Daniel chanted the spell, his voice steady, but nothing happened. No change in the air temperature, no ripple across the sand.
"Veiliquandè mikora jim bos ariqueisà"
Still nothing.
He narrowed his eyes and picked up the doll.
"What gives?? Did i screw it up the doll somehow?"
He examined it closely, fingers tracing every stitch and fold, until he found the missing piece.
"Heh… hehehe…" he laughed low at himself, as he covered his eyes with the left palm. "I was so caught up into making the damn doll, that I forgot to put the main ingredient inside."
He pulled out all the strands of her hair and shove them inside the doll's torso. Then he set it back in the exact center of the sand circle.
"Okay… here we go again" he said, crossing his index and middle fingers like a childish ward against bad luck.
"Veiliquandè mikora jim bos ariqueisà…"
As soon as he completed the chant. The fine sand grains began to move, covering whole doll into sand like iron filings toward a magnet. They piled onto the doll, layer upon layer, until a small dune formed around it.
Then black smoke oozed from the mound of sand, smelling of scorched leaves. Slowly the smoke turned gray to pure white. The sand shifted again, molding itself into a delicate, unmistakable hand that lifted the doll upright like an invitation.
He didn't hesitated and grabbed it quickly, as he knows one soft touch is enough to make the sand collapse, and filled the lines to make it look like normal again.
The white smoke still clung to it, lazy curls rising like incense.
*sniff… sniff*
A slow, shameless grin spread across his face.
"Damn… this doll literally smell like marnie's warm milk like honey body"
*sniff…*
"Mmm… ahh… this smell is far better than any perfume in the world. Nothing can compare to this, i bet" he said with a blissful expression.
Daniel put the doll inside his pocket and slipped back to his room, burying the doll inside his wardrobe. Safe and secure.
*SNIFF…*
He sniffed for one last time, and thought of checking Marnie right now, and walked inside his parents bedroom just to find it empty.
"Huh? Where did she go?" He whispered in his mind.
He walked outside and found marnie inside the kitchen, chopping cabbage with rhythmic thunks of the knife.
She glanced over her shoulder and smiled, "Are you hungry, son?"
"Mm… hm" Daniel nodded.
'Yes Marnie… i am hungry but not the food but your body. Its a crime to have such lewd body covered in a dress.'
"Um… what are you gonna make for lunch, mom" he said with a neutral expression.
"You'll see…" she said with a smile. "Why don't you take a quick bath before i finish up"
"I'll… but let me help you first mom"
"Thanks but i'm fine on my own, son…" she said while chopping vegetables.
"Please, Mom." He stepped closer, letting just enough pleading into his voice. "Let me do something."
She hesitated for a bit and smiled.
"Alright son.. just peeled seven gloves of garlic, some stem of green chillies and dropped it in the mortar"
"Sure mom" he replied with a smile.
He peeled the garlic with deliberate slowness, eyes locked on her body. The way the afternoon sunlight slid over the curve of her waist, the way the chemise dress clung whenever she reached for another cabbage leaf. He needed an excuse.
There.
"Mom… there is something on your back, like a dark spot"
Before she could react, his hands was already there.
Fingers brushing the warm fabric between her shoulders.
"What is it…" she asked with an unsuspecting expression.
"It's just a mosquito" he lied, letting his finger linger a second longer than necessary.
Her face stayed calm. No shiver, no flush.
'Wait… did it work?' He murmured in his mind looking at her face.
No reaction from her.
'Lemme try again differently…'
He waited patiently like a spider, until the knife left her fingers. Peeled Garlic done in a minute, now the chilli stem.
She finally set the knife down and reached out for some potatoes, from the woven basket. She dropped her guard down without even realising.
Daniel launched his second attempt.
As she was about to touch the knife again, Daniel placed his hand over her soft pale one. Marnie's breath stuttered, her hand shivered for a second. Daniel noticed it.
'Oh… i got it now, my skin should touch her skin, not in some kind of dress' daniel murmured in his mind.
"Son… you want the knife?" Her voice came out breathy.
"Yea… i need to split these green chillies before dropping it into mortar" He said keeping his tone casual, almost bored.
She surrendered the knife like it was suddenly too heavy and turned to the sink, plunging her hands into cold water as if it could wash away the heat pooling low in her belly.
'What was that sudden feeling?' She murmured in her heart. 'This fever is really getting on my nerves'.
The touch was working, now time to test the eyes.
Daniel crushed a fresh green chili between his fingers, waited for her to turn her face, then slapped his palm over his left eye.
"Agh! mom" he shouted keeping his left palm in his left eye "I accidentally rubbed my eyes, while cutting chillies".
She dropped the potatoes right away, grabbed a clean bowl, and filled it with cold water.
Before she could hand it over, Daniel snatched the bowl and splashed water dramatically over his face, really selling the act.
He kept his left eye shut, putting on a whole show. Marnie couldn't help but get pulled in. She leaned so close he could feel how warm her skin was.
"Mom, it's still burning," he said, looking up at her, laying it on thick with the helpless act.
"Let me see, son."
She took the bait completely.
The moment their eyes locked. Her breath caught a violent shiver raced up her arms as if someone had dragged a live wire across her nerves.
She brought her lips to his closed eye and blew.
"Fuuu… Fuuu…"
Each gentle puff came slower than the last, heavier, almost drugged. Daniel slid his fingers around her wrist and felt her pulse hammer against his thumb.
Beneath the counter, her thighs clamped together, rubbing in small, frantic circles she couldn't seem to stop.
"Mom… a little lower. The burning sensation is fading" he whispered, guiding her fingers with the lightest pressure.
"O-okay…" The word fractured on her tongue.
'What is happening to me… why am I sexually active right now? Is it because of my son. Fuck… what the hell is wrong with me, we are mother and son'
"Thanks Mom… I don't feel any burning now" Daniel said and released her hand with a smile.
She withdrew her hand back, turned her gaze toward the chopping board. Her cheeks blushing softly, her thighs kept moving, slow, guilty, unstoppable.
Daniel's hand was already gliding through the air behind her, fingers half curled, aching to close around her wrist again.
Then the sound hit.
*Knock-knock-knock*