Professor Beth, Reed, Matteo, and Sylvie sat in the study room, where a ring was placed on the table. Professor resumed the ritual that had been abandoned in the meantime."The basic law of war is to never underestimate your enemy. And in our situation, we couldn't accomplish it on our own," Professor confronted them. Sylvie was forced to sit in Matteo's lap, and he stroked her arm. Sylvie had never heard anything like this before. Professor chanted a spell while wrapping a white thread around the ring."It will help her in protecting herself from the witch," Professor explained. The ring floated in the air after rubbing it inside his palm. It quickly became an impenetrable barrier surrounding Sylvie's body."Thank you," Sylvie answered.She took a step away from Matteo's lap and began to clear a slew of question bubbles."Who were those men in yesterday's party?" She enquired. Matteo and Reed cocked their heads, their brows furrowed in wonder. They only saw one individual in the jung

10

CURSED/Benazir

The journey to find the witch's dead body and to end the curse. They fly to Athens from the first flight. While travelling in the car, cold breeze slapped on their faces and in the way of peaceful nature. "We are heading to the the Athens village but for a while we have to spend our night in this villa" Professor stated. As they were passing Sylvie saw an old villa in their way. Reed also saw the same villa, but it was not old or broken but it was all modernized and cleaned. Suddenly, their car got puncture in the mid way, as it was a forest area. They could not get any help from someone. "I have saw a modernized villa few meters away," Reed said. But Sylvie frowned as she saw a broken and old villa which she didn't liked it."No, it was in very bad situation," Sylvie frowned. Professor Beth and Matteo looked around for any help, then they waited for few minutes to get a lift. As it was getting darker, so they decided to go to the villa which Reed has saw earlier. "We have to spent

11

CURSED/Benazir

Professor Beth, Reed, Matteo, and Sylvie sat in the study room, where a ring was placed on the table. Professor resumed the ritual that had been abandoned in the meantime."The basic law of war is to never underestimate your enemy. And in our situation, we couldn't accomplish it on our own," Professor confronted them. Sylvie was forced to sit in Matteo's lap, and he stroked her arm. Sylvie had never heard anything like this before. Professor chanted a spell while wrapping a white thread around the ring."It will help her in protecting herself from the witch," Professor explained. The ring floated in the air after rubbing it inside his palm. It quickly became an impenetrable barrier surrounding Sylvie's body."Thank you," Sylvie answered.She took a step away from Matteo's lap and began to clear a slew of question bubbles."Who were those men in yesterday's party?" She enquired. Matteo and Reed cocked their heads, their brows furrowed in wonder. They only saw one individual in the jung

12

CURSED/Benazir

The journey to find the witch's dead body and to end the curse began when they flew to Athens on the first flight. While traveling in the car, a cold breeze slapped their faces as they moved through the peaceful nature. "We are heading to the Athens village, but for a while, we have to spend our night in this villa," Professor stated. As they were passing by, Sylvie saw an old villa. Reed also saw the same villa, but to him, it was not old or broken; it was modernized and clean. Suddenly, their car got a puncture in the middle of the forest area, and they could not get any help. "I saw a modernized villa a few meters away," Reed said. But Sylvie frowned because she saw a broken and old villa, which she didn't like. "No, it was in very bad condition," Sylvie frowned. Professor Beth and Matteo looked around for any help and waited for a few minutes to get a lift. As it was getting darker, they decided to go to the villa Reed had seen earlier. "We have to spend the night in this villa.

13

CURSED/Benazir

Reed was preoccupied with the idea of rescuing Sylvie from the curse. He was lying on her bed when the door to his room creaked open.He switched his sight to the entrance and noticed Mia approaching her. He took a step back and furrowed his brows."What do you need?" He hissed. He wasn't in the mood to have a good time with her. But why was he being so disrespectful to her when he had already passed with her? She drew closer to him, her fingers gliding over his lips and face. "Have you forgotten about me? I was terrified to death. You should have offered me some consolation. I was counting on you, "she whispered seductively He snatched his fingers out of his ears and removed his shoes.Mia stepped in closer and hugged him from behind once more."You've already cheated on me once, and we've called it quits. The only thing that remained was our agreement to meet each other's needs. However, I am no longer interested "he remarked, his nostrils flaring. He didn't want to make the same mi

