Wish Granted 🌟👩🏾🎶 (Wish Reimagined)
Chapter 21: A Wish Worth Making 🌟🎶📖 (Finale)
Chapter 20
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The rest of the citizens were still celebrating amongst themselves as the wishes were still floating across the sky to their owners. Six of the teens were talking when Dahlia walked up to them. "Have any of you seen Asha?"
"Wasn't she just here with her family?" Bazeema pondered as she looked over Dahlia's shoulder. He saw Asha's mother and grandfather still talking together, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.
Gabo scoffed. "She's probably inside that place smooching it up with starboy for victory. I didn't help take down a monarchy to see that."
The group was about to split up and search for her when Hal spotted Asha and Valentino making their way back through the crowd. She was walking slower than usual.
Hal was the first to run over to her. "Girl, what are you waiting for? You should be celebrating with the rest of us!" It took her a moment to realize that a third member of her trio was missing. "Isn't Star coming with you?"
Asha gripped the clothing in her hand. It looked an ordinary pair of pajamas, no longer the magical prince-esque suit it once was. She handed it over to Hal, who looked confused at the gesture.
She looked up at her friends with heartbroken eyes. "He's gone."
The others looked stunned. The starboy was just up there five minutes ago and now he was gone?
Flazino stepped in. "Hang on. Where did he go? Did he run off or go back home-"
His question was interrupted by Valentino bleating. It wasn't the fact that he was speaking that startled Flazino. It was that he wasn't speaking english. As if the magic disappeared from him altogether. It was more than enough to prove it.
"He used all his magic when he set the wishes free from Magnifico." Her voice started to crack. She felt that it was her fault for him being gone. "If I had known it would effect him like that, I would've never...."
Before she could finish, Dahlia had wrapped her arms around her friend to comfort her. "I'm sorry." was all she said.
The other teens did her best to comfort her. None of them expected Star to sacrifice this much. Mostly expecting him to join everyone once the day was saved.
For the first time, Gabo had no quip or joke to make. He only looked disappointed.
Asha's family came over and was told the news about her lost friend. Even though they never got to meet him, they owed him thanks for helping Asha. Sakina herself could empathize with her daughter. She felt that same pain when Tomás passed.
When she lost the love of her life.
Flazino wanted to find away to help, but many of the citizens began to question what they should do. They had their wishes back, the people in charge no longer controlled them, so....now what?
An older man approached the former apprentice. "Excuse me, young Flazino. But what should we do now?" He asked calmly.
The young man looked over the small crowd near him. Magnifico and Amaya may have been the rulers of the kingdom, but it was Flazino who listened to its people.
A woman dressed in green suggested. "Should we just keep wishing?" Not exactly the best idea...
Her friend dressed in blue hit her on the shoulder. "That's how we got into this in the first place! No!" She scolded her. The lady was certainly not in the mood for a repeat.
Flazino scratched his chin, he had only got his own wish back not long ago, but he could feel that he was ready to take on any challenge now. He cleared his throat and called for everyone's attention.
"Well, its been a very strange three days in this kingdom, but surely three days we won't ever forget. Today starts a new era for Rosas and for all of us. Its time we take Asha's words to heart. Let's take our wishes and choose what we want with them."
He turned to Asha and extended his hand. "But we can't do it alone. Will you help us?"
Asha gave a small smile and took his hand, "It'd be my pleasure."
As much as she was hurting, she would have to put those feelings aside once again. She had to be strong for all the people now.
The next sequence is a small montage of days passing in Rosas. With the extra assistance from the seven teens, the kingdom's citizens and the Hamlet residents fully united as one again to fix their shared home. Flazino even restored the memories of the citizens who were victim to the royals tricks, including his parents.
The destruction caused by Magnifico's magic was slowly being repaired. The people of the Hamlet used their years of skilled handiwork to use when restoring people's homes in the city, with them looking stronger than ever.
In return, the citizens helped to heal the singed forest of the Hamlet, learning how to properly fix and build things without magical assistance. Soon it was restored to its lush green self.
They did however have the assistance of the local forest animals! They may had lost their ability to speak, but the birds, squirrels, deer, raccoons and even the bear helped in their own way. The beavers are even shown to help gather the wood for the people as well!
And at the center of it all was Asha. For anything that couldn't be done by magic alone, she helped guide with hard work. When she wasn't doing that, we see her helping several citizens we've seen throughout the story getting their wishes granted.
We also see Asha and the teens hanging out more in Bazeema's "no-longer-a-hideout" hideout. (Dario calls it a cottage affectionately and it some how sticks.) Asha herself has become much more talkative with her new friends. Telling them the things that happened before they met, including the ridiculous plans of Star.
The girl's clothes have also become slightly different as she wears star shaped earrings. Her usual purple dress now had small star like patterns on different areas. And her bracelets were now gold instead of silver. Sakina noticed these changes, but said nothing. She didn't even need to ask.
We cut to another night now in the Hamlet. Where the teens were helping Asha, Sakina and Sabino create a big dinner for the Hamlet, some are cooking, some are cleaning, Simon and Valentino are trying to steal a few of the desserts but are caught. Hal was helping Sabino with his mandolin as he told he about the new song he was working on.
