--- [Arthur’s perspective]

I have always been…

Different…

I am one of the very few rare cases of someone having a ‘passive’ specialty.

Passive specialties are ones that are permanently active, usually since birth.

Some people refer to these specialties as blessings.

Mine however…

I’d rather call it a curse.

When my mother got pregnant, my parents were so happy.

They had been trying for years, but without any success.

They almost gave up hope, but it finally happened.

They were finally going to have a baby.

Grateful couldn’t even being to describe how they felt; apparently, they even referred to me as a blessing.

Ironic, I know…

The day I was born was supposed to be their happiest day ever, and it probably was…

But…

It was also their last day ever…

Naturally after I was born, they held me, hugged me, kissed me.

My ‘curse’ activated, and that was it…

My mother was the first to go.

Mere minutes had passed since I was born, the ceiling suddenly came crashing down on her, instantly crushing her.

In that moment, she was still holding me, but miraculously…

I survived.

My father grabbed me and ran to get help.

The neighbors helped getting the rubble out of the way, but it didn’t matter.

Even if they had cleared it all the moment it happened, she would have still died.

At least her death was quick and painless…

Shocked, confused, heartbroken, enraged…

My father didn’t know what to do with himself.

His wife, whom he loved more than anything, had just passed before his very own eyes.

Just moments after I was born…

He took me to his sister’s house; she was obviously more than happy to let us stay with her for a while.

Overwhelmed with grief, he spent the rest of the day crying in the guest room all by himself.

She brought him some bread and told him he should eat.

At first, he didn’t want to.

Not because he wasn’t hungry, but because he couldn’t bring himself to do anything.

His wife was gone…

He felt like everything was meaningless.

What was the point if she was no longer there?

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His sister convinced him to eat, he wouldn’t get any better just lying there.

And besides, he needed to live…

For my sake…

His first bite of that bread was his last…

It got stuck in his throat, suffocating him.

Nobody noticed anything until hours later, in the middle of the night.

They heard me crying and so they went to check on me.

My father lying dead on the floor was the last thing they expected to find…

After that, my aunt and her husband decided to adopt me.

Since my parents were no longer around to take care of me, they would.

The entire situation was seen as a terrible tragedy, but over time, that view started to shift.

My uncle fell down the stairs and broke his arm only a week after they adopted me.

My aunt was blinded on one side by a twig that was picked up by a random gust of wind.

Things like that just kept happening.

Over and over and over again…

By the time I was old enough to be in daycare, my uncle was dead, and my aunt was paralyzed from the waist down.

People started to see me as the curse I really was.

Even as a toddler, people would stare at me, call me names, some would even try to hurt me.

But…

Can I really blame them?

The people around me would all end up getting hurt…

One of my first memories was me playing on a playground.

The parents wouldn’t let their kids near me, so I was there all alone.

A kitten came, and I remember thinking it was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

I ran up to it and petted it; I was so happy.

Dark clouds started forming in the sky…

The owner saw me petting it and got anxious.

They got some food and lured it away from me.

While it was running back to its owner, a lightning bolt struck it, instantly electrocuting it…

The clouds faded away, and the clear blue sky from a minute ago was back.

All my life I’ve been plagued by this curse…

Anything I touch will be in some kind of accident.

I couldn’t control what it would be, or when it would happen.

It ruined my life.

Everyone hated me; even my own family resented me.

I had nothing, I had no one…

By the time I was 15, I was like a mere husk of a person.

I was alive, but not living…

You’d expect someone in my situation to think something along the lines of: ‘All I want is to be loved!’.

But I didn’t…

There were plenty of times when I thought about ending it all, but I couldn’t even be bothered to do that…

I truly was empty…

…

Until that day…!

There was a family in our village that got insanely wealthy through gambling when I was only a few years old.

The money got to their heads, and they became a big pain in the ass for everyone.

They acted like they were better than everyone else, even when it was obvious that they were all douchebags.

They had a daughter around my age, but her life had been nothing like mine.

She was a spoiled brat who had everything she could ever hope for.

She had the best education in the whole village, her parents would buy her anything she wanted, everyone wanted to be her friend, and her family loved her…

She was the exact opposite of me.

Like most days, I was just sitting by river watching the fish.

It’s not like I had anything better to do…

I heard a scream in the distance, and I ran over to see what was going on.

It was her, the rich girl…

A group of teenagers had surrounded her.

They were demanding that she gave them everything she had.

My first instinct was to turn back.

I mean, she had practically infinite wealth; they clearly didn’t.

Even if they took everything she had on her a thousand times over, it wouldn’t even make a dent on her family’s fortune.

But for them, that could be a life altering amount of money.

I would have turned back then and there, but then they pulled out knives…

That’s going way too far.

I wouldn’t care if they took her possessions, but she didn’t deserve to get hurt…

Or worse…

They didn’t seem like the most mentally stable bunch either, I don’t think the knife was just for show.

I walked up to them and made sure they heard me.

“Enough.” – Arthur

The moment they saw me, they ran away.

Just like everyone else in the village, they were afraid of me…

Out of nowhere, the girl ran up to me and hugged me.

It was my first hug since I was a newborn…

“Thanks for saving me! I owe you one!” – Alice

I pushed her away from me.

“What the hell are you doing?!” – Arthur

“… What…?” – Alice

She looked confused and upset.

It’s like she didn’t understand why I pushed her away.

“Don’t touch me! Only bad things happen to those who do…” – Arthur

What happens to her now is up to fate…

Will she live?

Will she die?

Will she be blinded, paralyzed, or break her arms?

Maybe she’ll trip and scrabe her knees.

Even I can’t tell, but now that she has touched me, anything could happen to her…

Suddenly, I see it happening…

A large tree suddenly falls right towards her.

“Watch out!” – Arthur

I tried to warn her, but it was too late…

There was nothing anyone could do to stop it from hitting her…

I close my eyes and look away; I don’t want to see another person die…

I’ve seen more than enough death already…

…

Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

I open my eyes, and…

“Are you okay?!” – Alice

“Wha… How are you… fine?” – Arthur

“Listen, I know who you are. Everyone does. They say you’re cursed. ‘Touch him and you’ll die’ is what I’ve been told. The thing is… I’ve always been exceptionally lucky. My parents say I’m blessed… Don’t worry, your silly little curse won’t cause me any harm. I’m simply too lucky.” – Alice

This was the day it all changed.

The day I met her…

The only person in the world I could touch.