Cursed

    Jameson waited patiently in front of the local doctor’s home. A strange illness plagued the town, the infected would be consumed with thought and frustration, and eventually break down of mental exhaustion. Their bodies would slowly grow frail, as if something sucked the nutrition from the inside. After the malnutrition sets it, the infected become lethargic, unwilling and unable to do anything.

    No one knew the cause, no one knew how it spread. It seemed random, in the beginning only a few had it, but now more and more were showing symptoms. Families became worried, none of the treatments the doctor tried worked. He told everyone in a town meeting he would go to the city to seek out help and return as soon as possible.

    That was eleven days ago. Now almost the entire town was infected. Only children and a handful of others remained symptomless. But, Jameson remained hopeful for the doctors return. Doctor Mavis was a nice man. He knew everyone, and was loved by everyone. He gave Jameson his word he would be back as soon as he could to help his mother, and Jameson truly believed he wouldn’t let them down. 

    His mothers condition was worsening. Bed stricken, unable to move and now straining to breathe. It was now becoming harder for him and his sister Joy to feed and bathe her. In the early stages of the illness their mom was able to stand and slowly walk to the loo, now eleven days in she is too weak to move or control her bladder. If she tries to stand, she collapses and Jameson and Joy struggle to carry her back into bed. But, they endure the best way they can. She’s the only mom they have, and if it was them in her place, Jameson knows she would do the same.

    He took breaks from caring for his mother by waiting out front of Doctor Mavis’ home. Every now and then he would imagine seeing the doctor return in the back of a horse buggy with the elixir to all their problems. Mother would be healthy, Joy wouldn’t have to worry, they could go back to the way things were. Thats how he imagined Dr. Mavis’ return would be, but it seemed it wouldn't be today.

    Jameson stood up, feeling it was time to go back and help Joy. But as he walked back home, his ears perked up, the faint sound of hooves patting away at the ground gradually became noticeable. He turned and could see a horse buggy coming into town. Filled with adrenaline, he ran to meet Dr. Mavis. The driver slowed the horse to a stop seeing the boy coming toward them. Mavis paid the driver and exited the buggy with a woman passenger. She wore strange clothes and had bright red hair, Jameson guessed she was probably a foreigner of some sort, but that didn’t matter, not right now.

    “Dr. Mavis! You’re back!”. He said as he came to a sudden stop beside them.

    “Yes, yes I am.” The doctor said plain face without enthusiasm. 

    “Did you learn anything? Can you help everyone get better?”.

    Mavis looked at the boy unable to give an answer, the red haired woman stepped forward ignoring the question.

    “Alright doctor, I think its time I went on and finished my work. Which way is the lake from here?”

    “Behind the saloon, trail takes you into the woods, thats where you want to go. It wont be far after that.” He pointed.

    “Thanks for the ride doctor, it was nice meeting you.”.

    “I wish I could say the same miss Snow.”. She smirked at the response as she made her way to towards the saloon. Jameson became worried, and somewhat confused at the situation.

    “Doctor, you can help us right?”. Mavis looked him in the eye defeated.

    “No I cant. I want to get everyone who is healthy together so we can pray and plan for the future.”

    “But what about going to the city, surely there was someone who could help.”

    “The sickness was worse in the city, like a plague. So many lives have been lost… The only person that could help, is her, but I don't think she wants to.”

    Jameson was confused.What kind of person would not want to help, who would abandon those in need. 

    “Dr. Mavis, if she can help, then we have to convince her to help! We can't let them down.”

    “After meeting miss Snow, I unfortunately have learned that its not that simple.”.

    Jameson was taken aback and confused, how could he say something like that. He was a friend, and he was willing to just give up? That was not an option. Jameson looked out and saw miss Snow making her way down the trail, he had to speak with her. He quickly made his way to catch up with her. 

    “Excuse me miss Snow!” He said slowing down coming to a walk beside her.

    “um, yeah?” She said somewhat surprised to suddenly have company. 

    “Dr. Mavis said you can help, but you don't want to. I don't know why, but please I beg of you, If you can cure the plague, please do so.”.

    “Yikes. Look kid, thats a tall order for me to just dish out.”

    “Why! Why wont you help us?”

    “How about you give me a reason to.”

    “Because my mom is sick.”

Snow paused for a moment, “Alright, for my sister’s sake. Walk with me.”.

    They sat at the edge of the lake. A perfect grey sky, still water, everything silent. No wind, no chirps, no rustling of leaves. Pure lifelessness.

    “In your culture do you tell ghost stories, or believe in spirits, wraiths? Any of it?”

    “My mother has told me ghost stories, but they’re not real.”

