Ive now been waiting for two hours to see Granny Nora. Shes the last hope Ive got, reallythe local wise woman whos rumoured to help when nothing else works. For years Ive tried to carry a child, but for reasons unknown, Ive never managed it. “Theres really nothing more to say Your tests are all perfect, no medical issues whatsoever,” my GP shrugged. “Then why? If Im healthy, why cant I have children?” I tried to reason with her. “I dont know. This is beyond our grasp. Maybe you could try the church or, well, someone else” the doctor murmured, not meeting my eyes.
Oliver and I have been married five years. Lifes been good to ussteady jobs, a lovely detached home of our own on the outskirts of Cambridge, a relationship full of love and understanding. The only thing missing is the sound of childrens laughter echoing through our spacious, well-furnished house.
Sometimes, I wonder if some family curse clings to us. When my gynaecologist suggested the church, all my suspicions flared up again. “The church is all well and good, but in your case you should really see Granny Nora, the fortune-teller,” my friend Sarah blurted out, scribbling down an address. “Go, Kat. No point in waiting. The sooner, the better!”
Finally, it was my turn. I tiptoed across the threshold of Noras tiny old cottage, part nervous, part amused. Id pictured a witch right out of fairy talesfangs, black cat and allbut instead found a slim, gentle old lady in a crisp white headscarf and a bright floral dress. I smiled in spite of myself.
“Come in love, sit here, by the picture of the Virgin,” she said, her voice warm and soothing.
“I have this problem” I couldnt hold backtears started to spill out.
“I know, dear. Ill help however I can,” Granny Nora replied, quietly.
Meekly, I sat on the soft chair beside the mantelpiece, eyes landing on a faded icon. Nora began to gently pray and waved a candle around my head as she muttered under her breath. The whole thing was over in about twenty minutes. Afterwards, she sat across from me and took my hand.
“My child, you wont bear childrennot until a curse, hanging over you since you were little, is lifted,” she said simply.
“What curse? Who would curse me? I never did wrong to anybody” I blurted out.
“Not youyour mother. She committed a grave sin, and the burdens fallen on you,” she explained.
“But thats cruel! My mothers long passed. Why must I pay for her mistakes?” I protested.
“Thats just how it is, love. Its a law of the worldnot one we can defy.”
“Can you help me?” I asked in a whisper, grasping at hope.
“Im sorry, but no. If it were just a hex or evil eye, perhaps. But this runs much deeper,” Nora shook her head. “You need to find out whom your mother wronged and atone for her. And above all, keep prayingsincerely, and not just for yourself, but for those whove hurt you as well.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, defeated.
I got into my car and dialled Oliver. “Ollie, I wont make it home tonight. I need to pop over to Aunt Gladyss. Ill tell you everything later. Love you.”
I made the hours drive through the fens to the village and was barely through the door before Aunt Gladys lit up. “Katie! My word, you should have calledwouldve lit the fire and got the kettle on!”
“Im here because I need the truth,” I interrupted her. “What did my mother do? Why am I paying for her sins, Auntie?”
“Wheres all this coming from?” she stuttered, but I pressed on, recounting everything Nora had said to me.
“Theres nothing for it but to tell you straight,” Gladys finally conceded. “Your mother, Janet, was the village beauty. She had a long line of suitors but fell for a married manDavid. She took him away from his family, plain as day. His wife, Mary, was left alone with a baby son.”
Mary struggled dreadfully. Eventually, broken, she crawled to Janets door, begging for her husband back. Mother, haughty to the end, turned her away with a laugh. Desperate, Mary hurled a terrible curse at Janet and Janets yet-to-be-born children.
“What happened after?” I whispered.
“Janet married David, and you were born soon after. But it didnt last longboth your parents died within a few years. Spooky, if you ask me. Perhaps Marys cursing worked. And now you cant have children” Gladys threw up her hands.
“Is Mary still here in the village? Id like to seek her forgiveness. I need to do this for Mums sake.”
“Things didnt go well for Mary either” Gladys sighed heavily. “After a while, poor Mary lost her mind. She was harmless at first, but then one day she attacked a stranger in the street. After that, she was sent to an institution and her son, Leonard, went to a childrens home.”
“Leonard he must be older than me. That makes him my half-brother, doesnt it?” I realised.
“Yes, but lifes not been kind to him either,” Gladys admitted sadly. “When he left the home, he came back, started drinking, getting into troublethen one winter he wandered off into the woods and got lost in the snow. They found him, but he lost both legs. Hes in a wheelchair now.”
My heart ached. Mum hadnt just broken up a homeshed shattered lives.
