A silver haired boy, probably around thirteen years old, looked up at the night's sky, as he watched the stars shine down upon him. Blood had splattered over his already red hoodie, and some had gotten upon his black shorts. He was laying there, in pain and agony as he felt his mind inbetween a mix of shock and haze.

  So, this is what it feels like...

  He felt his entire body scream out in pain, as he felt an overwhelming pressence approach him. His red eyes looked over, but he could not get a good glimpse at it. It was as if its very nature was hidden from him, avoiding his gaze.

  "Why?"

  That was the only thing the boy could ask in this situation, this unfair and absurd situation. The figure did not answer his question either.

  "Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

  Once again, this shrouded figure, perhaps darkness personified ignored his query, as it raised what appeared to be a blade cloaked in shadows.

  "...I see, so that is your answer" the boy said, as he closed his eyes. "I understand".

  It was in this moment, that the boy remembered how this all started.

  Earlier that morning, the long silver haired boy was still in school. He was playing on his smartphone since it was inbetween classes, and his next class would be in this very room. His red eyes kept watch on the phone, but occasionally darted around the room.

  His classmates were all talking. Recently, the topic of ghost stories and rumors were becoming especially prevalent, which probably meant one person was spreading a whole bunch of tall tales around.

  "Did you hear about those shooting stars?"

  "I heard if you make a wish at the well..."

  "Someone said there might have been a strange murder in the Hightown, that it might be ghosts!"

  The boy listened to all of them attentively. Then again, they were speaking in the same room as him, so how could he not? As he continued to hear it all while looking at his phone, another boy took the chair of the desk in front of him and swung it around. He had bright red hair and brilliant red eyes like the silver haired boy. He was wearing a red hooded jacked with short sleeves over his school uniform, his red hair a bit long in the back like the silver haired boy, although the silver haired boy had his tied a bit more neatly while the red haired boy's was thicker. Both of them also had rather long bangs on each side of their face as well.

  "Hey, Zazie" the red haired boy said. "You hearing all these really cool rumors?"

  "Of course I am. They are speaking loudly in the same room after all. What is with the murder bit though?"

  "Apparently a guy died in a locked room. They thought it was suicide before, but now they realized that its impossible for him to have killed himself that way apparently".

  "Huh..." Zazie said, his eyes lighting up with interest.

  "Zazie...it's in Hightown. You really think the cops will let either of us get close".

  Zazie pouted a bit at his friend. "But Runio, when you tell me such an interesting thing, I just have to know more".

  "Forget it. The only way you would get anything before the media does would be if you prayed to the spirits and they responded".

  Zazie let out a sigh, but he knew Runio was right. He was just a thirteen year old boy, barely 136cm tall. There was no way anyone was going to just let him into a crime scene so easily, and given that it was in Hightown, the security and attention it was getting meant it would be impossible to overcome.

  "I guess you are right. What about you though Runio? Any rumor catch your interest?"

  "Someone overheard a rumor on the tram that lately, people who have made wishes in specific spots or with various methods have had them come true. Some even think it might involve the old ruins".

  "Ha? All they said was the old ruins? You realize how little that narrows it down?"

  "Yeah, I know. There are so many of them, from the castles and forts built by European explorers, to the shrines and other parts of the old town built by those that came from Japan, to the old WW2 military bases that were left abandoned by the United States".

  The place they lived could be likened to a gigantic island, right in the middle of the pacific, and the "Ring of Fire", a series of various volcanos that stretched far wider than one might imagine. It had various rich history of people coming here, imparting their culture and knowledge, building it up and colonizing, but then eventually leaving it rather than fighting for it for some reason or another. There were signs of Rome, Greece, Japan, the US, and more into their culture. It had been visited, developed, and redeveloped many times over.

