I went shopping at a local store and at the self pay machines there was an old lady next to me, who asked me to help her pay as well, because she doesn’t really know how. She had bought a tartinable cream, nothing more.
I help her and in the meantime she asks me if I live here in town. I tell her yes, because I work here. She pays, ok, we leave and when when we leave the store she tells me her story. That she lives alone, that she has 6 cats and a dog and would really need someone to help her clean, if I have time. She tells me that she is retired, that she is always at home, but since she has so many animals around the house, it is difficult for her to clean. She always gives them food, takes care of them, but cleaning is more difficult, and now there is a bit of chaos in the house. I told her hat I don’t know what to say, that I have a full time job and I don’t know if I would have time. She gave me her phone number, told me where she lives, such a very nice and talkative woman. A normal pensioner, if you see her on the street you wouldn’t say that there was something wrong with her.
We set off for the bus station because she said she had to take the bus two stops and on the way she tells me that she has been divorced for many years and he died from heart attack recently but she does’t really care about him, but she feels very lonely, but that she has a cousin with diabetes who still lives with her, and she makes him sandwiches in the morning (for this she also bought the cream, because it goes away quickly). I kind of empathize with her, but I’m also skeptical, I wonder if it’s some kind of trick.
She keeps telling me that she can make me cakes, that with this margarine you can also make cakes, that she bought many eggs today if it is needed for the cake, we can also make french fries.. very generous it seemed.
We arrive at the station and while waiting for the bus, she tells me again that she is very lonely and needs to be with someone, for someone to be with her. That since her book was opened, she doesn’t feel well, and that she feels that everything is draining from her, that she feels when something is coming, she sees black in front of her eyes, and from here I don’t really remember what she said because effectively I was in semi-shock. I told her that I don’t know what that means, now she was shocked, how could I not know!? That it’s something from Orthodoxy, something that priests don’t really want or are allowed to do. I didn’t quite understand, but I tried to remember this expression to search on the net when I get home. She said that she knows that she did theology. She kept asking me to go help her, sshe looked very deep in my eyes, she said that she was a hairdresser, that if I wanted she could do my hair, that she was good at it. While she was getting on the bus, she kept telling me, please come, please come!
So, this whole thing was very strange. I got home and searched on the net what it means to “open the book” and I found that it is a kind of witchcraft with the holy things, a kind of riddle and that the priests refuse to do this, that it is like a kind of sin. I remembered that this lady said that a priest opened her book to see if she will marry again after the divorce. And she kept saying that she doesn’t feel well after doing this thing and that there are moments when he feels very bad and feels when a moment like this follows.
Now, am I too paranoid and this poor old lady just wants someone to be with her or did you also heard stories like this, is it something normal…? Please, emlighten me, i don’t know if i should be concerned or not! Btw, I am not going to help her:)))