“The Year the Sky Forgot to Listen,” by William Zhang: April 2025 Runner Up

In Windmere, the sky turned violet one day a year, when wishes could be made real — if sealed in a jar before the color faded.

Seventeen-year-old Maren sat in the fields. She’d always wished small: a passing grade, a sunny fair day. But this year, she wanted more.

"I wish for an adventure big enough to change my life," she wrote.

She smiled at the boldness, and reached to seal her wish in her jar. But a wind gust yanked the paper from her fingers. Maren gasped as it fluttered away, glowing and enlarging every second.

A loud crack split the violet air in two and a huge, shimmering door emerged — then burst open. Out stumbled a boy Maren’s age, soaking wet and furious.

“Where am I?” he shouted. “I was fishing!”

Maren stared, speechless.

Creatures began crawling through the door: beasts with many eyes, flowers floating like jellyfish. The air smelled of salt and magic.

People screamed and ran. The violet sky began to fade back to blue — the door still wide open.

Maren’s heart hammered. This is my fault. She ran toward the chaos.

The boy demanded: “Did you do this?”

“I—I didn’t mean to!” Maren cried. “I wanted something exciting to happen! Can you help me fix it?”

Together, they grabbed jars from the abandoned field and sealed them with new wishes: Send the creatures home. Close the shimmering door. One by one, the creatures were sucked back and the huge door slammed shut.

The boy looked at Maren, stunned. “Well,” he said, “you got your adventure.”

Maren laughed, breathless. “Yeah. Maybe... next year, I’ll wish for a nap.”

"I'm Kellan," he said, offering a dripping hand.

"Marin," she replied. "Looks like you're stuck here until next year."

He grinned. "Could be worse."

"The sky wasn’t ready for your wish," Kellan said. "Sometimes, magic doesn’t listen or listens wrong."

Overhead, the sky turned a deep, thoughtful blue — as if it were still listening, somewhere far away.

As they turned to leave, Maren spotted a tiny floating flower bobbing in the grass, unseen by anyone else. It winked at her.