Page 36 of The Book of Heartbreak

‘Leave?’ She confronts Theodora. ‘I have become one with this place, and it with me. No longer am I your sister. In place of my heart, I now harbour a darkness birthed from the pain you wrought upon me. How dare you stand before me and plead for forgiveness! I curse my own tongue for having once addressed you as a sister, and may I burn in the seventh circle of Hell if it utters a word of forgiveness.’

‘I beg you,’ Theodora pleads, bowing down to Eudokia’s feet, but Eudokia recoils, repulsed by the gesture.

‘Lazarios left me too, if that offers any consolation. He abandoned me. He was cruel, Eudokia. He tortured me. He forbade me from using his name. “Lazarios belongs to your sister,” he said. I was to address him as Azylios. He was never mine. Never my Lazarios – as if his heart always belonged to you. He never loved me as much as he loved you.’

Eudokia fixes Theodora with a blank, hollow stare. Her sister goes on, desperately.

‘And when he left, he took a piece of my soul with him. I’ve not known peace since the day I set eyes on him.’

With this, Eudokia lets out a laugh that makes my hairs stand on end. ‘What is it, compared to what you’ve done to me? You crippled me. You shattered my soul. Never shall I grant you forgiveness, not even if the earth splits open to swallow you.’

Theodora weeps, but Eudokia seems unmoved by her tears. A shadow crosses her face, hollowing her eyes.

‘May our lineage bear the torment you’ve carved into my heart,’ she shouts.

‘May their hearts shatter over and over, may they love only to lose and trust only to be betrayed. I curse you, and each child you bear, and all their descendants to endure the fate of my poor birds – fluttering in futile resistance, writhing against a freedom of which they were robbed. Let Death conquer them heartbroken and all alone, until they fall one by one, so I become the downfall of the House Doukas, as was once prophesied.’

I tremble, watching Eudokia climb onto the windowsill, fulfilling the false prophecy, as the earthquake rages beneath us. Theodora lets out a wail once she figures out what her sister is about to do, but not quick enough to catch her before she leaps.

I’m numb with sorrow when I hear a splash of waves, and the light flashes again, but not before I get a glimpse of black wings and eyes.

And then I am back in the darkness of the night and Munu is removing her hands from my eyes, pulling me back to where we stand on the Maiden’s Tower, where all the anguish began.

‘I was a fool to think that death was a salvation,’ Munu murmurs. ‘Death was no victory against my sister.’

She drifts away, looking at me expectantly, as if I’m supposed to throw myself on her mercy like Theodora did. But I’m not Theodora. I haven’t deceived anyone.

Munu’s wings quiver as if she’s shivering.

‘So you cast the curse,’ I mutter. ‘What happened after that? How did you get those wings?’

‘After the earthquake died, I looked up to the walls to see Theodora, whose hands gripped the windowsill, and when my eyes followed her gaze, I saw myself afloat in the sea, shapeless in death. And then he came . . .’ Munu said.

‘My beloved – my b-boss, may he forgive me for speaking his real name. Five the Fifth, Angel of Death. But before he could take me, another one of them came – Nine the Ninth, and she told me that my beddua had cast a curse.’

I recall Sufi Chelebi’s words: a beddua is the worst form of an ill-wish, sourced from a suffering heart.

‘“Retract your words at once, implore a tovbe and seek redemption,” she urged me. And before you ask, canim, a tovbe is a penance to a beddua – an act of deep and genuine regret. It would have stopped the curse before it took root. But I didn’t regret what I had done.

I had just made the ultimate sacrifice so I wouldn’t ever feel obliged to forgive Theodora. I refused to say it.’

‘You had the chance to stop this?’ I groan. She had an opportunity, and she blew it.

‘Fury had blinded me. Five warned me – he is the all-knowing, always blessed. He told me I was being foolish. Nine was even angrier than him. But I told her that she too would not be forgiven, for I prayed day and night to the angels while I was in that tower but none ever answered until I died. And then, as Nine was about to crush me in her fury at my defiance, Five intervened. He saved me from Nine’s wrath, made me an ethereal.

