Thursday, June 24, 2021

The Cursed Blessing: Chapter 6

The Cursed Blessing

Chapter 6

Before you start reading, you should know that Sirena here never really watched Wonder Woman before, and got the wrong impression of her. So everything that is written here, about anyone, is completely, definitely, a joke. I would NEVER insult Wonder Woman!

Chris finally gave up trying to escape by shaking the bars of his cell while shouting at the top of his lungs, and the cube building immediately became quieter. He sat down on a metal 2D bench in his cell and used a more reasonable way of trying to escape, he started thinking. He definitely didn't trust that sneaky Doctor Sharp, especially now that Sirena was alone with him. He must have ordered all the policeman to leave them alone for a reason right? 'But what is that reason?' he wondered.

Meanwhile, Sirena was also using her brains. Doctor Sharp had left her alone and went to talk on his phone outside. ' What is he doing here? He is not a guardian, so is he the bad guy then? I don't think tying me to a 2D chair is called welcoming someone, right? ' she wondered. But she didn't ponder for long. 'After all, I'm not Wonder Woman, who keeps wondering what happened. I'm more of the action girl. Like Action Girl. Is there such a thing?' But before she could find out, Doctor Sharp came back in, smiling sweetly.

Now, I am going to divert from the story a bit. When a mean person smiles sweetly, their face almost always looks weirdly awkward. The same is said for Doctor Sharp right now, smiling what he thinks is sweet. For example,

Maleficent smiling

Maleficent's daughter smiling

Get it?

Fortunately, Sirena didn't need to know exactly how bad Doctor Sharp's impression of sweet was, because he got another call as soon as he opened his mouth. When he stepped out, Sirena noticed something. Two somethings, in fact. The key to Chris's cell was in his pocket! And...after ages of trying to untie the knot on her hands, the stubborn knot finally gave way. As it slipped off, Sirena realized she was free!

Not noticing the rope had fell, Doctor Sharp came in, still looking at his phone. Sirena took this as an opportunity to escape. She quietly got up from the uncomfortable chair that looked like it might shrivel into dust any moment, and crept behind Doctor Sharp. Chris spotted her, and widened his eyes. Sirena pointed to the keys, then to Chris, then to the outside. Chris got the message. All in one swift motion, she kicked Doctor Sharp and punched him in the gut. Doctor Sharp dropped down with pain, and Sirena snatched the keys and threw it to her friend. Chris caught it and started unlocking the cell.

Sirena punched and kicked Doctor Sharp again, this time in the neck. He fainted. By that time, Chris had already gotten out, and was calling to her, " Sirena! Let's go!"

Sirena took a step forward, then stopped. She bent down, grabbed Doctor Sharp's phone, and ran out without any other hesitations. Chris and Sirena didn't stop running until they were far, far away from that weird place.

Chris laughed, shocked. " Wow! I never knew you could do that!

" Just because you didn't know it, doesn't mean I couldn't do it." she answered grinning. "Where's the map?" she asked.

" Here." Chris handed it to her.

" Onward, march!" They followed the map until sunset. laughing, talking, and taking in the sights around them. They found a river, and decided to pitch a tent for the night. They watched the sun set, went to bed at 9.00, having nothing else to do, and they were both tired.

Sirena and Chris finish setting up the campsite

The next day, Sirena woke up to the sound of water splashing. She got up to investigate. She found

Chris swimming in the river. She blinked. " Hey! What are you doing?" she asked him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he replied. Sirena gave him a look.

" I'm washing myself." he answered.

"You're bathing?" Sirena shouted at him. Chris grinned. " I'm dressed, ok." he defended himself. Sirena sighed. " I wondered when you would wake up. You didn't, so I made lots of noise until you did." he continued.

"Ok, quick. I want to get going." she said, before he said anything else. Chris saluted her as a sign of agreement, and came out of the river. Sirena went back to the tent and started getting something for breakfast. She took out some eggs, a pan, and took some of the logs that Chris had collected the night before and lighted a fire. Then she cracked the eggs, and put some butter on the bread. She handed Chris an egg sandwich as he came out of the tent with his towel over his shoulder, and wearing clean, dry clothes. Sirena washed up, and changed into some suitable clothes after eating.

While waiting, Chris packed up the tent and their stuff. When Sirena came back, they were all ready to go. They followed the map, which finally led them to a sensible place. Not really. After hours of walking and eating lunch, they reached a rocky area, that looked steep to climb. They had no choice though, so they scavenged around for some sturdy sticks, and used it to climb up, for that was where the map was leading them.

After two tiring hours, they finally reached the top. This time though, neither of them had the energy to talk to each other, only smiling at the scenery below them. They didn't have much time to celebrate their great climb though, for the map started shaking in Chris's hands. One of the black hearts started thumping wildly. " We must be there! It must be somewhere here." she exclaimed, looking around.

