Wishing
Prompt: They say if you write down your wish on a piece of paper, put it in a glass bottle, and give it to the sea, your wish might come true.
You have made it your mission to sail the seas finding these bottles and making the wishes written on them come true.
Prompt By: @darkacademiansworld
Word Count: 862
Date Written: 03.19.22 & 03.28.22
Notes: I know I said I would be doing this everyday and it’s been like two weeks since I posted the first one, but I was out of town and didn’t have a lot of time to write.
“We found another one,” James handed me a small glass bottle, sealed by green wax, “the wreck down there is from some really wealthy family. Like, really wealthy.”
I nodded, “Thank you, James. Tell the crew to begin preparing for nightfall. We’ve done enough for today.” He saluted lazily and left. In front of me, spread out across my desk, were dozens upon dozens of sheafs of paper. I popped open the bottle James gave me with an old letter opener, unrolling the aged paper. In emerald green ink, were the words: I wish I could afford more clothes. From, Lily
My heart aches for Lily, as it did for Emelaine, and June, and Caleb, and Henry, and all of the others who wished for more food, more freedom, more family. I wrote down Lily’s name and wish in the log and began to gather the small pages into a pile and into a box, the box went under my desk, thus dictating the end of my very long day.
As I emerged from my quarters, cheers erupted, led by James, who was holding a small cake. “Happy birthday, Alex,” he smiled. I laughed, blowing out the small circle of candles that bordered the cake. The rest of the crew cheered louder, jubilantly singing ‘Happy Birthday’. James enveloped me into a big, feathering tiny kisses on the crown of my head. I missed nights like these, parties and cake and terrible, terrible singing. Nights like these reminded me why I became who I was, forever sailing the seas, my sole purpose being to grant wishes made by the small children of the world.
The night went on for hours, until it was no longer night and the only ones awake were the fuel laborers and me, keeping our beloved ship afloat and on path for our next stop. “Good morning,” I greeted the sun as it rose from the horizon, just as exhausted as the rest of us.
I expected no answer, but received one anyways, “Good morning, Capt’n,” Chef Meyers groaned as they emerged from the sleeping quarters, “aren’t you supposed to be resting?”
I shrugged, “We’ll be greeting land soon, I can’t miss that. Plus, I’m the captain, Death will be the only one to slumber me.” Meyers laughed, muttering something under their breath as they retreated back to their kitchen.
As reluctant as I was to announce the sighting of our destination and wake my peacefully sleeping crew, it was impossible for me to bring the ship to an appropriate halt without them. From above, I witnessed dozens of sailors pour from the belly of the ship and run to their stations, ready for my command.
For a second I merely watched, admiring my crew and their evergreen dedication to wish granting. They were more than I could have ever asked for in a crew and it was made apparent when I gave the slightest of nods, and they hastily acted upon my silent orders.
We docked our ship in a grove of mangrove trees, and I snuck inland, my footsteps burdened by a heavy sack of fresh fruit, vegetables, and meats, with enough seeds to cover a mountain in growth. With only the small distant light of my wisher’s home to guide me, I navigated the harsh terrain, finally understanding why Mary wished for fewer nights without dinner. There was o way anyone could cultivate this unforgiving forest into a farm without any help.
I reached the quiet home, it’s inhabitants still sleeping with likely empty stomachs, just as the morning began to call itself afternoon. Carefully, I placed the sack of food on the doorstep, dropping Mary’s wish in the bag attached to a note from the crew:
“Dearest Mary,
It pains us to know that you and your family are suffering like this. We hope that this small donation of food will sufficiently feed your family until you are able to acquire more food.
Wish Granted, The Crew”
With that, I began to retreat back into the woods where I came from,but was stopped when the sound of a door squeaking open brought my movement to a halt. Out came a little girl with blonde braids, rubbing sleep from her brown eyes. She looked out into the woods, searching for the source of the noise she must have been awakened by. It pained me to not show myself and greet the child with a hug and a promise that everything would be alright now, but it was against the rules. So when her eyes met mine, I settled with a short nod, hoping that she would know what to do. Mary smiled, and I turned my back, disappearing into the forest.
After I left, Mary dragged the sack of food into her home, crying for her family to awaken and share her celebration that her oh, so desperate wish had been granted. That night, as she sat in front of her bed, whispering her prayers, the first she thanked was not God, but the person in the woods and their crew: the wish granters of legend that she was so close to giving up on.
