Cursed

by Smith, Ava

  “He is amazing!” Amy declares.

  “Wonder where he picked that up?” Emily enquires.

  The dance continues with increasing vigour but it’s too much for Claudia to bear and she hastily exits the hall pushing past a couple of the dancers. Sarah and Daniel continue to glide round the floor like seasoned pros, adopting complicated moves with the greatest of ease and leaving onlookers astonished. Minutes later the couple end their routine with their eyes fixed on each other. Everyone in the room seems momentarily stunned as they neither speak nor move. Then Robert starts to clap closely followed by Anne and gradually the whole room erupts into rapturous applause. Sarah is amazed by the response so she rewards them with a curtsey, the kind she usually gives at the end of a performance. Her elation ends when the clock behind her chimes seven and she stands up from her curtsey with a look of dread.

  Daniel notices the change. “Sarah?”

  “I have to go. I have to get out of here!” she says, letting go of his hand and rushing to the side.

  “Sarah, where are you going?”

  He is on the verge of chasing her when Felicity tells the crowd. “And now, Mr MacGregor will say a few words to get things started.” Daniel is still distracted by Sarah so Felicity says assertively, “Mr Macgregor.”

  Daniel glances at Felicity and walks reluctantly to the microphone where he prepares to give a speech.

  Meanwhile, Claudia is standing in the ladies room, staring at herself in the mirror. She perspires and looks like she herself is about to turn into some mythical creature. A moment passes and she screams and punches her reflection. Bits of glass fly about in all directions and as she unfurls her hand she sees there are a few cuts here and there, but rather than get upset by it Claudia starts to chuckle.

  Sarah has bigger issues right now as time is working against her. She makes it to the lower deck and holds up her hand to see her fingers are growing longer and she is changing fast. She steps up on the railing and looks down at the water. Just then a man walks up and lights a cigarette. Sarah groans and can’t believe her luck. She makes her way to the upper deck, but this time she sees two people heading towards her. She desperately searches for a place to hide and when she spots an open door she dashes behind it and stays there until they pass. As soon as the couple leave Sarah walks hastily to the side, takes a quick look both ways and jumps over into the river. She watches the yacht sail away before she dives under. There’s no sign of her for a few minutes and the swirling waters don’t give any clues as to whether or not she’s okay. Then Sarah’s elegant dress floats upwards and a few seconds later Sarah, in swan form, flies up from the water and heads in the direction of Hope Lake... and London Bridge.

  At present all the vehicles on the bridge are stationary and a double-decker bus full of people sits patiently in traffic. The passengers look bored out of their minds and many fidget with their mobile phones and laptops. An observant little girl notices Sarah flying towards them and she immediately asks her mother,

  “Mummy, why is that bird heading for us?”

  Her mother turns and also sees Sarah approach them.

  “I don’t know, dear. Maybe it’s lost?”

  Sarah continues to fly toward them getting closer with every second. All the people on the top level now notice her and they start to murmur and squirm. A dark-haired man stands up and declares,

  “It’s getting closer! It’s going to hit us!”

  He immediately dashes from his seat and runs downstairs, but the little girl merely rests her palm on the window and cries out, “Mummy, she’s going to hit us!”

  Sarah reaches the bus and the girl’s mother holds her daughter tightly as it looks like the creature will crash into them for sure. But Sarah simply skims over them and flies away until she disappears into the night sky. The 50 people on the bus cheer and clap and some even have tears in their eyes, however the little girl is far less enthralled and she utters in a soft voice,

  “Wow, she didn’t hit us.”

  In the meantime, Sarah is climbing further into the clouds and flies with the moon on her wings. She is in her element now and the threat of being revealed has all but vanished. Below her the city lights peek through like diamonds, and Sarah rolls, dives, swoops back up and flaps her wings. She hastily leaves the city and soars over the countryside where she sees the beginnings of Hope Lake. All this is a far cry from what’s happening in the main hall where Daniel is at the end of an agonisingly long speech.

