My Curse, Their Endless Guilt

, counting down to the exact moment of their death. For this, my family has trea

ally appeared above my own head. I

for one final family dinner. With only minutes to spare,

me," I sobbed. "I'm g

Are you really so desperate for attention

he click of the

to eat. But my death wasn't the end. It was the beginning of th

pte

ticking down to heartbreak. It wasn't a metaphor. It was real. A shimmering, cri

w it when

a blanket for my mother, who was expecting Houston. Nana Rose had a warm

anslucent red timer

tugged on my mother's sleeve. "Mommy,

arely glanced up. "Oh, Elia, hon

, chuckled without looking at me. "Sti

ion. They always did. But I knew what I saw. I insisted,

ng. It was an emergency call. My mother rushed to answer it, her face p

People around me cried, their shoulders shaking with grief. I didn't cry. I d

nt, her belly round with Houston. Above her head, a familiar re

abbing her skirt. "Mommy! There

eyes. It was gone as quickly as it came. She forced a smile

r brother. He'd been in a terrible car accident. My mother, still pregnant, gasped

she tripped. A sharp cry. A

r side, his face etched with panic. S

eeled her into the emergency room. My own timer. I

:0

ile, but alive. My mother, however, didn't make it. The doctors

oid of her warmth. My older brothers, Fredrick, Jered, and Jarrett, f

is face contorted with rage. "You

gainst the cold wall. "You're a monster,

to a curse. My "original sin." My body ached where they hit me, but the pain in my heart was a heavier b

ations. I was the strange child, the bringer of misfortune. The one no one wanted to touch. I just stood there, bruised an

o a ball in the corner of the waiting room, pulling my knees to my chest. I listened to the muffled sobs of my brothers. For

e, her soft hands. "Mommy, Daddy," I whispe

of reality. When I woke, the hallway was silent. Everyon

esolate place? I scrambled to my feet, panic rising in my throat. My legs, stiff from bein

physical and emotional. The tears I'd held back earlier finally came, hot and stinging, burning trails down my ch