“Sure, I can, love. But only one, and I’ll make it on my colleague. Looks like she had a rough night and might need one.
I was taken by surprise when she pointed at me. While the kids looked confused, the mothers start giggling.
“How do you know what sort of night I had?” I asked jokingly.
“It’s written all over your face, sweets. Now come here.”
She motioned me to a small chair in a corner. With so many curious looks pointed at me, I decided it was best to close my eyes. I could feel Laura moving around me. I tried my best not to snicker when she started making some strange noises, but then I heard them; hidden from other’s ears, the echo of some words. Was it Latin? Ancient Greek? Or maybe a dialect lost hundreds of years ago. Bewildered by the peace those unknown words offered me, I opened my eyes. Laura, who looked as if she was dancing around me, gave off a light which environed us both. It pulsed in waves and changing colours, looking like the Aurora Borealis shining in the northern skies.
Was I the only one seeing this?
No.
Judging by the looks of some of the children, they could perceive it as well, even if only a small part of what I could see.
The show ended with ovations; my headache disappeared completely, and after the end of the tour, the group headed towards the gift shop, where Silvia had to take over the kids’ question rush.
“Let’s get a coffee,” she said with an understanding smile.
I followed Laura to the staff kitchenette, where she prepared two cups of coffee, then we retreated to my workshop.
“So, you believe now?” she asked, leaning on the edge of the desk.
“I’m not sure what to believe anymore. What will I find out next? That Hogwarts is a real school?”
“Sadly, no. Such a school would’ve been beneficial. There are a lot of children, who as they grow up, develop all sorts of more or less dangerous talents. Some of them pass through life without even noticing, while others can’t live with them, often ending up in tragedy.”
“What about you? Laura, are you really a . . .?” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence.
“Although I’m not very fond of the word–sounds malicious–yes, I’m a witch.”
“I don’t get it. How it happened?” I asked puzzled.
“In my case, it’s inherited through blood, and I’m quite sure it’s the same for you.”
“Me?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Yup. I can’t tell for sure what you can do, but I know you have a lot of potential. I have an idea,” she said, excited. “Let’s make a test.”
“What test?” I asked cautiously.
“Just wait here for a bit. It’s nothing to be scared of, I promise.”
Laura left the room for a few minutes, then returned holding a painting.
“Well? What do you think?” she placed the painting in front of me.
“Is that Beethoven?” I asked, unsure of where all this was going.
“Give it a second. Just look at it carefully.”
“Why do I have the feeling he’s looking back at me?”
“Wait . . .”
“Did he just wink at me?” I moved slightly back as if he was about to jump out any second.
“Oh, he likes you!” Laura said, thrilled.
“And now he blew me a kiss,” I said a bit creeped out. “What’s wrong with this painting? Where are the batteries?”
“It doesn’t have any, but I’m surprised by his reaction. Usually, he makes scary faces, which is why we had to take him off the walls. Poor Gregor almost had a heart attack.”
I snorted, covering my mouth with one hand.
“It’s not funny,” Laura scolded me.
“Yes, it is. He just stuck his tongue out at you.”
It was hard for me to stop laughing when such a stoic character made all kinds of silly faces at Laura.
“So, what’s his story?” I asked, wiping away a tear from the corner of my eye.
“It’s quite a simple one,” she answered, placing the painting on the side. “He stole the wrong person’s heart, and in fact, it wasn’t even him, but his music.”
“In that painting . . . it’s really his spirit?”
“Not at all. The woman couldn’t retain her burning desire, so she fully transposed it on to this canvas.”
“Desire? Sounds more like an obsession to me.”
“Maybe, but that’s not how it ended up like this” she pointed to the painting. “She, like many others, had no idea what she was capable of, so she kept living her life as normal. The painting, on the other hand, still in her possession, absorbed more and more of her power, and in time, came to life.”
“There must be a lot of such strange cases all over the world.” My eyes widened.
“Oh, you have no idea, but I find something curious. You are the first person who he didn’t try to scare off”.
“Who knows? Maybe I’m his type.” I giggled. “But what about you? Seems to me like you get along just fine.”
“Nah; he tried to scare me plenty of times, but I told him if he did it one more time, I’d drop him accidentally in a fire, and then he stopped.”
“Laura, can I ask you something?” I fidgeted. “But it needs to remain between you and me.”
“Sure, you can, sweets. What’s on your mind?”
“I’ve had these strange dreams lately, with a young woman who keeps saying she waited for me and that she needs my help.”
“And why don’t you help her?”
“I don’t know how.” I squeezed the empty cup in my hands.
“In that case, next time you dream her, ask her to show you. I’m sure she will, but if I were you, I would try to find out as much as possible. Spirits know things far beyond our wildest imagination. Okay, need to go now. The next group will arrive soon.”
“Thank you, Laura. It means a lot to me to be able to talk to someone about all this.” I smiled.
“Anytime,” she smiled back at me and left.
