Burning Out Bright

NINE YEARS OLD
“How are you doing?”

Adam shrugs; unsure of what response he should be giving to the girl whom he is most the most honest to. There was no other reply that would allow him to still be truthful and yet reveal what he really feels, so he settles on a neutral one. “I’m always fine, Natalia. You don’t need to worry about me.”

She smiles. “I’m your best friend. What else do you expect me to do?”

Adam doesn’t know what to say to this either. It is awkward for him to do this, though having been best friends with Natalia for 3 years should have prepared him to answer this. But this was Natalia Greene…always doing the unexpected. Despite having tried his best to chase her away, she never gave up on befriending him.

To this day, he is still uncertain if this is a good choice for her. Selfishly though, he thinks that she’d made the best choice for him.

Natalia scans the brown-haired boy in front of her. Adam seems fine though she had been worried when she heard the news from her mother. Eric had apparently decided to dedicate the rest of his life doing something involving art, because of this Aunt Jennifer had fought with Uncle Henry and Adam was caught in the middle of the crossfire...as always.

She doesn’t like admitting this but she feels worried for Adam, more than she is sure he would be comfortable with. There seems to be a thousand and one things that he keeps to himself. Natalia knows that he can’t help it, because it is part of him and Adam probably feels unnatural admitting that he needs help, since he dislikes making others worried about him.

But little did Adam know that his silence drove Natalia crazier than anything else and was more of a cause of worry than outpourings of anger...

“Can we please change the subject?” Adam clears his throat.

Natalia smiles easily. “Sure. I brought the Science homework that Mrs. Hicks assigned us; do you want to work on it now?”

He grins. Homework is a safe a topic as anything can be when it came to him, especially when it came to his family. But his smile falters slightly as he remembers the heated words his parents had exchanged that he had caught last night.
***
“You claim that you care about them, Jennifer but I’m starting to seriously doubt it.”

“I do and you have no right to question me, Henry-”

His father had snorted. “Of course I do. I’m their father.” His tone softens. “I love you, Jennifer, I really do. But the way you handle our kids…I’m not sure what it is exactly that you’re trying to do. I’m not sure if what you’re doing is for them or if it’s something that you want to achieve for yourself.”

“Of course it’s for them. I just want the best for them, so that they can set out and achieve their goals.”

“Eric already has a goal and I think that he has the ability to achieve it.”

“I’m tired of this conversation, Henry. If all we’re going to discuss is that irritating subject about Eric and what he thinks he wants, then I think we both had enough of it.” Adam heard his mother getting to her feet, almost opening the door which he was leaning against. He quickly tried to get up, almost missing the next part of the conversation.

His father had stopped her from leaving. “Wait! What if Adam wants to do something like this, something which you consider to be so below what should be aiming for, as well, Jennifer? What are you going to do?”

His mother sounded colder and firmer that he had ever heard her when she replied, “I’ll do whatever I can to stop him, of course. I know what’s best for them and wanting to be part of something so…worthless is not part of it-”

Adam didn’t listen to the end of the sentence, but he already knew more than he needed to. The way his mother had said it, it seemed almost as if she had meant that if her children ever dared to choose something that she frowned upon…it would mean that they, too, were worthless.
***
There it lies; gleaming in Adam’s hands. Natalia stares at it as though she has never seen anything as breathtakingly beautiful, which makes Adam blush furiously because he knows very well that she had probably eyed objects with considerably more monetary value and lovelier than this plain wooden box.

“Here,” he says, harsher than he intended, placing it on Natalia’s lap.

She glances at him, at the box and then at Adam again. Finally, she finds her voice. “Are you sure? It seems…precious.”

“It was my grandfather’s…he was something like a craftsman. If Mum continues to be in the mood that she’s in, I think that it’s only a matter of time before she throws anything that’s vaguely artistic out.” He didn’t need to elaborate anymore.

For once though, Natalia isn’t worried. Instead, she is completely astonished at the present that lies in her lap. Her eyes are alight with joy and Adam watches her, feeling a curious combination of bemusement and happiness because he had finally done something that seems to make Natalia as happy as she had often made him.

Her voice breaks his train of thought. “Do you mind if I open it?”

“Nope, it’s yours now.”

Her smile grows wider. Lifting the cover gently, she finds pieces of paper inside. Lifting her eyebrows at Adam (whose anxiousness and excitement is causing him to nearly leap out of his seat), she unfolds the papers inside.

I wish that Natalia wouldn’t worry so much about me, the first piece of the paper reads.

Blinking hard and cheeks blazing, she reads the paper twice.

'I wish that everyone would continue to be healthy.'

'I wish that Natalia would be able to continue to be as happy as she is now.'

“Is this…a wishing box?” Natalia grins at Adam, feeling that nothing that she had ever received could be comparable to this. Although his gift and intentions had been simple, the reactions that she had were more complex than anything else she had experienced.

He shrugs, relaxing. Adam hadn’t realized how anxious he was and smiles slightly, glad that she liked the gift. “I’m not sure what it was, actually. But I figured that I might as well make the most of it. Anyway, I think wishes should be granted based on how much the person wishing wants it to happen.”

Natalia thinks over this. “Do you mind if I write one?”

He isn’t surprised by this. “Sure. I think that there’s an extra piece of paper inside and I have a pen.”

Clutching the pen nervously, Natalia says, quickly, “Do you mind looking away while I do this?”

“Why?”

“If more than one person knows the wish, it mightn’t come true.”

Adam frowns, not comprehending. “But didn’t you just see the wishes that I made for-”

“That’s different. Please, can you just do this for me?”

Unsure why Natalia is acting so strangely (this wouldn't be the first time Adam doesn’t understand her intentions) but certain that she has an important reason for making such a request, he complies and turns away.

Smiling tightly to herself, Natalia pens her wish and closes her eyes, praying that it would come true though it is indeed a wish that is incredibly greedy as she has cramped everything she wanted into a single piece of paper. Then she places the paper gingerly into the box before shutting the lid. “Okay, I’m done.”

Adam turns around. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asks, “So what did you wish for?”

“Didn’t you hear what I said just now? Wishes might not come true if too many know,” teases Natalia, the wish that she had just made a secret buried in her heart.

They bicker all the way home, but like most childish fights, they forget all about it the next day. But Natalia’s secret wish, the one that she hopes Adam would never find, is not as easily forgotten for its words are imprinted in her heart.

'I wish that Adam would find the place he belongs in this world, where he’ll find true happiness. I wish that he would be able to handle anything that life throws in his way. I wish that he knows that somebody loves him and supports him no matter what.
I wish this wish comes true more than anything else I have ever wanted.'
***