  Then why wasn't it in the history books? Simple, it was far enough away from things that it rarely got involved with national and international conflict, and no wars had ever been fought for it, on it, or near it. In truth, its nationality was in a bit of debate at the moment as a result. The US might technically claim ownership, but they never have officially. Japan then might, but again, never officialized it. Some have argued that, due to the recent advancement of its own space program, and the fact it has lately been used as neutral ground by various foreign powers and corporations, that was independent or perhaps just directly under the UN, while others claim it might be more of a citystate situation.

  The only reason it was coming up at all though was because it had been developing a lot recently, and because of the fact a few various mines of precious resources had recently been found, and it seemed quite rich. Officially, there was one, but Zazie couldn't be bothered to remember what was currently being claimed. But this island, Meritas, was big enough that it could take several days to bike from one side to the other. There were also other islands that were nearby and considered part of it as well.

  But thanks to all that, there were countless various examples of ancient ruins on the island. A plethora really. Near the city they lived in, Horizon, there was probably at least five castles and several towers and forts, several old Japanese style buildings and shrines and temples, as well as a castle or two, and also two or three abandoned army bases from WW2. So when someone said "the old ruins", it basically didn't narrow anything down at all.

  "Hell, the Old Ruins could refer to one of the run down buildings in Oldtown even" Zazie mused, before looking at Runio. "So, anything else I should know?"

  Runio flinched for a bit, before letting out a sigh.

  "They have been calling you that nickname again".

  "Which? Snowflake?"

  "Yeah".

  "Please tell me you didn't punch them".

  "I held myself back properly this time".

  "Good. Honestly, it could be worse. At least people have stopped assuming that I bleached my hair or something" Zazie said, pinching one of his long bangs and holding it up in front of them. It was a silverish white, a rather unusual color for a child. "It's just a very rare form of Albinism, according to the doctors".

  "Which means they don't actually know and are just using that as an excuse to hide that fact" Runio pointed out.

  "Well, yes" Zazie agreed. "If they want to call me stupid names, then whatever".

  "But they never stop at that. Because they are the kind of humans who gain strength and power by picking on and embarrassing the weak".

  "Well, that is true".

  Zazie had long been bullied for being different and weird, and he doubted things would change magically and suddenly. He could make all the wishes he want, but wishes would never change reality.

  "I bet I know what you are thinking right now" Runio said playfully. "But don't you think its early to make assumptions? How about we try it out, the two of us?"

  "Those rumors about wishes? You know they won't be true".

  "You never know. All rumors, all lies, start with a fragment of truth. You are the one who told me that".

  Zazie twitched as his friend used his own words against him.

  "Fine. I guess we can go and investigate. But you realize that means we will have to sneak out right?"

  "You say that like it's not easy for us at this point".

  Zazie smiled in response to his friend's playful jab.

  "Fair enough. Let's go tonight then. It should make for a fun adventure, at least".

  "Excellent! Let's talk out the rest after school" Runio said, as the teacher entered the classroom. He quickly swung his chair around and sat properly at his desk, as class soon began to start.

  The moment school was out, Zazie left and started on his way home, only to be grabbed and pulled around the side of the school in a quick moment. Zazie was rather annoyed, but not overwhelmingly surprised given his early conversation with Runio, as he stood surrounded by three bullies. That said, these bullies were not quite the typical bullies one might have expected to normally appear, as it was three girls instead. Not that Zazie was in any way lacking there either.

  "You are the one who told on us to the teachers, aren't you?"

  "It wasn't me" he responded, only to immediately get punched in the stomach. He clenched it as he endured the pain, and then just looked at her. "It wasn't me".

  "Tsk. Well, give us your notes then for wasting our time".

  "I don't have them with me. The others already took them".

  "Do I need to punish you for interfering with me?"

  "Oi! What is going on here" Runio declared loudly. The bullies turned to look, but given how loud Runio was, it was obviously going to attract the attention of others. The bullies scowled and backed off, releasing Zazie as they pulled back.

  "We can settle this later" their leader, Tasha, said before pulling back.

  "Thanks Runio".

