Grandma's Curse

Grandma and I have been living in her old Dutch Colonial since I was a baby. I never met my grandfather, for he had passed away years before I was born. My parents left me at my grandmother's when I was just a few days old, so I really never met them either. I really didn't care however, for my grandma treated me like royalty. She always referred to me as her "little princess" which always made me feel warm on the inside. Even though it was just me and my grandmother in that house, I enjoyed it to the fullest.

Grandma, on the other hand, did not feel the same way. She always looked at me with kind and caring eyes, but those beautiful green eyes of hers held back tears of sorrow. She never told me what was making her like such, but I could read her like an open book. I have attempted to have her describe her melancholic behavior, but she has always resisted whenever the subject came about. I never liked seeing grandma sad. She had a nice house, she was very intelligent, and I loved her with all my heart. The best thing about her was that she would always read me bedtime stories; it was almost a routine of her's.

Every single night she would light a candle and begin reading to me a tale from a large book of stories she had. Many of the stories were the usual short tales you'd hear in other children's story books. But there were also stories that had strange twists to them. They were similar to those like "Humpty Dumpty" or "Little Red Riding Hood," but they had different endings, plots and scenarios that strangely tied to the spiritual world. Antagonists would take on forms of demons, while protagonists would be represented through angels or gods. I rarely understood this as a child, but as I grew older, I started to grow curious. I cared a lot about grandma and always wanted to make sure she was happy. She seemed happiest when she was around me, but I knew she was trying to hide something. I think I started to realize when she kept leaving the candles on after story time.

Even as I started growing older, grandma still left the candle lit in my bedroom even when I was no longer afraid of the dark. I even saw a candle lit in her bedroom when I once got up to get a glass of water in the middle of the night. I didn't want to question grandma for lighting the candle; I just figured maybe it reminded her of grandpa. I never knew how grandpa was as a person or what he even looked like. Grandma had no photos of him and rarely mentioned him at all. But somehow I felt as if I had seen him, but not physically.

I once had a dream that I met someone—an older man who seemed friendly, yet sad as well. I've never seen his face, for every time I got closer to him in my dream he'd vanish. I've told grandma about the man, but she had always told me to keep away from him. I did not understand why grandma wanted me to avoid the man. Grandma seemed to be very superstitious and avoided the discussions of spiritual encounters as I grew older. Before, she spoke of angels and spirits protecting from evil, but now she seemed to disregard it altogether.

To my surprise, I had recently found books in the attic covered in dust that spoke of witchcraft and magic. They looked older than I did, and were in poor condition. What struck me the most as odd was that some had scribbles of ink on them, other books had "witch" and "murderer" written on them. Scared and confused, I quickly slammed the book close and headed back down; but I was stopped. Grandma stood there at the door, "so, you found them didn't you?" Rather than having a menacing look, she began to cry.

Grandma wiped her tears and began to explain: "My little princess, when I was a little girl I always heard voices in my head. I saw people that were not alive, and I could sense tragedies before they would happen."She continued to whimper and wipe away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. "I saw your grandfather get killed by something not of this world. His body became possessed of a demonic entity that damned his soul and sent him into an endless void that separates him from everyone else. That man you saw in your dreams was, in fact, your grandpa; but he may still be possessed by that demon that took him into the afterlife. That is why you must stay away." I began to tremble as I realized what grandma had been hiding. Grandma continued, "But I must tell you that you have that power too, the same one as I. I've kept us safe from demons for years." Grandma began to cry once more. "I can hear them wherever I go. They want to get me. They want to attack you too." Grandma was right. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a dark silhouette gazing at grandma.

"Grandma!!" I yelled.

Grandma began to run towards me, yelling. "Quick light that candle!!" She pointed at a candle near me as she ran in horror. The silhouette began to sprint towards my grandmother as she ran to me. I quickly lit the candle, but it was too late.

The figure had grabbed my grandmother's legs and pulled her away from the candle's glow. The silhouette submerged itself into grandma's body, causing her to jerk and spasm on the floor. A dark, shadowy mist began to cover the floor, except a for a small circle that surrounded me. I heard my grandma scream in agony as I watched her limp body slowly levitate off the ground. I couldn't do anything but watch—paralyzed in horror as she floated there, possessed by something. She slowly began to descend back down, the darkness fading.

I stepped closer and examined her in tears of sadness. "Grandma?" I cried.

With all her strength, she slowly opened her eyes and began to speak. "My little princess.. you must protect yourself. They are coming for you... you must protect yourself at all costs... This spirits dislike protective spells... you must keep them away.."

Silence.

"Grandma?... Grandma?!" My grandmother lay on the floor, staring blankly at me with her beautiful green eyes. I closed her eyelids and kissed her on the forehead. I was alone. Completely alone.