A/N: Hi! If you are reading this far into my story than you are amazing! It got me so excited to see that people had actually clicked to read my last chapters haha. Feedback would be greatly appreciated!
"Hello? Earth to Alice? Are you alright?"
Blinking, Alice shook her head, "I- I, sorry, I don't know what came over me."
Veronica gave Alice a funny look.
"Um, help me take these out to the lounge, will you?" she handed Veronica the cutlery. When she'd gone, Alice whirled on the man standing next to her.
"Ok, what in the world are you?"
The man chuckled. "Took you a while to catch on."
Alice glared at the man.
"Call me a spirit, a genie, whatever you like. I'm simply a man here to grant your wish."
Alice let that sink in for a while before saying. "You're not a man if you're a spirit or a genie. What are you?"
"Hey, Al? You coming or what?"
"I can see you're otherwise engaged. When you're done, I'll be back. Don't forget, I'll be there to claim your price and grant your wish."
Then the man took a step back and disappeared, just like that. Alice stared at the empty space before her. Not a single trace of the man remained. It was almost easy to believe that she'd just been dreaming. Shaking off her nerves, Alice went into the lounge where Veronica and Stella were waiting.
"Sorry for the wait."
"How're you feeling?" Stella asked.
"Coping," Alice smiled. "Thank you guys for coming."
"Hey, what're friends for?"
"You want to tell us what happened?"
Alice sighed and explained what had happened.
"So he's dumping you because he's not happy that you're sacrificing a crapload in order to make him happy because you love him?" Veronica announced after Alice had explained.
Alice grimaced.
"It sounds like more than that," Stella interjected.
Veronica gave her a disbelieving look.
"Girl, who's side are you on?"
"Alice's, of course! I'm just saying, from Alice's explanation, it sounds like there's more than what you said."
"Please, the guy's a total douche! Alice is the best thing that ever happened to him."
"I'm not arguing with that but Adam had his reasons. I mean, he must care about you, Alice, to break up with you, for you."
Veronica scoffed.
"Reasons? Blind-sightedness is what it is, if you ask me."
"Guys, please don't argue over me."
"Sorry," Stella sighed and placed her hand over Alice's. "It just makes no sense."
"Of course it makes no sense. When have men ever made sense? Al, I'm telling you, men are no good. Maybe it's a good thing he broke up with you."
Alice smiled wistfully despite the tears in her eyes.
"Break-ups suck though. It hurts so much."
"Oh c'mere you," Stella said, reaching out to embrace Alice. "You're going to be alright. Just give your heart some time."
"Better now than later, right? If you really need a man, you can find yourself a better one," Veronica defended.
"I don't understand though, the old woman predicted a union with someone-"
"Stell, seriously?!" Veronica gave an exasperated sigh. "The old woman again? What's there to understand? She's just some phony woman with some lame ass predictions, which, by the way, we've now proven to be just coincidences."
"What'd she say though? A union with someone and bright light?"
Alice nodded. Well, that union certainly wasn't going to be with Adam, if there was going to be a union at all.
"What do you think that means?" Stella asked.
Veronica sighed, "Stella, do we really have to get into this again?"
"But what she said may still come true. Remember, a union doesn't have to mean marriage. And it may not necessarily be with Adam."
"Which is why, I'm telling you, her predictions are way over-generalised. They could fit for anyone for any situation. Take the bright light for example," Veronica continued, pointing to the overhanging light above them. "Hull-oh? Is that not a bright light?"
"Yes but, surely the two things are connected – a union and bright light, together. She wouldn't just say those things other wise."
Connected events… It suddenly occurred to Alice that there had been a really bright light this morning… which had hence caused her to wake up to some strange man. A union, a meeting with a stranger? Had the woman predicted this? Suddenly, Alice remembered the talisman that she'd given her.
"You don't think the talisman has anything to do with things?" she asked.
"Oh yes, the talisman," Veronica rolled her eyes, "that only you got."
"Hm, maybe the talisman explains why both mine and Veronica's predictions have come true and yours hasn't yet."
Alice sighed and helped herself to some ice cream, "Who knows. Ice-cream anyone?"
Stella shook her head, "You know what I'm craving at the moment?"
"What?"
"A McDonald's cheese burger."
Veronica stared at Stella with wide eyes, "No way, you never eat McDonald's. Ever."
Stella shrugged, "What can I say, I'm pregnant. I think I'm allowed."
"As long as you don't drink any booze, that stuff causes anomalies in the foetus."
"When are you going for a check up?" Alice asked.
"Next week," Stella replied, reaching for her phone. "I'm gonna call Jackson and ask him to buy me a cheeseburger."
"That man is whipped."
Stella thwarted Veronica and Alice laughed despite herself.
As Alice was packing up the last of the food after the girls had left, she suddenly felt a presence behind her. Turning, she caught sight of the man, staring at her from the corner of the room.
"You keep suddenly appearing like that!"
"I told you, I'd be back to grant your wish."
"You keep saying that!" Alice crossed her arms. "Look, I really didn't make a wish, okay? So however this thing works, you can just stop. Go back to your magic lamp or whatever."
The man chuckled. "Magic lamp. I didn't think you'd rubbed a magic lamp or you would've expected someone to come grant your wish."
"I told you, I didn't make any wish!"
"Not intentionally, but you did. At the price of your own life, too. Like I already said, be careful what you wish for.
Alice gave an incredulous cry and began pacing the room, "This is crazy, absolutely crazy. I'm standing here talking to some invisible man who may or may not exist, and he's telling me he's here to grant my wish that I never truly even wished for. I must be delusional. I must be."
"I can hear you, you know, and the name's Evan, by the way, Evan Turner."
Alice snapped her eyes up to him, "Look, I know you say you're here to grant some wish, but I take it back, ok?"
"It's too late."
"What?"
"You've already made the wish, I'm here to grant it. And I can't leave until I do."
"Y-you mean you're going to kill me?"
"I'm going to take your life, not kill you, I'm not a murderer," the man scowled.
Deciding they were the same thing, Alice shook her head, "That's crazy! How was I supposed to know I was making a wish at the time! You can't do that!"
Evan sighed, "Well, there is the option of choosing another price. In the case that people do end up regretting their choices, they can either choose another price for the same or greater value or exchange the wish for one of lesser or equal value."
Alice frowned, trying to process his words, "So you're saying that I can either keep my wish to be with Adam, but find another price to give or give up my life for another wish?"
He nodded, "But the price you give must be of equal or more value to the price you've already named."
"My life?"
Evan nodded.
"But –how?" Alice collapsed in her seat.
"That's up to you to figure out."
Sagging in her seat, Alice contemplated the preposterousness of her current situation. Was this man really real? It felt so surreal, her head swarmed just trying to think.
"Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, you have thirty days to find a replacement price before I'm forced to take your life."
Alice looked up at Evan. Thirty days? She had thirty days to save herself.
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