Fragments

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Mistakes

Prompt:
A genie actually grants everyone's 1,000,000th wish, but nobody has figured this out. Some don't get to a million; other's waste their millionth. You were just granted your very strange Millionth Wish.

Answer:
"I wish I was a bird," she mumbled to herself as she leaned against the tree trunk and starred into the blue sky.

It had been a wish she had said while trapped on long car rides or extra boring math classes. The freedom and the ability to fly anywhere she wanted seemed endless.

"Why?" Roger asked from his side of the tree.

She rolled her eyes at him even though he was on the opposite side of the trunk and couldn't see her. They had sat like that since childhood. Neither of them cared to change just because they had grown up a bit.

"Cause it would be more fun," she said.

Roger snorted, "more fun than what?"

"I don't know," she laughed, "then my mom's dinner parties."

"I like your mom's dinner parties," he defended.

Lily snorted, "you just like to get extra dessert."

The wind blew off of the water and tossed her hair about. She straightened the white skirt of her dress and leaned her head back.

"Just imagine it," she closed her eyes, "no rules, no parents, no teachers! Only the wind and the ground down below."

Something inside her stirred, like an eye had opened for the first time in ages. It startled her so much that her own eyes flew open. Lily stared down at herself, clawing at the bodice of her dress as if something had stung her.

"Teachers aren't all that bad," Rogers mused, completely unaware.

Lily's heart was beating rapidly and she felt sweat cover her skin. What was happening?

"I like Mrs. Bates pretty well," Roger continued, "although that algebra II homework was deadly."

Lily could barely hear him. Her mouth was suddenly complete dry and her arms began to ache. Her whole body started shaking. She held you her shaking hands to her face and her whole face drained of color. They were turning blue.

She let out a scream of bloody murder.

"Lily?!" Roger scrambled to stand.

Lily scratched at her own skin, trying to get the blue to go away. She let out another scream as her legs Burned in pain. Roger practically fell on top of her as he frantically tried to help. She could only watch in horror as all of her skin turned bright blue.

Pain blurred her vision and lily gasped moments before she passed out from the duress.

***

When she woke up she was under a white sheet.

Her heart beat was so loud in her ears she thought she would go deaf. There was a loud noise above her that was very distracting. Lily squirmed under the sheet. A loud squawk obliterated her ear drums.

Terror pulsed through her. She couldn't feel her hands. And she couldn't feel her toes. Lily reached up to feel her head and something soft hit her on both sides of her head that were definitely not her hands.

She stumbled forward and pressed her arms against the sheet. Another squawk sounded near her. As she kept moving forward she spotted a light beyond. Her heart skipped a beat as she raced out from under the sheet and into the sunlight.

Blinking rapidly at the bright sun and sky, she heard a loud scream above her. Lily turned to see Roger's shoes a foot or so away from her. Why was she on the ground? She looked up to see pure terror on his face as he stumbled away from her.

"What?!" She screamed, "what is it?!" The squawking filled her ears.

He stood frozen As he pointed a shaking finger at her.

Lily glanced down at herself and screamed.

She was covered in blue feathers. her legs were gone and replaced with black sticks and birds feet at the end. In her panic she caught sight of her blue wings flapping at her sides.

Lily looked back at the sheet and realized it was her white dress for the dinner party. Roger was still frozen with shock.

Lily was a bird.

She had wished to be a bird on her millionth wish and been granted.

But she didn't feel free. Lily had never felt more trapped.