Ah! A Wish!

"Fate… does the choices of one person, affect another person's fate? Or were their choices preordained, and their answers already set in accordance to fate?" An unknown female voice says to herself. A more childlike voice steps in. "Maybe they do have choices of their own, and just don't know that what they say could change a person's fate… forever."

Down on the street of a big city near a vending machine we see a young man around the age of twenty-two buying a drink. He is average height, has short dark brown hair and blue eyes. He's wearing a black t-shirt with and abstract pattern on the back, and tan jeans. He sits on the bench next to the machine and starts to drink his soda. Suddenly he remembered he had to be somewhere and got up again. "Geez, work is hard. No time for breaks anymore. Well, better get to it."

"Hey, Shotaro get over here and help me carry this would ya?" an elderly gentlemen yelled in the young man's direction. "Yes, sir." He heads over to the man and takes one end of the box and they take it inside. Several hours later it's getting dark and he heads for home.

"Oh, that's right I'm on clean up duty for the dorms this week. Well, I guess I got a lot of work ahead of me this week." He arrives at the dorms and the dorm supervisor hands him a list and he immediately get's to work. "K, next on the list… Oh that's right those books are due today. Well it's almost closing time I better get moving. Dang that's right, my bike's chain broke." He bursts out the front door and bolts to the library. "If I hurry maybe I can get there in time. Why don't they have a drop box or something?" He arrives just as the owner was closing up for the night. "Please, sir, I need to return these today. I can't afford any late fees."

"Well I guess I can let you of the hook today as payment for volunteering your services in the past. You've been a great help to me and I thank you for that. Now, let's see what we can do about those books." He takes the books and walks back inside. "It's getting late, you should head back son. I can take care of the rest don't you worry."

"Really, thank you so much! Bye." He takes off to go back to the dorms. As he passes a canal he noticed someone was trying to get something out of it. He was about to offer up his help when the person falls in. He immediately takes action and jumps in when he noticed the person having no luck in getting out. He saves her but noticed she wasn't breathing. Again he takes quick action and stands up to find someone. He spots a man walking passed and screams to him to get his attention. "Sir, sir, I need you to call nine-one-one, someone nearly drowned and I need assistance!" He turns back to the girl and begins CPR as soon as possible. After about 6 minutes of CPR she finally regains consciousness, she coughs out the little bit of water that she choked down. She groans and tries to sit up. "Whoa, whoa… Take it easy you just nearly drowned you shouldn't move around right now. At least not until the ambulance arrives. Can you remember what happened? I need you to tell me so I can explain to them."

The girl was thoroughly surprised. "Wait, what! All I wanted to do was get my ring back! I didn't think all this was going to happen!"

Shotaro turns to the canal then back to the girl. "So it was your ring." He said to himself mostly. "What's your name?" "Wow, I never thought that I'd actually have to put CPR to use. And really, I kind of hoped I'd never have to."

"Sarah, what's yours?"

"Shotaro... Is the ring still there?"

"It should be it got caught in some weeds."

"You know, no matter how precious it may be if your life is on the line you should just leave it alone. People learn CPR in hopes that they won't have to use it."

She began to blush. "Wait he did CPR, which means mouth to mouth. Oh my god, I just had my first kiss, and it was to save my life. Well that didn't work like I'd hoped." "Th-thank you, for s-saving my life. I-I'm glad you were there to help." The ambulance arrives and the situation is quickly under control. He heads back to the dorm.

He finishes his chores and returns the list to the supervisor. "Well, you were gone an awfully long time for returning books to the library. What were you going all that time?"

"I saved a young girl from drowning."

"You're pulling my leg! No way could that have happened to you."

"Well, the world is full of surprises. I'm about to visit her in the hospital, would you like to join me?"

"Yeah, I'd like to meet this person that "Shotaro, the unlucky" has managed to save."

"Geez, you know I hate it when you call me that, Dean."

"And you know I hate my first name. So we're even."

At the Andalusia Regional Hospital in Alabama Room 107-C. "Shotaro, what are you doing here!"

"I came to see if you were alright, of course. So how are you felling?"

"They said I'd make a full recovery and I should be out of here tomorrow."

Dean walks in after signing in the visitors slot for the room. "Dude, you didn't tell me she was hot. Ask her out man." He said in fierce whisper.

"You want me to what!" Shotaro whispered back in the same tone. "I can't I mean she's still recovering and it would be rude."

"You saved her life I hardly doubt anything that comes from your mouth would be rude to her. Just do it. She seems to like you, just look at the way she's staring at you. Watch, I'm going to go over there and her gaze won't budge." As he walked over to the posters on the wall and pretended to be interested, her gaze moved to him for only a moment and then went back to Shotaro.

"Well I guess I could try at least." "Um, I was thinking, I would like to get to know you better since I saved you and all."

Obviously shocked, she asks, "Are… are you asking me on a date!"

"Well… I… uh… um… I guess, yeah."

Her look changed to sorrow. "Oh… while the offer is wonderful… you see I just… I'm not sure I'm ready to date anyone yet. NO, don't get my wrong, it's not against you or anything, or that fact that you saved me. It's just… I don't think I'm emotionally ready for a relationship yet. I'm really sorry."

