The Third Wish
An absent-minded passerby—or even just someone too deep in thought—would hardly have noticed that, among two fallen branches, one was far longer, thinner, and curled into a strange ring.
Most people simply walked past. Who cared what lay underfoot, as long as it wasn't dangerous? Maris, on the other hand, would've kicked it just for fun and laughed at finding something to punt.
But as time passed, this… let's call it a tail… began to shimmer with its familiar metallic sheen. When it had first dropped to the ground, it mimicked tree bark, but now it shed its disguise and returned to its usual form. And even that wasn't enough.
Rust spread across its metal surface, eating it away in an instant, until only an ordinary tuft of animal-like hair remained. The hairs unraveled strand by strand, scattering in the breeze, until just one stayed behind. That single hair rose gracefully into the air.
It didn't fly as fast as a shuttle, but it could've raced a fighter jet and held its own. Nothing stood in its way. Soon, it was nearly at the stratosphere—the ozone layer that shields our planet from ultraviolet light.
It swooped there a few times, as if shaking its head, then suddenly changed its mind and plunged downward like a stone. Falling was even easier. One moment it was in the sky, the next—buried in a small mound of earth, vanishing into it as if absorbed. And then…
At the scientific institute, chaos broke out.
There worked the renowned Professor of Astronomy—her official title and degree—who carried another, far more important title for herself: Erich's Mom.
She was at her desk, happily running calculations on her tablet, humming with satisfaction when everything clicked. That's when she was shaken—literally—by her colleague from the Climate Department, head of Ecology, who was panicking.
"This is impossible! Do you see what's happening? What we predicted thousands of years in the future is unfolding right before our eyes!"
"What? What could be that important?" The Professor-Mom snapped out of her math.
"See for yourself!"
Colleagues from every department clustered around, gasping and exclaiming at the data. Earth's axis was tilting wildly, rocking back and forth as though the planet itself had gone mad.
"Yes, exactly!" the colleague shouted. "And on top of that—"
"I'd bet my life the amount of solar energy reaching us has dropped, too," the Professor whispered, lips gone pale.
"What does that mean? Explain it to us!" voices clamored from all sides.
But she wasn't listening anymore. With trembling fingers, she fumbled for her phone, hurriedly dialing Erich's number. She had to warn him. Hurry, hurry!
Behind her, panicked cries rose louder and louder:
"A new Ice Age is coming! Not this—not now!"
The call from Mom caught Erich halfway home. On the line was the most alarmed voice in the world—a voice no one else could possibly have, except his mom when she used it to fire off urgent instructions:
"Get out of school and head home right now. Lock every door and go down to the basement. You three—yourself, Nibi, and Pobbi—wait there for me. I'll tell you what to do next. Ask your teacher for permission to leave immediately."
His heart thumped in rhythm with her words, and he could feel her fear and pain in every beat. As soon as she finished, he reported back:
"I'll do it, Mom!" He ended the call and snapped into rescue mode. How would those brave people who always saved others in movies act in a moment like this?
Run to Pobbi first? Or straight home? But the pup was already at the house. Nibi, though—she was still outside, like him. Only she was even farther away. Which meant she was in greater danger than anyone.
Decision made! He squared his shoulders, feeling strong and brave for the very first time in his life—even though his legs trembled and his whole body shook. This time, he couldn't mess up. No more cowardice.
"That's who you are, Big Snotty Er." In his mind, Maris and Mary's mocking voices rang out in chorus. For a moment, it froze him. But he shook it off quickly, realizing this was bigger, far more serious, than any schoolyard insult.
How do you spread your wings? Nibi probably knew how—maybe she could actually do it. All he could manage was running, harder and faster, barely feeling his legs.
How long had he been running? A couple of years at least—it sure felt that way. When they finally made it home, he'd have to measure his height; he was sure he must've grown from all that running.
The familiar road blurred before his eyes… and there she was. Nibi hadn't disappeared this time. She was pacing back and forth, counting her steps, constantly changing her rhythm. She'd pause for a moment, then start again.
"Fast… slow," she announced each time. "Here I go faster, then slower. That's what Earth is doing now. Sometimes rushing, sometimes stalling."
"We really have to rush!" shouted the fastest person alive (at least in his opinion). "Mom called—she said a disaster's about to happen! We have to hide and save Pobbi!"
Nibi studied the breathless boy for a long moment, as he bounced impatiently from foot to foot.
Why wasn't she moving? Why wasn't she doing anything?
He finally asked her out loud, and she blinked in surprise.
"Why? Lats is digging into your planet right now. Soon it won't be possible to live here. So we'll stay a little while longer… and then we'll all leave together. You, me, and all of humanity, plus the animals and plants."
"But… but…" Erich's eyes went wide. He tried to explain, between gasps for breath and the shock of her words: "People can't just fly like you! Sure, we've got helicopters and spaceships, but we can't just take off—everyone, the whole planet—in an hour or two. We're not there yet. Even birds couldn't make it into space without spacesuits and boosters—and they're the ones who can fly!"
"Really?" Nibi frowned, clearly troubled. "Well then… there's nothing I can do. Like I told you before, lats isn't just my companion—it's my protector. When it sensed how heavy and awful I felt, it acted on its own. It wanted to keep me safe from new insults."
"But it was only those bullies—not all people and animals!" Erich shouted, raking a hand through his short bristly hair. "Why should the others suffer?"