Dario suddenly burst into the room shouting "Heigh-Ho!" as he carried several baskets of dinner rolls with him.
The whole group replied. "Heigh-Ho!"
Gabo shook his head. "I can't believe we're still saying that..." He assumed it would be a passing fad. How did he get roped into that!
"I brought Flazi too! Had to drag him out of that lab by horse just for him to come!" He exclaimed as he placed all the baskets in one arm, took his free arm and pulled Flazino inside the house.
He didn't look nearly as tired as he did working for Magnifico and Amaya, but it was clear he had been working hard on helping Rosas.
"Oh great, just what this dinner needs: The walking rule maker." He sarcastically remarked as he passed by carrying a tower of pots and pans.
Asha welcomes Flazino in despite Gabo's comments. Dahlia was especially happy to see him. The entire group had become quite the misfit family once after their adventure together.
(Believe it or not, I like this artwork. It actually feels like they're a group of friends here)
As wonderful as her life had become, Asha could still feel that something was missing in it. Her family was safe, and the rulers were safely locked away in the mirror, no longer able to hurt or kill anyone else.
Part of Asha hoped that she could find out what happened to star. The nights she drew in her journal with the repaired pencil, she swore she could see the pictures she drew move. Especially if she drew "you-know-who".
Perhaps it was her own mind seeing what it wanted....
One late evening Flazino calls Asha into the tower in Rosas. She's told to come to the former wish chamber room for an emergency meeting. When she arrived, Flazino was looking through a large telescope that focused on the stars above. Asha had suggested turning the room into a stargazing place, given that her father was always talking about looking to the stars for guidance, and actually meeting a star. What other secrets did they sky hold?
"You should see this. I think its for you." He told her as he gestured to the lens and stepped to the side.
Asha looked confused as she took the telescope in her hands looked in the direction Flazino was pointing. Right above where the wishing tree would be in the forest, she saw a strange formation amongst the stars.
It looked like....a heart? Asha then realized that it wasn't there by chance. In the center of the heart was a light that shined brighter than all the others in the sky.
It wasn't just a star.
It was her star.
She could feel that it was him. She could imagine him probably waving hello to her from sky saying "I'm okay, Asha!" with that loveable grin of his.
Asha thanked Flazino by giving him a hug. Its best she's felt in weeks since saving Rosas.
Weeks turned into months, and eventually one year. One year since Rosas was saved. One year since the defeat of two power hungry rulers.
One year since Star left.
There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't think about him. In fact, she made it a nightly routine of hers to visit him. Since she learned Star was still alive, she didn't want him to miss another day of what happened in Rosas. It didn't matter if she looked crazy talking to the sky. All that mattered is that she was close the one she loved.
Although, the story of Star coming to Earth and the two of them having this magical adventure had spread throughout the kingdom. So that no one would forget how they became free.
And with that, there were quite a few girls coming to the Hamlet to maker their own wishes on stars. Mostly to see if they'll get their own magical boy to come grant their wishes.
Asha shut that down instantly.
We now arrive to a special evening in Rosas. Which the Hamlet residents are now gathering in the kingdom to celebrate Sabino's 85th birthday. Normally the family would spend a quite evening inside on anyone's birthday, but Sabino insisted.
He wanted to share his new song with the world, as his official start with inspiring people with his music.
So the family and Hamlet residents helped set up a party in Pinocchio Plaza. Instead of wish ceremonies, they celebrated the lives and birthdays of some of their residents. Something everyone could enjoy!
But before we get to that and the rest of our cast, we cut to the main tower of the castle where the former sorcerer's apprentice was now running Rosas.
Flazino was no longer in his tattered and worn outfit, but now adorned in a bright red robe and a green scarf wrapped around his neck. He wore the Rosas emblem proudly on chest, along with a small star shaped pin next to it. His hair had grown longer along with goatee was slowly growing on his chin. Without the stress of working and leading a double life for two years, Flazino no longer looked more tired than Simon.
(For reference, the outfit looks like this. Pretty cool artwork, I must admit!)
For the first time in years, he felt excited about using his magic. And the brightness in his eyes shined as he looked forward to all the spells he was going to master. The young man was already making great progress on using it to help others. He still had a long road ahead of him, but he wasn't alone on it now.
He had opened several books at the same time, and were floating in various areas across the room. He wanted to have as many references to other spells as possible when he creating his own.
Flazino was muttering to himself while memorizing ingredients he needed. Something about sand as yellow as gold? A time spell perhaps?
His rush of thoughts were interrupted by the hooting of an owl. He looked at the open window and saw his recently acquired pet, Archimedes. The creature was supposed to keep him Flazino from overworking by working as a sort of an alarm. He also doubled as a messenger owl within Rosas and even beyond the kingdom.
Flazino looked behind the owl and saw that the moon had fully risen. Had he really been working that long? Oh well. At least he was actually enjoying his work. And getting better payment!
"Thanks, my friend. I'll just be a few more minutes." He responded to the bird.
Archimedes nodded, but gave a stern look, as if to warn him not to be late, and flew off into the city.
Flazino looked around and realized he had to clean up his own mess. "All right, all of you, Redi ad mensam!" He raised one hand and all the books slammed shut. Then he proceeded to use both hands to guide the books back. They seemed to dance in a conga line as they returned to their places.
