8th Tick: Dream
1016 Words
Rose had only remembered closing her eyes and falling asleep, that was the last thing she did. She then found herself somewhere else, somewhere odd. She looked around her.
It was no town like any other, the town was clean, people walked freely. Around her were high buildings that looked like they came straight out the storybooks. Restaurants were bigger and better, people wore fancy clothes that fit them. Rose walked forward, the other people did not seem to notice her. She could she their faces, their expressions. They were so happy, people who smiled and played with each other. There was something Rose felt, a hint of jealousy.
She reached out and tried to touch one of them, but her hand passed right through them. Rose simply looked around, curious as to what allowed humans to get this far.
“You like it?” Someone asked.
Rose turned around, seeing the boy sit in the air, just hovering there. He had a smile still, the slip of paper connected to his hat covering the middle of his face. He leaned in closer to Rose and said, “Do you like this world?”
Rose hesitated, the boy had always appeared whenever she was alone. It was obvious that he had ill intentions, but his intentions eluded Rose. He had promised her that he could grant wishes anything she wanted, he could give. Rose hesitantly replied, “I do.”
“No demons, no chaos, isn’t this just the best?” He raised his hands, grinning. “Hey, is this what you want?”
Rose stood there, not knowing how to reply. She had never been in a situation where she was allowed to chose how she could live. Rose took another look, seeing some people her age. They chatted happily, they spoke with each other and seem happy. They wore the same weird clothing, carried a bag and seem to have fun. Rose had a longing look on her face, how was it like to live like that? Ever since the demons took over, such ideas like having friends or having fun were thrown out the window. What was she doing with her life?
“Big sis, do you want to make a wish?”
Rose turned her head slowly, she had felt a certain darkness coming from the boy, but he still had his childish grin on his face. His brown eyes seemingly stared through Rose. Rose opened her mouth, but closed it again.
“How would I know this isn’t a scam?” Rose asked. “You might ask me to do something but not give me my wish.”
“So you do want to live in this world.” He said.
“Answer my question first.”
“Big sis, I hate lying, I hate liars, I hate people who are dishonest with themselves, why would I lie? Lying is a sin and sinners go to Hell.”
He had hovered closer, staring directly into her. The landscape changed, his eyes reflecting a bright red. All around Rose, the buildings and street caught on fire. The buildings crumbled, the humans screamed in despair as they burnt alive. The sky was tainted red, the temperature rose up to insane temperatures. Rose felt herself sweating, her skin was red and she could feel an intense pain in her feet. She ignored it and said, “Alright then.”
The boy floated back, a stone pillar rising out of the ground to allow him to sit on. The city returned to its original state, before it was caught on fire. The humans walked along as if nothing happened. Rose stood there, perfectly fine too.
“Big sis, what is your desire?” The boy asked.
“Desire?” Rose asked, confused.
“What do you want to do? What do you want to happen? What do want to have? All these are human desires, what is yours?”
The boy continued, “Gold?”
A pile of gold coins appeared before Rose, shining with a blinding brilliance. As quickly as it appeared, the gold disappeared.
“A relationship?”
A man appeared, then disappeared.
“Power?”
Rose could feel power surge through her body. She became aware of everything around her at the same time. But it lasted a second before disappearing.
“Eternal life? You own country?”
Rose stood there, thinking. She understood why he was asking her so many questions. He already knew Rose wanted to live in another place, but he wanted to also address anything else Rose might want as well. At least, that was what Rose thought.
She paused.
“How many humans have you approached?” Rose asked.
The boy tapped his chin. He replied, “As many that wish for my help.”
“So why are the demons still here?”
In Rose’s mind, at least one of the humans that wished for something would have wished for the demons to disappear. Despite that, the demons still thrived. Was it because the granter was incapable?
“Because they could not see through with it.” The boy said. “I gave them such power to complete whatever they want. They get drunk off it, they try to rule humans, try to be kings. Another human will ask to have the power to kill that human, so I give him the power, they just kill each other. I can grant individual wishes, whatever happens next is up to you.”
Rose nodded. “So as long as I manage it well, I can have a wish with no drawbacks?”
The boy had an insane look in his eyes. “Of course.”
Rose noticed, the way he described that kind of wish, it was as if he did not care what people did with what he gave, in fact, he seemed to want bad things to happen. He was a psychopath.
“I’ll make a wish.” Rose declared.
The boy’s face broke into a large grin and Rose was back in the real world. He hovered slightly above the ground, smiling. “Just wish upon my name.”
“What’s your name?”
“Third of Four Myths, WishEarth.” He replied.
Rose sat there, stunned. But it only lasted a few seconds before she said, “I wish upon WishEarth, I wish to live in a better place, a place where demons do not exist. A place where I can be a normal girl, live normally.”
The boy grinned. “I shall grant that wish then.”
Rose blacked out, next thing she knew, she was in a different world, with no memories of her previous life.
- Writer
