The Wishes That Came a Day Late

On the night of December 31, the whole village gathered in the square around the old stone well. It was an old tradition: before midnight, each person dropped a coin into the dark water and made one wish. Rafael stood in line with a coin in his hand. He already knew what he would wish for. It hadn't rained for seven weeks, and his bean seeds were still waiting in their sacks, because the ground was as hard as a brick.

The well always gave people what they asked for, but never on time. Every wish came true exactly one day later, to the minute. Two years ago, the baker had wished for a new oven before the New Year's party. It arrived the next night, when all his cakes had already burned in the old one. "If you want sunshine on your wedding day," people joked, "get married the day after." And since the well only listened on the last night of the year, most people had stopped taking it seriously.

Then the people in front of Rafael began to make their wishes, and he noticed something. "Please, let the band get here soon," said a young woman. "I wish the musicians would come," said the man behind her. The band's bus from the city had broken down on the mountain road, and the square, which should have been full of music, was completely silent.

Rafael looked at the empty stage. Suddenly he laughed out loud. Everyone wished for tonight. Nobody wished for tomorrow. But tomorrow was the one thing the well was good at! If it rained tomorrow night, he would plant on the morning of January 2, in soft, wet ground. He stepped up to the well, held the coin over the water, and said clearly, "I wish for rain. A lot of it."

Then, because a party without music is a sad thing, he walked home and came back with his grandfather's old accordion. He only knew five songs, so he played them again and again, and people danced anyway.

The band arrived the next night at a quarter to twelve, tired, dusty, and a whole day late, and found the square empty. A few minutes later, the first heavy drops began to fall. By morning, the ground was soft and dark, and Rafael was already in his field with his sacks of seeds. When his neighbor asked how he had done it, he smiled. "It's simple. Everyone asks the well for today. I asked it for tomorrow."