The Price of Wishing

Chapter 2

A boy whose youth is as fresh as a sprouting spring approached the Wishing Ghost from the old building. He wished that whatever he touches turns to gold. To make the wish possible, Haruto used his powers on him. Now, every time he touches things, it transforms into gold. The boy was brimming with happiness since he and his sister would no longer worry about the bills they'd pay, the scarcity of their food, and the lack of clothing.

Perhaps it was foolish of him to think that way, because every time he touched his food, water, and clothes, all of the things that aren't supposed to turn into gold, did turn into gold. He was suffering from hunger and thirst. He couldn't take it anymore. Thus, he went home and asked his sister to feed him. Without luck by his side, he accidentally touched his beloved sister.

The pitiful boy was lost. He didn't know what to do anymore. And so, he came back to the Wishing Ghost to take back what he had wished. However, Haruto can't return him to his old self due to spiritual rules. This greatly disheartened the poor boy's heart, so he turned himself into gold. As he touched himself, gold started to appear, spreading all around his body, and leading him to his death.

As Mae listened to Haruto's story, she started to feel sympathetic. "What happened after that? What about their parents? "

"Their parents were long gone. He's the only one who provides for his sister. It must've been devastating... having to lose a sister because of his mistake." His voice was tinted with faint sorrow.

Mae didn't notice the tone of his voice because the more Haruto narrated his story, the more she realized that there are grave consequences in every action, especially when you're wishing for your benefit.

"...I felt his emotions were drowned in despair. Weirdly, I can feel those things even though I'm dead. I remembered how he shined under the sun beside this window, the very spot where he turned into stone."

They were standing beside the classroom window where they could see the golden statue in front of the school's gate, facing the entrance. The sun is now setting and the light goes through the windowsill. Mae looked at Haruto and saw his expression seemed… sad... It suddenly became awkward.

"Alright then, we'll just take the cheaper way to grant my wish. That way, the price will not be as horrible as that!" Mae finally snapped the awkwardness.

"Mhm^^"

 ...

In the old classroom 

Mae is actively listening to Haruto while he's teaching. They used the teacher's table to write on and to place the books. The classroom is still very dusty and the books are still in disarray. They stayed in the corner of the room where it was clean. Mae felt unease while looking at the cobwebs on the other side of the room. Then, she turned her head to Haruto to listen again.

"Oh..! I see, I see.." Mae finally understood the topic. "Wow! I can't believe algebra can be so easy. The way you explain this topic… I couldn't understand why I didn't seem to fully comprehend my teacher's discussions. I'm impressed by your teaching skills." After hearing those words from her, Haruto flustered.

"You know, I used to wish to become a teacher someday," Haruto said as he sat on the old chair, trying his transparent body not to fall off.

Used to… Mae understood what he meant. If he didn't die at an early age, he would've become a teacher. Mae knew she shouldn't be asking these questions. However, she couldn't help it. "Haruto… Why did you die..? How did you die?" Asking out of the blue, Haruto simply stared at Mae as the room filled the atmosphere in silence, waiting for Haruto's response. However, no one dared to talk.

Mae took a small peak at the window, the sky was now tinged with orange and red. She felt warm from the sun as the light emitted from it passed through the window. Then, the room suddenly darkens, indicating that she needs to go.

Mae finally breaks the silence. "Ah, I should get going now. It's getting dark soon." She stood up and grabbed her books to put them in her bag. "I'll see you tomorrow?" 

"Mhm^^ In fact, you should be preparing yourself for a quiz." He stood up as well, floating away from the chair he sat on.

Mae paused her actions. "What? The teacher didn't mention having a quiz tomorrow."

"It's a surprise quiz in English, Mae. Now, hurry up so you have time to study at home. You wouldn't want to get teased again by your friends, would you?"

"How would you know there's a surprise quiz tomorrow??" 

"I'm a ghost. I can wander around the school and watch from afar. Of course, I would know!" Haruto exclaimed. "Now go home and study."

Mae began arranging some old books and putting them back on the shelves. She found another book lying underneath her armchair. Recognizing what the book was, it must be placed on the top row of the shelf. Since she could not reach the top row, Mae used a chair to step on. Suddenly, an Arachnid 6-legged demon appeared… A spider.

Mae hates spiders. She has always despised them. Its long hairy legs always give you goosebumps whenever you see one. Her number 1 fear… is spiders. Who knows what'll they do if they land on you? 

Unfortunately, the spider appeared on the bookshelf, suddenly jumped, and landed on Mae. Haruto is floating and laughing while watching Mae stupidly flailing her arms and randomly brushing her body with any signs of the spider. Until Mae slipped on the chair she was standing on. Falling to the ground, she could see how Haruto tried to catch her. Before she knew it, her body landed on the floor. Haruto didn't manage to catch her because- well, he's a ghost! Of course, his transparent body will just pass through Mae. Now, her back is causing a lot of pain and her uniform is covered with dust. Don't worry, the spider is safe and sound :)

The Next Day

"WHAT!?" A girl with aliceblue colored hair shrieks at Mae which echoes through their classroom. Mae's classmates turned around at them and stared. 

