The curse Part I
“This is the turn right there.” The frog jumped out of the way from the rocky road when a car swerved to the right, stopped in front of a cabin, and turned off its lights. Dawn was just about to break at that time. A married couple, Sean and Laura Tremont got out of the car looking at the surroundings of the run-down cabin with lots of chicken and goats roaming freely around the fenced area.
“Is this the right place Sean?”, Laura asked, turning to her husband with a worried expression. Sean walked to her side and held her hand while both looked at the cabin. “Yeah, this is where they said the healer lives.”
“I hope he really does know how to help. I can’t take it anymore Sean. I can’t bury another child. I can’t.”, she broke down sobbing while Sean hugged her tightly and calmed her saying they will do everything to save their eight-month-old daughter, Sara, who was currently sleeping peacefully in the back seat.
Sean and Laura met each other at a neighborhood fair when Laura accidentally spilled her drinks on him in a crowded place. Sean just laughed over the incident and asked Laura if she wanted to try some of the rides with him. They were inseparable after that and got married only after four months with Laura’s family at the wedding but none of Sean’s since his family were all dead. They’ve been blissfully married for five years except for some tragedy that kept happening which almost separated them cause of their pain and loneliness. Prior to Sara, they had three pregnancies. However, they never reached the age of 2 when each one died from different causes.
Her first baby, unfortunately, died at 10 months from asphyxiation from her sleep, doctors telling them to be careful of leaving the feeding bottle and the baby’s position in sleeping. Laura became so paranoid on her second pregnancy that she wanted the nursery in their bedroom. However, the same thing happened when they woke up from their sleep, her second baby died at nine months old. Grief and guilt consumed her that she withdrew from everyone including herself. Sean did all he could even if he was fighting his own pain to get her back to life. On their third one, happiness and relief were all they all could feel when their baby girl grew to be a year old. However, it seemed tragedy was on their side when after six months, they found her floating lifelessly in the swimming pool. They had forgotten to close the baby fence. It took them a year and lots of couple’s therapy sessions to recover. By then, Laura’s parents couldn’t keep it in and told them a secret that they have been hiding from their own family.
Laura’s father, Bob Venson, was dating a woman named Miranda Houston before he met Laura’s mom, Kim. Miranda was quite a shy, sweet beautiful woman despite growing up in an abusive household. Bob was taken by her calm beauty and was going to marry her so he could take her away from her uncaring family. However, one night when she was out with some friends. She got horribly drunk and was raped by one of her friends. She was afraid to tell Bob in fear of him leaving her for her ruined virtue. But he found out soon enough when she fainted out in their trip and brought her to the hospital, she was pregnant. She told him the truth. Bob was furious when he heard that and had to force her to give him his address so he could go confront him. She kept trying to dissuade him to stop. When they both got to the friend’s house, Bob stormed in and got into a fight with the guy. Luckily for them, they were separated by friends that were in there and the real truth of what happened that night was laid out. It was Miranda who kept coming to him until he gave in, also due to the spiked alcohol that everyone saw she gave him. Miranda used to try and flirt with him before she met Bob, but he was never interested in her until that night Miranda took advantage at their party.
Miranda screamed at them, denying everything that they had told Bob. Bob was heartbroken after hearing it all and told her that the wedding was off. She begged, ranted, cried but he said his decision was final. “You are not who I thought you were.”, he said. He got in his car and left her alone with her former friends. Miranda wiped off her tears as soon as the car was out of sight and turned to her old friends and the man who got her pregnant. They knew she was hiding a different identity underneath but they visibly shivered and took a few steps back when she walked inside and took a small knife from the kitchen table. They winced when she cut her palm deeply without a sound or pain from her, she squeezed some blood on the table and left with the knife.
Bob was packing his things and hauling everything to his car. He was going back to his old hometown in DelSantos, an 8-hour drive away from where he was currently living. When he saw Miranda walking barefoot to him, dried blood on her hand, hairs raised on his skin when she stared at him for a few seconds and uttered the words,
“Curse on your seed’s life.
Pain and death cut you like a knife.”
and she left. He had never heard a word from her ever again.
Bob had forgotten the warning until Laura’s sufferings and griefs. He couldn’t contain his guilt thinking this could be the curse of his past. He confessed and begged for forgiveness from his family. Laura understandably believed it, needing something to point the pain and guilt away from her, and haven’t spoken to her parents since. Sean tried to reason with her that it was all just words and there was no such thing as cursed or witchcraft. But Laura was adamant about believing it until they find a way to break the curse. When Laura gave birth, she requested her sister Cindy to come to help her. Cindy was reluctant in the beginning to stay and help. She never took a liking to Sean as she can’t understand how anyone can marry someone without knowing his past or where he came from. Sean never talked about his family, saying it was too painful to think of the past. Laura’s parents and Laura quickly understood and never brought it up anymore. Laura had quite a laugh when Cindy told her when she got engaged, “You could be marrying a deranged person, you know!”. Laura told Cindy to stop reading those horror and suspense books she loved, “Sean is neither of those, Cindy. He’s a really amazing and funny man once you warm up to him.”.
