Witchling (Curse of Kin)

by Ari Harper

  He gave the nurse further instructions and left the room.

  Dad stepped around the bed to Mom and pulled her close to his chest. “You must try to relax a little. It’s not doing you or the baby any good,” he said and kissed the top of her head. “We have to believe that he will be okay. He will.”

  Outside the cafeteria, Jasper continued to hold me and whisper in my ear. “Listen to me, girl dear. You must stay calm. If you cannot keep control, we may lose him. It is in your hands. You control the situation and his brain pattern. Be still and stable. Think clearly, and don’t get confused. You have to go back to the water. It can’t hurt you now. Try to pick up where you left off when you passed out. You can breathe again. Nice, steady breaths. Take your time, just relax and breathe.”

  I waited until I knew I was calmer and shifted in his arms to get comfortable again.

  “Now, try to get your mind clear. Don’t lose yourself entirely to the darkness. Just a small patch of light will do to start with.”

  A young nurse walked up to where we were sitting. “Excuse me ,sir,” she said, “can I help at all?”

  Jasper turned on his charm and gave her a dazzling smile. “Thank you, my dear. Very thoughtful of you, but we will be fine. Poor child has had a bit of a shock. I’ll take her home soon.” He added as she turned to go back inside, and I closed my eyes again and tried to block out everything around me.

  “Find that glimmer of light, Nera,” he repeated to me. “When you find it, make it a little bigger with each breath. Now, in that light, I want you to place your mother, father, then yourself and finally me. Take us all back to the house on a day that made Roman very happy. How about his fourth birthday? Remember that silly donkey that came with the clown your parents hired. How Roman laughed and laughed when it wouldn’t move where the clown wanted him to. Remember how it followed Roman after he gave it a carrot and tried to get into the house. He was so happy, then. Get him back to that place, Nera, and he will come back to us.”

  Jasper sat with me leaning against him while I worked to bring my little brother back. The air cooled, and the sun started to sink in the distance. Still Jasper held me tight and didn’t move. As the night dragged o,n he remained in his seat, holding me close until I started to stir and sat up groggily, my stomach rolling when my two subconsciouses merged. I leaned on the table, my head on my hands until the nausea subsided.

  I turned to look at Jasper with blurry eyes. “It was her,” I mumbled in disbelief. “She sent him down to see the fish, told him he could take some home.”

  “Who was it, Nera?”

  “That old hag from next door.”

  “I did wonder. Keep that between you and me for now. I promise to look into it, but for now, say nothing.”

  I looked at my fingers. They were white and freezing cold. Could I retain some of what went on when I invade another’s mind? There was so much I had to learn and so much more that I wanted to ask, but it would have to wait until Roman was better.

  Jasper gently took my hands in his, and I could feel the warmth of his skin against the cold in my fingers. He massaged them gently until the blood flowed again. He wrapped his jacket over my shoulders and suggested he get us a pot of tea to warm me up before we go and see if Roman’s condition had changed.

  “No, I need to see him now.” I got up and started for the door.

  We both made our way to the ICU ward and were stopped by the nurse at the desk. “Only two visitors at a time,” she reminded us.

  “How is he, my dear?” Jasper asked, giving her one of his stunning smiles, making her suddenly cheerful and responsive. Yuck.

  “I’ll go and check for you, sir, if you’ll be kind enough to say here.” She hurried off to Roman’s room.

  “Jasper, this is no time to be flirting with the nurses.”

  “Girl dear, it gets results, doesn’t it? And we both want to know how dear Roman is.” He smiled down at me.

  Dad came out with the nurse, looking a little more relaxed. He hugged me to him. “He seems to be breathing okay by himself now. They took off the oxygen. We had a bad episode awhile ago where Noel thinks he might have been reliving the accident, but he seems so much calmer now. We just have to wait and see if he wakes up.” Dad rubbed his eyes. He looked very tired, his face drawn and pale.

  “Would you like us to sit with him for awhile, Jack? You could probably both do with a cup of tea. You have been in there for hours.”

