Page 6 of The Book of Heartbreak
On the day of the funeral, I’m alone, steeling myself in the unfamiliar silence of the house.
I navigate my way to the kitchen to splash cold water on my face, staring at the porcelain washbasin.
When my fingers finally slip from the sink’s cold edge, I realise how hard I’ve been clutching on to it.
In the back garden, the wind slaps the branches of the fig tree.
I wait for the raindrops to appear on the window as I fetch a bowl, pour a few glugs of milk and toss in my Rice Krispies, but the rain doesn’t come.
I perch on a chair with the bowl, a spoon and no appetite.
Perhaps I’ve become like Daphne, who could go hours without a morsel passing her lips.
What if I cry today? I’ve already failed the second rule, and I’m fucked if I break the first. No tears shall fall . Another heartbreak may be unavoidable if I let the tears come. And that will be the end of me.
I fiddle with my evil-eye pendant, a keepsake Daphne gifted me when I was old enough to be trusted with it.
An evil eye is meant to shield you from harm, perhaps that’s why Munu designated it as our link.
The gold necklace, endowed with the power to summon her, bridges the gap between us.
When I hold it and whisper her name, Munu arrives – if she can.
Though in recent years, her visits have become less and less frequent.
‘You don’t need me as much any more,’ Munu says when I complain about how little time we spend together nowadays.
‘And I have so much to do,’ she protests.
‘Escorting the people who don’t want to die to the Otherside, including the difficult ones who can’t believe they’re dead.
Then there are the almost-extinct animals I have to help protect.
’ She rolls her eyes. ‘Who really cares if there’s one less poisonous frog in the world? ’
Her bosses do, though, whoever they are. Munu is forbidden from discussing them, yet it’s clear that she cannot shirk her obligations. But she promised she’d be at the funeral today.
On the counter, my phone blips with a notification.
Dropped Dotty to the nursery, OMW. Fiona.
Of course. Who else could it be? I have no friends. No family.
I push it away and bin the contents of my bowl.
Above the pedal bin hangs a small frame capturing the Istanbul skyline from the sea.
Daphne never returned to her homeland; instead, she poured her nostalgia into her paintings.
She sold some online and decorated our walls with the others.
As a child, I would sit in her studio, listening intently as she painted and spun tales of Istanbul: a queen of snakes in a dungeon, a maiden trapped in a tower, and men who slumbered in an enchanted cave for centuries.
She repeated these stories until I grew older, and then she ceased looking at my face, as though unable to bear the sight of me.
My toes curl on the stone floor. The shadow of our fig tree lays across the white tiles like an old, unhealed wound. ‘Fig trees bring misfortune.’ Daphne’s voice is carried on the rustling wind. ‘The djinni sleep beneath it. In Istanbul, no one keeps one near their house.’
The culprit of all our misfortunes dances in the breeze, oblivious to my anguish. Daphne should’ve felled it, and perhaps our bad luck would have been over.
She should’ve known better.
Communication is classified as Top Secret.
Circulation strictly limited to recipients.
This email will destroy itself once read, so read carefully.
Subject: Important Information
Date: 10 December 2007
From: Five the Fifth, Angel of Death, Field Operations, Mortal Termination and Transition, Mortal Affairs Commission
To : User15963318 (Temporary Ethereal), Ethereal Resourcing and Deployment Unit, Mortal Affairs Commission
Munu . . . You pitiful, ineffectual soul.
Now that you’re off, assisting the Fate Adjustment Bureau with some stupid haunting in Himachal Pradesh, I started to wonder why I bother keeping you around. Despite all the chaos you cause, I continue to be forgiving.
As such, even though you’ve mishandled everything entrusted to you, I am still forwarding the documents of an important upcoming assignment to your undeserving receipt. This is a top-secret mission; our involvement is strictly due to the deathly nature of this curse.
Review the attached report carefully. Take notes if you must, but refrain from troubling my holiness further.
