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Harry

It's a bright sunny day.

The rays hit the car windscreen stronger than the last few days, everything seemed brighter than usual, or was it just me? Anyway, I feel hope building inside of me, last few days have been the darkest days of my life but today I feel alive, I wouldn't say I've overcome depression in a day, it was still lurking in the darkest corners of my mind but my heart found a sparkle of fire starting to burn and I see this little ray of hope as the stepping stone to come out of my depression and denial.

The night falls, yet the sun shines every day, doesn't it? Darkness makes us appreciate the light, even if it's the smallest of them, like the stars.

I accelerated towards A's place, the sun rose magnificently amongst the greyish cloud, spreading its rays in a positive golden hue, it was a beautiful sight to see from the passing town, I've been driving for an hour now, I decided to take Ze's advice, I've cleaned myself up for the best of my ability but my five days beard remained, my excitement of the day's possibility kept me up last night and I couldn't focus on shaving in the morning from the lack of sleep, but I've showered, dressed in a black v-neck tee and blue jeans and refreshed my thoughts with positivity and I feel that this was more work I've accomplished comparing to the last few days, I feel better. 

My stomach made a rumbling sound indicating that I'm hungry but I don't want to stop so I kept driving into the city that my girlfriend called her new home, far away from me. When I received the news of her leaving the town, leaving me, I felt broke from the inside but the denial was strong. I knew she was in a tough place and she was only faking the 'i don't love you anymore' breakup drama but I was in a tough place too, instead of helping her come out of her darkness I pushed her away.

It was only when I received her resignation letter I realized how childish I behaved by ignoring her completely but by the time I finished throwing my tantrum she was gone and that's when the denial parted ways with me but somewhere deep inside of my heart I knew she was it for me so I became her shadow, I hired a bodyguard, unbeknownst to her till today, often I ditched my work to do the job myself, I wasn't able to stay away from her for too long. If Dr. Maya hasn't called informing me about Aini's unconscious state claiming that A's mentally challenged I would never have made my appearance in A's life any time soon and I'm utterly grateful to her for it.

And the only excuse I made myself was that I was only playing the protective boyfriend part, successfully.

I passed the new company A recently worked, I hated the notion because the Ceo was only a year older than me, I wouldn't call him ugly, although I wished to, he was... Fairly good-looking, women praised his looks. I wasn't jealous, hmm maybe a little though but anyways I know Aini won't fall in love with anyone else and she didn't, which was a relief and it saved me from possibly hiring a hitman. 

I passed the park Aini usually jogs, her place was down the road and I turned left into her drive, parked the car, and walked towards her home. I felt unusually nervous, the good old days when I was looking at her, just chilling in the small garden she so dearly grew flashed in my mind, I was hiding behind the mango tree opposite her home, the mango tree made a good hiding spot, giving me a clear view to A's place. 

She often sat with a book in her hand reading for hours, smiling at the description of the book, she made funny faces reacting to whatever that she was reading, those were the few happy occasions I experienced while hiding, it made me feel closer to her but today, for the first time I'm going to be inside her place, Aini's home but the person I call my home was missing to experience the full joy that it was supposed to be.

I knocked on the door, I haven't any idea if someone's there or should I wait for Ze and Leila to show up, I was early, it was only seven in the morning after all. To my luck, Leila greeted me and invited me inside, "come in harry."

The first thing I noticed once I entered was the enormous amount of unlit candles placed almost everywhere around the living room. I admired the way A has arranged her living room and the small garden she has created inside a house, this place screams Aini. I wasn't able to find Zara, she was there, I could feel it but she was still invisible to my eyes.

"Where is Zara?" I asked Leila instead of storming my mind.

"On the sofa, sleeping," she replied and paused, glared at the sofa she pointed at earlier and continued, "correction, she demands that I say she is thinking," and went back to creating a circle on the floor with the candles. 

Well, that sounds like Zara, no surprises. 

"How did she write the note? it was her handwriting," I asked and helped her create the candle circle, I took a handful of candles she has in the bag on top of the table and started continuing the circle.

