The Third Wish
An absent-minded passerby—or even just someone too deep in thought—would hardly have noticed that, among two fallen branches, one was far longer, thinner, and curled into a strange ring.
Most people simply walked past. Who cared what lay underfoot, as long as it wasn't dangerous? Maris, on the other hand, would've kicked it just for fun and laughed at finding something to punt.
But as time passed, this… let's call it a tail… began to shimmer with its familiar metallic sheen. When it had first dropped to the ground, it mimicked tree bark, but now it shed its disguise and returned to its usual form. And even that wasn't enough.
Rust spread across its metal surface, eating it away in an instant, until only an ordinary tuft of animal-like hair remained. The hairs unraveled strand by strand, scattering in the breeze, until just one stayed behind. That single hair rose gracefully into the air.
It didn't fly as fast as a shuttle, but it could've raced a fighter jet and held its own. Nothing stood in its way. Soon, it was nearly at the stratosphere—the ozone layer that shields our planet from ultraviolet light.
It swooped there a few times, as if shaking its head, then suddenly changed its mind and plunged downward like a stone. Falling was even easier. One moment it was in the sky, the next—buried in a small mound of earth, vanishing into it as if absorbed. And then…
At the scientific institute, chaos broke out.
There worked the renowned Professor of Astronomy—her official title and degree—who carried another, far more important title for herself: Erich's Mom.
She was at her desk, happily running calculations on her tablet, humming with satisfaction when everything clicked. That's when she was shaken—literally—by her colleague from the Climate Department, head of Ecology, who was panicking.
"This is impossible! Do you see what's happening? What we predicted thousands of years in the future is unfolding right before our eyes!"
"What? What could be that important?" The Professor-Mom snapped out of her math.
"See for yourself!"
Colleagues from every department clustered around, gasping and exclaiming at the data. Earth's axis was tilting wildly, rocking back and forth as though the planet itself had gone mad.