A Princess For Christmas (Of The Dreams We Seek)

Eleven

It has been two weeks since she received the form. She had been thinking what did she wanted from her life anyway. For someone who was terminally ill for so long it was very possible that they knew what they wanted to do most before meeting their demise. 

But she had never known this. She had never known what she could want most, what was that one thing that mattered most to her. And she didn't have anyone to talk to. She tried to call that number once Prince Callahan had called her from, but it was still out of service and her emails were unanswered for days.

 So, she doesn't know what else she can do. She can ask her friends but they were in between their assignments assigned to them. Even Avi was busy trying to juggle between his college work and his father's shop. Trying to manage both the best he can. 

In short no one she has whom she can talk to. Her mother would not stop crying hearing about what she could expect to have as a last wish and her father didn't wanted to even hear about such things. Now she was stuck thinking what can she do actually. 

She has no idea, or no one who can guide it to right direction and time had been running out of her hand. She once had twenty-four months to live, now she only had twenty-three months and one week.

Her phone rang as she was going through her college work. She had this one due this week and no way she was falling behind due to some illness. Like her father says she is the kind of Princess who is in control of her own kingdom. 

Maybe not all aspects but this one she can control. She picked up the call "Missed me?" the voice asked from other end of the line. "Avi? Don't you have work to do?" She asked. "I had then, I thought since we might not be meeting till Christmas why not take my time to talk to you. What is it that is bothering you?" He asked her.

 "I have the form in my hand asking me to state one wish that I want to have before I die" She said sarcastically. "You are not going to die Avni" Avi told her sternly. "Not what this form says. No, not at all. It says and I quote, state one thing what you always wished to do before meeting your demise" She said in a dramatic tone. 

"Really? Before meeting your demise? That is one cold sentence." That made her laugh "No really, it doesn't mention the D word at all. It is forbidden to mention the D word to anyone." She whispered as if telling some secret to him.

"So, you don't know what you have as a dying wish? Don't you have some celebrity crush you wish to meet? Or go to NASA or even area 51 just to see if they keep the alien ship there?" He joked. "Maybe last part isn't going to happen but hey it is not bad to try is it?" Avni laughed some more at his poor attempt. 

"Why do I want to spend my time on some celebrity crush who probably wont even remember me? It is not a fairy tale you know, that suddenly some Prince is going to sweep me away on his noble steed" Avni said. "So still no word from the Prince Not so Charming then I guess, no wonder you hate fairy tales. But still Avni, what makes you happy?" Avi asked this time in a very serious tone.

 "I never did knew that all the time I was busy making others happy?" He paused thinking "Did it made you happy?" Avni had no hesitation in answering that "It did, I love seeing them smile, it warms my heart and makes me feel happy inside. I am happy in knowing I can make them happy, fulfil something they thought can never happen their life. I love making others smile." She heard a laugh from Avi's side

 "There you have your answer, Avni You know exactly what you can do with your wish, donate in an orphanage, take them vacationing, feed the less privilege, tell them to have a society for that, you can even get a list of Christmas wishes and use the money to fulfil them, all of them. You can become someone's santa, how cool is that?" Avi asked. 

"Very, I can actually do all this. And more. So much more with my one wish. How incredible." Now Avni didn't felt so glum, even if she was going to die, she still can make some people happy with her wish. But who she wants to make happy most? That was the question only she and she can answer. No one else can do that for her.

As she was trying to decide her phone rang once again and this time it was a request for a video call. She picked up the call. And then she saw a very surprising face on the opposite end. "Miss Avni, how I have missed you" Serafina was on the other end of the screen with someone else.

 "Your highness, I am surprised you called, isn't it time for your lessons?" She remembered when she used to talk with Callahan, he used to tell her about her lessons she had been taking before his coronation and she is going to perform on that day. "I have an emergency and I am using my best friend's phone to call you Miss Avni remember one I have told you about, Rachel?" Avni nodded. 

"Do what is the emergency Princess that you have called me bunking your lessons?" She asked. "It is about the promise you made me. Do you remember?" Avni nodded. She does remember her promise. 

"My brother had turned back to his arrogant, grumpy self. I don't know why. He doesn't even talk to me anymore." Serafina said. "Maybe it is because his coronation is near? Maybe he is just tensed about it?" Avni suggested. 

"I don't like it a bit, what my brother had been turning into, it was like he is turning what he was when father was alive, I don't like this Callahan, can't you just come here and keep your promise Avni?" She asked again.

Only if he was the Callahan, she knew always he was then there is no reason he is going to let her enter into his territory not for anything. "I don't know would it be wise? He knows what is best for himself and you, and his country. Maybe last thing he needs is some outsiders influence to..." 

"It is exactly what he needs, he needs you Miss Avni, you had broken through him once, cant you do that again?" Avni shook her head. "I don't think I was the reason. Besides I am not even sure that doctors would let me travel that far, in my condition it can be dangerous." Avni tried to make her understand.

 "Please Miss Avni, I cannot see my brother sad, and he is always sad, you made him smile once, you can do it once more, just once more" Then she looked at something. "They found us, I need to run, think if you can have special permission maybe you can come here? And we can spend some time together? I miss you a lot Miss Avni. I will call you when I can" She said and cut the call. 

It made Avni wonder exactly what made that little girl so desperate to make that call.

Two days past since her call and Avni still had left the section blank. She simply doesn't know. And then she remembered that innocent request that little girl had made with best interest in heart. And those words still floating through her mind.

"Can you please help my brother learn how to smile again?"

Yes, she can, matter of fact is she can actually make a whole nation happy by making the soon to be king happy before his coronation if she made him smile, she can make a whole nation smile. Isn't what she wanted to do? Always wanted to make everyone happy?

 Then why she was hesitating with this one thing? Maybe it is not just a silly request. It is more than that for Avni. For her it was about riving the friendship that had meant so much for her. She missed that friendship and missed obnoxiously sassy attitude and his bad questions. Maybe he actually ran out of those finally. 

As she said to him, not even he can pretend to be foolish for so long about something so obvious. Maybe he stopped being foolish just for her. Maybe he forgot her totally. Because as Avni told her friend, life isn't a fairy tale. 

No, life isn't a fairy tale at all. No one can come and save her until she becomes her savior herself. That is something her father had taught her well, but still she can become someone's Santa and that is something she wish to do so much this year with her wish.

 So, with a new kind of determination in her mind she finally took her pen and wrote down over the dotted line. The wish she wished to be fulfilled. More than anything in this world, the thing she wanted to do more than anything. 

Word Count: 1589 Words