Wish retold: Chapter 7

Hello friends, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing 😉. So, writing this part and the next one (the next one comes out on Friday) has been amazing as the main plot of the story slowly unfolds and just a few more chapters and we finally get to go on an adventure!

However, I have one question for you today. Are you happy with the length of the chapters or would you mind if they were shorter, but there would be more of them in the end? Please leave me a comment with the answer and, of course, I would love to see your opinion on today's part 😊

Asha

So where are they? Will they come at all? What if Dahlia revealed to the others that what happened today was Asha's doing and they turned their backs on her now?

With each passing minute she spent alone in the clubhouse, she grew more and more nervous. She had a whirlwind of thoughts in her head that did not allow her to sit down and wait for her friends in peace. She was pacing up and down in a small wooden booth that once seemed much bigger, constantly playing with her hair. One of the bad habits that she couldn't get rid of since she was a child. Once she got her locks so knotted that her mother had to let her get her hair cut and, ugh, there was a lot of crying and screaming.

The Star was sitting on a small wooden box that Asha and her friends once used as a chair. There used to be more such crates here, but most of them have already half fallen apart, just as the clubhouse itself. Actually, it is not surprising, that when its original owners grew up and gradually pushed it out of their memory, time stopped for the small room in the middle of the forest. It was actually just four walls made of joined wooden planks, which also formed the roof, which was now completely leaky. But, ehm... those holes were there from the beginning. Well, who could expect more from small children? They could be glad that Dario's father even lent them the necessary tools. However, he did not want to supervise them, so the appearance of the clubhouse corresponded to the age of kids who built it. Four walls with simple doors made of old blanket, leaky roof and trampled earth as the floor. Even today, after so many years, no grass grew inside.

The memories of the beautiful carefree days spent in this place were one of the most precious things Asha had. All those experiences! The day Hal stole—or rather kidnapped—a few bees from the royal hive, that her parents had taken care of, and brought them to show her friends in a glass jar. Well, but the word "few" was probably not entirely accurate. It was literally a small swarm. Even then, everyone knew that she would follow in her parents' footsteps, but no one would have thought that such a crazy idea would pop up in her young head. Of course, something like that couldn't end well. The glass container broke – because why not – right inside the clubhouse. In addition to the stings that the group of children received, each of them also received a few slaps on the buttocks from their angry parents, so that they would never think of such a thing again. No one revealed at the time that it was Hal's idea and no one else had a hand in it. Even then, they stood firmly by each other and would not allow one of them to suffer alone. Asha hoped that this time would be no different and that the others would hold her as she would hold them. If only they would finally come...

The Star, who had been watching Asha all the time from top of the box, behind which it was supposed to hide with Simon's wish until Asha prepared her friends for its entrance, could no longer stand it. It rose into the air and flew to Asha's face. Asha finally stopped and turned her attention to the small creature that was looking at her with a worried look. It caressed the tip of her nose with its little hand.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm just a little nervous, that's all," breathed Asha with a smile. However, the truth was that the "slightly nervous" did not describe how she felt at all. Something inside her whispered that something was wrong, but she didn't know what exactly. But it scared her.

Even Star was not convinced by her words. It pulled away from her nose and put on an encouraging expression. She puffed herself up, raised her arms as if to show off its tiny muscles, and then pointed at Asha.

"Y-you mean I'm strong? Or should I be strong?"

The Star nodded happily and relaxed again. When Asha thinks about it, the little creature is right. She has made a decision and has already embarked on this journey, so the only thing left for her is to keep going and overcome one obstacle after another. She has to handle it. For the sake of everyone she cares about and for the sake of everyone Magnifico has stolen from. Stolen something, that should never have gotten into his or anyone else's hands.

"You're right," Asha replied strongly, but the feeling of uncertainty was still there, though she chose not to listen to it.

The Star nodded with a determined expression, but at that moment it turned sharply towards the makeshift door. Something was approaching them. Steps.

