Punished (23 page)

I knew that I couldn’t go too far into the swamp, it was dark, and there probably were countless alligators ready to devour me for dinner. Careful to stay close to the edge of the shoreline, I did my best to fight my way through impossibly thick veins and clusters of leaves.

I must have walked for ten minutes when I heard the sweet chirp of a canary. Like a madwoman, I scanned the cypress trees until my eyes rested on a tiny yellow canary.

“Gran-Ibo?” I cried out cautiously. I prayed that stinky Sousson Pannan wasn’t playing some sick joke on me.

“Arelia,” hummed a serene yet slightly scratchy voice. “We’ve been expecting you.”

“Really?” I asked, as I eyed the canary. “Where are you?”

“Did you bring food for me and my canary?” asked the voice.

“Yes, I did. I heard that you like cornbread and blue-grey candles. I brought both of those things for you.” I held out the rag that had been in my hand the whole time and showed it to the canary.

“Very good. You may come in,” instructed the voice.

“Where?” I still had no idea where the voice was coming from.

“Into the tree Arelia. Into my home.”

“Tree?” I didn’t want to start crying, but I wasn’t in the mood for riddles. I was about to pass out from sheer exhaustion, lack of food, confusion and excitement over everything that had taken place over the last twenty-four hours.

Why couldn’t this wise spirit give me a break? “There are so many trees Gran-Ibo, I don’t know which one you live in, I’ve never been to your home before.”

“Follow my canary dear, he’ll show you the way.”

“Okay,” I numbly agreed, as I kept my eye on the yellow bird.

It swiftly glided through the mess of vines and leaves, as it guided me towards Gran-Ibo’s home. I struggled to keep with it and was beyond relieved when it stopped in front of a towering cypress tree.
 
I wasn’t exactly sure what to do, how was I supposed to get inside a tree?

“Hello?” I leaned against it and tapped it gently. I reminded myself that Gran-Ibo was a wise-old spirit, and I needed to be respectful. “May I please come in?” I asked, as the canary hovered above me and Spanish moss tickled my cheeks.

“What do you think Sammie? Should we let her in?” asked the scratchy voice.

“Who’s Sammie?” I asked.

“Me,” responded the canary.

Oh God, I was losing it. Talking spirits were fine, but speaking canaries? I felt like I was in a Disney movie, was he going to break out in a song too?

“Is this a dream?” I innocently asked. “Are you real?”

“Are you real?” he asked, rather sarcastically.

“Yes, I am,” I responded.

“Well then so am I.” He flew over and landed on my shoulder. “You smell terrible,” he said, as he gave me a long sniff.

“Hey, I’ve working out in the fields all day.” If Gran-Ibo was supposed to be all wise, why was her canary so rude?

“Yeah, let her in. Gotta warn you, she needs a shower. She doesn’t smell too great,” Sammie advised.

As he said those words, a doorway manifested itself at the base of the tree trunk and swung wide open. I stood there frozen, unaware as to what I should do.

“What are waiting for honey, come on in,” invited Gran-Ibo.

Reluctantly, I stepped into the tree trunk. Inside, the strong aroma of aloes wood and cedar incense greeted me. There were endless wooden shelves filled with herbs, candles, and bottles and jars full of various ingredients. A large black cauldron spat in the middle of wooden floor along with a mortar and pestle. “Hello?” I couldn’t see Gran-Ibo anywhere.

“She’s probably putting on her make-up; she likes to look decent when she has company over. Obviously you can learn something from that.” Sammie looked me over with his little eyes.

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks. I’ll remember that the next time part of my soul is put under a voodoo curse, and I’m forced to work as a slave, not eat for a million hours and walk through a deadly swamp.”

“So defensive,” muttered Sammie, as he stirred something inside the cauldron with a wooden stick.

“What is that?” I asked, as I peered inside. “It smells really good.”

“Shrimp gumbo, my specialty,” he advised.

I was skeptical. “You can cook? But you’re a bird.”

Sammie shook his head. “Can you cook Arelia?”

“Yes. I kind of can.”

“Then why can’t I?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I’ve never seen a canary cook before, that’s all.”

“And I’ve never seen such an unkempt girl before,” he replied in a snarky tone.

“Sammie, how many times have I told you to be polite to our guests?”

Gran-Ibo walked into the room, and my mouth literally dropped open. She sure as hell didn’t look like a gran. Dressed in a long white gown and heaps of gold jewelry, she was ethereal. Her honey colored skin was unwrinkled, and the flecks of gold in her large brown eyes sparkled.

“Gran-Ibo?” I asked.

“Yes honey, aren’t you a sight. What sorts of trouble have you gotten yourself into? Is that your stomach I hear growling? My oh my. Sammie, why haven’t you offered the poor girl a seat and something to eat? I swear sometimes you’re useless,” she scolded. “Don’t stand there with your mouth open honey, go on now, have a seat.” She pointed to a wooden table with four chairs arranged around it.

Thankful to have a place to rest my weary feet, I happily sat down. At this point, I wasn’t going to question what was going on. I just wanted food. “Do you have any sweet-tea and maybe some chocolate?” I asked in my sweetest and most hopeful voice.

