The whole class listened and stared in admiration, as Amiya Carter practiced her three solos. Each note came out so blissful and heavenly, everyone had to stop what they were doing and listen to her. Amiya closed her eyes, and imagined herself playing her flute on stage. The band concert was just two days after her birthday, and she couldn’t wait!

As usual, the class clapped and cheered once she was done. Amiya opened her eyes and grinned. She was so glad everybody liked it.

“That was wonderful, class,” Mr. Stevenson, the music teacher, said as he checked his watch. “…And it looks like that’s it for band practice today. See you next Wednesday.”

The students grabbed their instruments, put them inside their cases and headed off.

“Remember to practice at home,” he said as they left. “Concert’s next Friday.”

Amiya’s two best friends Vanessa Lee and Peter Georgins (also her crush) were outside of the building, waiting for her.

“You ready?” Vanessa asked.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Amiya replied. “Let’s go.”

Amiya’s home was only three blocks away from her school, but they had to make a little pit stop first.

“I still don’t understand why you’d want to do this,” Vanessa said. “I mean, it’s just a flute.

“It’s not a flute,” Amiya responded. “It’s the flute. The best one out there.”

“Why get a new flute?” Peter looked at her with that cute smile of his. “You’re already perfect at it.”

Amiya blushed. “I know that, silly! I just want to be even better.”

The orange, yellow, and brown leaves crunched under their feet, as the three made their way to Yolinda’s Magic Shop. Once they got there, the first thing they saw was Peter’s girlfriend, Tessie Lucoy, standing right outside the building.

“I invited Tessie to help,” Peter explained.

“We don’t need her help,” Amiya glared at him.

Peter shrugged. He knew perfectly well that Amiya did not like Tessie. He just didn’t know why, so he has been trying to get them to become friends.

“Come on you guys,” Vanessa chimed in. “We have no time to argue. Let’s go see how much that flute costs.”

Yolinda’s Magic Shop was very fancy, and full of nice stuff that usually came in gold, silver, or bronze. Small silver candles lined most of the shelves on the walls. Everything in the shop came with a certain amount of wishes. Amiya always thought of it as just a way to promote business. But word around the street said that the candles actually worked.

At the back of the store, right next to the cash register, was the flute. It was gold, and was glistening in the dim light. Yolinda Wu stood right behind the desk, burnishing a bronze pot. Amiya walked right up to her. Vanessa, Peter, and Tessie followed.

“May I help you?” asked Yolinda.

“Yes,” she answered. “How much for that flute?”

Yolinda giggled and grabbed her golden flute. “This flute is not for sale. It belongs to me.”

“Well are there any other ones for sale?”

“No,” Yolinda replied coldly. “This is a one-of-a-kind flute.”

Amiya felt a rage in her stomach. She had been saving up for months for that flute, only to find out that she couldn’t have it. She stormed out of the shop and ran home, leaving her friends behind.
*******************

It was Wednesday, September 19th, which was Amiya’s birthday. The band class threw a surprise party for her after school. Tessie Lucoy, who was also in band class, baked her a cake.

“We felt bad that you couldn’t get that flute you wanted,” she said as she brought it over to her. “So we decided to get something else from Yolinda.”

Tessie set the cake on Mr. Stevenson’s desk, and Amiya noticed the small silver candle, which was already lit. While the class sang “Happy Birthday” to her, Amiya thought of a wish to make.

She finally got it: *I wish for that nice golden flute in Yolinda’s Magic Shop.*

And then she blew.
*******************

Amiya walked home with Vanessa that night, since Peter was taking Tessie to the movies. That image made her swoon, so she tried not to think about it.

She felt the silver candle moving in her pocket. Tessie had given it to her after she blew it out. Amiya decided that she would keep it in her pocket every day from now on, just as a good luck charm.

They were about to pass the Magic Shop, when they spotted Yolinda standing right outside, holding the flute.

“Amiya, I’ve been thinking about how much you wanted this flute,” she said. “And I decided I no longer need it, so here.” Yolinda handed the flute to her. Amiya stared at it in shock.

“Oh yeah, and it comes with three wishes,” Yolinda handed her a piece of paper and winked. “Happy Birthday, Amiya. Have a good day now.” And with that, Yolinda walked back into her shop.

“I can’t believe she just gave it to you!” Vanessa exclaimed.

Amiya grinned. The candle had worked! She now had the golden flute!

“Come on,” she said to Vanessa. “Let’s see what it can do!”

The two girls ran off to Amiya’s house.