  "No probs. Although, I wasn't the one who noticed at first".

  As he said that, a blonde haired boy in a wheelchair came over to them.

  "Working hard Zazie?"

  "As best as I can Leo. How are you doing?"

  "Well, hoping to get some new medication soon, maybe get my legs back again...it has been rough".

  "Mhm. Thanks for getting Runio".

  "I would have done something myself, but...I would rather not make myself a target while I am in this condition. Especially since it worsened a bit before".

  "Right. Well hopefully the new stuff works".

  Runio then smiled joyfully. "I was actually talking about the wish stuff I heard about. Regarding the Starlit Well".

  "I don't think Leo can join us, Runio".

  "Ahahaha. It would be difficult, but to be honest, taking my chance on a wish couldn't hurt for me..."

  "But you need to stay healthy Leo" Zazie warned. "What you are going through isn't minor".

  "Yeah, I know I know. I just miss the old days, the three of us running around, occasionally dragging Ezra into things with us. Runio litterally sniffing out clues, me getting doors opened for us, and Zazie doing what he does best".

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "Thanks...it would be nice for sure" Zazie muttered.

  Eventually as they walked (and rolled) along the way, they made it to an intersection.

  "Runio, see you tonight. Leo, see you tomorrow".

  "Hey, don't count me out just yet!" Leo complained, although he wasn't being all that serious when he did. Everyone laughed it off, and then they all returned home. Zazie's home was a two story house. His mother was rarely home however as she was busy working on a big engineering project to refit and upgrade a massive and highly important dam, and his father was currently dealing with an influx of legal troubles as a public defender since several of them got sick or injured and would be out for months.

  As such, Zazie was generally the only one around. He went upstairs and changed out of his uniform into something more comfy, a red hooded jacket and some black shorts. He checked his phone again, looking at a site that kept track of various unsolved crimes and mysteries. He leapt onto his bed and looked at the accounts and files listed there.

  "This guy has to have some level of police access. I could never get such clear photos and details from the police" Zazie mused. He had an interest in this sort of thing, as he looked over at his smartboard. He had various files and layouts saved, all of various cases. He had more or less turned it into a digital caseboard, only it could be shifted between various cases at will. Zazie loved mysteries. He had various mystery solving books, games, and shows stored all around his room. He had copies of all of Sherlock Holmes' stories, as well as stories written by Agatha Christie as well.

  At the same time, he suddenly got a call from someone. He picked it up, to immediately hear a pleading voice.

  "Zazie! Please help us! We need rescuing!"

  "Arc, calm down and tell me. What is going on?"

  "One of the part timers disappeared, we are swamped, and right now we have a fight going on!"

  "I am busy tonight, so I can't help you out too much in the shop today okay?"

  "Okay okay, but please!"

  "Fine fine" Zazie said as he got up off his bed. "But you better be providing dinner, Arc".

  The boy's voice sounded elated. "Yes! Please come rescue me!"

  Zazie quickly headed down and got his shoes on, and quickly ran out to go help his friend. The shop wasn't far, and it was a place Zazie knew well. As for what it exactly was...that was harder to determine.

  By the time Zazie got there, clearly something was going on. There was a bit of a crowd around, including the regulars. The outside had a bit of a cafe area, and it seemed it had some newspapers for sale. However, as Zazie pushed his way inside, while there was still a bit of a cafe area, there were also shelves with all sorts of products. From model kits to books, food to flowers, it seemed this shop had a bit of anything and everything. It wasn't a pawn shop however, and calling it a convenience store or a bodega seemed wrong as well. It appeared to be part cafe, part grocery store, part convenience store, and even part pharmacy.

  There was a blue haired boy about the same age as Zazie wearing some casual clothes and an apron. He appeared rather meek and flustered, as he was surrounded by two guys that Zazie did not recognize.

  These guys aren't from around these parts...

