Shortcut

Jasmine was tired of all the efforts she made that doesn't give any results. She had tried everything she could to get her a job that at least would pay her rent and stop her from starving. Everyone in her apartment complex had been talking dirty about her because of her being jobless. They even said that she was an idiot for not getting any job at all.

With determination, she got herself ready for her trip to the Green Hills forest, where a magical waterfall, named Moon Waterfall, located. The Green Hill forest was also associated with mysteries. She came across the page when she searched for another job. She read the page with burning curiosity and found out that whoever got to the waterfall safely would get their wishes coming true. But her optimism was also drowned by the fright of the forest mysteries.

She thought that maybe she was being too determined about getting her wishes come true by going to this waterfall. Her mind reminded of what danger she could encounter, but her intuition told her that she has to go and get her wishes come true. And this time, she trusted her intuition.

She slung the straps of her bags over her shoulders as she smiled widely. She took in a deep breath and stepped out of her apartment. She locked the door and went downstairs. When she stepped out of her apartment building, that was when her adventure started.

She arrived at the forementioned forest and looked up at the trees towering over her 5 feet and 7 inches height. A wind blew at her way, and she tightened her jacket around her. She looked around the entrance of the forest and saw no one. She gulped nervously as she brought her gaze back to the entrance of Green Hill Forest.

She looked at the red mark on the map of the Green Hill forest, pursing her lips. The internet said that she only needed to walk through the forest path for an hour and a half to get to the forest. That meant that she could be back in her apartment fast. She could even be back by the afternoon. She nodded to herself and started to walk into the forest.

She gasped in shock when someone gripped her arm tightly, preventing her from going any further into the forest. She turned to face the person and found an old man with a deep frown marring his. He stared at her with fright and almost pleading eyes. He looked like he was trying to warn her about not going into the forest, but she just smiled at the man as she pulled her arms away from him.

"I'm sorry, sir. I have to go now if I want to be back by noon." Jasmine explained to him kindly, and he shook his head vigorously and grab her arms again. "Don't go in there. You don't know what kind of dangers are waiting for you in there." He said with a shaky voice and a frown.

"Thank you for your warning, but I will be just fine. I have to go now." She walked away from him and going further into the forest.

"You're going to die!"

She turned around with wide eyes and searched for the man, but he was already gone like he was never there. She stares at the forest entrance with fright and wondered where the man was. She shook her head and continue to walk deeper into the forest.

Jasmine took a five-minute rest every thirty minutes. She stretches her legs and drink some water at every stop she made. It was her last stop before continuing to go to the waterfall. She was so excited about seeing the waterfall. Even though she wouldn't probably got her wishes come true, at least she could relish in the beauty of the waterfall.

She packed her things and continued walking through the path leading deeper into the forest. She kept walking and walking, and sometimes hummed a song to get rid of her fright. The forest got darker and darker as she moved her feet towards her destination. She started to have an uneasy feeling in her stomach, but she kept walking down the dirt path. She looked around the forest and found nothing but trees and other plants.

She stopped in her track and frowned at the landscape in front of her. She was disappointed that she didn't find a beautiful waterfall that could magically granted her wishes. Instead, she only found a wide grass field. She looked up at the sky, and it already turned dark like it was nighttime. She took a glance at her watch, and it was only 9.45 in the morning.

Is it going to be raining soon? She asked to herself, frowning. She shakes her head and placed her bag down on the ground. She grabbed a raincoat and put it on quickly as she looked up at the oddly dark sky.

She slung her bag over her back as she thought of what she needed to do, frowning to herself in worry. She knew that it was impossible to be back at the entrance in a quick time. And, it was dangerous for her to walk through the path when it was going to be slippery. She could end up being like the people on the internet, but without no one that would help her. She could end up being dead in here.

The warning! The man warned me that I would die here. Oh no, he could be right. I could end up being dead today. Who knows I would fall down the hill, and no one would ever found me?

No, I won't die today. I won't die if I just stay here and wait until the rain stopped. Maybe, it would take a lot of her time to wait until the rain stopped, but she thought it was better than endangering her life.

She looked up at the dark sky once again, and her eyebrows furrowed when she saw the strangest thing she ever witnessed. She saw the moon, full and bright.

No way, it's still morning in here. The moon should be away by this time and can't be seen. She kept staring at the moon in wonder and started to worry about what would happen next. Another weird thing happened when she heard the sound of trickling water that came out of nowhere.

She observed her surroundings, but it all looked exactly like the time she arrived at the place. She started to feel even more worried about the strange sound when she didn't feel any rain droplet came down from the sky that could cause the sound.

The sound turns louder, from streaming waters to a louder sound. And then she realized that it was the sound of a waterfall. How could there be a sound of a waterfall when there's none around? Am I hallucinating? She asked herself.

She turned her attention back to the grass field and gasped. She found the waterfall there, replacing the grass field she saw before.

This can't be real! This is impossible! She convinced herself, but she knew better. She realized that what was in front of her was real when she can feel the refreshing breeze coming from the waterfall. The moonlight made the place looked even more enchanting.

She put her bag down and walk towards the water bank in awe and confusion, wondering how something this magical could happen to her. She slipped off her shoes and raincoat, putting it on a big rock by the water. She dipped her hand into the water and felt the coldness of it immediately. She giggled to herself and suddenly remembered the main reason she came to this place.

