Wonderer's Wish World: An Empty Land

Father Arlen's Confession

"So, first question!" Mabel called out, before she faltered. "Um... I really should have written these down... The flowers! What do the flowers do? Why does everyone want them?"

Father Arlen looked genuinely confused. "What flowers?"

"The flowers that we stole of you!" Mabel cried, already sounding annoyed. "The red one!"

Arlen shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific-."

Kipo shook him, enjoying the look of panic that crossed him face.

"We KNOW you know what we're talking about!" Mabel yelled at him. Then, in a warning tone, she said: "Don't forget what'll happen if you don't talk..."

Carefully, Kipo arranged herself so she was hanging the back of Arlen's shirt on one claw. He got the hint pretty quickly, and his eyes widened. Mabel smirked.

"Ready to talk now?" she asked, and Arlen glowered.

"If you don't know already, that means Hu-Amenos doesn't want you to know,"

"We're PAST what that guy wants and doesn't want!" Mabel shouted at him, furious. Mabel looked like she was going to jump out there and knock Arlen out again, so Kipo held him out further away. Arlen squeaked. "Just tell us what we want to know!"

"He'll kill me!" Arlen snapped, but now an edge of panic laced him voice. Mabel scoffed at him.

"Um, WE'LL kill you?!" she pointed out, and it was such a believable lie that Kipo found herself taken aback, too.

Conflicting emotions passed along Arlen's face, and he glanced uncertainly down at the lava below him. Kipo made sure there were no bridges in the way when she held him over it, so he knew just what was waiting for him down below.

Eventually, Arlen gave up, going limp. "Alright, I'll tell you. But none of this can get out to Amenos."

Mabel shrugged. "We can agree to that."

Arlen did not look like he believed her in the slightest. "Those flowers you took are called many things nowadays, but before all of this happened, they were called Wish Flowers, and that was for one very simple reason: they granted wishes."

Kipo blinked, so startled that she nearly dropped Arlen. He clutched at her claws, suddenly going white.

"Hey, keep it steady!" he shouted at her. "This is what you wanted, right?"

Taking a deep breath, Kipo managed to hold her claws still, or still enough for Arlen to be mostly satisfied.

"Yes, they all grant wishes, but not all of them have the same power," Arlen told them. "For some of them, the only thing they can grant is: 'I wish my eye colour was this', or 'I wish I was a centimeter or two taller', and even combined, the most they could do is change one thing to another. But others... others more powerful... they could do pretty much anything."

"...I....I..." Mabel looked stunned. Kipo couldn't blame her, she was having difficulty coming to terms with this new information as well. "I... what?"

From below, Coraline called out: "Hey! How does that even work?! Why should we believe this, it sounds totally made up!"

"Believe it or not, it's the TRUTH!" Arlen snapped at her. "And... well, it's been so long that I no longer can quite remember how it works. I haven't used one in, well, years. Centuries, even."

"What?!" Mabel blurted out. "How old are you?"

Arlen looked suddenly miserable. "It doesn't matter. Amenos promised me a beautiful land and home, granted that I obey him and only him, and that I survive until that time arrives."