Manacled Desire

5. A curse

"What the heck just happened?" His thoughts paralyzed, eyes wouldn't part from her and his ears wouldn't stop repeating what his old man said.
"As my new mother?".

Sakura covered her mouth setting aback from the shock as she gently whispered his name.
"Kyo-kun? Why? Why did it have to be you? Why wasn't I told about this before?. Why did it have to be like this?" It felt like her heart stopped beating for a while but unfortunately, not a single emotion she could slip out so she slowly lowered her head from sight and compressed it within by clutching her skirt tight. Chained by the tyranny of her family pulled against a daughter always hated and neglected.
"She is the second daughter of my a business company's owner so this contracted marriage was necessary to strengthen our status and form an ally. I know how you are still clingy to you dead mother yet I know you will give her a chance. You have to"

Kyosuke took a heave and returned to his usual state again. "When did the marriage happen?"
"It happened yesterday, just the necessary formalities of it" his words were just as cold as his attitude.
"So, If you've already married, why even bother telling me?" There was anger, only anger he displayed.
"Because from from onwards, she will be leaving with you".
Sakura clutched into her long skirt tighter while throwing down her sight over her marriage ring which flashed as a chain embedded through force.
Kyosuke clearly declined but his decisions never matter to his old man, not for her too maybe.
It struck as an order from him to share a relationship of mother and son with the woman he loved so much and endure its pain every second by living under the same roof, an order to demolish his life.

Sakura made not a word from their arrival till the end. Kyosuke scurried back home.

A betrayal. His mind lead to feeling that way. Nothing forming a good reason anymore,. Not even the series of call, which might ease up a part of queries.
The queries of the undone tale. 
He picked it up reluctantly after a long time.
"Did you get rid of it?"
"No" his reply, hollowed.
"Fine, I wanna meet you tomorrow. Would after school hours be okay?" She went to a decision of which Kyosuke agreed upon.
She then hung up passing down their meeting point.
In the midst of Sakura he completely forgot what brought them together at first place and that still remained unsolved.

Not a sound, not a sight. Nothing but darkness and suddenly a shrill. A shrill of  shackles, clanking together after every brief pause. The sound emerged with a glimpse of light like escaping from edges of any blockage but was it too reluctant to touch. What prolonged his attended was the dark shrill so he walked in oblivious, chasing the sound but as soon as the sound couldn't get anymore distinct, it stopped and from behind two hands shackled him. He couldn't even move before the ground below him shipped and he fell down from a cliff.
Kyosuke immediately woke up gasping after the fall. A nightmare.
For the first time such a nightmare encountered him and it was somehow horrifying already.
It wasn't midnight yet nor was he under heavy eyes anymore. He sat up starring out from the window when sharp footsteps emerged to his ears, it was of pointed heels which meant Sakura had finally entered her new house.
Not like he bothered to look for her, nor did Sakura find the courage to enter his room while standing right in front of it.  She pulled back and slowly walked downstairs. Kyosuke knew she returned without coming in but remained constant.

Morning didn't seem refreshing anymore. After tediously coming down in uniform he walks to the dining room where Sakura was ready with the breakfast.
"Beautiful" that's only the word he could recall that moment he saw his beloved Sakura-san. An apron over a dark blue dress  with braided glazing hair Her skin glowing like it captured the morning sunshine. He grit his teeth pulling away the look.
He slowly took his seat, fixing her eyes at him.
She wanted so much to say, to apologize and to console yet only as a desire it remained for then.
"Alright Kyosuke, now that everything is settled. I am headed for a business location today".
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Now I have a business to run thanks to your mother here. Her father called to visit their head office in another city so I will be gone for a few days" he had never been so joyful before. "In the meantime, get to know about your mother, I am sure you will love her" saying that he stood from his seat. It was just to mock him before he went, out of courtesy. Neither of the other two made any response, as Sakura accompanied him till the front door. Kyosuke knew well if that guy stood another moment inside the house, his filthy body would swell and rot. 

"That's some serious bullshit" Shin cried out after hearing everything from his  friend at their class with Mayuko too.
They both couldn't ask any worse for their buddy.
"Why don't you just forget her?" Mayuko asked.
"I can't bring myself to do that"

After school as scheduled there was a meeting at hold.  As per details he finally end up at a library and through a call they united inside the vast place. After such a prolonged time he was about to encounter its origin and find out about the tale.
"I am Komori Yukino. A teacher and a writer" she began with it as her title fit exact for her serious glasses appearance.
He introduced himself as well.
"Lam the daughter of the dead writer whose sheet your keeping and also, whose curse you are enduring. Unfortunately, I never knew him much so its pointless asking me about it" she added to her profile.
"Where is the book? What is this curse and what does this tale mean?" He laid several questions in line.
"The book is lost. My father embed his darkness within this book giving birth to the  curse. As soon as it grips a soul, it receives control over a chain of tribulation. Think of it as an unrealistic shit and you're drowned"
"Okay. What does this curse do exactly?"
"Before you, only three people has read it and within weeks they committed suicide but fortunately, you only read the piece of it so the chances are less" her words were confident enough but also very hard to digest.
"You gotta kidding me"
"Do you think I will be bluffing with this" her brows narrowed as she slammed the table hard..
"But don't worry, since you read only a page of it so I doubt there will any effect on you" she finally spared a tiny smile until it perished.
"Tell me honestly Ito-kun, have you been experiencing some radical changes in your life?"
It  stun him for a while. "Maybe"
She gave a sigh.

"Just try not to fall into its shackles. Don't let it capture your worst"