• My grandmother passed away recently. Since she lived in Japan and I live in America, I had no choice but to travel to Japan for the funeral and the reading of her will. I know my mother and my two sisters will be waiting for my arrival I just hope they wait for me at the house and not at the airport.
    The plane ride was smooth but long and lonely. I had a lot to think about and in doing such I was reminded of my families past.
    Sixty years ago my grandfather gave my grandmother a beautiful necklace as a wedding gift that he got from antique dealer. The dealer didn’t want to sell the necklace but his wife was sick and he needed the money so he sold it to my grandfather. However he failed to tell my grandfather of the curse on the necklace. Unfortunately my grandfather found out about the curse too late.
    I remember my mother telling me the story when I was a little girl; on a still night many years ago a young man loved his wife so much he was willing to pay any price to make her happy even if it was his life. On his second wedding anniversary he proudly walked down the street with a special package for his bride. He thought to himself “Ayaka is going to look so beautiful with this necklace and my little girl will think how pretty her mother looks tonight.” He didn’t notice the wind picking up, he didn’t notice that the sky got dark, he didn’t notice the air was damp and chilly. He never made it home, and his wife waited and waited for his return. The police searched everywhere for him but couldn’t find any signs of his whereabouts. The next morning as Ayaka left the house still searching for her husband she found a small package on her porch. When she opened the package she found the necklace inside and cried, for she knew this necklace and she knew whoever possessed it was doomed to leave this earth so with a heavy heart she quickly buried the necklace in the church cemetery never wanting to see it again. From time to time throughout her life whenever she was heavy hearted she would feel a warm embrace or gentle kiss upon her cheek and she would know that her beloved husband’s spirit was still with her.
    I knew the story very well and I knew nobody should own that necklace but now with grandmother gone, I am worried that one of my stupid sisters would forget the curse and lay claim to it, I hope I’m not too late.
    When I arrived in Japan nobody was waiting for me so I took a taxi to my grandmother’s house. When I got there it was strangely quiet. Approaching the house I got a bad feeling. As I entered the house and called out my mother’s name, there was no answer. Did I miss the funeral? No. everyone was just gone. I searched the whole house even outside. Everybody was missing. I was getting scared, someone had to be around. Not even my grandmother’s body was laid out. I was getting real scared. Going to the phone I decided to call the funeral director. But the phone was dead. On the table next to the phone was a package, a small package. I didn’t have to open it to know what it was; the wrapping paper was dirty and musty smelling. I ran out of the house as fast as I could. As tears ran down my face I couldn’t help but think “where the hell has everybody gone to!”
    I ran until I came to the park. And I ran until I came to a bench, where I sat down and cried hard.
    I don’t know how long I cried for but a while later I felt a gentle kiss on my cheek and a warm soft arm around my shoulder.