Art by the Amazing Black_Gargoyley !!!

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It had been quite a few years since Annie’s potential had unlocked itself over a method of discourse and mayhem; though chaos was needed for a steady calm afterwards, she wished things had turned out different. If only a little bit. But for the sake of all who helped her and took time to acknowledge she was not entirely wicked and unjust, she needed to remain sternly positive and keep a diligent air about her. She looked down at the clutter on her desk of ebony and sighed deeply, “I guess one thing hasn’t changed. I still have the ability to mass collect debris on my workspace within hours.” She waved her hand briefly and snapped her finger together making the odds and ends disappear in a cloud of green mist. Thankfully, being a witch came with its own self-cleaning service.

She looked up, a clock in the distance began to bang its hammer - signaling another rush of galactical matter was on its way. Annie stood, walked to the corner of her desk, touching the obsidian rock with almost a fanciful hum. “I wonder what kind of things this batch will bring back. Wishes? Ideas? Lost thoughts?” she looked at the sleeping gobblin at her feet, cozied up on a pile of pillows and unusable matter. “Perhaps a new assistant - “ she said, tapping her foot against his snoozing carcass. “You’re still useless.” Though her words were harsh, they held no real truth. More of a teasing tone than a scolding one, really.

Her watched as small twinkling orbs began to float down, one by one from the darkened abyss; her spot amongst them was small, but they all gravitated towards her with eager sounds of ‘tink tink tink’ - like cheerful sleigh bells or perhaps a small clank of someone’s jewelry. Annie outstretched her hand and a small star floated and made its home against her fingers. A small smile broke out on the witch's face and she pulled the twinkling object into her fingers, the curl of them slowly encasing the glitter between her thumb and pointer finger in a protective, motherly manner. “Ah, I see.” she said, watching the star glow brighter and slowly dim. A small beacon. “You’re someone's wish aren’t you?” The soft ‘ding’ let her know her assumption was correct.

“Well, you’re a very beautiful wish aren’t you? It’s a shame you’re dimming.” Wishes were a dime a dozen, but they were all beautiful; some wishes were practical and typically easily to fulfill - a child wishing for pancakes for breakfast, a plea for the rain to stop so the sun would warm the earth, even someone wishing that they had just a couple more dollars for a meal. But some, some weren’t so easily done. Some wished for peace, others for the lottery. Some wishes for a deceased relative, or someones undying love. Some wished for things that weren’t so practical, but, it could be attained through a course of miracle. But these weren’t special, grown stars. They were mere children; and they were always disappointed returning when they couldn’t fulfill the wish that someone had bestowed them. But of course, it wasn’t their fault by any means. They were just stars, not gods.

The sad chime from the star hurt Annie’s heart, but she gave it a very small encouraging smile. She lifted her finger and tapped it gently, the star chimed again - but this time, it began to soften to a subtle glow. “A wish is a wish. But not all of them come true, it isn’t your fault. It’s all right. You can rest.” The stars humming jingle seemed almost tired, like it was falling asleep. Annie lifted her hand up, the tiny star began to disappear into the dark void above her head. She watched as it slowly faded to nothing, and resided back with its brothers and sisters in its little dream land until the next night.

“You can try again tomorrow, little one. I have faith in you. You’re going to make someone very, very happy one day. My precious little children, you’re all going to be wonderful things. It just takes time. Please, be patient. It will be okay, I promise.”