Be Careful What You Wish For

Be Careful What You Wish For

The fine leather cover seemed to sing to Gabby. It was a beautiful book. She had no clue how such a find came to her little antiquarian store, but she wasn’t going to complain. She’d put it into the display case right by the register. Once she had a chance to look it over, of course. She spent the rest of the morning shelving the rest of the new acquisitions. It took time and patience to find homes for all the new wee ones on her shelves, and that one book kept calling to her. She would not give in, though. Not until the rest were put away, and she had lunch. Then she would let temptation win. It took all her willpower to stay away from the amazingly beautiful book for so many hours, but somehow she managed it.

She stared at the book as she ate lunch. An apple, some yogurt and a bottle of water, that was it. Glen said she was getting fat. He didn’t like it when she got fat, so she was dieting. Once she swept off the counter, she grabbed the book. The inside was as magnificent as the cover. The paper was pale yellow, like it was made from the dead sea scrolls or something. Written on the first page was a rather cryptic opening, “What would you have?” It was right in the middle of the page, alone. She turned the page, and saw only the yellowing paper. The book was a sea of straw. What kind of book was this?

Her perusal was forced to end as the bell above the front door jingled. Startled out of her tome induced reverie, Gabby dropped the book. It fell open on that strange opening and closing sentence.

“What’ll you have?” She nearly winced as she said this. It sounded like she was in a fast food drive through. Stupid book. NO! She didn’t mean it!

The young man asked, “Uh, could I use your phone for a sec? I won’t call Europe, honest.”

Gabby smiled. She got this all the time. “Sure, go ahead. Just dial nine and your number.”

As the psuedocustomer dialed, Gabby went back to the book. She flipped through the pages. Still the same. On the first page, “What would you have?” On all the others, void. Strange book. How on earth could someone get this published? Was the publisher drunk or something? Maybe the author was paid by the word. With a loud sob, the young man hung up the phone. Gabby looked at him. “Hey, is something wrong?”

“My girlfriend…she was in an accident yesterday, and…the doctor said…Oh god I wish I was dead!” He ran out the door.

Gabby felt awful. He looked like such a nice…Huh? Under the only sentence in the book, it said, “It shall be yours.” No way could that … Gabby looked up at the horrible screech, and sickening thud. There was the sad young man, head through the windshield of a car. Gabby just stood there staring, she could not look away. Finally, she looked down again, and saw under the other two sentences, “As you have wished. No payment required.” Gabby screamed and slammed the book shut.

After talking to the police, and watching the ambulance drive away, Gabby closed the shop and went back to her apartment. The store wasn’t a billion dollar business, but it paid the bills and paid them well. There was plenty of room in the loft for both her and Glen. Poor Glen, he’d worked at the same job for years, and then got laid off. Gabby had been supporting them both for the last five years. She owed it to Glen. He made her happy. Really, really happy. She put the key in lock and turned it. There he was, in front of the TV, as always. “Hi Glen. How was today?”

Glen glanced up. Gabby could swear that his eyes were blue once. Now they were a plain dull gray. “Great, baby. Got a call for an interview on Monday.”

“That’s great! Who with?”

“Oh, no one you’d know. It’s not something you’d be interested in. I’ll let you know what happens. So, how was your day?”

“Oh Glen…” Gabby fell into his arms sobbing. She cried out the whole story about what happened at the bookshop. Glen put his arms around her eventually and just held her.

“Sounds like a good book. Maybe you should wish for some luck for Monday.”

“Oh god Glen, how can you even think that? I swear I’m going crazy. Books don’t just write themselves. But what if it did? The book…”

“The book didn’t do anything, babe. He was so screwed up about his squeeze he walked out in front of a car. End of story. Besides, he asked for what he got. Be careful what you wish for, you know.” He let go of Gabby. “Anyway, what’s for dinner?”

“I guess I’ll make something quick…”

          “Damn right. I’m getting hungry.”

Gabby went to the kitchen and started preparing dinner. It bothered her sometimes how Glen just seemed to sit around when she was at work all day. Still her job wasn’t really work, she loved it too much. Only fair that she do something around the house. After all, he was always trying to get another job. That must be frustrating, not to mention exhausting. He deserved some better luck.