  “In fact, working here has been so rewarding. It’s like all my birthdays have come together at once ... all 78 of them.”

  He sees a woman in a blue dress walk past the window and watches her carefully. A woman in her 50s enters the room wearing a full length blue gown and Daniel turns back to the crowd.

  “So where was I?”

  “You were wrapping up,” Felicity yells from the side.

  Daniel points to her. “Yes I was. And in conclusion, taking over the company was the best thing I ever did. Thank you all very much.”

  A sea of empty faces stare at him and a few intermittent claps are heard. Daniel bows graciously and approaches Andre who tells him, “Nice speech. But if you’re looking for Miss Mitchell she was heading towards the cabin ten minutes ago.”

  Daniel pats him on the shoulder. “Thanks Andre.”

  The 26-year--old promptly dashes out of the hall and wades through pockets of people to try and find her. There’s no sign of her anywhere and he grows more impatient by the minute. As he reaches the end of a corridor he sees the main cabin right in front of him. He strides forward and flings open the door, but all he finds in there is a young couple kissing.

  “Sorry, but have you seen Sarah?” he asks them.

  “Err, no sir, we haven’t,” the girl answers.

  “Thanks.”

  He shuts the door and the couple carry on kissing. Daniel sprints down some steps and approaches Amy, Emily and Joanne who are standing by the side. They were the ones Daniel snubbed earlier and their faces show it. He asks them eagerly,

  “Have any of you girls seen Sarah?”

  “No”

  “No...I think she may have gone to the toilet.”

  “The toilet?”

  Daniel trusts them wholeheartedly and doesn’t for one moment think they could be angry at him for the snub. He hastily makes his way through a series of narrow passageways and turns a corner to see a long line outside the toilet. He pushes past the line of disgruntled dancers and reaches the front.

  “Has she been in there long?” he asks Robert.

  “Forever and a day!” Robert answers wearily.

  The toilet door opens and Leo, one of the lesser dancers, comes out looking ill.

  “Must be something I ate,” he concludes before he throws up.

  Everyone steps back and groans and at that moment the yacht jerks violently and people are thrust forward.

  Daniel looks back at the corridor and remarks, “Boat’s docking. We’ve reached the harbour.”

  He doesn’t waste another moment and he races to the entrance to see people are already starting to leave the yacht. He can’t see much so he stands on his toes to get a better view. To his disappointment all he sees is a mass of people scrambling to disembark and no sign of Sarah. Daniel’s face sinks and he makes his way to the exit like all the others.

  Later on, Daniel, Felicity and Andre are waiting in the harbour as they watch the last few passengers leave the yacht. They’ve been standing in the cold for the past hour and all their noses are red. Daniel takes to biting his nails as he focuses on the yacht door when Andre remarks tactlessly,

  “Maybe she fell overboard?”

  Felicity glares at Andre and speaks to Daniel. “She was probably the first to leave. You must’ve just missed her.”

  The very last passengers, the young man and woman from the cabin stumble out of the yacht and Daniel says, sombrely,

  “You’re right. You two can go home now.”

&nbs
p; “And what about you, sir?” Felicity enquires with a sense of concern.

  Daniel pauses a moment and replies, “I guess I’ll go home too.”

  An hour later, Daniel walks into the darkened living room of his London townhouse and slumps in his chair. He runs Sarah’s disappearance over and over in his head and images of her falling over the side fill his mind. He is about to reach for the phone but draws his hand back at the last minute.

  “We never should’ve met!” he mutters softly.

  A few hours pass and daylight creeps into the living room. The cries of dawn birds can be heard outside the window but Daniel is asleep on his desk and is oblivious to them. His phone rings and he moves his hand haphazardly toward the device and picks up.

  “Hel... hello?” he answers in a groggy tone.

  “It’s me,” a familiar voice tells him.

  “Sarah?” Daniel sits up quickly.

