The splash of the wake hit the beach in a soothing rhythm. There were others around me. We were all in human form and yet not burdened with the physical ailments from being alive. The sun, though blistering, only left a hint of the true degree on all of us. I suppose not having the heat intensified from a bottle's glass managed to make the air seem cooler.

I was on a temporary break, as were the others. It was odd, I'd never realized there were others in my situation, wish-givers. We were all basically living the same day to day vocation of helping those that needed it.

Mary, the woman next to me in a clown costume, had been a wish-giver for five years. She had been in a car accident on her way home from a birthday party. It was her choice to continue giving far into eternity. To my surprise, I was the only one that was docked within glass enclosures.

Mary for example, was transported into television screens. So much was explained to me at this meeting, so much that I would never have guessed. Adam had been in the wish business since the Civil War. He had the rare ability to "pop" from object to object. "Everyone can do that." He said as Mary shook her head no behind his back. "It certainly helps in the event that you end up in a desert or thrown into a cellar. Heck, a spirit could end up docked inactive forever!"

"I spent ten years buried in a garden." I declared as my face turned a shade of embarrassment.

"See." He said shifting his gaze out towards the water.

"How do you escape the dock?" I asked.

"It’s a bit tricky and takes extreme physical as well as mental strength."

Adam grinned sheepishly. "I imagine something light, such as a feather then suddenly, I’m lifted. Now here’s where the physical strength comes in. You need to contort yourself opposite of the object you’re resting in. You simply slide through the matter in which you are stuck. It is far more difficult if you're buried. Going through deep layers of ground is unbearable. You feel every grain of matter and heaven forbid, you hit a rock."

"He’s pulling your leg." Another man said from behind. I turned my head in his direction and in a flicker of a second, I felt a sense of before. In a brief lapse the wind shifted and as quickly as that feeling surfaced, it was gone.

"I’m Robert." He said taking a seat near me on the sand. He smirked at Adam. "I have no difficulty with being ten feet under. I teleport through mirrors. Once I was in a woman’s clutch purse in a compact mirror. We were riding to Chicago on a train and she lost me in the wedge between the seat. It wasn’t long after, the tunnel collapsed. It was a cinch breaking out....it’s that stuff out there I have trouble with." Robert fanned his hand in the direction of the surf. "Water. I still haven’t figured out how to slide out when totally submerged."

Yet another person approached. It was a young girl, and she had amazing curls of dark hair. "We all have limits..." She began as she took her place on the far end of the group. "I can’t un-dock myself if there's snow around. As a rule if I end up in a place where snow is a possibility, I’ll jump until I’m in a more suitable climate."

"What happens if you leave someone that truly needs ‘the gift’ behind?" I asked.

"Oh, she is an amateur." Adam said with a hint of snobbery.

Robert gave him a look. "You see Lizzy, it’s all in the numbers. The more people you’re around, the more you can help. You’ve been in this form for how long now?"

I was hesitant to say, so I shrugged my shoulders.

He gazed at my dress. "From the outfit you’re wearing, my guess is the early 1900's, right?"

"Somewhere in there."

He nodded. "How many people have you granted wishes for in all of that time?"

I shrugged my shoulders not wanting to disclose that information.

"Six or eight?" He answered for me. "We do that in a year."

"Good heavens." Mary replied in disbelief.

"and......you don’t have to wear your exit clothes all of that time either."

Now they had my full attention. I despised the dress I was buried in. I always had. It was a gift from my old Aunt Clara. It was hand crafted in Belgium and I appeared as a penguin by the way it was tailored. My father insisted I wear it for a special occasion to please her, but I didn’t like it one bit and yet, I couldn't remember the specifics why.

"Oh, I’d love to change out of this horrible garb." I said as they all chuckled.

"You think I enjoy being dressed like Bozo all the time? I’ve actually scared a few people. They thought I was something out of a horror novel. Have you ever heard of such a thing before?"

"How do we do it?" Mary said, appearing more desperate than I.

"A simple trade." Robert explained. "While you're waiting, if you see an outfit you like better, you trade for it. It’s sort of fun in a way. You need to make certain the outfit is larger than your human form. You wouldn’t want to trade for something that doesn’t fit. Clothes will shrink upon wish granting, but they never stretch. Remember that one!"

"So." Mary began. "Am I to understand that if someone is folding laundry watching television I can trade off?"

Robert began to laugh. "No. That’s where the fun comes in. If you see someone wearing something better, you ask for it. Now, of course they can’t hear you or anything so the answer is always an assumed yes."

Adam piped in. "I traded a black tuxedo for some silk pajama’s once. You should have seen the man’s face when he realized..."

"There is a catch of course." Robert added.

"The person needs to be asleep or not alert, mentally. People that drink are the most fun to trade with. It plays with their memory so much, they give up the bottle completely."