"Hurry up there!" Asha whispered insistently and pointed on wooden crate, but Star didn't even notice her. With a smile on her face, she flew to meet the arriving guests, but luckily Asha noticed, reached out and grabbed it roughly in the palm of her hand. She turned to the box and literally threw the Star behind it. It started spinning in the air, but halfway through it finally regained its balance and stopped hanging in the air. It looked over its shoulder at Asha, who gave a guilty smile and hinted at the word 'sorry' with her lips. The Star frowned at her and stuck out its tongue. Slowly, with a seriously offended expression, it turned to the box and reluctantly - and as slowly as possible - floated through the air towards it. Just in time.

"Asha?" said a familiar voice and at that moment the old sheet lifted and several faces appeared in the doorway. But... not nearly all that were supposed to appear.

"Oh, hello, I didn't hear you coming!" Asha turned in their direction, ignoring Star again. She had a too wide, apparently unnatural, smile on her face. Dahlia eyed her suspiciously, but after a short moment she sighed as she walked in first, followed by Simon and Gabo. Nobody else...

The moment Simon walked through the door, Asha noticed something was different. His gait had somehow changed. But he is actually... limping? Asha's throat tightened.

"Um, Simon, what's wrong with your leg? Are you limping or did it just seem to me?" she asked and though she tried hard, the smile disappeared from her face.

But Simon smiled sweetly. He bent down and rolled up the pants on his left leg to reveal a white bandage encircling his ankle and entire foreleg. It probably reached to the knee. Asha held her breath.

"Heh, it's nothing. When it broke out today, I was just helping out at the market, and when they appeared..."

"Hey, dumbass, Asha probably wasn't even in town today, so she doesn't even know what happened there today. Oooor?" Gabo interrupted him, crossing his arms on his chest. All eyes turned to Asha. Well, almost all of them. Dahlia somehow avoided her gaze and preferred to stare into the unknown.

"Oh, well I… I was in town for that morning announcement, but then… Then I came home," she lied. But everyone probably had to talk about it today, it will be suspicious if she pretends to know absolutely nothing about it. "But I heard something from the neighbors!" she added quickly. Her friends believed her. That's not... She shouldn't have said that! She should have told them the truth! Now she even lies to their faces. Great, seriously, perfect start.

"Well, be glad you weren't there today!" Simon began again. "It was horrible!"

"It was a hell!" added Gabo.

"Hey! You sat on your ass in my kitchen, so don't pretend you know what it was like!" Dahlia scolded him for his comment and gently slapped one behind his ears. Rubbing the back of his head, Gabo turned to Dahlia and was about to argue, but Asha was quicker.

"I mean, I heard it was crazy, but what exactly happened? And what's wrong with your leg?" she had to find out. She just had to.

"Ah, well," Simon continued, "Dahlia sent me to the market for some supplies, and let's just say I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I suddenly heard a scream from the main gate to the city, and then it kind of went by itself. The people ran first, followed by the animals. And I'll tell you, I've never seen so many of them together! They came after us, and if you've heard from someone that they spoke in human language and you didn't believe it, then it's the pure truth! I heard them with my own ears. They yelled at us and even… well, I guess, at least it seemed that way to me… they even made fun of us!"

"And then? What happened after that?" Asha asked him to continue when he seemed to have finished speaking.

"They attacked us... But now that I think about it, it doesn't seem like they were actually attacking anyone. They chased people and there were a lot of them, but I didn't see them actually hurt anyone with my own eyes. It was mainly rabbits and squirrels and, heh, what exactly could they really do to you? A few scratches, that's all there is."

Even Asha didn't think such small animals would cause such a stir. But that was not all.

"But when the bear showed up, ugh, I'll tell you, that's when everyone went crazy. Everyone around me started running. Every-single-person! I didn't even know how, suddenly the crowd pulled me along and at one point I tripped over something and flew right under their feet. I'll tell you, I was really lucky that it was only my ankle and calf, that got trampled!"