  "Now how are you going to settle this, brat?" one of them said, sneering at Arc. Zazie looked around and saw that there was an object between them that looked a bit beat up. It looked like the can was almost dented and defective as well. "You nearly poisoned us selling this makeshift, expired food!"

  "I swear, we never put anything like that on our shelves!"

  "Huh, you talking back to us? The customer is always right!"

  "And then you only have this one thing? Why isn't there enough for both of us?"

  Oh come now. This is just too obvious.

  "Arc" Zazie said, cutting inbetween the two guys. "You shouldn't let yourself be taken advantage of by frauds".

  "What was that?!"

  The two got clearly offended by Zazie's words, but Zazie couldn't care less about them right now.

  "Which shelf are you claiming you found this exactly?"

  "The one in the back of course!"

  Ah, so they scoped out where the security cameras were huh? But too bad for them...

  "This product would never go on that shelf. Perishables are always up front by the register so they are easy for customers to find and buy, so they never go bad. Something like this would never, ever be placed on the back shelf. And what goes right in front, for all to see, is anything that isn't one of their usual constant items. This canned food...corn? Seriously? Anyways, this disgusting stuff in a can is not one of their regular items. Furthermore, the front perishables that are not constant get checked all the time, not just by the staff but also by the customers, the regulars who come here all the time. Including me, and I can safely say this disgusting thing made even more disgusting by being canned is without a doubt something they never sold here".

  At his sharp words, the two men got angry at Zazie.

  "What the hell brat! Are you saying we are liars?"

  "Yes. Because its just so damn obvious. Honestly everyone here, all the witnesses present, know you are lying as well. Including the two patrol officers".

  At those words, the two finally paled and turned around, to see two patrol officers standing right there.

  "I think you should come to the station with us. Seems like we have a lot to talk about".

  "...yes..."

  The light and fire went out of their eyes as the officers got them to stand down, while one of them walked up to Zazie.

  "Good show as usual, Zaz".

  "Aw shucks, they made it just too easy".

  "By the way, about the question I asked you this morning..."

  "Blue bike. I am sure you can handle that right?"

  "Thank you!"

  The crowd cheered as the officers then took the two into custody, and brought them away. After that, Zazie went and got an apron for himself.

  "Now then, lets clear this crowd. I have somewhere to be tonight after all".

  "Thank you! I really didn't know how to deal with that".

  "Come on now, your family has run this shop for awhile now. YOu should know that wasn't an item you had stocked".

  "Sorry..."

  "Arc, you got too frazzled and weren't thinking clearly, were you?"

  "...yes".

  "You need to stay sharper than that. The moments that can get you frazzled are the ones you need to kee pyour wit about you the most. And remember, never give up, never stop thinking, and always do your best to come out on top. Now then, lets clear this crowd okay?"

  Zazie then looked towards the crowd.

  "Alright, show is over! Customers come in and get your business done! We need to let Arc get plenty of rest tonight so lets get this business done early, got it?"

  The crowd nodded in response. "Yes, sir!"

  Once the customers had been dealt with and the crowd dispersed, Zazie helped Arc close a bit early before heading off.

  "Where are you going anyways?"

  "Runio heard some rumors he wants to check out. A place called Starlit Well. Interested?"

  "Sure. I just need to lock up, and I will meet you there. Its about those rumors about wishes and ghosts right? I hear if you toss a coin into the Starlit well at the old shrine, you can get your wish granted after all".

  "I heard it was when there was a shooting star overhead myself. Runio said it had to be when there is a full moon right above you in the sky".

  "Ah. I wonder which one is right?"

  "Probably none of them" Zazie remarked. "It is more likely to be a trap to lure in victims to their doom".

  "Eek!"

  "Anyways, you promised, so see you there!"

  "Th-thats not fair, saying something like that! Uhg, but you helped me today, so fine! But don't laugh too much!"

  "No promises!"

  "Mean!"

