The long-awaited title of Nicholas Sparks – “ The Wish ” is released. Heartfelt and optimistic, the book is a story about love, the passion and commitment that make life worth living.
Don't forget that love is always stronger than fear. Love saved me and I know it will save you too.
When Maggie Dawes is sent to live with her barely-known aunt in a small town in North Carolina, she suffers from intense homesickness for her home and friends. Handsome and kind, Bryce Trickett is her salvation from boredom. Gradually, he shows her the beauty of Ocracoke and introduces her to photography, a passion that will shape her life in the future.
Years later, Maggie is a free spirit, passionate traveler and world-renowned photographer. She runs a successful gallery in New York and travels the world in search of the perfect shot. But now she has to stay in the city. And everything pushes her to the memories of a love that leaves vivid traces and changes her destiny.
Snippet
While I was sitting on the bench with already reddened ears and a runny nose, out of the corner of my eye I caught some movement to my side. I turned my head and saw a dog running with a pack of snickers in its mouth. She looked exactly like Sandy, my dog in Seattle, only a little smaller.
Sandy was a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Labrador whose tail never stopped. His dark caramel eyes were incredibly expressive. If he decided to play poker, Sandy would lose all his money because of his inability to bluff. I could tell what he was feeling at any given moment. As soon as I praised her, her eyes shone with happiness, if I was upset, they filled with sympathy. Sandy had been in our family for nine years-we got her when I was in ninth grade-and most of that time she slept at my feet. Lately she had been sleeping in the living room because she had a problem with her hip joints and the stairs made it difficult for her. Her muzzle was now white, but her eyes remained the same. They were still so tender, especially when I took her hairy head in my hands. Would he remember me when I got home? Of course you fool. There's no way Sandy is going to forget me. She will always love me.
Right?
Right?
I was so homesick that my eyes filled with tears, but I hastened to wipe them away; however, my hormones were raging and started insisting: I MISS SANDY SO MUCH! Without thinking, I stood up. I saw the likeness of my Sandy running toward some man who was sitting cross-legged in a lawn chair at the end of the deck. He was wearing an olive green jacket and a camera was propped up on a tripod next to him.
Stopped. As much as I wanted to approach-and yes, rather pet the dog-I wasn't sure I wanted to have a polite casual conversation with the owner, especially after he noticed I was crying. I was about to pull away when the dog's owner whispered something in his ear. I watched with surprise as the animal turned and hurried to a nearby trash can where it dropped the Snickers package.
Eha! Awesome!
The dog returned to the man, sat down and was about to lie down when the man dropped an empty cardboard cup on the floor. The dog stood up quickly, bit the cup, dropped it in the basket and came back. A moment later another glass hit the floor and I couldn't take it anymore and asked:
– What are you doing?
The man turned and at that moment I realized my mistake. He wasn't a man, but a teenager, probably a year or two older than me, with chocolate-colored hair and a twinkle in his eye. The intricate stitching on his olive jacket made him unusually modern for the area. He raised his eyebrows and I could tell he had been expecting me to come closer. In the silence that followed, I realized that my aunt was right. Here I could also meet someone my age who was traveling to Ocracoke. Apparently, Ocracoke's population wasn't just fishermen and ex-nuns, or old women munching on pies and reading romance novels.
It seemed that the dog was judging me too. His ears flicked, his tail vigorously twirled, which tapped his owner's leg, but unlike Sandy, who loved everyone immediately and would come to me to greet me, this dog turned his eyes to another glass and quickly repeated the previous action with the throw her in the trash can.
