If wishes were horses...

"The Peppermill wishing fountain," Karen swept her hand dramatically in the direction of a rather small fountain in the courtyard of the old castle.  She was reading from the little glossy guide book - £2 from the gift shop.  "Legend says that if you drop an offering into the fountain, the fountain will grant you a wish to do with that item.  One story from 1605 tells of a young kitchen boy who dropped a bridle in the fountain and made a wish, and went on to become a knight who owned the best horse in the land."
Lauren wrinkled her brow thoughtfully.
"I wonder... if I dropped a tyre in there, would I get a Ferrari?"
"You'd probably get thrown out of the castle," Karen chuckled.  "It seems most people toss a coin in - look."  She pointed at the coppery layer of glittering discs at the fountain's base.
Lauren fished in her pockets.
"I don't have a coin," she sighed with disappointment.  "But..." She fished her phone out of her pocket.  "I could use a new phone."
"Oh, come on," Karen snorted.  "You're not going to throw your phone in there."
Lauren gave her old brick of a phone a long, pondering glance, and then tossed it into the water.
Plop!
It quickly sank to the bottom and settled among the pennies.
"I can't believe you just did that!" Karen gasped.  "Quick, fish it out, it might still work!"
"Wait, we have to give the fountain time to work!" Lauren insisted, holding her friend back.
Suddenly the phone started to ring, vibrating across the floor of the pool, and sending little bubbles to the surface.
Lauren glanced at Karen in surprise, then dipped her hand into the icy water and snatched the phone out, trailing a stream of little droplets as it came.  She hit the answer button and gingerly put the damp phone near her ear.
"Hello?"
"Hello Lauren Prince?" a cheerful voice asked in staticy tones.
"...yes..."
"This is Linda from the Phone Company.  Congratulations!  We're ringing to tell you that you're our lucky raffle winner this month and you've just won a state-of-the-art smart phone.  We'll be posting it to you by courier, and it should arrive in the next couple of days."
"Oh wow, thanks!"
"Have a nice day, Miss Prince!"
"Thanks, I will - bye!"  Lauren hung up.  "I don't believe it!"
"Who was that?" Karen asked
"I just won a new phone."
Karen stared at her for a few moments.
"Let's get a tyre."
Lauren nodded and they both hurried away, back towards the carpark.

Diary

The diary is bound in crusty leather, stiff and cracked with age.  A tiny lock still hangs on the clasp, although rust has eaten through the metal to the point that the book falls open when you pick it up.  You wonder who left it here, in the attic?  The previous owners perhaps?  You carefully turn to the front to see if there is a name, or something to identify the owner.  The ink, once black, has faded to a rusty brown.
You frown.  It's your own name.  What are the odds that someone who had lived here before had the same name as you?  That's funny.  You intend to put it down, maybe ring the previous owners of the house to see if they know who it belongs to, but you just have to peek at the first page.  It's dated 1785, and reads "I know you won't believe it yet, but yes, that is your name.  Yours.  I am you.  I was you.  Please, read on.  These are the things you'll need to know - the mistakes I've made, which you can fix."
You snap the diary shut with a shake of your head.  As if you'd fall for a joke as silly as that.  You put the diary to one side, and carry on clearing out the attic.

Looking for Direction

The tree is old.  Its thick, gnarled trunk and heavy boughs twist up and tower over and around you, blotting out the sky, the land, the river.  There is only the tree.  Its leaves are smooth and oval, tapering to a neat sharp point.  You reach out, running your fingers along one of the branches, feeling the rough ridges and rises of the bark.  You reach a cluster of leaves and spying a large, even blade you pluck it.  The leaf is silky smooth and soft, almost warm to the touch.  As you watch, the veins of the leaf begin to glow, spreading a yellow-green fluorescence along its length, and then splashing out onto its surface, until it is blazing with light.
You hold out your palm, and the leaf spins upwards, you can feel the air tickling your skin as it turns and turns... then it stops, pointing the way forward.  You note the direction, and gently take the leaf in your hand once more.  You say thank you to the tree for its gift, and bid it farewell, as you take the first step on your journey.

Stunning Views and a Prime Location

I was walking through the fields one day when I heard a huffing and puffing growing closer and closer, like someone had been running so hard they could barely catch their breath.
"Hello?" I called out, although I couldn't see anyone.  "Are you alright?"
The sound stopped but a few paces from me.  I was curious, and a little concerned now I couldn't hear the breath - what if the fellow had fainted or worse?  I made my way forward through the long grass towards the hedge, when:
"Ooof!"
I had stepped into someone, although I couldn't see them!
"Mind where you're going!" a voice cried out angrily.
"I... I can't see you!" I replied, more puzzled than afraid now.
All of a sudden a troll popped into view.  He was no higher than my waist, with a big nose and horns and massive feet, one of which he was hopping on, whilst rubbing the other. (Apparently I had stepped on it.)
"Oh my!" I exclaimed.  "I'm terribly sorry."
"Yes well, you humans are always tromping everywhere.  Stomp stomp, over my bridge, over my foot!" he mumbled crossly.
"I thought that was goats..." I ventured.
"Goats?  Why would goats build bridges?" he frowned.  "Anyway, I must hurry, I have a long way to go."
"Back to your bridge?"
"No, I'm moving."  He scooped up a stick, on the end of which was a loaded knotted hankerchief, and slung it over his shoulder.  "I want to upgrade - bigger bridge, quieter location."  He pointed behind me.
I turned and followed his point.
"I can't see a bridge.  I'm not even sure there are any rivers near here..."
"I'm not going for a river bridge.  I'm going to live under that bridge."
I looked again, and realised he was pointing into the sky.  A rainbow arced across a stormy grey, its colours bright and strong in the sunlight.
"The rainbow?"
"Yes.  But I have to hurry if I'm going to catch it.  Mind where you walk in future!"
And with that he was off again, flapping those big feet and huffing and puffing his way across the field, chasing the rainbow.  I often wonder now if the little troll made it to his new bridge, or if he's still running about trying to catch up with it.  Still, there are worse things to do than chase rainbows.

