Jenny and her husband were returning home after a delightful celebration of his birthday at a lively restaurant. The evening had been full of guests, including family and colleagues, many of whom she was meeting for the first time. But Jenny trusted her husband’s judgment—if David had invited them, she believed it was for good reason.
Jenny wasn’t one to challenge her husband’s decisions; she preferred to avoid conflict. It always seemed simpler to agree with David than to argue her point.
“Jenny, do you have the apartment keys? Can you grab them?” David asked, his voice casual.
As Jenny rummaged through her handbag to find the keys, a sudden sharp pain shot through her, causing her to jerk her hand and drop the bag to the floor.
“Why did you yell?” David asked.
“I pricked myself on something.”
“You have so much stuff in your handbag, it’s no wonder.”
Without arguing, Jenny picked up her bag and carefully extracted the keys. Once inside the apartment, she forgot about the prick in her hand. Her legs ached from exhaustion, and she just wanted to take a shower and collapse into bed. The next morning, she woke up with severe pain in her hand. Her finger was red and swollen, and she remembered the needle prick from the night before. Searching inside her handbag, she found a large, rusty needle at the bottom.
“What’s this?” she wondered, baffled by its presence. She tossed the peculiar find into the trash and went to get a first-aid kit to clean the wound. After bandaging her red finger, she headed to work. By lunchtime, she felt feverish.
She called David. “David, I’m not sure what’s going on. I must’ve caught something last night. I’ve got a fever, my head hurts, and I ache all over. I found a big rusty needle in my handbag, and that’s what I pricked myself on.”
“Maybe you should see a doctor. It could be something serious like tetanus.”
“David, don’t be dramatic. I cleaned the wound. I’ll be fine.”
But with each passing hour, her condition worsened. Struggling through the workday, Jenny eventually decided to take a taxi home, knowing she couldn’t face public transport. Once home, she collapsed on the sofa and quickly fell asleep.
In her dream, she saw Granny Anne, who had passed away when Jenny was just a child. Though Jenny couldn’t recall ever seeing her, she knew it was her. Granny looked old and stooped. Most would find her appearance frightening, but Jenny felt that Granny came to help.
Granny guided Jenny across a field, showing her which herbs to pick and instructing her to make a concoction to flush out the malevolence consuming her body. Granny warned her of someone wishing her harm, but to fight it, Jenny had to survive. Time was of the essence.
Jenny awoke drenched in sweat, feeling like she’d been asleep for ages, though only minutes had passed. She heard the front door and saw that David had returned. Seeing her, David gasped, “What happened to you? Look at yourself in the mirror.”
Jenny hardly recognized her reflection. The vibrant, smiling girl from yesterday was gone. Now, she saw pale skin, limp hair, dark circles under her eyes, and a blank stare.
“What’s going on?”
Then Jenny recalled the dream. She said to David, “I saw Granny in my dream. She told me what I need to do…”
“Jenny, get dressed. We’re going to the hospital.”
“I’m not going. Granny said the doctors can’t help me.”
A full-blown argument erupted, something that had never happened before. David called her delusional, blaming the dream on her fever. He even tried to forcibly take her to the hospital, grabbing her arm.
“If you won’t go willingly, I’ll take you by force.”
Jenny wrestled free, stumbled, and hit her head on the corner of a table. Angrier than ever, David grabbed his bag and stormed out. All Jenny could do was inform her boss she caught a virus and needed time off.
David returned around midnight, apologetic, but Jenny only said, “Take me to Granny’s village tomorrow.”
In the morning, she looked more like a ghost than the healthy young woman she once was. David continued to plead, “Jenny, don’t be foolish. Let’s go to the hospital. I can’t lose you.”
But they drove to the village. All Jenny remembered was its name, not having visited since her parents sold Granny’s house after her death. She slept the entire journey. She had no idea where to start but woke up as they approached the village and said, “We’re here.”
Struggling out of the car, she fell into the grass. Yet, she knew she was in the right place — the spot Granny had shown her. She found the herbs Granny had pointed out in her dream, and they headed home. David prepared the concoction according to her instructions. Jenny began sipping it, and with each sip, she felt a slight relief.
In the bathroom, she noticed her urine had turned black. The sight didn’t scare her; instead, she echoed Granny’s words, “The poison is leaving…”
That night, Granny appeared again in her dreams, smiling. “A curse was laid on you through that rusty needle. The concoction will restore some of your strength, but it’s temporary. You must find who did this and return their malice to them. Though I cannot see who it is, your husband is somehow involved. Had you kept the needle, I could’ve helped further, but…”
“We’ll proceed like this. Go to a shop, buy a package of needles, and over the largest one, recite this spell: ‘Spirits of the night, once alive, hear me, night phantoms, prophesize the truth. Surround me, guide me, find my enemy…’ Place this needle in your husband’s bag. The one who cursed you will prick themselves on it, revealing their identity.”
With those words, Granny vanished like a mist.
Jenny awoke still feeling ill but determined to recover. She knew Granny would help. David decided to stay home, caring for her. He was puzzled when she insisted on going to the store alone.
“Jenny, you’re barely standing. Let me come with you.”
“David, make me some soup. This bug’s given me quite an appetite.”
Jenny did exactly what Granny instructed. By evening, the enchanted needle lay in David’s bag. Before bed, he asked, “Are you sure you’ll be okay? Maybe I should stay home.”
“I’ll manage.”
Jenny’s strength slowly returned, though she sensed the evil lingering inside. Yet, the concoction, which she’d taken for three days, acted like an antidote. She felt its impact on whatever was ailing her.
She anxiously awaited David’s return from work, greeting him at the door with, “How was your day?”
“Fine. Why do you ask?”
Just as she thought the curse-layer had not shown themselves, David added, “You won’t believe it, Jenny. Today, Irene from the neighboring department offered to grab my office keys from my bag as I had my hands full with files. She accidentally pricked her finger on a needle. Why would I have a needle in my bag? She shot me such an angry look!”
“Do you have something going on with this Irene?”
“Jenny, stop. It’s only you I love. No Irene, no one else.”
“Was she at your birthday dinner?”
“Yes, she’s a close colleague, nothing more.”
Jenny pieced it all together. The rusty needle must’ve been placed in her bag intentionally.
David headed to the kitchen for his dinner.
That night, Granny appeared once more. She explained how to return the harm to Irene. Magic had been Irene’s way of removing a rival, aiming to take Jenny’s place beside David. If natural methods failed, she’d resort to magic again.
Following Granny’s instructions, Jenny soon heard that Irene had taken sick leave, her condition baffling doctors.
Jenny asked David to take her back to Granny’s village over the weekend, to the cemetery she hadn’t visited since the funeral. Armed with gloves to clear old weeds, she located Granny Anne’s grave. On the headstone, the photo was of the vision in her dreams — her savior. Jenny tidied the grave, placed fresh flowers, and sat on a bench.
“Granny, I’m sorry I haven’t come sooner. I thought my parents’ annual visits were enough. I was wrong. Now, I’ll come too. Without you, I might not be here now.”
As she spoke, Jenny sensed Granny’s hands gently rest on her shoulders. Turning, she saw no one, just a gentle breeze…