“Adam! This wish is for you!” A voice calls through the door as Adam stares out the window of his bedroom at the red paper sky lanterns floating above the city. A sigh escapes Adam’s lips as his mom begins to knock. “Are you in there honey?”

“Who is the wish for?” Adam grunts back, running his slender fingers through his curly black hair that needed to be trimmed a week ago.

“No one can open it but you, so only you can find out… Open the door, we are all excited for you!”

Begrudgingly, Adam pushes himself away from the widow and opens the door. “That means my wish won’t make it to anyone then?” Adam states, taking the package from his mother and following her downstairs to the crowded living room.

Screaming at each other while standing roughly three feet apart, Adam’s entire family grew quiet when he entered the living room. His aunts elbow each other and gesture towards him expectantly, cousins stare wide eyed and sister grins. They all wait a moment as if expecting Adam to speak.

“There he is!” Adam’s uncle Chester finally breaks the silence. “You got a wish, and we are all wondering what The Maker chose you for this year!”

“Yes, son, getting a wish to fulfill says more about your character than having one of yours passed to someone else,” Adam’s dad lectures.

“But I can’t get another one or have someone else fulfill my wishes until I do this one, right?” Adam offers to speed up his father’s explanation.

“That’s right, so it’s best to get started on this wish right away.”

“Or I can just keep it and not have to deal with the Festival of Lights anymore…” Adam mutters, causing gasps and horrified expressions to spread across the room. “I mean I’m worried this would be one of those proposal wishes from Lydia, having nothing might be better than being forced to do whatever this says.”

“Lydia is a nice girl, but proposal wishes are risky until you are very sure who it will go too…” Adam’s mother responded gently. “Why don’t you just see what it says and then decide?”

Rolling his eyes, Adam crosses the living room to the open door. Despite the grimace he wears, his heart race increases with each step. By the time he bends over to pick up the sky lantern with his name scrawled across the top in neat handwriting, his hands are clammy and shaking, but he forces them to cradle the delicate paper lantern and gently glowing candle.

“You blow out the candle and take the wish out of the middle,” Adam’s mother explains when Adam hesitates.

Blowing out the candle, Adam gingerly removes a shimmering golden scroll of parchment from the lantern. It glows a brilliant gold that casts dancing shadows across his face. The paper is warm from the candle, but not hot as Adam slowly unrolls it to look at the wish written for him. The shadows across his face darken as he frowns.

“What’s wrong?” His mother squeaks, panic spreading across her face.

Murmurs spread through the house as Adam flips the scroll over to inspect the back. Shaking his head Adam mumbles, “It doesn’t say who it’s for…”

“That’s usually at the bottom,” Adam’s dad suggests.

“Well it’s not there…”

“What does the wish say?” Adam’s mother inquires. Everyone in the house leans forward and stands complexly silent as they wait.

Adam frowns and replies, “Nothing.”

“It has to say something, it’s somebody’s wish!” Uncle Chester protests.

“I mean… it says something, but it doesn’t make sense…” Adam sighs and clears his throat to read the wish out loud. “See me.”

After a moment of silence, whispers spread throughout the house.

“What does it mean?”

“That’s a strange wish…”

“Maybe he angered The Maker!”

Throwing the wish on the ground, Adam turns and storms back to his room. He closes the door and whimpers to himself, “What does that even mean?” Returning to his place by the window, he watches wishes float across the sky. Occasionally, one falls from the crowded sky and lands on a doorstep. Excited families throw open the door to greet the new wish, at which time Adam turns his attention back to those drifting in the sky without anyone to grant them.

“Honey, can I come in?” Adam’s mom coos through the door. She enters when Adam fails to respond and takes a seat on Adam’s bed.

“I guess I really won’t have to deal with the Festival of Lights anymore,” Adam suggests.

“It’s not that bad-“

“The wish doesn’t make sense or have a name, mom.”

“But they are always given to the best person to make them come true. Our wishes never make mistakes. Whatever this wish means, you are the only one who can figure it out.”

“Sure, I’ll just keep watching everyone else wishes come true until I random see this person who makes bad wishes.”

“Adam, you are always so bitter that you haven’t had a wish granted all these years, but have you thought that maybe who ever made this wish feels that way too? Now they can’t make another wish unless you make this one come true for them. Please, at least try.” Adam’s mother looks at him for a moment, then sighs and leaves. As she closes the door, Adam notices that she left the glowing scroll on his bed.

“I guess this crappy wisher is like me…” Adam mutters to himself, picking up the wish to read it again. “No one ever understands me either.”

Suddenly, the wish glows brighter. Dropping the parchment, Adam gasps and jumps backwards. Examining his hand as if it was burnt, Adam recalls using the exact phrase years ago to a long forgotten classmate.

“I wish someone would see me, like the real me, you know?” Adam’s own voice echoed in his head.

“Who was that?” He questioned aloud.

**to be continued…**