One Wish, One Choice

by Abby Hope Patrick

  Rufus sniffled. Anja pointedly kept her eyes trained on the wall so she wouldn’t see him cry.

  * * *

  When Anja woke up she glanced over at Willow’s bed and was surprised to find it empty. It was 7:00 am and Willow had a strict do not wake up before 10:00 am on a weekend rule.

  She got ready quicker than usual, not wanting to waste any time. She cleared the smudged make-up from under her eyes and brushed her hair before getting changed.

  She then headed downstairs to find out where Willow was.

  The game room was dark and eerily silent. Anja wandered in, hoping to find Rufus at the console. But she halted just outside the door, she heard a scraping noise to her left.

  Her heart began to race.

  What if the thugs have found me?

  Anja liked to carry a penknife with her and luckily today she had it on her. She reached into her pocket and unfolded the longest knife it contained.

  Only seconds had passed but thanks to the adrenaline shooting through her body it felt like minutes. All her senses heightened and her sweat glands were out of control. She could definitely hear someone or something in the dark room.

  Her hand tightened around the knife still concealed in her pocket. She edged her way to where she knew the light switch was. Anja counted to three in her head and then flipped the switch.

  She spun around, her heart skipped a beat as noise filled the room from all sides.

  “Surprise!”

  Smiling faces all around her. A room full of banners that said, “Happy Last Day in Hell, Anja!”

  Rufus’s grinning face emerged from the small crowd as he hugged her.

  “Did you write the banners?” She asked as she quickly folded the blade away.

  “Of course. Although Mrs Dorsin would only let me do one of my ideas.”

  Anja asked what they were but before Rufus replied Willow had wheeled herself over and told Anja for him.

  “One was, ‘Only a few more hours until we can get rid of you’ and the other was, ‘Wait who’s Anja again?’ He also invited Carl but was told to fudge off, but in less polite terms.”

  Anja spun and slapped the back of her hand into her brother’s head.

  “Aowww! I just thought you might want to say goodbye to the love of your life,” he explained while clutching his throbbing head.

  “Prick,” Anja muttered, not loud enough for the younger kids to hear.

  Mrs Dorsin had laid out some pastries and homemade lemonade. Some of the children and teenagers left to go to work or do some chores but a lot stayed to celebrate the end of Anja’s old life. They had to celebrate today because Anja would be leaving the morning of her actual birthday. Everyone had signed a card and a few had gone into the garden, picked some flowers for her and tied them together with some string. It was the ugliest bouquet she’d ever seen, but she received it with a smile on her face.

  Mrs Dorsin brought out some old pictures of Anja and passed them around the room. Rufus was crying with laughter when he saw the one that had been taken of Anja when she had found an open can of paint and poured it all over herself.

  Some more people left after that, but those who stayed sat around finishing off the pastries.

  Anja knew she’d miss this place, even if she was glad to be going.

  A loud bang came from the front door and Mrs Dorsin got up from the sofa where she’d perched. She waddled out of the room.

  After a bit, she reappeared and told everyone to listen up.

  “The council is having a trial, a Sorcerer has been found using magic.”

  When asked, Willow made it clear she didn’t want to go. Everyone knew what a trail meant for a Sorcerer. There had only been three trials in Kettleton since Anja and Rufus had arrived, but neither of them had ever gone to one.

  Anja stood, “I’m going.” She needed to make sure the Sorcerer on trial wasn’t the old man she’d saved.

  Rufus grabbed her hand,

  “I’m going with you.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “It’ll be good research.”

  “Research for what?”

  Mrs Dorsin raised her voice,

  “Hurry, or we’ll be late.”

  They all traipsed out onto the busy streets of Kettleton. Everyone was making their way to the town square, which meant that the small streets were packed full of people. The cheap houses around her had been built during the war against the Sorcerers and weren’t designed to last very long, so it was no surprise that a few were losing parts of their roofs, the residents unable to afford to repair them. The buildings began to deteriorate even further as she walked, while the number of bodies in the crowd increased which meant it was difficult to stay with the group from the orphanage. Anja spotted Rufus and made her way towards him.

  They stood with only their coats and a few hundred bodies around them as protection against the intense wind.

  “Do you see Mrs Dorsin anywhere?” Rufus asked her.

  Anja shook her head in reply. She reached up and untied her hair and let the strands fall around her neck, her hair was cut just above her shoulders, perfect for being a temporary scarf since she’d forgotten hers in the rush to get out the door.

  The crowd stopped shuffling forward.

  Standing on a temporary stage was a line of formally dressed men and women and a scruffy looking man.

  Anja’s breath caught in her throat.

  But it can’t be.

  The man she was staring at was the thug who had attacked her, this was confirmed when she took a closer look at his leg, it was slightly raised, to prevent weight being put onto it. The same leg that she’d stabbed. He was looking very confident in himself as if being up on the stage made him better than the crowd.

  She felt the world starting to spin.

  Her mind froze.

  She took a step back, bumping into the people behind her. All the colour from Anja’s already pale skin faded.

  Rufus turned towards his sister.

