Three Wishes, Three Tragedies

A little girl was sighing as she did housework. It seemed that this was all she did. Her father always drank the nights away, and her mother was a shameless shrew. Her brother was worse than useless; in fact, he was the cause of much of the chores.

So the little girl, Kayla, decided to leave her home and find a new family.

After leaving, she quickly got lost in the woods near her former home. Soon she lost hope of leaving, and sat down and wept amidst the dark trees.

A voice aked quietly, "Why are you crying?"

Kayla looked up. "Who are you?" she asked, worried she might have gotten herself into trouble.

"I am simply here to make your life better. I saw your family, and I had hoped I might be of ....assisstance." A small creature stepped out; it was a fairy. He was no more than six inches high, with a mop of red hair, green eyes, a score of freckles, and a wicked smile.

"But what can you do?" sniffled the miserable Kayla.

"Dear child, I can grant you three wishes. You may wish for anything in the entire world, and you shall have it. The wishes are unreversable, though, even by using another wish. What do you say?"

Kayla was thrilled, and immediately wished for a new home and family that was completely unlike her old ones. She found herself in a large mansion. The mother was quiet and beautiful, the father was strong and brave, and her new brother was a paramour of virtue. Soon after living with them, Kayla found problems. They were too busy showing off for others that they ignored her. She wasn't pretty, talented, or intelligent enough to fit in with them.

Yet she couldn't have her old family back; this violated the rule of the wishes.  Soon Kayla found herself dreaming of her old family regardless, and called the fairy back, desperate for some sort of love, even if she had no family to give it to her.

"I wish to be loved by the most handsome prince in the world," she stated, the lack of attention breaking her.

And a handsome prince appeared before the plain Kayla. He kissed her once, twice, and again, and Kayla begged for him to stop. This type of love was not what she had meant. But soon the prince had his way with her, and left her sobbing in the mansion.

And Kayla could not wish for her innocence back, because the fairy had decreed it so.

So now Kayla had two negligent families she did not want, and memories she could not bear. After awhile, she began to wonder about using the last wish. One night, while the fantastic family was out, Kayla knew what she had to do.

"Fairy," she called out dejectedly. The little red-haired pixie appeared, simpering disgustingly. "What's the matter?" he asked in a mock-concerned voice. "Wishes not to your liking?" Kayla nodded. "You set me up," she said accusingly.

The fairy looked offended. "Of course not! You set yourself up! Everyone knows that you have to fix your own problems. You can't just let someone fix them for you. That's logic," he concluded. Kayla blinked, that hadn't occurred to her before. "But why couldn't I reverse all of this," she asked.

The fairy responded somewhat pointedly with, "Average people can't change their mistakes, so what makes you so special? Aren't three fabulous wishes enough for you?"

Tearfully, Kayla smiled. "I guess you're right. Well, I know my wish, then. It...solves everything, I think."

The fairy smiled. "Then wish it, dear child."

"I wish I were dead."