Sometimes it felt like the books had their own personalities, even before giving them magic. Maybe a few were joke books. As he began to put some of the potions away, he noticed he grabbed a bottle of one of Amaya's old potions. One that helped to reverse aging and possible illness. Maybe he should stay in longer so he could reproduce it...
"Flazi! Are you still working? I told you to take it easy tonight."
He recognized the voice immediately. It was Dahlia, and she didn't sound too happy with him. She walked into the study and saw him scrambling to hide the potions before she saw.
"Please don't tell me you're working late again? And on Sabino's birthday!" She rightfully scolded him.
Flazino nervously chuckled as he approached Dahlia. He was supposed to be working less now that he was running Rosas, but he seemed to take on a whole lot more than before.
"Of course not! I was just....uh....alphabetizing the spell books! Nothing that hard." He hoped that was a good enough excuse for her.
Dahlia saw right through him and sighed. "Don't work yourself too hard, okay? You've done more than enough." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Even you deserve a rest."
Flazino was going to protest, but it wasn't worth trying. Whenever Dahlia wanted him to rest after hours straight of working, she'd either convince him or get Simon to drag him out of the lab.
"Fine, fine. I'll stop." He sighed. "There's just always more I can do for this kingdom, you know?"
He gently grabbed her hand and their respective silver rings brushed each other. Flazino used a teleportation spell to save time getting to the bottom of the tower.
When they both passed the kitchen, the young baker realized she and the other cooks had left the place a mess themselves. In their rush to get to the celebration, it looked like a food tornado had hit the place.
Dahlia stopped. "Wait, who's going to clean up all this? Everyone's already heading to the plaza."
Flazino grinned. "No worries, dear. I can make it take care of itself now." With a snap of his fingers, the downward came to life and began to clean and dry themselves with ease as they bounced around in joy.
Flazino's smile faltered when some of the dishes began to break and the mops were scrambling to clean it up, spilling water along the way. "Yeah, let's get out of here. I'll just check on them later." Dahlia hurried Flazino out of the room. It was best that they leave before he changed his mind.
Before they headed to Rosas, Asha wanted to visit the Wishing Tree, as she did every day for a month. She normally came alone (aside from Valentino, of course), but this time the Teens insisted on coming along with her despite telling them it wasn't necessary.
As they made their way up the hill, Simon was getting out of breath and falling behind the rest of the group. "Can...you...guys slow...down?" He struggled to speak in between breaths as he had his hands on his knees.
"I warned you guys its was a long walk. You didn't have to come along." Asha called to them as she was far ahead of them.
Gabo shook his head. "Come on, Sleepy. It's not that far uphill. How are going to be a knight if you get tired this easily?" he teased as put his arms behind his head.
Simon gave him a look. "I have enough energy to hurt you, 'Grumpy'."
Gabo playfully took this as a challenge. "You want to go? Then let's go!" He egged on Simon as he put up his fits in a rather hilarious way.
Hal grabbed Gabo by the back of his collar and pulled him away before he got himself hurt. "That's enough out of you, buddy. We're supposed to be having fun here!"
"Yes, we're here for Asha's sake." Bazeema quietly said as she and Safi helped Simon up. "You know this has to be still hard for her ever since...."
Gabo groaned but relented. "Fine. I'll behave. I hate it when you use Asha against me." The boy refused to admit that he had a soft spot for her.
Eventually the group finally made it the top without anymore issues. The sky was gleaming with bright stars in the sky. They looked at them with much different eyes than before. The Wishing Tree itself also looked more alive and magical as the remaining wish ribbons waved in the breeze.
Asha took her usual seat at the base of the tree, where she got a perfectly clear view of the night, with Valentino soon joining her. There were billions of stars in the sky. She's looking for one. It might hurt to think about him, but it was something she couldn't help.
Dario sat next to her, just as mesmerized by the stars themselves. Without taking his eyes off the sky he spoke, "The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it."
There was silence as all eyes were on Dario.
"Did...did you actually say something intelligent?" Gabo sputtered.
Dario then pointed to a group of stars. "Hey, when you connect those stars together, they make a rabbit!" It was like he had never said that profound quote.
Safi shrugged. "Aaaaand there it goes. AAAACHOO!"
Asha shook her head, but agreed she could kind of see it. Her friends were strange, but she couldn't ask for better ones. After Star left, the seven teens stayed by her side the entire time. You wouldn't believe that before then they were all total strangers to each other. Yet somehow Asha brought them together, becoming one big family.
It was so serene that Simon had nearly fallen asleep right there. If Hal hadn't nuged him he probably would have. Now that he was mostly awake, he noticed a couple missing from their party.
"Hey, where are Dahlia and Flazino?" He asked with a yawn.
"Probably off somewhere being gross. Those two act like they're married all the time." Gabo chided.
Bazeema sighed dreamily as she leaned on Safi. "Isn't it romantic?"
"Well, not yet, anyway." Hal told Gabo. "But at least they got us that carriage to get us between here and Rosas. Way better than going all the way on foot, right Asha?" She laughed.
Asha seemed to be only half paying attention at the moment. Not because she didn't care, but that her mind was a bit preoccupied at the moment.
Bazeema saw the look in Asha's eyes as she looked up at the star above. She took it as a silent cue that they should go and let Asha have her privacy.
