YEARS ago as a teenager, and now as an adult, I would hang out with the domestic staff around the house, and that is why I must admit I learned of lots of stuff, most of which I now consider as ridiculous.There was this gossip roving around about what was going on in some villages, like people who were unfaithful to their partners, and the witchcraft.You know, there is this proverb that says in part: "The unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener to every conversation.” And I would add: "The undetected eye at every keyhole and the ear at every glass attached to the wall.”However, this is not a story about the sort of corridor conversations I was party to as a girl, though perhaps it would make a play in the style. This is a story about superstition and part of it continues to play in people’s lives even in the 21st century.Our house helper would talk about stuff like ‘witch-doctors’ and the love portions they dispense to help people bewitch others.Meanwhile, something happened recently, and it reminded me of these chats that I thought were silly, but which those domestic staff fully believed in, whichever faith they professed. A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a friend about how some people seem so lucky in matters of the heart, whilst others seem doomed to making bad choices. She instantaneously turned to me, assuming that I was the unlucky one and offered to take me to a "love doctor” in Ngoma District (formerly Kibungo), in the Eastern Province.  I was flabbergasted by her assumptions and rendered speechless for a minute. She took my silence as consent and began to roll out the plan. According to her, all I needed to take to this ‘witch-doctor’ was only Rwf 30,000 and he would cure all my love problems at a stroke. She then cited a few mutual friends of hers, who she claimed she had taken to that man, bragging that it was her help and the Rwf 30,000 (non-refundable deposit) that secured their happiness in the relationship. In her efforts to convince me, she referred to some Nigerian movies, mentioning one in particular called "Suicide Mission”. The story is the tale of a Nigeria woman, who bewitched her husband and would control him in a bottle.I could not help thinking, what balderdash for seemingly intelligent person to be spewing in this era. Stop superstition and believe in GodSuch beliefs have continued through ages and one may wonder what it is about the human condition that demands a belief in the supernatural, even when it is quite obvious that something as innocuous as a pair of dice cannot change the price of beer, let alone the weather or a human being’s heart.It’s time to get out of this bind before the human race is thrown back to the dark days.A successful relationship comes to those who seek and believe in God, not in evil spirits. A relationship acquired through the devil’s interventions can never last.