3 3. Alone.

The early October morning was filled with dark clouds, with no trace of the sun coming up anytime soon, well hidden beneath the dark clouds. Strong winds blew taking along with it dirts and dried leaves, the murky earthy smell permeates the air giving off a refreshing feeling. The sidewalk was less crowded and the honking noises of vehicles filled the air, racing down the streets, seeking shelter before the rain came pouring.

Hastening her pace, Que gripped the lapels of her black coat tighter keeping the cold out. She peeped down at her wristwatch which says 7:56 am. She have barely 4min left to make it to the library, if she's lucky enough she wouldn't have to put up with Mrs. Tahira's rants early this morning. Though she live 10mins away from work, she still somehow manage to not be on time. Don't ask why.

She blew warm air from her mouth walking briskly on the sidewalk feigning nonchalance as she look straight ahead, and from the corners of her eyes she could see people changing lanes when they spot her approaching from a far. Some even made the exaggerated gestures of crossing the road. She snickered under her breath when Mrs Anderson, the owner of the tea shop in their street closed the doors to her shop as she walked by. Seriously, when was the last time she'd even gone there?

Funny, these people were once close friends with her parents. They used to hangout together and even went on trips together. But the same people are the ones avoiding her now. She shook her head as her heart ached at the thought of her parents. She subconsciously grip the yellow necklace around her neck. It was her go lucky necklace given to her by her parents, a gift from one of their numerous adventures. Her mom said it would protect her whenever she is in danger. She wear it all the time not because she was in danger.

No, Que rarely ever needed protection. Que the doom bringer never got into accidents, or even got sick. Unless you would count her heartache as one, or the cut to her finger last sunday night. She couldn't recall the last time she had taken pills for anything. Surely she was cursed, but that only affected other people around her, not her. See, that was why she was nicknamed the witch and demoness. The necklace which had sustain it's share of scratches over time had been her favorite and the last thing she had from her parents.

Sigh.

She shook her head to clear up her mind. There's no point hurting, it would change nothing. The slamming of car doors brought her attention to the road where a car was parked. A young lady in a white satin dress came out of the sleek black car and ran up to a fancy two story building by the roadside. The door opened and she was engulfed in a bear hug by a short fat middle aged man whose head was hardly visible through the shoulders of the girl. Because he was facing the road, when he looked up, he met eyes with Que and she quickly look away but she still caught the smirk on his lips. Que dropped her head low and sped passed by, ofcourse she knew that man. That was Kevin's grandparents house. The short fatty is Kevin's uncle and that young girl is Mie, Kevin's evil cousin and her nemesis.

You see, Kevin was the guy she hated the most at one point in her life. You already met him. No matter how much she tried to get rid of him, he was stuck to her like a glue. Even when her curse began, he was the first victim but that did nothing to keep him away. He said it wasn't her fault. He believed her. When everyone avoided her he was the only one that talked to her. She eventually got used to his presence even when they just sit in silence not speaking to each other. That was when they were in grade one. When her parents tragically died at the age of eight, Kevin was the only one that comforted her when she cried. She had no one, at that time even Jiji avoided her. If it wasn't for the promise Jiji made to her late parents, she would have long abandoned her. Even when Kevin got into accidents from being around her, he would still come back. He always came back. Though none was much serious after the first time he broke his leg.

They were the best of friends before the other pest Soph moved to their neighborhood in grade 5. The girl was bright and bubbly and had the brightest luck, she never got into accidents. No matter what others say about her, these two stuck with her and defended her.

But just because they love her, that doesn't means their family would. No, they had the opposite affection towards Que. More so on Kevin's part. She wasn't allowed into their homes nor are they allowed to visit her. They could only hangout at school or the library when he visits. There was a time Kevin's parents threatened to change his school just because he hang out with her, so they stopped hanging out in the open. His cousin Mie was later transferred to keep an eye on him. That was why they were never were on good terms with the girl. Soph hated her with all her heart. The girls were sad but he promised to never leave them. When they graduated from high school, Soph got into college while Kevin got a scholarship to study overseas, Que could only work to help with the bills at home as they couldn't afford to pay for her college. That wasn't easy either as no one was willing to employ her. At last, Nana took pity on her and took her in to work at the library. The pay wasn't much and her colleagues weren't the best, but oh well.

And when she turned 18, Kevin confessed his love to her and also proposed to her saying it should keep her happy while he was gone. It did, for 6 years, it did. Soph had teased them ever since then, saying they had been seeing each other behind her back.

Although Que knew there was no way his family would accept her, she still convince herself things would work out their way. He promised her they'll find a way to cure her, and she let herself fell for him. Ever since he left six years ago he never returned, they only talked on phone or through emails but he did send letters and gifts to her on every occasion. He's finally returning home in less than a month when his family decided to annul the engagement. They claim that Kevin needed to settle down and can't wait until her curse is broken for that to happen. They cannot afford a cursed girl as their in law, there were so many fishes in the river after all.

Que called him but all he could say was he was sorry there wasn't anything he could do and that he tried his best. She didn't really blame him, she had always knew it would happen at some point. She was just too stupid. She only wished he could stand up for what he wants then things would work out differently. It still hurt like a bitch.

