Cursed ✔️

16. The Past

"So, found anything?" Hannah asked Emily.

The trio was in the library doing some research on the stone. Since they don't have any other clue to look for or any other loose end that would guide them, they thought it'd be best if they do some research so that they may get some hint.

Being the town library, it was huge with all sorts of books, journals, and magazines available on different topics. The faint smell of paints and varnishes were in the air as the building was recently renovated. It had wooden racks and transparent cupboards where the books were kept organized. There were many long desks and chairs for people to sit and read. It had sculptures, plants, and globes for decoration. The building had a dome-shaped ceiling, glass windows with wooden frames, red-golden goblet curtains, and many lamps and lights that illuminated the whole library.

Emily and Hannah were reading a book called ' Cursed Objects Around the World ' while John was searching the library racks for books on related topics.

"Found it!" Hannah said pointing her finger on a page. It was dated 22 July 1887.

She got a little excited after finally finding what they had been looking for after more than 2 hours of searching and turning pages that the librarian had to shush her.

"Sorry, Mrs. Wilson."

Mrs. Wilson was an old lady in her early 40s with little white hairs which she had worn in a bun held by chopsticks.

"What did you find?" John asked sitting next to Hannah.

"Look here." Hannah pointed towards a picture on the page.

It was a picture of a heart-shaped pendant that had emerald stones embedded inside the heart. The spaces around were embedded with diamonds. It looked like antique jewelry but was so gorgeous that Emily even commented that it was the kind of jewelry that anyone could fight for to have it.

"It's the same stone!" John exclaimed after carefully looking at the picture.

"This pendant is said to belong to a girl, named Diana, which was given to her as the last gift by her mother before she passed away in an accident." Hannah began reading the text. "One day, when she was in school, she was being bullied. When she tried to fight back, the bullies saw this pendant around Diana's neck. Dazzled by the beauty of it, they tried to take it away from her. She pleaded and told them its importance and how special it means to her. But the bullies snatched the pendant. She told them to give it back and that if they wanted to, they can take anything else other than the pendant. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, she kept fighting back but the bullies were too reluctant to give the pendant back. Diana held onto the pendant on one side while the bullies held onto the pendant on another side. Neither of them was ready to give up on it. In this tug of war with the pendant, the bullies accidentally pushed Diana and she fell down the stairs. The concrete stairs caused her head to bleed. She cried due to pain. Everyone ran towards her. Seeing all the students and teachers gathered around Diana, the bullies ran away."

The lights of the library began to flicker in an odd manner.

"One teacher called the ambulance but it was too late. Diana died at that spot covered with blood as the sound of the sirens echoed in the distance."

The glass of the library windows shattered and the curtains began moving due to winds that were blowing at an abnormal speed.

" 'Whoever will have the pendant or any part of it will never be happy. They will witness deaths of the ones they love the most so that they will feel the pain of losing someone close to their heart. Their lives will be filled with dark days and gloomy nights.' Were Diana's last words."

After Hannah had finished, there was complete unusual silence in the library and John saw the shadow of the little girl floating through the walls before the lights went out.