Be Careful What You Wish For

It seemed like any other ordinary day as Amy picked up her mail.  As expected, there were the usual advertisements and bills. Then she noticed a small pink envelope tucked in between the bills.

She sat at her kitchen table and examined the small pink envelope. Handwritten in calligraphy on the front it was addressed to Ms. Amy O’Hara. There was no return address.  Inside the envelope was a pink note card which read: “Today you have three wishes. Be careful what you wish for.” She turned the card over, hoping for a clue as to who sent it, but it was blank.

How odd. It must be a practical joke. I wonder who sent it?

Amy was a student at the local community college. While dressing, her thoughts turned to the upcoming biology exam. I wish I didn’t have to take this exam today. Just then her cell phone rang. It was her friend, Susan.

“Hi, Sue. What’s up?”

“Amy, don’t bother going to class today.”

“Why not? We have the biology exam today.”

“No, we don’t. It’s been canceled. Professor Emmers called in sick and there is no sub available. How would you like to go to the mall with me?”

“Sounds great. How about if we meet at the food court in fifteen minutes?”

“Perfect. See you then.”

Amy closed her cell phone and went to grab her keys off the kitchen table. Then she saw it — the pink note card.That’s right — three wishes. Maybe the first one was the canceled biology class . . . how silly of me!.There’s no such thing as wishes coming true. It’s just a coincidence, that’s all.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Hi, Amy. Can you believe the biology exam was canceled? Isn’t it great?”

“Yeah, it’s great. Let’s go shopping; I need to find some new jeans.”

“Okay, we can try Janet’s Closet.”

“Are you kidding? The jeans cost a fortune there, although I did see the perfect pair of jeans last week. You know how hard it is for me to find jeans. They just never seem to fit me right.”

“Then why didn’t you buy them when you saw them?” Sue asked as they were nearing the store.

“I couldn’t afford them. They were way out of my price range. I wish they were cheaper so I could buy them.”

“Well, let’s go in and see if we can find you something else — you never know.”

As they entered the store, it seemed to be practically deserted. Only three sales people were there, standing behind the counter chatting among themselves. When they came through the door, one of the sales people came over to them.

“Hi. Is there anything I can help you with today?”

“Well, I’m looking for a pair of jeans. Do you have any that are on sale?” Amy asked hopefully.

“As a matter of fact, we do. Come with me and I’ll show you what we have.”

The two girls followed the sales girl to the back of the store to the area in which the jeans were displayed. There were three racks of jeans, all varying in style, but most of them very expensive.

The sales girl pointed to a rack that was off in the corner. It held more jeans but sitting on the top of the rack was a sale sign.

“There are all the jeans we have on sale today. Please take your time and let me know if you find something.”

Amy and Sue walked over to the rack. As they were looking through the jeans, Sue pulled a pair off the rack.

“Amy, look at this pair. They’re perfect for you.”

Amy looked up from what she was doing and could not believe what she was seeing. Sue was holding the pair of jeans she had wanted but had been too expensive. She looked at the price tag. The price was cut down to 75% off!

“These are the pair I wanted!”

“Wow, you are really lucky today, Amy.”

* * * * * * * * * *

As Amy was driving home through the noon rush hour traffic, she could not help but think about the mysterious pink card and the events that had occurred — the exam being canceled, the jeans being on sale — were those two of the three wishes? It certainly did seem that way.

But I can’t believe there is such a thing as three wishes. I’m a logical person, and it just does not seem logical! But still . . .

Her thoughts were interrupted by a traffic jam. Sure enough, the cars were now bumper to bumper. The noon rush hour traffic had begun. Soon the cars were at a standstill, and Amy’s car was at the very back of the line, with no cars behind her. It seemed to her as though the line of cars in front of her were stretched as far as she could see and beyond.

If there was one thing Amy could not stand, it was rush hour traffic. She hated to be in standstill traffic; she was not a patient person, and soon enough she felt irritated beyond measure.

Are we ever going to move again? I’d really like to get home and get in some studying time. After all, I know the exam we missed today will be given tomorrow. If I can get an hour’s worth of studying done, then I can sit out on the deck and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Come on, come on . . . let’s get going! I wish someone would drive faster.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind when Amy heard the sound of an engine racing. She looked in her rear view mirror and watched in horror as a black Explorer came speeding up towards her. Sitting behind the wheel was a man talking on his cell phone, and she knew he was not going to be able to stop in time.

Her final thought was: Be careful what you wish for. . .