94. The Incident Of 1887

"Emily," Ryan began after Emily had gained consciousness as she sat on the bed with her back resting on the raised half of the bed.

Emily had some bandages wrapped around her head with yellow-colored ointment applied on the burnt areas.

"Helena and I need to tell you and Clyde something - the truth to be precise."

Emily looked at Clyde and then to Helena confused. She had no clue as to what they could've meant by that but she was eager to hear what they had to say.

"Do you want the longer version or the shorter?" Ryan asked before going towards Helena. He wished they'd pick the shorter one as he doesn't like taking much in general.

"Amm, shorter." Emily and Clyde agreed.

"So, to cut the story short, Helena and I knew Diana from way back."

"What do you mean 'knew'?" Clyde asked.

"We knew Diana since we were kids," Helena replied and paused a bit. Looking at the confused faces of Emily and Clyde she continued, "We kinda grew up together and -"

"Wait," Emily cut her in between. Something ran in her mind. "if you two knew Diana since you were kids, you must've known about why this whole 'cursed' chapter started, you must've known about the bullies and how they tortured her to a point of no return for her."

As Emily was saying all that, Ryan and Helena just looked at them quietly with a weird look on their faces just like the dogs' faces when they get scolded for something guilty. Helena and Ryan just stood there quietly and looked at the floor.

Looking at their silence, Clyde looked at Emily and then to Helena and Ryan and said in a rather quiet yet unsure tone, "Wait a minute, did you two...?"

Helena and Ryan took a deep breath and nodded.

"So, you were the bullies?" Emily's voice was raging on the spectrum from being quiet - considering they were at the hospital - to anger - not believing the reason for this whole thing started because of them who are now just standing there in front of her.

"How could you, Helena and Ryan? Diana's curse is all because of you! All the deaths are because of you! All the suffering is because of you! Did you know how many innocent people lost their lives and how many lives you have destroyed just because of what? Just because you bullied a little girl. Had you fun now? Huh?"

"Emily," Clyde looked at her. "I know you're mad, but please calm down. It's not the place."

Emily took a deep breath still giving cold stares to the bullies who stood quietly in front of her.

"We agree that what we did in the past was a total mistake," Helena continued on behalf of both of them, "and it's not something that we are proud of but it's also something that we can go back and erase. We were just stupid kids back then who didn't know any better but we regret our actions to date."

Facing the fact that somethings just can't be undone and now it was too late for the apologies Emily asked trying to compose herself," Didn't you try to apologize to her? I mean didn't she haunt you after her death?"

"It wasn't that we tried," Ryan replied. "We tried for many years but her vengeful spirit didn't accept it. And as we grew older, we came to realize what that pendant meant to Diana. One night, Helena and I met at my apartment and conjured Diana and told her we were awfully sorry but Diana wasn't ready to forgive us. She took our lives that night and even made our spirits suffer. She told us that we weren't repenting our mistakes, we were just showing pity on her.

Her loss of the pendant, her life, and her mother was the reason for her vengeance. Even after our deaths, she tortured our spirits saying we should know the pain that we made her go through but we deserved it. Back when we were kids, we were too naive and stupid to know the sentimental value that pendant had for Diana."

Emily closed her eyes as she felt the pain of Diana somewhere deep down her heart. Losing the only one thing which she had of the only person she loved the most in her world was shattered by them. How could she not be mad? No wonder she had the blazing flames of vengeance burning in her heart. She must've loved her mother and she must've meant more than anything in the world to her.

"Did you even know how much my friend had to suffer because of the cursed stone?" One could clearly hear the anger and hurt in Clyde's voice. "Because of you two, Nick had to go through so much that you two will never have an idea about. He saw his dad going crazy and then it was because of that stone that he is dead!"

"We know," Helena said quietly staring down the floor. "George suffered so much and seeing his dad in that state had a devastating effect on Nick. No wonder why he turned out to be the way he was."

"Wait a minute," Clyde paused her. "I never told you that Nick's father's name was George. How could you possibly know? Did you two know him as well?"