"Maybe we should go back to Rosas for now and let Asha catch up with us." She insisted as gave a subtle signal to Safi.
It took him a moment, but he understood. "Uh, yeah! We have a long walk ahead of us and all this pollen is getting to me. Achoo." And for the first time Safi FAKED sneezed.
"Again? Come on." Simon groaned. Now he really was feeling like sleeping. Safi and Bazeema had to forcibly pull him to his feet or else so he would've stayed there until morning.
"Don't worry, big guy, you can rest on the way to the party." Hal assured him.
"And I brought plenty of pillows for you!" Bazeema chirped as she guided her friend down the hill.
"And don't forget cake! I distinctly remember you mentioning cake is gonna be there." Dario made his intentions very clear, but still meant well.
As the voices of her friends faded, only Asha and Valentino were left on the hill. The two of them took a moment to let the quiet sink in, and Asha looked towards the sky where her beloved still was.
It may seem silly, but she could feel Star was there every night. Even if she couldn't see him, she could still talk to him.
So she did her usual routine of telling the news of Rosas every night to him, so he wouldn't miss out on a single thing that happened. Sometimes they were good, sometimes bad, other times just quite fine. It was their special time together.
Quite a bit happened since they were preparing for her saba's birthday, so she had plenty to tell him.
"Sabino's almost a hundred, but I swear he doesn't act like it. Ever since he got his wish back, he's been writing songs like almost everyday and all the paper getting piled up is driving mama crazy!" Asha laughed as she petted Valentino. "He's going to perform one tonight and wants us all to be there during the party. It was his way of saying thank you to us."
The star shimmered a little, as if he was responding to her. Yes, it was silly, but Star's silly personality rubbed off on her. She missed him dearly every day.
Asha sighed. She realized she had been there longer than planned. She seemed to lose track of time when she talked to Star. Hours could be lost if Valentino or someone else didn't bring her back to reality. It was about time to go home. If only she could stay longer.
"I wish you could come back."
The girl remembered what Star wished for before he left. He helped her grant the wishes of Rosas, but never got his own despite her promise.
"I wish....you were human too. I'd never let you be alone again..."
She looked up the shining star that seemed to look brighter than it did moments ago. Asha couldn't be sure if it was really Star or not, but she could still feel he was close.
Valentino pulled Asha away from her thoughts as he nudged her arm. He lost his short lived ability to talk long ago, but he didn't need magic to show how he felt. The little guy missed Star as well.
But both of them knew they couldn't stay there forever.
Asha stood up and brushed herself off. "Ready to go, Val?"
Valentino belated in agreement and joined her by her side as the two headed to the party.
It was time for another celebration instead.....
Wait, did you think this was actually over?
Not quite yet. Keep reading, or you'll miss the good part! 😉
Valentino started to follow Asha when his little ears perked up. He looked back to the sky, oranges over to the edge of the branch and started intensely staring at one particular star in the sky.
He started bleating at it over and over, like he was calling to it.
Asha sighed. Sometimes Valentino would get worked up over any star in the sky, thinking any of them could be his missing friend.
"Val, come on. We've got to get Sabino's performance and I don't want to miss it. You know how long he's been waiting for this." She climbed back up the tree a bit, reached over and patted him on the head.
The little goat looked disappointed, but he relented and hopped into her arms.
Asha couldn't even be mad at the little guy. She felt the same as him after all.
The two of them began their long walk down the hill and to regroup with the rest of the teens. For a few moments, all they could hear were the chirping of crickets in the forest.
Valentino's ears perked up once more as he looked behind him. His face looked shocked as started bleating like crazy, as if we was warning her. "MAA! MAA! MAAAAA!!!"
Asha saw the scenery suddenly became brighter. There was no it could be the sun, it was already late into the evening. She looked towards where Valentino was yelling about and saw what looked like the sun was barreling towards her.
She covered Valentino quickly with her body to protect the goat as the bright object zoomed pass them. It ended up hitting several trees, branches and small animals as it went downhill.
Once the danger had passed, Asha felt that this was all too familiar. She looked at the path the light took and heard a series of noises as it it multiple things.
Could it have been....?
Valentino kept bleating as he ran down the hill, calling to Asha as he disappeared into the forest.
It was foolish of her to think what this could've meant. But that ounce of hope had just multiplied.
Asha ran down the hill as fast as she could, following her little friend and not caring about the seemingly endless trees in her way. All she focused on was getting to the bottom of that hill.
The goat had already beaten her to the bottom as he trotted on the grass. Asha skid to a halt, out of breath as she frantically looked around. It was pretty quiet since a majority of the residents were in Rosas for Sabino's party. All that could be heard were the sound crickets and possibly a disgruntled cow.
Valentino sniffed the ground as he searched, but Asha felt different. Maybe her mind made her think he returned, maybe she missed him that much. Maybe this was her cue to let go.
Groan.
Both Asha and Valentino's eyes widened. The later clopped around the wishing well-which had dozens of blazing star flowers surrounding it now-and bleated happily. He saw a familiar figure as he grabbed the edge of the well and dragged himself up. He clearly ran into a different outfit on his way down, as he had a black vest and pants instead of his princely looking outfit.
Star.
