Three Wishes

By Carolyn Mamchur

Walking alone on a craggy beach, my bare foot catches on something metal. A drop of blood on gray sand.

When I rub my aching fingers against the object, vessel shaped, I feel barnacles of grime covering ancient letters etched in copper. I yearn to read what is written, but I cannot. The language is not mine.

I imagine a genie. Three wishes?

First wish: There had been a cure for my daughter’s dying liver.

Second wish: There is a heaven where we can meet again.

Third wish: A common good, less selfish. . . . No carbon footprint on planet earth.

Impossible wishes. I am desolate, lost in my need for something to happen. I sit on rock, hard, barren. I wait.

A figure comes towards me.

My husband sits beside me and takes my hand in his.

Oh.

Dr. Carolyn Mamchur, Professor Emeritus, has been writing and teaching writing for over fifty years.  With the heart of a lion, she is determined never to stop until she is finished.  So far, so good.  Her award winning publications include the Children’s book, The Popcorn Tree, a psychology text, Cognitive Type Theory and Learning Styles, and the education article, “Magic”.