The Man Who Sees Curses

M

MadylineJames

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Original poster
@Juneberry

Seline stifled a yawn, leaning back in the uncomfortable café chair and eyeing the laughing blonde on across the patio. She'd been tailing the sweet young lady for days. She was one of those people who made everyone around them smile. She couldn't see the dark, twisting shadow that hovered just behind her shoulder. Seline could though. She had been able to for years. For a long time, she thought that she was just going mad, until she finally put two and two together and figure out what it was. She could see the shadow of death, clinging to his soon to be victims.

For so long she tried to ignore it, and she slowly spiraled. It felt like it was her fault, every time she saw a familiar face on the news. She'd seen him, walked past her. Could she have stopped it, should she have stopped it? She was driving herself mad; each death broke her heart a little more. Finally, one day, she just cracked. He was just a kid. Maybe ten. The shadow of death clung to him like tar, and something in her snapped. She followed him for days, and was there to snatch him out of the path of a drunk driver.

From that day she swore that she'd do all she could, no matter what. She still lost people, of course. She could only help so many and each lost person tore at her heart, but she still pushed on. This one, Macie her name was, was maybe twenty. Seline had seen her around the campus a few times, and the shadow had appeared three days ago. She hadn't figured out what the threat was yet, but she was sure it would happen soon. Shadows usually showed up around three days before the victims death.

Seline was jerked out of her thoughts when Macie stood, and she quickly pulled herself out of her own seat to follow behind her. She pulled the hood of her jacket up closer to her cheek as they walked. Macie's shadow was twining closer and closer; whatever it was would happen soon. Macie turned a corner ahead of her and she sped up so she wouldn't lose her. When Seline rounded the corner Macie was just stepping into an alley and Seline's instincts twisted in her gut. This was where it was supposed to happen.

She started to jog towards the narrow opening, and the sound of raised voices spilled into the street. When Seline peeked in she saw Macie, money in hand, arguing with another man in the alley. Arms were waving, the money was smacked out of her hand and scattered across the filthy ground. She saw the bright flash of metal-a knife? Prepared as always, she yanked her phone out of her pocket and hit the audio she'd saved for times like these. The shrill sounds of sirens filled the alleyway. The man startled, the knife fell from his hands, and they both ran. Before Macie turned the corner she saw the clinging shadow slowly start to fade, and she smiled tot herself. She may not have stopped whatever Macie was doing, but at least this particular death had been avoided.
 
Nuru wasn't unaware that he was far from normal. Sitting in a cafe, the chair's back didn't even reach his mid-back well, due to his obnoxiously tall figure. He was one of those people that just never seemed to stop growing during puberty, skyrocketing past his classmates until he had to duck under doorways to avoid harming himself. It wasn't even that, though, that made him be seen as weird.

When his tea was brought to him, he had to move the mask he wore over his face. Nuru was rather uneasy about people seeing him- so, he always wore a peculiar mask that seemed to combine the two masks associated with theater: one side frowning slightly, the other slightly smiling. He pulled it upward just enough to sip his tea, before returning to staring at a stranger he'd noticed. He was debating talking to her, but avoided it for the time being as she seemed preoccupied with another customer. Still, he couldn't help but wonder just what it was he was seeing.

What the woman likely didn't know was that she was cursed, Nuru thought. He could see a collar around her neck invisible to most people- that was just how he saw curses, though. In his mind, he was wondering what the curse could possibly be- he could only tell small details about the curses he saw through these collars. Mostly, he'd learned that curses tended to have an affinity for one of the deadly sins that their creator's was filled with. This woman's seemed to conflict with his usual ability to see that- much like his own, which he could see if he looked in the mirror. It was black as night, the same he seemed to see on the young woman.

When the stranger got out of her seat, Nuru called for his check. He hurriedly paid for it before slowly walking out the door behind her. His interest was piqued- what was her curse? Why did she seem to be stalking behind the other woman? He had too many questions, quite honestly, that it was hurting his head just a bit. When they got to the alley, he stayed a good ten meters away- close enough to see her, but not enough to talk to her. However, when the siren sound stopped, he walked up to her from behind. "That was quite the interesting facade you created to stop whatever was happening in there," He said with his deep yet soft voice. "You may be lucky it worked, but you're otherwise unfortunate, aren't you? The collar around your neck tells me you've got quite a curse in your life."
 