  “Sis?” She glanced up at him and put on her best fake smile. “Are you alright?” She nodded and looked back out towards the crowd, searching.

  One of the very formally dressed men walked forward and the crowd fell silent.

  The crowd exchanged looks with each other. Anja just stood staring as the man spoke, “For years Sorcerers and their kin have lived peacefully alongside us in Kettleton, obeying the law and keeping to themselves. But today, thanks to this brave man,” he gestured his gloved hand towards the thug, “we have apprehended a rogue Sorcerer.”

  The crowd gasped and stared as an old man was hauled onto the stage. The same old man that Anja had saved. His face was bruised and a bandage was wrapped around his hand.

  “Today we will be showing you how we treat those who believe they are above the law. Their powers are unnatural and vile, and using them puts innocent civilians in danger. I have got permission from President Atgas herself to do this today.” He grinned as he pulled out a long black revolver from his coat.

  Anja cried out in protest. But it was lost in the crowd’s applause and their loud whoops.

  The crowd continued to roar in approval as the old man was shoved to his knees. His hands were tightly tied in front of him with a thick rope.

  She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. She recognised the man in the suit as the head of Kettleton’s council. He was known for getting his hands dirty and often got in trouble for pushing the boundaries of the law. Now he was the only thing standing in the way of life and death.

  “This man. This abomination,” he corrected, “was caught using magic.”

  The crowd began spewing insults at the old man.

  The council leader spun the gun around in his hand and shouted out to the crowd, “What will his punishment be?”

  The crowd screeched back, “Death!”

  A man near Anja licked his lips like some wild predator going in for the kill. The crowd began to pull their phones out to record what they all knew was
coming next. An old woman next to Anja screeched in a high-pitch voice, “Kill the freak!” The crowd cried out in agreement and started to thrust their fists into the air in a trancing rhythm.

  Anja stared with tears in her eyes at the old man on his knees. His head was bowed low. He slowly turned towards his accuser and whispered something.

  The council leader swung his fist towards the old man and hit him in the side of the head. He fell to the ground and Anja lost sight of him.

  The crowd was getting restless. They wanted justice and didn’t seem to care who got hurt in the process. People started pushing forward to get a better look. She even found herself edging forward to watch the outcome.

  I should do something, she thought while tears streamed down her face. But Anja felt useless against the crowd and council members. She wouldn’t even get close before someone stopped her and she was punished, so she held back. Rufus grabbed her hand and she could see the pain in his eyes too.

  They couldn’t do anything.

  “This is Charles Boman. He has lived among us for over seventy years. We have shown him kindness and hospitality but in return, he has betrayed us. Today he will receive his punishment.”

  Charles was lifted into a standing position, he moved awkwardly, like there were more wounds hidden from view. He looked out at the crowd and shook his head. Anja’s eyes sought out who he’d meant the movement for.

  A teenage girl stood at the edge of the crowd, anger etched onto her face. She was easy to spot thanks to her long purple hair. She was standing as if she had been about to step forward onto the stage but at the signal, she moved back.

  When Anja glanced back a second later she was gone, swallowed up by the crowd.

  “Sis.” Rufus’s voice was low and quiet, she looked up at him but he was frozen, staring at the steps. She turned her head and saw that the gun was now raised to Charles’s forehead.

  The old man’s eyes weren’t on the gun but were on Anja, he had found her in the crowd. She saw his mouth was etched into a subtle, calm smile.

  “No,” Anja whispered but it was too late.

  A loud crack split the air— and then, there was only silence.

  Anja watched in horror as the old man’s body went limp and he collapsed.

  The crowd broke the silence by screeching in triumph, their faces were alive with delight.

  After that Anja didn’t pay much attention to her surroundings. She tried to push her way forward and she managed to shove a few crowd members out of the way before Rufus stopped her. He grabbed her elbow and pulled her out of the crowd.

  She never saw the old man’s body after that.

  They entered a side street and Anja immediately yanked her arm from his tight grip.

  “Why didn’t we help him?” She screamed into her hands.

  “We couldn’t have stormed up there. What do you think you could’ve done once you got to his body?” he said back, much calmer than his sister.

  “I don’t know! But doing something is better than standing around doing nothing!”

  “The guy was dead the second he used magic,” Rufus half-shouted back.

  Anja raised her eyes to meet his. She was so angry she couldn’t speak.

  After a long silence, she hissed, “Take me home,” through gritted teeth.

  The world felt small. The cold wasn’t just in the air anymore, it felt like it had invaded her body and was slowly freezing everything inside of her.

  They didn’t wait for the others who they’d come with but instead walked silently home together, arms clutching at uncovered skin.

  * * *

  It took a long time to get back thanks to their shaking knees and Anja’s zombie-like state.

  When they finally managed to get to the orphanage Rufus took her straight to her room to lie down.

  Rufus went to find Willow who, when she heard what had happened, went to see if her best friend was okay.

  Willow held her hand. “I’m sorry. That couldn’t have been easy to watch, but Sorcerers are very dangerous, you know this. If they were allowed to use it freely they could cause so much damage.” Willow couldn’t bring herself to say the word magic.

