This is a short project that I may continue when I get writer's block on my main project. The chapters are extremely short because they're not really chapters, they're sections. Please review! I apologize if it's confusing, because it kind of is. Also, ignore any grammatical mistakes because since this is a side project, I won't really be editing it. It's still in first draft form.

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The Curse: Part One

I

She stood by the fire, in a dark-lit room in the old, abandoned mansion. She shivered as she reached her arms out to the fire, hoping to warm herself. Outside, the ruthless blizzard stalked the woods, freezing everything in its path.

The young girl, perhaps about 15, had dark sapphire blue eyes that glowed in the light of the flamboyant fire. Black hair rolled down her shoulders and light freckles danced across her cheeks. She sniffled and shuddered as she threw some more wood into the growing fire. She glanced impatiently out the window, glaring at the snow.

“Just perfect,” she grumbled, clearly unhappy. “Just what I need! Thank you, God!” Her sarcasm was thick with melancholy and obvious annoyance. When she sighed, she could see a stream of cold air rushing out. Another clue to the freezing weather that ravaged the outside of her sweet shelter.

She sat by the fire and wrapped her dark grey cloak more tightly around her, hoping no heat would escape. The mansion she stumbled upon was dank and dark, not a soul living inside, not even a mouse. Of course she knocked before breaking in, but when nobody answered, she knew she couldn’t just wait outside for a pedestrian to find her the next day, frozen to death.

She pulled her black bowler hat down and tucked her feet in, with the tips of her loafers that were several sizes too big peeking out. She wished she had a warm blanket to snuggle in. The cloak she wore had moth holes in it and was itchy, making her shift every few seconds. She could literally feel the bugs crawling from the wool and into her skin. She shivered at the thought of bugs sneaking into her thin clothing and finding some entrance to the inside of her body.

“Maybe I should’ve stayed,” she mumbled, her mind drifting back to the orphanage she had escaped only a mere two hours ago. At least there in that old dump was a warm cot waiting for her and a heating system. But her adventurous spirit refused to be contained in a place where Michelle Matthews, the nuns’ favorite child, abuses and controls anyone and everyone. Besides, nobody loved her, nobody cared for her. Not even the “God-loving”, “good-willed” nuns that snapped at the children if they did not eat all their vegetables and bringing out the paddle when they think they need to be punished.

She wished that before wandering out of the small town that she had at least checked inside unlocked houses to “borrow” some warm clothing. That way, she would’ve been a tad bit warmer. Her tendency to not use her brain would result in a tragedy sooner or later in her life.

Her hand flopped accidentally down to one side and hit the hard surface of an unfamiliar object. Curious, she picked it up and stared at it for a moment or two. The object was a blank, dark green book. She flipped through the ivory-coloured pages and thought quietly to herself.

‘Is this a diary? But it’s completely empty.’

She banished the thought away and stored the small book into a pocket of her ugly, yellow cotton dress. Wrapping the cloak tighter around herself, she slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.