picture source: https://unsplash.com/photos/NpgN1gXdlSw

What would you do if everything you touched turned to solid gold? I don’t have to think about that, ‘cause that’s been my life since the moment I turned 15.

What can I say? It was my birthday, and my mother had rented a magic genie for me. The rent lasted a day. I was stupid and greedy, so I didn’t want riches for one day, I wanted riches forever. I asked for the power to turn everything I’ll ever touch to gold. The Genie warned me that this was a curse I was asking for. That only a strong power would be able to break this hex. I didn’t listen. I laughed it off and said “Life’s given me the smaller end of the wishbone. I deserve some good luck.”

100 playing cards, Five inedible meals, one golden car and a mother turned into a golden statue later, I was broke. I used to make a living off selling stuff I turned to gold, but then golden things became so common that people didn’t need that much gold anymore. I became poor, and with my mother practically dead, stuck in a shocked position at home, I had nowhere to go.

And no one to care about.

I ran away from home. I couldn’t go back there now that Mom was trapped in solid gold forever. I tried to drive away, but only succeeded in turning the car gold, so I left it in the middle of traffic and ran off. Though people honked at my car and told me to get back in there and deal with it, I ran off. Why bother trying to fix things when I’ll just make them worse?

I was walking down the sidewalks of town, and came by the flower shop, which had a nice bush of roses out in the front.

I picked one and watched the gold spread from my two pinched fingers to the whole flower. As usual, the then blood red rose became infected with splotches of gold at random parts, which spread across the whole rose until I could see my reflection in it and it weighed about as much as a dumbbell.

“Hey! Midas, what did I tell you about plucking those!?” The flower store clerk yelled at me as usual. I hardly cared anymore.

“Is that flower for me? Thank you!”

I looked up just as a girl snatched the flower out of my fingers. She was by far the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She had reddish-brown skin that shinned in the sun, and glossy black hair in long twists that went to her stomach. I wished I could see her eyes, but they were covered by huge black shades.

I decided to play along. “Yes, a rose for a girl as pretty as one,” I lied. She was prettier.

“That’s so sweet, no one’s ever given me a flower before,” She continued.

“It’s just a golden rose.” I told her.

“Yes, but it’s the thought that counts,” she told me. “Now I’ve gotta get you something back.” She smiled.

“No, I don’t need anything. I won’t be able to take care of it.” I told her.

“Common, you don’t want anything?” She turned to the gardening store. “I could buy you some gardening gloves if you want,”

“No, no, I’m serious I don’t-” Wait. Gardening gloves!? That might be just what I needed! If I could conceal my hands, maybe I would be able to pick things up! “Yes, yes, gardening gloves sounds nice,” I told the girl, and she got them for me.

It was a bit weird for me to ask her to put the gloves on for me but she was kind about it and now I had some gloves! They were brown, thick and fuzzy, making my hands sweaty, but it would do.

I felt guilty for the girl getting me a gift when I didn’t even really mean to give her the rose, so I invited her out for lunch. She eagerly agreed, and we went to a nearby cafe and talked for a long time. I learned that her name was Taylor, and she’d lived in this town her whole life, like me. We laughed and talked and argued if chocolate or cheese croissants were better (Chocolate croissants for the win!). I wished I could see her eyes. The whole time she’d never taken those big sunglasses off.

After that, she felt guilty for letting me pay for our whole big lunch, so she decided the least she could do now was pay for us to see a new movie at the movie theater down the street. And after that I felt way too guilty for her spending so much money on me, so I decided to rent a car and drive her home, which she kept rejecting and I kept insisting until finally she huffed and said, “Well, you’ve already rented the car, I guess I’d be stupid to say no to this ride.”

It was evening, and she still had on her oversized shades.

“I’m glad we met, Midas. You’re so cool, sweet, and funny.”

I smiled, her compliments made me feel so fuzzy and good inside. “I’m glad we met too. You’ve been endlessly kind since we’ve met.”

I felt something tickle my hand which made me fidget. I turned to see Taylor trying to grab my hand that was sitting on the glovebox. I slowly and shakily wrapped my hand around hers, and she did the same.

Taylor giggled. “You act like you’ve never locked hands with a girl before.”

“I haven’t,” I told her truthfully.

For good reason. I was just glad I had those gloves on.

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” She mumbled.

She pointed out her house, and I stopped the car and walked her up the hill to her house. It was hot and muggy outside. I yanked off my sweaty gloves. The moon was hanging high and crickets were chirping. She STILL had the sunglasses on. I was beginning to have the urge to tell her about this.

She turned to me. “Thank you for today Midas. To think, we found each other all because you went out of your way to hand me a rose!”

She was so happy about it, it made my stomach sink thinking she really thought I gave her that rose on purpose. Some people wouldn’t have the heart to tell her the truth about it. But I did.

“Wait. Taylor, I have to tell you that I didn’t mean to give you the rose earlier when we first met. I just happened to be looking at a rose when you were in front of me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when it happened, I just didn’t want to be rude to a beautiful girl.”

Taylor laughed. “Well, that coincidence worked out fine huh? I ended up making a good friend in the process!”

She began to slowly lean towards me, her hands reaching out for mine.

