‘What’s going on over there?’ I ask, pointing to a deck next to one of the lakes, which is filled to the brim with people sitting cross-legged. The area is strangely quiet.
‘Looks like a meditation session,’ Owen observes.
I’m genuinely taken aback to see how many people have joined: rows and rows of people are still with their heads bowed and eyes closed. I feel like I’m intruding just looking at them.
‘That’s a pretty monstrous meditation session,’ Hennie notes.
‘I love it,’ I say, beaming.
‘Looks like it’s open for everyone, you want to join in?’ Elliot offers.
‘I’m okay, thanks. Maybe next time. I won’t force meditation on you guys.’
‘Pity. I feel like some of us could really benefit from it,’ Elliot’s voice drawls, eyeing Josh as he skips frantically to a nearby wood-working stall. He picks up what looks like an ornate magic wand and waves it over his head before pointing it at Owen, erupting into his large, distinctive grin.
Owen runs over to him, but my attention has been caught by something else just past them. My eyes wince under the sun desperately trying to peek through the clouds, and from the way Elliot watches me, he must have noticed that something has distracted me.
A small hand-made sign rests against a tree trunk that simply reads:The Wishing Tree. The tree is just a handful of feet taller than me and adorned with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of multi-coloured ribbons tied around the branches. Even the trunk is so adorned with ribbons that the bark beneath is no longer visible. Something about it brings a smile to my face; seeing so much hope in one spot.
A note on the ground next to the sign reads:Tie a ribbon to the tree and make a wish!
Hennie steps next to me.
‘Cute,’ she remarks, looking up at it. ‘I like it.’
Elliot’s deep voice rumbles next to me. ‘Wanna make a wish?’
‘It looks like the wishing tree might be very busy,’ I say with a snort, gesturing to the ribbons in their abundance.
‘Room for more!’ Hennie announces, reaching down to a basket filled to the brim with ribbons. She hands us one each and steps up to the tree, tying her own to the end of a branch with a smile.
‘That was a fast wish,’ I whisper.
‘You next,’ she says with a nudge.
I toy with the blue ribbon, rubbing it between my fingers. There are so many things I want that I don’t need, and so many things I crave that are ultimately impossible.
Elliot steps forward next to tie his green ribbon to the tree in silence and then stands back again unceremoniously. The whole process takes less than five seconds. This man does not fuck around.
I stare at the green ribbon he just attached, apparently unable to tear my eyes away from it. A desperate hope cries out from somewhere inside me, and I can’t deny how much I selfishly want to wish it into existence.
It’s not an unreasonable wish,I think to myself as I slowly approach the tree.
I find a naked patch on a tree branch up high, and stretch to cover my ribbon with it. And I state the words loudly and clearly in my own mind, willing them to come true.
Please don’t let this be my last day with him.
It would be a waste of a wish to ask for Elliot to fall hopelessly in love with me, I realise. I haven’t lost my senses quite yet. But it seems like a realistic and achievable wish for us to see each other again after today. I hope.
We stand together in front of the tree for a short moment before Josh and Owen appear behind us.
‘Wow,’ Josh whispers in reverence. ‘Perhaps this is my moment to wish for Cherry Wave to do a UK tour?’
‘You can wish all you want, Ham, but the tree might not have a lot of control over a K-pop groups’ global tour schedule,’ Owen says, not unkindly.
‘Hmm,’ Ham ponders. ‘Not much point, then.’
‘Well, I know what I’m wishing for,’ Owen declares, grabbing his own ribbon from the basket and quickly tying it to the end of a branch.
