Hi, Nachtweide
I don't "spill the beans", I don't look into a crystal ball, or tarot cards, etc.
(Honestly, if I were to do such things, I don't believe I would easily, at such a level, connect with unknown people).
So I can only assess and understand your situation based on what you write and how you present the situation.
You started with the image of a victim. Confused, emotionally unstable (water phobia - to the point that you are afraid to swim in the sea), a person who ended up in an environment "infested" with witchcraft, whose reality is falling apart due to such influence and who has come to believe in her powerlessness, and seeks intervention from others (countermeasures for spells, and almost exorcism).
Of course, you received comments aimed at self-empowerment. As the comments came in, you started to show chameleon-like qualities (from not bathing at all, it turned into I can float and ride on a boat, etc.) You started adjusting the narrative, which caused me to raise an eyebrow, and a total conflict occurred when I read this:
He completely avoids any eye contact with me, and I have the strong feeling that he is actually afraid to look me in the eyes.
Back then, when I first met his parents, I had the same strange sensation: nobody dared to look his father in the eyes.
Look, I was born and live in the Balkan and in my life I have seen such "paterfamilias" and I know the dynamics. That's why this writing has no logic of dominance. He does not behave in the same way towards the "dominant" person (which should be the paterfamilias) and towards the subordinate person/victim (which according to your writing should be - you). And it was to be assumed that in an isolated environment (such as an island) things could be even more stable and rigid. But...
(there's always a but) .. my assumption.... my prejudice..... there's always an exception ... and that's why I asked you to describe your father-in-law.
Now I'm reading about a self-confident and even conflicted person, who stands up for his rights, who knows what he wants, unbearable financial expenses are actually not that (everything is covered by insurance) and the question arises: Where has the victim disappeared? And it even slides towards: Who is actually the victim? Which personality is right; the one at the beginning, the one later, or both?
The question of the real intention/goal of opening this topic is certainly raised. Did you come to ask for help or to manipulate some "spiritual secrets" that would serve you to strengthen your dominance.
By responding to others and to myself, the picture turned into the complete opposite. Those two completely different/conflicting images invalidated (for me) the credibility of everything written.