One

September 1999

 

Williams, Louisiana

 

The early morning was bright and sunny in the small town of Williams. The sky was cloudless and clear and the morning air was fresh and crisp. Birds soared through the sky and settled on the branches of the trees, chirping their morning songs. It was a beautiful day waiting to happen.

Devany Katrina Byrne, her chestnut-brown waves pulled back into a ponytail, followed her mother into the kitchen. Fully dressed in a pale yellow turtleneck and dark blue jeans with pink-and-white gym shoes for her first day of school, she excitedly thought of the day she had ahead of her as she sat down at the kitchen table. She absentmindedly touched the ice-cold mark on the left side of her neck as she waited for breakfast.

The day of Devany’s first day at Perkins Elementary had finally arrived after what had seemed like a very long wait to the five-year-old. The young girl couldn’t wait for the day to start. The first day of kindergarten was a day she’d been looking forward to for months. She had been impatiently waiting for today since the beginning of the week. Finally, her first day of school had arrived.

Allena O’Keefe Byrne set a box of cereal and a carton of milk on the kitchen table. She took out three bowls from the bowl cabinet and three spoons from the silverware drawer. She set them on the table as well. She poured an average amount of cereal into one of the bowls and added milk.

She placed the bowl in front of her young daughter and handed her one of the three spoons. “Here you go. Hurry up and eat. Your uncle will be here to get you soon.”

Devany, taking in the scents and sounds around her that no one else noticed, nodded as she shoved a spoonful of cereal into her mouth and chewed. It had been arranged a week earlier by her father for her uncle to take her to and from school along with her two elder cousins. She swallowed her bite and looked toward the entrance of the kitchen. “Where’s Daddy?”

“Daddy is right here.”

Daegan Byrne, dressed in a white dress shirt and navy-blue slacks for his job as a teacher at the local high school and carrying a black briefcase, stood at the entrance of the kitchen, his broad, muscular frame filling the doorway. He smiled at his daughter, the female version of himself in looks and personality with her dark hair, green eyes, and stubborn ways.

A red cashmere scarf around his shoulders, he crossed the kitchen to his daughter, stooping down to place an affectionate kiss on her forehead. “Good morning, pumpkin.”

Devany, tilting her head upward, grinned up at her father as she took in the strong scent from his blood and skin that never failed to make her feel safe and loved when she caught it. “Good morning, Daddy.”

Daegan, setting down his briefcase by a chair, accepted the bowl and spoon his wife held out to him and sat down beside his daughter. He picked up the box of cereal Allena set on the table and poured some into his bowl. He added some milk from the carton and began to eat.

Allena, sitting down at the table with her husband and daughter, used the last bowl and spoon for herself. She poured cereal and milk into her bowl and began to eat.

Devany concentrated on finishing her cereal in silence. She chewed each bite slowly and carefully and then swallowed. When she’d finished her last spoonful of cereal, she pushed back her chair, jumping to her feet. “Can I go wait for Uncle Clancy now?”

“Wait a minute, pumpkin,” Daegan spoke up, rising to his feet. “I have something to give you.”

He removed the cashmere scarf from his shoulders and carefully wrapped it around his daughter’s neck, hiding her bat-shaped mark from view. It was a necessity to hide the truth about his daughter from the public and their critical views. “Don’t take this off, okay, pumpkin?” He looked up into the deep green eyes with a slight smile.

“Okay.” Devany solemnly nodded at her father’s request, touching the soft material that carried his scent. She didn’t ask what the scarf was for, already knowing full well why her father had given it to her. She knew she was different from other children her age and it was safer to hide that difference than to deny its existence and have others realize it.

For the past five years, Daegan and Allena had hid the bat-shaped mark that they’d discovered on their daughter’s neck from everyone, including their own family, knowing the consequences they would face if the society found out about it as well as the occurrences that night at the hospital. They didn’t want their innocent daughter to face the rejection society would cast upon her.

They knew the superstitions their families and the rest of society had about devils, curses, and evil powers and knew it would hurt their daughter. Hiding the mark was the only way they knew to protect her. However, they both knew there would be a day they could no longer hide it. One day it would be discovered and their love for their daughter and each other would be tested to the limit.

