Accursed Words Chapter 1

The words from my mouth were cursed. Anything I said came true.

When I was eight, a child trafficker broke my right leg. I stared at him and said, "You made me limp, so I'll make you limp too."

A second later, steel pipes from an overturned truck went through both his legs.

When I was twelve, a staff member at the orphanage stole my winter coat. I said to her, "You stole my warmth, so I'll give you the cold. You won't live past tonight. Ice will be your coffin."

That night, she passed out drunk in a walk-in freezer and froze to death.

Then the wealthy Shaw family found me and brought me home. However, I knew I was a monster, so I kept my mouth shut and acted like I was mute.

But I had only been home for three months when their adopted daughter Yara Shaw rushed over and grabbed my hand during my older brother John Shaw's birthday party. Then she threw herself backward and crashed into a thorny rosebush, screaming.

My mom came running when she heard the scream. When she saw the bloody scratches covering Yara's arm, she slapped me across the face. "Yara has a severe bleeding disorder! I don't care how jealous you are, you shouldn't try to kill her."

Dad walked over right behind her, his eyes red as he pointed at me. "We've tried so hard to make it up to you, and this is how you repay us? Kneel and beg for forgiveness! You can get up once you understand how wrong you were!"

I gritted my teeth.

Fine.

If they wanted me to speak that badly, I would give them what they wanted.

I looked straight at Yara and opened my mouth, those accursed words clear…

* * *

I was on my knees on the tiled floor. A sharp cramp twisted in my stomach. I had not eaten all day. Then, as my vision went black, I collapsed into a puddle.

A black umbrella stopped over my head. John held Yara in his arms and looked down at me. He then raised his leather shoe and nudged my shoulder.

John said, "Why are you so stubborn? If you admit your mistake, our parents will bring you back inside immediately! Why do you have to break everyone's heart?"

I clenched my fists in the muddy water, my nails digging into the cracks between the tiles and said nothing.

When I first came home, Mom was worried I would not get used to the bed, so she sat beside me all night and read to me. Dad rented out an entire theme park and said he wanted to make up for the childhood I had missed. John beat up a rich kid so badly he ended up in the hospital because he had mocked my accent.

To hold on to this fragile family bond, I kept my mouth shut. Even when they misunderstood me. Even when they punished me by making me kneel.

Yara leaned against John and tugged at his sleeve. "John, forget it. Renee suffered so much in the past. Maybe she's just afraid I'll steal your love from her."

John tightened his grip on the umbrella handle, pain filled his eyes. "Does suffering give her the right to hurt others? Something in her is rotting now. If we don't set her straight, who knows what kind of problems she'll cause in the future!"

When Yara saw that I would not speak, she crouched down. She spoke in a voice only the two of us could hear. "So what if you're their biological daughter? To them, you're not worth one strand of my hair."

Then she suddenly stood and clutched her chest. "John... My chest hurts... I can't breathe..."

John's expression changed. He threw the umbrella aside and picked Yara up with his arms. "Yara! Your heart can't handle all this stress to begin with! I'll take you to the hospital right now!"

He turned and glared at me, speaking through his gritted teeth. "If anything happens to her because of that shove, I'll never forgive you."

A car engine roared in the night, then faded into the rain.

I remained on my knees in the mud and let the storm fall on my back.