A Small Price to Pay.

Chan, an unemployed man, always dreamed of success, but lacked the willpower and patience to work his way from rags to riches. Most days, he could be found hanging out at the local kopitiam^[1], grumbling about how life was unfair. He sustained himself through odd jobs, while his hardworking wife juggled two jobs to keep their family afloat and care for their children.

Despite his laziness, Chan had always been sharp-tongued and worldly, his natural charisma being the very thing that had charmed his wife years ago.

One ordinary afternoon, as he sat sipping kopi^[2] with his usual gang of jobless friends, the group was stirred from their banter when Steven, one of their own, pulled up in a brand-new car. The sight alone was enough to stir envy and suspicion among the group.

Chan, always the quickest thinker, leaned back with a grin and asked, "Wah, Steven, you rob the bank ah? Where do you get the money for this new car?"

Steven, wearing a smug expression, replied, "Got my ways lah. Why, jealous ah?"

The group leaned in, curiosity overcoming envy, all eyes fixed on Steven. Chan, knowing how to get on Steven's good side, called out to the kitchen, "Boss, one kopi kaw^[3] for my brother Steven!"

Steven, recognizing the gesture, grinned. He began telling his story: while working a construction gig, he had befriended an Indonesian colleague, who once spoke about an old Sumatran black magic ritual. According to his friend, there was a priest who could summon an ancient spirit capable of granting any wish, provided the price was right.

Steven, half-skeptical and half-tempted, followed his Indonesian friend to the priest. What happened during the ritual, he kept vague, only sharing that he'd wished for wealth. The very next day, a winning streak at an illegal gambling shop had set him on the path to the new car.

The others were abuzz with questions, but it was Chan who asked the most important one: "So, what's the price?"

Steven smirked. "That depends on your wish and who you are. Hard to explain, you must go see for yourself. But I can only take two with me at a time. You interested?"

Naturally, Chan's earlier move had secured him a spot. Steven also mentioned that his first wish had been too modest; he wanted to go again for something bigger.

That night, Steven brought Chan and another friend to meet the priest. To their surprise, the man was soft-spoken, dressed like an ordinary uncle from the neighborhood, even offering them tea. His calm demeanor eased their nerves.

Before beginning the ritual, the priest offered one final piece of advice: "No matter what you see or hear, stay polite. Don't show fear."

They followed the priest into the dense forest behind his house, walking deeper until the usual night sounds vanished. The air grew unnaturally still. At the heart of the forest stood a colossal old tree, its dark, sprawling branches forming a canopy that devoured the moonlight.

The priest gestured for them to kneel. He began chanting, and a fierce gust of wind blew through the clearing. A pale, horned figure emerged from the shadows beneath the tree. Its voice, eerie and distorted like a goat trying to speak human, asked, "What is the purpose of your visit?"

Steven, pointed out by the priest, made his wish. The spirit whispered the price to him alone, and Steven, without hesitation, nodded. The spirit let out a chilling laugh, then turned to Chan.

Chan, seizing the moment, declared his wish: "I want to be successful. I want to be the richest man in this country."

The spirit’s crooked smile deepened. "A worthy wish. But the price is someone from your family."

Chan, caught off guard, tried to bargain, suggesting to sacrifice an animals instead. The spirit refused. Seeing his hesitation, the spirit offered a concession: "I will not take someone that is now directly related to you.

Chan, calculating as always, accepted. He thinks that as long as it is not his two sons and his wife, this is a small price to pay.

From that moment, his life transformed. Chan fearlessly ventured into business, and his ventures flourished. In the years that followed, he built an empire. At one point, he even claimed the title of the richest man in the country.

But success dulled his memory of the deal. When things come too easily, people tend to forget their true cost.

As wealth changed him, so did his relationships. He grew distant from his wife, indulged in affairs, and eventually divorced her. He fathered no more children, subconsciously avoiding new attachments. His two sons, raised in privilege, grew ambitious and cunning, always eyeing his fortune.

Then, by accident—a rare lapse in his usual caution—one of his mistresses conceived a child. This time, a baby girl.

For reasons even Chan couldn’t explain, the child awakened a sense of joy he thought he’d long outgrown. The girl became the light of his later years, filling the void that all his riches couldn’t.

Five blissful years passed, and on the eve of her birthday, tragedy struck. His daughter was kidnapped. Using all his wealth and connections, Chan moved mountains to track her down. The kidnapper was caught, but the girl was found lifeless, her body bearing the unmistakable marks of torture and abuse. 

Upon hearing the news, Chan felt his world shatter, replaced only by a surge of unbearable grief and blinding rage.Without a second thought, he confronted the kidnapper, beating him until the man, half-conscious and bloodied. The kidnapper let out a twisted grin and whispered: "A small price to pay."

It was in that moment that the long-forgotten memory of the spirit and the bargain resurfaced. Chan sat, hollow and broken, realizing that the price had finally been collected. His greed and shortcuts had cost him the one thing he hadn’t known he valued most.

And so the story stands—not just a tale of black magic, but a quiet warning: when things come too easily, people often forget the price. And when the time comes to pay, it is always more than they ever imagined.

---

[1] "Kopitiam" is a type of Chinese-influenced coffee shop, primarily found in Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

[2] "Kopi" is a Malay word for coffee.

[3] "Kaw" in Malaysian colloquial language, means strong or thick, often used to describe the flavor of drinks like coffee or tea.