Wish
I do not own CLAMP, or "Wish," or my creative writing class. If I did, I certainly wouldn't be taking exams soon. I hope you enjoy this, and I would, of course, greatly appreciate any comments and criticism. Thank you!
If you want, I will tell you a story. I will weave it out of the life strands around us. I will braid together the colors of the rainbow, blue and purple, red and gold, weaving the individual strands into a beautiful whole. I will form a shimmering, glowing story, a story of innocence and purity. I will tell you this story, a story of love and hope, a story of searching and sorrow. Come; I will share my story with you.
My story is about a young man who is granted one wish. Many stories have just such a familiar theme: a deserving person is given one, or two, or three wishes. The tale that follows shows the results of these wishes: whether fortunate or silly, a happy ending or a sad ending. The story I tell, though, this glowing story I hold in my hands, is slightly different from these well-known tales. My story is about the search for a wish. For somewhere, somehow, there is a wish that cannot be granted by oneself. Somewhere, there is a wish that can only be given to one by another.
Once upon a time, not so long ago, in a place quite similar to this one, there was a garden where cherry trees bloomed pink and white in the light of the moon overhead, and fireflies lit the sky with a warm yellow glow. One night, as the warm air grew cool and the fireflies appeared in the falling dusk, an angel was saved from an attacking flock of crows by a young human man. As thanks for the favor, the angel smiled at the human, saying, "My name is Kohaku. In return for saving me, I will grant you one wish."
The human only bowed slightly, then politely refused the offer. "Thank you, but I have no wish," he said, for he was happy with his life, and wanted nothing else.
"At least tell me your name!" Kohaku cried out after him.
"My name is Suiichiro," The man called over his shoulder as he walked into the darkness.
Kohaku, however, would not give up until he had returned the favor by granting Suiichiro a wish. "Because I know," he muttered to himself as he flew after Suiichiro, "that everyone has a secret wish that they can't fulfill by themselves." And so that is how Kohaku the angel came to live with the human Suiichiro until the time when Kohaku could grant Suiichiro a wish.
Kohaku and Suiichiro lived together for some time; days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Kohaku did what he could to help Suiichiro out, but he was distressed because he still could not find any wish to grant Suiichiro. Every night he asked Suiichiro the same question: "What is your wish, Suiichiro?"
Every night he received the same answer. "I don't have a wish, Kohaku. I have everything I want."
After several months Kohaku was called back to the heavens to complete his duties, and Suiichiro was once again alone.
Although Kohaku was happy to be in the heavens again, there was an ache in his heart that he had never felt before. One day Kohaku summoned up an image of Suiichiro in a pond to comfort himself with; however, when he looked at the face of his friend, Kohaku felt the pain in his heart grow stronger, and tears began trickling down his cheeks.
"Kohaku, little one, why are you so sad?" One of the other angels asked Kohaku softly, his face full of concern.
Kohaku stared at the image of Suiichiro, unable tear his eyes away. "I was unable to return a favor given to me. I couldn't find any wish that I could grant Suiichiro." He bowed his head in silence.
"Ah." The older angel's face was kind and wise. "Kohaku, is the only reason you are so sad the favor you could not return? Is that the only thing that pains you so?"
As Kohaku watched Suiichiro going about his chores, the pain in his heart only worsened. "Why does my heart ache so?" he asked the silent figure. "Why does it hurt when I'm away from you? Why does it hurt still, even when I look at you?"
After some time had passed, the pain in Kohaku's heart became unbearable, and he left the heavens to rejoin Suiichiro on Earth. As he flew into Suiichiro's arms, the pain in his heart vanished completely, and he felt at peace once again.
"Kohaku! I missed you. But why have you come back?" Suiichiro asked the angel, his face worried.
"I ran away." Kohaku's voice was muffled against Suiichiro's shoulder. "I couldn't stay away from you any longer." Then he turned his head and looked into Suiichiro's eyes. "I love you, Suiichiro. That's why my heart hurt so. I love you more than anything else in the whole world."
"I love you, too," Suiichiro said quietly. Then he smiled slightly. "I've found a wish you can give me, Kohaku. I wish that you stay with me forever."
Kohaku stared at Suiichiro, stunned; then, eyes glistening with tears, he said, "I'll stay with you forever and ever!" The two embraced, lost in their own world of wonder, knowing nothing but that they were with the one they loved.
