A Plea… (Midas)

“Gather round, everyone!” Siel shouted. “I’ve made an entire feast for us! This is in honor of Midas’s friends!”

All of us were in the living room, and we sat down on the floor around the coffee table. We didn’t have a dining table, so this is what we settled for.

I looked at the contents of this “feast” and was a bit disappointed. Siel’s idea of one was a bunch of instant ramen and soda, so that was all you could find on the table.

“If only you could cook…” I said.

“You can’t cook either, boy. And they’re staying here free of charge, so I doubt they’ll complain,” Siel responded. He looked over at the other three. “Right, guys?”

They all gave him forced smiles and nodded, but deep down, I knew what they were thinking. We simply swallowed our complaints along with our food. Living with Siel meant I ate instant ramen quite a bit, so I was used to it. Still, I didn’t know how anyone could dislike it.

After we finished the feast, we lounged around and chatted for a bit. I saw Adella making her way out to the backyard and sitting on the porch, so I followed.

“You’re not supposed to be outside,” she warned before I could even step out of the doorway.

“Relax,” I said. “This is still technically within the property, so it’s not like I’m actually going outside. I just want to look up at the night sky.”

She didn’t respond. I took her silence as approval for me to go out and sit by her.

There were quite a lot of stars up there tonight. A slight chill drifted in the air, but it was comforting rather than unsettling.

“...Are you stressed?” Adella asked, breaking the quietude.

“About what?”

“You think you’re going to die soon, right? That would make anyone stressed.”

I thought for a moment.

“Well, I’m a bit sad that I’ll end up dying a virgin. But that’s about it.”

I was half-joking, but she didn’t seem to take it as one. She just silently looked up.

Then, she said something unprecedented.

“In that case…do you wanna do it?”

My jaw immediately dropped. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had to replay those words in my mind several times before I could even process the fact that she said it.

She was actually serious. There was sincerity behind her words. For a second, I didn’t feel like joking anymore.

But a thought suddenly came to me.

“...What if I die while we’re doing it?”

Here I was, being facetious in one of the most consequential moments of my life. I really hoped Adella would laugh at my joke.

She didn’t. She just looked at me with a blank expression, disappointed in the fact that I couldn’t be serious in a moment when she wanted me to.

I needed to do some damage control.

“I’m only joking,” I said. “To answer your question…”

It was tempting, but…

“Thank you. I’m glad you’re willing to go that far for me. But the Devil doesn’t succumb to temptation. He leads others into it.”

I really hoped she wouldn’t take it the wrong way.

“...I told you to stop calling yourself the Devil,” she said.

Ah, so she was still hung up on that.

“Fine,” I replied. “Satan doesn’t succumb to temptation. He leads others into it.”

“Don’t say Satan either.”

“Lucifer doesn’t—”

“Shut up.”

I smiled, glad that we were returning to the motions of our old banter. When I looked over at her, however, I saw nothing but a sober expression. My rejection must’ve hurt her more than she let on. It hurt me too.

“Hey, don’t look so sad,” I said. “In another life, maybe we could get married and have a bunch of children. And I can imagine our children being really beautiful. What do you think?”

My words were meant to be nothing more than lighthearted fantasizing. Just something to bring back her smile.

Surely she didn’t actually picture a world where such a thing…

I glanced over at her. A small silken droplet fell onto her lap. Then one or two more.

She was crying.

“What’s…the matter…?” I asked, my voice faltering.

“Midas…”

She looked up at me.

“You have to live. You can’t die.”

Her eyes lingered on mine, searching and pleading.

“I’ve done all that I can. Tell me that you’ll live. All you have to do is live. Please, Midas. Live. That’s it. That’s all I want.”

I didn’t know how to react. She was…begging me to live. As if it would change anything.

It was like she cared more than me.

Didn’t she realize how selfish she was being? Telling me to somehow defy fate itself just because she wanted it. It was absurd how unreasonable of a situation she was putting me in.

And yet…

I gazed at her, seeing tears clinging to her lashes.

“You don’t have to worry,” I said, smiling. “I won’t die.”

I still ended up making a promise I couldn’t keep.

Slowly, Adella’s face softened into a smile. I felt a bit of satisfaction.

“That’s a relief…” she said, wiping her tears.

And as I looked at her with eyes burdened by the weight of my promise, I had a thought:

She’s way too attached to me…

I clenched my fists.

…And I’m way too attached to her.

***

For once in his life, Siel played his role as a responsible adult and split us four up into two separate rooms. Soren and I were to sleep in my room, and Adella and Katerina would be in the guest room.

I hadn’t ever slept with another person in the same room before, so this was new to me. I lay on the bed while Soren was on the floor. From what I’d seen in movies, these were the moments where the most fun conversations between friends would take place.

Soren didn’t really seem too enthusiastic about it, but with a little icebreaker, I was sure he’d come around.

“Say, have you ever—”

“Go to sleep, Midas.”

He didn’t want to talk to me at all. What a terrible friend.

“I’m quite a dangerous guy, you know. You shouldn’t talk back to me. I’m the one who framed you, remember?” I said.

Soren sighed. “That loses all meaning when you realize that the only asset that allowed you to do that, your clairvoyance, is now useless. Now go to sleep.”

“Speaking of the framing, what happened to the case? They accused you of being the one who vandalized the bathroom and gym storage room. Things weren’t looking good for you.”

“I disputed and won it, obviously. I wouldn’t be so friendly with you if I hadn’t. Now could you please—”

“Adella seems to really want me to live. Do you think it’s possible?”

Soren was silent for a moment.

“…I’m not too familiar with how your ability works, but I can tell that you don’t believe you’ll survive this. That sort of makes it clear that you can’t change the future, despite being able to see it.”

I would sometimes forget how sharp he was.

“You’re right,” I said. “That makes my chance of survival pretty much zero, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose so. That is, if it’s actually fate deciding this outcome.”

“…What else besides fate could decide the future?”

Soren paused in thought.

“I don’t know. Maybe something divine.”

I raised my eyebrows.

Something divine. That would be nice.

“Goodnight, Soren,” I said, turning onto my side.

“Goodnight.”

“Don’t you dare kill me in my sleep.”

“Now that’s an idea.”

We both chuckled.

I eventually closed my eyes and slowly drifted off into slumber, thinking that it very well may have been my last.

And perhaps I was right.

I would wake up only a little while later. It would still be nighttime. My friends would all be asleep.

I would have no control.