"Ghost can develop their powers over time, she can now touch things but she isn't yet able to communicate with everyone."

"How can you see her? are you gifted like Aini?" I asked her.

"It was a family legacy, my grandmother once said that every woman in our lineage was gifted, we possessed powers but I was the outcast, or that's what my mother said to me and my grandma, I wasn't gifted anything until I turned sixteen, that was when I knew I can see ghosts. I was happy that the family curse is ending but apparently no, my gift was ghost seeing and my daughters were the future vision, many would call it a gift but my grandmother has always said this as a curse and I consider it as the same, now my daughter... The realization that she was involved is scaring me," she explained but I still need to know more. 

"Why do Aini's powers scare you? You're used to the magical powers that surround you so why are you scared now?"

"Our ancestors were called witches, initially I couldn't believe it but from all the craziness that surrounds me since sixteen years has faltered my beliefs, they were discreet to the world but nothing lasts forever and peace definitely wasn't one of it, the witches fought with other witches for power, exposing themselves in the process. 

Humans came across a dangerous notion, they decided to learn witchcraft but the magic tend to live within the lineage only, when they learned how to perform a certain spell, it backfired so they started to seduce the women, trying to create some bond with the witches and they did too, they married and had children's. They used their children's powers and abducted the livelihood of the innocents and often killed people for land and power. 

The witches didn't like the notion, to maintain peace, they killed their children, even the innocent ones, they decided a massive suicide, one day they gathered in the forest after midnight and killed themselves along with their children hoping the magic will end, but one woman namely Valerie, she was a witch by lineage, she married a good man, lived the life full of love, she had a daughter named Alessia, who she loved and protected. 

Alessia was a sweet young girl, to meet Alessia means to love her. Valerie faked death in front of her witch sisters and saved her daughter using her magic. They both along with her husband fled to the next town to live alone and ceased from the people who were using her. 

They lived a simple life, free of magic and filthy wealth acquired from the innocent by her father-in-law, they were happy, but to betray was to be betrayed. Valerie never knew she was raising a possible monster. When Alessia grew up, she turned into the most beautiful maiden in the town, many wealthy suitors sought her hand in marriage but Valerie disapproved of a wealthy lifestyle, she didn't want history to repeat itself.

Alessia didn't approve of her mother's ideas, she wanted to become wealthy, she didn't mind what ways she chose to be rich. Every time her mother disapproved of a wealthy suitor, anger claimed Alessia but she was helpless.

One day, Alessia acknowledged her power, she was able to manipulate natural resources like water and fire, create illusions like drowning or messing with a person's dream. She can also see the future of someone by a simple touch of their skin.

She used her powers to become rich, when Valeria came to know of the brutal killings of the towns rich men and abducting of their property, her doubts fell on her daughter, the last witch with power in the town. She decided to keep an eye on Alessia.

Every night, Valeria cast a guarded sleeping spell on her daughter, it was all fine for a few days, Valerie regretted doubting her daughter but her trust broke on the night she found her daughter getting out of the house in the middle of the night, she followed her. Just like she suspected, Alessia met a wealthy handsome man in the forest and started flirting with him, Valerie noticed that her daughter chanting a spell on the stranger, he handed her a document and Valerie was shocked to find her daughter taking the papers and slitting the throat of the stranger with a knife.

Valerie was shocked and hurt, she came to her daughter, argued with her and went to the level of slapping her daughter when she didn't display any sort of regret for what she has done, Alessia turned angry, she lost her control and stabbed her mother with the same knife, she didn't know what she was doing. When Valerie was dying she cast a curse on her daughter and she died.

Alessia didn't realize her mistakes, she kept repeating the same thing, she married a wealthy man and had children but they didn't possess any power, she died giving birth to her third child, it was a daughter and unfortunately, she was gifted, also cursed," Leila ended her story. 

I didn't know what to respond, just like any normal person would, I could not believe in all the magic that exists in our lives. The reality I live in holds so many mysteries and it was too much to take them all in altogether.

"What was the curse?" I asked her.

A/N

Word count - 1840 (excluding A/N)

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