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The Wishing Tree (1): A Destiny City Star Festival Tradition to be held every year; In Town Square, there is a beautiful tree with spreading branches. It is tall, but the lowest branches are easily reached. The city has decorated the tree with small, starlike ornaments and glistening lights. Thick leaves and beautiful purple flowers dangle from the branches, along with a myriad of different colored papers with handwritten wishes. Next to the tree is a stack of blank paper with twine attached, and a handwritten sign that explains:
Write your wish on a sheet of paper and tie it to the tree. Take one wish off the tree and do your best to grant it. When you have granted the wish, bury the paper in the park.
The papers are biodegradable and filled with seeds. There are no rules for wishing, but you are encouraged to wish for something vague enough that it can be interpreted in many ways so that it can be granted; you do not write your name on it, but it is encouraged to write something that doesn’t wish for self gain, but rather something that can make the world a better place. Some wishes dangling from the tree already include things like “I wish there wasn’t so much litter in the park,” “I wish someone would clean the graffiti off the old historic buildings,” and “I wish there were more volunteers at the shelter.”
If you choose to use the Wishing Tree, what do you wish for? If your wish is private, you may write it on the paper and choose a spot in the park and bury it yourself instead of hanging it on the tree.
Write your wish on a sheet of paper and tie it to the tree. Take one wish off the tree and do your best to grant it. When you have granted the wish, bury the paper in the park.
The papers are biodegradable and filled with seeds. There are no rules for wishing, but you are encouraged to wish for something vague enough that it can be interpreted in many ways so that it can be granted; you do not write your name on it, but it is encouraged to write something that doesn’t wish for self gain, but rather something that can make the world a better place. Some wishes dangling from the tree already include things like “I wish there wasn’t so much litter in the park,” “I wish someone would clean the graffiti off the old historic buildings,” and “I wish there were more volunteers at the shelter.”
If you choose to use the Wishing Tree, what do you wish for? If your wish is private, you may write it on the paper and choose a spot in the park and bury it yourself instead of hanging it on the tree.
Caius had always enjoyed the Wishing Tree, and all the festivities of the Star Festival. He hadn’t always had the opportunity to come and enjoy them as freely as he did now, but with age there were some benefits, and he didn’t need a chaperone. If he were being honest, the teenager in him told him this was just some silly, dumb little ritual the town did to hype itself up.
Wishes obviously didn’t come true.
Except, he kept coming back every year, and he couldn't help but smile at how happy everyone else seemed--and it was a cute idea, to tie a wish to the tree and try to help someone else.
He didn’t have a wish anyone else could solve, not really.
But it was a nice thought.
On other days, he might have sat down to people watch for a bit, or made himself comfortable and sketched for a while--because, the artist in him couldn’t deny that he loved the way the tree looked, decorated with wishes and lights.
He was only passing through today, but he'd been thinking about what sort of wish he'd wanted to make for at least a week now, and he wasn't any closer. He stopped by the stack of paper and picked up one of the colorful, biodegradable strips, and left with it.
He had a lot to do, but there was a nice little park on his way to the house. He passed Arias' bakery and thought about going in to say hello, but he'd been a bit clingy recently and he was afraid he might wind up bothering them. He'd just been yesterday, and he would be back again tomorrow, but for today he just needed some down time. He was burned out from school, burned out from the house, burned out from all the people in the bakery. They weren't bad!
He just needed a little quiet time to destress and be by himself.
Caius adjusted the bag on his shoulders and made his way away from the loudness of the city, to the quiet little patch of trees and plants he'd had in mind. The only sound was the soft wind in the air, and the jangling of his ever growing collection of Star Charms hanging from his bag.
He sat himself down on the ground and dug out a pen. Knees crossed, he placed the paper strip on his knee and carefully wrote, 'I want this to work out. Please don't let me mess this up.'
He had a good thing, he knew it.
Nick was the first person to take an interest in him and with him and Arias trying to support him--actually working with him...
He was terrified of messing this up. He didn't understand the whole 'being powered' thing, but he was working on it. Right now, his focus was on helping them with the website and trying to work out all the kinks in his suggestion so he wouldn't wind up looking dumb. He was terrified that the suggestions he'd made for the bakery was going to fall through and he'd not only have wasted his money, but wasted his chance.
A nagging voice in the back of his head told him that he should have kept his suggestions to himself and just made the website they'd wanted, but...
They'd been so supportive. They'd asked questions. They'd given him a phone and texted him questions, and given him feedback, and made their own suggestions to see if it was viable.
It felt so collaborative.
They didn't treat him like a kid, they didn't see him as just some burden. They acted like they wanted him around.
...And he was terrified he was going to lose that.
He'd worked so hard to be on top of things, to be the only person he needed to rely on. It was hard to admit that they were so nice and that he actually would have been upset if he messed this up.
Not just because they paid him, or because they fed him, or gave him free things--those were all great perks, of course, but even if he made this completely about a business transaction, those were just 'fair business' practices.
No, it was the way they asked about his day, the way they invited him over for dinner, or packed him snacks to take with him every time he came over. The way they seemed to be considerate of his interests, and the way they offered to let him tag along. He was supposed to go to the art gallery with them next Saturday--a fancy art gallery. One he'd never been able to get into, himself. It helped that Arias liked art, but he didn't have to bring Caius with him. Nick didn't care about art at all but wanted to go to support them--and had offered to take them all out to eat afterwards.
Maybe Caius had been a little too obvious with how much he liked food, but it was like Nick had pinpointed that he was always hungry.
Caius let out a little sigh as he put his pen away, as he packed everything back up into his bag except for the little strip with his wish on it. It seemed so childish and he knew that, but...
He'd poured his heart into this wish. He'd wanted things before--years ago when he'd wished for his parents back. And then, when he'd wished to get adopted into a good home. And then, when he'd settled for wishing for a comfortable family to stay with until he'd aged out.
This one meant more to him than any wish he'd made in a long time, and a part of him thought it wasn't fair how badly he wanted this. He didn't know how he was going to pick himself back up from it all after things fell apart.
...So, he wished harder.
Carefully, he dug a small hole; he was mindful not to make a mess of himself or his clothes. He drew the paper to his lips and whispered, "Please," before he buried it into the dirt and carefully covered it up again.
He didn't think he asked for so much from the world anymore.
If it could give him only one thing, he just hoped it was this.