  The two laughed it off a bit, and then as night had already fallen, Zazie made his way towards the Starlit well. It was the name for a wishing well that happened to be on top of a hill nearby, that was in an old abandoned shrine that fell into ruin. No one was quite sure when it was made, but it was apparently renovated sometime before world war 2 at the earliest. There were ruins of a few other buildings and structures of various ages around it, and according to legend, it was a place of significant spiritual power.

  Still, that was all it was. Legend. Zazie had investigated plenty of them when he was in elementary school, and not a single one turned out to be true. He didn't expect this to be any different.

  By the time he made it there, a full moon was hanging in the night sky above. Runio was already there, waving at him with a flashlight.

  "You took awhile to get here".

  "Arc needed rescuing".

  "Again?"

  "Some guys who were not from around here. At least, not this part of the city, but I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't from the city at all".

  "Oh good, I made it in time" a third voice said. Zazie and Runio went and looked, as they saw Leo come over in his wheelchair.

  "Leo, you should be resting".

  "Hey, on the off chance I get worse, I want to experience as much as I can before this. Besides, look at this lovely access ramp these ancient builders were kind enough to make".

  Surely enough, despite the fact no one had maintained or updated this area in about a hundred years at least, there was a stone path that was quite blatantly wheelchair friendly. It was probably meant for carts or whatever, but for Leo, it meant he could get up the hill on his own just fine.

  "Yeah, but that would take too long" Zazie said, as he went over to Leo and picked him up, getting him to be on his back.

  "Eh? Hold on, I can get up myself".

  "Yeah. I wont be doing this for the return trip. But I have no faith in my ability to wait for you".

  "You are annoyingly impatient when it comes to a mystery" Leo admitted, as Runio got his wheelchair. "I am a bit amazed you can carry me like this".

  "Well, you are shorter and lighter than me even. And...I get plenty of exercise".

  "More like he gets really curious and climbs trees and walls when the police wont tell him anything" Runio jabbed as they headed up the stairs. Thankfully the flights weren't too long, so it was easy for the three of them to make it up. That said, the more they went up the stairs, the more a chill went up their spines.

  "This place feels a bit creepy..."

  "Its so very mysterious".

  "it's probably just us being out on a cold night" Zazie rebuked, although he had to admit something felt different for some reason here.

  When they reached the top, the chill was still a bit strong, and the air felt almost tense and ominous. They got Leo back into his wheelchair, and then they started to head forward when Arc finally caught up to them.

  "Sorry I am late!"

  "It is fine. You made it just in time".

  "I managed to find some. They got deposited just the other day by some monk by mistake, and I thought it might be a good time to use them" Arc said, taking out a few weird looking coins. "Apparently they are old wish granting coins".

  "I sometimes wonder about the strange customers that visit the shop" Runio commented.

  "Hey, all of our regulars are good and normal people!" Arc protested.

  "Didn't you get someone in a spacesuit last week?" Zazie asked.

  "And the week before one of the street cleaning robots came in and made an order, paying with actual money?" Runio added, followed by Leo.

  "What about the time you had someone send an owl to pick up an order and pay?"

  "Most of our regulars are normal!" Arc protested.

  The group laughed it off as they headed towards the Starlit well. It was a well that was underneath a sort of roof canopy held up by pillars, only the center part right above the well was made of glass. It was quite impressive, having withstood the test of time. Considering they got earthquakes on occasion, that was quite impressive.

  "A full moon right overhead" Zazie noted, pointing through the glass above them at the large full moon. It felt strangely larger, looking at it through the glass like that. Zazie noticed the sides didn't appear to be perfectly flat as well.

  It is almost like a lens...or maybe they believed it would focus the starlight?

  In any case, Zazie noticed that the rim of the well seemed to have been cleaned off. Sometime today, or perhaps even the past few hours, if Zazie had to guess. It was completely clean, which only added to its mysteriousness. The well itself also looked way older then the stairs, the ruins surrounding it, or anything like that, even after it had been cleaned. Even the moss had been cleared off the sides, revealing a set of symbols that Zazie did not recognize.

