The Cursed Witch

Part I - Chapter One

Six years later...

"Hurry up, grandma! I must go see my girlfriend!"

I groan and face the most calmly possible my not-so-young-patient-anymore while rubbing my forehead. He has been aged, but he keeps calling me "grandma". It shouldn't bother me, after all, I endure it since a few years. But, well... It does bother me. That behavior of him bothers me.

The reason is simple. He looks like a twenty-year-old young man. But what with the burden then? Well... How could he stay this arrogant and selfish? Don't we say wisdom comes with the years? That's a cute little story. If It was real, then why does he keep calling me that way without any respect for my patience with him?

It's been six years, and yet he didn't change a bit.

"Seriously, grandma, stop looking at me with that angry gaze and take care of my ankle!"

"You little brat! Didn't I warn you to take it easy? You come so often..."

I walk through the room and put the cream beside him. I struggle a little while opening the box, but finally I spread the medicine on his ankle. This time, he doesn't move an inch or whine. I finish quickly. "Well, you know how to deal with the medicine, right?"

"Yeah, yeah! Here's your reward, grandma." He tosses two copper coins on the table.

Argh! I could kill him with a gaze.

"Thank you so much..."

He is already outside. I sigh. I didn't achieve my goal in these past few years. I did gain the trust of some clients, but such a few. This boy has been my most regular patient. It often is for the same thing: his left ankle. Such an idiot. I really would like to know what he does of his day to come so often for this. Does he run in the woods for a living? Seriously...

I try to stay busy all day, but without a patient in my little house, there's not much things to do. Finally, after gazing outside for half an hour, I slowly approach my door. Shyly, I put a foot on the grass and quickly check my state. The Witch can't leave the house for too long. It's more than a simple forbidden. If she does, she dies. It's not really clear how, though. And she must be in the house all night.

I didn't try to go out yet. After all, I don't know the curse in detail. This kind of things is always so complicated! I'm sure there is some hidden trap to harden the Witch's life.

But I miss the feeling of being outside. I have started dreaming of going out a month ago. And I keep thinking about it. So today is the day.

With a tiny smile, I take off my shoes and put my other foot on the grass. And I walk around the house. I only saw it once, when I came here. I can't help remembering how it had taken place.

When the Witch dies, her corpse disappears in flames and the ashes are carried away by the wind. It's a part of the curse. I really wonder what my ancestor had done to become the victim of such curse. It's quite a disgrace not to have a funeral.

Anyways, in the family, there's a rule. Don't rummage through the past. We deserve this lifestyle. We need to pay for what she did. Don't you dare disobey the curse. That's all.

I knew the death of my mother a few days before turning 17. My collar bones were aching and when I checked them, a tattoo had appeared beneath my throat, between them. A curved blade unraveled in ivy.

My mother had been the Witch for eight years. But it was a dark period, with so many strong diseases... and irresponsible patients! I found a diary of letters she never sent to me and it was unbelievable. One time, the villagers had pleaded for the forbidden. They didn't believe a young woman was dead and begged the Witch to cure her. But she obviously couldn't. The worst was the blame they made her carry. The cry, the lament, the sadness, the pain of herself and of the others... She had many nightmares. At the end, she couldn't even sleep.