Wish Four

 

 

Brent Underwood was a college student like any other. He went to school, worked a crappy part time job, he lived off of noodles and whatever he could sneak out of work in his back pack. The two best parts of his day were getting off of work to live out his obsession with video games and the other was passing Carrie in the hall way at school. She filled his every thought but in the back of his mind he just felt he was never destined for love especially with her, she didn’t even know he existed. He was the awkward nerdy type that only talked to girls when they thought he was smart enough to help them with their assignments. Brent would always sit and eat outside the cafeteria hoping to catch another glimpse of her before going to his next class. He would fantasize about asking her out and sweeping her off her feet wishing he knew what to say to her. Sometimes he would wish so hard that he would sweat and one day something picked up the scent of his desperation.
On his way from school to work, he kept getting the feeling he was being watched but blamed it on his games and blew it off. After his shift at Burger Brigade he stuffed some of the leftover burgers in his backpack and started walking to his apartment. On his walk home, he was coming up with a plan for his next move on the game that he played online but he started getting that feeling again, like someone was watching him. He tried to ignore it until he heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see no one was there. He just shook his head thinking maybe he was just tired or something and kept on walking. Once he heard the footsteps again he just started running, he had watched too many movies and knew never to turn around and look for a second time. When he got to his door he unlocked it and dove inside locking it back up again before looking out the window.
When he was sure no one was there, he let his beating heart calm down and said out loud, “Yeah, I wasn’t scared anyway.” Then he turned around to see a tall figure in a hooded cloak. Brent screamed in terror like he never screamed before. The figure extended his arm, snapped his fingers and sternly said, “Silence!” Brent panicked as his voice was gone allowing only the figure to speak. “I am known as the Dream Giver and that’s what I do. Your voice will return when you calm yourself, I am only here to help you.” Brent tried to overcome his obvious state of fright and his voice returned. Still breathing heavy he managed to speak, “Alright, I’m calm. Why would you want to help me? What do you want from me? Because I’m not giving you my soul.” The Dream Giver laughed and said, “Your soul, I wouldn’t know what to do with it, no. I could smell your thoughts and wanted to remove the stink of despair emanating from you, nothing more.” Brent looked down feeling a little sorry for himself that something, human or not, took notice in his emotions. He looked up and asked, “Well how can you help me?” The Dream Giver pulled back his hood to reveal dark orange eyes and a huge smile when he said, “I will give you what you seek, I will give you your dreams. You will be given wishes totaling four so be careful and put in some thought.” “Are you a genie?” he asked. The reply was short and quick, “No! I do not come from a bottle. Now your wish.” “Well,” Brent said still trembling, “I know why you say you could smell me. So I wish for Carrie to love me.” The Dream Giver began to laugh again. After tilting his head back, he spoke, “Oh come now boy don’t be so spooked. You should know you cannot just outright wish for love, no, it does not work that way. Try again, with more thought this time, boy, come on. ” As Brent began to gain a little confidence he said, “Alright, well, I just know she would care for me if I just knew how to get her attention.” The Dream Giver clapped his hands with delight saying, “Aah! Circumventing the whole love rule, I like that. Let’s see how this plays out, shall we? Choose your words, choose your wish.”
Brent closed his eyes and thought real hard about what he was going to say. When he thought he had it, he announced, “Alright, I wish I knew what Carrie likes about someone she would date, how to get her to notice me and like, what I’m doing wrong.” The Dream Giver applauded his words saying, “Oh that’s nice, very nice. A wish for knowledge. Now, forcing something into your head may cause you to feel a little faint.” The smile on the Dream Giver’s face disappeared and his eyes began to glow a brighter orange, like that of an ember. As he waved his hand and looked into Brent’s eyes he said, “Granted.” Brent began to feel dizzy as he watched the room darken, then he collapsed to the floor.
When Brent awoke, he wondered if it was all a dream but then his mind began to flood with memories that were not his own. He felt like his brain was a computer that just downloaded new information. He looked around his apartment and things that never bothered him before seem to annoy him now, like trash on the floor and the mess and clutter on the table. He made his way to the restroom to relieve himself but caught a glimpse of what he looked like in the mirror. He was troubled at his reflection and started thinking of how bad his hair looked, that he needed to shave and needed better clothes. Then he was hit by a sudden realization and shouted out, “Oh my god, I am a dork. No wonder she never looked at me.” That night he underwent a radical change like a caterpillar when it becomes a butterfly. He knew exactly what Carrie looks for in a man, how they should act, dress, talk and walk, everything she has dreamed of, he wanted to be.
The next morning before classes had started, he went looking for her to test out if what he had become would actually work. Finally spotting her, he walked by, gave her a glance and kept on walking. She immediately took notice and turned around to get another look at him. Still he kept on walking but had a wide smile when he heard one of her friends tell her to pick her jaw up off the ground. When he turned the corner he was so amazed that it worked. All he had to do was clean himself up a bit and have more confidence. When it was time for lunch he did his usual thing and ate outdoors on the side of the cafeteria but this time instead of him trying to find her, she went looking for him. She introduced herself, sat down and they began talking. He knew all the right words to say and by the time lunch was about over, they had already made plans for their first date.
Months passed and they had absolutely fallen for each other. They were always together and when they were apart, all they could think about was the other, their relationship was perfect. Brent was so in love that he had forgotten all about his other three wishes until one night when they were on their way home from one of their many perfect outings. A drunk driver somehow entered the freeway going the wrong way. Before they even had a chance to notice their world went black.
