The Seventh Curse Bearer

FOURTEEN : What's lurking in the shadows?

"No getting out!?" I thought to my self, this family had so much more to them than meets the eyes and thinking about my self forever tied to them and unable to leave brought chills of despair down my spine. I could never divorce my so called husband who I didn't like, who hated me most amongst all members of his family, who had his own male lover whom he was solely in love with!? I didnt take the words Cain's friend had told me to heart. l was going to divorce Amir no matter what happened. I would not let this man who had violated me have a chance to define my destiny just like what that sultan did in my past life. I wasn't going to let anybody ruin my second chance at life, a chance that almost no one gets in this amazingly perplexing thing called life.

I woke up next morning to a sombre feeling that had overwhelmed me in my sleep. I didn't know what it was. I was feeling extra tired that morning despite the fact that I had slept for so long and so comfortably. I got ready to go downstairs only to be greeted by the sound of querelling.

"Why won't you get therapy son??!! I want you to get better from this so called illegitimate love of yours for that man!" His mother was saying to him in a stern and cold voice while everybody watched afraid of intervening. She had never spoken him like this in the few months I had stayed at the mansion.

"So just because I have a preference different to yours and majority of the society's , my love is suddenly illegitimate? He looked displeased. I was happy he was standing up for him self, not because I cared for him, but I wanted to be freed from our union.

"Hey, you silly little boy! Don't forget I'm your mother, I birthed you and I raised you and gave you love, lots of money , food and shelter. So for that you have to listen to me and do as I say. I will not suffer the humiliation of having my son labelled as deranged because he can not seem to know t The appropriate s*x for a lover!" She raged.

"Appropriate?! " So when I love some one of my choice its in appropriate But when my own brother Amir dated those girls belonging to different races you didn't object! You always said to keep our bloodline.....!"

Before he could finish, a cold hard defeating slap rang through out their grand living room shocking everybody. His mother was fuming. I had never seen her that angry at him before. I was clearly shocked to my guts.

"How dare you Amir! I always thought my son was intelligent enough to differentiate between right and wrong but you just proved to me that you do actually need a shrink! "

He held his cheek as his mother fumed on.

"How dare you say something so ignorant. Do you consider your self superior because you bear a district look from other so called races!? I did not raise an ignorant son because if you ever bear those words from your very mouth, I will free you from this title you proudly hold, calling yourself my son, I will disown you and you'll be cast into the streets!" She paused.

"You will see that therapist wether you like it or not!" She held him by the collar as if she was about to choke him and pull him into a fight and the other family member tried to kindly and calmly remove her from him.

"You are going to see him everyday, come back and love that woman now called your wife! Marriage isn't something you consider a joke! If you're going to live here you will have to abide by my rules or you're out! I don't like that new wife of yours but if it means curing you of this dysfunctional trait of yours, I'm even willing to pay her any amount and give her the world to make her stay with you!" She groaned angrily.

Amir backed off intimidatedly nodding in agreement.

"Are we clear?"" She asked.

"Yes ma'am!" Amir responded obediently before leaving for his appointment with the psychologist.

I went about my day with unease. This woman was willing to do anything to make his son what she wanted him to be even if it meant trapping me in this union forever. You can't force people to fall in love. No spell or witchcraft in the world could do that. I wasn't in love with Amir.

I was about to go into my room when suddenly a warm hand caught me by the waist. At first, I freaked out, then I calmed down was I turned around to witness Cain stand behind me with a smile on his face. He pasted a warm kiss upon my lips and to my surprise I didn't flinch, i was not shocked. I knew by then something was deeply wrong. He went on to plant kissed on my neck and then he shoved me into mine and Amir's room and wanted to undress me but i rejected him.

"Stop, What are you doing? I know that you...."

"Shhhh!" He stoped me as he pasted his finger across my lips. He then turned and left. I reflected on it after he had left. I was angry at his betrayal towards Mariah. I didn't blame him. I guess I was still being eaten away by guilt at the core of my beating heart for bewitching him. I always wanted a clean slate. To be a goodie two shoes, that was sort of part of my persona but i had become some sortt of sly vixen using witch craft in the padt few weeks after my marriage. I had felt angry at Amir. One would judge me for it but that would be too audacious to judge one so fiery like me, because they don't understand what's it like to sleep next to the person who violated you every night. To feel their breath on your neck as they snored away feeling guiltless and content as If you deserved what they did to you. To feel them turn and toss while the rivers of rage lurk within you waiting to spree away. I started to do black witchcraft for bad karma on Amir, first, i made him mess up at work and he got reprimanded. He couldn't get fired because it was a family business, and he was one of the bosses. I then enchanted him under a spell of unending dishes of small bad luck which he would get splashes with water by other cars in his car park, or hot coffee spilled on him by accident, or just something to annoy him and ruin his day. One time his car caught fire. He was starting to believe I was a bad omen and one night, i nearly revealed to him of my witching abilities. I nearly shocked the life out of him as he woke up staring at my burning red hot eyes glowing in the dark. My eyes were crying the blood of my heart. Red eyes, as red as the burning magma deep in the depths of Hades. I wanted him to feel my pain, my rage but then I stoped as he screamed and fainted as soon as he woke up to my grotesque looking face. I then changed into my normal form and rather felt sorry for him. That's when I knew in was going too far. Next morning, i told him I also saw the same entity when I woke up. I wanted to make excuses for my errors. He sort of believed me but he truly wasn't convinced. He started to be wary of me. He was jumpy when I was around.

