When Lark had looked through the window of the cabin, he had been terrified to see the headless body of the witch on the floor with the head not far away.
He had realized then, the cabin belonged to the witch Eugene had paid to curse him. He pieced together what had happened, concluding that Eugene had murdered her after she had cursed him.
He cleaned the cabin and removed all traces of the witch. If anyone came looking for her, he would simply tell them she had left and that he had bought the cabin from her.
He added a secret storage space beneath the cabin. He was able to access the storage space from inside and outside the cabin just in case he was thrown out of the cabin by some unforeseen circumstances.
He stored everything that had belonged to the witch in the storage space, and over the days and months that followed he studied the witch’s magic and searched for a spell that could reverse the curse she had placed on him.
He finally foun
Erin returned the next night and the next to see Lark. She waited until she thought Horton was asleep and then left the house. She sat on the swing that had since been completed. Lark left the cover of the field and stood on the opposite side of the tree so she could not see him. He was at least close enough that she did not have to shout.They spoke like they had before he had been cursed and they both felt the love they had for one another, as strong as ever.Lark persisted in asking Erin to kiss him but she resisted. She wasn’t sure it would work. She was afraid too that another enchantment would be passed to her if she kissed him.“If you do not try you will never know. Your father told me that the only way the curse can be broken is if you kiss me. Why would he have the witch place another enchantment on that? When your father told me, he was certain you would never kiss me…”“Erin?”Hor
Lark crept through the field in the dark making as little noise as he could. He now lived for every night that he could see Erin and talk to her. It was almost like old times but he still ached to be next to her, hold her and eventually kiss her.He crept to the tree where he always sat and spoke to Erin. He always waited for the music of her voice when she arrived.“Lark?” She had arrived. He felt his heart skip a beat.“I’m here my love,” Lark replied.“I hoped you would come earlier today,” Erin said.“Why?” Lark asked.“Horton has left for a few days. I thought you might be watching the cabin during the day and notice that he was gone so you could have come earlier and we could have spent more time together.”“I was not watching my lady. But now that I know I will be sure to arrive earlier tomorrow. I could even stay the night if you would like,” he said
Eugene kissed Loren goodbye. She did not kiss him back and he may as well have been kissing a statue.Loren was a shadow of the woman she had once been. She had descended into hatred and depression since Erin had disappeared.Eugene and Loren had made a trip one fine day to visit Horton and Erin at their house. They had not found Erin or Horton initially. A search of the property had led to the discovery of two bodies. The search had been widened to the nearby forest where Horton and a fourth body had been found.Eugene had been livid and had ordered the surrounding forest searched. He blamed Lark and claimed it was revenge. He offered a reward for the arrest of Lark but no-one found Lark and no-one thought to search the forest near the witch’s cabin.Loren on the other hand had blamed Eugene.“If you never cursed the boy, he would never have taken revenge!” she screamed at him time and again. “It’s all your fault! The
In the days that followed Eugene was left to himself. He couldn’t forget the image of the wolves eating Eugene alive and he cringed at the thought that he had been the one who had created that situation.Yet, he had wanted Eugene to suffer for all he had done. The curse, Erin, and her death, marrying her to Horton and destroying so many lives. He had wanted Eugene’s death to serve as justice for all that he had done and even though Lark cringed at the thought of how brutal he had been, he was satisfied that justice had been served.He turned his thoughts to the future. He had no idea how long he would have to wait for Erin to be reborn, he had no idea even how he would know if she had been reborn and even if he did know when she had been reborn, he would never know where to find her. His initial hope was that her next life would be in this same area and not some other place in the world. If her next life was not here, hopes of finding her were almost an imp
The next day Lark was almost taken by surprise. He had expected that Emma would arrive with Lendra or Justin to report for her first day’s work. Instead, she arrived alone riding a horse.Lark was still indoors when the transformation began.He sat still in shock as he watched the fur appear on his hands. As he tried to understand what was happening, he incanted the spell he had learned. His transformation did not cease and he felt his blood run cold as he cringed waiting for a scream that would tell him the spell had failed.He stood and walked to a window of his house which was when he spotted her.He was amazed at how she looked just like Erin. His heart skipped a beat as he looked at her through the window. She sat on her horse studying the house.Lark finally opened the door and stepped out hesitantly waiting for the scream, that would tell him the spell had failed.Instead, she smiled when she saw him.“Good day sir,
Lark told Emma the tale of their love from her previous life. He did not at first make it clear that the tale was about them. Emma listened, fascinated by the tale. When Lark had finished, Emma seemed lost in thought.“Is that a true story?” she asked at last.“It is,” Lark said looking at Emma.“It is such a beautiful and yet sad story,” Emma said.“It is exactly that,” Lark replied.“How do you know about it?” Emma asked.“You would not believe me if I told you,” Lark said.“I could not say if I would believe you if you told me unless you tell me,” Emma said smiling.Lark laughed softly, “You are just like…” He trailed off as he realized what he was about to say.“Just like…?” she echoed waiting for him to finish.Lark hesitated and then decided to push through. He had come this far. He had i
Lark was not convinced that Justin was satisfied with their conversation. He turned and entered the house, closing the door behind him.Emma stood in the far corner of the kitchen.Lark stood by the door. He wanted to give her as much distance as he could. “I’m sorry,” he said at last. “I was afraid you would react like that. At least you know that even though I become that… that thing when I am near you, I have never tried to lay a hand on you. You have always been safe with me.”“I… I know…,” Emma replied uncomfortably unable to meet Lark’s gaze.Lark made a decision. “I’m sorry Emma. I really am. I only wanted to be honest with you yesterday. I thought it was only fair that you should know the truth. At least from my side, my conscience is clear. However, if you prefer not to work here anymore, I can take you home. I can only ask that you don’t tell anyone about me.&
Lark had given up on Emma in this lifetime. It was but the second lifetime since the curse had been cast on him but there were too many similarities between this life and her last life. All the obstacles were the same and the last thing he wanted was that Emma would suffer the same fate as she had before.Lark continued life on the farm without Emma. He missed her tremendously but there was no point in her being there. She had become hesitant to kiss him after he told her all about her past. He told himself he had been a fool to tell her anything. He had worked so hard to create the illusion that permitted him to get close to her and then he had torn it down when he had finally managed to get close to her. And where had it gotten him? Nowhere.Lark continued working the farm himself. He completed the plowing and planting and turned his focus to the buildings that needed repair.One afternoon as the sun neared the horizon, Lark spotted the cloud of