Wish Upon a Star

Serena was a brilliant student, the teachers' pet. She was always eager to learn and discover new things. Her hunger for knowledge grew stronger with her age and she constantly searched for new things to read about.

In her teens, Serena grew obsessed with occult history. It was an interesting subject indeed and she felt fascinated with it. When she came upon the witch trials held in early modern europe, it extremely upset her. She felt like her own flesh and blood had been persecuted. Ever since then, she searched for all reading material on witchcraft, wicca and the related stuff. She wanted to know what exactly those people were executed for.

After her graduation, she forgot about this and focused on building her career. She wanted to be a doctor, not only to cure people of their ailments but to earn a better position in her family than her sister, who was a lawyer. This competition had been going on between them ever since they were children. As kids, they had always fought to be the favorite of their parents, little did they know that their parents loved them equally.

She had been working endlessly on her thesis for the past few weeks and tonight was the only time she had gotten the chance to get a breather. She was on the rooftop of her apartment building. The winter night was clear and the stars shone ever so brightly. The atmosphere was very different compared to the other night when her friends had partied till midnight at that very place. She hadn't joined them, never having any interest in partying. Instead, she had devoted her time to the thesis so she could at least get a night off to enjoy in peace.

"I wish this night could last for a million years." She sighed. "I don't have the strength to continue anymore." She slumped her shoulders and sat down on the ground, her back to the boundary wall. She was exhausted, physically and mentally. In the struggle of getting ahead of her sister, she had sacrificed everything, even her love for reading. The girl who liked to explore and learn about new things was long gone, replaced by a girl who barely got time to look at herself in the mirror.

Her eyes had dark circles under them and her hair was dishevelled. Her clothes were a mess but she couldn't care less about these things. She just wanted some miracle to happen, something that would help her get through this tough phase of her life.

Suddenly, she spotted a falling star and immediately made a wish.

A wish that was going to change her life completely.

___________________________________________________________

Her phone rang. The black screen lit up to show her mother was calling.

"Hey, mom." She tried to sound cheerful, hiding the tiredness in her voice.

"Happy Birthday to you." Her mom sung. Another voice joined in. She recognized it as her father's. She was completely shocked. She checked the date on her phone and it indeed was her birthday. It was 12 am, making it her 22nd birthday.

"What's my little girl doing?" Her mom asked.

Serena was still shocked so no words were coming out of her mouth.

"Don't tell me you're still working on that damned thesis." It was her dad who spoke. "You deserve a holiday, so take one and spend your birthday here, at home."

"Sure." She mumbled. She was still thinking how on earth she could forget her own birthday when she realized what she had agreed to. "Wait, no. I can't. I still have a lot of—"

"Do you think you can reason with me, young lady? You're coming home and that's it." Her dad hung up.

"What? Just like that?" She yelled at the phone when the call disconnected. "You can't just tell me to leave everything and come home for a 'holiday'." Ugh! She groaned. She had no choice but to do just that.

She went back to her apartment and began packing her things to leave for her hometown in the morning. She was confused whether to pack her thesis with her or not but in the end, she decided against it. After all, it was a matter of just one day. She could afford to leave the thesis alone for one day or so she hoped.

After arranging everything for her departure the next morning, she laid down on her bed and fell asleep immediately, falling into a deep sleep, full of bizarre dreams.

It seemed like the star had started working its magic. Magic, yes. That's what it was.