The Outpouring
74,000 words | Lit. Fiction
Synopsis: Ivory, a Gullah woman from coastal South Carolina, helps Owen, an aristocratic young Southerner, come to terms with the past deeds of his ancestors, which are now haunting him to madness.
74,000 words | Lit. Fiction
Synopsis: Ivory, a Gullah woman from coastal South Carolina, helps Owen, an aristocratic young Southerner, come to terms with the past deeds of his ancestors, which are now haunting him to madness.
Owen was crying now.
“Looks like things what happened in the past has decided that you the one what's gonna have to deal with them—in the present," Ivory said. "Something's trying to tell you something—maybe tell us all something. Whatever you do, don't let them old haints bother you too much. They just haints. They can't hurt you. They can "krak teet" at you and they can scare you pretty good, 'specially in the middle of the night when they wake you up from sleeping and tried and keep you up 'til the day was clean, but they can't hurt you none. Don't let 'em scare you. They just haints. I'm more scared of livin' folks than any one of them old haints.”
She took his arm and studied the bruises as if she were divining some deep dark secret from his soul.
“That look like a hag mark to me.”
Owen pulled his head up. He wasn’t sure what she was talking about.
“Hag?”
Her eyes went wide as she dug into her ice cream, savoring the delicious sweetness of the treat.
“When some folks get to an age, they turn a hag. They try and fool you. Then there's hags that ain't got much age on theyselves. All hags though—you can be sure of this. They "hand git short of pay-shun.”
“Huh?”
Owen didn’t understand. She scooped out another big bite of ice cream.
“Means they steal from you. Try and steal your soul if you don't watch out. A hag, sometime a hag will come straight up to your house and hag your wife, hag your chile, hag you. You got a wife, any chiles?”
Owen shook his head no.
Ivory nodded her head.
“Good. 'Cause a chile can't sleep when they a hag around. A hag'll take a chile home and put a chile under the bed. Yessir, that’s what a hag’ll do. A hag'll tried and steal the soul right out from inside that chile 'cause a chile was new to this world—ain't got no bad feelings to nobody. Then, 'course, sometimes a hag'll come after your person and tried and sit on you and keep you from getting up, tried to keep you down. You sure you ain't been around any hags 'cause that sure look like hag's work to me. Yessiree, that’s hag work if I ever seen it.”
“I don't understand any of this,” he said.
“Nothin’ to understand really. You just got chose. Listen here close. If you want to tell a hag, get you some kinda stick and put it 'cross your door. If that's a hag, he goin' to stop at that stick, ain't going to step across it. No, siree. If a hag started to bother your person, use salt and pepper. Sprinkle either by your bed or 'cross you door and that hag won't come in. You can sprinkle it on that hag if you can get close enough. Salt burns they skin, made them all itchy and crazy like. They be running 'round in circles like a cutoff head chicken if you salt and pepper them good. If you ain't got salt, use plain old dirt. Don't work as good but it's better than nothing. I have crossed the path of more'n one hag in my life. Yessiree.”
She pointed to a bush then clapped her hands together loudly. Owen jumped at the popping sound from her hands and looked behind the bush.
“Get on out of here!”
Owen’s face looked like that of a child.
“Was that a hag or a haint?”
Ivory contemplated a moment as if she were working on a difficult math problem.
“What'd I jes' tell you. You won't listenin' to me, was you? Ain’t none of it for real. It’s all in your mind. Understand?”
He nodded.
“Oh, well. These old Geechee bones best get back inside. This night air got me all stiffed up like a three-day old polecat on the side the road. I best watch out else I'm gonna end up a haint.”
She chuckled and leaned forward like she was going to rise but a look came across her face.
“If I turn a haint, I'll be a good one—promise. I won't bother you none. Just remember to set out some strawberry ice cream for me every now and then.“
Owen pulled out the key and held it up so she could get a good look at it.
“What's this?” he asked.
She took the key and inspected it, turning it over in her gnarled fingers.
“Goes to a box up in your house. Got vines all over it look like the back of my hand.”
She held up her hand to him and continued. What's in that box might help you. Might not, I don't know.”
“Where is it?”
“Been a long time. I forget. Probably been moved anyhow. That’s a big house, lots of places for things to hide.”
“Just remember—Mus tek cyear a de root fa heal de tree.”