The space between us

Chapter 3_ The wishes we Don't say

The paper lantern glowed faintly under the stall’s warm lights, the thin frame trembling in the evening breeze. The vendor handed them each a small brush and a strip of paper.

“Write your wish,” she said, smiling. “When the lantern rises, it carries your hope to the sky.”

They each found a quiet spot near the edge of the festival. Lily and Daniel sat cross-legged together, whispering and laughing as they scribbled on their papers. Ryan crouched on the grass a few feet away, his head bent, hoodie hood half-fallen forward. Ethan stood apart, brush poised but unmoving.

He wasn’t sure what to write. Wishes felt… dangerous. Too much like saying something out loud that he’d tried so hard to keep hidden.

After a long pause, he wrote three small words in neat, careful handwriting. He didn’t dare read them again. Folding the paper quickly, he slipped it into the lantern’s slot.

“Done?” Ryan’s voice came from behind him.

Ethan turned, startled. “Yeah.”

Ryan held his lantern in one hand, his own paper tucked inside. “You’re so serious about it. What did you write? ‘Ace all my exams’?”

Ethan gave a noncommittal shrug. “Something like that.”

Ryan grinned, leaning closer. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll guess.” Ryan’s smile tilted, playful. “Something about a secret crush?”

The words landed like a stone in Ethan’s chest. He forced a small, steady smile. “You have a big imagination.”

---

They regrouped with Lily and Daniel, and together they joined the line of people releasing lanterns by the riverbank. One by one, the glowing shapes rose into the darkening sky, their light reflecting in the rippling water.

When it was their turn, Ryan stepped close to Ethan, holding his lantern with both hands. “Ready?”

Ethan nodded.

They crouched together, the faint warmth of the lantern brushing against their fingers. Ryan’s hand was close enough that Ethan could feel the heat radiating through the thin skin between their knuckles.

“On three,” Ryan said quietly.

“One… two… three.”

They let go at the same time. The lantern floated upward, swaying slightly before catching the air and rising steadily toward the stars.

Ryan tilted his head back, watching it go. “Guess we’ll see whose wish comes true first.”

Ethan didn’t answer. He couldn’t. His eyes followed the little point of light until it was just another star among hundreds, and he wondered how far a wish had to travel before it stopped belonging to you.

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Later, as they walked toward the bus stop, the night air cool against their skin, Lily and Daniel walked ahead, still chattering. Ryan slowed his pace until he was beside Ethan.

“Hey,” Ryan said softly. “You’ve been quiet all night. Everything okay?”

Ethan glanced at him. Ryan’s expression was open, unguarded, the way it always was when he was truly concerned.

“Yeah,” Ethan said. “Just… thinking.”

“About your wish?”

“Maybe.”

Ryan smiled, but it was gentler this time. “Well… if you ever want help making it come true, you know where to find me.”

It was such a simple thing to say, and yet Ethan felt the words settle somewhere deep, somewhere dangerous.

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