CHAPTER 0: MAKE A BIRTHDAY WISH!
*The scene starts in a room with a single bed inside, in this single bed lies resting a boy, sleeping soundly. The room is silent with no noise other than the breathing of this sleeping boy. The sun's rays beam brightly through the curtains in the room and on to the lower half of the bed sheets. Next to the bed is a small desk where on top lies a phone with the time displaying "07:59". The phone suddenly starts making noise as an alarm goes off the moment the time hits 8am, with a message under the alarm saying "Happy Birthday Jesse"*
Boy: *groans loudly*
*Suddenly the boy in the bed wakes up and reaches out for his phone, his head is revealed. He has medium length brown hair and green eyes and a rather feminine face for a boy that looks as old as he does. He reads the alarm note and remembers the significance of today*
Voice from downstairs: "Jesse! It's your birthday today, remember? Come on downstairs I made us all pancakes"
*The boy, now fully awake, sits up in his bed, not looking very eager at the fact that it is his birthday today, nor prepared to go downstairs*
Jesse's Narration: "I know this is a bit abrupt, but hi, my name is Jesse and this here is me. In case you haven't already picked up, today is my birthday, my 18th birthday to be specific. Now for a normal person my age, the "eighteenth" birthday is usually quite a big deal as it's a pretty big milestone to hit, but not for me."
*Jesse gets dressed and opens his room door, preparing to go down the stairs*
Jesse's Narration: "I'm gonna be completely honest, I don't really like my life all that much. Yeah I have a roof over my head and I have food and water so I shouldn't really complain, but that's all I have. My family isn't exactly a rich family, but that's not the problem. The problem is we live in the middle of nowhere with pretty bad internet so I can't really talk to my very few friends and I just always feel so bored, so isolated, so… Lonely, all the time. Even my own brother doesn't interact with me, he's too absorbed with playing his little Pokémon game on his Switch. Me personally, I'm not really all that into it, nor anything else he plays on the very rare occasion he decides he wants to play something OTHER than Pokémon."
*Jesse walks past the living room and sees a slightly smaller boy with short hair and a bright light coming from the TV in the room*
Jesse's Narration: "Speaking of my brother, there he is on the couch doing exactly what I expected him to be doing. Which is playing that same Pokémon game of his he seems to spend most of his time on. He probably doesn't even know I've come downstairs yet he's so absorbed in that thing. Oh well, better keep moving I guess."
*A woman approaches Jesse from behind and rests her hands on his shoulders gently*
Jesse's Mother: "Happy birthday son, hope you enjoy your eighteenth today, make it really special! As you are aware I'm going to have to work all day today so you and your brother are going to be home alone for most of the day. I'll be back for cake and candles though so don't worry."
*Jesse's mother leaves the room in a hurry and exits through the back door which is located in the kitchen*
Jesse's Narration: "That's my mother, she's pretty much the only person in this house who actually likes me. I have respect for her too, she seems to work so much that she barely has any more time to do anything else, yet still finds the time to spend with her two kids. I've no idea how she does it, I know I couldn't."
*Jesse walks to the kitchen and sits at the kitchen table, looks and the plate with 2 pancakes on it in front of him with a slightly disgruntled face*
Jesse's Narration: "As for my dad, well he died just shortly before my younger brother was born so since I'm the eldest child here by just one year, neither me or my brother ever really got any memories of him. We were told he was a good person, but it's a bit sad we never really got to meet him."
*Jesse after having eaten his breakfast starts to walk out the kitchen and back the way he came*
Jesse's Narration: "That pretty much concludes the family introductions at least, this is seriously it. I suppose since I'm going to be home alone with my brother all day I should really try to interact with him, but we never really have gotten along all that well. Our interests are just too different since I don't really know anything about Pokémon and also don't care to learn and the last conversation we had with each other ended in me being told I'm an "unlikeable person", how pleasant."
*Jesse after having walked up the stairs opens the door to his room, which despite the natural daylight is still darker than the rest of the rooms in the house because of the closed curtains*
Jesse's Narration: "That entire morning interaction pretty much sums up everything that happens in this house every single day. Rinse and repeat, same day every day, boring stuff and I honestly cannot stand it. I just want to move out and live my life one day, the way I want to live it, where I make the rules. I guess having aspirations to dictate over everything that happens in my life does mean I could be an unlikeable person now that I put 2 and 2 together, but I promise that's not what I meant. All I'm saying is I just want to find something, even someone, that could make me happy, because right now, I'm not."
*Jesse sits down in his bed, plugs headphones into his phone and leans back on his bed frame*
Jesse: "Well then, I suppose I'll be spending my so-called "Eighteenth Birthday" doing the same thing I do every normal day. Listening to music until the day ends."
