Sohini Kumar.com

I was six years old when I first heard of Sorrel Catherine. It was a stormy evening and I was sitting in front of the fireplace, bored out of my head. My mum was sewing buttons on an old shirt and my dad sat opposite her, reading the local newspaper.

“Daddy, will you read me a story?”
“I can tell you one myself,” he replied, her eyes twinkling merrily by the light of the fire.
I stared up at him eagerly. He folded his newspaper in half, laying it beside him on a table.

“I will tell you the story of the James family curse.” He looked down at me, stroking his beard.

“Once, a long, long time ago,” he began, “there lived, in this very town, a young boy. His name was Nicholas James, just like you, my boy. He was well known among others, for his wit and charm.

“One day, a young girl arrived at the town. Word of her arrival spread like a fire around the town, and she turned heads with her beauty. Long, dark hair, beautiful green eyes… she attracted a lot of attention. One day, Nicholas and this girl, Sorrel Catherine, as she was known, happened to meet at a party. They soon became good friends. They shared very similar interests, and were very close.”

My dad paused, his voice hushed. The fire crackled beside us and I stared up at his face, waiting for more.

“Now, what happened was, Sorrel Catherine, fell in love with Nicholas. Of course, Nicholas was married, as they married very young so many years ago, but he didn’t want to break her heart. They were very close, and Nicholas didn’t want to ruin such a good friendship. So, he left with his family. Sorrel Catherine was still heartbroken, despite Nicholas’s intentions, but more than that, she was angry. She left this town suddenly, and was not seen again.

“However, even until today, people claim to have seen her. The ghost of angelic Sorrel Catherine seems to be lingering in this town, even though she left years ago. Some people say that she is looking for the next Nicholas James in our family, and that the name is like a curse, but we don’t believe that, do we?”

* * *

The first thing I hear when I come back from school is, “Have you seen the new girl?” I’m not surprised – when you live in a town as small as this, any new person is bound to cause a stir.

“No,” I reply, dumping my bag in the hallway, though I doubt they hear me. They’re too busy obsessing over someone they haven’t met yet. I tell them goodbye anyways, and leave the house. I decide to walk to the beach.

On the way, at least six people stop to talk to me about this newcomer, some of whom I had often seen but never spoken to very often. They gush about how breathtakingly beautiful, polite, charming and sweet and she is, and yet they have only known her for a day. I ask each of them her name, but no one knows. Where is she from? No idea. Where was she before she came here? No clue. All they seem to have noticed about her are her looks.

I see why later, when my friends and I are at the beach in the sunshine, enjoying the first day of the summer holidays. My friends’ laughter and chatter suddenly stops; they see her coming before I do and are staring like their eyes are frozen. She is walking down the narrow strip of sand and stones we like to call a beach. Her pale, round shaped face is framed by long, raven black hair. Her sharp green eyes are staring out towards the horizon, under two perfectly arched eyebrows. Her lips are blood red and stretched into a confident, slightly arrogant smile. Her strides are long and confident, and her frame is tall.

When she is within hearing range of us, she looks over at us. My friends cough and look away, embarrassed at being caught staring. I chuckle and look out at the sea. She comes over to us and sits down without hesitating, uninvited. I have a feeling my friends don’t mind, though. Her lips are stretched into a grin now, revealing a set of perfect, pearly white teeth.

“I’m Catherine,” she says, looking from one of my friends to the other. Her voice rings clear, like a bell, over the rush of the waves. My friends mumble their names, still ogling. She looks from one of my friends to the other, her eyes finally resting on me.

“And you are?”

I meet her eyes, and immediately, my body stiffens. I can feel goose bumps on my arms and the hair at the back of my neck is standing up. Sweat breaks out on my neck and my hands suddenly feel clammy. My heartbeat quickens. Only one word crosses my mind: run. My instincts are telling me to get as far away from this angelic creature as possible. I stay sitting, though, blaming my strange reaction on the chilly sea breeze. One of my friends nudges me, and I remember her question.

“I’m Nicholas,” I mutter, a second too late. She nods, her eyes fixed on me. Her unblinking eyes feel like giant spotlights.

She really is beautiful, but she’s different. Not because of her sudden, unexplained arrival, or the fact that she makes me feel like I’m prey, being hunted by a deadly predator. Not because of her unnatural beauty, or because underneath it, there seems to be something that she is hiding. There’s something about her that’s not quite… human.

* * *

A few days pass. Ever since I’ve met Catherine, she is all I think I’m seeing. I look out the window in my room, and she’s there, hidden in a shadow. Blink. She’s gone. I’m at the park, reading. I look up and she’s peering at me from across the street. A car passes by, and she’s gone. I see her everywhere, but in seconds, she’s gone.

* * *

“Charles is missing.” I look up from my book to see my mum standing at the doorway of my room. She’s clutching the local newspaper, a worried look on her face.

