Matthew was an ordinary boy. He wasn’t very hard-working and did not have a clever brain until one day when he met a girl – beautiful and charming. He found that she was a perfect girl. No matter whether in sports or study, she could get the highest marks. However, he was such a coward that he thought the girl must despise him. Therefore, he had never talked to her.
One day, Matthew followed the girl home. When he turned back, a strange man appeared. He laughed and said, “I can give you something which makes you smarter or stronger or more handsome, but you need to give ten years of your life to me. With this, the girl may fall in love with you…” Matthew thought for a while and he asked, “If I want the thing that can make me smart, strong and handsome, could you make it?”
“Well, it is difficult to make, but I will try it. As the difficulty arises, I need fifty years of your life. Can you promise me?” Matthew felt scared. His hands were quivering without control, but he still nodded his head. The man suddenly laughed loudly, “All right, in three days, I can finish the things that can make you smart, strong and handsome.” Then, the man disappeared.
Matthew walked along the road. He was still thinking about whether his choice was correct. He didn’t know that if he would have any chance to regret.
After three days, the strange man appeared again. This time he brought along a watch and he told Matthew, “This watch can make you smart, strong and handsome. Now, it’s time for you to pay me. Give fifty years of your life to me!” Suddenly, a cold wind blew towards Matthew and the watch was worn on his hand. He became very handsome, with a lots of muscles. When he wanted to thank the man, he disappeared.
Matthew went back to the classroom. In the lesson, he can answer all the questions that the teacher asked. This attracted the girl’s attention. Matthew became arrogant. He wanted the girl to talk to him first. At the recess, as he had wanted, the girl approached him first. She asked, “Where did you buy this watch?” Matthew lied to her, “Someone gave it to me as a present.”
“Take off the watch immediately,” the girl shouted. Matthew was scared by the shout, so he tried to take off the watch, but he did it in vain. “Why…why can’t I take it off?”
“Do you know why I am so beautiful, good at sports and every subject? I used my life to exchange a life like yours now. I have this watch too. Now I am regretting. I want my life back. Although I am clever and beautiful, no one wants to talk to me. They think I am arrogant and always look down on them, so I’ve lost all my friends.” After that, she ran away. As the tears swelled in her eyes, she didn’t see the car speeding in her direction. The car took her life. The girl Matthew used his life to get was no longer on Earth.
Matthew was dumbfounded to hear and see all that. After a year, he still couldn’t forget the death of the girl and he always predicted when he would die. Finally, he’s afraid of everything. He locked himself in a room and didn’t let anyone go in. After three days, he died and the watch disappeared .