The
dark veil that concealed me from my actions never lasted long and it felt like
my eyes were opening over my already open eyes. I looked down at my hands which
were black from the ashes. The black trailed up my arms and I felt streaks of
filth on my face. Tears joined the shadows on my skin. I looked up and saw the
shock on Claudette’s face.

“You’re
a complete idiot rhea.”

No
please.

“Do you
really do anything I tell you?”

I
didn’t answer. Not that it did any good.

  “Rhea do five jumping jacks.” Esther said, catching on.

  This continued for another half hour. But this didn’t
satisfy them and it continued for weeks after that. I became miserable, but
there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it. After four weeks of abominable
torture Claudette found out my father was taking all her mother’s money. She
took vengeance on me and the orders practically became attacks, so frequent
that I almost never saw light.

  An evening after much strenuous ordering, Claudette
called me into her room. I was very unsure of what she was to wish of me so I
took as much time as I could to get there.

  “Rhea how nice it is too see you.” I entered the room and
saw Claudette and Esther seated by the window with an extra chair near them. I
gave them both a small nod, choosing not to say anything. “Dear come sit by us,
we need to have a little talk.”

  “Please whatever it is I don’t want to do it.” I pleaded

  “It doesn’t matter Rhea, you don’t have a choice, now
come sit by me.”

  I did so and Claudette began issuing the order.

  “Now Rhea I’m sure you know how your pig of a father is
stealing all of dear mother’s money and I have decided to do something about
it. Here’s the plan Rhea, tomorrow night you are going to steal the slippers of
Clarisse Carson from the Carson bell tower.”

  I was shocked, never before had I ever had to do
something so wretched. Tears started pouring from my eyes and I ran from the
room. Claudette didn’t try to stop me; her words had already been said.

  I knew I couldn’t do this. My mother always said to not
let my curse become me. I knew if I stole Clarisse Carson’s slippers my curse
would fully overcome me. Clarisse was a woman I had always looked up too as she
was the founder of this town. Her slippers resided in the old Carson bell
tower. The bell tower is the only architecture left from Clarisse’s time and
had long since been made into a museum.

  I suddenly got an idea! Claudette had said that I had to
steal the slippers but she didn’t say I had to bring them back to her. I used
this technique as often as I could and this was as good of a time as ever! I
immediately started packing then sat down to plan what I was going to do once I
had the slippers. After I had them I would use the money I had left to get to a
city far away and sell them. Then I would use all the money from the slippers
and travel around the world. I wrote my good bye letter to father and put it my
pocket to be placed in his study tomorrow. 

  Suddenly very exhausted I crawled into bed and tried to
figure out if I had manufactured my doom or wrote out my freedom.