Chris looked around them. He just saw rocks, rocks and more rocks. He took one step in front, not looking where he was going, and fell through! It was a hole! Chris shouted for Sirena." Sirena! Come here! But watch out, there's a hole!" he warned.

Sirena skidded to a stop when she heard the last part. She peered down. "Are you hurt?" she asked. Chris said he wasn't, and not to worry. He looked at the map.

" I think the heart must be here. Cause I never moved my feet. " he said, looking up at Sirena to see what she thought. Sirena agreed.

" I'm coming down!" she called before sliding down. She brushed herself to remove the sand, and looked around her for any signs of danger. Then she saw it. She found herself staring into a pitch black tunnel. Something red was glowing brightly. She was too shocked for words, as she was afraid of the dark. She pulled Chris's shirt. When he didn't reply, she started shaking him.

Finally, he turned to her. "What is it?" he asked.

"Look.." Sirena pointed to the tunnel.

" Look..at what exactly?" he questioned.

Sirena was dumbfounded. "The tunnel! The pitch black tunnel!" she exclaimed.

"I can't see anything, and I'm not joking. I swear!" At this point, Sirena decided to not tell him about the red thing and freak him out even more.

" What do you see then?" she asked him.

"Umm..a wall? Full of sand and rocks?" came Chris's reply. Sirena decided the only way to make him believe her, was pull him through it. She grabbed him and pulled him into the tunnel that was only visible to her eyes.

Chris closed his eyes and shouted "AAAHHHH!" as they both tumbled into an abyss, going down, down, down....

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

The Cursed Blessing: Chapter 5

The Cursed Blessing

Chapter 5

" How do you know if this, this guardians, are even real?" asked Sirena as he closed the door.

" Well Sirena, your mother did disappear without a trace, so, what they said has a chance to be true." he said grinning.

"But, but, why me?" Sirena moaned. Chris became serious again. He held her shoulders and steered her to the door.

" Sirena, I believe in you, and I have faith that all this will end. But it can only end if we try to fix it. I promise I will help you too." he tried to convince her.

"Alright." Sirena sighed and went out of the room.

" Will you help us when we save the world from the zombie apocalypse?" Chris asked the guardians.

"Yes, of course." answered Jerold, immediately, not really hearing what Chris said.

" But there isn't a zombie apocalypse here is there? " added Sally drily. Sirena smiled as Jerold and Chris looked down at their feet awkwardly.

" I'll open the portal tomorrow. Now you should get rest, and the supplies. " Sally continued.

The next day, after gathering the necessary supplies, Chris and Sirena met the guardians in the deserted hall. Since Lord James and Lady Ella were away, the servants were taking a break.

"OK, let's go. Where to first? " asked Chris.

" The desert first, as you are not dressed in warm clothes. Sirena wore a short sleeved shirt, with her black boots. Chris wore a shirt and his sneakers. Both of them wore jeans.

" Stand back," warned Jerold as Sally took out her wand. She waved it in the air, and said a few words under her breath. A portal opened up, leading to the desert. Chris was amazed.

" Before you go, here are some things to guide you in your journey. We won't always be there, you know, " Sally said as she handed Chris a map and Sirena two vials of liquid. " This map will lead you to the necklace parts. Just follow the map until you reach the blackheart sign there." she pointed to a black heart on the map.

" The blue vial is your potions. Drink them when you are hurt and need energy. The green vial is for Sirena ONLY " she emphasized. "Give it to her when she is suffering. "she told Chris. " And lastly, this chain is the third part of the necklace. When you find the first part, put it on the chain. It will stop it from working evil." she added.

" Go on. Be careful. Take care of each other. " said Jerold. " And here's our last words of wisdom, NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS, remember that. I hope you make it back in one piece. Peace. " said Jerold as the guardians faded away with a golden flash.

Sirena and Chris looked at each other. They took a deep breath and stepped into the Desert of Illusion. The portal disappeared behind them. They didn't know it yet, but they would be tested, in terms of friendship, bravery and courage.

Sirena and Chris

The map

The blue vial

The green vial

The chain

I haven't done this in a long time...I can do it. I can do it.
( Sally opening the portal)

Sirena carefully put the vials in her backpack, along with the chain. Chris looked at the map, and started ahead while Sirena followed from behind, taking in the dry surroundings. ' Luckily, we have enough food and water to last us some days,' she thought.

After a few hours of walking and seeing sand, sand, sand and more more more sand, Sirena grew tired. Not to mention hungry and thirsty. " Chris, can we please rest?" Chris agreed, and they flopped down on the sand. They ate sandwiches that Sirena had packed, and drank lots of water. They ate in silence.

"Click. CLICK. ClIcK." Suddenly a mechanical sound was heard. Finishing the last of his sandwich, Chris brushed off the crumbs from his jeans and stood up, alarmed. He looked around for the source of the sound. Sirena spotted something and was shocked. She called him.