14

CURSED/Benazir

Sylvie POV"Please open your eyes, Sylvie," said a voice near to my ear. My head throbbed as I groaned in pain, but I gently opened my eyes and saw Matteo's face close to mine."Are you all right? Why were you screaming so loudly?" With concern, he inquired. His gaze lingered with anxiety and tenderness as he caressed my cheek."We have to get out of here as quickly as possible. In the storeroom, I noticed a clown. Matteo, he attempted to kill me," I sobbed. Matteo silenced me and encircled my neck with his arms. He ran his finger over my back in a circular motion, attempting to calm me down."Are you certain?" Mia said, her brows furrowed. How could I persuade them that it wasn't my nightmare after all? She drew nearer to Matteo and began rubbing his arm in circular patterns. Her proximity to my boyfriend bothered me."Did he say anything to you?" Professor Beth enquired, drawing my attention to himself. I attempted to recall the events and told him about everything that had happened

15

CURSED/Benazir

Matteo POVI woke up from a familiar voice as I had urge to see Sylvie once. So, I walked out of my room and sauntered towards Sylvie room. I knocked on the door, but there was no response." Sylvie, are you there?" I called her but did not get any response. Therefore, I twisted the door knob, and opened it. As I entered inside the room, it was empty. Neither Sylvie nor Mia was there inside the room. I got panicked because Sylvie had already been trapped by the witch servant once. Without thinking, I started searching the entire guest house."Sylvie, where are you?"I yelled, raked my fingers in my hairs. Reed and Professor Beth come panic striken and glanced eachother."Why are you calling Sylvie?" Reed asked me. He furrowed his eyebrows and glanced at her room. He walked inside her room and came back with tightened jaw."Where the hell they are?" "I don't know. I came to check on Sylvie but both of them are not there," I gasped. We looked each room of the guesthouse, but they were no

16

CURSED/Benazir

Matteo's point of viewStars twinkled under the dark blue sky, owls hooted, and the chilly wind's voice added to the eerie atmosphere. Professor Beth, Reed, Mia, and I stood in the centre of a heavenly circle, which was made of white powder and candles."These are all bullshit. I'm not going to get engaged in this nonsense "Mia's face was wrinkled up. Instead of assisting us, she was screaming tantrums because she was unwilling to collaborate with us. Has she forgotten that Sylvie was once a sister to her? Because of her unwillingness to cooperate, I was on the verge of exploding with wrath."If you want to leave, please walk out," I murmured, my lips twisted in disappointment. She didn't waste any time and stomped her heels hard.This is what she refers to as friendship; having an adversary is preferable to having a friend like her. Reed kept a slight smile on his face as he rested his hand on my shoulder. I returned his smile and hugged him tightly. Reed is a great example of loyal

17

CURSED/Benazir

Reed's point of viewI was rushing to get near the river before 3 a.m., so I was driving fast. When my car came to a halt in the middle of the road, Mia stood in front of it. When she blocked my way, I was already in a hurry. "Are you insane?" "What's the point of standing in the middle of the road?" As I stepped out of the car, I muttered. "I'm sorry, but I realized I should have assisted you with this technique as well." "I don't want to lose my best friend," she conveyed her displeasure with a gloomy tone. She may have changed her mind after realizing Sylvie's worth. I couldn't afford to waste any more time, so I grabbed her hand and dragged her inside the car. I was turning the car in each lane with a strong drive, and the darkness in the forest was already pumping my adrenaline. Suddenly, a cat appeared in front of the car, rescuing it from being hit by the vehicle. My automobile was spun 180 degrees and violently collided with the tree. My skull was struck, and the agony was

18

CURSED/Benazir

Reed POV(Flashback)Beep. Beep. Beep. I woke up to the sound of my alarm, 6AM. I had an hour before Matteo came to get me for school. Matteo and I go way back. We've been friends since first grade, ever since Bobby Keegan dumped his chocolate milk over Matteo's head and then I stepped on Bobby's foot and he cried. After that Matteo thought I was the coolest kid ever. I mean what other first grader would do that right?I rolled out of my bed and turned on the shower. The warm water ran over my body and I slowly began to wake up.Mia, Sylvie, and I finished our breakfast. Sylvie and I took turns taking showers and getting ready to leave. Mia decided to stay home and work on some songs. I walked out of the bathroom and into my bedroom and shook the water out of my hair. Sylvie looked up at me and her eyes widened when she noticed I was only wrapped in a towel."Oh, s-s-sorry, do you want me to leave?" She was stuttering."No, everything is OK. I'll just grab some clothing and go to the