Gen is eight years old. She sits quietly in the waiting room of a hospital in the company of several other adult women. She slumps over in her seat and stares blankly at the linoleum tiles under her dangling feet. The woman next to her rubs her back soothingly and takes her hand to squeeze it. Her name is called and she looks up to see her mother with her hand stretched out for hers. The older woman's eyes are red and raw from crying.
Gen ignores the outstretched hand and slides from the seat, leading the way into her father's room. His eyes don't open when she enters. She climbs onto the bed with him and wraps her arms around him. Her mother reaches for her and she jerks away from her touch. Her father puts a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"My little Goddess." He whispers faintly. She wipes a tear from her eye and nods. "You're a good girl. Look after Mommy."
She closes her eyes and tears fall.
~
Gen is wearing a long black funeral dress, she sits alone in her room staring out of the window as guests, all female, pour into her house. Her mother lets herself in and closes the door behind her. "Genny?"
"Go away."
"Genny, please. Talk to me." Her mother pleads near, nearly in tears. "We need to talk about this."
"This is your fault." Gen growls at her, clenching her fists.
Her mother shakes her head and sits on the edge of the bed next to the little girl. "That's not true. You have to believe that's not true, Sweetheart. I loved your -- I thought he was safe. He loved me. Do you understand what that meant to me? He loved me, Genny. He wasn't ever going to leave."
Gen slides from her chair and sits in the corner, covering her ears with her hands. "Shut up! Shut up!"
Her mother falls to her knees in front of her and takes her hands. "You don't understand! He loved me. We were happy for so long, that's never happened before for any of us. We all thought the curse was broken--"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You're crazy! Stop being crazy! I hate you!"
Her mother drops her hands and rises to her feet. "I'm not crazy. I am not crazy, don't you dare call me that."
"Yes you are." Gen nods, getting up too. "Mad Maggie."
Her mother looks as though she'd been stricken in the face by the words and for a long moment they're both very silent. Gen fidgets with her fingers, feeling more guilty and angry with every passing second. Finally, her mother speaks again.
"You will hurt people, Genivive. You'll tear homes apart with a single look. You will take lives and you'll be lost. And then you'll fall in love --"
"Shut up." Gen warns, tears filling her eyes again.
"You'll fall in love and he'll be the only thing you ever truly love, and then one day he'll be gone." Her mother sobs, gripping the young girl's shoulders. "And it'll be because of them. They did this to us! They cursed us! They took him away from me!"
Gen rips herself from her mother's grasp and runs out of the room, past the mourners, and out of the house. She keeps running until she's out of sight.