Twice Cursed

Gina was daydreaming about jumping off of something really tall when she saw something catch the light and shimmer in the corner of the room.

Normally she wouldn’t give a shit, but she had just cleaned the house and she know there wasn’t anything over there that would shine like that. Her curiosity won and she groaned, standing up from the couch. She really should have called the doctor, Gina thought as she stretched her back, willing it to just stop hurting.

She pulled her soft fuzzy blanket over her like a cape and shuffled over to the corner. She stared at a large coin on the ground, narrowing her eyes at the audacity. The presidential face on the front seemed to wink at her in the low light. She had no idea how a coin she’d never seen ended up on her living room floor, or why the coin looked so damn cursed, but she couldn’t just leave it there. The dog would eat it and then she would have to take her to the emergency vet. One more fucking thing.

Wincing at her back pain, she bent over and gently picked up the coin. She yelped at the feeling of it in her palm, warm to the touch and just wrong feeling. Looking closer she noticed the eyes on the coin seeming to follow her as she turned the object in her hand.

“Hmm, cursed I guess,” Gina mumbled and shuffled back to the couch. As she slid down into the cushions and pulled the plush blanket over herself, a harsh light flashed over the room. She pulled the blanket over her head and closed her eyes. She’d had enough of the bullshit for one day.

“Umm… hello?” a rough voice rumbled. “Someone touched the cursed coin, yeah?”

Gina peeked out from the blanket at the large demon in her living room, looking around in confusion.
“Get out,” she told him lamely as she yawned. “I’m already cursed.”
The demon turned at Gina’s voice, startled by the talking blanket creature.

He narrowed his eyes and then growled.

“You have touched the cursed coin! Now I own your soul, mortal! It’s MINE!”

The demon coughed, and kneeled to the ground.

“Oh no, what… what is this?” he asked painfully. “There’s so much … darkness.”

Gina shrugged.

“Told you, I’m already cursed. But you own my soul now, so yeah, that’s fun. Do you take it from me or how does this work?”

The demon broke into tears.

“Why does this hurt so much?” he asked through tears. “Do you… do you need a hug?”

Gina stood up, rearranged her blanket on her shoulders, and shuffled over to the crying demon. She reached out her arms.

“No, but it looks like you do,” she soothed him. “There, hug it out , it’ll be ok. You get used to it after awhile.”

He cried into her, unable to control the feelings of anxiety and depression coming through from her soul to his.

“It feels like I will never be enough for my parents,” he spat out through sobs. “And no matter how much I work out or how many creams I buy I’ll never be pretty enough, young enough, or thin enough, and it’s like, why even TRYYYYY.”

His sobs became completely uncontrollable as Gina nodded, patting his back.

“I don’t want this soul,” he said, wiping his tears. “You can have it back. I’ll rip up the contract and you’ll never see me again. Please, just take it back. I don’t know how you do this every day.”

Gina just shrugged and turned back to the couch.

“Whatever,” she said. “If you don’t want it, I’ll just go back to my nap.” With that she slugged back into the couch and closed her eyes.

The demon, stunned and confused and frankly a little scared, tore up the soul contract and started to leave. He looked back at the woman asleep on the couch and thought of the moments he’d just experienced.

“I guess I could clean up a little,” he grumbled, picking up a pair of shoes and taking them to the closet. “I mean, it’s not that big of a deal to order some food too. I bet she likes burritos. Who doesn’t like burritos?”

He pressed some buttons on his phone and started cleaning up the clutter around the house. He wasn’t sure why he did it, and he’d never admit it to his demon friends, but he had to do something while he waited for the food to deliver, he reasoned.

When the doorbell rang and he thanked the driver, he flipped a coin at him as an extra tip.

“Thanks!” the delivery driver said with a smile.

The demon grunted and shut the door, whispering, “See you soon.”