G...GOOD..B..BYE

The next morning, the trio- Gerald, Oscar and Isabella entered the Malvadogar early in the morning. Ignoring the curious gazes with their early arrival in the day, they headed straight to Reznor's place.

Opening the door of the hut, they entered the magical building. Isabella noticed how Gerald's face kept cringing in pain. The burn he had received in their latest adventure was spreading like a plague on his hand instead of getting healed.

Gerald had covered his burn with a cloth which he again hid under the long sleeve of his shirt. Isabella kept glancing worriedly at him, but he kept telling her to mind her business.

This was Gerald for you ladies and gentlemen, he would put up the face of an unbeatable man even when he was already on his knees.

They reached the fourth floor, where Reznor usually busied himself with reading or writing thick books on magic and his inventions or playing with Muffy.

To their surprise, the dark wizard was actually listening to some old tune that was being played by the misty figures of an orchestra.

"Are they ghosts?" Isabella shrieked in fright, seeing the whitish misty figures.

Reznor was humming onto the same tune, but Isabella disturbed his time of entertainment.

"Spirits, Isabella. Spirits!" Reznor moved his wand, and the entire orchestra of spirits vanished into thin air.

"There is difference between the ghosts and the spirits. Ghosts are actually-"

Reznor was stopped midsentence by Gerald when he dumped the bag of mushrooms on the nearby table.

"I am not interested in your useless lecture Reznor. Give me my money and I am out of this place." Gerald told monotonously.

Reznor thinned his lips under his moustache unimpressively.

The hairy black ball jumped out of nowhere on Reznor's shoulder.

"Ohh hoho... Muffy. See what our friends have brought for you!" Reznor showed the creature the bag of mushrooms on the table.

As soon as the creature's hidden eyes landed on them, it jumped from Reznor's shoulder and onto the bag of mushrooms while making some squealing sounds.

"Are you done Reznor? Hurry up!" Gerald tapped his right foot impatiently on the wooden floor.

Reznor sighed. "I don't understand how you both tolerate this man!" And he meant it!

"The exact same way I am tolerating you currently." Came Gerald's befitting reply.

Reznor did not waste more time and brought two bags of coins with his magic.

"Here!"

He threw one at Oscar, which was caught by Isabella and the other one he threw at Gerald fell at his feet instead of him, Filch tried to catch it, but the niffler fell on the floor along with the bag,

"Seems like you have lost respect to the only thing I thought you respected the most Gerald?!" Reznor raised his brow at him in surprise.

"I actually do not Reznor. But it seems like you have forgotten how to reward according to the risk."

"What do you mean?" All humour faded from Reznor's face.

"I mean this", Gerald picked up the bag and held it in front of Reznor. "is not enough for the risk we have taken to get your doggy his favourite snack."

"It is NOT a dog!" Reznor grittted his teeth in anger.

"Whatever that hairy ball is. We almost died there and thus I want more money. The greater the risk the greater the reward!"

"Gerald!" Isabella hissed from his right, but he ignored her.

Reznor watched the three of them carefully before he began laughing, throwing his head back.

"You are a funny man Gerald!"

"No, I don't think so."

When Reznor opened his eyes, recovering from his fit of laughter, his eyes widened in shock.

"Gerald!!" He screamed as Gerald held the bag of mushrooms in his hand and a matchstick ready to burn it.

"Gerald what the hell are you doing? Oscar, why don't you say something to him huh?" Isabella glared at both of them one by one.

"If you are happy with that much then that is your choice Isabella. But I want what I deserve for my hard work. Now you decide Reznor, more money or these mushrooms."

Gerald laughed in his mind at Reznor. How could someone be so possessive with mere mushrooms? And for what? For feeding them to his pet?

Gerald could never understand how people feel this imaginary thing called love.

Whatever it was, all he cared about was his money, and everything else did not really matter to him.

"Gerald don't forget who you are bargaining with," Reznor warned. His slightly big greenish eyes glared at the muggle standing with a broad chest.

Gerald took a threatening step to match Reznor's aura. "I don't believe in bargaining Reznor. I demand what I deserve!"

The two men locked their eyes in a staring competition. The air changed into hot summer in the deserts. Isabella and Oscar shared a concerned glance.

"Reznor, do you have a medicine or a cure for Gerald's burn?" Oscar asked, diverting the topic and the tension too.

"What do you want Gerald? A cure or money?" Reznor saw a narrow gap for manoeuvring his way, to get his terms right.

"Of course money!" Gerald replied without missing a beat.

Reznor inhaled a gustful of air while clenching his jaw. He got another small bag of coins out of thin air, which landed at Reznor's feet.

Gerald knew he did it on purpose. He wanted Gerlad to bow in front of him. Gerald was not unaware of Reznor's fake acceptance of him and Isabella. The only reason he tolerated Gerald was Oscar.

