The Last Day

Nestled between lush green forests, where flowers sprang up at every turn, stood Oakwood Elementary School, serene and welcoming, a place known for its gentle teachers and motherly care.

Happy sounds of children filled the classrooms on the last day of school.

One small girl, Janet, approached her teacher, Miss Clarice.

“Miss… I wish to read a poem,” she said shyly.

“Don’t worry, just do it! Never have any unfulfilled wishes!” her teacher encouraged.

Janet took a deep breath, performed her recitation, and was met with thunderous applause.

As the school bell rang, students flooded out of the building while Janet skipped half the way home.

Suddenly, she felt something missing from her wrist.

“Oh no, my new watch!” she cried.

Panic surged through her as her heart hammered in her chest and a lump of worry formed in her throat.

She ran back as quickly as her small legs could carry her and soon reached the school gates.

But what she saw was unsettling.

An eerie silence hung like mist. The flowers seemed withered, and gloom bloomed among the tall trees.

Unable to react, Janet stepped back. Yet the thought of her watch compelled her to continue.

With her heart pounding, she climbed the flight of stairs and swiftly reached her classroom.

She quickly opened her cubby and retrieved her watch.

Relief spread through her as she held it tightly. Her heart and the watch ticked rhythmically together.

It showed 5:03 p.m.

Another surge of panic hit her.

No student was allowed in the school after 5:00 p.m.

She sprinted through the vast corridor when she heard soft voices coming from a nearby room.

Although she tried to ignore them, curiosity drew her closer.

She tiptoed towards the room and peeked inside.

To her shock, she saw Miss Clarice standing nearest to her.

Suddenly, as if someone had doused her with water, Miss Clarice’s pale skin began turning brown. Her straight hair turned blonde, numerous freckles appeared across her nose, and her eyes changed to a shade of hazel.

Janet stared in disbelief.

Instead of Miss Clarice, there stood Dr. Emile, the doctor from next door, whose funeral Janet’s mother had recently attended.

Almost every teacher in the room started transforming.

With fear pounding through her veins, Janet ran towards the gate and dashed out of the school.

Panting heavily, she arrived home and went straight to bed.

Though exhausted, her eyes remained wide open until she finally drifted into a strange dream.

In her dream, Janet saw an old woman speaking to her daughter, Dr. Emile.

“Emile, don’t be stupid…” said her mother.

“But I love teaching!” Emile replied indignantly.

“No, Emile, be a doctor,” her mother insisted.

Janet woke up choking.

She could not digest what she had just witnessed in her dream.

Just then, she heard her mother grumble from the next room.

“Your aunt has enrolled in a ballet class! At this age… some ‘unfulfilled wish,’ ugh.”

Something clicked in Janet’s mind.

She remembered that her teachers always encouraged students to avoid leaving wishes unfulfilled.

She wondered what would happen if people did have unfulfilled wishes.

Would they fulfil them after they died?

Or would they become spirits and then…?

The thought lingered in her mind as a chill ran down her spine.