Curse of the Blackwell Manor (TITNID)

Chapter 6

It took me hours to read through all of Aldous's diary as I was trying to understand what might have happened and why I keep seeing him. When I finally got to specific entries about a woman he loved - coincidentally, with the same name as mine, Ophelia - I read about how he was madly in love with her and how he expressed their love was doomed from the start. He mentioned in his entries how their love was forbidden and how it couldn't be fixed after turning her into one of his kind. One of his kind? Does he mean he made her a vampire as well? As I continued searching for answers, a picture fell out of the diary and I picked it up to read some words on the back of it. It read, "To my beloved Aldous, nothing will ever cause our love to die", and as I turned it around, I felt myself getting a panic attack and then pass out after seeing that the picture of his lover looked exactly like me with a Victorian look.

***

I awoke to find myself back in Victorian attire inside of the Blackwell mansion again, only this time, there were bodies scattered all around and blood shed everywhere. I caught a glimpse of one lady running outside only to see Frederick kill her brutally. I ran away out of fear and tried to enter a room only to find it locked from the inside. I peeked through the keyhole to find another young lady hiding to protect herself, but I noticed it was too late as the eldest, Alan, attacked her too and I stepped away before I could see anything else.

I ran to what seemed like a hallway close to the entrance of the house and after catching my breath, I watched as Aldous approached me with admiration in his eyes. His stare felt safe and comforting, so I accepted his hand reaching for mine and just as I was about to say something, I felt a sharp object ram through my body and render me immobile as I felt myself losing all feeling until I was eventually unable to feel anything.

***

I woke up suddenly to find my parents shaking me back to life after being unconscious for God knows how long. While their faces were rightfully concerning, I couldn't shake the feeling of being stabbed through my body and almost dying. I began crying non-stop and my mother was quick to embrace me in a tight hug, doing her best to comfort me as I prayed that the near-feeling of being killed would go away soon. My parents brought me to my bed and prepared some tea to help me feel better. My father got a call all of a sudden and needed to take it in another room.

While it was just me and my mother here, I decided to ask her something I was curious about just now, "Mom, where did you get the idea to name me Ophelia? As far as I know, you nor Dad were into classic, Shakespeare-like stuff." She looked at me like she was expecting me to ask this question, but hoped I wouldn't. She looked away in shame and answered my question, "It's actually a family name that wasn't spoken of since she disappeared." I was confused, "She?" My mom looked back at me, "Your great-great-grandfather's sister, Ophelia. She disappeared when she was around your age when our family back then disowned her. When I asked why, they claimed it was because she turned herself into a vampire after she fell in love with a boy who was one named Aldous."

My body froze at the realization, but forced myself not to dwell on it too much to continue listening to my mother explain. "They never spoke of her or her lover again until your grandmother handed Ophelia's will to me, explaining that my own daughter may possibly be the one to carry the face of Aldous's former lover and must be careful does she encounter her past." She continued to explain with a hint of guilt in her tone, "I'm so sorry, Lia. I never told you because I personally didn't believe in curses or ghost tales, but I never wanted you to be in any danger even after getting into supernatural subjects."

Not wanting my mother to be more worried about anything else, I just thanked her for explaining and asked if I could have some alone time to nap. After she obliged and left the room before closing the door, I felt dread course through my veins as I finally realized why I've been experiencing all of this. My family's been connected to the Blackwells and I happen to be some kind of reincarnation of my great-great-grandmother. It explains why I'm the one experiencing the flashbacks like I was in them and the reason I'm the only one able to see and hear Aldous.

After realizing all of this, one thing became very clear to me: I might be the only one who can break the curse that's haunting me and possibly anyone else who'll try to stay here, but I don't know how I was gonna be able to do that. All the supernatural novels and comics could not prepare me for something as serious as this. I snuck out of the house to return to my neighbor and inform her of everything I've learned and what I need to do. She was just as shocked as I was if not more, and was more than willing to help.

"But how?", I asked in desperation, "I have no idea how to communicate with the dead or help partake in unfinished business. I'm only an 18-year-old weirdo who likes horror stories!" She smiled as she led me into her house and showed me an old book. After seeing me curious about the symbols and text on and in the book, she explained to me, "As much as vampires are real, so are witches. It ran in my family for generations and while I don't practice it as much, I managed to save this for an occasion such as this." She found a page and told me, "To get the answers you need to break a curse, you'll need to ingest a potion specially brewed to commune with the deceased through a spirit that lived then. A sort of lucid dream as you rest in a room where you've felt the spirits of the Blackwells the strongest. Can you do this?" I was rightfully scared, but I couldn't let anyone else be in danger as I replied confidently, "Yes."