As You Wish

by Chelsea Sedoti

  “Well, now you did,” Merrill snaps.

  “Look, I was worried, OK?” And I sound worried. I’m pretty sure the drama club couldn’t put on a performance as good as the one we’re giving right now.

  Mr. Wakefield stands. “I think you boys need to tell me what’s going on.”

  “That time in the hall,” Merrill says to him, wiping at nonexistent tears, “you asked if it was me. And I was so ashamed that I said no even though, even though…”

  Mr. Wakefield’s eyes widen. I think he knows where this is going. He passes Merrill a box of tissues and soothingly says, “All that matters is that you’re safe now.”

  I glance at the clock. There’s time, but not a lot.

  “Tell me what happened, Mr. Delacruz,” Mr. Wakefield coaxes. “Nothing you say here will be repeated.”

  “Mr. Wakefield. It’s all true.” Merrill blows his nose. “I’ve been…taken advantage of.”

  Mr. Wakefield hesitates, as if deep down he’s still questioning if this story is legit. But he’s not the kind of guy who will turn away a student in need. “Please. Sit down. We can work through your feelings together.”

  Merrill glances as me. “Not in front of Eldon. Our friendship would never be the same.”

  I have to turn from Mr. Wakefield, because the truth is surely written all over my face.

  “Well…I can’t send him away right now.”

  “It’s fine. I understand.” Merrill starts to leave.

  “Wait!” Mr. Wakefield says. “I don’t want you wandering around in this state.”

  “Maybe we could step outside your office?” Merrill suggests. “Everyone’s gone, and you’d know exactly where Eldon is.”

  “Well…”

  “It’s OK, Mr. Wakefield,” I say. “We can explore my feelings about my wish later. This is so much more urgent.”

  After another minute of hemming and hawing, Mr. Wakefield gives in. As soon as the door shuts, I’m at the window, tugging it open. It’s the same window Mr. Wakefield pointed out weeks before. A world of possibilities and all that.

  It turns out he was right.

  A moment later, I’m climbing into Norie’s car, and we’re speeding toward the wish cave.

  • • •

  Getting to the cave is a nightmare. The hike was tiring enough when I took the path. Trying to climb up the mountain off the path is nearly impossible.

  “We should have risked it,” I pant. “The mayor can’t have the whole trail guarded.”

  “Not worth it,” Norie replies.

  We stumble up, half crawling at times. I keep expecting to run into a boulder or ravine that blocks us entirely. I check the time constantly.

  “You’re making it worse,” Norie says.

  “Can’t help it.”

  I wonder if Mr. Wakefield realizes he’s been scammed yet.

  Finally, we near the top. We’re on the opposite side of the peak from the barred entrance to the cave. At least, I think we are. All the crags have started to look the same. I know the cave is somewhere below us, but other than that, I’m completely disoriented. The mountain didn’t seem so big when I came at it from the front.

  “This way, I think,” I say.

  I peer behind every rocky outcrop hoping to find the hole. The hole I’m not entirely sure exists. The clock ticks. I go further around the mountain. I go up and down.

  In the end, I almost step right into it.

  “Norie!”

  She runs over from where she’s doing her own exploration.

  We look at the hole in the ground.

  “Well, shit,” I say.

  I expected I’d be able to crawl through. But the hole is in the cave’s ceiling. I’ll have to drop down into it.

  “I don’t even know if you can fit through there,” Norie says.

  “Let’s hope so. It would really suck to have to call the fire department because I’m stuck.”

  Norie takes out a flashlight and shines it down.

  “The good news is you’re not going to die from the drop.”

  “I’d call that great news.”

  “The bad news is that once you’re in, you won’t be able to get out.”

  “Definitely less than great, but I can work with it.”

  Norie straightens. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “Yes.”

  She hugs me. Then I sit down and lower myself into the wish cave.

  I get stuck around the shoulders. For a second, I think I’m actually not going to fit. But after wiggling around, I manage to squeeze through. I drop down hard on my feet.

