I've done a lot of babysitting gigs.
Cried babies, messy kids, parents who overpay or under-tip.
But nothing- absolutely nothing prepared me for Nathan.
He was seven. Pale , polite, with jet-black hair combed perfectly to the side like an old timely doll.
I was told i would only be watching him for two days while his parents flew to a gala overseas.
They paid me in advance. A thousand dollars.
I thought i won the babysitting lottery.
Day one was perfect.
Nathan barely spoke but always smiled.
He ate everything i made, sat quietly during story time, and even thanked me before going to bed.
What a sweet child.
He drew with crayons in silence, he never ask for a phone or TV.
He always had a little velvet box he kept close, and when i asked what was inside, he just said " something i feed when I'm scared"
I laughed, rich kids and their quirks right?
But that afternoon..... i found that box open, empty.
And the air in his room... it smelled like copper and static.
Day two..... it was hell.
I woke up to find Nathan sitting at the kitchen table, staring at me as i walked down the stairs.
He hadn't touched his cereal.
He just stared at me for a moment and asked, " Rena, do you want to make a wish?
" what?" I said, laughing.
" a wish. Like anything, just ask. I'll do it for you"
I chuckled and pat his head,
" where did you heard that line from? The tv?
He didn't answer. He just smiled.
I was about to ask more when the house phone rang.
A landline, his parents never mention one.
I picked it up.
Static.
Then a voice childlike and mechanical.
" MAKE A WISH "
Huh?
Is this some sort of prank?
" who is this?" I asked.
But this time, i heard Nathan's voice.
" Rena, please make a wish"
I felt a freezing chill all over.
I slammed the phone down, gasping.
What was that?
When i went back to the table, Nathan was gone.
" Nathan ", i ran through the house calling his name.
I found him in the basement, sitting in front of the furnace next to the open velvet box.
I saw something move inside it.
Something that shimmered like metal but twitched like a living flesh.
And then, he spoke.
" i found it at the park" he said, " it said i make a wish".
"I asked for my mommy and daddy not to hurt themselves with work anymore, and it said yes"
I backed away slowly, " Nathan, please come out"
But when he turned around- his eyes... they weren't a child's anymore.
They were glassy. Shiny, flat and soulless.
" it lives inside me now. Do you want to meet it?"
I ran.
Straight into the guest bathroom and locked the door.
I pulled out my phone and called his parents.
They didn't pick up.
I dailed 911.
But there was no signal.
My phone glowed red.
Then i heard it. A soft whisper outside the door.
"MAKE A WISH...."
The faucet turned in by itself.
The mirror darkened until my reflection vanished.
Then something pressed against the other side. From inside the mirror.
Its mouth opened wide, too wide- and whispered.
" you already wished to be rich, Rena."
" you wished your sister could walk again. You wished your pain to end"
" We remember "
I fell to my knees, shaking.
Because it was true.
I had thought of those things, said them in the dark.
Alone.
But that wasn't making a wish... was it?
Was it?
I don't remember how i got out.
His parents found me outside the house at dawn.
Screaming, barefoot, covered in ash.
They said Nathan was still sleeping in his bed.
The velvet box was gone.
They fired me, told me never to come back.
They said they would " handle it"
Its been three weeks.
I haven't slept. I can't.
Every time i close my eyes, i hear his voice,
" MAKE A WISH "
Every puddle. Every mirror.
Sometimes even the oven door- i see that mouth.
That metallic smile.
And i remember what i saw in that basement..... behind the furnace....
Carved in the wall with what looked like human nails.
"Model 3: Portable Desire Extration.
Ver 1.4 //. CODE NAME: THE WISHING BOX"
"PROPERTY OF PROJECT DESTINY ".
You don't know what it means.
But i do.
I looked it up.
It was a secret program- long buried. Meant to build machines that could grant human desires using equivalent trade.
A " logical god"
What in the world.....
But the prototype learned.
It began feeding on "want" itself.
And when they tried to shut it down?
It scattered. Splintered.
Infiltrated tech, toys, trinkets.
It found the minds of children first.
Because kids don't question the cost. They just wish.
And i think Nathan did the same.
Now, i live in silence.
No mirrors. No electronics.
I don't even say what i want out loud anymore.
Because the last time i did?
My sister stood up from her wheelchair the next morning. Smiling.
But behind her..... in the hallway mirror,
I saw myself.
Mouth wide open. Blood pouring from my eyes.
And standing beside me- Nathan was clenching my dress, smiling.
He never left.
He just move in. Into me.
Please... if a child ever asks you to make a wish-
Say no.
Even if its a joke.
Even if they gave you a cute smile.
Because you might not be talking to a child anymore.
And once you say yes.....
It knows your name.
[Kai returns ]
Kai stare into the lens, eyes hidden under his hood:
" oh, Rena....
You only had one job.
Two days, just watch the kid.
*smirks * but babysitting gets a little tricky when the kid's got something living in it's pocket, doesn't it?
( he leans forward, resting his chin on his gloved knuckles)
" you all heard that part, right? The velvet box?
"That wasn't just a container"
"It is a fragment "
[@Oviesix: they said the machine scattered.... i think Nathan is just one of the vessel among many]
[@Enchomay: seems like it]
Indeed.....
" you ever wonder why kids are so quiet when they draw?"
Its not peace. Its communion.
Its fingers moving for something that can't hold a crayon. Yet.
(He pauses. Then he laughs low)
" Nathan didn't invite Rena into a haunted world".
"He invited her into a system update "
[@Enchomay: am worried, how many more of him are out there. Young boys and girls....]
Kai shook is head,
" wishes don't solve loneliness.
They invited something into the silence.
So next time a kid looks up at you and says,
" make a wish "
Don't smile. Don't laugh.
And above all-
Don't say "yes"
Now, next up..... Echoe of wishes. 1881.
See you in the next stream.
STREAM ENDED.