The Seventh Curse Bearer

SEVEN: Sins and Potions

The approach of morning that day was as subtle as the day of my execution in my past life. How I anticipated a new morning where Cain would wake up a different person. The love bud within me was budding waiting to blossom. It was also at that very moment that I realised that maybe I needed a lover. I was so caught up in making Cain's romantic dreams a reality that I forgot about my own. In fact, in the past after my rebirth, I hated the word love it's self. I did not want my body to fall prey to any men under the false pretence of love. I had ceased to think about my past life because it bore nothing but heart ache and a nightmarish life, In my past life, i had anticipated my death, I had waited wide eyed and prepared for that very moment when my precious life would end. When my spirit would leave its body, and be born into the world anew. I was awake at dawn. Somehow that day felt different than usual. I gazed out my balcony into the sky, light was preceeding darkness as night its self faded. My felidae instincts were amplified. The smell of the flowers, the roses from the orchard filled the cool morning air. The animal spirit within me was some how calm and at peace.

I sat till morning. Then decided to take a bath and go downstairs for breakfast. I was imagining Cain probably waking up love struck and head over heels for Mariah. Would the potion have taken effect by now? I wondered. I had found a way to get rid of that coniving Malacca. I was pained that she would go unpunished for her murder but at the same time I felt Amira was just as evil as her. I was deep in thought. I was on my way downstairs when I bumbed into a really confused Cain. That very moment made me doubt my witching abilities. His eyes looked confused. His mind seemed lost somewhere. Had I ruined this man? Maybe it was time to break the spell before any further damage was done. I would tell him the truth but then that would mean exposing my secret. I called out to him but he didn't seem to answer. I had to literally slap his shoulder for him to come out of his dazed state. "Dear Cain, "I smiled. "Where is your mind at today?" I inquired.

"Oh! sorry, Nancy, I don't know what has come over me, I don't really feel like my self today!" He camly said as he shook his head as if he just realized something he didn't know prior to that moment. I felt really guilty that a little bit of my dark arts at work could make a man loose his senses. I felt his vulnerability to my witchcraft. I was sorry. "How do you feel? " I asked intimidatedly, I was scared. That morning his things were a mess, his work case which he kept his important files, pens and his office documents was half open. His shirt was clumsily buttoned as if someone did them in a hurried state. His hair was unkepmpt, clumsily comped and his neck tie was badly tied and seemed more like a noose than a dress object. He was sweating profusely and seemed really nervous.

"To be honest, i don't know what's wrong with me Nancy, I just woke up different today but i guess I will be okay during the day." He said as he walked past me. I followed him in apprehension, what would his family think if they saw him like this? He walked out on his family waving at them while they sat at the dinning table devouring their grand breakfast. This was unusual for him because Cain was a family guy. He was severely cultured and liked to greet each of his relatives separately including embracing his grandmother, he usually chatted with his father ever since he returned. I stood in the middle of the living room which was a separate segment from the dinning area while they all gazed at me and him awkwardly from afar. I did not know what to do, following him would come off as me being promiscuous because for sometime now everyone was keeping a watchful eye on me and Cain because we spent most of our time together. It would not look good since Malacca had already accused me of chasing after him before. I tried as much to stay away from him when anybody was around but I purposely seduced him when his mother was around, which he found unpleasant and awkward but he was too politely to say. I could tell he was uncomfortable from his facial expression but his mother probably neglected him all his life to notice when his son was awkaward, sad or happy. I would often smile and intetionally rub my arm against his. I would touch him and hold his handuntil l his mother left pleased with me then I would use the last moment to redeem my self in his eyes while he tried his best to makes an excuse to leave. I would be deeply ashamed because I was proud person. Men needed to chase after me, not the other way round. I did not bear any gender bias regarding this ideology. Its just the way I liked it personally, because in my past life living in the emperor's harem, as a harem woman , men dreamt of getting a glimpse of me, as I walked those very ancient palace floors, the male servants would secretly gather at the sound of my anklets, mystically dangling to the floor. My lucid veil around my waist would drag behind me, it's sparkling imprints glimmering in the light. My pearls embraced me. I would be adorned in them. My crop top stuck to my breast which stood bulged and plum as puberty took its course on me. Those sevants looked like they would have sold their souls just to have me as their lover. Just to talk to me. Just to touch my lucious smooth skin just for a moment. Even though I had hated that life, the simple idea of being worshiped as a s****l objext had not left me. Of course I didn't perceive it that way, I simply wanted men to desire me as an equal partner but I figured I wouldn't want to be the one to make the first move. This was the twenty first century and it wasn't easy having two different perspectives from one from an awful life and one from the present. Bearing the difference of the past and the present while hiding a sinuous secret was too much pressure, so I did not want to remember anything in the past. Moments that had to do with intimacy revived these awful memories and these feelings i hated. I ceased to think about it. I had walked over to dine with the others. I had been stuck in thought that i did not realize that everybody was standing from the dining table. The servants had rushed out side and came in dragging an injured Cain. I was shocked to what had transpired before my curious eyes. Cain had been viciously attacked by his neighbour's dogs. His blazer had been ripped and dangled in pieces on him. His trousers had been torn exposing part of his muscular legs. I heard giggles coming from some of his younger family members while everybody rushed to him. Except for Mariah who stood behind me in tears but unable to move. He was not injured but he had a few scratches here and there. He had probably sprained a few muscles from the long run while the pack of three to four dogs chased after him.

