The devil's glasses

It was Jackson Mayes 23^rd birthday and it was the same as his first 22, alone and in ill health.  He had blown through his inheritance in the three years’ since his parents died in an automobile accident. To make matters worse, sitting on the table (since last week) was a notice from the court ordering child support. It was the result from a paternity test ordered last month. His life was a string of one night stands due to his inability to sustain any meaningful relationship with the fairer sex. Now it finally caught up with him in the worst way. He didn’t even remember her. Topping this unwanted news was the fact he lost his job a week ago with rent looming in a couple of days. He was sure it was because accounting received the garnishment order from the same court and was easier to just let him go. Boy he could sure use a little luck for a change.

Losing his parents wasn’t that big a deal because they never showed much interest in him. He constantly needed a surgery to correct one thing or another and they were always fighting about money. He knew they despised him because of it. He was cooking his last can of spaghetti for lunch when his doorbell rang. Now what he thought?

He turned the burner to low and dragged his semi-useless left leg behind him to answer it. When he opened the door, it was his parent’s attorney standing there. He had a briefcase in one hand and a clean white handkerchief smartly covering his mouth with the other, as if Jackson had leprosy and the man didn’t want to inhale his essence. “Mr. Balducci, I hope you’re not here for money, I spent it already.” Jackson said dryly.

“No, no my good boy, in fact I am here with news of another inheritance. Your Aunt Esmeralda, from New Orleans passed away and I am here to codify your portion of what she left for you.”  Balducci informed him. 

Stunned into silence, he could only motion for the meek but impeccably dressed man to enter. “For the life of me, I don’t remember an Aunt from New Orleans.” He stammered hesitantly, hoping not to jinx the good fortune.

“It’s true, you’re Aunt Esmeralda’s attorney contacted me last week, and the contents arrived this morning.” He said as he balanced his case precariously on his lap and opened it.  From Jackson’s vantage point he couldn’t see inside of it, but soon an envelope appeared clutched in the hand that formerly held a handkerchief. He neatly sat it on the table in front of him and reached into the mysterious case again and pulled out a small box that looked like one that would hold a diamond bracelet. He placed it on the table next to the envelope. He smartly closed his case, reached inside his lapel and pulled out a gold ball point pen and neatly placed it on the table. The economy of precise motion he employed in this ritual was hypnotic.

Without a word, the attorney opened the envelope and freed a document In order to complete the legality of the matter. Curious to see what was in the box, Jackson took the pen that was offered and quickly signed on the spot that a little arrow sticker pointed to, and then slid the executed legal paper back in Balducci’s direction. Jackson caught himself licking his lips as a nervous response. The attorney took the paper, opened his case and neatly placed it inside then closed it with a whip-like snap. It was at this point the lawyer slowly slid the box in Jackson's direction. Their business having been concluded, the lawyer stood and walked out of the house leaving him sitting at the table with the mysterious bounty. As he reached for the box he noticed that the envelope still lay where the fastidious man left it and it still had something in it. His reaching hand stopped momentarily, then redirected from the box to the envelope.  As he picked it up it had a considerable heft to it and he plucked the contents out and unfolded them to read. He counted the pages before he read them.  There were exactly twenty-three.

It was a letter penned by his Aunt to Jackson. He had never been much a reader and the lure of the little box was getting the better of him, so he put the pages down and again reached for the box. The weight of the box was light, which disappointed him. His imagination told him that much bigger things were about to change his destiny. He slid the lid off and inside was another box which appeared to be carved ornately out of wood and very old looking. He pulled it free and turned it over and over until he perused all six sides.  There was a strange string of odd rune-like markings which he could not read that ran around the sides. 

He slowly opened the lid exposing a single pair of ornate eye glasses. They looked very old and very expensive as they were encrusted with jewels that appeared to be inlaid into golden frames. Bingo.  He picked them up and scrutinized them like a miser would count his gold coins. He carefully laid them back into the case and returned his attention back to the letter. Perhaps there would be some indication as to their origin and a clue to their value.

He read:

Dear Jackson,

I know this may come as a surprise to you, but I am your Aunt Esmeralda. If you are reading this, it means that I am dead. I’m sorry for any confusion but I, as well as your mother, kept my identity a secret in order to keep a larger secret hidden. This secret has been in our family and goes back to your Great Grandfather William Mayes. The glasses that sit before you now are a talisman that has passed from one family member to the next. Each time it passes to another family member on their death, it immortalizes a blood oath made to dark forces during a difficult period in his life. Unfortunately, this pact with the devil did not end with his passing, and will not end until every last Mayes on this earth is erased from this mortal coil. It appears to end with you as the only surviving heir to our family line, thank God. It is imperative that you do not bear any more children as the curse will remain ongoing. Do not attempt to destroy, or sell these glasses, as they always return from whence they came. They are intended only for our family as a reminder that you cannot cheat destiny. If and when you pass, and provided you do not bring another Mayes into this world, then it ends with you and the glasses disappear as well. Please understand that you can try to outrun this curse but there is nowhere you can hide where darkness won’t find you. Your soul as well as all those souls of our ancestry have been spoken for and damned. I am sorry that you must learn this unimaginable fate of ours, but you must know and prepare for the inevitable. 

Esmeralda Mayes

He sat back into his chair and realized this must be some cruel joke - it had to be. He didn’t believe in the mumbo jumbo that Aunt Mayes espoused in her last letter written on earth. He picked up the remaining 22 pages and rifled through them but unfortunately could not read their content because the language was in the same rune-type writing on the box lid. He did see his Great Grandfather’s signature at the conclusion of this mysterious letter. It looked to be signed in blood instead of ink.  As he sat there in shocked silence, his left arm felt like it was on fire and much to his horror his flesh was actually singeing like when cattle are branded, leaving behind a sick aroma wafting in the air.  When the pain subsided, he saw that an indelible mark was left in a red welt. Unfortunately, it was too much for him to bear and the next pain that he felt was in his chest. The pain was unlike any pain he has ever endured in his short life span. He slumped forward and hit his forehead on the tabletop pinning the paperwork to the table like a grotesque paperweight. 

Three weeks later, a pregnant Jessica answered the door to a strange fastidious looking man clutching a briefcase in one hand and a handkerchief in his other.   “Yes, may I help you?” she asked.