The Shadow Of Billy's Curse

 

"A terrifying, semi-transparent ghost with a bald patch and glowing red eyes lunges toward a pile of spilled salt on a dark kitchen floor. In the background, a beautiful young woman with a horrified expression cowers behind a wooden kitchen table. The scene is dimly lit in eerie blue tones, capturing the moment the supernatural shadow is repelled by the salt."

The Dare and the Curse

They were three friends in the room playing a game. It was a regular game that everyone plays. There is Ana: beautiful and tall with dimples that would make the saddest man smile. She had that attitude that makes people want to be her friend always.

There is Billy. He is not handsome, but he has a good heart. He had crooked teeth and two missing from the front; at twenty, he had a bald patch on his head.

And lastly, there is Brian: handsome, with the perfect smile. He is known as "Mr. Right" and the ladies love him. He had blue eyes, a strong chin, and a bit of muscle that says he works hard a lot—unlike Billy, with his bloated stomach that screams overeating and being lazy for exercise.

They were playing spin the bottle, and the stake is a dare: who will kiss Ana. Ana flipped the bottle and it landed facing Billy, who grinned and clapped his hands in delight. "This is gonna be worth it," he said as he prepared himself.

Brian wasn't happy. He frowned when it wasn't him the bottle pointed to. He had been planning to kiss Ana for the very first time; he looked at her lips and swore they were fuller than when he first saw them.

Ana was disgusted. She never expected it to be Billy. She couldn’t go ahead with the dare and, as Billy was clapping and preparing to kiss her, she slapped a hand over her mouth, preventing him from getting his end of the deal.

"What is wrong?" he asked, his voice coming out like it was hissing from the missing teeth.

"Have you looked at a mirror?" she asked him.

"Sure," he said, still grinning.

"If you were asked to kiss yourself, would you do it?"

"Why would I do that?"

"And you want me to do that?"

"It was a dare," he protested.

"Well, I’m not up to the dare, and I would rather kiss a ghost than you."

That hit Billy hard. He stared at her with wide eyes and turned to Brian, who raised his hands up and said, "Don't look at me. I’m not responsible for your problem."

Billy got up and, with tears in his eyes, he cursed her. "For preferring a ghost over me, may your wishes come true and may you not find happiness until you give me what you owe me." And with that, he stormed out of the room.

"That was intense," Brian said with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah."

"So, do you believe his curse?"

She laughed. "Don't reason with him. He is just mad I never agreed. Come to think of it, I was just helping him by inviting him over; no one wants to play with him."

The Advice

Ana was glad she had said no to Billy. She had even declined Brian when he had offered to take Billy's place. She went home that night and was just having a good time on the sidewalk when an old woman stopped her.

"You need to be careful," the woman said. "There is a shadow following you."

"Yeah, it is called a street lamp."

"This is no joking matter. You made a wish, and at that time, the clock favored the hour of your wishes."

"What are you talking about?" Ana asked.

"For you to be safe, you must go back to the one you declined and unsaid the wishes you made, and ask for him to unsaid the curse he made, too."

"Yeah, if you say so. Goodnight and have a lovely sleep, old woman."

"Take my card. When the time comes, remember me and seek me out." The woman handed her a card that contained her contact information.

Ana was humming a tune as she walked away, wondering what is really wrong with people.

The Shadow Following

As she walked, she noticed a dark shape that shifted as a car's light passed by. She noticed it at the peripheral of her eye and she turned, but only to see it was nothing. "I must be imagining things," she said as she kept walking. She soon noticed the shadow again, and this time she saw a clawed hand, and it was beckoning her. She stopped in her tracks and when she looked again, it was gone. She hurried home knowing something was not right.

Billy was angry as he went home. He thought he had finally made some friends, but he now knew they were just having fun with him. He regretted the curse, but it was too late and there was nothing he could do about it. It had been said out of anger. His grandmother had told him that they had the power of the word in their family, and that anytime they are angry and say a word of power, it would come to pass. He never took that seriously, and he hoped it was just all talk from his grandmother hoping to make them mind their words.

Brian whistled as he walked home. It hadn't been the kind of fun he was expecting. He felt bad about Billy, but there was nothing he could do; after all, the kiss wasn't his to be given. He hoped that curse wasn't effective. Unlike Ana, he believes in the supernatural and he knew a word spoken at a particular time would come true; he had seen it happen and he didn't want to be a part of it.