"I’d love to see the person Mary trades with." Adam announced.

We all began to laugh, including Mary.

An old woman wearing a 50’s house dress approached. "Hi." She said holding a clip board. Adam, Robert, and the girl with curls said hello in unison. Mary and I both nodded our reply.

"I’m Granny," the woman announced. "I've been assigned as your new advisor."

"What happened to Mark?" Adam inquired.

"He managed a promotion."

"Good for him!" Robert said with an exaggerated tone.

Granny flipped pages and nodded as she studied the charts. Robert, Adam, you both have earned five and a half months. You can take them consecutively or stretch them out as needed. What is your choice?"

Adam said, "I’ll take my time off consecutively."

"I’d like the option of stretching them out." Robert said grinning.

"Okay." She said marking the information with her fingertip.

Her fingertip left lines and rows of typed lettering. It was very impressive technology.

Again she flipped a sheet. "Doris, how about you, I believe its five days?"

The girl replied. "as needed."

Granny nodded.

"Mary, you have acquired four and a half days." Adam busted out laughing.

"So she’s only helped two people, in five years." Adam said with disbelief.

"Now shush!" Granny said glaring at him.

"I’ll save the time to use later, thank you." She whispered with embarrassment.

"Remember, all you have to do is think surf, sand and beach. If you don’t have any work that is pressing, you’ll get your time off. If it doesn’t happen right off, as soon as you grant the wish, you'll get your vacation time. Remember, you have a choice on where to take your holiday.....most do prefer this beach to those in the human world."

"We’ll meet up in another ten years for a gathering." She eyed me then smiled with compassion. "Elizabeth, may I have a moment of your time?"

I stood from my sitting position and followed her as we strolled along the lake shore.

"I didn’t want to mention this to you in front of your colleagues...." She flipped the pages, then stopped walking.

"Two days and one hour." She commented releasing a tsk sound from between her teeth. "It states here that you’ve granted only two wishes in nearly eighty years. At this rate, you’ll be up for retirement in five thousand years."

"I didn’t know I could teleport."

"You didn’t know?" Granny questioned with disbelief.

"Why didn’t you show up to any of the previous meetings?" She asked studying my expression.

"I didn’t know about them, no one explained exactly how to get here."

Granny pointed at the paper, then nodded. "I see. You were a bit of a difficult case. Spoiled, unruly, bad manners....no one told you about the meetings because they were hoping that some time alone would teach you some humility. One thing you need to realize, you never want to get on anyone’s bad side in the after world."

She grinned and the harshness in her expression dissolved.

"Well. I hope you’ve learned a trick or two that will help with your new assignments."

I nodded.

"I wouldn’t let those men folk over there get to you. They act as if they know everything about the wish-giving business. They don’t know squat. You all possess far more abilities than you can imagine." She shook her head. "I want you to try and discover something on your own during this next ten year period." She chuckled. "I’d love to see Adam brought down a peg or two and you’re just the underdog to do it."

I gazed at her with surprise.

"Yes, these numbers could use some improving though the quality was excellent in what you managed." "I’m impressed that on your first attempt you brought that young soldier back to his mother. How did you know to focus on her love?"

"It just felt right." I responded.

"That’s wonderful. You must have some natural ability for this line of work."

She used her finger and scanned the page. "The autistic girl, Renee. You had conflicting feelings about that one." Granny then read further, her expression shifted from concentration to a lighthearted grin. "Renee Baker ends up writing a book about autism. She eventually helps others who struggle with the overwhelm of sensing too much. You did the right thing on that case... though you didn’t think so at the time."

"Keep up the good work, but try to do more." Granny said nodding at me.

"You’re going to need to shove off now. Your break is over...say goodbye to your cronies and I’ll send you on."

"How do I come back for the next meeting?"

"Did you notice that odd metallic clank like a school bell?" Granny asked.

"No, I never heard anything like that."

She gazed at the chart. "Oh, you must have really stepped on some toes. They had your alarm on mute. Okay, I lifted the restriction. When you hear a bell.. think beach, sand, and surf. Just like that, we’ll meet up, okay?"

I nodded. "Thanks for everything."

"No problem. Good luck and work on those numbers!"

I waved at my group of fellow wish givers on the beach. Adam yelled out, "How much time off did you get?"

Granny gazed at him, then smirked. "He’s so competitive."

"Shrug your shoulders..." She said laughing. I began to melt as she said, "We’ll let him wait ten years for your response..."

We both giggled as I fell into the warmth around me. I dissolved, then took flight into the great unknown. My mind shifted and danced as I swung upwards zooming as if a tiny bullet expelled through a gun barrel. I had much to consider as my new dock approached. I took notice of the bottle opening ahead, just at the tip of the horizon.