Halloween Special! Scary Story: The Three Wishes

The elderly man (anciano) opened his eyes to discover that he was standing alone on a dark place. He was lost and confused, not sure of which direction to go. He also couldn’t remember who he was. The tears (lágrimas) in his eyes made him understand that he had been just crying and had a recent feeling of extreme sadness…

He sat down for a moment to rest his tired legs and wiped (secó) his tears when, suddenly, he noticed someone standing in front of him. He looked up to see an elderly woman staring (mirar fijamente) right at his eyes. Her skin was wrinkled (arrugada) and grey and her nose was crooked (retorcida). Warts (verrugas) covered her hairy chin. She smiled toothlessly (sin dientes) and said with a broken voice, “Now your third wish.”

“Third wish?” The man was baffled (desconcertado). “What do you mean with a third wish? I haven’t had a first or second!”

“You have had two wishes already,” the old witch said, “but your second wish was for me to undo (deshacer) your first and leave everything the way it was before. That’s why you remember nothing.” She giggled (risita) at the poor man. “So think carefully, old man, you only have one wish left. Do not waste (malgastar) it!”

“All right,” he said hesitantly (con dudas), “I don’t quite believe this, but… why not trying?” He  paused for a few seconds, concentrated on his own thoughts, and finally said: “My third wish is: I want to know who I am.”

“Fine. Wish granted! (concedido)” said the dreadful (horrible) witch as she touched the man’s forehead, making a magical sound. The wretched (despreciable) woman started walking away, but suddenly turned round and said “By the way, it is truly funny…”

“What’s so funny?” asked the puzzled (perplejo) old man.

“That was exactly the same as your first wish…”, the witch replied, just as she disappeared forever in the dark.

*Different interpretations of the story. In your opinion, which one is the best?

a)    The man is dead, a ghost.
b)    The man is trapped (atrapado) there forever.

c)    The man’s family are dead.