Return of the Blessed Curse: Chapter 1 – Truth Found in Darkness (Text Only)

Chapter 1 – Truth Found in Darkness

Today is already going well. Morticia texted me in school asking if we were still going to hang out, I said yes, and she said she couldn’t wait to see me. After school, I tell my friends what she said and my ideas for where to take her.

“You should bring her to the hill we usually go to or let us know where you go. That way, we can give you tips on what to say.”

“Charlie, that’s a dumb idea. Take her to one of the expensive restaurants in the center of the city with a good view of it. It’s a bonus if they play romantic music.”

“You’re both wrong. From a girl’s perspective, you should take her where your heart wants to take her or wherever she wants to go.”

“Thanks for all your advice, guys. I’ll consider it.” My friends and I go our separate ways. I drop off my school bag at home and am about to leave, but my parents stop me at the door.

My mom fixes up my hair and looks at every inch of me as if she were looking for any possible imperfections. She says, “Have fun, be yourself, and don’t get heartbroken if she just wants to be friends.”

 

“And don’t forget what your brother said. Call him if you need him to get you anything you want for the date.”

“Come on, mom and dad. We’re just hanging out. You don’t need to be so worried about me.” I say goodbye to my parents and leave home. While on my way to our meeting point, I start to feel as if I want this to be a date. Part of me wants to immediately start a relationship with Morticia, but no, I shouldn’t rush this. It’ll be fine if we just become friends. My brother did say to hang out with her three or so times before committing anyway. When I go to the alley where I talked to Morticia yesterday, I knock on the door at the end of it three times just like she said to do in one of her texts.

She answers the door and I’m stopped in greeting her by the void of darkness behind her. “Hell-hello, Adler. I’m glad you came.”

I collect myself and say, “H-hi, Morticia! So, where do you want to go?” Please say somewhere else but here. The darkness behind her has an odd feel to it. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Even during the night, the orange sun doesn’t make things this dark. Compared to this darkness, the night is practically daytime, and yet, I can’t help but squint at the sight of it as if it’s radiating some kind of light.

“Adler, would you like to come in for a second before we head out?”

“Uh, sure.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I forgot how intimating the darkness behind me may be to some people. Would…you wouldn’t mind taking my hand to guide you through it?”

Putting on as strong a face as I can, I say, “I don’t mind,” as I put my hand in hers.

While walking together through her house, I can’t see anything as if I’m walking through a void of black. I can’t believe I’m not afraid of being here, I guess it’s because I’m more nervous about holding Morticia’s hand. Still, I think I can see Morticia blushing, meaning we’re both nervous about holding hands, for some reason. In the darkness, I can hear whispers, who must be friends or family of hers. Maybe she took the advice of a person who is like Charlie who will give her tips on what to say. Is that why she brought me in here?

I’m about to question where I’m being taken until I’m startled by the statue I’m brought to. It seems broken beyond repair and has an ominous red veil covering its empty void of a face.

“I can’t play coy anymore about this, Morticia. What’s going on? What is this?”

“The Sufferer, my Lord, and my God, as the Light is to the world. Please, ask Him to help you.”

“He’s…like the Light? This is just an inanimate statue.”

“I know He seems like that, but…have a little faith, and you’ll see who He truly is. Trust me.”

“Um…okay, I guess.” I put my hands together in prayer as Morticia instructs and ask the Sufferer to bless me with wisdom.

As I pray, I start to feel strange. Words and concepts that I’ve never thought of or fully understood enter my head along with pain in my eyes and hands as…blood flows from them. I don’t think I’ve ever bled or felt any kind of real pain. What is pain? What is suffering? What is truth? What is love? Why am I asking these questions while feeling something lashing my skin, spitting on my face, and a weight bringing me down? The words, “Awaken” are whispered into my ears as I feel a more radical change occurring in me.

When I open my eyes, I see that part of me is not only bleeding but is made of bones and is wearing a shawl with living faces on it that I can almost hear speaking to me. This shawl feels like a heavy stone on my shoulders despite appearing to be a simple cloth. As if knowing what I’m thinking Morticia gives me a mirror so I can look at the other side of my face that looks like a skull with stitching covering my mouth and spikes on my head that are like a crown. “What happening to me?!”

The statue in front of me cracks and moves as if it were alive. From it, the voice of a man with a deep, yet soft voice says, “You have been awakened and blessed with the truth, Adler.”

“Who are you and what do you mean that I’ve been blessed?”