I have been extremely merciful, granting this mortal resurrections against this cruellest of curses.
As I will not be burdened with repeated deaths of a single mortal, it’s your responsibility to ensure these resurrections take place, should they be needed.
Now listen – your paramount duty, on top of your existing duties, is to ensure the girl’s survival until her eighteenth year.
She must survive. The minor problem associated with the curse, prolonged as it is, should then resolve itself.
Assigning this task to you tears my halo apart, but due to the Office’s dire financial situation, I have no other choice.
I am aware the Himachal Pradesh mission will occupy you for a while.
This specific task will not commence until the curse threatens the mortal’s life for the first time.
So do not pester the child right away. Once your duty starts, take proper care of her and safeguard that pitiful heart.
You will be tethered to her, so certain actions will raise alarms for you, ensuring you fulfil your role.
However, don’t dawdle around the girl; I pray for her soul she doesn’t follow your example and become a weakling.
Unless her life is in immediate danger, prioritise other duties and occasionally tend to her.
You shall instruct her in the rules she must follow to survive – brainwash her if you must, and employ all the despicable mortal methods at your disposal.
Remember, I can nail you to the hooves of rabid horses until Doomsday, should I wish it.
But, as a paragon of merciful perfection, I continue to tolerate your existence.
You’re my weakness, Munu.
Five the Fifth
Attachment :
Document classified as Top Secret.
Curse ID
CID-1010834556
Source of the Curse:
Beddua (For details, consult Appendix III in document DTH-9000719)
Active:
Y N
Classification of Active Afflicted Entity:
Mortal
Celestial
Ethereal
Other (specify if applicable):
List of Directly Impacted Individuals:
M939274856567048343 (Sare Sila Silverbirch) – Imminent death on heartbreak
Linked Individuals
Alive: M94074854391122301 (Defne Aylin Gümüshus)
Deceased Links Found: Please consult Appendix I of DTH-9000719
List of Indirectly Impacted Individuals:
Please consult Appendix I DTH-9000719
Symptoms and Manifestations:
M939274856567048343 will experience the following if overwhelmed by curse:
–Chest pain
–Hallucinations (e.g. earthquakes)
–Death*
* If resurrection is possible, please ensure the subject is not carted to the Otherside. They must remain within the Inbetween until safely restored.
Known Countermeasures:
Upon diverting focus from their feelings, M939274856567048343 will find salvation from a possible heartbreak. The mortal has to fight the curse to avoid termination.
Suggested ways to distract the mortal:
–Physical confrontation
–Culinary temptation (e.g. sugar)
–Provoking their wrath
–Mathematics (could be simple counting or differential equations if subject has an aptitude for advanced maths)
Catalysts and Triggers:
We strongly advise against crying. Exercise utmost caution and steer clear of inducing tears .
Mortals often agitate and vex one another, leading us to advise against the cursed individual seeking companionship among their kin. A life forlorn, harbouring disdain for others, would be the supreme protection from this type of curse.
Preventive Actions Taken By the Office, If Applicable:
The curse will be put to an end if M939274856567048343 should survive eighteen mortal years.
The heart will then be sacrificed, thus exempting the mortal from ‘love’, ‘compassion’ and ‘mercy’.
(For a comprehensive list of the emotions that will be forfeited, please consult Appendix IV of DTH-9000719)
Entity’s Rights and Autonomy:
N/A
Resources and Blessings Granted to the Entity Afflicted:
Guardian Assignment: The Office doesn’t currently have the budget to source a celestial. Allocation of a temporary ethereal to oversee and protect the entity has been arranged.
Resurrection Provision: M939274856567048343 is subject to repeated restorations until final termination.
Karmic Balance Realignment: M939274856567048343 has been indirectly blessed by the Temporal Intervention Agency as an embryo for good fortune.*
* Note: This exercise carries a 0.01% success probability.