  “Hope you don’t mind? Felicity gave me your number,” she says.

  He almost can’t believe what he hears. “No, I don’t mind. Where were you? I didn’t see you after my speech.”

  She makes it sound convincing. “I felt quite faint, and I went up to the deck.”

  “The deck?” He chuckles. “Then I suppose I should get used to the Houdini act seeing as you disappear so often! In fact, next time we should freeze you in ice!”

  “Look, I didn’t call to get ridiculed!” she retorts loudly.

  Daniel calms a little. “Okay, I’m sorry. I just didn’t know where you were for half the night. And it worried me.”

  “I didn’t realise you were so concerned about me.

  “Of course I’m concerned. I care about you.”

  “You do?” she asks cheerfully.

  “Why else would I paste green gunge on your arm?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe you have a fetish?”

  “Fetish? Me?”

  Sarah giggles before speaking in a calmer voice. “I’m sorry I gave you a fright. It really couldn’t be helped.”

  Daniel is also calm and replies, “I’m sorry I overreacted.” He immediately pulls the phone away and whispers, “Just don’t do it again.”

  CHAPTER 16

  The morning after is sunny and bright and as soon as Daniel wakes he jumps out of bed with a renewed energy. The fact that Sarah is all right makes him appear more chirpy than usual. He hums while he gets dressed, dances while he has breakfast, snatches his notebook and pen and rushes out of the house. His mobile phone starts to ring and when he sees that it’s Claudia, he walks slowly towards his car where there’s zero reception, and the phone instantly stops ringing. He gets into his car and drives off down the street, remembering to switch off the phone in case she rings again. At that precise moment, Claudia is driving quickly down a deserted road and notices Daniel’s call has disconnected. She tries the number again but receives a voicemail message alerting her to the fact that his phone is switched off.

  “Perfect!”

  She puts the car into a higher gear only to have a slow-moving tractor pull in front of her and she slams her foot on the brake. Looking frustrated, she overtakes the tractor with no regard to the large lorry heading toward her on the other side and skims past the juggernaut with inches to spare. Afterwards, her car races past Hope Lake but she doesn’t even notice the swans or the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Instead she slows down when she approaches the turning to the manor.

  A gardener prunes some trees at the front of the manor house and he succeeds in making an already pristine facade look even better. This is something John insists on as he likes the house to look beautiful at all times as a tribute to his late wife Victoria. The gardener is completely absorbed in his duties when he is alerted to a booming sound and looks up to see Claudia’s metallic grey Mercedes speeding his way. His eyes widen and he jumps back against the bushes as the car stops just short of him. Claudia gets out of her car and puts on her sunglasses.

  “Good morning, Miss St. Clair,” the gardener declares still catching his breath.

  Claudia takes off her sunglasses and gives him a sturdy look. “There is nothing good about this morning, understand?”

  The gardener takes a moment and replies, “Yes, miss. I understand.”

  She gives him a shallow smile as she leaves. “Don’t forget it!”

  Claudia approaches the large front door of the manor and rings the doorbell. There’s no immediate answer so she rings it two more times in quick succession and Hargreaves opens the door a second later.

  “About time,” she snaps. She pushes past him and enquires, “Where is he?”

  “Mr MacGregor Senior is in the drawing room. Mr MacGregor Junior, I don’t have a clue.”

  “Of course you don’t!”

  She pushes past him again and marches into the drawing room to find Daniel’s father cowering behind a newspaper.

  “Something terrible has happened,” she informs him.

  John lowers the paper and asks, “Would you like some tea?”

  Afternoon tea is a big deal in the MacGregor household and the servants always make the most delicious selection of cakes and sandwiches for John to consume. John normally takes his tea alone but today a sombre faced Claudia is sitting on the sofa opposite. Before them are the sandwiches, cakes and tea. He keeps staring at her in a curious way as though he knows exactly why she’s come here, but nevertheless he asks respectfully,

  “Did you come here for a reason?”

