Witch's Wishes

Caela Collins gazed out the window and sighed. This is so boring, she thought. I never even knew Great-Aunt Mary. Why do I have to come to the reading of her will? It's not like I'm even going to inherit anything. I'm old enough to stay at home by myself!

There had been one thing interesting that her mother had told her about Great Aunt Mary. "Well," Caela remembered her mother saying, "Her family was always disgraced. Back in the colonial times, one of her ancestors was hanged as a witch. Luckily, they didn't do that anymore when she lived." Caela thought it was luckier that Mary hadn't been a real great-aunt. She was distantly related, something like Caela's grandmother's second or third cousin.

Suddenly, out of the blue, someone said her name."To my niece's daughter, Michaela Collins, I leave a surprise. They will teach you a couple of lessons, my dear. I made them especially for you."

Caela was astonished. Why had she inherited anything at all?

At home, Caela went straight up to her room to investigate the item. The box was plain, brown cardboard with a taped-shut lid. On top was a Post-It note with the number 13 scrawled on it in blue permanent marker. That was the number of the item among the other items that were Great-Aunt Mary's estate. 13, Caela thought and shuddered. She was the superstitious type.

"Well, it's probably just a coincidence," she said aloud, though she always told herself that there are no coincidences. I have to open it, she finally thought.

She took no regard of the tape and ripped the cardboard open eagerly. She was very keen to see what was inside.

Inside was a small bottle. Caela lifted it up curiously. It was white with a little label, looking like a Tylenol bottle. Then Caela looked at the label and almost dropped it in surprise.

The label was not that of a medicine. It was printed like this:

Collins Witch Manufacturers

Wishes Quantity: 3 Instructions for using: Say your wish aloud, and then swallow the wish like a pill. Effects will begin immediately. Guarantee anything you wish for except for asking for more wishes. Only three wishes per person. But if it doesn't work, we won't refund you.

Ingredients: 50% of something you don't want to know 50% of something else you don't want to know

Good luck!

Caela read it once, then laughed aloud. So, her not quite a Great- Aunt was a joker! Maybe I would've liked her, she thought wryly. But the whole thing was very funny. Wouldn't it be perfectly hilarious if it actually had pills inside? Caela opened the lid. Sure enough, there were three bright green pills.

Caela laughed again. How funny!

Then she looked at the label again and stopped laughing. The words were changing right before her eyes, flowing away like mist melting in the sun. They were being replaced by new words. Now the label read:

Collins Witch Manufacturers

No, Caela, this is not a joke. These pills actually grant your wish if you used them correctly. Now, be a good girl and reread the instructions:

Instructions for using: Say your wish aloud, and then swallow the wish like a pill. Effects will show immediately. Guarantee anything you wish for except for asking for more wishes, or asking for a lost wish back. There are only three wishes per person. But if it doesn't work, we won't refund you.

Oh, and by the way: 13 is a witch's good luck number, not bad.

Caela stared. Oh my gosh, she thought, oh my gosh and golly. Collins Witch Manufacturers. It's starting to make sense. But Great-Aunt Mary wasn't from the Collins family. Was she?

Caela shook her head. Whatever it is, the pills might actually work. Now, what should I wish for? She thought long and hard. What did she really want? She had a bike, a dog, and an allowance. The only thing she really wanted was that cool new blue G- 4 computer at Comp-USA that her friend Lily had. Of course, she could never save up that much money, so......

She took out a pill from the bottle, and then got a glass of water from the kitchen. Then she took a deep breath and said, "I wish for the blue G-4 computer from Comp-USA." After that she swallowed the pill.

Her stomach started to gurgle as her eyes began to water. When she wiped them, the room swirled before her eyes. Then everything went dark, and she fainted.

She woke up lying spread-eagled on the floor, her back aching from the fall. Hmph, she said to herself. They didn't say anything about side effects. Then, in remembering her wish, she sat up quickly. On her desk was shiny new computer, the one she had started saving up for two years ago. She grinned and rushed right over to it to start installing her games. Then she heard a voice.

"Caela?" She heard her mother going up the stairs. Caela looked around wildly for an escape. If her mother saw the computer, what would happen? "Honey?" said her mom, peeking into the room. "Do you want a snack- " She stopped at sight of the computer. "What's that?"

"It's the computer I've been wanting forever, Mom," Caela said nervously.

"How did you get it?"

"Uh, well, you gave it to me. It's her old computer and she, uh, got a new one and didn't, er, want this anymore."

Caela's mom frowned. "I didn't see her bring anything when she came last time, and I'm pretty sure I didn't see it in your room yesterday."

"Well, uh.........."Caela couldn't think of a reasonable excuse. Then her mother's face snapped.

"Caela," she said warningly, "You didn', steal it?"

"No! No, no, no, no, of course not!" But after she said it, Caela realized that her voice sounded guilty. She gulped.

