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 Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2026 7:47 pm
Quote: The Wishing Tree (1): A Destiny City Star Festival Tradition to be held every year; In Town Square, there is a beautiful tree with spreading branches. It is tall, but the lowest branches are easily reached. The city has decorated the tree with small, starlike ornaments and glistening lights. Thick leaves and beautiful purple flowers dangle from the branches, along with a myriad of different colored papers with handwritten wishes. Next to the tree is a stack of blank paper with twine attached, and a handwritten sign that explains: Write your wish on a sheet of paper and tie it to the tree. Take one wish off the tree and do your best to grant it. When you have granted the wish, bury the paper in the park. The papers are biodegradable and filled with seeds. There are no rules for wishing, but you are encouraged to wish for something vague enough that it can be interpreted in many ways so that it can be granted; you do not write your name on it, but it is encouraged to write something that doesn't wish for self gain, but rather something that can make the world a better place. Some wishes dangling from the tree already include things like "I wish there wasn't so much litter in the park," "I wish someone would clean the graffiti off the old historic buildings," and "I wish there were more volunteers at the shelter." If you choose to use the Wishing Tree, what do you wish for? If your wish is private, you may write it on the paper and choose a spot in the park and bury it yourself instead of hanging it on the tree. The Wishing Tree had been something that had never appealed to Halia, in all of her years in Destiny City. Wishes didn't magically come true if you just hoped hard enough. Or at least that's what she had thought up to two years ago before becoming a senshi. Now? Now she thought there might be something there. Real magic did exist, and she had seen it. Hell, she was walking, living, breathing proof of real magic. So who's to really say whether wishes actually could come true or not if one wished hard enough? Certainly not her. While the wishes had no rules to them, she knew it was encouraged to be selfless. Still….she couldn't help her own wish being a tiny bit selfish as she scrawled it down elegantly. ’I wish to be strong enough to protect the people I love.’ It was simple, though she knew it wasn't something another person could ever grant her. That sort of strength had to be something she managed on her own. Even so, she wanted to wish for it. Because deep down, it really was what she wanted more than anything else in the world. To be able to stand on her own two feet and make a real, genuine difference should she find herself staring down the scaly mouth of the end of the world again. Walking over to the tree, her smile faltered as she realized there was one critical problem. All of the easily reachable branches were already more than taken up with wishes tied to them. And Halia? Halia was short. Too short to easily reach another branch. Still, she wasn't going to just abandon the idea. Not now that she was there. Looking far too determined for such a simple task, she stood on her toes and reached up as far as she could. The barest tips of her fingers only just ghosted the tip of the branch, just centimeters shy of being able to grab it. Could she jump for it? Probably. Was she going to do that and look ridiculous in public? Not a damn chance. Maybe, she thought, if she simply just tried to stretch a little more?
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2026 7:38 pm
Alex didn’t believe in wishes. At least, not for himself. For his baby sister, sure; he’d go to the ends of the earth to make any wish come true for her he could, but that was still him making it happen, not–whatever people thought granted wishes. God, the universe, a magical birthday genie, whatever. So he didn’t really believe in making wishes, but he did believe in granting them, so every year he swung by the Wishing Tree, just to scope the place out, see what people really wanted these days. So it was from a reasonable distance that he watched a girl probably about his age write a wish down, tie it up, and then face the tree, only to falter and eventually come to a stop. He tilted his head slightly as he watched; she reached up for a branch, but couldn’t make it. He watched her walk around the tree, watched her face get increasingly distraught and pink with frustration, then shook his head at himself. It might not count for his grant-a-wish deal, but she clearly was wishing she had some way to affix her wish to the tree itself. “Hey,” Alex said as he meandered over. “Need a hand? Or, like, a few extra inches attached to a hand?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 3:14 am
Halia was nearly ready to climb the damn tree itself at this rate. Still on tiptoes, she nearly did jump as someone spoke behind her. Turning quickly, and miraculously keeping her balance for once, her face went a few shades more red with embarrassment.