    “Well, they’re real, but rare. It takes some very significant events for one to come into existence. They are all similar, but each one is unique. Some spirits are good, they can make you reminisce about times past. Some haunt. You never really know, it always depends on who they were, what they believed in, how they died, what drives them to stay among the living, they’re always unique. Your mom, isn't sick. No one here is. They’re being cursed by a very angry spirit, and I came here to ask a favor of her.”.

    “I dont understand, why would you need a favor from a evil spirit? Are you a… a witch?”

    “For simplicity sake, sure, you can call me a witch, but I didn’t say the spirit was evil, I said she was angry. I was told by a friend of mine that their was signs of a spirit in the city not far from here, so I went to look for her. By the time I had gotten there she had already did her handy work. The several hundred were already dead, thousands becoming sick. The ones unaffected weren't hard to talk to, they desperately needed a friendly face. I did some investigating, asked about recent deaths before the plague, and executions. One execution in particular stood out to me. Young woman, accused of speaking against the infrastructure and God. Typical blasphemy. They beat her, stripped her, strung her up in the middle of a plaza, starved and tortured her for about a week until they finally just burned her alive. Mind you this was a week long show for everyone else, not much in entertainment in your culture. But, apparently, she never broke. Even in her condition she continued to challenge their beliefs. Called them bigoted, indoctrinated fools. I did some more investigating, learned who she was. School teacher, named Vivian Parlae.”

    “Miss Parlae, she was my teacher. She used to teach to me here before she moved away.”

    Snow nodded, “I found her residence in the city to see what I could learn, and thats where I found your Dr. Mavis. He was there looking for her, and he had the unpleasant time of making my acquaintance, and here we are.”

    “They killed Miss Parlae? But she was always nice. She didn't deserve to die.”

    “Doesnt matter if she was nice, she was a ‘heretic’. And now, based on what I've learned, instead of peacefully protesting as she did in life, she’s cursing them in death. All of the bigoted and ignorant are her prey, sucking the life from their bodies. They die, and their beliefs die with’em. She’s been cursing people all the way from the city to here in her old stomping grounds. Only those who are good hearted, or a child are left unharmed. Speaking of, you still want me to help your mom, and the rest of them, even after what I've told you?”.

    “Yes.”

    “Ok. Have you ever met anyone that was different from you?”

    “Well, I've met you.” Jameson said gesturing her appearance. 

    “Red hair, and the clothes right, look listen, thats not what I meant. What I mean is have you ever met anyone that wasn't your ethnicity, that didn’t believe in the same God as you do, or anyone that comes from outside of your culture?”

    “No.”

    Snow nodded, “Thats ok, thats ok. You’re young, you seem to have a good heart. Cmon, stand up. Look into the water.”  

    He stood and adjusted himself, unsure if he should look into the water, he ignored is own hesitation and peered in. He saw her staring back, Miss Parlae. His heart sank and began to race, he scurried away from the water afraid of how close the supernatural was.

    “Hey, its ok. You don't have to be afraid of her. And besides, she’s been listening, haven't you Vivian?” 

    Jameson slowly stepped beside Snow, and peered back into the water, she was still there peering back.

    “See kid, were just having a friendly conversation. So Vivian, here’s what I propose. Instead of prolonging your curse and hiring you for my own nefarious selfish purposes, I want to help my new friend here. He doesn't want his mom, or anyone infected to die, so how about we have him carry out what you wanted to achieve in life. To spread new ways of thinking, to expose people to new beliefs, to challenge what is morally right or wrong. If he accepts the burden of following in your footsteps, to try and make the world a better place, you’ll lift your curse.”

    Vivian gave a nod of approval.

    “How’d you feel about that kid? You up for it?”

    Jameson looked back up at Snow, “Yes, I’ll do it.” .

    When he looked back, Vivian was gone. The water started to slightly ripple. A gentle breeze grazed by. Birds suddenly found a new resting place among the trees near by. It was as if all of a sudden, life returned to this place. 

    “Well, she’s gone. You can go back home now, your mom will be ok.”

    Jameson didn't waste a second. He rushed back home as fast as he could. He had to know, was she ok, did it actually work. He ran and ran, burst through the door to the bedroom and there she was. Standing in the middle of the room, holding his little sister tightly in her arms. She looked happier than she’d ever been in her entire life, filled with energy, health, and pride. Proud of her babies being so grown in her time of illness. He ran in and held the both of them for as long as he could. Later they would learn that everyone else's health had returned as well, and life was good. 

    He went back to the lake to try and find miss Snow, but she was gone. He would never see her again, yet he stayed true to his word and spent his life trying to make the world a better place. Learning about different cultures, sharing them, pushing boundaries never thought possible. It was a hard life, filled with defeat, protest, and loss, but he never regretted it. He achieved more than he could ever imagine, and inspired friends, family, and gained a following that would continue his work to make the world a better place. The only thing he regretted, was not being able to say thank you to miss Snow and Vivian for putting him on this path.

The End