The Unwelcome Present
“Honey, there’s a courier for you.”
I headed downstairs to find a present wrapped in a carton with a card stuck on the front that read:
Happy Birthday, Sunita!
“Mom, who delivered this package?”
“Not sure! I found this outside our door today morning.”
I headed towards my room, unwrapped the gift, and was astounded seeing a glinting book studded with opalescent gems.
“Release me”
A gravelly voice emanated from the book which lured me into a hypnotic trance. Before I could realize, I found myself flipping the pages and reading some weird verses aloud. It appeared as if I had lost control over myself.
A fresh wheeze of air pushed the windows open. Things in my room started swirling. A maniacal cackle pervaded the room, which brought me back to my senses. A black aura emanated from the book and escaped through the window.
Poof! The book vanished.
“Mom!” I screamed and headed downstairs only to find her lying on the floor, unconscious.
“What have I done!” I shrieked in fear.
Let it go, let it go
Don’t hold it back anymore!
A mellifluous melody pervaded the room. I turned around in bewilderment. A twine-thin-sculpted figure adorning a shimmery cerulean blue gown was standing right before me. Her long braided platinum blonde hair, alabaster skin, and azure eyes sparkled like diamonds. Bazillions of coruscating flowery snowflakes pirouetted all around her.
“Elsa!” I mumbled in amazement.
Elsa hugged me and whispered, “It seems I’m late! We’ve to hurry!”
“I don’t understand, Elsa. What’s happening?”
“Sunita, it seems you’ve invoked the “Unshackle spell” by reciting the incantations etched in the grimoire, releasing Sabina’s soul. She’ll keep collecting human souls till she regains her power and will ultimately destroy your world. We’ve to stop her.”
“Sabina? Grimoire? Human souls? I don’t underst…..”
“The answer lies in Arendelle. Come with me” she said and waved her hand.
A coruscant snowy carriage appeared out of the blue. We entered inside the carriage. A luminous wormhole opened right before our eyes, which sucked us in.
***
The carriage stopped in front of an ostentatious castle. A cute little snowman was standing outside the gate to welcome us. We alighted from the carriage, and he stared at me in befuddlement.
“You…….”
“Olaf, we don’t have time. Sabina is released. Let’s head to her chamber and find a way to bind her again” Elsa instructed Olaf.
“Ohh..kay”
As we headed towards Sabina’s chamber, I enquired, “Who’s Sabina? And what’s this curse we’re talking about?”
“Long ago in Arendelle, there lived a sorceress named Sabina who thrived on people’s souls by casting dark spells on them in secrecy. All her incantations were etched on her grimoire. Unfortunately, her evil actions came to the light, and I had frozen her soul inside the grimoire. You released her soul by invoking the “Unshackle spell”” retorted Elsa.
“But….”
“We’re here, Sunita” Olaf said opening Sabina’s chamber.
No sooner I set my foot inside the chamber, a sudden chill ran down my spine. An awful feeling of déjà vu engulfed me in its cocoon. The fragrance, the surroundings seemed familiar.
“Sunita only you can find and invoke the “Bind Spell”” Elsa assured me.
“Why only me?” I pondered.
For some reason I felt like I knew every nook and corner of that chamber. I crawled under Sabina’s bed and fetched a chest.
Before I could open the chest, a black aura surrounded the room, and the chest splintered into pieces.
“Sabina’s back!” Olaf yelled.
“Don’t you remember me, Sunita?” An orotund voice echoed, and I felt asphyxiated.
“Sunita, try to remember the spell. Only you can bind Sabina.” Elsa screamed and fired ice shards towards the murky aura.
A seething Sabina shrieked and released a noxious miasma which suffocated me, Elsa, and Olaf.
“You gotta hurry Sunita” Olaf gasped.
It might sound weird, but some verses started hovering over my mind. Mustering every ounce of strength in my body, I mumbled, “Esperatos Amnetus Sopaharina Cactus” and fell unconscious.
***
I woke up to find myself in my room with mom beside me.
“Mom, are you okay?” I enquired.
“What would happen to me?” Mom chuckled and said “Here, there’s a parcel for you.”
I opened the parcel. There was a letter and a veiled portrait titled “Sabina”.
Sunita,
The answer you seek, lies in the portrait.
Elsa
I unveiled the portrait and was flabbergasted seeing my spitting image holding the same grimoire, glaring at me with sanguine eyes, donning a devilish grin.
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