Curse in Disguise

First off, I want to start by saying that I loved my life. As pathetic it may have seemed from the outside, I was not sad nor depressed. To be clear, the decision I have made has nothing to do with me being selfish or not for the most part. It is the consequence of my actions. It is a shock for me how quickly my life turned upside down and lead to this. I’m sure most people will think I’m a selfish, self-centered coward who doesn’t consider others. Before you make your judgment, please hear my story. You must see that for me; this is the one and only.

I’ve heard that each decision you make leads you to a new path, and that path to a new one, and so on, more paths open. If this is true, I wonder at what point I could’ve prevented this. Is there a possibility I could have changed this tragic ending? The furthest I can recall is three days ago at the Harrisons.

The house was then almost empty, except for some furniture pieces the Harrisons had left behind. I had finished cleaning out every single inch of the house. By then, my body was crumbling as if gravity had become stronger. That was when a soothing melody of a piano echoed through the halls and led me to the library—only a few more steps towards the doorway when the sound suddenly stopped. I looked around, but there was no one there. On the piano bench sat a little black book. From the looks of it, it was some sort of antique collection book. I had seen many books, antique and new, but this book had something odd about it. The moment my fingers touched its pages, I had a bizarre feeling. One that I can’t quite explain. It was something I had never felt before; it was like an urge. As if I had to take the book.

All of a sudden, from far away, click, clack, it began coming closer. I didn’t even think before I had hidden the book within my shirt. Ms. Harrison walked in wearing the same red high heels that had never looked a day old. I can just imagine hundreds of those kept away in one of her closets, where I could not enter. She walked up to me, gave me my paycheck, and walked away. She had always been very quiet around others, a genuinely kind lady, but not so many words came out of her mouth. Somehow I thought today it would be different, that she’d at least say goodbye. I placed my paycheck in between the pages of the book and gathered my things to leave. Surely they wouldn’t miss one book.

I rushed to my car as Lily would soon be getting out of daycare. When I got there, Lily was asleep; her teachers said she had had a rough day, so I didn’t even bother waking her up. When I got home, I put Lily in bed. I remember thinking how lovely it is to be a child, sleep, eat, and have no worries. Since the Harrisons were moving further away, I needed to find a new job that was enough to pay the bills. I went to the kitchen, where the dishes from the entire week awaited me. Before going to sleep, I felt inclined to grab the book. As I scanned the pages, it seemed very rare. It wasn’t the book’s actual content but many notes written in the book’s corners, almost in every space.

My wish is to become the most powerful man in the world.

I wish for a long everlasting life

… to become famous

… for beauty and youth

… for success

… for the perfect husband

Everywhere there were wishes, so many of them, many repeated but in different writing. There were even other languages. It was all weird. I was dumbfounded. Could this be true? I had to try it. I quickly looked for a pen. Yet, what could I possibly wish? What would you wish? I didn’t give it much thought, but at the same time, I knew I needed money. So I wrote it. I went to sleep upset that day. I was upset that it wouldn’t work and upset at myself for even writing on the book.

The next day Lily woke me up. She wanted us to make pancakes, so I got up and grabbed my paycheck. When I opened it, my jaw dropped; I was surprised that it was to the sum of one billion dollars. How did this even happen? My name, written in ink, yes, it was my name. It could not be right at all. Lily and I drove to the Harrisons’ new residence. The house was huge, much bigger than the one from before. I approached the gate and rang the doorbell. The only answer I got was from the new housekeeper. She informed me that Ms. Harrison had passed away. I was appalled. I couldn’t process it. It was only the day before that I had seen her. It was a mystery to me what had occurred to her. From what I knew about her was that she had no health problems, no issues, nothing. I drove back home, mind blown. I was astonished to hear Ms. Harrison had passed away. I had gone looking for answers and was heading back home with nothing but more questions. Lily didn’t seem to know what was going on. She didn’t know who the Harrisons were and had no care in the world for money. She just slept through the whole ride.

Everything that had happened in the last 15 hours of my life was nothing compared then what was to come. When I got home, Lily was still sleeping. It was becoming strange, even alarming. That was the first sign that something wasn’t right. I shook her up a bit, but her body was frozen. She didn’t even flinch or blink her eyes. I spent a few minutes that seemed like hours, trying to get her to wake up. Once I realized she wouldn’t be waking up I started the car and speeded to the hospital. The doctors quickly tried to help out. They consistently tried to calm me down, but what other reaction could I have. It was Lily, she was my person, the only one that I had. After a few hours, the doctors came back with no answers, they said Lily was a case they had never had before and whatever was going on with Lily was going to be hard to determine. They had tried different treatments but no results. Devastated, I began thinking as to how could this be happening to Lily. There was no reasoning that I could find, she was fine in the morning. Suddenly my eyes grew bigger as I recalled Ms. Harrison, was this a mere coincidence. I tried calling their family number but there was no answer. I reached into my purse and felt a light buzz, it was the book. I picked it up and it was as if the book opened itself in front of me and so I read the last page,

It will be a nightmare even during the day

You’ll hear the sound of a shattered scream

For your time has come to fade away

It will be a voice that causes you to sway

As if in a dream

Something you will not be able to chase away

You are merely one more prey

Pushed to the wall into the extreme

For your time has come to fade away

The rules of a child’s play

Sadly, once you grasp you cannot redeem

Something you will not be able to chase away

The price you must pay

Is said to be extreme

But It is now doomsday

Your time has come to fade away

As I read the words, I felt shivers going down my spine. Without a doubt, that is when I knew, I knew everything I had to know. I knew what I had to do. It’s as if all the movies had already warned me. I had already made a mistake, just like when you don’t read the terms and conditions of any website. Except it had never been this bad.

Today I woke up next to Lily, she was still in a profound sleep, and I lost hope that anything would be changed by waiting. No doctor would be able to find a cure for her sickness. It was me. I hurt her. I was the cause. So now I’m here, writing this letter that has gone longer than it should be; I’m still trying to find the courage for what is next.

Lily, when you came to this world, I made a promise to myself that no harm would ever come to you. My love for you is endless, and that is why it breaks my heart to fail you. You will probably not know what is going on when you wake up, and I pray to God you can forgive me for what I have done. I cross my fingers in the hopes that you will understand the decision I made. This letter is not enough to tell you or show, nor would an entire book be enough to show you how much I love you. There is no way of measuring my love. It saddens me to leave you in this world, but I trust that you will grow to be a wonderful human being and will be able to make brighter decisions than I have.

Love,

Alexis

And as my eyes begin to close, a hushed voice I hear, the last words of the cursed book singing near my ear.