When Hope is Gone

Chapter 1

We were on our way home from the movies when I noticed that the moon was out. Looking at the illuminating crescent, I realized that I had never taught my four year old daughter how to make a wish.

Smiling, I turn to her and say, "Look! The stars are out! Make a wish!"

She looks up at me with her little brown eyes and asks, "What's a wish, mommy?"

"Just say to yourself whatever you want the most in the world, and it'll come true!"

She closes her eyes and mumbles to herself. Suddenly her eyes fly open and she exclaims "I wished for-"

"No!" I cry out, "Don't tell anyone what you wished for."

"But why not?" She innocently asks.

"Well, if you tell anyone your wish, then it won't come true!"

Little does she know just how true this old fairytale is. Her wish forms in the air, a silver, shining substance, and I watch in awe as it shoots off into the sky, colliding with the moon. Oblivious to the supernatural happenings around her, Ash keeps skipping down the street, splashing in the puddles from yesterday's Wish Granting that has been disguised with the rain.

***

"Good morning, Toni," the receptionist sneers.

"Morning, Kristy!" I chime back at her as if I didn't hear her condescending tone, "How are you today?"

"As good as I'll ever be" she replies in a bored, monotone voice.

I don't really know why, but unfortunately Kristy and I have never gotten along very well. I still do my best to be nice to her in hopes that we could at least have a proper conversation someday, but unfortunately in the twenty-one years that I've know her, I still haven't made any progress.

I head over to the shimmering glass elevator. I step inside, just barely squeezing in as the doors close behind me. I find an empty seat as fast as possible and strap myself in. Internally screaming, I plaster a smile on my face as the daily recording chimed, "Greetings everyone and welcome to work today! I hope you all have a fabulous day today and that you make all of the Universe's dreams come true! Just a reminder to make sure your belongings are tightly secured and that everyone needs to be strapped into their seats, it's going to be a bumpy ride! We have fifteen minutes until our next stop."

I can hear the sound of the engines begin to start up, and I relax into my seat. I pull out my phone and plug in my headphones. As I wait for the fifteen minutes to pass, I wonder how my little Ash is doing. It breaks my heart to have to leave her at daycare everyday, but she isn't ready to know about this world yet. After all, my parents introduced me to this life as soon as I was born, and that turned out just spectacular. I love my life. It's great. Fun times.

No, I want to wait until she's a bit older, maybe around eleven or thirteen. I want her to be able to truly enjoy this world before the joy gets sucked away and boredom fills the mind. It's amazing how the most wonderful things in life can become the most dull so easily.

My thought process interrupted, the elevator chimes and the doors are opened. I unbuckle my seatbelt, walk out of the elevator, and step into the space station. I make my way over to my small ship and climb in. The doors to space open as I tap a few more buttons and I fly to my satellite, the Sun.

Once I arrive at my station, I immediately check the Wish Collector database for new wishes. The wishes that were stored in the moon overnight transfer over to the Wish Collector as soon as I press the on switch. As the sun rises over each place where each wish was made, the wishes transport from the moon, where they're kept overnight, to the sun.

I smile as I see the wish that my daughter made last night. I hit the play button, and immediately the sound of my baby's thoughts plays over the speakers.

"I wish that I could have a best friend."

My smile fades. Am I really not enough for her? No, that's right. I always forget that normal people tend to want friends. I guess that's a good sign, then.

I go to the computer as it automatically sorts through the other kids who live in England. Their faces flash by as it determines my daughter's fate. Finally, a picture of a little girl with light blonde hair and green eyes rests on the screen. Her profile tells me that she's a four year old whose name is Brooke Nelson. I tap a few buttons to insure that their fates are sealed. The fulfilled wish shimmers in the air, then shoots down towards the door, slipping through the cracks. I watch through the window as it shoots back down towards Earth. The space station's windows allow me to zoom into whichever part of the solar system I'd like. I can just barely see the wish collide with a cloud.

In a way, I guess you could say that I am the most powerful person on Earth. I have power over life and death. But then again, I don't really have a choice.

Being stationed at the Sun, I have the responsibility of granting wishes to everyone on Earth. It usually isn't that hard. People life simple lives with simple goals. Most are so simple minded that they ignore Wish Making all together, believing that it's just another myth.

Realizing that I have a job to do, I snap out of my thought process and walk back over to the Wish Collector and hit play so that I can hear the next wish.