"Man, I just can't get the landing right." He groaned as he rubbed his head.
Valentino belated loudly as he jumped into his friend's arms. He lovingly licked his face.
"Hey, buddy!" He exclaimed. "I missed you too! And you're horns are growing in, neat!" He tapped the small nubs on the goat's head.
"Do you know where Asha is?"
The goat nodded and looked back at Asha.
Asha was still standing there dumbfounded, kind of like this:
Star quickly put Valentino down and cleared his throat. He really hadn't prepared anything before landing, so it was quite awkward.
"Hiiii!!" Star sheepishly waved. He looked way more nervous than he needed to be. Asha was still staring at him in disbelief.
Star was only back for one minute and he was already blowing it. Was it too late to go back to the sky?
The poor guy rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh boy. I was gonna get you flowers or something else you liked, but I ended up landing in the wrong place, and you know I'm not the best at landing-"
His speech was cut off when Asha ran into him and pulled him into a tight hug. The force was so strong it knocked them both to the ground. Well, he was glad that Asha was happy to see him, but he wasn't expecting this kind of reaction. No one ever acted this way when they saw him. It felt nice.
Star could hear her sobbing as she had buried her face in his shoulder. He hoped that he didn't make her sad again. He had already hurt her enough being gone so long.
He returned the hug, while Valentino tried to worm his way into the two's embrace. Not out of jealously this time, but just as happy to be reunited.
The two of them finally sat up, with Asha wiping away her tears before she faced him. She still couldn't believe her own eyes, but she could feel him. He was real, all right.
"I didn't think you could come back. How are you here?" She couldn't believe she was even asking that. Who cares how it happened? Star was back!
Star chuckled. "Well, at first I couldn't. But as soon as you wished for me to return, I finally got enough magic to get here!"
Asha blinked. "That was it?"
"Yeah, all you had to do was wish for it!" I've been waiting for you to wish me back all year."
"I...could've....just....." She grabbed her own forehead in embarrassment. The answer quite literally in her face the whole time. They could've
Star just laughed as he hugged her back. "That's okay, it took me a while to figure it out too." He admitted.
She missed his voice, she missed his goofy smile, she just missed her Star. Perhaps it was true that absence made the heart grow fonder.
"I heard you every night when I was up there." Star explained. "No one else could hear you but me. That made staying up there and waiting worth it. I wasn't alone anymore."
And it was true. We see a small scene of Star looking lovingly at Earth as he listened to Asha. It became his favorite part of the day knowing he could still hear her, and it made his heart long to return to her.
Every time Asha thought she couldn't love Star more, he found a way just by being himself.
"Honestly I thought you'd be happy even when I left. I granted your wish after all. I gave you everything." Star pointed out. He thought maybe he missed something.
Asha giggled. "Well....not everything."
Star looked perplexed until she gently grabbed his face and whispered. "I didn't have you."
The two shared their first real kiss, and soon a bright light covered the canter of the Hamlet. It was so bright that Valentino had to cover his eyes with his hooves. Soon the light from Star traveled from him into the night sky until the sparkling trail disappeared and Star's glowing form was gone.
When Asha opened her she was taken aback looking at Star. He looked like a different person.
"Star, you need to take a look at yourself. Right now." She said quickly.
The two got up and Star rushed to the well to see what she was concerned about.
This time Star looked into the well and saw a slightly different face than before. His white hair remained the same, but it no longer glowed. His yellow skin had now paled. He felt.....alive.
He gasped and smiled at his own reflection. He felt like a new star, or man now!
"Asha. You did it. I'm human!" He ran over to her and wrapped her in one of his signature hugs. "I don't know how, but you did it!"
Asha herself wasn't even sure how it happened. She had seen this play out in some of the storybooks she read to the kids in the Hamlet.
Was this......true love's kiss?
"Thank you..." His voiced cracked as he hugged her tighter. He didn't think he could be happier, and yet Asha found a new way for him.
She made good on her promise. The star finally had his wish granted.
Asha opened her eyes and noticed something peculiar in the sky. "Look!"
Valentino had noticed this too. He was bleating at the star in the sky. Wait? The star? How could that be when the former star was already down here?
"So that's where your magic went. I guess it really belongs in the sky." She noticed it was brighter than any other in the sky that night. It was impossible to miss.
It was Star's magic and even he had a hard time grasping what had happened. "Soooo, my magic is just gonna sit up there forever? Doing nothing?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that. You never know who it'll help when they need it." And Asha was right. That magic would go a long way, and help many, many individuals who wished on it to achieve their dreams too.
But....perhaps you've already heard some of those stories.
Asha then informed the new Star about Sabino's performance happening tonight. And now he could finally meet her family.
"Come on, let's go home." She said with warmth in her voice as she took his hand. Star smiled as he gripped her hand.
"By the way, you're going to need a new name for your new life here." Asha pointed out as they walked away together.
"Actually, you already gave me a name." the boy winked. "Cosmo!"
Asha was surprised. "You're...really sticking with that? Don't you want something a bit more normal?"
"Its normal for us!" He laughed.
In Rosas, the residents of both the kingdom and the Hamlet had become close once more. And the scene looked more lively than ever before. The people looked alive and happy. Kids were playing in the plaza, talented chefs and cooks were sharing unique dishes and foods from their cultures. Musicians of all ages played different styles of music.
