"The Man Who Wished," by Tobin B.

Part 1

The clock struck 8 o’clock, Thomas’s shift at the grocery store was over. Thomas was an average man in every way. He wasn’t short, and he wasn’t tall at 5 foot 11, he had brown hair and brown eyes, and was neither slim nor fat. He was a below average student, he didn't do well in school because he didn't like it. He wasn't a trouble maker, but he also wasn't a good student. When he was applying to colleges his guidance counselor told him he had no chance of getting accepted. His parents suggested he join the military, but Thomas didn't like that idea at all. He ended up going to community college, got a job working at a grocery store, and saved up enough money to buy a cheap 1 bedroom apartment in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Fast forward years later and he still has the same job and still lives in the same apartment. Thomas grabs his car keys and begins to head home. The entire drive he thinks about what he wants for dinner. He decides on a pizza and waits until he gets home to order. Little did he know that that night, everything was going to change.

“Hello this is Dominoes Pizza. How can I help you?”.

“Hey, can I get one cheese pizza and a Coca Cola?” Thomas asks. 

“Sure, is that all?” 

"Yeah that's it.” Thomas says. 

“Alright, that will be $22.63, please. Will you be paying cash or card sir?” Thomas didn't carry cash often so he had to pay with his card. 

“I will be paying with my credit card, give me one sec let me go grab it.” Thomas said.  He grabbed his credit card and read the numbers out.

“I'm sorry sir, it says your card has been declined.” This isn't anything out of the ordinary for Thomas, however this annoys Thomas, it annoys him very much. He spent all day thinking about dinner just for him to not be able to pay for it. 

“Can you please try again?” Thomas asks, hoping it was just a fluke. Thomas eagerly waits for a response. 

“Sir, are you still there?” 

“Yup, still here. Did it work?” Thomas says. He isn't expecting good news, he never does, but fortunately it works! 

“Thank you sir, have a good night.” 

“Thanks, you too.” Thomas says. This puts a smile on his face, things like this never happen. He sits down on his couch, puts on the tv, and waits for the food. All of the sudden there is a knock at the door. “That can't be the pizza, there is no way.” Thomas says to himself.

Thomas opens the door and sees a man in a flashy white suit at the door. He is wearing a blue and gold tie along with a blue shirt.

 “Hello there, are you Thomas Gage?” The man asks. 

Thomas responds, very confused. “Yes, this is. Who are you and how do you know my name, or where I live?” 

“That isn't very important Thomas. What is important is why I am here. My name is Gene, and I come here to propose something to you.” Gene said. 

This is all very bizarre to Thomas. “Listen man, I'm a little creeped out right now. First you show up at my home, then you know my full name, and now you want me to listen to you “propose” something to me. I'm a little curious what this could be, however I don't have time to list-” Thomas says before he gets interrupted by Gene. 

“I know you have time, I also know how miserable you are. Your family doesn't talk to you anymore, your friends don't talk to you anymore, your only human interaction is the time you spend at the grocery store. You're alone, totally alone with nobody to talk to. However, that can change. Like I said before, I have a proposition for you. So before you say anything, just hear me out.” Gene says. Thomas doesn't know what to say, so many emotions going on at once. However one of them wins: curiosity. 

“Ok, this is totally creepy, weird and bizarre, but I'll hear you out.” Thomas says.

“What is your biggest wish in life right now?” Gene says. 

“Probably to-” Thomas says before being interrupted again. “I wasn't asking, I just want you to think.” Gene says. “Now back to what I was saying, I know a person like you has many wishes. Many of these wishes seem impossible, however they are not. I can grant you the power of getting whatever you wish for, but with a cost.” Gene says. 

“This is ridiculous.” Thomas says and slams the door in Gene's face. “What a freak.” Thomas mutters to himself. He slouches back on the couch as if nothing ever happened. “I wish this pizza could just come already” Thomas thinks to himself. Just then the doorbell rings. “Listen freak, I don't want to talk to you, go away!” Thomas yells to the door. 