She'd just turned the sound off and was about to walk away when a deep voice sounded quietly behind her. She may have actually levitated at that moment, a strangled squeak escaping her throat. She spun to face him and looked up. and up. and up. Christ on a cracker, this man was tall. She was taller than average herself, reaching towards 5'6, but he still dwarfed her. He was wearing a mask that covered his face; one side smiling one side laughing. She blinked at him, pushing her hood back so that she could see him properly. Her blue eyes studied him.

"C-collar?" She reached up to touch her neck, all she was wearing was her simple silver chain. "I don't know what you mean." She glanced down the alley again, then down at her phone and realized he must have seen what she'd been doing. "O-oh, the sirens! Well I was just...playing a prank. A friend of mine was meeting her boyfriend in the alley and I thought I'd scare them." She stuffed her phone in her pocket and tugged at a dark curl.

"I think I should just...go now." She cleared her throat, glanced into the alley one more time. "Have a great day." She glanced up at him again, then took a step back. "G-goodbye."
 
He could feel her eyes staring at him, and it honestly bothered him just a bit. Behind his mask, he was wincing- the stares he got normally didn't get on his nerves, but when he had just come up to a woman and started talking to her like he was an old friend, he realized it made him that much more suspicious looking in the eyes of others. He had a deep rooted concern that she'd be playing the sirens again to get rid of him, but was happily surprised that it didn't happen. Of course, he was still an investigator, even if it was of the occult. He knew what a lie looked like, at least sometimes. Her playing with her hair was a strong indicator to him.

"I may work with the police on occasion, but it doesn't make me a policeman. I won't be arresting you for your little 'prank'. I have a feeling you did it for a good cause."

The girl seemed to look into the alley. Was she worried he'd bring her there and cause her trouble? He had to think of a way to keep her from running away from him, at least until he could figure out what kind of curse she had on her. "It's not a collar that normal people can see... Tell me, do you ever notice strange things happening around you? A strange sight that only you see, a sound haunting you, an irresistible urge? I'd like to talk to you for a little while about it. We can go to a public place- perhaps the cafe from earlier."
 
She blinked, looking him over warily. how would he know that she could see things? He didn't seem to know any exacts, but just that he could guess it was strange. "Maybe," she said suspiciously. "What'd it be to you if I did?" She did relax a little when he offered to speak in a public place, though she still didn't let her guard down completely. She dropped her hood all the way back and studied him.

Besides being incredibly tall, she couldn't tell much about him with the mask on. She did get the idea that he was uncomfortable. "Why are you interested?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not hurting anyone, after all." Quite the opposite actually. She got the feeling that he knew something, but not everything. Maybe he was like her.

"Or are you someone who sees them too?" She left it at that, half question and half bait. Maybe she could learn a little, and find out what he actually knew.
 
"I'd simply be commending you for your good deed," He said, hoping that answer was enough. It was true, after all- she did help someone, potentially. And if that were the case, he'd see her in a positive light. The questioning gaze, however, made him slightly uneasy.

Why was it so hard to get along with people? Why did they always find him suspicious? He somehow couldn't figure it out, considering he was an investigator of all things. He sat there for a moment, just thinking, when she asked if he was 'someone who sees them too'.

"I told you, didn't I? You have a collar around your neck only I can see. I also mentioned you've a curse. Could it be you didn't understand I was saying I see the curse placed on you?" He chuckled lightly, scratching his neck. He then moved to pull something out of his pocket- a business card. "My name is Nuru Caldwel. I run Caldwel Occult- basically, I investigate peculiar cases, specializing in curses. And you, miss, have one as obvious to me as the sky is blue during daylight."
 
She took the card, glancing up at him again before studying the card he'd handed her. "So...it's a curse then." She felt some relief, at finally having a name for it. Of course, she probably should have figured it was a curse or something, but the thought had simply never occurred to her. "And...you can see curses. As collars." She reached up to touch her own neck again, almost expecting to feel something there. of course, there was nothing.

Another thought occurred to her then that made hear heart skip a beat. "Wait-so there's others?! It's not just me?!" She had always thought she was completely alone, that no one else would understand what she saw, but if there were others..."Do they see death too?" She asked quietly. The street was pretty empty, but she didn't want to risk being overhead. "The others, do they see it too?"
 
He watched as she seemed to stare at the card, studying every detail upon it. To Nuru, this was a normal occurrence. Most people either didn't believe him, or they didn't believe in curses. He was grateful she seemed to accept his explanation fairly quickly, as it meant he could investigate more personally, and save her before the curse got out of hand.

