The Curse

Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Ember

A knock on the door had taken me out of my thoughts, my attention now on the door that had shaken from their harsh pounds.  I sighed with discontent, getting up from my bed so I could see who had bothered me in my own alone time.  Today was that kind of day that I never wanted to be bothered. 

I put my hand on the wooden knob, turning it to the side so the oak hinge could let the door slide freely against the floor.  When I first saw her, confusion was the only feeling I had.  Until I observed her even more, I noticed that something was off.  And it wasn't because of the warm tears that were falling down her cheeks like a stream flowing down a miraculous hill. 

Audrina opened her mouth to speak, but nothing escaped.  She just fell in my arms, and sobbed into my shoulder.  I patted her back to try to ease her tragic mind, but, of course, it didn't help.  It only made her cry even more. 

It seems like these past few days, or years have changed us.  Either we had become vulnerable since the first day of getting thrown in prison, or life has just been stressful for us.  The curse that had taken our lives was for sure putting damage on us.  I, though, didn't quite know what mine was. Even if it wasn't known, I knew that it was just as bad as Audrina's.  Maybe even worse, but you never know anything these days. 

"What's wrong my dear friend?" I said softly as soon as she pulled away.  Audrina wiped her tears away, almost immediately recovering within a few minutes.  It was like she never even cried at all. 

Her blue eyes looked deeply into mine, as if she were stabbing my soul.  I humbly waited for her to answer me, but because of the fact that her throat had closed due to the sobbing, she still wasn't able to do it.  Again, in a few minutes, she finally spoke, "I'm sick of this." 

"Sick of what?" I asked, even more confused than I was the second she stepped inside my bedroom. 

"The curse, the hallucinations and odd vision.  It's becoming more frequent now.  I'm starting to have them every hour and I just--" She paused for a moment to catch her breath, then immediately got back to what she was trying to say before, "I just can't take it.  This curse needs to be gone. Now." 

"Have you had it this hour yet?" 

"No, and I'm frightened," Audrina admitted.  I sighed, moving my hand up to scratch the back of my neck nervously.  She tore her eyes away from me, "It just keeps getting worse and worse." 

As if right on cue, she started her heavy breathing.  I could see her eyes moving side to side as a result of her blurry vision, and hallucinations.  She collapsed against me unexpectedly, making me struggle to keep her up as her tall body was much more heavier than my small frame. 

"Lord help me, have mercy," She whispered desperately, pinching my arm. 

"Shh, Audrina," I whispered, reaching my hand up to the back of her ear, pushing on her pressure point.  It wasn't safe, and I knew that, but she needed to rest.  Audrina then grew unconsious, the curse now away from her until she woke. 

Although it was a long shot, I needed to figure out a way to lift it.  I needed the cure, no -- Audrina needed the cure.  She has it worse than I do.  I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for her.  For the sake of her health, and mind.  And for the sake of our friendship.  If things get even more atrocious, she could end her life just to make it stop.  I couldn't let that happen. 

I couldn't support my best friend's body any longer, so I had to drag her towards my bed.  First, I put the top half of her body on the straw.  After, I had pushed the rest of her body to lie on it somewhat comfortably.  Reaching over towards the end of the bed, I grabbed a sewn blanket that my mother had made for me when I was a child, and put it over Audrina's body so she wouldn't sleep cold.