The Love Peddlers
Published in Issue #25 Translated from Hebrew by Yardenne Greenspan(Excerpt from a Novel)
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Deep down, do I believe in magic and spells? Is the belief in ghosts congenital?
Grandma Nahonum would say: just like there are good and bad people, there are also good and bad demons. The bad demons were always causing trouble, bad luck, illness, and disasters. They liked to scuffle, get drunk, even pounce on women and children in the darkness of alleys. At nights they crowded in ruins, abandoned buildings, and public bath houses, which we called hamams. To defend themselves, people would toss espanj seeds onto coals, and when the seeds began to bounce around, they’d whisper, “Let the eyes of our enemies bounce out of their sockets.” They hid pins inside new blankets and sheets so that the evil demons didn’t enjoy curling up in them. Evil demons loved to sleep in new linens that smelled nice. In the mornings it was easy to recognize their tracks: a wrinkle here, a stray hair there, even excrement, God help us.
But there were also, as I already mentioned, good demons, who loved people and sought their closeness. At the edge of the Jewish street I’m telling you about lived an honorable family of such demons. On holidays the Jewish children and the demon children played together. Sometimes they forged friendships, even puppy loves. When the Jewish children had a cough or a stomachache, their parents summoned the demons by lighting paper cones filled with salt. That was their signal.
Fresh cucumbers were the most popular ingredient for demon spells. The demons would sit...
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