Curses

Kathleen only stared at Takumi who's eyeing his moon milk tea for almost five minutes now. He looks really dumbfounded and he's not talking ever since they arrived at the coffee shop.

She doesn't know what he's up to but she has this hunch that he knows something—something related to Shane's disappearance. She cleared her throat to break his silence. His eyes bated and looked at her.

"Well?" Kathleen asked, crossing her arms. "What are you gonna tell me?"

"Oh, y-yeah." He looked back down and heaved a deep sigh.

"I-I don't know if you're gonna believe me or not or will I make any sense but—I saw everything."

Kathleen's brows met.

"Everything like?"

"I talked to her before she left that day you two got into an accident. She has that weird aura surrounding her when she rushed inside the elevator and before it closed, I saw someone—no—something's standing behind her!"

Kathleen's lips parted as she listens to everything he's saying. He looks scared and his eyes shifted from one direction to another.

"I was worried so I followed her! She was driving on a high speed when I arrived at the parking lot but I still chased after her anyways. Along the way, I vividly remembered seeing a black miasma hit her wheels all at once sending the car, you two are in, tumbling countless of times! I stepped on the brake and watched everything in horror. Her car doesn't look like a car anymore! My heart was racing by the thought of her being dead so, it took me couple of minutes to process what happened until she stepped out, bleeding to death."

"I immediately went out the car and called her but she doesn't seem to hear me. S-she's talking to a monster and the two of them were slowly devoured by a dark smoke. I tried running after her but she already vanished and there, I saw you inside her car, unconscious."

"So, he must be the one who called the ambulance." Kathleen thought to herself.

"W-what does this monster really looks like?" She stuttered.

"H-he's very tall with long moving hair. He doesn't have a face."

"Just the one in my dream," She muttered and he looked at her.

"You've seen it, too?!"

"Yeah! And if I'm not mistaken, he's the one Samantha is referring to as the personification of her curse—"

Kathleen cut herself off and looked at Takumi whose aura suddenly changed. He rested his back on his chair calmly and crossed his arms, eyes locked on her.

"So, she's indeed cursed," he intoned.

Her brows met. Takumi is now acting like a different person. There were dozens of questions running through her mind but nothing will come into words. She watched him shrug into his leathered jacket as she moved a bit close.

She could feel her heartbeat tremble the air between them. She placed her hands on the table, fingers intertwined, and waited for Takumi to ease her confusion.

"W-who are you, really? What do you know?!" She groaned.

"I told you I am Takumi Takahashi, Samantha's senior psy—"

"I mean..." she cut him. "You exactly! How did you know about the curse?"

"Because I used to be cursed," he answered right away as if it's the most normal thing to hear. "That's why when I saw Samantha the first time, I had a hunch that she might be cursed as well."

His voice had dropped back to normal, but it was flat and emotionless.

"So, you know where she has been taken then? Please tell me! I-I have to save her!"

"Even if I tell you, you still won't be able to cross the other realm."

"Why?!"

"It takes for one person to be cursed to enter the other real or..."

"Or what?"

"Dead."

Kathleen ended up staring into nothingness as he shifted his eyes to the cuckoo clock hanging on the wall. Her eyes wandered down the table.

"What should I do? C-can you help me?"

He sighed, pressing his lips together.

"I really don't want to get involved with the curses anymore. It was hell, but Samantha is my friend and my conscience will probably devour me if I let her die in there."

"Then we should hurry! What should I do?"

"We have to know every piece of her curse so; we'll know how to summon her back. There's no room for errors here. If we fail, we might end up trapping her soul in the other realm."

Kathleen tapped her chin in frustration. She had too much information for the day. She felt her brain is shutting down for good.

"We should go to her house then. She must have hidden something or everything in there."

Takumi agreed. Kathleen excused herself to check the crews in the kitchen to make sure everything is under control before she leaves.

"How about the Ethiopian dark roast?" She asked.

"We still have ten more boxes, ma'am." Jade, one of their baristas, answered.

"So, everything's cool now? Just drop me a message if you still need anything, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"I'll be going then."

The staffs waved her goodbye and just when she's was about to go back to where Takumi is, she came face to face with Scott near the cashier.

Kathleen wasn't able to react right away. She felt like her lungs rose up to her throat and she just wanna strangle him to death but tried her best to regain composure.

"A-and you really have the guts to show up after what you have done, ah?"

Scott looked rather frustrated, depressed or ashamed.

"I-I just wanna talk to S-Samantha if—"

"Talk to her?!" Kathleen scoffed in disbelief. "She's no longer here and neither be your business so, please! Get the hell out of here."

His eyes wobbled and pulled his lower lip. He calmed down, enough for him to think of what he's gonna say next.

"I-I just need to talk to her."

'Will you please just go back to where you came from and rot in hell?!" Kathleen low-key yelled to avoid making a scene.

She was about to walk pass by him when he blocked the way.

"No! I need to know where she is!" He insisted.

"Back off or help me God!" She threatened through grinded teeth but he doesn't seem to falter.

"I-I know you're already aware I did something unforgivable but please tell me where she is! I badly need to see her one more time before—before I... get married."

Scott looked down and pulled Kathleen outside the shop and all the way to the parking lot. They stopped near his car that's when he finally broke the silence.

She only watched him brushing his hair with his fingers in frustration, waiting for his "acceptable" explanation to at least convince even a single nerve in her body.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***