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 Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 10:10 pm
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.
How Mel was always able to drag him to do this type of thing with her, he’d never really know. He stopped wondering about it years ago. His policy these days was to refuse a couple of times, and if she insisted or forcibly pulled him off of his computer then it was easy enough to just give in and go. Truth to be told, he did enjoy seeing his friend have a good time–it was one of the reasons he didn’t mind helping her with her cosplay stuff. So if that meant going out in this heat, well.
She had to seriously bribe him with something cold.
“I’m demanding a fancy ice cream after this,” he said to her as they came upon the Wishing Tree. "A Magnum, maybe. Or Häagen-Dazs. Or...just something fancy."
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 11:06 pm
“Demand all you want, but if you duck out early, you get nothing.” Melody threatened even though it held no weight because she had the keys. Sure he could take the bus but why suffer sitting beside a stranger chatting away on their phone, or sick with something yet too concerned with the TikTok to cover a seasonal sneeze. No- Harvey wouldn’t suffer through that when he could have AC blasting on high while listening to music of his choosing. “I only want to do a couple things while we’re here, three hours tops. I promise” She’d have gone as far as to hold a pinky out to him but Melody knew better. Only his daughter, Desiree, could get away with such an innocent act. “Long enough to go to the Wishing Tree, maybe check out that new candy shop that opened up. I think it was called StarSweets or something similar.” She shrugged figuring that theyd ask around when the two of them got hungry. If she’d come alone, chances are Melody would spend some time picking a wish or two off the tree and see what she could do about granting them. Maybe even just spend some time walking through the park looking at all the flowers in bloom. But she was not alone and she knew that people threshold and really didn’t want to be here.
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 11:24 pm
”As if I actually have a choice,” he said with a bit of a scowl. Just a bit. She had the keys and there was no way in hell he would take the bus home. It was hot to wait for the bus, too hot to deal with strangers who could be all manner of sick or twisted or both, too hot to put up with much of anything else.
How did she get him to agree to coming?!
“Three hours, tops, doing whatever you want here, and then I get to pick a fancy ice cream and dibs on the radio on the way home.”
He had it in him to extend his pinky to her to hold her to it, but he kept his hands properly stuffed in his pockets. It was an affectionate gesture that he now extended to his daughter, but he used to with his ex as well. It was a show of his affection, plain and simple, but the idea of sharing it with Mel somehow felt odd so he didn’t.
He grabbed a paper and pen and handed them to her.
“Any idea what to wish for?”
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 11:52 pm
Melody rolled her eyes with an amused grin and nodded her head knowingly. Even if I wanted to I doubt I could actually be mad at him no matter how grumpy he seems to be. A part of her wondered of that was because she still had residual feelings for him from their college days but she wasn’t entirely convinced with that reason. Their friendship was, for lack of a better term, complicated. Perhaps it was wrong of her for acting like nothing had changed since they were last rommmates, but awkward silences didn’t sit well with her and unless it was work related, she wasn’t too keen on acting formal. “Honestly, I don’t know.” She replied coyly. “Probably something outlandish. What about you? Any idea what you’re going to write?”
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2023 12:09 am
Complicated felt too simple a term, if someone were to ask him. Assuming, of course, he answered honestly. Theirs was just…one of those things that he didn't think too hard about because whenever he did his head would start to hurt. Work and parenthood did enough of that, and honestly why would he want to make things weird between them by asking questions?
They were roommates, they were friends. What else could they possibly need to be?
Harvey grabbed a piece of paper and a pen for himself next, smirking at her answer. “You would. And I dunno. Probably something boring and generic. I heard the tradition is supposed to be some kinda selfless wish. Maybe I’ll go with ‘world peace’ or something.”
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2023 12:24 am
“Really?” Melody raised a brow at him. “Next thing you’re probably going to tell me is that you’re going to enter the next Mr. Universe pageant so you can stand next to Ms. Universe doing the whole- elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, wrist, touch your pearls, a kiss.” Throwing caution to the wind, she mimicked the said motion, making a mockery of the wave. “We can’t even achieve peace here in Destiny City let alone the world.” But if that’s what he wanted to write as his wish, who was she to stop him. When another writing utensil became free, Mel snatched it off the table, along with a strip of paper, and wrote a single word. ‘Clarity’ Ambiguous to anyone who might pluck it from a branch later on but to her it meant an understanding of where things were going. Things revolving her powered and civilian life felt so convoluted that all she wanted was for someone to point her in the right direction. “I’ll be back, I’m going to go hang this up.”
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2023 12:57 pm
His expression went from amused to mortified as she described it, then back to amused when she actually demonstrated it. He followed suit, wanting to pile on to the obvious joke, saying, “Come on, you wouldn’t vote for me?” His face deadpanned just seconds after that, though, and he went back to focusing on his paper. “They’re idealists, those idiots. I wouldn’t write something like that.”
Harvey, after some actual thought and consideration, also wrote down just a single word. “Harmony.” Considering himself and his struggle with relationships, it felt right. It wasn’t exactly selfless, but it also wasn’t something materialistic, which he imagined was equally in the spirit of the festival.
He acknowledged Mel with a little “yeah, sure” and, after checking to make sure she was gone, he scribbled something else down on another piece of paper. ”Clarity.”It was equally as vague but far more personal. He buried that one first, then went to hang up the other.
