Superstition
My right eye is twitching. No, I won’t see a doctor. It means I might meet an old friend, a long lost cousin, a favourite high school teacher or a beloved ex. It’s bad news if the left eye is twitching. I might get bad news or cry. C’mon, that’s old school mumbo jumbo. I see, like #13 being bad luck? Let’s try this hypothetical situation about an old acquaintance who has elevated herself to ‘friend’ because she meets me Toronto. I tell her I work on the 13th floor of that blue building.
If she’s a new immigrant, she’ll drop by one day unannounced and security will escort her out of the building because there is no floor with that number. It’s a belief that nothing good comes from #13. I don’t know the reason, but I’ll do some research one day. You think twitching eyes are mumbo jumbo? Wait till you hear about hands. I will come across some money if my palm is itching. No, I don’t go to casinos or sell strange concoctions online, but I will get some money mysteriously. Maybe the cashier will give me $20.50 change back, instead of $10.50. What can I say?
I said that hypothetical friend is a new immigrant because beliefs or superstitions are territorial. The 13th floor or #13 is a Canadian thing. I didn’t know about it until I came here. The twitching of the eye is common in Africa. All countries have their beliefs, something I learned from foreign films. I welcome any extra knowledge about people who look like me: human beings, period.
Nonqaba waka Msimang
Blogger Without Borders
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