My mother-in-law came to visit, and after she left, the dog began growling and clawing at the ground. I started digging where he barkedand found something horrifying.
My husband and I live quietly in the countryside. He works on a farm, while I tend to the garden and the house. His mother lives in the city with her youngest sonand truth be told, weve never gotten along. From the very first day, she disapproved of me, shooting me judgmental looks and making snide remarks. But I endured itfor my husbands sake. The distance meant we rarely saw her.
Then, out of the blue, she announced she wanted to escape the citys chaos and came to stay with us for a week. She even claimed shed missed us. I had a bad feeling, but my husband insisted.
From the moment she arrived, nothing was right. The soup was too salty, the curtains unironed, and according to her, I was raising our five-year-old daughter all wrong. She stirred arguments constantly, until she finally managed to turn my husband and me against each other. One night, I broke down in tears. I just wanted her gone.
When she finally left, I sighed in relief. But the next day, something strange happened.
Our dog, Biscuitusually gentle and cleverstarted acting wild. He snarled at the empty garden, ran in frantic circles, and clawed at the soil near one of the flowerbeds, barking and digging. I tried to pull him away, but he refused, staring at me before resuming his eerie behaviour.
By the next day, he was at it again. I couldnt take itI fetched a shovel. My heart pounded. Dogs dont act like this without reason. Something had frightened him. I dug where he barked.
Then, suddenly, the earth collapsed beneath me. I froze. Protruding from the soil was a black sack, tightly knotted. Hands trembling, I pulled it free.
Insidea foul stench and unsettling objects: locks of hair, an old childs dress (not my daughters!), a doll with its head snapped off, and a bundle of photos of me, my husband, and our little girl with the eyes scratched out.
A chill ran through me. This was something occulta curse, perhaps. But who would do such a thing?
There was only one answermy mother-in-law. She was the only one whod been on the property, the only one who couldve dug the hole while I was in the kitchen or with our child.
I didnt know what to do. I took the sack to the vicar. He called it a curse meant to break the family apart.
I dont usually believe in such things, but between Biscuits strange behaviour and everything my mother-in-law had said and done it all fit into a terrifying picture.
Since then, Ive forbidden her from stepping foot in our home. I told my husband everything. At first, he didnt believe meuntil he saw the photos and the sack Id kept as proof. He was silent for a long time.
Now, Biscuit sleeps only by the door, as if standing guard.
I dont know what my mother-in-law truly intended. But one things certainshell never set foot in this house again.
Am I overreacting? Or is there something even darker behind this?
