The Curse

Lyra woke up the next morning feeling fresh and ready to start the day. The bright light coming from the sun, streaming into her room was an indication of a great day, or so she thought. She took her bath and joined her parents for breakfast. The aroma of freshly cooked good filling the air

"Good morning dear, did you sleep well?" Her father asked. Lyra looked up to her father with a big smile.

"Yes daddy I did, thank you." Lyra looked up to her mother, who just walked in with breakfast, a small smile on her face. She kissed Lyra's forehead as a greeting while she set the table.

Lyra's stomach growled at the sight of the food, reminding her of how little she ate the previous night.

As they ate, Lyra's parents discussed their plans for the day. Her father had to go beyond the small village to look for work, while her mother had to buy groceries for the home.

"What about me?" Lyra asked, feeling a bit left out. Her parents exchanged a glance, and her father was the first to speak up "we were thinking of finding you a school around here."

Her mother nodded her head in agreement "and in the meantime you could always play with your bunny near the house, away from the woods." She made sure to emphasize the restriction on the woods.

Lyra nodded her head in disappointment. She didn't want to start a new school, or make new friends. She missed her old home and her old friends. She could go wherever she wanted and whenever she wanted.

She missed her best friend, Aria, who told her many stories about her father's adventures. She missed her closest friend Jay who told her different stories of his family adventures and his ever changing dreams. For the first time since she moved to the cottage, she felt lonely.

She finished her breakfast and her father suggested she go to the village to learn a few things from the village folks. She smiled at the idea. She decided to prepare for her own little adventure. I'll finally have an adventure to share with my friends. She thought as she skipped happily to her room. The birds by her window chirped happily, as if matching her joy.

Lyra picked up her bunny noticing the small peculiar mark on its ear. She did not think match of it except that it was the bunny's birthmark. As she stepped out of her room, her mother, who was saying her good byes to her father turned to look at her, "ready?"

She nodded happily, kissing her father good bye. She grabbed her mother's hand and dragged her out the door in anticipation.

As they walked, Lyra noticed the villagers were staring and whispering to each other. She felt a sense of unease, wondering what they were saying.

Her mother seemed to sense her unease and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Don't worry dear, the villagers are just curious about you. They don't get many new faces around here."

Lyra sensed there was more to the villager's whispers. As they reached the village square, she saw an old woman selling ornaments, her eyes fixed on her.

"Mommy can I look at those ornaments?" She asked, pointing at them.

"Of course, just don't go far okay?" Lyra approached the old lady asking her the prices of each ornament. "Why do they look so weird?" She asked the old woman.

The old woman stared at her for a while before giving her an answer. "Because they are lucky charm ornaments. Each ornament is made specifically for it's own purpose."

Lyra's eyes widened with excitement. "Wow. Can I have a good luck ornament please?"

"Yes of course you'll need it, if you leave in that cursed house."

Lyra frowned at the old woman's words. " What do you mean, ma'am?"

The old woman chuckled mysteriously, her eyes glinting with a knowing look. She leaned in closer to Lyra, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You've seen him, haven't you? the man in the woods." She paused raising a brow.

Lyra nodded her head in fear. How does she know that? She thought to herself.

The woman's expression turned somber "That man is cursed. He once lived in that house with his wife and child, but he was ruthless to them.

One day, rogues attacked his home and killed his child. He, as always, was not home, but out drinking with his friends."

Lyra gasped, feeling a pang of sadness for the child.

The old woman continued, her voice low and mysterious. "His wife was kidnapped, beaten, and locked away as a trophy. And when he did find her, she was close to death. She cursed him."

Lyra's eyes were wide with wonder. "What did she tell him ma'am?"

The old woman placed a lucky charm ornament in the palm of Lyra's hand.

"A heart that wanders, a soul that strays,

Shall reap the whirlwind of love's bitter sway.

You who abandoned the ones who held your heart,

Shall find your own, but never to possess from the start.

She shall be bound to another, a tie that's strong,

While you watch, powerless, your heart turned wrong.

You shall see her smile, her laugh, her tears,

But never shall you hold her, through all the passing years.

Unless... unless she chooses, with heart and soul,

To love you, freely, and make you whole.

But until that day, you shall wander, lost and alone,

A specter of love, forever unfulfilled, forever unknown."

This curse is meant to be mysterious and confusing, with a sense of poetic justice. The man who abandoned his wife and child is doomed to find his true love, but only to watch her from afar, unable to possess her. The curse can only be broken if the woman chooses to love him freely, but until then, he is condemned to a life of loneliness and longing. And then she died."

Lyra's eyes were sad, she didn't like hearing that the man was lonely.

"What's a mate?" She asked with confusion.

The old woman smiled, her eyes twinkling "a soul mate, just like your mother and father."