Friends forever

Zoey Sandberg’s life in Bangkok was falling apart. Her father was gravely ill with cancer, his condition worsening by the day. To keep the family afloat and pay for his medical treatments, Zoey’s mother had to take on two jobs. She returned home every night exhausted, overwhelmed, and bitterly wishing for a better life.

Unable to manage the overwhelming stress and care for both a dying husband and a teenage daughter, Zoey’s mother made a difficult decision: she sent Zoey to live with her grandmother.

Zoey’s grandmother lived alone in a retirement home she had built during her younger days working as a shaman. Throughout her life, many people in the community had criticized her, claiming she was crazy. Yet, despite the rumors, she had helped countless people over the years. Even in her retirement, locals still secretly sought her out for spiritual guidance.

Moving meant Zoey had to change schools. She wasn't happy about leaving her old life behind, but she knew she had no choice.

On her first Monday at the new school, Zoey woke up early to catch the seven o'clock bus. As she stepped onboard, someone immediately caught her eye. Sitting near the back was a strikingly unusual girl. She had snow-white hair and piercing, bright red eyes.

Before Zoey could decide where to sit, the girl called out to her. "Hey, you! Do you want to sit beside me?"

Zoey smiled in relief. "Sure! Uh, I'm Zoey. I'm new here. What's your name?"

"I'm Vienna," the girl replied with a warm smile.

For the rest of the ride, the two girls talked endlessly. It felt as though they had been best friends for years. By the time they arrived at school, they were delighted to discover they shared the same classes. They ate lunch together, and before heading home, they exchanged phone numbers.

That evening, Zoey’s grandmother prepared curry for dinner—Zoey’s favorite meal. Over dinner, Zoey excitedly talked about her day and her new friend, Vienna, explaining how naturally they had clicked.

Surprisingly, her grandmother didn't share her excitement. Her face darkened. As a shaman, she sensed something deeply off about Vienna.

"Zoey," her grandmother warned sternly, "I don't think you should keep company with that girl. She is dangerous."

"But Grandma! You haven't even met her yet," Zoey protested. "What are you even saying?"

Her grandmother looked at her with grave eyes. "Don't say I didn't warn you, Zoey."

Confused and slightly annoyed, Zoey shrugged off the warning and went to bed.

Around three o'clock in the morning—the hour when the night is quietest—Zoey was startled awake by her ringing phone. Disoriented, she sat up and checked the screen. It was Vienna.

"Hello...?" Zoey mumbled softly.

"Hey, angel! I am so sorry for calling so late," Vienna’s voice sounded frantic on the line. "But I have a problem. Remember at lunch, before I ate, I took off my red ruby ring? I can't find it anywhere. Could you check your bag to see if you accidentally picked it up?"

"Oh, your ring? Let me look..." Zoey stepped out of bed and unzipped her school bag. She searched through every compartment and even checked her uniform pockets. "Vienna, I looked everywhere, but—"

Clink.

Zoey froze. A faint metallic sound echoed across the floor. She looked down and gasped in shock. Right beside her foot lay the red ruby ring.

"What the...?" Zoey breathed out. "Vienna? I... I found it. I don't know where it came from, I looked everywhere..."

"Thank goodness!" Vienna gasped over the line, releasing a heavy breath. "My mom gave it to me before she passed away. I can't sleep without it."

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Vienna," Zoey said softly, feeling a pang of sympathy. "How did she die?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you tomorrow," Vienna replied. "Okay, see you later. Bye!"

Zoey went back to sleep, thoroughly unnerved.

The next morning, Zoey woke up early as usual. On her way to the kitchen to make breakfast, she stopped in her tracks. Her grandmother was standing near the doorway, holding the red ruby ring between her fingers.

"Zoey? Why do you have this ring?" her grandmother asked, her voice tight with panic. "Where did you get it?! Do you know what evil spirits are inside this ring?!"

"Grandma, give it back! It's my friend's ring!" Zoey insisted.

"I knew it—that girl!" Her grandmother shoved the ring back into Zoey's hand. "Bring this back to her immediately, Zoey. Keeping it could cost you your life!"

Confused and shaken, Zoey rushed out the house. When she arrived at school, Vienna was already waiting in the lobby. Zoey hurried over and handed the ring back.

"Thank you, I'm so glad you found it, Zoey," Vienna said smoothly, slipping it onto her finger. "Let's head to class."

Zoey wanted to push for answers about what her grandmother had said, but she hesitated. As the days rolled into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, Vienna became an indispensable part of Zoey's life.

Over those three months, their friendship deepened rapidly. They became inseparable—hanging out after school, doing homework together, and sharing secrets. Zoey became so swept up in the warmth of having a best friend that she completely pushed aside her grandmother’s strange warnings and forgot all about the mysterious ring.

To keep the peace at home, Zoey began lying to her grandmother, telling her she was spending her weekends studying at the local library whenever she was actually out with Vienna.

However, as the months passed, Vienna’s behavior began to shift in unsettling ways.

One morning, Vienna was late for school. While Zoey stood waiting by the courtyard, a group of classmates walked up to her. They were polite and friendly, but one girl in the group stared at Zoey with a cold, serious intensity.

Without a word, the girl stepped forward and handed Zoey a scrap of paper. "This is my number. Call me when you get home."

Zoey frowned, bewildered. "Why? Is there something you want to tell me?"

"It's about your friend Vienna," the girl said quietly. "Just call me."

Before Zoey could respond, a hand slammed onto her wrist. Vienna pulled her back aggressively, stepping between Zoey and the group.