  “Yeah, you are right,” he replied. “I don’t know if I can move Hannah, but I will give it a go.” He turned to go back into Roman’s room.

  “Remember, Nera. Don’t say anything about Mrs. Freeman,” Jasper said. “I will look into it when I get home; she may or may not be involved in this. If we say anything too soon, well…”

  Just then Mom and Dad came out of the room. Mom looked exhausted, her eyes were red from her tears, and she had dark shadows under her lids. My heart went out to her.

  “Honey, we won’t be long,” she said. “Just a quick cup to recharge the batteries and a bathroom stop, and we will be back. Make sure you hold his hand, Nera. Talk to him too.” She leaned down to kiss my cheek.

  “Don’t worry, Mom, we will look after him.”

  I gave them both another quick kiss and followed Jasper into my brother’s room. I avoided looking at the equipment surrounding him, sat down, and grabbed hold of his hand. Jasper sat opposite and did the same.

  “What now, Jasper? Will he remember any of this?”

  “Most likely not,” he replied. “Probably will be a blessing if he didn’t when you think about it. It wouldn’t be a pleasant memory for a small child to have.”

  We sat holding Roman’s hands, taking turns talking to him.

  “You know, Nera, you could try to go into his mind one more time. See if he got to his happy place and try to wake him up,” Jasper suggested.

  I looked at Roman then closed my eyes. My body relaxed, and before I knew it, I was already there.

  Roman was in a happy place. He was dreaming of the time he hid in my room when Sully first started to visit. We were talking seriously about school when he jumped from the closet, screaming at the top of his lungs. Sully dropped his can of soda and I turned on him, furious that he had gotten into my room again. Roman stood giggling at me as I banned him from coming into my room, a weekly occurrence.

  Tears ran freely down my face. I watched myself push my little brother from my room.

  Never again, Roman. Never again will I ban you from my room. Just wake up, baby. Please just wake up. I cried silently.

  I could hear my parents coming down the hallway, talking to the nurse out in the reception area. I stood up, letting go of Roman’s hand. I looked down at his sleeping face once more before I went out to join them with Jasper by my side.

  “Any change?” Mom asked.

  “No,” I replied wiping my hands over my eyes. “None.”

  “Oh, honey, come here.” She gathered me into her arms. “He will be all right. We just have to believe that.”

  I let go, and the tears came with gut-wrenching sobs. I had done as Jasper asked and tried, but I felt like a failure. Nothing had changed. Roman was still unconscious, and despair washed over me. The one thing that was more important than anything else in the world, and I hadn’t made any difference. I wanted to be sick, and my skin was cold and clammy. Mom held me as I cried for my little brother, stroking my hair as I tried to regain some sort of control.

  “Okay, love, why don’t you let Jasper take you home. We can call you if there is any change,” Dad suggested when I had settled down.

  “No, I’m not going anywhere until Roman wakes up.” I stubbornly stuck my chin in the air.

  “We will go back to the cafeteria, Jack.” Jasper took my arm. “Call if you need us.”

  With that said, he steered me from the ward. “You need food after a big push like that. Neither of us have eaten since breakfast, and it’s already past nine o’clock.”


  “Not for me, thanks. I doubt I could get anything down.”

  “Yes, you will, girl dear. If you don’t keep up your energy levels, how do you expect to be able to help anyone?”

  Jasper led the way back to the cafeteria checkout and ordered tea, toast, bacon, and eggs for the two of us. He smiled at the lady behind the counter and told her we would sit outside again on the deck.

  “It’s a lovely evening to eat outside,” she said. “I’ll bring it out when it’s ready.”

  “Thank you, my dear woman. You are most helpful.” Jasper smiled, and the old dear blushed up to her hairline.

  I just looked sideways at him and shook my head. Even though he had never remarried, he had the incredible knack of having women drop at his feet or stutter over their tea.

  We settled down with our dinner, and I relayed what I had seen in Roman’s mind. Jasper looked at me thoughtfully.