After dinner, they settled down for a fine evening’s viewing. Gabby would have liked to go to a movie or something after her depressing day, but she knew Glen liked to stay in. She didn’t feel like arguing with him tonight, so she just let him win before she even tried. After a few shows, they went to bed. As always, Glen fell right to sleep, while Gabby tossed and turned. She kept dropping off and dreaming of books that were eating people. She felt awful when she got up, but she had to go to work. The books couldn’t survive without her. She left Glen to sleep in like as always.

At the store, the book was still open with its new sentences still there. She wanted to close the book, but as soon as she unlocked the door, there was a rush of business. She helped six customers in the first two hours. Finally, she got a break, and drank some of her diet soda. Glen wouldn’t have approved, but she needed the caffeine. Another customer came in on the second swallow. She was cute, but her down turned lips said "Here’s a girl with a problem".

Without thinking, Gabby said, “What’ll you have?” The book was getting to her, that and the sleepless night.

“Um…I was hoping you might have…I mean…well, I’m looking for a gift for my boyfriend. He’s really into Science Fiction, but only the really old stuff. I wish I could find a copy of Immortality Incorporated for him. He had a copy once, but it got burned…”

Gabby’s heart broke. She almost never got Science Fiction, and when she did it was original printings that were ridiculously expensive. This girl would never be able to afford them. Oh well, best to let her down fast. “I know the book. I doubt we have a copy here, but…”

The shriek nearly broke the display windows. “Here it is!!!! I don’t believe it! I’ve been looking all over for this. Is this price right?”

The tag said $12.95. It was hardcover, and looked like an original. How could something like that go for…oh here’s why. “Yes, that price is right. It’s a pretty old printing, but the bottom corners are torn out on a bunch of pages. It isn’t really worth…”

“It’s worth it. He doesn’t care as long as none of the words are missing. He likes to read the books not stare at them or sell them on the net.”

Lucky girl. The closest Glen ever got to a book was when he went to the toilet. “Okay, I’ll ring it up for you.”

The girl brought her purse out. As she opened it, a slip of paper flew out and dropped right through a crack in the floor. “Oh darn!”

A smile twiched across Gabby's mouth. Of course, she wouldn’t swear; her kind never does. “What happened?”

“Oh, nothing important, I guess. That was a check for forty dollars. I guess the book was a bit more than we thought. Oh well, it’s still worth it.” She brought out a credit card and paid for the book. “Thanks again. I didn’t think I’d ever find this.”

“You’re welcome. Come again.” Gabby closed the til drawer, and saw that the book had written again. “A small price for a small boon.”

The rest of the day passed and Gabby went home again. It was Friday, which meant a weekend away form her precious books. Oh well, she could spend the time with Glen.

That proved to be a mistake. Glen must have been nervous about his interview on Monday. Whenever he got nervous, his temper got short. Gabby hated it when his hair trigger got a shave, but what could she do? Better to weather it out at home than to abandon him and give him more reason to get angry with her. She knew Glen would never really hurt her, so it was okay, even if he did get awful rough in bed.

Monday finally came. Gabby was sore from an intense Sunday night. She checked in the morning, and sure enough her arms and legs were bruised. She really hoped Glen got the job. Then maybe he'd go back more to his old self, before he got laid off. As she left, Glen told her to wish him luck. “Maybe you should ask your book to land the job for me, baby. It’s got a magic touch.”

Gabby was aghast at what he said. That book was dangerous. Anyone that wished on it suffered. As she opened the door, the open book on the counter was waiting for her. She just stood at the door staring at it. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt. And if it got Glen to lighten up, it might be worth any price. For Glen, all for Glen. “Book, I wish that Glen would get the job today.”

On the first page of the book, right at the bottom, “Desire becomes destiny. The price will come as it must, in its own time.” That sounded ominous. Oh well, maybe she’d lose a big check for a purchase today. That would be okay. The day dragged by. Every hour she looked at the clock to see that only a minute had passed. Finally the time came to go home.

Glen was ecstatic when she arrived. He grabbed her in a bear hug and squeezed tight. “Dinner’s on me tonight babe. Guess who got the job? And it’s a good one too. Maybe now you can afford to hire some help and spend more time here at home taking care of the place.”