Asha listened to his speech with her mouth half open. She stood there in front of them, filled with horror she never felt before. Her friend ended up getting hurt because of her, but it could have ended much worse. It was so close and now she wouldn't have a chance to talk to him anymore. And not only now, but never again. So, wait...

Asha's heart was pounding and her chest tightened. She couldn't even breathe. There was a blur before her eyes because of the thought, that raised in her mind. Why didn't everyone come...

"And… where are the others?" she forced herself to ask, her voice shaking.

Her friends must have noticed her terror. They exchanged worried glances.

"They're fine," it was Dahlia who answered her. Asha looked up and glared at her best friend who still refused to look at her.

"They had to stay in the city and help with the repairs. After today's ruckus, the city looks like a hurricane hit it. They're scared like everyone else, but... they're fine. A lot of people got hurt, but at least not seriously," Dahlia spoke quietly, but her words stroked Asha's soul. Well, not quite, she was still consumed by the fact that someone got hurt because of her, but the knowledge that everyone was at least somehow okay, that they were alive, at least partially calmed her down. She is doing this for them. She is doing this only and only for them. That's what matters.

"You think the light from last night is to blame?" Simon cut through the silence.

"Of course, it was the light, what else do you think could have caused it?!" Gabo asked him. "Someone's got crazy here and they're trying to kill us all! I'm telling you, we should get off the island while we still can."

"Stop it, Magnifico said it could have been just an accident," Simon defended the unknown "villain".

"Accident or not, if we've got a madman running around who sent those man-eating beasts from the forest on us, I don't want to be around and wait for what he does next."

"That's enough! I'm sure that person won't do anything like that again. Surely, they've had enough of what they've done now, right Asha?" Dahlia spoke up, finally looking at Asha with a scolding look filled with anticipation. Asha would have loved to immediately tell her that she would never do anything like that again and that she was truly sorry, but she couldn't do that. Not yet.

When there was no answer to Dahlia's question for a while, Gabo started talking again about how it would be best to run to the harbor right away and never even mention Rosas again. Both Simon and Dahlia snapped at him immediately, not even noticing the twinkle in Asha's eyes. There's no point in putting it off any longer. Now or never.

"It's me," she whispered, and everyone immediately fell silent. They turned to her, but apparently did not understand what she meant. She looked over each of them.

"I did it. I pulled a star from the sky. Yesterday I asked the stars for help and they answered," she turned towards the wooden box and when her gaze met that of the hidden guest, she nodded her head gently. Star flew out from behind the box with a blue glowing ball in its hands and flew across the room to stop right in front of the faces of Asha's friends who were left standing speechless. Both Simon and Gabo looked from Star to Asha and back again. They were completely shocked by this, they didn't even seem to be breathing. However, Dahlia did not look at the Star even once. She looked at her best friend with a look filled with sadness and disappointment. But Asha ignored her.

She told them what had happened in the last few hours. From the interview with Magnifico to this moment. She did not miss a single detail. She spoke directly and vigorously. And she believed her words.

"I-I can't… it just can't be true…" Simon whispered. His eyes wandered around the room, apparently trying to process what he had just heard. Gabo was staring at the ground with no expression on his face.

Asha took a deep breath and stepped forward. She stopped next to Star, who immediately gave her a glowing wish. Asha smiled gratefully at it, but then turned her attention to Simon.

"Simon, ever since I've known you, I've known you to be one of the best people in all of Rosas. You never refused to help anyone and you were always so full of life. You always had your head in the clouds and every day you were chasing a new adventure," she gave him the sweetest smile he had ever seen. She slowly approached him.

"Maybe you don't remember it yourself, but not long ago you were like that. You were our hero until you lost this," she shot an open palm at him with his wish now glowing even brighter. Simon gasped, but he couldn't take his eyes off the orb. His wish was to become a member of the royal guard and not only that. He longed to be the king's best and most loyal knight of all, to be the one who would stand by his side until death.