“That’s my girl.” He kissed his daughter on the forehead and rose to his full height. He walked over to the counter and poured a cup of the strong black coffee his wife had made. He took a sip of the dark, bitter liquid from his coffee mug, watching his daughter through concerned deep green eyes. Today would be the first day neither he nor her mother could be with her to keep an eye on her. Sending her to school was a big risk, the possibility of their secret being found out hanging in the air. It frightened and worried him when he thought of all the things that could go wrong on his daughter’s first day of school.

Devany started toward the exit of the kitchen. “I’m going to wait for Uncle Clancy.”

“Put your bowl in the sink first,” Allena reminded her daughter. Finishing the last spoonful of her cereal and the last sip of her coffee, she stood to her feet, picking up her bowl and mug.

Devany picked up the bright pink cereal bowl and skipped over to the sink. Standing on her tip-toes, she dumped the bowl into the sink. She turned to her mother as she came up behind her with her own bowl and mug. “Okay�"done.”

Allena placed her own bowl and mug in the sink and glanced at her gold-painted wristwatch. She turned aquamarine-blue eyes on her husband. “You better take that with you, honey. You’re going to be late.”

Daegan, running fingers through his chestnut-brown curls, glanced at his own silver-plated wristwatch, confirming what his wife had said. “You’re right.” Moving away from the counter, mug in hand, he walked over to his wife and kissed her goodbye. He gave his daughter a peck on the cheek and started out of the kitchen. “I’m off then.” He picked up his briefcase on the way out of the kitchen.

“Drive carefully,” Allena called after her husband.

Daegan turned back to her with a heart-stopping smile and a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Don’t I always?” Laughing softly, he walked off. “Love you,” he called over his shoulder to his daughter and wife. “I’ll see you later.”

“Have a good day,” Allena said, smiling.

“I will�"you, too.” Without another word, he walked down the hall with his mug in hand toward the front door.

Seconds later, Allena and Devany heard the front door open as he walked out and shut behind him. Not long after, they heard the car start up and pull away from the house. Then the car drove away and they were left alone in the silent kitchen.

“Let’s go get your bag and wait outside for your uncle, sweetheart. He should be here soon.” Allena took her daughter by the hand and led her out of the kitchen and into the entrance hallway. She picked up her daughter’s pink animation-decorated schoolbag, which was propped up against the wall by the front door with the matching lunchbox, and held it up to allow Devany to put it on.

Devany slipped her arms through straps of the schoolbag her mother held for her. Then she picked up her lunch bag and opened the front door, stepping outside into the cool morning breeze. She sat down on the steps, watching the road for her uncle’s forest-green sedan. She turned her head as her mother stepped outside behind her. “When will he be here, Mommy? Is he going to be late?”

“Soon, honey.” Allena shut the front door and sat down on the steps beside her young daughter to wait with her. “He should be here in just a few minutes.”

Mother and daughter sat together on the front steps for several minutes watching the road as cars passed by. Both were silent, listening to the musical sound of the birds’ morning songs. Finally, as predicted, the sedan pulled up in front of the house only after five minutes of waiting.

Devany jumped to her feet as soon as her uncle’s car pulled up in front of the house. Her bag on her back and her lunch bag in hand, she skipped down the stairs. “Bye, Mommy!”

Without waiting for a reply, she excitedly ran to the sedan waiting for her. She grabbed the door handle and yanked open the door to the backseat with some difficulty. She placed her lunch bag on the seat and clambered inside to sit beside her cousin Arleen, one year older at the age of six, sitting behind the passenger front seat that eight-year-old Conroy sat in. Shutting the door, she glanced out of the window to watch her mother wave and head inside.

“Good morning!” she greeted her cousins and uncle with a bright smile.

Arleen smiled back at her cousin just as brightly, her olive-green eyes sparkling. “Hi, Dev! We’ll have fun at school today!”

“Yeah!” Devany heartily agreed.

Conroy twisted around in his seat to look at his young cousin. He grinned from ear to ear. “It’s your first day of school in your whole life!” he announced. “Are you excited?”

“Yup!” Devany nodded her head vigorously. “I’m really excited. It’ll be lots of fun!”

