One Wish Granted

There once was an old man who lived in a tiny cottage by the sea. Every day he would walk along the shore enjoying the fresh air and scenery. He was a widow and his only companion was a stray tomcat he called Tom.
One day while strolling along the beach he found a small silver coin. It was probably not worth very much since it was only about the size of a dime but it looked very old and had strange writing on it. The old man tucked the coin safely into his pocket. As he continued his walk he wondered whom he could ask that might know what kind of writing it was.
When he returned to his cottage Tom was yowling and meowing. "You have food Tom. Do you want something else?" The old man held open the back door. "Want to go out?" But Tom did not go out. "What do you want? You have all you need, food, water, shelter. I wish you could talk to me Tom!"
Just then there was a little tingle in his pocket where the coin was. But when he stuck his hand in his pocket to retrieve the coin it was gone. He pulled both pockets inside out but the coin had vanished. "Oh well, easy come easy go, right Tom?"
"Tuna juice!"
"What? Who said that?" The old man was startled by the voice in his quiet little cottage. There had not been any other voices in his home since his wife had pasted away six years ago.
"I want tuna juice!"
This time the old man looked at the cat crouching under the small table in the kitchen. "What did you say?"
"Tuna Juice!"
The voice seemed to be coming from Tom. It must be someone outside playing a joke on me the old man thought. I'll just play along and see what happens.
The old man took a can of tuna from the pantry, opened it, squeezed the juice out into a saucer and gave it to Tom. Tom happily lapped it up.
"Mmmm… good… mmmmm… slurp… tuna juice… mmmm..."
The old man quietly stepped to the back door and flung it open hoping to catch the prankster but no one was there. Not even footprints in the sand.
Back in the kitchen the old man was beginning to feel a little woozy so he made a cup of tea and sat down at the little round table by the stove.
From under the table Tom mumbled, "Mmmm good tuna juice… wash my face… slurp… lick… wash my paws… wash my face… I'm a good boy…"
As the old man reflected on that mornings activities he thought the coin might have something to do with his hearing Tom's thoughts. Hadn't he said aloud, I wish you could talk to me Tom? Could that strange old coin have granted his wish then disappeared?
“I could have wished for riches or to live forever.” The old man said in despair.
“Ah come on, you got it good old man compared some,” Tom interjected, “You have a roof over your head, all the fish you can eat, the sound of the ocean to lull you to sleep and a nice warm stove. You have your health too. Plus, if you lived forever, you would never go to heaven and see you wife again. What more could you wish for? Except maybe a good friend to talk too.” Tom added with a smirk on his furry face, “I’m all ears!”
The old man thought about what Tom said and sipped his tea. “Well Tom, I have to admit, what you said makes sense.”
“Let us go for a walk old man, I have some ideas I’d like to discuss with you.”
And off they strolled, into the sunset.

The End