And most importantly (at least to Sakina) the aspiring seamstress and clothing designers came together to create their own business to deliver clothes not just in Rosas but all over the world!
Sakina just had a small problem with two of the elderly seamstress seemed to get into arguments on what color some of the garments should be.
"Make it blue!" One would declare as she grabbed a blue fabric from her bag and placed it on a headless mannequin.
"Make it pink!" The other retorted as she pulled her own fabric out and replaced the blue ones They went back and forth like that for what felt like hours.
Sakina finally had enough and stepped between them. "Ladies, please. I can can settle this." She removed both fabrics and replaced them with her own. "It will be green."
Both women relented once they saw it. Then a flock of bluebirds came to take the agreed upon fabric back to the shop.
"Our woodland friends will take care of the rest until we get back. They have been a wonderful help." Sakina explained as she passed the two women. True to her word, she had an entire division of the forest animals helping to sew the outfits.
Once she settled that dispute she went into the sea of people searching for Flazino and the teens. Most of them were having their own dispute. This time on whether it was ethical or not to destroy those statues they removed from the plaza. Gabo wanted to finish the job, but the others didn't want to clean it up.
"You kids better settle down. Don't make me call your parents here." The woman warned sternly.
They listened then. And quietly settled down.
Sakina felt like she suddenly had 7 more kids without even knowing it. Not that she minded, most of them had their own families and homes. But whenever they showed up for a dinner, to help out restoring the Hamlet or just stopping by for a visit, they were always welcome.
"By the way, Gabo. You ever going to tell us what was your wish?" Hal attempted to learn at least that secret of Gabo's.
Gabo looked around and saw the seven teens (and Flazino) together. His friends. "No need. I already got my wish granted." He said confidently and placed his hands behind his head.
Hal wasn't sure what that meant, but she was surprised that he didn't make a wise crack.
Meanwhile Bazeema was still trying to convince the lynx to join their group. She assumed after the defeat of the royals, he would become more friendly. Right now she was trying to coax him into coming down from the nearby rooftops with treats.
"Come on, Sabor! You don't have to stay away anymore. I have treats for you if you come down!"
Sabor turned his nose up and refused to come down from the rooftop. A year later as he still refused to warm up to Bazeema. His loyalty to his queen was still intact. At the very least he wasn't attacking people anymore out of spite.
Safi put a hand on her shoulder. "Its okay. Maybe he's just not ready. Its his loss though, AAAAAACHOOO!" He sneezed so loud that his hat fell off. Bazeema picked it up for him. "Here you go."
Safi sniffed. "Thanks. I can at least now ask for something else as my new wish. Something I've really always wanted." He clumsily walked over to Flazino and whispered in his ear.
Falzino's eyes furrowed. "....Safi, why do you want a giant chicken?" He was almost afraid to know the answer.
The sneezy boy was about to answer him when he looked behind Flazino and saw Asha approaching with...Star?!
"Are my allergies acting up again?" Safi rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly. The other reactions from the teens confirmed it was real.
Cosmo made his usual greeting. "HIIIII!!!"
"Star?!" Bazeema exclaimed, then covered her mouth. She hadn't been that loud in ages. She actually startled herself. "I mean....star?" She exclaimed in a now softer tone.
"Actually its Cosmo now!" he winked, hinting at the nickname he had before.
Dahlia was already struggling to keep up and Gabo seemed to feel the same. "Okay, but how are you even back? We thought you were stuck in space forever and would have watch Asha talk to the sky the rest of her life."
"That's....a long story." Asha laughed nervously. She really didn't have the patience to tell them everything. But Cosmo did.
"Well, after I was forced back into the sky, I was thinking how I could back and-"
Dairo rushed to them and caught them both in a tight hug. "Who cares?We just missed you! Come on, group hug to celebrate!" He edged on the rest his friends.
Simon rolled his eyes. "That's so cheesy. I want in." The others quickly joined in.
Gabo attempted to sneak away but Dario caught him and (lovingly) forced him into the hug. It was a lot more closeness than what he was used to, and he pretended not to like it.
Flazino cleared his throat and started to slowly back off. "Well, I'll just give you guys some space to-"
Dahlia grabbed Flazino and pulled him into the group hug. He didn't even have to ask.
Asha felt like her family had been put back together after so many years. After the death of her father, she had to grow up a little faster to help her mother, saba and the Hamlet to stay together.
Now they all could rest easy. No more running. No more hiding. No more fear.
It just felt like home.
"For the record, I will continue to call you 'starboy' whenever the mood hits me. Its too good to throw out." Gabo noted when they all settled back into their seats.
As everyone was chatting amongst themselves, Asha's family had been catching Cosmo up on everything else that happened. From taking down every arrogant decoration the formal royals had across the kingdom, to Simon's improvement in knight training, to Gabo no longer being a little menace to society and even Dario and Hal working together to create a comedy show for kids.
Sakina however took pity on Cosmo when she saw how thin he looked (he wasn't that thin). Her motherly instincts took over, which distracted her a bit from her sewing.
"Poor thing, you look like you've never eaten a thing, make sure you eat plenty after the show."
Well....he hasn't ever eaten a thing.
