The Ugly Truth

The future is held with many uncertainties. That is what I have learned for the past two years. Hello, I am Martino Cruz, currently a sophomore in college. I am gifted with intelligence and physical prowess that far surpasses anyone of my class, but cursed with the power to sustain that gift. Why and how I am cursed you say? I am cursed because of my own personal greed, but how I am cursed is a bit more complicated to explain. Ah, still want to know how I am cursed? Well then, who am I to refuse such an innocent request?

My story begins two years ago in a little town called Burnsville. I had just turned eighteen and almost completed my senior year of high school. Oh how glad was I! School was never my love and being in an under funded school system for twelve years was not making me admire it better. The principal was unjust, the teachers were unenthusiastic, and the majority of the student body lacked individuality. I was a light Hispanic, not muscular but definitely not weak, and was heavily immersed in the fanatical world of magic.

I was one of the very few that wasted their time chasing after empty leads that were meant to prove the existence of magic. However, I wasn’t your average hopeless paranormal investigator. I didn’t chase empty leads for fun, no; my actions were all in the name of power. I pursued the empty leads in the hopes that I could find some sort of power: charms, amulets, consecrated items, anything that the texts claimed that held power. And to this day, I am still puzzled as to why I had such a voracious appetite for power.

However, let’s get back to the subject. I believe it was in the middle of March when a dear friend of mine told me about a wizard who lived in town in a rundown shack on the countryside. The legend goes that there existed an all-powerful wizard named Daisera that did great deeds all around, however, he suddenly became bitter and the rate of his good deeds declined. It took a few more years before his good deeds stopped all together. Following his disappearance came many rumors as to why he vanished. Some say he went into early retirement, some say he became lazy, and some said he died a mysterious death. However, I intended to find out.

My friend also mentioned that during the early years of his disappearance, the wizard secretly gave out notices to fighters all around the world to challenge him. If the challengers won, then the wizard would give his power to the fighter. However, if the fighter failed to achieve victory over Daisera then he would have the right to exact any form of punishment on the unfortunate individual. The punishment ranged from eternal suffering to death. I asked Brad, my friend, where he got his information from. He never answered.

For the next two weeks, I made sure that the fate of the loser was not going to happen to me. I trained day and night, after school and after every meal. I even skipped school so I could get a whole day’s worth of training, which in retrospect wasn’t the wisest of ideas being so close to graduation. I have trained so hard that at one pint I was almost positive that my heart would explode for it was beating very hard against my chest.

When I arrived at the wizard’s shack, I was not impressed to say the least. The place was unkempt. The grass was knee-length and discolored, the roots of trees ravaged the ground, and the shack was a terrible eyesore itself. However, I knew I must continue on if I wanted the wizard’s power.

Before I made even one step towards the shack, I felt a vibration in my pants. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. A name on the little screen appeared: Angela. Angela was the name of my girlfriend. A very beautiful girl she was; highlighted brunette hair and deep almond eyes were the features that I first noticed about her, not to mention her beautiful figure and seemingly boundless intelligence.

I answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Finally I get to hear your voice. Where have you been for the past two weeks?” asked Angela in a concerned tone.

“Sorry Angela, I have been busy lately?” I said.

“For two weeks? I find that hard to believe. What have you really been up to?” Angela said suspiciously.

For a split second I forgot how smart she was. I was tempted to stutter but I managed to retain my cool. “Baby, I’m really up to nothing. Right now as we are speaking, I am studying for that trig test we have tomorrow.”

“You are a bad liar. You have never studied a day in your life. Besides, your friend told me what you were doing or rather what you are planning on doing,” said Angela.

At that moment I was thinking oh great, she must have pried the truth out of him when she became suspicious about me. I could only imagine the torture she subjected him to. As I gulped, thoughts on what I should say next flooded my brain. Only one thing came to mind.

“Come on now, do you honestly believe Brad? That guy has some imagination. He could be the next Stephen King one day…” I said.

“Martino…” said Angela in a way that let me know that she wasn’t buying it. “Stop this craziness right now. That place could be dangerous.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in magic?” I asked.

“No, but I believe in dangerous people and dangerous places. You don’t know what is in there.” said Angela.

“But that is why I have to go. What if there is something in there that can save millions of lives, or your brother’s eyesight.” I said.

