‘How do you think I got so prosperous, huh, kids? Money doesn’t sprout from trees. All this wealth you see . . . all of this has to come from something, right? And things are not always as they appear to be.
'I was young. Ambitious. Stupid. Didn’t know what train to catch. Everyone told me it takes time to grow, Om; you’ll be successful one day. Ah, well. Impatience is as much of a bane as it is a virtue. I thought I was worth so much more than what life was giving me, like I was wasting my potential. So I mingled with some bad apples. Got in deep with the sharks. Discovered the crooked trail of the Dark Arts.'
(Here Uncle drew in a labored breath. Almost like he had to pay tax for oxygen.)
‘I approached the Coven Thirteen. It took . . . endeavor to find them. And even more to convince them I was willing to push any boundary to get ahold this prestige. They laughed at me, mocked me. How could a measly, cowardly man like you have it takes to harness the dark magic? It takes sacrifice, they said. It costs. Nothing is for free, they said.
'It requires sacrifice, takes a soul of steel, they said. And I . . . well, I was a fool. And looking back on it, I guess I was a coward as well. Afraid of going through the struggles of life and turning to voodoo and – and magic and things that are beyond our scope of terror. But I was willing, I was determined.
'I never met the Grahi Witch. I only ever heard her voice and – oh, I’ll – I’ll never forget. It was cold and ruthless and . . . it made your head squeeze and just – it snatched the soul right out of your body . . . and it told me the price. I accepted. Satan willing, I accepted.’
(Just the way he said, I was getting the chills. Trust me, hearing this kind of talk from your Uncle can do that to a person. Don’t trust me? Try it with yours.)
'I never had my arm amputated, Mar. That was another lie. It was her. The – the Grahi Witch. She demanded it be taken. You know why I never got a prosthetic? Because it hurts. Twenty-four hours of a day, this gone arm hurts like a fresh open wound. Perhaps it’s the dark magic flowing through it’s cut veins. Or perhaps it’s my guilt nabbing at me. Every night I lay in bed and think of the choices I made. Each time I realize I can’t hold a cup with two hands or hold the gear to my car, it’s a reminder to me. A reminder of my choices.
'Anyhow, that – that witch – she put a curse on me. Or at least her voice did. It said that dark magic runs through my veins, and will affect my loved ones evermore.
‘Hence when your mother – my sweet, innocent sister – couldn’t conceive a normal child, I thought that was on me. I – I still do. I couldn’t let their spirits be crushed for a third time, so I . . . I took them back to the coven.’
(At hearing the words “spirits” and “crushed” pretty much consecutively, Es perked up, floating towards the conversation. I think she took it the wrong way, being a spirit; ha-ha, laugh all you want. Wasn’t anything funny about this conversation for us back them.)
(Aar and Bee were grave too.)
‘Now, of course you know you were bought back to life with half a soul. The soul of a - so-to-say – demon. But you were a lovely kid, you’ve always been. I spent as much time with you as I could, Mar. Because if your upbringing was done the wrong way, devil knows how you would’ve turned out.’
(My stomach churned at these words. Was I really a monster? I had just killed my Dad, albeit unbeknownst, so maybe there was a fraction of chance that I was . . . But no. Of course I’m a monster. Nothing can justify killing your father. No excuses.)
(It was at this point that tears started streaming down my cheeks.)
(Meanwhile, See was yawning.)
'Then your mother got leukemia, and I thought that was on me too. That maybe somehow the curse had caused that disease. I cried to the point where I wanted to slit my own wrists and just end this pain. Take the curse away with me. Yet I wasn’t sure if that would work . . . and now . . . now your father is dead. Your father . . . is dead. Because of me.’
Oof, spicy.
Am I right or am I right?
YOU ARE READING
Sort of Dead
Humor**This book features short, fun, snappy chapters** **Perfectly fine as a standalone** [Caution: may pack a couple of gutpunches.] "First things first: this is the story of how I die. Over and over again." __________________________________ Marra is...