I was confused because Cain was acting weird.

I was feeling really tired so I decided to put out the thought and get an after noon nap. I was not more than two hours and thirty minutes into my sleep when I was awoken from my slumber by Amir. He walked in furiously slamming the door behind him.

"Who does this woman think she is! If she were not my mother I would have...."He paused to curse. "I would hqve ended her entire existance my self! Ahhhhhh!!!" He screamed as he started destroying things in his room. I got up in a jump and cowered in a corner avoiding the shattered glass from the flower vases. I had gotten a few cuts.

"Calm down Amir! " My scared voice rang out the room in shivers.

"Calm down, you're telling me to calm down!" And how I'd that going to solve anything, ha?"

"Violence never solved anything, you'll probably hurt your self and now you'll have to spend more to replace everything you destroyed!"

"I can replace anything you silly woman, we have all the money to sustain any of our comforts." He said rudely. Then his voice sounded pitiful.

" What damage could anything do to me when I'm already this broken!" He bitterly cried. I'm so hurt Nancy!" He cried collapsing on the floor on his knees. "Nancy help me get my love back! He won't even tall to me. My Dylan wants to cut all ties with me. He wants to leave me and go away for good."

His voice rang through out the room as I over stepped glass to go and comfort him. I sat him on the bed while he leaned into my shoulder to cry his eyes out.

"What happened Amir?" I asked him seeking to genuinely console this young and distraught man. I was moved by his pain. His love that sought to sprout and blossom on infertile land. A land were his kind of love was frowned upon. His love was considered a sin, illegitimate and viewed as strange.

"Nancy, i know you will never forgive me for what I did to you..." He began, and I looked at away at his mentioning of the past. "But you have to help me save my relationship! I know you don't love me but have you ever had somebody you truly loved so much that you'd be willing to do anything for them? I feel that way about Dylan. He's leaving for good!"

"Leaving for where, Amir? Don't go round in circles!" I said.

"He's leaving the country for good, he says he doesn't want me any more, like thyhers nothing else between us after what happened. He also think we should abide by the norms of our society and he wants me to focus on my relationship with you. He's leaving me, do something Nancy! You mended Cain and Mariah's relationship, why can't you do the same for me?"

" I will try Amir! You have to understand the circumstances of your relationship with Dylan. And you have to take into account the society we live in. It allowed no such relationships to exist! But I will try to help you out." I said.

"Do not try Nancy! Help me!" Begged. I have never seen someone so distraughtly in love. I was scared for him. What if he decided to harm himself due to his lamentable ailments of the heart. His behaviour had deeply scared me. I did not like him, but I did not want him to die either. I'm usually the kind type. But I'm also the fiery type who wants people to live and suffer for their sins until repenting because according to our harsh felidae religious ideology, we believe one should suffer as much as he sins. You rip what you sow, you get what you dish out. If you kill you're deserving of death. If you steal you deserve an equal punishment. He shook his head then layed down on his pillow for a short nap. All of a sudden, my vision became blurry and when i came to, Amir was no more there. Its like he was never even there in the first place! The bed was neatly made like before, the floor qwas clean with no torn things and broken glass. Its like all i had witnessed hadnt happened at all. I held my mouth in disbelief. Then a moment later the door flung open, it was Amir. I collapsed on the floor, sitting in a con, i held my head in both my hands failing to comprehend what was happening. The event i had just witnessed was unfloding before my very eyes, shattered glass was every were. I shook off scared and to calm him down. I would soon later be horrified to find that Cain had been out all morning. The kissing event hadn't even happened. I wanted to cry,. I thought I was having a mental breakdown but I had to be strong to console Amir. I felt sorry for him as I watched him sleep on the bed like a little child. I was worried for his emotional well being. He woke up about an hour later and he went out and didn't come back till evening.

I found myself that day alone when Amir was out conducting a spell to make things work in my favour. To make Amir 'uncurable' so that he may follow the love of his dreams. So that I may be free and three lives wouldn't be ruined. I kept on starting over because I was failing to conduct the spell. I was almost through the spell when I noticed a shadow lurking in the half open door. I haden t heard the slow sound of the door creak open as the shadow sought to spy on me. My heart beat like a bungo drum. I was scared. Was I going crazy, was I starting to see things? Had someone seen me doing black witchcraft at that very moment?