Excerpt: The Curse of the World

Gabe and I decided to go back to where the buses had been, and sure enough Bem was waiting for us. He didn’t look surprised to see me, or to see I had someone with me now. But he had given me the ability to show my memories to Gabe, so he must have known Gabe was coming into the equation at some point.

“Are you ready now to learn how to break the curse?” he asked me when we walked up.

“Yeah, I guess so. Sorry I freaked out on you before.”

“It’s quite alright. I did tell you some very scary things.”

“I’m ready now though. So what do I have to do?”

For an answer, Bem pulled out a piece of parchment paper with words written on it in black ink. He handed it to me.

“To break the curse, you must find the six items that are on the page before your eighteenth birthday. As a spirit, I cannot directly help you with the tasks. The only time I can intercede is if you are in a situation in which you will die if I do not help. Also, you have unlimited money for air travel and expenses when you are looking.”

I nodded and read:

1. The jewel of England
2. The mountain’s gift in India
3. The song of Australia
4. The berries of life in the Amazon Rainforest
5. The true beauty of Africa
6. The secret of your heart

I looked up from the page and then looked down and read them again. Wait a minute. They were all in different countries and continents. And what had Bem just said? I had money for air travel?

Oh no. This couldn’t be happening to me. Something that had been terrible before had just gotten a million times worse. I had a Nigerian curse on me that would kill me in forty days, on my eighteenth birthday, and the only way to break it was to find six things. Which I had to travel to find all of them.

“No!” I screeched.

“What is wrong?” Bem asked as Gabe looked at me like I had gone crazy.

“These all require travel!”

“What?” Gabe asked, taking the list from me and reading it over.

“Yes, they do. I do not know why, but all of The Witch’s curses involve travel,” Bem said in his normal calm voice, like he couldn’t see me starting to hyperventilate.

“You don’t understand! I was traveling for fifteen years! It’s the thing I hate most in the world! I was never going to ever do it again!”

“I am sorry, Rayne, but you do not have a choice in this,” Bem said.

“I could choose to die,” I countered.

“No!” Gabe and Bem shouted together.

“Why do you guys care if I live or die?” I asked shrilly.

“Well I don’t want you to die!” Gabe answered.

“But I have to go six places! And leave high school, and my life is just going to fall apart,” I screamed, throwing my head in my hands.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to go with you,” Gabe said.

I looked up from the cave I had made in my hands. “What?”

“I’m going to go and make sure you don’t die or kill yourself from traveling again.”

“I can’t let you do that! You have to finish school.”

“Actually, I’m done with school technically. I got enough credits to graduate last year, but I really wanted to do my senior year so I’m doing all electives now. So it’s no big deal.”

“Gabe, I can’t let you do that.”

“You don’t have a choice, Rayne. I’m going with you whether you like it or not.”

“Fine,” I said with a sigh. “I guess I’m not killing myself.”

“Don’t sound so down about that,” Gabe retorted.

Bem handed me a debit card. “There is your money, and you have the list. I must leave you now, but I will be seeing you throughout your journey. Goodbye, Rayne, Gabriel.”

Bem walked away and Gabe and I quietly watched him. When he was gone, Gabe said, “How did he know my name?”

“He’s just a freaky dude,” I said. I looked down at the debit card in my hand and the list in Gabe’s. “So, I guess it’s time to tell our families we are running away together.”

Gabe groaned. “I forgot about that part. That’s going to be fun.”

“You can avoid it by not going,” I reminded him. It’s not like I didn’t want Gabe to go; I wanted company on this journey more than anything. But I didn’t want him to throw his life away for me.

Gabe draped his arm over my shoulder like had done before and said, “Don’t try and sweet talk me, Rayney. You’re stuck with me whether you like it or not.”

“I guess I like it,” I told him.

“Good. Now let’s go tell the families.”