Just one wish
A short story about greed
I found out I had one wish, just one, not three. And here’s the kicker, I couldn’t use it on myself. That’s right, I had to use it on someone else. I had to make a wish for someone else. If that wasn’t a disappointment I don’t know what was.
The guy who gave me the wish told me not to waste it. At first I didn’t believe him, but then he told me story after story of people he gave wishes to. He said he could give me references if I didn’t believe him. He gave me instructions on how to make the wish properly. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about and after all that I believed him. So, I had this one wish sitting in front of me or wherever it was, maybe floating around in the sky, waiting for me to call upon it.
I’d been thinking for weeks about how to use it. I wasn’t going to waste it like he warned me. I wanted to make sure I didn’t regret what I asked for. And I was always on the lookout for deserving people. Then the day before I made the wish I found out I was getting laid off. I didn’t have a savings, I had been living paycheck to paycheck. I didn’t know what I was going to do except try to find a job quick, which was easier said than done. I wished someone had a wish to make for me. My job ended in a week and I wouldn’t have any money and soon I wouldn’t have a place to live. I had nothing but just one wish and I could keep it forever or make it and have nothing left.
And then it occurred to me, I could make a wish for someone else but help myself. I did need help and I was deserving. After all, I have been a loyal employee and I was just getting thrown away like yesterday’s trash.
I walked into my boss’s office and looked him in the eyes and ran through the wish process in my head quickly.
“Can I help you with something?” he asked.
“Shhh, I’m thinking,” I said, dismissing him, after a few seconds I wouldn’t need him in my life anyway. I’d be set, I wouldn’t have to worry about anything, and I wouldn’t have a boss for the rest of my life.
“A wish, a wish, this is the wish that I give to you,” I pointed to him and smiled, he looked at me funny. “I wish that you had a million dollars and you gave it all to me.”
“Ha-ha, OK, is that all? I have a meeting in a few minutes that I have to get to,” he laughed and pushed himself out of his seat.
I looked around and didn’t see piles of money. Maybe it would be transferred to my bank account. How long would that take? Maybe the wish takes 24 hours. “Wait, I have something else to say, I quit this stinking job.”
“Ok? You are getting laid off and your last day is Friday but if you quit you won’t get your week of severance pay. But the choice is yours, are you sure you want to quit?”
“You can take this job and shove it,” I said and started to walk out but turned around, “and that mill. better be in my account by tomorrow morning!” I struted out of his office and to my car, leaving everything behind. Whatever I left at my desk I could buy, if I even needed any of that.
Everything looked better through my eyes now, colors were brighter, the air smelled wonderful. I couldn’t stop smiling. I got to sleep that night imagining what I would buy first with all that dough. The next morning I woke feeling refreshed. I checked my bank balance and I could feel my heart pounding harder and harder as I searched for the million. Where was it? There were no pending transactions, where could it be? Maybe my boss forgot.
Nothing was more important than getting that money. So, I went straight to my car and drove to my old work and waited in the parking lot for my boss to show up. The time ticked by slowly and I wondered if he was even coming. Maybe he took my money and left town. I finally saw his car pull up into his reserved parking space. I jumped out of my car and approached him. He was startled by my anger and my appearance, still in my pajamas. “Where’s my money?” I yelled, almost grabbing him by the collar.
His eyes bulged and his nostrils flared, then a funny look came over his face as if he was in a trance. “You are selfish, you will never get a wish until you realize the importance of giving.”
“But I am in need, I am in need,” I repeat over and over. That wish didn’t get granted so long ago because someone thought I wasn’t worthy. Who do they think they are? The granter of wishes? They know nothing, I am in more need now than I have ever been.
I hold my hand out to everyone passing by, begging for anything they are willing to give. They go out of their way to walk far around me and away from my brown hands and dirty, torn clothing. “I was supposed to have a million dollars!” I shout. Some teenagers laugh and throw pennies at me as they go by. “Where’s my money?” I sit down on the ground and wonder when I will get what I deserve.
What do you think? How would you use your one wish?
