It is unholy because it is heretic. It is foul. It is abominable to need something so badly that you cannot picture living without it. It is a contra… - Shirley Jackson

She could not remember ever being truly happy in her adult life; her years with her mother had been built up devotedly around small guilts and small reproaches, constant weariness, and unending despair. Without ever wanting to become reserved and shy, she had spent so long alone, with no one to love, that it was difficult for her to talk, even casually, to another person without self-consciousness and an awkward inability to find words.

I have been found wanting, Natalie thought; I have made myself unnacceptable and am not worthy.

Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.