The three children, since Devany’s birth, had always been really close. Devany was more like a little sister to Conroy and Arleen than a cousin. Since the day baby Devany had been brought home from the hospital, they had been inseparable. Brother and sister often spent most of their time over at their uncle’s house with their cousin. They spent far more time with each other than they did with their friends.

Clancy Byrne glanced in the rearview mirror at his younger brother’s daughter through cold green eyes, the same shade as his niece’s and younger brother’s, pushing a stray strand of wavy red-brown hair out of his eyes. “Good morning, Devany. Are you ready for your first day of school?” He kept his voice friendly, not showing the dislike and contempt he held for anyone close to the younger brother he had never wanted.

Devany nodded her head vigorously, looking away from the cold eyes reflected in the mirror. There was something about her uncle that scared her, which she didn’t understand since he was always nice to her. “Yes! Let’s go!”

Clancy turned his head to look at her. Though he never showed it, he had the suspicion that his brother and sister-in-law were hiding something about their daughter from him and the rest of the family since the night they had brought her home from the hospital, but it didn’t matter to him. He had no wish to involve himself any more with his younger brother and his family than he had to.

Since the day Daegan had been born, the only thing he’d ever felt for his baby brother had been anger, jealousy, and resentment. The years hadn’t changed those feelings. As children he had been forced to play the nice big brother to the younger Daegan by his parents. As adults, it would make him seem immature if he showed his true feelings, so he kept them to himself.

He tried to keep his distance from his brother most of the time, but sometimes it was an impossible feat to keep Daegan away. He wasn’t even sure how his brother had convinced him into taking Devany to school along with his two children. It pained and bothered him that his children seemed to love and adore his brother’s little girl. He had tried many times to separate them and make them keep their distance, but nothing had worked. They loved her and refused to be separated from her.

Clancy shoved his thoughts about his brother and his issues over the friendship between his children and his niece to the back of his mind. He pulled away from the house. “Here we go.” He steered the car down the road, driving in the direction of Perkins Elementary.

 

The large brick-built building of Perkins Elementary was busy with students, parents, and teachers as it reached seven-thirty. Children between the ages of five and eleven raced around the playground or headed inside to find their classes. Parents arrived to escort their children to their classes and leave them in the care of their homeroom teacher before taking off. Adults, teachers and parents, walked in and out of the school building.

Devany gazed out of the window at the large building before her as her uncle pulled up his car in front of the school. She had been inside the school only once before, which had been the day her parents had taken her to visit when they had enrolled her months before. It hadn’t seemed as active and lively that day as it did now.

“Can I get out, Uncle?” she asked her father’s elder brother. She kept her gaze averted from his face. Something about her uncle made her feel disliked, especially the way he sometimes seemed to look at her with a gaze of pure ice.

Clancy nodded at his niece. “Yes, Devany.” He turned to his son beside him, reluctantly voicing words he didn’t want to say. “Help her find her class and help her with anything she needs since this is her first day.”

“Okay, Dad.” Conroy smiled enthusiastically, glad his father didn’t seem to mind him hanging around his cousin today. He had the suspicion his father didn’t like Devany or her parents, but was unsure why.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and shoved the brown paper bag containing the lunch his mother had packed for him in his army-green schoolbag resting at his feet. Jumping out of the car, he picked up his schoolbag and slipped his arms into the shoulder straps, carrying the bag on his back. “See you later, Dad.”

Devany opened the door and jumped out, carrying her lunchbox in hand and her schoolbag on her back. She was followed by Arleen, who clambered out after the younger girl. The two girls stood by Conroy, waiting for him to lead them inside as the eldest of the three.

“I’ll pick you guys up at three,” Clancy said. “Have a great day. Go inside now.”

Conroy shut the front passenger door and led his sister and cousin through the open school gates as his father drove away in the sedan. They walked across the playground, filled with kids playing while teachers looked on, and entered the school building to find their new classrooms.

The building was filled with activity. The halls were packed with students, parents, and teachers. Students ran down the halls in search of their classrooms. Parents helped their children find their classrooms and spoke to the teachers. Teachers rushed by to hurry to their classes before the bell rang to announce the first class of the day.

