In this chapter I use a couple of Haitian Creole words since the family ancestry is from Haiti. If you do not understand one of those words there are definitions at the bottom. Thank You
*****
"Mom, what are you talking about?" I ask her. "Why haven't I ever heard about these twins before?"
"Because of the curse," she utters, while looking around to see if someone is listening. "After brutally killing the twins, this Haitian man went after your great grandfather Louis. But Louis already had his pistol in hand and shot him. The man didn't die right away. Asked why he did it, he said Louis had stolen all of his family money, leaving them desolate. Most of his family starved to death when the monsoons came. Then, with his last dying breath, he put a curse on our family. Saying the twins could never leave this house and find peace in heaven. Also, the Beauvais family must always live in the house, never returning to Haiti, or the twins would descend into hell to pay for Louis's sins!"
My husband, not overly distraught by the news, chuckled under his breath and asks, "Do you mean like a voodoo curse?"
"Do not joke about such things," Mother scolds him. "My Manman told me many stories about the local Mambo in her village and how she cursed people to have their fingernails and hair fall out. While still others, became zombies to do the bidding of the Mambo!"
"Mom," I butted in. "You were born here. You never even set foot in Haiti. How can you believe in this voodoo stuff?"
She looks at me seriously. Takes a deep breath and almost whispers, "Because of the curse. I was never allowed to see my Manman's home."
Then she tries backing out the door without looking behind her. But I grab her arm before she can escape. She knows I need more answers. So she says, "I do not believe my Manman would lie to me. She taught me spells and charms to ward off the evil that could be coming to attack our family. This is why I am setting up a trust fund for you. She said that the blood money Jean-Claude had, also carries the curse with it. He never spent much of it. If you use a little bit at a time, the curse on it is weak."
I let go of her arm and watch her go outside to sit in the car. Before opening the door, she makes the sign of the cross, then silently slips inside.
"Well, that was pretty funny," my husband says. "I didn't realize how superstitious your mom is. Believing all that mumbo jumbo."
"Maybe I should go see if see is okay?" I say worriedly.
"Don't be ridiculous," he tells me chuckling. "She is probably in the car right now praying, holding onto some kind of talisman, wiping grey ash all over her face, and talking in tongue."
I look at him frustrated and say. "It's called, Speaking in Tongues."
"Oh, sorryeee!" he says sarcastically.
Grabbing my hand he pulls me towards the staircase and says, "Let's go see what's upstairs first."
He is pulling hard enough for us to have to take two steps up at a time. I yell, "Let go of my hand. I'm pregnant!"
He releases me. But like a kid in a candy store he continues on his way without me. Jumping up two steps at a time, reaches the first landing, turns right, and jumps out of sight.
Standing there alone, I try slowing my heartbeat.
"All this excitement can't be good for my baby," I say out loud hoping my husband can hear me. But just like him he pretends he doesn't hear or he doesn't care. "What am I doing here?"
Then a cold feeling rushes over me, no through me, as a mist takes an oval shape a couple of stairs up. It looks as if it is turning around to look at me when, poof! It disappears as my husband asks, "Are you coming?"
To Be Continued.....
This is,
The Assumed Novella Length Is Beginning To Look Like Novel Length
Jim Hauenstein
And,
"Les loas sont les dieux des nègres d’Afrique. Dieu est universel. Les loas se vengent de la désertion des nègres car ils ont été esclaves et persécutés et que le vaudou sera, un jour, leur point de ralliement"
That is my story and I am sticking to it!
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Be Kind To Everyone.
Manman - Mother
Mambo - Voodoo Priestess
Loas - The Loa are the spirits of Haitian and Louisiana Voodoo
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