Obsession

Chapter 6

"Just for the record, I am against this and everything that comes of it," Rue says from the back seat as we pass by the Santa Barbara city limit sign.

"Then you are against love," Anna says.

"Even if it does work, and it won't, it's not real love," Rue says, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest. "Manipulating someone's emotions is wrong."

"How can love be wrong?" Anna asks, looking at Rue through her rear-view mirror while she drives us along in my car. "Love is the strongest, most rewarding emotion that exists."

I stay silent and let them bicker. I've been using our long ride to think about how stupid and pointless this all might be. I want Kai to want me, but do I really want to force it? Do I want to use some kind of love voo-doo to manipulate his emotions? Rue's right. That wouldn't even be real love.

If it weren't for that stupid dream, I would be on a date with Leo right now, eating sushi. I'm certain I could've found the strength to let go of Kai if I didn't know what it was like to hold him, even if it wasn't real. Plus, my curiosity has gotten the better of me. I want to know if something like this is even possible. Anna seems so sure that it worked for her parents. If it could work for me too, Kai could be mine in a matter of days.

After a while, we pull up to an old brick house that's covered in vines. It's dark out and in the dim light of the moon, this place looks a bit creepy. We get out of the car and start for the front door. The yard is unkempt with weeds and tall grass growing in small patches on an otherwise dusty, barren ground.

Anna knocks on the door and after a few, eerily silent seconds, we're greeted by her Aunt Roma. She's a short, round lady with curly black hair, a long, bulbous nose and big, red lips. The stacks of bracelets on her wrists jingle as she opens her arms to embrace us.

"Anna!" she exclaims, kissing both of her cheeks. "Look at you, so beautiful!"

"Aunt Roma, these are my friends, Rue and Mara," Anna says.

Aunt Roma wraps one arm around Rue and one around me and squeezes us into her large bosom. She's wearing an ankle-length dress with tiny, purple dragonflies dotting the crimson-red silk material that smells like a mixture of cheap perfume and mothballs.

"Nice to meet you," I say, pulling away from her and straightening out my dress.

"Come in," Aunt Roma says, leading us inside her home.

Her living room is decorated exactly the way you'd expect a Romanian Gypsy woman's living room to be decorated. Dark purples and reds with beads galore mixed with gold and bronze fixtures. A small table sits in the middle of the room with tiny glass bottles, each with a label.

"Who is looking for love today?" Aunt Roma asks, looking around at the three of us.

I reluctantly raise my hand. "Uh, me?"

"Ah yes, you are ready for love," she says, circling around me and touching all over my face and hair. "Your aura is strong."

"My aura?" I ask in confusion.

"You have a great love for someone special," she replies.

I look at Anna and Rue and raise a brow.

"She does!" Anna says, slinging an arm over my shoulder. "She's been in love with the same guy for years, but he hasn't really paid much attention to her."

"Ah, so sad. You have so much love to give," Aunt Roma says taking my hand into hers and giving me a sympathetic look.

"Thank you?" I reply.

"We were hoping you could mix something up, like you did for mom and dad," Anna adds.

"Ah, yes!" she says delightedly, swaying around to the other side of the table. "I have special herbs prescribed by Cupid himself."

"Cupid?" I ask.

"Cupid is the god of love!" Aunt Roma says happily, taking three of the tiny glass bottles and holding them up for a better look.

Rue looks at me and rolls her eyes.

"So where does this stuff come from?" I ask her. "Is it safe?"

"Oh yes! It comes straight from mother earth. I grow my own herbs," she says, opening up one of the glass jars that contain something that looks like ground pepper. "I care for them from the time they are just itty-bitty seeds until they are fully grown mother plants."

We watch her with a mixture of confusion, amazement and curiosity as she mixes together a few of the herbs in a small dish. She sprinkles in a drop of what looks like some kid of oil and then, using her finger, brushes it all off into a plastic bag.

"Does it have to be ingested?" I ask. "Because I don't really know how I'm gonna make that happen."

"Oh, no!" Aunt Roma replies, shaking the bag. "There's many ways to apply the ointment of love; ear drops, eye drops, capsules, candies, even scented candles."

"I think I'm going to need something pretty basic. Something quick and easy."

She stops shaking the bag to give my question some thought. She disappears into another room before re-emerging seconds later holding a small, red box. She sets the box on the table and opens it to reveal a smooth, oval shaped, white stone, about the size of a quarter. She puts on a pair of latex gloves and takes the stone out of the box, holding it up for us to get a better look.

"This is very, very powerful. Unlike the ointments, this stone only has to be held in hand for three seconds for it to be effective. But I must warn you, there are dangerous side effects of such a powerful love," she warns me.

"Dangerous....how?" I ask nervously.

"Emotions are very fickle. Too much of anything, even good things, can be bad. If you use this, you have three seconds to release the stone. I recommend a simple, but firm handshake. Hold the stone at the palm of your hand and make sure it connects to the palm of your lover. After three seconds, let it fall to the ground."

"And then what?" Anna asks.

"As long as you follow my instructions, you should see results immediately," Aunt Roma replies.

"Say it's not used as directed," Rue says, still suspicious of this whole thing. "What could go wrong? What are these dangers you speak of?"

"I don't really know," Aunt Roma answers honestly. "I've only used the stone once before and it worked like a charm. But I can tell you that if the stone is held on for too long, it will amplify emotions, making them too strong to resist. It won't end well for you or your lover," she says giving me an alarmingly serious look.

She places the stone back into the box and hands the box to me. I stare at it for a moment before hesitantly taking it from her.

"Good luck," she says with a twisted grin.

I take the back seat on the way back home to Anaheim. While Anna and Rue discuss their thoughts and predictions about what might happen and what could go wrong, I only focus on Kai. I know I'm crazy for what I'm about to do, but that's just it. I'm crazy. I'm obsessed. I have a real problem. I'm letting a rock decide the fate of my love life.

Who am I?

I should let him go. I should take my mom's advice and give Leo a chance. But I know I can't do that as long as I feel this way about Kai. I need to give us one last shot before I write him off forever. After this, I can say with complete honesty that I gave it my all and there's nothing more I could've done.