IT WAS ALMOST 23:11, my only chance to make a wish and create a change starting tomorrow. Even though the urban legend seemed like a hoax, I would like to take my chances. Just like what Deanna said, it's now or never.

Between my pathetic life and taking someone else's life, it would be a hard decision to make when the guilt started to crawl into me.

"You have to do this, Mich."

Inhale. Exhale. I did it several times before removing the lid on top of the old well. I immediately covered my nose when an unpleasant smell lingered around the area. I couldn't determine the smell, and my head started to pound like crazy. I could barely think straight as my body swayed from left to right. My mind was too foggy, and the moment my eyes landed on the woman standing across with her damp hair covering her face, I almost threw myself into the old well. Fear became my enemy when I couldn't do anything but stand still with my pounding heart.

Damn it, my death anniversary would be today if the hem of my dress didn't get stuck in between the spikey cracks of the old well. I heaved a deep sigh in relief, and when I looked at where the woman was standing earlier, she was nowhere to be found.

Did my mind play games with me?

I hardly slapped my right cheek to check my sanity, and I immediately regretted my dumb decision when I felt the pain from the slap. We all succumb to our bad decisions in life sometimes, so I couldn't blame myself tonight.

The old well was very tempting. It felt like someone was calling me from the inside, wanting me to make a wish. "Make up your mind, Michelle. One minute left before 23:11. You just have to make that one damn wish, and tomorrow's going to be different. Don't you want change? Something new to look forward to when the sun rises?" I argued with myself and sighed in defeat in the end.

"What if something bad will happen afterward?" I asked myself after a few seconds of silence.

I looked up to the sky, stared at the beautiful full moon, and started to recollect memories of my conversation with my friends on the same night of my birthday.

"They say that Morgan will appear before 23:11," Deanna said while smiling from ear to ear, as she wasn't sure if it was right to believe the urban legend.

Maybe it was telling me to make a wish, too.

"And when the clock struck 23:11, make a wish," Deanna added before looking straight into my eyes while Rayne just rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Or maybe not, because karma would eventually kill me.

"Oh," Deanna almost screamed. "I also heard that you have to say her name five times before you make a wish."

But who cares, anyway? I wanted to live my life without any worry that someone might stab me in the back. No one would dare to talk bad things about me because. . . why not? Everyone strived so hard just to survive every day, including me.

I nodded several times before asking, "Why 23:11? Why not 23:12 or some other time? Why five times? Is there any explanation for these rumors? Or maybe anything related to Morgan?"

I closed my eyes when a minute had passed on my wristwatch. "Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan. . ." I whispered her name in a shaky voice. "If ever the urban legend is true, can you make my life the same as Dawn's?"

Deanna shook her head and gave me a hopeful look, "I heard none about these questions, Mich."

THE NEXT DAY, everyone went on with their lives like nothing happened last night. Everyone was confused as they looked at me from head to toe like I just came back from the grave. I was still wearing the exact same dress I had worn at the acquaintance party, wherein the student council decided to put me in such an embarrassing situation.

"What are you looking at?" I asked in an irritated tone, maybe due to lack of sleep.

"Nothing," the girl replied, surprisingly bowing her head as a sign of respect. "I just want to greet you a good morning, Mich."

"It's Michelle for you, Kate."

She smiled and nodded her head afterward, "Have a blessed morning ahead, Michelle."

My forehead creased in confusion. Was I hearing them. . . alright? When did I become so popular with the students, to the point they were already greeting me and treating me with kindness?

"Oh," I pouted in too much expectation when memories of yesterday flashed before my eyes. "I became popular because of what happened last night, not because of the damn wish. The urban legend is a hoax, just like what Deanna and Rayne said."

I went on with my life, still hoping that the urban legend was true, when I suddenly heard some students scream at the top of their lungs, and the school siren rang early in the morning. What just happened? If I remember it right, the siren meant to evacuate all students somewhere safe because someone died on campus.

The question now. . . who died?

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