Life-Wish!

Thomas Bartholomew was walking along the shoreline at 5:12 AM, a short time before sunrise. For the past week, he has been alone on this small island, and it has cost him a lot of money, but he really wanted some alone time.

Thom is a customer support rep for a very large software company, and his time, experience, and abilities are constantly in demand. Stress is his daily reward for working, and sleeping is his commodity. The chance to reserve this island with no internet, no phone, and no people appealed to him, and he was returning renewed.

As the sun rose, peeking above the horizon, all he could see was water, and he stopped and greeted the star as he had each morning, except the first. He slept that morning till noon and reveled in the solitude. No clocks and no alarms; he had nowhere he needed to be.

Tomorrow, he would hear a boat, and his time here would be at an end. He would need to return to the life he finally feels comfortable in, and he might consider telling others about this paradise.

The leasing agent gave him a tour of the entire island when he arrived. The tour lasted less than an hour, and the path they walked was less than half a mile long. Food, water, drinks, and even snacks were provided, and he paid a steep charge for seven days alone on a tropical paradise. The first night, he felt like he overpaid, but by the third night, he realized his mind felt more relaxed.

As the sun headed up, he continued to walk the shore with the waves and the sand coating his feet, and the water going above his ankles at times. He looked around and thought he saw a large boat in the distance. It was seriously the most peaceful he had ever been in his life.

Up ahead, a clump of seaweed was in the exact path as he walked, and when he arrived at the seaweed, he realized there was a small box covered. Bending down, he extracted the box, and he realized it was a sealed metal container. Quite ornate and definitely a possession someone would miss if it fell into the ocean.

He opened the box, and all sound stopped. It shocked him. The birds were still flying, and the waves were still crashing, but he heard no sound. Inside the box, the interior was lined with velvet and contained a large coin about 3 inches in diameter. He removed the coin, and as he did so, sound returned. He flipped the coin over in his hand; both sides had writing. He read the coin.

The bearer of this magic coin receives a single wish, desire, or idea. He flipped it over, and it was a pictogram, hieroglyphics, maybe, so since he did not read ancient Egyptian, he thought about the idea of a single wish being granted. He sat on the warm, dry sand and seriously considered it. If it was real or not, he did not care. He reexamined the box, and it said he needed to repeat a phrase and that his one and only wish would be granted.

He had been contemplating what his wish would be, not realizing the sun was now directly overhead.

“OK, I know what I want to wish for.” He said out loud to the birds in the air and the fish in the ocean.

Thom stood and read the inscription.

I found this box upon a shore,

It’s not alone any more.

A wish I make and a promise heard,

For a magic focus in my words.

The wish I make for all my time,

I wish for continued good luck throughout my life.

“Well, that was interesting.” He said. “I hope rhyming is not a requirement," He chuckled, "I wonder how this works now. At least I killed a morning and feel oddly satisfied that I found a magic box, made a wish, and now I need to go pack so I can head home tomorrow.”

He stood and put the coin back in the box, making certain it was secure in its little slot. “Thank you for this. Strangely, I feel a lot better than I did a week ago, and you, little box, are the icing on the cake of a perfect week of relaxation.” Closing the lid, he held the box in both hands.

As he said it, the box vanished. It became ghostly transparent, then was gone. Like someone had a light on it and lowered the brightness until you could not see it, and the image faded into the background.

Thom went back to the bungalow he had called home for the past six days and stood on the balcony deck for a moment. He picked up a set of darts he had been using this week, hoping that before he left, just once, he could hit the bullseye.

He tossed the dart, and it hit dead center. “Damn!” He said, “That was a lucky shot!” He scrunched his face, remembering the wish he made about luck.

“Let’s try for a triple 20.” He tossed another one.

He did, and it hit perfectly in the triple ring, under the 20. The next toss, his third dart, hit next to the dart in the triple 20 ring.

“Maybe there is something to this luck stuff.”

Sitting on the plane leaving for home, the pilot announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are 14th in the line to leave this morning, so it may be an hour before we leave, and I will do everything in my power to make up the time so you don’t miss your connecting flights.”

Thom whispered, “Move us up in line.”

