A Wish by Any Other Name

“I have nothing to wear!” I said throwing clothes out of my closet.

Melissa came over and put her arms around me. “Anything you put on will look beautiful.”

“Whatever. I guess it doesn’t matter, it’s not like I have anywhere to go. I’ll just throw on some sweats. I’m too fat for everything else.”

“Stop that! You are not. I gotta go to work but I love you. Try to have a good day,” she said giving me a quick kiss as she grabbed up her bag.

I sighed looking at my closet and grabbed the first thing I saw. I had just recently lost my job and hadn’t had any luck finding a new one. I was taking the day off from job hunting to try and raise my spirits. It was something that Melissa suggested I do after listening to me complain night after night.

Without a vehicle, I decided to take a walk. Maybe the fresh air would clear my head and give me a new perspective. I walked a few blocks and decided to go into the new store that had just opened. The Witches Castle, the sign read. It was a small shop but I had always been fascinated by the supernatural and other worlds. The bell dinged my arrival as I opened the door and stepped inside. The air was filled with the scent of incense and magic. There was something warm, calming, and hopeful about this store.

“Welcome to The Witches Castle. Is there something I can help you find?” a woman dressed in a flowing white blouse and blue jeans asked.

I didn’t really look up from the rack where I stood browsing. “No, that’s okay. I’m just looking.”

“Okay. If you need anything, feel free to ask,” she said.

I nodded and returned my attention to the book I was thumbing through. Spells, I thought to myself, if there was only a spell that would fix my financial situation. I was getting tired of eating Raman noodles and being careful about every dime we spent. I wanted to have some fun again.

The woman came up to me, “Hi, I’m Anisa.” She stuck her perfectly manicured hand out. She wore several silver and turquoise bangle bracelets and she smelled of hemp and rosemary.

“Hi, I’m Heather,” I smiled despite myself.

“You look like you’re having a rough day,” she observed.

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Would you care to know what your future holds?” she suggested.

I glanced up at the large sign behind the counter. Palm Readings, Tarot Readings, and Fortune Telling $20 per customer, it read. I shook my head. “Thanks but no.”

She glanced at the sign and then turned to me with a smile flipping her long mahogany hair over her shoulder, “There’s a special today. It’s free.” She had a slight lilt in her voice and there was something about her that inspired trust. In spite of myself, I nodded.

She led me to a small room. It wasn’t anything fancy like I expected it would be. There was no crystal ball, no bells and whistles. It was a small round table with two folding chairs. There were boxes on the floor and a lone, dusty light bulb hung from the ceiling. She pulled the curtain that hung from the doorway closed and sat down in the chair next to me.

“What I need you to do is a think of a question you need answered. Focus on that question and the reading will help you with your answer,” she said as she smoothed back her hair and closed her eyes for a moment. I wasn’t so sure this stuff was real but I figured I needed all the help I could get. In my mind, I repeated over and over, Will I find happiness? It was something I always searched for. I felt as though I was always searching for something. Our house wasn’t big enough, the jobs I held were never good enough, the money wasn’t enough and the list seemed to always grow. Nothing ever seemed good enough.

She sat forward and took my hand in hers.

“You have a long life line,” she said tracing a line on my palm.

Fabulous, I thought to myself.

She looked up at me and I looked down embarrassed as though she heard me.
“You’ve had a tough life,” she stated.

I shrugged. So has everyone.

“These lines here represent your children. You will have two children,” she said with a maroon fingernail lightly scratching crossways on my palm.

Well that was good news. Although I wasn’t sure how that was going to happen being a lesbian and all.

She furrowed her brow. “There is lots of negativity in your aura. You should be mindful of that. Appreciate the life around you and be cautious with what you wish.”

She sat back in her chair. “Do you have any questions for me?”

A little disappointed with the reading, I shook my head. “No but thanks. I think I’ll go look around.”

“Very well,” she smiled.

I walked back out into the merchandising area. I milled around for a little while and then began looking at the scented candles.