  “I’m here because I’m disappointed, Mr MacGregor. Very disappointed.”

  He leans forward and picks up his tea. “Oh? With my son? Or with life?”

  “Both! Daniel is slipping through my fingers and I can’t stop it!” she snaps.

  “And you think I can?”

  “He’s your son. You can control him.”

  “Daniel is a free spirit. Always has been. We can’t force him to think a certain way,” John answers bringing the cup to his lips.

  “Rubbish!” The sharp nature of her outburst makes John look up. “I say we can force him. All it takes is strength and a little courage.”

  Claudia calmly picks up a strawberry tart from the cake selection, bites into it and speaks with her mouth full.

  “But on an inconsequential note, my father’s been eager to continue his prosperous relationship with MacGregor Industries. Of course, until now, he’s never had a reason to look elsewhere.”

  She pops the remainder of the cake into her mouth and chews while John stares at his future daughter-in-law with some degree of disdain. She is as shrewd as she is beautiful and for a short time he feels sad that his son could end up with such an unfeeling girl. Claudia carries on munching on the cake, licks her fingers one by one and when she’s finished eating she gives him a reminder.

  “Plain truth is you need me as much as I need you. As long as you remember that you’ll be fine.”

  “Yes,” John answers faintly.

  That same morning, Sarah runs up the theatre steps and is about to enter the foyer when she hears a bird shriek. She turns and freezes when she sees two dozen of the creatures are watching her from the trees opposite. This time she’s ready for them and instead of cowering away like before she states firmly,

  “I already told you, you can’t come in. So don’t pester me!”

  A couple of birds look at each other before the entire brood takes off, covering the whole area like a blanket. Sarah looks pleased with herself afterwards and continues into the foyer.

  After she gets changed the young ballerina strolls down her favourite corridor to start rehearsals. She hesitates when she sees Emily and Ian appear to wait for her outside the rehearsal room.

  “Give me strength,” she whispers.

  Her confidence lapses further when she senses everyone in rooms one and two is also watching her. As Sarah reaches the last rehearsal room Emily and Ian stare at her with impish smiles.

  “You out did yourself last night, Sarah,” Emily states.


  “Yes, you were definitely ‘Queen of the ball’!” Ian adds.

  Sarah passes them in silence and walks into the room, where she sees ten dancers, including Isobel and Robert, warming up. They stop what they’re doing when they see her walking in.

  “I see someone’s been getting more than her fair share of practise,” remarks Isobel mockingly.

  “He’s just a friend,” Sarah answers almost in apology. The entire room groans and she adds quickly, “I know you don’t believe me, but he’s just someone who was kind enough to ask me to dance and nothing more.”

  “So what you’re saying is that you have absolutely no feelings for him?” Isobel prods again.

  Sarah looks round and sees everyone in the room is watching her.

  “I have absolutely no feelings for him,” she states firmly.

  Elizabeth claps from the doorway and Sarah turns to hear.

  “All right, everyone. After last night’s excitement, I’m sure you’re all eager to get back to work.”

  The dancers get ready for rehearsal but a few continue taunting Sarah with patronising stares. She only has one piece of good fortune during rehearsal and that is Daniel doesn’t attend. Instead he sits on stage, a lonely figure in a vast auditorium. After some thought he puts pen to paper and scrawls: “‘Special effects, tickets, publicity, money’” one after the other, then draws a line across the words and scribbles again: “‘Debt, bankruptcy, closure, welfare’”.

  “Can I join you?” someone says.

  He looks up sharply and sees Sarah.

  “Of course you can join me,” he utters eagerly.

  She has no desire to sit in the canteen. Especially since all she is going to get are stares and whispers. She takes a seat opposite him and her eyes fall on the notebook.

  “What are you writing?”

  “Oh, just some ideas for the ballet,” Daniel replies clicking his pen shut.

  “Rewriting Swan Lake?” she asks jokingly.

  “More like a re-envisioning. I have to create something...”