Wish Pt. 1

Once there were two brothers- Anthony and James. Anthony was a 15-year old with mental capacity of no more than a 4 year old. Anthony had other mental and physical issues that made it impossible for him to even dress himself properly. He had to depend on his family to raise and support him. But one day, Anthony and James’ parents passed away, leaving the responsibility of raising and caretaking Anthony in James’ hands. James willingly sought after this responsibility and selflessly dedicated his youth in serving and providing for his littler brother Anthony. They didn’t have much, but at least they had each other; James’ selfless service, dedication, and love for his younger brother were well known throughout his neighborhood.

One day came a knock at James’ home and across the threshold stood an old man. He seemed no different than the old folks sitting in the cities with a tin can for people to drop their unused pennies in. The only reason why James didn’t shut the door behind him was what the old man said to him before he could even reach for the door knob: “Your brother has been granted by God one wish. Go to the top of the mountain on the other side of this city and whatever he wishes will be there.”

At first, James thought the old man to be another crazy beggar. He gave an ironic laugh and proceeded to reach for the knob and pull the door back in, but a voice echoed behind: “I want a football.”

James looked back with a frown and waved, “Go back Anthony, don’t listen to him. He’s just lying. He’s a bad man ok?”

“No, he’s not.” Anthony refused to move. Anthony never argued with James before. Before James could speak, the old man interjected. “Whether you believe me or not, that’s up to you. But I’m wondering what the loss would be if what I said was true and you failed to go.”

James struggled for a few days. Anthony whined constantly, at times even yelling, “I want my football!” James knew they couldn’t afford one from his own pockets, but he still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of taking his brother up a mountain just because a ragged, perhaps crazy old man told them that God would grant his brother’s wish. Climbing the mountain on the other side of the city would be no easy feat, considering that it took even the most trained climbers a couple of days to reach the peak. Taking Anthony along could mean double, perhaps triple the time and energy. After many restless nights, James decided to give the old man a chance. After all, it couldn’t hurt to try; even if the old man was lying, at least they could get some fresh air and exercise.

The climb was arduous, much more than James had imagined. He had to constantly stop for Anthony who was more focused on chasing butterflies and rolling on the ground than actually climbing. But all the time, he would happily say, “I’m getting my football soon, I’m getting my football soon.” They had climbed about a sixth of the way to the summit when they discovered a couple of hikers walking back down. They exchanged a few words and soon initiated a conversation. James discovered that the hikers themselves had sought after the summit of the mountain, because an old man had also told them that they would find what they desired on the top of the mountain. One of the hikers had asked for youth; he showed James a picture of himself as a much older man that was taken a couple of days ago right before he had started his journey. Another hiker had wished for money; once he reached the top he was granted the ability to create gold. James refused to believe at first, but as soon as he saw a piece of rock turning into pure gold in the hands of the hiker, he realized that the old man was telling the truth. When the hikers as him what he was going to wish for, he replied: “Oh, I’m not going up this mountain for my wish. The old man specifically only told my brother his wish would be granted.”

“Oh? And what does your brother want?” One of the hikers asked while giving an eye of disapproval towards Anthony who was too busy biting the ends of his jacket sleeve.

“He wants a football.” As soon as James said those words, all the hikers burst out laughing, some spewing water since they were moments before drinking from their canteen, while others fell to their knees clutching their sides from the sheer pressure of laughing too hard.

“He—he wants a football? He could ask for anything, anything at all and he wants a stupid football? Kid, you need to set the records straight with your little brother there. He’s making a huge, huge mistake.”

Feeling slightly uneasy, James replied, “Yeah, but that’s what he wants. I can’t do anything about it.”

“Sure you can!” another hiker interrupted, “What’s so hard in convincing your brother? He could ask for money and then you can buy him all the football in the world! Plus, you could also buy whatever YOU want with the leftover money too!”

The hikers soon departed and went their separate ways from James and Anthony, shaking their heads and speaking loudly about how foolish the brothers were.

James had never thought about what the hikers had suggested until then; he had never fully understood the potential of the fact that Anthony could ask anything he wished and it would be granted. Slowly, greed began to crawl into his heart. He approached Anthony and asked, “Little brother, what do you want?”

“FOOTBALL!” screamed Anthony from the top of his lungs.

“You—you sure? How about something else? Like lots of money? That way, we could live in a nicer house, have better food and clothes, and I could buy you hundreds of football?”

“NO! I just want football. Money is stupid. I like my house. I like my food. I like my shirt. I want my football.” Anthony planted his feet down on his resolution to wish for a football and football only.

James felt a pang of disappointment; he tried numerous times to convince Anthony, but to no avail. Though James still felt disappointed and couldn’t completely shake off his lingering greed for a better wish, he ended his conversation with a smile and urged Anthony to continue their climb to the top.