“If you like candles, we have some new ones in,” she told me.

I walked over to the counter where she stood. She handed me a candle that was a swirled lavender and cream and held two wicks.

I held it to my nose and inhaled. “Mmm. It smells like…home.”

She smiled. “It’s very special.”

“How much is it?” I asked pulling my last few ones out of my pocket.

She glanced at my hand. “Today, it is free. Consider it a gift.”

I put the candle on the counter. “No, that’s okay. I don’t take charity.”

“It is not charity,” her accented voice said. “It is a gift.”

I looked at her skeptically, as it seemed to be my way lately. She pushed the candle towards me. “Please, Heather. I want you to have it. You need it.”

“Okay,” I said finally. She put the candle in a brown, unassuming paper sack and smiled.

As I walked back to my house, I thought about the store. Why did she think I needed it? Why did she do my ‘reading’ for free and give me the candle as a gift? How does she stay in business at all?

I went into my empty house and flopped down on our old blue couch. I was so tired of living paycheck to paycheck and feeling worthless because of not having a job. It all seemed so hopeless. I flipped through TV channels, not finding anything to keep my interest. I paced around the house. I should do some laundry, I thought, but couldn’t bring myself to actually do it. I wanted to just sleep instead.

I picked up my sack and walked into my bedroom. I put the candle on the nightstand and crawled into bed. I rolled over and propped myself up on my forearm so that I could light the candle.

A fresh scent poured into my room, I inhaled deeply and smiled. Then a purple smoke rose up from the flame.

“What the hell?” I said aloud. I leaned over to blow out the candle when I saw a face in the cloud of smoke. I quickly blew out the candle but the smoke remained. Out of the mist, the face became a whole body, which became a person standing in front of me. Frozen in terror, I stared at the figure. It was a man- that much I could gather. He had bright blue hair rolled into a bun on the top of his head. He wore black pants and a loud yellow and red shirt. He had no shoes on but wore several golden necklaces around his thick neck.

“Who the hell are you?!” I finally said.

“I’m Natas and I’m here to grant you five wishes,” he said.

“Whatever. This is ridiculous. I’m calling the police.”

He put a hand on my arm. “I am a…genie…for lack of a better word. I hate that name though. Genies conjure up images of cartoons and I am no cartoon.”

I put my phone down. “Genies aren’t real.”

He sighed wearily. “I assure you, I am real. You have released me and I am here to grant you five wishes. Do you want them or not?” His tone was irritated and bored.

“Five wishes, huh?” I asked skeptically.

“Yes. Let me explain the rules to you,” he began.

“Rules? There are rules to wishes?” I asked and picked up my phone again.

He took the phone from me and set it back down on the nightstand. “Yes, there are rules. Damn, I have never offered this to someone so unappreciative before. Are you ready to hear the rules?”

I nodded, “Go ahead.”

“First rule- you cannot wish for more wishes. Everyone tries and everyone fails. It’s a no-no, okay? Second rule- once you begin, you must finish. You can’t stop at one wish and decide not to go on. It’s all or nothing. Third- you can’t wish for anyone to come back from the dead. It just isn’t going to happen. And the last rule is that each wish has to be a little bigger than the last. So some friendly advice, start out small. Are we clear?”

“Sure thing,” I said. Doubt and skepticism still remained in my head but I figured it was worth a shot.

“Okay. What is your first wish?” he asked grandly.

I thought to myself and decided I’d wish for something small. I hadn’t eaten yet that day and was feeling hungry. “I wish for a steak with mushrooms and onions.”

“So it is requested, so shall it be done,” he said and with a wave of his hand, my wish appeared next to me.

I looked down at it. It was about two feet wide and made of wood- a stake that was strung with mushrooms and onions. I looked up at Natas. “Yeah, this isn’t exactly what I meant.”

He chuckled a little, “Sorry. You need to be more specific.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Whatever. Okay I get another wish, right?”

“To be specific, you have four more. What’s your second wish?”

