The Wish Game

The Day That Changed Everything

It was February 20, 1998, when the selection officers came to my little village. We live in a small village near the border of India and Bhutan. My mother hid me and my elder brother in the basement of our little home and went outside.

The elders of our village were never happy with the selection procedure but they didn’t have any power in that case. Every seven years, whenever the officers came to the village, the elders would order all the children to be hidden.

I was barely 16, while my brother was 20. We sat in different corners of the basement and prayed “Please take those officers away…” Our parents told us that hiding had been the best option we had so far to avoid the selection.

We continuously prayed to the God of Magic that we remain undiscovered when suddenly the door burst open and a bright light filled the small room. I squinted as two hands dragged me outside. They threw me on the ground outside our home and as my eyes adjusted, I saw my brother beside me.

Our parents and the village elders were there as well, looking at us. “They have high potential. We’ll take only one of them. You CHOOSE!!!” I looked at my parents, who looked at each other and said without a moment's hesitation, “We’ll keep our son. You can have our daughter.”

I was clearly stunned but couldn’t do anything but look, as the village elders agreed on the decision to make me the bait from their village. One of the officers bent towards me and said, “Aadhya Shima, you’re coming with us.”

They pulled me to my feet and before I could ask my parents about the betrayal, the officers pushed me towards the cart on the opposite side. I looked at them astonished as to how they had just abandoned me. There wasn’t a single tear in their eyes and I thought, ‘Why…Why didn’t you try to save me?’

As soon as I was stowed in the cart, it began to move and I saw two more men sitting inside it wearing guard-like dresses. Upon noticing my hesitation, one of them said “Don’t need to worry so hard kid, we’re not any monsters.”

The seemingly kind words did little to relax the mental impasse that a 16-year-old would face when her parents just chose her elder brother’s life over hers. I admit that it wouldn’t have been a tough decision but the speed and the reaction did suggest something else.

The cart went on moving for a few days before stopping at the capital of the nation, Choire. The city was big and bustling with life. The guards took me to the local governor’s office.

There were a lot of people like me in a giant hall-like room. We were seated there with two guards standing right behind us. There were at least a hundred of us sitting there facing the stage. No one spoke a word and almost everyone had a confused look, like me.

A man came onto the stage and addressed us.

“Welcome to Choire, people. You’re all selected to be a participant in the 35th Wish Game that’s going to happen in two years. Only one of you will be able to participate in the game and, upon winning, be granted a single wish.

So, for the next two years, all of you will be evaluated and trained to participate in the game. I wish you all the BEST OF LUCK. May the God of Magic smile on you and bless you with victory.”

Our training began the next day. We were pooled together in a class and were taught everything from the basics of spells and combat to reading and writing. I was among the worst-performing kids out there, perhaps due to the fact that I couldn’t get over the fact that my parents abandoned me without any second thought.