Though he marked me with these wings and the inability to control my body when I’m angry or scared, so I would remember how I rebelled against the Hidden and do better, he also blessed me with a new name.

A new name holds power, canim, it’s a new beginning.

And Five bound me to himself with my new name, Munu.

He tethered my fate to his until the world crumbles into dust. I owe him my existence. ’

Finally, Munu falls silent. Above us, the delicate darkness of the sky hangs like a blanket, before being drawn back when the night hours begin to recede into morning.

I realise the story has ended, but I still don’t have my answers.

‘What happened to Theodora?’ I ask. ‘How did the curse find me?’

‘Theodora walked away from the island alive. But the curse followed her and her line, shifting between the women of our blood, taking a different form of heartbreak in each. Hers was abandonment. Even her children left her.’ Munu trembles like a dewdrop on a spider’s web.

‘I watched the curse rot my family, I watched my house’s downfall.

Until—’ Munu pauses, biting her lips, her fingers fidgeting, fighting with an unknown enemy.

‘Until that seer, Sufi Chelebi, stopped it.’

‘But I-I don’t get it.’ I’m clouded by confusion once more. ‘How could I be cursed if Chelebi broke the curse centuries ago?’

‘Please, calm down, canim,’ Munu warns softly.

‘It’s Sare to you now!’ I snap, as if I can be her ‘canim’ any more.

‘I don’t exactly know what happened,’ she says, her voice breaking.

‘Perhaps it was you again!’ I fill my lungs with the salty air to cool down my rage, unable and unwilling to believe her.

‘No, I swear it wasn’t me.’ She shakes her head vehemently. ‘I was away on a mission when the curse reawakened in 2007.’

The year Iris died.

‘I was in Himachal Pradesh, in a town called Dagshai. I can prove it,’ Munu insists.

‘Five lent my services to Nine. I was responsible for handling a string of hauntings. It was terrifying. I feared for my own soul. And Nine was a nightmare boss. No breaks, no help from other ethereals. Just me, drowning in one task after another. But one day, Nine appeared, with threats of hellfire, and told me ‘another wretched soul’ from my lineage had awakened the curse. I panicked. I wrote to Five for help, but he too was livid, claiming my bloodline was born to torment him.’ She pauses, her eyes dark with guilt.

‘I always assumed your mother was the culprit. Or perhaps her sister. They were the only descendants of Doukas in Istanbul at that time. I swear, I didn’t do anything. ’

It hits me like a punch to the stomach. All those years I thought Mum was reckless, fucked up, unlucky, or even weak . . . It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t bad choices or misfortune. She was a descendant of the House Doukas and her heartbreak was inevitable.

‘Daphne was cursed too.’ My voice is a croak.

Munu only nods, her eyes wild and untamed, living through her memories.

‘But you weren’t guiding Mum like you do me.’ I swallow hard, trying to focus again. ‘How did I end up with you? Why didn’t she get any help?’

I remain silent until she speaks again.

‘You were just born when Five sent me documents explaining what the curse would do to you. You are the one with whom the curse will end, once and for all. You are special, Sare. You are unlike any of those who came before.’

I am special. I am the sacrifice.

‘My task has always been keeping you alive,’ Munu carries on.

‘I was still in Dagshai when the information about the assignment arrived. When Nine finally released me from her service, I visited you. You were asleep in your cot, canim, like a drop of pearl, innocent and oblivious to the darkness ahead. I left, of course. My task wasn’t due to begin until the curse threatened your life for the first time.

Later, when I met you properly, I began to grasp the cruel mistake I’d made in cursing my own family.

But don’t get me wrong – I haven’t forgiven my sister.

You’re the only reason I’ve ever regretted what I did.

You don’t deserve it, Sare. You don’t deserve any of it. ’

You don’t deserve this, Muzaffer’s words ring in my ears.

Who does deserve it, then? Mum? Iris?

Was Mum the one who awakened the curse? Is this all because of her?

There was a darkness around her, one I was too blind to notice. Now I know we bear the same shadow – and Daphne wasn’t enough to satiate it. It wants me.