“We’ll find your class first,” Conroy told Devany, running a hand through his curly red-blond hair. “Come on.” He led the two girls down the halls, passing classroom after classroom. He read the labels on the doors, searching for one that said “kindergarten” on it.

The threesome walked down hall after hall. They stopped at classroom after classroom as Conroy read the label on the door. They took several turns as they passed classrooms. Finally they stood in front of a closed door labeled “kindergarten”.

“This is your class,” Conroy said. “Do you want us to come in with you?”

“I’m not a baby,” Devany said proudly. “I’m going in by myself. Bye, guys.”

“Okay then.” Conroy smiled. “Have fun.”

“I will.”

“I’ll come see you at break!” Arleen announced.

“Okay.” Devany smiled.

Conroy took his sister by the arm. “Let’s find your class now.” He took off down the hall with the six-year-old, leaving his cousin behind.

As soon as her cousins disappeared around the corner, Devany turned to face the door with a brave heart. She reached for the shiny gold doorknob and turned it. Pushing the door open, she looked inside, taking in the sights and sounds that greeted her eyes and ears as well as the unfamiliar smells of children she’d never met before and the teacher.

The kindergarten teacher sat at her desk studying the list of names she’d been given. The ten kids that were already in the classroom were sitting in groups playing with toys they had gotten off of the shelves in the classroom. The sounds of the children’s voices and laughter filled the classroom as they played.

Devany, not known for being shy or timid by nature, didn’t stand at the entrance for long. Stepping further into the classroom, she shut the door behind her. Without waiting for an invitation, she skipped up to the teacher’s desk to introduce herself to her teacher first. Stopping in front of the desk, she smiled at the young woman sitting behind it. “Hi!” She swung her lunch bag back and forth as she waited for a response.

Brenda Fredrick, brushing stray strands of her honey-blond hair out of her face, regarded the young girl through cold chocolate-brown eyes. Today was her first job as a teacher since her graduation from university and she was already miserable and sour. She wondered for the hundredth time why she had obeyed her mother and taken early childhood education as her chosen career when she hated kids. She eyed the child standing before her desk. She seemed to be the type of child Brenda disliked the most with her easygoing nature and bright smile�"bold and outgoing.

As she waited for a reply from her teacher, Devany hopped from one foot to the other, studying the young woman. In the young girl’s eyes the woman was beautiful and she inwardly hoped she’d be nice, too. The gaze the young woman had fixed on her began feeling uncomfortable to the young girl. She looked away from her teacher toward the playing children. “Can I go play?”

Brenda ignored the girl’s question. She looked down at her list of names. “What’s your name?”

“Devany,” the girl replied with a tentative smile. Nerves were beginning to make her mark sting, but she ignored it. She pushed a stray strand of her dark hair out of her bright eyes. She turned away from the desk, watching the children around the room. “I want to play. Can I?”

Brenda’s eyes scanned the list of names in front of her. She found the name she was looking for at the bottom of the list�"Devany Byrne. She lifted her eyes, looking at the back the young girl had turned to her as she stood watching the other children. “Turn around,” she said sharply. “You can’t speak to me with your back turned.”

Devany immediately turned around to face her teacher. She had a suspicion all her dreams and fantasies about having the greatest and nicest teacher in the whole wide world that she’d had during the summer were turning out to become nothing more than that�"dreams and fantasies. Her fear and nervousness in front of her teacher was making her mark increase in pain, but she continued to ignore it, fixing a brave gaze on her teacher. “Sorry.”

Brenda studied the young girl in front of her, hating the brave and determined expression she saw in her eyes. She would not be a child that she could easily make into a meek, timid girl as she would have preferred her. She looked the young girl up and down before she finally spoke. “I don’t allow students to wear scarves and hats in my classroom. Take off your scarf.”

Devany’s heart stopped at the teacher’s unexpected request and her mind raced for a way to worm out of her sudden predicament. The mark hidden beneath her father’s red cashmere scarf was increasing in pain by the second as the fear of its existence being discovered engulfed her. Determined not to show her fear, she shook her head. “No�"my father said to keep it on.”

