I Wish

It was 2 o'clock. The sky was clouded today, but somehow, somewhere in the distance, a star shone. Bright like the sun—only smaller. The clouds slowly parted to reveal the moon. It was as if the sky itself was playing a game. Hide-and-seek maybe.

Somewhere down on earth, through the iron-barred window, a girl was watching. Lying on the bed was her laptop and a priceless item that she treasured. On her laptop, her favorite song was playing. She was just sitting there watching the sky, the song appeased her. The door was closed. It was perfect. She felt as if she was all alone in the whole wide world. She wished she could freeze the moment. She wished there was a pause button of this world, that would stop everything and freeze it. She wished she would not have to wake up tomorrow and face the world again. Oh, how weak she was! She wished, and wished, and kept on wishing, even if they never came true. Still, she wished. She wished…to God.

She tried to blink back the tears that now welled up inside her eyes. She would not cry. Why would she? But one droplet of tear broke the surface tension. It cascaded down her cheek as she closed her eyes and remembered her one true wish. It was painful. Its mere memory caused her pain. Still, she recalled it. It was time she embraced the reality. The truth. The fact that she will never have what she truly wanted. The certainty that her one wish had been shattered forever.

She wiped the tear on her cheek, and looked at the bed, eyes searching. There, a few inches beside her laptop, lay a picture gleaming in the dark. It was a picture she drew when she was younger. As her hand reached out for it, she felt the tears well up inside her eyes again. Everything started becoming blurry. She let the drops of tear make their way down. She looked at the picture, and let it come to focus. It was a picture of four—mother, daughter, brother and father. They were all smiling at her, happily. It became blurry again, only this time, she did not hold the flow. She let the floodgates of tears open as they started pouring like a waterfall, as she held the picture close to her heart. Her one true wish.

As she looked at the sky again, the clouds had all disappeared. Perhaps it was their turn to hide. She wished she died there just like that. She could not take the pain anymore. All her life she had been strong. So calm. So happy. So confident. But, Now that she embraced the pain, the wall of defense that these formed, it broke down. It crumpled like a stack of cards. She was all alone. That perfect girl had died inside her. She was cold. So cold. So sad. So very alone.

That was when she felt it. A strong surge of pain under her left rib. At first she refused to believe it. Her heart never pained. But maybe it was time it. Maybe it was time that at least one of her wishes came true. Maybe the wait was over. As she slowly clutched the left side of her body, she felt the pain grow. She let out a moan. She leaned against the wall and felt a soft pillow there. She inclined her head towards the window. The moon and the stars were shining brightly now. Perhaps they had not found where the clouds were hiding yet. The pain increased even more. Yes, it was perfect. This is how it ought to end.  "Right?" she asked the night sky. As she closed her eyes softly, feeling the tears dry up on her freckled cheeks, she whispered softly "I wish" and slowly drifted to sleep as the pain in her chest grew.