ON THE 17TH OF AUGUST IN THE YEAR 2028
(08.17.28)
It was nearly dawn, just a few more minutes away before Bella’s 18th birthday arrived.
Alicia was sitting on top of the roof in a dark alley with her legs crossed. She was admiring her long, dark nails while waiting for a new victim to pass by when she suddenly felt a strange, eerie breeze blow through the air.
Her demeanor darkened as she made the conscious decision to go retrieve the bead herself after having sent hundreds of her minions to try and take the bead from a young girl, all of whom failed miserably every single time.
Alicia knew she needed to make the bead in her possessions during that night before it was too late.
Bella was peacefully lying down on her bed. The drapes in her chamber swirled in the breeze when the windows in her room were left open.
On the other hand, Alicia scurried through Bella’s stuff at breakneck speed while maintaining complete silence as she searched for the red bead hidden inside Bella’s chamber.
“Where in the world did she hide it?” Alicia mumbled to herself as she carefully plucked the plant from the pot to see whether the bead was buried in the dirt, but she found nothing. She returned the plant to its place before flipping the picture frames over but still couldn’t find the bead behind one of those frames. She looked around through each corner, but the red bead was none to be found.
Alicia did not find the bead in any of Bella’s drawers or any of the boxes found in Bella’s chamber. All that is left to search is under Bella’s bed and Bella herself.
While searching for what was under Bella’s bed, Alicia came to a complete stop as the red bead inside Bella’s body began to radiate a dull glow. When Alicia finally came to a halt, she was on her knees, searching under Bella’s bed with her hands and knees touching the floor.
It was only when she cautiously raised her head that she spotted the red bead, which was positioned at Bella’s chest, near where the heart was located.
“Oh, there you are!” With each blink, Alicia’s eyes grew more profound and raised the corners of her mouth. “I’ve been looking for you this whole time. It’s no surprise those cretins can’t track you down.” Alicia rolled her eyes and made her way to the opposite side of the bed. She dragged her long fingernails across the surface of the bed linens as she walked.
The fingernail imprints on the sheets were the source of the bed linen’s tearing.
“I thought my minions were useless,” Alicia scoffed and let out a brief chuckle. “I suppose I should make it up to them for being too harsh.” Alicia sighed, and her manner abruptly altered as she locked her gaze on the bead, which was still emitting a crimson glow.
“After all these years, you’ll be mine!” Alicia reached for the red bead, digging her thumb and index fingers deep into Bella’s chest with her long, dark nails to get her hands on it.
When the intensity of the bead’s glow increased, Bella’s eyes sprung wide open. A small black stain is seen on the surface of the red bead right after Alicia manages to get her hands on the red bead.
The moment Alicia’s finger made its way to enter Bella’s body, she shrieked and quickly pulled her hand away from Bella’s chest when she felt a sudden electrifying pain in her finger.
When Alicia first tried to pass the curse on to Bella back when she was younger, she had the same sensation as she did this time.
Tiny ashes from her remains floated in the air right after she pulled her fingers out from Bella’s body.
At the same time, when Alicia noticed the hole in Bella’s chest was slowly sealing back up, she also saw that the shape of her fingers was gradually returning to their former form after turning into ashes. Her skin then began to wrinkle gradually, beginning at the tips of her thumb and index fingers and progressing down her arm.
Alicia hissed before exiting Bella’s chamber through the window.
The black smear on the red bead could still be seen.
When the air around Bella became heavier and heavier as she breathed, her body began to drift gently through it.
The clock strikes twelve, signaling the end of the countdown to the final second before midnight. At precisely midnight, the light emanating from the bead began to decrease steadily.
[¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬
The sound of a squeaky door roused Macy from her sleep.
“Bella?” Macy uttered. One of her eyes moderately opened as she spoke.
Bella was deliberate in her steps as she made her way to her mother’s bedside.
Macy closed her eyes for a brief minute after catching a glimpse of the digital clock on the nightstand next to her bedroom door. It was past twelve o’clock in the wee hours of the morning.
“Dear, I know it’s your birthday, but don’t you think it’s a little early to celebrate? It would be best if you were having a night of beauty sleep.” Macy squirmed over and wrapped herself in a blanket, shutting her eyes closed. “Your celebration will take place in the early hours of the morning when the sun comes up,” Macy continued as she put an indention on her last words.
Bella did nothing except stare at her mother.
After a few more seconds, Macy became aware that Bella was still in the room. She blinked her eyes open, unrolled her blanket, and turned to find her daughter, Bella, standing still near her bedside.
“Why? What’s wro--”
Macy’s pupils constricted when she noticed Bella was wielding a knife in her hand. She could tell that something wasn’t quite right with her daughter, and she worried about her. As if it wasn’t... Bella.
“B--Bella?” Macy gulped. Her hands gripped on the sheets of her bed.
Without giving any notice, Bella stabbed her mother in the chest.
Macy clenched her teeth in agony. Blood gushed from her mouth as she struggled to take a breath. She slumped to the ground when she attempted to reach out to Bella and convince her that everything was fine. Before Macy ran out of breath, she smiled after she got to hold one of Bella’s feet.
Bella was able to transition from her other half to her true self.
“M—mom?” cried Bella. She screamed in hatred when she regained consciousness and dropped the knife that had been dripping with her mother’s blood.
The room was filled with the sound of malevolent laughter.
Bella’s hands trembled a little. It didn’t take long before her knees gave up, and she fell to the ground with her knees on the floor. When Bella cradled her mother in her arms, her eyes began to well up with tears as she held her.
“M—mom!” Bella burst into tears. She was in denial, and she refused to accept the fact that it was her who stabbed her mother with her own hands.
Bella sat on her mother’s bedroom corner, near her mother’s corpse. Her hands were stained with the blood of her mother. She rested her forehead just above her knees and pressed her knees together against her chest as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Bella’s bare feet were being brushed against the warm blood that had been accumulated on the floor. The blood was coming from her mother’s lifeless body. Bella was deafeningly quiet for a few moments afterward.
With her knees cradled against her chest, Bella sobbed herself to sleep.