3. Wishes (Ashen)
Ashen made so many pointless wishes in her life: I wish my child had a better father. I wish Leck had never chosen me. I wish Thiel would stop tormenting himself over things he cannot change. I wish my husband were dead. She embroidered them onto her sheets, unsteady fingers bleeding from the jabs of her needle, fighting desperately for the sanity she felt slipping away.
If only she had known that her last wish, thought-spoken to her nephew as she reached out with gold-flashing hands, would come gloriously true.
Take care of my daughter. Help her to be strong.