No Matter What: A Dan Howell Love Story

Part 2: Chapter 20: Genetics

Dan grabs my hand and pulls me to my car, which was still parked in my driveway. He throws open the door and pushes me in quickly. He climbs into the driver’s seat and turns the ignition. I look up at the window. The two men were gone. I gulped and stared at the front door. 

“Why isn’t it turning on?!!!” Dan screams, twisting the key.

The car makes a whirring noise, and then it comes to life. Dan breathes in, and pulls out of the driveway just as the front door opens. 

“Dan! Go!”

Dan hits the gas and drives away quickly. I look in the rear view mirror. A tall, muscular man had yanked the shorter one up by his collar and was saying something I couldn’t make out. I close my eyes just as they start to fade away in the mirror.

“Dan? Why do they want that book?”

Dan squints his eyes at the road. “I don’t know. Maybe the spells? Whatever it is, it’s important.”

I stare down at the book. It’s leather binding was old and worn out. But the symbol was still shining brightly.

I opened the book and scanned through it. An entry dated the day before she died caught my eye.

My Dearest Elena,

My time has come. I can feel it in the magic around me. There is a sense of dread in the air. I have placed a note for you on the inside of my old safe that resides in the attic. If you ever get the chance, read it. It will explain why my death was so sudden. But as of now, I need to tell you something. Something very important.

Something that may change your life. 

I’m going to tell you a story. One filled with love and despair, and in the end…tragedy.

A long time ago, back in the 1800’s. Your great great great great uncle did a very bad thing. A very nasty one. It is said that, he was headed to the local pub when his eyes caught onto a beautiful blonde headed woman. He had fell in love within the first two seconds he laid his eyes upon her. He took the courage up, and invited her to the pub with him. There, they danced the night away, drunk and happy. Soon, she fell in love with him. And they were scheduled to be wed three months prior to their meeting. But one night, they fell into an argument. And your very great uncle, well, he beat her. 

And he beat her.

And he beat her.

He buried her body behind the wall of his fireplace, hoping that she would be forgotten by everyone. And they did. Everyone forgot her.

Except her sister.

She was in a rage. She knew her darling little sister would never leave town without notifying her. So, one night, she took it upon herself and she snuck into our ancestors home. She searched his house as deeply as she could, but found nothing. But she knew, she knew she was still there. Because she could feel it. She could feel it in her magic. So she placed a finding spell. A spell that could find anything that was lost. And it led her to the fireplace. She knew she had to come back. So she went home and waited for a day where he went back to the pub. So she went back in, and she tore his fireplace apart. Just as she removes a brick from the far right hand of the fireplace, she sees a lock of hair. It was blonde. And it was the same shade as her sisters. When she uncovers her body, she lays her out on the rug and covers her up. Then, she waits. When he stumbled through the front door later on that night, he didnt expect to see her or his girlfriends body laid out on his house floor. She gets up and she walks over to him slowly, and she whispered three words before she left.

“You will pay.”

He didn’t understand what she meant by that. And he never really paid much attention. Soon, he marries a pretty red headed woman who gives birth to their daughter Gwen nine months later. When Gwen became 18, she caused destruction wherever she went. And sometimes, death. Your great uncle didn’t understand why his daughter was like this. It was like she was,…cursed. So he seeks out the sister and asks her what did she do to his family. She replied with,

“For you have caused despair to my heart over the death of my little sister, so I will cause despair upon you. Your daughter is cursed. And so will be the future women of your generation. For every female that is born, they will be born of great and deadly power. They will be born of magic. You may think that this isnt such a bad curse I have placed, but you do not understand. Your daughters will be hunted, and they will be slaughtered. Until one day, they find out how to break this curse.”

“But how do they break it?”

“Undo the wrong that has been done, and love shall set you free.”

You see my daughter? This magic I have, this magic you will soon inherit, it is not a gift. It is a curse. And when I die, I hope that you will somehow find a way to break this hell that our ancestor has put us through. 

And I hope, that you will be free.

As for now, there is a man by the name of Thomas. He lives in New Hampshire. Here is his number. 555-325-7619. Call him. He will help you. He is your guardian. He will be there to fight alongside of you. But when you turn 18, you must be careful on the emotions you show towards the people you love. For they will be in danger if you show too much signs of affection. And if by chance there is a boy in your life, let sexual tension reside. For if you do more than kiss, you could take away his life. That’s why I had to leave Thomas behind.

For he is your father. And I couldn’t let myself kill the man I love. End this curse, my angel. And you and your future children will be free. I love you, and I will look after you. But be safe. For you will be hunted by witch hunters. And I do not want to see you be hurt.

Love, the mother who will always be there to guide you.

I stared down at the book in my hand. A tear falls from my eye and I wipe the excess off of my cheek.

“Elena? What’s wrong?”

I take a deep breath and read him the passage. When I am through, I turn to look at him. He looked so sad, so broken.

“Dan, I….I don’t think you should be near me.”

Dan stops the car quickly, making me lurch forward. He turns his whole body around and grabs my waist.

“It said sex. It said we couldn’t do more than kissing. I know how to control myself. And I’m not going to leave you here to fight this battle by yourself. I am going to take you to New Hampshire, to see your father. I know you really want that. I’m not going to give up on us.”

He stops and then his eyes widen. “Wait. I don’t understand. If you can’t make love with the person you are in love with, then how did your ancestors create more children? Your mother had you with your father and she said she was in love with him. So how did your father not die?”

I take in what he is saying. “What if….somehow you can kill your magic? What if sometimes the curse will take a little while and go away when you have sex? Because it wants you to create more daughters right? But then after you make a daughter, the curse becomes dangerous to your loved one again.”

Dan thinks it over. “So you’re saying that if we had sex, and I got you pregnant and it turned out to be a girl, then we can’t do any more sexual activities because the curse will become dangerous again?”

I nod. “Yes because it wants to continue the cycle. Maybe mom said no sex because she DOESN’T want the cycle to continue. She wants our genetic line to end, just in case I can’t break the curse. So if I were to die without having children, then the curse will be over.”

Dan nods. “I see where you are getting at. C’mon. Let’s take you to see your father.”