Cursed Fortune

There was a family who began as common as they could descendants of bakers and house servants during the late 1700s. They did not know that circumstances would make them wealthy and bestow great power unto them. Yet another event would bring them doom. This is the story of John Huffman son of a baker and Rose the daughter of a house servant. These two fell in love when they were quite young and held firm to that love until circumstances separated them. John went to war and when he returned to the humble Township of Weeping Bend with untold amounts of gold, silver and diamonds. No one ever knew exactly how he obtained the wealth it was just accepted that he was now a wealthy man.

Rose waited patiently for five years for her young love to return and eagerly accepted his proposal of marriage when he did. Now she was a woman married to a wealthy and powerful man. John loved Rose so much he always presented her exquisite jewels the type you see on the women of the aristocracy. Rubies, diamonds set in gold and fine pearls adorned her small petite face, ears and hands. People bowed when they saw them on the street. The whole town celebrated when she gave birth to a beautiful flaming red head girl child the exact image of her father. When she was born the shop owners of the village sent gifts of fruit, the bakers sent baskets of delectable pastries and the town named a street in their honor and christened it Huffman Lane! They named their gorgeous baby girl Sasha and she was treated like a princess. Although they had no formal titles they were the aristocracy of the Township of Weeping Bend.

This small village only a stone throw from the river was a bustling fishing and shipping port. Many people earned their living by fishing. When the ships docked many people from a far would come to claim their cargo. Most of the towns people plied the trade of their father’s and mother’s before them and their father’s and mother’s before them. Craftsmen who could shape copper and iron into cooking utensils, gate handles and wagon hitches made very handsome wages. The women who could sew, did needlepoint, crocheted and knitted earned lots of money as well.

Rose no longer having to clean and be at the beck and call of her former mistress had her own shop. She sold her needle point, handmade potholders, pillows and dolls. She made a fine penny indeed with no haggling about the price. John now owned many fine properties in the village three dozen homes and 20 shops. Every month during the first week of the month all he did was go around and collect rent from the shop owners and families who dwelled in the homes he owned. No one ever complained about the rent. They were proud to live in a home or shop owned by Mr. John Huffman once only a son of a baker now the wealthiest man in town.

One night as Rose closed her shop she was approached by a stranger. The tall attractive man with a strange accent asked for directions to the local Inn as she turned away to point in the direction of the place she felt a sharp pain in her neck. When she came to she was at her front door with a small fine silk bandage on her neck. When she removed the bandage there were two small puncture marks. She was so befuddled by what had happened she said nothing about it to anyone. The next day Rose felt warm and parched, water did not satisfy her thirst. While at her shop she pricked her finger and as the blood flowed she lusted for it. She sucked her finger so hard it turned blue. As the blood flowed slowly down her dry throat it brought her an unexplainable satisfaction, actually a thrill she could feel all through her body. The sensation even made her toes tingle.

The next day on her way home from her shop she stopped at the Ye Old Meat Shoppe and ordered several cuts of meat. She had the butcher cut a small piece and wrap it separately from the rest of her order. This one piece she sucked on all the way home. It satisfied her so much she ordered Hannah her slave to cook all the meat she ate so that the blood would flow from it like a river. Sometimes when Hannah was not looking she would sneak a piece from the cutting board and go to her room to suck the blood from it. Now the craving for blood grew more and more intense. One day while out in the woods harvesting herbs and wild berries she came upon a young wild cat devouring a small deer. She threw a heavy stone at the young cat it turned and looked at her with terror in its eyes and hurriedly ran away. She was drawn to the blood pulsating from the tiny animal and pounced upon it savagely sucking and sucking until she drained all the blood from it.

Her bizarre behavior shocked her so badly she hid from her family in shame. This caused her to sob frantically until she would fall asleep. John was away on a business trip not scheduled to return for at least another day. She was the mistress of the house and Hannah dared not say a negative word about her. In a dream the tall attractive man in the cape and top hat appeared and beckoned her to him. She sprung up and obediently followed his call. In only her night gown she strolled in a trance barefoot through the streets of Weeping Bend and then into the woods. Once she reached him he told her what he was and how she was to be his slave servant forever. He commanded her to go with him and she followed in total compliance. The next morning John returned from his trip to find Sasha being attended to by his servant Hannah. He immediately inquired about Rose. Hannah replied “Master John,” she disappeared in the night. John ran to the Constables office and told him about Rose mysteriously disappearing during the night. The Constable recruited the men of the village to go search for her. They searched the town hi and low and put up posters in the various shop windows. Later that week at church service the pastor asked people to pray for her safe return. John offered a very generous reward for information pertaining to her disappearance. No one responded it was as though she never existed.

Mr. Huffman became so despondent that Grace his mother-in-law was awarded guardianship of Sasha. Hannah remained on as housekeeper and nanny. John had to hire someone to manage his business due to his loss of the will to live. Several times through the years he attempted suicide. He found life without Rose not worth living. Eventually he was committed to an insane asylum.