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17: The Sudden Wife
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The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 00: The Gaunts’ Demise
In the small village of Little Hangleton dwelled the infamous Gaunts. Their generations were defined by treasures and wealth passed on from one to the other, but it was not to this that their names were known. The villagers had long since inferred they were beyond their understanding and sympathy; ever since the world began, they had not, even once, interacted with them. They had thought then that this was their way of saying they weren’t on their level. Bitter resentment swelling from an unsaid insult, the villagers witnessed the scandal which the Gaunts had to bring into their graves. The Gaunt’s manor stood atop the hill overlooking the village, its features quite resembling that of a man who couldn’t recover from being sick. Despite themselves, the Gaunts had lost their financial stability over the years, and the villagers found glory in the fact that the once fine-looking manor ended up being unchecked, though it remained to be the grandest building for miles around. Not too lon
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 01: The Oddball and the Howler
Laura had a dream. She was standing in the middle of a deserted meadow, long ruined by something more of a storm. Everywhere she looked, petals savagely sliced in half loitered, the red of their features painted by thick, smelling blood, a lot darker than its usual glow. But next to the trees lying helplessly in rows, it became rather trivial. From the way it looked, it seemed to have been ravaged by a cursive blow, as the branches hosting its supposedly fresh fruit had been burnt, still puffing grayish smoke. The wind danced purposelessly with it until it reached the scope of the starless dome-like horizon extending out of nowhere. Taking a deep breath, she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, shivering a little when the cold wind picked up. It whispered such an ominous rhythm that pushed deeper into her eardrums. As though she knew what was going to happen, she looked up at the brightest of moon. Its celestial light wasn’t a helping matter either, for the moment the pair of her o
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 02: Resemblance
Time Square never failed to amaze Laura. She had come across its name a lot of times in her books, but she never had the chance to pay it a visit, especially since she was completing her fine art major then. Seeing it in its pure glory made her think she missed half of her life for nothing. It was indeed a rich commercial street, a place where you’d feel it was a miracle to be alive. The rows of gigantic buildings almost seemed to be calling Laura, its glint in the nearly covered sun daunting. Whenever she peered at the car window, no matter how hard she tried to look up, she couldn’t have even just a single glimpse of the dome-like horizon, almost as though they were never there to begin with. The crown of the different infrastructures, its rows in the corners of the street that far surpassed that of a tree, had this sense of both permanence and ephemeral quality. Something about it intrigued her more than she thought it would. It gave her that kind of desire to unravel how these ing
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 03: Martha's Testament
Laura had never met someone who could bluntly say she resembled someone they knew. Then again, she wasn’t the type to have a stranger stop and casually hang with her for a second or two. She was, after all, that weird newbie in the neighborhood whose name was branded with the curse of the Gaunts. Perhaps, her grandmother knew things would be this way, which was why she had decided to enroll her not in their village but in the neighboring city. What she might have overlooked, however, was the fact that news had wings. No rumor was ever safe for the ears of gossipers who were more than satisfied to feast on other’s despair. She was all over those. Bearing those kinds of treatment for almost fourteen years, she found that these strange and curious things about her were more like a conjoined twin tied to her for merely being one of the elusive Gaunts. All the same, she couldn’t quite resist a smile knowing that somewhere out there, someone didn’t look at her as this strange kind of exist
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 04: Strange Strangers
Martha was a slick talker. She knew what words to say to keep her companion entertained. Perhaps, that was the reason why instead of going back to Little Hangleton, Laura was prepping to settle in the hotel. She had her driver go back for her to retrieve her netbook and a couple of books.If Martha had managed to give her tons of data, the Martins, who had brought Zheira to this world, were more likely to be capable of giving her just as much. But no one knew when they’d be coming or, for that matter, why they were checking into the very hotel that lost them their only child.Not to mention the countless of inquiries they had to face when word broke out that they had a daughter. The public wanted to press this issue, especially because someone speculated that she was the suicidal maniac who jumped from the rooftop, though this hadn’t been proven. Apart from that, they were heavily interested in the case of Zheira’s supposed father, Robert, who had been confined in a private hospital; h
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 05: Celtic God
Laura wanted nothing more than to be buried down the ground. She didn’t want to be rude, but Melinda’s tears were soaking her shoulder. Her hands were wrapped tightly around her waists as though what Laura had just wished for would border the line of illusion and become a reality. Truth be told, she least expected this from the Martins, mainly because they’d been with this Zheira for a long time. This would have made it easier for them to make a distinction. But, for some reason, it was never the case. Did she really look a lot like Zheira than she ever gave credit for? And why should that matter anyway? It wasn’t as if she was really her. They just look so alike. That was all. When, in her relief, Melinda raised her head, Laura’s heart clenched a little. She’d seen unrivaled desperation like no other in her hawk-like blue orbs, her tears still trickling down to her cheeks. It reminded her of the picture of despair painted in her very eyes the moment her grandma died in her arms. “Y
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 06: Clearing
“We are really sorry, Miss Gaunt, for the misunderstanding. We appreciate your cooperation.” One of the police bowed with a polite smile, the other unapologetically following his example. As far as the world was concerned, he was convinced that this woman standing in front of them was the very person that had evaded their questioning for a long time. If she knew better, it was highly likely for her to be able to craft yet another identity like any cunning crime lord out there. Her existence, after all, had long been disclosed in the public, along with a bounty on her head. Laura just forced a smile, waving her ID in the air. “I understand. You’re just doing your work and all, so no harm done.” Surreptitiously, she narrowed her eyes at the old woman who was staring back at her as though by doing so, she’d see through her soul and the lies with which it was a nest of. She pursed her lips and sighed, catching the apologies Melinda was mouthing with a sad look on her stressed and frustrat
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 07: Frederick
After checking out, the front desk went so far as to show Laura the exit. At first, she thought it was a nice gesture from a simple middle-aged man, but took her words back almost immediately after he opened his lips. He kept asking awkward questions about what Martha had said to coax her into checking in, what the Martins had got to do with her, and what business the police had for visiting her. The most annoying of all was when he tauntingly phrased out, with his horrible singsong voice, that Laura might have just been a naughty little young girl. Of course, as someone who didn’t want to stab anyone with harsh-coated words, she kept her mouth shut. He didn’t seem to care, though. For as long as he could talk, even with silence as a response would work well for him. Their one-sided conversation seemed to drown on and on that, after what seemed to be an eternity, Laura was glad to watch him bounce back to his post, waving his hand in the air without looking back at her. “What a nosy
Latest chapter
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 17: The Sudden Wife
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 16: Unfortunate
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 15: The Hunter and the Hunted
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 14: Inside the Portal
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 13: Manifestation
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 12: Faithful Encounter
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 11: The Black Forest's Trick
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse 10: An Old Man's Words
The Shadow of Sylvania's Curse Author's Note