"No, it's ok, don't worry. I've been there as well so I understand. Then can we at least become friends."

"Sure thing, um… oh I know, here's my number." She hands him a small card with some information on it.

"So, you're a lawyer. Ha can't see the irony in that. I saved a lawyer. Well we'll let you rest now. Dean, come on!"

"Damnit, don't call me that!"

"It's your first name is it not? I think I should use someone's first name if they tell me it. So if you didn't want me calling you that, then you shouldn't have told me, now am I correct or not?"

Dean nodded in agreement, I mean it seemed true. "Well anyway now what are we going to do?"

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm going back to the dorm."

"K, see you later. I think I'm gonna go for a drive, oh and hey… sorry about what happened in there. I didn't know."

"No sense in apologizing then if you didn't know." He smiled to him before walking back to the dorms. He sat down on his bed to figure out what to do until eleven. "I guess I could call my sister and talk to her a little bit; I mean it's been a while since we chatted. Maybe I'll tell her about today." He stood up picked up the phone and began dialing. Little did he know that this act would change his life forever?

"Hello, welcome to the Goddess Assistance Agency." Shotaro's face twisted in confusion as he was sure he had dialed correctly. "We will send someone over to assist you right away."

"Um, sure, I guess." A crack was heard from the small little table the phone was sitting on and what seemed to be a tree branch began to grow from it. Shotaro was thoroughly amused at this point and sat back on his bed the receiver still in his hand. After the branch stopped growing it began to bulge. After a while it began to make a shape of a person and when it was done the colors began to change to a woman wearing a green and white ornate dress.

She turned to him and spoke in a light childlike voice. "Hello, my name is Willow; I'm with the Goddess Assistance Agency. Goddess first class: second category: unlimited license. Are you Shotaro Ushusui?"

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you Willow, what can I do for you?"

She smiled. "While that's very generous of you, I came here to assist you, not the other way around. No, I'm here to grant you one wish, but only one, I can do no more for you. Now, what is your wish?"

"Wish? Well, now that's some heavy stuff. While I don't doubt that you can grant me a wish, I feel I have some sort of right to have some clarity on the matter." He motioned for her to sit on the chair across from him, but she ignored the offer.

"You mean, like questions?" She said with a hint of curiosity.

"Well, yeah. I have some questions." He said as he leaned against the back wall.

"This means that I get to stay here longer. Great! I'll go make some tea then." She walked around the corner to the kitchen.

"Well I don't remember any tea but ok sure."

She came back after several minutes with two cups and a tea pot. "Here we go." She sat down on the chair offered to her earlier, hands him a cup, and pours some tea. "Now… ask away."

He takes a sip of the tea before starting. "Well some how I didn't think I was wish earning material. So, why me, why do I get a wish? I'm not sure that that privilege belongs to me. Aren't there others more deserving than me?" he said pouring another glass of her tea.

"So, we are doubting your worth now? Alright, I'll explain why I'm here. You smile in the face of misfortune and are even willing to help people no matter the terms. You even saved someone's life and yet still smiled, even after she turned you down. It's these traits that I find make you more than worthy of receiving a wish. Am I wrong in saying so?" She looked at him with a glint in her eyes that made it seem like she looked up to him.

"Uh… since you put it that way, no I guess you're right. Umm…right. What was with the whole coming out of the table thing?" He sat forward.

"We goddesses don't live here on earth so we use a medium of our choice to descend smoothly from Yggdrasil. My choice was wood." She seemed to be enjoying explaining things to him.

He poured another cup of tea. "Yggdrasil, that name… it sounds familiar some how. So what is it exactly?"

"Wow, you hit quite the large subject there… k here we go. Yggdrasil is heavens super-computer that stores and arranges information on anything related to Earth… that includes you. If someone is gifted with the presence of a Goddess Antenna, such as myself, they are granted the one wish they desire most in their hearts. Yggdrasil then takes all its information and breaks it down then rearranges it to suit your needs without disrupting others lifestyles and wishes. It then sets your wish in motion by arranging Earth's data to match the information to said wish. All I'm here for is to receive your wish data and send it back to Yggdrasil for it to complete the said steps. The system then implements the System Force. It's the magic the system uses in order for your wish to remain uninterrupted. For example, if your wish was for an accessory to never come off and someone were to try to remove it, the System Force would take effect and stop the person by any means necessary other than ending their life, you see? Was my explanation too complex?" She asked after noticing the gape on his face.

"No no, it was fine… just a lot." He said realizing her concerned look. "The tea is very good by the way." He was finishing his fourth cup before he set it on the table next to the phone. "So about the Goddess first class: second category: unlimited license. I didn't think you needed a license for your job." He picked up his glass again and filled it to start drinking again. "Wow, I think this tea is getting to be addicting."

