63. The Nonbeliever

Paul - The witch’s lair
The walls with handmade hanging carpets seem to close in on me. It’s as if all the air has been sucked out of the room. Witches, magic, it's all bullshit. Now, do I have to believe in curses and reincarnation too?
“What’s your proof?” I can’t smother the disgusted smirk on my face. “Am I to believe that you see magical strings tied to our souls? Sheeesh! Where have you hidden the rest of the circus?”
The gypsy witch laughs, her eyes glinting in amusement. She stares at me with the same good-tempered gaze she has since I stepped into her house.
“Do you want me to be nice or honest?”
I huff, folding my arms over my chest. “You can continue being nice since I don’t believe in your honesty anyway.”
"Oh, but you see, now I’m bound to reciprocate your honesty." The old witch leans toward us without leaving her chair. "I can’t remember which renowned physicist once said, ‘If I believe in God, and He doesn’t exist, I have nothing to lose. But if I don’t believe in Him and He exists, then I have everything to lose.’ You see, there is a great logical approach to someone’s beliefs. You strike me as a sound man. Apply this quote to our meeting today. You have nothing to lose since my consultation is free of charge."
“Except for the cost of gas I spent driving here.”
My wolf growls in dissatisfaction at my words, the sound blending with Laura's tongue click. I'm deeply irritated by this apex of democracy.
The witch changes her attention from me to Laura.
“And you, Laura… You have trouble accepting that emotional delusion is a crime of self-hatred. Try not to pretend to be someone you’re not.”
The witch sighs and then continues. "The problem here is that both of you are in a rut, and neither of you can see the other’s perspective. Loving someone always leaves you thirsty for more. No matter how hard a couple tries, they’ll always be two separate people. One can’t absorb the other, nor can they come together as a whole.
"That’s the case when the two aren’t soulmates. Invisible threads bind those meant to be together, driving them closer and closer until their spirits touch and become one."
"I did not come here for relationship advice." Laura's voice rises. "Tell him what you told me: his bite may provide me with what I desire."
"I read in your palm when you initially came to me that the Dacian Draco's bite would erase your curse. It is a curse to be a strigoi." The witch grasps Laura's hand and looks down at the lines. "But I discovered another curse today, one that keeps you two apart. There is no guarantee that his bite will break one curse, both curses, or neither. Things just become much more difficult to read."
"Maybe we should have gone to a different witch," I say after an awkward moment of silence.
Laura doesn’t pay any attention to my mockery. Her fingers clutch tightly onto her chair’s armrests. “Does that mean you won’t help me convince him?”
Something like a needle stings inside my heart. Even though I don’t believe in any words coming out of the witch's mouth, it hurts that Laura is still hung up on the notion of me killing her. She didn’t stop for one second to ask about the soulmates part.
“You can’t cast a curse or break one unless you believe.” The witch looks at me again, then back to Laura. “As long as he doesn’t believe his bite would set you free, it’s worthless and pointless.”
Laura exhales heavily, lowering her head and staring at her feet. She flinches when her phone starts ringing. After a long look at the screen, she gulps and says, “I have to take this.”
“If you run again, I’ll switch to healthy food to live longer and chase after you for a hundred more years,” I yell after her as she walks out the door.
“You should start searching for recipes.” The witch smirks, keeping her gentle gaze on me. “Laura won’t be outside when you leave. She’ll be long gone by then.”
I want to jump off my seat, but the witch’s hand lays heavily on mine as if it weighs a ton.
“Let her go for now. She needs time to sink in with her grief. Her last link with humanity just got snuffed out a few moments ago. Give her time.”
This doesn’t sound good at all. I should be there with her, should I not?
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Just stay a little longer with this old lady. Even if you don’t believe me, hear me out. Maybe my words will have meaning someday.”
“Ok, I’m listening. But don’t expect anything from me.”
"You've always gotten scared the moment a relationship crosses a certain line. The closer you get to someone, the scarier it becomes. But this time, you want to put everything on the line. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself why is that?"
I nod. “Yes, I’ve asked myself that many times. The only possible answer is the obvious one. Love.”
The witch's smile sweetens to the point that I'm scared I'll get diabetes.
“Paul, you once said that love is without reason. That it simply is.”
I frown. “How do you know this?”
"Secrets of the trade." She seems to be at ease as she sits back in her chair. "You are a guy who seeks solutions and rationale in everything. But love is absolutely irrational. It will ask you to do absurd things at some point. You will lose your love if you are not willing to comply."
Her words sound like a prophecy of sorts. Or does she spell them out as such to give me this vibe?
“Are you trying to convince me to kill her?”
"No. What I mean is that emotions always triumph over logic. Strong emotions can break any curse, but you must believe in your story and in your relationship to conquer everything. Allow your emotions to tell you when it's time to let go."
A chilly rush ripples along my spine. How will I know if that moment comes?