Wishing Star

Hello, it was nice of you to meet me tonight. I bet you're wondering why a guy like me would be staring at the stars at this peculiar day. Well, it's my birthday today. Oh, you knew that? You're asking why I'm not out partying and drinking alcohol on my twenty first birthday? It's because I can't get myself to have fun, you see. Please stop interrupting, I'll explain why. On this date, almost a decade ago, I had killed my brother.

Wait no, don't go! I didn't use a weapon at all- honest! It was an accident!

Oh well, I should've known he'd flee. Hey, why are you still here? You want to hear me out? Thanks, that means a lot. Here, have a cup of tea and let me tell you how Eric died.

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It was a breezy autumn morning, Eric and I were playing out in the yard. We were enjoying ourselves, just like any other day. Then he asked me, "What will you wish for tonight when our stars come?" I thought about it and answered, "I don't know, Eric. How about you?" You see, every year, two stars fall our synchronised birthday. At the age of six, we both realized that these were wishing stars.

We would wish on the craziest things- maybe even useless. Like that time when we turned seven, I wished for a Walkman, just because I can. Eric wished for a mini circus on our backyard and we got it! Oh, just thinking of how we laughed makes me miss him. Anyway, back to that day, we were both turning fourteen. There was so much I wanted to wish for, but only one chance a year.

Huh? Did our parents know? Of course they did, but we told them not to interfere with us when we make our wishes. One distraction and that's it, what happens, just happens- we knew that. So back to the story, I asked Eric what he would like on his birthday. He grinned and replied, "You know that cute chick down the street? Well, I got my eye on her and I'm gonna ask the star to give her to me."

"That's a good way to waste your star," I said.

"What'cha mean?" he questioned.

"You know, the star will only grant your wish for a day. Carla won't be your girlfriend no more by the time it's midnight tomorrow," I told him rationally.

"Oh, well yeah. I guess. But, I still got way more years to live and this might be my one chance. Maybe she'll still like me when the wish is over," Eric beamed.

"Okay, buddy. Enjoy your star however you want to," I shrugged. Later in the afternoon, I got in a fight with some punk on the street. I guess I was beaten up pretty badly. When Eric asked me how and why, I said I didn't want to talk about it. We got into this huge argument and we didn't speak to each other for the rest of the day.

That night, we were staring out the balcony like we do every year looking for our birthday star. Neither of us spoke until suddenly, Eric called out, "Our stars!" He took a deep breath, and before saying his wish, he glanced at me. "I wish Aaron's wounds would heal." I was taken by surprise at this, my swelled eye was starting to see better, and absolutely nothing hurt anymore. Forgetting that I didn't make a wish yet, I said, "Thanks, I wish you'd go to heaven."

At that moment, two flashes of light appeared next to him. Eric's face was twisted in a strange, inhuman expression. I was too scared to speak. A second later, Eric and the angelic figures beside him faded away. In a wispy, faraway voice, Eric uttered his last words. "Goodbye, Aaron. Nice knowing ya." From the corner of my eye, I saw that our wishing stars have vanished. "He's gone," I choked out as soon as I got my voice back. "Mom! Dad! Eric is gone!" I ran around the house looking for them like a maniac.

Then I remembered, Mom and Dad weren't home anymore. They left Eric and I a year ago. I didn't know where to go or what to do. I was alone. I grabbed money, food and clothes and I ran. I took a taxi here- a fourteen year old orphan wandering across the streets by himself, imagine that. "Eric's gonna come back to me, the wish will end tomorrow," I told myself persistently everyday. But he never came. Neither did our annual wishing stars.

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I still look up at the sky on my birthday every year waiting to make my one wish. What do I wish for, you ask? Well, I wish to join Eric and my parents. I wish to die. Hey, look at that- it's midnight. Oh well, I've waited long enough. I'll just grant it manually.

Nope, sorry. There's nothing you can say or do to make me put this gun down. Goodbye, thank you for stopping by to listen to my story. Oh, and tell Carla that Eric said hi for me, alright?

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(A/N: Hi! Okay, so I hope you liked my short story. It didn't take long to write, and I sort of enjoyed it ... in a way.)