I recently volunteered to help with the first ever carnival in Grolejac. Aside from the usual arrangement of chairs, balloons and food & drink stands, one of my jobs was to prepare Chinese Lanterns.
The kids, ages 3+, had designed postcards around the theme of what they wish for the future. The idea was that we'd tape some postcards to the lantern and then that evening they'd be released into the sky.
The thing about the sticking was that we had to do it so that the lanterns were not lopsided. If you've ever tried to light and release a Chinese lantern, you'll know that it's not as easy as it sounds. With the added complication of postcards and tape, the balance has to be just right.
On the subject of balance, I was particularly pleased by the first lantern I adorned. From the selection of postcards available, one caught my eye. In colourful crayon and careful script, it said, in French:
"I wish that nobody in Africa was suffering because they didn't have enough to eat."
Hand on chest. It's a beautiful card, with an elegant border, like a rainbow. I'm really liking this idea. A message of hope from the mouth and hand of one so young and so innocent.
The next card I pick up says:
"I wish for a horse."
Somewhere - in a tree in someone's garden, setting fire to someone's chimney or tangled up in the wires of an electricity pylon - are these two wishes for the future. It's a beautiful thing.
I thought about what I'd wish for. I'm not really a 'wishing for world peace' kind of guy. WTF does that mean? I'm not sure, but as a horror writer I know how this wish stuff goes down. People get what they asked for and it's always a bit skewed. They wish for a hot car and then they get arrested for grand theft auto. They wish for a wife to return from the dead and she emerges from the mortuary, burning with the agony of having being embalmed the day before. They wish for a penis that touches the floor and someone cuts their legs off.
Wishing for a horse would create a lot of shit too. A lot of shit.
So what do I wish for?
... three more wishes, perhaps.
And a shovel.
