𝔹𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕍𝔼𝕀𝕃 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝟙

“Zaphira sweetie, you’re going to hurt yourself doing that.” Mom’s voice said. I flipped my head down word, mom standing upside down by the slide.

“No, I’m not mommy, this slide is safe,” I said before sliding down it.

“Not what I meant honey what I meant was—”

“This mommy?” I asked as I hopped from one spot to another.

“Yes, that don’t do that you’re going to hurt yourself.” Mom said worried as she moved closer to me hesitantly.

“Aww, but why mommy? You do it all the time.” I whined as I stopped jumping, the strange static electricity vanishing as I came to a halt.

Mom moved to me kneeling down in front of me as gold a pendant dangled in the sunlight, the symbols lighting up like the ring from Lord of the rings.

Wait is that…. the pendent I have?

“Mommy only does it because she has to, but Zaphira is going to get hurt if she keeps doing that, do you remember what happened last time?” Mom asked as she fixed my hair.

“Yeah…” I said slowly as I remembered the last time I jumped and ended up falling from a high place and hurting myself.

“Then please stop okay, if anyone sees you it could be trouble.” Mom said sounding worried.

I looked at her confused, glancing around the park to see if there was anybody around. “But mommy there’s nobody here.” I said puzzled.

“Please Zaphira honey for mommy,” Mom asked as she looked at me pleadingly. I glanced around the park again a child running into the park at full speed as he made his way towards the swings, mom glanced in his direction as he swung on the swing ignoring us.

“Okay mommy, I won’t do it anymore,” I said promising as I started to normally walk towards the slide.

Why was my jumping so bad for mom Is there something she doesn’t want me to know?

Slowly the image began to crinkle into darkness, the familiar event playing in my mind as I once again began to see images of memories events that have occurred throughout my childhood.

“But what am I going to do? Zaphira is getting older and I can’t keep it from her much longer things have begun to happen I can’t keep playing it off as a strange coincidence or I didn’t see it.” Mom said frantically on the phone to someone.

The image came into play revealing mom pacing in the living room like the last memory a horrified expression on her face as she stood in front of a broken vase.

“Mira, you’re going to have to find a way, remember what I used to tell you as a child until it started happening to you?” A voice on the other end said sadly.

“Yes, but mom it’s not as easy she’s not the only child here anymore, what about the boy? What should I tell him if he sees? It is not easy to fool them I have learned it is not easy.” Mom said as she glanced around the living room as if I was waiting to catch her in the act.

“Mira, I’m not sure what to tell you about the boy but if you trust your daughter, she will back off did she not listen to you at the park? Have faith in Zaphira.”

Mom sighed reluctantly as she slowly sat on the couch taking several deep breaths. “How did you do it? It’s just so much, you know she’s so young and so smart I don’t know how you manage to fool me all that time.” Mom said with a weak smile.

Fool? What do they mean? so mom was hiding something from me? What the hell…. I thought mom loved me what was she keeping from me? And on top of that grandma knew to and even kept the same lie from mom.

What’s this family lie that I was never a part of? Was mom planning to live forever if she never got hit by that car?

“It wasn’t easy honey, and it will never get easier not until the truth is said and she learns to understand only then will it get easier because then you’re not carrying the burden all by yourself.” The woman said tenderly.

For a second, I thought mom was going to burst out into tears, but instead, she smiled happily before rising to her feet again.

“And Mira if you’re worried about the boy think about your husband how did he react when he heard? Maybe just maybe they’re not all so mean, maybe he too will understand in time maybe he will be just like him and Zaphira won’t have to be by herself either.”

Are they talking about Blane? Is this when mom adopted him?

“Here’s hoping, I would not want such a burden and be by herself and feel like she has no one else not like I did.” Mom said as she looked out the window.

“Only for a little while, don’t forget he too accepted it and he still left you enough to give you Zaphira and he probably would have continued all the way until…” The woman said trailing off.

“What a curse to be us.” Mom said solemnly. Slowly the image faded bringing me into darkness once more.

A curse to be us? What does mom mean about that are we cursed? Is that why dad die?

“Help us!” A voice called from in the darkness. “They see all, the darkness seeps in the walls hidden in the world.”

A dark feeling washed over me as I listened to the voice, my heart pounding in my chest as a strange and foreboding feeling blanketed me.

What is happening? What did I just see? What was mom and grandma talking about? What do they not want me to know? And what does this even mean what is happening I thought fearfully my mind rushing with questions.

“Zaphira… They call for you, they seek you out they know you are the key the person who has the answers to what they fear.” A familiar voice said in the darkness.

“Mom…? Is that you?” I asked into the void, with no response. I woke up with thoughts swirling in my head. Curses, voices. So many questions and no answers. I sat up scratching my head, I looked out the window the moon illuminating across the window as it peered into my room.

Does mom know something I don’t? But why keep it from me? What is this curse? I thought worried as I checked my phone, the phone light blinding me as I squinted to see the time running across the phone.

“Zaphira, be wary they are looking for you.” The voice said again in the darkness of my room. My mother’s voice sounding concerned for me.

“Who are they? Who is looking for me? What do they want?” I called out into the darkness my mind racing as my heartbeat it in my chest.

What is this curse? And who were they talking about Blane Why would Mom want to protect him? I thought as I uncomfortably moved towards my desk.

I shivered as I turned on the computer, the fan starting up as the computer began to boot up.

What kinda cures would this be? I thought as I watched the lights on my computer flicker, I clicked on the Google search engine typing, types of curses.

Only a coming across curses from movies and TV shows that didn’t exactly curse more like spells they used in the movie Henry patters and typical cliché spells like abracadabra, simple spells wizards or magicians called magic.

“Okay, this isn’t going to get me anywhere,” I said to myself as I backed out and stared at the empty line of the Google search, the flashing search bar flashing as it waited for me to type.

I know this might be a far stretch but… I thought to myself as I typed in my mother’s name hoping to come across something. I sighed as I scrolled through the search options coming across nothing except for book titles and an artist with my mother’s name on it.

“Okay… What about if I—” deleted my mother’s name from the search engine, tapping my finger on my desk as I tried to think of something.

Wait what about—

I glanced down at my ring the symbols shining off the computer screen what is this language they’re decently something but what?

Taking a deep breath, I typed in my last name and the word curse and pushed the search button, I practically held my breath in anticipation as I watched a little load symbol spin in a circle.

“What am I doing? It’s not like I’m going to find something besides a couple of people who may share the same last name or some cliché book title that has nothing to do with what I’m looking for.” I said to myself as I contemplated smacking my head off the desk.

Finally, after several minutes of load time, the search engine finally pulled up my options. “As I thought, a book called The Xian curse, and a couple of images to go with the book cover. And apparently, a company that was called Xian curse and potions, that apparently ran for four years before being shut down in the late 17th century.” I said to myself.

Who the heck would even open a curse shop anyway? Like how bad is the 17th hundreds that you had to actually open a store dedicated to cursing people? I thought in disbelief as I imagined all the people going in and asking to curse a family member or coworkers or even a cow.

I don’t think this is what I was looking for. I thought as I deleted it from my search history. “Now how my going to find out? It’s not like mom’s here to answer all my questions or grandma, I don’t even think my grandfather on my dad’s side would have the answers.

I wheeled away from the desk looking at the hardwood before rising to my feet. Would Blaine know? I thought as I glanced over at my phone that lied on the bedside table charging.

“I doubt Blaine would have the answers to my problems, if Blaine knew any of this why would he not tell me?” I said to myself as I slowly got up and struggled back on the bed my ankle killing me as I, rolled over to stare at the ceiling.