9
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A few days later…
Belinda always felt safe living in her own apartment building since tenants were right next door on both sides of her unit. She’d made its upkeep a priority since, from her experience, an attractive building often tended to attract tenants capable of paying their rent. She preferred those with steady, good paying jobs who were not about to give excuses month after month as to why they couldn’t find their rent money. She was not in the charity business and was always ready to print out an eviction notice if things got out of hand.
After eating the Chinese takeout she’d brought home that night, she had a warm shower and got ready for bed. Belinda never wore clothing to bed, insisting she always got a good night’s sleep whenever she lay down in nothing more than her birthday suit. That night was no different, except for the sensation of something crawling about her skin a few hours after she’d entered dreamland. At first, subconsciously, she attributed the feeling to the dream, but when she literally felt something at the tip of her nose, she brushed it off quickly and sat up in bed.
“What the hell?” she murmured, sleepily, while reaching over and switching on the lamp.
What she found in bed with her caused her to scream at the top of her lungs. Hundreds of maggots and other insects surrounded her and were crawling all over her. She jumped up out of bed and tried to get them all off as some were even in her hair. The bed was infested with creatures and more were on the floor.
Belinda soon heard knocking at the front door; someone was calling out to her. Still brushing off everything she could, she threw on her robe and hurried to the door. Chavez, her long-term tenant, stood on the other side.
“I heard you scream. Are you all right?” he asked.
“No, I’m not!” she exclaimed. “Creepy, crawly creatures are all over my bedroom!”
He rushed in behind her and was startled by what he witnessed when she flipped on the main light switch in her room. “What in the world…” he uttered.
Insects had swarmed Belinda’s bed to the point that only traces of the white sheet below them were visible.
“We have to wrap them up in the sheet and get it out,” he told her.
“Okay. Whatever you need to do…”
Chavez released each end of the sheet from the mattress and pulled the sheet together, tying the top of it. He then took it outside and dropped it into the garbage bin. Afterwards, he got a broom and swept the remaining creatures into the dustpan and deposited each heap into a large trash bag that Belinda reluctantly held for him. After the room was clear of them, he lit a match in the garbage bin alighting both the sheet and trash bag he’d put inside of it.
Relieved that the creatures were gone, Belinda was traumatized by what she’d endured and refused to sleep inside of that bedroom. She took another shower—actually threw on pajamas—then escaped to the guest room where she spent the majority of the night wondering how all those insects had suddenly appeared in her bed in the middle of the night.
* * * *
John called an emergency family meeting on Monday of the following week and asked that Belinda and Toby meet him at his house at five o’clock that evening. Since Pam had left, he’d not heard a single word from her, but expected he’d be served with divorce papers sooner or later. John intended to fight, as there was no way he was going to allow her to take everything from him he’d worked so hard for. However, he had a new challenge on his hand that he would share with his siblings that evening.
“What’s this meeting about?” Jonie asked Toby after he’d gotten the call from his brother.
“I have no idea. He didn’t say,” Toby replied.
She sucked her teeth. “They must think you have time to waste.”
“Maybe it won’t be a complete waste of time.” He kissed her neck, then gently rubbed her stomach. “I can’t believe I’m almost a father.”
“Almost?” Jonie grimaced. “This baby is alive and well, so officially that makes you a father already.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
She put her arms around his neck. “I’m so proud of you, Toby. You’ve been working so hard and getting those doghouses made and looking so beautiful. Can you believe we’ve actually sold more than a dozen of them?”
He grinned. “Good extra change for our baby.”
“Yes. I’m sure your days at the company will pick up soon too,” she said.
“Yeah. The boss is looking out for me, so I’m confident about it.”
Matt had kept his word and purchased the first doghouse Toby had built. His wife loved it and told all her friends who had pets where she got it from and Toby’s subsequent orders were basically via word of mouth.
Toby shared Jonie’s optimism that things would get better soon, but for now, he wondered what was so urgent about the meeting John called. Was it something to do with Rachelle still being in the psychiatric hospital?
10
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“Thanks for coming, bro,” John said at the door. “Belinda’s right over there, but we can all talk in the sitting room.”
“Okay,” Toby followed him.
“Belinda…” he hailed his sister, who’d made herself comfortable at the bar.
“Toby… good to see you again,” she replied, before taking another sip of her Chardonnay.
“I think we’d better get a move on,” John told her. “Meet us in the sitting room, okay?”
“Gotcha!” she announced, rolling her eyes.
The sitting room at John’s house had thick, red curtains adorning the tan-colored wall. Two bright red couches positioned one opposite the other, as well as an oversized armchair set a few feet between them stood atop a large Persian area rug. Above, in the middle of the room, hung a golden chandelier that looked like it belonged inside of a palace. Aside from the master bedroom, that was John’s favorite room in the entire house. He used it occasionally as a quiet retreat and very seldom allowed guests in there.
