Amos sat and listened to the old truck as it accelerated and picked up speed after turning onto the highway. The sound of the tires was a lot smoother now that they were back on asphalt but he already missed the crunch and pings of the gravel road. Up until now every trip to and from the farm had been a very happy time for him and it was only out here when they ever drove on gravel.

  Returning to Boston and leaving Alanah at the farm felt like failure to Amos and he was not looking forwards to be confined to Jim’s store for the next little while.

  Justa’ little while you two, you’ll be back on your feet in no time. Amos knew Andi was trying to be positive, to encourage them and o buoy their spirits but it didn’t help.

  Her kind words just brought more doubts to Amos. What was a little while? Had they ever been on their feet? Was it really feasible for two teenagers to live in a squat and drive without a license for very long?

  They had been so engaged over the last few weeks that the routine had started to feel normal, workable even. Amos had almost started to feel like things would work out and then Alanah started to get a bit moody and distracted by something she wasn’t sharing. Just over a week later they were attacked by that boy and then everything had just gone to hell.

  The steady hiss of faster moving tires on pavement passing the old truck reminded Amos of what it would be like living with Jim. He had such a slow steady hand with just about everything and Amos realized that he himself was much more of a risk taker.

  Why didn’t we stay clear of the North End, even with the bridge Charlestown is still way too close. Why did we have to sell at so many markets, we should have taken it more slowly. We should have disguised our appearance, why didn’t I take Jim’s warnings to heart?

  Amos squirmed in his seat, his body was rigid and the tension in his arms and chest contributed to the impression of intense stress that was radiating from the young boy.

  As Amos ground his back into the bench seat Jim looked over and then turned his eyes back to the road. Ever the steady hand, especially when driving.

  “Amos, you can’t be blamin’ yourself for all of this. You weren’t given the choice.”

  The older man kept both hands on the wheel and kept looking straight ahead. “You’re not the type of person to ignore someone in need, you want to do right by people. I see that plain as day.”

  “So you did take some risks and maybe yes, you made some mistakes but don’t forget why you were doing these things. Just look at the people you helped. Alanah, Robin and Amir, the people in your building. You’ve done good kid, lots of good”.

  Jim let his words sink in before continuing. “You’re so determined to pay your own way that you got real creative in finding a way to make money without hurtin’ no one. These days that is saying quite a lot. So listen to me, to do all of these things at your age, you’re gonna take risks and make some mistakes. Simple as that.”

  “There’s no sense fixin’ on things in the past that you can’t change, you need to start thinkin’ about how you two get back on your feet. It might be simpler than ya think.”

  Jim fell silent and the road noises and the sound of the old truck took his place in the cab. Amos had stopped moving about so rigidly in the seat and he had managed to relax a little. He was lost in his thoughts, staring out the side window at the weary urban landscape started to reappear in ever increasing fragments as they passed on down the highway.

  “Are we just gonna follow them home Mama? Then what? What are you gonna do?” Alessia was getting increasingly bored and agitated. She could not remember the last time she had ever spent so much time at once with her mother in such a small space.

  She wanted to scream, her skin was crawling and her nose wasn’t able to avoid the sour smell of the old lady sitting right next to her.

  “Wait… you need to wait. I will know when the time is right. You just follow the truck, that is all you are to do.”

  The flat nylon seatbelt felt heavy against Alessia’s sweaty neck where it crossed over her shoulder and on top of the exposed skin below her throat before reaching her blouse. It felt as if at any moment the seatbelt would start to strangle her and suck out the last remaining bit of air from warm and stuffy Mercedes.

  The old woman refused to have the window open or the air conditioning on when she had her curse out and it did not appear likely that she would soon put away the old terracotta bottle.

  Alessia tried hard to think of other things but her mind kept coming back to thoughts of killing her mother. She wasn’t wearing a seat belt so one decent accident could get rid of the old woman entirely.

  By the time the car had come to an abrupt stop after hitting something her mom would be smashed into the windshield and at her advanced age.… that should be enough to do it.

  Alessia was almost ready to start looking for opportunity but the sound of the ancient old fingers rubbing the curse bottle brought her quickly back to reality.

  The curse, if there was an accident then that bottle would certainly break and then maybe she could be cursed forever and she would have no one like Nonna Conti to fight it off.

  Alessia gave her head a shake. Fight it off…. She allowed herself a bitter smile. No, the only reason the old lady would ever free her from a curse would be to capture the curse for herself. If this Vecchia Megera was hurt in an accident then that would never happen.

