The Last Wish

She was dying, and she knew it. She had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and the doctors had given her only a few months to live. She had no family, no friends, and no one to care for her or mourn her. She had spent her life working hard, saving money, and avoiding attachments. She had never traveled, never loved, never dreamed. She had nothing to show for her existence, except a bank account full of cash and a house full of stuff.

She decided to do something different with her remaining time. She decided to make a wish. She had heard of a website that claimed to grant any wish, for a price. She was skeptical but curious. She had nothing to lose, and maybe something to gain. She logged on to the website and typed in her wish.

“I wish to see the world.”

She clicked on the submit button and waited for a response. A message popped up on the screen.

“Your wish has been accepted. The price is $1,000,000. Please confirm your payment details.”

She hesitated for a moment, then entered her credit card information. She had more than enough money to pay for the wish, and she didn’t care what happened to it after she was gone. She clicked on the confirm button and waited for another message.

“Your wish has been granted. Please check your email for further instructions.”

She opened her email and found a message from the website. It contained a link to a video file. She clicked on the link and watched the video.

It was a montage of scenes from around the world, showing different places, people, and cultures. It was beautiful, breathtaking, and mesmerizing. She saw mountains and oceans, forests and deserts, cities and villages, monuments, and ruins. She saw people of different races, religions, languages, and lifestyles. She saw joy and sorrow, love and hate, peace and war. She saw life in all its diversity and complexity.

She watched the video for an hour until it ended with a message.

“Thank you for using our service. We hope you enjoyed your wish. Goodbye.”

She closed the video file and felt a pang of sadness and regret. She wished she could have seen those places in person, not just on a screen. She wished she could have met those people, not just watched them from afar. She wished she could have lived those experiences, not just imagined them.

She realized that she had wasted her life and that her wish was too little, too late.

She was dying, and she knew it.

She wished she could live again.