“You are no longer under the blinding influence of the Light. You will no longer be his slave to his false truth, and instead, be my faithful servant as you were meant to from the start of your creation.”

“I don’t understand. How is this constant pain a blessing?”

“To suffer is to love. From the start of creation, I was crucified to save humanity from its sins, and for this reason, I am known as the Sufferer. You have been blessed above many others in that you will suffer with me for not only your sake but the sake of the world so that it can escape complete damnation.”

“Explain everything to me further. I feel like I understand and believe you, but I’m still confused. How was I under the blind influence of the Light? What do you mean by suffering for the sake of the world so it can escape damnation?”

“Your new friends will explain everything else so that you may grow closer to them in the process. Bear the pain you have and wield it as a weapon against the Light, and if you ever feel lonely in your task, remember that I am carrying the weight of your responsibility with you.”

My body returns to normal and stops bleeding. I try to talk to the Sufferer to get Him to explain more, but He doesn’t say anything and is still like a statue again. Now that my eyes have adjusted to the darkness, I see that Morticia and I are not the only people in the room as three people stand next to her. “Who are you?”

The aggressive-looking man with fiery orange eyes and hoodie steps forward with a smirk and says, “My name is Eddie, the leader or rather former leader of our little group. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“My name is Angelo. I attend to the statue of the Sufferer and keep Him as intact as I can while praying in penance to Him. Thank you for joining us,” the bulky and tall man in a large trench coat says.

“I’m Jessica. Best friend of Jessica and the one who keeps in touch with other groups like ours and gathers intel. I’m glad you’ve received the greatest blessing the Sufferer can offer.”

“What do you mean I received the greatest blessing?”

“The gift of suffering is the gift to truly love. It’s why I can’t be the leader of the group anymore and you have to take over. If that wasn’t enough, you have been blessed with stigmata, a gift that further allows you to share in the suffering and love of the Sufferer.”

“You were a good leader while in charge, even though we haven’t accomplished much.”

“You know you would’ve been put under the Light’s control if I didn’t fight for you all and make quick decisions.”

“And you would’ve been outmatched and outnumbered if I didn’t help you. You weren’t fighting alone.”

“I haven’t heard the Light going after anyone on the news. I thought he tolerated all beliefs.”

“You haven’t heard of anything because the Light wants to keep his attacks on us secret to keep up the image that the world is in a state of total peace. As for tolerance, the Light has none. He has oriented the beliefs of all faiths towards viewing him as their savior. Even the Church that once worshipped the Sufferer bows to him. All scriptures and texts of our faith have been destroyed, the Sufferer’s true name is lost to history, and this is the last remaining statue of Him, as far as we know. The Light even masquerades with a perverted version of the face of the Sufferer taken from this very statue to further sell his savior image.”

“The Light is only tolerant of beliefs that don’t contradict veneration and worship of him and he erases any that point a person towards the truth and true love, who is the Sufferer.”

“So, what do you guys do?”

“Whatever the Sufferer wills of us. Sometimes, we just pray and recruit who we can.”

“Other times, we destroy centers of his lies that blind the public and kill who we must.”

“I know killing and death must be a foreign concept to you, Adler, but it’s something that needs to be done sometimes. If you only knew how evil people can be and how bad things are out there. Actually, I go back to what I said at first. You should know more about death than you think. Morticia? You’ve been oddly quiet for being so interested in bringing Adler to us.”

“I’m…just feeling a bit guilty for not being completely honest with him.”

“Don’t worry about it. I get why you couldn’t tell me why you weren’t telling me everything and why you brought me here. Now, what’s Eddie talking about?”

“Your gift from the Sufferer is a representation of the necessary suffering that mankind needs to experience. As for me…”

Morticia transforms into a skeletal being with moth-like wings, a weird pustule thing in her left hand, and a cross-like symbol on her face with red tears on it. “My blessing is a representation of necessary death. Humanity must no longer be immortal because they were meant to die and face judgment.”

Everyone starts transforming after Morticia. Eddie turns into a flaming skeletal being that lights up the entire room. “My blessing is that of necessary war. Truth and lies cannot coexist and the truth must erase all error out of love for its subjects.”

“I am blessed with necessary sadness, a burden that realizes that we cannot be happy all the time and must endure hard times and tragedy to grow stronger,” Angelo says.

“As for me, I am blessed with necessary separation. Truth must be separate from lies, love separate from hate, and those who worship the Sufferer must be separate from those who worship the Light and false truths.”

