Nothing

#NoNoNovember: Day 4: Nothing

by TB Schmid

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Becca used to love birthdays, especially the wishing part right before blowing out the candles on her cake.

She was older now, though, and didn't really want anything. It used to be so easy - a new bat, new cleats, a boyfriend, a puppy instead of that stupid boyfriend, Nana to get better... all the things she knew she really wanted. She took those wishes seriously, and even though part of her felt silly, most of her believed there was some kind of magic in the whole birthday wishing ritual, and if she did it Just Right, her wish would come true. That was the way she saw most of the world back then - if you did things just right, your dreams would come true.

She looked at the cake in front her her, big fat green and white numbers leaning drunkenly in the custard frosting because, let's face it, putting 48 individual candles on there was way more work than Rick would ever put into something, even with her mother's help.

It used to be so easy. Do things just right, and your dreams would come true. She wasn't even sure what those dreams were anymore.

She chided herself for being such a downer. Her life was good, and it was a good thing not to really need or want anything, wasn't it? She nodded to herself, closed her eyes and wished for nothing.

When she blew the candles out, her dreams went too.