wanted her personal space. She wanted some one who understood her as a person, shared in her aspirations and believed she was worth loving. She wanted someone that considered her fun to be with; that believed she had a valid option and cared enough to listen to her. She wanted to be able to explore life without having someone trying to babysit her in the name of love. In fact, she simply wanted to be happy and free.

“I want to be happy.” She muttered, partly to herself.

“Er…. what did you say?”

“I said I want to be happy.” She pronounced confidently.

“Hmm. I don’t understand any of your wishes but I’ll grant them for you.” The voice replied.

Her heart skipped a beat. “I’ll grant them for you,” he had said. Was it Danny? Was Danny behind her? Had he noticed her hesitation? Did he sense that she didn’t love him? What was going on?

“However, there is a little snag; and it’s certainly not my fault. You know the nearest star to us is 4.25 light years away.”

Hannah jerked her head a bit. What was he saying? The nearest star? What did it have to do with any of her wishes.

“Could you relax?” The voice demanded as the hands reaffirm their hold on her face. “So the nearest star to us is 4.25 light-years away, that's why wishes take at least 9 years to come true. Meaning you’ll have to wait for about nine years for your wishes to come to pass. I’ve done my bit. I’m out of here.” With that the hand came off her face and she heard someone walk away from her.

She opened her eyes to see that a crowd had gathered. She almost dropped her bag in fear. It was then she turned to look at the person who had kept her standing for so long. She only saw a lone man in a long jacket walking by the side of the bridge. She ran towards him and drew him back. She drew in a breath when she saw his face. His hair was ragged, he was missing a few teeth and he had a pair of eye glasses on his face. She slowly let go of him and began to cry. She had been talking to a mad man.

October 21, 2019

Hannah had just finish writing her diary in the library downstairs and was returning to the bedroom. She was feeling very grateful for her life. She had married the love of her life, was three months pregnant and her first novel was making waves. Everything was going on well. Just as she reached the top of the stars, she heard her husband laughing.

She opened the door to see Danny, her husband, laughing uncontrollably on the bed. She noticed something in her hand. It was her diary, her old diary.

“Where did you get that?” She asked as she jumped into the bed to wrestle it from him, ignoring her protruding stomach.

“Wait.” Her husband pleaded as he sat up on the bed. “I have a question. Did you know I was actually the madman? I was actually undercover. For nine years, I wondered if you knew I was the one. I didn’t know my trick fooled you until this night.” Danny explained snugly.

“What? You bastard…”

“Wait! You fell for that too? Gotcha!” Danny pronounced as he jumped off the bed laughing.

Hannah sat on the egde of the bed and laughed inspite of herself. Her eyes drifted to the table digital clock beside the bed. She looked at the year and It was then it hit her. “…the nearest star to us is 4.25 lightyears away, that's why wishes take at least 9 years to come true.” And then she started laughing uncontrollably.

This is my entry for the Fact to Fiction Writing Contest by @anikekirsten.

I hope you like it. I had a hard time choosing a title. Hope this works. For the dates, One of my sisters was born on Feburary 2, and I was born on October 21. yeahhhh (laughs)

Thanks for reading

Blessings.

[image source: I edited a free to use picture from Wikimedia Commons]