Wishing Trees

The cherry blossom Wishing Trees at the Richmond Night Market. Photo by David Lansing.

I spent some more time at the Richmond Night Market this weekend (so much food, so little time). The Care for Life Foundation, a charity focused on helping intercity youths in China, has this amazing Wishing Tree Pavilion. They have set up a couple dozen faux cherry blossom trees and if you make a $5 donation, you can write your wish on a piece of paper and hang it on one of the branches of the cherry trees, which look quite spectacular at night.

There are a lot of the usual wishes (“For Peace and Happiness for All”; “I wish everyone to have a great year”) as well as the expected pleas for “me to get through this quarter of college without flunking out” or “to make mom healthy again.”

But the ones I found most evocative were the plaintive love letters: “I wish I can win my love back.” Or my favorite: “Max –For us to meet again in a different place + time.  jen”

It’s like the beginning of a short story or a movie, isn’t it? Can’t you just see this trio of college buds—two roommates and one of the guy’s girlfriend—wandering  around the Night Market and the two guys goes off to get the girl some dim sum and while they’re gone, she writes down her wish and pins it to the tree? And then they all sit under the note and eat their sushi? Without the guy she really loves ever knowing what she’s done? Of course, sooner or later he’d have to find out? Right?