“Done. Were you gonna grab one to see if you could fulfill it?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2023 9:53 pm
“I mean-” her weight shifted from one foot to the other as she weighed her options. “I guess I could?” Melody’s voice sounded almost hesitant; mostly because if she was going to grab one off the tree, she wanted to swipe the one Harvey just tied to it. But to do so with him right there… it might be best to wait till later. “Unless you’re willing to risk the chance of staying longer than three hours, I’d say… let’s get food first and see what time is left over.” A reasonable compromise since some wishes might not be as ambiguous as the one she had written. Then again there really was nobody around to police whether or not an attempt was made to grant what was on the paper. But then she felt that annoying subconscious tug to just do it anyway. Curiosity be damned, really just wanted to know what his wish was. But it seemed today was not the day to learn his secret wish. “Then again - YOLO…” Pivoting on her heel, she walked over to the tree and plucked a random piece of paper from one of the lower limbs and smoothed out the wrinkles. The handwriting was messy; not quite comparable to a doctor's chicken scratch notes, but not exactly elegant either. “Pay it forward,” an act of generosity towards a stranger. “Do something for someone who otherwise does not have the means to achieve something on their own. An admirable request-” shouldn’t take much time to complete. Worst case scenario she’d just power up later, look for a civilian to save from one of those nasty agents, then BAM wish fulfilled. Easy!
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:29 pm
”Food sound–”
He didn’t even get a full sentence out before she changed her mind. It amused more than annoyed him, thankfully, so he stood there with a brow quirked and a smirk on his face that more or less said, “I knew that was gonna happen.”
Harvey moved to stand just behind her and a little off to the side, then leaned in and sort of around her so he could read the wish that she’d plucked off the tree.
“Nice and simple,” he said, then looked up and, deciding in the spur of the moment to try his luck, plucked one down as well.
“Rescue a helpless animal.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2023 12:57 am
“See there,” Melody pointed to the last word written on his piece of paper. “It says A-NIM-AL,” she enunciated each sylabil with a verbal punctual. “Which means, no- you can’t push me in front of a moving bus and pull me out of the way last minute.” Eyes narrowed accusingly, her lips pursed into a thin line. But behind that ‘evil glare’ was a girl just trying to hold in a laugh. For all the various ways she has pushed his buttons or coerced him into doing something he really didn’t want to do, it did come to at least some surprise that he hadn’t yet found a way to startle the hell out of her. Probably because he is well aware of the immediate, and involuntary, consequences of such an act. Either way, she was not about to be the answer to his selected wish. “However, if you ask nicely, we can go to the animal shelter and maybe look at getting an animal.” Not that he was even considering that as an option, it was something she thought about a few times before he had moved in. Unfortunately, because of her work and evening productions and spending a noticeable amount of time on her Wonder, Melody simply didn’t have the time to devote to taking care of a pet. But, at the very least, perhaps his daughter might enjoy the company of a dog or cat over two adults when she visited.
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2023 11:36 pm
Harvey matched her expression with a little glare of his own. It masked a level of amusement with the notion that might have been considered suspect if one didn’t really know him. “You honestly think I wouldn’t?” For the record, he wouldn’t. “You’re just lucky it did say ‘animal’.”
The man looked down at the paper in his hand and sighed as he thought on her offer.
“Mm…well, Rae’s always wanted a cat.” He pulled his phone out, tapped and swiped on the screen a few times before offering it to her. On the screen was a little, fluffy black kitten sleeping on his daughter's lap. “Her best friend has one and now she wants one, too. She finally managed to beat down Meg’s defenses so they’ve been looking around." Harvey pulled on a hesitant, uncertain little smile as he looked at his roommate, and he scratched the back of his neck out of nerves. He didn't particularly like asking for favors, but he was always willing to put himself out of his comfort zone when it came to his daughter.
“Not sure if she ever plans on going through with getting a pet, but if you’re okay with having a cat then maybe…?”
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 10:27 am
“I’m definitely willing to consider it.” Melody knew herself well enough that getting only one wouldn’t be an option. She’d no doubt get attached to the cat since Harvey often locked himself in his room for work and personal related reasons, that she’d likely be the one to give it attention and affection on days Desiree was with her mom. “I’d suggest you talk it over with Meg first, though. See if she actually wants a cat or if this is just something she’s doing to placate your daughter. If she’s not really keen on getting one, then offer us getting one instead. If she is ok with it though, either see if you can go with them when they go out looking or ask if we got one too for, Rae.” “You two have had an amicable relationship so far, I wouldn’t want this to be what causes a rift between you two. If we got one without communicating it to her then she might take it as if you’re trying to bid on your daughter’s affection.” This could bring rise to a whole slew of problems if Meg felt that Harvey was trying to sway their daughter so that he gained more custody rights than what was agreed in the court order. “Let me know what she says and we’ll go from there.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 7:42 pm
Harvey listened carefully to everything Mel had to say. As always, she made some very good points, so after just a little bit of thought the man gave a nod. “Alright, sounds fair. Thanks.”
With a rare, grateful smile he slipped the wish paper into his pocket and moved to stand next to her and slipped his arm over her shoulders. She’d always been good at lifting his mood. “As thanks for the advice, how ‘bout lunch is on me?”
He started walking them in the general direction of some lunch spots he knew in the area before adding, “You still owe me that ice cream, though.”
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