The Wish

There, for a little while, I rested among my brothers and sisters, unaware, undisturbed, unmoving save for the occasional rollicking breeze that would blithely wind through our spindly fingers. We basked in the glory of our togetherness, our roots deeply interwoven into a common safety net, a place that, although small, I could at least call a home. Then, one day, it all disappeared in a breath. My family, my home, my dreams, they all were left behind as I was impelled to fulfill a wish, but it was not my own that I was after. The winds sensed my purpose, and so they worked together in propelling me forward to my ultimate destination, carrying me upon their shoulders the way a winning team would its scoring champion. From my transient lofty stature, I looked down at the world below and watched the various pockets of activity run through their daily routines. At times I encountered the shining heads of children scampering in a playground, their carefree laughter rising up in the air. At other times, I would observe people busily walking to work or going to the grocery store to feed their families, all of them to be sadly pulled away from me not long after we meet. It reminded me of my own family, and it made me long to be back there, home with my loved ones. Perhaps, one day, I will find them.

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It was the end of lunch break, the time of day when those seeking a longer freedom would hurry back to their confinements only to pine once again for their next release. The middle-aged man strode purposefully down the block, his gray-specked hair being tossed about by the wind, and his hand gripping the handle of his briefcase tightly. His lips were taut, giving away his utter dissatisfaction with his life, a numbing sentiment that also rested in his eyes until it was momentarily forgotten upon the sight of something white floating by. It caught his gaze and his thoughts, his mind no longer dwelling upon the mundane, but instead becoming lost in a dream, a vision of leading a life with no limitations, no obligations, no responsibilities except for the one that called for self-contentment. Funny, he thought, how something as simple as a wish could make one remember what was missing. If only he could be like that one up there, a seed containing the power of hope and change. His life could have been so different.