Wasted Wish

• Grace Hor, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2020

“Somewhere away from here. My wish - that’s where I’d like to go.”

Soft whispered words caught my attention under a night sky lit up with shooting stars, carrying the hopes and dreams of many upon fleeting stardust wings. The full moon, in its ethereal glory could be seen, but my attention was piqued solely by the boy lying in the grass next to me. It might’ve been night, but the moonbeams were enough to highlight the soft smile playing upon his lips. Though his wide-eyed gaze was lost amongst the cosmos, I revelled in the shooting stars blazing in my best friend’s hopeful eyes. A midnight summer’s gentle breeze stirred the blades of damp grass, our hair tousled by the zephyr.

“As much as I’ll probably miss this town, I wanna explore the world,” He continued, his voice nearly carried away by the mild breeze.

I simply nodded. I was busy thinking about how we’d be late to class tomorrow morning. Our teacher wouldn’t be too happy about that… It was worth it, though, staying out this late to watch the meteor shower. Just us, alone. We bid our wishes a safe journey to the stars hours ago. I didn’t tell him, but my wish was to stay with him forever. It’d probably sound all sappy. I had the rest of our lives to tell him, anyways.

It was a lazy midsummer’s afternoon, the playful gust whipping dust onto my face from the fissured pavement. The school’s final bell rang not long ago, freeing us into the warm summer heat. Homework easily forgotten and the sun bearing down its glaring rays on our backs, our laughter resounded down the street. Helmets on heads and hearts in our chests, we raced down the road on beat up old bikes.

“First one to the playground has to buy the other an ice-cream!” I challenged him, a gleeful grin gracing my cheeks as I saw the competitive spark ignite in his eyes. I loved it. “Ready, set… Go!”

Kicking up more dust clouds in our wake, I raced down the seemingly empty street, feet pounding against the pedals. Metal against metal, a jarring screech that ripped my heart from my chest. Even from this distance, the horror in his dilated pupils was palpable. Crimson dyed a grey tarmac, an image fresh in my mind’s eye for years. Neon vehicles, accompanying repeating patterns of constant red and blue. Red and blue, red and blue, flashing and flaring as the wailing noise fell upon my deaf ears.

A starry night sky blurred by my dolorous tears, the moon luminous and looming as heavy as the weight of my pain. The soft summer breeze dried my tears, leaving salt stained cheeks as the moonbeams caressed my face. Guilt sullied my heart; moments I took for granted no more.

Whispering to a ghost of a memory under the stars, words I never got to say.

“Wish we could stay like this. With you, now and forever.”