She started calling from every number she could find, but I blocked them all.
I knew if I stopped sketching, she’d be stuck
too.
Grandma sensed something was bothering
me, so she pulled me onto the porch for a
chat.
I figured it was a weight on my chest, so I
spilled everything.
How my ideas were getting stolen, how
someone always seemed to know what I was
thinking, how they were one step ahead.
Grandma frowned, then said seriously, “I need
to go out tomorrow. Take care of the place
while I’m gone.”
I had no clue where she was going, but she
く
left early the next morning.
She still wasn’t back by evening.
I figured she was visiting relatives or
something, so I gave her a call.
No answer.
I couldn’t sleep, worrying something had
happened.
Grandma came back the next morning,
bringing a woman even older than her.
She had snow–white hair, a hunched back,
and a walking stick.
I looked closer.
<
I lookea cioser.
The top of the stick was a snake’s head. I
jumped. It was a real snake.
Its eyes were bloodshot, and it flicked its
tongue, staring right at me.
I stumbled back.
Grandma quickly explained, “This is Agnes,
from the next town over. She’s a shaman, so
she knows her way around these things.
11
I frowned, then looked at Agnes.
She ran her fingers along the snake’s tongue,
then lightly touched my forehead.
A puff of black smoke floated from my
<
forehead and coiled around her finger.
“Child, do you have any enemies who hate
you deeply?”
I shook my head.
She sighed, looking at me with heavy eyes.
“This darkness is getting stronger. Women
are already more yin, and your yang is almost
gone. You don’t have many days left.”
My heart sank. Was I cursed?
Grandma started to kneel, but Agnes stopped
her. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t
have a solution.”
Grandma must have told her everything
before they came.
く
Agnes tapped the snake’s head, and it came
to life, crawling onto my legs.
I stood frozen, afraid to move.
The snake slithered up my arm and bit my
hand.
I gasped.
“It’ll suck out some of the darkness.”
“The person who’s doing this to you is
worshiping a dark god. They’re using
sacrifices to tie your soul to someone else.
That person can see your ideas, but it’s
burning away your life.”
I felt a wave of bitterness.
<
“It’s the jewelry designs, isn’t it?”
So, the reason they brought me home wasn’t
to make up for lost time, but for this?
My heart grew numb and cold.
I knelt and bowed to Agnes. “Tell me how to
stop it.”
She patted my head. “Go back tomorrow. I’ll
give you something to find the idol. Destroy it,
and it’ll all be over. The person who did this
will suffer the consequences. Don’t worry
about them. Bad people get what’s coming to
them.”
I nodded, said goodbye to Agnes, and went
inside.
<
I curled up on my bed, icy cold, and waited.
I followed Agnes’s advice and went back to
the city the next morning.
I looked at the snake bracelet Agnes had
given me. It looked so real, coiled around my
wrist.
When I got home, my family was at the table,
eating. They looked up at me.
“Where have you been? Why haven’t you been
answering your phone? Your sister has a
competition coming up!” Dad yelled.
Mom gave him a look, signaling him to be
nice, so I wouldn’t run off again.
Madison sat there, waiting for the show, with
Mom got up, walked over to me, and put on
her sweet mom act. “Honey, where have your
been? We’ve been so worried!”
I looked at her, a smirk playing on my lips,
watching her play the part. “Why would I tell
you?”
Mom’s smile faltered.
Dad slammed his fist on the table and stood
up, shouting, “How dare you talk to your
mother like that? You’re getting out of
control! What have you been up to? You
embarrassed us all, stealing other people’s
work! Where’s our family’s honor?!”
Madison jumped up to comfort him. “It’s my
fault. If I’d taken better care of my sister at