  "Well then, shall we all make a wish?" Runio asked, when suddenly they saw something overhead. Something amazing, and unexpected. In the night sky, a brilliant array of shooting stars appeared above them. Countless stars seemed to be going. Noticing that, Runio nodded. "The time is now!"

  Everyone prepared their coins, and thought about the wishes they wanted. And yet, as they did, they ran their thumbs over the coins as they held them ready to toss them in when they were suddenly startled.

  "Everyone, you have to leave right now! Its more dangerous than you realize!" a familiar voice called out. Before they could turn to face it however, suddenly each of them somehow cut their thumbs a bit on the coin. It was just a small prick, not even serious enough for a band aid, but it caused blood to get on the coins and for them to accidentally drop them prematurely into the well.

  "Owww....Ezra, is that you?" he asked the green haired boy who approached them. "What are you doing here? We didn't..."

  Suddenly, a strange pulse of energy shot out of the well, as a beam of light shot into sky from the well. All of them got sent flying quite a bit. The only exception was Ezra, who had been too far away, but for some reason he had disappeared completely instead.

  "Where did..." Zazie started to say, when he saw something shadowy and dark emerge from the well.

  "Got here too late...its been stolen" it said, before looking at the one closest to him, Leo. Leo had fallen out of his wheelchair and couldn't move well, making him a rather easy first target. He couldn't even see where the other two were, and Ezra had disappeared completely.

  The Shadowed Figure appeared to be holding a weapon of some kind, but Zazie couldn't make out what it was. In fact, he couldn't really make out anything about it. Nothing was discernable or identifiable, and it felt like if he focused on something, it became something else. However, Zazie could instinctively tell something. It was about to hurt Leo.

  "Get away from my friend!" Zazie shouted, charging forward as he picked up a rock and striking the figure with it. Even if it was much larger then him, he figured that would matter. He closed the distance far faster then he expected, and as he did Runio appeared and attacked him from the side out of nowhere. However, Runio was knocked out of the way by a spiky arm, which then swung itself around and hit Zazie as well, but not before Zazie got one good hit in. He went flying across the grass, landing on the ground with blood on him, and in a lot of pain.

  And so, now it returns back to where the story began. It had all been so sudden, so unexpected. But now he was here, with this mysterious figure that appeared out of nowhere, and attacked them. They were no threat to it, nor did they give them a reason to attack. This thing just attacked them suddenly, and out of nowhere. It had all been so fast.

  "...I see, so that is your answer" the boy said, as he closed his eyes. "I understand".

  That was what he had said to the figure, that did not react to anything he said before.

  "You are afraid".

  At that moment, the figure stopped for a moment. At that point, in a panic the figure attacked him, and Zazie rolled out of the way. In the process he somehow managed to get back up on his feet.

  I feel lighter now...

  Everyone else seemed to be unconscious, but the light of the moon above seemed to embrace Zazie. The power of the starlight above filled him with strength and hope. He felt so much stronger, so much lighter than before. The wounds on his body had healed even.

  "What the...what is going on?"

  The shadowed figure growled at him, and it attacked. But Zazie was able to dodge it. He wasn't just healed, he felt faster and stronger. He jumped higher and moved quicker than he ever had before, with newfound strength and speed. His hair, as if matching the color of the moon and starlight, seemed to almost glow a bit as he moved. He saw the creature charge towards him and braced his palms to vault over it, when suddenly two beams of silver light appeared from them and hit the shadowed creature, knocking it backwards.

  Zazie had no idea what was going on, but finally it appeared the thing had taken damage. It seemed to recognize this too, as more spikes and whatnot coming out of its body. And yet, it was in that moment that the sound of some sort of cross between a whistle and a flute pierced the air. The creature seemed to react, and then glare at Zazie...before it retreated.

  "...what is going on..." Zazie said, before he felt all his strength leave him and pass out.

  And so began a mystery bathed in starlight.