  “You OK?” Norie asks, shining the light into the cave.

  “Yep.”

  She tosses me the flashlight. I’m not going to mess with candles. Not until I get to the cavern anyway. I’m not taking any risks on this trip.

  Norie checks the time. “You need to hurry.”

  “I’ll see you on the other side.”

  She nods, then moves out of my line of sight. She’ll hike back to the cave entrance, where she’ll try to hold off the mayor if he shows. Not that she’ll be able to for long. We both know that.

  “Norie,” I call. She peers back through the hole. “Thanks.”

  She smiles, and then she’s gone. I’m alone.

  I start down the narrow corridor.

  I try to focus on the beam of my flashlight, concentrate on getting to the main tunnel.

  But in a place like this, your mind can’t help but run wild, yeah? I have no way of knowing where I am. This tunnel may not even connect to the main cave. And if it does, there could be other turnoffs. No one knows how elaborate this cave system is. It’s never been fully explored. It’s because of superstition, I think. Exploring too much of the cave could ruin its power.

  Which basically means I could get lost in the mountain forever. Even if someone tried to find me, who knows if they’d be able to. People get lost in caves and old mines all the time.

  I walk and walk, way longer than I expected to. My heart pounds. I feel like the walls are closing in on me. Then I realize the walls are closing in. The passage is narrowing. My adrenaline wears off, and the severity of what I’m doing finally hits me.

  There’s no going back, even if I wanted to.

  Which I don’t.

  At one point, the cave gets so tight, I have to turn sideways and squeeze through. I never considered myself claustrophobic before now. You learn all kinds of new character traits when you’re wedged into a narrow fissure.

  But when I come out on the other side, I see, to my relief, that I’m only a few steps off the main path. I made it!

  I break into a run. I don’t know what time it is, but I’m sure I don’t have much longer. My birth hour is passing. By now, Mr. Wakefield has certainly checked on me and discovered I left. And he’ll certainly know where I’ve gone. Climbing in through the secret entrance bought me some time, but who knows what other safeguards the mayor has in place to keep renegade wishers out.

  I don’t stop to listen for sounds drifting from the entrance. There’s no time for that. I run.

  Then the cave widens. I shine my light across the way. There’s the pool of water. I’m in the cavern.

  I drop the flashlight and fumble a candle and lighter from my pocket. My hands are shaking so hard that it takes a couple of tries to get it lit.

  Once it is, I wade into the water up to my knees. I don’t bother taking off my shoes.

  With the candle clenched in one hand, I take a deep breath and hold it. I close my eyes. I tell myself that there’s still a chance to turn back. Wish for money. Wish for happiness. Wish for the sake of wishing.

  I let out my breath, open my eyes, and say, “I wish for this cave to stop granting wishes.”

  • • •
<
br />   There’s no outward sign of change. There’s the same dark rock and cold water and big empty cavern. I have no idea if my wish worked. Time will tell, I guess.

  I leave the water and make my way toward the cave’s entrance. My feet are freezing, and my shoes slosh when I walk. I’m about halfway there when I hear noises. Norie and the mayor are arguing. There’s a shout.

  I emerge from the shadows as Mayor Fontaine swings open the metal gate.

  “How dare you?” he demands.

  I walk past him into the hot afternoon sun. He makes a move to grab me, but I sidestep him.

  “It’s already done,” I say.

  There’s quite a group gathering around the cave’s entrance. Norie stands to one side, biting her lip and rapidly twirling her ring. Sheriff Crawford is here, and a few of the mayor’s goons. I hear another shout. Merrill runs up the path toward us, Mr. Wakefield in pursuit.

  Mayor Fontaine shakes with anger.

  “What have you done?” he asks.

  “I made my wish.”

  Merrill arrives, panting. He stops and stares at me, expectantly. They’re all staring at me.

