Granted

When Ophelia’s Founder, Paolo, brought her to the Haven, he hummed a tune to her. Ophelia still remembers that tune and hums it to calm herself. Charlie helps Ophelia get ready for her mission and whistles along. He jokes about Ophelia taking too much stuff and then gives her a pep talk. Charlie goes with her to the departure platforms on Grant Tower where Squint joins them, giving Ophelia a locator device resembling a tiny acorn. When activated, it sends out a distress call. Ophelia puts it in her satchel’s last empty pocket. Squint also gives her a small vial of fairy dust to grant the wish. Charlie ties the vial around Ophelia’s neck, and she tucks it under her flight suit.

The prep team sprays Ophelia with magical camouflaging liquid, which should last 12 hours. Ophelia anticipates that the mission will take six hours of flying time and one hour to complete, so she thinks she has extra time. Squint reminds her that the magic is at stake, and she promises not to let him down. Charlie warns Ophelia about the distractions in the human world and tells her to focus on what is important. Ophelia goes to the launchpad, gives everyone a thumbs-up, and flies off.

Ophelia enjoys flying and is good at it, moving through the air with grace. Today, she decides to go higher than the guild suggests so she can fly faster. She hears a loud rumble while thinking about the wishes the other fairies have to grant. A small plane flies in front of her, but the noise keeps getting louder. Ophelia looks behind her and lets out a scream.

A big, white jet comes up behind Ophelia. She tries to fly faster to escape, but the jet is too quick. Ophelia dives to avoid hitting the jet, but the blast of air from its engines makes her spin out of control. Her bag opens, and she loses most of her things. The locator almost falls, but Ophelia grabs it just in time.

After escaping the jet blast, Ophelia starts falling rapidly. She spreads her wings to slow down and finally regains control. She checks her gear and sees she still has the fairy dust and the knockout gas. However, after all that spinning, Ophelia does not know which way to go. She decides to follow the jet that almost hit her.

The narrator interrupts the story to talk about the nature of wishes. Some wishes, like life or death, are too big for fairy magic. Wishes for world peace or ending poverty sound good but they are unsustainable. Some wishes, like asking for a lot of money or fame, get asked a lot, and fairies get annoyed by them. The narrator says it is better to keep wishes simple and know that they will likely not come true.

Ophelia follows the plane until it disappears from view. Using the sun to guide her north, she flies for another hour. Although the wish will call to Ophelia when she is close, she is not close enough yet. Ophelia feels tired and hungry, so she lands near a pond and asks the birds for directions.

All animals understand fairies (and vice versa), and most are willing to speak with them. Unfortunately, the birds at the pond are geese, and geese are not very friendly. These geese are no exception. They insult Ophelia, calling her an intruder and an imbecile. The geese are not helpful with names of places, but they know about landscapes like towers, woodlands, and lakes. When Ophelia asks about the closest towers, thinking they might be a city, the geese point her in that direction, happy to be rid of her.

Ophelia follows the geese’s directions and finally hears Kasarah’s wish. She feels like a complete outsider in the city, but she also finds traces of beauty in the crowded place. Ophelia follows the sound of Kasarah’s wish until she finally finds the coin at the bottom of a fountain. Unfortunately, the fountain is at the entrance to a mall. While not very crowded, there is nevertheless a constant stream of people around it. Ophelia must get the coin stealthily; she prepares herself for the task in a nearby bush.

Ophelia waits for a break in the crowd, but she briefly gets distracted by the fountain’s beauty. She sees people making wishes and wonders what the wishes might be. Finally, Ophelia emerges from the bush and flies quickly to the fountain’s edge. Planning to dive down for the coin, she jumps off the edge, but something swats her out of the air.

Ophelia lands, disoriented, on the cement walkway. She sees an older man in shabby clothes sitting on the fountain’s edge. Ophelia thinks about using the knockout gas on him but decides to first see what is happening. While she watches, the man begins taking coins from the fountain. He leaves with a pocketful of coins, including the one with Kasarah’s wish.

Although Ophelia estimates that she spent 600 days in training to become a Granter, only one of those days focused on granting wishes. The rest taught her how to avoid getting caught by humans.

Ophelia is concerned that using the distress call might mean that she never gets another assignment. So, instead of seeking help, she quietly follows the man with the coin, hoping to go unnoticed. The man enters a diner, and Ophelia uses a vent to slip inside after him. While watching him through the vent cover, she gets distracted by a family of three. The boy, Gabe, complains about the pancakes not being as good as the ones his father makes, since he adds chocolate chips and whipped cream. His sister, Anna, agrees, and their mother says that their father will make pancakes when he gets home. Ophelia is puzzled when she sees tears in Gabe’s eyes, but she returns to watching the man.

The waitress tells the man that he needs to pay for his food this time. He assures her he has the money and leaves a handful of coins on the counter, including the coin with the wish.

Ophelia zooms out of the vent, counting on her camouflage magic, which tricks the people in the diner into seeing Ophelia as a bird. She attempts to snatch the coin, but the waitress swings a broom at her. Another customer tries to swat Ophelia with a newspaper. As Ophelia goes for the coin again, the chef emerges from the kitchen and sprays her with a fire extinguisher. Temporarily blinded, Ophelia gets smacked by the waitress’s broom, sending the fairy flying out the door.