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In a city teeming with life, there lived a girl named Julie. Julie was a youthful flower, blooming with delicate beauty and a dreamy soul, but her heart carried a heavy secret: a deep love, bordering on madness, for a boy named Jayne. Jayne, with his charming smile and sparkling eyes, was the center of her small world. She saw him everywhere — on their street, in the bustle of the market, even in her dreams that crept in silently.
But this love was one-sided, like a sun rising over a land that gives no warmth in return. Jayne would pass by her, laugh with his friends, exchange glances with others, while Julie watched him from afar, her heart bleeding in silence. She longed for a single look, a passing word, a simple gesture that would make her feel seen in his world. But he never saw her. To him, she was just a shadow, another face in the sea of faces he passed by every day. Julie tasted the bitterness of unrequited love, a sharp feeling of loneliness, as if she lived in a glass world that separated her from everything she longed for. The nights were longer, the dreams less joyful, and each morning brought with it the same old pain.
And in the midst of her despair, a strange whisper reached her ears — an old tale quietly passed down by grandmothers: about an old woman who lives deep within a distant forest, said to possess the power to grant wishes. Julie never believed in superstitions, but despair pushes a person to cling to any glimmer of hope. This was her last hope.
Julie didn't hesitate for a moment. On the following morning, before the sun had fully risen, she packed a small bag and left her house, her heart trembling between hope and fear. She began her journey, asking here and there, following the mysterious signs that led her toward the forest path.
The forest was desolate, its trees intertwined, casting a constant darkness over the ground even in broad daylight. With every step, the whispers of the wind through the dry leaves sounded like faint voices. The ground was damp, and the scent of soil mixed with the aroma of wild plants. A shiver ran down Julie's spine, but the image of Jayne — and her love for him — was the fuel that kept her going.
She walked for hours, ignoring the branches that slapped her face and avoiding the tangled roots that nearly tripped her. The darkness grew thicker, and the sounds clearer: the rustle of wings, the crunch of leaves, and at times, what seemed like faint laughter echoing in the depths.
Until she saw it — from afar, in the midst of the dense darkness — a faint glimmer of light. A small hut, almost hidden among the trees.
Julie rushed toward it, her heartbeat quickening. She reached the worn wooden door and knocked on it hesitantly.
A hoarse voice came from inside, "Who's there?"
The door creaked open slowly, revealing an old woman, her face carved with wrinkles like a map of a long-past age, and her eyes held a strange glint. When she saw Julie, her lips spread into a wide smile that revealed only a few teeth, and she let out a low chuckle:
"No one has visited me in a long time… You've come for a wish, haven't you?"
Julie answered eagerly, her words tumbling out: "Yes! Please… help me!"
The old woman nodded and let Julie inside the hut. The place was filled with the scent of dried herbs and old incense. The furniture was simple, but each piece seemed to hold countless stories from centuries past.
Julie sat on a wobbly wooden chair and said nervously, "I heard… you grant wishes."
"Yes," the old woman replied, sitting across from her, her piercing eyes fixed on Julie. "What is your wish?"
"I love someone," Julie began, her voice trembling, "His name is Jayne. I want him to love me back, to see me, to love me… and to marry me."
The old woman laughed again — a laugh devoid of warmth. "A simple wish! Is that all you want?"
"Yes, just that!" Julie said with excitement, surprised at how easy it sounded.
"Alright," said the old woman as she slowly rose to her feet. "Wait here."
She went into one of the back rooms and returned moments later carrying an old piece of paper and a quill. "Sign here," she said, pointing to the bottom of the paper. Julie didn't bother to read what was written. Her eyes sparkled with hope, and her heart danced with joy. She grabbed the pen and quickly signed her name, not noticing the tiny letters written in a strange language at the corners of the paper.
The old woman took the paper, her mysterious smile widening. "Well then, your wish has been granted."
Julie was overwhelmed with happiness. She thanked the old woman over and over, then rushed out of the hut, leaving the desolate forest behind her, and hurried home, barely able to believe what had just happened.
And indeed, only a few days passed before miracles began to unfold. Jayne, who had never noticed her before, started to glance her way. Then he began trying to talk to her—shy words at first, followed by longer conversations. Before long, he confessed his love for her—a love that seemed to have sprung out of nowhere—a fast and wild love story that ended with his proposal.
Julie was at the peak of happiness, as if she were living a rosy dream. The wedding was joyful, and she began her new life with Jayne, the life she had always dreamed of.
But happiness was a mask that hid a darker chapter behind it. Bit by bit, the threads of her life began to unravel. First, her beloved mother fell ill with a mysterious disease that doctors couldn't cure—and passed away in silence. Then her father, who had been her support, followed. Then her sister, the light of her life. Each member of her family, one after the other, began to vanish from her world in painful and unexpected ways: an accident, a sudden illness, a mysterious disappearance.
Julie was crumbling with every loss, wondering why such a cruel fate was chasing her.
Then came the final blow. One night, Jayne came home from work, complaining of a pain in his heart. By morning, Julie found him cold, motionless… he was dead. The love of her life, the person she had wished for more than anything else—was gone.
Her world collapsed. She screamed, cried, begged—but none of it changed a thing.
Her tragedy didn't end there. After Jayne's death, their wealth began to vanish. She lost her luxurious home, then her savings, until she had nothing left. No home, no money, no family, no love. Completely alone, she sat in the cold alleys of the city, remembering her former life—a life that now felt like a distant dream.
At the depths of despair, with nothing left to lose, she decided to return to the old woman's hut—not to ask for another wish, but to seek an answer.
This time, her steps were heavier, and her heart weighed down by sorrow and regret. She reached the forest, which now looked darker and more desolate than ever before. The hut was there, waiting for her like a silent witness to her tragedy.
She knocked on the door, this time without hope — only with deep despair. The door opened, and she found the old woman inside, packing her things, as if she had been expecting Julie's arrival. She was holding a small bag, a wooden cane, and on her face was that same mysterious smile that never left her.
"Where are you going?" Julie asked, her voice barely audible.
"My work here is done," the old woman replied calmly, her eyes staring at Julie coldly. "And now it's time for your work to begin."
Julie didn't understand what she meant. "What do you mean?"
"What? Did you forget the contract?" said the old woman as she stepped out of the hut, standing at the threshold. "One of the conditions of the contract was that I grant you a single wish — but in return, you would take my place in this hut, to set me free. And now… farewell."
She said it and vanished in the blink of an eye, as if she had never existed, leaving Julie standing alone, in an indescribable shock. Julie collapsed on the hut's doorstep, her tears mixing with the soil beneath her. She realized the horrifying truth: all those losses, all that pain, were the price of her hasty wish. She was responsible for everything that had happened. She had sold her soul, her life, and the lives of her loved ones — in exchange for fake love.
And so, Julie became the new keeper of the hut. She would spend her life waiting, alone, in this desolate place, waiting for another desperate soul to come seeking a wish with a heavy price. Every night, every hour, with each knock at the door, she would remember Jayne, her family, and the life she had lost — while the whispers of shadows echoed around her, retelling her eternal tale of the cost of wishes...
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