A Witch's Curse (21 page)

Harvey nodded to a customer, as they completed the transaction and he left, staring at her oddly on his way out.

“
You look really tense. Someone dressing in their PJ’s in the middle of the day should at least be comfortable.”

“
My Grandfather, who is no longer with us? Yeah, I saw him this morning. On the cliffs to the east of here - Auster‘s point, I think is what it’s called.”

“
I’ve always suspected that area as having something suspicious about it.”

“
Yet he made something very clear,” Rose continued. “He said I should meet him again in the same spot.”

“
It’s very serious to be a beneficiary of communication with a spirit.”

“
Yeah. That’s the feeling I got.”

Alexis sighed. “I think you should go back to the Auster cliffs, and…”

“
What?” Rose said. “Try and summon him? We both know sojourning with the dead is bad news. It’s not something a good witch does, you told me that yourself a while back.”

“
Sometimes, for the safety of others, one must break the rules.”

“
You can’t go and play that game with me.”

“
Rose, I never said we should call him from the dead. Did you ever stop to think that maybe ghosts have preferred areas of the towns they lived in most of their lives? Maybe the Auster area has sentimental value to him. Perhaps it was there he chose to spend much of his youth, or had an epiphany which made his life easier. Don’t you ever find it odd the areas that the spirits of the departed generally choose to hang out?”

“
Yes,” Rose said, after much deliberation.

“
As living beings, we think that if our souls can travel, why not visit the world? See all of the universe, for that matter? Why does it always seem to be abandoned moors and highway tunnels that they live in? Here’s the answer. It’s because the place is valuable to them in ways that we can’t understand until we put ourselves in their shoes.”

“
So, you want me to go back because you think he could be there again?”

“
It’s worth trying,” Alexis said. “Frankly, I envy you. If I could have a conversation with my grandfather, it would make the happiest I’ve ever been.”

“
It’s a privilege until he freaks you out by cutting it short and jumping off a cliff that’s thousands of feet in the air. How come I‘ve had multiple encounters with the dead, and yet no one seems to be on the local news channel reporting ghosts?”

“
Only those of us connected to the paranormal can see the dead when a curse like your mother’s has been brought. We witches don’t have ordinary ways of seeing things.”

Rose jumped out of her seat and went to the front door. “I wish we did. I want my life stops feeling like an episode of the Twilight Zone for once! ”

She moved outside. Walking across the street, flashes of anger persisted in coursing through her.

21

Rose walked up to the host at the ferry, who was standing outside of the ticket booth smoking a palm mall cigarette. After seeing her walk closer to him, he flicked it and stomped it out, staring at her with a dopey, amorous smile.

“
So, you want to go up there again?”

“
Yes,” Rose said, walking to one of the lifts. She had time to go back home and dress normally thirty minutes before, although she was still shaken up about everything, therefore not being able to feel as standard as the levi‘s and tank top she was wearing.

She rode the ferry to the peak again, and then stepped off the compartment and made her way along the path, admiring the nature before her, while still in terror of it. All it would take to plunge to one’s death below would be stepping on one loose rock. A part of her really felt as if this was too dangerous for tourists, even professional skiers.

Her grandfather was there, waiting for her. His hands were dug deeply into his pockets. He gave her that same charismatic and warm smile.

“
I wanted to meet you here,” she said.

“
You look like your grandmother. Don’t know if I’ve you’ve been told that. How’s Damian?”

“
Working too much. He really loves you. He always told me about how well he was treated while a kid.”

Her grandfather laughed. “Yes. Sounds like me.”

“
Tell me, exactly why do you choose to remain here? I mean, you’re a soul, right? You could go anywhere. Why not hang out in the Eiffel tower and scare unsuspecting travelers or explore the cosmos? Enter parallel vortexes and worm holes and oceans and junk. You can spend your free time probably talking with anyone, right? You could have a conversation with Thomas Edison. Why are you here?”

He laughed. “First off, do you think I really spend all of my time here? No. As for the options you just gave, well, let me cap it off by saying been there, done that. It’s fun, but there’s no place like home. The reason I like this place is because it was here I kissed your grandmother for the first time.”

“
I should have guessed that,” Rose responded. “My father used to tell me about how you met her.” She paused, taking in the majestic sights before her.

In the corner of her eye, she saw something black moving in an abrupt and jerking way. It was not until craning her head all the way to the right that she it was a crow. In the distance, there was an entire flock of the black birds.

“
Rose, I can only talk to you for some time before I break a rules of the afterlife itself. And believe me, if I did that, all hell would break loose. Literally. I have to go.”

“
Thanks,” Rose said, and then: “It’s been real.”

Rose was driven away from the cliff side after her Grandpa stepped off a second time. Despite him not being of the flesh, and enlightened of how he could not possibly be hurt, she was still shocked enough to walk away at a brisker pace, attempting to get away quickly.

The crows followed her until she reached the commuting lift.

On her stroll through the town and back to her house, desiccated plant life blew past her shoes, bumping against the stone buildings surrounding her.

It was now evening, and a thin veil of shade was beginning to cloak the city in its sheet of blackness. Before long it would be completely dim.

Moving by a haircutting place, she would have sworn that a fleshless skull sitting in the barber’s chair looked at her. It was not until she stopped to get a better look that it became apparent how no one was there to begin with.

Continuing on her stroll, it was not long before she was crossing the spacious parking lot behind one of the major hotel resorts. It was littered with old beer bottles and a multitude of other types of garbage. No one was around for miles. Although she knew this was just her being paranoid, she decided to grip her can of mace hanging inconspicuously from the side of her backpack.