“Sorry sir, I just need to give you your pizza.” Somebody says from behind the door. Thomas opens the door to find a nice hot box of pizza. “Oh sorry, I thought you were somebody else.” Thomas says. 

“Dont worry about it, enjoy!” The delivery man says. Thomas thanks the man and brings his pizza inside. It takes him a second before he realizes what has just happened, his wish came true. There is another knock at the door. 

“Believe me now?” Gene says from beyond the door. Thomas opens it and begins frantically questioning him. “How did you do that, that's impossible.” Thomas says. 

“As I was saying, I can give you the ability to wish for anything, and have it come true. I just showed you there, imagine that every day.” Gene says. 

“Ok that's nice, but I don't get it, why me? And what is the catch?” Thomas asks.

 “The catch is that every gift has a cost, a cost you will just have to find out on your own.” Gene says. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Thomas says. 

“It means exactly what it sounds like, you get your wishes, but with a mystery cost.” Gene says. 

“Well what if it's something awful, like killing people or something.” Thomas says. 

“That's just a risk you're gonna have to take,” Gene says. 

“I don't know about this man, this is a little creepy.” Thomas says. 

“Think about how much this can change your life, this can give you a very happy life. Anything you want can happen, the world is controlled by you. So what are you gonna do, take it or leave it?” Gene says. Thomas thinks for a little but ends up choosing the curiosity route. 

“I’ll take it, don't make me regret it.” Thomas says. 

“You won't regret anything, not if you use your abilities the right way. There are things you can and can't do. You can figure that out on your own. Enjoy happiness Thomas, see you soon.” Gene says, before giving Thomas any time to think. All Thomas can do is sit and try to fathom how much power he now has.

Part 2

It's 7:30 in the morning. The city is quiet, but one particular room is loud, Thomas’s bedroom. The sound of an alarm fills the room and causes Thomas to wake up. Still half asleep, he makes his way to the bathroom to shower and do his morning routine. Around 8 o’clock Thomas walks out the door. It's another miserable day of his life. Wednesdays are the worst, the middle of the week. Not exactly close to Friday, but not exactly close to Monday. “I wish I didn't have to go to work.” Thomas thinks to himself, forgetting the power he now has. Around halfway through his 25 minute drive Thomas gets a call from his boss. This confuses Thomas as his boss never calls him, especially not when work starts in 15 minutes. Thomas picks up the phone, not knowing what to expect. 

“Hey Thomas, it's Adam. How's it going?” His boss asks him. 

“Hey Adam, I'm good, what's going on?” Thomas asks. 

“I just wanted to tell you that you don’t need to come in  today. You have been working so hard and I believe that you deserve a break.” 

“Wow, thanks Adam.” Thomas says before he realizes what has just happened. 

“No problem man, have a good one, enjoy your time off.” Adam says before hanging up. All this does is put a smile on Thomas’s face, he didn't consider how much fun he can have with these powers.  

Thomas begins to drive home. All he wants to do is sleep, that's his biggest wish right now. When he gets home he practically sinks into his bed. After a good 2 hours of sleep he is met with a knock on the door. He opens it to reveal Gene standing there wearing the same outfit as yesterday. 

“You wasted your wishes on going home and sleeping? What's the point of even having magical powers if you are gonna wish for the most boring stuff.” Gene says. “

“Wasted? I thought I had unlimited wishes. Is this one of the rules I’ve been waiting to find out?” Thomas asks. 

“You are only limited to one wish a day. I would have told you but I figured a man like you would waste it on something like this.” Gene says. 

“Wait, how do you know what I wished about? And why the hell wouldn’t you tell me I had a wish limit? This changes everything!” Thomas says.

 “This hardly changes anything, but you don't know that yet. You really thought there weren't going to be any rules?” Gene asks. 

“I didn't think I was limited to one wish a day! What other rules are there? Am I not allowed to wish for other wishes? Or wish to be somewhere I'm not? Tell me now!” Thomas demands. 

“I think it's best for everyone else if I keep it to myself, I don't want you ruining the world.” Gene says, before dramatically storming off. 