Cosmo was suddenly reminded of his own mother, who was more of a free spirit, but always grew serious when it came to his health. It was comforting to have that feeling again.
"You bet. I'm gonna try everything, I want to see how humans make such good food." He was actually hungry for the first time, which was a strange, but nice feeling.
"Just don't ask Asha to cook for you..." Flazino snickered as he placed his arm around Dahlia.
Asha rolled her eyes. They were never going to let her live down her baking fiasco, were they?
"No offense Asha, but the last time you baked a cake, it was the most pathetic cake I'd ever seen." Dahlia said bluntly. "Half of it was burned inside."
(She's talking about this one. 👆 Yes, I went there.)
Asha pretended to look offended. "What? You mean that when I told you I didn't know how to bake, it meant I didn't know how to bake?" Yeah, that wasn't one of Asha's strong suits...
"So you can draw a cake but you can't make one? HA!" Gabo nudged Cosmo, hoping he at least understood the joke. He kind of did, but then again, he's never cooked himself.
"Next week your taking baking lessons with my mom, no excuses!" Dahlia insisted as she sat next to her friend.
Asha smiled. "Deal."
"Just don't kill your grandpa with your bad cooking, you just saved him and now you're putting him in danger again." Gabo snickered.
"Cooking can be fatal?!" Cosmo slightly panicked. This was going to be hard for him since he would actually need eat from now on....
Asha ignored part her friend's terrible comment, but it did remind her that she still hadn't seen him since they got back to Rosas.
"Where is saba anyway?" Asha asked as she looked through the crowd for her grandfather. The audience appeared eager to hear his performance as well.
Sabino looked nervous as he watched the crowd from behind the curtains. He had been wishing, dreaming, longing for his boyhood dream of inspiring people with his music. And he decided now would be the best time to get cold feet.
Luckily Asha had found him before he backed away. "Are you all right, saba?"
The old man scoffed. "Of course I am! I have nerves of steel ever since you returned my wish. A few...hundred people won't phase me." He his began to lose confidence towards the end.
Asha saw his discomfort and gave him a small hug to calm him down. She was happy he was no longer sick, but he would still need a lot of help from her. Sabino wouldn't be around forever...
"Please, saba. This is what you've always wanted. No one should have to live or die without a chance at making their dreams come true."
Saba grinned. She definitely learned from the best.
Their moment was interrupted by a large crash sound. The two looked behind them and saw Cosmo accidentally knocked over the bass instruments.
He nervously laughed. "Sorry, I was just coming to find you. I'll pick up..." He saw the strange looking instruments, one of them being large looking bass. "...whatever these are."
Sabino had a lot of questions at the moment, but it would have to wait until after the performance. So he just settled on teasing Asha. "That must be the new boyfriend you've been going on about for a year."
The girl looked at Cosmo, who was fascinated by the assortment of instruments the usual players had laying around the stage. He had no idea what any of them did, but he wanted to learn.
It was that wonder in his eyes that made Asha's heart skip a beat.
She just simply answered, "Yep, that's him."
To Sabino's surprise, she didn't even argue. Not even a little. His granddaughter really had grown up.
Sabino straightened up as much as he could. "Well then if you were able to go up against those two whackjobs, then I can certainly handle a crowd of people. Now go back to your seats and join your mother. I'm about to begin." He began shooing her off from backstage.
The curtains were slowly beginning to rise, but he still missing his mandolin!
"Now where's that darn mandolin? It has to be here." He mumbled as he frantically searched for it.
"Oh! I got it!" Cosmo volunteered. He hesitates on picking up anything because all he knows is the flute. But his eyes widened when he recognizes the instrument Sabino played in his wish. He grabbed it, walked over to the man handed him his beloved madolin.
In a rare moment of softness, Sabino replied, "Thank you, my boy."
Cosmo grinned and returned to his seat next to Asha, joining the rest of the family in the crowd.
Once everyone was settled, all eyes were on Sabino for his grand moment.
He takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes. And sings from his heart.
A Wish Worth Making 🌟🎶
Take it from this antique,
When your hopes are in despair
If your desires have strings
Free them, give them some air
'Cause any wish that's got your heart
On the edge of breaking
Is a wish worth making?
Yes, everybody dreams
To be something, someday, somewhere
Even kings and queens
Daydream to be free from their royal chairs
Well, any dream that's got your heart
Even when you're not sleeping
Is a dream worth dreaming
Sabino gradually opened his eyes and saw the crowd cheering him on. His childhood dream had finally come true. As he looked at the audience and his now extended family, he stood up and took a bow. He couldn't have asked for a better gift.
"Let's dig into that cake now!" Dario exclaimed as he pulled out a fork from nowhere. He darted towards the food table.
"Dario, you better not eat half it like the last time!" Dahlia warned him as she tried to beat him to the table before the hungry teen did. Flazino tried to calm her down, but was futile at this point.
"Not if I get there first!" Gabo sprinted past Dahlia and the other teens quickly followed.
Soon it became a race to to the cake, completely forgetting it was Sabino's cake in the first place. Not that the old man minded, he seemed to be racing along with them, with Sakina trying to get him to slow down.
"Well, I'm already learning one human thing." Star pointed out as they rose from their seats.
