"I hate myself."

The girl lay on the bed, tightly curled up in a ball. Her thin, cold hands trembled, and there was a coin lying with her. Monotonous curtains were drawn tightly against the windows, blocking out the bright morning light and leaving the room in almost complete darkness. Except for the flickering of a red LED light in the far corner, next to a dead basil plant on a shelf. The air in the room was old and cold. It's winter and her heating has been turned off. But instead of lying under an old, unwashed shamrock-patterned blanket, she lay on it. It was uncomfortably cold, and she was wearing only her pajamas, which she had been wearing for the past sixteen hours, which she hadn't changed for a day or two. But it doesn't matter. Somehow, the little mistake made her feel the pain she felt.

Just feel. It doesn't feel very good. Not worse. Just something that made her uncomfortable.

She closed her eyes and lay down for a while; Numb, but not as numb as she had hoped. Until finally, the all-encompassing sleep crushed her consciousness into a sea of nothingness, until somewhere, even the feeling of cold disappeared into the depths and sank into the water together.

There was a trickle in her dreams. She fidgeted. The voice made her feel like she needed to go to the bathroom. The girl opened her eyes.

Everything is white.

Her room was gone. Her bed was gone. It was only herself, standing in a huge, empty, empty space. But the water ...... Where did that sound come from? She turned around and saw that the source of the noise, was a fountain. A simple fountain, like you'd see in any old park, stone-carved and ornate, but covered with all sorts of esoteric ornaments that one might find "neat", but nothing more. It's really the same as any other fountain. She walked towards it. However, as she walked forward, she noticed that something didn't quite feel right in her body. It's light and ethereal, like running in a dream.

In a dream? She looked down at her hands. Oh. It's just a dream.

Her body was gone. Just a vague, colorless, roughly humanoid spot. The only thing that sets her apart is the coin she still holds between her "fingers". She looked at it, then returned to the fountain.

Well...... It seems like the obvious thing, right?

With a flick of the thumb, the coin flew through the air, flying a little high, hitting the upper part of the fountain, then splashing down and falling along with all the rest of the coins, landing beneath the strange dark surface of the water, shimmering cheerfully from the unseen light source.

In an instant, the white room disappeared, and so did she.

A woman's voice sounded in her head, as clear as spring water. "Are you there? Did you drop this diamond ring in my fountain? The voice asked.

“…… Well? ”

The girl floated there, seeing in her mind a lavish diamond-encrusted ring, and a pale, bony hand reaching out to her. That, she thought, must be worth a lot of money. "Here, you can get it back."

A hand reached farther away from her, its charming fingers spread, and the voice continued.

She floated there, looking at it. Her heart beat a little faster, and she felt her hand unexpectedly lift up to catch it, even though she had no body anymore. But then, she stopped.

The dreamy feeling of her arm moving gave her a strange thought. That thought, that feeling, this ethereal feeling of moving in a dream, like being underwater. This darkness ...... It is not nothingness, nor is it a dream without light. It's underwater. She trembled. The chill of the bedroom, sinking with her, at this moment, finally came to the abyss she had fallen into. The familiar sensation instantly cleared her mind and returned consciousness to her senses.

The ring was too expensive for her.

"No, it's not mine," the girl said, slowly lowering her hand.

The water is churning. The voice sounded, ecstatic.

"Ahh It's been a long time since there was an honest man! ”

In stark contrast to its own excitement, after only a second, it yawned and became a little sleepy.

"Let me reward you for your honesty, do you have anything to want?" The voice asked, lazily circling around her formless body.

Anything? What does this mean? Anything? Like, literally anything? Well, what does it matter...... It's just a dream. A strange dream made her wake up in minutes and have to run to the bathroom, but it was a dream after all. The girl floated there silently for a while.

"Can you get my coins back?" She asked.

"Nope." The voice spoke very clearly. It seems to be enraged. "You can wish to have anything but that. But that's definitely not going to work. ”

"Oh......" the girl responded, feeling her body turn upside down, floating idly in the dark. …… Can you make me happy? ”

"Nope. It can't do that," its voice said.

"Huh? You said I could hope for anything, and now you're telling me there are two things I can't do. ”

The voice sighed. "Listen, happiness is not something I can create, you have to create it yourself. Nothing outside can help you. I want to say, but ...... Well...... Of course, my first donation in such a long time would have gotten tricky...... Uh......"

Strangely, when she heard the voice saying "um", the girl felt heavy inside. Even her dreams are no longer exciting. She just wanted to go back to that dark place where she was awake and sleeping, to that place of nothingness where she didn't exist. But that's what she really wants. In fact, she wanted it so badly. The girl said with her mouth open.

"Can you-"

"Ahh I know! "You want your money back, you want to be happy, right? Well, I have a deal for you! Are you ready? ”

The girl floated, not even excited by being interrupted. She's used to it, and people usually don't let her finish. Most of them didn't even bother to listen to her.

"I ...... Belch...... I guess? ”

"You want to be happy, don't you?" The voice asked.

"yes......" she replied with some uncertainty.

"That's settled. Good luck! ”

"Wow, wow!"

There was a loud "click" in the water, as if someone had snapped their fingers. When her soul was swept into darkness, everything disappeared again in an instant; Hovering somewhere far from where she used to live. The sound of rushing water roared around her, mingled with tiny clanging sounds that never seemed to leave her ears; The sound of a handful of coins clinking.