Cursed

Chapter 2

"Coming!" Summer was shouting to her father. Winter felt as if her heart was in her throat. Her heart beat drowned out everything else. Thump, thump, thump...

If Grandpa is here, Winter thought, then that means... Winter gasped. It was all happening, just like she read in the journal.

Winter reluctantly headed down the staircase, clutching the journal to her chest. Her face was white as snow, drained of all color. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, her sister embraced her.

"Winter! Calm down," she said. "It's just Grandpa. You look like you've seen a ghost!" Winter laughed nervously.

Summer pulled Winter aside while their father talked with their grandfather. "What is going on?" Summer asked, concerned. "You're acting nervous. You love Grandpa!"

Winter debated whether or not she should tell her sister about what she discovered. "It's nothing," she said. "I'm just shocked. I wasn't expecting him."

"Good," Summer said, totally buying the lie. "We can't have a bummed attitude ruining Grandpa's visit!" She grabbed Winter's arm and dragged her back over to the group, which now included their mother.

"There's my two favorite granddaughters!" Michael said, embracing the girls in a bear hug. When he finally let go, the twins' father broke the news to them.

"Girls, you are gonna stay with your grandfather for a little while," Mark said. "He hasn't seen you guys in a while, and your mother and I are going on a business trip to Mexico. So you're gonna go up to Michigan to stay with your grandfather for a couple weeks."

"Sounds like fun!" Summer exclaimed. If only she knew, Winter thought.

"You girls go pack now," Vanessa said. "The plane leaves at six."

"We have two hours to pack, then!" Summer said happily. "C'mon, Winter, let's go!" The two of them then ran up the stairs, trying to see who could reach the top first. But all Winter could think about was what this trip to Michigan would bring for them.

***

"Nice house, Grandpa," Summer said as soon as they walked in the door. "I don't think we've ever been here."

"You have, but you were little," Michael said. "I think you girls were only three months old."

"This house looks ancient," Winter mumbled under her breath.

"That's because it is, my dear," her grandfather said. "I may be old, but I've got ears like a hawk."

Winter sighed. She rolled her suitcase to the back bedroom. She flung open the door and gasped, staring at the shelves of books lining the walls in the room. There must have been hundreds - no, thousands - of books in that room.

"Do you like it?" her grandfather asked, appearing behind her. "I've been collecting books ever since your father was a little lad. This is every book I've ever owned." Winter stared in amazement as he talked, wondering how many she could read during their visit. "Except the one you have."

Winter whirled around. "What?" she asked, panicking. Does he know that I read his journal?

Michael laughed. "You were clutching it against your chest when you came down the stairs to greet me today," he said. "It may have been decades, but I would recognize my journal anywhere.

"So you know about the amulet, I presume?" he asked. Winter nodded. "I didn't expect for you to find out this way," he said. "But I should've known as soon as I saw how much you loved books. You know, you're just like your father. This is exactly how he found out too. That's how the journal ended up in his library."

"I'm surprised," Winter said. "And confused. Way to crash my sixteenth birthday."

Michael laughed again. "I'm sorry, my dear, I didn't make up the deal."

"But you did agree to it."

Michael sighed. "Winter, you have to understand that I had no choice. I had to protect my son, your father. If you were a parent, you would understand."

"What's going on?" Summer said, walking into the room.

"Summer, my dear, I think it's time that you girls and I had a talk."

***

"We what?" Summer exclaimed, her jaw nearly dropping to the ground. She turned to her sister. "You knew about this?"

"In my defense, I just found today, and I found out by accident," Winter said.

Summer just stared at them for a moment before smiling. "I see what's going on here. You guys are doing some kind of special birthday game that I don't know about." Summer gasped. "Is a celebrity going to come out of the closet and say that I'm on a new reality TV show? Is this that Walk the Prank show I've seen on Disney Channel?"

"This isn't a game or a TV show, Summer!" Winter exclaimed. "This is real and it's happening now and it's gonna change our lives forever! We are just going to be some magical puppets for the rest of our lives!" Winter was almost to the point of tears now.

"Winter," Summer said in her soothing voice. "Calm down." Winter took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "I'm gonna go talk to Grandpa while you take the time to calm down."

Winter nodded, too worked up to argue. Summer and Michael left the room, leaving Winter in her own solitude.

That was when the tears fell. Winter had never felt so betrayed and alone. Her grandfather had sealed her fate before her father was even born - forget her being born.

When Summer and Michael finally came into the room, Summer wrapped her sister into a hug. "Winter, it's okay," she said.

"No, it's not. Grandpa gave us these stupid powers that I don't even want just so he wouldn't have to take them!"

"I think it'll be best if you girls got some sleep," Michael said. "You might feel better about it in the morning."

Summer nodded and half-walked half-dragged her sister back to their room.

***

The next morning, Winter still wasn't feeling any better about it.

When noon came, Michael dragged his granddaughters to a little cottage in a rural area of Michigan. He rang the doorbell and waited there for a few moments, before being greeted by an old woman in a cloak. Michael was taken aback when he saw her.

"How may I help you?" the old lady asked. She was scrunched over a bit, but Winter noticed a strange liveliness in her. It was a liveliness that she'd only ever seen in youthful people, and this woman was definitely not youthful.

"Who are you?" Michael asked.

"I'm Emma," the woman said.

"We're looking for Julian," Michael explained.

"Julian moved to Wisconsin," Emma said. "You'll find him there."

"But where?" Michael asked. "I don't have a clue as to where to even look for him. Can you help an old man out?"

"Sure, dear," Emma said. "He is in a rural town near Stevens Point. When you get to Stevens Point, just head directly south and you will find his house in that area."

"That doesn't help," Winter interrupted. "We still don't have a clue of how far to go or where his house will be or how to find his house."

"I'm sure you'll manage, dear," the old woman said. "I have a feeling. You'll know it when you see it." The woman smiled and winked. "Good luck in your travels." She looked directly at Winter when she said the next thing. "I hope you find what you're looking for."