The Curse and the Lightning Strike, A childhood curse and lightning strike left a lasting mark on us.
On a sunny afternoon, right as summer was giving way to the refreshing rains of fall, my friends and I, all around 9 or 10 years old, decided to take a walk through our neighborhood. The streets were unusually quiet, everyone seemingly preparing for the incoming storm. As we strolled, an old man hobbled towards us, his gait slow and labored. My friends, not the kindest at that age, started laughing at his apparent struggle. The old man, with a fierce look in his eyes, stopped and shouted, “May lightning strike you!” His words felt chilling, but we brushed it off and continued our walk, trying to ignore the discomfort.
We barely got a hundred meters from where we’d encountered the old man when the air crackled with a thunderous sound. A blinding flash of light split the sky, and everything seemed to happen in a split second. I remember hitting the ground, shaking uncontrollably, my mind racing to understand what was happening. A tree had crashed down just ahead of us, not far from where we had been standing. People came rushing out from nearby houses, their faces filled with shock and concern. One bystander said, “Lucky those kids didn’t get struck by lightning.” The moment was surreal, and we all remained silent about it afterward.
To this day, I find it hard to believe what happened that day. The old man’s curse, the sudden storm, and the fallen tree have stayed with me, buried deep in my memory. It was a powerful reminder of how fragile and unpredictable life can be, and how a seemingly ordinary day can take a turn into the extraordinary.