"Chris. Look. At. That." she pointed to some bricks being stacked over each other. Sirena and Chris looked on, shocked. Seconds later, it formed a building. A sign hung from the door, saying,

NIWIS

The dry and deserted scenery around them changed rapidly. Around them, many red brick houses appeared, with people jogging, walking, cycling and playing. It all looked similar except for the tall building. It was like a children's puzzle, pick the odd one out.

But as Sirena looked carefully, she spotted a bizarre occurrence. Everyone looked like paper dolls. It looked like they stepped into a 2D drawing!

And when they talked, speaking bubbles popped out of their mouth. The same was said for their thoughts. THEY LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE IN A COMIC BOOK!

While Sirena gaped at this, Chris was frowning at the NIWIS sign. He thought back to what the guardians had said. " Nothing is what it seems" echoed in his head. Suddenly, it all clicked together.

" I've got it! NIWIS stands for Nothing Is What It Seems!" he exclaimed.

Before Sirena could answer, a 2D policeman wearing a police uniform and had slicked hair came to her and asked, " Hey you! Why aren't you like us?"

Again, Sirena didn't even answer before he continued on, " Come with me!" He slapped handcuffs on her hands, and pulled her away. Sirena yelled, and Chris turned. Sirena fell on the road and begged the policeman to let her go. She called Chris, but he just stood blinking.

Chris finally got back his senses, and started running after her. They reached a black cube building.

Dreary 2D faces poked out of bars watched them enter. Chris rushed in to find Sirena seated on a 2D chair, waiting fearfully for someone. Sirena started to say something, then stopped, and pointed behind him.

Chris slowly turned behind, and found himself face-to-face with a not 2D Doctor Sharp. Doctor Sharp with his mean face, the one who did nothing to help Sirena earlier, the one who hated Sirena, was here. How did he follow them here? Nobody had the time to think about it though, he quickly seized Chris by his elbows and forced him into a prison cell.

Sunday, June 6, 2021

The Cursed Blessing : Chapter 4

The Cursed Blessing

Chapter 4

" It all started a long time ago, when your great-grandfather, Nonno, met your great-grandmother, Nonna." began Sally. " They met under very difficult circumstances. During that time, their country was at war. A very devastating one, at that. Crops were dry, animals were dying, people were fleeing for their lives. " " Your great-grandparents, got married during that time, that place, and then ran away to this country, where all was at peace. Then your grandparents were born and so on." Sally said.

Now Jerold took up the story." Due to their poor backgrounds, they never thought twice when they were given a money-making deal. The deal was, that if they accepted a necklace, they would be given a small fortune." " You and I know that this would be a bad idea, and we would not accept the deal. But of course, your great-grandparents didn't. S.."

" So they accepted it? " asked Chris, shocked.

" Unfortunately, they did, Chris. " Sally continued. " Now, when they agreed, what they never knew was that this necklace was cursed. It was a black, evil, heart pendant that's separated into two parts. We tried to reduce the evil and stop it from working, and connected the two parts together. But, when it broke, the dark monster within it was released once again. " Sally said.

" Ever since then, all the girls of this family have been suffering. They see strange things, like you did Sirena. It was not ordinary, that light you saw. It was the root of all evil calling you. And earlier, if Chris hadn't woke you, you might have been gone. Done, gone, vanished off the face of Earth without a trace." now Sally was concernedly looking at Sirena.

The few seconds of silence after Sally said that was broken when Chris asked a very important question. " In that case, why doesn't Dina have anything? Sirena doesn't even live here! " he exclaimed.

" Well, only the girls with pure spirits, like you, me, Jerold and Sirena. Sirena is vital. She is the last pure spirited girl in this family." added Sally.

Sirena nodded, and Jerold sighed. He was tired of being tired of explaining this to every generations' girls.

" Is there any way that this curse or whatever can be stopped forever?" asked Sirena.

" Yes, there is. Many before you have tried, and failed to return. They all got taken over by the evil." Sally said sadly.

"How to stop it then?" asked Chris.

"When one connects the two hearts together again as one heart. But the person who does it must be a pure spirit girl who is suffering, and is stronger than the evilness itself." Sally added.

"But finding the two parts of the hearts itself is a challenge. One lies at the desert, and one in the cold north. Both very difficult to find." said Jerold, now with a serious look.

"O..K..Chris, can I speak to you for a moment?" asked Sirena.

"Sure." Sirena literally dragged Chris into his bedroom.