As badly as I wanted what was happening to happen, I couldn’t let it. She’d be turned to gold in a matter of minutes. “No! Taylor, Wait! You can’t kiss me! And you definitely can’t touch my hands!”

Taylor backed up. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“I’m Midas is what’s wrong! You know, the guy who turns everything to gold with the touch of a finger!” I made a point by tapping a blade of grass on the ground, and we watched the tiny gold splotches infect the entire blade until it fell over with a plop from its new gained weight.

I turned to her. “I’m sorry I’m not the normal man you believed me to be.”

Silence.

Then she huffed. “I’m not normal either. I can’t take off my glasses because I’m not just any girl. I’m Medusa Taylor. I told you my last name because I was afraid you would run away if I told you my real name. One look at you with my gray eyes, and you’re stone forever, with no cure.”

My eyes widened. I got up and walked over to her. “You we’re cursed too?”

She nodded.

She took off her glasses and I was able to see her eyes in the dim moonlight. They were a beautiful foggy gray, a slither of moonlight shined on them, her irises twitching slightly as they stared at me.

Oh no! I was staring at her eyes! But even then I looked down to see I was holding both of her hands in mine.

Then that was it. We were both doomed. We could both never be happy, because everything around us turns into stone, or gold or whatever. We were even turning ourselves gold and stone, and we loved each other.

A tear rolled down her cheek as golden splotches appeared on random parts around her body.

“I’m sorry! I hardly knew I was holding your hands! I never meant for this! I love you!” I yelled.

“I love you too. And I’m sorry as well,” Taylor said, her gray eyes staring down at my feet, which now felt so stiff I couldn’t move them. I looked down to see my feet were gray like cement and a hard, solid stone was rising from them to my legs, making all my limbs unmovable, stiff, and cold.

I looked back up at Taylor. “What have we done?”

“I’ve hurt everyone else I love. I should’ve expected this would have happened to you too. I’m sorry.” She told me. Her whole lower body was gold. My cement hands held her gold ones, and we couldn’t never pull away. Forever. So this is how it felt to be a statue.

Well, this felt invietable. At least I can stare at her beautiful face forever- No. NO. I won’t give up on life. Common Midas, you’re just going to give in like this? Succumb to death because you feel there is no other way?

“No. No! Medusa we can’t give up on life just because we feel like there’s nothing we can do! There’s always something you can do! Even now! We can’t just give up!”

Suddenly, The gold that almost covered Medusa’s entire head stopped short at her face. The stone stopped crawling up my jaw. Our curses were halted.

“W-what happened? By now you would've been entirely covered.” Medusa stuttered.

“Same for you. All I said is that we can’t give up,” I said, and with that I could feel the stone tickling my flesh as it melted off my neck and came off my torso.

Medusa gasped. “How are you doing that?”

“By believing it’s all not over. By believing that just because I’ve screwed up in life a lot doesn’t mean there isn’t a way I can get out of this rut.”

Once the stone completely melted off my body, I shook my feet, that had fallen asleep and stretched my stiff limbs, letting go of Medusa’s hands.

“No! Midas, don’t leave me!”

“You can get out of the gold too, Medusa! You just have to believe! Believe all isn’t lost, I’ll help you!”

I grabbed her smooth golden hands once more and stared into her gray eyes, daring them to turn me back to stone. They didn’t.

“I-I believe you, so I believe I can get out of this mess!” Medusa said proudly, and the gold began to shrink away, revealing her body once more.

“Yes!” I yelled. “We can break our curses! We can free our loved ones from it! We can live a normal life! We just have to not give up on ourselves!”

“I believe I can free my parents from stone! I believe I can break my own curse! I believe Midas can as well!” Medusa smiled at me at that last part. The gold began to shrink away to nothingness, and as soon as she was free, Medusa hugged me.

“Thank you Midas. You’ve given me hope.”

I hugged her back, tightly. Little did she know, I’d given myself hope too.

“Now, let’s go free your parents, then I can free my mother,” I told her, pointing a thumb to myself.

“Oh, but if you help me free my parents, I’d have to help you free your Mom. It’s only curtius. Plus, my parents would love to meet your Mom, since we’re dating now.”

“And since you’ll be helping me free my Mom, it’s only fair I take you out on a proper date some time. Say, next week?”

“Sure!” Medusa nodded. “And since you’ll be taking me on a date, I might as well give you my- oh here take my number!”

And since then, me and Medusa have been doing good. Very good.

I don’t need gold when I’ve got my very best treasures so close to me. Medusa and my own mind!

The genie said I would need a strong power to break the curse. Though Medusa says the Power of Love broke the curse, to this day I still believe my Will Power had broken the curse.

~ END ~

My name is Shila Williams. I am 16 years-old, and I’ve had a passion for writing and drawing ever since I could spell. I grew up in North Carolina, as well as lived and traveled abroad. I write to inspire kids' minds to imagine and take them on a fun and adventurous journey.

I'm now a published author! Please support my debut book! Check it out here on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/Imagination-Shila-Williams-ebook/dp/B09YXKWZJX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15MR85DQDQCA&keywords=imagination+shila+williams&qid=1651670532&sprefix=imagination+shila%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-1

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Thanks for reading!