Gabby could have hired help at any time; the store was making good money. She didn’t get a lot of customers, but she got a lot of orders from niche buyers, and some of the rare books could be the only sale in a week, and still pay the bills for a month. She wasn’t sure how she felt about spending less time there. She’d been thinking of opening on Saturdays. Oh well, it wasn’t important now. She’d discuss it with him later.

Dinner was amazing, and the rest of the night was even better. He was so gentle with her for a change. It was like having the old Glen back. The next day, after dinner, Gabby decided to bring up her feelings about the store.

“I was thinking about what you said, honey. Maybe we could afford to get a housekeeper instead, then you could work your job, and I could keep the store open.”

“Why would you do that? A woman’s place is in the home.”

“But Glen, I love that shop. I don’t want to leave it to someone else to run. It’s mine.”

“Well, maybe…” As Glen spoke a picture of carnage came on the TV. He turned it up.

“…the seven who died in the tragic series of collisions yesterday. We repeat…” The announcer read off a list of names of those who were dead.

Glen turned pale. “Oh my god. Three of those were supposed to be at the interview yesterday. No wonder I was the only one that showed.”

Gabby sobbed. “No…I wished for you to get the job. The book killed all those people. It’s all my fault. I…”

Glen looked at her. “Baby, what are you saying? You arranged this crash?”

“No, but I wished for you to get the job, and the book made it come true, but it killed all those people. That thing is evil…”

“Hey, there’s no way a book did this. And if it did, well it was doing what was best for us, right? Maybe it’s like your guardian angel.”

“It’s not an angel. It’s a monster, and it’s going to do something horrible to me. Every time someone wishes on that book, something bad happens to them. I’m going to burn it. Right now!”

“Now hold on baby. Think this through. Nothing has happened to you. It’s a bunch of people we don’t even know. Let me take a look at this book…”

“No, Glen, it’s killing people. I’m not going to let it…”

“Let it what? Give me everything I have coming? Make my life more than what it is now? Make me rich and powerful? Is that what you don’t want it to do? You’re scared that with that book I won’t need you any more. Hey maybe you’re right. But right now I need you to take me…”

“No, that book is going in the furnace, as soon as I…”

Glen reached out and hit Gabby hard across the face. “You will do as I say. You will take me to the store and let me at that book. You will stay out of my way and keep quiet while I make my wishes, and then you will get the hell out of my life. Do you know what it’s been like for me? You’ve been holding me back. Once I get what I deserve you’re history. Now get your keys and let’s go, if you don’t want another.”

Gabby scrambled to her feet and grabbed the car keys. Her hands were shaking as she drove them to the book store, and she could barely get the key in the door lock. Glen went right to the book and scanned the page. “Dumb looking thing. Now how’s it work? You said you just wish for what you want. Okay, book. I wish I was powerful.”

The page flipped and writing appeared at the top. “Too vague. What sort of power? Eternal life perhaps?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Eternal life it is, for a start.”

“Desire becomes destiny, and the price has come in its own time.” The book ignited on the counter, and smoke billowed forth. The smoke shaped itself into a tall man in a long black coat. His face was shadowed by the floppy brimmed hat he wore. He grabbed Glen with both hands, and smoke began to rise from Glen’s shirt.

“You shall live eternally, writhing in the agony you have earned for all time.” He pulled Glen to him, and thrust him under the black coat. For a moment, Glen’s outline could be seen. His agonized face screamed silently in the fabric, and then was swallowed up.

“The price is paid. He who desired has earned his destiny. And you lady? What would you have?”

She looked at the man-like form. “I wish you’d just go away.”

”Ah, a lady who wants less than she deserves. A refreshing change for your kind. But useless to me.” The man melted into smoke again, and writhed before her. From the black cloud, a voice issued. “A lesson for you; always be careful what you wish for.” Then the smoke drifted out of the store and dissipated into the night sky, a soft sound of agonized screaming echoing after it was gone.

Gabby started to clean the store up, as tears came to her eyes. Glen hadn't really been that bad. He didn't deserve what happened to him. She wished...no. No more wishes, ever.