Stepping into the library, a nostalgic feeling engulfed her. It was warm and smells of old books and dust, which reminded her of her childhood days along with some lately much-unwanted memories of a certain someone. Mrs. Tahira, the library assistant was situated behind her desk and she muttered quick greetings to her and hurried along before she can even notice her (or so she thought).

Upon reaching the counter, she met Suzy, her gothic Co worker who was always chewing gum sorting out some books. Que didn't bother greeting her and got straight to work. She never answered, heck, they don't even spare her a glance, she was used to it. She gathered the books on the counter and returned them back to the shelve.

By the time midday arrived, she was done with the books and decided to rest her sore limbs. She went to the back of the library where no one visit and took out the book she brought from home and began to read for a while. She was forbidden from staying within the library, even when working she has to maintain a low profile least she harm others. She didn't mind, atleast they employed her, that was all that matters.

"There you are!" Came a shrilly voice from behind her which had her jumping out of her skin. She turned around only to come face to face with Mrs. Tahira standing at the door with hands on her thin waist. She's so skinny that one day the winds might blow her away and she'll go missing. Well, that wouldn't be bad, at least she'll have some peaceful days as they search for her.

"Come with me now, the storeroom needs to be cleaned up again. Someone must have forgotten to shut the windows properly last night, the floors are wet." she was snapped out of her thoughts and blinked up at the mean woman speechlessly.

"Me?" she pointed at her nose, glancing around.

"No, the evil spirit beside you."

Oh.

"Don't just sit there like a useless sack of potatoes, I said come, now move!"

Trying to avoid another tongue lashing from her, she got up and trail after her to the storeroom. It's an attic in a dark corner on the last floor which serves as a storeroom where all the old and torn books are kept. Alongside some boxes and kinds of stuff, God knows where they came from, looking as old as time itself.

"Over there," she motion to her when they finally arrived at the room, "the floor is wet. Clean it up. And be quick about it." She finished, jabbing a finger in the direction of the window.

"Isn't that the work of the janitor?" she blurted without thinking.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted it. Mrs. Tahira's face grew darker as she spun around with narrowed eyes.

"Listen to me and listen carefully you good for nothing lad, you will not be paid just to put back books on the shelf and goof around. Better make yourself useful, if I can recall, this library isn't owned by your family. Hmph." She harrumphed and with that, she left slamming the door shut after her.

"Urghh! Why so much hate?" Que groaned to the empty room, frustrated. That was soo uncalled for. She has no reason to harbor such grudge against her, it's not like she murdered her cat or something.

The storeroom was dark, cold, and dusty. The lights glitching ever so often. She sneezed. Taking out the cleaning equipment, she started cleaning humming lowly, the earlier she finish the better.

When she was halfway through, the door squeaked open halting her in her tracks. The room was dark with no light from the window as darkness filled the sky, and the only light bulb kept glitching.

'Isn't this always the scene where the poor orphan girl would be murdered?' She thought, shuddering.

She look around but no one was there. She resumed her work with a shrug, probably just a figure of her imagination.

Don't she have a colorful brain? Thanks to it now she've started imagining things. That and the creepy book.

Moments later, very light footsteps came somewhere within the room, then the shuffling of pages. This time she was sure it wasn't her imagination.

She started feeling uneasy.

"Hello?" she whispered, "Who's there?"

Silence.

The shuffling of pages stopped, so she braced herself and with shaky steps, she advance towards the door only to find it locked, and there wasn't anyone in sight.

The footsteps resumed, this time approaching her and the temperature of the room dropped significantly, but she still could see no one. The image of the mutilated bodies from the crime scene earlier flashed through her head.

Blurry figures...invisible forces.

The words of the anchorman rang in her ears and she was enveloped in fear as cold chills ran down her spine.

Clutching her hands together, she start frantically praying. This is it, she is going to die.

The footsteps stopped behind her and she shut her eyes tight, shaking like a winter leaf out of fear. The room was engulfed in an eery silence.

'Oh God, don't let me die now.'

She waited for a while and when nothing happened, she braced herself and moved towards the door which she swear she was open earlier and no one close it. She pulled it open and peeked down the hallways only to find it empty.

"I seek refuge in God from the devil the rejected." she whispered.

Knowing she probably wasn't the only one in the room, she was torn between staying behind to finishing my chore and bolting straight out of the room immediately. Alas, fear won and she exit the room shutting the door behind her

'No one will come here probably in weeks, by then the water should dry up on its own. Besides I wasn't the one that left the window open in the first place and neither am I the flipping janitor.' she tried to comfort herself.

Lost in her dilemma, she ran headfirst into a body almost knocking it to the ground.

"Shit! Watch where you going Que! You can't race down the hallways as if you're being chased by a ghost." And here comes her best friend, Soph.

[Ghost.] she shuddered.

"S-sorry, I didn't see you coming." she said looking back in the direction of the storeroom.

"Keep your eyes open next time, we can't have you running Mrs. Tahira over now, can we? You might as well break her fragile old bones." She joked, but she barely heard her. When she didn't respond, Soph looked at her worriedly.

"Hey, is everything alright? Why are you looking so pale?"

"N-nothing, I just came out from the storeroom, someone left the window open last night so I had to clean the water that got in from the rain." What is she doing here anyway.

"Who in their right mind would go to that place. It freaks the shit out of me," she scuffed

"That's what I said".

"I overheard the janitor saying that the place is haunted these past few days," she added.

Haunted! Had she just encountered a ghost?