"Simon," Asha addressed him gently, "he had no right to rob you of your wish. And with it, on that stage, you also gave him the most beautiful thing you have. A piece of yourself. Please take it back and be you again. Be that brave boy again, whom we miss more and more every day."

Simon held out his hands to her and took his wish from her as carefully as he could. It glowed so brightly that it lit up the entire clubhouse. The boy looked at it with love in his eyes. That filled Asha with unspeakable joy.

"It's all yours now. And I swear I'll never let anyone take it from you again! But the wishes of others are still in his clutches. If you join me..."

"How could you?" a faint voice interrupted her. Simon finally looked up and pierced Asha with his gaze. And not only that. There was a fire of hatred in his eyes so huge that it could burn someone to ashes.

"Wh-what..." all joy suddenly left her. As if someone had woken her up from a wonderful dream with ice cold water. She couldn't understand it.

"You stole my chance!"

"What chance? What's that about..."

"You robbed me of my chance to be chosen once! You robbed me of it! You took my wish away and now it will never come true. How could you do this to me?!"

"But, Simon," Asha stammered, "w-why should it never come true? Now you have a chance to try…"

"Try what?! And how?! How could I possibly become this all by myself?! Without his magic?!" he shoved his wish right in front of her face. Asha wasn't even breathing.

"Simon, come on, just calm down," Gabo tried to calm him, but in vain.

The boy looked at his wish once more, but this time he seemed to be looking at something disgusting. He took a step back and hung his arms along his body.

"He was right. Magnifico was right. You really are a traitor," he whispered, but his eyes were fixed on the ground.

"Simon," Asha mumbled, not knowing what to say. Her heart was pounding in her throat. Simon just stood there for a moment, Asha still hoping she would find something, anything, find the right words to… Nope. No, this cannot be fixed. There is nothing to take back what just happened here.

Simon took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, it was as if everything had disappeared from them. Everything else was lost along with the hatred and anger. It was as if the last pieces of himself had disappeared from them. He turned slowly and limped towards the door. With a shaky hand he raised the sheet, but before he stepped out into the evening world he stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"We're not friends anymore," he whispered something that hit Asha like a flying arrow. An arrow aimed straight at the heart.

"N-no, Simon, please… I-I'll fix it! You'll see that I'll fix it!" she raced after him, but he no longer listened to her. He went out and gradually disappeared into the darkness.

"Um, Asha," Gabo addressed her. Asha, who still hadn't brought herself to accept what had just happened, shot him a questioning look.

"I don't know," the short boy continued, "I just have no idea what... You should have told us about what happened and we would have... We would have figured something out. But to endanger everyone like this... And basically for no reason!"

Asha glared at him and was about to say something, but he didn't let her, "No, just because YOU think what Magnifico is doing is wrong, that is not a reason. My goodness, Asha, that guy grants someone a wish every month! He will make a wish come true for one of us! Can you hear me?"

"While the wishes of others not only do not come true, people are not even aware of them at all! He has no right..."

"He's the king, dammit! Open any book and you will find that if they write about a king in it, there will be something along the lines of: 'The evil king had half of his subjects executed because they asked him for a piece of bread'. And ours is bad because he doesn't fulfill all wishes?! Even an idiot understands that it's simply not possible! Take Dario, for example. What on earth do you think that guy is going to wish for?!"

"Doesn't it really bother you that that person will take a part of you and never give it back?! That you might lose what makes you… well, you? Are you telling me this is okay?! That I should just turn a blind eye to it like everyone else?!"

"Oh, of course, demolishing the whole city is a much better idea," the boy did not forgive himself for the sarcastic remark and rolled his eyes, but he did not intend to continue the argument. There was a heavy silence.

"Well," Gabo spoke up after a while, "I should probably go see Simon and check on him. And actually, it's already quite late, so..."

Gabo gave Asha one more look, but she didn't feel anger from him, instead it was full of concern.