When she paused, I knew that I had hit a nerve. Her brother, Caleb, has had eye troubles all his life. It was until recently that his troubles became severe. When his eyes exhibited peculiar symptoms such as blurred vision and sharp pain, he was rushed to the hospital where they delivered the unfortunate news that he will become blind in a matter of weeks. However, the doctor mentioned there is a type of eye surgery that could save his sigh, but it is expensive and they just didn’t have the money or the resources to compensate for the miraculous surgery.

“Don’t you dare bring Caleb into this,” said Angela. “This matter is between me and you.”

“No Angela, this matter is between me and that wizard.” I said.

She sighed. “Fine, I realize now that I won’t be able to talk you out of it. Just be careful.”

With that she hung up and so did I. Finally, I was making my way to the wizard’s shack. As I walked, anticipation wracked my whole frame. Two weeks of training and preparing for this moment has made me confident. I was confident that I would overpower Daisera and take what was rightfully mine and that no force could stand in my way.

How foolish was I for thinking such nonsense. I wasn’t even at knocking distance when the door flung open to reveal a short old man. His out fit was most peculiar and outdated. He wore a headband and wide ocean blue shades. He also wore a leather vest that, unfortunately, failed to shield the world from his rather “gross” stomach and pants that looked like it was made from an unknown animal. My first thought was to question if he was really a wizard but then I remembered another fact that Brad told me.

“He was in seclusion for that long?” I thought.

He grunted and spat on the ground, which made me recoil slightly in disgust. “Well, what the heck do you want?”

With boldness I stated, “Daisera, I have come to challenge you to a fight to the death where the prize will be your powers or my life. Accept this challenge!”

A moment’s pause settled between us and left shortly afterwards. The old man snickered at first, and then his snicker turned into full-blown laughter. I was puzzled as to why he was laughing. If only I knew how ridiculous I sounded back then.

The old man regained control of his body and wiped a tear from his eye. “First off your English teacher needs a butt whooping because that was the most pathetic short speech I ever heard and secondly, if you want my powers…”

Then something miraculous happened. A bright white light enveloped Daisera and “traveled” to his right hand, which he held out to me. Then the light rose a little above his palm and transformed into a glowing orb of energy that shined incredibly between us. Daisera smirked. “Here it is. Take it, it’s yours.”

I nearly fell over in disbelief. “You mean the rigorous training I put myself through for the past two weeks to face you was all for nothing?”

“Yep,” said Daisera. “Be realistic, I’m old and saggy, and you’re young and fit. It would not have been a fair fight and plus I just wasn’t in the mood.”

“Couldn’t you use your powers during the duel?” I asked.

“Yes but unfortunately as I aged, my powers waned. However, if you graciously receive these powers, your youthful energy will automatically renew it and will allow you full access to this wonderful gift.” Daisera explained.

A part of me at the time was saying that something was up with the wizard. It was as if he wasn’t telling me everything about his power. However, my greed overpowered my logic and I motioned for the wizard to give me his powers. When he thrust the orb into my body I felt a lot of pain at first but then it was replaced by a warm and comfortable sensation. I felt empowered and confident.

When the feeling stopped, I looked at myself and then looked at the wizard for an explanation. As if he read my mind, he stated. “My powers should be well adjusted to your body.”

“So what I can do?” I said rather enthusiastically.

“Strength and speed my young man.” said the wizard.

“And…” I egged on.

“That’s it.” Daisera said.

Again, I nearly fell over. “This is all you have?”

“Young man, don’t complain anymore and just go and enjoy your powers.” Daisera said.

The wizard retreated back into his shack and I stood there and marveled at what just happened. I couldn’t wait to test my new powers so I hopped in my car and drove away. I almost arrived at my destination when I heard a woman’s cry for help. I looked around and almost immediately, I saw a woman being harassed by a large man in a ridiculous clown mask. Nevertheless I reacted quickly to this situation.

I parked my car on the side of the road; around the same time he made a run for it with the woman’s purse. I ran after the man and had no problem catching up with him. Grabbing his shirt I threw him hard up against a nearby brick wall with one hand. The guy slumped to the ground, unconscious. While being surprised at how strong I was, I recovered the woman’s purse and brought it back to her. She showered me with hugs and praises and offered me a ten-dollar bill, which I kindly refused.