“I’m lonely. I miss my wife with her working overtime so much lately. My second wish is that Melissa can get off work early today.”

“So it is requested, so shall it be done,” he intoned.

About a minute later, the phone rang and I answered it. “Hello?”

“Hey, sweetie,” Melissa said on the other end.

“Hey! You’re never going to believe what is happening!” I said to her.

“Tell me later. I’m on my way home,” she said.

“You are?! Wow. Did you get off early today?” I asked incredulously.

“You could say that,” she said. “I was fired.”

“What?! Why?” I asked.

“I don’t know, honestly. I was working and all of a sudden, Joyce called and said that I was no longer needed and to go home. I asked if I was coming back tomorrow and she said no. What are we going to do now?”

I felt my body go cold. I wanted her home but not like this. “I-I’m so sorry, baby. I’ll see you when you get home.”

“Okay, bye,” she said hanging up. She didn’t say I love you like she always did but I’m sure it was just the stress.

I sat there holding the phone for a minute before looking up at Natas. “She was fired. Now she’s on her way home.”

He shrugged. “Well, she got off early.”

“But I didn’t want her to lose her job!”

He shrugged again. “Sorry. What’s your third wish?”

“Nothing, I don’t want any more wishes,” I said folding my arms.

“Too bad- remember the rules,” he said. “Come on.”

I sighed exasperatedly. I thought about the things I wanted in life and finally decided upon something I had always wanted. “My wish is to be thin.”

“So it is requested, so shall it be done.”

With a swirl of blue smoke surrounding me, my body began to tingle and shiver. At last the smoke cleared. “Take a look in the mirror,” he suggested.

I stood up and walked over to my mirror and stared at the person in front of me. Gone were the love handles, the cellulite, and the fullness of my face. I was thin, just as much as any supermodel. I was much thinner than I ever thought I would or could be. Maybe a little thinner than I would’ve liked to be but it didn't matter because I still loved it. The old Heather was gone. Finally a wish that worked!
I grinned when I turned around, “This is awesome!”

He smiled and nodded. “Enjoy it.”

A few minutes later as I sat thinking of my fourth wish, I heard the front door open and Melissa call my name. “In here, honey!” I called back.

“She isn’t to know I’m here,” Natas instructed as he faded into a wall.

Melissa came through the doors of the bedroom and stared at me. “What the hell happened to you??”

I looked down at my new body. “What do you mean? Isn’t it great? I’m finally thin!”

She looked very confused. “How did this happen?”

“Uh,” I looked at the wall. “Magic?”

She nodded her head slowly but didn’t speak. “Don’t you like it?” I asked.

“Honestly? No. I’ve never been attracted to women that are skinny. And you are beyond skinny. You have no meat on you, no cushion, and no softness. I love you but…” she trailed off staring at me.

“Aren’t you attracted to me??” I couldn’t believe my ears. I was finally thin and she didn’t like it.

She shrugged slightly. “I love you, Heather but…this is too much to deal with right now. I lose my job and I come home to my wife looking like a skeleton. When I left you this morning, you were gorgeous and perfect and now…” She shook her head and walked back out the bedroom door. A few minutes later, as I sat down stunned and devastated, I heard the front door shut and her truck start up.

I began to cry. “I don’t want any more wishes. Please.”

Coming out of the wall, Natas patted my shoulder awkwardly. “Sorry but you still have two left to go.”

“No!”

“It’s the rules,” he said.

“And what if I break the rules? What if I simply refuse to make any more wishes?” I crossed my arms in defiance and anger.

He looked at me with a darkness that seeped into my soul. “You don’t want to do that.”

After three wishes, I realized that every thing I wished for would be corrupt. There had to be something I could wish for that couldn’t get messed up. I wanted to be rich. Maybe if I had money, I could have a surgery to fix my weight and Melissa would be attracted to me again. I couldn’t think of any way that my wish could be corrupted. If people banged on my door, asking for money, I’d simply turn them down. If it caused too many problems, I’d have the surgery and then give the rest to charity once Melissa came back to me. I decided on my wish.