Brent woke up in a hospital clueless about the accident. He was still in a daze when the question of where Carrie was entered his mind. With his awareness back in place he began shouting for a nurse and when one appeared he bombarded her with questions. “What the hell happened!? Where is Carrie!? What happened to Carrie!? Tell me! What the fuck is going on? Carrie!! Carrie!” The nurse very politely told him, “Please sir, calm down. If you calm down I can tell you what’s going on. I just need you to stop shouting please sir.” He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. “That’s better,” said the nurse, “Now you have been in a very bad accident. You were hit head on by a drunk driver and you should be thanking your lucky stars that all you got were a few bumps and bruises.” Hearing this put him at ease so he let out his thoughts, “Wow, You had me scared for a minute. Here I am worried and we only got a couple of scrapes.” The nurse’s face became full of angst and he took notice right away. The smile he had was now removed and replaced with tears. He asked, “What happened to Carrie?” The nurse looked down and sadly said, “I’m sorry sir, there was nothing we could do. She didn’t make it.” The nurse ran out of the room and left him with his thoughts.
Brent was devastated and his heart felt so heavy and hollow at the same time. He cried himself to sleep every day for a week before going to her funeral, and there looking down at her lifeless body he had a thought. He remembered he still had his three wishes left, all he had to do was call the Dream Giver and he could end his suffering by bringing her back. He ran to the restroom and checked every stall making sure it was empty before he tried to call the Dream Giver. “Hello? Dream Giver, are you there? …….Um, I call thee now Dream Giver to come to me.” “Now that is hilarious boy,” the Dream Giver said laughing, “I could have kept on watching you try to call me but I think you might be feeling too down for that. Are you ready for your next wish? They total three.” With watery eyes he said, “Yes, I wish for you to bring her back or is there a rule against that too?” The grinning Dream Giver replied, “Of course not, but for some strange reason unknown to me, I can only bring her back after she has been buried, then you must dig her up for me.” “Done,” he said looking as serious as he could.
Later that night, hours after her burial had been completed, Brent returned with a shovel and began removing the newly placed earth. When he finally uncovered her coffin he was startled by the Dream Giver. “That quickly huh? Your must really loved that girl. This will be two wishes about her. Now say your words, choose wisely and open the casket.” Brent opened the coffin, looked at her corpse and whispered, “I’ll fix this Carrie, we’ll be together again soon.” Then he look up at the tall figure and spoke his wish. “I wish that Carrie was alive again.” The Dream Giver’s eyes again began to glow a fiery orange as he waved his hand and said, “Granted.”
Carrie’s body jolted as she took in a deep breath and began screaming out, “It burns! It burns, help me!” Angered and confused Brent wanted answers. “What the hell is going on? Why is she screaming in pain? Help her! Help her!” In a scolding voice he replied, “I warned you boy! I told you to choose you words carefully! Now, I’m sure the embalming fluid in her body hurts quite a bit. You are the one with wishes totaling two.” With her still crying out in pain Brent held her hand and said, “I wish her blood was normal and nothing was wrong with her and that she would live forever.” Once again his eyes brightened, he waved his hand, grinned and said, “Granted.”
Instantly, her pain stopped and he grabbed her crying. “What’s going on Brent, what happened?” Carrie asked. “I’ll tell you everything soon. Right now I’m just so glad you’re back. I love you so much.” he said while still holding her. Then Carrie gasped, “Who, who is that man up there?” He smiled and said “Oh, him, he’s the Dream Giver. My dream was to bring you back and he did just that.” The Dream giver hovered over them as they kissed the he interrupted them, “Your wishes still total one.” Brent spun his head around and said, “I don’t need anything else. I just wish we could live beside each other forever.” The Dream Giver just waved his hand and disappeared, no glowing eyes, no saying granted, just gone.
Brent smiled and looked back at Carrie. He began to tell her about the accident when a deputy shined his flashlight on them and demanded to know what they were doing down there. Of course they had no explanation. That night they found themselves in jail but for some strange reason, against all policies, they were put in their own cell together. “It must be the wish, it’s working,” Brent thought to himself. When morning arrived the sheriff went up to their cell with a concerned look on his face. “Well I’m a bit confused. I had planned on asking you two what you did with the body. I wasn’t sure but when the prints came back, well girl, you are the body. You’re supposed to be dead. I was there when the accident happened, I brought your parents in to identify your body. Now I don’t know if you’re an abomination or saved by an act of God. There will be some people coming by to pick you two up soon because I can’t make heads or tails from any of this.” No sooner did four men in black suits take them both from the jail to their vehicles. The widows were blacked out and there was a screen in back seat that prevented them from seeing where they were going. Still, they were happy to be together and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
They woke up strapped to operating tables with no recollection of getting out of the vehicle or even stopping. All they knew was that they could not move and they were scared as hell. Sharp pains began to spring up all over their bodies but they still could not move or even cry out in agony. After a while they both had passed out. By the time Brent woke he could only move one eye and only saw blackness with the other. With his one eye he saw that they had quartered Carries head and that they were putting the top right quarter into a large jar filled with a clear liquid. He wanted to scream but again could not move, he could not feel anything at all. Then the room began to move as his head was being lifted and a clear liquid covered his vision. He was also quartered and put into a jar. As a man carried both jars, Brent looked at the fourth of Carrie’s face and she looked back at him. They were both scared and wanted to cry but no emotion could be shown, the only movement was that of their single eyes. When the man finally stopped moving with them in his arms, Brent watched as the man put Carrie on a shelf and turned the jar a little bit to have her facing forward. Then he was next to be put on the shelf. When his jar began to turn, the man spoke, “Well, you wanted to live together forever.” As the man made the final turn Brent saw his eyes turn a bright orange. He waved his hand, started laughing and said, “Granted.”