Chapter 8

As the sky darkened and the sun dipped below the horizon, Dad and Howard came back from fishing with a bucket full of fish. The moment Great-Uncle Sam saw Howard, the smile on his face disappeared. His expression turned serious. Howard assumed it was because he had seen the news online and was now suspicious of him. He looked embarrassed and uneasy. Even during dinner, Great-Uncle Sam's furrowed brows never relaxed. Several times, he seemed like he wanted to say something but held back. Eventually, he couldn't contain himself. "Howard, are you having some troubles lately?" he asked in a grave tone. Howard was startled, then gave a helpless chuckle. "Great-Uncle, it's not just some trouble. Things have been really bad." I followed his lead and laid out everything that had happened in the past few days. "Until now, we still can't figure out how Celeste got pregnant with Howard's child. It just makes no sense!" Howard set his cutlery down and swore in front of them. "I swear, I've never done anything to betray Wendy. You all know I'm not even capable of having children." Grand-Uncle Sam's eyes sharpened. "So you're telling me… this housekeeper got pregnant with Howard's child out of thin air?" It sounded unbelievable—even to us—but we both nodded. He narrowed his eyes and turned to stare at Howard. But I noticed something odd. He wasn't really looking at him, but rather… at his back. Everyone fell silent, spooked by Sam's behavior. Howard froze in place, not daring to move a muscle. Two long minutes passed before Great-Uncle Sam looked away. "Have you added anything new to your home recently?" he asked. After a brief pause, he added, "I mean something fairly large, and it's probably placed in the northwest corner of your house." I thought for a moment, and then it clicked. "Four months ago, one of Howard's students gifted him a sculpture. I think we placed it in the northwest corner." Howard smacked his forehead. "Yes! It was from Stella! Celeste was there too. They pretended not to know each other at the time." But how did Grand-Uncle Sam know this? And why was he asking about it? He stroked his beard, his expression solemn. "All the bad luck you've experienced lately probably started with that thing." Although Howard usually dismissed superstition, even he looked halfway convinced now. "Great-Uncle Sam, I don't quite understand what you mean," he said cautiously. Sam dipped his finger in water and wrote a single word on the table. "Infant?" "You two need to go home and open that sculpture. If I'm not mistaken, there's a drop of an infant's spirit blood sealed inside. Spirit blood is the spiritual essence of a dead infant. "One drop of it is in your home, and the other drop is probably with Celeste. The spirit blood recognized Howard as its father, and Celeste must have swallowed her share just before taking the paternity test. That's how the result came out the way it did." Grand-Uncle Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, worn cloth pouch. "Wendy, this is the special ash I prepared. Sprinkle it directly on the spirit blood and the curse will be broken." I accepted the pouch and carefully tucked it into my shoulder bag. Grand-Uncle Sam was well-known in the surrounding villages. Parents often brought frightened children to him for protection. Hence, I trusted him completely. After hearing his explanation, Howard and I decided to drive back home that very night. Before we left, Sam added one last thing, "As soon as the spirit blood is destroyed, the infant's spirit will seek revenge on Celeste." He didn't say what form that revenge would take. We reached home close to midnight. We immediately turned on the lights and found the sculpture in the northwest corner of the living room. Using a power saw, we cut the sculpture open. Sure enough, hidden in the base was a sealed vial made of glass. Inside, a dark red liquid moved as if it were alive, swirling and twisting on its own. I pulled out the rubber stopper and poured in the ashes from Grand-Uncle Sam's pouch. The spirit blood hissed as it released a puff of black smoke, and then it disappeared. "Was… is that it?" Howard asked, his eyes fixed on the empty vial in disbelief. "If Great-Uncle Sam says it'll work, it'll work," I replied. However, I wasn't entirely sure myself. At this point, though, all we could do was believe in him.