“I never thought it could happen to me.”

I’ve read about it, I’ve seen it in movies, but I never thought it was real.  I didn’t think it was possible for one person to place a curse on another.

But it happened to me.

Some time ago, I had a run in with a particularly evil person who lives down the block.  No one likes this woman, and ever since I moved into the neighborhood, I’ve heard about the weird happenings that have occurred inside her house.

One story has it that she has a mentally-challenged son in his forties that she is ashamed of, keeps him inside the house and rarely lets him see the light of day.  I’ve never seen him and I’ve lived on the block for almost twenty-four years.

Anyway, on that fateful day back in December 2007, I was walking my Sheltie when he slid his head from beneath his collar and ran off down the street.  He scampered into the woman’s yard, and I could hardly believe my eyes when she started screaming and throwing large stones at him.

I walked up to the fence and as calmly as I could, I asked her to stop trying to hurt my dog.  After all, this was not a Pit Bull; this was a sweet little dog that wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Well, this woman looked at me with such ferocity that I was quite taken aback.  Then she pointed a finger right at my eyes (we were several feet from one another), and she mumbled something beneath her breath.  But I heard the word “curse,” and that’s when I picked up my dog and walked away as fast as I could.

The next day I developed a severe rash on my leg that came out of nowhere.  It stayed with me for a full week until I happened to walk my dog past the “witch’s” house.  She peered out from the open window and said, “Let that be a lesson to ya.”

The rash disappeared that night.  I will believe to my dying day, that old witch had put a curse on me.

In my wildest dreams, I never thought it could happen to me.  Fortunately, she and I have never crossed swords again, and I am now a believer that certain people have powers the rest of us simply cannot comprehend.

Cassie Purdue
Cincinnati, Ohio