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Eternal Curse

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As a child, I would frequent the town’s museum since my father was its curator. I learned something new every time I visited the establishment; Dad had a wealth of knowledge that never ceased to surprise me. When I grew up, he took me under his wing, as I studied to take his place when he was ready to retire. A week after taking Dad’s place as the curator, I experienced a strange encounter that left me frozen. After examining one of the latest skeletal remains discovered in West Asia till late, I went home and dozed off on my sofa while watching TV. However, I was woken up at 03:00 a.m. by my doorbell. Who stood before me in the rain was a middle-aged woman who seemed scared and confused. “Who are you?” I asked. “Ankha,” she replied. “I was to rule Ur, but the throne was usurped.” I first thought she required medical attention, but she began to explain things from that period, and information on recent findings that we were yet to uncover. I was as confused as I was intrigued. Ankha to...
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The Afterglows

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Every Friday night, I would visit the same pub after work. I loved the atmosphere of the establishment; there were never any arguments or fights, and every face I saw was a regular. I found it odd that the exact same crowd gathered there each time I went there, but I figured everyone enjoyed the experience there. Zana, the owner of the establishment, who was also its bartender, was a kind woman who made sure that I went home safely every night. She’d ask me to leave my keys on the counter and take a taxi home. I agreed without question. However, I didn’t realise anything strange about the pub until I invited a friend from work, Gen, to have drinks there. When we arrived at the pub, Gen asked me if I was joking. Confused, I asked what she meant. Gen then said that the pub was closed a decade ago following a fire that killed everyone inside, including the bartender. Turning my gaze from her to the building, after hearing those words, left me frozen. The pub I saw was not the same one I v...
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The Looming Shadow

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Strange presences and energies were common phenomena I came across as a child. Once, I stumbled upon an area near our home garden that felt so eerie that I had my parents dig up the site, only to find two skeletons in a shallow grave. The police were immediately called to the scene, and the site was revealed to be a mass grave. The years passed by and similar experiences became a common occurrence around me, so much so that people started calling me a witch. This led us to move a couple of times before we found a relatively friendlier neighbourhood. When I was 11, I wandered off into the woods near my school, feeling a strange presence calling out to me. I stumbled upon a cave and ventured deep into it until, suddenly, I felt everything around me dissolve into shadows. I woke up hours later and found a smoky humanoid figure standing before me, almost as if they were a being of dark energy. “It’s not safe for you here; you must leave at once,” the figure said. “Who are you?” I asked. “A...
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Lingering Curse

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Since I was small, I had this lingering sense that something was missing, or rather, suppressed. I couldn’t understand what it was, or even why I felt that way, and whenever I brought it up with my parents, they were quick to talk about anything else. As the years passed, however, I began to notice things others didn’t: patterns that no one else but me could see. Whenever I was happy, I saw that everyone around me was peaceful and content, but whenever I was sad or angry, only misfortune seemed to encircle the people I cared about. My parents had fights, my siblings failed their classes, and even my grandfather fell ill. When I reached my teens, things became worse. My parents’ marriage was strained to the point where they were considering a divorce, and both my siblings were slowly isolating themselves and sinking deeper into depression. I asked my parents’ advice and saw a therapist, but even though I saw better progress over time, it seemed like my family’s mental health was yet to ...
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A Deal of Death

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My father was a heavy gambler, and he seemed to have luck on his side for the longest time before one day, he began to lose again and again. Mom pleaded with him to stop, but he ignored her and continued to spiral down that rabbit hole. Eventually, she filed for a divorce, and he was barred from seeing us. Dad once told me that his late mother was a witch, and that she had a grimoire that he would use from time to time. He said it granted him luck. I wondered if whatever spell he used had backfired at some point, or if it simply had run its course. As I grew older and reconnected with Dad, I learned that he had indeed stopped using the grimoire around the same time his winning streak ended. He said the spell he used consumed a portion of his soul at a time, shortening his lifespan. He didn’t want to continue that spell, but he couldn’t let go of gambling either. I pitied him. I asked Dad if I could borrow Grandma’s grimoire to boost my research. Dad agreed, but he warned me not to make...
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Unseen Chaos

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For as long as I could remember, I had always been clumsy in the most dangerous of ways. I would often fall down stairs and run my bike into trees, but somehow, I would also walk away from such accidents with barely a scratch on me. My parents were both terrified and astonished; they said I had the wildest luck imaginable. I found ‘chaotic’ to be a more accurate description of it as I grew up. Even after I had moved out and started working, I would often run into accidents both indoors and on the road. I would often fall in the office or crash my car on the road. My accidents were so frequent that the insurance company knew me on a first-name basis and dreaded it whenever I called. My parents urged me to sell my car and use a taxi, or even public transport, but I did not feel it was necessary. I never got hurt, and I never hurt anyone else either. I found it strange, recognizing the pattern of not even causing any property damage in my accidents. However, given how many times I crashed...
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Guardian Angel

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I had a brown bear soft toy for as long as I could remember, and we were inseparable. Ms. Bear and I would often have long conversations, and I always loved listening to her wise words. However, she never spoke in front of my parents. The first time I attempted to speak to her in front of them, she stayed silent, making my parents laugh and brush it off as my imagination. I was disappointed and ignored her that evening until she told me that if she revealed her powers to anyone but me, she would cease to exist. Ms. Bear was my guardian angel; her presence was meant to be a secret. She made me promise never to reveal it to anyone. I agreed. As the years passed by, Ms. Bear saved my life several times, much to the confusion of my parents, who didn’t understand how I managed to get out of the pool when I couldn’t yet swim, or how I avoided injuries after falling from my bike. Ms. Bear even protected me from threatening strangers, driving them away with what she called her “foreboding aura...
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