Marked By Darkness

Chapter 72- Witches Never Die

Ruhan's POV...

After speaking with Anshika, I felt a restless urgency, a need to find answers. Her words echoed in my mind, pushing me toward a decision I didn't fully understand but couldn't ignore. So, I found myself outside the church, hoping for guidance, searching for something that could make sense of everything.

The church doors were closed, and I stood there, uncertain. Just as I was about to leave, a voice called from behind me.

"Ruhan!"

I turned and saw Father Daniel approaching, his face calm yet perceptive, as if he already knew why I was there.

"Come inside, my son," he said, gesturing for me to follow him. We walked together into a quiet room at the side of the church, and I explained everything Anshika had told me, her theory about why Hina hadn't harmed me, about the protection my family's blood seemed to hold.

Father Daniel listened intently, nodding slowly as he absorbed every detail. When I finished, he paused, his brow furrowing in thought before he finally spoke.

"It's possible, Ruhan," he said, his voice low and reflective. "Hina's spirit is bound to that curse, and the curse was designed to take those who aren't of the Adamson line. It may be why she hasn't directly harmed you. She can't... not through the curse."

I processed his words, feeling a mixture of relief and dread. "But then... why does she want Ruhi?"

Father Daniel's eyes were solemn as he answered, "Because, Ruhan, Hina can't reach you. She can't touch you because you share the same blood. But she wants you, in some twisted way... so she goes after the person who holds your heart. If she takes Ruhi, she believes she can experience life through her, connected to you as she's always desired."

A chill ran through me at his words. "So Hina wants Ruhi's body... to get to me?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes. And the bungalow's curse, it wants something too-life. To keep itself strong, it needs to take the spirits of those bound to it."

I felt sick as I processed his words. This wasn't just about a ghost haunting a house-it was about possession, obsession, a horrifying trap that Hina and the bungalow had formed together.

I took a deep breath, my mind racing. "But if the curse can't harm me, then why did I lose my family? Why did my sister... my parents..." My voice broke, and I forced myself to continue. "Why did they die?"

Father Daniel looked at me with empathy and a heavy heart, but his answer surprised me. "Ruhan... the curse did not take their lives."

I stared at him, stunned. "What are you saying?"

He took a deep breath. "After your grandmother, Evelyn, passed away, rumors spread that she was a witch. Outsiders whispered that her spirit haunted the bungalow. Her grandchild... she was young and impressionable. She could see Evelyn's spirit. She saw her everywhere, and in her fear, her confusion... one night, she jumped from the window and took her life." Father Daniel paused, a sorrowful expression crossing his face.
A pang of guilt and sorrow twisted in my chest. "And after she... after she died..."

Father Daniel nodded, his face grim. "Your grandmother knew the truth behind your sister's death. Her pain, her anger at the baseless accusations, and her grief twisted into a curse. She vowed that no fifteen-year-old girl would survive if they dared come near the bungalow. It was her way of keeping people away, of lashing out at the world that blamed her for something she would never do. Your grandmother loved you and your sister deeply. Her curse was never for her family."

I felt a chill run through me. "So, my grandmother... her spirit is still there?"

A hint of a smile, both knowing and wry, tugged at Father Daniel's mouth. "Ruhan, my child," he said, his voice dipping to a somber tone, "witches never die."

The words sank in, carrying a weight of eerie finality that I hadn't expected. It was as though he'd said something ancient and unchangeable, a rule that applied to my family's history and beyond.

"But that curse," he continued, his expression serious again, "it didn't take your family's lives-not directly. It binds the house, yes, but it cannot harm its own kin... which means that you, as an Adamson, are protected."

The realization crept up on me like a shiver. "And my parents?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Father Daniel's face softened, and his voice lowered to a near-whisper, as if letting me in on a painful secret. "After your sister's death, your mother was inconsolable. Her heart couldn't bear the loss of her daughter, and by you leaving. That night, in the car, they argued. She wept, telling your father she didn't want to live any longer, that she wanted to be with her daughter. She turned the steering wheel in a moment of despair, and the accident... it wasn't the curse. It was simply tragedy."

I sat there, trying to absorb the weight of it all. All those years I'd blamed the curse, thought it had destroyed my family. But it had been grief, desperation-a tragic accident.

"Then... everything I've believed, it was all wrong."

Father Daniel's hand rested on mine. "It's a heavy truth, Ruhan. But understanding it is the first step toward setting things right."

The weight of years of misunderstanding settles in, and I asks, my voice edged with disbelief, "How do you know all of this, Father?"

Father Daniel gives a small, knowing smile, the kind that holds secrets he's been keeping for years. "Ruhan," he replies calmly, "I've been entrusted with more knowledge than you may realize. I know much of your family's history... and much of the dark forces that have taken root in that bungalow."

I feels a shiver, realizing that Father Daniel may understand my family's legacy more deeply than I had thought, perhaps even knowing things I myself has never uncovered.

I took a shaky breath, feeling the raw edges of these new revelations settle into place. "So... if the curse can't harm me because I'm of the Adamson bloodline... is there a way I can use that to protect Ruhi?"

Father Daniel's gaze grew more intent. "There is a way. If you marry Ruhi, she would gain the Adamson name, binding her to your bloodline. It could weaken the curse's hold over her, shielding her in ways we can only hope for. And if we can weaken Hina's influence over her..."

"Then we have a chance of fighting back," I finished, my voice filling with determination.

Father Daniel gave a small, reassuring smile. "Yes. And with the power of family ties, the curse may finally break, releasing Ruhi from Hina's grip. It may be the only way, Ruhan."

I nodded slowly, feeling the weight of the choice before me but, for the first time in years, sensing a glimmer of hope.