  “Do you realize, girl dear, that if your brother is having dreams, especially stable dreams of past events, it is a pretty good indication that his brain is okay. What do you think?”

  I smiled while pondering the idea. “You know, Jasper, you could be right. I still won’t be convinced, though, until he wakes up.”

  “Fair enough,” he replied. “If you manage to pull Roman through this, it should give you a fairly good indication of how strong you are. I somehow doubt that you will have any trouble with the curse if this is anything to go by. But let’s leave that for another day,” he said when he saw the look in my eyes. “No time for anything but Roman at the moment.”

  All our energy must be focused on Roman. I looked away into the darkness of the night, thoughts of him buzzing loudly in my head.

  We finished our dinner and started on another pot of tea. I was exhausted by the events of the day, but slightly recharged by our meal. I let my mind wander again.

  “Nera, Jasper, come quick!” Dad raced into the cafeteria and over to the deck where we had settled for the night.

  “What, Dad, what is it!” I yelled, shaken from my dreams.

  We had both fallen asleep at the table, hands resting under our heads.

  Jasper brushed his hair out of his eyes and jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over in his haste. “Is it Roman? Is he okay?” he asked with a hopeful look.

  “He woke up, Nera. He’s asking for you,” Dad said, the joy in his voice bursting through. His face was glowing with a huge smile, and his eyes shone bright with a joy I wondered if I would see again.

  I raced ahead of them to Roman’s room and flew through the door.

  “Roman. Oh my God! You are awake. Oh baby, let me look at you,” I squealed as the tears of joy ran down my face. I smiled at my mother through my tears, grabbed Roman in a big bear hug, and squeezed him till he wriggled free.

  “Nera, I dreamed you saved me from a big dark hole,” he cried in a raspy voice. “I was cold and wet, and you came and saved me. You saved me, Nera.” He looked at me, his eyes wide in unadulterated hero worship.

  “Oh, Roman.” I gave into happy tears this time. “I’ll never let anything hurt you again. You are my bestest friend in the world, buddy, even when you are being a pest. I’ll never stop saving you, ever.” I picked him up and cuddled him again, this time more gently.

  Dad and Jasper looked over at us with tears in their eyes.

  Just then, Dr. Peters walked into the room. “Well, young man. You have caused quite a stir.” He approached Roman. “Could you folks give me a little room here so I can check out this little bloke?” he asked.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Mom said and moved back to the chair on the other side of Roman’s bed and sat down. Dad, Jasper, and I stepped out of the room, looking in through the door as Noel checked Roman’s vital signs.

  He signaled us back in the room when he had finished.

  “Everything looks fine to me at this stage,” Noel said. “I need to run some tests before we can say for sure, but I would be inclined to give him a clean bill of health. We can set up the tests for early tomorrow, and I’ll talk to you again at that time.”

  He turned back to Roman. “For now, young man, I want you to have a quiet night and not hassle the nurses. Then maybe you can go home tomorrow.”

  “Yes sir.” Roman looked solemnly at the man who delivered us.

  “I think that we can move you into a different room, though. One without so many noisy machines. How about that, Roman?”

  Roman scrunched up his face as if he was considering the idea. “Okay, but only if Nera can stay with me,” he decided.

  “That’s up to the nurses I’ll see what I can arrange.”

  “She can spend the day with you tomorrow, buddy,” Dad said. “How about I stay tonight so Jasper can take Nera and Mom home for a good sleep? They can come back tomorrow morning.”

  “Jack, I want to stay,” Mom said.

  “No, my love. Roman is okay and you need some sleep. Look at yourself. You have black smudges under your eyes, and you are pale and tired. You have to take care of yourself. Jasper can bring you back in the morning. I want you to go home and have a good night’s rest.”

  “I’ll sleep over, Hannah,” Jasper said. “We can all come back in the morning as soon as you are ready. We are all tired, and you know you will sleep better in your own bed than that chair in the corner. Come on, Nera, you too.”