What scared me the most had happened. I believed. Maybe if I would’ve witnessed only Laura’s powers, I would have found an explanation; the light’s angle, or something similar. But, in my pocket, I had the incontestable proof that a world beyond the tips of my fingers existed. A world I was part of but still denied it entirely.
I couldn’t do that anymore.
Chapter 6
The following days passed as peacefully as they could, which turned out to be damn frustrating. Now, when I believed, when I found the letter, when I witnessed Laura’s spells, not to mention that weird Beethoven portrait, I didn’t get any sign from Leah.
Nothing.
I believed, goddamn it.
Perhaps she couldn’t contact me whenever she wanted to, but maybe the other way around was possible as well, yet I had no idea how these things worked. What was I supposed to do? Spiritualism? Pray to the stars? Hmm, Mayan incantations? What?
Still at work, I didn’t want my colleagues to think I was crazy, but perhaps I had to act like one at least partially, so I started shouting as loudly as I could . . . in my mind.
“I believe now! Can you hear me, Leah? Now I believe, so what more do you want from me? Leah!”
I wasn’t waiting for an answer really, but I did feel a bit more relaxed.
“Who are you?”
Was it just me, or did I hear something? I stopped everything I was doing, and closing my eyes, I kept listening, focusing on any sound no matter how small; but the silence extended.
“Can you hear me?”
At the sound of her voice, my eyes flew open, but I couldn’t see my desk anymore. I was somewhere outside, where two nimble hands hung a bunch of freshly washed clothes to dry.
“Yes, I can,” I answered a bit disordered.
“Who are you? I know we’ve met before, but I don’t know who you are.”
“When have we met?” I pried.
“When I was thirteen, on the same day my parents
left me here. I felt I wasn’t alone. I felt you, but I couldn’t say back then for sure.”
“And I thought it was all a dream.”
“Are you my guardian angel?” she asked, curious.
“No, sorry. I’m just a regular human.”
“Then how is it possible for me to talk to you, though you’re not next to me? Am I going mad?”
“No, you’re not, and I can’t explain it, either. It’s just as new for me as it is for you, but what happens now still doesn’t feel real to me.”
“But it is. This is the world I live in. What about you? Where are you from?” her interest spiked.
“Wait. Let’s take things slowly. I am Scarlett, and you must be Leah.”
“Yes, that’s right,” she said, amazed.
“How old are you now?”
“Seventeen.”
“And do you know what year it is?”
“It’s 1835.”
“So, 19th century.” I said more to myself.
“Now tell me about you and your world,” she requested excited.
“My world is in the future, in 2019, and I am twenty-four years old.”
She was so amazed, but I didn’t have time to let her get a grip. I could feel her curiosity growing, but I needed to meet Jubilee.
“Leah, listen! You need to go to Lady Jubilee and tell her about me.”
“But I can’t,” she said, scared. “She’ll think I’ve lost my sanity.”
“She won’t because she knows I’ve been here before. The first time you two met, she somehow could tell I was there as well, and I have reasons to believe she’s expecting me. There must be a motive behind our connection, and I think she can help us find it. It might have something to do with her book.”
“You mean the one about the Gods’ Artefacts?”
“Yes. I need you to take me to her.”
We went straight for her quarters without taking any detours. She didn’t even manage to knock on the door before, from the other side, we heard a voice.
“Come on in, Leah.”
Despite the vast social status difference, her tone was friendly and kind, far from authoritarian.
“How did she know it was you?”
“I don’t know, but she does it every time.”
“I am sorry to bother you, but–” Leah stepped in the room.
“Finally, you’re here,” Jubilee interrupted her.
“Forgive me My Lady, were you waiting for me?”
“Leah, listen to me carefully. I need to talk to your guest, but to do so, you’ll need to give her temporary control over your body.”
“But I don’t know how to do that,” she said fearfully, her eyes widening.
“Just close your eyes, breathe in, and imagine pushing her in front,” Jubilee explained calmly.
Leah did that precisely. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply and pushed me. I felt tingling throughout the body as I gained control, but I was worried. What if I couldn’t change back?
“Leah?”
“I’m here.”
“I've been waiting for you for a while. Please have a seat. Would you like some tea and cookies?”
I sat on a chair in front of her. On the table next to us, was a plate with all sorts of mini-cakes and cookies, and a pot with freshly made tea, but I couldn’t care less about those. I had to learn more.
“How did you know about me; back then, and even today?”
“Just like you, and Leah,” she said, pouring me a cup of tea, and one for herself. “I was born with a rather unusual talent. While other young ladies spent their days playing the piano or cross-stitching, I looked for answers for past problems in the future. I looked for diverse objects and followed them across history, witnessing their fate, how they affected human life, and sometimes, even how they were destroyed,” she explained.
“That sounds amazing,” I said, impressed, reaching for a cake.
“It is, but it came with a price no one could tell me about. By abusing my talent, my body suffered, and I noticed too late. I’m afraid my time is quite limited now, and although I gave up on my journeys, at times, I’m pulled into the flow without me wanting to.”