He wanted Oscar by his side, and Gerald was Oscar's soft point.

Blood shrewd wizard!

Gerald looked at, Filch who was waiting for this drama to end near his feet. As soon as it got a signal from Gerald, the niffler ran to get the bag from Reznor's feet. With less weight and smaller size than the previous bag, the niffler easily dragged it to Gerald.

Now having the two bags of coins, Gerald's face brightened in a smile.

Without wasting his energy in another word, Gerald threw the bag of mushrooms down. Muffy instantly jumped on it, unbothered by the tensions in the room.

Gerald left, and Filch followed.

"Did you see how arrogant and greedy that human is Oscar? I have told you this before and I am telling you this again. This man will get you in deep trouble, mark my words!" Reznor fumed in anger by the insult from a muggle.

Yet he filtered his speech a lot for the sake of Oscar.

"I think we are done here. Call us when you need us the next time. Let's go Isabella." Oscar did not wait to hear more as he began walking towards the staircase.

Isabella was in dilemma, yet she chose to follow Oscar than staying back and apologising to Reznor on behalf of Gerald.

As Reznor looked down at the three of them, exiting the place, he held tightly on the railing. Gritting his teeth in anger, he muttered, "You will regret choosing these two muggles over what I can offer you, Oscar! The time will tell!!"

"Was that necessary?" Oscar asked as soon as they exited the portal and landed in the human world.

The waves of the sea crashed against the rocks on the shore as birds flew above their heads.

"Yes," Gerald said curtly, still continuing with his walk.

"Gerald stop! You cannot go on like this. We need to talk!" Isabella's voice held the authority and command, which did not really surprise Gerlad or Oscar.

She was the boss, and they could not stop her bossing around them.

Finally, Gerald stopped looking at the open sky in annoyance.

"What?" He asked irritably taking a half turn.

"Gerald, what has gotten into you?" Isabella glared at him, putting both her hand on her hips in a fragile attempt of intimidating him.

"Oh don't be jealous Isabella. I can treat you a dinner from the extra coins I have got. No need to fuss over it."

Isabella's nostrils flared in anger. Without any thought, she picked the nearest stone and hurled it at Gerald, which he barely managed to dodge.

He looked at her as if he was watching the death god.

"Oh woman! Are you trying to kill me?"

"You still have a doubt?"

Another stone targeted his head in speed. Gerald had no time to react so he just waited for it to break his head. Fortunately, the stone paused in its momentum just an inch away from his head.

Isabella glared at Oscar.

Oscar only shrugged his shoulders before moving his wand to left, and the stone too changed its projectile and fell to Gerald's side.

"It's not about money, Gerald. It is about rational decision making, the skill you clearly lack. You could have taken medicine for your burn instead of that bag of coins. You know you cannot buy the medicine with those coins.

Reznor could have helped you, you know."

Isabella's hands still twitched to get the bigger stone her eyes had laid on. Although she doubted if she could lift that heavy stone but it would surely crush Gerald's small brain.

"I am perfectly fine! You don't need to worry about it." Gerald said dismissively.

Oscar, who usually stayed out of their fights, couldn't help but interject. Because for once, he completely agreed with isabella and couldn't be biased to Gerald like every other time.

"Gerald! She is genuinely concerned for your burn. Look at it. It is spreading all over your hand. It has reached your shoulder in just a few hours. Why don't you understand?"

Isabella had never heard Oscar so frustrated. He was the most calm and cool minded person she had ever known. And watching him in such a state tugged at her heart painfully.

Gerald, on the other hand, was getting more irritated with every minute of their conversation.

"Why do you care? You got your money and that's it! Now shut up and let me be on my own for a while. My head is pounding with your incessant nagging." He spat in irritation.

This was not new, no!

This was Gerald! He only had two moods, either good or bad. He knew no in-betweens. He would either handle such situations as calm as a cucumber, or he would explode like a volcano over a nuisance.

Having a normal talk with him was a dream for many.

"You know what, Gerald? You always behave this way whenever someone tries to care for you. You are always rude to people because you are scared of human touch.

Your insecurities and fear are pathetic, trust me! If you want to die, then fine! Money is all that matters for you over your life, right?" Isabella was so angry that she did not bother to apply a filter to her mouth.

She took the two bags of coins that Reznor had given them each and threw them on Gerald's chest.

Filch, who was silently watching their fight, instantly jumped down from Gerald's shoulder at the sound of the clinking coins.

"Take this too. And if it is not enough to fill your grave then we can loot the Longhurst mansion and pour their money on your dead body!"

With that said, Isabella stomped away from there.