"And Asha," he addressed her before leaving, nodding towards Star, who was half hiding behind Asha's shoulder with a sad look, "be careful. You probably don't know what you've started, but if even Magnifico is afraid of that thing, then... Just be careful." With these words he left them.

Only two best friends remained in the clubhouse. Asha looked at Dahlia with a pitiful plea, but she kept her eyes fixed on the ground.

"Dahlia..." Asha addressed her timidly. She couldn't even describe how much she wanted her friend to say something. Anything.

"You gave me your word," Dahlia whispered with a heavy sigh, "that nothing would happen to anyone. That Rosas is safe. Did you know that?'

"What?"

"Tell me, but only the truth! Did you know this was going to happen? Was this your plan?'

Asha didn't want to believe that this was what Dahlia thought of her. Although, as she was told, no one was seriously injured, the knowledge that it could easily have happened, and she would have someone's blood on her hands, will probably haunt her for the rest of her life. But whatever she does, she can't take it back.

"If I... If I had any idea what would happen, I would never... You believe me, don't you?"

Dahlia shivered slightly as if dreading the question. Or was the answer the thing she was afraid of?

"I don't know what to believe anymore. I'm still trying to understand your reasons. I'm trying, seriously, but what you told me today makes less and less sense to me. But what I do know is that it is also my fault. But you were so sure about this! And you convinced me too. I just believed you knew what you were doing. If only I... I should have stopped you. I should have told you to wait. We could discuss it together and, as Gabo said, we would come up with something together. But now…" Dahlia trailed off. Her eyes were glistening and filled with doubt and disappointment.

When she spoke again, what she said made Asha freeze: "Do you know who saved the city? The man you declared war to."

A lump rose in Asha's throat.

"Marcus, a member of the royal guard, told me about it. If Magnifico hadn't stopped the animals, the herd of deer probably would have…" Dahlia couldn't finish the sentence. "They found him half unconscious in the middle of the marketplace. No one knows what kind of spell he used, but he used it to freeze the herd and other animals. The guards were then carrying them back to the forest for the rest of the day."

"I-is…" Asha lost her voice. However, Dahlia understood her question.

"He's alive, but I don't know anything else. He has not been seen since he was taken to his chamber."

Asha breathed a sigh of relief. Although she doubted the rightness of Magnifico's actions, she did not wish for his suffering. But now, when she learned that it was he who stood up for his subjects in their time of need, her conviction was suddenly clouded by uncertainty.

"Well, it's getting late, I should go," her friend pulled her out of her thoughts. Asha was at a loss for words. Could not find even a single one.

Dahlia adjusted her crutch under her arm and, like Simon and Gabo before her, she too started to leave. Before she too left Asha and left her in the deafening solitude, she turned to her one last time and looked straight into her eyes.

"I know you disagree with Magnifico and think the truth is on your side, but while you brought destruction upon the city, he risked his life to save it. Think about it."

Without another word, Asha watched as all those she needed now more than ever turned their backs on her. She screamed inside, but what she wanted to say was lost in the storm that took over her.

The Star noticed it right away. It carefully flew out from behind her shoulder and hovered next to her face. It hesitated at first, but finally shot out its hand to Asha and began to caress her cheek soothingly. However, even this gesture did not get to the girl. Thoughts and a flood of feelings suffocated her. In front of her eyes was Simon's expression, which was tearing her to pieces, and Dahlia's look full of remorse. No, no one turned their back on her. She was the one who betrayed them, she decided so herself. They were right. They were just right! Maybe she knew it or at least suspected it before, but something blinded her vision until now. Simon was not wrong. How could she do that?

Today someone could have pay the highest price for her beliefs. Her mind flashed of a frightening herd pouncing on some child or someone who couldn't avoid it in time. The thought made her knees buckle and she fell to the cold ground. She hid her face in her hands and finally lost the fight with the tears she had suppressed until now. Everything she believed in slowly dissolved. What is she going to do now...