John sat in the armchair and Toby on the couch. Belinda eventually sauntered in and sat next to Toby.
“It’s a pity Rachelle couldn’t be here with us right now,” John said.
“Has anyone heard how she’s doing lately?” Toby asked.
“According to her doctor, she’s still in a slightly hallucinatory state,” Belinda informed him. “She still seems to hear Dad’s voice. I don’t know what to say…”
“Wow.” Toby shook his head.
“She told me a couple of days before she got committed that she thinks Dad’s not at peace and maybe we needed to get that headstone,” Belinda continued.
“Nonsense! Rachelle was never too wholesome in the head, if you ask me,” John chimed in.
Belinda sat back and crossed her legs.
“What’s this all about, John?” Toby decided he’d get straight to the point.
John leaned forward slightly. “Well, the point of this meeting is to get to the bottom of some strange things that have been happening to some, if not all of us. Tell me…have you noticed anything odd happening to you, as of late, Toby?”
Toby glanced at Belinda, then focused on his brother again. “Yeah. I’ve been having a lot of weird nightmares.”
“Tell us about them,” John said.
“Well, they seem to have a common theme each time. I find myself in a cemetery and then I’m walking over to a grave and…”
“What?” Belinda was curious.
“I see this hand…reaching up through the ground and…I wake up in a cold sweat. I feel like I’m being tortured at night.”
“That’s not good,” Belinda said, “but you should thank your lucky stars you’re not in my shoes.”
“Why? What happened,” he asked.
“Try finding snakes in your car and maggots, and other creepy, crawly things in your bed at night.”
“What? Someone put snakes in your car?” Toby cringed at the thought of it.
“Yep. And don’t forget the creepy, crawly things in my bed!” she stressed.
“Wow. That’s crazy,” he replied. “Did you see any sign of a break-in?”
“No. Not at all. It’s like those things appeared out of nowhere.”
“And as for me,” John chimed in, “The most important presentation of my life went to utter ruin last week and we might’ve lost a top client because of it. Just this morning, before I called you guys, my boss, Allen Nolan, called and told me they’ve decided to make my position at the company redundant—this was after he’d given me last week off, supposedly to get some rest.”
Belinda shook her head.
“That’s what I got after all those years of making them millions richer. Oh—and did I mention that Pam upped and left me and is filing for divorce?”
“What?” Toby was shocked.
“Yep. Said she’d had enough. Enough of what is still the million dollar question.”
“You should be glad the old bag is gone.” Belinda couldn’t resist.
“That’s one way of looking at it, Belinda, but with that old bag being gone, a good chunk of my money might follow her!”
“Didn’t think of that!” She arched her brows.
“With all these things happening, including Rachelle having just lost her mind, wouldn’t you both agree that something very strange is happening here?” he said.
“I definitely do,” Belinda replied.
“Yeah. Me too,” Toby nodded.
“This guy I play golf with suggested I contact Dr. Mira Cullen. Have any of you heard of her?”
“You mean that psychic who recently got married?” Belinda asked.
“Yeah. I heard she’s really good at getting to the bottom of things,” John replied.
“I don’t think I’ve heard of her,” Toby said.
“You think we’re being haunted, John?” Belinda asked.
“I doubt it, but at the same time, I don’t see how any of us could be so down on our luck and all at the same time.”
“At first when Rachelle was rambling on about seeing and hearing things, I thought it was all nonsense.” Belinda glanced at her brothers. “But now I truly believe we’re cursed. Something’s definitely wrong. One family can’t be this bad off when things were normal before.”
Toby shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Just to let you know,” John started, “I was able to get a hold of this Dr. Cullen who lives right here in Mizpah, and she’s agreed to come by on the weekend to see if there’s anything she can do to help us out. As much as I would normally oppose any talk of ghosts or curses, right now, I’m open to anything. My life is pretty much on the verge of complete ruin.”
Toby felt John’s pain. He’d never seen his brother looking so defeated. “Whatever y’all think is best, I’m all for it,” he indicated.
“Great!” John replied. “I’ve given Dr. Cullen directions to my house. She said she’ll be here at ten o’clock, Saturday morning.”
“Sounds good,” Belinda said. She was looking forward to the visit.
11
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Friday evening…
“Just out of curiosity, do you think you’ll ever stop doing this?” Bobby asked his wife as they sat together on their porch watching the sunset.
“Stop helping people? I doubt it,” Mira replied. “I guess you can look at it this way…if the time comes when I ever stop seeing ghosts and having any clairvoyant ability, that’ll probably mark the end of it. But I like helping people. It’s a good feeling to think you’re making a difference in someone’s life.”
“I didn’t expect any other answer, honey.” He smiled. “Where did you say this guy lives?”
“In Steventon Hills. I’m meeting with the family, actually. John Reed’s the name. He said he and his siblings have lost both parents in a short time span and now some terrible things are happening.”
“Losing both parents is really hard,” Bobby said.