Geral stood stunned on his spot. He and Isabella had been in numerous fights, but none of them had led to this. More than her words and outbursts, what caught him at his neck was the thin layer of moisture in her eyes, just before she walked away.

Gerald watched her ginger short curls whipping over the wind in a distance.

He then turned to face Oscar in the hope to make amends or perhaps apologise even.

But he was smacked by another blow.

The look of disappointment in Oscar's eyes did something strange inside his chest.

"Oscar-"

Before he could say more, the wizard vanished in thin air.

Leaving behind alone Gerald looked down in defeat. His eyes met with Filch, who was busy filling the coins in his pocket. But as soon as the niffler noticed the look of defeat and hurt in Gerald's big green eyes, the coin fell on the sand which is held.

Gerald collected all the coins, and tying all the four bags of them to his waist, he began walking towards the forest. His feet felt heavy, his shoulders were slumped.

Isabella's words, the tears in her eyes and the disappointment on Oscar's face haunted him no matter how much he tried to run away from them.

Filch had taken shelter in Gerald's coat. Gerald managed to get into the forest, but as time passed his eyelids began turning heavy. His vision turned hazy.

His body demanded more air. However, his lungs failed to supply their demand. Unable to walk more, Gerald finally took a rest on a large rock. He sat on it before stumbling thrice. He was sweating profusely.

The black blotches tried hindering his vision. Gerald closed his eyes then opened them only to repeat it several times, but the black blotches were too adamant to vanish.

Suddenly his throat became dry, and he craved water. Unfortunately, Isabella was not there with him to scold him first for ten minutes on some random thing and then gave him water to drink.

He missed her! Although he would never admit that out loud, he indeed missed her.

Gerald tried moving his hand, but the sensation in his hand had numbed to nothing. Worried, he hurriedly opened the bandage that Isabella had put around his burn. He struggled with the knot first but managed to untie it later.

As soon as he opened his bandage, Gerald's eyes widened in shock. The burn had gone worse than the last he had seen. He removed his coat first and then his shirt.

His skin was covered in many scars, and the marks of injuries from the past glistened under the sunlight. The bright sunlight scorched his back, but it was nothing compared to what he felt in his hand.

Gerald was shocked to see that the burn had now spread over his shoulder and almost covered a major part of his chest. The brownish-red burn was now creeping to his neck and the rest of his body.

"Aaaahhhhhh" He screamed in agony as the pain was unbearable for him.

Gerald had received many wounds in his adventurous life. But none of those pain compared to this one.

It looked like the burn was deteriorating his skin and the inner muscles too.

With this rate, he would look like a half burn man in just one or two hours more.

His eyes watered as he gasped loudly. Filch, who had come out of Gerald's coat watched him in panic. The niffler made noises at the top of its lungs, yet there was no one to hear its plea.

The niffler looked around for Oscar or Isabella, but they had already gone away from them.

Gerald could not sit for more time. His body was on the verge of giving up. The only thing that kept him struggling to breathe was his will to survive.

Gerald slowly leaned backwards until his back came in contact with the hard surface of the rock he had sat on.

It was hot under his skin, yet it felt good to lay down. Gerald's eyes looked up at the canopy of the nearby tree. The gentle green felt calming and soothing to his burning eyes.

Gerald fought to keep his eyes open, but the more he fought, the more they resisted. And finally, his mind too began walking the easiest path- giving up.

Perhaps this was it. It was his end.

Gerald closed his eyes, his upper eyelids met the down ones.

As he tried to maintain his calm, he could not help but think about his life. He had no idea of how old he was. Nobody was there to tell him when and where he was born. He had no idea of his parents, had no relatives.

He did not know what could be their problem that made them decide to sacrifice their newborn. He could never understand how could any parents just throw their own flesh in the mouth of this dangerous world.

Isabella was not wrong when she said he was afraid of human touch. He indeed was! And she hit the bull's eye.

Apart from her and Oscar, Gerald could not remember even a single face that had offered him that sense of belongingness. Not a single one!

And those two cared for him in their own twisted ways, were not there with him while he counted his last breaths. He himself pushed them away. And now, he regretted it wholeheartedly.

But it was too late. Gerald could see the darkness fading into the white light. The light that one finds at the end of time. His time was done, and it was now a moment to say the final goodbye to this good for nothing world.

Gerald had no regrets and that was what all really mattered at that moment. Of course, apart from his fight with Oscar and Isabella.

He wondered if Isabella would really fill his grave with coins, gold and money?

His brain slowly began detaching from the world of senses and he did not fight. He could not. He was tired, too tired!

"Gerald!"

A feminine voice called his name. It had no panic, no shock or no fear in it. It was just a plain and simple call. A call that tried pulling him out of that dark depth. But it was late, too late.

Not even angels could save him now.

"G-good...b-bye"

That was the last word that escaped from his lips softly.