1958
Plague
Three years, two months and four days before he used the dreaded curse on his town, Plague, as the townspeople called him, was digging. That was his job, the only thing he knew how to do, the only thing the Uppers had deemed him fit enough to do. He never questioned them, he quietly dug until he could no more. And they rewarded him by not punishing him. It was a fair unspoken deal for them. One he could not afford or imagine breaking.
It was then that the book first called to him. It called and he froze. It called and he listened. He kept digging, and now, searching. And when he found it, his life changed.
The book called and he understood.
...
2012
Arul
Curse your mind and I will give you freedom
Curse your body and I will give you power
Curse your soul and I will give you immortality
Arul focused and re-read the three sentences hand- written in smudgy black ink. They stood in contrast to the dull red and clean symbols they seem to be interpreting. He gave up on understanding the meaning and looked below to the next translation.
Core eye root, Rabbit's blood, squirrel's hair(night) ->Bleed, Take in Smoke
On the bottom of the page was a small scribble: First spell
Arul was about to turn the page when Abhimanyu interrupted, "Arul, where are you?" His voice floated from somewhere seemingly far away.
Arul closed the book abruptly as if he was looking at something he wasn't supposed to, and dumped the book back on the shelf. He hurried towards the call of his brother without looking back.
He met Abhimanyu when he was rushing down the stairs. "I’m right here." Arul panted.
"Were you upstairs?" Abhimanyu asked curiously. "What's there?"
"You will never believe it... More books!! Maybe cause, you know, we are in a library," remarked Arul sarcastically.
"I know that dork, I meant, what kind?" Abhimanyu sighed.
Arul paused for a moment before replying. "Old. I think it's a storage for ruined books."
Abhimanyu nodded and strolled along the direction of exit. "Did you complete your homework? "
"Almost. I just have to get a few books issued. Aren't you gonna borrow any from the library? "
"Nothing worth reading in this dump. The fictional section is filled with stories written in regional languages. I can't understand those." Abhimanyu shrugged.
After a painstakingly long duration of getting the books issued by the old librarian, the brothers went home.
YOU ARE READING
Spells
HorrorSoon after the transfer of Inspector Vijay to Kuldhara, a woman is found murdered in the seemingly peaceful town. Only Arul, his youngest son, figures out the terrifying secrets of Kuldhara. With an ancient book of witchcraft by his side, he sets of...
