One Wish

You have one wish.

One wish, and you wouldn’t want more.

You just want to be noticed, but everything you do, they say you seek attention. Hearing that, you would shrink back into your shell, becoming more withdrawn than you were initially. 

You see them gist and laugh, your heart aches to be a part of them. But once you make an attempt, they give you a look of contempt, silent wishing you would shut up. You speak sense, yet they do not want to reckon with you. You return to your shell, becoming muter than you were.

You see them have fun and attend parties together, you also want to be a part of the group. So, you show up uninvited, not minding that they never wanted you there in the first place. As soon as they sight you, they dismiss the party, telling you the party had ended and you could leave.

 They don’t hate you, they don’t just like who you are.

Why? Why? You keep asking yourself. But you have done nothing wrong. 

Then, he comes. He notices you. You are baffled when he says ‘Hey beautiful’. Your cheeks flush in embarrassment. Your heart thud faster than its usual pace. He says you are the prettiest thing he’s ever come across. You sense the sincerity in his words. Sincerely, he is. 

Days after, you discover he is the new boy everyone is talking of. Your heart is saddened because you fear that he might hate you once he mixes with the rest. He doesn’t change towards you, and you are surprised. 

For a moment, you feel different; fuzzy and warm. You feel special; less a wallflower for once in your life. So, one day during one of your late night dates, you ask him a question that has been disturbing your heart. For you know that once he answers them rightly, only then can you trust him. So, you ask.

“Dsoti, do you love me?” you ask, staring into his eyes.

“Of course, I do,” he answers casually.

“Do you cherish and adore me for who I am? Would you stay with me forever, and not leave?” you ask, your voice filled with desperation you cannot hide.

He stares at you. His honey-brown eyes lingers on yours. Again, you fall in love with Dsoti. You remember the first day you met him. But, you couldn’t let your emotion take the better part of you, so you ask him again. 

“Do you love me with all your heart, Dsoti?”

He reaches for your hand on the table, squeezing them in his. He stares at them and shifts gaze to your eyes. You see that look in his eyes. It scares you. It’s a look that makes your heart shatter like a vase fallen from on top a cupboard, breaking into shards that can’t be fixed. You are scared to hear the words he would say. You shake your head, signaling that he shouldn’t say those words. But he didn’t understand the pain they were going to cause you once he utters them.

“Veita, I’m sorry.” His voice struck your once broken heart once again, making the shards scrape the walls of your insides. You cringe in pain, shutting your eyes. “Veita, at first, I did. I was not going to give in to the dare. I really wanted to fall in love with you, but I guess love can’t be forced,” he says, embittered, “it happens naturally.”

“The dare?” you ask, wondering what he is talking about.

“They,” he says, to no one in particular, “they told me you were no fun, just a pale skinned girl. They said you being an albino has made you unfortunate, since it was like a plague. They said you were weird and strange. But, I told them Veita is the definition of beautiful. I said I saw more in you the first day I saw. Your skin intrigues me, your eyes take me to the moon and forth, your pink lips are the reason I crave strawberries every day. And your voice, I find them angelic. So, they told me to make you fall in love with me and see if it would be fun at all.” He stops and looks at you

.

“So?” You ask, expecting the moment he would say he didn’t love you so you could slap sense into him. You clench you fist, grinding your teeth against each other.

“Veita, I’ve seen your vulnerable moments, I’ve seen your happiest days. I’ve seen you cower in fear when I talk to others, because you fear I’ll leave. I’ve seen you hesitate to say you love me, when I say it. I’ve seen you find it hard to trust just like you don’t right now. I’ve seen all these things, and I don’t care, because they make you the woman I love- the woman I want to be with.”

Your lips are parted, you’re shocked. You were never expecting things to turn out that way. You watch him lean closer to you over the table. But, you can’t do anything because you’ve frozen on the spot. 

“The answer to your question, Veita, is, I love you. I love you more than life itself. I love your skin, and I wouldn’t mind if we have kids who take after your looks. You are beautiful and amazing.”

You feel the shards of your heart attract each other like the attraction between opposite poles of a magnet. You feel them form back into one blood-pumping fast-thudding organ. You are tongue-tied. Instead of talking, your eyes well up, producing rivers of tears. 

You thought you’ve heard and seen it all. Not until, he kneels on one knee and brings out a small shiny black box. He looks at you, beaming with smile and says the words.

“Veita, since the day you came to my notice, my heart, soul and body noticed yours. They told me I’ll be damned if I don’t make you mine. Will you marry me?”

You break into tears, hiding your face in your palms. All along, you thought you only wanted to be noticed. Now, you discover that you didn’t only want to be noticed, but also wanted. And this man before you, would do both. 

Alas! You’ve been granted your wish. Finally, you can smile because the heavens are on your side.