A Hunter's Curse

One shot to the head and the fog lifted. And just like that, it wasn’t cold anymore

It was one year after the accident. Exactly one whole year. 365 days. 365 days ago, Ajax killed his little sister Caroline when they were hunting together. After their dad died, they had to hunt for all of their food, while their mom gardened. Ajax blames himself for what happened, even though all he did was pull the trigger

They were walking home from their favorite hunting spot, Lewisville lake when a dead tree fell on Caroline. Ajax didn’t want her to suffer. One shot to the head and the fog lifted.

Ajax wanted to go to the lake today, he wanted to hunt there again. He was avoiding it as much as he could, but it being a year ago today, he thought he would have a memorial. He just thought it was right to go.

A sailors sky made a perfect sunset and the night after it was just as amazing.

Ajax was sitting on the beach, just finishing his dinner, when he saw something in the treeline across the beautiful lake.

He grabbed his gun to see what was going on. What he saw instantly made him sick. He threw up everywhere, vomit and blood spewing out of his mouth. When it was all over, when he stopped regurgitating his beans from before, he knew what he had to do.

Ajax grabbed his gun and swiftly moved around the lake. When he was halfway there, he started getting flashbacks from the frightful night, 365 days ago.

“Please, please A.J. help me”

“There’s nothing I can do”

He pointed the gun at her

“No, please, I don’t want to-”

He killed her

He remembered his last words to her

“There’s nothing I can do”

Those words buzzing around his skull, until he was within a stone’s throw from what he saw from across the lake.

When he saw it again, Ajax had no thoughts, nothing happening in his head. Their eyes locked, his bawling, almost pleading. He hasn’t cried since 365 days ago, but he can’t stop right now.

Ajax drew his gun, he suddenly remembered Caroline’s last words to him.

When he had his scope set, he hesitated, he knew he had to pull the trigger, but he just couldn’t.

The perfect night in Lewisville New York got freakishly cold in a matter of seconds. The wind picked up, the rain as wet as Ajax’s eyes.

He closed them, he knew he couldn’t pull the trigger with them open.

All he can see was Caroline under the thick maple that trapped her, kept her from living her dreams. All she wanted to do was grow up to be a doctor. She knew someone out there has a father that is dying just like hers did.

The thing in the crosshairs haunted him, scared him

The thing in his crosshairs, the thing in his scope, it was Caroline’s ghost.

One shot to the head and the fog lifted. And just like that, it wasn’t cold anymore.