*Flash forward 12 hours later, it is now 8pm. Jesse is still in his room staring at a phone screen when the door is heard opening downstairs*
Jesse's Mother: "I'm home everybody, hurry downstairs it's time to do candles and cake for the birthday boy."
Jesse's Narration: "There it is, that phrase. "Birthday Boy". I don't know why I just hate hearing that phrase but I do. Maybe it's because I'm an ungrateful person, I should really be glad that at least someone acknowledges I exist in this house from time to time."
*Jesse walks all the way back to the kitchen again, repeating all the same actions he did this morning as if he had just woken up for a second time and this was his morning routine.*
Jesse's Mother: "Todd! Can you stop playing that game and come over here? It's your brother's darn 18th birthday, you should be happy for him."
Todd: "Hang on a second I'm so close to finishing this really hard dungeon called Purity Forest, I'm on the 97th floor it's almost over I promise."
Jesse's Mother to Jesse: "I'm assuming you two didn't do much today once again."
*Jesse looks upset, but doesn't respond*
Jesse's Mother to Jesse: "I'm sorry dear, I know the living situation right now isn't pleasant and nor has it ever been really, but I do love you and I only want what's best for you, but as it stands right now this is the best I can do with what we have."
*Jesse still remains unresponsive and looks even more upset, but the upset becomes anger, however this quickly cools as Jesse did not want to be angry at his mother for something that was not in her control*
Jesse's Mother to Jesse: "I can see you are upset, maybe blow out the candles on your birthday cake and make a wish for things to be better. I know you don't believe in that stuff, but just try it for me, it might at least make you feel a little happier knowing you did."
Jesse: "Mom..."
*Jesse's Mother looks upset also, but keeps a straight face and responds*
Jesse's Mother: "Hm?"
Jesse: "Thank you for doing this for me, I know I've been a pain in the back to you but thank you."
*Jesse's mother looks at Jesse and smiles*
Jesse's Mother to Jesse: "It's ok dear, I just want you to be happy and succeed is all."
*Jesse's mother brings out a small birthday cake with 4 candles on it and lights each one. Whilst she does this, Jesse's brother finally makes it to the table*
Jesse's Mother: "I'm assuming like last year you would prefer if we all didn't sing this time."
Jesse: "Sorry, but yeah."
Jesse's Mother: "Alright, remember to think with all your might and make a wish as you blow out the candles."
*Jesse closes his eyes, frowns for a bit, but then smirks and blows out the candles like his mother told him to do.*
Jesse: "Well, I made my wish. For what good that did I'm not too sure yet."
Todd to Jesse: "What did you wish for then? Aren't you going to tell us?"
Jesse to Todd: "What's the point of a birthday wish if you tell everybody what it was before it comes true?"
Todd to Jesse: "Aren't you the same guy who always usually says they don't believe in that "fairies and magic whatever nonsense" whenever someone says to make a wish at other peoples birthday parties?"
Jesse's Mother: "Todd, please. Give him some peace for once, you two seem to have a new fight every day."
*Todd silences himself after hearing his mothers words, mostly out of respect for his mother, less so Jesse. Jesse, who was previously looking down at the cake, looks back up from the table at his mothers eyes.*
Jesse: "Besides, I actually feel like this one could happen this time, I feel good about it."
*Jesse, eyes watering slightly, looked directly at his mother*
Jesse: "I don't want to eat cake today, I'm not in the mood for it, but thanks anyway. I'm just going to go to bed, I just want today to be over."
*Jesse's Mother looks upset but holds back, she does not say anything in response, but acknowledges Jesse's request by nodding her head. Jesse runs up to his room and slowly shuts the door, then gets on to his bed and looks up directly at the ceiling*
Jesse: "If there is any god, any wish bringing deity or even just any power or force in the world out there listening to my plea. Please, please just give me this one thing..."
*Jesse closed his eyes and let a single tear out as he tried to get some rest. Suddenly, his stomach growled and started to ache*
Jesse: "typical of the supposed "best day of my teen years" to end with me trying not to cry and having stomach cramps. Just what I needed."
*Many minutes later, Jesse eventually fell asleep. However instead of the room getting darker as he fell asleep, Jesse noticed that it got brighter, but was too unconscious to properly react.*
Jesse: "Wh… What's that… uhhhhgh"
"FFFFZZZPT"
*With a flash of light and a loud sound, Jesse, all whilst being asleep, had vanished from his room as if he had been teleported away. His mother and his brother were both already too deep in their slumber to have woken up to the noise. Jesse was gone, and no one had noticed*
END OF CHAPTER 0