“What do you mean, missing?” I ask, surprised.
“He’s been reported missing this morning, after he went for a walk at the beach last night.” I hear what she is saying, but I can’t believe it. I hear the words, understand them separately, but together, they make no sense to me.
“In a town this small, they’ll find him by this evening,” I joke, but inside, my stomach is clenching.

I decide to look around for him. I go to the beach, the park, and wherever else I can think of, but there is no trace of him. It’s like he has disappeared; or rather, like he never existed. I finally go to his house, but never get to enter.

As soon as I reach the doorstep, I notice a piece of paper pinned to the corner of the front door. No one would have noticed it unless they came right up to the door, as I am. It has one word written on it. Gone.

Who could have written this? Catherine. Her name immediately pops up in my head, as if I am answering myself, but then I scold myself for being irrational.

* * *

I can’t help but be anxious now. My two other friends have been reported missing, too. They were last seen on the beach on the day Charles went missing. I run there, but there are no clues. I look all around the town, searching, seeking some kind of hint that would lead me to them, but finding nothing. At last, dreading this moment, I go to their houses, and see a familiar sight. A small piece of paper, pinned to the corner of each of the doors. Gone.

My hand trembles as I remove each of them from the doors. My blood runs cold at the sight of them, and again, I hear one word. One name. Like a signal. A message I can’t interpret.

Catherine.

I decide to talk to my parents. They are distressed over the disappearances too, and it’s clear on their faces. They are at home, discussing the disappearances, when I barge in.

“Mum, Dad, I think I know who’s fault the disappearances are.” They both stand up, eyes wide.

“What do you mean?” Mum asks, frowning slightly.
“It’s the new girl. She’s strange, I’m sure of it. There’s something about her that’s not right, and I don’t know what it is, but she’s different, and I’m sure the disappearance have something to do with –“
“Now, now, wait a second, Nicholas,” Dad interrupts me. “You can’t blame someone just because they’re different.”
“I know, but she’s… she’s just not… I mean – “ I don’t know how to explain it.
“Oh, don’t blame that sweet little girl! And I don’t want you doing anything dangerous, okay, Nick?” Mum asks. I roll my eyes.

I’m not really worried about myself now” I say. “I have to find out what happened, and I’m telling you, Catherine –“

“Look, son,” Dad clears his throat, “we’ve seen that girl. We’ve heard about her. She’s just a sweet, innocent girl. She’s a newcomer, and I don’t think you should be blaming her unjustly.”
I stare at him. They’ve never met her, and yet they’re defending her. It’s like they’ve been brainwashed and hypnotized. I can’t get a word against her in their heads. I shake my head. I will prove them wrong.

I know she’s different, and I have a feeling she has something to do with this.

* * *

I am walking down the beach when I see her the next day. One second no one is around and the next, she is walking towards me with that smile on her face. I stiffen as she reaches me. We stop walking.

“Hello, Nicholas James.”
“Hi … it’s Catherine, right?” My voice wobbles and I feel like a coward.

“You know it is,” she smiles, giving me goose bumps. It’s like she knows that I remember. “So, where are your friends?”
Like she doesn’t know. “I don’t know,” I say, my throat blocked. The wind is pushing me, like it wants me to run away from her.

“I do,” she says, her smile widening. “Would you like to know, Nicholas James?”
“Um …” I don’t know how to respond.

“They are gone, Nicholas James, they are gone.” The words knife through me and I feel like their cutting edge is tearing me apart.  “Gone.” She laughs, throwing her head back, like she just told the funniest joke ever. There is a bitter, angry edge to it that makes me even more uncomfortable.

“What have you done to them?”
“Gone,” she repeats casually, like she is stating the weather, and I realize the sign my instincts have been trying to show me, that I have been ignoring like a fool.

She’s dangerous, inhuman. She’s a monster. I back away, feeling like a small, cowering prey cornered by the most dangerous predator of all.

“Where will you go, Nicholas?”
“What are you?”
“Your worst nightmare.”
“What do you want?”

“Revenge.” Her smile is furious, malicious, monstrous. All the beauty from her face is gone. It is twisted with anger, and I’m sure mine is twisted with fear. My muscles ache, begging me to run, to flee, but I know I couldn’t run even if I tried. “I’ve waited many years for this, Nicholas. I think I deserve revenge by now…”
“But why me?”
“Well, I can’t get revenge on the original Nicholas James, can I? I tried, believe me, I looked for him. I was angry. I wanted to find him and hurt him like he hurt me, but I couldn’t find him. I was angry, though. I still am.” She laughs her bitter, half-crazed laugh.

“It’s not my fault…” I whimper.
“I know, and I would be sorry,” she fakes a pout, “if I had a heart.” Her face twists back into a cold smile.

She laughs again, and an icy cold chill spreads through me. I know I can’t hide. I can’t even run. She holds up a piece of paper, with something written on it. Gone.
“I would say it was nice knowing you, but then, I would be lying. Goodbye, now! Time to join your friends, Nicholas James…”