“Yesterday really wasn’t a dream…” Mari looked down on the broken gravestone. Finding out that she had not dreamt about yesterday’s events, she felt sad and happy at the same time. She bent down and rubbed her hand on one of the broken pieces of the stone and sighed. She knew she’d have to look for another large stone to replace the broken one, but after searching around the forest, she couldn’t find anything at all.
“I’m sorry, Mother.” she told her mother’s grave as she gathered the broken stone pieces and placed them where the gravestone used to stay, when it was intact. She placed some flowers against the broken pieces and decided to go back to her house.
“What pretty clothes…” she placed her hand over the picture on the book she was reading. It was the picture of a long-sleeved pink dress, with many frills on the design, and jewels embedded onto it. She sighed and closed the book, placing it on the table. She looked out the window toward the direction of the grave. She couldn’t find any stones at all, but she couldn’t rest until she knew she had actually tried. Leaving the house once more, she went to her mother’s grave.
“Mari!” a boy called as she walked toward her mother’s grave. Shocked, she turned around to see Drew running toward herr.
“D-Drew…?” she didn’t expect to see the boy again so soon. Her eyes fell on the flowers he was carrying. “What are those flowers…?”
The boy smiled. “They’re for your mother.”
“My mother…?” Mari repeated.
“Come on, lets go!” Drew grabbed Mari’s hand and pulled her toward the grave site. Much to Mari’s surprise, there was a new stone there, surrounded by the flowers she placed earlier.
“The… The gravestone…” Mari gasped.
“Like it?” Drew grinned. “I found one in the other forest, the one on the other end of the village. I remembered about your mother’s broken gravestone, so I brought it here.”
“You… You did this?” Mari looked at Drew. “Th-Thanks…”
“No problem.” Drew smiled. “I felt sad for your mother.”
“I’m sure she’d appreciate it.” Mari smiled. From all the cruel people she’s met her entire life, she was glad to have met such a kind boy as well. “Well, I’ll go home now.” she tried to end the conversation. She appreciated the boy’s understanding and kindness, but she knew that interacting with people was what ignited the curse. She didn’t want to let that happen.
“Hey! Can I come with you?” Drew called out.
“…Huh?” Mari turned in shock. “N-No, but…”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to say ‘I might hurt you’!” Drew said. “There’s only fire if you’re mad, right?”
“Well, yes…” Mari said hesitantly. “But… But the villagers hate me… If you stay with me…”
“Don’t mind that!” Drew went toward her. “You’re lonely, right? I’ll hang out with you.”
Mari looked into the boy’s earnest brown eyes. She didn’t want to interact with anyone. She had promised her mother. Even if the boy had understood her. Even if he had been kind to her. She had sworn to her after that incident. No matter what, she wouldn’t interact with people, she wouldn’t ignite the curse. If she kept interacting with this boy, she might hurt more people… She didn’t want that. She couldn’t do it, no matter what. She opened her mouth…
“Alright.”
Huh? Mari realized what she had just said. Why did I agree? I can’t do this… I can’t do this! If I spend more time with him than I already have… I might… I can’t—
YOU ARE READING
The Cursed Heart
RomanceMari is all alone, as she lives in her little house in her little forest. She isolates herself from people, so that they won’t be hurt by her curse. But when she meets a certain cheerful boy, her life of isolation comes to a stop. Why can’t she push...