"Zoey, what are you doing?" Vienna snapped, her red eyes narrowing. "You shouldn't be talking to these people. They're bad influences. I don't want you socializing with anybody other than me. Do you understand?!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Zoey yelled back, pulling her arm free. "We're friends, Vienna, but I'm allowed to speak to whoever I want!"

They got into a heated argument before the bell rang, leaving a dark cloud over the rest of the day.

When Zoey finally got home, she was emotionally exhausted. She threw herself onto her bed and closed her eyes. But as she lay there in the dark, the mysterious girl's words echoed in her mind. Unable to shake the feeling of unease, Zoey pulled out her phone and dialed the number.

"Hello?" Zoey whispered. "What is it about Vienna that you wanted to tell me?"

The girl on the other end took a deep breath. "Listen to me carefully. Your friend Vienna is not who you think she is. We used to be best friends—we actually grew up together. Vienna used to live with her mom and older sister. But when her mom died, a part of Vienna died with her. She became cold and distant toward me."

The girl paused, her voice trembling slightly.

"When I tried to move on and make other friends, Vienna became violently angry. She became obsessed and possessive over me, acting like she owned my life. Her behavior got so terrifying that I had to report her to the police. But later, I found out the terrible truth about why she became like that."

Zoey held her breath. "What truth?"

"Before her mother died, she was planning to move abroad to marry a foreign man—leaving Vienna behind. When Vienna found out, she poisoned her own mother. She made it look like natural food poisoning, and the police believed it. But after her mother was cremated, Vienna went to a dark shaman. She asked the shaman to trap her mother's spirit inside that red ruby ring so she could force her mom to stay with her forever."

Zoey felt a chill run down her spine.

"Vienna believes that anyone who tries to leave her deserves the same fate," the girl continued, her voice shaking with terror. "If you try to walk away, she will kill you—so your spirit stays trapped with her forever. Please, Zoey, be careful. She is extremely dangerous. I just wanted to warn—"

Click.

The line suddenly went dead.

"Hello? Hello?!" Zoey panicked, but there was only static.

Zoey dropped her phone onto the mattress, her body shaking in horror. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

That night, Zoey locked her door and hid under her blankets. Late into the night, her phone began to ring. It was Vienna. Terrified, Zoey refused to answer and pressed her hands over her ears until it stopped.

The next morning, Zoey pretended to be sick so she wouldn't have to go to school. She stayed in her room all day, her mind racing as she replayed the girl's warning. By evening, the calls from Vienna became constant, but Zoey refused to pick up.

Then, the phone stopped ringing.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The sound didn't come from the hallway. It came from her bedroom window—on the second floor.

Zoey froze, her breath catching in her throat. She slowly turned her head toward the glass. Standing on the narrow ledge outside, framed by the pale moonlight, was Vienna. She was hanging off the frame like a twisted puppet on strings, her pure white hair whipping violently in the night wind. Her bright red eyes glowed with an unnatural light.

"Zoey..." Vienna’s voice echoed directly inside Zoey’s head. "Why aren't you answering me? Friends don't ignore each other."

Before Zoey could scream, the window glass shattered inward. Vienna dropped lightly onto the floorboards, stepping over the sharp shards. Around her neck, hanging from a silver chain, was the red ruby ring. It glowed with a deep, sickening crimson aura.

"I saw you talking to her," Vienna whispered, taking a step closer. Her voice distorted, overlapping with a second, raspy, ancient voice—the trapped spirit within the stone. "She tried to take you away from me, just like my mother tried to leave. But no one leaves me, Zoey. We're going to be best friends forever."

Vienna lunged, her pale hands clawing toward Zoey’s neck.

"Out!" a sharp voice thundered from the doorway.

Zoey’s grandmother stood there, holding a bronze shamanic bowl filled with blessed salt and dried sage. With a fierce sweep of her arm, she hurled the contents straight at Vienna.

The moment the sacred mix touched Vienna's skin, a horrible, unnatural shriek tore through the room. Black smoke hissed off her arms as she recoiled in pain.

"Zoey, the ring!" her grandmother shouted, holding up her wooden talisman to shield them. "Break the ruby! It's the anchor!"

Vienna snarled, her red eyes flaring with rage as she tried to rush the grandmother. Driven by pure survival, Zoey threw herself forward, tackling Vienna to the floor. They crashed hard against the wooden planks. Zoey reached out, hooked her fingers into the silver chain, and ripped the ring from Vienna's neck.

"No!" Vienna screeched, scrambling wildly toward her.

Zoey raised the red ruby high above her head and slammed it down onto the floorboards with all her strength.

CRACK.

The gemstone shattered into a dozen glittering red fragments. A freezing gust of wind erupted inside the room, accompanied by a long, mournful wail that sounded like two women weeping at once. Dark, shadowy mist poured out from the broken gem, swirling toward the shattered window before vanishing into the night sky.

Silence fell over the room.

Vienna lay motionless on the floor. The eerie crimson glow in her eyes faded to a dull gray, her pale skin relaxed, and the dark aura surrounding her vanished entirely.

Zoey sank back against the wall, her chest heaving as she stared at the crushed pieces of the ruby ring scattered across the floor. Her grandmother walked over, gently wrapping a warm, reassuring arm around Zoey's trembling shoulders.

They were safe.

Gasping for air, Zoey glanced down at a sharp, polished fragment of the broken gem resting near her hand. But as she caught her own reflection in the red glass, her heart stopped.

For just a fraction of a second, her own eyes flashed a bright, crimson red.