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Chapter Four: So I Make This Wish

The next morning is cloudy as we fade into Asha and Sabino’s house. Asha is laying in her bed, soundly sleeping. We see drawings covering one wall along with some other sparse decorations. She opens her eyes and blinks before sitting up. Valentino gets up from the foot of the bed and stretches, slinking over to Asha. She smiles and scratched him behind the ear. “Good morning Val.”

Asha gets out of bed and walks behind a divider. The smock she was previously wearing is tossed over the divider and Asha emerged in a red dress, tying her hair in a ponytail. She walks out of her room and looks around the main part of the house. Her expression becomes confused. The main room is empty. Sabino should have been up by now… “Sabino?” Asha calls. No response. She walks over to a window and looks outside. No sign of him. She finally walks over to his bedroom door and knocks. “Sabino, is everything alright?”

Taking a deep breath, Asha walks into the room. Sabino is laying in bed, facing away from the door. “Hey tonto, you slept in,” Asha says, walking over to Sabino with a smile. “Come on, time to get up.” She gives him a gentle shake, then frowns. Her voice trembles as she speaks. “Sabino?”

We cut to a small graveyard just outside the hamlet, where it’s raining around dusk. Asha is standing in front of several other people, looking sorrowful. We cut to a shot of a fresh grave with a tall rock as the headstone. A man dressed like a priest is standing in front of the grave, facing the crowd of people. It looks like the whole hamlet has gathered to mourn Sabino. He clasps his hands together. “Sabino was a good man. He helped Tomás aid many people who managed to escape Rosas. Without him, several of us would not live here today. When Thomás disappeared he took charge and acted as the Hamlet’s leader for several years. He was a brave, generous, and caring man that we will always be grateful for. May he now rest in peace.”

The other residents of the Hamlet repeat the last line and begin to disperse. Asha remains in front of the grave. Valentino softly whines and rubs against her leg. One girl with short hair lingers. She sighs and walks over to Asha “I’m sorry for your loss,” she says gently.

As soon as Asha notices the girl she instantly straightens up and changes her expression to a more neutral one. “He will be deeply missed. I don’t think it will ever be the same without him.”

There’s a few moments of silence before the girl speaks again. “Listen. If you ever need somewhere to go or anyone to talk to, my family will always be there with open arms.” She gestures to a man, woman, and a younger child who look similar to her, who are talking to Safi and his mother. “We knew Sabino quite well. He helped our family, and we’re willing to help his.”

Asha nods and looks away. “That’s very kind of you Hal. Although I think it would be best if I mourned alone.”

Hal frowns. “You don’t have to push us away Asha. We want to help you if we can. It’s the least we can do. You’ve helped the hamlet as much as Sabina had, and we want to repay you for it. Please, just let us help you.”

“I’m not pushing anyone away,” Asha says sharply. “I have a lot on my mind right now and the last thing I need is to do is let my guard down.” Hal looks surprised at Asha’s words. Asha’s expression softens and she sighs. “I’m sorry, I… I should go.” She turns around and walks away to her house. Valentino chitters and follows with his head hung low.

Hal begins to walk after her, but Safi grabs her shoulder, making her stop. “Just let her go,” he says.

The rain is beginning to clear as Asha walks into her house. It’s quiet as she looks around. Too quiet. She spots the chair where Sabino usually sat. His lute is leaning against it. Asha walks over to chair and sits down, picking up the lute. She gently plucks at the strings, then begins to strum it. Valentino leaps up onto the arm of the chair and presses against her. She blinks away tears and begins to do what any Disney heroine does when they’re distraught: she sings.

🎵 This Wish 🎵

Asha

Woman’s Voice

I thought our dreams were meant to set us free So why do I feel so heavy hearted? If I could show them everything I've seen What happens then? Do I dare to start it?

(Asha continues to play the lute, looking out the window towards Rosas. We can see the castle in particular standing high above the trees. Asha looks deeply conflicted)

But when I stand, my mind says "Sit down" But I’m done waiting on a wish that’s never coming I look around me now No, we’re not where we belong And I may be young, but I won’t hide this song

(Asha sets aside the lute and stands up on the second line. She walks out of her house with Valentino and gestures to the hamlet around her. She looks down on the last line before looking upwards.)

So I look up at the stars to guide me And pray that he’ll send me a sign If no one else will rise up here beside me Then let me be the first to stand in line So I make this wish To have something more for us than this So I make this wish To have something more for us than this

(We get a brief shot of the sky as the clouds part, revealing the starry sky. She looks back at the Hamlet one more time before walking into the woods on the first “So I make this wish”. She stands in a smaller clearing and opens her arms wide on the last “This”)

Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, ah-ah More than this, oh-ah-ah-ah

(Fireflies fly up around Asha, making her smile a little. Valentino looks around with wide eyes and swats at a firefly.)

I’ve seen the fire inside you all aglow What you could be, what you could do The light that makes you whole But there’s a missing piece we buried long ago Now there’s an aching in my soul, about to overflow If I could shake away every hesitation If I knew where to begin Could I cut through the lies Open up their eyes To see the truth again?

(We cut to a little later as Asha continues to walk troughs he woods. She stops and looks back at Rosas. Then she looks down on “if I could shake away every hesitation”. There’s a mixture of emotions on her face. Fear and sadness, yet also determination.)

