spark a dream

these wishes

***

a 'Wish' alternate universe fanfiction where Asha is the wish-granter instead of Magnifico.

***

Asha delivers.

Silently, contentedly, unquestionably loyal to her job—she delivers. She's been here since the dawn of humankind, where stories began to take shape and dreams sought to be made reality. It's a marvelously serene place: the navy of the endless sky above her flows in sync with the river, sparkling in the moonlight by some mysterious, magical force. It is always tranquil, always placid. She doesn't mind spending eternity here.

The ambitions of those down below on Earth float up to her lake. Asha rows her boat along the current, picking up each lantern-shaped wish and hoisting them up to the sky. The wish floats: up, up, up, to the dark cosmos above her, where the supernatural takes care of the rest. She's just here to ensure the safe passages of all these hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Asha tries her best to guide every single dream up to the sky, but it's one girl against billions—possibly even trillions of wishes, all of them aspiring to reach the heavens. She never feels disheartened, though—when the current changes its course, she will row her boat back to the dreams, pick them up, and send them with all her might to the sky.

Some wishes glow brighter than the others—with such a ferocious intensity it could rival the light of the stars above. Asha glows with them, too—she knows a strong believer when she sees one. The believers put their heart and soul into each wish, and guide them along to her with their own magic. Some of the most powerful dreams float to the sky on their own accord, chasing success at all costs. (Those lanterns usually have a sun emblem on them, and she smiles in the memory of her good friend who dared to dream and escaped the tower.) Asha marvels at their persistence, and remembers her adventures amongst humankind—once a legendary tale but now long forgotten—and how she'd felt such passion, such love for simply doing the right thing.

At times, Asha has to remind herself that good, kind souls still exist on Earth. She never picks up the dreams with malice, even if they believe they are benefiting the 'greater good.' Alas, those nightmares only follow fate, and the strongest ones escape the serene river and hurtle up to the sky like a bullet.

There have been many more of those in the past millennia. Asha shudders at the horror of it all—as she should; as we all should. She wishes that times would change—or that she could rewind the clock. Second chances are rare in the world below, where pain, strife, and discrimination plague every corner. Asha hopes with all her might that the dreamers will unite everyone in harmony, and develop a world enveloped in peace and understanding–else, she'll take matters into her own hands if she has to.

For now, though, Asha continues to deliver.