“I’ll help you find your daughter, Mister!” Gahiji the six-year-old promised. “Hazel, right? She’s in my class!”

Barnaby winced through his lip biting, knowing it’d be wrong to enlist the help of some random kid. But, he hadn’t seen Hazel since he lost custody of her, and this seemed like his only option.

“Who even are you?” Barnaby suppressed an amused chortle.

In a dramatic fashion, Gahiji posed like he was on a comic book cover, flexing his little arms. “Your wishmaker!” He declared proudly.

It all suddenly made sense, then. Sometimes wish lanterns from the city’s annual festival would be found and fulfilled. The lanterns had a magical element to them, and would even help the wishmakers track down the wishers. Wishmaking was a cultural thing here.

Barnaby didn’t know if he was lucky a child in Hazel’s class found it, or unlucky that it was a child who found it.

His deep voice rumbling as he sighed, he combed his fingers through his unkempt hair and grinned. “Alright, kid. I’ll take all the help I can get.”

“Yesssssss!” Gahiji beamed, his tiny hand grabbing Barnaby’s large palm and dragging him to the preschool.

Morning classes were going to begin soon, so they blended in with the students filing in. The two seemed normal together, and no one questioned their facade of a supposed father-son duo.

“What’s your name?” Barnaby asked gently as he let the child guide him.

“Gahiji!”

“That’s a cool name.”

“I know!”

They got past the foyer and into a corridor. The walls were decorated with macaroni art on one row, and finger-painted art on the row above it.

“Are you friends with Hazel?” Barnaby then asked.

“Well, kinda…” Gahiji smiled bashfully, avoiding eye contact as his fingers fiddled with the fabric of his shirt.

And that was all Barnaby needed to know. “I see.” He chuckled softly.

At last, the two of them made it to the classroom. They peeked in and spotted Hazel talking to some friends. Her auburn hair was tied up in pigtails, and her smile was brighter than the yellow of her dress.

Both Gahiji and Barnaby adjusted their hair to look presentable.

While Barnaby waited outside, Gahiji made sure to drop off his backpack at his cubby hole before approaching her.

“Hey, I wanna show you something,” He whispered into her ear.

Hazel giggled and twirled her fingers in her hair, thinking his dramatic secrecy was endearing. “Kay!” She replied eagerly with eyes that glimmered with curiosity.

Gahiji motioned her to follow him, and he led her outside the classroom. She gasped at who she saw there. Her smile widened by miles, her feet bouncing in thrill. Seeing her so happy made Barnaby’s heart feel as though it was brimming with warmth. Her smile meant everything to him.

“Daddy!” Hazel squealed and bolted towards him.

“Hi, Peanut!” Barnaby laughed happily, kneeling down on one knee to meet her height.

The two wrapped each other in a tight, fitting embrace.

Gahiji watched them, his lips parting in awe of seeing a wish fulfilled. It was the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. Right then and there, he decided to scrap his dreams to be an astronaut when he grows up. People looked to stars to grant their wishes, right? So why try to fly a rocket to them when he could be one himself?

Leaving Barnaby and Hazel alone to talk, Gahiji tried to contain his excitement, as he couldn’t wait for next year’s wish festival.