“My wish,” I said tentatively, “is for one million dollars. No more, no less- one million US Treasury real money.” I figured I’d cover my bases so I didn’t end up with one million dollars in Monopoly money or counterfeit money.

“So it is requested, so it shall be done,” he said.

The room felt as though it was spinning and I realized that was because it was spinning. Suddenly, it stopped. On the floor in front of me lay two big bags. I opened up each bag and it contained neatly wrapped bills which I guessed to equal the million dollars.

With bated breath, I waited. Nothing happened.

“Are you ready for your last wish?” Natas asked me.

“I- I guess,” I said.

“Very well, what is your final wish?” he asked.

Before I could answer, a loud pounding was heard at my front door. I looked at Natas who smiled and walked through the dining room to the front door. I put my hand on the doorknob and heard, “Open it! It’s the FBI! We know you’re in there and we have the place surrounded!”

I froze in fear. What was happening?

Suddenly, the door burst open and three armed FBI agents knocked me to the floor pinning my hands behind my back.

“What is this? I haven’t done anything!” I screamed.

“Heather Nicole Carter, you are under arrest for the robbery of the First National Bank of Rosemont. You have the right to remain silent…” one officer said as he began reading me my rights.

“That’s crazy! I haven’t been anywhere but here! I’ve been here the whole time. I couldn’t have possibly robbed a bank. I’m innocent!”

The officer scoffed, “Yeah and the prisons are full of innocent people just like you. Give it up; we have the bags of cash with your fingerprints. Come on.”

They drug me out to the squad car and threw me in. Natas followed but I appeared to be the only one who could see him. I started crying again.

“What have I done?” I screamed.

Ignoring my crying, “You still have one wish,” Natas reminded me.

“No! No more! I’ve lost everything! My wife, my freedom, my health- everything! I don’t want any more wishes!”

The officer looked at me peculiarly and shook his head. “Maybe we ought to take this one to the psych ward,” he said motioning my way to his partner. The other officer laughed and I only cried harder.

“What’s your last wish?” Natas asked sternly.

“I wish that I had never gone into the Witches Castle! I don’t want any of this!” I screamed. Natas looked at me in surprise and I realized I had inadvertently found a loop hole. I dried my tears on my shoulder and waited for the final words from him...

“You- you can’t wish that,” he stammered.

“Yes I can. It isn’t against any of the rules. I want my last wish,” I demanded.

Through clenched teeth, “So it is requested, so it shall be done.” The entire squad car was spinning and when the spinning stopped, I was in the back of a car in front of my house.

“This your stop, eh?” the driver asked me.

“Y-yes,” I said.

“That’ll be $2.50,” he said.

Shaking, I reached in my jeans pocket and pulled out three dollar bills. “Keep it.”

“Thanks, you have a good one,” he called pulling away from the drive.

I stood there in shock. There were no police cars surrounding my house, I looked down at my body and I wasn’t thin any longer. I ran inside the house. No stake on my bed. A few minutes later, Melissa walked in. She came over to me and I held my breath. “Hi baby. How was your day?”

I threw my arms around her and kissed her. “I missed you so much!” As she held me, I started crying.

“What’s wrong, honey?” she said softly.

“I just love you so much and I love our life. I’m sorry I’ve been moping around here lately. I’m going to go and apply for jobs tomorrow and I’m not stopping until I get something.” It all came out in a rush and Melissa just hugged me again.

“We all get down sometimes, sweetie. It’s okay. You’ll find something. You’re intelligent, funny, sweet, and so capable of anything you choose. Plus,” she said, “you’re so hot that you’ll probably get a job on your looks alone.” I smiled and for once was glad I wasn’t thin.

“Wanna go get something to eat?” I asked. “I’m starving.”

“Absolutely,” she said. “Oh, hey, did you hear about the store, The Witches Castle? It burned down today. Four people were killed…”