Ryan and Helana exchanged glances before Ryan explained, "George, Helena, and I were friends. We three were responsible for Diana's death and the beginning of the curse. We three were the bullies when we were kids."

Emily let out a loud sigh. "So, where's George now? How come we never saw him with you?"

"That's because," Ryan began, "George died before Diana could kill him. He died after Diana killed Helena and me. George just couldn't take the load of the guilt that was eating him out alive and with Diana haunting him. He went a bit lunatic you can say. He was so sorry about what he did that he had written a bunch of sorry on his wall with his own blood."

"One day when Diana went to kill George," Helena began, "he asked for my help to make Diana understand that we repent and regret our mistakes so bad. When Diana was making George suffer, I knew that alone I couldn't stop her. I gathered my fellow 'bat' friends and went to George's room but Diana killed all the bats laying a whole blanket of dead bats' bodies on the floor. She continuously hit George's head on a wall and then when George became completely unconscious on the verge of dying, she wrote on the roof 'You'll pay for your sins' to make us never forget what we did before leaving the scene. I fled with so many injuries.

The feeling and burden of a murder ate him inside so much that one day he ended up taking his own life."

"So that's why Nick wasn't allowed to go inside his dad's room," Clyde remembered how one day Nick had told him that he cannot enter his father's room on any condition. "So if you are saying that George killed himself and we didn't see him as his soul is free, how come yours is still here? I mean you only told me about that whole 'souls having purpose' thing."

"It's true," Helena said. "But there's also a truth that if you repent your mistakes till you are living on this earth, your soul becomes free but if you don't your soul has to fulfill its purpose. But it's not like Ryan and I didn't mean our apologies. But in order for us to be free, Diana had to forgive us which she didn't. So until we help lift the curse for good, our souls can't be free."

"So, if that's the case," Emily began, "When will Diana's soul be free?" After gaining consciousness, Clyde had told Emily about whatever conversations he had with Helena and Ryan.

"For as much as Helena and I know, till the fury of the vengeance inside Diana dies, or she forgives us, her soul can't be free."

"Isn't there any other way?" Emily asked.

"If there is - which we wish too - we don't know."

Their conversation was cut off by a doctor who just entered the room.

"Hope you feeling alright, Ms. Emily." The doctor wearing a white coat asked in a polite tone.

Emily nodded and smiled.

"Well, I came by to tell you that you will be free to go to tomorrow. Hope you're feeling better now and don't worry about the injury and the burns will heal soon."

The doctor was about to go when Emily asked her, "Doctor, how's Mr. Jackson now?"

"He's alright, dear and earlier today he got discharged as well. If you need anything, nurse Lily would just come in a few minutes to check you up." The doctor replied before closing the door behind her.

After making sure that no one was outside the door, Emily asked," Helena, can I ask you something?"

Emily continued as Helena nodded. "Why do you transform into... into a... a bird... a bat to be more specific?"

"I knew someday this question might arise. Once when I was returning from my shift at my part-time job that I had just started doing one summer, a bat came out of nowhere. I was scared and I thought that the bat would kill me - I mean anyone could've thought like that if they were in my shoes - so to scare the bat away, I pelted it. And thus, Diana cursed me to be in this - in the bat - form forever. She loved animals and hated when she sees any cruelty but in my defense, that bat could've killed me. But I guess it isn't in our hands when and how we get killed."

After reflecting on all that she came to know, all the knowledge about Diana and her bullies who were none other than George, Helena, and Ryan, Emily closed her eyes. Somehow knowing the backstory of Diana made her feel pity for her, sad for her, and in a strange way felt whatever she did justify.

Emily let out a sigh and said," Well, whatever happened in the past can't be undone or changed, and blaming and taking the anger out won't help. We need to find ways to help end the curse and lift the sleeping spell - or should I say stop Diana from collecting the souls and her pawns."

Clyde nodded in agreement. " And that's why we should visit the Church the first thing tomorrow. You'll also feel a bit better, Emily as you rest overnight and maybe Father Murphy could shine a light upon the case."