"Oh my poor baby!" His grandmother rushed to him in anticipation.

"Cain, are you okay?" Malacca inquired as Cain sat on the couch still trying to fathom this misfortune that had befallen him.

"I am fine!" He said at last. " That man is crazy. How dare he think he can just do that to me. I know he did that on purpose."

"Do what, my grand child? " his grandmother innocently asked. "What happened dear, your clothes are awfully torn."

" That silly little common peasant, Dylan, let his dogs loose from their leashes and he watched them maul me."

"Thats awful, we should file a complaint with the police!" his teenage cousin Munira insisted.

"He did? How? And why son? What's going on?" His father who had walked in at that very moment looked shocked as he listened in on the conversation.

"I don't know what happened but after I had gone to see my dogs at their pen, they also got aggressive with me so I left. I found this very strange! So I left for work, I was nearly outside the gates when I met that envious jerk about to go walking his dogs. You know what he said? " He said at the peak of rage.

"Hey Cain, where are you off to so early in the morning. Aren't we a little early for work today!" He mimicked His neighbour's tone while saying those very words. His elder sister Natalia rolled her eyes out.

Cain stopped and plummeted his fist in his hand, then he held fist to his mouth in a bid to control his ferocious anger.

"Then I politely told him to mind his own business! " he continued. " But that jerk always finds ways to push me, He the inquired about Natalia, he said, Hey buddy, why don't you take a chill pill. And how's that beautiful sister of yours, Natalia. Maybe you could pass on my message to her and tell her I would like some fun time with her, tonight!" Cain mimicked Dylan's tone again mockingly.

His father had a look of disgust on his face. Cain gazed at his father, his anger seemed to vanish away as he saw his father's disgust. "Father, I then got of my car to teach that i***t a lesson, but then I thought i outa have self control so I turned to walk back to my car but then all of a sudden I was pulled apart and lacerated by his pet dogs! "

His father grunted in utter displeasure. " I'll talk to the parents to instill manners in that boy. He can't treat young women Ile that." He shook his head and left for work. I later learned Dylan was Cain's mortal enermy. Ever since they were younger, they were rivals and sought to have something the other didn't have. If one acquired a new car, the other bought an even more expensive one. If one got a new clothing item, the other sought to dress better than the other. Cain got animal pens installed a mile away on his family estate, and Dylan couldn't afford to keep exortic animals so he got dogs. Although Dylan's family was wealthy and were millionaires, Cain's family was still ahead of them bearing a net worth of twenty five billion. Dylan decided to get back at his rival by having a love affair with his elder sister Natalia. Cain only found out about it when Natalia became pregnant and needed an abortion. Cain opposed to it but then ended up agreeing because the child belonged to his most hated enemy. This pregnancy had to be ridden off because his family was too conservative and who knows what punishment Natalia would have gotten. So it came to be that an innocent life was lost before it even entered into this world.

When I heard him say this, i knew i had seriously messed up. Cain also forgot that he never visited his pet giant pens that were located a mile and a half away on the family estate. He made it a priority to do this after work in the afternoons and evenings. He was a man who liked to flaunt his possessions, his cars, his wealth, his money, even his exotic animals. He kept exotic animals like lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, and snakes. He liked to take a jog with me to this place to just to show them to me.

"Maybe you should stay back home today brother!" His sister Nadia proposed. "You don't seem really well!"

"Indeed I will!" As soon as he said those words, his mother got up and paced to him. He was attempting to stand up when she blocked his way and spoke to him in a stern voice.

All the while, his mother had showed no remorse or attempt to console his son. She had sat at the table devouring her breakfast ignoring all of as as we had surrounded him.

"Have you lost your mind? " she gazed at him unmoved while her poor dearest son looked at her with hurt in his eyes. "Look at the way you were even dressed, looking so scruffy. You walked out looking like a vagabond and you expect your dogs to even recognize you? Haven't I talked to you about keeping those filthy creatures of yours on the estate?" She went quiet.

"We have family and a guest, pull your self together!" She said unemotionally.

He ignored her and walked past her and she walked off after. He went upstairs to his room ignoring Mariah. His family was more divided that one would think. It was an extended family, yet they all kept to ther own affairs. I saw this when Cain walked up the stairs as his cousin and sisters literally laughed at him behind his back. I mean offcourse it was a bit of a hilarious incident but there was literally nothing funny about a man almost getting killed by his dogs. I felt sorry for him and the guilt was quickly overwashing me to the point that i felt a bit dizzy. I mean something even worse could have happened to him if he had left the mansion. I needed to fix this fast.