Brenda stared into the young girl’s determined eyes, anger rising in her. She had not expected open disobedience from the girl, though she did seem she’d be harder to handle than any of the other children she’d met so far. Rising to her feet, she looked down at the girl with glowering eyes in an effort to intimidate her into obedience. “You will do as I say, Devany Byrne. This is my classroom and you will follow my rules. Take off the scarf.”

“No.” Devany shook her head. “I can’t.” The pain of her mark was beginning to burn more and more, but she tried to ignore it as she stubbornly refused her teacher’s request. She couldn’t let her teacher realize what she was hiding under her scarf. Kindergarten was turning out not to be as fun as she had imagined it would be.

The young woman blew out an exasperated breath, eying the little girl angrily. Devany Byrne was turning out to be a problem she’d have to deal with before it got out of hand. Walking around her desk, she roughly grabbed the young girl by the arm, holding on tight. “That’s enough out of you. You’re taking the scarf off unless you want a trip to the principal’s office.”

The other children, playing peacefully minutes before, watched the drama unfolding in the classroom between their teacher and the new girl. Some of them crept closer to the scene for a better view while the others remained where they were. Not a single child uttered a word or sound as they watched.

Devany knew going to the principal’s office would just make the situation worse. She stared up at the tall, slender young woman that had morphed into a monster in her eyes. Her heart pounded and her mark was burning intensely as she looked up at her teacher through fearful eyes. She tried to pull her arm out of her teacher’s grip as the burning sensation of her mark cut through her skin. “Let go!”

Brenda ignored Devany’s protests and attempts to free herself as she dragged her toward the door, while the other children looked on. “I’ve had it with you, young lady. I will not have someone in my classroom that can’t follow the rules. You can just sit in the principal’s office until you’ve learned to listen.”

“No!” Devany cried out, pulling on her arm harder. The mark was burning to the intensity that it was too hard to ignore any longer. “Leave me alone! You’re hurting me!” Tears filled her eyes and she began to cry out as she continued trying to escape her teacher’s strong grip. She pulled at the scarf, though she knew nothing she did would make the pain stop while she was enduring both physical and emotional pain. When she pulled too hard, the scarf fell to the floor, but she didn’t bother to retrieve it�"the pain of her mark too intense to care about hiding her mark anymore. “It burns! Make it stop!”

Brenda released her hold of the girl’s arm as she stared at the strange stark white mark on the girl’s neck. She watched her cry as she continuously rubbed at the strange mark. Curiosity got the best of her and she stepped forward, tentatively touching the mark. She immediately pulled her hand away when her fingers brushed against the burning surface of the skin. Her eyes narrowed as it dawned on her why the girl had been so adamant on keeping her scarf on. Taking a step back, she turned toward the other children. “Stay away from her, kids. She’s been cursed by the devil.”

The groups of children eyed Devany with wide eyes, staring at her with fear, curiosity, and prejudice as they took in their teacher’s warning. None of the children dared to disobey their teacher. They knew full well that it was against the rules to approach anything or anyone cursed by the devil. The new girl was no exception.

“I’m not cursed!” Devany screamed at the top of her lungs. “It’s a birthmark!” She knew it wasn’t really a birthmark, but she wanted others to believe it was. If she could convince them, maybe they wouldn’t think she was no different from them, even though she was. Standing to her feet, she picked up her scarf and left the classroom, coming face-to-face with the principal and Conroy standing outside of her classroom. She threw herself into her cousin’s arms, holding onto him as she cried.

Charles Garner, the young principal, looked at the young girl in the arms of the third-grader through mist-gray eyes. He ran a hand through his blond-brown curls and placed a hand on the girl’s dark head. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Conroy looked down at his cousin with curiosity, interest, and concern in his eyes. “Devany? What’s wrong with you? What happened?”

“Let’s find out.” Charles turned to the kindergarten classroom and knocked on the door. “I’m sure Ms. Fredrick can tell us something.”

The door opened and Brenda peered out. She looked between the young girl and boy to the principal. Sighing, she stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. She nodded her head toward Devany. “I won’t have that thing in my class anymore, Mr. Garner. That’s a devil-cursed child. I’m not going to let any devil curse me, too.”

Cursed? Conroy wondered, looking down at his cousin with curiosity. Why would she say Devany is cursed?

“Cursed?” Charles asked.