  “Pay attention, stay close to them, they are not gonna see us, don’t you dare lose them’. Alessia sped up a just little bit gaining maybe a few feet in distance. It didn’t matter, she just needed to keep Nonna Conti satisfied.

  Alessia could feel the excitement building in her mother. She had waited years and years for this day. God forbid if anything went wrong now with this curse, she would be in a black mood for years afterwards and Alessia couldn’t bear the thought of life with her mother then.

  God, it’s intolerable now, what if this doesn’t work and the old lady takes it out on everyone around her, then what?

  For years Alessia had been witnessing the slow and steady decline into the depths of pettiness, suspicion and misery that her mother thrived in. A long time ago the Famigli used to depend on her, whenever they needed information or an interrogation performed they would bring Nonna Conti to do it.

  No one could get away with lying to her and she always got the truth eventually but it was far from easy. The old woman would extract more than just the answers they wanted; nothing was ever simple or straight forward with her.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Nonna Conti would drag too many secrets out into the open. Most often it was about lies and misdeeds that were far better left unsaid and unpunished. Soon the men realized that the information she obtained wasn’t worth the collateral damage inflicted on other relationships and reputations that came with everything else she would unearth.

  “Look mama, they are turning off, what do you want to do?”

  “Just follow them, they won’t look back, just see what they do. Are they wanting food or maybe gas? We shall see.”

  Jim’s truck and the old blue Mercedes merged off of the highway and pulled into the parking lot of the roadside restaurant. As the truck parked in front of the entrance doors the Mercedes turned and eased around the perimeter of the half full lot in a slow circle.

  The old woman and her daughter watched from inside the car as the older man and the boy walked into the restaurant and sat down as a window booth. “Now, this is the time, it can be now, I feel it.” Clutching the terracotta bottle to her chest with her left hand the old woman opened the door and stepped out into the mid-day sunshine.

  Alessia should have welcomed the relief of the fresh summer air pushing the smell of her mother aside but she was stricken with how claw like her mother’s hand had looked wrapped around that old bottle. Her apprehension was slowly increasing with every passing minute since her mother had taken out that old bottle.

  Until this day Alessia had always had her doubts about all of the whispers and rumors of real magic and curses. Her mother had certainly made numerous threats over the years as well but the old woman was routinely making threats almost every day and there had never been any dark magic or curses.

  She didn’t have her doubts anymore. Alessia felt that something else had been with them in the car all day and with each minute its presence was getting stronger and harder to ignore.

  Even more noticeable was the changes in her mother, she was now consumed with sense a purpose and a passion that Alessia had not seen in years.

  The old woman was much more energetic and she moved with the confidence of a much younger woman as she made her way to the door of the restaurant.

  “Mama wait, what are you going to do?”

  “Just follow me, we’re gonna sit and watch and I will know when it is time.” The two woman entered the restaurant and took the first available booth along the wall. Nonna Conti had a good view of Amos’ table and after confirming that her prey was seated the old woman started looking at the display case on the main counter of the restaurant.

  A minute or so after they had sat down a pleasant looking woman in her mid fifties came over. Her hair was pulled back in a no nonsense pony-tail and her shoes were simple but robust white sneakers. She pulled a note pad out of the front pocket of her apron and greeted the two women with a cheerful “How are y’all today, did ya want to know about our specials?”.

  Nonna Conti leaned forwards, she did have a warm, harmless expression that she used in situations like this that worked well to lead strangers where she wanted them to go.

  She pointed at the counter next to the register and said “Thank you but we each would want just a coffee and I would like ten of those cookies just on one plate. It is a special day for me and these would be fine for a little…a little celebration”.

  “Sure, no problem. What’s the celebration?” The waitress had put away her pad but was waiting for a response from the two strange looking women. A she waited she wondered how they could be such opposites.

  The younger woman was beautiful but this was diminished by her obvious exhaustion and her nervous demeanour. The old woman was quite ugly, dressed head to toe in drab black clothing. Her eyes though, these were not the eyes of an old woman, they were clear and bright and practically dancing with excitement.

  “It’s a celebration of change, something new…a ….a rinascita you might say” Nanna Conti smiled and that was enough to send the waitress off to fetch their order. There was nothing the old woman could do to produce a genuine smile so the sly, crooked result was always unsettling and rather troubling for people.

  The waitress returned quickly with her tray carrying the coffee and the plate of cookies.

