Joy’s heart was soft inside, even when she tried to stay firm. After a while, she sighed and said, “Okay, I forgive you. But don’t ever talk to me like that again.”
Tracy’s face brightened. “Thank you. Thank you. Let’s celebrate with this wine, my best friend.”
Joy hesitated immediately. “Tracy, you know I don’t drink alcohol.”
Tracy waved her hand quickly. “Ah, stop it. It’s not alcoholic. It’s just normal wine. Non-alcoholic. Like juice. I brought it because I know you like sweet things.”
Joy still looked unsure.
Tracy laughed. “Joy, do you think I want to harm you? After I came to beg like this? Come on, just a little.”
Joy finally agreed because she wanted peace and because Tracy was her friend again.
They sat in Joy’s room and Tracy poured the drink into two cups. Joy took small sips at first. It tasted sweet and did not burn like alcohol, so she relaxed.
Tracy kept smiling, acting happy, telling jokes, making Joy laugh a little.
Then she poured again. “Drink more. Today is celebration. Don’t be stingy with yourself.”
Joy shook her head.
“Just small more,” Tracy insisted.
Joy drank again.
After some time, Joy’s head started feeling light. Her eyes blinked slowly. Her body felt warm. She laughed at things that were not even funny.
That was when Tracy leaned closer with a serious face.
“Joy,” she said softly, “please tell me the truth. Where do you get money from?”
Joy smiled foolishly and waved her hand. “It’s God.”
Tracy frowned. “Stop that. Which God will be dropping money in your hand like that? Tell me. I’m your best friend.”
Joy’s head swayed. “God,” she repeated, laughing.
Tracy’s eyes became sharp. She poured more into Joy’s cup. “Drink. Maybe you will feel better.”
Joy drank more.
Her tongue became loose. Her eyes heavy. She started talking carelessly.
Tracy moved even closer, her voice like soft rope. “Joy, that day you followed that old woman with firewood… what happened?”
Joy’s face changed as if remembering something. She giggled and whispered, “Old woman… she gave me a pot.”
Tracy’s heart jumped. “A pot? What kind of pot?”
Joy laughed again. “White pot. If you touch it three times, money will come.”
Tracy’s eyes widened with greed, though she pretended surprise. “Where is the pot?”
Joy pointed lazily. “Under my bed.”
Tracy stood up immediately, trying not to move too fast. She bent down, lifted the bed cover, and saw it.
The white native pot.
Her breath caught. She grabbed it quickly, held it tight, and looked at Joy one last time. Joy was already half asleep, not knowing anything.
Tracy turned, rushed out of the room, and disappeared with the pot.
Joy woke up the next morning with a heavy head and a confused mind. She remembered only two things clearly: Tracy came to apologize, and Tracy brought a drink. After that, everything was blank.
She sat on her mattress for a while trying to force her brain to remember, but nothing came. She felt angry, not because Tracy had apologized, but because she knew something was wrong.
What did she do to me? Why can’t I remember?
She stood up quickly and decided to go straight to Tracy’s house to ask what had happened.
But on the road she met the old woman again.
The same old woman from the firewood day.
“Mama,” Joy said, forcing a small smile. “I’m happy to see you. Where are you going?”
The old woman looked at Joy, and her eyes became deep, like she already knew what was in Joy’s heart.
“My daughter,” the woman said quietly, “there is trouble.”
Joy frowned. “Trouble? What trouble, Mama?”
The old woman moved closer and lowered her voice. “That your friend, Tracy… she has stolen your pot.”
Joy froze.
Her whole body turned cold.
“What?” she whispered. “Mama, what are you saying?”
“I am telling you before you go and waste your time. You are on your way to her house now, thinking you will ask her what happened yesterday. But listen to me. If you go back home now, you will discover the pot is no longer there. Tracy took it.”
Joy’s mouth opened, but no words came out.
“No… Mama, it can’t be Tracy. Tracy is my best friend.”
The old woman’s face stayed calm. “Your friend is evil. Could you believe she is already on her way to the city? Don’t even bother going to her house. You will not meet her.”
Joy’s knees became weak. “The city? So she planned it.”
The old woman nodded.
Joy’s eyes filled with tears immediately. “Mama, what will I do? I’m so sorry for everything. I should not have accepted her apology. I didn’t know she was this evil. Please forgive me.”
The old woman gently held Joy’s hand. “I don’t blame you, my child. You are a good person. You trusted someone you loved. That is not your sin.”
“But Mama, I failed you. I lost what you gave me.”
The old woman’s eyes looked strong. “Don’t worry. Karma will soon deal with her. Evil does not run forever. It always meets its judgment.”
Joy nodded slowly, crying as if her heart were being squeezed.
She turned back and walked home, not even knowing how her feet carried her.
