Hi again! The next chapter awaits.
P.S I want to let everyone know that the quests will be very different to the original Tiger's Curse quests. It isn't going to be an entire replay!
ANIK
Mom was acting very strangely. She had this colour in her cheeks I hadn't seen before. She spent a lot of her time sitting out on the balcony on a porch swing, her book lying discarded beside her as she gazed out towards nothing. Sometimes dad sat with her, but most of the time she was alone. But no one seemed to be concerned.
A week passed. The grocer boy delivered food to the house every two days. Edison and I used the massive gym in the basement for something energetic to do, but most of the time I watched movies in the cinema room, read a book from the extensive library collection or slept, while Edison amused himself elsewhere. He remained isolated from the rest of us, especially Emma. He didn't even appear for meals, but helped himself to food at varying times during the day. Emma ate, slept and passed the hours in the library, reading book after book on Durga and anything related to the curse. Mom and dad usually joined her, but they thought that we were past the point of research now. I wondered what we were actually waiting for, and I guessed mom and dad didn't want to see us go.
On the eighth day I found myself in the kitchen, studying the cupboards. Two pieces of bread lay before me and I scanned the many condiments until I found the peanut butter. I had been eating a lot of meat to satisfy my tiger appetite, but I really missed normal, human vegetarian food. It was that moment that dad decided today was the day to go find the Kanheri Cave. Emma followed my parents in and dad reached into his pocket and produced a golden seal attached to a piece of string.
'You have rested here and are now ready for the next part of the journey,' dad began as he passed the seal to Emma, who slipped the cord over her head, the seal resting in the crook of her collarbone. 'We will drive you to the cave, but from their you must go on alone. If we leave in an hour, we can be there just as the tourists leave.'
'An hour?' Emma squeaked, but then cleared her throat. 'I mean…why so soon?'
'We're sorry for the abrupt decision and short notice,' mom apologised. 'But the cave will close during the weekend and we don't want to wait another three days.'
'Do you know what we are looking for in the cave? Is this part of breaking the curse?' Edison questioned, speaking for the first time. I stared at him, wondering how he had entered the room without me noticing. Emma jumped, startled and glanced at Edison in surprise, but quickly looked away. Edison stubbornly refused to look at her.
'No,' dad answered with a sigh. 'Your objective is to find the prophecy, that will be inscribed somewhere at the end of your … journey. However I am sure it will somehow disappear soon after you retrieve it, so I have purchased some dispensable camera's to photograph the prophecy. Hopefully I will be able to decipher it and from there we will make our next move. Obstacles will be placed to prevent you from reaching the prophecy, I am sure. However I will explain more in the car. I suggest you now go and pack.'
And with that the meeting dispensed and everyone disappeared. Edison turned back into a tiger and returned to wherever he spends all of his time in lonely solitude. Emma ran upstairs to pack and my parents started piling food necessities and other provisions into the Jeep. I didn't have anything to pack, so I finished my peanut butter sandwich in silence before morphing back into a tiger and waiting.
EMMA
Edison had been true to his word. The past week he had avoided me like I was a plague. The rare glimpses I would see of him where when he was in the kitchen or the gym. As soon as he saw me or I tried to talk to him, he disappeared to God knows where. It was incredibly frustrating, and in my opinion, very immature.
Kelsey became worried about Edison's mysterious appearances and disappearances, but I assured her that it was my fault, and he would come around eventually. He was acting very childishly, as if a little boy sulking in a corner. But I couldn't blame him; it was obviously less painful to keep away, and if I weren't so selfish, I would understand. But I missed him, and wanted his company again. Badly.
I had been spending a lot of time with Anik, and when I wasn't with him I was in the library, reading about Indian culture, the Kanheri cave and the Goddess Durga, who was supposed to be guiding us on the quest. I tried not to think that she was Edison's mother. That just felt too weird, and this situation was weird enough. Next they will be telling me that vampires and werewolves exist. I had been wondering about mythology and magic ever since I have had time to think. Everything was kind of freaking me out. I mean, a month ago I had been completely normal, but now I had witnessed and been forced to believe that not only was magic real, I was very much stuck inside a curse. On many occasions I am ashamed to say I had started hyperventilating and panicking. Harry Potter, Bella Swan or any other book character hadn't reacted the way I was reacting. Oh no, they were always cool as cucumbers when they found out there was another mythical world out there.
After Ren and Kelsey told us we were leaving for the Kanheri cave, I went back to my room and pulled out from under the bed my backpack. At first I had panicked, thinking that it was all too soon, and there hadn't been any warning. But then I thought that it was better this way because I didn't have to spend time worrying and being apprehensive about what was to come. This way, I couldn't chicken out.
When Anik had first changed into a tiger and I learned about the curse, I didn't hesitate to say that I was ready to do anything to help him. That part had been easy. Anik was in danger and in pain, and people do anything for those they love. Especially when they don't understand what they are volunteering for. But now as we were leaving to start the quest journey, and things were starting to feel unreal and impossible the apprehension and hesitation started to catch up with me.
One or all of us could easily be killed, or let alone seriously injured. Was I ready for this sort of danger? I had been swept away by the curse, and will I ever see the end of it? Could I do this?
And I knew the answer.
Yes.
Because I had to. Because people were relying on me. Because Anik needed me. I had no other choice.
Thank again!
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Ta,
Thoughts of a Fangirl.