Once they got into Amiya’s bedroom, she started to play one of her solos. The new flute made every note sound a trillion times more beautiful. It actually bought tears to Vanessa’s eyes.

“That was amazing!” Vanessa said in awe.

“I know, right?” Amyia replied.

That’s when the paper Yolinda gave her caught her eye. It was labeled from one to three, and had notes to play on the bottom.

“You don’t actually think they’re going to come true, do you?” asked Vanessa.

“Of course not! The only wishes that actually come true are the ones from the candles,” said Amiya. “But let’s just try these for fun.”

“Okay,” Vanessa said. “I’m in.”

“Lets see…my first wish is to be famous,” Amiya wrote the word “Fame” next to number one.

“Now for the second wish,” said Vanessa.

Amiya tried to think of a second wish. “I could use an infinite amount of cash,” she said, and wrote that next to number two.

“Third wish?” Vanessa said eagerly.

“Hmm…” Amiya tried to think.

“How about everlasting life?” Vanessa suggested.

“That’s a good one,” Amiya responded as she wrote that next to number three.

Amiya stared at the notes at the bottom. “I guess I’m supposed to play these notes with my flute.”

So she picked up her new flute and began to play. As she played, the paper began to evaporate into thin air. Amiya didn’t notice, because her eyes were closed. And Vanessa was too shocked to say anything. Once Amiya finished, she opened her eyes, and the paper was gone.
*******************

After Vanessa left that night, Amiya’s parents gave her a new wallet for her birthday. Every time she opened it, she could pick out as much money as she wanted. Amiya came to realize that this wallet contained an infinite amount of money. She was rich!

On Friday, the night of the school concert, Amiya stole the show with her new flute. Everyone in the crowd stood up, and applauded after her three solos. And there just happened to be a music producer in the audience. His name was Ben Hunter, and he made Amiya famous. She and her family had to move to Hollywood to pursue her career of playing the flute. Amiya brought Vanessa, Peter and their families along with her. She decided to let Peter take Tessie along, too.

Over the years, Amiya’s life had changed completely. She had tons of concerts and made appearances on TV shows and on magazines. Everybody loved her. But soon it all turned into a nightmare. She couldn’t even step out of her mansion to get some fresh air without hundreds of fans following her around. Amiya grew miserable.

Meanwhile, Vanessa Lee became a lawyer, and made a pretty decent amount of money. Tessie Lucoy got a job as a maid in Amiya’s mansion. Peter Geogins, however, just couldn’t seem hold down a job. He made very little money and had so many bills to pay off. Although he really loved Tessie, Peter ended up marrying Amiya only for her money. Amiya was extremely happy, until she later found out about his affair with Tessie. She divorced Peter and left him out on the streets, and then fired Tessie. Vanessa was now Amiya’s only true friend.

Before long, Vanessa Lee passed away. But Amiya lived on, and was forced to find new “friends”, who also used her for her fame and fortune. Soon, however, they too passed away. Once a couple more years went by, Amiya just stopped going outside. She thought that she was too hideous to let anyone see her. So she stayed locked in her bedroom from then on.
*******************

It was September 19th, the year of 685032. At least Amiya thought it was. Or was it 685033? Whatever year it was, it was her birthday. Amiya no longer bothered to keep track of her age anymore. She hid in her dark bedroom, covered with a large black cloak, so that no one could see her face. She stared out of her window, looking for any sign of people, but all she saw was the pitch-blackness that the sun had left behind when it wore out. Was she the only one who had survived? Amiya felt around for her flashlight. Once she lit it, a chill ran down her spine as she discovered the skeletons of dead people lying outside in the snow.
For the first time in years, Amiya stepped out of her mansion and into the bitter cold darkness. As she trudged though the snow, she slowly realized that she was all alone. All of the other living things were dead. Amiya stopped walking at once, and fell to her knees. Tears ran down her bony, lifeless face, as she looked back on making those silly, selfish wishes. This was all because of that stupid flute! Amiya didn’t even remember what happened to the flute. She figured she must have gotten rid of it after she went into hiding. Amiya wanted to undo it all. She wanted to be wherever these other people were. But instead she was stuck here forever.

Just then, Amiya felt something fall out of her cloak pocket. She shined her flashlight on a small silver candle. She suddenly remembered that Tessie had given it to her after she blew it out on her fourteenth birthday. Amiya gasped as an idea popped into her head. She searched her pockets for a lighter, but there was no need for that. As soon as she grabbed the candle, it lit itself.

Amiya looked around the pitch-black atmosphere for one last time. She closed her eyes and made the wish…

And then she blew.