Brenda nodded. “Look at her neck. She’s got a curse mark and it burns her. It’s definitely the sign of a cursed child.”

“I’m not cursed!” Devany screamed at the teacher as her mark continued to burn intensely. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she held onto her cousin, the only support she had in a school of strangers. “I’m not cursed…”

Conroy’s eyes caught sight of the mark on the left side of his cousin’s neck. It was the first time he’d noticed it since her parents always had her dressed up in a way that hid her neck from view. He touched the stark white bat-shaped mark on Devany’s neck and immediately pulled his hand back as the burning sensation stung his fingers.

He stared down at her through fascinated eyes, not one to be prejudiced or judgmental over something he didn’t understand as most people were. “That mark… That mark on your neck, Devany… What is it?”

Brenda jumped in before Devany could even make a reply, her eyes cold and hard with prejudice. “What do you think it is, boy? That’s a curse mark. It should be obvious, even to someone as young as you. You should know that.” Without another word, Brenda opened her classroom door and disappeared inside, shutting the door behind her.

Charles tilted the head of the young girl, studying the mark on the left side of her neck. He touched it tentatively and found Brenda to be right--it did burn. He immediately pulled his hand away and stared down at the little girl, the same cold prejudice in his eyes that had been in the teacher’s. “She’s definitely cursed.”

Conroy stared down at the dark head of hair. He could feel her bony frame shaking from her sobs and felt rage toward the kindergarten teacher for being the main cause of it. He was disbelieving that both the teacher as well as the school principal could label his sweet, innocent cousin as cursed. He didn’t believe she was cursed for even a second, but he knew that wouldn’t matter in the long run, especially if the rest of Williams believed it.

He also felt fearful over the possible outcome of having her strange mark discovered by someone outside of the family. If everyone believed it to be the sign of a curse, then they would all turn against him when he tried to protect her. Maybe even his own parents would turn against him. He knew his father to be someone that constantly labeled things that couldn’t be explained as cursed. He would be as prejudiced and judgmental as the teacher and principal if he found out about it.

In the end, he wouldn’t be able to protect her, unless he wanted to lose his parents and want the whole of Williams against him. He could only hope her parents would protect her from what he knew he couldn’t. It was that fear of being turned against by everyone he knew that made him release her from his embrace and step back.

 “We can’t keep her,” Charles told the boy. “She’ll bring a curse upon this school. Take her and leave. I’ll call your father and have him pick you up. I can’t have a cursed family in my school. If she’s cursed, you and your sister could be the same.”

It wasn’t anger over it being suggested that he or his sister could be just as cursed as his cousin that boiled in the young boy’s blood. It was anger toward his cousin being regarded in such a way. He wanted to lunge at the principal and hit him for discussing his precious little cousin as if she carried some kind of fatal disease. It was just a mark. Though it was very strange, it wasn’t curse. He was sure of it. However, in the end, he remained silent and didn’t say a word.

Standing between the principal and her cousin, Devany looked down at the floor as tears coursed down her cheeks. “I’m not cursed.” This time she spoke softly, wanting someone to agree with her. She lifted her head to glance at her cousin. She grabbed onto the sleeve of his shirt. “Con?”

Conroy wanted to pull her close and comfort her, but he pulled his arm away instead. “Don’t touch me�"devil-girl.” He could barely believe the words that had jumped out of his mouth, but it was too late to take them back. He had made his choice. He was protecting himself over his cousin and he felt miserable over the direction he was taking.

He took a step back away from Devany. He looked at the principal, shaking his head. “She has nothing to do with me. She has nothing to do with us. We’re not cursed, she is. Do whatever you want with her.”

Devany, desperately needing someone to stand by her, grabbed onto the older boy’s shirt, holding on tightly. “Don’t leave me!” She couldn’t understand why a member of her own family would abandon her over a mark she’d had since coming home from the hospital.

Conroy stared at his cousin for a split second. “I said don’t touch me. You’re a devil-girl.” With slight hesitation that no one noticed, he pushed her away, watching her as she fell to the floor. “Call her parents or something. She has nothing to do with me. I’m going to class.”

Devany watched her cousin’s retreating back as her tears continued to fall. “Con!” she cried out after him, but he didn’t turn to glance at her even once as he disappeared from sight.

