Wish Upon A Monkey's Paw
One man's journey from palm to heel
A Serene Moment
The light, the mood, the kitties… exquisite. Where’s my gold medal for photography? In this masterpiece, Zoro is taking a nap on one of my shirts while Sanji stares longingly at the outside word.
…Time for this week’s story…
Wish Upon A Monkey’s Paw
Mourning the death of his parents, Chang wandered Chinatown. He ate at their favorite restaurant and explored everything he could. He found his way into a shop full of strange items.
The small, cluttered space was packed with books, bowls, taxidermied animals, skulls and parts of creatures in liquid-filled jars.
Without a sound, a short, old man in a traditional Chinese garment called a changshan appeared next to him.
“Ni hao ma.”
“Woah!” Chang jumped. “Holy crap. Hi, sir. You surprised me. I hope you speak English because my Chinese sucks.”
“I can speak whatever you need. Hello, young man. You seem troubled. What is it that led you here?”
“Life has been a lot lately. My parents died a couple months ago and I'm failing in my medical career. I only did it for them and now I don't know what to do. I feel lost. They named me Chang because they wanted me to prosper, but I'm not. I'm kind of exploring the area and the stuff they loved and just… thinking about things.”
“What do you think will bring you peace?”
“Well, nice as it would be to make them proud, my life is falling apart. Maybe it would help if my career went better.”
“I'll be right back,” the old man said with a finger raised. He left and returned a moment later with a decorative box. He set it on a table and waved Chang over. From the box he pulled a small, furry hand. It's pinky and ring fingers were closed, leaving three fingers open.
“This is a monkey's paw. It will grant you one wish.”
“A real monkey's paw?”
“Indeed. The last person who found my shop and used this paw was a loud American. The entire time he talked about wrestling. The paw seemed to like him. It seems to like you, too. It did not like the first person to use it.” The old man handed Chang the paw.
“What do I do?”
“Think carefully about what you want and make a wish.”
Chang held the furry, skeletal paw, starting silently until he knew his wish.
“Maybe if I could heal people, that would help. That's what I want. I want my hands to heal whoever I touch.” A pulse of energy rushed through Chang’s body. The paw shook, then its middle finger closed.
“Your wish is granted,” said the old man.
Chang left with zest, eagerly anticipating work the next day. His first patient was an old woman. When he touched her, she pushed him away and jumped off the bed. Tilting her head back, she pointed a finger at him.
“Who do you think you're messing with, punk? You don't lay a finger on Death Metal Grandma without catching the pain train!”
She charged a shoulder into his stomach and attacked him repeatedly to no effect. When she hit him with the folding chair, he called in security to drag her out.
Although strange, Chang called in the next patient, an athletic teenager. He had a similar monologue and proceeded to slam Chang onto the ground. He climbed onto the bed and jumped off to slam an elbow into Chang, who rolled away and called security in a panic. He wore gloves for the rest of the day.
When Chang returned to the shop, it was gone. Exactly where it was the day before he now found an empty alley. After being repeatedly assaulted by patients, Chang was fired. Everywhere he went, whoever he touched became flashy and boisterous then attacked him. He was put in several submission holds and power bombed through two tables in the first month. Life continued to spiral out of control and he started drinking to cope.
Sitting at a bar with his seventh whiskey, he lamented how much worse his life was. A stranger snapped him out of his daze.
“Wow, you look like you've had a worse night than me. Let me buy you a drink, buddy.” The man ordered two drinks for them. Chang turned to the massive, muscular man who seemed to be living out of a gym. Chang was careful not to touch the man who introduced himself as Frank.
Chang asked why Frank had a bad night. Frank explained that he was having trouble filling a new role at work because it didn't fit his personality, but didn't elaborate further.
When Frank asked Chang, his response held nothing back. He explained about his parents, career, job, and everything that happened since his wish.
“She really called herself Death Metal Grandma and tried to spear you?”
“Spear?” Chang asked.
“A wrestling move. It's a shoulder charge into the gut.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“I think we can help each other out, Chang.”
“How?”
“I'm a professional wrestler. I've always been a baby face, that's what we call good guys. But the story has turned me into a heel, that's a bad guy. It turns out I suck at it. So, how about you come with me to work this Saturday and we can do a little experiment?”
“Sure, why not.”
Work for this behemoth was at a stadium filled with thousands of people. Chang got to go backstage and meet famous wrestlers he had never heard of.
“Alright, Chang, heel me!” Frank said when it was his turn to go onstage. Frank assured a terrified Chang he'd be safe. So, Chang touched Frank's bulging pectoral from a distance.
“Oh yeah! Dreamboat is dead! Nightmare Machine is here, and I'm going to beat my opponent until his dreams are haunted by my bloody fists!”
Frank roared and turned to the stage. His music played and he marched into the stadium like a force of nature.
Chang walked out of the stadium with a job working for the largest wrestling company in the world. Best of all, he found a place where his magic was a gift instead of a curse.
Every gift has its place, and Chang had found his.