Asha raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"
"Hunger. I just might eat that whole thing myself." Star replied with a straight face.
Asha stared at him for a moment, but then saw he was trying to keep a smile out. She burst out in laughter, and before long, he joined her. Valentino followed the laughing couple as they all went to continue Sabino's birthday celebration.
"I didn't mean to call on a star, but in the end, I'm glad I did."
Asha's narration has finally returned, which we haven't heard since the beginning of the story.
"I would've never had this adventure, or realize I had people I could count on to help. I guess my father was right after all."
"Somehow we were able to do something impossible, which is what kind of made it fun to begin with."
The camera gradually zooms out of the scene, revealing it to be animated on a page.
"So the next time you wish on a star, just remember it can only take you part of the way. You'll have to help it along with your own hard work. Then you can do anything you set your mind to."
The music swells up as it fully reveals the storybook from Chapter 1.
"And as for us, we lived-"
A familiar voice interrupts the narration. "Are you reading our story again? Why didn't you tell me? I could've talked about all the fun parts!" The page stops zooming out immediately.
"Well, you already know how it goes. These folks haven't." She explained.
"OOO, I KNOW! You can show them our wedding, that was really fun!" Star exclaimed. The pages then quickly turn to a huge wedding scene that mirrors this little scene from Cinderella.
"Cosmo! They don't want to hear that!" The page flips back the original one we were on. "Besides, we can save that for another time."
Cosmo sighed but accepted it. "Fine. But if you read the one about the dragons, you gotta let me tell that one with you."
Asha was going to protest, but relented. He was just excited after all. "I swear, its like you're still a kid when comes to these stories."
"Oh yeah, that reminds of me of why I came here. Could you help me get the kids to bed? They still got some energy left, even this late. Hehe." Cosmo laughed.
Asha returned the laugh. "Gee, I wonder where they get it from? Sure thing. Let me just wrap this up." She cleared her throat and returned to her narrator voice.
"And in case you were wondering, we all lived happily ever after."
✨ THE END✨
As the first batch of end credits roll, the song "Something That I Want" plays. (More for the upbeat tone to match the story)
After the song ends, we transition to Sabino playing his mandolin underneath the wishing tree. He plays the first notes of "When You Wish Upon A Star" as his wish ribbon is tied to his wrist. Then fades to black.
The main end credits roll, playing the full tune of "When You Wish Upon A Star". Showing the full version of Sabino's new song. We also see images of the main of different Disney characters making their famous wishing upon a star scene throughout the movies.
(Yeah, it actually was a fun idea in the original, it just uh....needed to actually mean something. 😅)
(Credit to @annymation for using this cover in her rewrite first!)
And one last message, to send off our celebration movie:
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
FINAL THOUGHTS (Long one incoming)
And so we've finally reached the long awaited finale of Wish Granted, the first ever fan fiction I've ever written and completed! ITS FINALLY FINISHED!!!! I never thought I'd see myself writing a fanfic, let alone an entire rewrite film. That's the power of the concept art at full force there. 😂
Let's be real, there was no way I was going to give Star and Asha such a sad ending after everything they've been through together. Yes, Asha not only granted her saba's wish, saved Rosas and even gained a new family with the 7 Teens and Flazino, But it never would've been fully complete to her without Star. He became the prince that Asha never knew she had, and despite neither of them being royalty, they certainly felt like it when they're together. See, Disney? Its not that hard to have a strong female protagonist that's in love. You guys used to do it all the time.
I also wanted to give as much development to the characters as possible since the movie was devoid of any kind of growth from anyone, it bothered me so much. Asha goes from untrusting and a bit pessimistic to trusting her new friends with the plans of saving a kingdom and opening herself up. Star went from naive newcomer who was alone to a more confident yet still fun guy who learns what it means to be human. Even Valentino got development! 😂
I did think about sort of killing off the royals just like the Renaissance era films did with their villains, but I seriously was stuck on how to do it without copying someone else, so I came up with my own way to stop them. I just took the concept the movie had in defeating Magnifico, had the classic "falling to their doom" scene most Disney movies had and gave it a twist where both Amaya and Magnifico were sealed in the mirror. That way they're forced to see life go on and Rosas prospering without them. Everyone gets to finally live happily!
And not only did Starsha become canon, but also Dahlzino! (Bazeema and Safi are getting there, it'll just take a little more time for them) The former I've loved writing their blooming romance since they help each other grow and are simply cute. The latter was done by accident and I just adored writing them. Flazino deserved some happiness so he gets quite a great reward for his work too. And becoming a true master of magic, he's technically in charge of the kingdom now!
I might be moving on to writing original works and a side fanfic story in the Sonic fandom, but I'll always come back to Wish Granted and look fondly on it. Not only to show designs, but also some extra mini stories that take place before and after the movie. Will there be a sequel to Wish Granted? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on if there's a great story idea to come back to. Until then, Asha and Star's main adventure is over. Unless you count raising a family as one! 😂 As always, I'm happy to answer any questions you have that I possibly missed answering in my own story.
This was a fun adventure to write and I loved making friends in the Wish Concept Art fandom, and seeing aspiring writers create their own takes on the concept. And I'm honored that I not only entertained you, but also inspired anyone. It makes me so happy! 😭
Thank you all for reading! Bye!! 👋
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