The Birthday Wish They Didn’t Expect
I couldn’t afford Jake’s birthday cake. Eight candles, one wish… and an empty wallet. Somehow, the quiet disappointment weighed heavier than the neon hum of the diner where we sat.
The waitress slid our menus across the scarred laminate table. Jake’s eyes lingered on the desserts section, bright pictures of chocolate and vanilla swirls mocking me. I forced a smile. “Maybe next year,” I said. My voice sounded thin even to me.
“I’m full,” Jake said, almost too quickly. His small hands folded on the table. “Really.”
But I knew. I knew he wanted a cake. He always did.
Then the voice came from the table next to ours: soft, calm, but with a sharp edge beneath the friendliness. “Excuse me, ma’am?”
I looked up. The man wore a neat, dark uniform. His badge glinted under the flickering diner light: Officer Daniel Crane. He had the kind of face that could either comfort or unsettle someone, depending on how he used it. And right now… he was smiling.
“Mind if I get the birthday boy a cake?” he asked.
Pride clenched my throat. I opened my mouth, ready to refuse. But Jake surprised both of us.
“No, thank you, sir,” he said. Chin up, lips pressed together.
Crane’s eyebrows rose, a flicker of curiosity in his dark eyes. “You sure? It’s your birthday.”
Jake glanced at me, then looked down at the table. “Last year, I wished for a bike… didn’t get one,” he murmured. “This year, I want to wait until it’s real.”
Crane nodded, the corners of his lips twitching as if he understood something unspoken. He seemed about to say more, but the diner lights flickered violently, plunging us into half-shadow. A low rumble vibrated beneath my feet.
“What’s happening?” I whispered, clutching Jake’s small hand.
Crane didn’t answer. His eyes scanned the windows, the door. Then, without warning, the door slammed open, letting in a gust of cold wind. The neon sign outside sputtered, casting jagged shadows across the empty parking lot. Something—or someone—was out there.
Crane stood abruptly. “We need to move… now.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Outside. Now,” he said, his voice low but firm.
Before I could argue, he grabbed Jake’s arm gently, but with surprising strength. As we stepped out into the icy night, I caught sight of a dark shape slipping behind a cluster of cars. It was humanoid, but… wrong. Too fast. Too deliberate.
“What is that?” I asked, panic rising.
Crane didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device that blinked with a faint blue light. A map appeared, showing glowing dots scattered around the town. One blinked red, moving steadily toward us.
“It’s tracking us,” Crane said simply.
“Tracking us?!” I whispered, my voice trembling.
“Not just tracking,” he corrected. “They’re hunting.”
Hunting?
Jake tugged at my sleeve. “Mom, I’m scared.”
I hugged him tightly, feeling his tiny body tremble. Then Crane’s voice cut through my panic. “You don’t understand. You’re in danger… but not from something ordinary.”
I wanted to ask what he meant. My logical mind screamed that this was impossible, but the device in his hand and the unnatural movement I’d glimpsed in the shadows… my instincts said he was telling the truth.
Suddenly, the red dot on the device surged forward. The shadow outside sprinted toward us with unnatural speed, dissolving into a blur before it reached the lot. Crane acted immediately, dragging us to the diner’s back alley. The metal door clanged as he locked it behind us.
“Who are they?” I demanded.
“They,” Crane said, scanning the darkness, “are called the Collectors. And they only appear to those who… have something worth taking.”
“What do they want with us?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he handed me a small, leather-bound notebook. The cover was cracked, worn, but inside… inside was a list of names. My name. Jake’s name. Even the waitress from the diner.
“You’re on this list?” I whispered.
Crane nodded grimly. “And it’s no coincidence you were here tonight. The birthday wish… it’s more than a hope for toys or candy. Wishes have power. Certain people—certain entities—can sense that power. And they take it.”
I froze. “Take it?”
“Yes. And if they succeed…” He let the sentence hang, his eyes scanning the shadows that seemed to press closer to the walls.
Jake’s voice trembled. “Mom… my wish…”
I bent down. “You don’t have to tell them, honey. Not yet.”
Crane’s hand shot out, stopping me. “You need to understand, every wish Jake has ever made, even the ones he doesn’t remember, leaves a… trace. And someone—or something—has been watching him for years.”
Years. My stomach dropped. We had always thought our life was quiet, even ordinary. But the look in Crane’s eyes said it wasn’t.
A sudden sound shattered the tension—a scream from the diner. The lights inside flickered violently again. Then silence.
Crane cursed under his breath. “They’ve breached the diner. They’re drawing attention.”
I grabbed Jake. “What do we do?!”
Crane’s expression hardened. “We run. There’s a safe place… but it’s not far.”
He led us through the alleyways, past the empty streets that suddenly felt menacing. Every shadow seemed to shift, as though the town itself was alive, watching us.
Finally, we arrived at an abandoned warehouse at the edge of town. Crane pushed the door open, revealing a room filled with strange symbols etched into the walls. Candles burned in patterns, casting eerie light.
“You brought us here… for safety?” I asked.
“Partly,” Crane admitted. “But mainly… because we have to prepare. The Collectors are clever, relentless. And Jake… he’s special.”
“Special?” I echoed, clutching Jake.
Crane knelt to meet Jake’s eyes. “Your wishes… they’re not like other kids’. They’re… more powerful. And that power makes you a target.”
I swallowed hard. “Then… what do we do?”
Before he could answer, a sharp sound cut through the air—a window shattered behind us. The shadow figure had followed. It moved faster than thought, its form flickering like static.
Crane raised his weapon—a strange, metallic device that hummed with energy. “Hold on!”
And then the world exploded into chaos. Lights, shadows, wind, and energy intertwined. Jake clung to me as Crane fought something I couldn’t fully comprehend.
In that moment, my heart shattered and my mind raced: birthdays were supposed to be safe. Wishes were supposed to be innocent. And now… everything had changed.
I looked down at Jake, his eyes wide but unafraid. Somehow, he understood something I didn’t yet.
And in the corner of the warehouse, I saw something that made my blood run cold: a figure… not human, not fully, watching us with eyes that glowed like molten gold.
The last thing I heard before the lights went out was Crane whispering, “They know… they’ve always known.”