  Anja knew her friend was scared but she didn’t believe anyone had the right to take another life, especially when that person was born without a choice about who they are.

  She’d always felt like she could be completely honest with Willow. But not when it came to this. This secret wasn’t as simple.

  Her trembling hand found the pearl around her neck as she shut her eyes. She didn’t know why the necklace was important but she just knew that it was.

  Willow pulled the covers over Anja’s shaking body and turned off the lights as she left the room. Tomorrow I’ll be starting a new life. An escape route.

  She didn’t know what time she fell asleep, all she remembered was the hopelessness she’d felt as she drifted into unconsciousness.

  * * *

  As her eyes opened and adjusted to the world, she knew what she had to do. Fake it. No one could know she was upset by the Sorcerer’s death or they would begin to ask questions. Being a Sorcerer supporter was almost as dangerous as actually being one.

  But after she turned eighteen what happened in Kettleton wouldn’t matter anymore.

  Anja had been waiting for the day when she could finally have a life that belonged to her. And that life would begin tomorrow.

  Anja unlocked her phone and realised that she’d slept through lunch and into dinner.

  She looked around, finally noticing her brother sitting on Willow’s bed.

  “Rufus,” Anja muttered sleepily. He rose and walked over to her side.

  “You look like crap.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. You know if Willow had found you sitting on her bed she would have kindly asked me to kick you out.” Anja finally felt like she had the energy to sit up and face the world. “What did you tell Mrs Dorsin?”

  He explained that he’d said that Anja was feeling overwhelmed by leaving and needed a bit of quiet. Anja nodded, her brother was scarily good at lying, he’d often wormed his way out of trouble by making up lies.

  She was going to have to miss breakfast the next day thanks to the early train times. This dinner would be Anja’s last and so skipping it wasn’t an option.

  The dining room was filled with laughter. For the first time in ages, Anja was on time and got served food that had only been heated once.

  Throughout the meal, she had children from the orphanage come over to say goodbye and tell her how much she would be missed.

  She picked at the remaining pieces of what she hoped was chicken and used her fork to scoop up the last of the rice, while Rufus and Willow chatted to each other from opposite sides of the table. Rufus suggested that the three of them go and play one last game on the console and unsurprisingly he picked a first-person shooter, which often gave Willow nightmares.

  Rufus smiled, “Sorry little W, but at least you’re not shooting real people.”

  Willow’s face went a soft shade of green and she looked as if she was about to throw up.

  After a few hours of shooting video game characters in the head, they were told by a tired Mrs Dorsin to head up to bed, when Anja passed the old lady she was surprised to receive a hug before she headed to her room.

  Rufus stayed outside the door to Anja and Willow’s bedroom because technically he wasn’t allowed in, but he often broke that rule.

  “I can’t imagine this place without you,” he said, gazing around the room that would soon only be occupied by Willow.

  “Yeah, it’s going to be weird not having you around to piss me off every day,” replied Anja smiling although tears were sneaking their way into her eyes. “Now bugger off, I need to pack.” Rufus flew them both a sarcastic kiss before going upstairs.

  The next hour was filled with packing and a lot of tears from Willow.

  By the time the lights needed to be out Anja had packed up her few po
ssessions and the two girls were in bed ready for the emotional day that tomorrow would be. In her duffle bag was a grey notebook, Anja’s favourite pen, some photos, her goodbye card and her laptop. Her clothes were stuffed at the bottom along with some of her favourite books. The necklace the old man had given her was still around her neck, Anja promised to never take it off so that each time she looked at it she would remember him.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about what tomorrow would be like. She’d never been to Okland, Anja had only seen pictures in newspapers and online. She had no idea where she would live, her address would be given to her when she arrived, yet another thing to worry about. Her mind raced with thoughts about her new life and all that had happened the last two days. She would find a time to grieve for the old man, but not today.

  Finally, her brain seemed to shut off from over-processing and she fell into a deep, dream-filled sleep.

  Chapter Five

  Anja’s birthday had finally arrived, but it didn’t feel like a celebration. It felt like a funeral. Her old life was over.

  The bedroom she woke up in seemed different from the one she had fallen asleep in. It didn’t feel like her room anymore. She packed the last of her possessions and stripped her bed. There was nothing else to do, except say goodbye to Willow.

  Anja joined Willow on her bed, the pink covers bright in the dull grey room. Willow leant over to her bedside table, and brought something out of the drawer. “Give me your hand.”

  “In marriage?” replied Anja, raising an eyebrow. Willow grinned and grabbed Anja’s pale hand from where it had been resting on the bed. “As long as it’s not a wedding ring…”

  Into Anja’s outstretched hand Willow placed a tiny wooden heart.

  “I want you to have this.”

  “You really don’t have to give me anything, Willow.”

  She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. “I don’t want you to forget about me when you move.”

  The guilt of leaving rose up inside of her, making her doubt that leaving was the right thing after all. Tears were streaming down Willow’s face as they hugged on the bed.