“Our abilities in this form reflect what they represent and act as tools for the Sufferer’s will. Pray and you will fully turn into your Necessary form.”

I do as Eddie says. “If that’s true, does that mean that all I can do…”

“…is make people suffer?”

“You will do more than that. Through their and your suffering, you will awaken their conscience to allow them to see how they must turn their lives towards truth, towards the Sufferer thereby saving their souls and ensuring an eternity of happiness and peace where they belong that is unlike this false paradise we are living in.”

Part of me doesn’t want to do this, and yet, the other part of me that does is so much stronger. With my mind and conscience clearer than it’s ever been because of the pain, I can’t help but want to free the world from the Light and restore truth to it. “If we’re going to take this world back from the Light, I say we should start by knowing what he and my brother are planning. I know they’re staying in this city for a while because he wants to help the place he calls home. If we have a listening device, I can plant it in his luxury tower.”

Eddie and the others transform back to their normal selves. He then says, “A man after my own heart. You take charge and already have a great idea that would give us invaluable intel. It’s no wonder why the Sufferer chose you to be our leader and orchestrated events to have Morticia bring you here.”

“Yes, we do have mini listening devices that you can plant in the king’s tower, but will your brother let you wander around the building?”

I collect myself and then say, “Yes. We’re close, and today, he said I should take Morticia anywhere she wanted and to call him if someone didn’t allow me to do so.”

“Well, Morticia, looks like you two will be having your date in the most luxurious place in the city.”

“Huh? It’s not a date. It’s just a mission is all.”

After finding and giving us the listening devices, Eddie says, “Act natural and just have a good time. Otherwise…you know what to do, Morticia.”

“Yeah…I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

As we leave the room and walk into the alleyway, I ask Morticia, “Hey, should we hold hands to sell my brother the idea that we’re really on a date? It should give him a better reason to leave us alone.”

“What? You actually want to hold hands with me?”

“I don’t see why not. Let’s practice now so we look natural when we get to the tower.” Morticia agrees and we hold hands. We look at each other and I feel an almost gravitational pull to her face as if I already want to kiss her, but I shake off the feeling and focus on the task at hand. “Let’s go.”

“Ye-yeah. Let’s.”

Behind me, I hear my new friends talking to each other as we leave. “Wow, Eddie. I’ve never seen Morticia act that way around anyone. I’m surprised our new leader got a girlfriend faster than you did despite all the times you tried asking all those other girls out.”

“Shut up!”

“Hahaha! She’s right!”

“Adler?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I have to say that I’m sorry again for not being completely honest with you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I probably wouldn’t have come with you if you had explained everything. I also wouldn’t have understood it without the Sufferer's knowledge. Speaking of which, everything feels so different because of it. The light feels unnatural, the air smells as if it’s making me light-headed, and something about both combined forces me to smile. Also, I feel the pains of the stigmata despite not seeing the physical wounds.”

“The curse that the Light put on the world forces people to feel and be happy. As for the stigmata, I’m not too sure about when it shows or hides itself other than the times when it showed on you when you prayed and turned into your Necessary form.”

“You think we should really be talking about this stuff in public? Do you think we should whisper or speak in code like in the movies?”

“Believe it or not, we don’t have to be too careful. Many in our group and outside of it have tried evangelizing, but people don’t care about the truth and just see our beliefs as another truth. As for getting in trouble, even the most secretive groups have been arrested and taken away to places unknown that I’ve only heard horror stories about. There was even a person who had stigmata and was blessed with suffering like you are, and that person ended up being one of the Light’s many kings.”

“The rebel who became a king. I remember that tale in history class now that you mention it, but I won’t betray the Sufferer, you, or any one of my new friends. I promise you that we’ll succeed and make a difference in the world.”

“You think so? I hope you’re right because nothing has really changed in a thousand or so years.”

“I promise you!” I say, which brings a slight smile to Morticia’s face. As we approach the luxury tower, I feel an uneasy sense of nervousness as I hope that my plan goes smoothly. Since people here know who I am, no one questions us as we enter and simply greets us. I ask them if my brother is here and they say he is, meaning that the Light is here too, since the Light is never far from his king.

As we enter an elevator, I see Morticia shifting around. She asks, “Do you know where you’re going?”

“Yes. My brother took me here once and showed me everything, even the secret meeting room and the suite that he stays in. The only problem is that I need a special keycard to unlock the elevator that goes to it.”

“I don’t like this. Are you sure your brother will just give you the keycard?”