  I feel like I just played in the hardest football game of my life. I’m exhausted. I might fall over at any moment, because my legs are too rubbery to support me.

  “What have you done?” the mayor repeats, taking a step closer to me.

  I step back, but he grabs me by the shoulders and shakes me, screaming into my face. “What have you done?”

  “Clancy,” Sheriff Crawford says, pulling at the mayor’s arm.

  I take the opening to jerk away from the mayor’s grip. Except now I’m backed against the wall of the cave. I blurt out, “I wished to end wishing.”

  Silence. Mouths drop open. Eyes get big. It’s all very dramatic, yeah?

  “You didn’t,” Mayor Fontaine says quietly.

  “This cave won’t ruin any more lives.”

  The mayor lets out an animallike howl, and before I have a chance to so much as blink, he pulls out a gun and levels it at me.

  “You didn’t!” he screams.

  I freeze. My heart rate soars.

  No one moves. I glance at Sheriff Crawford from the corner of my eye. All the years of letting the mayor walk all over him have led to this moment. What’s he doing to do?

  Come on, Sheriff, I plead silently. Fontaine isn’t the law. For once, take charge.

  But it’s Mr. Wakefield who breaks the quiet, speaking in a trembling voice.

  “There’s surely a nonviolent way to handle this predicament.”

  The mayor steps closer. His arm shakes. There’s no sign of the cordial mask he always wears. And it’s not only rage I see on his face. There’s also terror. “Who the hell do you think you are?” he roars.

  His shout seems to wake Sheriff Crawford from his daze. The sheriff steps forward, drawing his own gun on the mayor. He speaks with more authority than I’ve ever heard in his voice. “Drop your weapon.”

  The mayor falters. His eyes flit between me and the sheriff in disbelief. “You must be—”

  “That wasn’t a request.” Sheriff Crawford seems to grow taller in front of my eyes.

  “He destroyed my town,” Mayor Fontaine protests.

  “Drop your weapon now,” the sheriff commands.

  And the mayor does. His arm falls to his side.

  “Give it here,” Sheriff Crawford says, and I sigh in relief when, once again, the mayor complies.

  Mayor Fontaine’s breathing is ragged. He looks so lost that I’d almost feel bad for the guy. If, you know, he wasn’t a complete prick.

  “Eldon,” Sheriff Crawford says, “I’ll deal with you later. Clancy, you’re coming with me.”

  “Where—” the mayor begins.

  “Walk,” Sheriff Crawford orders.

  Shoulders slumped, Fontaine turns and begins down the path to the parking lot. Sheriff Crawford gestures for the goons—who have backed away from the mayor, removing themselves from the situation—to follow. He takes up the rear, carefully monitoring their descent.

  Mr. Wakefield gives me a long look, one I can’t interpret, before making his way down the path too.

  Merrill, Norie, and I watch their retreat. The group reaches the parking lot before any of us speak.

  “You’re not screwing around, are you?” Merrill asks.

  I shake my head, hold my breath, and wait for whatever will come next.

  Merrill lets out a whoop.

  “Attaboy, Eldo! You broke the system!”

  “We have to get out of Madison,” says Norie. “You’ll have a price on your head after what you did.”

  Merrill laughs and practically dances around. It’s the revolution he’s been waiting for. But I only feel empty.

  “Are you mad at me?” I ask Norie.

  “Why would I be mad?”

  “I thought you’d say I was playing God. That no one has a right to do that.”

  Norie considers. “God made the wish cave, but He also made you. And gave you the ability to make choices. This was a choice.” She pauses. “It’s not for me to judge whether it was right or wrong.”

  She slips her hand into mine and squeezes it. Merrill wraps his arm around my neck, still laughing and celebrating. Together, we stand at the entrance to the wish cave and look out over the parking lot, and past that, to Madison.

  And beyond that, to a world of possibilities.