"Well, you sure know how to pick your questions don't you? Actually I'm kind of surprised that you remembered my class. Many people would shrug that information off. Well, the class shows a Goddess's spirit and powers. Second category shows that you have a working license, so there are certain limitations involved depending on the types. Along with having a license, you have certain advantages and duties to follow. If you go against the rules, there are penalty regulations. When your license is suspended you are revoked from the right to use magic. Although magic use is still allowed, if such an action were to be done, you would have your license revoked and your powers taken from you, under the orders of God." She finished another speech really getting into these Q&A's.

"Wow, so there is such a man. So are there any limitations to the wish, or can I ask for anything?"

"No, you can ask for anything, money, fame, luck, you could even wish for the destruction of the world. But we generally don't appear before those with that kind of wish in mind."

"One last question, off subject. Do you… do you like your job?"

"Oh yes, very much. I love my job… to bring people happiness, I couldn't ask for more." She gave him a confused look.

"So anything…like "to have the same powers as your most powerful Goddess" or something like that."

Willow just about fell out of her chair to what he said. "Wait you want… what?" She asked weakly as the spiral symbol on her forehead began to glow.

"Oh, no it was a suggestion." He fumbled the words. A moment later a large teal beam shot from the spiral and burned a decent hole in the roof. As quickly as it came, it vanished. The young goddess had fainted from the sudden surge of power and began to fall. Shotaro, having learned of reflexes the hard way, rushed forward to catch her. He was now on his back with her lying across his stomach. After several minutes pass she regains conciseness.

She sits up quickly with a look of fear as she rushed to the phone. "I need to use this." She said hastily as she began to dial. She waited for a second, and then began to speak in a frightened tone. "Ah, yes hello, this is Willow. I'm calling in regards to the wi… WHAT, it's valid. You mean the system actually accepted such a… wait you what… yes… yes, I understand… my apologies sir I was out of line… wait what?"

"God? What's wrong with my phone?"

She turned to him with an awkward look. "He wishes to speak with you."

"Wait me?" she nods and he takes the receiver. "Umm… hello?"

"Are you the client?" A powerful voice echo's on the other end.

"I'm the one that made the wish if that's what you mean. Umm… who is this?" he said in a very carful tone.

"This is God." The voice echoed back.

"Oh, geez, please forgive my rudeness." He stammered. He took his seat on the bed.

"My son, if you were ever rude I'd swear the world had ended. I wanted to talk to you about the wish."

"Oh, that… about that, I was just suggesting…" He was cut off by the resounding voice on the other end.

"But you said what was in your heart, you just didn't know. And I validated the wish myself, so no cause for worry. No, what I wanted to tell you was the conditions of such a wish. Mankind can only hold so much magic. With your wish you are going to exceed that limit. So when you hit your limit our System Force will kick in, and… your genes are going to rearrange themselves to match our own structure."

Shotaro had calmed down at this point and could speak more clearly. "So what you're trying to say is…" He was cut off again.

"I'm trying to say… that you are going to become one of us, a Demigod… or you could call it a lower-god. I'm looking forward to you joining our ranks. Oh, and Willow is to stay by your side until your genes have finished rearranging. I'll call her for further orders. Good luck Shotaro, the process may be excruciating. Until we speak again." He hung up.

"Well, my first conversation with God and it's not on the "want to be friend's line"."

Willow stands up when Shotaro put the phone back on its stand. "What did he say?" she asked eagerly.

"He wants you to stay here until further notice. Something to do with the wish." He said hiding the real conversation quite successfully.

"Was that all?"

"Better get started now. If I'm might join them one day." "No, but I don't think I can tell you because he cut me off twice."

"Oh, I see. I hope to have a good time with you while I'm down here." She smiled as she started to clean up the tea and walks into the small kitchen.

Dean walks in to the room. "Yo, what happened while I was gone?"

"Actually, a lot. A Goddess came out of the phone, I got to make a wish, and I spoke to God. He wants her to stay here for awhile. Is that ok?" He said quite casually.

"Ok, now you're pulling my leg." He was half worried for his friend.

"No, she's in the kitchen, if you want to meet her."

Dean rushes into the kitchen to find a blonde girl in an odd looking dress doing some dishes. She turned around to see him standing with his mouth open in disbelief. "Oh, hello you must be Dean Alekcott. My name is Willow, Goddess first class: second category: unlimited license. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said to him as though it were a natural thing. He slowly turns around and walks back to the room.

"Ok, now who is she really?"

"Dean… I have no reason to lie to you. She is who she says she is." He looked at him seriously. "Look when I made the wish, that up there happened." And he points to the hole.

"Holy, hole! Where'd that come from!

"I told you, the wish."

Dean's gaze shifted to the floor. "I didn't think they were real and I didn't want to believe right away. I still don't, but if you say so, then I guess it'll explain it self in time. I'll wait until then, but for now, I'll just say it's plausible. So now, if you don't mind, I'm exhausted."

"Ok, good night Dean."

"The name… seriously? Geez I can't win with you." He said as he disappeared behind the half wall that separates the beds.

Shotaro checks his clock; eleven twenty-three… passed bed time. He took his glasses off and laid down. He lay there wondering what tomorrow would hold. The events of the day finally catching up with him, he slips into a fitful slumber.