Wish

"You have one wish remaining," the genie said (its voice a low heartbeat in the deep of night). She took a breath and chewed her lip, thinking. After a moment, she said, "I have a friend … and they deserved a wonderful childhood - a whole lifetime of being loved. I would like them to have had better parents." The genie nodded, drawing in close and whispering, "The course of their life will change and they will not know you." "I understand," she said (with tears in her eyes), "but that is my wish." Later, when the genie had gone, she looked up her friend on Facebook and the wonder made her cry. "They will not know you," the genie had said, and she felt the weight of that loss acutely in the moment. "Still," she whispered to herself and to the photo of her friend smiling broadly, "look at you go!" It was hard, yes, but it was beautiful.