He ran down the hall, his eyes filled with tears that no one saw. He stopped around the corner, out of sight from the eyes of his cousin and the principal. His tears flowed freely down his cheeks and he wiped them away with a fisted hand. I’m sorry, Devany. I’m really sorry. I know you’ll never forgive me for that or understand why. You’ll have your parents, even if people call you cursed, but I won’t have anyone. I can’t help you.

He reached into his pocket and drew out a collection of items�"a small heart-shaped rock, a seashell, a miniature toy car, a stick-girl and stick-boy with a cake between them messily drawn on a tiny piece of paper, and a small red rubber ball. They were all things Devany had thought were good presents for his eighth birthday. Though he’d gotten far better gifts from his parents, he couldn’t help treasuring hers more, knowing they were gifts from the heart.

“I’m really sorry, Devany,” he said softly. He thought of his uncle, whom he knew his father hated, and hoped he really would protect his cousin. “You’re braver than me, Uncle Daegan. I can’t do anything, but you can protect her.”

He shoved the items back into his pocket, wiped his eyes, and then slowly made his way to class with a heavy heart.

 

Devany sat on the floor where her cousin had left her when he had walked away. Her tears continued to fall and she stared at the floor. Con… Con… He left. He thinks I’m cursed, too. He hates me now… I thought we were friends. I thought he loved me. He was supposed to stay with me.

“Go wait outside,” Charles said to the girl in a tightly-controlled voice. “I won’t have you inside the school. I’ll call one of your parents to come get you.”

As tears continued to fall from her eyes and roll down her cheeks, Devany walked down the long hallways of the school building, carrying her schoolbag, lunch bag, and scarf. She stepped outside into the cool morning breeze, walking down the stairs. She slowly approached the school gates and stood against one of them, watching the road for the arrival of one of her parents, unsure of how long it would take for her mother or father to pick her up.

In just minutes, Devany’s whole world had crashed down on her. Her teacher already held a strong dislike for her and refused to keep her in the classroom, believing she was cursed. The principal, like the teacher, believed she was cursed and didn’t want her in the school. Her cousin, her own family, also believed she was cursed and suddenly didn’t want to have anything to do with her, which hurt her more than the rejection she’d received from her teacher and the school principal. In the eyes of the young girl everything that could go wrong had gone wrong and nothing would change the disaster her life had suddenly become.

It seemed like hours to Devany as she stood there waiting for one of her parents to show up, though it was just a few minutes. Finally, her mother’s car pulled up in front of the school. Devany slowly made her way to the car with slow, dragging steps and climbed in the backseat, shutting the door. Wordlessly, she set her lunchbox and scarf beside her and pulled her arms out of the straps of her schoolbag, setting it down at her feet. Buckling her seatbelt, she stared out of the window.

Allena watched her daughter through the rearview mirror, crying silently to see the hurt in her daughter’s eyes. She and Daegan had known this day would come, but neither had expected it to be today of all days. She knew there was nothing she could say that would comfort her daughter, but she had to try. “Devany sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”

“I’m okay, Mommy.” Devany grinned at her mother, hiding her hurt.

She wasn’t really okay, but she wanted her parents to believe she was strong and could take anything. She remembered all the warnings she’d been given by her parents about the possibility of a day coming like this. She just hadn’t expected her first day of school to be that day.

“Do your cousins know?” Allena asked, pulling away from the school. It didn’t really matter if they knew. They would know, along with the whole town, by nightfall. This kind of news spread fast in a small town like Williams. She turned onto the street and started on the way home.

“Con knows.” Devany pushed back a strand of stray hair out of her eyes. “He had to go to class, so he couldn’t stay with me.” She knew it was an outright lie to her mother�"a lie she wanted to be true. She couldn’t tell her mother that even her cousin didn’t want her near him. She wanted to wake up the next day and find out everything had been nothing more than a bad dream, but knew she wouldn’t.

The rest of the ride home was filled with silence. Mother and daughter dwelled in their own separate thoughts on what had happened and the trials that awaited them in the future because of it. Without discussing it, they both knew now that the truth had come out it could no longer be hidden. The beginning of a long, hard trial now stretched before them.