The wish she didn't make

ㅤ Norma lay quietly, her arms spread out on the bed, her head blank: she didn't know what to think about. The overly quiet, peaceful days were dragging on, she hadn't yet come up with a new dream, and wandering aimlessly through the Legacy wasn't all that interesting. And yet, she couldn't leave this place… So much had happened here, so many emotions permeated almost every nook and cranny. She wasn't ready to say goodbye. Taking a shard of Everlight from her pocket, she twirled it in front of her, examining it. She exhaled loudly, putting it back. 'Teacher…' flashed through her mind. "That's it!" she suddenly jumped up. "I'll try to retrace his steps. Perhaps I'll be able to better understand what happened…" Sven disappeared without a trace. No one knew what exactly happened to him. He simply didn't return one day. The innkeeper knew where and when Sven had gone, when he planned to return, and even discussed a few steps ahead: it was hard to forget a guest who tried to buy the entire inn for five gald… 'If only I'd known earlier…' a sad thought briefly crossed Norma's mind. 'Nothing would have changed!' She slapped her cheeks. 'I've been to the Crystal Forest so many times—and nothing! So everything is as it should be.' Upon returning to the mainland, Zamaran promised to keep her place at the academy, but she couldn't just go back. Instead, she was consumed with the idea of ​​storming the walls of her beloved institution in triumph, writing a comprehensive dissertation on the Legacy, describing every detail, not limiting herself to the well-known ruins. And wiping their noses with her main discovery—the Everlight. If only the old man lived to defend it, since he was now the only proof of its existence. Alas, she couldn't use the words of her friends. For words are empty. Moreover, the words of friends are for the hard foreheads of academics. Having thoroughly questioned the innkeeper, Norma set out, repeating step by step the steps her teacher had described. She fell into all the traps, he hadn't touched and successfully avoided them… She kept detailed notes, adding to and organizing them at rest stops. Thus she reached the Crystal Forest, the place where only crystal dust remained of the Eternal Light. Taking out the memory shard, Norma looked at it, as if asking, "Where next?" There was no hint of an answer… The Eternal Light lost its power after the first wish, and therefore shattered, like any dream that collides with reality. 'Where would he go?' Norma pondered deeply. She had always had friends with her, but her thoughts had been preoccupied with other things when she first found this place. 'No, it's simpler… Where would I go in his place?' She arrived here exhausted—and so did he. Only her friends had saved her—he was alone. All that remained was to trust her instincts, her first thoughts. To follow where her feet led. To reach the old fisherman's house. An old woman on the porch was knitting a stole for herself for the cold evenings. Her eyes revealed utter loneliness. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry, I didn't notice you," she said, turning her attention to Norma, who was staring at her tactlessly. "You've come a long way from the city. If you're tired, come in and rest. My grandchildren and my husband are long gone, and the beds are empty. If you still have the strength, pass the time with a story: I can't even read books with my eyesight." "Huh?" Norma said, as if waking from a reverie. "Y-yes, of course! I have so many mind-blowing stories, each more brilliant than the last! You certainly won't get bored!" As Norma enthusiastically told stories, she seemed to share not only her emotions but also her overflowing energy: the old woman's clouded gaze seemed to clear, sparks of inspiration appeared. A soft smile was definitely present, and she chuckled every now and then. Norma embellished the events, making them funnier in her own way. But even in her stories, she would occasionally give the long-suffering Moses a hard time. "Granny!" a cheerful male voice rang out. "We have a rich catch today; we'll have a lot to dry and salt so it doesn't go to waste! Eh? Do we have guests?" Norma fell silent, staring at the man who didn't recognize her. All her many words suddenly vanished, not even daring to form thoughts. Norma remained silent, unable to believe that the image before her was real, that it hadn't just popped out of her stories. "E… Ea…" she was either about to whine or utter a word. In the end, she sobbed and gathered the strength for one stifled word: "Teacher…?" "Do you know me?" the man burst into genuine enthusiasm. "Know? Know…?" Norma seethed quietly, overcome with emotion. "Idiot!" she pounced on the man, crying, pounding his chest with her fists. "I thought you were dead! We all did! You have a grave, you idiot! And you've been chilling out here all this time!? Was it so hard to even let anyone know you were alive!?" "Easy, calm down," the man soothed her, unsuccessfully trying to catch the hands that were hitting him. And they were hitting quite hard… "You're a lively one, I like you!" he chuckled. "So you really do know me. Forgive me for not remembering you, but you can always remind me. I'm sure my forgotten past will sound much more vivid from your lips than if I did," the man laughed openly, inspired by this discovery. "You…" Norma moderated her aggression, "do you really remember nothing?" "Yeah," the man replied, smiling broadly, as if the amnesia was a joke to him. "Nothing at all before granny fished me out. I managed to hit my head on the rocks and lost a lot of blood. This holy woman nursed me back to health, literally pulled me back from the brink of death. So now I'm taking care of her; I have nowhere else to go anyway." "And you don't even remember your name?" Norma asked cautiously. "Nothing at all!" Norma was torn between conflicting emotions: on the one hand, she was overjoyed that Sven was alive, but on the other, he was no longer him. Without memories, without a shared past, there was no connection between them. "Sven…" she said quietly, losing all her ardor. "Huh?" "Your name is Sven. You," Norma reached into her pocket and pulled out the shard in her closed palm, "were searching for the Everlight. And you found it. I granted our wish, but…" Norma turned her fist, revealing the crystal shard that had once been their whole life. Tears welled up in her eyes again, rolling down her cheeks in smooth paths. 'Perhaps I made the wrong wish…?' She didn't even try, having found the Everlight, believing that the dead couldn't be brought back. Sven reached for the shard. He touched Norma's hand, and suddenly a bright light and warmth enveloped their bodies. Sven's pupils darted around, as if he were viewing a multitude of images—viewing his life. But not before death… But before rebirth. The shard silently disintegrated into fine dust, then caught by the wind and carried away. Sven's gaze suddenly settled on Norma, his face taking on a serious expression. "…Norma?" Silence fell, and Sven lowered his gaze thoughtfully, as if searching for something. "So even the Everlight failed to accomplish its task, hmm…" Norma looked down where his gaze was directed. The answer came quickly—a fist to the crown of the head, following all of Will's precepts. "Idiot!" "Ouch, that hurt! Why so hard? And that's not your signature punch!" "I learned it from a friend! I tested it on myself just for our meeting!" Sven laughed, exhaling with relief and satisfaction: "You've become more cheerful. And as the professor?" "He's seen the light. Unlike you, you idiot!" "So what do you plan to do now?" Norma glanced uncertainly at the old woman, who was watching the young people with interest. "I was thinking of defending my dissertation, but…" "Go for it!" Sven brushed aside all her doubts with a word. "Huh?" "I'll wait for you here. Now I'm definitely not going anywhere," he winked. "I'll set the professor on you," Norma grumbled. But in the end, she smiled: she had a new meaning in life. An old one, in a sense. But with hope for a bright future. "When I get back, I'll tell you in detail who's jaw dropped and how, and who tore out all their hair until they were bald!" "That would make a fun bedtime story," Sven looked at her with a gentle smile of approval. Norma casually took Sven's hand. She wanted to make sure he was truly real, not an illusion created by her overactive imagination. Sven squeezed her hand with his, his warmth confirming that he was truly there. Her heart beat in silent delight, and her aching soul was soothed: everything fell into place. The Everlight had fulfilled all her wishes, and more than one. 'The power of the Everlight is truly limitless…' ㅤ