“Are you gonna just keep showing up whenever something happens or is this a rare occurrence?” Thomas asks, not knowing he is talking to air, Gene is already gone.

Thomas goes back to sleep and wakes up in a cold sweat, it's 9:00pm.   He realizes he has slept all day, one of his biggest wishes. He heats up some leftover pizza and begins to watch the television. He scrolls through channels before he gets to the news. His heart drops as he sees his boss, Adam on the news channel. 

“Local grocery store manager Adam Johnson had a wife and 3 kids. It's truly a shame what has happened, our prayers go out to his loved ones.” Says the newscaster. 

Thomas can't believe it, his boss is dead. At least they ended on good terms, they barely got along before. Thomas calls all his coworkers, but none of them pick up. This isn't anything out of the ordinary, Thomas as he has no friends. He finishes his meal with the tv off.  It is quiet, but it isn't totally silent, the shower is dripping. This would normally irritate Thomas, but he has more important things to think about. Death makes you think about what you could have done differently. How you could have been nicer, or more thoughtful. It's unfortunate that Thomas’s boss's last words to him were a lie. He knew Adam didn't like him. He also knew he would never get a day off for simply “working hard”. This makes Thomas think and makes him realize that he might not be a good person. He knows if he wants to change this he could, but he won't. All he cares about is how he can live his best possible life. He isn't normally a selfish person, but powers can change people. He is done living miserably, he is gonna live life to the fullest. 

Part 3

Thomas wakes up at 11:30 in the morning on Thursday which is 4 hours later than he should. But he doesn't care, he only cares about one thing. He cares about what he can do to make today special, what wish can he make that lasts the whole day. He doesn't have work due to the passing of his boss, and it's also not the nicest day, it's 48 degrees fahrenheit and gloomy. He could wish to make it nice out, but that seems like a waste. He also wants to wish to be somewhere else, somewhere sunny and nice. But he worries that making a wish like that would break one of Gene's rules. He thinks it's stupid that he has to learn everything on his own, he worries it will take him ages to learn everything. For a man who is trying to live his life carefree he sure is worrying. He makes breakfast because he thinks that will help him come up with something. He checks the fridge to find out that all of the eggs are out, he needs to restock. He picks up the car keys and drives to the grocery store. He has to go to one out of town since his store is closed. He is used to getting an employee discount so it's a shame he can't have one here. He finds the eggs and checks the price, $8.50. This is 2 dollars more expensive than his store and he worries he can't afford them, he needs to stop worrying. He goes to checkout and the worker scans the eggs. 

“That will be $8.93 sir.” The worker tells him. He is in his late teens, 17 maybe. He reads the name tag, Chris. Thomas goes to his wallet to see only $8 in there, he can't afford the eggs. He needs those eggs and doesn't want to make a scene. There is a long line due to there being only one grocery store in the town so he needs to hurry up. 

“Give me one second kid. I know I have one more dollar in here somewhere.” Thomas tells the worker. 

“Take your time sir, no rush.” Thomas needs to think quickly, he does not have one more dollar. He panics and uses his wish. “I wish I could pay for these eggs.” He whispers to himself. 

“Actually sir, it seems like we have a discount on eggs right now. Your new total is $6.52.” Thomas pays as quick as possible and gets out of that store. He thought these wishes were gonna make him happier but they did the opposite.

He gets back home and cooks breakfast. The eggs are good, but not worth a wish. He expects Gene to show up and have a whole rant about wasting a wish and whatnot, but surprisingly he doesn't show up. Maybe this is it, no more guidance through this whole mess. He has the wishes and he has himself, no one else. He starts thinking about his decision and starts to regret it. Maybe he shouldn't have taken that deal with Gene. Sure his life is miserable but he would rather live normally than live with a power that seems more exciting than it actually is. That's when it hits him, the cost. He has been feeling so bad about this wish stuff and he just remembered that every wish has a cost, a cost he doesn't know.  Who knows what it could be, this has him worrying. He is already upset about his boss and wasting his wishes, he doesn't want another problem. What Thomas doesn't know is there is another problem, the worst one yet.

