Yes

It was 11:45 on new year's eve. Sandy couldn't tell how it happened but she was having the time of her life at this party which was organised by her friend Cathy.

Usually, she would have said 'no' just like she always does. Not just to New Year parties but to everything and everyone. Then she'll hide behind the four walls of her apartment and watch the fireworks from her balcony to usher in the new year. But somehow, she had been cajoled by her friend, Cathy, who had just been dumped by her boyfriend of four years, to be at her New Year party so they could get drunk and watch the fireworks together.

She was still lost in thought in her tiny corner, her eyes fixed on the big reflective clock in the sky calling out the countdown like the Bat-Signal in Gotham City used to summon Batman. She could hear herself whisper silently with every second that passed by.

"Forty-five, fifty-four,..." she heard Cathy countdown loudly while staggering her way out the balcony where she sat. "Come on girl, countdown with me! This is definitely going to be that year where we say yes to everything. Yes!" Cathy yelled. Her words slurry as she pulled Sandy's head backwards and poured wine into her mouth. "Say yes baby girl!" She yelled in excitement.

"Yes!" Sandy replied, gasping for breath and at the same time gulping on the wine flowing down her throat.

"Say yes to the good life baby!" Cathy continued screaming.

"Yes!"

"To a new year filled with positivity baby!"

"Yes!"

Cathy let go of Sandy's hair and climbed a chair on her penthouse balcony. She spread her arms wide, shut her eyes, and let the wind blow on her face. "To a new year filled with love and money baby!"

Joining her friend on the chair. Sandy was so pumped. Her adrenaline was rushing hard. "Yes!" She replied smiling. Then she looked over to Cathy, who did not look like someone who was just dumped by her boyfriend. She was having fun.

"Say yes to everything this new year baby!" Cathy yelled loudly.

"Yes!" Sandy replied.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven!..." Cathy turned to her friend, who wasn't counting along. "Come on, don't be a buzz kill. Count along"

"Five, four, three, two, one. Happy New Year!" They screamed together with other partygoers who had joined them on the balcony

Then they looked at themselves and laughed hard. Just as Cathy had said, it was a night filled with more fun.

But by mid-January, it got Sandy's life spiralling out of control.

"Urrgh! I'll try and get a nanny tomorrow", she heard Linda and her colleagues groan over the phone at work. They sat at the cafeteria having lunch.

"Everything okay?" Sandy asked concerned. She watched Linda put down her phone.

"Yeah. Just that I've got no one to watch my kids this weekend. My mum's sick, and I need to go be with her at the hospital, plus my husband just rescheduled his return,n," Linda spoke so quickly.
Sometimes, Cathy wondered if she ever stopped to take a break.

"I'm so sorry" Cathy apologised. "My sister has me watching over her kid tomorrow, too. I mean, I should be resting from a long week of work".

"Really. That's nice. Will you, by chance, watch over mine, too, please? That will be great too. I'd appreciate it'' Linda spoke looking at Cathy with hopeful eyes.

"Uhh... Yes," she blurted out without even knowing where the words came from.

"Really! That's so kind of you," Linda replied, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

Eyes wide open, she muttered 'Say no, say no' but again "Yes!" was all she could say.

"Great! I’ll drop them off Saturday morning. Oh, and they’re allergic to gluten, dairy, and fun, so keep that in mind.” Linda said, stood up and packed her plates. Then she left Cathy all by herself in the cafeteria.

"What just happened?" Cathy muttered, watching Linda walk away.

It wasn't as easy Saturday for Cathy. She spent half of her day chasing three hyperactive kids around her apartment. With their constant cries for snacks and juices, she didn't have. By the end of the day she was left with a couch filled with graffiti writings on the wall and couch. Which she won't the rest of the night cleaning.

By morning, she looked like she had survived a car crash.

But things never did easy for her as she kept saying yes to everything. Even when her heart wanted to say no. She even said yes to taking out the trash at work. Running an annual fundraising marathon for her boss at work.

And by February, her 'yes to everything' resolution was almost turning her into a human doormat. It got to a point, she never even tried to resist anymore. Because it never worked even if she tried to shake her head alone without saying a word.

"Can you help me move this weekend" Jeff, her boyfriend, asked her one time.

"Yes," she blurted out.

"Can you watch my dog for the weekend?" Sandy had asked her sometimes, too.

"Yes"

With each yes she said, the more chaotic her life turned out to be. It got to a point where she nearly swore that people were beginning to realise that she couldn't say no and were using it against her. Making her do pieces of stuff for them like a slave.

One morning she found herself barging into Cathy's apartment with rage on her face. She needed to talk to someone before she lost her mind.

"You're joking right?" Cathy asked after Listening to her tell of her ordeal. "I mean, it was just a crazy New Year party where we yelled words out in excitement and drunk too."

"I wish I was. I watched over Linda's kids and walked people's dogs this weekend" Sandy replied. She had her legs crossed together on the couch she sat on. She had the look of a lost fellow.

"Oh my gosh! We need to see my Shaman immediately," Cathy said, picking up her car keys and dragging her friend along.

"Shaman,? Why?" Sandy asked confused. That was the first time she had heard Cathy talk about having a Shaman.

It turned out that while Cathy was passing through her painful heartbreak on New Year's Eve. She had found this shaman's store on her stroll that evening and had walked in to see if she could get him to bring back the love of her life. The Shaman had cast work on her, asking her to go back to her boyfriend who just broke up with her and asks him to be her boyfriend again. He made her know that the spell would make her boyfriend say yes to everything, but with the warning that the only person she should talk to next after she left his place should be her boyfriend. If not, the spell would switch places.

But before Cathy could get to her boyfriend's house, she saw him leaving the door with another girl. A sign he had moved on already. Out of pain, she picked up her phone and called Sandy, her only confidant at such a moment. But instead of crying to Sandy on the phone, she made Sandy say 'yes' to her New Year party, which she thought would make her forget her heartbreak. Now Sandy was living under the spell meant for her ex-boyfriend.

Cathy didn't realise what she had done until Sandy showed up at her door.

They pulled up at the Shaman's store, and luckily,y, he was around. They got in and explained their problem to him.

"I asked you to speak to him alone next once you left my store. You're lucky the spell is something I can reverse." The Shaman roared.

He stood up, held Sandy's hands and spoke some inaudible words. Then he looked at Sandy and said, 'You love saying no to everything, even when a close friend needs help. Normally, I would have let you stay with the spell, but you're suffering for what wasn't meant for you. Promise me you'll be a better person after I reverse the spell"

Sandy nodded.

'It is done"

Just as the Shaman said, Sandy got her life back. But this time, she said yes when she could render help and out of her own will, too.

Cathy, on the other hand, swore never to try and manipulate others using spells. Not even her ex-boyfriend.

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