I Wish I May, I Wish I Might

I Wish I May, I Wish I Might

         There once was a young bachelor who had made a fine living for himself. He was smart and savvy and had a knack for being in the right place at the right time. It didn’t take long for him to become the richest man in his village, and he retired in his mid-twenties.
         Because of his wealth, women from his village often sought him out. Each was the same, though. They only wanted to capture his interest in hopes of gaining, through him, fortune and security. Not one of them felt any actual love for the young man.
         This was quite difficult for him, for he only wanted one thing, the one thing his earnings couldn’t buy - love. He thought that maybe if he gave enough chances to the women there would be one who would love him for the person he was, but to no avail. Searching all through his village and the surrounding villages, he finally concluded no woman from near his home place would be an acceptable suitor.
         Having come to no other choice but to hope and pray and wish for a woman who he could share his love and last name and even eventually his wealth with, he took to visiting the well on the east side of his village each morning. This well had become associated with a sort of legend; it was said to be magic. If you tossed in a coin and wished fully with your whole heart. your wish would supposedly come true.
         So, at the beginning of each new day, while the sun broke from the horizon’s embrace, the man would take a single coin and toss it into the well. Wishing fully with his whole heart he would recite, “I wish I may, I wish I might, find a wife whose love burns bright.”
         He would watch as the gold caught the sunlight, glimmered for a second, and then clinked down the well. Of course, he never heard it hit the bottom. Even though the well was not used for pulling water anymore, it still contained several feet of the liquid. Knowing this, he would wait at the well long enough to recite his wish and hear the coin splash into the water before returning home.
         The bachelor went about this routine for many months until he just couldn’t go on any longer. Feeling as though he was never going to find someone to love, he wondered if he was wasting his time and energy putting his faith into a simple well. He made the decision that he would only visit the it one last time, and only wish for a wife once more.
         The next morning, he greeted the well as the sun’s rays began to greet the land. Drawing a lone coin from his pocket, he gripped it tightly in his hand and positioned it above the opening, before uncurling his fingers and allowing the coin to fall from his possession. Ceremoniously he began, “I wish I may, I wish I might, find a-” Stopping quickly, mid-wish, he raised his head inquiringly at the realization of something unnatural. His coin had not yet reached the water.
         Just as he was leaning his head over the hollow section to see what the matter was, a small voice called out calmly.
         “Hello? Hello, is anyone up there?”
         The man looked down into the well and was shocked to find a petite brunette looking back at him. She held his eyes with her own. They were a soft brown, brought alive by wonder. Her eyes were different from anything the man had ever laid his sights on. They held something more rare than the world’s most precious jewels, and right away he could sense this woman was not the everyday, average girl from his village.
         Her right arm was outstretched towards him. In it she held a small object. Squinting his eyes, he understood what it was. Catching the sunlight for a fast moment, it shone. It was his coin. His coin!
         Dumbfounded, the male managed to answer the mysterious woman.
         “Yes, I am up here. Say, how did you manage to find yourself at the bottom of a well?”
         With a shrug of her shoulders, the girl gave a small grin.
         “I have not entirely answered that question myself, Sir. I have absolutely no idea where I am or what on earth I could be doing here of all places, but I do have quite a feeling that I was meant to be here. You as well.”
         Incredulously, he stared back at her. “If anything, Sir, would you mind to help me up?” Nodding, he sent the still attached bucket down to her. Her two feet fit easily into the bottom of the bucket, and due to her light build the man pulled her to the surface with no difficulty.
         Upon her arrival to the top, the young bachelor extended his hand to her. When she placed her small hand into his palm for support, the gold coin pressed firmly into his skin, and he realized he no longer would have to be a bachelor. No doubt this woman, borne from the depths of the well, was the fulfillment to his insistent hoping and praying and wishing. His shining constellation for undying determination.
         Taking her arm in his, he escorted the lady to the village. They wed before sundown, and went on to live the rest of their lives together peacefully. The man, once his village’s most eligible bachelor, gained not only a loving wife, but his counterpart. He gave her his love and his last name and his wealth. She gave him his life.