I was about to run follow him when Mariah suddenly grabbed my hand and looked me in the eyes with innocence in hers. "You haven't done anything to him have you?"

"What do you mean by that?" I tried to play it off and look surprised.

"Please just stay away from him for now, for his own good, I'm begging you." She crossed her hands as a sign on resignation and followed him upstairs. I did too.

"Mariah what have I done? Are you seriously blaming me for what happened to Cain?" I looked at her feigning disbelief.

"Nancy did you really curse him using witch craft because of the way he treats me? I know you dont like that fact and I can understand why you did it. Also because I also saw you yesterday mixing those herbs we got and using the crystal ball and chanting weird chants!" She said looking down and feeling embarrassed for accusing me of being a witch. It comes off as childish to accuse someone of something of this sort in morden day but in most cultures it is a serious and offensive accusation. In my previous life time witches got burned on a stake just like how my mother was. I was desperate that I decided to come clean. We both care for Cain so much that we couldnt both bear to watch him go through this. I didn't tell her everything of course. She would have shunned me the moment I uttered the truth that I was a witch by birth.

"Okay, okay, I'll admit that I sort of did something to him. I sort of read this old book of spells that's why I bought those things. I just thought of trying it out on him since like you said, I do not like the fact that he abuses you!. But trust me, I can fix this!" I reassured her while she nodded in agreement. At that moment Cain walked out in his underwear heavily disoriented while holding a shoe. He was still wearing the other. He gazed at it in confusion. He was at an utter loss of words. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. His sister Nadia stood behind us in utter bewilderment. " Brother what is it?" She asked.

He ignored her and walked back in leaving Mariah collapsing on the floor in despair. "My husband has lost his mind! He is not himself, he has lost his mind! She screamed.

"Calm down Mariah," I heard Nadia's voice echoe behind me as I entered their room with out thought. Cain had set his sterio to the loudest volume possible and he was cramping on the floor to the rhythm. At first I was scared because I initially thought he was having ceisures but then, I realised he was dancing. I knew there had to be a mistake in my potion and I looked back into my past since the herbs i drank the previous night had not yet worn off. I realised of course I had created a potion of love but I had not initiated it into activity that's why Cain was acting weird.

"Listen come here," I dragged him off the floor and covered him in a towel. His muscular body was tanned. I couldn't bear to gaze at him in his vulnerable state. He was just like a puppet, sitting there waiting for me to talk, his eyes lost somewhere, his mind and emotions under the control of my potion. "You've said you're not your self and we can all see that, but you really have to be your self or you might actually die!" I said as tears dripped down my eyes. Mother had taught me that spells improperly chanted were bound to not work. Potions badly brewed were like poison and mostly likely killed the ones who took them.

"Whoah, I might die?!!" He exaggeratedly exclaimed with his eyes bulging , his mouth open in shock. I expected him to ask why? How can i die? Or for him to say something like " Nancy you sound outright ridiculous!" But then again he had that awful look of confusion and I was beginning to lose hope. "What is, ...die... anyways?" He sat there deep in thought. I decided to initiate the spell that morning when no one was around. I asked Nadia to take the weeping Mariah back down stairs in order to do it. I told them Cain needed space, and would probably be fine a few hours after a short nap.

I sat in front of him while I gazed at his sad eyes. As he repeated the word die. The he laughed. " Thats a bad thing right?" I gazed down in sadness. He was getting worse by each minute, soon he would just be a shell of the person he once was, he would be mute, he wouldnt be able to talk, move or do anything and I would slowly watch in horror as his life faded away into the abis, into the realm of the non living. The realm of the unknown and his young and innocent blood would be forever on my hands.

If I healed him, by subduing him into my trance of enchantment, he forever remain a loyal puppet to Mariah. He would never come to remember of this humiliating moment that he lost his mind. Even if he remembered he wouldn't get mad about it like he would if he was himself. Cain would forever be under the sinous enchantment of my devious spell.

To activate my spell I looked deep into his dead and lost eyes and began to chant while moving my hand in motion. As soon as he heard my words he shuddered and leaned back in horror. Then he was under my control he listened agreeing to every command of the spell in a deep and monotonous voice. "Yes ma'am." He chanted after me. ". I will immensely love Mariah to  death."

As soon as I finished, I waited to see a new found Cain under the influence of my spell, or to see if the spell had some how been broken since I had hinted before that he could actually die. He would start to suspect something and even though Cain did not believe in the dark arts there was a one percent chance he was going to stop on that very notion and every memory, every realization would strike him like lightning on a thunderous stormy night. He would come to his true senses and I would be in trouble. One he did, he would abstrusly know of everything without even me telling him..

A few moments later, I gazed at the unconscious Cain waiting for him desperately, to wake and be at least half him self. He blinked his eyes twice as if he had had a long nap.