The Curse Of The Moloch (18) Lordy though the use of good phrases such as, 'As the Lordy wills' or 'The Lordy bless it.' The phrases should be uttered after words that might hint of jealous meaning." The ones who understood told of the means to combat the threat of the Evil Eye. They told that one should stick his right thumb in his left hand and his left thumb in his right hand proclaiming, "I, so and so, son of the Lord, who the Evil Eye may not effect." This is to avert the Evil Eye by putting it to shame. Now, explained the deep believers, "if one has the curse of the Evil Eye cast upon him, one should take the neccessary precautions or a spell will be woven and ill wind will follow the recipient. Only confrontation and war measures are taken to deceive or defeat the Evil Eye and to save the endangered person. The use of a mirror or a reflecting ornament or specific clour, preferably red or blue, may blight the source by reflecting the evil and frightening glance. An outstreched hand may stop its rays." There are other ways to deceive the Evil Eye said the feared ones. They told that one should divert its stare with interesting objects hung between the eyes of the endangered persons; precious stones will tempt its glare and cause it to forget its threat. "There is little one could do if one is afflicted with the curse of the Evil Eye; only with hope that its curse will be limited and that it will pass quickly," exclaimed the frightened. Be on guard against this destructive power, the believers cried as they called out their fearful message. "The Evil Eye is a carrier of destructive power; it brings the omen of darkness and destruction of one's body and soul. Be on guard!!" � � � � Chapter Thirty-seven The Evil eye cast its spell over the settlement; the cold chills of its devilry were as felt by all the good people of the settlement. Those, that feared, understood its powers and spelled out incantations and other measures to reduce its catastrophic effects. Jeremiah Micaiah, alone, was afflicted by its baleful and menacing stare, and was re uced to agonized misery and torment. He hid from its rays by hiding in the depth of the mysterious forest but the Evil Eye was all power ful and it cast its spell over him. The shadow spirits of the woods joined in the torment, and the cursed being was haunted and driven away from the protective cover; wherever he turned there was no shelter from the tortuous rays of the Evil Eye. The Evil Eye was there guiding the county sheriff and one of his deputies in the search of Jeremiah's guilt evidenced through the burned-out ruins of Miz' Jezebel's grand house. The Evil Eye showed them the terrible curse inflicted by the powers of evil that plagued in the depths of shame and abuse. The sight of its destructive force stunned the peace officers. The fierce fire had greedily consumed entirely the decayed wood of the dwelling and the miserable pieces of its contents; it caused its very stones to split and shatter. The emptiness left by the conflagration enabled the officers to lower a ladder to the basement; there they stumbled about on the ashes of burned debris and on various bits of junk and broken cement chunks in their cursory examination. They puttered about until the deputy had found by chance the old kerosene lamp, almost unreconizable by the pressure of the heat. "Miz' Jezebel must ov bin rummagin' about," he reasoned as he handed the object to the sheriff. "Most likely, th' lamp could ov' been knocked over an' could ov' been th' cause ov' th' fire." The sheriff took the battered metal in his hand, took a quick superficial look at it, "Guess ye might be right in yer figurin' out th' cause. Look about an' see if ye can find any signs ov pore Miz' Jezebel." The lawman chucked the lamp aside and carried on in his search. The sheriff poked about till he reached the large niche, that at one time served as the spirit's closet; as he kicked aside a few pieces of partially burned wood something caught his sight. He bent down, cleared aside a few burned embers with his hand, and, to his horror, he found the burned and broken dentures of Miz' Jezebel; nearby he found a few charred remnants of bone. "Lord a-mighty!" he exclaimed. He straightened his body and called to his deputy, and told of his find. "Go fetch th' parson's wife, she'll tek care ov it," he instructed him. The deputy, out of curiosity, took a deep look at the remains, and, only at the prodding of the sheriff, was prompted to scurry up the ladder. His found the path to the dwelling of the parson and his spouse, 'Thet Godly Woman'. A heavy knock on the door and the goodly woman answered quickly with her presence. The deputy spelled out a few kindly words of greeting, and followed with phrases that told of the finds and the need of her services. The sheriff, in the meantime, had left the cellar of the ruins, set himself on a flat rock nearby to take in the warmth of the early spring day. He found a weed stalk to chew on, and waited patiently for the return of his deputy and 'Thet