Voice

"Can you speak already?"

Asks the woman with a very surprised look on her face.

What? Me? Speak? No matter how badly I want to, I can't even make the slightest noise. It's as if this world doesn't even know I exist. I have no power to influence anything. The little ghost contemplates in his head.

The woman replies, "That's not true," She looks at him with a relaxed expression. "Never stop developing yourself because you can do anything once you set your mind to something. We can accomplish all the things you've always wanted to do.  It's much more enjoyable to do it with someone else."

Wait, can she read my mind?

The little ghost looks at her, all flustered, his heart beating fast. Can I really do it? He thinks to himself.

Can I trully speak?

The little ghost attempts it again.

"C-ca-n-n I r-rea-al-l..."

"Yes, you can. You are already on the journey of self-improvement; it's a journey that never ends. You will keep improving and learning new things every single day. That's why I'm here: to help you improve and grow as a person. I will also help you achieve whatever dreams you may have. So help me out with another promise. All I ever ask is for you to have fun with me."

Wow, it's so nice to think I can actually do this now.

The little ghost's heart is beating faster, but now that he smiles, I'm not afraid anymore.

The little ghost raises his hand and extends his pinky:

"P-p-pro-omis-se"

A little ghost smiles

The woman also smiles.

She lifts her arm with her pinky raised, and they cross pinkies yet again.

"Promise"

Says the woman

"My name is Periphirilia."

Name? the little ghost thinks to himself. Is it some kind of food?
Oh no, does she want to eat me?
He starts to get a bit panicky.
But then the woman says:

"A name, a word that describes you, your own word."

"M-m-my ow-wn w-wor-rd?"

"Yes, do you have one?"

"N-n-no"

"Okay, then I'll call you Gorge."

"G-gor-rg-ge-e?"

"W-what d-does t-that even m-mean ?"

"It means a deep ravine. You are deep, like an abyss, filled with many different emotions running through you, endlessly consuming yourself.
I think it's a name that truly represents you. Gorge"

Wow, I don't understand what all that stuff means, but it sounds cool nonetheless.

"D-oes that m-mean t-that y-your nam-me repr-resents you as well?"'

"Yes, it does. It seems that you are struggling even less now. You are improving very fast. You'll be able to speak properly in no time."

"T-thanks, I will try my best. W-what does your name m-mean ?"

"It's a secret. I'll tell you when the time comes. So what are your dreams?"

"D-dreams ?"

"You know the things you want to do more than anything—the things you are willing to die for."

"W-what's that die thing that everyone keeps talking about?"

"Dying means disappearing—everything that makes you as a being disappear, including your entire self, personality, and accomplishments. Sounds pretty awful, right? And yet every single person has things for which they wouldn't mind disappearing. So what are the things you wouldn't mind disappearing for?"
The woman smiles softly.

"I always wanted to s-speak with someone."

''Congratulations! Wow! You have already accomplished one. By the way, you spoke fairly naturally this time; the stutter should be completely gone soon. Is there anything else you would like to do?"

"Hundreds of years ago, as I walked along the riverbank, I overheard fishermen discussing the legend of golden carp. They claimed that nobody had ever seen it or caught it. Some said it can grant wishes, while others insisted that touching it will bestow upon you good fortune for the remainder of your days. Some claim that it's impossible to catch because it's the size of the whale, while others insist that it's because it's so tiny that you can even see it.

"What kind of wish do you want to ask in case you ever catch it?"

"I don't know, I was just curious to see what it actually looked like—is it the size of the whale, or is it so small that you can't see it? Perhaps it resembles a crocodile?"

''Haha. A fish that resembles a crocodile? Periphirilia asks, happily laughing, "How would that even work?"

"I mean, nobody has ever seen it, so it could look like anything; I mean, anything is possible after all, right?"

"Anything is possible in this world, I suppose. Hey, the stuttering of yours is completely gone now."

"Wow, I finally sound normal when I speak. I would never have imagined that this was possible."

"Congratulations! Now you can speak fluently."

The little ghost puts on the biggest smile he has ever made, extending from one cheek to the other.

"Thank you! It was only possible because of you. Meeting you has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. You know, not being able to speak was always scary. Whenever I saw other people, wawed at them, and got ignored, I always had this disturbing thought in my head, a thought that would never go away":

"What if I could speak?
Would they see me then?"

"And then I would try to make a sound. But nothing would ever come out. That sensation was very frightening. It made me feel as though I was not there. All other objects, living or not, can produce sound. All the animals and people make sounds when they want to communicate. The apple makes a sound when it falls. The door makes a sound when it is opened. And I was confined to silence. But now that I've met you, everything is fine, and I finally feel like a real person. It almost seems as though you created me."

''Haha, thanks, but I don't think that's the case. We don't know what's real and what's not in the first place. For all we know, everything-the entire world could be just a fantasy of some weird creature." 

"It could be the golden carp, the weird creature!!"
Excitedly shouts the little ghost.

Oh, man, now I really want to see it. I wonder how it even created the world. Like, what did it even do? If I knew it, could I create worlds too?  Wonders Litle ghost

"So that's what it does. It creates worlds. Haha, I'm glad I finally figured it out."

Gorge is very excited at the idea of meeting the golden carp.

"It could very well be the case, but we haven't seen it yet, so we can't say it for sure, right? "For all we know, it could be made up."
Explains Periphirilia

"No, it's most definitely real!"

Exitedely shouts the little ghost.

There is no way something that amazing could be a made-up thing. He thinks.

"Let's go catch it, and when we catch it, we can just ask if it created everything."

"How would we even know where to look?" Asks Periphirilia.

"We can go to the riverside and listen to fishermen's tales. They are always speaking about the legend of the golden carp!"

"Are you sure they aren't just lying? If they knew where it was, wouldn't it have been better for them to find it themselves? Who wouldn't want to get their wish granted?"

I think I don't want to get my wish granted; oh wait, I haven't even figured out my wish yet. I  better not tell her that yet; she might get angry at me.

"Why would they lie to each other? It's not like they have anything to gain from it."

"Well, what if they want to look cooler among their friends and choose to lie for that?''

Wait, what even counts as a lie? The little ghost is getting confused now.

"I'm not quite sure as to what counts as a lie."

"They are the words of deceit, words spoken for the sole purpose of tricking people into believing something that is completely untrue. Some individuals lie to get rich or do much harm."

"Wow, can the words really do so much?"

"Yes, that and much more, as long as the person who said those words is willing to back them up with his actions, there is no limit as to what they can achieve." Explains Periphirilia

"Wow, words are amazing," Gorge is full of excitement now that he can finally speak for himself.

Now that I can do words, too, does that mean I can achieve anything as well? Like finding a golden carp? And as a little ghost gets lost in thought...

"Let's go," says Periphirilia, as she smiles brightly. ''Let's check out those fishermen and decide for ourselves if what they said is true or not."