A few minutes later, “Ladies and gentlemen, if someone has a four-leaf clover in their pocket, thank you for exercising it. I was just informed we have been moved up to next in line, and we are about to depart. Talk about some unbelievable luck. Flight attendants, please take your takeoff positions.”

The flight was perfect and relaxing, and his favorite movie, The Last Starfighter, played on the screens of every seat. That movie always makes him feel good and like he's in his 20s again.

His bag was the first off the plane, or the first on the carousel, actually. There was a taxi waiting for him, and as he walked into the house, he had an unmistakable feeling of, ‘It’s great to be home.’ Dropping all his bags, he sat in his chair and fell asleep for maybe an hour. Woke up refreshed, emptied his suitcase, and started the small amount of laundry he used this past week.

The rest of the day, he did pretty much nothing; vacation drags, he calls it. Not wanting to really get back into the swing of his normal life.

He walked to the little store on the corner, bought a six-pack of some light beer, and thought about it. He was not a player of the state lottery, but the top prize WAS a billion dollars. “I have been pretty lucky.” He went to pay for his beer and said, “$20 on the big lottery, please.”

The attendant printed his ticket: “Four lotto tickets and the beer, $28 even.”

He tapped his card and left, heading home. The numbers were being picked tomorrow, Monday night.

The rest of the afternoon, he sipped on a beer or two and cleaned the house. Vacuumed, dusted, folded laundry, and made a grilled-cheese-and-tomato-soup dinner. Ate the sandwich and wanted another, so he made another and nuked the soup to warm it up a bit. Crawling into bed, he set his alarm for 5:45 AM and fell fast asleep.

He was not really close to anyone at work, so only a few asked where he was last week. He mentioned the island, being alone, and absolutely nothing to do all day. A few wondered what his issue was, and one woman, Victoria, was 100% interested in hearing about the vacation. They sat and ate lunch together a few times, and he really enjoyed talking to her. He did notice her ring finger was empty, but Thom did not like ‘making moves’ on people he worked with. If something were to happen to the relationship, it could quickly become awkward. But he really likes being with her and talking to her, nonetheless.

He sat at the house that evening and remembered that he had bought a ticket. Looking through the channels, he finally found the lottery draw. As the numbers were picked by the little balls falling in the tube, Thom nearly exploded. One of his picks hit all the numbers. He was a billionaire.

He drafted an email to his office to let them know that an urgent appointment had come up and that he needed to take the day off tomorrow. He needed to go to a lawyer and do this right. He did not want his name out there as a big winner. If that happened, he would gain many new friends and relatives.

A few weeks have passed, and Thom is retired. He told his boss he needed to take care of a lot of things and that he would be submitting his resignation. They didn’t even flinch. That put his dedication to the company and loyalty into perspective.

He met with his lawyer again today to start a non-profit organization that helps people in the rat race find and afford a few days of relaxation.

He did pay off all his debt, including his house, and did not want to be one of those people who blew a huge wad on a mansion, but he did have a little remodeling done, including a non-heated, cooled room in the backyard that contained a very nice hot tub, and a glass ceiling/roof. Nights in the hot tub looking at the stars were just fantastic.

It had been almost 9 months since he used the ‘luck’ wish and thought about another, but this time he could not think of anything or any possession he wanted; there was something he desired.

He needed companionship.

“I wish to be lucky in love. A single woman whom I would love with all my heart and who would love me back for who I am for the remainder of our lives."

A few months later, he was in the grocery store buying the necessities and standing in front of the meat counter, apparently window-shopping.

“If you can’t decide, just get one of each and decide when you get home.” A woman’s voice behind him.

Thom turned and looked at the woman, smiling. “Victoria! I have not seen you since I left the company.”

“I know. I wondered what happened to you.” She said, “I miss our lunch dates; you were about the only person there who was not full of themselves. How have you been?”

“I’ve been good. I have missed our lunches as well.”

He looked in her cart and in his; neither had anything cold or frozen. “Can I buy you lunch?”

She looked in the carts as well. “Yes. Since you left, I have not had a good conversation at work, so that would be fantastic.”

“What are you craving?” he asked.

“Italian. I really like the place next door.” She said, smiling at him.

“Never been there!”

“Then you, Thom, are in for a real treat!”

“I hope the food is good as well…..”