A Wish Over the Sea

Julia took a final grassy step to overlook the seaside steep. An unhindered breeze blew through the cold evening. She was a few dozen paces from the manor where she had spent half of her short life, and the memories which filled that distance now seemed a gleaming ocean apart.

She has turned twenty today and been promised away as a token to another esteemed family. Julia had been chosen for marriage far later than her fair sisters, and given for far less. Before long, she would be on the arduous journey to a backwater ville with a no-name lord she had never met, all for the sake of her family name. Or their wealth, she thought.

Julia glanced over the fine rosewood railing that lined the edge, then ran her hand gently along the weathered engravings. Age had not diminished the artistic qualities. Father demanded the finest from craftsmen. Required it, even. Only the best for the Rivers family, since “you’re only worth what others can see”.

Twirling back towards the manor for a final look, Julia gripped the rail and hopped atop. This would be the final visit to her favorite little spot. Nothing stood between her and the long fall to the deep waters below. No sharp rocks or jagged edges with which to meet a sudden end. Just the smooth fall down into an open ocean. This wouldn’t pose a problem for Julia, who cannot swim.

“A Rivers that can’t swim,” her mother would sigh. “Not a drop of talent left for you after your siblings, is there?”

Maybe it’s because I have so many, Julia often thought. Mother gave much love to each of her many brothers and sisters. What was left for Julia was spread as thin as air by the end of the day. Maybe it was because her hair was a different color from the rest of her kin, or because she never seemed to get anything right. But it was okay. Julia always forgave her mother. There was no one else to turn to if she didn’t.

A deep, sweet hum accompanied a low rumbling below Julia’s neck. She reached down to grasp her necklace and felt the little stone resting at the end - her sixteenth birthday gift from her grandmother. Julia’s face winced in perplexity as the stone vibrated, warm against her fingers.

The blanketing sensation reminded her sorely of her grandmother. She had always been the embodiment of kindness. On the rare visit, she would take over Julia’s study session and fill the time telling odd stories of adventure. A welcome reprieve from her father's “tutoring”. He cracked Julia’s knuckles bloody with a wooden stick many nights if she gave incorrect answers to their lessons. He knew she’d be worth more if she took her education seriously.

Julia lifted the stone to eye level, and cocked her head as she examined the peculiar glow. In the years she had carried the trinket to commemorate her grandmother’s passing, the stone had never acted as such.

“A piece of a star,” her grandmother would regale. “With each day that passes, this star will know your heart. And when the day comes that you need it most, your wish will be answered.”

Julia struggled against the idea. A wish. Not a night had ever passed that she could recall a dream or desire, let alone a wish. But she loved her grandmother, and when her grandmother passed soon after, Julia honored her by carrying the stone each day.

The humming stone sang gracefully from her palm and began to rise. She lifted her chin in awe, eyes fixated on the gleaming orb. To her astonishment, her stomach began to sink. She was beset with envy. The stone defied the very gravity which had trapped her so long. Her voided feelings became a wavy wash of color without understanding, and despite this uncertainty, she knew. She could make her wish.

Yet no wish came to mind. She stared quietly and long at the beauty within the stone, thoughts afluster. Life had beaten into her that she had no talent, no plan, no future, and now no wish to make. Her moment had arrived, and nothing came. Not for her family, and not for herself.

The pressure of her inaction rose like a crackling dam with each sorrowful second, and the unassuming star merely sang on. Every failure began to surface inside. Every painful night and horrid moment she had experienced diminished the brief wonder. This was just one more thing she could not do, and could bear it no longer. Julia snatched the stone from the air and leaned backwards off the railing without another thought. No more dread. She had already been ready. Julia would take her empty wishes to whatever may lie beyond.

The plummet turned to plunge as the water swallowed her whole. Julia had hardly managed to close her eyes before the icy sea grew heated, and as she sank further, burning. The stone, clutched tightly, seared her hands. Then, dryness.

Rather than water, she found that air filled her lungs rapidly. Her eyes flew wide open.

“Julia,” yelled Father from a distance. She reflexively flinched, as if his words were a gnarled bite. “Come, don’t make me wait all evening. We all enjoy the new view, but it’s time for study.”

He spoke sternly as ever, grabbed the cusps of his velvet vest, and turned with perfect posture down the pathway back towards the manor.

Up and down the railing beside her shone with fresh polish. Rosewood scent filled the air with citrus and a gentle floral blend. The frame stood taller than she remembered. Shavings of wood lay at her feet, and she reached down to scoop a handful before a gust whisked the remnants over the cliffside.

As if streaking light over a stormy sea sky, Julia realized that this moment was the first time she had ever stood at the overlook. The first day they arrived at the new manor.

“Julia,” he yelled harshly now. Commanding. “Come!”

She felt her chest swell with what she still couldn’t comprehend. The void inside was gone and filled with regret, and yet something more. Far more. She looked to the cliff, where she had just thrown everything away a moment before, then back to her father.

And, she ran.

Julia raced on as fast as her legs allowed. When she felt her body might give out, she ignored the numbness. Her father’s enraged voice carried away softer and softer as the distance increased. “Julia, Julia”, over and over. Onward. Away from the cliffside. Away from the manor, and away from the Rivers family. Beyond the gates and down into the roads unknown. Julia didn't know what her wish was, but for the first time in her life, she knew what it wasn’t.