Twelve Years Old

[6 years later]

"Alright, you guys want a creepy story?" The teen boy began, leaning closer to the campfire, his face flickering in the orange glow. "There was this kid, seriously wounded, lying in a hospital bed. Everyone thought he wouldn't make it. But one night, these dark fairies showed up—five of them, led by their wicked little queen.

They didn't come to save him out of kindness. No, they needed a sacrifice. One of their own, a clockmaker, was dragged to the boy. They pinned her down and stitched her directly onto the child's forehead, as if she were a piece of fabric. Her blood turned into black smoke, sinking into his body.

The boy woke up, but he wasn't just a kid anymore. His wounds were gone, sure, but so was his innocence. His eyes glowed red, and something evil was alive inside him. The fairies? They just smiled. They'd saved him, but only by turning him into something worse.

So, next time you think about asking for help... be careful what you wish for."

The teenager leaned back with a grin, letting the silence and the crackle of the fire fill the space. As the young scouts yawned and got up from the fire, only Ru remained behind.

"Vaelan," Ru muttered, trying hard not to chuckle.

"Yea?" Vaelan reacted.

"You picked a good bedtime story, buddy," Ru grinned.

"A short story I wrote. You don't like it," Vaelan said, sulking.

"That's a bit of a strange story, don't you think?" Ru said, making every effort to avoid upsetting his bestie.

Vaelan replied with a frown, "Some stories need to be strange, don't they? They must provoke thought and challenge conventional norms. This story is about the complex journey of a boy trying to discover the line between good and evil. Demons, fairies, magical rituals... don't you wonder how it all fits together?"

Ru shook his head thoughtfully. "I mean, I don't know, man. Maybe you should give up being an author."

"I'm offended. Don't have another word with me," was Vaelan's harsh response.

"Okay, that was a little offensive. Forget it," Ru said and grabbed the marshmallow jar from Vaelan. Not satisfied, he grabbed the skewer as well.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Vaelan snapped at him.

"You've lost your appetite; you can leave now. We've built a campfire and created a great ambiance. I don't want it to go to waste," Ru said with a cheeky grin.

"You, my friend, are a bastard," Vaelan said, grinning.

"No hard feelings, buddy?" Ru asked.

"Even though I knew you had injured me fatally as a child, I didn't harbor any resentment towards you, dude. You think I'm going to end our friendship because you don't like my shitty story, huh?" Vaelan said, his eyes dancing in the flames.

Ru must have been emotionally moved because he reluctantly handed Vaelan a roasted marshmallow with a skewer and said, "Eat this."

Vaelan ate the marshmallow after blowing on it.

"It was poisoned," Ru said, acting like an evil queen.

"How would you like to stop doing stand-up comedy and perform as a haughty bitch?" said Vaelan, his tone being sarcastic.

"I'm going to be a rock star, man," Ru said, soloing on an imaginary electric guitar.

Vaelan suddenly asked, "Man, why don't you live in our house?"

"Because it's not our house, it's your father's house," Ru said, still playing his imaginary guitar.

"My father really does love you, you know," Vaelan said and put a hand on Ru's arm.

Initially, Ru felt hesitant upon hearing Vaelan's words, but he is now profoundly touched by this gesture of compassion.

"Man, I don't understand why you don't come and live with us. The orphanage is, I don't know, boring," Vaelan insisted.

"Because your stepfather is a pervert," Ru wanted to say, but instead he said, "I want to go to boarding school, and I have to study hard. But you have game consoles at home, and, you know, my mind wanders to them."

"And if I move into my own house, will you move in with me?" Vaelan asked, poking the fire with a branch.

"Maybe," Ru said, putting his hands on the ground and tilting his head back. His green eyes shone in the light of the millions of stars in the sky.

"What do you mean, maybe, man?" Vaelan said, looking at Ru.

"You know I'm cursed," Ru murmured.

"You're not; you're just a bastard," Vaelan said in a soft and sincere voice.

"I still have hallucinations, and sometimes I hear strange voices. I'm not sane. In short, I am dangerous for you, buddy," Ru said while looking at a shooting star. At that moment, he edited the imaginary text with his thoughts: "Comet, meteorite, not star."

"Dude, what on earth are you discussing?" Vaelan said, looking at Ru in disbelief.

"I'm high on sugar; I think it's the sugar," Ru said and sat up again, facing the campfire and then Vaelan.

Ru's suspicious looks must have made Vaelan uncomfortable because he went back to roasting marshmallows.

"Let's form a rock band," Ru said all of a sudden.

"Is that why you were gazing into my eyes?" Vaelan asked, smiling.

"Are you crazy? Why should I hit on you? You are my best friend," Ru said angrily. He got up from the campfire and said, "I'm going to pick flowers." Then he started walking.

"Dude, you can't be picking flowers at this hour," Vaelan said, getting up from his seat worried.

Ru turned to him annoyed and said, "I'm going to pee; don't come!"

"Well, beware of bears; you know it's deserted here, Mr. Lirui Xiaolian," Vaelan said with a smile.

"We can deal with bears somehow. Don't worry," Ru said and walked on. As he left the campsite, he looked back a few times. Could someone be following him?

No one was there. As he looked around for a tree to climb, he saw a pale gray light rising out of the darkness. He heard a terrible growl. When he had goosebumps, he had the feeling that the demons had found him again.

But he was already ready for the marathon.

3!

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