Sticky Shattered Glass Pieces

Chapter 59: Banished From the Goblin World, Forever

"I don't understand why you hate Yoongi coming back. He has done nothing to you, Rach!" I raised my voice irritated with Rachel's behavior. 

"You say that he has done nothing?! He has done everything I hate!" Rachel yelled at me back in anger. 

"Tell me one thing he has done to make you this upset!" I asked her unsatisfied with Rachel's reply.

"He took you away from me, Ava! There you go!" Rachel screamed to my face as she teared up.

I was dumbstruck by Rachel's confession. Then I realize I was not there for her when she needed me. I was the one being selfish going after Yoongi and trying to save his life all this while. I did not realize that I have hurt her feelings and tried to blame it back on her and the book. I broke down in front of Rachel suddenly. 

"I am sorry that I was the one selfish. I thought if I could bring Yoongi back to this world, we could be together. All three of us. Guess I was wrong to think such," I teared up as I looked at Rachel in the eye. 

"We don't need Yoongi to stay together, Ava. With or without Yoongi, we are stuck with each other," Rachel held my hand and wiped my tears. 

"What do you mean by with or without Yoongi?" I looked into Rachel's eyes in confusion.

"The last page of the book has the solution for all our problems, Ava. That is why I tore it off," Rachel reached for her back pocket slowly.

She handed me the crumpled page and I quickly opened it. My eyes widened when I read and reread the lines over and over. I wanted to make sure I read it correctly. 

"But why did the queen ask me to bring the flower back to her when all she needed was this last page?" I was still confused instead of being relieved. 

"You see when I took this book accidently, I knew I was in trouble. A series of bad luck happened during our stay but I stayed silent about it. I did not want you to panic. There was a voice in my head telling me to place the book back where I found it," Rachel explained to me slowly. 

"That is why you went back to the beach, right?" I enquired again curiously. 

"Yes, but something unexpected happened to me there. I was cursed by the Queen Goblin," Rachel continued narrating what happened to her.

"Why did the queen curse you for returning her book?" I squinted my eyes in doubt again.

"That is because I tore the last page before giving her back the book," Rachel pointed at the page I was holding. 

"Why did you do that?" I was annoyed with Rachel again. 

"All she wanted was the flower, Ava. She doesn't care about the missing page. The flower was attached to this page when I tore it," Rachel nodded her head as she narrated.

"Now, where is the flower?" I asked her in concern.

Rachel was silent. She did not utter any words when I posed the question. I had a bad feeling that Rachel lost the flower on the way back home. I reread the sentences on the missing page. I looked at Rachel and she nodded her head once more. 

"This is the only way. We have no choice."

I took a deep breath and nodded my head. I quickly walked over to the kitchen and opened the back door. I knew there was a metal bin that had trash stuffed in it. Rachel grabbed the matchbox and I placed the diary and the missing page into the bin. 

"No, we have to burn only the missing page, not the whole book. The book should be buried under a willow tree, remember?" Rachel reminded me, luckily.

"Right, right!" I uttered as I took the book out of the bin. 

"We have to burn this before sunset. The queen's power intensifies after sunset," Rachel exclaimed on a serious note.  

Rachel handed me the matchbox while I had to clear my curiosity, "How did you know all this suddenly?"

"When I asked around at the beach about this, a man who was also cursed for life told me that whether we hand the book, the missing page, or the lower back, the queen's curse on you would not be lifted. That is why they are called the goblins," Rachel explained as I lit up the match.

"Weren't you saying that she only wanted the flower and not the missing page or the book?" I placed the matchbox on the ground as I asked Rachel.

"She knew I lost the flower. That is why she wanted you to lure me back to her," Rachel spoke casually.

"To kill you?" I dreaded for the worst.

Rachel  nodded her head and said, "That is why we have to bury the book under a willow tree before sunset. The tree helps to keep the goblin's world under the ground and not surface anymore."

As I was waiting for the burning to end, I realized the queen would not be happy with our decision. She would try to kill us both for double-crossing her. If she knew to trick us, we too know how to trick a goblin. 

When I thought all had ended well that day, Rachel suddenly collapsed to the ground. She was having a fit with her mouth bubbling with white foam. I rushed to her and panicked when I saw Rachel vomiting blood all of a sudden.  

"You had one job, Ava! I thought you were different from the rest but I was wrong," a sudden voice came from the back.

I turned back and saw the Queen Goblin standing with her long walking stick in her hand. She came forward and stood in front of me as she smile sinisterly at Rachel's condition. She was proud of herself for taking revenge on Rachel who double-crossed her.

"It was my idea to burn the book. Leave Rachel and take me instead," I took the blame to save Rachel. 

"You take me as a foolish goblin? Your little friend lost the flower on the way back home and you are taking the blame to save her?" the queen chuckled sarcastically.

I noticed Rachel open her eyes in small. She faintly whispered to me but I couldn't hear her words. I placed my ear to her mouth and tried to listen to her words again. 

Hardly a whisper, she uttered, "Break the stick in her hand. The stick...gives...her powers..."

Without hesitation, I kicked the stick in her hand since the queen was standing close enough to me. She was lavishly furious that I kicked her stick suddenly. I reached out for the stick and stood up. I held the stick with both my hands and broke it in half. 

The Queen Goblin suddenly changed her form from her 30s look to an old hagged woman who has a hunched back. With messy and tangled white hair, long and dirty fingernails, and barefoot. She was no more the Queen of the Goblin world since the stick had been broken in half. The powers that stick had to make her the Queen Goblin were gone forever and she was banished from her goblin world as a punishment. 

"Do you know where to find a willow tree, old woman?" I purposely aggravated her anger.   

Rachel felt better the moment the stick broke in half but the old hagged goblin gave out a spine-chilling shrill before rotting away in front of us. I helped Rachel to her feet back into the house again. 

"We still need to find a willow tree," I uttered as I escorted Rachel into the kitchen. 

"Back to the beach again. The cave entrance has a huge willow tree. Before we bury the book under the tree, we have to make a wish first," Rachel ensured I knew what to do before burying the book.

"My one and only wish. Yoongi," I murmured under my breath.