1111 Wishes Way

The smell of dust and old pages lingered around each corner of the labyrinthine store. Jessica ran her finger gently across the spines that lined the shelves, following their in and out pattern as her senses began to anchor and the tightness in her chest released its grip.

Books never wanted anything from her. Books had no deadline, they had no motive- they didn’t care that she hadn’t brushed her hair in 72 hours or that her bank account was negative the same amount of dollars. Here, in this almost forgotten book shop, Jessica found solace among the stacks of bound paper.

“Back again, love?” the greying lady behind the counter prodded with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s the eye of the storm, Betty. That’s what you should have named this place. Out there is wild.” Jessica pointed towards the bustling street on the other side of the window. “It feels peaceful here.”

“Just don’t fall asleep in the children’s area again, you almost gave me a heart attack last week.” the shopkeep giggled.

Jessica ventured outside of her comfort zone of fantasy romance novels and found herself seated on the floor of the travel section. She’d never seen the state line that laid just a few hours west of her home, had never even dreamt of the sunsets featured in the guidebooks and coffee table photo compilations she found herself lost in. The desert monoliths and moss-covered waterfalls reminded her of the magical settings she retreated to in the books she found here- but these were actual, tangible places. Jessica closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and allowed her imagination to take over.

She felt a sun-warmed rock beneath her hands and watched as the sky threw cotton candy colors against a sharp and ancient landscape. The temperature dropped as soon as the sun did, and after fighting shivers she made her way back to the van- thankful for the moon beams lighting the path. The rusty door slid open with a groan and Jessica climbed in and immediately filled her kettle to begin her bedtime tea ritual. As the warm cup thawed her fingers she began to count her blessings out loud to the sleepy trees surrounding her camp.

“I am thankful for the ability to watch the sun shift and see all the magic that nature is capable of.

I am thankful for these four walls on wheels that take me to my wildest dreams.

I am thankful for a heart open to healing and for the healing that’s opened my heart.

I am thankful for the company of critters and also for the solitude of silence.”

She repeated these mantras as she slipped between the sheets of the bed tucked against the rear doors of her home, smiling as she drifted off to other worlds.

The shelf of books in front of her was blurred through the well of tears brought up by her imaginary adventure. She checked her fingers, expecting her digits to still be red from the mug of tea, then used them to rub the dream from her eyes. She blinked her vision into focus, and her gaze landed on a small, black book that seemed out of place. It had no title printed down its spine and the tail of a ribbon page marker rolled across the shelf; Jessica felt for a moment as if she’d found herself in a place not meant for her, shook it off and reached for the anomaly. She thumbed through the pages back and forth and came to the conclusion that it was a completely blank notebook that had been misplaced from the stationery section and placed it beside her on the floor to return to Betty- then immediately picked it back up to satiate the feeling of having missed something.

The ribbon book marker had moved from the very front of the notebook to a page towards the middle. Jessica turned the book over in her hands incredulously a dozen times before taking the ribbon between her fingers and coaxing the cover open, revealing still blank pages cradling a check. The name printed in the upper left corner simply read ‘A. Dream, 1111 Wishes Way’, but the account and routing number across the bottom seemed believable. The check was made out for $20,000, an amount that made her feel physically ill. She’d never seen a comma in her bank account for more than 24 hours and had a seemingly infinite list of things she could accomplish with that amount of money.

She touched the blank space marked “payable to”, and watched letters appear on the line as she traced it- as if an invisible typewriter followed her fingers and filled out a familiar grouping of letters.

Jessica Barrish. The check was now made out to Jessica Barrish, who was tempted to dig the drivers license from her purse to prove to herself that it was, indeed, her name. She was holding a check written out to her in the amount of $20,000. She could definitely buy a van with $20,000. Her phone confirmed that if she left immediately the bank would still be open upon her arrival. Upon her arrival with a magical check from A. Dream made out to her for an amount she had hardly collected over the course of the last twelve months. She decided the potential embarrassment was worth the chance that this would work.

Betty gave a small smirk as Jessica darted through the doors without a goodbye.

The bus stopped a block away from the bank, giving Jessica enough time to question and attempt to fix her appearance in the windows she walked past. The building that sported the emblem of her financial institution seemed larger than she remembered, and she took a deep breath before taking a seat in the sterile lobby. Soft jazz played through the speakers as she pulled at the frayed ends of her jacket sleeves, shifting her weight uncomfortably in the chair as she attempted to drum up every ounce of confidence held in her body.

“Ms. Barrish?” A suited man with glasses and a clipboard called from the door of his cubicle. He smiled and welcomed Jessica into the space as they took opposing seats at the desk. He asked the standard identification questions, then once her account was pulled up inquired how he could be of service.

“I would like to cash this.” Jessica pushed the check across the table assertively, hoping her theatrics would convince them both of the validity of the piece of paper the suit now held in his hand. She was under the impression banks would need to hold the check for a certain amount of time or require collateral to actually cash it, so when the man asked if large bills would be okay for her she audibly gasped.

She pinched herself one time for each dollar stored in her now tremendously heavy backpack, still not convinced her imagination had not progressed into a full hallucination, as she watched familiar buildings pass through the window fixed next to her seat. The bus brought her back to her neighborhood, and as she passed in front of her favorite bookstore she noticed a beat up Chevy van parked across the street, an orange “for sale” sign hanging in the driver’s window.

She could definitely buy a van with $20,000.