The Whole Wide World

Buzz had explored the whole world.  She knew every nook and cranny.  The world was hexagonal and waxy, and full of others like her.  There were tasks to do which took her from one end of the world to the other - young to look after, cells to build, cells to repair...
One day Buzz was recruited for a task she'd never done before - she was to help one of the older bees, called Zip.  Zip would fetch the nectar and Buzz would transport it into the inner chambers of the world.
"Where do you get the nectar from?" Buzz asked as she followed Zip up to the top of the world.
"From outside," Zip replied.
"Outside?"  Buzz was confused.  Outside where?
Then she saw the other world.  Her own world became tiny, almost insignificant, even though it had been all she had ever known or needed.  She was almost overwhelmed at the size, the strange shapes, the colours!  Zip seemed not to notice, and zipped off to collect some pollen.

Over the following days Buzz helped Zip, collecting the pollen and nectar as the older bee landed, and transporting it down into her world.  She felt safe back down in the familiar sanctuary, but she also felt the urge to follow Zip growing.  It took her by surprise when it happened.  One moment she was sitting at the edge of the world, the next she had leapt into the air and was skimming away into the beyond.  As soon as she realised what she was doing, she turned back.  But now that the first step had been taken, she found herself doing it over and over, flying further and further from the others.
Zip showed her were to find the pollen and nectar.  Buzz could have never imagined such beauty!
These storehouses of food were bright and patterned and soft beneath her feet.  With each flight her world grew, but so did the sense of importance of the world which she had left behind.  Each time she returned and passed the pollen she had collected to a younger bee, she knew without a doubt that small though her world had been, it had to be protected at all costs.

The days wore on and she became comfortable, and found the edges of her new world.  Great blue swaths of water surrounded it, extending on to forever.
She felt wise now that she knew how big the world really was, and whenever she returned to her home she would smile knowingly at the younger bees as they peered out in awe from their little nest.
Age crept up on her, but she was content, knowing she had seen all there was to see and done all there was to do.  She had explored the whole world.

Finally a day came when she knew that soon the flowers would go and the bees would have to hide in their nest from the cold.  She climbed to the top of a tree and looked out across the world, admiring the view before she would have to retreat away from it once more - when she noticed a curious sight, one she had never seen before.
She thought she had seen movement in the water past the edge of the world - a flash of silver.
Yes - there it was again!
"Could it be?" she wondered aloud to herself in her excitement and fear, "Could it be, that there is another world beyond this one?"
She looked back.  The sun was setting, she should return to the nest.  But she had to know, the urge was too strong.  She took to the sky and flew, flew over meadow and flower and tree, flew over stream and cliff and sand... and beyond the edge of the world.

Parachute

"Hello?  Is this Parachute Training Inc?"
"Yes sir.  Are you looking to book a jump?"
"No, no.  I can't say I've ever fancied parachuting.  No head for heights, really, and well.... oh god, the trees are so tiny!"
"Oh, perhaps you'd like to book a gift for a friend?"
"Ah, no.  All my friends CRRRRUUSHHHHHpop on the ground."
"I think we lost the signal for a moment there - there's a lot of noise.  I didn't quite hear that last part."
"Oh I just CRHHSSSSSHHHH not my friends I'm ringing for.  It's me."
"But I thought you said you didn't want to book a jump?"
"I don't CCRRRUUSHHHHHHH"
"Sorry sir, you keep breaking up.  Are you in a car?"
"A plane actually, and that's what I'm ringing about.  I'm a bit pushed for time and I wondered if you could explain to me how to use a parachute?"

Home

Jenny pressed her nose against the glass.  Her breath steamed up the panel, and hazed the view below her.
"Earth!" she gasped.
Her mother, Erin, nodded, and gently pulled her a step back from the window.
"You see there?"  Erin placed a finger on the glass, her pad all but obscuring the green island.  "That's where I was born."
"Really?"  Jenny's eyes were wide.  "It's beautiful!"
"It is," Erin agreed softly.
"Can we go see?" Jenny asked eagerly.
"No," her mother sighed.  "It's all locked up now.  No one can go to Earth anymore.  We can only look from here."
"But it's your home isn't it?"
"Yes."  Erin took a step forward - her turn to lean against the glass.  She pretended to look more closely, but really she just didn't want Jenny to see her cry.  The girl was too young to understand.  I'll never be able to go home.