Her mother noticed the guilt too. She took a deep breath. "Let me get your father," she said, her voice tight.

Caela sat on the bed, feeling miserable. What could she tell her parents? Then she heard voices in the hall.

"That's ridiculous, Katharine!" she heard her father exclaim. "How could anyone shoplift a computer? It's too big!"

"How else did it get there, then?" her mother challenged. "How could a computer just appear in her room? An expensive one, too! And you could hear the guilt in her voice, Frank."

Her father sighed audibly. "Okay, I'll look at it, and talk to her. But Kathy, it's not like we've been raising a delinquent." Still shaking his head, he came into Caela's room. "Hey, Caela," he said cheerfully. "Your mother says she found a computer here. Nice one, isn't it?" Caela nodded. "Now, uh, where'd you get it?"

"Lily gave it to me, it's her old computer," Caela tried nervously.

Her father turned. "See, Kathy, Lily gave it to her! Now, let me just look at it. It's a fine computer."

Her father sat in her desk chair and turned on the computer. He waited for it to start up, twiddling, drumming his fingers on the desk. Then he noticed a price tag on it. "Hey, wait a minute," he said. "Why is there a price tag on it? You said this was Lily's old computer." He frowned. "Big price," he muttered. Then he gasped. "This is from Comp-USA. Lily's father bought her computer at Office Max, I remember."

Caela realized her mistake. "I want the G-4 from Comp-USA," she had wished.

Caela's father turned to face his daughter. "Caela." he said warningly.

"Dad, I can explain. You know how I inherited something from Great- Aunt Mary? What I got was three wishes! I could wish for anything I wanted, and I got this! See!"

Her father was rubbing his eyes and muttering, "Where did we go wrong raising our child?"

"Dad!" Caela said desperately. "Look, I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's true! Really! See, look at this!" She shoved the wish bottle into his hands. "Look at it!"

Her father peered at bottle and read the message, then sighed. "A practical joke," he said, "you can probably buy it at the mall."

"No, it isn't!" Caela said. "I didn't buy it and it isn't fake!" But her father was shaking his head.

"Caela," he said quietly. He began peeling off the label to show a logo. "This is a Tylenol bottle with a different label glued on."

"No, no!" Caela cried, but to no avail. Her mother stood in the doorway, crying.

"I'm going to have to call Comp-USA," her dad said.

Caela went to the last resort. She grabbed the wish bottle out of her father's hands and snatched up the glass of water. "I wish time would go back to right before I used the wish." Then she gulped down a pill and lay herself down on the bed, just in time before she fainted.

When she woke up, she sighed in relief as she looked around. Everything seemed the same as before she had used the wish. Even the label was completely stuck on the bottle, though her father had peeled a little bit off. Everything was the same. Except-

Caela looked inside the bottle. Only one pill was inside.

Yeah, I did use two wishes, but since we went back in time all three wishes should be there. They didn't say anything about that in the rules. But as she shook her head angrily, the words on the label swirled again.

Collins Witch Manufacturers

Dear Caela, It is true that you went back in time and the wishes had not been used, but, according to the guarantee, wasting two wishes is the same as using them. Remember, only three wishes per customer, but if you give it to someone else, they will receive the whole three wishes. There are definitely no exceptions for someone who did not pay to purchase the wishes. (Though you did sort of pay by suffering. Ha ha! That was amusing to watch.) Now you have learned two things: What the saying, "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!" means; and the reason why I didn't use the wishes to make myself physically live-forever! Not-all-that-sincerely, Almost your Great-Aunt Mary

P.S. I said that 13 was a witch's lucky number. But you are not a witch, because you are so distantly related to me. The "Collins Witch Manufacturers" was to trick you. I'm not from the Collins family. Hee hee!

Very funny sense of humor, Great-Aunt Mary, Caela grumbled to herself. She now remembered the words of Great-Aunt Mary's will: "They will teach you a couple of lessons, my dear. I made them especially for you."

She looked at the pill. It was so small, but still could, when foolishly used, change a person's life. Caela realized how silly she had been, not even thinking too much about it.

Well, she thought, I have one wish left. And if I mess this one up, I won't have a wish to save myself with. And I certainly don't want to give it to anyone else and curse him or her with it....

Caela got up and, with one last look at the third wish, she tossed the bottle in the garbage.

The next morning dawned bright and clear. Harry Thomas, a trash-collector, only liked two things about his early job-the serenity of the morning, and the creamy, pastel colors of the sunrise.

He drove his small truck around the neighborhood, parking in front of the next house. Fortunately, these residents were slightly considerate and had set the garbage and recycling bins at the very end of the driveway. He opened them, and then, after making sure no one was watching, he looked through the garbage. Lots of the stuff was disgusting but, hey, he had gloves, and there were many of useful things that people threw away.

The first thing that he noticed was a small, bottle that looked like a medicine bottle. Inside were three bright green pills. Harry picked it up, intrigued, and read the label...