Cindy wanted to tell her when they were still dating, she caught him outside by himself a few times mumbling to himself with his eyes closed. She tried to catch what he was saying but it was too fast and soft for her to hear properly. What troubled her was she could see his eyes moving around from his closed lids. Once he caught her catching him, she thought it was just a figment of her imagination when he looked at her with a hard stare and sinister smile. But soon it was gone and he chuckled softly telling her how awkward it was she caught him meditating. She disregarded it all, thinking to herself it was her overworked imagination. But her sister was happy, and that was all that mattered. Now as her sister kept bugging her, Cindy relented for her sister’s peace of mind and helped whenever her time would permit her off from her work.
One day, Sean overheard someone talking about a man who lived in Creek Lake in Boledo. His name was Billy Gerald, who knew magic and break curses. He told the girls at home and Laura wanted to not waste any time and told Sean they had to leave now to help their child. They left with Sara, leaving Cindy alone in the house. Now, there they stood outside hoping that man was in his home. They didn’t have to think too long when the front screen door swung open and an old lanky man came out of the cabin making clucking noises while carrying a heavy pail of seeds. When he realized he had guests outside, he stumbled and spilled some, making the chickens in the pen flap wildly.
“What do you guys want?”, the man crankily asked them. The couple looked at each other and went over cautiously to him. They asked if he was the healer that people have been talking about. “I got no damn idea what those people think of but what do you need? So it can be done and you can all get out of my property fast.”, he ranted.
“Please Sir, we need your help. You may be our only hope in saving our daughter.”, pleaded Laura while Sean comforted her. The man scratched his head and looked uncomfortably at the woman crying in front of him. “Goddammit. Women just can’t stop their damn waterworks. Tell me what your fucking damn story is so you can leave me in damn peace.”, he dropped the pail of seeds, making all the chickens in a frenzy calling out to him for food.
Sean told him that Laura’s dad thinks he got cursed by a madwoman and now Laura felt she was paying the price for her dad’s misfortune. He told Billy they have lost already a few children and do not want to lose Sara from this. Billy tipped the end of his cigar on the ground after Sean finished talking. “Listen, if this was a curse, there ain’t no way that I can reverse the curse or do mumbo-jumbo to end it.” The parents looked heartbroken and were about to cry when Billy held his hand up. “But maybe we can know if your kid lives from this so-called curse, ya’ll call it. Get your kid out of the car and follow me.”
Billy scooped a chicken out of a pen, then walked all the way to a big rock where big trees surrounded it. Laura wasn’t sure what made her shiver and held Sara more protectively. Whether it was from the eerie howl of the wind passing from the trees or from the dried blood that coated the large rock. They watched Billy tie the chicken legs and beak with a rope and left it down the ground while he lighted a cigar. He then mumbled some words and made some circle motion with the smoke of his cigar over the chicken. When he was done, he put out his cigarette on the ground with his shoe and turned towards them. “Now, I need just a drop of blood from your kid if you will,” Sean said it was fine. Laura said she couldn’t watch to see her daughter get hurt so gave her to Sean to hold. Sara cried loudly when Billy pricked her from her toe and squeezed a little blood and spread it over the chicken’s beak.
Sean rocked his daughter to calm her as Billy chanted loudly strange words while holding the chicken over his head. The sky became darker, the wind howled through the trees, the branched groaning in their effort to stay upright. Billy raised the chicken higher then suddenly threw the chicken headfirst on the rock, making it still with some blood splatting on the rock from its head. Laura gasped in horror, while Sean watched in amazement at everything. They did not notice the wind suddenly died down and the sky clearing. Billy picked up the chicken and inspected it. Laura and Sean yelled in fright when the chicken suddenly started moving like it wasn’t headbanged on to hard rock. Its ropes were cut off and the couple just watched confused as it went on with its daily chicken life.
“Alright. Seems like your kid will live then.”. The couple was startled when Billy started talking and asked him again to repeat that as they didn’t catch it. Their mind was still on the chicken. Billy repeated what he said and lighted another cigar. They had so many questions but immense relief was all they could feel that maybe, just maybe the curse was lifted and their child will grow. They said thank you to Billy and asked how they could repay him. Their jaws dropped when Billy dropped a number. Billy shrugged and said, “Know anyone who can do that?” nodding to the rock and chicken. Sean just gave Sara to Laura and told her to go in the car to wait for him and took out his wallet. After Billy counted the money, he shooked hands with Sean. Billy suddenly clutched his chest and dropped down on the ground on one knee. Sean asked if he was alright and Billy could only stare at him with death and fear in his eyes.
Sean helped him up and asked if he needed anything in the house for his condition. Billy struggled to stand up and seemed like he wanted to say something. Laura called out from the car asking if everything was alright and if they needed help. Sean told her he’ll handle it all. “Keep Sara with someone at all times.”, Billy managed to wheeze out to Laura. Before Laura could ask why, Sean brought him inside his home, quite concerned at how Billy was shaking.
Laura was making baby noises at Sara when the car door opened. She asked how Billy was and what happened. Sean told her apparently his sugar spiked and he needed his insulin bad. But all was well now and they can go home and celebrate that their daughter is going to be alright! As Sean started the car, Laura handed him some wipes telling him he got some blood on his shirt. “From the chicken no doubt!”, he laughed.