The girl is Mikaela Luxwell, one of Mae's classmates and her best friend. She has clear cyan eyes that compliment her silky hair and a lovely face with dark skin. They've been friends ever since they were born. Mae's parents and her family are good friends. The Luxwell family owns a huge company where Mae's father works as a trusty assistant. Mikaela loves to tell horror stories with her friends. It is said that those horror stories are from her mother's experiences when she was a student at Evergreen High School.

"How'd you get a perfect score again??" Mikaela peered at Mae's paper over and over again.

"I told you, I studied!" The latter said.

"I bet you cheated again." Another girl said, sitting beside Mae. 

She's Diana Montez, one of Mae's other friends. She has wavy blond faded pink hair that is tied in pony pigtails. Although she's an introvert, she can be bold sometimes. She is the sweetest friend Mae has. Well, not today since Mae usually gets the lowest score among them. But today, Mae's score surprisingly surpassed hers.

Diana scrutinized Mae's figure to look for any suspicious behavior. "She surely bribed Mr. Watapampers to get her a perfect score. I mean, he didn't even question how you got a perfect score. He can't even trust the smartest student in our class."

"Diana, how could you! I would never do that! He's too strict and scary. I can't bribe him!" Mae exclaimed, her classmates started throwing looks at them.

"When we played Uno the other day, you secretly hid your cards so that you would win. You also sabotaged our dice in Monsters and Ladders while we were not looking. When we played memory cards yesterday, you played dirty by putting signs at the back of the cards so you don't need to memorize them. You also cheated earlier when we were playing Chess!" Diana exposed Mae's little dirty tricks.

"Wait, what?! You cheated earlier!?" As Mikaela showed her frown face, Mae awkwardly glanced at them.

Aww, I can't believe I got exposed! Mae just said it through her mind.

Diana isn't wrong though. She almost cheated her way up to the school's highest rank with the power of the wishing ghost. But, Haruto became her tutor instead. Guess there are also reasons why wishes have prices.

"Look, I'm sorry I cheated all the time." Mae apologized as she turned to Mikaela and then to Diana. "But I guarantee you, this time I didn't cheat. I studied intensely at home and did not bribe Mr. Watapampers! It's impossible to bribe him!" Mae can't believe her friends are teasing her again, let alone accusing her! Well, they were right after all. If only Mae didn't cheat all the time.

"Okay, enough of that!" Mikaela shushed the group, stood on her chair, and turned face to face in front of her friends. "I have a new horror story to share with y'all!" 

"Have you heard of… Transmorphic Umbras? It's a spirit in our school that's disguised as one of your friends! If you ever fall into their trap… They'll turn 'you to one of 'em! Then, your whole existence in this world will be forgotten." Diana listened attentively to her friend while Mae stared at the clock above the whiteboard. The next period will be lunchtime after their class ends. They were just given free time to review what they learned from their surprise quiz.

"One time, my mother encountered an Umbra and she almost fell into their trap, but luckily my father saved the day!" Mikaela added.

"Huh... Say, did you make that all up?" Diana questioned.

Mikaela furrowed her brows, annoyed. "What!? No! My parents experienced all the paranormal activities happening here! In this very own school!" 

"I'm sure she just made that all up for bedtime stories." Diana begins to burst out of laughter. 

As the two began teasing each other, Mae was still staring at the clock, waiting for lunchtime, her stomach rumbling from hunger. Finally, the bell rang, causing the two to stop bickering at each other. Other students are getting their lunches from their bags and walking away from the classroom. Some were left behind to wait for their friend.

"Finally, it's lunchtime! Let's go eat at the cafeteria." Mikaela said as she and Diana got their lunchbox from their bag.

"Sorry guys, I left my lunchbox at my locker. You guys go ahead, I'll catch up with you two." As Diana and Mikaela were heading towards the Cafeteria, Mae went to her locker to get her lunch. Unfortunately, she'll have to pass 4 classrooms to get there. 

As she reached her locker, Mae began opening it with several locker combos. The locker opened, revealing various books in the topmost part of the locker, followed by her PE uniform, and her bag. She took the bag and pulled out her lunchbox. When she closed her locker, she unexpectedly saw Diana and Mikaela when she turned around. 

"...I thought you guys were heading towards the cafeteria?"

"Let's go eat on the rooftop," Mikaela said.

"Eh? But I thought we're gonna eat at the cafeteria…" Mae is confused by the sudden change.

"Let's go now!" Diana grabbed her hand, ignoring her question.

"W-wait!" Diana grabbed her hand firmly as they walked faster and faster towards the rooftop. Surprisingly, Mikaela catches up with her pace.

What is happening? Mae thought.

Extra

What Mae thought was true and pure, was just a dirty lie. Deceived by those words, actions, and feelings, she couldn't help but feel guilty and blue.