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 Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2022 9:59 am
Quote: 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.
They were in Town Square, by the large tree with the lights and flowers and dangling paper wishes. Anyone who looked at them would think they belonged there, their skin matching the tones of Earth, their mode of dress meant to blend in with the crowd.
Nine months they’d been on Earth already — not an incredibly long period of time under normal circumstances, but it certainly felt that way when cut off from their own world. A world that was dying. A world depending on them to discover a solution, which Vin felt no closer to finding than the day they arrived.
“Would you like to leave a wish?” Vin asked his companion. “The people at the flower shop say it’s a yearly tradition. You can take one of the wishes if you want to fulfill it, or leave one on the tree for someone else to fulfill.”
He paused to glance up into the branches. “It seems foolish. Why not just take whatever action seems necessary to complete your own wish?”
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Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2022 10:59 am
Alyssum tried not to fidget in his glamoured body. Seeing curved ears on Vyn-- Vin was weird enough. It was like he was a completely different person.
And yet Alyssum knew he should be used to it now. He’d been going out as a normal human for months. Ever since they’d arrived. But he was definitely more comfortable in his own body.
“I agree,” Alyssum sighed as he glanced up at the wishes on the tree. There were so many things that made it seem as though people just wanted others to do their work for them.
“I am unsure what I would wish for. They seem to be menial tasks. Perhaps I could wish for someone to…” he paused and shrugged, already unsure of what he wanted. “Do something kind for someone. Does that seem like a reasonable wish for someone to complete?”
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Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:12 pm
“Reasonable, yes,” Vin replied. “Worth an entire festival? Probably not.”
He thought he should be enjoying himself. It was a new cultural experience — one of many they’d faced on Earth. Surely there was much they could learn from the humans by participating, and perhaps by doing so they might learn something about what made Earth so special.
Or they were wasting their time. Either option seemed plausible.
Vin grabbed a couple of slips of paper and passed one to Alyssum, along with a pen from his back pocket he accidentally took from work. (He absolutely did not steal it. He simply forgot it was there before he left. He had every intention of returning it when he arrived for his next shift.) Feeling quite morose, Vin struggled to come up with his own wish.
I wish our world wasn’t dying. I wish our Commodore wasn’t dying. I wish King Caedus would die, if that’s what it takes to save us all. I wish I wasn’t so nervous around the Commodore. I wish I was as clever as some of my peers. I wish I knew a solution that would make everyone happy.
Eventually, Vin sighed and, with another pen from work (which he would also be returning), he wrote, I wish a wish was enough.
He stopped to stare at the paper when he was done and realized he hadn’t even written in the proper language. With another sigh, Vin said, “I don’t suppose it matters. There are probably many wishes that are left unfulfilled by the end of the festival.”
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Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2022 5:10 pm
There were a lot of things Alyssum wanted to wish for. Wishes that he wanted to come true. Things that he knew he didn’t have the power on his own to accomplish. He wished for Velencya to be saved. For the Commodore to be saved. He wished his fellow Vanguard took their research to find a solution more seriously. He wished he was smarter so he could do more than just learn about medicine and treating others.
I wish to go home again.
Alyssum wrote it carefully in English. Maybe there were others on Earth who had been away from their homes for too long and all it would take was a piece of paper from a festival tree to prompt them to visit.
Before it was too late and they could never return.
“The probability for unfulfilled wishes is high, yes,” Alyssum agreed as he rubbed at his eyes, hoping that it looked like he was just trying to wipe away fatigue instead of the tears.
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Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2022 5:14 pm
Vin pretended he didn’t notice if Alyssum looked a little teary. He thought that was the polite thing to do when one was trying to hide the fact that they were close to crying. Vin hated to cry. It made him feel pathetic and weak, even if he didn’t think anyone else was if they happened to shed tears.
He tied his wish to the tree, then offered to do the same with Alyssum’s wish, giving his friend more time to compose himself.
When he was done, he turned back to Alyssum with a smile. “Would you like to stop for ice cream on our way home?”
It was hot, and they were both sad. Vin thought they deserved a treat.
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Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2022 5:31 pm
Alyssum quietly thanked Vin for his offer to attach the wish to the tree, wondering if maybe there was something wrong with him for being so emotional. He liked to help people, he wanted to do better, for the Commodore and for Velencya. For his friends.
There were many good things about Earth, but there were also many bad things. He didn’t like that there was war and fighting. He didn’t like that there was such a disregard for life in general. He didn’t like that the humans didn’t seem to care about each other, or want to work together. He didn’t like that they were forced to rely on the Negaverse for protection while they were there. Alyssum had seen the horrible things they did when they were at that hilltop battle. He’d seen how the Negaverse regarded them when they were brought to their realm after the battle itself, and how the Commodore stood firmly between them and everyone else.
“Would you be okay if we picked up some ice cream for the Commodore, too?” he asked, but already knew Vin’s answer. Of course they would do that. If anyone deserved a break, it was the Commodore, who had been working relentlessly, even as their own kind tried to stop him from saving Velencya.
Some ice cream was nothing compared to saving their world, but maybe it would be enough to put the Commodore’s heart at ease for a little while.
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