The Cursed Lamp

By Eiley Chu

The warm, gleaming sunshine was stunning outside a small apartment, hidden inside the small basement of an old museum. An eleven-year-old girl named Narcissa lingered by the open window, arms opened wide in joy. She stood there and enjoyed the charming scent of beautiful flowers and freshly cut grass. 

Narcissa rushed through her usual morning routine and raced up the stairs, ready to greet the museum’s visitors with fliers and paper fans as she did so every day in the months of June and July. The fans were used as makeshift air-conditioners so that Narcissa’s mother wouldn’t have to spend money on air conditioning. Sadly, for Narcissa, she was going to have to spend the summer vacation working with her mother in the tiny museum that hid a ginormous secret. It was already pestering her for weeks, so Narcissa decided to find out what it was a few days ago.

A few days ago, Narcissa had told Will, the school bully, about a cursed lamp in the museum so that he could stop bullying her all the time. Narcissa thought about what Will would say to her classmates if he saw the lamp and deeply regretted telling him about it. 

As she thought about it over and over again in her head, the museum’s front doors were suddenly forcefully pushed open, and Will barged in. He ordered Narcissa to guide him to the lamp, and Narcissa could do nothing else but do it - she knew what the consequences would be if she refused. Even the teachers never took her side. Everyone at school was sided against her, and refusing would make it worse.

Narcissa was reluctant to help Will but was too soft and afraid to refuse. She didn’t want to face the consequences. Reluctantly, she led Will to the glass case that held the lamp, surrounded by deadly laser beams. Narcissa warned Will about the lamp as best as possible as she took the glass case off the table and quickly typed in the security code. 

Will pushed Narcissa aside and snatched the lamp away from its display table. “Hey!” Narcissa protested, but Will held it out of her reach.

Will pretended to drop the lamp onto the marble floor and Narcissa tried to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth from her fright. Will smirked at her and grinned devilishly. 

“Let’s… light the lamp, shall we? Just to add a bit more panic to your overflowing stress level,” Will said, and he dug in his deep pockets and took something out. 

At first, Narcissa was so afraid that he would take something as dangerous as  a dagger out of his pocket, so she turned away. Then, when nothing happened, Narcissa slowly turned her head back around and found a bright orange lighter in Will’s hand. Will was well prepared, and many steps ahead of Narcissa.

Will fished something else out of his pocket, and Narcissa saw a shiny red smartphone in his hand a second after. Will started recording a video, then forced Narcissa to light the lamp and handed her his orange lighter. 

Narcissa’s hands shook as she took the lighter from Will. Narcissa tried stalling for a bit, but Will, unfortunately, found out and told her to hurry up. Narcissa turned the little wheel and brought the tiny flame of the lighter to the mouth of the lamp. Light erupted, and Narcissa fell, unconscious.

Soon, Narcissa woke up and found a girl right next to her - and the girl wasn’t any girl that she knew. 

“I’m Biana. You’re Narcissa. Take this.” The girl handed Narcissa a bolt of lightning and didn’t say another word. Narcissa stood up and gaped at Biana, wondering how she could have known her name and held a lightning bolt. Narcissa was afraid to touch the bolt of lightning, but then she realised that it was probably some sort of magical thing (and that it was safe) which she accepted.

“What’s happening? And why are you here? And who are you? And why did you give me a bolt of lightning? And where did you get …? ” A bunch of questions tumbled out of Narcissa’s mouth, but she wasn’t able to finish them all as they were cut off by Biana.

“You lit the lamp. You awakened the Cyclops of Eternity,” Biana replied calmly, answering pretty much most of Narcissa’s questions. Then, she instructed Narcissa to practice using her lightning bolt as a sword. “The Cyclops of Eternity is a Cyclops. He controls Time. Look around. Everything except us - because you lit the lamp - is frozen.” 

Biana explained as Narcissa flipped the lightning bolt upside down and stabbed the air in front of her. Biana smiled at her embarrassing attempt and continued, “The Cyclops of Eternity will bring harm to this world. We need to attack it so that everyone in this world will be safe. Then, you get to live with me. The short sentences are so that we don’t waste time. I’m friendlier than you think.”

Narcissa considered the idea of living with Biana, whom she had just met. Biana was a stranger after all, but she couldn’t stand the idea of not living with Biana. It was all too tempting. Though she could see a flaw in the plan. “How about my mother and classmates? Not to mention my teachers and neighbours too! Wouldn’t they notice I’m gone?”

