The Wish

The Wish

She blew the damp hair from her eyes as the cell phone on her hip buzzed, indicating a text.  Just great.  Probably Frank wanting something else he’s too damn lazy to get up for.  Cannot wait until his man-flu is cured.Terran Michaels yanked the phone from the case and touched the screen to view the text without actually unlocking the phone from sleep mode.  “11:11” was all she saw.  With a scowl, she woke the phone, typing in the code then touching the text icon.

“11:11”

“What the hell?” she muttered to herself.  Terran looked at the number the text had come from and her scowl deepened.  “I don’t know anyone in 406 area code.”

Terran moved to the shady side of the porch she’d been repainting and sealing and sat on the edge of the step.  Pushing her amber hair from her face, she continued to glare at the curious text that was simply “11:11”. Do I even know where area code 406 is?  No.  No, I don’t think I do.  She struggled to breathe in the humid triple digit heat of July in Massachusetts that had made nine in the morning uncomfortable but eleven unbearable.

The sound of an ice cream truck rambling slowly down the street with its tinkling music reminded her of lazy summers as a child here on this porch with her best friend, Eva.  Their giggles echoed in her mind and the distant memory of the way Eva had been fascinated by time.  She’d always had to watch the clock so that she could be sure to take her medication on schedule. 

“It’s eleven minutes after eleven, Terr… make a wish… quick!  Before I have to leave, make a wish!” Eva’s laughing voice urged.

Terran looked back down at her cell phone screen, still with the numbers on it and nothing more.  Tears swam in her eyes as the longing for simpler days before Eva had passed away from her disease and before Frank had turned her life upside-down with his demands, arrogance and abuse.  Because of Frank, they’d never even made it to Yellowstone like Eva had wanted.

“I wish I could go back in time before I screwed my life up and lost Eva and make better choices,” Terran whispered to herself as a single tear slid down her cheek.  The air around her thickened, making her dizzy and making black spots swim in her vision.  She closed her eyes as she tried to breathe the horrible, stifling air.

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“Terran?  What happened?” The fearful voice of Eva Levine penetrated Terran’s confusion and the dark fog that enveloped her.  “Please wake up.”

Terran blinked her eyes open and found herself staring up at the ceiling of the old porch of her parent’s home.  I was painting this… why am I laying on it?  She turned her head toward the source of Eva’s voice and jerked upright in fear.  Oh holy crap!  What happened?  Eva’s been gone for ten years.  Where’s Frank?

“Hey?  What’s wrong?  It’s just me.” Eva frowned.  Terran blinked rapidly, trying make some sort of sense out of what she was seeing.

“Where’s Frank?” Terran asked fearfully.  Eva scowled and crossed her arms.

“The pig is still at work,” Eva snorted, her pert nose rising and her dark eyes flashing with dislike.  She flipped her black hair over her shoulder petulantly.  Work?  Frank hasn’t worked since he figured out that I made more money than him.  Where is my wedding ring?  Terran gaped in horror at her bare ring finger.

“Where’s my ring?” she whispered, terror that Frank’s temper would flare worse than ever if she’d lost her wedding ring seizing her.

“What ring?  Terran, what’s wrong with you?  You’ve never had a ring on that finger.” Eva frowned again in concern.  She sat next to Terran and touched Terran’s forehead.

“What happened?” Terran murmured hoarsely.

“You were talking about painting the porch for your parents, then I noticed the time and told you to make a wish because it was eleven minutes after eleven.  You just sort of flopped backward and it took me forever to wake you up.”

Eleven eleven?  A wish?  My phone… where’s my phone? Terran looked down at her hip and found nothing but a pair of daisy-duke style shorts, no cell phone holder.  No phone… Oh god.  A wish…

“Am I married?” Terran asked as a gentle, warm thought began growing in her confused mind.

“Hell no!  And I’d never let you marry that pig even if he begged.” Eva denied vehemently.  That’s right… I married Frank after she died.  Is it possible?

“What month is it?” Terran asked and Eva scowled again.

“What month?  What the hell, Terr?  It’s June… why?”

June?  Oh. My. God.  A wish.  My wish.  If it’s June, I have six months before Eva leaves me.  Time to clean house and hold tight to this second chance.

Terran looked at Eva, her bright green eyes flaring with renewed determination. 

“You know what I think, Eva?” Terran asked with a slow blooming smile.

“What?”

“I think it’s time I told Frank to take a hike and you and I need to go visit Yellowstone National Park.”

“But…?” Eva frowned.

“But nothing.  You’re right about Frank and I’m done.  You are my best friend and you’ve always wanted to see Yellowstone, right?”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“But nothing,” Terran repeated. “I’ve got some savings, so do you.  Let’s leave Saturday, drive across the country and go see Yellowstone.  Just the two of us.  No schedule, no Frank, no worries.”

Eva gaped at Terran. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Like I’ve never been before.”

A slow smile bloomed on Eva’s face that matched Terran’s.

“You are on!” Eva exclaimed.

Yep, gonna make better choices this time.

word count: 965