Cursed ✔️

94. The Incident Of 1887

"Emily," Ryan began after Emily had gained consciousness as she sat on the bed with her back resting on the raised half of the bed.

Emily had some bandages wrapped around her head with yellow-colored ointment applied on the burnt areas.

"Helena and I need to tell you and Clyde something - the truth to be precise."

Emily looked at Clyde and then to Helena confused. She had no clue as to what they could've meant by that but she was eager to hear what they had to say.

"Do you want the longer version or the shorter?" Ryan asked before going towards Helena. He wished they'd pick the shorter one as he doesn't like taking much in general.

"Amm, shorter." Emily and Clyde agreed.

"So, to cut the story short, Helena and I knew Diana from way back."

"What do you mean 'knew'?" Clyde asked.

"We knew Diana since we were kids," Helena replied and paused a bit. Looking at the confused faces of Emily and Clyde she continued, "We kinda grew up together and -"

"Wait," Emily cut her in between. Something ran in her mind. "if you two knew Diana since you were kids, you must've known about why this whole 'cursed' chapter started, you must've known about the bullies and how they tortured her to a point of no return for her."

As Emily was saying all that, Ryan and Helena just looked at them quietly with a weird look on their faces just like the dogs' faces when they get scolded for something guilty. Helena and Ryan just stood there quietly and looked at the floor.

Looking at their silence, Clyde looked at Emily and then to Helena and Ryan and said in a rather quiet yet unsure tone, "Wait a minute, did you two...?"

Helena and Ryan took a deep breath and nodded.

"So, you were the bullies?" Emily's voice was raging on the spectrum from being quiet - considering they were at the hospital - to anger - not believing the reason for this whole thing started because of them who are now just standing there in front of her.

"How could you, Helena and Ryan? Diana's curse is all because of you! All the deaths are because of you! All the suffering is because of you! Did you know how many innocent people lost their lives and how many lives you have destroyed just because of what? Just because you bullied a little girl. Had you fun now? Huh?"

"Emily," Clyde looked at her. "I know you're mad, but please calm down. It's not the place."

Emily took a deep breath still giving cold stares to the bullies who stood quietly in front of her.

"We agree that what we did in the past was a total mistake," Helena continued on behalf of both of them, "and it's not something that we are proud of but it's also something that we can go back and erase. We were just stupid kids back then who didn't know any better but we regret our actions to date."

Facing the fact that somethings just can't be undone and now it was too late for the apologies Emily asked trying to compose herself," Didn't you try to apologize to her? I mean didn't she haunt you after her death?"

"It wasn't that we tried," Ryan replied. "We tried for many years but her vengeful spirit didn't accept it. And as we grew older, we came to realize what that pendant meant to Diana. One night, Helena and I met at my apartment and conjured Diana and told her we were awfully sorry but Diana wasn't ready to forgive us. She took our lives that night and even made our spirits suffer. She told us that we weren't repenting our mistakes, we were just showing pity on her.

Her loss of the pendant, her life, and her mother was the reason for her vengeance. Even after our deaths, she tortured our spirits saying we should know the pain that we made her go through but we deserved it. Back when we were kids, we were too naive and stupid to know the sentimental value that pendant had for Diana."