CURSED FROM BIRTH
1175 Words
ELIRA
The slap hit me unexpectedly hard, out of nowhere,loud, and searing like fire to my face.
My face turned to the side, my wet hands still gripping the half-washed carrots. Pain shot through my jaw as I stumbled backward, nearly losing my balance in the muddy water by my feet.
“You worthless girl, miserable bastard!” Mistress Ansa's voice sliced through the air. “Is this what you call washing? These carrots are still filthy,still dirty and you’ve stolen one, haven’t you?”
My heart sank. “I didn’t steal,I didn't take any of the carrot please”
Another slap. This time, she didn’t even look my way. Her eyes glared with wild hatred for me, as if I were less than human, less than dirt. I swallowed hard, fighting back tears not in front of them, not again,the tears kept threatening to come out of my face.
“You’ve been eyeing them all morning,” she spat. “I should’ve known not to trust a cursed child like you,cursed girl from the beginning,cheerful bad luck,that is what you are.”
The other women chimed in, throwing words sharper than the stones beneath my bare feet.
“She’s always lurking,” one hissed.
“Like a rat,” another added. “Maybe she’s the reason my baby got sick last week. Her eyes... they’re wrong.”
Their voices blurred into a cacophony that crashed over me, wave after wave. I wanted to defend myself, but the words wouldn't come. They wouldn’t listen to someone like me,who even brought me to this world,why am I so hated like this,nobody seems to love.
Not to Elira, the cursed one.
Mistress Ansa's hand closed tightly around my thin arm, pulling me away from the riverbank. “You think you can steal from me and not face the consequences huh? You’ll scrub every corner of this village if you want to eat today. Thief.”
“No, please, I didn’t”
A rough push sent me sprawling into the dirt, laughter being Heard behind me. My skin burned, my knees brushed raw against the ground and I saw blood on my knees. I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood, but I refused to cry. I wouldn’t give them that satisfaction,but nevertheless I'm breaking day by day.
They left me there, coated in dust and shame.As their voices faded and the sun beat down on my bruised skin, I stayed still for a moment, staring at the carrots scattered in the mud. One rolled toward me maybe mocking. I picked it up, wiped it off with trembling fingers, and looked at my reflection in the river's surface.
Skin like twilight, eyes too large for my face, hollow cheeks, and lips too thin to form a smile. I resembled a ghost.
A cursed ghost maybe.
They had despised me from the moment I was born or even before I was born, everyone sees me as a curse to humanity and beyond.
I entered the world under a blood moon, considered the worst omen this village had ever seen. They said my mother had screamed and bled until her heart stopped, right there on the birthing mat. And me? I was silent, cold, barely alive, staring at everything with dead eyes cursed eyes, as they said.
They claimed my first cry never came.My father didn't hold me. He wouldn’t touch me or give me a name. “You killed her,” he used to say, lost in grief and drunk. “You took her from me. You’re not mine,you can never be mine,you bastard, murdeer and so many painful names.”
He beat me when I cried at night, telling me to be quiet, to disappear. But I never could. I was a living reminder of everything he had lost, and the villagers didn’t let him forget. They claimed I was bad luck, a demon-child, a witch born of death and moonlight.
I tried. God knows I tried. I fetched water until my arms hurt, cleaned houses they wouldn’t enter, washed clothes until my hands bled all to prove I wasn't what they said.
But it never mattered.They’d spit on the ground when I walked by, whisper behind my back, sometimes right to my face.
I used to wonder if I had done something wrong, if maybe I deserve this life. Perhaps if I prayed harder, worked harder, smiled more, things would change for me, but it never did.
But nothing did.
Even the children hated me. They threw rocks and called me names Moon Curse, Shadow Girl, Death Bringer.
I sat up, pulling my knees to my chest and hugging them tightly. My ribs ached with each breath, my stomach growled with hunger, and I felt the familiar sting of hopelessness in my chest.
“Why me?” I whispered. “Why was I even born?”
I didn’t expect an answer. The sky remained silent, as did the gods. Only silence responded to me and the sound of approaching footsteps at my back.
I shook, quickly wiping my face. The last thing I needed was more mockery from anyone.
“Elira.” The voice was sharp and accusing. “There you are, you little witch.”
I turned slowly, my heart sinking.
It was Gara, the old apothecary, her eyes blazing like coals. She pointed a gnarled finger at me, her voice rising for the whole village to hear.
“You killed your mother the moment you entered this world. Now my herbs are rotting, and it’s your doing. You’re cursed, girl. You bring death to everything you touch.”
“I didn't”
“Don’t lie!” she screamed, grabbing my wrist. “I saw you near my garden. Don’t deny it. You’ve been casting spells, haven’t you? Using your mother’s blood to curse this land. The poor harvest and the wolves coming from the hills it's your fault!”
“What wolves?” My voice trembled, fear creeping in.
“You don’t know?” Gara hissed. “You brought them here. Your kind always does.” I struggled to pull away, but her grip was unyielding,it was so tight and painful.
More people gathered, watching and whispering, nodding in agreement.
“Witch,” one muttered.
“Demon.”
“She should be burned.”
The ground beneath me felt like it was crumbling. I gasped for breath as the world around me darkened not with clouds, but with shadows and the heat became unbearable for me.
My reality was spinning and collapsing right at my face and there is nothing I can do about it.
And then Gara leaned in closer, her breath rank against my skin. “We should've drowned you the day you were born. But don’t worry, girl. The wolves will take care of you.”
The crowd began to close in.I stumbled back, heart racing, with nowhere to escape.
Somewhere in the forest, a howl echoed long, low, and terrifying.And in that moment, I understood my nightmare was just beginning….
- Writer