“I just hope I’m able to find the answers because he seems quite desperate.” Mira stated, contemplatively.
Bobby took her hand and gently squeezed it. “I know you’ll get to the bottom of whatever’s going on. You always do.”
She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it.
He looked at her adoringly. “What’s that for?”
“Because I love you.” She smiled.
Despite her gifts, Bobby had no idea that Mira knew more about him than he knew about himself. He would never understand the extent of her love which was tied to and far beyond the silent, invisible clock steadily ticking toward his demise. Though still afar off, Mira knew that every precious moment counted.
* * * *
Saturday morning…
By the time Mira arrived at John Reed’s house, Toby and Belinda were already there waiting with their brother. They were eager to meet this renowned medical doctor and psychic whom many in the community held in high regard.
As they all stood in the living room, John said, “Dr. Cullen, thanks so much for coming by. This is my sister, Belinda, and my brother, Toby.”
“It’s a pleasure meeting you,” Belinda told her.
“Yes, very nice to meet you.” Toby extended his hand.
“The pleasure’s all mine,” Mira said. “I’ll help in any way that I can.”
They sat down and John offered Mira a cup of coffee or tea, which she gratefully declined.
“Where is your other sibling?” Mira asked John, which caught him by surprise, since he’d never mentioned anything to her about Rachelle. In fact, he’d only vaguely told her about some of the things that had recently happened to him.
“Um…she’s not well. She was committed to a psychiatric hospital just recently,” he explained.
“How’s her son coping?” she asked.
“You mean…Steve?” John glanced at Belinda and Toby who were eagerly observing. “I haven’t spoken with him. Have any of you?” he asked his siblings.
“Not for a while,” Belinda said.
“You, Toby?” Mira asked.
“I went to see him about a week ago. He was okay,” he replied.
Mira looked at each of them—a flood of images crowded her mind.
“Do any of you have anything that represents or belongs to your parents and your sister, Rachelle?” she asked.
“Will our parents’ photographs do?” John asked.
“Yes, pictures are fine.”
John immediately got up to retrieve photographs of his parents from the other side of the wall.
“I have a ring that belongs to Rachelle,” Belinda said. “She lets me borrow it sometimes.”
“That would be perfect,” Mira replied.
Belinda slipped the plain silver ring off her finger and handed it to Mira.
Toby wondered why Belinda felt the need to borrow Rachelle’s ring when she was well capable of buying an even better one for herself.
“The snakes…” Mira looked at Belinda intently, “…they were meant to scare you more than anything else.”
“Did John tell you about them?” Belinda asked.
“No. I didn’t,” John said, as he handed the photographs encased in lovely wooden frames to Mira, then he sat down. “Dr. Cullen wasn’t interested in me relaying very much information to her at the time.”
“How did they get in my car? Who put them there? And what about those horrible things I found in my bed?” Belinda thought she’d blurt out everything at the top of her list at once.
“Please give me a moment,” Mira said, as she slid her finger around the ring and across each of the photographs.
The three siblings quietly observed her.
“There’s been talk of a headstone?” Mira asked.
“Yes.” John nodded. “There’s one already at our mother’s grave, but we haven’t yet gotten around to having one erected for our father.”
“I see.”
She sighed heavily. �
�Can I be honest with each of you?” Mira looked at them.
“Yes!” they all answered.
“What I sense here is so extreme that is almost sickens me,” she uttered much to their surprise. “I can’t sense any warmth at all in this family and it’s troubling. No wonder you’re facing so much negativity in your lives.”
“We’re cursed, aren’t we?” Belinda sought confirmation.
Mira shifted a little in her seat. “I’ll reserve that answer for later. If you want to see a turnaround in your luck, as I’d put it,” Mira continued, “I advise you all to do some things that you may or may not want to do.”
“Anything!” John cried. “My life is already a train wreck, so I doubt anything you suggest would make it any worse.”
“Are you two in agreement?” Mira turned to Belinda and Toby.
They both quickly indicated that they were.
“I’ll begin with what you can do, in general, then I’ll speak with each of you individually.”
Mira’s eyes wandered around the living room with all its extravagance; so many heart-wrenching memories were embedded inside those walls.
She then turned to the siblings. “There’s a coldness that I feel just being in the midst of you all—something that I sense has been around for the greater part of your lives and has its roots from the time when you were all children. I ask myself: do they care about each other and the answer that pops up is barely. I implore you to think back to those days when you were very young—under the age of twelve—when you actually felt love in your hearts for one another before the influence of a parent who pitted some of you against the other, had firmly set in. You know what I’m talking about.” She paused. “If you can delve that deeply, you can have that love again. Otherwise, as far as your relationships are concerned, they’ll continue to be frigid and superficial. And I assure you that wherever there is a lack of love, there is an abundance of toxicity. I want you all to remember that. The negativity you have created will follow you and keep you within its grip; that’s why it’s so important to fix this dysfunction the only way that you can.”
Headstone: The Curse Page 6