  “Could I borrow the tray if you please?” the old woman asked as the waitress placed the contents on the table. “I would like to make a small gift to the other diners in here, to celebrate my good fortune” she said while gesturing to the plate of cookies.

  “No problem, just let me know if you need any more.” The waitress finished by placing a small bowl filled with milk and cream containers on the table and then she turned and went back towards the kitchen.

  Nonna Conti hadn’t noticed. She was staring at the table where the young boy had sat down. The terracotta bottle was still clasped in her hand.

  If Alessia didn’t know better she would have sworn that her mothers fingers had elongated, spiderlike around the bottle and that no person would have ever been able to pry them loose. She pushed the coffee mug towards her mother but the old lady just waved her away dismissively with her free hand.

  “Just wait, they have been driving a while. The man will go to the bathroom soon. They all do at that age, they become so weak.”

  It did not take much longer for Nonna Conti to be proven correct.

  Just minutes later after their drinks were served, they both watched the older man get up and after briefly orienting himself with the restaurant layout, he made his way towards the washrooms.

  “Pay the money on the table, we will be leaving soon.” The old woman spoke in a low, firm voice as she moved the dull orange bottle to the tray and then carefully, reverently pulled the ends of the ribbon. The faded white strands moved slightly at first and then gave way with a small burst of dust as the knot came apart on top of the cork stopper.

  Nonna Conti gently let the strands fall against the side of the bottle and then eased her short, stout body off the bench and onto her feet. She picked up the tray with one hand and held the jar with the other and made her way towards the boy.

  Amos was staring out the window looking at the grill of Jim’s truck. Old fashioned and a bit worn, showing its age but still solid and reliable. The vehicle was just like Jim he thought, in his mind he could hear his Dad saying “they just don’t make them like they used to”.

  Would his Dad be surprised at how much he had come to depend on Jim?

  Probably not, his Dad had been a good judge of character and that was most like why he had patronized Jim’s shop but still, he would never have expected this.

  “Would you like a cookie young man, they are mine to share and I am having a small celebration today”. Amos was jerked back to reality by the thick accent and the unusual question. He turned to his side and looked at the strange woman holding the tray in front of him.

  “Go on, you must take one, take two, one for your friend as well. Please, it makes me happy to share my good fortune and for someone old like me, good fortune is a rare thing these days”.

  Amos reached out to take a cookie, he was pretty sure that they came from the restaurant so at least they wouldn’t be weird and he didn’t want to be rude to this old lady. The sooner he took one the sooner she would leave.

  As his hand touched the top cookie the old woman’s other hand shifted slightly. It was hard to see, he hadn’t even noticed the other hand on the tray until now. The bony white hand lifted up and away from the tray and the old woman started speaking again.

  She was muttering something, it wasn’t English, he wasn’t sure what it was and when he looked up at her he saw that her bright black eyes were staring intently at him. Amos was immediately uncomfortable and let go of the cookie and started to back away along the bench.

  As he did so, a long, thick wisp of black smoke spun and twirled out of the orange bottle on the tray and moved towards Amos. He gave a small gasp and then at that moment, it was too late.

  The smoke poured into is mouth and disappeared like an eel returning to its hidden under water lai. His first instinct was to cough and gag but his mouth had squeezed itself shut trying to prevent the smoke from entering.

  He saw as the old lady gave him a wide toothy smile, she was beaming with satisfaction and her eyes were full of curiosity.

  She had stopped muttering and was staring fixedly at his face. At the same time Amos started to feel sick, his vision narrowed and he began to see to see double for short periods of time.

  As panic and fear began to set into the stunned boy the old woman turned her back to him and began to walk away. A minute later she and the younger woman had left the restaurant, both coffees and the untouched cookies sitting on the table amidst two twenty-dollar bills. They had overpaid by a fair bit but Alessia did not want anyone chasing after them in the parking lot.

  As they left Amos was caught up in a bout of coughing, his hands gripping the sides of the table, his body wracked with spasms and his head jerking heavily just above the table.

  Off in the distance, the old blue Mercedes pulled out of the parking and moved on towards the highway. Nonna Conti sat upright in the passenger seat, triumphant and already planning her next steps. As the curse took hold she would need to find and control the girl. It would take a few weeks, maybe a month at most but eventually the full power of the curse would in place and then they would have no options.

  She would hand them over to the Famigli when she was ready to do so but that would all depend on how they recognized her achievements with the casting of this curse.

  It would be redemption for her and her legacy. No one would forget about Nonna Conti for generations to come.