Wsher Woman

Miranda lived in a pod on an island in the middle of a lake. She spent her days tending to her wish dragons. Miranda, or Wsher Woman as the children called her, was the last of her kind. She was an empathic witch, meaning she could feel the thoughts of the dragons.

“Winsted, you have some news from the north,” she asked one of her dragons. Since they could not speak, they formed images that Miranda could interpret in human language.

“Sophia needs a wish to save her ailing grandmother,” said the witch. She stood, walked to the island’s edge, and blew a shrill whistle, causing a sizeable dark dragon to land beside her.

“Timothy, you must fly as quickly as possible to the northern village and seek out an ailing woman. Her granddaughter made a wish on the Morning Star, and you must fulfill it before sunset,” said Miranda as she caressed the dragon’s neck.

Off popped the beast instantly to grant another wish, and so it went day after day, year after year, until a dark plague came to the land, taking many lives and making the rest deathly sick.

Miranda and the dragons did their best but ultimately succumbed to the strain and fell ill. Unable to care for the dragons, the Wsher Woman watched as the beasts faded to dust. Miranda wished to follow, but fate had another calling for her, and she recovered.

Despair filled her days while dread consumed her nights. Sitting alone on the dock one evening, she was greeted by a tiny firefly. It assured her that things would soon change.

“I can not see how that is possible since all the wishing dragons have died,” said the witch. But she trusted in the signs and made ready for something to happen.

A month after the firefly spoke to her, the hope she held in her heart came as a tiny raft of reeds. In its middle, the floating parcel contained two brightly colored eggs. “Dragon eggs,” said the witch with a brimming smile.

Miranda placed the eggs in a woven basket and took them into her home. Weeks later, two wish dragons were born and, in no time, grew into adults, for that is the way of dragons.

As the land healed from the black death, children began to have hope and soon began to wish on the Morning Star.

“Well, my pretties, it looks like we have work to do,” said Miranda as she sent the pair out to fulfill the children’s wishes. As far as I know, they still grant the wishes of children who believe in the magic of starlight.