'My Mother Believes a Cat Could Do It' by Heain Joung

“I need a cat.” My mother said, somewhat desperately. She didn’t like cats at all, or want anything to do with them normally. Like many people here she thought they had special powers and were close to the world of spirits. But my mother was haunted so she had visited that old woman again, the one that people whispered was a Shaman. I had tried to stop her going. “It is just silly superstition and a waste of money too,” I told her. She hadn’t listened though, sometimes I wonder if she hears me at all. So we had gone to see the old lady who grimaced at me as always, so I grimaced back. She told my mother that cats could catch ghosts and take them away. She seemed to believe this, though I had my doubts. She gave my mother instructions on what to do, emphasising she must not harm the cat as this would only bring more bad luck. After lots of trouble we found a wild cat in the next village. When we got home, she took a large pan and filled it with water. Next she prepared an open fire in the backyard, hanging the pan above it. Then lighting a fire, she stepped back and waited for the water to heat up. As the water started to boil she took the cat in her hands holding it in the air. I looked on nervously as my mother approached the pan of boiling water, the cat looking more and more alarmed. I came to, looking up at my mother who was standing over me. Blood was running down her arm where the cat had bitten and scratched her. The cat was gone, but I was still here.