The Three Wishes

Legend has it, there was a barn owl deep in the forest that can grant 3 wishes, but all wishes come with a great price. One must not use such power for selfish needs, for you will be met with misfortune. Only those with pure hearts will get a chance to witness the owl and all of its glory.

A woman by the age of 20 was looking outside of her window. She goes by the name Talia, and all she wanted from this gloomy, rainy day was for her life to change. She stood there silently, as she thought of a way to somehow break free her miserable life, but she never let life get her down despite all her struggles. Her parents never paid attention to her, she never had friends, so even though she looks cheerful on the outside, life behind closed doors is never what it seems.

Hours went by and Talia decided to go for a walk. There was a forest nearby where she would always go to ever since she was just a small child. She listened to her music, and enjoyed the peaceful breeze as she kept on walking until the sunset hits. She stopped for a brief moment and looked up at the sun as it continued going down. Once it became completely dark, and the stars were out, she was walking back to her house, until she saw a strange path she had never seen before. She stopped, and stared at the eerie path not knowing what lies ahead. She was astonished at this discovery, so feeling adventurous she decided to follow the path of the unknown, not knowing that her wishes will soon come true.

Talia continued walking down the path, until she saw a barn. She was so confused because she has never seen a barn around the forest in her entire life. She walked towards the barn, feeling nervous something bad might happen, but having a little bit of courage she went and opened the door slowly. The door made a creaking sound as it was being opened, she then stepped inside and looked at the abandoned place.

“Hello? Is anybody here?” Talia said nervously.

Talia waited for a few seconds in silence, and let out a sigh of relief. She thought of going home and decided to turn around and face the door, but as she was about to take a step the door slammed shut. She started to get scared, and started to panic out of fear, but all of a sudden she started hearing noises, and it sounds like wings flapping.

“Hello there.” said the unknown figure behind her in a female voice.

Talia slowly turned around to see who was talking, and to her surprise she was looking at an owl.

“You are an owl, a talking owl.” Talia said in disbelief. She could have never imagined that she would meet a talking owl. She is starting to think that she has finally gone mad.

“Yes I am an owl, and I have been here for many generations, helping those with a good heart make their dreams come true, and I sense you are in need of guidance” The owl said. “You are a very troubled girl, but I know you wish to do something big in life, so I will grant you three wishes.” The owl said in a calm, but serious tone, looking up at Talia while smiling at her.

Talia just stood there still in disbelief, as she wondered if she was just having a dream. She is talking to an owl who claims to be able to grant wishes, and now she can finally get the things she’s been hoping for. She is unsure of what to do because there are so many things she could wish for, but she only has three wishes, so she will choose the things she desired the most. When she was done thinking, she sighed, and then gave the owl a warm smile.

“Alright, I know what I want for my first wish.” Talia said with confidence. She can finally get what she deserves in life, but even though she has a pure heart, bad intentions can be made when dealing with such power.

“I will warn you, when you make your wishes, you must be clear about it, and fully know what you want. If unclear about it, your wish could go south. When you want to make another wish, you shall come back to the barn at night, and when you make your final wish this barn will disappear.” The owl explained as she has encountered many people in the past like Talia, but it always ends the same.

“Yes, I understand. I know what I want.” Talia said in a calm tone. She then closed her eyes as she hoped the wish would come true. “I wish people, most importantly my family would pay more attention to me so I would not feel so lonely!” Talia yelled, still having her eyes closed, hoping her wish came true. She waited for a few seconds before opening her eyes, and when she did, she was shocked to find out she was back in her room. Sighing in disappointment, thinking it was all a dream, she decided to go to bed.

The next morning, Talia was awoken by people laughing outside of her room. After changing her clothes, she decided to go check out what was all the commotion about. She was in shock to see her family normal for once. Her wish came true, and after spending time with her family, she decided to meet up with one of her bestfriends. On her way to meet him, people stared at her in awe as they walked by, whispering to one another, which she found very strange, but she ended up brushing it off.

