I decided I would wait until the weekend to curse Natalie in order to throw off her suspicions. She thinks I ‘tampered’ with Scarlett's things on the day before she was afflicted so if I curse Natalie on Saturday when I have no access to her or her belongings, it should contradict her hypothesis.
Natalie and I were never close, even when I was in that group we were at most cordial acquaintances. She joined in with Scarlett and her grand torment of me without reproach.
On Friday night I awoke in the darkness, it was the same dream I had previously, though unlike the past two times I felt no fear. I don’t know how exactly I would describe this new sensation but it was almost intoxicating. I had never been drunk before but this is something akin to what I imagined it being like.
“I see you seek to make another offering.” Said the shadow of the hand.
“That's right.”
“I have told you this before but as you have already made a previous curse, making another will require a different sacrifice, something more substantial. As well as a different part of you.”
“Eh… like what?”
“something warmer and more complex.”
“So a bigger bug won’t cut it?”
“A small vertebrate will suffice, or an organ from a larger one. Preferably something fresh.”
Hmmm… don’t know if I can catch something more than a bug… the butcher might have organs but I wouldn’t know of their freshness.
“What piece of me can I use?”
“A hair from you would suffice, finger nails, an old tooth.”
“oh pffft easy. Is that really all?”
“It is.”
“Good, good um…”
“Yes?”
“You’re from the Field right?”
“In a sense.”
“Do you like, know what's going on in there? Is all that shite about monsters and anomalies true? and pagan clans and stuff?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
“figures…”
“I can tell you that most of what you’ve likely heard is false.”
“Oh, well that's kind of-.”
“-The truth is far, far worse.”
“…oh… w-well… I’ll be seeing you soon.”
There was a moment of silence between us before the dream ended in the same way it did the previous times.
sheesh...
Hair and nails are obviously the easiest ones but I think there might be some of my milk teeth lying around.
When I was young I tried to make a necklace out of them… god knows why… my parents forbade me from wearing it anywhere so I stashed it somewhere they couldn’t find and throw it out.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
It couldn’t hurt to have it on hand just in case…
The sacrifice however, is gonna be the tricky part… maybe there's a freshly dead animal somewhere near the pot?
On Saturday morning I found my creepy old necklace sitting at the back of one of my drawers and smothered in dust. I removed one of the teeth and placed it in the coin pouch of my wallet.
Can’t hurt to have it on hand right? You never know…
It was cloudy when I finally reached the pot and lit the fire beneath it once again. I then took to examining the nearby ground and bushes in search of a suitable offering though I had no great luck. That was until I looked up that my eyes fell upon a bird's nest in a tree.
Hello…
I found a long stick and dislodged it from the branches, it fell to the ground with a soft thud
Inside were about 6 small blue bird eggs.
Is this more complex than a bug? It's way bigger… and there's six of them… maybe it depends on how developed they are…
Well it's worth a shot if nothing else.
As I turned around to return my eyes caught something on the tree causing me to double take.
The trunk of the tree had been marred by what looked like a swipe from something with very large and very long claws.
Someone could have just carved that with a knife right?
it's very clean but it's possible right?
A chill went down my spine but all I could hear was the wind in the trees and buzzing of the cicadas.
There can’t really be some deadly monster skulking around this close to the fence right?
…
No, don’t think about that now, I came here for a reason.
I carried the nest over to the pot and turned it over, letting the eggs fall into murky liquid, I then plunked a hair from my head and dropped it in alongside Natalie's. The ingredients floated on the surface for a moment, before being sucked below with a small pop.
I held out my arms.
“Demon of the black cauldron! I offer you a hair of Natalie, one of my own and the children of the bird, lay a curse upon her to make her regret cruelty! May misfortune follow her like a shadow, may suffering shroud her like a cloak and may despair drench her like the rain!”
The vile hand slowly rose from the pot.
“as you desire.” The voice spoke from the water.
I nearly jumped.
“So- you'll make her hair fall out as well?” I asked.
“I expect so.”
“You expect?”
“I do not dictate what occurs, I merely… transmit.”
“transmit? Transmit from where?”
“From you, of course.”
“eh? Me?”
“Curses are intrinsic, they are a manifestation of the bond between the ‘curser’ and the accursed.”
“What do you mean ‘bond’?”
“the emotions held towards or between the target and yourself… Why do you think I needed a sample of you as well?”
“But I didn’t know it would make her hair fall out? I thought that was because I gave you a hair for the offering.”
“no, that was entirely coincidental. The process occurs on a subconscious level, perhaps her affliction was something you thought she deserved, or something you feared happening to yourself. Most likely fueled by your strongest emotions, those of vanity and envy.”
“Excuse me?”
“What part of that did you not understand?” it asked with a twinge of annoyance.
“What do you mean ‘vanity and envy’?”
“They are the emotions that fueled the curse, alongside hatred of course.”
“You think I need psycho-analysis from a godforsaken hand in a pot?”
“There is no analysis, those are simple observations.”
“I can admit that I might be a wee bit vain but I am definitely not envious.”
“so typical of your kind, terrified of your own nature.”
“what? the hell do you mean ‘my kind’?!”
“What do you think I mean?”
“You either mean humans in general or those specifically like me.”
The hand said nothing.
“Why are you even casting judgments upon me when you’re the one who insisted I get into this cursing shite in the first place?”
“There are no judgements, I merely mistook you as mature enough to accept the truth when it was spoken to you plainly.”
“Ach- Whatever, we’re done here, I get enough ‘constructive criticism’ at home.”
I walked away, unwilling to listen to anymore of what it had to say.