After she left I felt really proud of myself. However, the glory was not meant to last. When I began to walk to my car I became weaker. Sweat appeared on my forehead, my body became heavier and a sharp pain appeared in my chest. The pain was so sharp that I collapsed inside my car once I got in. Never had I felt that weak in my life. There was definitely something wrong but I couldn’t place my finger on it.

“Hey there young man,” said someone through my window.

I looked up to see… Daisera! I was confused as to why he was in town, so I decided to clear the air. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, thanks to you I feel so much better than I did when I woke up this morning, so I decided to walk around and see what I have been missing for the past hundred years.” Daisera said with a crooked smile.

“What do you mean by ‘thanks to me’?” I asked suspiciously.

“Young man, you seriously lack common sense. On top of that you’re gullible.” Daisera said.

“I’m really not in the mood to take an insult today as you can see.” I said bitterly.

Daisera supplied me with a once over glance and smiled. “So you’re dying already, huh? You are weak.”

“I’m dying?” I asked with astonishment.

“Oh yeah I forgot to mention that part. Well, your power is a curse that saps on your life force the longer it stays inside your body.” Daisera said.

“How do I fix this problem?” I asked.

“Well that’s another part that is kind of harsh. You have to take the life force of someone else.” said the wizard.

“You mean I have to kill someone to get rid of this problem?” I asked.

“No, I predict that you will kill multitudes of people and the ‘problem’ won’t go away. It’s permanent for 130 years and even then the chances of you transferring this horrible curse to another person are very slim because as time progresses people begin to lose faith and belief in magic.” said Daisera.

“So in a nutshell you screwed me over.” I said with anger in my heart.

“Yep and I’m definitely proud of it. Oh well, hope everything works out for you. Have a nice life!” said Daisera as he walked off to leave me in my misery.

After he left, my cell phone rung again and sure enough it was Angela. Reluctantly I answered. “Hello?”

“Are you back from that place?” asked Angela.

“Yes and I didn’t find anything.” I lied.

“Okay.” she said.

A deafening silence settled between us and I knew I had to say something. “Look, I’m really sorry for what happened earlier and I knew that you were just looking for my best interest at heart.”

“So you plan on making it up to me?” said Angela.

“Um, yeah how about we go out tonight? It will be my treat.” I said.

“Great see you until then honey bunchkins.” said Angela.

“Honey bunchkins?” I questioned.

“Just trying out names.” she said.

After our conversation, I headed back to my house where I got ready for our date. It was 7 o’clock and I was feeling like a freight train had ran over me and I was forced by God to endure the pain. I was struggling hard to breath and I couldn’t stand up for long. And yet, I knew what I had to do to remedy the situation. At the time I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I did kill another human being so that I could survive. Then again I was never put in a situation quite like this before.

The doorbell rung and I quickly composed myself as best I could. I opened the door and a very beautiful Angela stood before me. I stood in complete awe as she giggled.

“Martino, your mouth is hanging.” said Angela.

“Oh,” I replied embarrassingly as I closed my mouth. “You look stunning.”

“Why thank you, now let’s go eat.” said Angela.

“Alright then, let’s go.” I said as I wiped my sweaty forehead.

“Are you okay?” asked Angela.

“Sure, let’s go.” I said half-heartedly.

“You know what, I’ll drive.” offered Angela.

And so we went on our way to the restaurant, however, fate had other plans. Inside the car, my conditioned worsened. My vision blurred, the sharp pain in my chest reappeared and my breathing became a losing battle. I gasped sharply in an attempt to draw in air and my girlfriend noticed this.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked worriedly.

“I’m fine, don’t …” and then I collapsed.

While I was out I could hear her. She was in hysteria, and it frightened me. What frightened me more, however, was the fact that I was going to die. These dumb powers of mine had caused so much grief in the past and in the present. In the end though, I made a decision that I thought I would never do in my life. I finally decided that I didn’t want to die and I knew what I must do to ensure life. Unfortunately, Angela was the nearest human being I could reach and, well, I won’t bore you with the gory details of what happened after I came back into consciousness.

So that is my story. I graduated high school without anyone suspecting me and enrolled in Burnsville University. I tried to get in another relationship but the poor girl didn’t last long. After that I completely detached myself from my emotions and survived all the way up to this day. I have to go now, I see a person walking alone and I must make my move or I won’t survive long enough to take my midterm exams.