  Chapter 33

  1 Day Postwish

  News doesn’t spread as quickly as I imagined. I figured the whole town would be in an uproar by the time we make it back. But everyone is going about business like normal. I go home, wave to my parents as I head to my room, and collapse into bed. I fall asleep instantly, even though the sun is still out.

  The next morning, I wake up to my mom shaking me. I groggily sit up and glance at my alarm clock. I slept for thirteen hours.

  “Eldon,” Ma says, “I got a phone call.”

  She’s perched on the edge of my bed.

  “Is it true?” she asks.

  “Yes.”

  She crumbles a little. I brace myself for her rage, but it doesn’t come.

  Instead, she sweeps me into her arms.

  “Oh, Eldon.”

  She holds me for a long time, her shoulders shaking. I don’t know what to do or what she’s thinking.

  She pulls back, her face wet with tears. “Honey, you won’t be able to stay here. We need to leave.”

  “I know.”

  For the first time, I feel afraid.

  “Do you hate me?” I ask.

  “Hate you? You’re my son. I could never hate you.” She wraps me in a hug again. “I’m scared for you. I don’t know what would make you do something like this.”

  Then, before I know it’s going to happen, I’m crying too. I hold onto my mom and sob. She comforts me the way she used to when I was a kid. The way I’ve needed her to for months.

  “Wishing ruined everyone’s lives. Yours and mine and the whole town’s. If it weren’t for wishing, Ebba would still be…”

  I’m crying too hard to go on. My mom strokes my hair and tells me everything is going to be OK.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t save her,” I say once I’ve calmed down.

  “What you said the other day is true. No one could’ve saved her,” my mom says sadly. “I just didn’t want to hear it.”

  And then we both cry again.

  After a little while, I ask if Dad is mad at me. Ma says he’s in the garage and I should talk to him myself.

  So I do.

  I find him standing at his workbench, a crutch under one arm. He flips through a book of woodworking projects.

  “Hey,” I say uncertainly.

  He turns and stares at me for a moment. T
hen he holds out his free arm for a hug. “Come here.”

  I don’t move though. Not yet.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “I know you must be ashamed of me. For ending wishing, and for my behavior in general these past few months.”

  My dad shakes his head. “Shame is a strong word, buddy. I’m not ashamed of you. Though I do think you’ve made some poor judgment calls.”

  “I won’t argue that.”

  “So what are you going to do about it?”

  “I don’t know yet,” I reply, because I don’t. I can’t see further into the future than this moment. “But I’ll figure it out.”

  Dad smiles. “I know you will.”

  He holds out his arm again, and this time, I go to him. The hug throws him off balance. His crutch wobbles, and he leans into me for support. But that’s OK. I’m leaning on him too.

  • • •

  My mom thinks we should leave town right away, all three of us. Pack up what we can and drive to Vegas. I’m the one who says no.

  “Not yet,” I say. “I want to find out if my wish worked.”

  “It’s not safe for you here,” she argues.

  But I insist. I don’t tell her I’ve been dreaming of leaving for weeks, but not with her and Dad. There’s no reason for them to uproot their lives when I can go with my friends. Other kids go away to college after high school. It won’t be any different from that.

  My mom also wants me to stay home from the town meeting at noon. I refuse to do that too.

  School is closed for the day. So are all the businesses. The entire town gathers at the community center, the same as we do for any tragedy.

  I see Merrill and Norie in the crowd but don’t go over to them. My parents aren’t exactly eager to let me out of their sight.

  I sort of expected a lynch mob. And the truth is, even though I’m acting casual, I’m scared shitless. But it’s like walking into a funeral. Everyone’s pale and looks shell-shocked and speaks in whispers. People give me cold stares, but it’s only the young people, the kids who haven’t made their wishes yet, who glare at me like they’ve got murder on their minds.

  Everyone is here. Gil Badgley in his worn-down cowboy boots. The Samson sisters, both with notebooks, documenting the occasion. Even Othello Dewitt is lurking in the back of the room.