"You weren't listening carefully again." Nibi clasped her hands behind her back, looking exactly like a strict teacher, and began pacing even more deliberately. "Lats isn't you. It doesn't pick precise targets. It decided that any human could insult me at any moment. So it thought it best to give you all a little punishment right now."
Her words were so dreadful they made Erich's skin crawl. Then a small, ridiculous thought flickered in his head, grew, and suddenly struck him like lightning.
"Wait! You said you were still learning human emotions. How do you even know sadness? You only just learned how to laugh."
She sighed heavily.
"I lied. I learned lying too—from you and Pobbi. You told your mom you went to all your lessons, but you skipped the first one… and the rest. I did the same."
"But that was for you! So you wouldn't be bored or left alone while I was stuck in class. You're so cool, so smart—I didn't want you to think I was just some boring nerd!" The words tumbled out of him like a flood he couldn't hold back. "And in the end, you still saw the real me. The one who gets picked on and can't fight back." He dropped his head. "So it was all for nothing."
His legs gave out. He sank to the ground, pulling his knees to his chest, refusing to look at her. Anger at himself, shame for breaking down, fear for his family—all of it mixed together until he burst into tears.
How stupid is this? I wanted a friend to explore the planet with, to marvel at its mysteries. And what did I get? So much more—so much stranger. But am I happy?
Footsteps behind him. Nibi sat down at his side. He caught her in the corner of his eye but still couldn't bring himself to look at her.
"You know why I lied?" she said softly. "Because you seemed… what was the word you used? Cool. I didn't want to look weak in front of you. So I pretended nothing ever bothered me. I told you—we're alike."
"No, not at all!" Erich's eyes flashed, his teeth clenched. "No, no, no! I don't want to destroy everything just because I'm sad or hurt."
"Don't want to… or can't?" Nibi asked slyly.
"You can! Look at what you've already done!" he snapped back.
"It wasn't me. It was Lats. And it'll calm down if it finds something—anything—that makes this planet beautiful in my eyes. So far, it hasn't."
"Well, I have something like that! My dad built a big little house out of plywood and planks, right by the forest. I decorated it with plants. You know what I named it? Versailles Palace. We studied the famous French castle in history class, and I gave that grand name to my own shack. And you know what?…"
"What?" Nibi asked despite herself, genuinely curious.
"That even an ordinary shed, a tiny goat pen really, can be a whole kingdom for me. Its heather-covered boards are my shield against the world. It makes me as happy as Mom's smile, or when Pobbi drops his serious act and rolls onto his back, letting me scratch his belly. And also…"
"Our meeting." They breathed the words at the same time, their voices puffing little clouds of frosty air. The temperature had dropped sharply, and Erich glanced nervously at the sky, half-expecting icebergs to come tumbling down from it.
Which made Nibi's next words all the more unexpected, glowing with warmth:
"And I've found my own Versailles. And it's just as beautiful." She opened her palm, and a tiny bead rolled across her lifelines.
"And how's that?" Erich muttered. "You don't even understand what—"
"No, I do understand. Its color. It's beautiful. Isn't that reason enough to love your Earth? If even the smallest, most overlooked things are painted so brightly, maybe this planet is worth something after all."
"I still don't believe it." Erich shook his head, burned too many times to hope.
"And you shouldn't!" Nibi replied. "Because that bead only matters to you. But me? I don't care about meanings—I care about friends. And I've found them, here, in your family."
It was suddenly warmer. The chill that had crept through Erich's thin jacket slipped away, chased off by the girl's last words.
But she wasn't finished.
"I even called Pobbi. While you were trudging home, I already slipped by your place and opened the window for him. So he'll be here any second."
And sure enough, Erich heard a burst of joyful barking. His fluffy friend came racing across the field, skidding to a stop only inches away, then jumped up and planted both paws on Erich's chest, looking straight into his eyes with pure honesty.
Nibi laid her slender hand on his shoulder.
"Too bad I didn't bring your mother here too. Seeing all of you together would have made me even happier."
"You'll see us a hundred more times! We're not going anywhere," Erich exclaimed.
But the girl went on as if she hadn't heard him.
"Space is far too big for me alone. This planet… it was made for the two of us."
"For three! What about Pobbi?" Erich protested. "And my mom? That makes four."
"You're right, of course. What a scatterbrain I am! Looks like extra math lessons aren't just for Pobbi," she teased with a crooked smile. "Only the four of us together can paint this Earth in bright colors, right?"
"Maybe… I don't know," Erich muttered, scratching Pobbi behind the ear. Suddenly, the weight of her hand vanished from his shoulder. He spun around in panic—she was gone.
"Not again!" His voice cracked.
Then he froze.
The gnarled, lifeless tree beside him burst into bloom. A shimmer ran across its bark like someone had shaken glitter over it. Branches thickened, buds opened into blossoms, filling the air with a fragrance so rich it made him dizzy.
With a gasp, he stumbled back. Beneath his feet, the ground was carpeted with new grass—green, yet tinged with a strange orange hue, as though dipped in paint.
And then the voice came. From the tree, from the grass, from the wind and the single sunbeam breaking through the clouds. It was like Nibi's voice, yet greater, deeper, as if an unseen empress were speaking directly to him.
"Go home, Erich. And then come back. Our story is only beginning."
The boy looked at the photo, at his father's playful eyes staring back, and whispered:
"Maybe it's a fairy tale for you. But I live in the real world."
He patted Pobbi on the back, and together they walked away from that place of endless summer and warmth.
And behind them came the faintest whisper, as though the earth itself was answering him:
"Who ever told you your real world isn't a fairy tale?"