Talia finally saw her trusted bestfriend. His name is Mason, and he was her only true friend ever since they were kids. She told him about what happened to her, but he only laughed hysterically thinking she was joking, but seeing from the look on her face, he knew she was not kidding.

“So you are telling me, you have met a talking owl who can grant wishes, and you used one of them.” Mason said in a serious tone while looking at Talia.

“Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but it is true, I was hoping you would understand, and believe what I say.” Talia said sweetly, as she held Mason’s hands.

Mason pondered for a while, but decided to trust what Talia was saying, after all he did have a small crush on her, but never had the guts to tell her. He was afraid she would reject him, so he never bothered. He also knew that she had a major crush on Tyler, some small minded guy that every girl wants.

Talia thought of her next wish, she has always dreamed of being with the hottest guy in town, and that is when she had the idea, if her wish came true, maybe she can finally have the life she always wanted. She was so overwhelmed with glee that she had forgotten about the world, so instead of using her wishes to make the world a better place, she decided to use it for her personal gain. She stayed with Mason for a while, just walking around town until nightfall, and when it became dark, she decided to say her goodbye to Mason and rush to the barn.

When Talia arrived at the barn, she burst through the doors while panting heavily. She was so exhausted from running, so she had to take a moment to catch her breath. While catching her breath she noticed the owl standing in front of her, and seeing the owl put a smile on her face.

“I am ready for my next wish.” Talia said with glee. Although she was looking at the owl who had a sad expression, she paid no mind to the owl, and only focused on her wish. She closed her eyes and focused on her wish properly.

“I wish Tyler would fall madly in love with me!” Talia yelled with excitement, still keeping her eyes tightly shut. She waited a couple of seconds before opening her eyes slowly. She was confused why she was at the park in the morning, she was expecting to be back in her room, but the park was a bit strange, but then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She immediately turned around and saw it was Tyler.

“Hey Talia, I saw you just standing over here, and decided to come over and say hi. I was also wondering if you wanted to go out with me?” Tyler said cheerfully, but his smile was a little bit off.

“Oh! Tyler, yes I would love that.” Talia said shyly, while ignoring the signs that something is extremely off.

As days go by, Talia enjoyed the life she was having. She had everything, a family, love, friends, but she felt off. She continued this on until it got out of hand, her family only wanted her to stay at home and be with them, sending her a message every minute when she is away from home, and Tyler would not leave her alone, he is the only one Talia wants to see, not even her best friend can see her. She regrets making these wishes, she never thought of the consequences, and all she wants now is for things to go back to the way it was. She was pondering for a while, and then she realized she had one wish left, so she rushed to the barn in hopes of redoing the mess that had been created.

“Owl! I need you please.” Talia cried out, desperate to change her life once again. She waited a while in the silence, until the owl revealed herself in front of Talia.

“Are you ready for your final wish?” The owl said with a smile on her face, as she knew Talia had seen the error of her wishes.

“Yes, I understand now. I should have not been so quick to change my life, I should have been the one to try and fix my life. I could have tried to bond with my family, and make friends instead of isolating myself from everyone. I also had my best friend, and I know Tyler is a good guy, but my feelings are now clear. I regret my wishes, and I think it is time to undo them.” Talia said in a raspy voice, as her tears ran down her face. “I wish everything would go back to normal!” Talia yelled out while her eyes are tightly shut.

“As you wish, have a good life Talia.” The owl said to Talia as she fulfilled the young woman’s wish.

Talia opened her eyes, and she had never been so happy to be back in her room. She figured everything went back to normal. She decided to make a strong bond with her family, and make friends, but most importantly give her best friend a shot. She had never been so happy in her life. Realizing that everything has to be worked for, and that you cannot give up on your dreams. Being strong and having faith in life gets you places. No matter how hard things get, you will always have luck sprinkled on you, and all your wishes will come true, if you work for what you want.