The Magic Pyramid Phone

Lily sat in her grandmother's attic, dust motes dancing in the golden afternoon light. Her fingers closed around something smooth and cool—her grandmother's old iphone, tucked away in a wooden box shaped like a tiny pyramid.

"This belonged to your great-uncle," Grandma had said. "He said it could show you wonderful things if you believed."

Lily pressed the button. The screen glowed not with apps, but with swirling colors that formed into words: *Where would you like to go?*

"To see a real pyramid!" she whispered.

WHOOSH! The attic dissolved. Lily stood in a desert of golden sand, where a great pyramid rose toward stars that twinkled like diamond dust. But something moved near the base—a enormous bear with fur the color of moonlight.

Lily's heart pounded. The bear approached slowly, then did something surprising. It offered her a honeycomb.

"Friend?" the bear rumbled softly. It could talk!

"Yes," Lily said, accepting the gift. "I'm Lily."

"I'm Barnaby," said the bear. "I guard the Pyramid of Wishes. Children rarely come here anymore. They're too busy with their glowing boxes."

He meant phones and tablets. Lily felt guilty—she was always on hers.

"The pyramid grants one wish to those who bring a friend," Barnaby said. "What will you wish?"

Lily thought about toys, candy, adventures... but then she looked at Barnaby's kind, sad eyes.

"I wish for you to have more friends, so you won't be lonely."

The pyramid blazed with light. When it faded, a dozen friendly bears of all colors surrounded them, laughing and playing.

"You used your wish for someone else," Barnaby said, amazed. "That's the rarest magic of all."

Lily found herself back in the attic, the iphone in her hand. She noticed something new—her friend from next door, Maya, standing in the doorway.

"Want to play?" Maya asked.

Lily smiled and set down the phone. Some treasures were better than magic.

Outside, a moonlight-colored bear watched through the window and winked.