Ana hurried home and slammed the door shut. Her chest was heaving as she leaned on the door. She moved to the kitchen to have a glass of water, and as she raised the glass to her lips, she saw the water hiss. She dropped the glass, backing away. Then she looked on as a shadow materialized out of the darkened corner of her room, and it had the exact look of Billy—only this time it had red glowing eyes.

"I'm the ghost you wished to kiss," it said. "You summoned me."

"I never summoned you," she said as her voice cracked.

"Oh, but you did. You wished to kiss a ghost over Billy, so I chose his form."

"Please, it was just a game," she said.

"Games are part reality, and sometimes we wish to win and then we win, right?"

"I’m sorry, please leave me alone."

But the shadow wouldn’t listen. It was creeping slowly toward her, and as she backed away, she hit the table counter in the center of the kitchen. There was no other way to escape. As she moved her hand frantically about, she hit the salt container and it spilled its contents right in front of the shadow. It hissed a very terrifying sound that blew an unnatural wind as it vanished.

The Last Lifeline

After the shadow vanished, Ana brought out the card given to her by the old woman and called the number. After the second ring, it was answered. "Yeah?"

"My name is Ana. I was given this card today by a woman who warned me of shadows."

"Yes, that is me. What can I do for you?"

"I saw the shadow in my house; it demanded from me."

"What do you want?" the woman asked.

"I want it to stop."

"I can't stop it. I can only prevent it. You can only stop it through the one who made the curse."

"So how do I prevent it for now?"

"Stand at the center of your room and then cut a lock of your hair. Burn it in a jar of salt and sprinkle the ashes at the four corners of your house at 2 AM."

"Thank you."

"Sure."

Ana watched the time, and it was just about past 12. She sat there with a bowl of salt waiting for the time; she just couldn't take a chance. She called Brian, and he answered after the third ring. "This is Brian."

"Brian, I’m in trouble," Ana said as soon as he answered.

"What sort of trouble?"

"I had a supernatural encounter just now—a ghost who demanded the kiss I wished about as we played that damn stupid game."

"Yeah, see, please... you can keep me out of this mess. Why not call Billy and solve your problem with him?"

"But..." He cut her off.

"Don't 'but' me. Just leave me out of it." And he hung up.

Ana was stunned. She just sat there with the phone still at her ear.

Billy explained what he had done to his grandmother, and she exclaimed in a terrifying voice, "You shouldn't have done that, Billy! You just used your last lifeline."

"I don't understand," he said. "I just said stuff out of anger."

"Yeah, there are rules. You have to be on bare feet and your two palms touching the ground before you can place a word of power."

"Why?"

"Oh, my Billy, you have ruined everything."

"How? It was just words."

"No, it wasn't just words. It has power, and there is always a price to pay."

"What price?"

"I don't know. Everyone has it different, and you placing the curse without the proper way is a double-edged sword with two sharp points."

At this, he became afraid. "What do you mean?"

"You weren't on bare feet and your palms wasn't touching the ground. So, what if it also backfires to you?"

He sat there with his heart beating. He thought he was cursing someone, not knowing if it would backfire to him too. "Oh, what have I done?"

At 2 AM, Ana did as she was told. She watched as the wind grew strong and her room became a place of fog and cold. She watched as the shadow stood at the border of where she had sprinkled the ashes, snarling and howling, with the glow from the eyes getting fiercer. She tried to avert her eyes but it was no use.

"You will pay," the shadow said as it vanished, leaving a sour smell of death and soil.

She called Billy at that time. "Who is this?"

"Billy, it is me, Ana. Don't you have my number? I’m sorry, and I need you to take back your curse. I’m facing a nightmare about it."

"I’m sorry, this is Billy’s grandmother," the voice said with a sob.

"What is the matter?" Ana said, fearing the worst.

"Billy has been struck dumb by the shadow of the curse he invoked. He was too impulsive and did it the wrong way."

"What!" Ana exclaimed, breathing hard. "You mean he can't speak again?"

"Yes," she said, crying. "Oh, my Billy," his grandmother said.

"So how do I break the curse?" Ana asked.

"It is only Billy’s voice that can break it. I’m sorry. You have to face your own shadow just as he is facing his now."

Ana dropped the phone and screamed into the night. This is one of the things that unexpectedly turned into a nightmare. From just a wish, she started crying, knowing she can't leave her house or the shadow would take her if she stepped out of the ashes she had sprinkled at the four corners of her house.

Sometimes the words we say always come with power, and we need to be careful—or we, too, will face the shadow.

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