My story is not yet over, though, for there were still more trials awaiting Kohaku and Suiichiro. As punishment for leaving heaven, the Lord sentenced Kohaku to one hundred years of exile on Earth in the body of a baby. Kohaku sank into deep despair at this news, certain that Suiichiro would be unable to love him in such a form.
Suiichiro, however, merely smiled, saying, "I love you no matter what you look like, Kohaku." Kohaku was overjoyed at these words, for he knew that now he could fulfill Suiichiro's wish.
That night, however, Suiichiro died suddenly, leaving Kohaku alone once again. Although his friends tried to comfort him, there was no peace for Kohaku, for the one he loved with all his heart was now gone forever. As Kohaku was sobbing into his hands, his little body bent with overwhelming sadness, a voice spoke from the heavens.
"Kohaku. In one hundred years Suiichiro will be reborn into another body. If you so desire, I will give you dreamless sleep until that day. When you awaken your punishment will end, and you will be free to do as you choose." At the Lord's words Kohaku's pain eased, and he felt only happiness at the thought of seeing his love once more.
"Thank you, Lord." As darkness crept over Kohaku, he smiled, the tears still glistening on his cheeks. And so the Lord sealed Kohaku into a cherry tree and set guardian angels over him to watch his sleep, waiting for the day when the human Suiichiro would be reborn.
Slowly, gently, the passing days melting into weeks, then months, then years, each season flowing into the next. Pink cherry blossoms floated to the ground, and fireflies lit the warm night air; red and golden leaves made drifts in the grass, and soft white flakes melted on the bare branches of trees. Throughout the years the tree in the small garden grew, the secret within hidden to all but those who watched over it.
One warm spring day a young man named Suiichiro wandered into a small, old garden nestled among the skyscrapers of the city. Feeling an odd sense of familiarity, he approached the ancient cherry tree blooming in the center of the garden. As he lay a hand on the gnarled bark, he felt something soft brush his cheek, and a large white feather landed on his hand. Turning, he saw a boy with white wings emerging from the tree beside him.
"My name is Kohaku," the angel said, hovering in the air. "Please let me fulfill your wish!"
"My wish?" Suiichiro looked surprised, then confused. "Who are you?"
"I've been waiting for many years for you to come back to me," Kohaku gently landed next to Suiichiro. "Please allow me to stay here with you once more."
Over the next few days, Kohaku began living with Suiichiro again, although the human remembered nothing from his previous life. The two, angel and mortal, became friends, and the cherry tree bloomed and clouds of pink petals filled the air.
"I once fell in love with a human, and promised to grant his wish and stay with him forever," Kohaku explained to Suiichiro as they sat in the garden together. "But I was unable to keep my promise. Now I've fallen in love once again, and I would like to grant that wish." Kohaku looked down at his hands. "But perhaps you don't have a wish I can give you. . ."
"You'll stay with me forever, right?" Suiichiro asked quietly. When Kohaku looked up at him, startled, he smiled slightly, his eyes shining. "Then I have no other wish."
As the two lovers sat together under the cherry tree the clouds of white and pink petals floated on the breeze around them, and the birds chirped softly from the branches above them, and far overhead the blue sky stretched on forever. Later there would be more adventures, and perhaps more heartbreak, but for this one moment everything was perfect: an angel and a mortal, sitting under a cherry tree together.
So what, then, is the moral of my story? My story has no complicated lesson of honesty and perseverance, nor one of luck and fate. My completed weaving, this shining tale of so many colors, holds only one truth in the end, and that is the eternal moment of happiness between two people who love each other with all their hearts. For that is the wish that can only be given to you by someone else: that eternal moment of love and joy that can only come from without, freely given and freely accepted. Such a wish is surely worth searching your whole life for, just for the chance of finding it some day.
With my slender hands I gather the threads of my story close, tying them together in an intricate knot. I hold the completed story in my hands, its glow shining through my fingers. My story is a golden butterfly, a single rose, an entire world of wonder and beauty. My story is a wish: a sacred wish, delicate yet strong, perfect in its complex simplicity. My story is also a gift, a gift which I give to you freely with only the hope that you love it as I have. Please, take this wish, this story, and set it free within your own heart as I have set it free in mine.