"I see, so you see when people are going to die..." He put his hand to his chin, pondering quietly. "I admit now that I can't say I've seen this case. The number of curses that involve the cursed to see things is pretty high, but it's usually something directly related to that person, not others." He tried to think of a better explanation, but he was too used to being a quirky professional. "There are many different types of curses. I normally categorize them by deadly sins that most closely relate to them, as the color of the curse is different depending on certain criteria. Your curse, I'm afraid, is of the most rare type- a mixed type, black in color. It looks like the collar around my own neck..." He moved his hand to his throat. It wasn't as if she could see it, but he wanted her to recognize that he had one too- that she wasn't alone.

When he came to terms with the fact that he wasn't able to explain things in a short period of time, and the fact was he wanted to investigate this case more than anything, he perked up with a thought. "If you'd like to discuss this in detail, come to the address on the card. I'd like to investigate your curse thoroughly... And I pray that the death you see never becomes your own."
 
She nodded her head slowly, thoughts swarming through her head. He investigated curses, and hers was a rare one. She tugged at a curl as she thought, a nervous habit picked up some time ago. "If you do investigate it...are you able to make it stop?" She looked up again, wishing that she could see his actual face rather than the blank, impersonal mask. "Will the shadows go away?" Did she even want them to stop? She was doing good now, helping people.

She straightened her back and nodded her head with a determined look on her face. "Okay. I'd like to learn more. I'll see you there." She turned, starting to walk away, then paused. "I'm Seline." She told him. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Nuru."
 
"I can indeed make it stop, assuming we find the one who cursed you in the first place. Healing a curse essentially returns the dark power to the person that placed the curse. I need to be able to picture them entirely- and make sure I have the right person, or it won't work."

When Seline said she'd meet with him at his office, he grinned. It was relieving when a cursed soul agreed to his investigative services. It was a pain doing the investigation without their cooperation. After all, they know the people in their lives best- most of the time.

When she began to leave, he started moving the opposite direction, the direction of his home. The moment he got home, he called out, "I'm back. We have a new case." He probably should have mentioned his sister to Seline, but he just figured they'd meet the next day. And so, he waited- sitting on the sofa the next day after having tried to do some research.

"I hope she gets here soon. I'd like to solve this case before she sees her own death."
 
Seline stood in front of the gate for far, far too long. So many time she almost turned and walked away. Should she really be here? The address on the card was correct, but the house was imposing. Or maybe it was all in her head after all. She took a deep breath and pushed her dark curls into a messy bun. It kept them out of her face, but it also gave her some courage. Like she was prepared for this.

She pushed the gate open and made her way up to the door. The plaque next to the door, 'Cadwell Occult', confirmed that this was the right place. She took another deep breath and glanced up and down at the house one more time. No turning back. She raised her hand and knocked loudly. While she waited for the answer she twisted and untwisted the long chain around her neck.
 
The one to answer the door wasn't Nuru, but a somewhat short young woman with light brown hair and big, grey eyes. On the surface, she looked nothing like Nuru- he was taller than she was short, he had darker hair by far, and his face- well, no one really saw his face, so knowing if their facial structures were similar at all was pretty much impossible. As the woman gazed upon the woman at the door, she began to introduce herself. "You must be Miss Seline. I'm Nuru's sister Kay-"

Before she could finish her introduction, eccentric Nuru could be seen sliding down the stairwell from the second floor, walking towards the door with his mask already attached to his face, despite his head of bed hair showing he hadn't even gotten to wash it first. "Sis made tea for our meeting. Let's head to the living room and we can talk more in depth about those shadows of yours. Ah, don't worry, Kaylie knows all about it. She actually was the one who pushed me into this business.

"I used to work with him more directly, but now I'm basically just a secretary and occasional information hound." Kaylie sighed slightly. "Nuru's all grown up now. He's grown up to be odd, but at least he's grown up healthy."

Nuru grumbled. "I don't think I should be hearing that from the person who basically raised me." Shaking his head, he moved Kaylie aside and moved aside as well. "Well, let us get started, shall we? If you don't mind, I'd like to ask your full name this time, so that Kaylie can use her police contacts to see if we can find anyone suspicious in your life, or enemies you may not know about. Many curses are caused by those close to us without bad intentions, but your personal curse has me suspicious about just how directed at you it was when it was cast."
 
She blinked, glancing back and forth between the two as they bantered. She managed an awkward smile, though she was a little overwhelmed. "Nice to meet you." She stepped inside with them and the heavy door swung closed behind her. She followed behind Nuru as they headed for living room. She almost missed the question, she was trying to keep up with the fast paced conversation as well as take in her surroundings.

