Now dressed, Joel went about his day as usual. Annie and I began the trek to Rowan’s house first.

We walked, singing songs along the way. There was a youth in Annie that I had not seen in a long time that came out to play. It was fun to watch, and I missed this side of her.

We approached Rowan’s cabin. It really belonged to the parents of Joel and Rowan. The father had already passed away, and the mother supposed to be inside. Rowan took care of her, so he had to grow up faster than me.

I guessed that was why Joel pushed me so much to go out and get that experience. My eyes caught him chopping wood around the side.

He had tanned skin and short hair that trimmed sharply along the lines of his face. His dark eyes were known to be unwavering, like a stalwart champion.

Even though he and I were about the same age, he was muscular and well-toned compared to my lanky self.

I was about to shout his name, but my sister quickly smacked my head. “He has an axe,” she mumbled. Yes, that was true. I might have scared him and made him have an accident.

Instead, she approached him first, slowly and said, “Hi Rowan, how are you today?”

“Hi Annie!” Rowan smiled.

“Guess who’s here to see you.”

“Who?”

“Nils.”

I stepped out from behind Annie, and as suspected, Rowan got the fright of his life. He jumped back in horror. “Look out behind you, Annie!” he shouted.

Annie looked around in shock, only to see me standing there. “Oh,” she gasped. “Rowan, you frightened me. No, listen, its Nils.”

Rowan looked at Annie, then back at me and said, “Huh?”

“It’s me Rowan, it’s Nils,” I said.

Still shaken up, Rowan refused to believe it seemed. “No way! You’re not Nils. I know Nils.”

“Rowan, calm down,” Annie said “It is Nils. That’s why we’re here. We have something to share with you. Well, Nils does. Is your mom home?”

Rowan nodded.

“Okay, good. I’ll go say hi. Nils?” She looked at me.

I nodded before she left, then turned to Rowan. “Pretty spooky, huh?”

 “What happened to you?” Rowan asked with concern in his eyes.

 “Good question. Yesterday I just woke up like this. Then my grandma saw me and confirmed I was cursed.”

“Cursed! What does that mean?”

“It means I have a few more days left to live.”

“What? This isn’t funny.”

I sighed. “No, it’s not.”

Rowan rubbed the bottom of his chin and blinked. “It’s true?”

“Yes. So, I’m taking each day to spend with the people in my life and I was wondering if tomorrow you’d like to hang out.”

He nodded and looked as if he just saw someone get trampled over by a heavy hoofed animal.

I nodded back. “Great. So, see you tomorrow.”

It was silent and uncomfortable. As I started to walk off, his voice started after me. “Wai... wait, what are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, after turning back to his narrowed eyes.

“Are you busy?” he asked.

“Well, I was just planning on stopping by Bella and asking her to hang out tomorrow too before spending the rest of the day with Annie.”

“Ca-Can I come with you? To go with Bella, I mean…”

“Of course.” I sighed with relief. He came over to me and gave me a big hug and I heard the soft sobs that he tried to fight off.

We made our way inside his cabin. My sister had already informed his mother. She saw me and the reaction wasn’t quite as frightening, but she still stared at me as though she had seen a ghost.

“Everything alright now?” Annie asked.

We looked at each other and nodded. “Is it okay if Rowan walked with us over to see Bella?”

Annie responded. “If it’s okay with his mom.”

She had agreed that it was okay and off we went, making our next stop at Bella’s house.

Rowan and I knocked on Bella’s door and called out her name while Annie stood behind us waiting for an answer. We heard the running footsteps approaching the door.

The door was swung open so quick me and Rowan almost jumped back. There we saw her. She had jet black hair that curled around the edge of her head. Her skin had a darker tone and truly absorbed the glare of the sun, leaving a shine that dazzled my eyes.

She was short, but had long arms and striking eyes that sliced through you. The door got slam shut in our faces. Okay, well, that was going to take some getting used to.

Rowan knocked again. “Bella, open up, it’s me and Nils.”

“That’s not Nils!” she yelled from the other side of the door.

“It is me, Bella! I have something to tell you. Can you please let us in? It’s hot out here.”

We heard a shuffle. Our eyes shifted to the side, where we saw her peering at us through the window next to the door. I waved at her. “It’s me Nils, Bella.”

 She hesitated, but I guessed after looking more closely at Rowan and Annie, she felt a bit more at ease. She pulled her head in. We heard the latch of the door clanking before it cracked opened. Behind her, we saw her elder brother.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Hi Bella, so long story, but apparently I’m cursed, hence the reason for me looking like this.” I was not sure, but it felt better to just come out and say it.

“Cursed?” she asked in concern as the door opened wider. Her brother agreed that it was okay for us to enter, and so we did. I shared with her what I had just shared with Rowan and after tears, and requesting permission from her parents, we agreed that the three of us, Rowan, Bella and I, would spend the day having fun tomorrow.

It seemed everything was going as planned. Well, as planned as it should have been. The tears and looks from everyone I had not planned for.

They looked at me like I already died, but I was not going to let this curse take my right to have some semblance of joy. My heart was becoming heavier as the time and the sun rose higher into the sky.

A time would come where it would fall into the earth and die for the day. If only I could have rebirthed just like it. Such a thing was asking for too much, I guessed.

I left Bella’s place and walked Rowan back to his place; I felt a bit shaken up. It would be odd if I did not. Thankfully, I felt Annie’s arm wrap around my shoulders, hugging me close to her hips.