“Our elves are magically cloning you as we speak,” Biana said as she made a blue sphere appear and land in her palms. “We have your DNA. I sent it to them while you were unconscious. The real you will come with me and train. Would you rather stay here?” Biana showed sadness in her eyes, and it made Narcissa want to agree, so she did.

“I’ll come with you!”

Biana nodded and told Narcissa to keep practising, so Narcissa obeyed. Occasionally, Biana would ask Narcissa a very personal question about the cloning, but nothing else happened.

A few minutes passed. Narcissa had noticed Biana held some kind of blue ball in her hand earlier, but now it was gone. Narcissa asked Biana about it. She pointed at Biana’s empty palms.

Biana raised an eyebrow in slight confusion, then understood. “You mean this?” She asked, and the sphere appeared again. Narcissa nodded. Biana sighed, and the sadness came back. Narcissa braced for a long story, and Biana delivered it. “There was a group of sisters. Each had an element of these four: Fire, Air, Sun and Moon, and Water. The sisters all had daughters. The daughter of Fire was my best friend. The daughter of Air and I were going along just as fine. The original Sun and Moon gave birth to twins. I am the daughter of Water. Then our mothers died. We were the new generation of the elements. My sisters and I battled the God of the Rocks and Earth. My sisters disappeared. I was left alone.”

Biana put a brave face on. “I put godly lamps all over this world. I’m waiting for people to light them. They will be the replacements. This lamp that you lit had the spirit of the Cyclops of Eternity inside of it. You lit the lamp. He escaped. We’re gonna kill him.”

“We need to head to the battle cave and summon him,” Biana interrupted Narcissa’s dreamy thoughts about how she was going to be an actual element. Narcissa jumped, surprised. Biana repeated what she had just said, and Narcissa nodded. Biana then made another ball of water appear, and made it shape itself into one of those fancy big dressing room mirrors. Biana stepped into the mirror, and Narcissa followed.

The girls reappeared in some sort of cave - except the walls were made out of water. “Welcome to my realm. This is my realm’s smallest battle cave. DON’T TOUCH THAT!” Biana leapt to Narcissa’s side and caught her hand right before it touched one of the walls. Biana sighed and told Narcissa about the electric eels swimming in the water. It was the creepiest thing Narcissa had ever seen.

Biana suddenly pulled Narcissa and herself behind a water-made boulder. Eels gathered into the boulder as Biana waved her arms. A tunnel formed in front of the boulder, and coming out of it was…

An eyeball, with a brown gloop trailing behind it.

Narcissa had to admit that it was quite gross, but seriously? That could never be the Cyclops of Eternity, according to what she knew about cyclops from all the horror movies she has watched.

The brown gloop started forming into some sort of clay. It grew taller and more monstrous. Now it looked like a proper Cyclops.

“What’s so special about it?” Narcissa whispered, and Biana shook her head and looked into her eyes sternly. Narcissa took it as a ‘don’t move’ sign, so she stood still. More eels swam into the boulder. Narcissa understood that they were for protection, and it probably meant the Cyclops of Eternity was going to be the most dangerous thing she had ever encountered.

The Cyclops roared and curled his hands into fists, and the sunshine which was once shining through the clear glassy waters was gone, and it was instantly nighttime. Narcissa suddenly felt strange and energy leaked out of her, leaving her weak and tired. Biana looked fine, though her eyes showed no energy in them either. The Cyclops of Eternity had changed the time zone, and the battle had begun.

“My energy is completely drained!” Biana suddenly shouted dramatically as she stood up from behind the boulder, and the Cyclops charged after her. Biana launched a ball of salty stinky seawater into the Cyclop’s face. “Narcissa!” Biana yelled in her very dramatic way, and Narcissa charged at the Cyclop’s face and punched him. Then, she stabbed him with her lightning sword, but her energy was really drained, and she couldn’t exactly find the right spot. Eels swam around her, and somehow, the fear gave her energy. The eels then swam up to the surface and touched the sword, and the sword glowed. Narcissa stabbed the Cyclops and arrived at the beautiful garden of a water-made palace.

Biana whooped. “We did it!” she exclaimed. “We defeated the Cyclops of Eternity!” Biana ran to Narcissa and hugged her. Just like that, her new life as an element began.

A year later, something extraordinary happened - Narcissa and Biana found replacements for the other elements! Narcissa was now Fire, and the three other girls (two of whom were twins) were Fire, Sun, and Moon.