“Chocolate isn’t dinner. Why am I cooking shrimp gumbo if you’re going to stuff your face with chocolate?” Sammie interrupted.

“Now Sammie, I’m sure Arelia has plenty of room for your heavenly shrimp gumbo. She’s been through quite an ordeal; let’s let her have some chocolate now.” Gran-Ibo shot him a frosty look, as she flipped back the long braids that hung over her shoulders.

“Fine,” Sammie reluctantly agreed, as he headed to the shelf and grabbed some chocolate with his beak.

He dropped it in front of me on the table, and Gran-Ibo filled up a glass with some sweet-tea. They both watched in silence as I hungrily shoved them down my throat.

“Fill up a bowl of gumbo for her; go on now Sammie, it’s not polite to stare.”

“Why did I bring you cornbread and blue-grey candles if you already have all of this food and all these supplies?” I asked, as I suddenly remembered the cornbread.

“I like cornbread.” Sammie informed me. “If we’re going to help you, you can at least bring us a present. Blue-grey candles happen to bring out the flecks of green in my eyes.”

“Okay, geez, I was just asking. You don’t have to get so defensive.”

“I’m the defensive one?” Sammie chirped back.

“Now, now Sammie, be polite. Let Arelia eat her dinner, so we can help her get back to where she belongs.”

Thankfully, Sammie shut-up and I crammed myself with gumbo until I was certain my belly was going to explode. Even then, I couldn’t stop because a small part of me feared that I would be tossed back into the horrific cotton field.

Sammie eyed me in horror. “You’re not going to stay that skinny forever if you keep eating like that.”

“I don’t care,” I grumbled through mouthfuls of the spicy stew.

After dinner, Gran-Ibo took my hands into hers and studied me silently with her pretty eyes. I knew I was openly staring at her in awe. Her eyelashes were so long and perfectly curled. Sabrina would have been so jealous.

“So, I hear that this Louis has placed a piece of your soul under a curse, and you need to repair it.”

“Yes, he wants me to experience what he went through. I don’t know why and for how long he plans on keeping this up, but I know I can’t stay here. I need to know where Louis is so I can confront him; somehow I think he holds the key to everything. I can’t help Lucus if I can’t find Louis.”

She listened to me carefully and absorbed everything I said before she spoke. “Why do you want to go back?”

“Why?” That was such a stupid question. “Because I don’t belong here! I’m not a slave.”

“Everyone is a slave to one thing or another, what you experienced was physical slavery, just because you go on back to your own time, it doesn’t mean you still won’t be a prisoner.”

I closed my eyes and scratched my head in frustration. Was she being philosophical? Of course, she was. She was the almighty swamp witch, whose wisdom extended to a place before time. As much as I appreciated the fact that she was trying to help, my brain was too tired to engage in debates about the meaning of existence. So I nodded. “Okay.”

“You have no idea what I’m talking about honey, do you?” she laughed.

“No,” I admitted. I remembered what Erzulie had told me, I couldn’t lie to Gran-Ibo. She didn’t tolerate any type of lies.

“What are you a slave to?” she asked, as she squeezed my hand.

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“You know Gran-Ibo won’t accept any lies,” she reminded me.

“I’m afraid that I’m never good enough,” I said weakly.

“So, you’re keeping yourself prisoner?”

“I guess.” I wasn’t sure where she was going with all of this.

“Now, if I let you go back home, will you promise me you’ll try to set yourself free?”

“I promise,” I said, even though I really had no idea what I was agreeing to.

“Honey, do you understand what I’m going on about, or do I have to spell it out in simple English for you?” Gran-Ibo asked, as she squeezed my hand even harder.

“You pretty much have to spell it out for me. I’m too tired to think straight,” I admitted.

“Alright then, stop letting other people make you feel inferior. As long as you keep giving them that power, they’ll keep abusing it. Don’t be afraid of standing up for yourself, go after the one you love and stop pitying yourself because of all that you don’t have.”

“Yeah, stop feeling sorry for yourself,” Sammie interrupted.

“Hush now Sammie.” Gran-Ibo continued. “Remember you have more than most will ever dream of having. This Louis, he’s not the bad guy, he’s just confused and angry. Now that you’ve been through what he has, you must feel a little more sympathy for him, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do, but that doesn’t make what he’s doing right.”

“There’s no right or wrong in this honey, there are bigger things happening out there. Erzulie, she’s chosen you to handle them, so when you confront Louis you have to have some patience with him.”

“I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises,” I said. “Where do I even find him? Erzulie said that he’s bound in flesh and bone. Whatever that means.”

“Louis, he wants to be found, he just doesn’t know it yet. He’s the one that called upon Sousson Pannan, asked Ayida to help you find his diary and sent you back to his past. You think he did all these things just to make your life miserable, and he might have, but his soul is in pain. He’s reaching out; he just hasn’t figured that out yet. He knows that you can help him, but he’s too afraid to ask. He’s been all alone for an awfully long time just like Lucus. You can’t love one without feeling something for the other.”