Wish in Parallel

Little Jenny slides down the banister to find balloons and a present on the kitchen counter.

“Happy Birthday!” her parents cheer.

“Thank you!” She gives them each a hug. They guide her to the table where her mom places a stack of pancakes in front of her with a candle on top. “Go ahead, baby, make a wish!”

Jenny’s eyes go wide. “I get two wishes today?”

Her dad laughs loudly. “Sure thing, Sport!”

Jenny closes her eyes and whispers, “I wish I could ride a dragon.”

***

Solomon opens his eyes.

“Here you are, my boy! Your own dragon!” His dad beams with pride.

Solomon looks at his dad. “We can afford two dragons?” His dad squeezes his shoulder. “Do you think I’m ready?” Solomon slowly approaches his dragon, who lowers its head to let Solomon pet his nose.

“I’d say so. Come on, let's go for a ride.” The two saddle their dragons; Solomon is surprised by how well his dragon listens to him.

His Dad approaches on his dragon. “I knew she was meant for you. She doesn't have a name yet - that will be all up to you. Ya ready?”

Solomon gets up in the saddle. “I hope so.” Together they take to the sky. “Yahoo!” Solomon cheers as they fly through the air. His dragon takes off ahead of his dad’s older dragon as if to challenge them to the race.

“Oh, it’s a race, my boy?” His dad playfully taunts, taking off at a speed the younger dragon can’t maintain.

In trying to keep up, Solomon accidentally does some spins. He feels more alive than he ever has before. He and the dragon gracefully land next to his dad on a cliff.

“Woah, that looked like a whirlwind of a ride!” his dad teases and helps him out of the saddle.

“That’s her name! Whirlwind.” Solomon strokes her nose. “Think I could be a trick rider?”

His dad looks down. “I'm sure you could if I could afford to not have you working. But I need your help-”

Solomon puts a hand on his dad's shoulder. “So, we’ll work for it.”

His dad hands him a stone. “It’s your birthday. Whisper your wish and send it away, and we’ll see if it comes true.”

Solomon knows this is childish but he does it anyway. He cups the stone in his hands and whispers. “I wish that Dad and I could be rich.” He closes his eyes and tosses the stone.

***

Vicki stretches as the room fills with light. “Good morning, Princess.” Her lady-in-waiting bows. “Your parents left you a letter.”

With a flick of Vicki’s wrist, the letter floats towards her. She opens it. Happy Birthday, Victoria. So sorry but your Father and I needed a break from court. So we’ve taken your brother and will be back in a few days; then we will give you a proper party. We will not forget this year, I promise! Do not worry about kingdom affairs; your father's advisers will handle everything. Do not forget to practise your magic, my little enchantress. Your parents.

Vicki crumples the letter and incinerates it with a flick of her wrists.

“Was that really necessary, princess?” Her lady-in-waiting suppresses a giggle.

“You know they both hated that I was a girl, and they go away every year on my birthday and never remember to celebrate it. If I hadn’t had magic powers they’d never bother to see me.”

Her lady doesn’t argue. Vicki gets out of bed, and with a snap of her fingers she is ready for the day. “I will never understand why they hired me. You don’t need a lady-in-waiting.”

“So I don’t run away,” Vicki says plainly. “They know I’d never leave at the risk of you getting hurt.”

Her lady smiles. “You would cast a spell so they can’t hurt me, or send me somewhere they’d never find me.”

“Once I’m strong enough. I won’t be the enchantress locked in a tower until they can marry her off to make things easier for the son they wanted.” Vicki knows she’s bitter, but what else could she do? “I’d like to be alone.”

Her lady hesitates. “But it’s your birth-”

“Don’t remind me!” Vicki cuts her off. She then composes herself. “Sorry. Please leave me alone for now. I need to be in good spirits for the party tonight.”

Her lady winks. “Party? There is no party.” She slips out of the room as Vicki heads to her balcony and sits on the railing.

She flicks her wrist and a chocolate cupcake appears in her hand. “Good thing Mother is not here.” As she enjoys her breakfast, she looks at her hands. “Someday, I’ll be strong enough that, when I clap my hands, you’ll take me to a place where I am wanted and my wish to be loved will come true.” She closes her eyes to dream.

***

Axel blinks as he enters the neon streets. He walks through the streets as everyone speeds by, talking on their microchips. He watches as the circuit board glows beneath his feet, powering the city and everyone around him. In a world of circuit boards and tech, he ducks into a small alleyway and the hum of the city dies down. As he walks, the neon lights fade and the homes slowly get less and less techy. Where he lives, you have to get up to turn off the lights. The circuit boards turn into broken pavement paths and old solar-powered cars sit in driveways, hardly used but still the best options when the bullet train is down.

Nature still grows here, not like in the heart of the city. This is where the poor live, and he’ll never move his family out of here. His kids might, but not in his lifetime. He walks into the old house; it’s dark. As the door clicks shut, light fills the room. “Surprise, Daddy!”

His kids race toward him and tackle him to the ground. “It’s your brffday!” his youngest beams.

“Yes, it is!” He pokes her nose, and she giggles.

“We baked you a cake!” His son points to the counter, where a cake sits and his stands wife waiting.

“Baked? Babe, that must have cost-”

She helps him up and silences him with a kiss. “Real cakes will always be better than that stuff they sell at the bakery.” She rolls her eyes.

He smiles; he married the right woman, that is for sure.

Wrapped in his arms, she smiles back; she loves the life they have. “Now make a wish so we can get these kids some cake and get them to bed.”

Axel looks at the candles and blows them out. “I wish that this feeling never ends.”