The Blessed Curse

Diana

My eyes snap open and I gasp for breath as if I just awoke from a nightmare. My head feels like it's splitting open and I place my hands over it, attempting to keep it together. I move my hands around and feel a soft fabric. Damn, I can't remember passing out last night. Maybe Mandy slipped me a roofie. Once the headache clears I look around the bedroom but something's... different. Did Mandy remodel her bedroom while I was asleep? The midnight blue walls are now lilac and the black and white bed is splattered with vibrant blues, pinks, and greens. Will Mandy tell me she believes in God now? Delirious, I place my legs on the floor and begin to rise from the bed; however, my body goes limp. I lie on the floor, helpless, like a struggling turtle. I manage to sit upright and I begin to massage my legs to make them feel less stiff and tense. I try rising again but my legs fail me. It's like I'm a toddler learning to walk for the first time. I claw at the bed, feeling for Mandy but she isn't there. I hollar and allow my voice to carry into every room of the house, "Mandy, my legs are numb. I need your help getting up." Mandy's footsteps are light when she's downstairs but boom and echo as she climbs up. The door opens and it isn't Mandy's holding the knob.

"Honey what happened? Who's Mandy?" Still laying on the floor helpless, I ask, "Who are you and why are you here?"

Her face becomes bewildered, "What are you on? Were you drinking last night?"

"Answer the question or I scream."

The woman speaks to me gently, as if I were a child, "I'm your mother silly." She reaches

toward my head but I flinch away. "Did you hit your head? We should go to the hospital." Panic overwhelms me and takes control of my body. My legs finally find the strength to jump and I climb over to the other side of the bed, toward the window. I edge closer to it and look down. It's not too long of a jump, but with my weight, I'd probably break both my legs.

My supposed mother screams, "No, don't!" and leaps over the bed toward me. I dodge under her grasping arms and run around the bed and out of the door. I look to my left and right and realize that I'm no longer in Mandy's house. Holy shit. Was I kidnapped? Unfamiliar with the hallways, I decided to run right. The hall is long and I pass by a multitude of doors. I finally come upon a staircase, but it's not any old staircase. It's a grand staircase with a chandelier attached to the ceiling above it. I hop down two stairs at a time and when I reach the first floor, I discover a door by the left. Without the strange woman in sight, I tiptoed toward the door and shut it quietly.

***

With my back pressed against the door, I slide down onto a cold, tiled floor. I press my fingers against my eyes to suppress myself from crying profusely. You can't be ugly and weak. When I lower my hands and open my eyes, I notice that I'm in the bathroom. Behind my head is the doorknob and luckily, a lock. I twist it to the right and breathe out a small, quiet, sigh of relief. What if I'm still dreaming? Attempting to wake up from the bad trip, I push the sink nozzle toward "cold" and splash water on my face. Eyes level with the clear mirror, I am greeted by a beautiful girl. Her hair is a mess and she's half asleep, but she looks like a model.

"Diana?"

The beauty doesn't say a word and stares back with the same stupefied expression. I glance behind me, but Diana's not there. I look forward to the reflection and see her again. I'm her. Before I wake up from this dream come true, I admire my temporary, perfect body. The straight chocolate brown hair that matches my puppy dog hazel eyes. The petite nose and pouty, kissable lips. The smooth, clear, tanned face. I continue gazing at myself; however, a knock on the bathroom door interrupts me.

"Diana, are you in there?"

Just let me enjoy this before it's over! "Can you shut the fuck up?"

She gasps and finally sounds fed up with me, "Come out here this instant young lady!"

I attempt to ignore her, but her hand turns the doorknob frantically. She might bust the damn door down at this point. I walk to the door and my hand hovers above the knob, trembling. It's just a dream. I turn the lock to the left and open the door. "Wha-"

Before I finish my sentence, she whacks me across the face and I fall on the floor. It stings so bad that it burns and I hold my hand on the red mark as if it will cool it down. This is real...

Mrs. Marietti towers over me, hand held high. I flinch thinking that she will slap me again, but her body doesn't move. Her eyes well up with tears and her hand begins to shake. "What's the matter with you? Why are you acting this way?"

Guilt overwhelms me. Even though she's a grown woman, she cries like a little girl and causes me to feel the need to comfort her. "I'm sorry. I snapped at you because I woke up with some killer stomach cramps."

Now her whole body is shaking and it looks like she might collapse at any minute. "But you looked at me like you thought I was going to kill you. You've never looked at me like that before."

"That's just puberty."

"Puberty?"

"Yea I learned about it in health class. It's rare but causes girls to become delusional on their periods. I thought Freddy Krueger was chasing me."

"Wh-? I've never gone through that."

"It's a recessive gene."

Her tears have stopped flowing down her cheeks. Black stains line below her eyes from her mascara."So... are you back to normal now?"

"Yep and this shouldn't happen again since it only occurs once a lifetime."

She doesn't breathe another word and keeps her eyes fixated on me. Then, her shoulders slump and she wraps me up in a bone crushing hug. "My poor, sweet, little girl. I'm sorry for slapping you honey."

I can't believe she fell for it. "It's fine. I deserve it for acting crazy." Even though I normally leap out of the hugs my parents try to force me into, I allow her to hold me tight. There's something soothing and hypnotic about the perfume she's wearing. It smells like strawberries and roses and attracts you to her like a magnet.

This is Diana's mother but I'd believe it if she introduced herself as Diana's sister. I didn't recognize her at first; however, she's been to a couple of the football games. She's the woman that sits in the front of the bleachers and whoops in front of Diana and the rest of the cheerleaders. Her name is Delilah. Delilah Marietti. Like mother, like daughter. Her hair is pinned up in a sleek and stylish bun and her dress and heels are trendy, yet formal.

Delilah releases me from the hug and wipes her face with her hand. Her mascara melted down her face and her foundation became blotchy. She looks like a hot mess but in an irritatingly, sexy way. "I have to reapply my makeup. If you're feeling better, you should get ready for school."

For once, I might actually enjoy school. "Sure, I'll start getting ready now."

Delilah passes me and goes into the bathroom, leaving me by myself in this maze. I wander around the first floor, passing a fitness room, a study room, and a glass door that leads to the sprawling backyard with a built in pool in the center. Woah, the only built in pools I've been in have been dirty, public ones. I'm tempted to jump in or at least dip in a toe, but I want to get to school and show Mandy that her spell actually worked. She'll be happy for me. To the right of the glass door is an archway that leads into the kitchen. After raiding all the cabinets for breakfast, I walk back up to Diana's room.

My hand glides over and grasps the railing of the grand staircase. As I walk up, I imagine myself coming down from above, wearing a glistening rose gold dress and holding the hem of it, revealing transparent white heels. My hair is parted to the left and flows down my shoulder. The magnificent chandelier beams a spotlight down and allows my skin and face to sparkle. Once I make it to the bottom, a handsome, young man offers me his hand, and in the other he has a bouquet of roses. Diego Romero. He has dark hair that you want to tussle all day and illuminating brown eyes that you can't help but be transfixed by. I was disappointed that I didn't end up in the same classes as him this year. He's also the captain of the football team and is hilarious. Even though a lot of his jokes were pointed at me...

I clear my mind and continue walking up the stairs. You're Diana now. Fuck Rose.