**A Birthday to Remember: The Couples Memorable Dinner**
Emily was heading home with her husband from the restaurant where theyd celebrated his birthday. It had been a lovely eveningpacked with relatives, work colleagues, and a few faces shed never seen before. If James had invited them, though, she supposed they were important.
Emily wasnt one to argue with her husband. Fuss and rows werent her style. It was easier to go along with things than to insist she was right.
*”Emily, do you have the flat keys handy? Can you grab them?”*
She rummaged through her handbag, then yelped, dropping it with a clatter.
*”What on earth was that for?”*
*”Something stung me!”*
*”With the amount of junk in that bag, Im not surprised.”*
Emily didnt argue. She just picked up the bag, carefully fished out the keys, and let them inside. By then, shed already forgotten the whole thing. Her legs ached from the long eveningall she wanted was a hot shower and bed. But when she woke the next morning, her hand throbbed. Her finger was red, swollen. Then she remembered.
She emptied her bag, piece by piece, until she found ita large, rusty needle lurking at the bottom.
*”What the?”*
No clue how it got there. She tossed it in the bin, bandaged her finger, and headed to work. By lunchtime, she was burning up.
She called James.
*”I dont know whats wrong. Fever, headache, everything hurts. Andyoull never believe itI found a rusty needle in my bag. Thats what pricked me last night.”*
*”You should see a doctor. What if its tetanus? Or worse?”*
*”Dont be dramatic. I cleaned it. Ill be fine.”*
Except she wasnt. By the end of the day, she could barely stand. She took a taxi home, collapsed on the sofa, and fell asleep.
In her dream, she saw her grandmother, Margaretgone since Emily was a child. She just *knew* it was her. Though the old womans appearance mightve spooked others, Emily felt only comfort.
Gran led her through a field, pointing out herbs she needed to brew into a tea. *”Someones wishing you harm,”* she said. *”But if you want to fight it, youve got to survive. Times running out.”*
Emily woke in a cold sweat. Shed only been asleep minutes. The front door creakedJames was home. She stumbled into the hallway, and he gaped.
*”Bloody helllook at yourself!”*
The mirror showed a stranger: tangled hair, hollow eyes, ghostly pale.
*”Whats happening to me?”*
Then she remembered the dream.
*”Gran told me what to do”*
*”Emily, get dressed. Were going to the hospital.”*
*”No. She said the doctors wont help.”*
An argument erupted. James called her mad, accused her of hallucinating. For the first time, they fought properlyhim tugging her toward the door, her resisting until she stumbled and fell.
*”If you wont go nicely, Ill drag you!”*
But Emily refused. Furious, James grabbed her bag, slammed the door, and left. All she could manage was texting her boss: *”Caught a nasty bug. Need a few days.”*
He returned near midnight, apologising. Her only reply?
*”Take me to Grans village.”*
By morning, Emily looked like a walking corpse. James begged her to see sense, but they went anyway. She slept the whole drive, waking only as they neared the village.
*”Over there,”* she mumbled.
Weak-legged, she staggered from the car and collapsed into the grass. But she knew this placethe same field from her dream. She found the herbs Gran had shown her, and they returned home. James brewed the tea. Sip by sip, she improved.
Later, in the bathroom, she saw her urine had turned black. But instead of panicking, she whispered, *”The poisons leaving”*
That night, Gran visited againsmiling this time.
*”That needle was a curse,”* she explained. *”The teas helping, but it wont last. We need to find who did this. And its someone linked to James.”*
Her instructions were precise: Buy a pack of needles, enchant the largest with a rhyme (*”Spirits of night, once alive, hear me now, make truth arrive”*), and slip it into Jamess bag. *”Whoever cursed you will prick themselvesand well know their name.”*
By morning, though still weak, Emily had a plan. She insisted on going to the shops alone, despite Jamess protests.
*”Cook me some soup,”* she said. *”Im starving after that bug.”*
That evening, the enchanted needle sat snug in Jamess bag. As they settled in, he asked, *”Sure youre alright alone?”*
*”Ill manage.”*
The tea was working, but the curse still slithered inside her.
The next day, she waited by the door when James came home.
*”How was your day?”*
*”Fine. Why?”*
*”No reason.”*
Then he added, *”Weirdest thingSarah from accounting tried helping me grab my keys. Slipped her hand into my bag and got pricked by a needle. No idea how it got there. Gave me a death stare, though.”*
*”Sarah? Was she at your birthday dinner?”*
*”Yeah, just a colleague. Why?”*
The pieces clicked. *Thats* how the needle ended up in her bag.
James headed to the kitchen while Emily dozed off. Grans next visit confirmed it: Sarah had used dark magic to steal James away. If she couldnt have him naturally, shed curse Emily out of the picture.
Emily followed Grans instructions to reverse the curse. Soon after, James mentioned Sarah was on sick leave*”Doctors cant figure out whats wrong.”*
That weekend, Emily asked to visit Grans village again, this time the churchyard. She bought flowers, gloves, and set to work tidying Margarets grave. When she found it, she knelt, brushing dust from the headstone.
*”Sorry I never came before,”* she whispered. *”Mum and Dad visited every yearI thought that was enough. But I was wrong. If it werent for you, I might not be here at all.”*
Just then, a breeze brushed her shoulderslike two gentle hands. She turned. No one was there. Just the wind, and the quiet hum of gratitude.
