When Wishes Come True

Whispers Beneath the Wishing Well

When Claire Rivers inherits her grandmother’s quaint cottage in the sleepy village of Fernbrook, she expects overgrown hedges and dusty teacups—nothing more. Yet in the garden, where ivy-clad stones form a circle around an ancient well, Claire discovers a tattered journal hinting at the well’s legendary power: it grants a single true wish to those pure of heart. As twilight’s glow dances upon rippling water, Claire’s curiosity blooms into hope. Could this hidden spring fulfill her deepest desire—to reclaim the confidence she lost in London’s harsh lights and the heartbreak that drove her here?

Dreams Carved in Moonlight

Drawn by the promise of magic, Claire confides in Tom Matthews, the village carpenter whose gentle strength has long stood by her side. Each evening, they slip into the circle, dropping coins and sharing whispered yearnings beneath the hush of willow branches. As Tom tends the cottage’s sagging beams and Claire restores faded watercolor prints in the parlor, their friendship deepens into something neither dared to name. Yet with every midnight vigil, shadows stir: a rival fortune-seeker arrives, determined to exploit the well’s legend, and whispers of an old betrayal echo through Fernbrook’s winding lanes. Claire must decide if she will risk believing in miracles—or protect her heart from disappointment once more.

When Hope Finds Its Voice

On the night of the harvest moon, flanked by dancing lanterns and the soft chorus of crickets, Claire stands at the well’s edge with Tom. As their reflections tremble in the silvered water, she makes a wish not for wealth or fame, but for the courage to embrace the life—and love—waiting beyond the garden gate. In that luminous moment, the true power of the wishing well reveals itself: not in granting fanciful dreams, but in awakening the brave heart already within.

. Joan Jonker is a bestselling author celebrated for her evocely atmospheric narratives, richly drawn characters, and her gift for weaving poignant tales of hope, love, and the magic found in everyday moments.