The little man holds his hand out to me, as if repeating his question - ‘What is it you want?’

I look at him in disbelief. He really did say ‘anything’. And he meant it. I don’t dare question his sources. I just know that I can ask for it, the thing I’ve always dreamt of, and he can make that come true. I can finally get my wand.

It’s a big risk, if I’m honest. There’s only a small chance anyway that I could actually do magic with it. After all, I’ve never shown the usual signs of magical ability - no strange things have happened around me, nothing abnormal. No speaking with animals or moving things with my mind. Perhaps I need to expand my view of empty handed magic. Maybe anticipating someone’s next words or being in the right place at the right time is also something.

So gather up the courage and I say: ‘Could I have a magic wand?’

He lifts his eyebrows and gives me a skeptical look.

‘A magic wand? Really? What kind?’

‘What kind? There more than just one kind?’

‘Of course. There’s countless types of magic, there’s white magic, dark magic, natural magic, magic of the moon, the sun... there’s domestic magic, wild magic...’

‘Ok ok, I get it, there’s lots of kinds of magic. I’d never thought of that. I guess... light magic?’

‘Fine. A light magic wand.’

He turns around and disappears into the back of his shop. I hear him rummage around, knocking over a few things, cursing something that fell down, and then he comes back out holding a long, narrow black box. Just as I’d always imagined it.

‘Here. Try it.’

He puts the box on the table and crosses his arms in front of his chest. I can tell he had even less faith in my magical abilities than I do.

I approach the table and reach out for the box. My hands are trembling as I lift the lid. Laying inside is a thin wooden wand. It‘s dark brown and has a very smooth finish. No knots or imperfections as I’d sometimes imagined. The handle is decorated with fine carvings of stars and suns.

I pick it up and run my fingers over it. It‘s slightly warm. I could swear for a moment I saw a glow around my hand but when I look more closely it‘s gone.

‘Well, do you feel anything?’ the merchant asks.

I try to hide my puzzled look and give him a confident smile, but I don’t think I fooled him. I don’t really feel anything.

I close my eyes for a moment, if nothing else just to escape the ‘I told you so’ look on his face. I focus my attention on my hand. It’s growing warmer, the wand almost pulsating in my hand. I lift it up and open my eyes. The tip gives off a shy but very real white light. It‘s happening!