“Take me to see him. I have to.”
Gladys tried to dissuade me, but I was firm. Soon we were trudging along a slushy lane toward Leonards housea crumbling old cottage, barely holding together. The garden fence had collapsed, and candlelight flickered from a tiny dirty window. I knocked, feeling sick with nerves.
“Its open,” came a gruff male voice.
“If you need me, shout,” Gladys whispered as I went in.
Inside, the stench of stale drink and cigarettes stung my nose. Bottles and fag ends littered every surface. At the table, a man sat in a wheelchair, head bowed. Curled up beside him on an old jumper was a snowy-white catthe only bright thing in the room.
“Youve got a cat sleeping on your table,” I offered, lost for words.
“Leave him be. Snowys the real boss round here,” Leonard slurred, his bleary eyes flickering up at me. “So, what do you want? If youre from social services, clear off! Im not going into care.”
“No, Ilook, my names Katherine. Im your sister. On Dads side,” I blurted out.
“My, my. Little sister shows up at last,” he sneered. “What is it youre after? An inheritance? Theres nothing here, this house is my mums!”
“I came to ask for forgiveness. And to help you, if I can.” My voice was shaking.
He gave a bark of laughter, but the pain and disappointment in his eyes nearly undid me.
“Got a fiver?” he asked suddenly.
Wordlessly, I placed a crisp £20 note on the table.
“Cheers, youre forgivendoors that way,” he scoffed. “If you want forgiveness again, just pop by with more money!”
“Is there anything else you need medicine, maybe? The doctor?” I tried.
“Ill be fine. Thats enough. Go on nowI want to sleep.”
I stumbled back out and made my way to Gladyss, eyes brimming with tears. She caught up with me, anxious.
“Did you speak to him? Has he forgiven you?”
“Yes,” I snapped, trying to keep it together. “Thank you. Im going home now.”
“Stay the night, love, its late”
“No, I need to get back,” I lied. In truth, I just needed time to think. That night was a blur of emotionsanger, guilt, sadness. I felt hollow.
All week, Leonard haunted me. I couldnt stop thinking about himhe was alone, and whatever the past, we were bound by blood. Eventually, I found myself drawn to the church. After mass, I lit a candle and prayed for those whod hurt me, as Nora had counselled.
“Tough times, my child?” the vicar asked, noticing me lingering after everyone had gone.
“Sorry, am I keeping you? Ill go”
“No need. If youd like to talk, Im here. Or perhaps confession?”
Unable to hold back, I told him everythingabout Mum, Leonard, the curse, my visit to Granny Nora.
He thought for a while. “Folk wisdom is persistent but misleading,” he said. “Children cannot atone for their parents mistakes. But prayer helps. Not just for yourselfinclude those who made you suffer in your prayers.”
“And Leonard? I want to help him, bring him home, but I worry Oliver wont understand.”
“Follow your conscience and your heart,” said the vicar gently.
The next morning, determined, I drove again to Leonards.
“What dyou want now? More money?” he muttered, eyes bloodshot.
“Nonot this time,” I said. “Get your things. Youre coming with me. Non-negotiable. Im your sisterand I cant watch you waste away. If Im not needed by you, youre needed by me. Youre all the family I have left.”
“Where are you taking me?” he managed, thrown off by my resolve.
“To a hospital first. Then, my place. I have a big house, massive gardenplenty of room for all of us.”
He stared, uncertainlife had ground him down, yet part of him seemed to hope.
“If you hate it, say the word and Ill take you back. Promise,” I said.
“Only on one condition,” he replied seriously. “Snowy comes with me.”
“Deal! Ive always wanted a cat,” I smiled, meaning it.
***
Three months have passed. Leonards settled in, revealing himself to be funny and gentle. Hes got stuck into learning computers and is thinking of training as a programmer.
“Your new prosthetics from Germany arrive tomorrowyoull be up and moving about within months!” Oliver clapped him on the back.
“I never imagined Id walk again,” Leonard wiped away a tear.
“Its Kate you have to thankshes over the moon to have found her brother,” smiled Ollie.
Six months on, Ollie and Leonard stood outside the maternity wing, beaming at the window as I proudly held up our newborn twins.
“Things are about to get lively around here, mate!” Ollie grinned.
“Are you ready for two little nieces or nephews, Uncle?” I laughed.
“Always ready!” Leonard replied, and for the first time, I truly believed wed copetogether.
Catherine’s Search for a Miracle: After Years of Heartbreak and a Mysterious Curse, a Young Wife Finds Hope Through an English Healer, Family Secrets, and Reconciliation With the Brother She Never Knew