“If you tell him it’s where you want to go he will. Just act natural and this should all work out.” I give Morticia a reassuring hug. “We can do this.”

“If you say so.”

Knowing my brother and what’s happening around this time, I head to the sports bar with Morticia where he should be hanging out with his friends, and sure enough, he’s there with the Light not too far from them. “Hey, Mikheil!”

“Adler! I’m glad you’re here, brother, and you’re already holding hands with your girlfriend. What’s your name? I hope my brother is making this the best day of your life.”

 

“My name is Morticia, my liege. It’s an honor to meet you, and yes, today has been one of the best, so far.”

“You don’t need to be so formal. The honor is mine. Also, I said that my brother should be making this the best day of your life. He will get in trouble with me if he doesn’t do that. Now, what can we do to make it the absolute best?”

“I was just about to ask. Could we go to the uppermost part of the tower? I’d like to see the view and suite if you don’t mind. I heard it’s really nice up there.”

“Ah, going to a private area just for yourselves, eh? Brother, you’ve really been buttering her up today, haven’t you?”

“No, no, no! It’s nothing like that!”

“I won’t say anything to mom and dad. Just be sure to take responsibility, if you do anything just like I did. Here, take the keycard and keep it. I’ve got plenty of spares.”

“Thanks so much!” My brother and his friends tell us the have fun while the Light simply laughs and watches us. I say bye to them and start walking with Morticia to the elevator while her face is strawberry red. When we get into the elevator that takes us to the top floor, I say, “Don’t worry about what they said. They’re just energetic from all the drinking and betting on sports.”

“I…I know. Let’s just get this done.” Once we get to the top floor, we start planting all the listening devices we have in every room including the meeting room, balcony, bar, and bedroom. This floor looks like a castle and church combined because of the marble and fine materials the floors, walls, and ceiling are made out of and the many stained glass windows that depict the Light and his many deeds. After planting the last listening device, I suggest actually looking at the view here like we said and Morticia agrees to do so.

“The view from here really is beautiful and like nothing else you can find. It’s like you can see into the next city closet to here.” As I turn around, my body turns cold at the sight of my brother, his friends, and the Light staring at us from outside the room as if they were always there, spying on us.

Before I can say anything, my brother says, “I hope you aren’t going to leave so soon.”

Putting on my best face and trying to act as relaxed as I can, I say, “What do you mean?”

“This is the perfect opportunity for your first kiss. It’s where I kissed Lyana, so why don’t you do the same?” My brother and his friends say kiss, kiss, kiss over and over again until I eventually do kiss Morticia on the lips. Then, they cheer for me, except for the Light who merely claps and smiles. “There you go! That’s my brother!”

While this is happening, Morticia buries her head in my chest, too embarrassed to look at anyone, especially since her face is redder than ever. My face is probably just as red if not more. “Haha, we’ll be going now. Thanks for everything!”

“Anytime, brother. Anytime.” My brother and his friends go back to their drinking and smack-talking as they turn on all the sports and competitive games on the TV here. Escort girls and other people who I’ve seen with my brother enter the room as we’re leaving.

Morticia doesn’t say a word to me on the way back to the alley and keeps her face in my chest while still holding my hand tighter than ever and covering her face with her other hand. As get closer to the alley, I say, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s-it’s okay…I didn’t mind. You did what you had to.”

Morticia and I arrive back at the alley and I tell my new friends that the mission went off without a hitch. They stare at me with smiles on their faces, and it’s then that I realize that they heard everything because of the listening devices.

“I was half-joking about it being a date, but I’m glad you two fell in love with one another. It’s so cute that you’re still holding each other’s hands!” Morticia turns red, buries her face in my chest again, and grunts in embarrassment.

“Great job, you two. You’re already shaping up to be an astounding leader because of how forward you are, in more ways than one.”

“Come on, guys, stop teasing them.” They’ve been through a lot today.

My new friends and I hang out for the rest of the day together until late afternoon, talking about how this new breakthrough will allow our group, and many others to hear the plans of my brother and the Light while they’re here in the city. I also get to know them a bit better in what they like and their hobbies. When I leave to go home, Morticia grabs my hand.

I turn to ask her what she wants, but she kisses me, making me silent. “Thank you for the best day of my life.”

In the back, I can hear Eddie complain about how I can’t keep getting away with this. “It-it was my pleasure! I hope we can do it again sometime!” I then leave and walk home. This was probably the best day of my life as well.