Pure spirit

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

The Cursed Blessing : Chapter 3

The Cursed Blessing

Chapter 3

The next day, Sirena was once again woken up by Arianna, who handed a white dress, but Sirena suggested something more easier to walk in. So Arianna chose a new outfit, a black top and jeans. After getting showered, she swept her hair into a ponytail and went down to the dining hall to find a plate of pancakes awaiting her. She was informed that Chris was eating in his room, Dina was studying, and Lord James and Lady Ella had left to an emergency trip to Dubai. Sirena decided to find Dina first, then go to Chris' room.

She ate hungrily, the pancakes were extremely delicious. She then set out to find Dina's studying room in the mansion. After half and hour of going around in circles, she found herself in front of the studying room's door.

" Hi Sirena, what's up? " Dina asked as her breathless cousin entered her room and interrupted her studying.

" What's up? " exclaimed Sirena. " Do you know how hard it is to find you in here? " she burst out. Before Dina could apologize, Sirena continued talking. " Anyways, I wanted to ask, are you busy? "

" Uh, yes, I have exams next week. " replied Dina sadly.

" Oh, that's fine.. Great actually. " " Bye! " called Sirena before going out the door.

Dina frowned. Sirena looked too happy to find her busy. Dina couldn't worry about that anyways. She drank a glass of water and plunged headfirst into the interesting world of science.

' Next stop, Chris' room.' thought Sirena as she came out.

" Knock knock!" " Yes? Its not locked!" called Chris as Sirena stepped inside.

She looked around the room. It was a mess. Things were scattered all around the room. Sirena picked up a stack of papers that a mini-printer spat out and made her way to Chris, who was typing furiously on his laptop.

"Chris? Umm, what is going on here? " she questioned curiously.

" Oh its you, I thought it was Lord James, or Lady Ella or Di...."

" My uncle and aunt are overseas and Dina is studying. So I thought we could explore the gardens? " Sirena interrupted him.

" Oh. Well, I was doing some research about that light you saw. Turns out, only a handful of people have seen it, but nobody knows what it is." he concluded.

"O...K..so, are you ready?" she asked.

"Yeah, just let me...oh thanks. That was my homework," he added as Sirena handed him the papers earlier.

" Your homework? Why wasn't it done earlier?" she frowned. Her homework was always on time, and she had TOLD Chris to finish his before they came here.

"Umm, I kinda forgot.." he said hesitantly.

Sirena sighed. " Whatever. Hurry up." and she went out of the room.

While waiting, Sirena looked out on the gardens, trying to find something unusual. Noting though, the flowers were just blooming, the gardener gardening, the sun blazing, all as usual. She leaned against the windowsill and let the breeze push her hair everywhere. Soon, something came over her, and she just left the mansion. Her heart hammered wildly like before.

" Sirena? Where are yo.." Chris started calling her, but stopped when he saw Sirena. " OK. I'm done. Let's go! " "Sirena? " he cautiously questioned. Chris tapped her shoulder. " Sirena? "he called her again. Chris gasped as he felt Sirena go limp in his arms. " SIRENA!" he shouted, his eyes wide with horror.

He took some water from his backpack and sprinkled a few drops on her face. After a few seconds ticked by....

" AAHH!" Sirena shouted, gasping for air.

" Sirena! What happened to you?" asked Chris, relieved. " Oh, my head" she moaned. Chis handed her some water. Once she got a hold on herself, she explained what had happened.

"So, you didn't feel anything at all, until I um, woke you? " Chris reconfirmed.

" Yes. What is happening to me?" she said, shaking with worry and fear.

" The curse of the family is what's happening to you," came a man's voice from behind. " Not a curse, a blessing if it can be reversed." corrected a lady's voice. Sirena and Chris were startled, and looked around, trying to find the source of the voices.

A man accompanied by a beautiful lady emerged from the shadows behind them.

"Well, whatever it is, I don't like it," the old man whined.

" Come on now Jerold, its our job to help them and whining won't help. " the lady scolded the man.

Sirena took a good look at the both of them. The lady wore a red dress. Her face looked determined and fierce, and in her right hand, she held a brown wand, made of ' unicorn hair? How do I even know that? And who they?" thought Sirena mid-way.

As if reading her thoughts, the lady's fierce features relaxed, she put away her wand and said, " Let me introduce myself. I'm Sally and this is Jerold. We are the guardians of this family. Your family. " she pointed at Sirena.

" Guardians of my family? Does every family have a guardian then? " she questioned the young lady in front of her.

" Oh yes. But let's worry about that later shall we? " she trailed off. " Jerold?" she called.

" Al'right, al'right. I'm Jerold'. I'm her helper. " he said helper like it was an insult.

" And what do helpers do? " asked Chris, who had now recovered from his surprise.

" They help the guardians." cut in Sally.

Now, Sirena tore her gaze off Sally to look at Jerold. He was a man around 40 years old, had a kind face, wore a pair of grey shoelace sneakers, with a dark blue shirt and black pants.

" Now, let us explain..." began Sally, her face back to being fierce.