The Wishing Trees

Chapter 1

Dawn is breaking behind the clouds. I see brilliant shades of oranges, yellows, and pinks through my make-shift window. I close my eyes and wish for more sleep to come. That is the only time when I don't have to worry about how I’m going to feed us, if we'll have to find another place to live, or if we'll survive another day. I wish I could live more hours in unconsciousness, but to my utter dismay I can't seem to drift in my dreams another minute. I curl up against the wall dragging my flimsy sheet, I call a blanket, with me. I notice that if my markings on the wall are correct, than it is indeed the 12th of may. I start to dream of what it would be like to have a house, to have a family. How wonderful would it all be to never have to worry about anything more than what I will choose to wear that day. If I concentrated just enough I could actually see a whole different life that I might have lived. I would have had a nice cottage in the forest to live in with my family. My parents are there with Dustin and me. We are laughing and having a nice homemade breakfast together. All of a sudden, right in the middle of a good joke our dad was telling, reality breaks into my one true dream.

I hear Dustin's feet bounding up the stone stairs to my supposed room. I lean my head back against the rough wall and wait for him. His brown hair comes bobbing up around the corner. I close my eyes and pretend to sleep knowing how much joy he gets from his usual morning wake up tricks. I can sense his presence in the room, hear his ragged breath, and I hear something else I cannot place. It sounds like something sloshing. I can feel him getting closer, and I hear what he brought with him more distinctly now. I realize with a rush what exactly he plans to do. I'm about to reach out and open my eyes to stop him when I’m drenched up against the wall, my soaking wet clothes sticking to me like a second skin. I hear my brother's laughter coming from my right. I slit my eyes open to glare at him. I'm about to ask him why the heck he chose to try and drown me when he snickers out:

"Come on Olivia, you didn't honestly think you were getting a normal wake up call on your eighteenth birthday?" I laughed with him glad he was smiling today.

"A girl can hope, can't she?" I say, "oh and I hope you know by now you are responsible for leaving this stuff out to dry, right?"

"I figured it out before, but I still think it was worth it. Don't give me that look I'll figure it all out later just come down the stairs." he calls out from a few feet away, rolling his eyes when I don't join him. "I promise no more bad surprises for you today. Now get down here." I sigh and bounce up on my feet to follow him down the cracking rocky stairs.

* * * *

By the time I pounced into to main area of our abandoned building, which was going to cave in a couple of weeks, Dustin was practically bouncing off the walls. I was about to ask what the merry-go-round was about when I see an actual cake on the old crate along with a big cardboard box beside it.

"Dustin, how did you get this?" I ask, worried for his safety.

"Oh, don’t worry about that, all you need to do is enjoy it." he replied, kneeling beside the small birthday cake.

"I’m serious, Dustin." My voice came out harsher than I intended, but I didn’t want him to be out there risking his life for some silly cake. Hurt flashed across his face which was quickly overcome with a serious expression.

"Fine, I got it from Chep." he snapped.

Chep is a kind baker who tries any time he can to help us out by giving us leftovers that were not bought in the bakery he worked in. He attempted to help any way he could, but wasn’t able to do much in fear of being caught. We understood his dilemma and appreciated (and tried to repay him even though he insists on not worrying ourselves about it) every service he has done for us. We don’t want anyone risking anything for us. He is, in some ways, our only friend besides each other. Many people also ‘accidentally’ leave a pie or meal out on their window knowing we would come by, but that’s just simple once a week deals. Chep is somehow different. I gave Dustin an apologetic look.