I got up and left.
I went to the clinic, my cut was wrapped.
<
I got home and no one was there. I went to
my room and started burning my drawings.
Nothing was missing, how was Madison doing
it?
Am I crazy?
The company chat was going crazy.
“This cockroach should leave.”
“Kick her out!”
“She looks proud, but is a plagiarist.
These messages reminded me of the last
time.
My phone was blowing up, people were
scolding, insulting, and mocking me.
I took out the SIM card.
They found my apartment and waited with
cameras.
Someone put up a sign, “Plagiarist, just die.”
I stayed inside for over a week.
One night, I left through the grass.
I was starving.
I sat and ate a bun.
A child threw a water bottle at me.
“Mom, that’s the thief.”
They even spat on me.
I was not upset, but I smiled.
His mom took him away.
I hated this.
One day, I sat on the roof with no emotion.
The city was so ugly.
The only one I miss is my grandmother.
I snapped out of it.
I packed, and submitted my resignation, I
won’t go to the competition.
I don’t understand how Madison always
<
created the same designs first.
I won’t draw and see what she creates!
Chapter 2
After packing my bags, I snagged the earliest
bus back to the boonies.
Before we even pulled up, I spotted Grandma
waiting at the edge of town.
My eyes started watering.
I called her, choked up, and finally managed
to say, “I miss you, Grandma.”
She laughed, so happy, then her voice turned
all soft and worried. “Come home,
sweetheart. I’ll make your favorite pot roast.”
Last time, that sweet old lady in the country
found out about my suicide from who knows
where.
It broke her heart, and she got sick. Her
health went downhill fast, and she passed
away not long after.
As soon as I stepped off the bus, Grandma
rushed over and grabbed my suitcase.
“Let’s go, let’s go! Dinner’s waiting.”
It wasn’t a mansion, but that little house held
my whole childhood.
I quickly fell back into the rhythm of country life.
Back in the city, Madison freaked out when
she heard I’d quit.
She knew she couldn’t design without me
around.
She started calling from every number she
could find, but I blocked them all.
I knew if I stopped sketching, she’d be stuck
too.
Grandma sensed something was bothering
me, so she pulled me onto the porch for a
chat.
I figured it was a weight on my chest, so I
spilled everything.
How my ideas were getting stolen, how
someone always seemed to know what I was
<
thinking, how they were one step ahead.
Grandma frowned, then said seriously, “I need
to go out tomorrow. Take care of the place
while I’m gone.”
I had no clue where she was going, but she
left early the next morning.
She still wasn’t back by evening.
I figured she was visiting relatives or
something, so I gave her a call.
No answer.
I couldn’t sleep, worrying something had
happened.
Grandma came back the next morning,
く
bringing a woman even older than her.
She had snow–white hair, a hunched back,
and a walking stick.
I looked closer.
The top of the stick was a snake’s head. I
jumped. It was a real snake.
Its eyes were bloodshot, and it flicked its
tongue, staring right at me.
I stumbled back.
Grandma quickly explained, “This is Agnes,
from the next town over. She’s a shaman, so
she knows her way around these things.”
I frowned, then looked at Agnes.
She ran her fingers along the snake’s tongue,
then lightly touched my forehead.
A puff of black smoke floated from my
forehead and coiled around her finger.
“Child, do you have any enemies who hate
you deeply?”
I shook my head.
She sighed, looking at me with heavy eyes.
“This darkness is getting stronger. Women
are already more yin, and your yang is almost
gone. You don’t have many days left.”
My heart sank. Was I cursed?
Grandma started to kneel, but Agnes stopped
her. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t
<
have a solution.”
Grandma must have told her everything
before they came.
Agnes tapped the snake’s head, and it came
to life, crawling onto my legs.
I stood frozen, afraid to move.
The snake slithered up my arm and bit my
hand.
I gasped.
“It’ll suck out some of the darkness.”
“The person who’s doing this to you is
worshiping a dark god. They’re using
sacrifices to tie your soul to someone else.
<
That person can see your ideas, but it’s
burning away your life.”
I felt a wave of bitterness.
“It’s the jewelry designs, isn’t it?”
So, the reason they brought me home wasn’t
to make up for lost time, but for this?
My heart grew numb and cold.
I knelt and bowed to Agnes. “Tell me how to
stop it.”
She patted my head. “Go back tomorrow. I’ll
give you something to find the idol. Destroy it,
and it’ll all be over. The person who did this
will suffer the consequences. Don’t worry
about them. Bad people get what’s coming to
<
them.”
I nodded, said goodbye to Agnes, and went
inside.
I curled up on my bed, icy cold, and waited.
I followed Agnes’s advice and went back to
the city the next morning.
I looked at the snake bracelet Agnes had
given me. It looked so real, coiled around my
wrist.
