Early Christmas Present

Chapter 1 Ruth had spent her entire life convinced that the universe had singled her out for suffering. At eight years old, she tumbled down a staircase and dislocated her leg. At twelve, she slipped in front of her entire class and became the subject of cruel laughter for months. At sixteen, she lost her scholarship because the letter confirming it was “mysteriously” misplaced. By twenty-three, she no longer called it coincidence. She called it a curse. Bad luck clung to her like a shadow. It wasn’t just the accidents or the embarrassment. It was the way people slowly learned to keep their distance, as though her misfortune might infect them. Even her own family—kind, loving, weary—had began to move around her carefully, as if she were made of glass already cracked. That realization hurt more than any fall or failure. So after college, Ruth packed her few belongings and left home. Not because they told her to. But because she believed she was poisoning their peace. She found a tiny one-room apartment on the edge of town and a job as a waitress at a modest restaurant where the floors always smelled faintly of detergent and burnt oil. The work was exhausting, the tips inconsistent, but it gave her something she hadn’t felt in a long time—independence. A fragile sort of dignity. The only light in her life was Felix. Her boyfriend. Her comfort. Her proof that maybe, just maybe, luck had finally smiled at her. That evening, after a long shift filled with spilt trays and a rude customer who accused her of bringing him “cold soup on purpose,” Ruth decided to surprise him. She didn’t text. She didn’t call. She wanted to see his face light up when he opened the door. For once, she wanted to feel normal. Wanted. The walk to his apartment felt strangely heavy, like the air itself was warning her to turn back. But Ruth ignored it. She always ignored the signs. She had grown used to disappointment. She reached his door, key in hand — the spare he’d given her with a laugh and a kiss weeks ago. And she opened it. Laughter floated out first. Soft. Intimate. Then bodies. Movement. A sight that burned itself permanently into her eyes. Felix. Her best friend. Together. Tangled in betrayal. The world tilted. The room faded into a blur of heat and red, her pulse roaring in her ears as the full weight of the moment crashed down on her chest. Shock turned to heartbreak. Heartbreak twisted into rage. Pure, blinding rage. A sound tore from her throat — something between a sob and a scream — as she stormed forward. A lamp flew. A picture frame shattered. Glass sprayed across the floor as years of swallowed pain burst free in one violent storm. “You think you can do this to me?” she shouted, voice shaking with venom. “You think betraying the unluckiest girl alive will go unpunished?” Felix scrambled for words. Her friend tried to cover herself, eyes wide with guilt. But Ruth no longer saw them as people. Only as the latest proof that she was cursed. “You wanted my life?” she spat, tearsstreaming wildly down her face. “Take my luck too then! I hope every step you take crumbles! I hope your happiness rots in your hands!” Silence followed her outburst, heavy and dangerous. Ruth stood amid the wreckage, breathing hard, hands trembling, heart shattered into pieces she knew would never fit back together the same way. Once again, the universe had proven her right. She was unlucky. And loving anyone… was the worst mistake of her life. Outside, cold night air swallowed her sobs as she stepped back into the darkness, unaware that the curse she believed in so fiercely had just begun to awaken something far more dangerous than bad luck.