Prelude:

The Wish Owner

The Shop of Wishes lies deep within the world of dreams and can only be accessed by those who wish for something with all their strength. Still, even after I explained all of that at least twice to the brown haired woman who had arrived in the shop just moments ago, her expression was perplexed. I moaned inwardly, how annoying.

She stood in front of my desk, obviously confused. Again, I explained it, "I am Celeste, the owner of the Shop of Wishes. Obviously, since I'm the owner, I grant the wishes of the shop's customers, but every wish has its price. The customer must understand and pay that price. Not only am I the one that accepts payment, but if they try to avoid paying, it's also my job to administer the proper punishment." I spoke each word slowly, as if speaking to a child.

Her brow furrowed, "What?"

I rolled my eyes, deciding to move on and explain the main rules of the shop, "Never mind that … All you need to know is that I can grant your wish and that you just need to pay me a certain price for it." She grinned and was about to say something before I interrupted her, "But, there are some rules." Her smile fell. Ignoring her frown, I continued, "1) To grant a wish, the wish maker, you, must make a contract with the wish granter, me. 2) The contract must never be broken. 3) If the contract is broken the consequences are dire." Her eyes lit up and she nodded, "Okay, I get it." I raised my eyebrows, "So? What do you want? State your name and your wish." "Well, the doctors say that I'll die of pancreatic cancer in less than a month, so …" she paused, turning serious, "I am Adele Princeton and I wish for one extra day of life." I sighed, finally.

Forcing myself to smile at her, I asked my last question, "Now, what are you willing to give up for that extra day?"