”Oh. I…wouldn't be opposed, actually. Thank you.” She gave him an awkward smile as she looked up at him, chewing the inside of her cheek as she tried to place his face. He was definitely familiar, but not in a name knowing way.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 9:16 am
The temptation to open the wish and try to grant it on the spot was powerful, but he managed to resist, if just barely. He took the paper from her and reached up, gracefully affixing it to an open spot a few inches above his head.
“There. That should do ‘er. Now we just need a giant to come along and grant it, huh?” Alex grinned at her. “I’m Alex. You work at the bookshop, right?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 9:19 am
Taking a small step back to let him work, Halia smiled as she saw the wish hung up properly. “Thank you. I was ready to go find a step ladder, really.”
She laughed softly as she looked up at him, nodding. “That would be me. I was trying to place where I'd seen you before. I'm Halia.” Had talking to people always been this easy? Why had she always choked and shied away in the past? “I got the day off so I figured I'd finally try my luck at making a wish. Have you made one yet?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 9:24 am
“Alex,” he returned easily. “Nice to officially meet you.”
Glancing back up at the tree, Alex chuckled and shook his head. “Nah. I tend to be more on the granting side than the making side,” he said with a light shrug. He glanced back up at her wish, quirking an eyebrow at her. “Is your wish one I could grant, d’you think? ‘Cause that’d make my job wayyy easier, honestly.” He looked back to the girl - Halia - and studied her for a moment; yeah, he remembered her, because for a while there she’d looked like she was in danger of walking into oncoming traffic, and he thought he might need to perform a heroic rescue and whisk her out of the path of an unsuspecting bus or something.
But she’d healed from whatever had hollowed her out, at least enough to give him a smile that actually met her eyes, which was a nice change of pace from the dead-eyed expression she’d worn for a while when she checked his books out. The smile was nice; it suited her.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 9:25 am
“You already said that.” She couldn't help the smile as he repeated his name, her eyes giving away the barely contained laugh. He was cute and a little charming, and from what she could remember he was always fairly friendly whenever he was in the shop. Not that she had been in the best state of mind the last number of times she had seen him, but still.
“Mm. Unfortunately I think mine has to be either one of those the universe grants or one that I have to make happen myself. Still figured I should at least try to put the energy out there though, you know? I didn't even believe in wishes or anything like that a few years ago, so who's to say something in the universe isn't listening?” There was a soft smile on her face as she spoke, looking up at where her wish was tied. She had come to peace with so much that had happened in the last two years, so really, a magical wish granting source wouldn't even shock her at this point.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 9:26 am
“Oh. Yeah, no, you’re totally right. So I did,” Alex said, feeling the heat rise to the back of his neck. Play it cool, play it cool, play it cool, it’s fine, he had it all under control… “What made you change your mind on the whole wishing thing? Somethin’ come true for you?” Alex looked back at the tree, scanning it over before picking one at random.
“Let’s see…I wish for a pony. Nope, that’s above my paygrade. Wanna help me find a good one?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 9:28 am
“Well …..let's just say over the last two years I've come to believe in a lot more than I used to. Especially this time of year.” Because really. Murder chickens and possessed game boards? Yeah, magic was a thing. And not always nice. “Nothing has necessarily come true for me like a wish or anything …but I've got to see and do some things that the me of two years ago never would have believed to be possible.”
Seeming thoughtful, Halia peered up at the branches as she walked a bit away. Pointing to a slightly crumpled wish tied at the tip of a branch, she smiled. “This one. I have a good feeling about this one.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 9:28 am
Alex quirked an eyebrow - that sounded like something that begged for a story, but he let himself be pulled along, following where her finger pointed. He reached up and slid it off the branch, unfolding it.
“Let’s see…I wish the area near the river didn’t have so much trash along the bank,” he read, a smile on his face in spite of himself. “An environmentalist, I like it. I can manage this one, I think.” Alex paused. “…unless you’d want to help me out? We could beautify the place right up, I bet.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 9:29 am
She hasn't expected to be invited along, but it didn't seem like a bad idea. Not that she was entirely dressed for it, but she had done worse in many more layers of skirt, she supposed. Giving him a bright smile, Halia nodded. “Alright. I can definitely help out. Lead the way?”
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