Surviving the Valley- Murda She Wrote

18. Curse

It's been nearly forty minutes since they took Murda, and everybody sits among each other in the waiting room chairs. Alicia and Ernestine share some laughs in the corner, and Cliff and Woddy do the same in the other. "𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙡 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘾𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩" Cliff says. "𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙩 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙪𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨?" She continues. "𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙪𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙— 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧" Woddy corrects her. "𝙈𝙢. 𝙎𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙘𝙤𝙖 𝙗𝙪𝙛𝙛 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙪𝙝, 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙚" Cliff asks. "𝙄𝙢𝙖 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙚... 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙣𝙖𝙖𝙣" he says. "𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣' 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣' 𝙤𝙪𝙩. 𝙈𝙢 𝙢𝙢 𝙢𝙢" Cliff says, tapping her acrylics together and catching Woddy's eye. "𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙪𝙝—𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙣' 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚—" He starts before Cliff cuts it short. "𝘾𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙪𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙩... 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙨" she adds, shaking her finger. "𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩? 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙤𝙢 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪?" Woddy asks. "𝙉𝙤 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣' 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚" Cliff says, kissing her teeth. "𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙" Woddy says, leaning all the way back in his chair.

"𝙎𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙪𝙝 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙢?— 𝙍𝙤𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙚!𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙇𝙞𝙡 𝙈𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙖'𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙮?" Ernestine asks Alicia, who (by request) has been giving Ernestine the entire run down on her life since they entered the room. "𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬— 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙖𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙" Alicia says, sending them both laughing. "𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩! 𝘽𝙞𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙—" Ernestine starts before Alicia can finish. "𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙤𝙢" they sing together. "𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙮'𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧" Ernestine says. "𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘢𝘪𝘯'𝘵 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣" Alicia chuckles through a scoff. "𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙬𝙤𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙞𝙣'𝙩 𝙞𝙩?" Ernestine says, correcting her. Despite the grin that grows on Alicia's face, her silence does the talking for her, inviting Ernestine to finish."𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨!" she adds, smiling ear to ear. "𝙉𝙤𝙬, 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛" Alicia says. "𝘼𝙬, 𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩!" Ernestine says, placing her hand on Alicia's. "𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨. 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙛 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙚— 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮. 𝙃𝙚'𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡... 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮'𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧" She proceeds, leaning in as if she could see Alicia's need for comfort. "𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙢𝙖, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝘪𝘴 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚...𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙚𝙢' 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙈𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙘𝙤, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙟𝙖 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚" Ernestine continues, sharing a laugh with Alicia.