If you can hear me now, I’m begging you for a sign. Just tell me how to make it through My legs are shaking, but my head's held high The way you always taught me to

(She looks around the forest, as though she’s trying to find someone. She stops as she looks towards the willow tree, tears brimming in her eyes. A younger Asha and her father are sitting on the tree. They look up at the stars before fading away, and the camera pans up.)

So I look up at the stars to guide me And pray that he’ll send me a sign I know there will be challenges that find me But I can take them on one at a time So I make this wish To have something more for us than this So I make this wish To have something more for us than this

(Asha breaks into a sprint, climbing the tree and standing on a larger branch. She walks forward, holding her hands to her chest. She closes her eyes as petals swirl around her. Valentino chitters and looks around in awe.)

Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah (so you make this wish) Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, ah-ah (to have something more) More than this, oh, ah-ah-ah

(Petals swirl in the wind around Asha before blowing out towards the sea. Asha doesn’t notice the other voice. She opens her eyes on the last line and smiles. She looks towards a smaller star in the sky and focused on it.)

So I make this wish To have something more for us than this

(Asha looks more confident and determined on the last line. The camera zooms out to show more of the sky and the song ends on a softer note.)

The star begins to twinkle, and glows brighter. And brighter. And somehow brighter. Asha frowns and shields her eyes as the whole sky is enveloped in bright starlight. The light spreads over the kingdom.

Hal, Safi, and his sister look out from a window and smile, letting the light wash over them. A few citizens still awake in Rosas watch the light in awe. Flazino, who’s tossing and turning in his bed settles as the light passes over him. We cut to Manuel and Amaya’s bedroom. As soon as the light touches Manuel he jolts awake, clutching his chest as he gasps. He gets up and grabs his staff, running towards the window. Charo yowls as he’s knocked off of the bed.

Manuel stares at the light and shakes his head. “No no no no-“ He freezes before turning around and running up to the wish chamber. He slams the door open and see’s the wishes shaking and vibrating. He slams his staff down, and magic flashes at the wishes.

“STOP!”

The wishes slowly settle down. Manuel stands there panting, pushing his hair back into place as the light outside fades. Amaya walks in cautiously. Charo follows her and yawns, stretching. “Mi rey, what are you doing running around like a wild animal at this hour?”

Somebody did it,” Manuel says, looking at the queen.

Amaya blinks. “Did what dear?”

“Somebody summoned a star from the sky,” Manuel replies, turning back to the window. “And I think it landed in the Uncharted Forest.”

“What?” Amaya blinks, more awake and alert now. She walks up to Manuel and looks out the window. “Who would even attempt that?” Manuel’s eyes shift. Before he can respond-

We cut back to the forest. Asha is still standing on the tree, blinking and rubbing her eyes. “What was all that light?” She slowly gets down from the tree, holding Valentino. “You felt it too, right? It was so warm and loving and joyous.” Asha frowns and shakes her head. “I sound ridiculous. Light can’t be loving or joyous.” Suddenly a ball of light zooms past, making Asha jump back and yelp. Valentino chitters and squirms out of her arms, running after the light. “What- Valentino no! Get back here!”

The light barrels through the forest, making several animals scamper away. “Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry- OW!” The light crashes into a bush.

Asha slows down, cautiously approaching the bush. She pushes Valentino behind her with her foot. “Stay back.” She parts the bush, and the head of a young boy pops out. The two stare at each other for a few moments.

“Hi-“

“AAAAAHHHH!” Asha screams and fall down, scrambling back.

The boy, who looks to be around 12 years old, flinches back. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He floats up from the bush and brushes himself off. He’s wearing a black tunic and pants with a long black cloak. The hood has little antlers. Curly blonde hair pokes out from the hood. The boy stretches and twirls around. “Man, that was a rough landing.”

Asha slowly gets up and takes a step back. “Who- Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Earendel!” The boy says, floating upside down. He grabs Asha’s hand and shakes it.

“Okay…what are you? Why are you glowing?” Asha asks.

“Well duh, I’m a star!” Earendel says as if it’s obvious.

Asha blinks in shock. “You’re a what?”

“A star! Haven’t you seen a star before?”

Author Notes

Generally I don’t have much to say about this chapter. I think it mostly speaks for itself, but I do have a few thoughts.

First of all, huge credit to Jonah Who Two on YouTube for the rewrite of “This Wish”. I thought it fit this story perfectly. I only had to change a line in the chorus and a couple pronouns to make it work. Check out his original video here:

So yeah, Sabino gets axed in this rewrite. I wanted to do this for a couple reasons. 1. It establishes the danger of having a wish crushed for later events. 2. It’s the perfect catalyst for Asha to finally stand up and do something. She doesn’t know his wish was crushed, but she knows it was stolen from him, and that he died without a chance to ever fulfill it or get it back. So she makes a promise to herself to never let it happen again, leading into “This Wish”.

With Asha’s song, I wanted it to be less about her asking for guidance from the stars, but instead guidance from her father. As well as generally ease her mind. So she makes her own wish. And accidentally calls down Earendel.

I’ll keep my thoughts on Earendel here brief since hell get a lot more screen time in the next chapter. With the last scene I wanted to give the audience a basic idea of his character. He’s established here as a sweet, naive and curious kid. His personality will really shine through in the later chapters, and he’ll be the emotional glue of the trio.

I’ll have more to say with the next chapter. We’ll get to “I’m a Star” and perhaps Flazino and Asha finally meeting. Depends on how the pacing ends up.

Thanks for reading!

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