Will's Wishing Woes

Will was bored. He was always bored. He kicked a rock as he walked down the sidewalk. Up and down the street, that's all he ever did.

Will was 61 years old. He lived by himself in a modest flat. He didn't work, surviving off insurance payments from a work accident years ago. It paid him just enough to get by, with little extra for luxuries. He could probably have gone back to work by now, but he could never bring himself to do it.

With no family, no friends, and no money he liked to spend his time just walking around his neighbourhood. He liked to watch other people, see their interesting lives. He could probably tell you quite a bit about the goings on around him, but he never had the courage to try and insert himself into them.

Today as he went to kick the rock again he noticed a new store had appeared. He stopped to scratch his head. Wasn't this a bakery yesterday? He looked up and down the street to confirm he was where he thought he was. How strange…how did it change so quickly?

Out of curiosity rather than a desire to buy anything he decided to enter the store. Celestial Delights it was called. He saw rows and rows and random objects but before he had time to puzzle over them a fierce red-headed woman hurried up to him, “Hello and welcome to Celestial Delights! I'm Vivi, the one and only owner. Can I help you find anything?”

Will looked at her suspiciously. He was always suspicious of people who seemed happy. He growled, “Wasn't this a bakery yesterday? What happened to them, where did you come from?”

Vivi giggled, “Oh well, I'm a witch you see. In fact this is a real magic shop, I can sell you whatever you desire.”

Will scoffed, “Good one. You can do magic? Prove it.” At least this should be good for a laugh, Will thought.

Vivi hummed to herself for a moment, then held up one finger and ran off deeper into the store. She returned quickly holding a golden ring, “Here. Put this on. It's a magic ring,” when Will didn't immediately respond she continued, “Come on. Humor me. This is a wishing ring. Just make a wish, any wish, and it'll come true. Just a warning though, every second wish goes to someone else.”

Will shrugged and put it on, he had nothing better to do. To his surprise it seemed to fit him perfectly, “So what exactly am I supposed to wish for?”

“Anything! What do you want? What's missing from your life? You're rather old right? Don't you want to be young again?”

Will grunted, he didn't appreciate being called old, even if it was true. “Fine. I wish I was 25 again. See? Nothing happened, now take back this damn ring.” He tried pulling the ring off but it was stuck. Then he noticed his hand. His skin was so smooth, what was going on? He pulled out his phone and turned the camera on himself, “No…it's impossible…I…I…I really look like I'm 25…how?”

Vivi giggled, “Told you. Magic. Duh.”

“No…that's…that's impossible.” Will ran a hand through his hair. His rich black hair. Not a single strand of white. As he focused he noticed all the little aches and pains in his body had just disappeared. He felt amazing.

“So how's that for proof? Believe me now?” Vivi teased.

“Wait, if this works why are you here? Why not just make yourself a God or something?”

“Bah sounds boring. Besides, there are some limitations to the magic, so maybe start small ok?”

Will smiled, he felt amazing, powerful, “I wish I had a million dollars.” Nothing happened. Maybe it just went to his bank?

Vivi laughed, “Remember I told you every second wish goes to someone else. You need someone else to make a wish before you get another chance.”

Will grunted, right he remembered now. He tried to remove the ring but it was stuck, “I can't get it off.” He complained.

“No you can't. The ring likes to be balanced. You can't remove it unless the scale is even.”

Great, so he was stuck with it, “So are you going to make a wish now then? Is that the deal?”

Vivi shook her head, “I could, but I’m not going to. I run a magic shop, what else would I wish for? No, you save that for someone else.”

“Right…so I get someone else to wish and then I can take it off?” Will asked.

“Well...maybe. It’s hard to say. Balance doesn’t mean just an even number of wishes. And no, you can’t wish to remove the ring. That doesn’t work.”

Will groaned, what had he gotten himself into? “So that’s the catch? I gotta pay you for what, a curse removal spell?”

Vivi giggled again, “Oh no silly. A spell? I’m not that kind of witch. You must play too many video games. No, you’ll get it off eventually I’m sure. And no need to pay, in fact I'm going to give you the ring for free,” When Will looked at her sceptically she shrugged, “What? So I'm a little eccentric. Go on. Take it. Live a little. You could have the life you want, you just gotta help others too. Oh and your wish for a million dollars, I wouldn’t try that one if I were you. The ring is better at changing people than creating new things. Rather than give you money, it might you to do something for that money. Just be careful…” Will blinked as she suddenly started fading from view.

“Wait…” He wanted to know more about the rules of the ring, but it was too late, she was gone. He took a step forward to go find her but then he blinked and he was outside the store. Confused he tried the door but it was locked, “Fuck.” He wasn’t getting any more answers from her it seemed.