“I’m . . . sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was my choice. A bad one, but mine alone.” She smiled.
I could see, even without her telling me that something was wrong. The first time I saw her, she was radiant, but now looked pale and prematurely aged. While Jubilee seemed to be at peace with the near-end, I could feel the pain in Leah’s heart. In the past few years, she grew to care genuinely for her, and she was going to leave her soon.
“I need to ask you about the book. First, can you tell me who are the dedication and letter at the very beginning for?” I asked, changing the subject.
“For you.” She sipped from her cup.
“But . . . how did you know it would get to me?” I was confused.
“I followed my family’s evolution, and that’s how I found you.”
“But what is it you want from me? What can I possibly do?” I frowned.
“For a start, to tell me if you read it.”
“I did, apart from the broken pages.”
“What broken pages?” she scowled.
“Give me a second,” I said, tapping with my finger on the wooden table. “I think it was from Athena’s Feather to Hera’s Veil if I remember correctly.”
“Chronos’s Watch,” she pinched the bridge of her nose, grimacing. “I should’ve imagined.”
“‘Chronos’s Watch’? What is that?” I asked, not understanding her reaction.
“It’s one of the first created artefacts, and also the one our family is supposed to protect.”
“Oh,” was the only thing I could say.
“The legend I know was transmitted from one generation to another in our family, but I can’t tell how accurate it is. After Chronos ate his children and realised Rhea hid Zeus, he went searching for him.”
“Yes, I know the legend. He can’t find him, but Zeus returns after he grows up and wipes the floor with him,” I said impatiently, causing Jubilee to giggle due to my choice of words.
“That is what everyone knows,” she said after a short while. “But what is unknown, it that in his hunt, Chronos fell for a mortal woman. While it’s true he had Rhea for a wife, he didn’t care about her. He wanted Calia by his side. Aware of the mortal’s fragility and short lifespan, Chronos created the Watch by ripping out a piece of his own heart. The Watch had the power to give Calia eternal life, but Rhea was possessive and vengeful. She cursed the Watch, so anyone who uses it is able to live only by gradually consuming the lives from those around them. Fortunately, Calia was wise enough to not use the artefact, and with an effort which almost cost her life, she completely sealed both the powers of the Watch and its curse.”
“How did she know she couldn’t use it?” I asked, engrossed in her story.
“Calia, just like her mother, and grandmother before them had the clairvoyance gift. She knew well the price she would have to pay, but was unwilling to make such sacrifices, because the first affected would’ve been her family.”
“There’s one thing I don’t understand.” I shrugged.
“What is it?”
“Why did you want me to know about this artefact in particular? If it’s under your family’s protection, then everything should be fine, right?
“If only it were that simple. Unfortunately, that’s far from the truth. Someone will break the rules and attempt to break the seals,” she explained, saddened, and a bit ashamed.
“Can it be undone so effortlessly?” I asked, alarmed.
“No. It requires a lot of work and a special talent, but in time, and with a lot of effort, he will succeed.”
“Who?” I pry.
“My father,” Jubilee responded with a sad smile. “After I’m gone, he will most likely lose his mind and stop being the man he is now. Everyone around him will suffer, yet I can’t do a thing to
stop him.”
Looking at my hands resting on my knees, I kept quiet for a while, trying to absorb all the information.
“You said that both I, and Leah have special talents.” I raised my head, looking into her eyes. “For me, it’s becoming quite clear what that is, but what about Leah?”
“The fact that your souls resonate to such a level that you were capable of breaking the time barrier, is nothing but a tiny part of what both of you can do.”
“Then what can I do?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that; at least not until you know who you are. The rest, Leah will tell you in time.”
“Leah?”
“I don’t know what she’s talking about,” Leah answered just as confused as me.
“I apologise. Leah doesn’t know, either, but she will find out in the future.”
“Alright, don’t tell me,” I said, slightly annoyed. “But what is her talent?”
“She can control the artefacts.”
Scarlett? Scarlett!
“Is someone calling me?” I jump from the chair, looking around.
Scarlett!
“There, I’ve heard it again.” I looked at Jubilee.
“I believe it’s time for you to go home,” she said. “Be careful who you trust in, and Scarlett, please, take care of Leah.” Jubilee pleaded, pressing on the last words.
“I’ll do what I can.”
“I just pray it will be enough,” she added concerned. “Leah, I know you can hear me. Do it the same. Imagine you push her, but this time backwards.”
“Goodbye, Scarlett.”
“See you soon, I guess.”
***
I woke up being softly shaken by the shoulder.
“Scarlett? Scarlett, wake up!”
“What?” I answered irritated.
“Go home and sleep,” Laura said to me, still keeping her hand on my shoulder. “You’re exhausted! You’ve overworked yourself lately, always coming first and leaving last, at who knows what hour.”
“I have a lot of things to do here,” I said, half-asleep.
“Listen, I spoke with the Director, and he’s more than happy to give you a few days off.”
The Curse of Time Page 4
