Horror logo

Be Careful What You Wish For

By: Amber Olson

By Amber OlsonPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
Like

Ethan Salem was just your average, normal boy… or so he thought before he found that black notebook. Nothing was “normal” thereafter. However, prior to discovering the blasted thing, his life was not that unusual. He was the only child of a very devoted and loving single mother and the star quarterback of his high school football team. His mother worked two jobs to help provide for her son and she showered him with all the love and support that a mother could. Ethan was not in the least bit ungrateful for her sacrifice. In fact, it was his greatest wish to someday be able to provide for her so that she never had to work another day of her life.

While on the way home from football practice, Ethan passed underneath a bridge. Unbeknownst to him, a man who stood above the bridge tossed a black notebook off the edge just as Ethan was passing under and it flew right toward him. Luckily he saw the object in time and avoided collision by leaping a step back and watching it hit the ground right in front of him.

“You dropped something!” Ethan called upward.

“Take the cursed thing…Write your wishes inside and see them come true… But be warned what they may take from you!” the voice echoed downward.

Ethan picked up the black Moleskine notebook, opening it. He flipped through the pages, noticing that they were blank. Ethan shrugged and put the notebook in his backpack, continuing on his way home.

His mother greeted him warmly, with dinner ready on the table. He set his backpack down at his desk, washed his hands, and hurriedly ate his dinner.

“You gonna have time to finish your homework and get enough rest for the big game?”

“I already finished my homework during lunch. I want to be at my best for that recruiter tomorrow.”

“You’ll do fantastic- I know it. I already took off work, so I can catch your big game.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t miss my son winning the biggest game of the year AND watch you impress that recruiter.”

“Thanks Mom. I hope to make you proud.”

“You always do. Now go rest up for tomorrow.”

Ethan bade his mother goodnight and sat down at his desk, going over game strategies in his head and in his notebook, which was completely full. He remembered the black notebook in his backpack and pulled it out once more. He marveled at how worn it looked, yet there wasn’t a single mark written inside. On a whim, Ethan decided to make his first wish therein: I wish to win the game tomorrow and the $20,000 scholarship to Notre Dame.

The next day, his wish came true. He played the best game of his life, making unbelievable passes, not getting tackled once; he was seemingly untouchable.

The recruiter- completely awestruck by his performance- shook Ethan’s hand and guaranteed him his place at Notre Dame (along with the coveted scholarship).

Ethan was ecstatic. He was lifted into the air by his teammates and carried around the field with his mother looking on, beaming. It seemed like all his dreams were about to come true.

His fans led him over to his mother, set him down, and he hugged her tightly.

She was practically crying with tears of joy. “I’m so proud of you. You did it!”

“Ethan, are you coming?” his teammates called out to him.

He looked at them and then turned back to his mom.

“You go celebrate with your friends- you’ve earned it.”

“Thanks Mom. I won’t be home too late.”

Ethan ran over to his mates and they piled in cars, heading for their celebratory party.

Unfortunately they never made it there, as a drunk driver hit the vehicle right where Ethan was sitting. He awoke in the hospital to find that he was paralyzed from the neck down in the accident.

“Doctor, I can’t stand to see my son so miserable. I feel so helpless, like I could die if there’s nothing to be done. So please tell me, what can be done? There has to be something! Some treatment- some kind of therapy that’s experimental yet promising?” Ethan’s mother pleaded.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Salem. His spinal cord is completely severed and there is nothing that can be done for that,” the doctor stated.

She wailed and sobbed, nearly collapsing, steadying herself with her arm on the wall. Mrs. Salem then stood up straight, took a deep breath, exhaled protractedly while wiping her eyes and saying, “Okay,” before turning back to Ethan in his hospital bed with the biggest smile she could muster. “How’s my boy?”

“Still here.”

“Anything I can get you?... whatever it may be, I’ll get it for you.”

“Well there is one thing…” Ethan said to his mother.

“Name it.”

“There’s a black notebook on my dresser.”

“I’ll go and get it right now.”

And she did. She came back with it lickety-split.

“I need you to open it up to a random page and write: ‘I wish for Ethan Salem’s body to be fully restored to the way it was before the accident,’” he requested.

As soon as she wrote the words in the notebook, Mrs. Salem collapsed.

Ethan rose up from his bed and caught her. “Somebody please help!” he cried.

Help came, but it was of no use. The hospital staff instead marveled at Ethan’s abilities being restored and figured his mom had died of the shock from witnessing it.

The guilt and grief that Ethan felt over his mother’s death consumed him. He did not care much that he could walk again, it only made the guilt and grief worse. And so Ethan attempted to make his third and final wish… he wrote: I wish that I never found this notebook.

*

Ethan awoke in a strange place, with strange people who all looked insane. It took a good while for him to realize that was because he was inside an insane asylum.

His doctor recounted to him in therapy, “So you say you found a black notebook where you wrote down three wishes that were granted, but they all had horrible consequences. The first wish was that ‘you’d win the big game and get a $20,000 scholarship to Notre Dame. And you got that wish, but you were paralyzed in a car accident as a result…’ am I right so far?”

Ethan nodded.

“You then had your mom write down a second wish in that notebook ‘that your body would be fully restored, but then she dropped dead…’ is that so?”

“Yes,” Ethan answered.

“And your third wish was ‘that you’d never found that notebook and then you woke up here?’”

“That’s how it happened.”

“But Ethan, you don’t play football and your mother is still alive.”

“I watched my mom die with my own eyes!… You can call the hospital, they’ll tell you.”

Ethan’s doctor sighed. “Ethan, we’ve been over this…Your mother is waiting to see you right outside.”

Ethan was stunned into silence.

The doctor walked out shaking his head.

Mrs. Salem came inside. She sat down facing him with her large purse on her lap, opened it, pulling out something. “I brought you that black notebook you said you wanted.”

fiction
Like

About the Creator

Amber Olson

Fan of the weird, macabre, & occult. My writing usually falls into these themes as well, but can also have a wide range, as can life. We are all reflections of what we see and experience and art is what makes life worth living. Go & create.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.