Big Mable, a former slave, remembers the day she was told the clothes on her back would become a permanent fixture. They, like her body, would eventually wither. She also remembers the day she was given the important task of issuing curses to the worthy and the deserved. After two centuries as Curse Giver, her body has finally declined into old age. Unable to shed the curse-giving energy, she sits in her rocking chair surrounded by photos of distant family, memories of a slave owner who loved her, and the man that denied her his love.