Godly Woman'. Within time a few curious folk had gathered, looked at burnt remains, had a few inquisitive words with the lawman, and when their morbid curiosity was satisfied pushed along. The wait for the good woman was only a few minutes. Upon sighting 'Thet Godly Woman' the law-man rose from his perch, and respectably greeted the black-dressed figure. Then he proceeded in his narration of the finds of the remains. "Lawd a' mercy!" gasped the goodly woman upon the finish of the account. Then, with the help of the sheriff, the saintly creature was brought to the ruins of the grand house, and, with his assistance, carefully descended the ladder to the debris strewn cellar. The deputy followed immediately as he was carrying a small cotton filled wooden box that was brought from the parson' s home. � The sheriff waited till 'Thet Godly Woman' had reached the solidity of the basement floor. Then he took her hand, and lead her to the remains of Miz' Jezebel. She was silent as stood over them and tears welled in her eyes. The lawmen removed their hats as the saintly creature uttered a few prayers to the blessed Lordy in the name of Miz' Jezebel. Then with the aid of the officers she bent down near the remnants of human life; there, with their help, cleared the pieces of burned wood away from the charred human remants. With reverence, the good woman delicately placed the dentures and the human remains within the safety of cotton packed box. It was difficult work for her as the charred bones tended to crumble in her fingers, but with the patience of a saint she managed to finish the task in good order. She searched about with her eyes, pushed aside a few embers, and finding no further remains of the departed Miz' Jezebel, she sealed the box. The funeral of Miz'Jezebel, the goodly and patient woman in the eyes of kin and neighbors, was held the following day. The folk of the hollow whispered amoungst themselves as it called attention to the son of the deceased whose presence was missing in this hour of grief. The saintly ones called it a shame and pointed a finger of guilt towards him. Those who knew of the past troubles of the Jeremiah simply shrugged their shoulder and exclaimed in a sorrowful tongue, "Th' boy's been through many ter'rible times. An' now his pore mammy gone in thet horrible fire. We r' mighty sure they thet boy is a' ailin' with grief an' sick in body an' mind t' make his way here. Jess y' don't ferget thet boy is still a bit tetched in th' head an' cain't think straight no how." The Evil Eye did not lift its dreaded curse; its burning and vengeful force hovered menacingly as the pitiful burnt remains were brought to the final resting ground. Even the creatures of the nether world were present at the solemn rites of Miz' Jezebel when her soul entered the sacrificial pit of the fire god, the Moloch. The funeral services were attended by Miz' Jezebel's kin folk and good neighbors who wailed and cried in the right temper over their loss. The goodly parson told of her good life on this earth; that she was a saintly and understanding mother to her crazed son Jeremiah. The cleric called upon the blessed Lordy to allow her entrance through the gates of heaven. At the final words of the sermon the cotton packed box with the brittle remains were placed into the sacred ground. Relatives took hold of the spades and had the honour of covering the blessed memory of Miz' Jezebel. Flowers were strewn and, in tradition, the passing mourners placed a small stone on the piled earth of the grave. A few of the kin folk looked upon the burial site, shed a few tears before making their departure. The gravesite was empty of the grieving mourners when a solitary figure approached it. Jeremiah Micaiah, with his bent head uncovered, walked humbly on shaking legs towards the eternal resting place of Miz' Jezebel, his late departed mother. In his rough hard hands he held tightly a small bunch of wildflowers that he had planned to place on the burial mound. His simple reasoning was to come to grave of his late mother in order to beseech her kind and humble soul to accept his forgiveness for the wicked act. The acceptance of his plea, to his deranged reasoning, was needed for his redemption and salvation. He had prepared an answer that repeated over and over in weak mind; it was simply an explanation that told of the terrible working of the devil that tempted him in the sin of drinking. � As his unsteady footsteps neared the grave the ground tore apart suddenly and Jeremiah saw an apparition of Miz' Jezebel, his unforgiving mother, as it rose from its depths. The skeletal shrouded figure pointed a boney finger at him and then shattered the moment of silence with a harsh, cackling voice; a damning and vindictive voice that called out its doom, "I'll have me revenge. Ye'll be taken t' hell fires ov th' Moloch!!" Terrified at the sight and the sound, Jeremiah turned quickly on his his heels and ran from the spot trailed by a hideous laughter.
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