Part 4

The phone rings, an unusual event for Thomas. He picks up the phone to find out that it's his coworker, Joey. “Hey Thomas how have you been? You know with all these grocery store employees dying recently I just wanted to check in. Mandy and Trisha have already quit and to be honest I'm on the fence.” Joey says. There are a couple of words that freak Thomas out. But there is one in particular that is the scariest: all. 

“Hey Joey, I'm good. I'm sorry, but what are you talking about? The only death I know about is Adams’s, was there another one?” Thomas asks. 

“Yeah, some kid named Chris, he was only 17. Nobody knows how he died, all we know is that he is dead.” Joey tells him. Thomas drops his phone after processing what he just heard, he knows this is the kid he was just talking too earlier today. He picks his phone up and hangs up out of shock. This can't be a coincidence, 2 wishes and 2 deaths. The 2 people who died were the 2 people who were involved in his wishes. Could this be the cost? Thomas calms himself down, by telling himself that he is overthinking. But that all goes away the second a knock is heard at the door.  Thomas considers not answering, but he knows he can't. He opens the door to once again find Gene. 

“Hello Thomas, I'm sure you heard the news.” Gene says. 

“Did you do this? Did I do this? I'm going insane over here Gene, I'm freaking out man.” Thomas tells Gene. 

“I can promise I didn't do anything, however I'm afraid I can't make the same promise for you.” Gene says. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Thomas asks. 

“Remember the cost I was telling you about? There was a reason I kept it hidden.” Gene says. 

“What is the reason, tell me now!” Thomas screams. 

“Are you sure you want to know the truth? It will change the way you feel about yourself forever.” Gene tells him. 

“Just tell me.” Thomas says. 

“Ok fine, you're gonna regret this.” Gene says. 

“Holy crap just tell me already!” Thomas screams. 

“Every time you make a wish, it costs one soul, one death. That's the reason I limited your amount of wishes, I knew you would kill too many people.” Gene says. 

“Yeah thanks a lot, I only killed 2 people. You're such a life saver Gene you know that.” Thomas says. 

“I don't appreciate your sarcasm Thomas.” Gene says. 

“Oh yeah, well I don't appreciate you coming into my life and ruining it. I'm never going to accept the fact that I killed 2 people over the most pointless things.” Thomas says. 

“I told you not to waste them, that was why I was so upset.” Gene says. 

“I can’t live like this man, I just can't. Get out of my house and never come back.” Thomas says. 

“So are you just gonna keep your powers and risk killing anyone else, or should I take them away?” Gene asks. “Take them and then leave, I already caused 2 murders in not going to add anymore troubles to my life.” Thomas says. 

“What if there was a way where you could live pure happiness, a way to get rid of these troubles for good.” Gene says. 

“I'm listening.” Thomas says. 

“You could keep your powers, but with no rules or limits. Life is shaped by you and you only.” Gene says. 

“I'm intrigued, but I don't want to kill anyone else.” Thomas says. 

“You won't care about that, your happiness from the wish will cancel out your guilt from the death.” Gene says.

Thomas doesn't know what to do, this is a hard decision. He has to either choose between good and bad, heaven and hell. He makes his choice after some thought.

“No limits you said?” Thomas asks. 

“Absolutely nothing.” Gene tells him. 

“Ok fine, ill take it.” Thomas says.

The only reason he takes it is because of the fact that there are no limits. He could change the world, cure cancer, feed the homeless. He can do so many great things. 

“I'm glad we did this, I know you are gonna change the world.” Gene says.  They shake hands and Gene begins to leave the apartment. 

“Goodbye, Thomas.” Gene says. 

“See you soon, Gene.” Thomas says. 

He isn't going to see Gene soon, he will never see him again. Thomas sits back on his couch and relaxes. He isn't worried about how he is going to use his wishes since he knows he has as much as he wants this time. He decides to start with something small, something to eat. 

“I wish I had a pizza right here.” Thomas gets his wish and a pizza appears in front of him. He can’t see it though, he can't see anything. Thomas is dead.

The end