SHORT STORY: Cursed, Sick And Deranged

Fred knew he was cursed. It wasn’t a secret to him. He accepted that phrase from anyone with glee.

It was almost laughable that people would expect a freaked out reaction from him. Heck, he knew he was cursed. He had to be. 

Everything that has happened in his 30 years of being in existence lent credence to that fact. 

He wondered why the hell God was in such a freaking bad mood the day he was created.

He was certain God in his annoyance, had given him as a pet project to Lucifer’s apprentice. 

That apprentice had put all the woes of the world into his diminutive self.

Not only was he created ugly, he was also short. The world often said that women wouldn’t care about appearance once a man had the cash. But there again, the wicked apprentice also blew him a curse. He was poorer than a church rat.

It wasn’t just right for someone to be this way.

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Life had played a huge joke on him. From the early mysterious death of his parents, to him being dumped on a family that had no love for him. His uncle and his family had treated him like a privileged outcast from the day he was brought to them.

He was barely one year old then. The fact that he stayed an extra one year before walking instilled further proof in his Uncle Amadi’s mind that he was indeed cursed. They often whispered that he killed his parents.

This fear also forced the family to train him properly against their wish.

Amadi and his family were dead scared that Fred Egwuonwu would harm them if they treated him badly, so while they distanced themselves from him, they made sure to provide him with all the necessities for school and life.

They shipped him off to boarding school and he got used to being with strangers.

The moment he graduated with a 2:1 in Accountancy from Ahmadu Bello University, they washed their hands off him. His uncle gave him a slurred speech of how he was now a man and needed to fend for himself.

The little money he was given, he used in renting a one room apartment. He figured his degree would land him a juicy job fast, but alas, two years on he was living off his girlfriend.

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Fred had met Njideka by a stroke of fate. She had been the only female in school who even behaved like a human being to him. They became fast friends after being paired for a practical. Soon their friendship blossomed.

The hardest thing to believe about this relationship was the absolute beauty that was Njideka.

Standing at 5ft 11inches, Njideka was beautiful from head to toe. The entire school believed he had used some form of ‘jazz’ to hold her to himself.

That was the only plausible explanation to her being with an ugly and short human like Fred. No one believed love had anything to do with it.

Cupid (the god of love) on his part was livid.

There he was cleaning his arrow for a conquest. Having looked at beautiful Njideka, he searched for a perfect mate for her.

He must have slept off because when he awoke, his arrow was gone. His golden gleaming arrow had disappeared. The same one he had saved to strike and join Njideka’s heart with someone worthy.

Imagine how furious cupid got when he saw fate smiling knowingly at the awkward pair, Njideka and Fred.

It dawned then on Cupid that fate had stolen his arrow. Fate had used it to strike the two hearts that weren’t meant to be. Fate had interfered with his task. He bit his fingers and flapped his wings in anger as he reasoned the best way to get back at fate.

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Their relationship had lasted a good three years and Fred held on to Njideka with all his might. He didn’t deserve her and would die if she left him.

She was his curse. No matter what she did, he forgave without a thought.

She had been taking care of him, paying house rent, providing food and putting clothes on his body for years. Yet she had no job. They were both in the job market in search of the perfect job.

He often heard her take calls from men. He knew he was sharing her with lots of men. But he accepted it. He swallowed this bitter pill each day.

It wasn’t because she was the bread winner. He would have swallowed the pill regardless of who held the financial reins.

Life had cursed him. He had nothing and the one thing he thought he had, other men shared with him.

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Night after night, he had nightmares. Nightmares that told him clearly that he would never amount to anything in life.

Whenever he woke from such he would grab a cup of water and gulp the unfortunate revelation down. He didn’t believe in God, so going to church was off topic.

He didn’t think there was any redemption for him.

He was a lost cause and he knew it. He had heard so much about him being a curse that with time, every piece in his life was falling in place with the notion of others about him.

It was 5 years after graduation and he was still living in his one room apartment. He had finally gotten a small job as a primary school teacher with meager salary. He was at least glad for that. Maybe the curse was getting lifted gradually.

Now, he was planning his wedding to Njideka. She had stuck with him all these time. He knew she would be his wife but there was only one way to be with her without sharing her with other men.

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Njideka had made it stark clear that if they were to get married; he had to accept an open marriage on her part. She insisted on keeping all the men she had. She knew they were her ticket to affluence.

She had gotten marriage proposals from many good-looking and prosperous men but had turned them down. Maybe she was cursed too. Maybe her beauty was her curse. Otherwise why would she insist on spending her life with an abjectly poor, short, ugly and thoroughly depressed man?

He was her only family as she was also an orphan. Her friends had deserted her when she refused to let go of the baggage that was Fred. She was all alone. And here she was being cajoled by the wicked hand of fate to marry a man she never imagined speaking to let alone lay with while she was a little girl. Fate must be a deranged bastard. How could he make her fall in love with this unfortunate miniature being?

Where the heck was cupid when this game was played? She wondered.

Cupid shook his head in sadness as bitter tears slid down his face and answered silently “I was taking a lazy nap when I was meant to be doing my damn job.”

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Fred thought long and hard about Njideka’s condition on marrying him. He couldn’t let her go, yet he couldn’t share her after making her legally his.

Only one thing was left to do. It was the right thing. It was in tandem with his personality as a cursed fellow.

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As her chest rose and fell in sleep, her beautiful skin glowed. He looked at her intently drinking in her beauty. He looked at his hands clasping the object and took a deep breath as it came down on her heart.

The entire length of the knife plunged deep into Njideka’s heart and she struggled for some time before she became quiet.

Fred withdrew the knife as bright red blood dropped from its tip. He had the urge to taste it. He brought it to his lips in time as the blood dropped unto his lips. He licked it and smiled awkwardly. 

He cut himself and brought his slit hands to her lips as three drops of blood fell on her open tongue. Finally, they were joined forever. It was the perfect blood covenant.

It had been five hours since her death and Fred stood there in silence looking at her.

He couldn’t believe that he now owned her alone. At that thought, his loins gave a stirring.

He still lusted after her even in death. He wasn’t surprised. After all he was cursed.

He climbed over her and had his way with her. When he was done, he cleaned her up and wore her fresh clothing.

He continued in this despicable and inhuman act for another 2 days before the stench got neighbors concerned.

One day while he was away at his school teaching, concerned neighbors broke down the door and stopped in shock at the sight of Njideka’s decaying corpse clad in a wedding dress and with face made-up.

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As the police led Fred away in handcuffs from his apartment, his constant grin and smirk sent shivers down the spines of all present.

This fellow wasn’t just cursed they thought, he was totally sick and nuts.

Cupid nodded silently in agreement.

THE END!

Thanks guys for reading. I know this story will leave a sour taste in your mouth, but it really is a true story. Told a tad differently though. Kindly leave me a comment on your thoughts.