With the scent of San Juan bonfires still in the air and the good times safely tucked away in my heart, the conversations I overhear in waiting rooms still make me smile. Two women, their hair showing every color of the sky on a rainbow day, were sharing a spell they swore by: freezing people out. Apparently, when someone in your life is making things difficult, you can neutralize them by freezing. It's not a curse—something good might even happen to them: a promotion, winning the lottery, a transfer... but one thing's for sure, they'll stop being close to you.
The spell is simple: take an apple, cut it in half, remove the core, and put a photo of the person inside (and if you have something personal they've touched, add that too). —At this point in the conversation, I couldn't believe I was taking notes, but there I was—. Then, put the two halves back together and secure them with tape, string, a rubber band, duct tape, whatever you have... And most importantly, on the night of San Juan, put the apple in the freezer and leave it there. No magic words or anything. Just leave it in the freezer.
Don't ask silly questions like: what kind of apple? Do the halves have to be symmetrical? What exact time should you put the apple in? —I had those questions myself—.
Those two women had already frozen three people: one got a promotion, another moved away, and the last one changed companies.