That afternoon, she found herself at home, feeling safe for the first time in hours.

Rose knew this sense of security would not last.

Early the next morning, Rose covered herself in every article of warm clothing that her closet possessed before heading downstairs into the kitchen. A part of her knew, based on the temperature at even six a clock, that it was going to be a warm enough day. Still, she could not afford the wounds from last night’s broken glass to be even a little noticeable.

Sitting at the table, she ate small microwavable pancakes. Ordinarily she brushed her teeth before and after eating a meal, but today was different. Rose wanted to avoid looking into a mirror at all, if she could help it, afraid that Bloody Mary would peer back with her homicidal gaze, croaking out her shrieking laughter and making threats.

The sound of a noise escaping the main bedroom could be heard. Gazing upwards, she was surprised to see her father stumbling out of the main room. He smiled at her.

“
Good morning sunshine,” he said, reaching into one of the cupboards and retrieving a box of cereal.

“
What are you doing up so early?”

“
I got off early. It’s my Friday. I can’t wait to go drinking with the boys tomorrow, maybe get in a good bowling match at the alley. I figured you wouldn’t mind. I’m not barging in on your private time, am I?”

“
No,” she said, taking a small, syrup smothered bite of the breakfast.

He sat down, a bowl and spoon in hand. Both utensils were cheap, considering the items were bought back in the day when they had just moved to Lake Pines when they had little to no money. “How was the movie?”

She was baffled.

“
Excuse me?”

“
The Turbine? That’s what it was called, right?”

She now remembered the lie that had been told in order to allow her a way out yesterday. “Oh, yeah. It was good.”

“
Nice,” he said, putting a spoonful of the cornflakes in his mouth. He pushed it to one side of his gums. “You’re dressed oddly. You planning on going into battle or something?”

“
No,” she said, looking for some sort of an excuse. “I’m. Just. Tired of being cold all the time. If I get too warm, I can always stuff this suit in my locker.”

“
Good thinking,” he said, although she could still tell that he was feeling a bit odd about her unusual fashion selections.

“
Dad, this may seem like…the wrong question to ask so early on in the day.”

“
Shoot,” he said. “I can take anything.”

“
How did you meet Mom?”

“
-except that,” he said, almost choking on the sugary puffed flecks, setting his spoon down before settling into a coughing spell. He slammed the table with his fist, and by the time Rose had stepped up to try and get a glass of water or perform the Heimlich maneuver, he grabbed her arm, motioning for her to sit back down.

“
Are you okay?”

“
Never been better,” he said with a smile, showcasing the bits of cereal stuck in between his teeth. “If there’s anyone in this world deserving of an answer to that kind of question, it’s you. Please forgive me if I act a bit weird, though. It’s just something that I…”

“
Try not to think about,” she finished.

“
Exactly.” A long moment passed. “It was at a Christmas party. She was wearing a golden dress which seemed to suit her hair. She was absolutely beautiful, like you.”

Rose nodded, knowing this was the kind of answer a good father should give, even if it was describing a heartless and cold parent before the chronological acrimonious split up.

“
Did you notice anything strange?”

“
Like what?”

“
Bizarre occurrences,” Rose said. “Did she give any warning signs that she would turn out to be who she was?”

“
No,” he said. “I fell in love with her.”

“
So, there were no warning signs?”

He leaned back in his chair. “Damn it, Rose. All right. She said one thing that I was too blind to hold against her. You have to keep in mind that when a guy’s in love with a lady, he doesn’t always see her faults.”

“
What did she say?”

“‘
Our daughter will always have more of me in her than you.’”

Rose nodded, standing up and kissing her father on the forehead. “I figured it would be something like that. I’m running late.”

The sun was shining so fiercely that the recent snow and rainfall that the town had been subjected to was now melting, its glacial waters flowing into gutters alongside the main avenues. It was already much too hot, so she pulled off her overcoat and crammed it into her backpack. Rose then put on a long sleeved white and black striped sweater, and endeavored to don her own gloves, though it was still hot for that, even for a November day, without coming into sight as leery.

Hoping that Grady was keeping what had happened on All Hollow’s Eve a secret, the drive to school that day was long. Her terror of running into Karen or the black cloaked stranger seemed to be crashing down all at once.

Walking into the foyer of the campus grounds, she saw the three cheerleaders. They glanced in her direction and then quickly looked away. It was obvious that they were scared of her now, because she knew too much. Rose pondered whether or not she could get James to reveal their D&D infatuation in the school’s newspaper.

Later that afternoon, when seeing the fresh scars on Rose’s pale wrists and forearms, Melinda seemed the least surprised. Rose regretted it immediately, knowing full well that she should not have taken her mitts off so as to have no trouble with the locker combination. She should have avoided her storage space altogether, and just went to class without supplies, like a lot of the Snobs did on a daily basis. It may have been a risk for her grades, but at least her reputation amongst friends would have been somewhat more respectable.

James approached them carefully, not even saying hello. He simply pulled out an apple and began eating it, staring at the two girls carefully while they talked.

“
You’re a cutter, huh?” Melinda said, a rueful smile appearing on her face, as she leaned on her elbow against the nearest metal door. “Well, I should have seen that coming by a long shot. It just goes to show that the ones who seem the happiest are usually the most miserable.”

“
Since when have I been the happiest?” Rose asked.