Horror story

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By: Una Jagodić, Ana Kecman, Andjela Knežević i Aleksa Jovanović
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My insomnia is only getting worse. From not being able to only occasional naps, it got
to the point where I hear screams echoing in my ears whenever I attempt to sleep.
Luckily that doesn't happen with every blink or wink, but how does the little demon
residing in my ears know? He's been spending so much time there I had no choice but
to name him, so I went with Nathan. Whenever I talk to people about it, they just keep
repeating "Oh, dear, it's only in your head". Well of course it is, if it were somewhere
else it wouldn't be that much of a problem for me. I've been living with my uncle and
his wives for 5 years now, ever since my parents disappeared. And yes, wives, plural,
he's getting married and divorced every other year. After some time (some time being
2 years), I managed to convince my girlfriend, Kiera, that there's something seriously
bad happening to me and that we need to go get it checked out. She used to mock little
Nate when she thought I was only joking, but I kept repeating it so many times that
she finally got concerned. Sometimes I wished I hadn't told her at all because it lead to
her trying out the craziest methods to get rid of my internal demons. Herb therapies,
consulting an astrologer, trying out new music genres, getting tarot readings... so
many things I wasted my time on and nothing, zero results and zero solutions. The last
step of her 'get the demons out tour' was Helia's Auto Wholesale (aka the weirdest
name ever, if we judge solely based on that). The place was out of town, we drove for
hours on end. I even drifted off on the way there, God know how. Kiera crashed the
car few meters away from the place, but luckily it wasn't only a sketchy hideaway
under a false name but a real mechanic, so she got her car fixed there as well. Calling
that place sketchy doesn't even begin to describe the atmosphere when I stepped
inside. Bear and deer mounts covered the walls along with a disgusting green and
orange striped wallpaper, wheels and tires chaotically covered the floor. My heart was
aching for Kiera, whose OCD was most definitely making her lose her mind. Now,
why did she take me to a car salesperson? Well, this Helia person doesn't only sell
cars, she's a multitalented and multidimensional person or at least that's what her
brochure says. Looking straight at me as I was entering the room, her eyes narrowed
and she ran up to me, frantically taking my hands in hers, staring at me with so much
empathy, it was as if she felt my gathered pain from all those sleepless nights. "You
poor, cursed child..." she trembled. I tried not to be surprised anymore. Helia sat me
down on a couch that looked like it's been through both of the world wars and pulled
out a chair for herself right in front of me. Kiera closed her eyes, trying not to freak
out because all of the mess surrounding us. Our host didn't need any words from me to
completely understand my situation, she just began talking. "David Rodriguez, son of
Alexander and Veronica Rodriguez, you have been cursed by one of your own, a
talented but very evil witch, member your family but not of your bloodline, with a
wicked stare in her eyes and a giant mood ring on her left index finger, she sentenced
you to live through this hell and suffer as a consequence of her own malevolence" she
explained, and I trused her. Funnily enough, out of all the things she said, the thing
that weirded me out the most was her knowing my name and who my parents were.
Helia observed me, like she could find out my whole history just by looking at me.
Who am I kidding, she probably could. Even though she was the most helpful of all of
them, by the time we left, I had more questions than answers. Kiera jumped on the
passenger seat this time, letting me drive. She fiddled with an envelope in her hands
and I had to ask what was inside. "A prophecy" she answered with a shaky voice. I
abruptly stopped the car, took the envelope from her and opened it impatiently,
holding it away from her. I began reading "Beware, the same woman that cursed you
will visit again in order to confirm your sorrow and pain,
her mood ring will turn brown and her eyes bright red. Pay attention now! To reverse
the effects, you'll need to say the following: Vince in bono malum." Huh, latin? After
a few minutes of looking it up on the internet, I found out the meaning: 'Overcome
evil with good'. Oh, how much I wished I paid more attention latin class. After some
revision, I remembered the necessary stuff so it wasn't such a problem anymore. Some
nights after the mysterious visit to Helia's, I woke up at around 4am, gasping for air,
trying to move out of bed, but I had no luck. It's like I had been chained to it, glued
with the world's strongest superglue. My vocal cords weren't in much better shape, I
couldn't utter a word. As if that wasn't petrifying enough, after what felt like hours but
was probably a few minutes, a small feminine figure appeared in front of me. She
called out my name "David, sweetheart, are you okay?". I immediately recognized
her. It was aunt Delilah, my uncle's third wife. Reaching out for her as if I had found
my savior, I cried, but no sound was coming out. The only sound I heard was little
Nate, screaming in agony louder than ever. Delilah stepped towards me slowly,
quickening her pace the closer she was kneeling down in front of the bed, her hand
hovering right above my head. That's when I recognized it. I felt a chill down my
spine. It can’t be. But it is. The ring.

 Story idea - Una Jagodić and Andjela Knežević