She rose to her feet and tried to remember what to do to get her wishes granted. She remembered it immediately, and what she should do was getting into the water, think of her wishes in front of the waterfall, and then swim through the waterfall. She nodded quickly and stepped into the water without thinking twice.

She walked deeper into the water and swam towards the waterfall. She stopped in front of the waterfall and closed her eyes. She wished for her life to be much better than it was now, to get a nice paying job, to get a better place to stay, to be free from people judging her ever again, she even wished that she could become an actress because it was one of her dream job when she was younger. And her last wish was that she could meet a man and they will live a happy, peaceful and romantic relationship.

She nodded to herself and took a deep breath before swimming under the waterfall. The waterfall consumed her, almost drowning her. She kept swimming through the waterfall, and all she could see was a bright light. Suddenly, everything turned black, and she felt like she was floating. She kept floating higher and higher until she couldn't feel anything anymore.

She stirred in her sleep and snuggled closer into the comfortable pillow. She also pulled the soft blanket over her body and tucked it under her chin with a content smile. She realized that she never had a pillow that comfortable and a blanket that soft. She pulled herself to sit and observed her surroundings. Her mouth hung open at her surroundings, and all she could say was wow.

She checked her new apartment in awe and couldn't seem to close her mouth from how shocked she was. This is really happening! She screamed in her head.

She went to the living room that was wonderfully and modernly furnished. Her eyes immediately went to the magazine lying on the coffee table. She walked towards the table and grab the magazine. She covered her mouth in shock when she saw her face on the cover of the magazine. She read the headline and smiled.

Jasmine Millie: A Newcomer, One year, 5 awards

Jasmine checked the time on the digital clocked and gasped. It's been a year since I went to the waterfall? What happened in all of the time that I was unconscious?

The phone rang, she looked around the room for the phone and found it immediately. She picked up the phone and held it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Jasmine, have you packed your things? We're going to London in two hours." A woman voice said. I'm going to London? What am I going to do in London?

"Oh, I haven't." She bit her lips nervously as she waited for a response from the woman and heard her sighed. "You haven't? Are you joking me? Should I come over and help you with that?" The woman asked and Jasmine shook her head vigorously even though the woman on the other line couldn't see her.

"No, you don't have to. I can handle it." Jasmine smiled reassuringly, more to herself. She could feel the woman nodded, and Jasmine sighed in relief.

"If you say so. I'll pick you up in an hour and a half. You better be ready by then, young lady."

"Yes, ma'am. See you later."

"Good."

The woman hung up the phone call and Jasmine sighed as she placed the phone close to her chest. She looked up at the ceiling and frowned at it in confusion. She dropped herself onto the white leather couch and sighed.

I better get started on packing and getting ready for the trip, she thought to herself.

Jasmine put the phone down to its place and started on getting herself ready for her trip, hoping nothing bad would happen.

That day was exactly two years since she woke up at her new apartment with confusion about everything. But in the end, she got control of her new life, and everything went well. But, one thing she couldn't understand was one of her wishes that didn't come true. And until now, she still thought about her last wish before going through the waterfall.

It was the day that Jasmine had to go to Cannes for a movie premiere the next day, and she felt giddy. One of her friends, Mira, acted in the movie, and she couldn't wait to see her acting. Jasmine couldn't help but be amazed by Mira's perfect acting skills.

After Jasmine took some pictures for the media and autograph for her fans, she walked into the building with Anna, the woman who called her on the day when Jasmine woke up, who turned out to be her manager slash best friend.

Jasmine turned to Anna and smiled apologetically at her. "I have to go to the toilet. I'll be in the theater soon." Jasmine said, making Anna frowned at her. "I can go with you if you want to."

"No. It's okay. I won't be long." Jasmine smiled reassuringly. Anna smiled at Jasmine and nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later." Anna said, waving her hand at me as she walked back to the theater entrance.

"See you." Jasmine waved her hand back at her and quickly go to the toilet. She pushed the door open and stepped into one of the stalls.

After she's done, she stepped out of the stall and went to wash her hand. She glances at her reflection in the mirror and gasped in shock. She turned her body around and stared at the man standing before her with her eyes wide open. And then, realization hit her. The man in front of her was the man who warned her before she walked into the forest.

"What are you doing here? What do you want from me?" Jasmine panicked, looking at the man with cautious eyes. The old man grinned at her, taking a step closer to her.

"You didn't read the consequences of using Moon Waterfall as your wish granter, did you?"

The consequences? I've never read anything about any consequences of getting my wish granted! Why didn't I know about that? Did I miss it? Damn, I was so blinded by how the waterfall granted wishes and I stop reading about the waterfall.

"What are the consequences?" Jasmine held onto the marble counter with fright as she stared at the scary old man.

"First. You will lose everything you've achieved after two years since you woke up." The old man takes another step towards Jasmine, and she gulped nervously as she kept her eyes on the man.

"And then, you will die!" The man jumped in front of Jasmine and get his hands around her neck tightly, strangling her. She struggled to get his hands away from her neck and started to panic when less air got into her lungs. Before she could do anything to escape, she already lost her life.

She took a shortcut to be successful in life, and that was how she lost in life.