"O-oh, my full name? Seline McDaniel. You probably won't find much though...I'm actually adopted." She ran her hand through her tousled curls. She'd abandoned her usual gray hoodie, and opted for a light colored blouse instead. It was more conservative than was typically considered normal; buttoned at the throat and at her wrists despite the warm weather. "Closed adoption; I don't even know my birth parents names."

She tugged anxiously at her sleeve at the thought, and continued into the living room. "So this...business. You said your sister pushed you into it. How did you get started? No offense, it just seems like a really strange line of work. Especially if most people can't see the curses."
 
"Adopted or not, you can still have enemies," Nuru said rather plainly. He found himself taking a seat soon enough, gesturing for her to take a seat across from him. Kaylie skedaddled quickly, going to the upstairs computer to start her research on miss Seline McDaniel. Whether it was friends or enemies, Kaylie had to find the suspect pool fast. Nuru would find it his own way later.

"I've had this curse since I was born," Nuru soon explained, touching his throat to show where the collar was in his vision. "I noticed it when I was a child. A lot of people in pains of all sorts were wearing colorful collars around their necks. I used to ask my parents why people were wearing them... But they just deemed it a child's story. Kaylie was the only one to believe me."

He took a sip of his drink and sighed. "One time, there was an old lady that lived near our house. I noticed she was sickly and had a collar around her neck. I decided to watch her, to learn more about the strange things I could see that no one else believed. As I followed her daily activities, I noticed one person in particular had notable malice towards her- and when he said 'curse you', something in my head clicked. I finally understood what I was seeing. And that was, in all intents and purposes, my first case- because after I told Kaylie what I thought it was, we immediately worked to try to find out why, and how to end the curse. She was a nice old lady. She deserved a healthy life to us."
 
She nodded slowly as he talked, sinking into the chair he'd pointed her towards. It made sense, in a weird way. "So you and I can both see things, but based on what you're saying-the old woman getting sick-not all curses work that way?" She twisted the hem of her shirt as she thought that over. "And you said that my collar was black; do the different colors mean different things?"

She took a drink of her own tea with a soft thank you. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to bombard you with questions. I just want to understand; I'd always thought it was just me." She leaned back in the chair and set her cup on the table. "It's a relief to know the reason behind what I see, and that maybe it can be changed. If I want it changed."

She touched her own neck again as she thought about the collar that only he could see, then another thought occurred to her. "Seeing the shadows; it started in high school. I was fifteen. Would that help with your investigation?"
 
"The colors say a lot about the person who cast the curse. They generally show the mindset one was in when they cast the curse, though in a fairly... peculiar way. I was taught by a fortune teller- yes, I know most of them are garbage, but there are some that really know what they're talking about. Anyway... This one told me to relate the colors to the deadly sins. Black, however, is a rare color. It means that multiple 'sins', or rather, multiple dark mindsets, were used when casting the curse."

He was trying to answer all her questions as concisely and understandably as possible, but he soon realized he was rambling on because of it. But then, something was said that surprised him- she made sure that, while showing relief that her situation could be changed, she noted 'if she wanted it changed'. Wouldn't anyone with a curse want to be freed from it? And hadn't seeing the shadows of death been bothering her? Why, then, did she say 'if'? It was something he couldn't personally understand- because his own curse was one he'd wanted rid of the longest, and he still believed he'd someday find a way rid of the curse... But why would he want his gone, and she didn't?

That was when she mentioned when the situation started. He smiled behind his mask, shaking off his internal confusion over a simple method of wording. "That is very helpful, in fact. It means we don't have to sift through people from all parts of your life, necessarily." He pulled out his phone and began typing a text to his sister. "Now we have a single year of people to focus on- whether they were near you beforehand, of course, we'll sort out later. With a curse like this, I have a hunch that it's someone who was close to you, or close enough to you to have at least known you a fair amount of time. I doubt someone would hold such significant malice for another over a short period of time, though that could be a bad assumption."

He stretched in his seat, before standing up. "Though we also have to find out if it was truly malice like I believe. I've seen some curses placed for surprising reasons. A grandmother once cursed her grandson to require eating constantly to survive, because she felt he didn't eat enough. She wasn't intending him harm- but the curse wasn't nearly as mild as she'd intended. Point being, keep an open mind. Think of the reasons people curse others- because with a black collar, there's a lot of mystery about it already. Thinking in all directions is basically required, until we have clues that lower the possibilities."
 
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