Second Chances: The Candle

Part 3

Gabby's POV:

My plan was to go down to the boardwalk on Friday night, & try to sell to the people arriving on the ferry. It worked, for the most part. I went back Saturday morning, & managed to finish selling my case of candy.

The bad news was that Selena had the same idea, which meant that she was still ahead of me in terms of sales. Neither one of us would be able to get a new case until home room on Monday, so at least this gave me some time to figure out a new strategy.

I was headed to my car when a strange shop caught my eye. I had never noticed it before today...

Once inside, it seemed like it was a second hand store. There were all types of items available for sale as I wandered through the aisles. Eventually, I came to a table filled with candles. I picked up an orange one to take a closer look. For some reason, the candle just felt...right. Like I was meant to find it in this shop...

"I see you have discovered the candles." a woman said. Her name was Faye, according to her name tag.

"Oh! Yeah...They're very nice." I said, sniffing the candle.

"They're unscented." Faye said.

"Oh."

"Instead, they've each been infused with a special essence to help you with any number of things, indicated by the marking on the bottom."

I turned the candle over to see the word Wish carved into the bottom. I picked up a few others to see what was there. The pink ones were Love, the green ones were Money...but my mind kept coming back to the Wish candle.

"Are you trying to tell me that this candle grants wishes?" I said, not quite believing her.

"It's simple. If you write down what you desire on a piece of paper & light it with the candle, then your wish will come true." Faye said. "A small bowl comes with every purchase, so your wish has somewhere safe to burn. I'm sure you know the dangers of playing with fire?"

"Of course I do!" I said, eagerly. I still wasn't sure if I believed any of this, but... "How much?"

"$10. Jenna will ring you up when you are ready." She walked away, leaving me alone with the candles.

It was crazy, but as I picked up the Wish candle again, I couldn't help but feel like I had to buy this candle. I had my purse with me, & I knew I had enough to afford it. Was it really possible?

Would I finally be able to beat Selena...simply by wishing for it?

I grabbed the candle & took it to the counter to pay for it.

"So you're a sophomore?" The girl asked as she rang up my purchase. She must be Jenna.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"I recognize your candy box. It's a good fundraiser. I wish my class was doing that instead of selling cookie dough." She handed me my bag with my candle. "Enjoy the rest of your day!"

-----

I put the candle on my desk once I got home. I pulled out my books to get my home work done.

I felt the candle's presence the entire time. It was like it was watching me, daring me to make a wish...

That evening, I was lying on my bed, staring at my ceiling. Everybody said that high school was supposed to be the best years of your life, but I was more into studying than partying. Still, it would've been nice to have somewhere to go tonight...

I still felt the pull of the candle's presence. Was it really able to grant wishes?

Why not have some fun with it?

I got up & tore a scrap of paper from the back of my note book.

I wish I was the most popular girl in school.

I lit the candle, folded up the scrap of paper & carefully held the corner close to the flame. I dropped it into the bowl to safely burn. I waited a moment to see what would happen.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone rang.

It was a text from Mark. "Want to hang out tonight?"

I laughed to myself, feeling silly.

Candles can't really grant wishes...right?