He woke up the next morning with a raging headache and no strength at all. The power had haunted him all night, hungering and clamouring. He had avoided it for so long, but it seemed it was leaving him no choice now. The appearance of Chenesai is probably why it had haunted him more and more these past few weeks. This was no ordinary situation. The end was fast approaching for him as well. He could not keep this up, so he would hear this girl out and decide.
He called Chenesai and had her meet him for lunch.
“I’m sorry for my behaviour yesterday. It was uncalled for.”, Greg said.
It was as good as any apology she would get.
“Please, tell me about your father.”
Chenesai was not in any mood to indulge him. But he seemed like he had changed his mind.
“My father has been the village’s healer but more importantly its oracle for as long as I can remember. He is the greatest oracle in the kingdom. I was raised by him and am an only child. I love him dearly, for he has been my only family on this earth. He has never been sick in his entire life, but only the past few months he has been gravely ill, and nothing can ease his pain. He is in and out of consciousness. But when he does awake, he speaks of you. He says in order to be restored in the other life, he must receive absolution from the gods for his sin and you are the only one who can do it. Your family have been the sin eaters for centuries, an ancient curse cast by a scorned and powerful witch on the male members of the family. I don’t buy it at all, but my father’s gifts as the oracle are not matched. If he says you are the sin eater, then you are.”
He felt weary. After all the time he had invested in keeping the power at bay, he knew the time was now come to either face it and feed it, or fulfil the prophecy. Right then he decided he would see this oracle, and find out how he knew so much.
“I will see your father, but that is because I’m curious. Otherwise, I don’t see how I can help. The curse you speak of is beyond me.”, Greg said.
“In all honesty, the whole theory seems a bit off. That would make you at least a century old and then some?”
Chenesai doubted the whole business, but in all his life as the oracle her father had never been mistaken.
Plans were made. They would leave for the village of Katondo early the next day. He informed Natsai that he would be away but was to come back before the opening. She would have to be in charge till then. Chenesai was grateful that he was coming. If he had refused, she wouldn’t have been able to live it down.
That night Greg had trouble sleeping. But this time he reminisced about Veronica. She had been the love of his life, though he had never planned to be in love all his life. The curse would not allow it. He had seen firsthand how every person he cared about always died or left him because he was never meant to be with anyone. But she had wormed her way into his heart, and for once he had started to hope. So he had indulged himself, despite the facts always against him. They had lived happily for a couple of years, got married, bought a garden flat together and even gotten a cat. But the power of the curse always won out and so it did even this one time. Love could definitely not conquer all. She had died one night, very stupidly too. She got hit by a car, a simple accident the coroner had said. But he knew that the curse had won out again.
The curse was designed to make him live lonely for all the days that it was in effect, and as far as he knew the curse only broke after his death. In older days, it would be passed to the next son or sons. However, he had made sure not to bear any heirs who would live in such misery. He was the last of his family and surely the curse would die with him. Instead of dying, he had lived for more than a century. It appeared only the fulfilment of the prophecy would set him free.
They hired a car and were on their way by the time the sun rose. Chenesai tried to make conversation but Greg looked like he was not forthcoming. She couldn’t stand just being quiet for such a long and tedious journey. She was also just curious about him, her father hadn’t said much but just the tale of the sin eater. She was curious about the man behind the curse.
“So, do I call you Greg or by your given name?”
He looked at her with some annoyance. She clearly wouldn’t give it up so he might as well answer her questions.
“Call me what you like, but I’d prefer Greg.”
Sheesh.. he’s uptight. But he had to be, curse and all.
“so how old are you really? And how does this curse business work? I mean I know there’s some old witch that did it…but how does it actually work?”
He looked over at her and she was waiting expectantly. She had that naïve sort of look, she had no idea how much it hurt to even talk about.
“Well you can imagine having a curse on you that has nothing to do with you for all your life. I cannot be committed to a person, I can’t love neither can I feel any sort of attachment for anyone because they never live long enough for me to enjoy it. I have
nightmares sometimes, and a deep insatiable hunger for darkness that I can’t get over. Is that good enough for you?”
He was angry now and frustrated for being so open with someone he barely knew. She looked like she regretted it now and so compassionate. What was it with her? Why did she make him feel so uncomfortable?
Chenesai let out a little sigh. She hadn’t meant to upset him. Sometimes her inquisitiveness got the best of her. That anger of his wasn’t too hard to trigger wasn’t it? Well, she would get him to laugh even if it took all day.
“You still haven’t told me how old you are. You don’t look more than 30. I should really commend you though, that nerdy look you got going is a great disguise.”
Greg smiled at this. This girl was really something, quite persistent too.
“if I tell you will you stop with the questions?” she nodded, though the twinkle in her eye said otherwise.
“I am approximately 148 years old, the longest living male of all my predecessors.”
She couldn’t quite believe it. Nothing seemed as it really was with this guy. They stopped for a while for fuel and food. He began to slowly accommodate her and her questions. Chivaraidzo asked all sorts of things, his past lives through the centuries, the places he had been and so forth.
They reached the village at sundown. Greg could feel the presence of the curse here. This was the place it had been cast and so it was only fitting that he felt a slight headache coming on. Somehow he knew this would be the end of it, whether his death or his redemption. But he had yet to speak with the healer so he wasnt at all hopeful that it would be the latter.