I place my hand above my heart. I don’t know how I can stay so calm. Perhaps Munu’s deceit broke me so hard that no fluttering is left in me.

‘I promise, it will end soon, and you will be free from the burdens of a heart – you will be invincible.’

‘Shut up,’ I lash out. ‘Don’t act as if you’re a martyr. How can you still reel off this crap after the agony you’ve caused? Do you have no shame?’

‘I tried to protect you. Love and its ensuing sorrows breed nothing but ruin.’

‘No.’ I stand my ground. ‘Chelebi’s book chose me for a reason. I will break the curse before it takes my heart.’

‘Even if that fool’s book has really chosen you, even if there’s another way,’ Munu says, cruising closer to me tentatively while I draw back, ‘it’s too risky. You could die, Sare. Do not let the seer drown you in hope.’

The word hope sounds so bleak on Munu’s lips.

‘What do you know about hope?’ I mutter. ‘You’re a cruel, heartless woman. You lied to me all these years. I’m doomed because of you!’

‘I loved you as if you were mine.’

‘Yet you never once told me that you loved me,’ I dismiss her outright.

‘I didn’t want you to be weak,’ she pleads.

‘I won’t let you manipulate me any longer. I’ll either break the curse, or I’ll die trying.’

‘Please.’ Munu flies back and forth. ‘Sare—’

‘Leave, Munu, or should I call you Eudokia now?’ I snap. ‘I will never forgive you.’

‘But the curse—’

‘It’s not your problem.’ I pause and, with shaking fingers, I tear off the evil-eye pendant that has hung around my neck since my very first heartbreak and fling it to the ground. It hits the floor with a clink, cracking the gemstone. ‘Take it. I won’t need it from now on.’

Munu’s body trembles with spasms as she sobs.

‘Be gone!’ I cry, wishing it didn’t hurt this much to cut myself off from her. ‘I never want to see you again.’

Communication is classified as Highly Confidential.

Circulation strictly limited to beings with celestial origins.

Subject: Job Offer

Date: 5 August 2025

From : Nine the Ninth, Senior Angel of Fate, Fate Adjustment Bureau, Mortal Affairs Commission

To: Grey the Compassionate, Associate Cherub, Curse and Malediction Archives, Worldly Index, Sacred Data Systems, Halotech Data and Integration Hub

Cherub,

Your hard work, despite being unsolicited, has caught our attention. We would like to offer you a role better suited to your skills. See the job description pasted below. You can start immediately. There’s no further need for you to work on curses, or whatever there is to do in the mortal archives.

Ta,

Nine the Ninth

Job Title : Senior Cherub, Temporal Intervention Agency

Reports to : Temporal Intervention Coordinator, Reporting to Nine the Ninth, Senior Angel of Fate, Reporting to Archangel Absolute, Head of Mortal Affairs (Emissary to They Whom Should Not Be Concerned, Our Boss Almighty)

Job Overview :

The Senior Cherub of the Temporal Intervention Agency oversees and executes divine interventions within the mortal realm, ensuring timely responses to celestial requests.

This primarily back-office role involves subtle adjustments to timelines, and making sure all changes are in accordance with the grand divine plan.

As a senior team member, you will collaborate with resourced ethereals and higher-ranking angels across the Mortal Affairs Commission to maintain the cosmic harmony.

Key Responsibilities :

· Coordinate with the Fate Adjustment Bureau and Mortal Termination and Transition to ensure the resources are appropriately utilised

· Prepare detailed reports and graphs for the Celestial Compliance Office

· Be able to distinguish between miracles and catastrophes

· Develop new intervention tactics to minimise the consumption of angelic resources

Qualifications :

· Minimum 500 years of celestial experience

· Strong understanding of fate mechanics and cosmic harmony

Attributes :

· Precision, foresight and unwavering commitment

· Ability to perform under divine pressure

· Can-do, Will-do, My-Bosses-Know-Better-Than-I-Do attitude

This is a fantastic position suited for an experienced cherub ready to take on a senior role in shaping the destinies from behind the scenes with no need for the hands-on fieldwork. You’ll have significant potential for divine career development.