image from thesherwood group.com
One Wish
“If God granted me a second chance, a rebirth, but with
only one wish, I’d search for you all over again.”
--Anonymous.
I was running through a terrible storm, deep in the forest,
my raincoat saturated, my ball cap soaked, my jeans
sticking to my legs, & my boots making squishing noises
as I ran. The giant thrashing conifers were like a behemoth
maze. I had no idea what direction I was headed in--twisting
& turning all the way.
Against a lightning flash I could see an outcropping thrusting
out of cliffs as tall as windowless sky scrapers. I stepped out
of the trees & plunged into cavernous darkness. But in the
distance I could make out a bright light, so I moved toward it.
Sweet cedar wood smoke wafted into my space. I was finally
out of the deluge.
So it was that I happened onto the cabin, constructed of rough-
hewn twisted timbers, held together with fat wooden pegs &
white adobe mud; something older than written history, & it
beckoned to me through large well-lit leaded glass windows.
The front door was easily ten feet tall, with carved faeries &
dwarves & elves on it. I opened it easily with the brass gargoyle
handle, & stepped inside. It was brightly lit by several large oil
lanterns, made of many-colored glass. It was toasty-warm, with
a roaring fire ablaze in a large stone fireplace.
Welcome, wet stranger, come in & dry out as you realign your
aura, center your cosmic flow, intensify your Christ conscious-
ness, & heal your pain.
A very tall wizard sat in a redwood rocker, & his huge hat
shadowed his eyes.
“Is it safe.”
Safer than where you just came from. Go ahead & remove your
wet garments before you catch your death.
Oddly, I didn’t hesitate, stripping off my storm-soaked clothes. If this
was an illusion, it was a damn good one. I needed to dry off. My clothes
steamed while lying on the stone ledge, as I sat calmly on a white
wicker chair in my damp underwear.
“Are you real?”
Very much so, for a fortunate few.
“And I’m one of those?”
Most assuredly.
“What are you called?”
There are those who call me Hie R. Selff. What can I do
for you?
“Excuse me?”
What do you want? You are entitled to one wish.
“Are you shitting me?”
Young sir, I shit you not.
He puffed on a long slender pipe as I sat staring into the fire,
watching the bone-dry cedar pop with lovely combustion.
Without hesitation, suddenly I said,
“I want the cancer to disappear permanently from my wife’s body.”
He looked through me with his piercing golden-green eyes;
smiling, he said: Of all the wonderful things in the whole world,
that’s all you want?
“Yes, if you just heal my wife, I will be deliriously happy.”
Fine. Just close your eyes now, & concentrate on your wife’s
face. You will awaken back in your truck at the trailhead. Drive
home safely--when you get there your sweet wife will want
to share her good news.
When given just one
wish, think outside your own self;
share the good fortune.
Glenn Buttkus
10 comments:
Oh Glenn, this is such a wonderful story, and so poignant, if it has any basis in real life. You captured my total attention and I loved the conclusion......if only it can be so! A beautiful loving wish and you are right - no other wish could come anywhere close.
... I laughed with 'I shit you not" and sobered up quickly at the end. Yes, that is a wish to treasure. I certainly hope this is fiction that your wife does not have cancer.
Tis but a fiction, dear ones reading, a slathering of artistic license, a journey my pen made while spinning the tale; but thanks for caring & inquiring.
You take the trope of Heteromost's cottage and turn it into a wizard's den in a thrashing forest night. Heart's content that wish and promise, giving it away the only hope of fulfillment. (A lot of what they teach in AA is here.) What fine and satisfying fireside tale.
Agree with Margaret--this starts off in a very light way and then the seriousness of the wish makes us realize what we do truly desire. I wish you best of all luck and other good things. k.
A tale that wraps the reader in real magic, and transport us to a place where it can happen.
The moral of the tale is classic and yet so far from what we are-selfish and greedy
I think a wish made with selfless purpose is the only one that matters... this is like a fable, where the haiku works exactly as the final line of an Aesop story.. I have often thought about writing stories like that... I'm inspired by this.
I really love the opening quote. Who would not wish for second chances and the end of disease? This is a very moving request.
This is wonderful! Thank you, Higher Self.
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