Demonic Spell (18+)

Recipe 5

A beautiful house overlooking a vast sea became our next home. Our family migrated to Spain, hoping that this bright and sunny country would help me to recovery but my fear of the darkness can never be dispelled by the bright sunlight that streams through the large windows of our new home because at the end of the day, darkness still creeps throughout the land.

I don’t know if it is fate or something more powerful that made me pop an unexpected question to my parents as we eat at this cozy little café.

“Mama, Papa can I look around the shops?” My parents have this stunned look on their faces as they seem to find it hard to process my question. Although young I'm a very perceptive child, I know my parents find it hard to believe that I would willingly want to wander and look around. Finally after sharing a disbelieving and hopeful look my parents allow me to go but not after Dad gave a stern word to my nanny.

With my hand firmly grasped in my nanny’s hand we left the café. Walking with us is one of the bodyguards while the other one follows not far behind.

Strolling around the Mercado I begin checking out every store we pass into, sometimes walking inside to inspect its wares or just by looking at it through the window. We keep on walking around until we come upon a small, almost a hole-in-the-wall shop.

My Spanish nanny hesitates to let me enter the shop for a second before she guides me inside.

Looking around I learn the reason of her hesitation. The shop is filled with unusual and freaky artifacts. From beautifully displayed antique hairpins to eerie looking shrunken heads, the shop is a place not fit for a child. But the place is bright although it smells of dust it did not scare me. I look curiously at the stuffed animal heads that lined the rafter. I noticed that one of the heads was a six horned ram.

Isabella, my nanny is busy chatting with the cashier and there is nobody in the shop except us while I continue examining a display of butterflies. Suddenly a wrinkly old woman appeared out of nowhere, shrieking loudly I run towards Isabella. I hear the cashier woman chuckling and in her broken English she tells me that the old lady is her grandmother and I should not be afraid of her. The old lady motions me back to her, walking timidly until I'm standing before her. Her maroon dress pools around her as she slowly kneels in front of me. Taking my face into her hands she stares straight into my eyes. A white film covers her entire eyeballs covering the once ebony-black eyes but the film did nothing to protect me from the intensity of her gaze. She then smiles at me, caressing my face and hair tenderly.

“Una luz brillante. Usted es una vela en la oscuridad, Niña. No permita que nada teneer la luz lejos de usted”

(A bright light. You are a candle in the dark, child. Do not let anything take your light away)

Confused, I look back to Isabella, she then translates it to me looking confused herself.

The lady pulls a necklace out of her pocket, looping it around my neck she kisses my cheek one last time before walking away. Disappearing as fast as she appeared leaving us confused and baffled.

Isabella asks the cashier on how much the necklace is but she said that it’s a gift from her grandmother, it’s priceless.

Soon we left the shop with a bag full of exquisite hairpins for my mother, a carved ivory pipe for Dad and a handmade brush for Emily. I ask the cashier to thank her grandmother for me before we left.

Walking back to where we left my parents a sense of calmness envelops me, closing my eyes to relish the sensation I hear someone whisper in my head

“Do not take off the necklace, Niña. It will protect you from the darkness”

Opening my eyes quickly I look behind me and saw the old lady standing beside the shop smiling at me, I wave back at her.