Monstrous Love Tales

Cursed (Birlap)

"Our family is cursed?!" Arny exclaimed. He was sitting at the dinner table with his mother, sister, and best friend, Danny. His father was off again, breaking promises like always. With the passing of his grandfather, the reason to why the Parson men never stay with the families they created came to light.

"That is what the letter said. Over two hundred years ago, the Parson family angered a witch of the village. Mary Hollowell cursed them, saying that the Parson men will never be the fathers to the children they sire." His mother, Diana handed Arny the letter from the lawyer kept until the passing of George Parson. Along with the letter was a piece of parchment paper with odd, unknown writing penned on it.

Arny read the letter in disbelief. His whole life he went without a father because one of his ancestors pissed off a witch. His sister, Amber looked at him in fear. Arny would like to meet someone, grow together, and have a family of his own, but the truth was that he would be just like his father.

"The letter says that the way to lift the curse is on this paper. The family has been trying to get it translated for years now. Nothing." Diana explained, handing Arny the plastic protected paper. Arny never seen the lettering before. Out of instinct, he handed it to Danny who love odd things.

Turning his head, Danny thought the symbols looked familiar. Taking the paper in his hands, he turned the paper upside down. Danny's eyes grew wide. "This is Yiddish!" Danny shouted, startling the people at the table.

"Are you serious?" Arny asked, standing up from the table to look over Danny's shoulder.

"Am I serious? Yes! I know Yiddish when I see it." Danny exclaimed, looking at the paper. "I can translate a bit. Something about ... a marriage? Look, let's go to Temple and get this translated." Danny suggested, standing up and grabbing his jacket. Arny was right behind him.

At the temple...

The Rabbi looked at the paper and back at the boys. They were sitting in his small office at the back of the Synagogue. The Rabbi was helping clean up the worship hall when they came in, pinning the yamakas on their heads. Danny went straight to the Rabbi and asked for his help with the translating, explaining why it was important.

"I am not going to lying, Arny. This is a pickle." Gesturing to the paper. "Your ancestor was set to marry the daughter of the witch who he had fathered a child with. On the day of the wedding, they ran away from their responsibilities. The witch, angered at the cowardness, curse the Parson name." The Rabbi told them the truth behind the curse.

"And the children pay for their father's mistakes." Arny uttered bitterly. He took a breath. "Was there anything about breaking the curse? I am the last Parson, and this curse dies with me, one way or another.

"Yes." The Rabbi said, looking back at the paper. "That is the pickle. You must marry a descendant of the witch for the curse to be lifted. Only joining in matrimony is the only way. I read over the paper several times to find a different way. There is none."

"What if there no more descendants of the witch?" Danny asked, looking at his best friend. The question had to be asked.

"The curse that binds you, binds them to you." The Rabbi revealed, pulling out a glass cup from his desk and a crystal decanter. He poured the liquid into the glass and spoke an incantation over the glass. "Drink this and you will see the tether between you and the descendant." He handed Arny the glass.

Arny tipped the glass up, drinking the contents. Setting the glass back on the table, Arny noticed a thin silvery rope tied around his ankle. The rope led out of the room.

"See the rope?" The Rabbi asked. Arny nodded. "Good. Touching it will let you see where they are." Arny reached down and took the rope gently in his hand. The images danced in front of his eyes. A storefront with drying herbs and candles. The name of the store display on the glass.