  ***

  I tucked my exhausted mother into bed as if she was the child. I sat on my father’s side of the bed, brushed Mom’s hair from her face, and smiled down at her. “I don’t know what we would have done if Roman hadn’t woken up, Mom. Even though I call him the serial pest, you know I love him to bits.”

  “I know, sweetheart. It’s great that Roman thinks it was you who saved him. It’s good for him to have you to look up to. Your father and I never had a relationship like that when we were growing up.”

  “I must call Brie and Sully in the morning,” I said. “They will be wondering why I didn’t call them today, and I would hate for them to hear about Roman from someone else.”

  I stroked my mother’s hair for a little longer. When her eyes began to droop, I kissed her forehead and crept out of the room. Jasper was sleeping in Roman’s bed tonight, but I could hear him in the kitchen, so I went down to see him.

  “Time for one last cup of tea before bed, girl dear, what do you think?”

  “Sure, Jasper. Why not? I really don’t think my brain is ready to turn off just yet anyway,” I said. I plunked myself in a chair at the kitchen table.”I’m so glad that Roman is going to be okay. I really can’t believe that I had anything to do with saving him, though. Are you sure that it wouldn’t have happened anyway?”

  “Fairly sure, Nera. If you looked at the life support machines he was attached to, you could see the brain wave pattern was fairly flat. Dr. Peters didn’t point that out, but it was there. You certainly did save your brother. There’s no doubt in my mind at all.”

  I dragged my fingers through my hair and then rubbed my eyes. I still had my doubts, but they could wait.

  ***

  The quiet morning sounds woke me from a troubled sleep. I could hear hushed voices from the front yard and crawled out of bed to look. Jasper stood out on the footpath, and it looked like he was arguing with Bones. Hugo stood between the two of them, his head moving from side to side as they spoke.

  What is all that about? I strained to hear what they were saying as I pulled on my clothes.

  I started toward my mother’s room but could hear the shower running so I headed downstairs to the kitchen instead. Once my toast was made, I leaned against the kitchen bench to eat it. I gazed out the window to the yard, now quiet and peaceful, such a world away from yesterday. Funny how life can change in a second. I dusted toast crumbs off my hands.

  Jasper came through the front door, a cranky look on his face, mumbling to himself, his long dark hair framing his normally handsome face. “Good morning, girl dear. Sleep well, did you?” he asked, a quick smile ligh
ting his face when he saw me in the kitchen.

  “What was all that about, Jasper?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Nothing, nothing.” He headed for the kettle.

  “You were arguing with him. I heard you.”

  “Who’s arguing with whom?” Mom walked into the kitchen, looking refreshed from a good night’s sleep.

  “It was nothing,” Jasper said, giving me a quick glance out the corner of his eye. “The paper guy forgot your delivery again. I had a word with him about it. Now, who wants tea and toast before we hit the road to see our wee man?”

  Mom smiled at me behind his back. I will get to the bottom of that later when she wasn’t around.

  “Yes, please,” Mom said. “I slept like a baby last night and now I’m starving. I called Jack before my shower and Roman had a good night, so everyone is feeling much better. The doctors should be around about eight so if we can get there by then, it would be good. Jack thinks that the tests will be all clear. The nurses have already done some of them, he said. Roman seems to be very much himself this morning.”

  “That is a great relief.” Jasper handed her a cup of tea. “Now let’s eat and get up to the hospital.”

  “I’m going to give Brie and Sully a quick call before they get on the school bus and find out what happened from someone else. Then I’ll be with you.” I grabbed the phone and went into the hallway to speak to my friends. I could still hear Mom talking to Jasper.

  “I’m very proud of my little girl, Jasper. She would do anything for her little brother. I know she would. If she hadn’t felt that connection to Roman, we wouldn’t have him now.”

  “How very true my dear, how very true,” he replied.

  ***

  It was with a different sense of purpose that we headed to the hospital.

  Dr. Peters was with Roman when we arrived at his room.