I, Midas

Once, when I was a kid, I tried to count exactly how many words I said in a day. Things went smoothly at first, and I tallied the amount of words in each sentence that left my mouth with relative ease. But after some time, I began to question myself.

Did I only say that because I’m keeping track of it? I would think. Is this really how much I talk, or are the numbers being skewed in some way?

In the end, my careful deliberation only led to more doubts, and I wrestled with my thoughts after each and every word that I said.

Now I must tell you…none of that is actually relevant. You can go ahead and forget what you’ve just read. I simply thought it would be a nice change of pace; something that’ll help you digest what I’m about to say.

It’s nothing important, really. I wish for you to call it so insignificant that it could be a lie.

Still curious, are you? Do you wish for me to divulge my hidden truth?

Very well. Let it be known…

I, Midas, am a cursed child.

***

There were times when adopting a pleasant demeanor worked against me. This was one of them.

“I can’t believe her! Who does she think she is?!”

Adella seemed to have had a fight with Katerina, and for whatever reason, I was the person she decided to vent her frustration to. I’d been trying to enjoy my daily session of lazing around on the school stairwell, when all of a sudden, she came up to me and started going off on a tirade about how crazy her former best friend had become.

“You’re saying she just called off your friendship then and there?” I asked, chuckling. “It’s almost like you guys broke up.”

The situation was quite funny to me, of course, but I’d already laughed at it some time ago. My chuckle here was the small amount of emotion that I was able to regurgitate from then.

“I knew you weren’t the right person to talk to! All you’re going to do is laugh!”

Her saying that almost made me want to laugh even harder, but I held it in.

“Sorry. To be honest, Kat struck me as the type of person who would always try to avoid confrontation. Something must’ve happened to her.”

My words seemed to have calmed her a bit. Adella dropped her gaze.

“Yeah…I don’t want to admit it, but ever since she started going out with Soren, I noticed more and more changes in the way she acted.”

“That’s normal, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you say that love changes people?”

“I know that! It’s just…if this is how she’s going to change, maybe it isn’t a good idea for her to be in love in the first place.”

Her verdict had almost been formed.

“Do you think Soren is the problem then?”

She paused to think.

“...He could be. Kat has always been super impressionable. Soren might have manipulated her in some way.”

“Bingo!” I exclaimed. “Well…almost.”

“What?”

I gave her a supercilious grin, and she sighed in reluctance.

“Could you…please explain?” she asked.

“Gladly. But before I do, let me ask: do you think Soren actually loves Kat?”

“I was actually thinking about that. In the library, when he asked her to go out with him, the way he did it felt almost too perfect. It was like he was acting.”

“That’s right. I thought the same thing. And I’d even go as far as to say that he sees their whole relationship as a game.”

Adella’s eyes widened. “So you’re saying he’s just been using her for his own amusement?”

“Maybe. It’s like I told you before—Soren doesn’t show an interest in girls. But if there was something in it for him…”

“He’s a psychopath! Kat’s just his plaything now!”

I snickered. “That’s true, but look at Kat. Do you think she really minds it? In a way, she chose Soren over you, and you were her best friend.”

There was a moment of silence. Perhaps I was being too straightforward.

“I…I want to believe that she’s just oblivious to it all.”

“Is she?” I asked. “You should know her better than I do.”

Adella fell still for a few seconds. Then, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, and that was when I knew she would finally acquiesce.

“Katerina, just what are you doing?!” she yelled.

“Looks like you’ve finally come to terms with it. I’m proud of you,” I said.

She looked over at me. “...Really?”

I was being sarcastic, but nodded in affirmation anyway. I couldn’t let her know that after she had shown me such a sincere expression. She might just have been the most purehearted girl I’d ever met.

“The truth is, I noticed how obsessed she was with Soren from the start. I just didn’t expect things to end up like this…” she said.

“From what you told me, it sounds like she’s become a narcissist.”

“A narcissist? There’s no way. Kat was always the opposite, if anything.”

“Hmm, maybe not in every sense of the word. We can call her a pseudo-narcissist instead.”

“That’s not much better.”

“Doesn’t it make sense, though? It all stems from her attachment to Soren. She places him on a pedestal, so as long as he showers her with praise and affection, she feels content with herself and can be as vain as she wants.”

“But how does that explain the way she acted towards me?”

“I suppose she didn’t like the friendship dynamic. You were often the one who would speak out and stand up for her, and she was dependent on you because of that. When she got with Soren, however, she probably reevaluated your bond on the basis of her newfound confidence.”

Adella didn’t respond, and simply stared at me for further explanation.

“Basically, Soren made her feel like she was better than everyone else. That made her unwilling to settle for your friendship, where she didn’t receive that same treatment,” I said.

She kept silent and thought for a little while longer, and then finally spoke.

“I never realized how smart you were.”

I wish I didn’t love flattery as much as I did. Her compliments came from the heart, too.

“You can kee—”

“I can keep my cheap praise, right?”

I laughed, amused at how quickly she'd caught on. “Yep! You know me so well.”

A silence eventually fell between us. I could tell that Adella was thinking about what to do next.

With a sigh, I rose from the stairs. There was no use in fighting it. My fate had already been sealed.

“Listen up."

“Hm?”

“I know you want to help Kat and be her friend again and all, so I’ll tell you how to do it.”

Her eyes lit up. “You will?”

“Sure. All you have to do is wait until she loses all the confidence and pride that she’s been holding onto. I have a feeling it’ll happen real soon. And when it does, you have to be the one who helps rebuild her.”

“...That’s it?” She looked confused. “I was going to do that anyway. To be honest, I was expecting something a little more profound.”

I’m not God, you…

“Aww, how cute,” I said. “You guys really are best friends.”

Adella gave me a weird look, and then suddenly made a shocked expression as if an idea had just popped into her head.

“Hey…when did you figure out that Soren wasn’t really in love with Kat?”

I paused.

“Do you want the truth?”

“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”

Lying wasn’t even taken into consideration. I looked her way and said it with a grin.

“In that case…I knew all along!”

She was in shock. I expected as much.

“Huh? Then why didn’t you do anything to stop him? You could’ve prevented all of this!”

I slowly descended the stairwell and then turned around to face her, taking the topic of conversation as an indication to end things there.

“Don’t be stupid, Adella,” I said. “I’m not God. There are some things that even I can’t do.”

With my words, her frustration with me seemed to have faded and been replaced with confusion. That was for the better. Our bond wouldn’t be soured this way.

What a terrible taste.

Not wanting to stay there any longer, I walked in the other direction, the edge of my tongue stinging from the nip I left on it.

***

I, Midas, am a cursed child...

Do you get it now?

Now do you hear me?

I, Midas...can see the future.