The Curse

Mindy tossed and turned in her twin-size bed for the tenth night. What had started as a slight fever had unraveled into night terrors. The blonde-headed five-year-old gasped, sitting up in her bed. A small whimper escaped her lips as her eyes widened in fear. At the end of her bed was a ghostly image of a girl.

"Mommy," Mindy cried.

"Mommy?" the phantom laughed, "Mommy can't do anything to help you."

"No, no, no," the terrified child whined as the figure floated toward her.

"She never did anything to help me," the phantom's voice shook the room, knocking the family picture off the wall.

Flying into Mindy, the despondent spirit replayed her painful memories, causing the child to scream out in terror. As Mindy's door flew open, she looked at her mother one last time as blood drained from her eyes and ears.

"Mindy, my baby! No!" Her mother wailed as her eldest daughter exited Mindy's body.

"Any child you birth," the apparition's voice echoed, "any child you mother," her voice deepened, "will meat a painful and bloody end. You will morn every child you love as you did not morn me."

The angry ghost faded away, leaving Mindy's husk in her mother's arms.