The Wishing Well

Bobbie stood silent as she stared at the bright, flickering colorful lights that draped the store window. They flashed to the motion of the music coming from the large speaker tucked in the corner. She felt her arm jerk as her mother pulled her inside the store. She had heard about the store from a girl in her kindergarten class, she had said it was magical; there was a wishing well that granted wishes. Bobbie had tons of wishes saved up to ask for, she had searched every place in her apartment to find any loose pennies that may have fallen out of her mother’s pocket or purse. She had collected twenty pennies and she was ready to use them all on making her wishes come true. Bobbie saw it immediately; it was a big round red barrel that sat in the middle of the store surrounded by little elves. There was a gold sign that sat in front of it. She asked her mother what it said.

“Throw in a penny and make all your wishes come true,” her mother read.

Bobbie walked up to the barrel and closed her eyes, she wanted to make the best wishes. She removed the pennies one by one from her little blue purse, and with each penny she tossed she made a wish.

Chad wanted to go to the train store, he had been begging his mother to go all week. She finally decided to take him, but she had to stop at another store first to get some decorations for the house. When Chad entered the store, he thought it was too girlie and wanted to leave, but then he saw it, a big round red barrel in the middle of the store. He ran straight to it and looked down to see a bunch of pennies. “Why are there so many pennies in there?” he asked his mother.

“It’s a wishing well,” she replied. “You throw a penny in and your wish comes true.”

“Can I have a penny?”

“Sure,” his mother said, digging down into her purse. “Here are five pennies, make them count.”

Chad closed his eyes and made his wish and threw the pennies into the well. After his mother finished her shopping, they headed out of the store to go look at trains.

Several years had passed since Bobbie’s first visit to the wishing well, she and her friend Lucy were walking down the sidewalk to the Christmas store to see the decorations and make their wishes. Bobbie was older now, but the tradition had held true all these years later. First, they stood and watched the lights dance to the music coming from the speaker. The lights and music had been upgraded over the years, but the feeling remained the same. As she looked through the window, she saw a reflection, it was Chad standing across the street staring at her. She had seen him play at one of the school’s basketball games, and had secretly hoped he would approach her, but he never did. Bobbie and Lucy walked into the store towards the big round red barrel in the middle of the store, still surrounded by little elves. She pulled out twenty pennies from her red purse and closed her eyes. With each penny she tossed she made a wish.

Chad and his friend Chris were dribbling their basketball down the sidewalk when they spotted two of their classmates standing outside the Christmas store across the street. Chad had noticed Bobbie before at school, he had seen her in one of the school plays and thought she was quite talented. He had wanted to ask her out before but never garnered the nerve to speak to her. “Hey, let’s stop at the Christmas shop for a second,” Chad said after he saw the girls enter the store. When Chad and Chris walked into the store, they spotted Bobbie right away, she was standing next to the wishing barrel, Chad watched as she threw pennies one after the other into the well. He slowly moved down the nearest aisle to avoid contact as the girls walked out the store to continue to their destination. After they were out of sight Chad walked over to the well, closed his eyes and tossed a penny from his pants pocket into the well.

Bobbie and her mother were in a rush, the train for college would be leaving in about two hours and they weren’t finished packing yet. They had one more stop to make before heading back home to finish. Bobbie had insisted. It had been years since she had stepped inside the Christmas store with the wishing well. The tradition had wavered to only times when she needed a little guidance or direction. This moment seemed to fit that criteria. As she had done many years before she stood outside the store to look at the lights and watch them dance to the music. As she walked in the store the big round red barrel didn’t seem so big round or red anymore. She looked at the once sparkling sign to see a faded yellow tinted sign that read “Thr a pen and ma all you wish co tru.” She pondered how the reflection of things can change and diminish with age. She pulled twenty pennies out of her jean pocket and closed her eyes. With each penny she tossed she made a wish.

Chad was at the register picking up last minute decorations for his mother when he heard her voice and turned around to see Bobbie with her mother. They seemed to be in a hurry. “We don’t have much time Bobbie,” he heard her mother say. Chad watched as Bobbie moved toward the wishing well, she seemed weary by its presence. After a couple of minutes, she reached into her pocket and pulled out some coins, closed her eyes and threw them into the well one by one. It had been awhile since he had seen her at the store. While they had struck up a cordial relationship, he still felt a nervous sense of energy every time he said hello to her in the hallways and she responded back. Chad had wished for more, but unfortunately, that was as far as it had gone. She was moving away for college so it seemed his chance would be lost. He awoken from his thoughts, grabbed his packages and headed towards the door. Then he stopped, walked towards the well, pulled a penny from his pocket, closed his eyes and made a wish.

The streets were crowded with people, they had all come to say goodbye to an institution. The Christmas store had been there for over fifty-years, generations of parents had shopped there, and many more generations of children had made their wishes there. Bobbie walked down the sidewalk holding her daughters’ hand as they passed all the stores on the street until they reached the Christmas store window. They stopped and stared at the bright, flickering colorful lights that draped the store window. They watched as the lights danced to the music coming from the speaker. “I used to come her with my mother when I was your age,” Bobbie said. Bobbie gently guided her daughter passed the crowd of people towards the door and walked in. Bobbie stared at the barrel in the middle of the store, time has dampened its sparkle, the sign had been removed entirely as the store owner seemed to rely on generations to explain the rules of the well. Bobbie walked up to the well, “Here is were I made all my wishes.”

“Did they all come true?” her daughter asked.

“Some of them, the one’s that needed to,” Bobbie replied.

“Can I make a wish?” her daughter asked.

“Sure, you can,” a voice in the crowd stated.

Bobbie turned around and saw Chad coming closer, she smiled.

Chad pulled a penny from his pocket and handed it to the little girl. “Close your eyes and make a wish,” he said.

“Thanks, daddy,” the little girl replied.

Chad smiled and grabbed for Bobbie’s hand.

The little girl closed her eyes, tossed the penny in the well and made a wish.