Therianthrope: A New Kind of Curse

“Nina, this isn't the way to the wedding venue, is it?”

I sat in the front passenger seat looking at the unfamiliar sight out of the window, my voice flat.

My wife, Nina Jones, grabbed my hand tightly, her eyelashes trembling. She then explained with a smile, “Heath, are you getting the wedding jitters? We’ve been preparing for this wedding for so long. Where else would we be going if not the wedding venue?”

I fell silent at Nina’s response and gave none of my own.

Despite her best efforts at hiding the truth, she forgot one thing.

We’ve been together for seven years since I was first sent to this world on a mission. I understood her way too well.

She would subconsciously bite her lip whenever she lied. She even locked the car door the moment I questioned her, as though she was scared that I would try jumping out of the car.

I wasn’t surprised to arrive at that conclusion.

Conversely, I felt rather relieved.

I pulled out a cigarette from my pocket. With a click of my lighter, a flame flared out.

I took a deep breath and the taste of nicotine spread out in my lungs. It tasted bitter but made me exceptionally alert.

“Nina, I’ve been taking you on as a mission for seven years. No need to lie to me.”

I blew out a puff of smoke and spoke calmly, my voice laced with a tinge of self-derision.

“There’s no need to, and it’s pointless anymore. You’re bringing me to the hospital to help Shane with his heart surgery, right?”

The mention of Shane’s name made Nina slam on the brakes, almost making the car behind her crash into our car.

I wasn’t shocked by Nina’s reaction.

He was her first love, the one whom she almost married.

She took a moment to recover before she barely managed a pained smile.

“Heath, things have long been over between Shane and me. I just want to be with you right now. Trust me, Shane.”

Those were wonderful, reassuring words she spoke, but the glint in her eyes was unmissable and she somehow couldn’t bring herself to look straight into my eyes.

I took a deep breath.

“In that case, why aren’t you in your wedding dress on such an important day? Why did you insist on driving? We engaged a driver for this occasion, didn’t we?”

Silence ensued in the car, leaving only the sparking of the lighted cigarette.

A moment later, she bowed her head and confessed everything.

“You’re a time-traveler and can come back to life after completing your mission, but he’s suffering from end-stage heart failure and can’t survive without surgery. He’s so kind and still so young. His life shouldn’t end just like this.”

She choked back tears, a plea and justification in the same breath.